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Category: East Asia
China sets up hotline with financial rewards for ‘national security’ tip-offs
China’s ministry of state security has set up a public hotline to encourage people to report each other for threatening “national security,” a broadly defined concept that criminalizes overseas contacts and fund-raising, criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and peaceful political opposition. A directive dated June 6 provides for both real-name reports and anonymous tip-offs, offering financial rewards from 10,000 yuan to more than 100,000 yuan, depending on the quality and importance of the “information.” While it didn’t define the sort of tip-offs the hotline wants to receive, the directive said the move was “according to” the current national security law, which criminalizes words and deeds deemed separatist, terrorist, seditious or to be evidence of “collusion with a foreign power.” In Hong Kong, where the CCP imposed a national security law from July 1, 2020, dozens of former opposition lawmakers, democracy activists, pro-democracy journalists and civic organizations including unions and rights groups have been targeted under the law. Hong Kong also offers a tip-off line for reporting words and deeds under the law, although many arrests have followed public denunciation by CCP-backed media. Citizens can dial in their reports verbally by phone, file them directly to the state security police website, report in person, or write letters, the directive said. It also required state security police to take further action via propaganda departments, broadcasters, traditional media and social media platforms to “increase citizens’ enthusiasm and initiative when it comes to reporting acts endangering national security.” No rewards will be given for information that turns out to be inaccurate, nor to anyone who already has a statutory duty to investigate such matters, it said. Political control Chinese political scientist Chen Daoyin said that while “espionage” was the ostensible target of national security legislation and call for tip-offs, the move was more about domestic political control. “This document is more aimed at tightening internal controls,” Chen told RFA. “We have been seeing a lot of popular resistance to disease control and prevention measures in Shanghai, which has been different from Wuhan, Shenzhen, Xi’an and even Beijing.” “These measures can be said to reflect a sense of insecurity among those in power,” he said. “The point of the directive is to encourage people to struggle against each other and report each other, strengthen the stability of the regime, and securing the CCP’s grip on power,” Chen said. Feng Chongyi, associate professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney, said the move likely indicates a renewed drive towards greater totalitarian social control ahead of the CCP’s 20th National Congress later this year. “Xi Jinping wants to take China backwards from being a post-totalitarian society to a totalitarian dictatorship again, ahead of the 20th Party Congress,” Feng told RFA. He said people were less obedient than they were during the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), however. Hong Kong police followed suit on Wednesday, giving the city’s existing national security hotline an upgrade with financial rewards, trying to repackage it as an “anti-terrorism” hotline, to encourage more people to report others via phone, text or WeChat. Former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui said the move was unprecedented in Hong Kong, and signaled that the city is turning into a police state. “The police already have various means at their disposal, like intercepting communications and online monitoring, and they keep increasing staff numbers in the counter-terrorism department,” Hui said. “Wages and staffing levels are also rising across the police force as a whole.” “It’s clear that Hong Kong has become a police state, a city run by cops, which is going too far.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Skier Eileen Gu sparks uproar in China over U.S. 2030 Olympic bid involvement
Chinese-American freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who was lauded by Chinese fans for her patriotism after choosing to represent China at the 2022 Winter Olympics, has announced she will act as goodwill ambassador in support of Salt Lake City’s 2030 Olympics bid. Gu, who was born in the United States, said she was just 15 when she decided to embrace her Chinese heritage and represent the host nation at the Olympics, taking gold in the big air and halfpipe events, and a silver medal in slopestyle. Yet Gu, 18, has been unwilling so far to address the issue of patriotic allegiance head on, and has said she is American while in the U.S., and Chinese while in China. China doesn’t permit dual citizenship, at least not officially, and Gu has never clarified which passport, or passports, she actually now holds. China’s state-controlled media lauded her haul of medals to the skies, but never probed the issue any further. “Salt Lake specifically wants to become a global destination for athletes everywhere to come train there and they want to incorporate 15 new countries into the Winter Olympics,” Gu told Time Magazine in a recent interview. “I think that’s something that’s really beautiful and I’ve always stood for that and so I’m really honored to be a part of the whole thing,” she said, adding that it was a “beautiful example of globalism.” However, Time referred to her as “China’s Eileen Gu,” saying this showed the global influence of a top-level Chinese athlete. Gu’s involvement in the Salt Lake City bid comes at a time of heightened political tensions between Washington and Beijing. In April, she attended an assembly of Chinese Olympians at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where she got a special mention from ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping, who ribbed her for her love of Chinese dumplings. 15 million views in China U.S. Olympic bid spokesman Tom Kelly confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday that Gu participated in the bid as an “athlete representative.” “She is working with us,” Kelly said, “but we haven’t chosen her exact title.” He said Gu wouldn’t be traveling with the bid’s delegation to Switzerland to meet with International Olympics Committee (IOC) officials, but that U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn would be going. The topic has blown up the Chinese internet, with more than 15 million views reported on the #EileenGu hashtag on China’s Weibo social media platform alone on Thursday. “As a sports figure, Eileen Gu is often seen through a screen of commercial hype … but being the U.S. ambassador for the Olympic bid doesn’t mean much,” the @dibaofficialweibo account commented. “Those who scold her for it make themselves look stupid and ignorant.” @CarShooter responded sarcastically to Gu’s comment in the Time Magazine interview that she had no regrets about representing China, commenting: “Ha ha Chinese athlete Eileen Gu, thank you, really!” adding a “Bye-bye” emoticon. Former Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, usually known for his hyper-nationalistic rhetoric, was unexpectedly supportive of Gu, however. He said Gu had “defined her identity” by choosing to represent China in 2022, and had done nothing yet to suggest she was trying to change that. User @SisterFei_talks_politics_and_economics took issue with Gu’s critics, who had slammed her as an “exquisite egoist.” “I can’t understand the disdain and even anger of many people towards Eileen Gu,” the user wrote. “They think she is a person who uses her privilege to have her cake and eat it. I find these ideas ridiculous and narrow-minded.” Nationality switching Gu had never claimed to love China, but only to spend some of her time there. She had never tried to tap into any kind of nationalistic rhetoric to win favor, but had instead relied on her own talents and efforts to bring gold and silver medals for China, the user wrote. “Do we need her more, or does she need us?” they asked. Weibo user @zhongdongzongzanfeng said China should never have let Gu compete on its Olympic team. “I have nothing against her, but I am against nationality changes just to get more gold medals; gold medals won in this way are worthless,” the user wrote. Sun Youkui, sports management lecturer at Towson University, said nationality switching is actually quite common among top athletes, and that Chinese athletes have previously served as ambassadors for foreign Olympic bids. “Naturally, everyone is talking about the question of her nationality again because she just represented China in competition, and now she is helping the United States to bid for the Olympics,” Sun told RFA. “The focus is all on her.” “But there have also been examples in the past of [bid teams] seeking out top or well-known international athletes to serve as ambassadors for an Olympic bid,” Sun said. “The fact that she isn’t an athlete from that country means nothing.” “It’s to demonstrate the international reputation of Salt Lake City.” Chinese diving star Gao Min has served as ambassador for New York’s Olympic bid, while Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo played the same role for South Korea, Ding Junhui for London and Chen Lu for Sochi. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Prominent Tibetan writer confirmed detained after year-long disappearance
Prominent Tibetan writer and scholar Rongwo Gangkar, who went missing more than a year ago, has been confirmed arrested by Chinese authorities, RFA’s Tibetan Service has learned. Gangkar, the 48-year-old author of such popular works as “The Knot” and “An Interview with Gendun Choephel,” was likely detained in early 2021, a Tibetan source living in Tibet told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “He was unexpectedly arrested by the Chinese police and right now his whereabouts and condition remain unknown,” said the source. “He was missing since the beginning of 2021, but we only later learned from a few of his friends and acquaintances that he was suddenly taken into custody on the orders of the Chinese government. Few were aware of his arrest, due to tight restrictions in place because of COVID-19 at the time.” Another source in the region, who also declined to be named, told RFA he was saddened to learn of Gangkar’s arrest and is concerned for his well-being. “Rongwo Gangkar is a well-known Tibetan writer known for many of his popular works,” he said. “He is from Rebkong (in Chinese, Tongren) [county in the Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture] and belongs to Rongwo monastery. … I haven’t seen him for so long.” Crackdown on Tibetan leaders Gangkar, who is also celebrated for his skill as a translator, is the latest confirmed victim of a crackdown by Chinese authorities on Tibetan intellectuals and cultural leaders. Last month, RFA learned that Tibetan writer and poet Gendun Lhundrub, who was held incommunicado for more than a year after his arrest in 2020, is being detained in a prison in Siling (Xining). The former monk at Rongwo monastery had been monitored by authorities for signs of political dissent before being detained and was arrested in western China’s Qinghai province while he was on his way to attend a religious debate in Rebgong. Lhundrub is reportedly undergoing political re-education and must translate Tibetan Buddhist scripts into Mandarin Chinese, which the Chinese Communist Party requires be used to teach Tibetan Buddhist studies. Chinese authorities have frequently detained Tibetan writers and artists who promote Tibetan national identity and culture — with many sentenced to lengthy prison terms — following region-wide protests of Chinese rule that swept Tibet and Tibetan areas in western provinces of China in 2008. Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with informally organized language courses typically deemed “illegal associations” and teachers subject to detention and arrest, sources say. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Filipino fishermen, boat owner ‘compensated’ for South China Sea ramming incident
Filipino fishermen whose boat sank in 2019 after a Chinese trawler rammed into it in disputed South China Sea waters have received six million Philippine pesos (U.S $113,421) in compensation, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. However, a fishers’ association criticized the settlement for the 22 fishermen and the owner as too little and coming too late. Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay told reporters that the owner of the F/B Gem-Ver 1 boat and the fishermen had received the compensation on May 16, with officials adding that the settlement amount was half of what the victims sought. “Full compensation has already been made in favor of the vessel owner and the fishermen,” Sugay said in his message. The original amount demanded by the fishermen represented repair costs, other damages, and income lost due to the incident. Fernando Hicap, head of Pamalakaya, a fisherman’s group, called the compensation to the 22 fishermen and the owner of the boat that sank “long overdue and insufficient.” “The 22 victimized fishermen have been enduring the loss of their traditional livelihood after the tragic incident in Recto Bank. It took three years before they were improperly compensated.” Hicap told BenarNews. “Our demand is that the compensation should cover not only the cost of the fishing vessel and their supposed income on the night of the incident, but also the aftermath wherein their livelihood activities have not returned to normal.” Hicap also demanded an “immediate end to Chinese aggression” in the sea region. “The government should give full justice to all the Filipino fisherfolk who are victims of Chinese harassment and hostility in our territorial waters,” he said. The incident occurred on June 9, 2019 in an area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). After their boat sank, the 22 Filipino fishermen were left floating at sea until a Vietnamese boat rescued them. On June 15, the Chinese embassy in Manila confirmed that a Chinese trawler, Yuemaobinyu 42212, “bumped into” the Filipino fishing boat, but denied that it was a “hit and run” incident, as Philippine officials claimed. The incident came mid-way into the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, who had taken steps to appease Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose government has ignored a 2016 international arbitral verdict on the South China Sea that ruled against Beijing in favor of Manila. At the time, Duterte played down the incident as a “little maritime accident” that should not get in the way of friendly bilateral relations. China and five other governments – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam – have territorial claims in the disputed waterway. While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesia’s EEZ. Duterte’s friendly policy towards Beijing is expected to be tested when President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumes office at the end of June. Two weeks ago, Marcos said he would implement the arbitral ruling and assert the Philippines’ territorial rights in the sea region. “Our sovereignty is sacred and we will not compromise it in any way,” he said. “We are a sovereign nation with a functioning government, so we do not need to be told by anyone how to run our country.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Shanghai, Beijing residents give lie to claims that COVID-19 lockdowns have eased
Despite the government’s claims that a two-month lockdown in Shanghai has been relaxed, residents of some districts of the city said they have yet to regain their freedom, amid ongoing shortages of food and other daily necessities. A resident of Shanghai’s Jing’an district surnamed Feng said some residential areas of her district, as well as some of Xuhui and Huangpu districts, remain under “closed-loop” management, while the lockdown in Yangpu district has yet to ease at all. “We are still locked down due to the pandemic,” Feng said. “Anywhere that somebody tests positive is still being locked down.” “The lockdown never ended in Yangpu district, where they were still installing barriers on May 29,” she said. Shanghai resident Wang Ning many factories are now unable to operate due to shortages of supplies and road closures, while many restaurants are still only offering takeout. “Some people are back at work one day, then take three days off,” Wang said. “We are doing PCR tests nearly every day.” “There are rumors that there will be another lockdown from June 20, so we laid in a lot of supplies yesterday, so as to be prepared if that happens,” Wang said. A worker padlocks fencing securing a residential area under Covid-19 lockdown in the Xuhui district of Shanghai on June 8, 2022. Credit: AFP PCR tests But any trip outside one’s home, even in districts where this is now allowed, must be preceded by hours of lining up to get a PCR test, Wang said. “There are PCR testing booths at the entrance of our community, saying that we need to show a negative test from the past 48 hours to leave,” Wang said. “I did one last night, so I can go run a few errands today.” A resident surnamed Ma said that standing in line for PCR tests is the bane of people’s existence now in Shanghai. “It’s a constant sword hanging over people’s heads … because you can’t go anywhere without a negative PCR test from the past 48 or 72 hours,” she said. “The fact that the results don’t usually come out till the next day is very troublesome for people, and creates anxiety,” Ma said. “We are constantly lining up to do PCR tests,” she said. “Anyone who tests positive will be put in isolation or lockdown at home.” “All of this is a disaster for ordinary people … these tests cost 20 yuan a time, and they have to do one every couple of days, so how will they afford it?” Residents line up for COVID-19 tests outside the Sihang Warehouse War Memorial Hall in Shanghai, June 7, 2022. Credit: Reuter Limits in Beijing A Shanghai resident surnamed Chang said the city isn’t back to normal yet. “You can only say that the lockdown has been partially lifted,” Chang said. “Some places haven’t gotten back to normal yet.” While authorities in Beijing also announced the easing of weeks of restrictions in the early hours of Tuesday, public transportation in the city remains suspended, and people are being told to work from home. A resident of Beijing’s Fangshan district surnamed Guo said people without private cars can’t easily get around. “We can only walk around the Fangshan area, as we don’t have a car,” Guo said. “There are parts of the subway where the trains aren’t stopping, and Fengtai district is still under lockdown.” Guo said people are being asked to pay high fees for documentation allowing them to leave their residential compounds. “It costs 240 yuan to get an exit pass in our compound now,” she said. A man surnamed Guo from Haidian district said parts of the district remain under tight restrictions, with several PCR tests required from residents ever week. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
China navy facility in Cambodia raises eyebrows in Vietnam and beyond
Latest developments at the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, where China is building a facility that its military can use, have raised quiet concerns in neighboring Vietnam, where military strategists have been closely following events across the border. Diplomatic sources say the base and China’s involvement in strategic projects in Cambodia are likely to be on the agenda of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s meetings when she visits Vietnam at the weekend. Sherman is scheduled to visit Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi from June 10-13 and meet with Vietnamese officials including Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc. The U.S. deputy secretary is not meeting Vietnamese defense officials because of conflicting schedules but on a similar trip in 2014 Sherman met with then Lt. General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Vice-Minister of National Defense and Vietnam’s chief strategist on Cambodia. She was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at that time. Cambodian Navy personnel are seen walking along a jetty during a government-organized media tour to the Ream naval base in Preah Sihanouk province, July 26, 2019. Credit: AFP Historical ties Vietnam is not only a neighbor but also Cambodia’s historical “brother from Indochina” and traditional ally. The current government in Phnom Penh was installed in power by Hanoi after Vietnamese troops defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1979. Prime Minister Hun Sen, a fluent Vietnamese speaker, used to be called by critics a “Vietnam’s puppet” at the beginning of his political career. The news about the Chinese-assisted development project, under which China will help Cambodia to renovate and upgrade naval facilities at Ream, reveals how much leverage Vietnam has lost in Cambodia in recent years. “Vietnam is of course worried because Ream is extremely close to Vietnam’s own naval base in Phu Quoc island,” said a Vietnamese analyst who doesn’t want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. The Ream Naval Base is situated in Preah Sihanouk province in southwest Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand, less than 30 km (18 miles) from Phu Quoc, known as Koh Tral in Khmer. It was the Vietnamese Navy who in January 1979 seized the base from Pol Pot troops and transferred it from the Khmer Rouge regime to the new Cambodian government. But the Vietnamese Navy was invited to visit the Ream Naval Base only a couple times and recently the “Joint Vietnamese Friendship” building, a facility built by the Vietnamese, was relocated from the base, reportedly to avoid conflicts with Chinese personnel. “There is also a sense of great disappointment,” said the Vietnamese analyst. “However I don’t think the Chinese involvement here is targeting Vietnam but more for the Cambodian government to give a message of defiance and a warning signal to the U.S.,” he added. In July 1982, Hanoi and Phnom Penh signed an agreement on “historical waters” between the two countries to define the sea border and the legal sovereignty of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, in order to minimize misunderstanding and prevent potential conflicts. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) cuts a ceremonial ribbon as Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian (3rd R) looks on during the opening ceremony of the Morodok Techo National Stadium, funded by China’s grant aid under its Belt and Road Initiative, in Phnom Penh, Dec. 18, 2021. Credit: AFP Security dilemma Beijing’s involvement in Ream has nevertheless sparked controversy in the West as the U.S. sees the danger of China gaining its first naval staging facility in mainland Southeast Asia that could allow it to significantly expand patrols across the South China Sea. Concerns about Ream go back as far as 2019, when the Wall Street Journal reported a secret deal allowing China to post army personnel, store weapons and dock warships there. Cambodia and China have repeatedly denied the information, saying “the renovation of the base serves solely to strengthen the Cambodian naval capacities to protect its maritime integrity and combat maritime crimes.” Washington has complained “about the lack of transparency on the intent, the nature, the scope of this project, as well as the role that the PRC military is playing in its construction and in its post-construction use of the facility.” “The latest news report about the Ream Naval Base is a further indication that the U.S. has not accepted the fact that Cambodia and China have already been close partners in Southeast Asia,” said Sovinda Po, a research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. “The main reason behind the U.S.’s constant accusations is to warn the Cambodian government against aligning so closely with China,” Po said. “Vietnam is also not happy to see China moving closer towards its own territory as it and China have ongoing sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea and the overall trust between the two countries is low,” the Cambodian analyst said. The naval base and its development therefore have become a major security dilemma for Cambodia, Vietnam, the U.S. and China, according to Sovinda Po. ‘The new normal’ China already has the biggest maritime force in the world, with 355 ships and is projected to have 460 by 2030, according to the latest U.S. Defense Department report on Chinese military. The U.S. has 297 battle-force ships but operates more than 800 military bases overseas. “This is our normal now, China will seek overseas bases, just like we do,” said Blake Herzinger, a Singapore-based defense policy specialist and U.S. Navy Reserve officer. “If we think freezing out countries that do elect to cooperate with the Chinese does anything other than make us look like them, we are sorely mistaken,” Herzinger wrote on Twitter. U.S.-Cambodia relations have been strained over recent years due to many factors including differences in geopolitical and strategic interests, human rights, democracy and China’s role in the region. In contrast, during the last decade under the so-called Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has been pumping investment into important…
China bans tattoos for minors, forbidding anyone from offering the service to teens
China’s State Council has issued a ban on tattoos for minors, banning any business, individual or organization from providing such services or encouraging young people to get tattoos. “No enterprise, organization or individual shall provide tattoo services to minors, and shall not coerce, induce or instigate minors to tattoo,” the June 6 directive, which takes immediate legal effect, said. “For immature minors, tattoos may be just a whim, something they do in pursuit of individuality, but the harm done is enormous and long-lasting,” the document said. It said that while similar bans already exist in some parts of China, including Shanghai and Jiangsu, different local authorities have different attitudes when it comes to regulating the behavior of children and teenagers. The directive overrules local law-making, requiring judicial and law enforcement agencies to comply with its provisions without exception. “Families and schools must actively guide minors to increase their awareness of tattoos and their adverse effects, so that minors can consciously and rationally refuse tattoos,” the directive said. “Service providers must improve their sense of responsibility and resolutely refrain from offering tattoo services to minors,” it said. Taiwanese youth worker Yeh Ta-hwa said teenagers typically get tattoos as a form of self-expression, and the new rules are a bid to exert greater control over young people’s freedom of expression in China. “Xi Jinping has been curbing people’s freedom of expression since he took office,” Yeh told RFA. “He has done so much to restrict the freedom of young people, including banning them from any form of religion under the age of 18, limiting their online gaming time and what content they can view.” “[All of this] shows that China’s control and monitoring of its citizens’ free will is getting tighter and tighter.” In some other countries, including the U.S., some European countries and democratic Taiwan, tattoo parlors are allowed to tattoo minors with parental consent. Paternalistic overreach? Yeh said tattoos were previously stigmatized in Taiwan, where they are closely linked in people’s minds with organized crime, but under the influence of indigenous peoples’ culture, they are now increasingly seen as an expression of culture, art and personal freedom. U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao said the law is highly paternalistic, putting the state in loco parentis. “This is an overreach, a paternalistic approach in which the government takes the place of the parents,” Teng said. “Tattoos aren’t particularly harmful, so the government is going too far, trying to control them.” “It would be better coming from the parents, through education and persuasion.” Taiwan-based dissident Zhou Shuguang said the Chinese government could fear that people will use tattoos to show allegiance to something other than the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or use it as a form of political protest. “They probably fear that minors’ bodies will become taken over by various cultural symbols, making it harder for the CCP to brainwash them,” Zhou told RFA. “Cultural icons, cartoon characters and writing are all carriers of culture.” “Minors could be branded for life, with the symbols hard to erase,” he said. “The other thing they could be worried about is that people will use tattoos as tokens of recognition when forming groups, the thing that the CCP fears most, and has to break up.” Teng agreed. “For example, if someone gets the numbers 8964 tattooed on their body [a covert reference to the 1989 Tiananmen massacre], just putting those numbers together is going to be trouble,” he said. “China won’t allow those numbers to be posted online.” He said the move was part and parcel of China’s “patriotic education” program in schools. “Chinese education is actually a form of brainwashing, and these controls on minors’ freedom of speech by the entire education system is doing great harm to their minds,” Teng said. “There may be no bloodshed involved, but a lifetime of [psychological] harm instead.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese Ambassador attends ceremony at controversial Cambodian base
A ground-breaking ceremony got underway on Wednesday morning at the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia for a Chinese-assisted development project that is causing grave concerns to the U.S. and allies. Pro-government site Fresh News, which broadcast the event live, said Cambodian defense minister Tea Banh and Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian presided over the ceremony. According to the publicly announced plan, China will help Cambodia to renovate and upgrade some facilities at Ream, including constructing two new piers, a dry dock and a slipway, a hospital and several other buildings. China will also assist the Cambodian Royal Navy to repair some of its old ships and dredge navigation lanes to allow medium-sized vessels to access the base. It is unclear how much the project will cost but it is understood that the Chinese government will foot the whole bill. Ream Naval Base is located in Sihanoukville province on the Gulf of Thailand. Dredging work being carried out at the Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville province. CREDIT: Fresh News ‘Not a secret base’ The project has attracted much attention from Western governments after the Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that Phnom Penh and Beijing had signed a secret deal to allow the Chinese military to use part of the base for 30 years—with automatic renewals every 10 years after that—and to post army personnel, store weapons and berth warships. The reported deal would provide China with its first naval staging facility in Southeast Asia, the second in the world after a base in Djibouti, and allow it to significantly expand patrols across the South China Sea. Cambodia has repeatedly denied the information, saying permitting a foreign military base on Cambodia’s soil would be in complete contradiction to the country’s constitution. Phnom Penh argued that it had organized several visits for foreign diplomats to Ream, proving it was “not a secret base.” Chinese government officials also denied a later report that said the Chinese military “will have exclusive use of parts” of the base. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that “the renovation of the base serves solely to strengthen the Cambodian naval capacities to protect its maritime integrity and combat maritime crimes.” Cambodian and Chinese official statements however did little to calm international concerns. On Tuesday, during a courtesy call with Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhon, the new Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong pressed the Cambodian official about the base. Earlier, the new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was concerned about the implications of a Chinese naval base being built in Cambodia. “We’ve been aware of Beijing’s activity at Ream for some time and we encourage Beijing to be transparent about its intent and to ensure its activities support regional security and stability,” Albanese was quoted by news agencies as saying.
Cambodia and China deny that Beijing is building secret facility at Ream Naval Base
China is not secretly building a military facility for its exclusive use inside a naval base Cambodia, a government spokesman said, dismissing a new report that detailed how both countries have been concealing a project that first gained U.S. attention in 2019. The Washington Post reported on Monday that China is building a new facility–its second overseas military installation after a base in Djibouti–on the northern part of Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand, where Cambodia will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday. The newspaper quoted a Chinese official in Beijing as saying that “a portion of the base” will be used by “the Chinese military.” The official denied it was for “exclusive” military use, telling the Post that scientists would also use the facility. Cambodian government spokesperson Phay Siphan echoed the Beijing official’s denial that it would be for exclusive Chinese military use. “There is no agreement or law saying that the construction is reserved for Chinese benefit exclusively,” he told RFA’s Khmer Service. He said the base remains open for visits from other countries, including the United States, but the Post report said Cambodian and Chinese authorities have worked hard to hide the Chinese presence in Ream, keeping the Chinese areas off limits to third-country visitors and altering their dress to avoid scrutiny. Ream base became the center of controversy in July 2019 after The Wall Street Journal cited U.S. and allied officials as confirming a secret deal to allow the Chinese to use part of the base for 30 years—with automatic renewals every 10 years after that—and to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships. The reported deal, which would provide China with its first naval staging facility in Southeast Asia and allow it to significantly expand patrols on the South China Sea, was vehemently denied by Hun Sen, who said permitting foreign use of a military base in the country would “be in full contradiction to Cambodia’s constitution.” Last year, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman voiced concern about the Chinese military presence at Ream Naval Base during a visit to the country, citing Cambodia’s razing of two U.S.-constructed buildings on the base in 2020. After meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, she arranged for the U.S. Embassy to send its defense attaché for regular visits. Ten days later, the attaché arrived at the base, but he cut the tour short when he was not allowed full access, including to the sites of the two buildings. The U.S. had offered to renovate one of them, and the choice to destroy it suggested that Cambodia had accepted Chinese assistance to develop the base, a Pentagon report released last year said. A Cambodian official told RFA at that time that Cambodia never agreed to give the attaché a full tour, and that the U.S. had committed a breach of trust for asking more than what was agreed upon. Exiled political analyst Kim Sok told RFA that Cambodia and China are hiding the truth with their denials. “If any suspicions about the Chinese naval base are not resolved, Cambodia could face serious consequences—not only a diplomatic crisis in the form of pressure from the U.S.—but also it will lead to a security crisis. This will affect regional issues if there is no solution,” Kim Sok said. The base will bring more Chinese into Cambodia for purposes other than tourism or business, Cambodian-American rights activist and legal expert Theary Seng told RFA. “The Cambodian political situation is fragile, especially in terms of building good communication with the free world, because the ruling party dissolved its competitors to bolster the dictatorial regime. This has enabled China to [pounce on] the opportunity to increase its influence [in the region],” she said. Australia-based political scientist Carl Thayer said the semantics don’t change the situation. “Ream Naval Base is a Cambodian base on its own territory. Are they allocating a section that China can use? And if so, can Cambodians gain access to it without seeking prior permission?” he asked. “So Hun Sen says it’s not a base, it is a facility, and it’s still a base. Or [as] Shakespeare [said], ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,’” added Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “A Chinese navy base in Cambodia, if it’s called a facility, it’s still a Chinese navy base,” he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Jailed Tibetan monk not allowed to meet with family
A Tibetan monk serving a four-and-a-half year prison term in China for working to “split the country” has been refused permission to meet with his family, with contact restricted to brief phone calls once a month, RFA has learned. Rinchen Tsultrim, 29 at the time of his arrest, was taken into custody on July 27, 2019, in Sichuan’s Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county for expressing his thoughts on Tibetan political and social issues on social media. Now after serving more than a year of his sentence, Tsultrim is still being blocked from meeting in person with family members, who are not being told about his condition of health following his conviction in a closed trial, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA this week. “Despite many requests for a meeting with Rinchen Tsultrim, his family has not been allowed to meet with him even once,” RFA’s source said, citing contacts in the region and speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “But we have learned from an inmate who was released from the prison that Tsultrim now hopes to get a picture of his family, and he may be able in coming days to speak with them on the phone in a 10-minute call allowed to inmates every month,” he said. Separatism, or “working to split the country,” is an accusation often leveled by Chinese authorities against Tibetans opposing the assimilation of Tibet’s distinctive national and cultural identity into China’s dominant Han culture, and China continues to clamp down on information flows in the region. Scores of monks, writers, educators and musical performers have been arrested in recent years for sharing news and opinions on social media and for contacting relatives living in exile, sometimes with news of anti-China protests, according to rights groups and other experts. Particular targets of censors and police are images of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama shared on mobile phones and calls for the preservation of the Tibetan language, now under threat from government orders to establish Chinese as the main language of instruction in Tibetan schools. A formerly independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the Himalayan region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of ethnic and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment and extrajudicial killings, say Tibetan activists and human rights groups. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
