Keywords: Wukan protest, Lin Zuluan, nationalwide labour protest against Walmart, Brexit, state-owned enterprise reform, toxic school’s playing field, Causeway Bay Bookstore, Lam Wing-kee.

CHINA – POLITICS

1. Wukan protest over land dispute

The village chief Lin Zuluan was taken away at night before he held a villager assembly on 19 June so as to press the authorities to face the land problems by collective petitioning (jiti shangfang). He was then charged of corruption. After his arrest, villagers gathered on 19 June and protested for his release and proper dealing of the land dispute (photos here). Lin later appeared on TV and made a televised confession to the charges on him. His grandson was taken away before his televised confession. On 24 June, the government of Shanwei City announced that Lin has confessed taking bribery from a construction project of the running track of a Wukan’s school.

• //The village chief at the centre of land seizure protests in southern China has been accused by the authorities of taking large amounts of bribes in return for handing out infrastructure projects, prosecutors said on Monday. Lin Zuluan was detained by the police in Wukan in Guangdong province in the early hours of Sunday morning. The next day thousands of villagers took part in a protest and demanded his release, amid a heavy presence of riot police on the streets. Wukan attracted headlines around the world five years ago after villagers staged a series of protests over land seizures.// Source: SCMP, 20 June 2016.

• //The village chief at the centre of protests over land seizures in Wukan, Guangdong, has confessed to taking bribes in a video released by local authorities amid mounting demands for his release. […] In the video shown by the Shanwei government, which administers Wukan, Lin admitted taking bribes. […]“Due to my ignorance of law, I took huge kickbacks in contracting and procurement projects. This is a crime – the biggest crime I’ve committed,” Lin said in the video, which was shown at a government press conference. […] One resident said her son was forced at school to sign a document stating Lin had received bribes, and those who refused to sign were not allowed to leave. Other villagers said the school extended its hours to prevent pupils from joining the protest. The school denied the allegation. A Shanwei official accused Apple Daily and Initium Media of inciting, planning and directing protests at the village.// Source: SCMP, 21 June 2016.

• //Two renowned rights lawyers based in southern China say judicial authorities told them to avoid the case involving the Wukan village chief who has been detained on suspicion of bribery after calling for protests over land grabs. But they pointed out that under mainland law, Lin Zuluan was entitled to counsel, whether he was guilty or not.// Source: SCMP, 22 June 2016.

• //汕尾市对外通报乌坎村原党总支书记村委会主任林祖恋案情进展：今天（24日）上午11点，广东省汕尾市政府新闻办召开新闻通气会，通报了陆丰市东海镇乌坎村原党总支书记、村委会主任林祖恋涉嫌受贿一案的最新进展。林祖恋已供认收受巨额贿赂。汕尾市政府新闻办主任 施硕焱：针对网民发帖称原乌坎村支书林祖恋插手乌坎学校塑胶跑道工程，并从中收受高比例回扣的反映，广东省汕尾市检察机关根据举报线索进行了调查。现已经查明，网民举报属实。林祖恋对此供认不讳。为确保学生的安全健康，汕尾市政府已经指定教育主管部门立即责成乌坎学校停止使用其塑胶跑道。塑胶跑道样本现已由质检部门送达国家指定检测机构检测。汕尾市委、市政府历来高度重视关心学生健康成长，决不允许侵害学生权益现象。如果此次乌坎学校的塑胶跑道是“毒跑道”，将进一步严厉追究相关当事人的责任。// Source: The Paper, 24 June 2016.

The original spark of the protest: Huahui Development Project near Wukan Village

• //5年前領導烏坎村民維權、後高票當選的烏坎村委會主任、村書記林祖戀，原計畫在19日發起村民大會，以「集體上訪」方式要求當局直面土地問題。 6月15日，他曾在社交媒體上公開向東海鎮政府提出的上訪申請。在「上訪申請書」中，他強調，烏坎村自2011年的「921事件」以來，村民的涉土訴求沒有得到解決，「集體利益深受（地方）政府侵害⋯⋯地方政府不執行省工作組妥善處理涉土問題的安排，反而允許發生『華輝事件』」。兩名知情村民告訴端傳媒，華輝地產項目是引爆林祖戀決心上訪及烏坎民眾再度上街遊行的直接原因。華輝龍湖灣項目負責人在未徵求烏坎村委及村民同意下，在屬於烏坎村的耕地上開工建設總佔地17萬平方米的房地產項目。第一期五座地產項目預計年底開售。諷刺的是，該項目正是座落在五年前烏坎村集體上訪反對的陸豐碧桂園項目旁。村民林文娟告訴端傳媒，烏坎村委及村民多次向開發商抗議，指項目未經村民允許，但都未果。 「他們企業負責人說，東海縣政府、縣長都簽字給我（批准使用土地），你們憑什麼（干預）。」另一名要求匿名的村民則告訴端傳媒，「林叔（林祖戀）發火的直接原因是，華輝項目建設用地已經擴大到烏坎，包括一些爭議用地，但有關方並沒有諮詢烏坎村村委或村民的意見。」[…] 到了19日下午2時，數百名烏坎村民已經在村中心戲台集合。 「我來要回土地，」74歲的村民楊寶鋭告訴端傳媒，「希望媒體報導出去，有青天老爺來救我們。」由於領袖林祖戀被捕，戲台上一度缺乏主導者。在楊珍簡短地表達感謝村民們的到來後，60歲出頭的村民魏永漢自發上台，呼籲所有村民勇敢爭取自己「祖宗留下來的土地」。 […] 「現在我們沒有代表，沒有組織者，我們的領導被抓了，我們也不能散漫，不能不文明，現在我們都是自願過來，」25歲的村民楊某告訴端傳媒。對於當局指控林祖戀涉嫌受賄，所有受訪村民都表示，不相信。林祖戀家人表示，由於林早前並沒預料自己會提前被捕，組織這次村民大會變得十分困難，幸好有數名村中年輕人主動上台協助遊行，包括分發國旗、協助隊伍文明遊行等。遊行民眾高峰時達兩千人，從仙翁戲台出發，經金港大道到村口新烏坎市場，再返回戲台。與2011年的烏坎遊行不同，當局並未直接與民眾發生衝突，而是採取了更多暗裏對策。約350名防暴警、武警，看守在陸豐市公安局烏坎邊防派出所前，但並沒接觸遊行隊伍。更多武警、便衣及交警則早在兩日前進駐村內，數百米長的金港大道兩旁停滿了警用車輛，有武警直接在大巴上輪流歇息，有村民稱總出警數有近2000人。遊行結束後，大隊臨時決定於20日徵集村民集體簽名，進一步向政府施壓，要求釋放林祖戀。// Source: The Initium, 19 June 2016.

The change of village committee composition in 2014:

• //林祖戀在烏坎村的威望很高，尤其是5年前帶領村民贏得維權的勝利，但在2014年村委會重選後，村委中進來很多政府背景的人，很多都是林的反對者，使他很多想法無法落實。亦有許多村民認為林已歸順了「上面」，又沒解決到土地問題，所以對他有些質疑，「村民不了解過程中有什麽糾結，只看結果」。村民形容他成為了「光棍司令」，因為村中有實力的人已不再理會他。//Source: MingPao Daily, 20 June 2016.

Some background information of the Wukan protests over land dispute in the past decade:

• //2005年，當地因建設紅海灣電廠徵地問題，引起萬人抗議，最終軍警開槍射殺3名村民，事件在國際上也掀起軒然大波。2013年，距烏坎村不遠的博社村被揭發是全國第一毒村，全村生產佔全國供應量三成的冰毒，要出動武警特警才能將全部毒窩搗破。4年前烏坎事件爆發後，受省委書記汪洋指派，省委副書記朱明國入村談判，代表省委答允村民條件，令事件和平落幕，據說汪洋還點名要林祖戀出任村黨支部書記。事件當時成了內地建設和諧社會的典範。官方傳媒報道，時任中央政治局常委兼中央政法委書記的周永康曾在中南海親自接見朱明國表彰，有輿論甚至鼓噪提名汪洋和林祖戀競爭諾貝爾和平獎。不過好景不長，烏坎的新村委內部矛盾重重，有人入獄，有人辭職，土地要不回來，村民怨聲又起。另一邊廂，周永康、朱明國先後涉貪落馬，汪洋在十八大上亦功虧一簣，未能如願入常。現任汕尾市委書記石奇珠曾任廣州花都區公安局長，可見今次官方態度強硬其來有自。土地問題是內地廣大農村地區面對的普遍問題，烏坎的問題不易解決，對現任廣東省委書記胡春華是一大挑戰，對於汪洋明年十九大的仕途也至關重要，因此，雖然今次事件由汕尾市主導善後，但相信廣州和北京都密切關注。// Source: MingPao Daily, 23 June 2016.

• //In 2011, the issue of illegal land grabs led to a months-long stand-off between the villagers and the authorities, which eventually attracted international attention. The Guangdong provincial government eventually caved in and – in an attempt to end the protests over their land – granted Wukan residents a direct grassroots election, so that they could select their own leaders by ballot. However, almost five years on, villagers have complained that the land disputes remained unresolved if not worsen. Ironically, Zhu Mingguo, a close aide of then Guangdong Party chief Wang Yang, who forged the peaceful settlement over the 2011 Wukan protests, was arrested last year and admitted accepting bribes totalling more than 140 million yuan at a hearing last month.// Source: SCMP, 18 June 2016.

2. National-wide labour protest against Walmart’s new work policy in China with social media

The recent change of the working hour system by national-wide corporation Walmart has triggered an unprecedented labour protests across China with the use of social media. The new rule allegedly hampers the workers’ pay and severance fees.

• //Walmart workers from all over China have joined forces in a rapidly growing online network to oppose company plans to introduce a new working hours system in its 400 stores across China. Workers are concerned that the new “comprehensive working hours system” will jeopardise their current contract terms, which guarantee fixed working hours, overtime pay and holidays. In the last few weeks alone, the online network has grown to around 10,000 members, alarming the authorities but also putting real pressure on the official trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), to support its members. This type of online network is not unusual in China, but the size and cohesiveness of the Walmart Workers’ Network is “unprecedented,” according to Wang Jiangsong, a Chinese labour relations expert. “This is a completely new phenomenon, workers are organising themselves at a national level,” says Wang, who underlines that, “despite lacking a physical location, a bank account and a charter, it’s actually very real and could have a long lasting impact on the real world: their grievances, demands, protests, and collective action are all very real.” […] According to Wang, the new scheme is a move by upper management to maximise flexibility, and in case of closure of a particular branch, “they could force anyone to quit by shuffling their shifts around and making their lives harder, they’d save huge sums of money in severance fees.” In a leaked document on this “optimisation of human resources” plan, Walmart claims that employees’ “full time employment status, seniority and other legally protected benefits will not affected” by the new employment terms. Phone calls to Vivian Jiang, Walmart’s PR manager, however, went unanswered as the line was constantly busy. The workers’ network has been under pressure both online and offline. National Security Bureau agents have been investigating to see if they received funding from foreign organisations, and since the explosive growth in membership, trolls disguised as colleagues have spammed chat rooms and scared legitimate members away. […] Walmart workers have always been actively seeking the support of the ACFTU. On several occasions the network issued open letters and petitions addressed to the ACFTU, the latest one on 25 May denounced Walmart for pushing employees to agree to the new contract terms and allegedly resorting to threats and restriction of freedom. The letter demands that the ACFTU intervene and “stop Walmart from pushing ahead with the comprehensive working hours system.” It also calls for genuine trade union elections, as previously agreed by the ACFTU and Walmart, and for Walmart to “stop all repression and manipulation of election results and to reinstate unlawfully dismissed activist union members.”// Source: China Labour Bulletin, 07 June 2016.

 3. The impacts of Brexit on China

An economist from China International Capital Corporation Liang Hong on short-term economic impacts: Brexit will be likely to decrease growth in export to Europe and to slow down the RMB internationalization plan with London as Europe’s financial centre over the uncertainty of Brexit:

• //英国退欧不仅给英国和欧盟经济带来负面影响，也标志着全球化进程逆转风险的增加。短期内，英国和欧盟需求下滑将对中国外需带来冲击；中长期看，如果全球化出现逆行，将给中国出口和制造业带来不利影响。近期中国出口出现好转迹象，但受退欧影响，出口再度面临下行压力：基准情形（欧盟GDP增速减缓1个百分点）：中国对欧盟出口增速降低5~6个百分点，中国总出口增速因此下降约1个百分点。这将对中国GDP增速造成2个百分点的拖累。[…] 英国退欧将显著抑制中国与英国和欧盟之间的投资往来。欧洲经济受冲击，投资回报下降；欧洲局势面临重构，风险溢价上升。在高度不确定的情况下，预期效应发酵，双向投资大幅下滑的风险上升。[…] 英国退欧可能使欧洲离岸人民币业务受阻。伦敦已建成亚洲之外最大的离岸人民币中心，而伦敦对欧美市场的辐射作用是重要原因。退欧或使伦敦国际金融中心地位受冲击，而英国国内政党轮替使人民币业务至少会面临一个短暂调整。// Source: Caixin, 27 June 2016.

 Prof. Minxin Pei also pointed out that Brexit would bring setbacks to China’s investment in Britain as well as RMB internationalization through London, but it could also gain from the less unified European Union: from a geopolitical point of view:

• //The anticipated adverse consequences of Brexit for the UK economy will also force China to readjust its commercial strategy in Europe. In the last few years, Beijing has been wooing London with investments and potentially lucrative commercial opportunities. In his visit to the UK last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced deals worth $57 billion. Many Chinese companies have made the UK one of their favorite destinations of direct investment. In 2015, Chinese companies completed 22 major acquisitions in the UK. The biggest was the $9 billion purchase of a 33.5% stake by China’s General Nuclear Power Corporation in Britain’s Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. If the UK economy deteriorates because of the uncertainty and loss of access to the EU market following Brexit, the value of Chinese investments will be impaired. Even more worrying is that should Brexit fatally damage London as a premier global financial center, China will have to shelf its plan to use London as a linchpin for the “internationalization” of the Chinese currency, the renminbi. In 2015, Beijing took several initial steps to execute this strategy. The People’s Bank of China floated 5 billion yuan-denominated bonds while the Agricultural Bank of China, a major state-owned bank, sold $1 billion in dual currency bonds in London. In the aftermath of Brexit, many major global banks may move their capital market operations out of London, which will lose its luster as a global financial hub. China needs to look for an alternative. Nevertheless, China’s potential economic losses could be offset by some political gains from Brexit. Ideologically, Brexit is a godsend for China’s propagandists, who have lost no time in portraying the event as a convincing example of the dysfunction of democracy. Geopolitically, China could also benefit handsomely from the aftershocks of Brexit. Until roughly a decade ago, Chinese leaders viewed European integration positively since they believed that a strong Europe would be a counter-weight to American hegemony. However, as rapid economic development has made China the world’s second-most powerful country, Chinese leaders have rethought European integration. A united and strong Europe is no longer in China’s interest because of the risk that the United States and Europe could form a strategic alliance to gang up on Beijing in the same way they contained the Soviet Union. Subsequently, China’s European strategy has undergone a subtle but important change. It has shifted to cultivating ties with individual European countries and often pitting them against each other. So far, Beijing’s new strategy has been a resounding success. And the EU has not developed a unified response to Beijing’s “divide and conquer” tactics. Nearly every European country has its own China policy, which subordinates human rights concerns and security issues to commercial interests. It is instructive that these days no European leaders dare to meet the Dalai Lama anywhere in their countries. It is even more revealing that when China announced the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) last year, all the major European countries, led by the UK, rushed to join, apparently against the wishes of the United States. Now with British voters opting to exit the EU, the UK will be weaker, and the EU will be even weaker. A diminished EU will not be able to stand up to China, and its internal woes will reduce its value as a strategic partner of the U.S. As Chinese leaders tally up the potential losses and gains from Brexit, they likely have mixed feelings. If they could choose, Beijing’s pragmatists would undoubtedly prefer the certainty of the pre-Brexit world.// Source: the Fortune, 27 June 2016.

CHINA – MEDIA

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Qiushi Zhu Tiezhi committed suicide at the magazine’s garage

• //A senior editor at a top theoretical journal of the ruling Communist Party hanged himself, apparently after becoming depressed over growing infighting between government reformists and conservatives nostalgic about less corrupt times under the rule of the late Chairman Mao Zedong. Zhu Tiezhi, the deputy editor-in-chief of Qiushi Journal, died on the morning of June 26, the online edition of People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, reported later in the day. It did not state the cause of death. Zhu, 56, did not turn up for work on June 25, but later came to the office at around 9 pm that day. He was discovered to have hanged himself in the office’s garage around 1 am the next day, a friend told Caixin. Zhu suffered from depression, and was concerned over ideological debates in recent years pitting reformists against a group of increasingly vocal academics in the conservative camp, the friend said.// Source: Caixin, 27 June 2016.

• //The deputy editor of the Chinese Communist Party’s top theoretical journal has committed suicide, reports said, sending speculation swirling over political infighting, freedom of thought and corruption. Zhu Tiezhi, 56, a well-known essayist on party theories and the deputy editor-in-chief of Qiushi – ”Seeking Truth” – hanged himself in the magazine’s garage, Chinese media reported. […] The Party’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, in October blasted Qiushi for “slack political censoring on the publication of some articles” and improperly manipulating the editing process to publish writings by friends.// Source: SCMP, 28 June 2016.

CHINA – ECONOMY

1. CCP tightens control over state-owned enterprises

CCP was reported to ask SOEs to submit all major decisions to the party commmitees within the company. Subsequently, SOEs are ordered to make greater investment to prevent ‘hard landing’ of the economy, which indicates CCP’s intention to reinforce SOE’s role as policy instrument.

• //China’s Communist party is moving to tighten its grip on state-owned enterprises, reversing nearly two decades of attempts to remodel them along the lines of western corporations. The new push, outlined in recent state media articles and party documents, comes amid a tightening of controls over civil society, the military and media as President Xi Jinping seeks to consolidate power within the party. […] “All the major decisions of the company must be studied and suggested by the party committees,” according to an article by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission in the influential party magazine Qiushi, or Seeking Truth. “Major operational management arrangements involving macro-control, national strategy and national security must be studied and discussed by the party committees before any decision by the board of directors or company management.” “It’s effectively returning to the pre-reform times,” says Hu Xingdou, economics professor at Beijing Institute of Technology, arguing that the move violates Chinese corporate law. “It’s the institutionalisation of non-institutional politics,” another Chinese political observer added.// Source: Financial Times, 14 June 2016.

• //中国不断放缓的投资（5月跌至16年最低位）迫使北京方面动员国内笨拙的国有集团，要求它们加大支出，力图避免经济硬着陆。此举对于北京方面推动全国16万家国企更像私营部门同行的努力是一个挫折。占中国经济产出约五分之一的国有企业，在盈利能力方面远远落后于民营企业。尽管国企效率低下，但上周发布的官方数据显示，5月国企在固定资产投资总额中的占比达到4%，这是自2011年以来的最高位。[…] 最初的国企改革提议聚焦于改善公司治理，使管理层在更大程度上以利润为导向，少受政治干预，借鉴以新加坡主权财富基金命名的所谓“淡马锡模式”(Temasek model)。但如果成功的话，国有集团作为经济刺激工具的有效性将会降低。 这有助于解释国企改革的重点近期为什么转向国有集团的大规模合并。这类合并在一定程度上是为了实现规模效益，从而增强竞争力。但是，政府也在迫使比较强大的集团吸收较弱的对手，以避免后者破产、裁员和关闭工厂。这使产能过剩和盈利能力弱的根本问题没有得到应对。政府维持国企作为政策工具的意图，也体现于近期对于加强国有集团内部党委（党组）的作用，强化党对国企控制的注重。// Source: Financial Times (Chinese edition), 22 June 2016.

2. Land prices continuously to reach record high in land acution with purchases from central and local state-owned enterprises

• //今年上半年，虽然有中央的去库存、去杠杆的经济大政策，中国大陆的房地产市场却出现一、二线城市房价暴涨和“地王”的火热现象：“三高”(高总价、高单价、高溢价)地块达118宗之多，其中有51宗地溢价率在100%以上，最高达400%。业内人士预计，2016年很可能会成为中国“地王年”。央企联手上市公司，拿下了超过80%的 “地王”。这一地王盛宴不仅扭曲了中国房地产供求关系，也进一步让一些经济学者认识到中国债务危机的严重性。以至于中央监管部门以“行政方式”和央企谈话，才在最近让“地王热”有所降温。// Source: BBC, 22 June 2016.
• //国有企业连续创造“地王”，原因多种多样。首先是与国有企业获得贷款成本低有关。民营企业获得贷款本来就难，而且贷款成本更高，其除了贷款利率更高之外，其他与贷款相关成本也高，比如支付担保费，其他管理费，甚至需要向银行信贷员提供一些好处。[…] 国有企业连续创造“地王”，也与中国当前总体政策上的鼓励和怂恿有关。中国目前鼓励大力推行混合所有制经济，但在实际运作中出现国有企业向竞争性领域大举进发（即“国进”）没有限制的问题。这种政策没有考虑“不与民争利”这种古训和应然规则。“不与民争利”也体现在十八届三中全会决定当中：市场和社会能做的，政府不要去做。这种原则在欧洲称为“辅助性原则”，即政府应该限于对市场和社会提供辅助性的支持。[…] 国企连续创造“地王”，某种程度上反映了2016年固定资产投资方面“国进民退”的现象。今年前三个月，新增人民币贷款分别为51万亿元、7266亿元和1.37万亿元。其中大量贷款流向房地产业，地方和中央政府项目，还有大量的国有企业。国有企业包括那些巨无霸式的国有控股房地产企业。这样做的结果是整个经济的产权结构发生变动，国有企业占固定资产投资总额的比重上升，民营企业占固定资产投资总额的比重下滑。[…] 早在2010年，面对其时楼市的过于狂热、央企抢夺地王过于凶猛，国资委就严令要求78家不以房地产为主业的央企退出房地产领域，仅保留16家主业为房地产的央企（后增加至21家）。原则上，所有央企和地方国企都应该退出房地产市场。当时做得并不彻底，保留了21家，也没有限令地方国企退出。目前中国鼓励推进混合所有制经济改革，限制国企进入房地产市场的要求倾向于弱化，央企连续创造“地王”就是在这种背景下发生的。国企抢地王，是因为国企可以动用大量廉价资金，负盈不负亏，利用现在各地土地招拍挂市场上政府垄断限量供地、谁竞价高谁得地的制度漏洞（实际上政府的目的不应该是抬高房地产价格），下赌政府必然会扩大货币供给和财政扩张以拉动总需求，从而拉动房地产价格，下赌政府必然不会让房地产市场崩盘。// Source: Caixin, 27 June 2016.

Potential reasons for the land rush by state-owned enterprise:

• //央企“地王”的疯狂，终于让监管层坐不住了。继住建部召集开发商座谈之后，国土部也出来喊话为土地市场降温，国资监管部门近日亦“约谈”了相关国企央企。“与其说是约谈，不如说是商谈，监管部门采取这种行政手段实属迫不得已，地产央企为了保住自己的资质不至于被退出，只好不计成本地拿地扩大业务，而地方政府也需要恢复土地财政弥补收支缺口。”6月16日，来自国资系统的一位不愿具名人士向《华夏时报》记者分析称。// Source: Feng Huang, 18 June 2016.

CHINA – SOCIETY

1. Beijing probes school playing fields after kids sickened

With many reports of pupils’ sickness during school time, parents in China were concerned about the health hazard of the playing field at school. Since 14 June, all constructions of playing fields with tracks in Beijing are stopped until further notice. In response to the public outcry, the authorities closed down some factories that allegedly made running tracks with toxic industrial wastes. The scale of the problem is not restricted to Beijing only but many other provinces in China. The problem with toxic running tracks has also haunted the Chinese society for some years and it remains unresolved. The official media People’s Daily urged relevant education authorities to strengthen the supervision mechanism.

• //Chinese authorities are investigating playing fields at some of Beijing’s top elementary schools after children reportedly fell sick from exposure to artificial turf. Youngsters have suffered nose bleeds and allergic reactions after using running tracks, in the latest health scare to rock a country where safety standards are a major concern. […] In April, news outlets reported that almost 500 students were sickened after a top middle school relocated to a site close to decommissioned chemicals factories. An undisclosed number of young people were diagnosed with leukaemia and lymphoma, both diseases often linked to pollution exposure. In Beijing, authorities have vowed to deal with the issue and plan to release a report on the materials used to build the track next week.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 11 June 2016.

• //上月26日清晨，北京市實驗二小白雲路分校，先後有10名家長替孩子請假，原因都是「流鼻血」。在距離這所小學不到5公里的北京展覽路第一小學，類似的事情也在發生，從去年9月起，該校多名學童就出現過敏性鼻炎、頭暈、咳嗽、噁心、視力下降等身體不適現象。除了華北，華中地區的江蘇省蘇州市，當地「元和小學」自去年9月起，就有多名學童陸續出現流鼻血、頭暈、起紅疹等症狀，家長們把矛頭指向剛建成不到1個月的操場跑道。家長李女士表示：「開學2、3天後，症狀開始出現，包括流鼻血、過敏、嗓子不舒服、頭暈，出現這些症狀的孩子，應該有幾十個。」據統計，「毒跑道」蔓延的省市，除了北京、江蘇，還包括四川省成都市、遼寧省瀋陽市、廣東省、上海市、浙江省、江西省、河南省、新疆等地 […]報導指出，由於近年中國越來越重視學生的體能狀態，對操場、跑道的需求日益增加，市場變大了，許多不合格業者就混進來，企圖「分一杯羹」，導致亂象叢生。報導表示，這些廠商裡，曾被國際田徑聯合會認證的，全中國僅10幾家，中國田徑協會認證的也只有10幾家，但目前市場上的業者，竟高達數千家，光去年就新增近3千家，令人咋舌。// Source: Apple Daily Taiwan, 16 June 2016.

• //Chinese authorities have shut down nine factories and detained some executives after reports that toxic industrial waste was used to make running tracks widely used at schools, official media said Thursday. Smelly synthetic sports fields and athletics circuits, along with students falling sick from exposure to them, have regularly made headlines in China in recent years.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 23 June 2016.

Commendatory on the People’s Daily to call for new safety standard for school running track:

• //〔能〕够在国家现有相关标准的前提下，有一份针对中小学操场与跑道的具体标准，能让家长更心安，让校长更踏实。说到这儿，又一个新的问题出现了，这次是“问题跑道”的出现引发了社会对于跑道标准的呼吁，那么，以后是否还会出现问题校服、问题食堂等类似问题呢？相关标准又是否已经完备了呢？借由这次对于校园跑道和操场的关注，各地教育主管部门重新审视针对校园安全的多项标准是否科学、合理、完善，用科学严谨的标准为孩子们的健康保驾护航，确保类似问题不再发生，才是“问题跑道”事件带给我们的最大启发。//Source: The People’s Daily, 16 June 2016.

The issue has been left unresolved for over a decade due to insufficient supervision:

• //新華社記者調查發現，早在2003年底，就已經有專家提出TDI聚氨酯跑道的危害，當時雖然引起了一定重視，但由於種種複雜的原因，這個問題在實踐中並沒有得到很好的解決。從目前媒體曝光和廠商透露的情況看，問題反而更加惡化。2003年10月，在第二屆中國學校體育科學大會上，有專家呼籲“必須儘快終止學校體育場地鋪設塑膠跑道”。有媒體稱，中國室內裝飾協會室內環境監測中心確認，TDI生產的材料，在炎熱或強光的條件下，會有TDI氣體釋放出來，對人體有很大危害。此事引發了媒體的廣泛報道。但隨後華東理工大學材料與工程學院、中國田徑協會田徑場地人工合成面層檢測實驗室提供的調查結果顯示，TDI塑膠跑道無毒。當時的新華社報道就提出，無論有毒無毒，焦點在於：“我國目前還沒有關於校園塑膠跑道的化學毒性檢測標準和專門的檢測機構，在建造過程中，單靠學校檢驗以達到環保要求很不現實。” […] 然而，十年前就在說的事情現在進展依然緩慢，加上各種監管不力，事態更加惡化。在2015年問題集中爆發之後，在當地部門“整改”之後，在2016年，“毒跑道”又在別的地方發生了。一位廠商向記者透露，去年各地不少聚氨酯問題跑道曝光後，當時他們行業微信群裏就討論認為“明年天一熱，可能還會出事”。// Source: Xinhua, 14 June 2016.

2. Local Government being urged to limit rising medical expenditure

• //Public hospitals on the mainland are facing tougher scrutiny over prescriptions and tests as Beijing tries to find ways to cut costs and keep spending from growing more than 10 per cent a year. Health costs have been rising at a double-digit pace for the past two decades, and the central government has admitted reforming the sector has entered a “deep water zone” – a euphemism for difficulties. A new directive aimed at ­controlling spending was handed down on Monday by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It called on its provincial and municipal branches to convey budget goals to public hospitals and establish a system for overseeing health care expenses. Hospitals will be judged and ranked according to how well they limit spending. “We strive to keep growth of national health care expenses under 10 per cent by 2017,” the directive said. Yang Yansui, director of the Research Centre of Employment and Social Security at Tsinghua University, said allowing health care costs to grow faster than the economy would create a burden on society. Yang noted that health care spending per capita had increased an average of 17.49 per cent a year between 1991 and 2013, while the economy grew at an average of 7 per cent. […] The mainland has been expanding basic public insurance coverage in recent years, and the government, insurance companies and individuals are collectively sharing the financial pain of that wider net. But the proportion of the budget funded by patients has been dropping steadily – falling from 60 per cent in 2001 to about one third in 2013. Total health care expenses in 2014 rose 11.7 per cent from the previous year, to 3.53 trillion yuan (HK$4.17 trillion). Government funding took care of nearly 30 per cent of the bill, while individual payments covered another third. The latest directive follows a similar one issued last November, by the health commission and four other central government agencies.// Source: SCMP, 22 June 2016.

HONG KONG – POLITICS

Bookseller Lam Wing-kee from the Causeway Bay Bookstore reveals details of his detention in Mainland China

New updates about the case of Causeway Bay Bookstore was brought by the Bookstore Manager Lam Wing-kee, who held a press conference to reveal the details of his detention in China and his release on bail on 17 June 2016. For the full transcript of his speech, please see here prepared by SCMP.

• //Two days after quietly returning home and asking local police to drop their missing person investigation into his case, the 61-year-old Hongkonger was defiant, breaking a silence that had been maintained by three of his colleagues who were earlier allowed to leave by mainland authorities. The Causeway Bay Books store manager said he had decided to risk his personal safety in speaking out because this was a matter that jeopardised the “one country, two systems” policy under which Hong Kong is ­governed. […] The mysterious disappearances of the five men involved in selling books full of gossip about China’s leaders began in October last year. Gui Minhai vanished first from Pattaya in Thailand. Lam, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por went missing while on the mainland. Lee Po disappeared from Hong Kong in December. All five eventually surfaced on the mainland, appearing on state media to claim they had gone there voluntarily. Gui has since been accused of ordering his associates, including Lam, to deliver about 4,000 banned books across the border since October 2014. On Thursday, Lam said he was crossing the border to visit his girlfriend in Shenzhen on October 24 when he was intercepted by mainland officers. “The next day … I was handcuffed and blindfolded. They even put a cap on me. After 13 to 14 hours on a train, I arrived in Ningbo city [Zhejiang province],” he recalled. […] Lam said the people who detained him had forced him to sign a form in which he agreed not to inform his family of his situation, and that he would not hire a lawyer. He signed it as he had no ­option. His interrogators asked him why he had been smuggling banned books into the mainland and accused him of breaking the law, which he rejected. […] The list was given to the interrogators by Lee Po, he was told. Lam also revealed that when he appeared on state television, he was made to read from a script he was given. He said he was released because the interrogators wanted him to bring back a hard disk ­containing more information about the bookstore’s mainland customers.// Source: SCMP, 16 June 2016.

Lam also mentioned that it was the officers from ‘Central Special Unit’ (中央專案組) who arrested him and put him in solitary confinement for eight months.

• //Bookseller Lam Wing-kee has said he was held by a kind of “central special unit” in China, rather than police or national security, after he went missing from Hong Kong last October. He said a TV “confession” he gave was scripted and orchestrated. Lam returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday and said that mainland police offered to release him if he returned to China on Thursday with a hard drive containing a list of customers from the Causeway Bay bookstore he founded. The shop was known for political gossipy titles banned on the mainland – most customers are mainland Chinese. […] He said he was held in a 200 to 300 square feet room in a large compound for five months until March. Lam was not allowed a lawyer or communication with his family, and says that six groups of people took turns monitoring him. He could not walk a step out of the room. Accompanied by lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, Lam told reporters that he could not understand what law he may have violated, as it was legal in Hong Kong to send books to the mainland. “If I broke Chinese laws they can sue me, why did the Chinese government grabbed me silently when I crossed the border?” he said.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 16 June 2016.

Lee Bo, one of the persons involved in the case, replied to Lam’s statements:

• //A nervous-looking Lee told reporters outside his North Point flat this morning: “It’s true that we have met. But I didn’t tell him how I returned to the mainland. I decline to admit what he said about me.Talk about your story as you wish. I won’t make any comments. But don’t get me involved.” Lee has never explained in any detail how he came to be in the custody of the mainland authorities. He denied using computers at Causeway Bay Books – the shop at the centre of the controversy – to compile lists of customers and take them to the mainland, as Lam claimed in his explosive press conference on Thursday, describing his friend’s claim as “groundless”.// Source: SCMP, 18 June 2016.

Lam’s associates and his girlfriend in Malnland China responded to Lam’s comments:

• //Three of his associates, though, accused Lam of lying, with one dismissing his claim that they had been forced to read from scripts in televised confessions. Lam’s girlfriend was much harsher. “He is not like a man,” Sing Tao Daily quoted her as saying on Sunday. “He has completely ruined the image of Hong Kong’s men.” The woman, who lives on the mainland and only gave her surname as Hu, said Lam had lied to her about the legality of books that she had helped him mail to his mainland clients.// Source: SCMP, 19 June 2016.

Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, urged the Chinese Government to admit the truth:

• //“Lam Wing-kee has blown apart the Chinese authorities’ story, said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong. “He has exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese authorities to go after the booksellers. It seems clear he, and most likely the others, were arbitrarily detained, ill-treated and forced to confess.” Amnesty said that the Chinese authorities must come clean and admit the truth. “The plight of the other booksellers still in mainland China is extremely worrying. They must be granted access to lawyers and where appropriate consular assistance,” Au added.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 16 June 2016.

Hong Kong Government’s responses: a review of notification system

• //Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who wrote to the central government last week to register public concerns about the incident, yesterday expressed gratitude to Beijing for its response. The mainland’s Public Security Bureau said it had invited the Hong Kong government to come up with a delegation to discuss the matter. “The existing notification system has been in place for over a decade, rendering further improvement necessary,” Xinhua reported the Public Security Bureau as saying.// Source: SCMP, 27 June 2016.

• //A notification mechanism between Hong Kong and mainland China over the detention of residents should be broadened to cover more mainland law enforcement agencies with a time limit set for notifying each other, lawmakers say. They spoke as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying wrote to Beijing to ask for a review of the reciprocal notification system, which failed in the cases of the missing booksellers. The controversial mechanism was introduced in 2001 after mainland authorities detained dozens of Hongkongers without informing the Hong Kong government. It covers five types of case taken by four mainland agencies: public security bodies, customs, procuratorates and the Ministry of State Security. The criminal measures include summonses for questioning, placing suspects on bail, residence under surveillance, detention and arrest. Under the rules, the authorities should state which agency is in charge, its location, the officer in charge and the reason for the arrest or detention. Lam Wing-kee, the bookseller who returned to Hong Kong and revealed what had happened to him last week, said he was taken to Ningbo and was being investigated by the secretive central special investigative unit, which is not covered by the mechanism.// Source: SCMP, 23 June 2016.

Analyses:

Veteran commentator Ching Cheong explained the nature of “Central Special Unit” in the past and suggested that the Causeway Bay Bookstore got involved in the factional struggle at the apex of CCP:

• //The central special unit – which returned bookseller Lam Wing-kee claimed kidnapped him – was a common tool for former Chinese leader Mao Zedong to attack political enemies during the Cultural Revolution, veteran commentator Ching Cheong has said. […] He said the unit caused great turmoil during the Cultural Revolution between the 1960s and the 1970s, with almost 100 million people being put under political persecution according to the Chinese Communist Party’s records. Such method of investigations should have been abandoned after 1978, he added. […] He said the methods of investigation described by Lam Wing-kee aligned with the methods of the central special unit. Their goal in the past was to figure out the relationship network behind political enemies. “Mao Zedong wanted to attack [former Chinese leader] Liu Shaoqi, [so] a central special unit was formed to investigate the relationship of his ancestors, his relatives, the people he worked with in all units that he was in, to make up evidence to hurt Liu,” he said. Lam, during a press conference on Thursday, said that the unit wanted to know who the customers of his bookstore were. The condition for his return to Hong Kong was that he would have to deliver a hard drive containing the information to the unit. Ching said there were two factions in Hong Kong’s “banned” books market – one supports Chinese president Xi Jinping, but the titles from Causeway Bay Books were mostly opposed to Xi. “So the central special unit wants to figure out who in the Chinese political circle provided the information… to understand which political group received such anti-Xi information,” he said.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 17 June 2016.

Political commentator Johnny Y.S. Lau argued that the case of Causeway Bay Bookstore spelled the virtual death of “One Country Two Systems”, especially if we looked at Lee Bo’s illegal return to China:

• //[這]次事件說明政治領域的「一國兩制」已名存實亡，雖未全亡但也危如累卵，更說明內地的政治事件（包括高層的政治角力）可能隨時把香港扯進去。種種迹象顯示，內地某方面懷疑銅鑼灣書店背後可能有內部的敵對勢力，才會出版各種不利於執政者和掌權人的刊物。這種懷疑及其延續行動，導致「兩制」棄如敝屣，很多界線被模糊和混淆起來。說到底，這是內地仍然奉行歷代封建王朝的管治意識和模式，崇拜權力、暴力和強力（強制力量），與現代化的民主自由的訴求（包括港人和內地人民的訴求）背道而馳。其實，這種在有意無意之間輕視和破壞「一國兩制」的思維，在香港回歸之初已經出現，只是當時有關方面仍重視香港對台灣的示範作用，才有所收斂。當時，內地有關人士曾非正式地向香港處事官員暗示和試探，是否可以容許內地公安跨境執法，其理由是阻止大陸罪犯跨境犯法，保障香港安全；而為了公平起見，內地也容許香港跨境執法。但香港有意見認為，在執行上不利於港，更不利於恪守「兩制」，加上當時內地對香港的壓力、主導和控制能力沒有今天那樣直接，跨境執法才沒有正式出現。但銅鑼灣書店一事顯示，即使沒有人正式跨境執法，但肯定有人跨境犯法，至少「協助」李波「用自己的方法」出境的人，已是跨境犯法。當局不能以文字遊戲的概念、巧言令色的方法掩蓋實質。// Source: MingPao Daily, 20 June 2016.

TAIWAN – POLITICS

1. Strike by employee of the China Airline marks its first time for airline based in Taiwan

• //Taiwan’s main carrier China Airlines cancelled 76 flights to Hong Kong, Japan and other destinations on Friday as hundreds of its flight attendants went on strike to protest against what they claim are the company’s poor working conditions. The strike – the first by any airline based in Taiwan – left at least 20,000 air passengers stranded at the island’s main airports. […] In vote involving only airline flight crew, carried out by the airline’s union, 2,535 out of its 2,683 members voted to support the strike, making it the first ever-strike by any Taiwan-based airline. The union’s director, Lin Hsin-yi, said poor working conditions and inadequate benefits were the major reasons why its members had decided to go on strike. “As for how long the strike will last, it depends on when the company decides to revert back to the hourly wage rates and duty-reporting rules that were in use before June 1,” she said. Since June 1, the airline has required all crew members to report for duty at the airline’s base in Taoyuan – a bus ride of about one hour from Taipei, which the union said cut down its members’ hours for resting. The union also complained about the long working hours and poor benefits of its staff compared with other international airlines.// Source: SCMP, 24 June 2016.

2. Tsai Ing-wen’s first overseas visit in Panama

• //Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen made her first public appearance overseas at the opening of the expanded Panama Canal on Sunday as Taipei seeks to cement ties with its Latin American ally. Analysts say Taiwan is anxious to maintain diplomatic ties with Panama as Beijing increases its influence in the country. Tsai was shown on television with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and other foreign dignitaries including Jill Biden, the wife of US Vice-President Joe ­Biden. […] Jack Lee, professor of public administration at National Open University, said Tsai needed to shore up ties with Panama because it was a major ally for Taiwan in Latin America. Tsai’s visit was also a chance for the island to raise its international profile. But Taipei has also kept Tsai’s visit low-key so as not to upset ­Beijing. “[Tsai] hopes to maintain a stable relationship with Beijing in line with her pledge that she would not make any moves that would surprise either China or the United States,” Lee said. Tsai’s government has been careful not to give Beijing any ­excuse for criticism after the mainland lambasted the island’s new president for failing to publicly acknowledge the 1992 cross-strait consensus that there is only “one China”.// Source: SCMP, 27 June 2016.