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Category: Australia

Bribes are a common business expense in Laos, a new report says

Editor08 mins

Almost 70 percent of businesses that applied for registrations, licenses and permits in Laos paid bribes to government officials to get approval, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. The report on the cost of doing business in Laos drew responses from 1,357 respondents, 68 percent of whom said that so-called “informal payments” were necessary for smooth and efficient business operations. ADB, which is based in Manila, provides loans, grants and other financial assistance to projects that promote growth in Asian countries and reduce extreme poverty in the region. “The informal charges must be paid for everything … because the access to the officials and the system they control is difficult, and the system is slow to adopt technology,” an employee at the ADB office in Laos, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA’s Lao Service Thursday. “It’s going to take some time to update the rules, amend the laws and improve the behavior of officials. The Lao government should develop human resources by upgrading their skills and knowledge, but it is more important that they are more transparent,” the ADB official said. Paying the bribe to get things done is sometimes easier than doing business by the book, an owner of a bar and restaurant in the historic town of Luang Prabang in northern Laos told RFA. “Paying kickbacks is widespread in Laos. They do it in every district and in every province because the process of obtaining license or permit in this country is very complex, bureaucratic and time consuming,” said the owner, who declined to be named. “In my case, I knew somebody in the provincial business registration office. They came by and inspected my facility first before I could register my business. You have to know somebody in the office, if not, it’s going to be difficult to get registered,” he said. Connections and money are integral to doing business in Laos, the owner of a Luang Prabang car rental company told RFA. “If you try to do it yourself, you’ll find a lot of trouble. But if you have a link or a connection in the office, it’ll be much easier because you and your connection can talk and compromise, of course, with the appropriate amount of money under the table,” he said. “With the appropriate amount, a process that normally takes three months takes only three weeks. In my case, I paid the appropriate amount to an acquaintance outside of his office after work hours,” the car rental owner said. Lao governmental paperwork is overly complicated, the owner of another business told RFA. “When I submit an application form for a permit, I can say to an official, ‘Please look at this application form. When it’s done, I’ll buy you a beer or two.’ Then I give him 300,000 kip ($25), the cost of one or two beers, for his service,” the source said. A Lao economist told RFA that the report did not uncover anything out of the ordinary. “For many people who don’t know about Laos, the ADB report looks negative. But for those who are used to it, kickbacks are normal because this kind of practice is a problem in every country in the world,” the economist said on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “For example, when officials perform inspections for safety, labor practices or environmental impact of a factory, the factory owner would have to pay the inspectors cash and never receive a bill or receipt. The inspectors put the money in their pockets. The money is not a fee charged by the government,” he said, adding that foreign investors might not want to do business under that type of system. “For investors who are already here, the extra expenses in the form of kickbacks add up and increase the cost of doing business.” Solutions Kickbacks are often necessary because officials depend on them for much of their income, an official of the Lao Finance Ministry told RFA. “They take the kickbacks to make a living. I cannot deny that,” he said. “It’s getting worse in the current economic situation. The government is tackling this practice head-on in hopes of reducing it little by little.” The Lao Chamber of Industry and Commerce suggested in the ADB report that the government should step up training for its employees and switch from a system requiring person-to-person contact to an online processing method. In Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”), Laos received a score of 30, placing it in 128th place among 180 countries. The least corrupt countries were New Zealand, Denmark, and Finland, each with score of 88, while the most corrupt was South Sudan, with a score of 11. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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China: No plans to build military base in Solomon Islands

Editor08 mins

China is denying that it will build a military base in the Solomon Islands after agreeing with the South Pacific nation to a security pact that is raising concerns in the region and beyond. Last week, the two sides quietly signed a Framework Agreement on bilateral security cooperation, saying it is “conducive to stability and security of the Solomon Islands, and will promote common interests of other countries in the region.” A framework agreement is not the final deal but confirms both countries’ intentions with details to be agreed in the future. A draft agreement leaked online last week would allow Beijing to set up bases and deploy troops in the Solomon Islands, which lies about 1,700 km (1,050 miles) from the northeastern coast of Australia. The draft agreement and Framework Agreement are separate documents. It remains unclear how the two documents differ but, in a statement released Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Honiara categorically denied that a military base would be developed in the Solomons. “This is utterly misinformation deliberately spread with [a] political motive,” an embassy spokesperson said in the statement, responding to a question about whether China would build a military base in the islands. China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is “no different from the cooperation of Solomon Islands with other countries,” the spokesperson added. In recent years, China has been developing closer ties with the Pacific islands, wooing them with infrastructure loans and economic assistance, as well as military exchanges. The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019 – a move to please Beijing which seeks to diminish the international diplomatic recognition of the government in Taiwan. Concerns over pact The draft agreement, meanwhile, has provoked fears in the South Pacific region’s traditional powers, Australia and New Zealand. Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that Wellington sees the pact as “gravely concerning.” The U.S., which has been promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, also expressed concerns about China’s moves in the Solomons. Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. as saying earlier this week that he was “undoubtedly concerned” about the China-Solomon Islands security pact. “There is still a path ahead. But anytime that a secret security arrangement makes its way into the light of day, it is a concern,” Paparo told the Australian network in Washington. The U.S. admiral also warned that “there’s the potential of conflict within our region within a couple of years because of the incredible unpredictability of events.”  The security agreement with China “will allow the Solomon Islands government to invite China to send police and even military personnel to protect Chinese community and businesses in Solomon Islands during riots and social unrests,” said a researcher specializing in the Pacific region at the Australian National University (ANU), who requested anonymity because of personal concerns. “This is different from China establishing a military base in Solomon Islands but may pave the way for China to do so,” he told RFA. ‘Diversification’ of partnerships Beijing doesn’t hide its ambition to set up military bases in the South Pacific. In 2018, media reports about China’s plan to build a base in Vanuatu prompted a stern warning from then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. A possible presence of Chinese law enforcement personnel so close to the homeland has rattled decision makers in Canberra. Australia is the biggest aid donor to the Solomon Islands and, in 2017, it signed a bilateral security treaty with Honiara, its first with a Pacific nation. “From traditional powers’ perspective, they think such security agreement is not necessary because existing regional mechanisms can meet the demands of Pacific islands like the Solomon Islands,” the ANU researcher said. “But the incumbent Solomon Islands government said they need to diversify the country’s external security partnerships, especially with China, which lends strong support to the government during and after the riot in November 2021,” he said. Rioting broke out in Honiara, the nation’s capital, in late November over the government’s decision to diplomatically recognize China over Taiwan. Last week, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told lawmakers that to achieve the nation’s security needs, “it is clear that we need to diversify the country’s relationship with other countries” but existing security arrangements with Australia would remain. His policy of “diversification” was evident in November when the PM asked Australia – and after that China – to send police forces to help him quell the riots that rocked Honiara. The Chinese Embassy, for its part, warned against what it called “Cold War and colonial mentality,” saying the Pacific island nations are “all sovereign and independent.” “The region should not be considered a ‘backyard’ of other countries,” it said in its statement issued on Tuesday.

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Young Uyghur-Australian to run for seat in Australia’s Parliament

Editor05 mins

A young Uyghur-Australian chiropractor is running for a seat in Australia’s Parliament in part to address China’s threats to the continent and to Uyghurs in Xinjiang and elsewhere in the world. Intezar Elham, 28, told RFA that she decided in October 2021 to run in the country’s May 2022 election after she was invited to become a candidate by the newly formed Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance, a small party that promotes human rights in China. On her website, Elham says she is the first and youngest Uyghur-Australian Muslim to run for parliament. Elham said she wanted to serve as a voice for Uyghurs in Australian politics. She attended a demonstration on March 30 in front of the Chinese consulate in Adelaide in southern Australia. In a speech there, Elham noted that Australians are now waking up to the reality that Uyghurs have faced for decades. She also described her determination to run for office because of what she said is the ruling Liberal Party’s failure to be tough on China. “But even if we don’t win — our goal is bigger than that,” she said at the gathering. “My goal is to shift the national conversation and debate on major issues like the threat the Chinese government poses to this country and the world.” Elham spoke of her admiration for late Australian Sen. Kimberley Kitching, an Australian Labor Party MP, lawyer and trade unionist who died of a heart attack on March 10. Kitching was “a staunch advocate for Uyghurs cause in Parliament and around the world, standing up to China having founded the Inter-Parliamentary Group on China and was the main politician pushing for an Australian Magnitsky Act,” Elham said, referring to an act passed by Australian Parliament in December 2021 to create a legal framework for sanctions. “Kimberley’s legacy is a world where countries like this one stand up for those who need us, and for that she has the thanks of Uyghurs here and around the world,” she said. Elham, who goes by the nickname Inty, says on her website that she never saw herself entering politics. “But because my grandparents fled the brutality of the authoritarian Chinese government, I cannot sit by and watch the Chinese Communist Party corrupt Australia and our democracy,” she said. “We can see this influence for example, in the imposing Chinese consulate in Joslin built without consultation with the community and spying on us,” she said, referring to the consulate, which opened in March 2021 in an area containing a large number of Uyghurs and near a Uyghur language school. “We must stand up.” Dilzat, a Uyghur intellectual who lives in Adelaide and supports Elham’s campaign, said Uyghurs around the world are pleased that the aspiring politician who was born and raised in Australia is fighting on behalf of Uyghurs in China. “What she made public to the media and the world there at the demonstration in front of the consulate was her political platform, what she’s fighting against, who is standing behind her,” he said. “This event was a formal opening ceremony of sorts.” Translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Family of slain Rohingya leader leaves Bangladesh for Canada

Editor08 mins

Canada has agreed to give refuge to 11 family members of a Rohingya rights activist who was gunned down at a refugee camp in Bangladesh last September, officials in Dhaka and a human rights group said Friday. Nasima Khatun, the widow of Muhib Ullah, their nine children and the husband of one of their daughters departed the South Asian country on a flight from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday night, human rights advocate Nur Khan Liton confirmed to BenarNews. “They are scheduled to arrive in Canada by Saturday,” Liton said. “They left with the aim of having a safe life.” On Friday, Bangladesh foreign ministry official Miah Md. Mainul Kabir credited the Canadian government for accepting Ullah’s survivors. “The government of Bangladesh gave more importance to the Canadian government’s interest in this regard than the application of Muhib Ullah’s family,” he told BenarNews. “As a shelter-providing country, Canada has done everything needed,” Mainul Kabir said, adding that Canada was the only country offering to shelter the family. Thursday’s flight was out of the ordinary, he said, because groups that large normally are sent to another country in phases. ‘Serious fear for their security’ In October, an immigration and refugee affairs analyst said it was not unusual for Bangladesh to send Rohingya to a third country in the past. More than 900 Rohingya were sent to countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden in 2009 and 2010, said Asif Munir, a former official of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This transfer is different because Ullah’s family left the country over a “serious fear for their security,” said Liton, general secretary of Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK), a local human rights organization. The IOM, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, and Canadian High Commission had arranged the family’s exit from Bangladesh, he said. Gunmen killed Ullah, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), in his office at the Kutupalong refugee camp in southeastern Cox’s Bazar district on Sept. 29, 2021.  Last month, Bangladeshi police said four of 15 people arrested over alleged ties to the killing had confessed to their roles in it and that those in custody said they belonged to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group. “UNHCR does not comment on individual cases,” Mostafa Mohammad Sazzad Hossain, an official at the U.N. agency’s office in Dhaka, told BenarNews. In addition, IOM and Canadian officials did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment. Before leaving the country, the family asked Bangladesh officials to reopen the recently closed Myanmar curriculum school established by Ullah, Liton said. About 1 million Rohingya, including 740,000 who fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state following a military crackdown in 2017, have settled in refugee camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, close to the border with Rakhine. Nasima Khatun, the widow of Rohingya activist Muhib Ullah, speaks to reporters at her home in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 30, 2021. Credit: BenarNews In his role as ARSPH chairman, Ullah had represented the stateless Rohingya community before the United Nations and at the White House in Washington, where he expressed concerns about his fellow refugees to then-President Donald Trump in 2019. Two weeks after Ullah was killed, Bangladesh authorities cited security concerns when they moved his family to an undisclosed location. Police also moved the families of 10 other ARSPH leaders. At the time, Md. Rashid Ullah, ARSPH spokesman and Ullah’s nephew, told BenarNews that those families wanted to leave Bangladesh over their own safety concerns. Millions of dollars for Rohingya Ullah’s family left Bangladesh days after American Ambassador Peter Haas announced on March 29 that the United States was providing U.S. $152 million (13 billion taka) in new humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya and their host communities in Bangladesh. Haas made the announcement after his first visit to Cox’s Bazar earlier in the week, according to a news release from the U.S. Embassy. “This brings the total we’ve provided since August 2017 to $1.7 billion (145.5 billion taka),” Haas said in the news release. “Of this new funding, $125 million (10.7 billion taka) is for programs inside Bangladesh – for Rohingya refugees and affected Bangladeshi communities,” it said. In Fiscal Year 2021 alone, the U.S. government reported spending nearly $302 million (25.9 billion taka) in support of humanitarian assistance programs for Rohingya sheltering in Bangladesh. Also this week, UNHCR launched a 2022 Joint Response Plan to raise more than $881 million (75.7 billion taka) to assist Rohingya. The funding is to support more than 918,000 Rohingya and about 540,000 Bangladeshis in neighboring communities, a UNHCR press release said. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

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Italian university probes Chinese professor who singled out student from Taiwan

Editor09 mins

A university in Italy is investigating allegations of bullying by a Chinese lecturer following a classroom dispute about the status of Taiwan, local media reported. Complaints were made after Politecnico di Milano architecture lecturer and Chinese national Chen Zhen admonished a student from the democratic island of Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) nor formed part of the People’s Republic of China, for failing to register as “Chinese.” “I will talk something to Wang, but this is nothing related to the other two Iranian students, so I’m going to speak in Chinese with him, OK?” Chen is seen saying in English at the start of a video clip that he initially posted to his own account on the Chinese social media account WeChat. The clip was later picked up by Australia-based asylum-seeker Wang Lebao and amplified on Twitter. Chen continues in Chinese: “So, Wang, it’s not about your thesis. This has nothing to do with the other two students, so I’m going to say this in Chinese … I gave everyone a thesis template, asking them to fill out which city and which country they’re from. You wrote Taipei, Taiwan.” “The first thing I want to say is, the whole European Union, including Italy, sees Taiwan as a part of China,” he said. “You should know that not a single EU government, nor many others, officially recognizes Taiwan as a country.” “Your government may like to play word games to fool the people, but they’ve never amended the constitution,” he said. Taiwan was part of Japanese territory for the first half of the 20th century, before being handed over the 1911 Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek at the end of World War II. The islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu are still governed as a sovereign state under its constitution. Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. Credit: Politecnico di Milano ‘Unification’ widely rejected Recent opinion polls have shown that the majority of its 23 million population don’t identify as Chinese, and have no wish to be governed by Beijing, which has threatened to annex Taiwan by military force to achieve its idea of “unification.” The “paternalistic and aggressive tone” of Chen’s comments prompted the university investigate, the Today.it news website reported. Taiwan’s foreign affairs ministry condemned the treatment of Wang as “an abuse of power,” and said it had asked its representative office in Italy to follow up on the matter. University rector Ferruccio Resta confirmed to the office that the university’s disciplinary committee has begun an investigation into the incident to determine whether Chen’s actions had violated the school’s code of ethics and conduct. Lee Hsin-ying, Taiwan’s representative in Italy, told Taiwanese students in the country that what had happened was “very wrong,” and a bid to quash any sense of national identity among them. Article 2 of the code requires the university to “prevent and combat all kinds of discrimination, both direct and indirect,” banning words, actions and procedures that discriminates against people based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, religion, personal or political views, abilities, social background or age,” the website said. “The Polytechnic should consider it of primary importance not to allow the promotion of the Chinese Communist Party’s world view or propaganda in an Italian university,” the Today.it website said in the commentary article. “Pending further developments, we ask ourselves: will this lecturer continue to teach at the university, and promote [CCP leader] Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era?” the article said. Chinese ‘bullying’ blasted Italian politicians also hit out at the incident, saying it was “bullying.” “The Polytechnic of Milan should suspend this teacher should suspend this teacher who attacks and bullies a Taiwanese student by imposing on him a geopolitical lesson using the worst of Chinese propaganda-speak,” Gianni Vernetti, a former senator and deputy minister from the center-left Democratic Party, said via his Twitter account. And far-right Brothers of Italy senator Lucio Malan accused Chen of trying to “re-educate” the Taiwanese student, saying he would demand an explanation from the relevant government minister. Milan’s il Giornale newspaper also weighed in with an editorial on Monday noting that Taiwan still has formal diplomatic ties with the Vatican, and is for all practical purposes a sovereign state. The row came after the 59th Bologna Children’s Book Fair succumbed to pressure from the Chinese government to change the country of origin of Taiwanese artist Pei-Hsin Cho to “Taiwan, China.” Taiwan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou condemned the move, and accused China of trying to smear the island for political reasons. Cho had been holding a solo exhibition at the book fair after winning an award there last year. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan reiterates that Taiwan is a sovereign state of the Republic of China and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China,” Ou said. “The Chinese government has never ruled Taiwan for a day, and naturally has no right to claim to represent Taiwan in the international arena or to devalue the name of the country used by the people of Taiwan to participate in activities.” “Taiwan and Italy share universal values such as democracy, freedom, and human rights; Taiwan solemnly calls on relevant Italian departments to show courage and reject China’s inappropriate bullying,” she said. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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With an eye on China, Japan plans 2 + 2 talks with Philippines, India

Editor06 mins

Japan plans to hold so-called “two-plus-two” meetings with the Philippines and India to discuss maritime security including in the South China Sea, a move analysts say could send a message to Beijing about Tokyo’s determination to foster ties with like-minded partners. “Two-plus-two” are ministerial-level meetings that involve both foreign and defense ministers of participating countries. Unnamed diplomatic sources were quoted by Kyodo News Agency as saying that arrangements are being made for Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to meet with their Philippine counterparts in early April, and their Indian counterparts in mid-April in Tokyo. China’s growing maritime assertiveness is expected to be high on the agenda, and ministers are expected to renew their pledge to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region. Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana are expected to travel to Tokyo for the talks. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to RFA that Japan and the Philippines are considering the launch of a two-plus-two meeting but maintained that “the timing has not been decided yet.” Neither the Philippine nor Indian foreign ministries responded to requests for comment. The talks are being planned amid a complex geopolitical backdrop. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said Friday that he would meet with his “friend” Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss territorial disputes in the South China Sea on April 8. Duterte has had limited success in forging a more cooperative relationship with Beijing during his six-year term which ends in June. China and the Philippines are both claimants in the South China Sea alongside four other parties: Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. Beijing holds the most expansive claim. While Japan is not a claimant, it is a strategic rival of China, and the two powers have competing claims in the East China Sea. Huynh Tam Sang, an analyst at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam, said Tokyo’s plans for the two-plus-two talks “could send a nuanced message to Beijing about Japan’s determination to foster security ties with like-minded partners.” “If Japan could bring the Philippines and India on board for maritime deterrence, it will be a big deal,” said Sang. The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest this week over a Chinese Coast Guard vessel’s dangerous “maneuvering” in the South China Sea. Beijing rejected the accusation saying China has “sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the waters. Japanese and Philippine ministers are expected to discuss arms exports to the Philippines, Kyodo’s sources said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, India, March 19, 2022. Credit: Reuters Quad members When Japanese Prime Minister Kishida visited India last month, Japan and India also agreed to hold what would be their second two-plus-two meeting “at an early date.” But the timing of the meeting has not been decided, either, Japan says. Both Japan and India are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and important players in the Indo-Pacific so “it is only natural for India to also interact with Japan for two-plus-two,” said Sana Hashmi, visiting fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation. “Two-plus-two talks demonstrate the level of engagement and the willingness to strengthen the partnership by both sides,” Hashmi said, adding: “Of course, China’s aggression is a factor in countries’ willingness to advance ties, but India-Japan relations are multifaceted and two-plus-two dialogue is a part of this multifaceted engagement.” Besides the Philippines and India, Japan has held two-plus-two security talks with the United States, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Indonesia and Russia.

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‘Spying’ trial of Australian national, state TV anchor Cheng Lei held in secret

Editor08 mins

Australian national and Chinese state TV anchor Cheng Lei stood trial behind closed doors at a Beijing court on Thursday for alleged breaches of the national security law. Cheng was detained on suspicion of “spying” in August 2020, and has been held incommunicado for more than 18 months since. She stood trial at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court on Thursday, amid tight security, but accompanied by a lawyer, according to an Australian diplomat at the scene. Australian ambassador to China Graham Fletcher said he was denied permission to sit in the public gallery for the trial, on the grounds that the case “involved state secrets.” The refusal came despite a public request from Australian foreign minister Marise Payne, who called on Beijing to allow diplomats to observe the trial and observe basic standards of fairness, procedural justice and humane treatment. Fletcher told reporters he was concerned about the outcome for Cheng. Beijing-based criminal lawyer Zhang Dongshuo said the harshness of Cheng’s sentence — Chinese courts rarely acquit defendants outright — would likely depend on how sensitive the “secrets” involved were deemed to be. “If it is a question of more than one instance, for example, sentencing would be very different if there were more than 10 or less than 10 instances,” Zhang said. “Whether it involved the highest-level of classified information, what they call ‘top secret,’ or a lower level [also affects the outcome].” He said Cheng’s Australian passport is unlikely to help her much. “Nationality and identity are generally not considered in sentencing, but in some special cases, it could be affected by matters of national defense, foreign affairs and other matters, and special consideration may be given by the court,” Zhang said. Currently, sentencing for those found guilty of “illegally providing state secrets overseas” ranges between five and 10 years’ imprisonment, but lighter sentences have also been given, he said. If Cheng was seen as “cooperative,” for example, if she “confessed” to the charges and pleaded guilty, she could be released soon after the trial. “This possibility certainly exists,” Zhang said. “If the number and level of state secrets in Cheng Lei’s case aren’t high, then she could receive a fairly light sentence with time already served deducted.” But he said there was no guarantee, in the absence of further information about the charges faced by Cheng. Feng Chongyi, a professor of political science at the University of Technology Sydney, said the existence of any “confession” was the most important factor, however. “This is very important,” Feng said. “This is the scary part of the Chinese criminal law. It requires the person to plead guilty, and it depends on your attitude in making a confession.” “Cheng Lei is a mother of two children. That would make it easier to negotiate with the Chinese authorities and to reach a compromise,” he said. Bloomberg employee Meanwhile, little has been heard of Bloomberg News employee Haze Fan, who was taken away by state security police in December 2020 on suspicion of “endangering national security.” Chinese authorities have only said that investigation into her case is still ongoing. Both Fan and Cheng had been friends, helping to collect donations of medical supplies to aid front-line medical workers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, according to information publicly available on Facebook. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for Fan’s immediate and unconditional release, saying the allegations against her have no credibility. Cheng, 47, was born in Hunan and moved to Australia with her parents as a child. She once worked as an anchor on China Global Television News (CGTN), the international arm of CCTV. She was detained in August 2020 and formally arrested in February 2021. Cheng’s detention came amid increasingly strained ties between Beijing and Canberra, which is taking steps to limit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s propaganda outreach in the country, and which has barred Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from bidding for 5G mobile contracts. Risks of reporting While foreign journalists have long faced challenging conditions under CCP rule, now they are also dealing with growing hostility and intimidation, including online stalking, smear campaigns, hacking and visa denials, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) said in its annual report in February 2022. More than 60 percent of respondents had been obstructed by police or officials last year, while almost all journalists who went to Xinjiang were visible followed throughout their trips, while more than a quarter said their sources had been detained, harassed or questioned more than once following interviews. There is also a growing legal threat for journalists working in China, with the authorities encouraging a spate of lawsuits or the threat of legal action against foreign journalists, typically filed by sources long after they have explicitly agreed to be interviewed, the report said. It said “state-backed attacks” including online trolling of foreign journalists is also on the increase. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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