- contact@ij-reportika.com
Category: East Asia
Philippine military chief demands China pay US$1 million in damages for clash
The Philippines’ military chief on Thursday demanded that China pay 60 million pesos (US$1 million) in damages incurred during a violent confrontation between its coast guard and Filipino troops in the South China Sea last month. China Coast Guard personnel, armed with pikes and machetes, punctured Philippine boats and seized firearms in the June 17 incident near Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin and called Ren’ai Jiao by Beijing. One Filipino sailor lost a finger in the clash, the third such encounter this year in which Philippine personnel have been hurt on missions to rotate and resupply troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal. “I demanded the return of seven firearms that were taken by the Chinese coast guard,” said Gen. Romeo Brawner at a press conference. “They destroyed our equipment and when we estimated the cost of the damage it’s 60 million pesos.” The compensation does not include the cost of surgery for the Filipino soldier who lost a finger, said Brawner, who outlined his demand for compensation in a letter to Beijing. Brawner made the comments after a command conference between military officials and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in which security challenges and threats facing the Southeast Asian nation were discussed. Marcos called for de-escalation of tension with China in the South China Sea, the Philippine military chief said. However, rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre would continue, Brawner added. On Tuesday, Manila and Beijing agreed to reduce hostilities “without prejudice to their respective positions” at a regular bilateral meeting. China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes each year, putting it at odds with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan. In 2016, an international tribunal refuted the legal basis for nearly all of China’s expansive maritime and territorial claims in the waterway. It said that Beijing’s insistence on holding “historic rights” to the waters were inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS. Beijing has never recognized the 2016 arbitration or its outcome. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
Police host activities for Uyghurs in Xinjiang on Islamic holiday
On an important Muslim holiday last month, police and security officials in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang set up camps to keep an eye on Uyghurs, took Uyghurs to see communist-themed films, and visited Uyghur homes to make sure they weren’t practicing Muslim religious activities. The moves around the Qurban Eid, also known as Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, which fell on June 17 this year in Xinjiang — one of two official Muslim holidays in China — appeared to be attempts to undermine the observation of the Muslim holy day, outside experts said. Chinese authorities are trying to weaken Uyghurs’ ethnic and religious identity and forge their loyalty to the Chinese state and the Communist Party, while maintaining security, the experts said. “It looks like they are trying to Sinicize Eid,” said Erkin Ekrem, a professor at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, and vice president of the World Uyghur Congress. “The Chinese government is trying to change the Eid customs, prayers and traditions [by] making Uyghurs consume food along with Chinese people [and] adding Chinese elements to the Eid festivals, thereby removing the Muslim Eid elements,” he added. RELATED STORIES China pushes ‘Sinicization of Islam’ in Xinjiang as Ramadan arrives Most Uyghurs banned from praying on Islamic holiday, even in their homes Chinese use Muslim holiday for propaganda purposes, celebrating with Uyghurs Before 2017, when the Chinese government started cracking down on religious activities in the predominantly Muslim region, men would observe the holiday by visiting mosques for special prayers, cooking meals, spending time with relatives and welcoming guests to their homes. Since then, authorities have also forbidden Islamic dress for women, beards for men, and Muslim names for children. They have also prevented Uyghurs from fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and encouraged the consumption of pork and alcohol, which Islam forbids. Chinese national consciousness On the eve of Eid, Ma Xingrui, Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, visited communities in Urumqi, the region’s capital, and asked residents to strengthen Chinese national consciousness and insist on the Sinicization of Islam. Public security officers celebrated the holiday with Uyghurs and other ethnicities in Xinjiang and promoted “the common consciousness of the Chinese nation,” the Xinjiang Daily reported on June 19. A screen displays Chinese President Xi Jinping near a mosque in Kashgar, northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, June 4, 2019. (AFPTV) The Keriye County Public Security Bureau in Hotan invited teachers at area primary schools, students and parents on June 16 to participate in social activities at a police camp to “build strong Chinese national consciousness and celebrate Eid,” the report said. On the same day, police in Qitai county in the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture invited Uyghur “relatives” with whom they had been paired up under a previous monitoring program to visit a museum to watch communist-themed films. On June 17, members of the Public Security Bureau in the prefecture’s Manas county visited Uyghur homes and danced with residents, who had no choice but to join in, the news report said. “The police showed their concern for the public by their actions and also planted the seeds of national unity deep in everyone’s hearts,” it said. Assimilation policies Henryk Szadziewski, director of research at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said public security agents interfere in Muslim holidays like Eid al-Adha to push assimilationist policies in Xinjiang. Uyghur identification with Turkic culture along with a belief in Islam and related social and political values are considered a threat because they are outside the control of the Chinese state, he told Radio Free Asia. Attendees watch video of a Muslim praying during a government reception held for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Beijing, China, May 13, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP) “China’s policies are intended to weaken those kinds of affinities outside which are beyond the borders of China and to ensure Uyghurs allegiances are pinned to the Chinese state and, of course, the Chinese Communist Party,” Szadziewski said. But the Chinese government separates Islam in China from Islam in the rest of the world, Erkin Ekrem of the World Uyghur Congress said. “In China, the Sinicization of Islam is being carried out vigorously,” he told RFA. “They are trying to create a nation away from Islamic beliefs and customs.” “Deemphasizing the religion adding in this secular Chinese national consciousness [is] meant to delink Eid al-Adha from its religious origin,” he said. “That is one of the aims here.” Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Seven dead, including 3 children, killed in Myanmar clash
Shelling during a clash in northern Myanmar killed seven civilians on Wednesday, including three children, residents told Radio Free Asia, as fighting between junta troops and ethnic minority insurgents escalated following the breakdown of a ceasefire. Fighters from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and their junta army rivals blamed each other for the death of the civilians when shells hit their homes in the town of Lashio in northern Shan state. Fighting between the junta soldiers from the Northeast Command and the autonomy-seeking rebels resumed on June 25 after the collapse of a ceasefire brokered by Chinese officials in a series of meetings that began in January. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army announced the capture of 26 junta camps in the days following the end of the ceasefire. RELATED STORIES Junta troops destroy roads in northern Myanmar as renewed fighting looms China awaits junta approval to resume border trade with Myanmar’s Shan state Talks between Myanmar rebel alliance and junta focus on Chinese interests The fighting in Lashio escalated on Wednesday with one shell killing a family of six in their house, said a resident, who declined to be identified in fear of reprisals. “It happened while they were eating in the kitchen. The dead bodies have been sent to the morgue,” he said. “We’ve heard the sound of heavy guns firing all morning but I’m not sure if the junta army or the revolutionary group was responsible.” Those killed were Zel Zaung, 14, Dwel Aung and Zel Nwel, both 15, Sai Khon and May Yi, both 30, and Mar Gyi, 70. A shell hit another Lashio house early in the day, killing a woman and wounding two men, residents said. RFA could not confirm their identities. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army and civilians blamed the junta for the deaths but the junta blamed the rebels in posts on its Telegram channels. RFA called Shan state’s junta spokesperson Khun Thein Maung for more information on the attacks but calls went unanswered. Fighting between the two groups has also affected Namhu and Nampawng villages near Lashio town. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Philippines ‘ready’ to discuss continental shelf with Vietnam
The Philippines says it is willing to hold talks with Vietnam after it called for consultations on a Philippine submission on an extended continental shelf claim in the South China Sea. “We are ready to engage Vietnam on possible ways forward that would help achieve a mutually beneficial solution to South China Sea issues in accordance with international law, particularly the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS],” the Philippine department of foreign affairs said. The Philippines also welcomed Vietnam’s recognition of the submission, filed on June 14 with the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, or CLCS, to register the Philippines’ entitlement to an extended continental shelf in the West Palawan region of the South China Sea. On June 20, responding to Manila’s submission, Hanoi did not protest outright but instead said that while coastal states had the right to determine their outer continental shelf boundaries under UNCLOS, when submitting their claims “they must respect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of other relevant coastal nations with opposite or adjacent coasts.” A spokesperson for Vietnam said it stayed ready to hold talks with the Philippines to seek a solution that was mutually beneficial for both countries. Meanwhile, China has rejected the Philippine submission, saying it infringed upon China’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction and violated international law. Beijing says it holds “historic rights” over most of the South China Sea but an arbitral tribunal under UNCLOS in 2016 rejected all of its claims. The Philippine submission, reinforcing the tribunal ruling, has not named China as a party for negotiations on the continental shelf. China and the Philippines have recently been involved in tense confrontations over some reefs that both claim but lie within Philippine waters in the South China Sea. US officials on Vietnam visit warns of ‘irresponsible’ China Philippines ‘monitoring’ Vietnam’s South China Sea island building South China Sea dispatch: Excitement, fear fill Scarborough Shoal voyage Acceptable solution Nguyen Hong Thao, professor of international law at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, or DAV, noted Manila’s willingness to discuss the delimitation of maritime boundaries with the relevant countries. “Vietnam and the Philippines have been maintaining solidarity and cooperation for the common good,” he told RFA. It is unclear when the consultation is expected to begin. The CLCS said it would look at the Philippine submission in a session between January and March next year. The continental shelf can extend beyond 200nm to a maximum of 350nm from the shore, or baseline. (The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea) The extended continental shelf is the stretch of seabed that extends to a maximum of 350 nautical miles (648 km) from the shore of a coastal state, which has exclusive rights to explore it or exploit its natural resources. However, the Philippine submission may overlap with previous submissions by Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as with a Vietnam-Malaysia joint submission in 2009, against which the Philippines protested. In a recent opinion piece, DAV’s Thao argued that maritime limits, including the overlapping outer limits of the continental shelf in the South China Sea, need to be agreed upon by the countries involved. He warned of a new “battle of note verbales,” or diplomatic notes sent to the U.N. secretary-general to express concern, from neighbors of the Philippines. The CLCS cannot make a determination if another party objects, and that is why in the immediate future, “the Philippines may consider withdrawing from its objection to the Vietnam-Malaysia joint submission and negotiating with these two countries to find an acceptable solution,” the legal expert suggested. RFA contacted the Philippine foreign ministry for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication. Edited by Mike Firn.
Body cams prevent North Korean customs agents from living off bribes
To cut down on rampant bribery, North Korean customs agents checking truck shipments coming across the border from China are now required to wear body cameras, a customs official and a truck driver told Radio Free Asia. That’s cut off a lucrative source of income for the customs agents, suddenly making it difficult for them to repay high-interest loans they took out to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down trade with China, the customs agent said. “They borrowed at 100% annual interest, so their debt doubles every year,” a customs official, from the border city of Hyesan in Ryanggang province, told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The reason they cannot receive bribes is because of the tiny cameras attached to their bodies,” he said. A North Korean soldier holds a camera as he looks at the South, April 17, 2017, at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North and South Korea. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP) Prior to the pandemic, customs officials were able to pad their paltry government salaries with bribes from smugglers who either imported banned items or lied about the volume of imports to hide profits from the government. But when COVID hit, North Korea closed its borders to trade and the customs officials lost their livelihoods. To survive, many borrowed money from donju – North Korea’s wealthy class – promising to pay them back once trade with China resumed, the customs agent said. Many border officials took out high interest loans of 30,000 yuan (US$4,100), and some borrowed as much as 150,000 yuan ($20,500). They were used to living the high life and did very little to reduce their spending during the time that the border was closed, thinking it would be relatively easy for them to repay, the official said. Unexpected twist In May, trade resumed, but the border officials never foresaw that authorities would require them to wear body cams – making it nearly impossible to collect bribes. “The reason why cameras were installed on custom officials and security agents’ bodies was because there were many cases of illegal Chinese mobile phones and SIM cards being smuggled into the country through customs trade channels,” the customs official said. These Chinese cell phones allow people living near the border to access Chinese networks and call outside the country, potentially letting people pass along information North Korean authorities want to keep control of. “This is fundamentally to block the path of internal secrets from being leaked outside the country through illegal mobile phones,” the official said. Meanwhile, the loan sharks are pressing the officials to pay up. “Hyesan customs officials and security agents are unable to go home at night,” he said. “This is because the donju come to the homes of customs officials and security agents and abusively demand repayment.” A truck driver who used to drive through the border at Hyesan told RFA that it was easy for customs officials to spot smugglers and their smuggled goods. “Customs truck drivers smuggled televisions from Chinese truck drivers until 2019,” he said. He said that since the border reopened, all imported goods come on the backs of Chinese trucks, which are then unloaded into North Korean warehouses on the border. North Korean workers who load and unload Chinese trucks used to be friendly with the Chinese drivers, sharing cigarettes and having casual conversations with them, but now they are told not to even make any verbal contact. “If they say a single word with them, they will be immediately taken to the State Security Department for an investigation and be kicked out of their work group,” the driver said. A solider films military officers following a mass dance performance, May 10, 2016, in the capital’s main ceremonial square in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters) In the more unusual cases where North Korean trucks export goods to China, they are allowed to go only 400 meters (yards) into Chinese territory, and once empty back out – and are followed by security guards, he said. With body cams now a requirement, some of the customs officials are doing whatever they can to transfer to other departments where the bribes might be a little smaller but at more easily accepted, he said. “Security agents who monitor trade cargo do not hide the fact that they have small cameras attached to their bodies,” the driver said. “They advise cargo loading and unloading workers not to create any problems, as the whole day’s work is being recorded.” Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
Dalai Lama discharged from hospital after knee surgery
The Dalai Lama was discharged from a New York City hospital Saturday after undergoing successful knee replacement surgery, hospital staff said. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who turns 89 on July 6, has experienced health problems for years. His knee issues required medical attention outside northern India where he has lived in exile for 65 years following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. After being discharged, he went to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, where he is staying. “He is expected to make a full recovery and was discharged Saturday morning, June 29th,” said Dr. David J. Mayman, chief of the adult reconstruction and joint replacement service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. “His Holiness’s personal medical team and office were in constant communication with the surgical and medical staff at HSS,” Mayman said. “We are grateful for their trust and assistance.” Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrives at his hotel in New York on June 23, 2024. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon) The Nobel Prize winner enjoys strong support in the United States, especially among prominent lawmakers who have spoken out about human rights issues in Tibet, despite objections by China which views him as a separatist and bristles at his interactions with foreign officials. Tibetans and well-wishers gathered outside the hospital and the Park Hyatt to greet His Holiness, holding khatas – Tibetan white scarves – and flowers, offering their blessings for his swift recovery. “First of all, I am so happy to hear about the success of His Holiness’s surgery,” said Chemi Youdon, waiting outside the hotel to welcome the Dalai Lama with a bouquet in hand. “Secondly, this is his visit to the United States after such a long time. And thirdly, though I had a glimpse of him at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey when he first arrived, as a Tibetan, you never get enough of his blessings.” Pema Sonam, waiting outside the Park Hyatt in New York, said the surgery highlighted the importance of the Dalai Lama’s health. “It’s a blessing that His Holiness has visited the U.S., allowing us to receive his blessings after so many years. I want to thank the attending doctor and his team, staff, and everyone involved for doing such a wonderful job.” No public engagements are planned for the immediate future, as His Holiness focuses on his health and well-being.
Chinese Students in USA Committed to CCP?
In survey report, “Experiences and Aspirations of Foreign Students in the USA” a significant pattern emerges among Chinese students in USA.
North Korea draws navigable group in round 3 of FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers
The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the North Korean team will go through three Middle Eastern countries and two former Soviet republics, the Asian Football Confederation decided in a drawing for the third round of qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur Thursday. North Korea was drawn into Group A along with Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Kyrgyzstan. Though the team, known by supporters as the Chollima, have the lowest world ranking among the six teams, Group A offers a chance for qualification, with only Iran ranked among the world’s top 30 teams. In drawing Group A, North Korea avoids an inter-Korean showdown, with South Korea heavily favored to dominate Group B, full of Middle Eastern minnows Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. Group C, meanwhile, is the “Group of Death,” with powerhouses Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia drawn together, and Bahrain, China and Indonesia rounding out the group. In the second round, North Korea finished second in its group behind Japan and ahead of Syria and Myanmar. They crushed Myanmar 6-1 in Yangon and 4-1 in a home match played in Vientiane, Laos. The campaign also featured a strong showing against 17th-ranked Japan in Tokyo, where they lost 1-0. But North Korea forfeited the home match because they refused to host. North Korea fans in the stands before the match against Japan, March 21, 2024 in Tokyo. (Issei Kato/Reuters) North Korea hasn’t hosted a home match since the last World Cup cycle, playing South Korea to a 0-0 draw in Pyongyang in 2019. The third round will kick off on Sep. 5, with North Korea set to face Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Should the Chollima finish in second place or higher after playing each member of Group A home and away, the team would advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Finishing the group in third or fourth place would advance North Korea to a fourth round of qualifying, where six teams would vye for two more spots in 2026 or a berth in the inter-confederation playoffs. Questions remain as to whether North Korea will host its own home matches or continue to coordinate them with third countries. Although the country has reopened its borders that had been shuttered since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020, it may not be ready to welcome teams from other countries and their fans. The Chollima are very popular among fans in their home country, but the team also has fans from outside its borders. Should the team advance to the finals and play on U.S. soil, Paul Han, a North Korean escapee who lives in Indianapolis, would cheer for the North Korean players, he told RFA Korean. “I cheer for North Korea especially when they play against South Korea, the United States, or Japan,” he said. “It’s a matter of the fate of those players, because they can be sent to a place where the sun and moon cannot be seen (if they lose).” Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.
China trying to ‘normalize’ incursions in Taiwan Strait, Taipei says
China is attempting to normalize its increased incursions into the waters around the outlying Kinmen islands in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo has warned. Koo told a hearing at the Taiwanese legislature on Wednesday that by stepping up its activities in the prohibited and restricted waters around Kinmen, China is trying to establish a new normal. Kinmen is less than 10 km (6.2 miles) from China’s Fujian province. “Prohibited” and “restricted” waters are the tacit boundaries between Taiwan’s outer islands and China’s mainland that both sides have been adhering to. “Prohibited waters” refer to the territorial waters around Kinmen that extend about halfway to the Chinese coast, or roughly 4 km (2.2 nautical miles) to the north and northwest, and about 8 km (4.3 nautical miles) to the south. “Restricted waters” extend a little further to the south, about 24 nautical miles from Taiwan’s main island. Taiwan Coast guard boats seen at a port in Kinmen, Taiwan, Feb. 20, 2024. (Ann Wang/Reuters) On Tuesday, Chinese and Taiwanese coast guards had a tense two-hour standoff after four coastguard ships from mainland China were seen patrolling in Kinmen’s restricted waters. Such incursions have become regular, according to the Taiwanese coast guard, which reported in May a record number of 11 Chinese vessels intruding into Kinmen’s waters. “The Chinese coast guard has organized a new fleet of cutters to establish a new enforcement model around Kinmen in an attempt to demonstrate their sovereignty over Taiwan,” said Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan’s state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research, or INDSR. “This can be seen as an expansion of the gray zone tactic, that is the use of the coast guard fleet to expand China’s maritime control, not only against Taiwan, but also against the Philippines in the South China Sea, and against Japan in the Senkaku islands,” Su told Radio Free Asia. Gray zone activities are not explicit acts of war but harmful to a nation’s security as they are aimed at achieving security objectives without resort to direct use of force. RELATED STORIES Taiwan’s Kinmen Island: On the front lines of tension with China Rudd says China using ‘gray zone’ tactics against Taiwan Cross-Strait tensions at risk of rising after Kinmen incident New model of law enforcement China’s Global Times reported that the Chinese coast guard has adopted a new model of conducting law enforcement near Kinmen, by expanding its scope and intensity, as well as making it “all-weather enforcement.” According to the news outlet, since June the Fujian coast guard has organized a fleet of warships to conduct extensive patrols and further strengthen China’s control over the area. The newspaper quoted a Chinese Taiwan expert, Liu Kuangyu, as saying that this new maritime enforcement method can serve as an example for promoting a “one country, two systems” formula, providing an optional solution for resolving the Taiwan question. The Taiwanese government has repeatedly said that China’s incursions are harmful to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Beside activities at sea, Beijing has also flown military aircraft over the median line in the Strait into Taiwan’s air defense zone on a daily basis. This month, Taiwan has tracked 389 flyovers by Chinese military aircraft, including 141 over the past week, according to the defense ministry in Taipei. To respond to China’s gray zone activities “it requires the alertness and joint efforts of the Indo-Pacific countries and the ASEAN, because the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are connected,” said INDSR’s Su Tzu-yun. “Regional sea lanes bear a great importance on the world’s economic development as well as serve the common interests of neighboring countries,” the analyst said, adding that China needs to be prevented from monopolizing and controlling them. Edited by Mike Firn.
China’s Communist Party expels ex-defense chief, predecessor in graft probe
China’s ruling Communist Party on Thursday expelled ex-Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor over corruption charges, state media said, in the latest move in a purge that has toppled more than a dozen senior military officers and defense industry figures. Li’s removal from the party came 10 months after he disappeared from public view, and was reported to be under investigation in connection with the procurement of military equipment. He was sacked without a replacement in October, amid a series of sudden firings and disappearances. “Li seriously violated political and organizational discipline,” the official Xinhua news agency reported. China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu delivers a speech at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4, 2023. (Roslan Rahman/AFP) “He sought improper benefits in personnel arrangements for himself and others, took advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others, and accepted a huge amount of money and valuables in return,” the agency said in a report also carried by state broadcaster CCTV. “Li’s violations are extremely serious in nature, with a highly detrimental impact and tremendous harm, according to the investigation findings,” the Xinhua report added. The official agency used almost identical language for the case of Wei Fenghe, Li’s predecessor as defense minister from 2018 to 2023. “Wei lost his faith and loyalty,” it said. Wei’s alleged misdeeds “severely contaminated the political environment of the military, bringing enormous damage to the Party’s cause, the development of national defense and the armed forces, as well as the image of senior officials,” the agency added. The two generals were stripped of their military ranks, and their cases have been handed to the military procuratorate for prosecution, Xinhua said. The expulsion of Li and Wei came almost a year after Communist Party chief Xi Jinping fired two top generals of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which controls the country’s nuclear missiles. Xi also heads the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC). China’s President Xi Jinping walks past China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, left, after the opening session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 5, 2023. (Noel Celis/AFP) In the dozen years since Xi Jinping came to power, his wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign has targeted party, state and PLA officials. Nine senior officers and at least four defense industry executives have been sacked. In 2014, Xu Caihou, a former CMC vice chairman, was expelled from the party and the PLA for corruption. A month later, another vice chairman of the Commission, Guo Boxiong, was ousted from the party, and later given a life prison sentence. “The signal sent to other PLA leaders is very obvious.” said Ye Yaoyuan, a professor of international studies at the University of St. Thomas. “For Xi Jinping, he hopes to set a more authoritative example before the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party Central Committee,” he told Radio Free Asia, referring to a key party meeting in mid-July. China’s President Xi Jinping meets with senior officers of troops stationed in China’s Yunnan province, in Kunming, Jan. 20, 2020. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty) “That is, ‘if something happens to the PLA leaders, I am really willing to take action, and my means of handling it are definitely not a simple transfer or other simple ways to end it.’” Ye said. Thursday’s report, the first official confirmation that graft was the reason for the sudden and secretive removal of Li and Wei, made no mention of another mystery high-level purge: that of former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Qin has been absent from public view since he met with the foreign ministers of Sri Lanka and Vietnam in Beijing on June 25, 2023. His disappearance came amid widespread and unconfirmed rumors that he was under investigation for having an affair, and possibly a child, with Phoenix TV reporter Fu Xiaotian. Edited by Paul Eckert.
