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Category: East Asia
Hong Kong could move to block Telegram app, citing ‘privacy violations’
Authorities in Hong Kong could move to block the popular Telegram messaging app, amid fears that the city could gradually be moving towards mainland China-style internet censorship. Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung told a Legislative Council (LegCo) committee on Monday that the government remains concerned about doxxing and other violations of personal data privacy, and that her office is looking at blocking Telegram to address the issue. Chung’s office issued 227 takedown orders to 12 online platforms between Oct. 8, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2021, requesting the removal of posts that revealed people’s personal details, something that was criminalized in an amended Privacy Ordinance last October. She said around 80 percent of the 1,111 posts had been removed. Chung said her office had also been involved in having people arrested for posting information about LegCo members — all of whom were elected from a slate of candidates strictly vetted for their loyalty to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — and their family members online. Such information, if it led to knowledge of lawmakers’ business interests and political connections, might be considered in the public interest elsewhere. Chung said her office was fighting an ongoing battle to prevent personal information being posted online, as people often repost the information after the takedown order has been implemented. She said it was much harder to enforce the law when it came to online platforms headquartered overseas. Chung said the newly amended law gives her office the power to restrict access to platforms that don’t comply with the city’s privacy laws, adding that her officials are compiling a blacklist of non-compliant platforms. Forum for social activism The pro-China Singtao Daily newspaper identified Telegram — which was widely used to coordinate civil disobedience and other actions during the 2019 protest movement — as the chief area of concern for the government. “Since 2019, the Privacy Commissioner has noticed that many of the messages that originated in Hong Kong were sent from a few groups on Telegram, and that most of them were political in nature, or involved the continuation of social activism,” the paper said. “Those targeted included government officials, LegCo members and even regular citizens.” Telegram said on Wednesday it was “surprised” by the claims of doxxing made by Hong Kong officials. “Doxxing content is forbidden on Telegram and our moderators routinely remove such content from around the world,” spokesperson Remi Vaughn said in a statement emailed to RFA. It said that while doxxing, illegal pornography or calls to violence would be deleted, the company wouldn’t carry out political censorship. “Any requests related to political censorship or limiting human rights such as the rights to free speech or assembly are not and will not be considered,” the statement said. Meanwhile, exiled Hongkongers in the U.K. are using public spaces to evade political censorship that would be meted out to them at home under a draconion national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the CCP, banning public dissent and political opposition. Art curator and former pro-democracy district councilor Clara Cheung moved to the U.K. with her family after it became clear that opposition politicians were increasingly being targeted under the national security law, which took effect from July 1, 2020. Now in Manchester, Cheung has put together an exhibit titled “The 24901-mile-wide Red Line,” showcasing works from Hong Kong artists that can no longer be publicly displayed in their home city. Milk Tea Alliance She also invited artists from Thailand and Myanmar, whose own protest movements were supported by Hong Kong protesters as part of the Milk Tea Alliance, to exhibit. The 24,901 miles refers to the earth’s circumference, and Beijing’s attempts to extend censorship far beyond China’s borders to the entire planet. Many of the works in the show would have been entirely unproblematic in Hong Kong just a few years ago, Cheung said. She said the exhibit was intended to encourage Hong Kong artists to keep testing the limits of government censorship. “Otherwise, the creative space will get smaller and smaller, and the red line will be more and more entrenched,” Cheung said. “Everyone will get squeezed tighter and tighter by the white terror,” she said, using a term that originated in Taiwan to describe political crackdowns on dissent under the authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang, which ended in the 1990s. “The people in charge of Hong Kong are giving us the impression … that curbs are actually more severe than those in mainland China,” Cheung said. “It’s as if the different departments in the Hong Kong government, like the state security police, prosecution service, etc, are fighting among themselves to see who is more loyal [to Beijing].” A Hongkonger viewing the exhibit who gave only the nickname A Chin said dissidents in Myanmar appear to have it still worse, however. “One artist in Myanmar died after being tortured for 12 hours … I don’t even know what to say to that; it weighs heavily on me,” A Chin said. “But it’s important for those of us who are still alive to see what we can do … you can’t stay in the pain of the past forever.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Report tracks China’s assertiveness at sea over the decades
China is the source of destabilization in the South China Sea and has been for the last couple decades, but Beijing’s assertiveness has less to do with its rivalry with the United States than is commonly assumed, a new report says. In the report “Dynamics of Assertiveness in the South China Sea” published by the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), an U.S. non-profit research institution, U.K.-based academic Andrew Chubb examines maritime disputes and the changes in state behavior of the most active claimants including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines and Vietnam. The report is based on based on data that measures the year-on-year changes in assertive behavior by the three countries between 1970 and 2015. Chubb identified four types of assertiveness which states are demonstrating while pursuing their interests in the South China Sea, ranging from verbal claim assertions via statements and diplomatic notes to threats of punishment and the use of force. One of the findings is that increasing Chinese assertiveness has been continuous in the South China Sea, with the PRC making assertive moves in most years since 1970. Furthermore, the PRC’s coercive actions, or those that involve the threat or use of punishment, became much more frequent after 2007, the year that marked the beginning of a rapid expansion of Chinese patrols and massive land reclamation efforts. China’s assertive actions have most frequently targeted the Philippines and Vietnam, the study found, and were generally not driven by dynamics in Sino-U.S. relations – although Washington, which is not a claimant in the South China Sea, has in the past decade become increasingly vocal about China’s behavior. More recently, it has also stepped up freedom of navigation operations and military drills in those waters. Deterrence strategy The study also draws conclusions about the stance of the China’s rival claimants. On Vietnam, it finds that as early as the 1990s, virtually every assertive move by Hanoi in the South China Sea concerned its disputes with China. Meanwhile, Vietnam remained a target for around 80 percent of PRC assertive actions through the 2000s. But by 2010, after three years of sustained Chinese advancements, Vietnam could no longer keep up with the PRC and from mid-2011 on, new Vietnamese assertive activities were mostly verbal declarations, as Hanoi switched its focus toward diplomacy, according to the study. Manila’s behavior in the South China Sea, on the other hand, has been more sporadic and inconsistent than that of the other claimants, and more likely to be one-off incidents rather than ongoing actions. The confrontation between Chinese maritime militia and the USNS Impeccable in the South China Sea in 2009. (Center for Strategic and International Studies). Serious U.S. concerns only started in March 2009 when the U.S. surveillance ship USNS Impeccable, believed to have been conducting hydrographic surveys, was harassed by Chinese maritime militia while operating near Hainan island in the South China Sea. The study finds that PRC’s assertive policy in the South China Sea has not been driven by its great-power competition with the U.S. China’s policy gathered steam about a decade before the sharp downturn in Sino-U.S. relations from 2017. The author says it is challenging for Washington to formulate a response to Bejing’s assertiveness while continuing to be seen as a stabilizing force in the region. “Given the protracted nature of the PRC build-up, it definitely means that the U.S. has a lot of challenges if it wants to use policy tools to try to deter the PRC from engaging assertive moves,” Chubb said. The author looked into “the idea of trying to counter the PRC’s strategy by deliberately raising the risk of escalation … that has been advocated by a number of influential policy thinkers over the years.” Chubb advised against it, saying that one of the greatest strengths of the U.S. in the region is being seen as a stabilizing force. “Looking at the situation over the past couple decades, it’s quite clear that the PRC is the source of destabilization and the U.S. presence has been by and large a stabilizing one.” “Deterrence strategy should focus on economic measures such as trade negotiations rather than actions that raise the risk of military escalation,” he said. ASEAN countries could also do more to send a “subtle but loud deterrence signal” that will force Beijing to make concessions or at least give it incentives for moderation. “Over the past couple decades, the intra-ASEAN disputes have been neutralized, ASEAN countries are no longer advancing claims against each other in an active manner,” Chubb said. But he noted that even “symbolic gestures would be taken very seriously by the PRC as a sign that countries in the region are forming a united front against China.”
Shanghai residents take issue with ‘fake’ propaganda claims about reopening
Residents of Shanghai have been reporting their city government to a national fraud hotline after claims of fully stocked, open supermarkets and eateries were posted by a ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) newspaper. Shanghai officials say the city has been free from any new COVID-19 infections for four days straight, as some shops have been allowed to open and public transport will likely resume at the weekend. Residents of housing compounds are now being allowed out on a limited basis, one person at a time, and with ongoing restrictions on their movements in the local area. Some 790,000 people remain under total lockdown, while 2.71 million are still subject to strict controls on their movements and 19.8 million are now in “prevention” areas requiring a green health code to travel or access goods and services outside the home. Citywide testing and contract-tracing will continue, hoping to close in fast on any new infections to contain outbreaks before they can spread, municipal health commission spokesman Zhao Dandan told journalists on Wednesday. Infected people and close contacts will continue to be sent to isolation facilities, Zhao said. Since the city government claimed it had achieved zero-COVID on Monday, officials have ramped up local visits and inspections, with municipal party secretary Li Qiang visiting Fengxian district and mayor Gong Zheng visiting Songjiang district on Tuesday, to encourage ongoing testing and tracing efforts. CCP newspaper the People’s Daily also published a graphic based on the Shanghai government’s plans to reopen food and beverage businesses from May 16, describing breakfast and dim sum bars, fast food joints, hair salons, supermarkets and farmers’ markets as opening up gradually. A delivery worker is seen delivering orders to residents next to a checkpoint on a closed street during a Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown in the Jing’an district in Shanghai, May 17, 2022. Credit: AFP Fraud hotline report Social media users hit out at the graphic, with some people posting screenshots showing they had reported the municipal authorities to a national fraud hotline. “Sort this account out,” one comment read, referencing the Shanghai government’s official Weibo account, while another wrote: “Sort out the Shanghai government, stop them talking rubbish with their eyes open.” “Please sort out @shanghaifabu,” another tip-off says, referencing the same account. The People’s Daily account later removed the graphic. A Xuhui district resident surnamed Zhou said senior officials appear to be ramping up public appearances as part of their “celebration” of zero-COVID. “The leaders will be putting on a show, including appearing under the Oriental Pearl tower,” Zhou said. “They have already begun rehearsals, and they seem to be getting ready to celebrate.” Zhou said the compound he lives in remains locked down, and he can’t go out even to buy daily necessities. “A lot of stores are still closed right now, so there’s no point in going out anyway,” Zhou told RFA. “Even if the stores are open, they have nothing in stock, nothing to buy.” “If you want to buy stuff, you still have to rely on group buying,” he said. Fresh fruit highly sought after Zhou said one of the most sought-after items is fresh fruit, with even apples currently selling for prices 50 percent higher than before lockdown. In a video clip posted to social media, a member of a neighborhood committee in Xuhui accused local residents of breaking disease control regulations by buying in fruit, and stop them from collecting their order. “All we want is to eat some fruit,” a woman says in the video. “It was banned until May 15, but we’re still not allowed to order it on May 16.” “Now there are several people dragging me away,” she says. “This is such bullshit. Don’t ordinary people have a right to live as well?” Current affairs commentator Zhang Jianping said many people are angry over what they say is fake news stories being peddled by the authorities. “Of course they’re going to be angry, if they’re living through hell in Shanghai right now,” Zhang said. “We should take seriously these accusations of fake news coming from the people of Shanghai.” “They should take a good look at their content. The police lied and released false information, so this post was bound to cause offense to people,” he said. Meanwhile, police detained a man surnamed Lu on Tuesday at the China Resources Vanguard supermarket in Global Harbor on suspicion of “conjuring up rumors from thin air,” the Shanghai government said. Lu had allegedly claimed that the supermarket was being forced to operate by the government under chaotic management and in filthy conditions. Lu was jailed on an administrative punishment by police in Shanghai’s Putuo district for “disturbing public order with made-up allegations,” it said. Administrative sentences of up to 15 days can be handed down by police to perceived troublemakers without trial. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
North Korea prioritizes vaccines for border soldiers as COVID wave hits
North Korea’s border patrol soldiers have been among the first to receive shots of the Sinovac vaccine hastily procured from China as the isolated country struggles to contain a wave of COVID-19 infections, North Korean sources said. The Korean Central News Agency reported that more than 1.2 million had fallen ill with an unspecified “fever” believed to be the highly contagious respiratory virus from the end of April until May 15. The announcement came only two days after North Korea first admitted that some of its citizens had COVID-19. Of the people who fell ill, more than 50 later died, the country said. Ryu Yong Chol, an official of the National Emergency Quarantine Command Center, said on Korean Central TV that there were 42 confirmed cases of the virus in Pyongyang and a total of 168 confirmed cases in seven cities and provinces. Leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized military forces to distribute vaccines in the nation of nearly 26 million people, many of whom have weakened immune systems from chronic malnourishment and a lack medical supplies. “The National Emergency Quarantine Command started administering Chinese vaccines to soldiers of the 31st Border Security Bureau brigade,” a military official from North Pyongan province told RFA on Sunday. Though vaccinations also have been given to Border Security Bureau and armistice units stationed in North Pyongan and Chagang provinces, which border China, the vaccination rate remains less than 1%, said the source, who declined to be named for safety reasons. News of COVID-19 infections surfaced after soldiers who had participated in a military parade on April 25 reported high fevers and respiratory symptoms and later tested positive for the disease. As of the beginning of May, the coronavirus has been spreading among members of the Border Security Bureau and soldiers stationed along the entire border region, the source said. Because of this, a delegation of the National Emergency Quarantine Command was urgently dispatched to China to obtain doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, he said. “The delegation of the National Emergency Quarantine Command went to China, contacted the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac with the cooperation of the trade representative in China, and requested support for the COVID-19 vaccine,” the source told RFA. Sinovac provided that vaccines for free, he said, adding that it was likely that Chinese authorities ordered the company to give the doses to North Korea. “The vaccines from China were immediately brought in by sea and the Border Security Bureau patrols and soldiers stationed on the border were vaccinated first,” the source said. “It’s a state secret how many people can be vaccinated with Chinese vaccines, which have just now come in for the first time.” ‘Death toll will increase’ A trader from North Pyongan province told RFA on Sunday that the National Emergency Quarantine Command initially announced that there were 296,180 of “fever” cases nationwide as of May 14. “In fact, the published figures show fever and respiratory symptoms are being reported at rates more than a few times greater than that,” he said. North Korean officials requested COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Sinovac because they can be stored and transported at normal refrigeration temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36-46 degrees Fahrenheit), the trader said. “If sufficient amount of vaccines are imported in the future, Pyongyang citizens and all military personnel across the country will be vaccinated,” he said. North Korean citizens, however, are going untreated due to lack of access to medicines, including those to treat common cold symptoms, a medical source and a resident of North Pyongan province told RFA. As COVID-19 cases soar, hospitals are quickly becoming overrun, said the medical source, who declined to be named in order to speak freely. “It looks like that the death toll will increase because they will not receive any medicine to alleviate their symptoms,” she said on Sunday. Cold and fever medicines were not available after the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the country’s ruling party, began operating the emergency quarantine system at a maximum level, she said. The medical professional warned that people who are able to get their hand on cold medicines must be careful of fake product that could harm them. “Sometimes, pharmacists and drug dealers sell cold medicines, but most of them are fake,” she told RFA. “In fact, a patient with a high fever from Sunam district in Chongjin [North Hamgyong province] died of side effects after taking a cold medicine manufactured by the Pyongyang pharmaceutical factory.” But a resident in North Pyongan province told RFA that all cold medicines manufactured in neighboring China are gone, as are the counterfeit drugs made by state-owned pharmaceutical companies. “As the number of coronavirus patients rapidly increases these days, fever and cold medicines have become unavailable,” said the resident, who declined to be named for safety reasons. Meanwhile, the cost of herbal medicines unrelated to coronavirus treatment has skyrocketed, with the price of uhwang-cheongsimhwan, a pill made from about 30 herbs used to treat various symptoms such as numb limbs, apoplexy and epilepsy in traditional Korean medicine, more than doubling to 25,000 North Korean won (U.S. $4.16) from 10,000 won (U.S. $1.66). The price of uhwang-angunghwan, another herbal medicine, has risen to 35,000 won from 15,000 won, and the price of sochewan is up to 8,000 won, the source added. Neighborhood monitors have stepped in to try to prevent the number of infections from growing by instructing residents to perform basic hygiene. “The head of the neighborhood watch unit visits each household in the morning and evening, emphasizing that washing hands and gargling with salt water is an effective way to prevent coronavirus,” said the resident of North Pyongan province. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Uyghur university lecturer confirmed detained in China’s Xinjiang region
A Uyghur lecturer from a university in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region has been sentenced to prison for “disregarding the national language,” by failing to teach in Chinese, a Uyghur source in the town of Ghulja and local officials told RFA. Dilmurat Awut, 65, was a senior literature teacher at Ili Pedagogical University in Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) and was deputy Chinese Communist Party secretary of the school’s Marxism Institute, said a source in the city who has knowledge of the situation. Awut is among a group of more than 20 educators at the university that an earlier RFA report said have been detained. Not all of the names of the educators have been publicly released. Awut held administrative positions in the school’s institutes of political education and philology until his abduction in 2017. He was well respected but at times clashed with the Chinese administrators at the school, said the source, who declined to be named for safety reasons. When government authorities banned of the usage of Uyghur language at the university, Awut sometimes continued to use his native tongue whenever his students had difficulty mastering the course material when presented in Mandarin Chinese, the official language. In 2017, Awut was investigated on allegations that he taught in the Uyghur language and was sentenced to prison for the transgression, local education officials said. When RFA called the university to inquire about the “crimes” of teachers there, including Awut, an official in the Education Department said he could not provide information because it was a “state secret.” A disciplinary officer at the university, however, confirmed that Awut was among the teachers who had been detained. The officer did not know the length of Awut’s sentence. “I heard that Dilmurat was abducted; that’s what I know,” he said. “The rest I don’t have the authority to know. I don’t know how many years [he was sentenced to]. I don’t know this information since I’m not a member of law enforcement.” Behtiyar Nasir, a student of Awut’s in the 1980s who now lives in the Netherlands, recalled his former teacher as being an outspoken, cheerful and active person. “Dilmurat taught us philology,” said Behtiyar Nasir, who is now the deputy inspector general of the World Uyghur Congress. “He was medium height and white faced. A friendly teacher.” A former Ghulja educator named Yasinjan, who now lives in Turkey, recalled that Awut had been questioned several times on suspicion of “opposing the national language.” “Dilmurat Awut was investigated a few times by the Chinese authorities for not speaking in Chinese in school,” he said. One of Awut’s former students who now lives overseas told RFA that the university lecturer has two children, and that his son, Dilyar, is living in the United States. RFA has been unable to locate the son. Before 2017, Chinese authorities sought to arrest Uyghurs in Xinjiang who were known to have anti-China sentiments, the source in Ghulja said. Since then, however, officials have abducted Uyghurs simply considered “likely to resist,” including the university teachers, because of their social influence and personal character even if they have not actively shown resistance to the China’s repressive policies, the source said. Some of the detainees ended up in prison, while others were interned in China’s vast network of “re-education” camps in Xinjiang, he said. Translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Tibetans forced to move to make way for Chinese power plant
Residents of a Tibetan village in northwestern China’s Qinghai province are being forced from their homes to make way for a government-ordered hydropower station, with monks living in a nearby monastery also told to leave, Tibetan sources say. Monks at the Atsok Gon Dechen Choekhor Ling monastery in Tsolho (in Chinese, Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have petitioned Chinese officials to rescind the order, a Tibetan resident of the area told RFA this week. “But the Chinese local supervisor and other authorities have been visiting the Tibetans and warning them to relocate regardless of the cost,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Monks from the monastery are also being summoned for meetings and ordered to agree to relocation,” the source added. Construction of the power plant was authorized by the Chinese government, with supervision of the work assigned to a company called Machu after an investigation into the project’s viability concluded in December 2021, RFA’s source said. Dechen Choekhor Ling monastery was founded in 1889 and is currently home to 157 monks, with monks under the age of 18 forbidden since 2021 by government order to live or study there, sources say. Frequent standoffs Chinese development projects in Tibetan areas have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of improperly seizing land and disrupting the lives of local people. Many projects result in violent suppression and the detention of project organizers, with intense pressure put on local populations to comply with government wishes. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, an NGO based in Dharamsala, India, has reported that China’s development drives in Tibet have pulled the region closer to economic and cultural integration with Beijing. Projects have failed to benefit the Tibetans themselves, however, with rural Tibetans often moved from traditional grazing lands and into urban areas where the best jobs are held by Han Chinese. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
California church shooter in Taiwan ‘peaceful reunification’ group linked to Beijing
California church killer David Chou has close ties to a Taiwan ‘peaceful reunification’ group linked to the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, a body that has been designated a representative of a foreign government by the U.S. government, according to a report on its founding ceremony. Chou, who opened fire on a Taiwanese lunch banquet at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Irvine, CA on May 15, killing one person and injuring five others before being restrained, was pictured at the setting up of the Las Vegas Association for China’s Peaceful Unification on April 2, 2019, holding up a banner calling for the “eradication of pro-independence demons,” according to an April 3, 2019 report on the Chinese LVNews website. The group — whose president Gu Yawen warned the people of Taiwan that ‘peaceful unification is the only way to avoid war’ in his inaugural speech — is a local branch of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU) under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s United Front Work Department. “The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organ tasked with co-opting and neutralizing threats to the party’s rule and spreading its influence and propaganda overseas,” the State Department said in a statement in 2020. “The CCP regards this party apparatus as a ‘magic weapon’ to advance Beijing’s policies.” In the same statement, the State Department designated NACPU a foreign mission of China. “The UFWD … uses front organizations like the NACPU to advance [Beijing]’s propaganda and malign influence,” then Secretary of State Mike Pence said. Taiwan has never been ruled by the CCP, nor formed part of the People’s Republic of China, but its nationals are regarded as Chinese citizens under another administration by Beijing. The majority of Taiwan’s 23 million people say they have no wish to give up their country’s sovereignty or lose their democratic way of life under Chinese rule, but CCP leader Xi Jinping has said “unification” is inevitable, and has refused to rule out the use of military force to annex the democratic island. David Chou holds up a banner calling for the ‘eradication of pro-independence demons,’ at the Las Vegas Association for China’s Peaceful Unification, April 2, 2019. Credit: LVNews ‘Politically motivated hate’ Orange County police said Chou’s actions were fueled by “politically motivated hate.” Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes said Chou — who reports said was born in Taiwan to parents from China — had left a note in his car showing he didn’t agree that “Taiwan is a country independent of China,” and had expressed dissatisfaction with political tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after he entered Geneva Presbyterian Church and fired multiple rounds, striking six victims, Orange County police said. “At the time of the shooting, members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which has had a space at the church since 2009, were having a lunch banquet to welcome a pastor who had recently returned from Taiwan,” it said. Five victims sustained gunshot wounds and were taken to local hospitals for treatment, while the deceased was identified as Dr. John Cheng, 52, pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds when he intervened and tackled the suspect, enabling others to rush in and hogtie Chou to prevent further carnage. “There is no doubt that Dr. Cheng’s actions that day saved the lives of many other church members. He is a hero and will be remembered by this community as such,” Barnes told journalists, adding that Chou appeared to have superglued the church doors shut and had deposited spare ammunition and Molotov cocktails around the building ahead of time. The five injured victims, four men and a woman aged 66-92, were taken to a local hospital, where they are being treated, police said. The banquet had been in honor of pastor Chang Hsuan-hsin, who had returned to the church after a two-year absence, local pastor Hwang Chun-sheng told RFA. “Our pastor and elder hadn’t been back to California for more than two years, so most of the older members of the church wanted to go to church for that day’s service,” Hwang said. “[Dr. Cheng] decided he would bring his mother to church [for the occasion]. ‘Violence is never the answer’ Chien Ta, a former member of a NACPU branch in the U.S., said more violence could occur over the status of Taiwan, which is a sovereign country formally ruled by the 1911 Republic of China founded by Sun Yat-sen whose government fled to the island after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists in China. “If we don’t deal with this kind of nationalistic hatred, we will definitely see more intense conflicts on the issue of unification or independence in future,” Chien warned. Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, who has insisted that any dialogue must be on a government-to-government basis, expressed her condolences to Cheng’s family via social media. “I want to convey my sincere condolences on the death of Dr. John Cheng & my hopes for a prompt recovery for those injured in the shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in California,” Tsai tweeted. “Violence is never the answer.” Taiwanese lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lin Ching-yee said via Facebook that the shooting was driven by a “genocidal” ideology, calling for greater awareness of the possibility of politically motivated killings of Taiwanese overseas, in addition to the threat of Chinese invasion. Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang said Tsai had asked Taiwan’s top representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim to visit California soon and support the victims’ families. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Taiwan Navy ship grounded after a crew member tests positive for COVID-19
A Taiwanese warship has been grounded after a crew member tested positive for coronavirus, the second vessel to be hit by an outbreak of Covid-19 within just two days, Taiwan’s Navy has confirmed. The island is experiencing a new wave of infection, with over 60,000 new cases reported every day for almost a week and the daily tally is expected to exceed 100,000 later this week. Navy Spokesman Rear Adm. Feng Kuo-wei said in a statement that the Keelung-class destroyer of the 168th Fleet has just returned from a mission at sea when the crew member got sick. The whole crew is being isolated for PCR tests, and those who have Covid will be quarantined in accordance to the government’s regulations, Feng said, adding that the ship’s combat readiness is not affected. The Taiwanese Navy has four guided missile Keelung-class destroyers, bought from the U.S., each has a maximum capacity of 250 crew members. On Monday another ship, a Chi Yang-class frigate – the Fong Yang – was ordered to return to base after several crew members tested positive. The number of infected personnel has not been disclosed. Earlier this month, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told a committee at the Taiwanese legislature that more than 1,000 officers and soldiers had tested positive for COVID-19, but fewer than 100 of them had been hospitalized. Most of the cases only have mild symptoms, Chiu said. More than 98 percent of Taiwanese military personnel have had two jabs and around 89 percent have been triple-vaccinated. Taiwan’s army has about 180,000 service members.
Protests at Peking University as China’s Xi moves to silence ruling party elders
Hundreds of students protested at the weekend on the campus of Peking University (Beida) after a fence was put in place segregating them from the rest of the university, which continues to move around freely. The protest comes as ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping seeks to eliminate public dissent, especially criticism his flagship zero-COVID policy, ahead of the 20th party congress later this year, when he will seek an unprecedented third term in office. In a video clip sent to RFA, Beida party secretary Chen Baojian appealed to the students to disperse, and photos shown by RFA showed part of the fence on the ground. It was unclear who had dismantled it. “Please go back to your dormitory in an orderly manner,” Chen tells the students by loudspeaker. “If anyone, any student has an opinion tonight, we can talk about it.” Shortly afterwards, the sound of something metallic falling to the ground is heard, and students applaud. Chen then appears to take issue with students filming the standoff on their phones. “Classmates … please put down your mobile phones to protect Peking University,” he said. The crowd of students replies: “Tear it down! Tear it down!” Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, 94, whose comments expressing unhappiness with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping’s bid for a third term in office, when leaders since Mao Zedong have been limited to two terms apiece, appears to triggered a call by party mouthpiece the People’s Daily for retired leaders “not to make arbitrary comments about key policies of the Central Committee.” File photo by Reuters. Faculty over students Political commentator Ji Feng said the thing that has angered students the most is that the restrictions only apply to them, and not to faculty or staff at the university. “They have sent me things which show that students and faculty used to come and go by the same door, and all mixed together, but now they want to segregate them,” Ji told RFA. “They can’t enforce restrictions on Beida faculty, because they live in the same blocks as the middle-ranking cadres and university leaders,” he said. “They’re not going to impose lockdown on themselves.” “So faculty are allowed in, but the students aren’t; they’re all being fenced off in their dormitories,” Ji said. “That’s why the students were protesting.” Chen Baojian was appointed to his position as deputy vice chancellor and party secretary in February, with responsibility for the student body, the CCP Youth League and health and security matters, sources told RFA. “He is worried that the students … will spread the virus, as if faculty wouldn’t,” Ji said. “There hasn’t been a large-scale student protest in Beijing for many years.” “If they don’t deal well with this, they could wind up starting one.” The protest at a university will be highly sensitive for China’s political elite. Sun Fugui, who was expelled from Shandong’s Ludong University for opposing zero-COVID measures there, said Beida has a reputation for political struggle. “Students at [these famous schools] have a broader perspective [and will be asking] if there is any scientific basis for these disease control and prevention measures,” Sun said. “If there are any violations of their personal rights and interests, they will fight back for them. They have a stronger sense of citizenship and rights protection than regular college students, that’s for sure,” he said. “Peking University students have this spirit, this tradition in their blood,” he said. “Other Chinese colleges and universities look to Beida, and look to Tsinghua [University].” An anonymous Beida student commented online: “With this … incident, we are witnessing the resurgence of the tradition of political struggle among Beida students.” Online comments also said staff had been calling on students to report each other to the authorities for attending the protest, and hand over their footage or photos as evidence. Snuffing out critics The protest came as the CCP called on retired party elders to keep quiet on topics where they disagree with Xi, possibly in response to reported criticisms made by a former premier. In a possible response to reported comments from former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji about Xi’s bid to serve a third term in office, party mouthpiece the People’s Daily called on retired leaders “not to make arbitrary comments about key policies of the Central Committee.” The article, titled “Opinion on strengthening party building among retired cadres in the new era,” said party committees at all levels should call retired members in for lectures, adding that overseas retirees should “strictly adhere to the relevant regulations.” Retired officials should also refrain from “disseminating politically negative remarks, and from taking part in illegal social organizations,” the article said, calling for additional study, counseling and training for retired officials. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Zhu, 94, was unhappy with Xi’s bid for a third term in office, when leaders since Mao Zedong have been limited to two terms apiece. The paper said many in the CCP including former Premier Zhu Rongji have recently voiced their opposition to Xi Jinping’s move to break the established party system of leadership succession and plan to be re-elected this year. Citing CCP sources, the paper said that the left-leaning economic reforms spearheaded by Xi will also likely be postponed due to opposition within party ranks, amid an economic slowdown sparked by the zero-COVID policy. The new campaign targeting retired CCP cadres will require them to “stand firm in the face of major right and wrong, to be loyal to the party, to obey the party’s commands [and] to act responsibly with regard to the party,” the People’s Daily article said. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Shanghai to ease lockdown if cases keep falling, but mass health checks to remain
Authorities in Shanghai on Monday announced the easing over the next six weeks of a grueling lockdown that has seen the city’s 26 million residents mostly confined to their homes, with many deprived of urgent medical care or essential supplies. Restrictions on movements around the city — which are tracked and regulated through a series of “grid management” checks and roadblocks using the Health Code app — will remain at least until next week, when the city will move towards “normalization,” should COVID-19 cases continue to fall, officials said on Monday. Full reopening may take place in June. On Monday, taxis and private cars were allowed back on the road in districts that have already attained zero-COVID status, including Jinshan and Fengxian, while airlines began operating a limited number of domestic flights, with some train services also scheduled to resume. Some supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies reopened on Monday, with some hair salons and fresh produce markets also allowed to open for business, while metro and bus services are slated to make a comeback from May 22. However, residents have been warned that more intense monitoring via the app will take the place of restrictions, along with more frequent PCR tests at thousands of testing stations across the city, as many venues will require a recent negative COVID-19 for entry. Jiading district resident surnamed Zheng said his residential compound remains under lockdown, despite the announcements. “We can’t leave the compound; we’re only allowed to move around inside it,” Zheng told RFA. “It will remain closed for another week or so.” “Restrictions and controls are particularly strict in Yangpu district, because they are still finding large numbers of positive results every time they do PCR testing,” he said. A photo of a 93-year-old woman in Shanghai who was given up for dead and sent to a funeral home from the city’s Zhoupu Hospital and sent back to the nursing home after being found alive, posted by the woman’s grandson. Credit: Zhuge (her grandson). Instant noodles Commenting on a viral video in which Qingpu district residents throw instant noodles at members of the local ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) neighborhood committee after discovering them in a secret cake-eating session, Zheng said he understood people’s frustration. “You can’t eat instant noodles every day for two months,” he said. “People who have come to Shanghai from elsewhere have had it particularly tough.” “The neighborhood committees keep a lot of the good stuff back for themselves … they distributed pork chops with maggots in them the other day … and we’ve not had a handout of fruit in two months,” Zheng said. Meanwhile, the relatives of a 93-year-old woman in Shanghai who was given up for dead and sent to a funeral home from Zhoupu Hospital said she had been sent back to the nursing home after being found alive. The woman’s grandson, who gave only the surname Zhuge, posted a photo of his grandmother from the nursing home after her return. Jiangsu-based current affairs commentator Zhang Jianping said the incident was “terrifying.” “This kind of large-scale lockdown, with makeshift hospitals, is a kind of humanitarian disaster,” Zhang said. “The disease and control prevention measures in Shanghai are a bit like the [political turmoil of the] Cultural Revolution, and seem more like disease prevention in the Middle Ages, treating people like livestock,” he said. Alive in a body bag Earlier this month, authorities in Shanghai announced punishments for five officials in the city’s Putuo district after an elderly man was found alive in a body bag en route between a care home and a morgue. Putuo civil affairs bureau chief Zhang Jiandong, section chief Liu Yinghua and social development director Wu Youcheng had been fired pending a ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) disciplinary case against them, while a doctor surnamed Tian was struck off for signing the man’s death certificate and placed under police investigation. Zhang said part of the problem is the suppression of any kind of criticism of government policy during the lockdown, which was the result of orders from the CCP Central Committee and leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. “Shanghai’s disease control measures were totally chaotic, but you can’t express your opinion,” he said. “If you do, officials will say that you are wavering on the zero-clearing policy.” Lu Jun, founder of the Beijing Yirenping Center, a non-profit health organization, said the zero-COVID policy has given rise to many human rights violations. “These actions have caused extremely serious consequences and had a huge impact, and violated the legitimate rights and interests of the people,” Lu told RFA. “But civil rights protection in China has never been an easy task, and the cost of doing it is very high,” he said. Lu said a number of rights lawyers had formed an advisory group to help people sue the government for violations of their rights as a result of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Claims Legal Advisory Group calls on families of victims to collect as much evidence as possible it send it to the group, which helps file compensation claims with the government. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
