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PDF clashes with junta troops guarding mines in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Editor07 mins

Prodemocracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries clashed with junta security forces guarding two Chinese-owned copper mine projects over the weekend in the country’s war-torn Sagaing region after the military attacked two villages in the area, PDF fighters said Monday. The fighting broke out on Sunday when junta troops, who had been sent to defend the mines following threats by local PDF groups, entered the villages of Shwe Pan Khaing and Thedaw Gyi in Sagaing’s Yinmarbin township, Myaunk Yamar PDF spokesman Ko Khant told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “It was a military security column guarding the Yangtse and Wanbao projects,” he said, referring to the Chinese companies that operate the two mines in collaboration with the military’s Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) company. “They left from Yinmarbin township on May 5 and spent the night in Wadan village and Tal Bin Kan village, in [neighboring] Salingyi township. They then started an offensive against Shwe Pan Khaing and Thedaw Gyi villages on the Yinmarbin township side.” Ko Khant said that the PDF did not attack the troops guarding the copper mine projects and only engaged with them after they began raiding the villages, adding that the fighting had lasted for around four hours. Last week, the junta vowed to defend the suspended copper mines, seen as a key source of revenue for the military regime, after the PDF threatened to destroy them if owners resume operations. Following the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup, employees walked off the job to join the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), reducing the mines’ operating capacity by more than 80 percent. In early April, junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in eastern China’s Anhui province in what analysts said signaled Myanmar’s desire for deeper economic ties to its northern ally. Not long after the trip, residents of Salingyi reported that workers were being called back to the mines to restart the projects after more than a year of downtime, prompting threats from the PDF. Sit Naing, spokesman for the Salingyi PDF, told RFA that his and other PDF groups “will not attack them if they do not resume the projects.” “We didn’t start the fight in this incident – they began using weapons to threaten residents of nearby villages, telling them not to come close to the projects. It appears that the projects are being restarted, given this kind of action.” Sit Naing said that around 200 troops have been deployed to guard each project. At the Wanbao mine, machine guns were positioned around the project targeting the villages, he added. “They have even fired 120-millimeter guns into the villages,” he said. “Tensions between the junta troops and the PDF have been high for three days. The junta forces fired three artillery shells at villages in Yinmarbin township last night.” Sit Naing said the three shells had set fire to several houses and caused residents to flee, but no one was hurt. Heavy artillery shelling was reported in other villages on Monday, he said. No official statement was released by the junta in connection with the clashes. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Minister of Information Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun about the clashes went unanswered on Monday. Residents of the area where the copper projects are located have held daily protests demanding that Beijing respect the wishes of the people of Myanmar by shutting them down, and on April 25, nearly 560 prodemocracy groups sent an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping urging him to stop supporting the junta through the mines and other China-backed development projects. According to Myanmar’s Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, 32 Chinese garment factories were set on fire in the early months of the coup, while PDF attacks on Chinese projects have damaged the water supply pipeline to one of the mines in Sagaing, as well as a gas pipeline and nickel plant in Mandalay region. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Myanmar’s 4 strongest ethnic armies reject junta invitation to peace talks

Editor012 mins

Myanmar’s four most powerful ethnic armed groups have rejected an olive branch from the junta, saying there can be no peace talks until the military regime allows the country’s shadow government and the paramilitary group that fights on its behalf to take a seat at the table. On April 22, junta chief, Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, called for negotiations that he promised to personally attend and gave the ethnic armies until Monday to accept the offer. But the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF) all rejected the invitation. They said that by not offering all stakeholders the chance to participate, the junta showed it is unwilling to meet halfway. “We recognize that political issues need to be addressed through a political dialogue,” KIA information officer, Col. Naw Bu, told RFA’s Myanmar Service, when asked about the decision not to register for the talks. “We are not attending the meeting this time because it’s clear to us that we will not be able to reach a point at which we can discuss real political issues.” The four ethnic armies are Myanmar’s largest, most experienced and best equipped, and together have accounted for some of the strongest resistance to military rule. KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Tawney said that in addition to refusing to allow the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and the prodemocracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group to attend talks, the junta had failed to honor commitments it had made to his and other ethnic armies, such as reducing its troop presence in their territories in the country’s remote border regions. “If the talks are not held in an inclusive environment, the consequences will be indescribable for the country,” he said. The junta has rejected requests from ethnic leaders and the international community to let the NUG and PDF participate in the talks. Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly said that the junta will not talk with “terrorists,” and vowed to continue to crack down on the groups. Padoh Saw Tawney said that if the military has good intentions, it should “leave politics” so that the rest of Myanmar’s stakeholders can form a federal democracy and begin the process of rebuilding the country. “We cannot go without these preconditions,” he said. Other ethnic leaders, such as KNPP First Secretary Khu Daniel, told RFA that peace talks without the NUG and PDF would be “meaningless,” and suggested that the junta peace offer was part of a bid to create a schism within the armed opposition. “The NUG formed political alliances with our ethnic groups,” he said. “The junta intends to separate them from these groups. But without them, there will be no solution to this problem.” Khu Daniel acknowledged that some ethnic armies had agreed to join in negotiations but noted that they have smaller forces and hadn’t made much headway in fighting against the military. “Our groups, which are really fighting, are not attending. So, nothing will come out of it,” he said. Myanmar’s Commander in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (C) poses for a photo during the second anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyidaw, in a file photo. Credit: Reuters Armies that accepted In addition to the KIA, KNU, KNPP, and CNF, the other ethnic armies to reject the invitation were the All Burma Students Democratic Front and the Lahu Democratic Union — two of the 10 groups that have signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government since 2015. The United Wa State Party, the Shan State Progressive Party, and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) have said they will attend the peace talks. So have the Arakan State Liberation Party, the Shan State Rehabilitation Council, the Karen National Peace Council, the Democratic Karen Army, the New Mon State Party, and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization — all of which are members of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) of NCA signatories. The 10 groups that signed the NCA have suggested that the deal remains in place, despite an already flailing peace process that was all but destroyed by the unpopular junta’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Previously, all 10 said they would not pursue talks with the military, which they view as having stolen power from the country’s democratically elected government. PPST spokesman, Col. Saw Kyaw Nyunt, said his group decided to accept the junta invitation with the hope that it would lead to broader negotiations. “It’s a start with the aim of finding a way to have inclusive talks,” he said. “We’ll try to determine how to create such an inclusive political environment, even though we have not yet held a political dialogue to build a federal democratic union.” The three northern alliances — the Kokang National Democratic Alliance, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army — have said they are still negotiating among themselves over Min Aung Hlaing’s offer. Speaking to RFA at the end of last week, junta deputy information minister, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, told RFA that “most” of the ethnic armed groups had accepted the invitation. On Monday, he said that “a total of nine groups” had confirmed they would attend talks — NCA signatories Democratic Karen Army, Karen National Peace Council, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, New Mon State Party, Arakan State Liberation Party, and Shan State Rehabilitation Council; and non-signatories United Wa State Party, Shan State Progressive Party, and National Democratic Alliance Army. “Some groups have issued statements saying they will not attend, and we are waiting for others to make their decision,” he said. Zaw Min Tun said the junta is committed to pushing the peace process forward, adding that it is willing to “openly discuss the establishment of a union based on democracy and federalism.” ‘Effort to buy time’ Naing Htoo Aung, permanent secretary of the NUG’s Defense Ministry, said that 15 months after seizing power, the junta has led Myanmar to ruin, and its rule is…

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North Korea enlists office workers to carry water to fields in battle to save crops

Editor08 mins

Local officials in North Korea are forcing office workers into the fields to help water plants due to a shortage of working water pumps, as the government struggles to combat a widespread drought, sources in the country told RFA. North Korea frequently drafts ordinary citizens whenever it needs manpower for public projects, a practice that has drawn complaints from a population struggling to make ends meet. Forced labor is often used for construction, road maintenance and agriculture. But sources told RFA that mobilizing people to do the work of water pumps was essentially meaningless. An agricultural source from the city of Chongju in the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA’s Korean Service that city and county irrigation management office managers across the country were told by the Central Committee in Pyongyang to what they had to do to prevent crop damage. “The Provincial Rural Economic Management Committee gathered the irrigation management office managers from each city and county, and the officials in charge of overall supervision and management of agricultural technology,” said the source, who requested anonymity out of security concerns. “The authorities emphasized the supply of agricultural water to the irrigation management officials because there was so little snow in the winter and no rain during the spring, and this could cause great damage to crops already planted,” said the source. But the efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the dry weather have been complicated by a shortage of working water pumps in the country, in part due to the suspension of trade with China in January 2020 due to the pandemic. Rail freight finally resumed almost two years later, but a resurgence of the pandemic in China led officials to close the border again this month. “Currently, most of the water pumps and electric motors from each working group under the Chongju Irrigation Management Office are broken … and the parts for the machines are not available on the market because the border has been closed due to COVID-19,” the source said. “The irrigation management officials are pursuing a plan to smuggle used water pumps and electric motors from China in order to carry out the Central Committee’s order,” the source said. Pumps typically cost between U.S. $800 and $1,000, although used ones can be bought for about half that price, the source said. Authorities in some areas are trying to solve their pump problems by forcing people to manually water the planted crops, a source in South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “Officials and clerks, not only from the agricultural sector, but also from organizations in the province and neighboring Pyongyang, and workers from state-owned enterprises are being mobilized,” the South Pyongan source said. “Nationwide, the temperature in April was more than 2 degrees Celsius higher than usual, and precipitation was less than half of most years, and hot and dry weather is expected to continue in May. In the case of Chungsan county in our province, workers from various central organizations, such as the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Commerce, the Maritime Administration Bureau, and the Literature and Arts Publishing House, provided support for three days in a row,” the South Pyongan source said. But regardless of how many able bodies are on hand to render assistance, they desperately need water pumps to properly irrigate the crops, the South Pyongan source said. “The state is unable to provide this, so it recklessly mobilizes large numbers of people,” the South Pyongan source said. A source in North Pyongan’s Ryongchon county told RFA that the authorities are rushing to save the crops that have already been damaged before the water-intensive rice-planting season. “The irrigation management office under the Farm Management Committee of Ryongchon county used to operate six water pumps to supply water to every cooperative farm. Due to the frequent power outages last year, only three water pumps are currently in operation following motor failure,” this source said. “The three water pumps are currently concentrated in wheat fields that are severely damaged by drought, so there are no water pumps to supply water to the rice paddies where rice planting will be carried out. Coil wires and insulation materials are essential to repair the broken water pumps, but there is no support at all from the government,” he said. Another agricultural source, in the northeastern province of South Hamgyong, reported to RFA that office workers there were also mobilized to water the crops, some of them forced to carry water on their backs. “I am more concerned about rice planting. There is a lot of work to do, such as bed management, watering the rice fields, and harrowing. You can’t just make the farmers water wheat and barley fields,” the source said. “If the rice seedlings that have just been sown don’t have enough moisture, they will not germinate properly. Also, without enough water, the wheat and barley yields may drop,” the source said. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Lao central bank blames depreciating kip on currency converter manipulation

Editor09 mins

Laos’ central bank is blaming the depreciation of the country’s kip currency on money exchange businesses colluding to manipulate the market, but a lack of foreign reserves and an import-export imbalance appear to be the true causes, sources in the country told RFA. According to Asia News Network, the kip depreciated by six percent against the U.S. dollar between Jan. 4 and April 8. At the same time, prices for imported household goods rose by 15-50 percent between April and January, the Vientiane Times reported. A report from the Bank of Laos (BOL) acknowledged the decline, saying that from February this year, the kip entered a period in which it set records for decreases in valuation relative to the U.S. dollar and the Thai baht. The central bank claimed that the currency was depreciating as a direct result of manipulation by illegal currency conversion shops, but sources who operate those businesses deny that they are to blame. “We exchange money based on a free-market mechanism and the banks cannot control anything. … The depreciation of the Lao kip is because imports exceed exports. We import more and more,” a money changer and gold seller in the central province of Borikhamxay told RFA’s Lao Service. “For example, there are many businesspeople who import all kinds of products ranging from fertilizer, seafood and snacks from Thailand and they need a large amount of baht or U.S. dollars to do this. They cannot get foreign currency at the banks, even though the banks set the exchange rate very low. They have to use our service to get foreign currency to continue their businesses,” the moneychanger said on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Because the moneychangers must buy foreign currency at a high rate, they must also sell it for an even higher rate to remain in business, the moneychanger said. The economic police from the Ministry of Public Security and officials from the BOL last month raided illegal money exchange shops as part of a broad crackdown, state media reported. The intent was to stop the kip’s depreciation against the baht and the dollar. It would have worked if there was actual collusion between the moneychangers, rather than the simple result of supply and demand, the Borikhamxay moneychanger said. Under normal circumstances, business owners would rather deal with the banks, but the banks have few reserves, forcing the owners to go to moneychangers, both legal and illegal. “We cannot exchange our kip for baht or dollars at any bank. Even if we could, they would limit the amount of money we can have, and this wouldn’t meet our needs,” the moneychanger said. Another moneychanger told RFA that depreciation feeds on itself. Fewer people want the kip as it falls further in value. “Many people do not want to hold the kip and it is losing value very fast. Thus, many people are scrambling to get foreign currency in their pockets and wallets,” the second moneychanger said. A trade expert in the southern province of Savannakhet, who asked not to be identified, said the fact that a trade deficit with Thailand has had a destabilizing effect on the kip. In 2021, Laos recorded a trade surplus of about $1 billion according to the Chinese news outlet Xinhua, but this included a trade deficit of $813 million with Thailand, data from the Lao Trade Portal showed. The most recent data from trade portal, from March, indicated a $100 million surplus, but with a $162 million deficit with Thailand. Banks withholding Thai baht forces prices higher and higher. “Even when people try to withdraw baht from their baht-denominated accounts, they can only get out 200,000 baht, or $6,000 per each account per day. For the big enterprise owners and business people, this policy makes everything difficult. The only thing they can do is to go to the exchange shops and accept their high exchange rates,” the expert said. Another expert, who declined to be identified, told RFA that a crackdown on illegal moneychangers would do little to stabilize the kip. “It would be far better to promote the exports to be stronger, and finally the kip will become strong itself under the free market,” he said. He said Laos’ lack of foreign currency reserves were the main reason why the kip is weak against its trading partners’ currencies. “Countries like China and Thailand have a much larger amount of foreign exchange reserves that would last several months. If the BOL wants to solve the problem of the depreciation of the kip, it would be better to let the exchange rate be based the free market, … or try to increase the foreign exchange reserves or get more foreign currency to meet the market needs, which is very challenging,” he said. A BOL official agreed that most banks do not have enough foreign currency to sell to consumers, although there are some that could sell foreign currency on a limited basis. “Anyone who wishes to exchange kip for foreign currencies has to be a legal entity, for example, a company, enterprise, or organization declaring to make payment in foreign currencies to companies overseas. The exchange will also have limitation and not everyone will get the amount he or she wants,” the official told RFA, on condition of anonymity for privacy reasons. According to the the Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public, the official exchange rate for the kip was 12,666 kip per dollar on May 6. A Vientiane moneychanger told RFA that the free market rate on the same day was 14,050 kip per dollar. Translated by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Detained former opposition chief meets with Cambodia’s Hun Sen

Editor010 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with the detained former leader of a dissolved opposition party on Sunday, weeks before local elections are to be held in the Southeast Asian nation. Few details were released about what the two men discussed, but one Cambodian political analyst said that the meeting was unlikely to lead to any significant changes in the political climate of the country, where opposition candidates continue to face harassment. Kem Sokha, who led the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), faces up to 30 years in jail on treason charges over an alleged plot purportedly backed by the United States to overthrow Hun Sen and his government. Kem Sokha and the prime minister met in Kampong Cham province during the funeral of Hun Neng, Hun Sen’s 72-year-old brother, who died on May 5. For about four hours, the two discussed national policy issues, including measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the status of the vaccination campaign and post-crisis economic recovery, Muth Chantha, a close aide to Kem Sokha, told news website Cambodianess. It was not disclosed whether Kem Sokha, whose trial resumed in January after two years of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, asked Hun Sen to help resolve his case. “Today, I and my colleagues went to pay homage to the soul of Samdach Oudom Tepnhan [honorific] Hun Neng at his home in Kampong Cham. On that occasion, I and Samdach Techo Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, discussed many issues, especially the country’s issues. And the Khmer people too,” Kem Sokha said on his Facebook page on Sunday. The funeral meeting comes days before Hun Sen begins a rare visit to Washington for a summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden for leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The U.S. has been critical of the rapid shift to authoritarian rule in Cambodia that began with the arrest of Sokha in September 2017 and the banning of the CNRP two months later. Exiled political analyst Kim Sok said while the meeting was unexpected, he does not believe that it will lead to Hun Sen allowing Kem Sokha to participate in local commune elections on June 5. “It may be just a slight relaxation, for example, to allow Kem Sokha to meet his supporters without such restrictions,” he told RFA. “But will there be a political solution to release Kem Sokha so he can lead the CNRP again or launch a new party to engage in politics to his full potential? “This is not the time for Hun Sen to be thinking that he should give in to Kem Sokha, or else he should wait until he [Sokha] is no longer a rival to him and his son,” Kim Sok said, referring to Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, an army commander expected eventually to succeed his long-ruling father. Since being charged with treason, Kem Sokha has met with Hun Sen one other time. The two talked for almost an hour at Hun Sen’s residence on May 5, 2020, when Sokha paid his respects to the prime minister’s deceased mother-in-law. Harassment of Candlelight Party activists Sunday’s meeting came two days after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Cambodian government to stop persecuting political opponents ahead of the local elections next month and a national election in 2023. But there is no indication that the two are related, and Thach Setha, vice president of the Candlelight Party, a small opposition party that has itself been gaining support, told RFA on Monday that officials from Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) continue to harass candidates and activists from his party. Khem Monikosal, president of the Candlelight Party in Pailin province, was called by a local prosecutor to appear in court for second time on May 11 to face incitement and discrimination charges in connection with a Facebook post criticizing government health care workers for not performing their duties in a COVID-19 quarantine center in 2021. Khem Monikosal, a former health officer, told RFA that the summons was meant to intimidate him after authorities fired him from his post in 2021. “We are busy with political activities, organizing work, but the court summoned me twice, causing a lot of trouble,” he said. “This is an oppression of political party activists, and especially of me because I represent the Candlelight Party in Pailin.” Chea Sa, deputy prosecutor of the Pailin Provincial Court, told RFA that he could not comment on the matter. The Koh Kong Provincial Court meanwhile issued a summons for Pal Kep, a Candlelight Party member running to be Stung Veng commune chief, in response to a complaint filed by CPP lawyers. The complaint accuses Pal Kep of forgery, falsifying public documents to endanger national security, public defamation and illegal election campaign activity. Pal Kep said he applied for an adjournment with the provincial court on Monday. He said the summons is an effort to intimidate him. “The accusation against me is very cruel, but I will use my legal rights to protect me and to confront this,” he said. Wai Phirum, deputy governor of the Koh Kong Provincial Court, denied that the case was politically motivated, in an interview with RFA. RFA could not reach the CCP’s Koh Kong lawyers for comment. Ny Sokha, president of the rights group Adhoc, said that the cases against the Candlelight Party members was meant as a political threat. “We think that in order to create a pre-election atmosphere in which political parties can compete in a free and fearless [arena], the court system should not be used to charge or detain or intimidate for political motivation purposes,” he said. Translated by Sum Sok Ry for RFA’s Khmer Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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ASEAN foreign ministers to meet in Washington before summit with US

Editor07 mins

Southeast Asian foreign ministers will meet “unofficially” in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Myanmar junta reneging on a consensus with ASEAN to move the country back towards democracy, Malaysia’s foreign ministry said. At the meeting to be held on the eve of a two-day U.S.-ASEAN summit in the American capital, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah will call for unofficial engagement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Myanmar’s parallel civilian National Unity Government (NUG), the ministry said Monday. “The meeting will be held on the 11th in Washington,” Saifuddin’s press secretary told BenarNews. “It will be held face to face as most leaders will be there.” The official also confirmed that Saifuddin had told a local newspaper, The Star, that the May 11 meeting was being held unofficially and to discuss the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. “We will put forward several views on how we can ensure the 5PC is implemented properly,” the minister said in an interview Saturday with The Star. Saifuddin was referring to a five-point consensus agreed upon among ASEAN members, including the Burmese junta, which overthrew the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, three months after her party won re-election by a landslide. Most analysts agree that implementation of the consensus, which was reached on April 24 last year, has been a colossal failure. ASEAN envoys appointed by successive chairs of the regional bloc have not been able to meet with all parties concerned, and the junta’s forces have unleashed even more violence after agreeing to the consensus. More than 1,800 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Myanmar’s security forces since the coup, and nearly 11,000 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced by the military regime. The consensus had called for the “immediate cessation of violence”; a constructive dialogue among all parties; the mediation of such talks by a special envoy of the ASEAN chair; provisions of humanitarian assistance coordinated by ASEAN; and a visit to Myanmar by an ASEAN delegation, headed by the special envoy, to meet with all parties. ‘Engage the NUG’ Meanwhile, Saifuddin, who had earlier said he would propose that ASEAN start an informal dialogue with the NUG and the National Unity Consultative Council, reiterated that he would make this proposal at this week’s meeting. The NUCC includes representatives of the NUG, civil society groups, ethnic armed organizations, and civil disobedience groups. “It’s okay for us to show impartiality but we should engage [the NUG] because according to the 5PC, we need to engage all stakeholders,” he said. This did not imply ASEAN was taking sides, he noted. Besides, Saifuddin had said in late April that he already contacted the NUG. “We have no business in choosing sides. We have to take into consideration that the NUG is a government that was formed through an election and the NUCC is the grouping of all kinds of organizations, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, ethnic groups and regional groups,” Saifuddin told The Star. The Malaysian foreign minister’s comments came about a week after the Myanmar junta’s foreign ministry reacted furiously to his earlier suggestion that ASEAN engage unofficially with the NUG. On May 3, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted the junta’s foreign ministry as saying it “protests and rejects” the Malaysian foreign minister’s remarks, because “they could abet terrorism and violence in the country, hampering the Myanmar Government’s anti-terrorism efforts and infringe international agreements related to combatting terrorism.” Separately, a group of Southeast Asian parliamentarians on Monday urged ASEAN and the U.S. to take the opportunity of their meeting next week to initiate tougher action against the Myanmar military. “We urge the U.S. and ASEAN to adopt much stronger measures than those taken so far, including the suspension of Myanmar’s membership in the group, travel bans in the region for Min Aung Hlaing and his generals, and targeted sanctions against the leaders of the coup,” ASEAN parliamentarians for Human Rights said in a statement.

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Hong Kong’s one-horse leadership poll marks end of city’s special status: analysts

Editor011 mins

Hong Kong’s one-horse leadership poll, which selected former security chief John Lee — the only candidate — for the city’s top job at the weekend, has wiped out any distinction between the city and the rest of mainland China, commentators said on Monday. Lee, a former police officer who oversaw a violent crackdown on the 2019 protest movement, was “elected” by a Beijing-backed committee under new rules imposed on the city to ensure that only those loyal to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can hold public office. Ninety-nine percent of the 1,500-strong committee voted for Lee, who was the only candidate on the slate. Lee, who takes office on July 1, the anniversary of the 1997 handover to China, vowed to “start a new chapter” in Hong Kong, which has seen waves of mass, popular protest over the erosion of the city’s promised freedoms in recent years. He also denied that anyone had been detained or imprisoned for “speech crimes” under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by Beijing from July 1, 2020, saying that people were only taken to court because of their “actions.” Incumbent chief executive Carrie Lam said Saturday‘s “election” showed why a citywide crackdown on dissent and political opposition, which included the changes to electoral processes, was needed. “[The] chief executive election was very important, because … it meant we were able to fully implement a political system in which Hong Kong is ruled by patriots,” Lam told reporters. She thanked Beijing for restoring “stability” in Hong Kong with the national security law and the electoral changes. The national security law ushered in a citywide crackdown on public dissent and criticism of the authorities that has seen several senior journalists, pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai and 47 former lawmakers and democracy activists charged with offenses from “collusion with a foreign power” to “subversion.” “National security education” — a CCP-style propaganda drive targeting all age-groups from kindergarten to university — is also mandatory under the law, while student unions and other civil society groups have disbanded, with some of their leaders arrested in recent months. Chan Po-ying (2nd R) of the League of Social Democrats waits as police question two of her colleagues before they hold a protest against the selection process of the city’s chief executive in Hong Kong , May 8, 2022. Credit: RFA. ‘Steady erosion of political and civil rights’ In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. criticized Lee’s “election” as “part of a continued assault on political pluralism and fundamental freedoms.” “The current nomination process and resulting appointment … further erode the ability of Hongkongers to be legitimately represented. We are deeply concerned about this steady erosion of political and civil rights and Hong Kong’s autonomy,” they said. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Lee’s selection had “violated democratic principles and political pluralism in Hong Kong.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing believed that Lee would lead a new administration and the people of Hong Kong to “a new prospect of good governance.” A Taiwan-based Hongkonger who have only the surname Wong said the city had entered a “new era,” referencing the political ideology of CCP leader Xi Jinping. “What is this era? It is one of rule by a military regime and of white terror of a kind that Taiwan has seen before; an era of dictatorship,” Wong said. “I don’t think there is any more room for breakthroughs or changes to the way things are developing for civil society in Hong Kong, or to the system,” he said. “There’s no going back from this.” A former 2019 protester who gave only the nickname Joker said he had also left his home city for democratic Taiwan, and has no prospect of going back there any time soon. “It makes no difference to me whether John Lee comes to power or not; the government has had no respect for us since [the protests],” he said. “For me, Hong Kong is no longer the Hong Kong I once knew. It is no longer our home.” Former Causeway Bay bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei, also exiled in Taiwan, said the process had accelerated quicker than he had expected. “Things are worse in Hong Kong than I had previously thought they would get,” Lam told RFA. “It’s just like … [the rest of China] … The main thing now is obedience; obeying orders from central government,” ‘A tragedy for Hong Kong’ Taiwan-based current affairs commentator Sang Pu said Lee is likely to take an even harder line on matters deemed “national security” by Beijing than Carrie Lam. “John Lee is a security chief, not a decision-maker; he’s the white glove [concealing the iron fist] of the CCP,” Sang told RFA. “It’s clear from his record that he has a tough style, and may be even more vicious than either Carrie Lam or [her predecessor] Leung Chun-ying.” “[For example,] I understand that prisons in Hong Kong are becoming more and more indistinguishable from prisons in China,” he said. “I think CCP will seize even more control of Hong Kong in future, with religion, families and communities deeply impacted … no different from Xinjiang or the Soviet Union.” “This is a tragedy for Hong Kong.” Huang Chieh-chung, associate professor of international affairs and strategy at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, said Lee will also likely preside over even harsher national security legislation under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law. He said it was a move in the wrong direction. “The best thing would be for Beijing to govern Hong Kong as little as possible, and let the people of Hong Kong decide what the [differences between Hong Kong and China are],” Huang said. “The more Hongkongers have a right to speak up, the better.” Fan Shih-ping, professor at the Institute of Politics at Taiwan Normal University, said any distinction between Hong Kong and mainland China has been eroded with Lee’s accession to power. “Hong Kong…

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Police sent to Beijing university campus amid growing public anger over zero-COVID

Editor010 mins

Police were deployed to the campus of Beijing International Studies University at the weekend, as authorities in Shanghai step up forcible, mass isolation of residents in the wake of a top-down directive from ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping. A post on the BISU leaders’ message board said restrictions on people entering and leaving the school campus and the fencing off of living areas to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had been implemented with no consultation, and before any official announcement had been made. It said workers sent in to implement the restrictions and carry out disinfection work weren’t wearing masks, and that the measures had done little to stem the spread of the virus. “Please could the leaders take charge on behalf of ordinary people,” the post said, adding that people were bound to gather in public spaces if they were prevented from moving around freely. A video clip apparently shot at the BISU campus over the weekend showed rows of uniformed police officers standing ready, while a law enforcement officer gave a warning by megaphone. “This is your first warning,” the officer says. “We hope you will cooperate with the school CCP committee … and disperse immediately.” “If you are still here after the third warning, then the police will take lawful action to clear the area,” the officer says. After an official tells them to use official channels to pursue complaints, one person shouts: “You’re crazy! What channels do I have?” The BISU website posted a call for the university to obey CCP leader Xi Jinping’s call on colleges and universities to take part in his zero-COVID policy, which has led to grueling lockdowns enforced by steel barriers, forcible transfers to isolation facilities and ongoing mass testing in major cities including Shanghai, affecting tens of millions of people. The BISU party committee said it viewed disease control and prevention as “the political priority for the present,” and would “resolutely implement” the policy, without need for local centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) to get involved. City lockdown In Beijing’s Chaoyang district, residents of the Jiayuan residential compound were placed under lockdown by officials, who welded them into their apartment buildings with steel barriers. Beijing resident Wang Qiaoling said dozens of families were confined to their homes by the move. “These are 28-story high-rise apartment buildings, usually with three households to a floor, and sometimes four, so multiply 28 by three … it’s really scary,” Wang said. “Are any of them patients needing dialysis? Any who need to attend hospital or get out to buy medicines on a regular basis?” Shanghai’s lockdown has resulted in an unknown number of seriously ill patients dying due to lack of access to hospitals, which are insisting on negative PCR results, a test that can take up to 48 hours to return a result. “Is this what they mean by serving the people?” Wang said. “I bet the person giving this order didn’t have any family members in that block.” “We had the Wuhan lockdown of 2020, and they’re still locking cities down. Not just lockdowns, either, but welding people’s buildings shut.” Beijing-based current affairs commentator Ji Feng said Chaoyang is one of the most densely populated districts in Beijing. While most people in the city are currently going about their lives in a normal manner, the targeted lockdown in Chaoyang show how far local officials are willing to go to please those higher up. “It’s overkill at each level of the hierarchy,” Ji said. “If something gets said at the highest level, then every level below that overdoes the response, for fear of [spoiling their service record].” “If nothing bad happens, there are no bad consequences for overdoing things … in China, no questions get asked by leaders or those lower down about the process; only the result,” he said. ‘Many are resisting’ Since Xi’s speech reiterating his commitment to the zero-COVID policy, authorities in Shanghai have also stepped up lockdown measures, emptying entire residential buildings and taking residents away to isolation centers if only one person tests positive for COVID-19. “Please don’t go out,” a residential official is heard saying in one video posted to social media. “The entire building will be taken away if even a single person tests positive.” Other videos showed enforcement personnel in PPE white suits forcing their way in to people’s homes, spraying disinfectant all over their belongings, and separating a woman from her child. In one video, a resident refuses to leave with officials or to hand over the keys to her apartment. A Shanghai resident surnamed Chen said people are trying to resist. “Many people are resisting,” Chen told RFA. “I told them that it didn’t matter which leader came up with this idea; that it was totally unreasonable.” Signs of widespread dissent are also emerging online, only to be rapidly silenced. Chinese constitutional expert Tong Zhiwei had his Weibo account shut down after he wrote a post arguing that the forcible removal of residents to isolation centers, as well as the requisitioning of their homes for isolation purposes, is illegal in the absence of emergency legislation. “These agencies have no right to use coercive means to force residents to be quarantined in makeshift hospitals,” Tong wrote. “Public authorities at all levels and of all types in Shanghai have the responsibility and obligation to immediately stop the use of coercive means to send any residents other than patients, pathogen carriers, and suspected patients to isolation facilities.” He said the forcible requisitioning of people’s homes is also illegal. “Officials in Shanghai forcing residents to hand over their house keys, then sending people into their homes for ‘disinfection’, is trespassing illegally in citizens’ homes,” Tong wrote, adding, “this practice has already been implemented in some areas.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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China steps up drills around Taiwan, Japan scrambles jets due to airspace intrusion

Editor09 mins

The Chinese military conducted live-fire drills around Taiwan over the weekend, its official website said Monday, while Japan reported scrambling fighter jets because of a suspected intrusion of its airspace over the East China Sea. In a short dispatch on Monday, the military’s website said “naval, air and conventional missile forces of the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command held drills in seas and airspace to the east and southwest of Taiwan Island from May 6 to 8, in a bid to test and improve the joint operations capability of multiple services and arms.” PLA stands for People’s Liberation Army. It didn’t provide further details. The Japanese Ministry of Defense’s (JMOD’s) Joint Staff also confirmed via its social media that from May 6 to 8, Japanese air force’s fighters “scrambled to cope with a suspected intrusion into Japan’s airspace over the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.” Before that on Sunday, the JMOD issued a press release saying that the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and four other warships were spotted on May 7 in the waters about 150 kilometers (95 miles) south of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture. On May 6, the number of ships in the flotilla was six, the ministry said. ‘Future operations against Taiwan’ The Chinese vessels were conducting live-fire drills with carrier-based fighters and helicopters, the JMOD said, adding that Japan’s Izumo light aircraft carrier was dispatched to monitor the situation. RFA has approached the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MOND) for comment on the latest Chinese drills. Taiwan’s local media reported that he ministry has deployed Sky Bow III missiles, which have a maximum range of 200 kilometers (125 miles), to deal with threats to eastern Taiwan. F-16V fighter jets will be deployed at Taitung’s Chihang Base and a number of Hsiung Feng III and Harpoon missiles will also be moved to the east. Taiwanese people consider themselves citizens of a sovereign country but China claims the self-ruling, democratic island is a breakaway province of China and vows to unite it with the mainland, by force if necessary.   A file photo showing a rocket being fired from a Thunderbolt 2000 multi-rocket launcher during military exercises in Taichung City, central Taiwan, July 16, 2020. (AP Photo) Experts said that the appearance of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and aircraft near eastern Taiwan was a direct challenge to the island. Qi Leyi, a Taipei-based military analyst and commentator for RFA Mandarin, said that the PLA joint combat drills will escalate further in the future. “The sea and the airspace east and southwest of Taiwan will remain the focus of future operations against Taiwan,” Qi said. “Besides naval and air forces, the conventional missile force will be utilized, too, to attack Taiwan’s important political and military targets,” he said. Shen Ming-ShiI, acting deputy chief executive officer at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a government think-tank, said that in addition to demonstrating the capabilities of the aircraft carrier battle group, the Chinese drills around Taiwan also aim “to demonstrate the PLA blue water combat capabilities.” “It’s likely that one or two Chinese submarines have also conducted coordinated exercises underwater,” Shen said. The Taiwanese MOND said on May 6, 18 Chinese military planes entered the southwestern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the largest intrusion by Chinese military aircraft so far in May. Put on alert A week ago on May 2, the Japanese and Taiwanese militaries were put on alert after spotting a flotilla led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier sailing from the East China Sea towards the Pacific Ocean. On that day, the aircraft carrier was accompanied by seven destroyers and supply vessels, forming the largest Liaoning carrier group in recent voyages, according to the Chinese mouthpiece Global Times. Among seven warships in the Liaoning carrier group were the Type 055 large guided missile destroyer Nanchang, the Type 052D guided missile destroyer Chengdu, and the Type 901 comprehensive supply ship Hulunhu. The Liaoning – China’s first aircraft carrier – was seen carrying a number of J-15 fighter jets as well as Z-8 and Z-9 helicopters. The carrier group is on a “routine, realistic combat training mission,” said the hawkish newspaper. Last December, the aircraft carrier and five other vessels conducted drills in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the West Pacific for 21 days in order to boost its combat capability. The Global Times quoted Shi Hong, the editor of a Chinese military magazine, as saying that the waters where the Liaoning carrier group is holding drills is “a vital sea region should a reunification-by-force operation take place.” “By moving in tandem with aerial and maritime forces from the Chinese mainland, the carrier group could completely cut off the routes foreign forces may take if they militarily interfere with the Taiwan question,” Shi was quoted as saying. Taiwanese military analyst Shen Ming-Shih however pointed out that the fact that China uses the Liaoning aircraft carrier as the flagship to command and the other active carrier Shandong is in port for maintenance, shows that “the PLA still has the problem of dual aircraft carrier maritime confrontation, and its navigation scope is also limited.” “It can try bullying Taiwan, but in the face of the U.S. naval and air superiority, China still has great concerns,” he said.  

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A Reporter Looks Back: Better times in Shanghai

Editor010 mins

The current plight of Shanghai after weeks of draconian COVID-19 lockdowns causes me to recall better times in the 1980s when I enjoyed walking through the streets of China’s most populous city in search of a story. I always thought of Shanghai as a place where you could meet everyone from workers to leading intellectuals and discover that they would be honest with you. Or they’d at least let you know that under Communist Party rule they couldn’t be honest about everything. I covered demonstrations by protesting students and workers in Shanghai in 1986, and most were eager to explain why they were protesting for political reforms as long as I didn’t use their names. The demonstrations took place in Shanghai and other Chinese citizens in the context of high inflation rates leading to increased living costs. I remember once trying to board a bus in Shanghai and being pushed aside until a few people realized that this foreigner needed help in getting on board. They kindly stepped back until I could get up into the bus. One of the most bizarre meetings which I participated in in Shanghai took place in 1988 when Katherine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, met with Jiang Zemin, then the city’s mayor. Jiang later went on become General Secretary of the Communist Party, the most powerful position in China. I was the Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post at the time. In the meeting with Mrs. Graham, Jiang seemed to be determined to avoid addressing serious issues. Instead, he spoke at length about difficulties facing Shanghai’s garbage collectors. It sounded as if watermelon rinds littering the streets was issue number one for him. The Christian Science Monitor summed things up well recently when it reported that Shanghai has now emerged as “an epicenter in China’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began in Wuhan in 2019.” The report described how Shanghai citizens are now using social media to share information that the city government has failed to provide to them. ‘Big white’ The report described quarantine enforcers—nicknamed “da bai,” or “big white”— shouting through megaphones at an intersection. They were summoning city residents for testing, carrying out an extraordinary order issued by municipal officials to test the whole city in a single day to combat COVID-19. Individuals in Shanghai are now tracked through their phones for test results, their locations, and even whether they bought medicines. It assigns them a risk status that determines whether they can move around, are restricted at home, or are quarantined. Their data is then shared with the police. People in Beijing worry they will face draconian lockdowns similar to that in Shanghai. In Beijing, local news reports showed road closures and apartment buildings sealed off with metal fencing as officials imposed “targeted lockdowns” in neighborhoods. Officials in Beijing are under pressure to makes sure that the capital city doesn’t become a repeat of Shanghai’s lockdown, which was marred by food shortages, clashes with authorities, and angry citizens venting their frustrations online. Foreigners in Shanghai are concerned about crowding, traffic congestion, and air pollution, among other things. Shanghai is the home to some 150,000 officially registered foreigners. This includes some 31,500 Japanese, 21,000 Americans, and 20,700 Koreans. These numbers are based on official figures, so the real number of foreigners based in China’s financial capital is probably much higher. The number of foreigners who have left Shanghai since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus isn’t clear. The South China Morning Post reported that foreign residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food following the outbreak of the virus at the end of March this year. On April 22, foreign businesses reported that less than half of their employees were able to get to their factories due to lockdown restrictions. Cleaner air Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal recently described how China’s strictly controlled, top-down political system was affecting Shanghai’s e-commerce. Until recently, Shanghai boasted one of the world’s most robust delivery services. With a few taps on their smartphones, consumers could find groceries at their door steps within 30 minutes to an hour. But the rigid lockdown of Shanghai that began in late March put an end to that network. It had been built on sophisticated technology and an army of delivery workers. The network collapsed as Shanghai began fighting a surge in COVID-19 cases, according to reporters In late April, Beijing was reaching a critical point in its efforts to halt a COVID-19 outbreak, as new cases spread from school students and a tour group, while deaths in Shanghai more than tripled from a day earlier. As of May 8, Shanghai had reported 554 deaths, while Beijing recorded nine–out of a total of 5,185 deaths nationwide. While still low by global standards, the numbers are a challenge to the ability of China’s top leaders to halt outbreaks with their zero-COVID policy. Shanghai is an important financial and shipping center both for China and the world. Its port has ranked first for container ship throughput in the world in recent decades. There is fear that China’s COVID shutdowns could feed inflation by disrupting the supply chains that many manufacturers rely on, pushing up the cost of making and transporting goods. A major downside of Shanghai’s industrialization has been air pollution. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Wilson Center, the Shanghai government has intended to invest 100 billion yuan, or more than $15 million, in 200 projects to reduce air pollution. According to the website “Health and Safety in Shanghai,” air pollution has been one of the main concerns of foreigners living there. But it claims that much improvement has been made in recent years. A “Shanghai Clean Air Action Plan” was unveiled in 2013. A report issued in 2014 said that Shanghai’s air pollution was derived from motor vehicle and factory emissions, power stations, and straw burning by farmers, among other things. Shanghai introduced the strictest air pollution law in China. It went into effect on October 1, 2014.  Dan Southerland is RFA’s founding executive editor.

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