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Category: East Asia
Reporting carries high costs for RFA journalists in authoritarian Asian countries
To mark the 30th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s proclamation of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 1993, Radio Free Asia is highlighting the plight of its journalists and bloggers who have been jailed or detained in several of the Asia-Pacific region’s authoritarian states. This year’s theme, “Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights,” highlights the relationship between threats to media freedom, journalist safety, and increasing attacks on other key human rights. The concerns are valid, as the jailing of RFA reporters and bloggers, and their BBC and Voice of America colleagues, occurred in countries and territories that have experienced a decline in broader freedoms–if they had such liberties to begin with. Edmund Wan Edmund Wan Yiu-sing, known by his DJ name “Giggs,” was sentenced by a court in Hong Kong in October 2022 to two years and eight months in prison for sedition and money laundering, charges he confessed to in a plea deal. Prior to his February 2021 arrest, he hosted programs that reported and commented on Hong Kong and Chinese politics for D100, an independent online radio station. Wan also hosted a program for Radio Free Asia’s Cantonese Service from 2017 to 2020. Authorities charged that Wan hosted programs that “incited others to resist or overthrow the Chinese Communist Party” and “promoted Hong Kong independence,” the Hong Kong Free Press independent news outlet reported. Wan had pleaded guilty to one charge of seditious intent for on-air comments he made in 2020, and three charges of money laundering related to crowd funding transactions. In exchange, six other charges were left on file, which means they cannot be pursued without the court’s permission. The charges come under a law, created when Hong Kong was under British rule, that defines sedition as “intent to arouse hatred or contempt of the Hong Kong [government] or to incite rebellion, and cause dissatisfaction with it.” The sedition law was revived by the Hong Kong government during the 2019 protest movement and has been used to arrest pro-democracy activists.In addition to the time in prison, the court also ordered Wan to hand over HK$4.87 million (about U.S. $620,000) in assets. Yeang Sothearin Former Radio Free Asia Khmer news anchor Yeang Sothearin was taken into custody in November 2017, along with Uon Chhin, an RFA photographer and videographer. They were charged with “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” after RFA closed its bureau in the capital of Phnom Penh in September of that year amid a government crackdown on independent media. They were slapped with additional charges for illegally produced pornography in March 2018. If convicted of the first charge, they could face a jail term of between seven and 15 years. Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin are out on bail, but they remain in legal limbo after several courts have rejected a series of appeals. In October 2022, Cambodia’s Supreme Court returned Yeang Sothearin’s passport, allowing him to visit his ailing father and sister in Vietnam. Cambodia ranks 140 out of 180 in the 2022 Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, between Equatorial Guinea and Libya. After Cambodia’s emergence from decades of warfare in the 1990s, the country’s press had “flourished until the long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a ruthless war against independent journalism before the 2018 elections,” RSF said. Uon Chhin Former Radio Free Asia Khmer photographer and videographer Uon Chhin and RFA news anchor Yeang Sothearin were taken into custody in November 2017, amid a gathering crackdown on independent media by long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen. The pair were charged with “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” after RFA closed its bureau in the capital of Phnom Penh in September of that year. They were slapped with additional charges for illegally produced pornography in March 2018. If convicted of the first charge, they could face a jail term of between seven and 15 years. Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin are out on bail, but they remain in legal limbo and their media careers frozen after several courts have rejected a series of appeals. Cambodia ranks 140 out of 180 in the 2022 Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, between Equatorial Guinea and Libya. “Hun Sen went after the press mercilessly ahead of parliamentary elections in July 2018. Radio stations and newspapers were silenced, newsrooms purged, journalists prosecuted – leaving the independent media sector devastated,” said RSF. “Since then, the few attempts to bring independent journalism back to life have drawn the wrath of ruling circles.” Htet Htet Khine Htet Htet Khine, a former BBC television presenter, was sentenced in September 2022 to three years in prison with hard labor for “incitement” and “illegal association” for her reporting work. The face of BBC Media Action’s national television peace program Khan Sar Kyi (Feel It) from 2016 to 2020, which documented the impact of war on Myanmar society, the freelance journalist and video producer had been in detention in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison awaiting trial since Aug. 15, 2021, when she was arrested with fellow reporter Sithu Aung Myint. Htet Htet Khine was arrested six months after the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup by junta security forces, one of some 150 journalists detained by junta authorities. Family members expressed concern over Htet Htet Khine’s well-being in prison amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of physical abuse by jailers. Veteran journalists told Radio Free Asia that her case underscored the fact that reporters face serious personal risk to carry out their work under military rule in Myanmar. Sithu Aung Myint A special court in Yangon’s Insein Prison in December 2022 sentenced veteran journalist Sithu Aung Myint to seven years in prison, which came on top of two earlier sentences totaling five years for allegedly inciting sedition in the army, meaning he will have to spend 12 years in prison. The sentence by a court set up by the junta that took power in a Feb. 1, 2021, military coup…
Myanmar, neighbors including Thailand hold Track 1.5 dialogue without ASEAN members
Two years ago this week, ASEAN negotiated a five-point consensus with the Burmese military that had seized power in a February 2021 coup and arrested many leaders of Myanmar’s elected government. The consensus was a roadmap for ending violence and starting a political dialogue, but the generals never intended to abide by it. The consensus called for an immediate end to violence; a dialogue among all parties; the appointment of a special envoy from the regional bloc; the provision of humanitarian assistance by the Southeast Asian bloc; and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet with all parties. The Burmese junta has since steadfastly ignored the consensus and waged a multi-front war against Myanmar’s civilian population. The toll has been horrific – more than 4,000 people have been killed while the regime has arrested more than 17,000 and more than 150 people have been tortured to death or died in government custody. ASEAN continues in vain to use the five-point consensus as the basis for all talks. Other than refusing to give the junta a seat at its meetings, ASEAN has done little else except let down the people of Myanmar. In this handout photo released by Myanmar Military, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, right, receives Wang Ning, Secretary of CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee of China in Nay Pyi Taw, April 4, 2023. Credit: Myanmar Military handout photo via AFP In March, Thailand did an end run around ASEAN when it held a Track 1.5 dialogue with a handful of like-minded member states and the junta. Those in attendance included the authoritarian states of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam along with China, India, Bangladesh and Japan. Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore refused to attend and seemed genuinely angry at Thailand for having direct talks with the junta and denying Indonesia its prerogative as ASEAN’s 2023 chairman. Unbowed and unapologetic, Thailand argued that it was a Track 1.5 dialogue – meaning that government officials were present but not necessarily acting in their official capacity, along with a few non-governmental experts. But few bought that fig leaf interpretation, noting that Wunna Maung Lwin, the junta’s foreign minister, was clearly there in his official capacity, exactly as Bangkok had wanted. This week, India hosted the second Track 1.5 dialogue with Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China. Indonesia attended as an observer in its capacity as chairman of the regional bloc. The Thais were smart to let the Indians take over to deflect criticism that Thailand was trying to do an end run around ASEAN. Instead, the April 25 meeting could be billed as a gathering of neighboring countries who were directly impacted by the quagmire as well as other states searching for a solution. Craving legitimacy Yet it was another opportunity to give the junta the international legitimacy it so desperately craves. It follows another failed attempt at diplomacy by former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Thailand sent its own foreign minister and special representative for Myanmar to meet with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw. All of these serve to normalize ties with a regime that should be ostracized by the international community. Moreover, it’s hard to take seriously the idea that the neighboring countries are not in the junta’s corner. India, is much less a champion of democracy under the increasingly illiberal government of Narendra Modi, whose control over the eastern portion of the nation is tenuous. India also fears a failing junta being even more dependent on China – the last thing that New Delhi wants is a greater Chinese presence on another part of its border. Bangladesh is hoping to exchange normalized ties for the return of thousands of Rohingya to their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Thailand, meanwhile, sees itself as a political model for the junta to hold elections and maintain power. Not hedging bets China is no longer hedging its bets and has doubled down on the junta to protect its economic interests, pipelines and Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects. Lately, China has been applying pressure on Ethnic Resistance Organizations that are actively supporting the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) or quietly arming its People’s Defense Forces over fears they might be tilting the balance away from Naypyidaw. As it increases air attacks, Myanmar’s Air Force has violated the airspace of Thailand, Bangladesh and India. None have lodged diplomatic complaints, a clear signal to the NUG. Reuters reported that a topic of discussion at the Indian 1.5 talks was the possible inclusion of the opposition government. That seems far-fetched as the junta has steadfastly refused to talk with its NUG leaders, officially labeling them “terrorists.” It seems far more likely that this was an attempt to dampen the international criticism of holding such a meeting. While the junta is bogged down in a multi-front war that it can’t win, it does have a theory of victory. The military has increased attacks on civilians to terrorize them into submission. There have been more beheadings and mutilations, rape, and the razing of homes. And they have stepped up their air assaults. The military has given itself the means to do so, with a 50% increase in its budget for 2023. The junta has stepped up attempts to deprive the NUG of funding, including a recent threat of even incarcerating children for having a game on their phones whose proceeds go to support the NUG. The military, having recently disqualified a number of political parties for not registering under the new election law or having communications with “terrorist organizations,” continues to make plans for “elections.” More than 1,200 members of the overthrown National League for Democracy party are in jail, while the military has seized properties of more than 600 NLD members. Finally, the junta seeks to peel away ERO support from the NUG either by offering side deals, allowing China to pressure them or simply letting the traditional mistrust with the NUG manifest. Junta members believe that time is on their…
Chinese visits to Myanmar sow influence, but may hinder interests
A slew of recent visits by top Chinese officials to Myanmar appears to be part of a bid by Beijing to counter U.S. influence on the nation, but rebel leaders warned that propping up the junta is a miscalculation, as there will be no stability while it remains in power. In the nearly 27 months since the military carried out a coup d’etat, China has been Myanmar’s staunchest ally. While most Western nations shunned junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in the aftermath of the takeover and a violent crackdown on his opponents, Beijing stood by the general in Naypyidaw. While foreign investment has fled the embattled nation, Chinese investors have flocked there. And despite international sanctions leveled at the regime, trade between the two neighbors continues unabated. Support notwithstanding, Chinese officials have made multiple visits to Myanmar since the start of the year in what some analysts say is an influence peddling campaign by Beijing following U.S. President Joe Biden’s signing in late December of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which will assist the country’s democratic forces. “China has increased its dealings with the military junta,” a China affairs expert told Radio Free Asia, speaking on condition of anonymity citing security concerns. “It seems to me that China is worried about the United States’ NDAA and Burma Act. That’s why it has tried to maintain its influence by having more dealings with the military leaders.” Among the provisions in the NDAA are programs designed to support those fighting the better-equipped military for democracy in Myanmar – including the country’s shadow National Unity Government, anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary group, and various ethnic armies – with technology and non-lethal assistance. Slate of high-profile visits In the latest high profile visit, Peng Xiubin, the director of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, traveled to Naypyidaw on April 16 and secretly met with former junta leader Than Shwe, who ruled Myanmar from 1992 to 2011, and Thein Sein, the president of the country’s quasi-civilian government from 2011 to 2016. Reports circulated that following Peng’s visit, Min Aung Hlaing met with the two former leaders to discuss the political situation in Myanmar. Peng’s trip followed visits in February and March by Deng Xijun, China’s special envoy for Asian Affairs, who met with the junta chief on both occasions. Only two months earlier, the Chinese envoy convened a meeting with several ethnic armies from northern Myanmar across the border in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. In this photo combo, from left: former General Than Shwe, former President Thein Sein, and current Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing. Credit: AFP Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers, described the uptick in meetings between the junta and Chinese officials as a bid by Beijing to “balance U.S. influence” in the region. “The U.S is no longer the only country influencing the world,” he said. “Among such changes in world politics, Myanmar and China – which share a very long border – need to cooperate more closely. The bottom line is that China-Myanmar relations will continue to develop based on this.” RFA emailed the Chinese Embassy in Yangon to inquire about the frequency of visits by top Chinese government officials to Naypyidaw in recent months and Beijing’s position on the political situation in Myanmar, but received no reply. At the Chinese government’s regular press briefing held in Beijing on March 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called Myanmar a “good neighbor,” adding that Beijing is closely following the situation there and hopes for a resolution through dialogue and consultation among all stakeholders. Interests tied to peace Chinese affairs expert Hla Kyaw Zaw told RFA that China will only be able to realize its interests in Myanmar if the country is at peace. “China can only continue its investments and projects … if Myanmar is at peace,” he said. “The reason why China wants Myanmar to be peaceful is for its own economic interests.” Among the China-backed megaprojects in Myanmar are the New Yangon City urban planning project, the Mee Lin Gyaing Energy Project in Ayeyarwady region, the Letpadaung Copper Mine in Sagaing region, and the Kyauk Phyu deep sea port and special economic zone in Rakhine state. According to ISP-Myanmar, an independent research group, there are 35 China-Myanmar economic corridor projects underway in Myanmar that include railways, roads, special economic zones, sea ports and urban planning projects. Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, agreed that Beijing’s relations with the junta hinge on the furtherance of its strategic interests. “I see China cooperating with the military junta only to continue to maintain, implement and expand its economic interests in Myanmar, such as the strategic Kyauk Phyu deep sea port project, which is a bid by Beijing to obtain access to the Indian Ocean,” he said. In this handout photo Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, center is welcomed at Myanmar’s Nyaung-U Airport to attend a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism on July 2, 2022 Credit: Myanmar Military/AFP Than Soe Naing noted that China is trying to “divide the [ethnic armies] in northern Myanmar from the anti-junta resistance groups … under the pretext of peacemaking.” But he said that China is actually working to exploit Myanmar’s internal conflict by attempting to “hold all the keys to the situation.” No stability with junta Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the National Unity Government’s presidential office, warned China that there will only be stability in Myanmar if the forces of democracy succeed in their fight against the junta. He said only with stability in Myanmar will China realize its economic goals in the country. “As long as there is a junta, Myanmar will not be at peace,” he said. “The junta will only terrorize the country with more violence and continue to torture the people. That’s why the country will remain destabilized under [the junta].” A lack of…
Myanmar’s western Chin state pummeled by junta’s air force in April
Myanmar’s junta carried out 47 airstrikes, killing at least 19 people and destroying multiple religious buildings and civilian homes in Chin state in April alone, a rights group said Thursday. The campaign, which saw an average of nearly two bombs dropped on the western state each day this month, comes as the Chin National Front claimed new territorial gains in the region, suggesting the military has stepped up air operations amid an increasingly stymied ground offensive. Since April 1, Myanmar’s air force has dropped more than 80 bombs on Chin state, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization. The attacks killed 17 civilians and injured 34 others, the group’s managing officer Salai Man Hre Lian told RFA Burmese, as well as two members of the armed resistance. “Most of the injured were civilians, as well,” he said. The worst loss of life occurred on April 10, when the junta launched three airstrikes on Falam township in a single day, dropping six bombs near Var village at around 9:00 a.m., four near a high school in Webula at 11:00 a.m., and six near Ramthlo village at 4:00 p.m. Residents said the attack on Webula killed nine civilians, including the school headmaster and his wife and son, and injured four others. Six days later, fighter jets attacked Pan Par village in Mindat township, killing three people – including a child – and injuring seven others. The CNF confirmed that two members of the armed resistance were killed and four others injured when the junta launched an airstrike earlier this month on a base operated by the 4th Brigade of the Chin National Army in Tedim township, near Myanmar’s border with India. Houses destroyed following Myanmar military junta’s airstrike in Webula town, Chin state, on April 10, 2023. Credit: Citizen Journalist CHRO said that multiple buildings – including a Buddhist monastery, a Christian church and at least 20 civilian homes – were destroyed in the April strikes. The carnage in April followed a March 30 airstrike on Thantlang township’s Khuafo village that killed 10 civilians and injured 20 others, residents told RFA. According to the CHRO, nearly 10,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes due to junta airstrikes so far this month. The group said the junta has launched nearly 200 airstrikes and dropped more than 350 bombs on targets in Chin state since the military orchestrated a Feb. 1, 2021 coup d’etat. The strikes have killed 38 people and injured nearly 100. Fighting back against the junta The April bombing campaign comes amid growing success by anti-junta forces on the ground in Chin, according to CNF spokesman Salai Htet Ni. On April 23, a People’s Defense Force paramilitary unit attacked a junta military convoy of 30 vehicles, including two armored cars, near Hakha township’s Chuncung village, touching off an intense firefight. Despite the military’s advantage in equipment, the PDF was able to rout its opponent and prevent the convoy from continuing on to the seat of Hakha, Salai Htet Ni said. “All of the military vehicles were destroyed by the resistance forces,” he said, adding that around 30 junta troops remain stationed in Chuncung. “We now have control over 70 out of 100 territories in nine [of 19] townships in Chin state.” Families sit next to the coffins of victims of Myanmar military junta’s airstrike in Webula town, Chin state, on April 11, 2023. Credit: Citizen Journalist Given the success of anti-junta forces on the ground in Chin, the military has stepped up its air attacks, and villagers have responded by digging trenches and other crude defenses. “Every village has built bomb defenses, such as trenches, to protect against the junta’s airstrikes,” said a Hakha resident who, like other inhabitants of Chin villages RFA spoke to, declined to be named for security reasons. “But with such unexpected attacks as these, it’s been very difficult for us to set up effective defenses.” The military has yet to issue any statements regarding the April airstrikes and attempts by RFA to contact Thant Zin, the junta’s social minister and spokesman for Chin state went unanswered Thursday. A legal expert, who also spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal, noted that Myanmar is a signatory to and should be held accountable under the Geneva Convention, which lays out international legal standards for humanitarian treatment during conflict. “[The convention] prohibits all armed forces from attacking non-military or civilian targets during times of war,” he said. “It also restricts armed forces from using highly destructive airstrikes and dropping bombs in civil wars.” One resident of Thantlang called the junta’s unprovoked aerial attacks “cowardly.” “I think the junta attacks villages to terrorize the people,” he said. “If they are truly brave, they would only fight the armed groups. Targeting innocent people like us is extremely cowardly.” Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
Biden warns North Korea that a nuclear attack would mean end of the regime
U.S. President Joe Biden warned North Korea on Wednesday that any nuclear attack on the United States or its allies would result in an end to the isolated regime while promising closer cooperation with South Korea on deterring the nuclear threat. “Look, a nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partisans or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime [takes] such an action,” Biden said during a press conference following a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who arrived in Washington on Monday for a six-day official state visit. During their meeting, the two leaders recognized the importance of the South Korea.-U.S. Alliance, now in its 70th year, which Biden called a “linchpin” of security in the Indo-Pacific region, and “an alliance of values based on [Seoul and Washington’s] shared universal values of freedom and democracy.” “Our mutual defense treaty is ironclad, and that includes our commitment to extended deterrence, and — and that includes the nuclear threat and — the nuclear deterrent,” Biden said. Yoon and Biden also signed the Washington Declaration, which acknowledged Seoul and Washington’s close relationship and commitment to strengthen mutual defense agreements. The declaration said that Seoul had full confidence in U.S. deterrence commitments, and that Washington would make “every effort” to consult with South Korea on any “employment” of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula. Through the declaration, the two sides also formed a new Nuclear Consultative Group, or NCG, which will “strengthen extended deterrence, discuss nuclear and strategic planning, and manage the threat to the nonproliferation regime posed by North Korea.” The two presidents also restated that they are open to dialogue with North Korea without preconditions in order to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. “Sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula does not happen automatically,” said Yoon, through an interpreter, at the press conference. “Our two leaders have decided to significantly strengthen extended deterrence of our two countries against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats so that we can achieve peace through the superiority of overwhelming forces and not a false peace based on the goodwill of the other side.” ‘Enhances credibility’ The NCG is an important contribution to strengthening the alliance, Gary Samore, the former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, told RFA’s Korean Service. “By greater consultation and simulation and exercises to deal with the North Korea nuclear threat … it shows that Seoul and Washington are not ignoring the changes that are taking place and recognize they have to do something to respond to it.” he said. “It enhances credibility, I think the most important element of credibility is the presence of US military forces.” U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol watch as members of the U.S. military parade during an official White House State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S. April 26, 2023. Credit: Reuters Because the NCG gives South Korea more input on nuclear deterrence, it is a nuclear power sharing agreement short of sharing the weapons themselves, said Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute. “At least Seoul will have a much better window into the U.S. thinking about potential responses to aggression. Deterrence is already strong but even the Kim regime will have to be a bit more cautious about even thinking about the use of force,” he said. The NCG obliges Washington to consider Seoul’s views in nuclear decision making on multiple levels, said Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. “It may be even more key for alliance reassurance than for deterrence of North Korea and it reinforces the idea or truth that the two allies are co-equals,” he said. Trade matters Biden and Yoon also discussed trade issues during their talks, including what Biden characterized as “economic influence being leveraged in coercive ways.” To that end, the two sides agreed to strengthen technological cooperation. “So, that is about really strengthening the competitiveness of our two countries. And it will enhance productivity and create added value — high added value,” said Yoon. “These are the types of products that are going to be produced.” U.S. President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, April 25, 2023. Credit: AFP Biden said Washington supports a prosperous South Korea. “It’s overwhelmingly in our interests for Korea to do well [economically],” said Biden. “It’s very much in America’s interest that Korea do well … because they are one of our most valued partners.” Yoon will attend a state dinner at the White House on Wednesday, and will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday. Additional reporting by Sangmin Lee. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Chinese aircraft carrier returns to South China Sea
China’s aircraft carrier the Shandong left the Western Pacific and returned to its usual operational area, the South China Sea, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has said. Ten days before this, the Chinese carrier was operating just less than 400 miles from the U.S.’s Guam island. The Japan Joint Staff said in a statement that the Shandong carrier group of seven vessels was spotted on Monday evening about 360 kilometers (224 miles) south of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture. Yonaguni is Japan’s southernmost island, only 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Taiwan. The group was then sailing towards the South China Sea, the statement said, adding that at the same time, a carrier-based fighter J-15 jet and a Z-18J helicopter were seen practicing landings and take-offs. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed that the Shandong and its accompanying ships were passing through waters southeast of the island into the South China Sea. Aircraft carrier the Shandong spotted southeast of Taiwan on April 24, 2023. Credit: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense The group consists of the aircraft carrier, one Type 055 large destroyer, two Type 052D destroyers, two Type 054A frigates, and a Type 901 comprehensive replenishment ship. The Japanese defense ministry said it has been tracking the Shandong’s movements since April 7 when the Chinese carrier began conducting exercises in the Western Pacific. During a period of 18 days until April 25, carrier-borne aircraft performed about 620 sorties. To compare, another Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, hosted about 320 sorties in 15 days last time it was operating in the same area. ‘Joint Sword’ Over the weekend, the Chinese military also sent four H-6K/J bombers from the East China Sea through the Miyako Strait to the West Pacific to conduct joint exercise with the Shandong carrier group. Before that, the Shandong, China’s second aircraft carrier, took part in combat patrols and the ‘Joint Sword’ military drills in the waters east of Taiwan from April 7-12. The drills were held by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s transits in the United States and her meeting on April 5 with the U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. Tsai’s trip and the meeting angered Beijing which threatened “resolute measures” against what it called “separatist” efforts by the Taiwanese leader and her party. The Chinese newspaper Global Times reported that the Shandong carrier group conducted “intensive drills” near the U.S. island territory of Guam on April 13-16, reaching about 600 kilometers (372 miles) to 700 kilometers (434 miles) to the west of Guam. The Global Times said Guam, a militarized island, is considered by the U.S. “a key node in the second island chain.” China refers to the chain of main archipelagos surrounding the East Asian continental mainland, as well as Japan and Taiwan, as the first island chain; while the second island chain includes Guam and other U.S. island territories in the Marianas in the Western Pacific. The Guam-based Pacific Daily News last week quoted a U.S. Navy spokesperson as saying that the Navy “is aware of and monitoring the situation, and is in continuous communication” with the authorities. Lt. Cmdr. Katie Koenig from the Joint Region Marianas was quoted as saying that “the military here remains keenly postured to defend United States equities and interests in this region from any adversary that may threaten national and international norms and rules-based order.” The Chinese newspaper China Daily reported on Friday that the Liaoning, has also “recently carried out multiple exercises in the Western Pacific.” That led to the assumption that the two Chinese carriers — Liaoning and Shandong — were operating together in the Pacific. Edited by Mike Firn.
Philippines raises concerns with China about spiraling Taiwan tensions
The Philippines on Saturday raised concerns with China about soaring tensions related to neighbor Taiwan when the two countries’ top diplomats met in Manila. The meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo came amid heightened rhetoric over the Philippines recently granting the United States access to four additional military bases, two of them fronting Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. “Manalo reaffirmed the Philippines’ adherence to the One China Policy, while at the same time expressing concern over the escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait,” said a statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) after a meeting of the two officials. Manalo also told his Chinese counterpart that the Philippines continues to pursue “an independent foreign policy, which seeks to ensure stability and prosperity in the region,” according to a report by BenarNews, an affiliate of Radio Free Asia. For his part, China’s Qin reminded Manalo of the “promises” the two nations have made to each other, in what appeared to be an oblique reference to the One China policy, which Beijing’s envoy to the Philippines brought up last week in not so delicate a fashion. Qin called the situation “‘fluid’ and turbulent,” without elaborating. “[A] healthy and stable China-Philippines relationship is not only meeting the aspirations of our two peoples, but also in line with the common aspirations of regional countries,” he said. “We need to work together to continue our tradition of friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and properly resolve our differences in the spirit of credibility, consultation, and dialogue, and keep our promises to each other so as to bring more benefits to our two countries and people and inject greater positive energy to the peace and stability of this region and the whole world,” Qin added. Analysts had called expanded access to Philippine military bases “central” to Washington’s aim to deter any plan by Beijing to attack Taiwan. China has said it amounted to interference. But the latest controversy involving China was the warning of its envoy here to the Philippines. Ambassador Huang Xilian had strongly advised Manila to “unequivocally oppose” Taiwan’s independence rather than fan the flames of conflict by offering the U.S. military additional access to bases. He also commented on the safety of 150,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan. Protesters hold signs demanding the expulsion of Huang Xilian, the Chinese envoy to the Philippines, outside the Chinese Consulate in Makati City, the Philippines, April 21, 2023. [Gerard Carreon/BenarNews] The Philippine government and opposition slammed the Chinese envoy for his statements on Manila’s policy on Taiwan and its workers on the neighboring island, saying they will not brook any attempts at intimidation by Beijing. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. later downplayed the Chinese envoy’s comments noting the latter’s speech released in English may have been “lost in translation.” On Saturday Marcos met with China’s Qin and called the meeting “useful.” “Some of the pronouncements that have been made recently by our two countries and many other countries might be misinterpreted,” according to a statement released by Marcos’ office. “So today it was really useful that we were able to speak with Minister Qin Gang, the Foreign Minister of China, so we can talk directly to one another and iron things out.” South China Sea issue Qin’s visit came even as the Philippines is hosting more than 12,000 American soldiers for the largest-ever joint exercises between the two long-time allies. The exercises were for “maritime defense, territorial defense, [and] coastal defense,” a Filipino military official said last month, amid seemingly hostile actions by Beijing in the South China Sea, parts of which both countries claim. During the meeting Saturday with the top Chinese diplomat, his Philippine counterpart Manalo raised the issue of the disputed waterway. “Our leaders have agreed that our differences in the West Philippine Sea are not the sum total of our relations,” he said, referring to the part of the South China Sea that lies within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. “These differences should not prevent us from seeking ways of managing them effectively, especially with respect to the enjoyment of rights of Filipinos, especially our fisherfolk.” Manila has said that China has ramped up its presence in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone in the disputed sea and increased harassment of Filipino fishermen in recent years. At a high-level foreign department consultation last month on the sea dispute, the government reminded China that intimidation and coercion have no place in solving the issue. While there have been significant developments already after the bilateral consultative meeting, Manalo noted that much still needed to be done. Philippine President Marcos on Saturday referred to the dispute saying more communication would help. “As to the conflicts, we agreed to establish more lines of communications so that any event that occurs in the West Philippine Sea that involves China and the Philippines can immediately be resolved,” he said. “So we are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response and we are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations.” Manila had recently lodged a complaint about the swarming of more than 40 Chinese fishing boats, which were escorted by a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship near Pag-asa (Thitu), one of the Philippine-occupied islands in the disputed waters. In February, a CCG ship allegedly pointed a laser towards a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal). Still, as the Philippines’ Foreign Secretary Manalo noted, China has remained the country’s top trading partner over the past few years, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And when Marcos visited Beijing in January, he took home investment pledges worth about U.S. $22.8 billion. Meanwhile, Marcos is scheduled to make his second visit within a year to the U.S. on May 1, when he is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House. The two leaders are expected to discuss…
China’s new rural land transfer scheme sparks fears over heavy-handed enforcement
New rules governing the transfer of rural land in China have sparked concerns that the ruling Communist Party may be gearing up for the mass confiscation and reallocation of farmland in the name of “stabilizing the grain supply,” Radio Free Asia has learned. The Ministry of Agriculture announced this week it will roll out a pilot scheme to “standardize” the transfer of rural property rights, as well as “strengthening supervision and management” over the use of rural land in China, which is typically leased to farmers on 30-year “household responsibility” contracts, with the ownership remaining with the government. The move comes after the administration of supreme party leader Xi Jinping made it easier in 2016 for farmers to be bought out of household responsibility leases, to encourage farmers to relocate to urban areas to reduce rural poverty. China declared in November 2020 that it had eliminated extreme poverty, with analysts attributing the change in statistics to the mass relocation of younger migrant workers to cities, under strong official encouragement. Under the new land rules, officials are expected to “give full play to government leadership” via controversial “agricultural management” enforcement officials, who critics fear will send the country back to Mao-era collective farming and micromanagement of people’s daily lives. Analysts and farmers said that the main point of the additional controls is the tightening of state control over the supply of grain and to facilitate the transfer of rural land away from farmers if needed. Food security The move comes amid an ongoing government campaign to “stabilize the grain supply” and other moves to ensure food security, including revamping moribund Mao-era food co-ops and ordering the construction of state-run canteens. The rules insist on “disciplined transactions” including supervision of contract-signing and “certification,” and could pave the way for the mass reallocation of farmland in future, analysts said. A rural resident of the eastern province of Shandong who gave only the surname Zhang for fear of reprisals said he had recently found that farmers in his hometown now need a permit to farm land already leased to them. “I went back home and the neighbors told me that you now need a permit to till the land,” Zhang said. He blamed the “national food crisis” for the move, saying it effectively means that rural residents can no longer have friends and neighbors take care of their land when they migrate into the cities to look for work. A farmer collects corn in Gaocheng, Hebei province, China. Analysts and farmers say a key goal of the new land rules is to tighten state control over the supply of grain. Credit: Reuters file photo “When my relatives and friends would go to look for work, they would have others till their land for them, with no need for any kind of contract,” Zhang said. “Then, they could just pick it up again immediately if their work ended and they went back to live in the countryside.” “That’s no longer possible due to the serious nature of the national food crisis,” he said. Another major land reform Financial commentator Cai Shenkun said the scope of the pilot scheme is unprecedented. “This is another major land reform [following on from 2016], and it’s worth observing whether the next step will be to roll it out to all rural land governed by household responsibility contracts,” Cai said. “Given the involvement of the agricultural management officials who are now empowered to enforce the law, I think it has something to do with the next step, which will be the confiscation and reallocation of land,” he said. Agricultural management officials are among a slew of local officials empowered in a July 2021 directive to enforce laws and regulations without the involvement of the police. There are growing signs of unease around the new breed of rural “enforcer.” Netease and Sina Weibo’s news channels reported on Wednesday that a team of agricultural management officials seized two truck-loads of live pigs and sent the animals for slaughter on the grounds that quarantine regulations hadn’t been followed. After that, the farmers complained that they had received no money for the carcases, and that the trucks hadn’t been returned to them. Photos of the equipment issued to the “enforcers” showed first-aid kits, mobile phone signal jammers and stab-proof vests. ‘A new devil’ The reports prompted comments complaining of intrusive management of farmers’ lives, and asking if the agricultural enforcers were “a new devil for the New Era,” in a satirical reference to one of supreme leader Xi Jinping’s ideological buzzwords. A farmer from the southwestern province of Sichuan who gave only the surname Sen said the enforcers were also active in his part of the country. “They are bringing in this policy now, which is evil,” Sen said. “The agricultural management teams have so much power.” “They are descending on the countryside and making life hell for ordinary people with all this rectification.” Cai’s perception of the new rural management teams was similar to Sen’s and to comments seen online by Radio Free Asia, and he likened them to the widely hated urban management enforcement teams, or chengguan, who are often filmed beating up street vendors in the name of civic pride. “Now they are sending these so-called agricultural management teams into countless households, and into the fields,” he said. “They came into being, like the urban management officials before them, because when farmers aren’t cooperating, local township and village officials don’t want to show their faces, or get involved in beating people up or demolishing stuff,” he said. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Tibetans abroad rally in support of Dalai Lama following outrage over video
Tibetan demonstrators held rallies in Europe, the United States, India and Australia this week to protest negative media coverage of a video of the Dalai Lama asking an Indian boy to suck his tongue in what Tibetans say was a misinterpretation of an innocent, playful act. A video of the Tibetan Buddhists’ spiritual leader hugging and kissing the young boy on the lips at a student event in northern India on Feb. 28 went viral on social media and sparked online criticism and accusations of pedophilia. The Dalai Lama, 87, later apologized to the boy’s family, and Tibetans quickly came to his defense, explaining that sticking out one’s tongue is a greeting or a sign of respect in their culture. More than 2,000 Tibetans and their supporters rallied in Switzerland, demanding that local media apologize to the Dalai Lama for misinterpreting the video. Activists approached one news organization that agreed to look into the matter. “I have never seen Tibetans gathered in such a huge number in a long time, and it is very important that we organize these rallies against those who defamed His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” said Tenzin Wangdue, vice president of the Tibetan Association of Liechtenstein, More than 300 Tibetans and Indian supporters gathered in Bangalore, India, to demand apologies from news organizations. About 15,000 people gathered on April 15 in Ladakh, a region administered by India as part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China for decades. “We the faithful followers of His Holiness The 145th Dalai Lama are deeply saddened and shocked by the deliberate attempt of many news/media portals, circulating a tailored propaganda video clip to defame and malign the impeccable character and stature of His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama,” said a statement issued on April 14 by the Ladakh Buddhist Association’s Youth Wing in Kargil to show its solidarity with the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader. When the Dalai Lama meets with people, “he speaks with them freely, without any reserve or cautiousness, as if they were long-time friends, and treats them lovingly,” said Ogyen Thinley Dorje, the Karmapa, or spiritual leader and head of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the four major lineages of Tibet. “Sometimes he does playfully tug someone’s beard, or tickle them, or pat them gently on the cheek or nose,” he said in a statement issued on April 12. “This is just how he normally is, and it shows no more than his genuine delight and love for others. Tibetans living in western China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan-populated areas of Chinese provinces as well as those who live abroad believe the Chinese have used the video to cast a dark shadow on the Dalai Lama. “Tibetans inside Tibet have seen and heard about the video clips on various social media,” said one Tibetan from inside the region, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. “It is so pleasant to be able to see pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but at the same time it is heartbreaking to see how the Chinese government is taking advantage of this and manipulating the playful video interaction between the Dalai Lama and the young Indian boy,” the source said. Many Tibetans inside Tibet have not publicly commented on the video, knowing that it would be dangerous to do so because of China’s heavy surveillance and repression in the region, said another Tibetan who declined to be named for the same reason. “The Chinese government would track down the individuals and punish them and they would be sentenced to three to four years [in prison],” the source said. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Video of dancer in mosque inflames Uyghur anxieties about China’s attacks on religion
A Chinese tourism advertisement portraying a medieval Buddhist fantasy, shot in the prayer hall of Xinjiang’s second-largest mosque, has alarmed diaspora Uyghurs, who call it a desecration. They say it is particularly incensing during Ramadan, a time when mosques should host prayer and evening fast-breaking. The promotional video, put out by a local propaganda office, features a bare-armed Uyghur woman as a dancer from “Women’s Kingdom,” a fictional polity whose queen sought to marry the Chinese protagonist of the classic Ming Dynasty novel Journey to the West. She twirls in the otherwise empty Kuchar Grand Mosque. The video, which circulated on Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok, emerged amid a tourism campaign to draw Han Chinese to the far-western region of Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uyghur and other Turkic peoples now that COVID-19 travel restrictions have been lifted. There were 35.2 million individual visits to Xinjiang between January and March of this year, resulting in 2.5 billion yuan in tourism revenue, an increase of 36% on the same period last year, according to state media. But Uyghurs say such videos are both offensive and part of a wider attempt to diminish or erase their religion and culture. The video was shared to Facebook by Uyghur activist and reeducation camp survivor Zumret Dawut. It has since been taken down from Douyin. Radio Free Asia could not identify or contact its creators. “The message [of the video] to the Uyghurs is that we can suppress and even destroy you by assaulting and breaking your dignity through humiliation – we can do anything we want to do,” said Ilshat Hassan, Deputy Executive Chairman of the World Uyghur Congress. Spurious claim The video begins with a Chinese narrator walking up the steps to the mosque. “[When you] open the heavy door of Kuchar Grand Mosque, a beautiful Qiuci woman, concealed by a veil, steps forward, and shares memories of the Woman’s Kingdom with you,” the video’s narrator relates as the woman dances. Qiuci is the Chinese name for the medieval Buddhist kingdom of Kusen, near the present site of Kuchar. The Chinese words used in the video for Grand Mosque, Da Si, are also used to refer to large Buddhist temples. Nowhere does the film indicate that the setting is a gathering place for Muslims. The mosque, first built in the 16th century and reconstructed after a fire in the 1930s, has never been a site of Buddhist worship. The Chinese Communist Party ties the legitimacy of its rule in the Uyghur region to the spurious claim that Xinjiang has always been a part of China. To bolster this claim, it has etched episodes from Chinese fiction and historical annals onto Xinjiang’s landscape by altering the presentation of Uyghur sacred spaces. The Uyghur region’s most prominent shrine is the mausoleum of Afaq Khoja, a 17th century religious and political leader in Kashgar. It has long been marketed to Chinese tourists as the tomb of the “Fragrant Concubine,” who, according to Chinese legend, was Afaq Khoja’s granddaughter, sent as tribute to the Qianlong Emperor. The transformation of the Uyghur region’s most prominent religious sites into tourist attractions, demolition of other mosques and shrines, criminalization of public expressions of Islamic piety, and pervasive surveillance have left Uyghurs with nowhere to observe Ramadan but home. Non-event A Chinese travel agent in Urumchi contacted by RFA and asked about visiting Xinjiang mosques during Ramadan depicted Islam’s most sacred month as a non-event. There are no religious events bringing Muslims together to break the daytime fast, for instance. “Normally there won’t be these kinds of collective activities at mosques,” she said. “Many people in Xinjiang are Sinicized, so there aren’t situations like in the Arab world where lots of people gather in one place and make religious observances together. I’ve lived in Xinjiang for many years, and I’ve never seen minority nationalities engaging in those kinds of collective activities,” she said. Meanwhile, tourists wishing to visit mosques like Kashgar’s Id Kah and Kuchar’s Grand Mosque during Ramadan could freely do so, outside of the calls to prayer, the travel agent said. “People who want to fast must do it at home,” the travel agent said. Asked whether it was possible to visit mosques in Urumchi, the travel agent had a firm response. “It isn’t possible to visit those places. Because they’re locked. The mosques near the Grand Bazaar are locked too,” she said. “There’s no requirement to pray at mosques, right? People can pray at home, right? Ask questions like this to the relevant government official.” Edited by Malcolm Foster.
