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Mother of jailed Chinese activist Huang Qi says her cancer is spreading

Editor07 mins

Pu Wenqing, the mother of jailed rights activist Huang Qi, says her cancer is spreading from her lungs to her liver, and has called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to allow her to visit her son in prison before she dies. “Grandma Pu’s cancer has spread all over her body,” friend of Huang’s who asked not to be named told RFA. “The hospital told her to do chemo, but she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to take it, so she didn’t.” “She is urgently asking to visit her son in prison,” the friend said, adding that Pu’s medical insurance doesn’t run to higher-quality cancer care at a hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu, only in her hometown of Neijiang, Sichuan province. “If she goes to Chengdu for treatment, her medical insurance will only reimburse 60 percent of the costs, and she cannot afford it,” the friend said. Pu, who is a medical doctor, was able to speak briefly with RFA, confirming the friend’s report. “I saw a doctor at the West China Hospital [at Sichuan University in Chengdu], and had a multi-slice CT scan,” she said. “I was diagnosed with lung cancer in … part of the right lower lobe, and there were lesions in other parts.” “There were also changes in my ilium [and] in my liver,” she said. Pu, 88, said she is currently living under surveillance by the state security police, who insist on escorting her to every medical visit. Earlier meeting cut off She said the last time she was able to speak with Huang via video call was Sept. 17, 2020. A Jan. 28, 2022 meeting was abruptly cut off two minutes in, after she tried to discuss Huang’s defense lawyers with him. “When the call started, there was no sound, but when it connected I could see Huang Qi arguing with the prison staff, quite fiercely,” Pu told RFA. “Huang Qi asked me if I’d hired a lawyer for him, and I said yes,” she said. “I told him I had hired lawyer Song and another lawyer surnamed Zhang from Beijing.” “No sooner had I finished speaking than the video call was cut off.” The move came after Pu was told by prison authorities to make only small talk with her son. “They told me that I wasn’t to discuss his case, and that I could only talk about daily household stuff and my illness,” she said. Huang’s friend confirmed that two lawyers from Beijing had visited Pu recently, and sent an application to the authorities to meet with Huang Qi. It was unclear whether they had received a response. One last meeting Meanwhile, Pu said all she wants now is to see Huang one last time before she dies. “They can’t cure it, and they can’t alleviate the symptoms, which are going to get worse,” she said. “I want to leave this world, but I still want to see my son Huang Qi for the last time.” A court in the southwestern province of Sichuan handed down a 12-year jail term to Huang, a veteran rights activist and founder of the Tianwang rights website, on July 29, 2019. Huang was sentenced by the Mianyang Intermediate People’s Court to 12 years’ imprisonment, after it found him guilty of “leaking state secrets overseas.” Huang’s lawyers and Pu have said all along that the case against Huang was a miscarriage of justice, even allowing for the traditionally harsh treatment of dissidents in China. Huang, 57, has been identified by Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as one of 10 citizen journalists in danger of dying in detention. He has repeatedly denied the charges made against him and has refused to “confess.” Huang’s Tianwang website had a strong track record of highlighting petitions and complaints against official wrongdoing, and injustices meted out to the most vulnerable in society, including forced evictees, parents of children who died in the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and other peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Until her illness progressed, Pu had been a vocal campaigner for Huang’s release on urgent medical grounds, and says the charges against him are politically motivated, with no evidence to back them up. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Former Irrawaddy photojournalist charged with defamation

Editor05 mins

A photojournalist who had worked for The Irrawaddy newspaper has been charged under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code by the Military Council at the junta’s special court in Mandalay’s Obo Prison. A lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told RFA that Zaw Zaw’s first court trial took place on Wednesday. “The case started on the 6th of June. The power of attorney was sent on the 8th of June,” the lawyer said. “I saw that he was in good health, except for being a little thin, with no signs of torture. It’s not known why he was only charged with Section 505 (a) since a copy of the case file has not been made.” The case is being prosecuted by Police Chief Myint Lwin from the No.1 Police Station of Aung Myay Thar Zan Township in the Mandalay region and will be heard every Wednesday. Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code prohibits members of the military and government employees from undermining support for the government or the military, lacking discipline, or slacking in the performance of their duties. It also prohibits harmful, disruptive or destructive actions and carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Zaw Zaw, 35, stopped working for The Irrawaddy after the military coup and continued to live in Mandalay with his family. He was arrested on April 10 this year on his way back from a donation ceremony, according to a news source close to his family. “On the day he was arrested, he told junta forces that he was no longer a journalist but his computer and cell phone were confiscated when they searched his home,” the source told RFA. “I heard that he was taken to the Mandalay Palace’s interrogation center. I later found out that he was in Obo Prison.” Zaw Zaw’s family members have not been allowed to see him. A Defense Service Information Team statement issued on May 20, said that Zaw Zaw Aung, a resident of Daw Nu Bwar Ward, had used the name Zaw Zaw Diana in a Facebook account to incite the public to destabilize the country and spread propaganda. Journalists have been increasingly targeted since the February 1, 2021 military coup. More than 135 have been arrested since the coup, 61 of whom remain in custody in various prisons. Journalists are being prosecuted under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code as well as Section 124 of the Penal Code, an anti-terrorism law which provides for long prison sentences, lawyers representing the accused told RFA.  Myanmar ranked 176 out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2022 Press Freedom Index. RSF described Myanmar as “one of the world’s largest prisons for media professionals.” Journalists also face threats from supporters of the military regime. In April, the Mandalay branch of the Thway Thauk, or “Blood Comrades” militia called for the deaths of reporters and editors working for news outlets including The Irrawaddy, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and The Irrawaddy Times, along with their family members.

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U.S.-China defense chiefs to meet at Asia security summit

Editor07 mins

U.S.-China tensions will once again take center stage at a major regional security forum in Singapore this weekend, with the two countries’ defense chiefs meeting in person for the first time. Both U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe have arrived at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank. Austin and Wei are delivering keynote speeches to highlight the defense policies of their respective countries but eyes are on their bilateral meeting, reportedly held on Friday afternoon. This is the first time the two defense chiefs are meeting in person, though in April they had a phone conversation to discuss “bilateral relations, regional security issues and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” according to a Pentagon statement. Since then, bilateral security ties between the U.S. and China have had a few setbacks amid Beijing’s growing assertiveness and changing military postures in the region.  China has signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands and is setting up a naval facility in Cambodia. Both developments have raised concerns among the U.S. and its allies. Chinese flyovers and naval patrols around Taiwan, in the East and South China Sea, are also posing challenges to the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. Washington has condemned what it calls “China’s provocations,” while Beijing has insisted it is the U.S. that threatens peace and security in the region.  The bilateral meeting in Singapore – “held at the Chinese side’s request,” according to the Department of Defense (DOD) – is not expected to deliver any major breakthroughs. However, it is expected to open a clearer and more regular communication channel between the two sides. “In general, such dialogues remain rare in a bilateral relationship marked by scant human connections,” said James Crabtree, Executive Director, IISS-Asia. “This lack of communication would be cause for worry in any future regional crisis,” he said. Preventing miscalculations Austin would like to keep lines of communication open between the U.S. military and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to prevent miscalculations, according to the DOD website. The defense secretary will speak on Saturday, clarifying the next steps for the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy with emphasis on the new approach of “integrated deterrence,” where the U.S. aims to “harmonize both traditional and emerging defense capabilities and priorities, along with non-military tools of power, with partners and allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.” China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will speak on Sunday on China’s vision for regional order, in which “he will discuss China’s policies, ideas and concrete actions in practicing true multilateralism, safeguarding regional peace and stability, and promoting the development of a community of a shared future for mankind,” according to Chinese state media. Austin and Wei will also hold several other bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. The U.S. defense secretary is scheduled to meet with ASEAN defense officials as well as South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. He is also expected to take part in trilateral talks with Lee and their Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi.  The Chinese defense minister, meanwhile, is expected to meet the Japanese defense minister to discuss North Korea after having co-chaired the Inaugural Singapore-China Defense Ministers’ Dialogue on Thursday afternoon. Japanese media said Kishi also wanted to register with Wei Fenghe “Japan’s concerns about China’s growing maritime assertiveness, and to urge Beijing to exercise restraint.” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions before leaving for Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue. CREDIT: AFP On Friday Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is giving a keynote address to kick off Shangri-La Dialogue 2022. The address will outline his vision and plan for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Kishida is the first Japanese prime minister to attend the summit in eight years, the last visit being by Shinzo Abe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to deliver a special address to the summit via video link on Saturday to talk about the situation in his country.  The IISS-hosted Shangri-La Dialogue has gone into its 19th year after a two-year suspension due to the COVID pandemic. It is taking place on June 10-12 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, this year with the participation of some 500 delegates and press, according to the organizers.

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Cambodian local elections legitimized resurgent opposition party, exiled founder says

Editor09 mins

Though fraud and irregularities tainted the June 5 Cambodian local commune council elections, the opposition Candlelight Party showed that it can challenge Hun Sen’s ruling party in future elections, Candlelight’s exiled founder told RFA in an interview. A statement issued by the National Election Committee (NEC) on Monday said the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) received 5.3 million popular votes to win 9,338 out of the 11,622 commune council seats that were contested, while the Candlelight Party (CLP) came away with 1.6 million votes and 2,180 seats. “I don’t like the results, but I like political change in Cambodia,” exiled opposition leader and CLP founder Sam Rainsy told RFA’s Khmer Service. “It’s a drastic change now, compared with before. Before we were only a one party state, from the central government to the grassroots. The one party state has been ended.” The NEC, an agency that supervises elections in Cambodia, said the election process went smoothly and the results could be trusted, but Candlelight Party candidates and election observers said they were victims of harassment and intimidation before and during the voting and the NEC did nothing to stop it. In some cases, local authorities and CPP observer organizations were alone given access to the ballot counting, the CLP said, accusing the ruling party of vote-rigging. Despite what he sees as questionable results, Sam Rainsy said that the CPP will face real competition in next year’s general election, when voters will choose members of the National Assembly. “In the 2023 election, there will have to be a negotiation, because there are [essentially] only two political parties. They can’t just dissolve CLP. The CPP can’t have free ride. The forces of democracy have progressed,” Sam Rainsy said. Should the Candlelight Party survive to contest next year’s election it would be a stark contrast to the main opposition party five years ago, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). After the CNRP won 43% of the vote in the last commune council elections in 2017, the party’s leader Kem Sokha was arrested for treason and the Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, paving the way for the CPP to win all 125 parliamentary seats in 2018’s general election. This began a five-year crackdown by Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, on civil liberties and other freedoms that stripped CNRP members of their political rights and forced many of them to join Sam Rainsy in exile or risk imprisonment. Sam Rainsy has been in France since 2015 Though the CNRP’s dissolution was a major setback for the country’s opposition, the Candlelight Party’s performance on Sunday gives Sam Rainsy hope that a stronger opposition party can emerge in Cambodia and restore the democratic balance, he said. “We took votes away from the CPP. We must now focus on free and fair elections in 2023. The political situation is now better than it was before this election,” he said. “Only the CLP is capable of competing with the CPP. … There is only one [viable] opposition party and that is the CLP. [The CPP] can’t avoid the CLP,” he said, adding that in preparation for next year’s election, the CLP intends to challenge the government to reform the NEC so that it can operate more in line with its stated purpose. “We must change the NEC members, because it is being controlled by the ruling party,” he said. Sam Rainsy, however, lamented that his equally popular political ally Kem Sokha, with whom he cofounded the CNRP, did not support the CLP. Kem Sokha has said that Candlelight should not participate in what many believe is a compromised electio “It seems he regarded the CPP and CLP as the same party.  I am sad. He will realize this is wrong,” he said.  The journey toward Candlelight becoming Cambodia’s largest opposition party began when Sam Rainsy, on the heels of his expulsion from the National Assembly, founded it in 1995 as the Khmer Nation Party. It later came to be known as the Sam Rainsy Party. In 2012, most of its members merged with Kem Sokha’s Human Rights Party to form the CNRP, effectively mothballing the two parent parties. Because of new laws that forbade political parties from making reference to anyone convicted on political charges, the Sam Rainsy Party changed its name to Candlelight in 2017, avoiding the ban of the CNRP. However, once it was clear that the party was gaining steam before the communal elections, authorities began harassing the party, Candlelight Party sources have told RFA. Several CLP activists have been jailed on allegations of submitting false documents to run in the communal elections, and many others were bullied or harassed by CPP supporters. But Sam Rainsy said he was proud that the party was able to rise from the ashes of the CNRP on short notice. Most of Candlelight’s growth happened in the past few months in preparation for the commune elections. “I must express appreciation to the wonderful voters. We must continue our struggle. The CLP is a base. We have time to prepare for 2023. We have a strong foundation and it will get stronger,” Sam Rainsy said. “We will restructure the NEC and restore democracy to the country.”  Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.  

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Uyghur university student in Xinjiang arrested for ‘attempting to divide the country’

Editor05 mins

A Uyghur student who had attended university in southeastern China was arrested last December during an internship in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region and sentenced up to five years in prison, his family told RFA. Chinese police arbitrarily arrested Zulyar Yasin, 25, at his parents’ home in Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) on Dec. 14, said his aunt, Raziye Jalalidin, who now resides in the Netherlands. “On May 30 of this year, I learned that my nephew, Zulyar Yasin, had been arrested,” she told RFA. “In September 2014, he went to study economics at Istanbul University in Turkey, but he returned to Urumqi in 2016 after he was not able to adjust to life in Istanbul.” The following year, Yasin took China’s national college entrance exam, receiving a high score and gaining admission to Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province on China’s southeastern coast, Jalalidin said. “He returned to Urumqi in July 2021 and began his college internship in the city, but on Dec. 14, he was arrested by police at his home for no apparent reason,” his aunt said. “He was arrested while he was an intern,” she said, adding that the police initially said Jalalidin would be returned home in two days. “My older sister didn’t even have the right to ask why they arrested him,” she said. Jalalidin said she learned from her relatives in Urumqi on May 30 that a Chinese government police officer called Yasin’s home on Feb. 14 and informed his parents that he had been sentenced to three to five years in prison on the charge of “attempting to divide the country.” The Chinese government has targeted Yasin because he comes from a family of intellectuals, Jalalidin said. “The Chinese government is only arresting our bright youth like my nephew because they are damn afraid of their own insecurities,” she said. “What was his crime? What is our crime? Our crime is just being Uyghur. In the eyes of this Chinese regime, our being Uyghur is our crime — nothing else.” Chinese authorities have arrested numerous Uyghur intellectuals, businessmen, and cultural and religious figures in Xinjiang as part of a campaign to control members of the mostly Muslim minority group and, purportedly, to prevent religious extremism and terrorist activities. More than 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are believed to have been held in a network of detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017. Beijing has said that the camps are vocational training centers and has denied widespread and documented allegations that it has mistreated Muslims living in in the region. The purges are among the abusive and repressive Chinese government policies that have been determined by the United States and some legislatures of Western countries as constituting genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs. “Will our talented young children be destroyed under this injustice?” Jalalidin asked. “Why can’t we live like other free people in democratic countries?” “Why has the world been silent, even after declaring genocide?” she asked. Abduweli Ayup, a Norway-based Uyghur rights activist who tracks missing and detained Uyghurs, said Chinese authorities are still continuing to abduct members of the mostly Muslim minority group. They began targeting Uyghur students studying in mainland China in September 2021, he said. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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EU lawmakers find ‘serious risk of genocide’ in China’s repression of Uyghurs

Editor07 mins

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday easily passed a resolution calling the Chinese government’s systemic human rights abuses against the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority “crimes against humanity and a serious risk of genocide.” The EU condemned “in the strongest possible terms that the Uyghurs have been systematically oppressed by brutal measures including mass deportation, political indoctrination, family separation, restrictions of religious freedom, cultural destruction, and extensive use of surveillance.” The resolution said “credible evidence about birth prevention measures and the separation of Uyghur children from their families amount to crimes against humanity and represent a serious risk of genocide.” Lawmakers also passed a separate resolution to ban products made using forced labor into the EU market, expected to take effect in September, and pushed for new sanctions against high-level Chinese officials responsible for policy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Parliament also demanded that U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who recently traveled to Xinjiang, release a long-awaited report on human rights violations in the region, saying that she “failed to clearly hold the Chinese government accountable.” That measure followed the release of “Xinjiang Police Files,” leaked police records from internment camps in the XUAR with details about more than 20,000 detained Uyghurs. The files were released in May by German researcher Adrian Zenz, who is an expert on internal Chinese government documents and the Xinjiang internment campaign. “The Xinjiang Police Files have clearly been a wake-up call for the European Parliament to sense the urgency of the situation and the need for effective action,” said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), in a statement issued Thursday. “The EU and its member states must now act upon these calls and do everything they can, in cooperation with governments and civil society worldwide, to end the Uyghur genocide.” The actions by EU Members of Parliament (MEP) follow declarations from the U.S. and other Western governments that Chinese repression in Xinjiang is a crime against humanity and meets the legal definition of a genocide. “The Uyghurs around the world — we are on your side, so we have a strong resolution today in this parliament, so stay strong,” said German MEP Engin Eroglu, a resolution cosponsor, after the vote. “We fight with you for the human rights.” “It’s very important to name the crime, and so today is a historic day, and not only because of the resolution on the genocide, but also because we voted for the import bans,” said French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, another cosponsor of the resolution. “We will strike a heavy blow at this crackdown machine of the Chinese Communist Party, and this is only the beginning of the struggle,” he said. “You are not alone. We stand with you. Europe stands with you.” ‘What are they waiting for?’ At least 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are believed to have been held in a network of detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017, purportedly to prevent religious extremism and terrorist activities. Beijing has said that the camps are vocational training centers. The government has denied repeated allegations from multiple sources that it has tortured people in the camps or mistreated other Muslims living in Xinjiang. “Today we have a feeling that we are not alone,” Dolkun Isa said at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, following the vote. “We have a lot of supporters.” U.S.-based Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) said it supports “the robust, direct and solid action of the European Parliament to hold the Chinese accountable for their genocide” in Xinjiang. “The Chinese regime’s claims that the so-called vocational training centers are for reeducation are proven false by the ‘Xinjiang Police Files,’” said CFU’s executive director Rushan Abbas in a statement. “Uyghurs and other Turkic groups in East Turkestan have been subject to totalitarian oppression for years as the evidence in these most recent papers further proves,” she said, using Uyghurs’ preferred name for Xinjiang. U.S.-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) called on EU member states to take steps to ensure that the atrocities are subject to relevant international accountability mechanisms. “There is no better time to finally bring the case to an international court to adjudicate the evidence of atrocities,” said Omer Kanat, UHRP’s executive director. “The European Parliament just affirmed the EU’s own obligation to prevent genocide — what are they waiting for?”

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‘The junta will bear full responsibility if my husband is executed’: Nilar Thein

Editor07 mins

88 Generation leader Ko Jimmy and former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zeyar Thaw were sentenced to death by a military tribunal on Jan. 21 for violating Myanmar’s Anti-Terrorism Law. They and two other men on death row — Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw — lost appeals of their cases last week. A junta spokesperson on Tuesday rejected the possibility of a pardon in response to international and domestic condemnation of the sentences, meaning that the four men may end up being the first to be executed in Myanmar in 34 years. Speaking to RFA’s Burmese Service on Thursday, Ko Jimmy’s wife Nilar Thein vowed that the junta will not escape punishment if it proceeds with the execution of her husband. RFA: The military council has issued an execution order for Ko Jimmy, who was sentenced to death. The junta’s spokesperson said the appeal process is complete and the Prison Department is now in charge of his case. What else do you know about the process? Nilar Thein: Ever since Ko Jimmy’s arrest, we received no contact or information from the junta. Likewise, we didn’t get a chance to consult with an attorney to submit appeals for him. That’s why the junta’s decision must be incorrect. We never got a chance to work with the authorities for Ko Jimmy’s case. RFA: What is your response to Ko Jimmy’s death sentence? Nilar Thein: The junta will be held accountable for all its actions and statements at some point. They will have to take responsibility for what they did, regardless of who they did it to. This day will come. RFA: Ko Jimmy has been charged under the counter-terrorism law. Do you think he was really involved in terrorist activities? Nilar Thein: Everyone knows who is committing violent terrorist acts and who has become the victims of these acts. We have the right to defend ourselves from aggression and injustice … we have become the victims of the junta’s violent tactics. We are exercising our right to defend ourselves – to protect our lives, homes, and properties from these acts. RFA: The military council has stated that they will move forward to execution in Ko Jimmy’s case. Do you believe they will carry out the execution order? Nilar Thein: This is entirely up to them. Under the law and from the perspective of the human rights community, they should not carry out this death sentence. Death sentences have not been carried out in Myanmar for a long time. It is a blatant violation of human rights even to state that they intend to carry out the execution order, to kill a human being like killing a bird or chicken … Regardless of what they will do, I want them to know they will be accountable for their decisions. Their acts will not be forgotten. RFA: What are you currently working on for him? Are you engaged with any international organizations about his case? Nilar Thein: I have contacted some international organizations, such as Amnesty International. As soon as the news came out about the execution orders for Ko Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeyar Thaw, several international organizations and foreign diplomats contacted me and told me that they would protest the decision. RFA: What do you want to tell Ko Jimmy? Nilar Thein: I think he has written his history by committing to a cause he believes in. He has his duty done for the people. I want to tell him I am very proud of him. RFA: What message do you have for the people of Myanmar? Nilar Thein: No matter how the times have changed, the power of the people will be the deciding factor in our country’s future … Those who have participated have played important roles in the resistance and they will be part of history. Whatever comes next, I trusted in the people’s power. That’s why we all need to stay united and join hands to drive out this military regime. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung.

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Philippines protests new Chinese ‘swarming’ in South China Sea

Editor06 mins

The Philippines said Thursday it had filed a new diplomatic protest against Beijing over the alleged return of a massive Chinese fleet operating “illegally” around Whitsun Reef, within Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.  The Department of Foreign Affairs made the announcement hours after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met in Manila with President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as well as Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. during a visit that she said was part of “preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The department said it “protested the return of over 100 Chinese vessels illegally operating in the waters in and around Julian Felipe Reef on 04 April 2022, barely a year after the same swarming incident was protested by the Philippine government.” In its statement, the department did not say when the diplomatic protest was filed nor if the ships remained at the reef. The department and the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment late Thursday. Internationally known as Whitsun Reef, Julian Felipe Reef is described as “a low-tide elevation within the territorial sea of relevant high tide features” in the Kalayaan Islands in the South China Sea, the foreign office said.  “The lingering unauthorized presence of Chinese fishing and maritime vessels is not only illegal, but is also a source of instability in the region,” it said. The statement noted that the “persistent swarming” of Chinese ships violated the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and “the final and binding 2016 arbitral award” won by the Philippines over China. Moreover, it was a violation of a regional agreement to avoid actions that could inflame tensions, the department said. In March and April, Philippine complaints about hundreds of Chinese ships and boats clustering in the waters of Whitsun Reef were the focus of bilateral tensions over the disputed sea. The announcement about the latest protest came about 10 days after the department summoned a senior Chinese diplomat to protest the alleged harassment by the China Coast Guard of a joint Filipino-Taiwanese research ship in the South China Sea in April. Philippine Coast Guard members in rubber boats patrol near Chinese ships moored at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, April 14, 2021. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard via AP Sherman-Marcos meeting Earlier on Thursday, Sherman met with Marcos at his campaign headquarters where they were joined by the Philippine envoy to Washington, Jose Manuel Romualdez, as well as other officials. Sherman and Marcos “agreed on the importance of partnering together to strengthen our economies,” according to the U.S. State Department. Topics discussed included the countries’ longtime alliance, the importance of public-private partnership, clean energy, the digital economy, and the importance of human rights and the rule of law.  “The deputy secretary and the president-elect highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Philippine alliance to security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world,” the U.S. statement said.  Sherman, the highest ranking State Department official to visit since the pandemic, also paid a courtesy call on Locsin, the country’s top diplomat.  In a series of posts on Twitter, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sherman and Locsin discussed “concrete ways to further enhance relations” amid a government transition. Sherman’s visit to Manila marked the second leg of a four-nation Asian tour, which began in South Korea early this week and will take her to Laos and Vietnam. During a stop in Hanoi scheduled for this weekend, the issue of China’s plans to build a navy base in Cambodia are likely to be on the agenda of Sherman’s talks with Vietnamese officials, diplomatic sources told RFA.

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China sets up hotline with financial rewards for ‘national security’ tip-offs

Editor06 mins

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.

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Skier Eileen Gu sparks uproar in China over U.S. 2030 Olympic bid involvement

Editor09 mins

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.

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0