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Category: World

Japanese gangster, 3 Thais ‘brokered’ heroin, meth deals for missiles, US alleges

Editor07 mins

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday announced the arrests of a suspected Japanese organized crime leader and three Thais who allegedly tried to sell large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine internationally to arm rebel groups in Myanmar and Sri Lanka with surface-to-air missiles and other weapons. Takeshi Ebisawa, who is a Japanese citizen, Thai nationals Somphop Singhasiri and Sompak Rukrasaranee, and American-Thai dual national Suksan Jullanan (alias Bobby) were arrested in Manhattan earlier this week following a probe that began as early as June 2019, according to a document filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency began investigating Ebisawa in 2019 and identified him as a Yakuza organized crime leader. “We allege Mr. Ebisawa and his co-conspirators brokered deals with an undercover DEA agent to buy heavy-duty weaponry and sell large quantities of illegal drugs,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release announcing the arrests. “The drugs were destined for New York streets and the weapons shipments were meant for factions in unstable nations.” “The Yakuza is a network of highly organized, transnational crime families with affiliates in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and is involved in various criminal activities, including weapons trafficking, drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud and money laundering,” U.S. justice officials said. Investigators allege that Ebisawa introduced an undercover agent posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker to associates in Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the United States to set up drug and weapons transactions – noting that the four suspects “negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions” with the undercover agent. Ebisawa, Jullanan and Rukrasaranee conspired to broker the purchase of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles and other weapons “for multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma, and to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons,” the charges allege. Joined by Singhasiri, Ebisawa sought to sell 500 kg (1,100 pounds) of methamphetamine and 500 kg of heroin to an undercover agent, justice officials said, adding that the drugs were to be distributed in New York. Singhasiri allegedly conspired to possess machine guns and other firearms to protect narcotics shipments and Ebisawa allegedly worked to launder U.S. $100,000 in “purported narcotics proceeds from the United States to Japan.” Ebisawa faces charges of conspiracy to import narcotics; conspiracy to acquire, transfer and possess surface-to-air missiles; conspiracy to possess firearms including machine guns and destructive devices; and money laundering. Charging documents allege that Ebisawa sought to buy the surface-to-air missiles, rockets, machine guns and automatic weapons for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Sri Lankan rebel group also known as the Tamil Tigers. “Though defeated militarily in 2009, the LTTE continues to attract international financial support,” the justice department said in the charging document, adding that the LTTE is designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Singhasiri faces charges of conspiracy to import narcotics and conspiracy to possess firearms including machine guns and destructive devices. Jullanan and Rukrasaranee face charges of conspiracy to import narcotics; conspiracy to acquire, transfer and possess surface-to-air missiles; and conspiracy to possess firearms including machine guns and destructive devices. Justice officials allege the two and Ebisawa discussed potential deals to supply missiles and other weapons to the Myanmar groups including the Shan State Army and United Wa State Army. The weapons and drug charges carry penalties of up to life in prison if convicted. “The expansive reach of transnational criminal networks, like the Yakuza, presents a serious threat to the safety and health of all communities. Ebisawa and his associates intended to distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin to the United States, using deadly weapons to enable their criminal activities, at a time when nearly 300 Americans lose their lives to drug overdose every day,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a prepared statement. “These arrests represent the unwavering determination of the DEA, together with our U.S. and international partners, to target and bring to justice violent criminals who lead transnational drug trafficking organizations that continue to flood our country with dangerous drugs.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news outlet.

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Deputy governor of Myanmar central bank shot by gunmen at her Yangon home

Editor011 mins

The deputy governor of Myanmar’s central bank was shot by unknown assailants on Thursday, according to sources and media reports, amid a public outcry over a new directive ordering the sale of all U.S. dollars and other foreign currency at a fixed rate to licensed banks. It was not immediately clear whether Than Than Shwe, who was shot at her apartment complex in the commercial capital Yangon’s Bahan township, survived the attack. A resident of the same complex told RFA’s Myanmar Service that she and others who live there “only found out what happened when several military trucks arrived.” “We knew a woman had been shot — a bank employee. But later, news came out that she was the central bank [deputy] governor.” Junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun confirmed the shooting to RFA’s Myanmar Service and said Than Than Shwe was recuperating at the city’s military hospital. “We can confirm the attack at 11:30 a.m.,” he said, adding that Than Than Swe “was injured and is being treated at Tatmadaw Hospital.” “Her condition is good at this moment,” he said at the time. The Irrawaddy News reported later Thursday that Than Than Swe had died at the hospital from injuries she sustained in the shooting, citing sources close to the deputy governor. A report by the Associated Press quoted a local official named Thet Oo as saying Than Than Swe had been shot three times by two men after answering the door at her apartment and was confirmed dead after being taken to the hospital. RFA was unable to independently verify the reports. Than Than Swe, 55, was sworn in as deputy governor of the central bank after the military seized power from Myanmar’s democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Believed to be the most senior junta official to be shot since the takeover, she is known to have led efforts to reduce the cash flow in the banking and financial system under the NLD, a senior official at the central bank told The Irrawaddy. A group known as the Yangon Region Military Command (YRMC) announced in a statement on Thursday that it had “successfully carried out” the attack on Than Than Swe as it’s “latest target.” The YRMC is an anti-junta paramilitary group that has pledged loyalty to Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and claims to have carried out more than 1,100 attacks since the NUG declared war on the military in September. The NUG, which has distanced itself from attacks on civilians, did not immediately comment on the attack Thursday and RFA was unable to confirm the YRMC’s claim of responsibility. Junta security forces have killed at least 1,733 civilians and arrested more than 10,000 others since February 2021, mostly during peaceful anti-coup demonstrations, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. An illegal money changer exchanges Myanmar kyat bank notes into US dollars in a back alley of Yangon, in a file photo. Credit: AFP New bank directive The attack on Than Than Swe comes days after an April 3 directive by the central bank ordering all foreign currency, including the U.S. dollar, to be resold within one day of entering the country to licensed banks at a fixed rate of 1,850 kyats to the dollar. The order also requires government approval before any foreign currency can be sent overseas. A Myanmar-based economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the central bank order suggests that the junta is running short of dollars. He warned that the move is likely to have dire consequences for an economy already decimated by COVID-19, junta mismanagement and Western sanctions. “This will make the dollar even scarcer and the buying and selling of dollars will be done under the table,” he said. “In that case, the kyat will depreciate further. The situation will just get worse. Imported goods will become even more expensive.” The price of imports from the Thai and Chinese borders are likely to be unaffected, he said, as Thai baht and Chinese yuan can be easily exchanged for Myanmar kyat. A source who earns his salary in U.S. dollars and declined to be named for security reasons told RFA he can no longer withdraw money from his bank. “The bank told me they cannot transfer the money to U.S.-dollar accounts due to the CBM directive. They cannot issue any currency notes or transfer money from one account to another in the same bank or to different banks, until further notice. … You can no longer transfer using the mobile app either. You can only see the dollars in your account, but cannot get hold of them,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m poor now. There is more money coming in and all of this was converted into kyats automatically. It’s a big, big headache now.” A businessman named Soe Tun said the prices of cooking and fuel oils are likely to fall if enough U.S. dollars are resold to importers but that the long-term impact on producers of rice and corn could be substantial. “For these exporters, it is unfortunate that they must sell their [goods] at a rate of 1,850 kyats to the dollar due to the newly fixed exchange rate,” he said. “They will lose roughly 11 percent, or about 200 kyats, for every dollar.” He said the consequences of the order will only become clear after a month or so. Lack of independence Khin Maung Myint, a legal expert, told RFA that Myanmar’s law stipulates that the central bank must remain independent from the government, but said the reality of the situation is that everything depends on who is appointed to run the bank by the junta. “The decision-makers, including the governor and the deputy governor, were appointed by the [junta], so it’s no wonder they act in accordance with the junta’s decisions and directives, no matter how independent they may be under the law,” he said. “It’s very difficult…

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Meeting may signal warmer relations between Myanmar and China

Editor011 mins

A recent meeting between the Myanmar junta’s foreign minister and his Chinese counterpart may signal China’s softening to the military rulers who came to power in a coup last year and an eagerness to revive its own economic initiatives in the war-torn country, analysts said. Wunna Maung Lwin, foreign minister of the State Administration Council, as the junta regime is called, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in eastern China’s Anhui province during the Myanmar diplomat’s March 31-April 2 visit. Wunna Maung Lwin was appointed to his position after the Myanmar military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than 13 months ago. He was barred by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from attending a February meeting of regional organization’s foreign ministers in Cambodia. Analysts said that Wunna Maung Lwin’s meeting with Wang Yi signals Myanmar’s desire for deeper economic ties to its ally China, as it struggles to repress widespread opposition to its rule that has left thousands dead. Beijing meanwhile wants to get its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar moving forward. Beijing now seems more willing to side with the junta, as it had done with previous military regimes in Myanmar, political analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe said. “China is consistently focused on the One Belt, One Road Initiative,” he said. “They may have something to do economically at present. They must also have many plans to invest in Myanmar, so they seem to be looking at what they can get out of it.” Chinese investments in Myanmar under the BRI, a trillion-dollar infrastructure program, have been hampered by ethnic unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-coup turmoil. China especially wants its main infrastructure project in Myanmar — the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor — to be completed so that it has a direct route from Yunnan province to the Indian Ocean oil trade. Wang Yi told Wunna Maung Lwin that China would support the junta’s efforts to safeguard independence and territorial integrity and find a path to development that suits Myanmar’s situation, according to a report by China’s official Xinhua news agency. He also said China was ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields. Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), said the Chinese government’s move to invite the junta’s foreign minister on an official visit raises questions about Beijing’s support for Myanmar citizens. “It’s a very disappointing development,” she said. “It is questionable whether China has reversed its previous position when it said Beijing will stand by our people in the return of power to the people. Has it now taken a one-sided approach? Is Beijing standing on the other side against the Myanmar people?” So far, China has been in contact only with the State Administration Council and has yet to formally engage with the NUG. Sun Guoxiang, Beijing’s special envoy for Asian affairs met with Wunna Maung Lwin in Myanmar in August 2021. Afterwards, Sun said he would work with the international community to help bring about social stability and democratic change in the Southeast Asian country. When the Chinese Communist Party held an online conference of political parties in Southeast Asia in September 2021, the National League for Democracy, Myanmar’s ruling party until it was overthrown by the military, was invited to attend, but could not participate in discussions. ‘Main thing is economics’ China-based Myanmar observer Hla Kyaw Zaw said the Chinese government gives priority to its economy. “It is true that China had invited [Wunna Maung Lwin], but it was for its own interests,” she said. “China also wants democracy in Myanmar for stability, and it has said it will render all the help it can.” “The main thing is economics,” she said. “In the past, there were matters agreed upon during the time of Aung San Suu Kyi. Parts of the Silk Road project undertaken by Myanmar seem to have stopped, and China wants them to resume.” In a statement following the visit between Wunna Maung Lwin and Wang Yi, the junta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the implementation of joint projects between the two countries, the opening of a Myanmar consulate in Chongqing in central China, and the addition of new border crossings between the two countries. The ministry also said the two foreign ministers discussed the implementation of a Five-Point Consensus, an agreement between Myanmar’s military ruler and ASEAN countries at a meeting held after the coup. Major General Zaw Min Tun, the junta’s spokesman, said the regime had no further comments on details of talks between the two foreign ministers. “We already have issued a statement. I have nothing else to say,” he said. Prashanth Parameswaran, a fellow with the Wilson Center’s Asia Program in Washington, said China believes that it is in its interest to increase its public support for the increasingly isolated Myanmar military regime. “But this support will not be cost-free for Myanmar,” he said. “The key question is what China will ask for in return for increased support, and Wang Yi’s comments suggest what this could entail, whether it be advances on infrastructure projects or diplomatic support for other issues.” Jason Tower, the country director for Myanmar U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, said that China is betting that the Myanmar military will not relinquish power. “The problem, though, is that the junta has no possible pathway towards achieving stability in the country,” he told RFA. “Over the longer term this means that China will be placing its economic plans for Myanmar far out of reach by continuing to support the junta in this way.” The potential consequences of China’s backing of the junta could have negative consequences throughout the region, Tower said. “If Beijing moves forward with this level of support for a genocidal military with no popular legitimacy, it risks undermining any hopes of maintaining a strong friendship with the Myanmar people,” he said. “This could produce a regional crisis of tragic proportions…

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North Korea issues high-denomination money voucher, photo evidence shows

Editor06 mins

North Korea’s Central Bank has printed a 50,000 won (U.S. $8.30) money voucher worth 10 times its highest currency denomination, photo evidence obtained exclusively by RFA has revealed. North Korean paper currency is available in denominations ranging from the practically worthless 5 won ($0.00083) note to the 5,000 won note, worth less than $1. People generally use a mixture of foreign currencies like dollars and Chinese yuan in conjunction with the North Korean won to pay for goods and services. RFA received photos of the new voucher from the J.M. Missionary Union, a Seoul-based organization with knowledge of the situation. The note bears the name of the Central Bank of the DPRK with an issue date of “Juche 111,” the current year in the North Korean calendar that starts in 1912, the birth year of national founder Kim Il Sung. The background shows Mt. Paektu, a mountain on the Sino-Korean border that is sacred in Korean culture.  RFA was unable to confirm how many 50,000 won notes have been printed or whether they are in circulation. The organization said the voucher was issued earlier this year and is in use in Pyongyang. South Korean sources who requested anonymity due to the country’s presidential transition period told RFA’s Korean Service that North Korea issued a high-denomination money coupon earlier this year but could not confirm that it was a 50,000 won voucher. They said that the high denomination vouchers were for transactions between businesses. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification could not confirm whether North Korea has issued money vouchers worth more than 5,000 won ($0.83), which the Central Bank of the DPRK did in the second half of last year. “Issues related to the issuance of the [5,000 won] money coupons have been identified through messages to North Korean escapees … but the purpose of their issuance and distribution have not been specifically identified,” the ministry told RFA. A photo provided exclusively to RFA by the J.M. Missionary Union in Seoul shows the reverse of a new 50,000 won money voucher produced by North Korea’s central bank. Photo: J.M. Missionary Union During a South Korean National Assembly audit last year, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Seoul’s spy agency, confirmed that the 5,000 won vouchers were in circulation. The NIS said in their report that the vouchers were issued because North Korea lacks the paper and ink necessary to print money due to the suspension of imports at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Imports resumed on a limited basis at the beginning of this year, but trade volume has not yet reached normal levels. The issuance of money vouchers also may indicate that North Korea is attempting to avoid inflation by not printing actual currency, the Bank of Korea, South Korea’s central bank, said in a report last month, which did not mention vouchers in the 50,000 won denomination. The report said cashflow in the North was disrupted due to the economic slump and the vouchers are a means to increase the money supply, possibly for use in transactions between companies, while North Korean authorities can keep the companies’ cash in reserve. “Money should circulate. From the authorities’ point of view, they circulate money, but it’s not coming back to them,” Lim Song, an economist that focuses on North Korea at the Economic Research Institute of the Bank of Korea, told RFA. “The central bank has to print money to circulate money, but that will cause inflation, so instead of paper bills, they are circulating money coupons which they can convert when the economic situation gets better,” he said. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Bribes are a common business expense in Laos, a new report says

Editor08 mins

Almost 70 percent of businesses that applied for registrations, licenses and permits in Laos paid bribes to government officials to get approval, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. The report on the cost of doing business in Laos drew responses from 1,357 respondents, 68 percent of whom said that so-called “informal payments” were necessary for smooth and efficient business operations. ADB, which is based in Manila, provides loans, grants and other financial assistance to projects that promote growth in Asian countries and reduce extreme poverty in the region. “The informal charges must be paid for everything … because the access to the officials and the system they control is difficult, and the system is slow to adopt technology,” an employee at the ADB office in Laos, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA’s Lao Service Thursday. “It’s going to take some time to update the rules, amend the laws and improve the behavior of officials. The Lao government should develop human resources by upgrading their skills and knowledge, but it is more important that they are more transparent,” the ADB official said. Paying the bribe to get things done is sometimes easier than doing business by the book, an owner of a bar and restaurant in the historic town of Luang Prabang in northern Laos told RFA. “Paying kickbacks is widespread in Laos. They do it in every district and in every province because the process of obtaining license or permit in this country is very complex, bureaucratic and time consuming,” said the owner, who declined to be named. “In my case, I knew somebody in the provincial business registration office. They came by and inspected my facility first before I could register my business. You have to know somebody in the office, if not, it’s going to be difficult to get registered,” he said. Connections and money are integral to doing business in Laos, the owner of a Luang Prabang car rental company told RFA. “If you try to do it yourself, you’ll find a lot of trouble. But if you have a link or a connection in the office, it’ll be much easier because you and your connection can talk and compromise, of course, with the appropriate amount of money under the table,” he said. “With the appropriate amount, a process that normally takes three months takes only three weeks. In my case, I paid the appropriate amount to an acquaintance outside of his office after work hours,” the car rental owner said. Lao governmental paperwork is overly complicated, the owner of another business told RFA. “When I submit an application form for a permit, I can say to an official, ‘Please look at this application form. When it’s done, I’ll buy you a beer or two.’ Then I give him 300,000 kip ($25), the cost of one or two beers, for his service,” the source said. A Lao economist told RFA that the report did not uncover anything out of the ordinary. “For many people who don’t know about Laos, the ADB report looks negative. But for those who are used to it, kickbacks are normal because this kind of practice is a problem in every country in the world,” the economist said on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “For example, when officials perform inspections for safety, labor practices or environmental impact of a factory, the factory owner would have to pay the inspectors cash and never receive a bill or receipt. The inspectors put the money in their pockets. The money is not a fee charged by the government,” he said, adding that foreign investors might not want to do business under that type of system. “For investors who are already here, the extra expenses in the form of kickbacks add up and increase the cost of doing business.” Solutions Kickbacks are often necessary because officials depend on them for much of their income, an official of the Lao Finance Ministry told RFA. “They take the kickbacks to make a living. I cannot deny that,” he said. “It’s getting worse in the current economic situation. The government is tackling this practice head-on in hopes of reducing it little by little.” The Lao Chamber of Industry and Commerce suggested in the ADB report that the government should step up training for its employees and switch from a system requiring person-to-person contact to an online processing method. In Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”), Laos received a score of 30, placing it in 128th place among 180 countries. The least corrupt countries were New Zealand, Denmark, and Finland, each with score of 88, while the most corrupt was South Sudan, with a score of 11. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Lack of engine could sink Thai purchase of Chinese submarine

Editor07 mins

Thailand’s long-planned purchase of three Chinese submarines, which a former top Bangkok diplomat described as “an insult to the Thai-U.S. treaty relationship,” could run into trouble, officials and analysts said. In April 2017, the Thai government approved the Royal Navy’s plan to buy three Yuan-class submarines from China valued at 36 billion baht (U.S. $1.05 billion). Because of budget constraints, the purchase of one submarine – now valued at 13.5 billion baht ($403 million) – got the green light but the other two were shelved. The Chinese state-owned submarine developer – China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. (CSOC) – could not obtain the diesel engine from Germany to fit into the sub because of the European Union arms embargo imposed on China, according to a German official. The engine is manufactured by Germany’s Motor and Turbine Union (MTU). “The export [of the engine] was refused because of its use for a Chinese Military/Defense industry item,” said Philipp Doert, the German defense attaché to Thailand, told the Bangkok Post. “China did not ask/coordinate with Germany before signing the Thai-China contract, offering German MTU engines as part of their product.” The EU imposed its arms embargo on China in 1989 after the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Thai-China relations ‘not affected’ Earlier this week, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha said that if China could not fulfill the agreement, the submarine deal could be canceled. “What do we do with a submarine with no engines? Why should we purchase it?” Prayuth, who serves as the nation’s defense minister, told local media. Previously, Vice Adm. Pokkrong Monthatphalin, the Royal Thai Navy spokesman, said talks were to be held later this month with CSOC to discuss the engine issue. Local media reported that CSOC had offered an alternative engine – an offer rejected by the government, which paid its first installment of 700 million baht (U.S. $20.9 million) in 2017. The submarine’s delivery is scheduled for 2024. Despite his concerns, Prayuth told Thai reporters that any cancellation would not affect Thai-Chinese relations, according to the Bangkok Post. A Chinese navy submarine leaves Qingdao Port, Shandong province, in a file photo. Credit: Reuters Trust issues An analyst, meanwhile, said Bangkok’s growing military ties with China have led to trust issues with the United States. “Thailand and the U.S. are treaty allies. Thailand was designated by the U.S. as a Non-NATO ally,” Kasit Piromya, a Thai former foreign minister, told BenarNews. “The fact that Thailand commissioned the Chinese submarines is an insult to the Thai-U.S. treaty relationship,” he said, adding that the issue “must be reset and redressed.” Earlier this year, the Thai Royal Air Force expressed interest in purchasing F-35 stealth fighter jets from the U.S. But the U.S. would be reluctant to sell their state-of-the-art aircraft to Bangkok because of the Thai military’s close links with its Chinese counterpart, said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. In addition, the relationship between Thailand and the U.S. has been up and down in recent years.  “The Thai military establishment does not like criticism of its role in Thai politics by the U.S. and Western allies, while China avoids political judgment and offers military hardware at friendship’s cost,” Kasit said. “The result is Thailand and the U.S. have been failing to hold heart-to-heart talks as allies and strategic partners,” he said. Southeast Asian countries, especially those with competing claims in the South China Sea, are joining the submarine club to deal with new security challenges. Vietnam bought six Kilo-class submarines from Russia, both Indonesia and the Philippines are discussing purchasing submarines from France. Singapore and Malaysia operate four and two subs, respectively. China by far has the largest fleet in Asia, with an estimated 76 submarines. The Yuan-class is a diesel-electric submarine designed to operate in shallow coastal waters, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

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Concerns grow over sale of UK’s largest semiconductor plant to Chinese company

Editor07 mins

Concerns are growing over plans by a state-backed Chinese company to acquire the U.K.’s largest semiconductor plant for U.S. $82 million, amid reports that the British government has “quietly” approved the sale despite ordering a review a year ago. “This is about the United Kingdom’s biggest producer of microchips and semiconductors. It is about national resilience,” crossbench peer Lord Alton told the U.K.’s upper house on Thursday. “It’s about whether or not we wish to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the People’s Republic of China, which has been accused of genocide by Elizabeth Truss, our foreign secretary.” “Why aren’t we giving consideration [to] the remarks of Ciaran Martin, the former head of the National Cybersecurity Centre, that there are ‘very real concerns about the buyout’, and that it poses a greater threat than allowing Huawei to build the United Kingdom’s 5G network.” The question followed an April 1 report by the news website Politico, which cited sources as saying that ministers have decided not to intervene in the takeover of Newport Wafer Fab following a review by the government’s national security adviser, Stephen Lovegrove. “Lovegrove concluded there were not enough security concerns to block it,” the report cited two government officials as saying. Both the British government and Nexperia, the potential buyer, denied that the acquisition had been approved, however. The U.K.’s National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, which took effect on Jan. 4, 2022, empowers cabinet ministers to review and block foreign acquisitions that may damage national security. According to official guidelines on the government’s website, an acquisition is likely to fall within the scope of the act if the investor “is involved in the ownership, creation, supply or exploitation of intellectual property of … computer processing units, architectural, logical or physical designs for such units, the instruction set architecture for such units, code, written in a low-level language, that can control how such units operate, or integrated circuits with the purpose of providing memory. The House of Commons foreign affairs committee said on April 5 that it had sent letters to different government departments on many occasions regarding the deal, and had concluded that the review hadn’t been implemented according to the request of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. CCP backing Nexperia is ultimately owned by Wingtech, a Shanghai-listed company reportedly backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) specializes in the fabrication of high-end silicon semiconductor chips and in manufacturing silicon chips for power conversion, and the industry in south Wales has received “significant financial support” from the government, the Committee said in its report. According to Chinese investment screening specialists Datenna, Wingtech is heavily backed by the CCP. Wingtech Chair Zang Xuezheng assumed the role of Nexperia CEO in March 2020, the report said. “Given the importance of semiconductors to the U.K.’s national security, we identified the acquisition of the U.K.’s largest semiconductor manufacturer by a company backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a cause for concern; even more so in the context of global semiconductor shortages,” the report said. “We argued that it is crucial that the Government gets the new investment screening regime right from the beginning.” Ruling Conservative Party MP Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said the government should act under national security powers to review sensitive and strategic foreign investments in the U.K. He said the deal had left many wondering why national security-related infrastructure was being handed over to overseas companies with clear links to the Chinese government. He warned against acting only for short-term economic interests, rather than for future economic stability. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is “determined” to get control over access to key technologies amid a global semiconductor shortage. He warned against “appeasing” China, which was trying to block Western countries’ access to microchips and other sought-after electronic components. No.10 Downing Street declined to comment. The CCP-backed Global Times newspaper has hit out at Tugendhat for being “anti-China,” while he and eight other individuals are barred from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macau. “Their properties in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them,” the paper reported on March 26. Similar sanctions have also been imposed on Duncan Smith, it said. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Jailed Vietnamese rights activist marks one year in pre-trial detention

Editor07 mins

A well-known Vietnamese human rights activist who raised money for families of prisoners jailed for their political or religious views marked the first anniversary of her arrest for allegedly disseminating materials against the state, still in detention and awaiting trial. Nguyen Thuy Hanh, founder of the 50K Fund, which provides financial support to family members of so-called prisoners of conscience, was arrested on April 7, 2021, by police in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. Authorities blocked her bank account in 2020 after she raised about 500 million Vietnamese dong (U.S. $21,600) to support the family of Le Dinh Kinh, the elderly leader of the Dong Tam commune, who was shot dead by security forces during a police raid in January 2020 amid a long-running land dispute. Hanh closed her fund in early December to take time to treat an illness, but she affirmed her continuing support for prisoners of conscience. Hanh herself had run afoul of Communist Party authorities for trying to run for a seat in Vietnam’s rubber-stamp National Congress in 2016. Human rights lawyer and democracy activist Nguyen Van Dai, who has been arrested twice for political reasons, told RFA that during pre-trial periods, prisoners are not allowed to see their families or defense attorneys as an additional method of punishment. “We need to understand the nature of the communist authoritarian regime in Vietnam,” he said. “When arresting political dissidents, their main purpose is not only to deprive their freedom but also to punish them both physically and mentally. “The reason they don’t allow us to see our family or lawyers and do all kinds of things to suppress and torture us mentally is to exhaust our strength and determination and discourage us from fighting for our ideals after being released from jail,” he said. Authorities also torment prisoners in pre-trial detention by sometimes providing half-cooked rice or stale food to eat or putting detergent into their soup, Dai added. “Temporary detention is the most stressful time [for detainees], which can cause depression in those who cannot tolerate it,” he said. Hanh’s husband, Huynh Ngoc Chenh, said his wife was very depressed before her arrest and that the family is concerned that her psychological state now may be worse. “My wife Hanh was suffering from serious depression and was being treated by a doctor in Saigon [Ho Chi Minh City] when she was arrested,” he said. “After a while, the detention center allowed us to send her some medicine.” Hanh was forced to undergo a month-long psychiatric evaluation while being held in pre-trial detention, Chenh told RFA in January. But authorities did not tell Hanh’s family about her mental state. The family learned about her month-long stay in a hospital from other patients there. “We don’t know anything about her health condition now,” Chenh said. ‘An act of torture’ Vietnam’s investigative security agencies often extend pre-trial detention periods for political prisoners, especially with high-profile detainees being held on alleged violations of national security. Human rights organizations, including London-based Amnesty International Amnesty, have repeatedly expressed concerns over this practice, calling it “an act of torture.” Vietnam is currently detaining 253 prisoners of conscience, including two dozen women, according to the rights group Defend the Defenders, though the organization said it believes that the actual number is higher. Three dozen of those being held are in pre-trial detention, while the remainder has been sentenced, Vu Quoc Ngu, the organization’s director told RFA on Wednesday. Prisoners charged with “sabotaging the national solidarity policy” and religious prisoners comprise the largest number of detainees, while about 100 belong to ethnic minority groups in northern Vietnam or the Central Highlands, he said. The rest were charged with other crimes such as “overthrowing the people’s government,” “conducting anti-state propaganda,” and “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy,” Ngu said. The real number of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam is likely much higher because Defend the Defenders has had difficulty obtaining information from detainees’ families or else their trials were held in secret and not covered by the media. The number of prisoners of conscience “shows that Vietnam’s authoritarian regime disrespects the basic freedom rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of establishing associations and press freedom,” Ngu said. “This number reflects the communist government’s increasing suppression.” Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translate by Anna Vu. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Smuggled sketches offer glimpses into notorious Myanmar prison

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Fourteen sketches smuggled out of Myanmar’s Insein Prison and interviews with eight former prisoners offer a rare glimpse inside the country’s most notorious jail, where thousands of political prisoners have been sent since last year’s military coup and communication with the outside world is sharply limited.  The ink sketches show daily life for groups of male prisoners in their dormitories, queuing for water from a trough to wash, talking or lying on the floor in the tropical heat. Beyond those depictions, the eight recently released inmates told Reuters the colonial-era facility in Yangon is infested with rats and widespread illness goes untreated. Also, bribery is common and prisoners pay for sleeping space on the floor.  “We’re no longer humans behind bars,” said Nyi Nyi Htwe, 24, who smuggled the sketches out of the prison when he was released in October, after spending several months for a defamation conviction, on charges he denies, in connection with joining protests against the coup.  Reuters could not independently verify the accounts provided by the former inmates.  The artist drew the prison sketches between April and July of last year. Later released, he declined to be interviewed or identified, telling Nyi Nyi Htwe he feared rearrest.  Nyi Nyi Htwe, who met the artist in prison, said the man sketched prisoners if asked and drew prison scenes wherever he went, saying he felt more relaxed while drawing. He gave Nyi Nyi Htwe, who has joined an armed rebel group since being released, the sketches as a birthday present.

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Human trafficking in Cambodia nearly doubled in 2021

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Human trafficking cases in Cambodia almost doubled in 2021 compared to 2020 because the government was preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic, a report issued Wednesday by the country’s National Committee for Counter Trafficking said. The report, which was released during a ceremony at the Ministry of Interior, the committee’s parent ministry, documented trafficking of laborers, organs, babies and surrogates, and sex workers. Minister of Interior Sar Kheng said human trafficking was on the rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He urged authorities not to let their guard down. “Criminals are choosing human trafficking as a career. They won’t let it go. They are taking advantage of us when we are facing a crisis,” he said.  The committee’s vice chairperson, Chou Bun Eng, said during an interview with a local radio station that traffickers used to move through Cambodia, but now the country has become a popular trafficking destination. She highlighted a particular case earlier this year to illustrate the point. “The trafficking suspects brought in victims to Cambodia. The suspects lured the victims to work in Cambodia due to the country’s development and political stability,” she said.  “There was huge increase compared to 2020, we found 359 cases in 2021 whereas in 2020, there were only 155 cases,” said Chou Bun Eng. Trafficking of surrogates is a rising problem. In the past it was common for Cambodian surrogate mothers to give birth inside Cambodia but now they are moved to other countries, she said. The surrogates are in danger of being trafficked even after they have given birth because traffickers can confiscate their passports and IDs. Chou Bun Eng said one surrogate mother was arrested by authorities in Vietnam. She said the traffickers are able to lure victims through sophisticated means, using online communication to evade police detection. Since 2020, about 200,000 Cambodians have illegally crossed the border to work overseas but were not paid what they were promised, she said.  “They don’t make any money. What are the benefits of the risk after spending years working and finally ending up receiving social welfare back home?” Chou Bun Eng said.  Many of the Cambodians trafficked into the sex industry are underage, Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights told RFA’s Khmer Service. He said the authorities didn’t pay attention to the problem even before the pandemic. “Violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking against minors continues to occur. We urge the government to increase measures to prevent human trafficking, especially of minors,” he said.  In its 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. State Department placed Cambodia on its Tier 2 Watchlist for the third consecutive year, meaning it does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. “Endemic corruption and lack of political will continued to severely limit progress in holding traffickers accountable; corruption continued to impede law enforcement operations, criminal proceedings and victim service provision,” the State Department said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. 

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