Keywords: Tension in Xinjiang, China-Korea relations, tightened ideological control at universities in China, Donald Tsang, Hong Kong Police’s rally, Chief Executive Election in Hong Kong.

CHINA – SOCIETY

1. A project of ecological theme park with a gigantic church building arose social controversy

• //The curious and the devout had flocked to this corner of Changsha County — often referred to by its former name, Xingsha, and located on the outskirts of the provincial capital — to witness for themselves the steel-and-glass church that more closely resembles an airport terminal than a house of God. Topped with a colossal 80-meter-tall steeple, the church is set among parklands totaling 150,000 square meters that also include an institute for biblical studies and a lake. The cost of the project is estimated at 110 million yuan (around $16 million). But the scheme — sometimes referred to as the “Two Church Project” because it’s being spearheaded by two religious organizations, the Christian Council of Hunan Province and the Hunan Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches — has in recent weeks triggered intense debate, with critics calling the plans extravagant, unnecessary, and even un-Chinese. Some media reports described the project as a kind of “Christian theme park.” Others have questioned how the project could have garnered government support, prompting calls for the house of worship’s destruction. There is evidence to suggest that construction of the church is currently on hold. […] The pastor said funding for the project was mainly raised by his and other churches from around the province. The land, he said, was granted to the church by the government as part of a compensation deal for a former church property in Changsha that has been occupied by a government unit since the 1950s. Chen didn’t elaborate further, referring Sixth Tone to an official statement issued online on Feb. 9 by the two churches leading the Xingsha project. The statement reiterated that the project was independent from the Xingsha Ecological Park and described the plans as measures to “implement the nation’s religious policy.” It referenced the “inherited religious property problem,” also without elaboration. The churches involved had never proposed or built a “Christian theme park,” the statement added. […] Like many parts of China, the area where the church complex is located has undergone rapid development and has been practically swallowed up by urban sprawl. The church stands on an island of largely inaccessible land surrounded by crisscrossing highways and high-speed railways. Local government plans call for the creation of different “recreation” areas on the land; the new Xingsha church, associated buildings, and surrounding parklands constitute one such area. […] In addition to the church complex and the martyr-themed park that opened in 2011, the land also includes a separate area for sports facilities. Parties involved in developing the space include the government-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the local government of Changsha County. Combined investment for the site totals 4 billion yuan. A breakdown of investment by the individual parties wasn’t immediately clear. Calls to China State Construction went unanswered. The Hunan ethnic and religious affairs committee and the urban management bureau of Changsha County declined interview requests from Sixth Tone. Details of the Xingsha church and park project emerged as early as 2011. But controversy didn’t begin to surface until earlier this year. Among the first outlets to question the project’s merits was the well-known neo-Maoist website Utopia. One article published on the site described the project as an illegal construction by the Hunan government, adding that modern Christianity entered China alongside “imperialist cultural invasion.”// Source: The Sixth Tone (link defunct), 21 February 2017.

• //News reports about the project have infuriated China’s Mao devotees, for whom the city is a species of holy land. “When I saw the news about the so-called ‘Christianity theme park’, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Guo Songmin, a prominent neo-Maoist scholar and commentator, wrote online. […] While China is home to tens of millions of Christians and Christianity is one of five faiths recognised by the official atheist government, it is not always viewed or treated favourably by the Chinese Communist party. […] A source in Changsha’s Christian community, who asked not to be named, said that what news reports had hailed as a “Christianity theme park” was in fact simply a church and Bible study centre built on a strip of land handed to them by the government. The source was aware of the online firestorm surrounding the project but was unsure how the authorities might react. “So far, the government hasn’t spoken with us about the matter yet, and our project is still carrying on.” Blanchette said China’s leaders considered neo-Maoists a powerful organising force whose militancy had to be taken seriously. The church’s chances of surviving the outcry were slim. “I would be surprised if the cross stays up there that long,” he said.// Source: The Guardian, 09 February 2017.

In What’s On Weibo, Manya Koetse noted the reactions of Chinese netizens to the church project:

• //In a popular WeChat article (link in Chinese) by an account called “Behind the Headlines”, the author also expresses his dismay at the fact that this Christian park, of all places, should be opened in the hometown of Mao, who was a convinced atheist. Despite all the criticism, not all netizens think the park is a bad idea. “This is freedom of religion. If you don’t like it, don’t go there,” one netizen said. One commenter complained that the widespread criticism was unfair, saying: “When there are mosques built, nobody dares to say anything, but when other religions make something, you open your mouths. It’s not right.” There are also those who do not necessarily care about the religion, but do care about the money: “What on earth gave the Changsha government the right to use the taxpayers’ money for a Christian project? Should it not be a public park instead of a religious place?”// Source: What’s On Weibo, 08 February 2017.

The state-owned media joined the critics in asking the local government not to just focus on profits but also be concerned about public reactions to the project:

• //Chinese state tabloid Global Times criticized the project in a post on February 6, writing: “No matter what you say, this Changsha park has triggered controversy that should be taken seriously by all authorities. Besides protecting historical religious buildings, we should be very cautious about new religiously themed buildings at tourist spots. Ask around if it is a good idea or not, look up the legislation and policies – don’t just rely on your own will and the local profits. It might lead to serious disputes.” The Global Times also published an “opinion piece” by commentator Shan Renping (单仁平), who writes that “religious activities should take place at religious sites, and should not be extended to social settings,” and that “Christian activities should take place within the church, and not in public places.” // Source: What’s On Weibo, 08 February 2017.

Further background of religion policy in China in recent years:

• //The debate over the high-profile religious site comes amid a years-running campaign against Christianity in historically Christian regions of Zhejiang province, where over 12,000 crosses have been removed since 2013 and several churches have been razed. Authorities have claimed that the campaign is not one against Christianity, but rather part of an urban “beautification” campaign. However, a leaked document from 2014 showed evidence of an official order to crack down on “overly popular” forms of worship. […] Meanwhile, Pope Francis’ ongoing outreach to China—controversial since its start due to China’s concurrent crackdown on foreign religion, including Christianity—appears to have taken another step towards an official agreement. Official relations between the Vatican and the PRC have been non-existant since Beijing cut ties with the Holy See in 1951. In 1957, China set up its own body to oversee domestic Catholicism, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, relegating any Catholic in country who did pledge allegiance to the Pope a member of an “underground Church.” Last October, the Wall Street Journal reported (via CDT) that the Vatican and Beijing were close to a deal which would give Beijing say on the ordination of bishops and substantially cool long-fractured relations. Today, the Wall Street Journal’s Chun Han Wong provides an update: Cardinal John Tong, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong, has announced that the agreement is now even closer to finalization, “a key step in normalizing bilateral ties marred by six decades of estrangement”// Source: China Digital Times, 10 February 2017.

2. Ideological control tightened at universities in China

On 27 February 2017, the State Council issued the “Opinion issued on strengthening and improving political thought work in higher education institutions” (《关于加强和改进新形势下高校思想政治工作的意见》) in which it emphasized the need to improve thought and political work at universities, to strengthen the leadership of the Party at universities, and to nurture the successor of Chinese socialism as Xi Jinping had put it on top agenda since the 18^th Party Congress. The basic principles of thought and political work include 1) Party leadership over universities, 2) the direction of socialism with Marxism in a leading position, and 3) comprehensive education for students. Bill Bishop from Sinocism suggested that the Opinion looks to be a follow-up from Xi’s speech on the topic last December.

• //《意见》强调指出，高校肩负着人才培养、科学研究、社会服务、文化传承创新、国际交流合作的重要使命。加强和改进高校思想政治工作，事关办什么样的大学、怎样办大学的根本问题，事关党对高校的领导，事关中国特色社会主义事业后继有人，是一项重大的政治任务和战略工程。《意 见》分为七个部分：一、重要意义和总体要求；二、强化思想理论教育和价值引领；三、发挥哲学社会科学育人功能；四、加强对课堂教学和各类思想文化阵地的建 设管理；五、加强教师队伍和专门力量建设；六、推进高校思想政治工作改革创新；七、加强和改善党对高校的领导。《意见》指出，我们党历来高度重视高校思想 政治工作，探索形成了一系列基本方针原则和工作遵循。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央把高校思想政治工作摆在突出位置，作出一系列重大决策部 署，各地区各有关部门各高校采取有力有效措施，积极主动开展工作，创造了许多成功做法，积累了许多宝贵经验。[…] 《意见》指出，加强和改进高校思想政治工作的基本原则是：（1）坚持党对高校的领导。落实全面从严治党要求，把党的建设贯穿始终，着力解决突出问题，维护党中央权威、保证党的团结统一，牢牢掌握党对高校的领导权。（2）坚持社会主义办学方向。坚持马克思主义指导地位，坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，更好为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设服务、为人民服务。（3）坚持全员全过程全方位育人。[…] 《意见》指出，要发挥哲学社会科学育人功能。强调要加强哲学社会科学学科体系建设，积极构建中国特色、中国风格、中国气派的哲学社会科学学科体系，强化马克思主义理论学科的引领作用，支持有条件的高校在马克思主义理论一级学科下设置党的建设二级学科，实施高校马克思主义理论人才支持培养计划，积极推进学术话语体系创新，加快完善具有中国特色和国际视野的哲学、历史学、经济学、政治学、法学、社会学、民族学、新闻学、人口学、宗教学、心理学等学科，努力建设一批中国特色、世界一流的哲学社会科学学科。[…] 《意见》最后强调，要加强和改善党对高校的领导。要完善高校党的领导体制，坚持和完善普通高校党委领导下的校长负责制，高校党委对本校工作实行全面领导，履行管党治党、办学治校的主体责任，切实发挥领导核心作用。// Source: Sina News, 27 February 2017.

In explaining the Opinion, three organizations, namely, the CCP’s Department of Promotion, Department of Organization, and the state’s Ministry of Education held a press conference and further elaborated the meaning of the Opinion. Two highlights are noted here: 1) the Opinion emphasized the role of philosophy and social sciences in nurturing university students followed by four measures to strengthen it. First, to positively construct the discipline with Chinese characteristics. Second, to develop core teaching materials for the subject of philosophy and social sciences by speeding up the editorial and review work of the related learning materials. Third, to regulate the selection of learning materials for philosophy and social sciences by establishing national reward system for quality teaching materials, and fourth, to improve the academic review system. 2) The emphasis of the Party leadership in higher education institute gives party committee a core political role.

• //制定《意见》，加强和改进高校思想政治工作，可以说有着特殊重要性和现实紧迫性。首先，从中央的重视和要求看，我们党历来高度重视高校思想政治工作。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央把高校思想政治工作摆在突出位置，作出一系列重大决策部署加以推进。[…] 加强和改进高校思想政治工作，目的是为了培养又红又专、德才兼备、全面发展的中国特色社会主义合格建设者和可靠接班人。[…] 习近平总书记在哲学社会科学工作座谈会上指出，高校哲学社会科学有重要的育人功能。《意见》着眼发挥育人功能，提出了四项举措。一 是加强哲学社会科学学科体系建设，积极构建中国特色、中国风格、中国气派的哲学社会科学学科体系。二是加强哲学社会科学教材编审工作，加快建设一批哲学社 会科学专业核心课程教材。三是规范哲学社会科学教材选用，建立国家优秀教材评选奖励制度、引进教材选用管理办法等措施。四是完善学术评价体系和评价标准， 健全科研成果评价办法，规范学术评价方法。[…] 做好高校思想政治工作，既要加强阵地建设，同时也要严格规范管理。着眼建设和管理并重，《意见》提出，一是要加强对课堂教学的建设管理。充分发掘和运用各 学科蕴含的思想政治教育资源，健全高校课堂教学管理办法。二是要加强对校园各类思想文化阵地的规范管理，加强校园网络安全管理，营造风清气正的网络环境。[…] 加强党对高校的领导，是办好中国特色社会主义大学的根本保证。党的领导要具体落实到学校治理和党的建设各项工作中。《意见》提出，一是要完善高校党的领导体制。坚持和完善普通高校党委领导下的校长负责制，切实发挥党委领导核心作用。二是要强化院（系）党的领导。进一步发挥院（系）党委（党总支）的政治核心作用，进一步加强院（系）党委（党总支）领导班子建设，健全院（系）集体领导、党政分工合作、协调运行的工作机制。三是要加强高校基层党建工作。建立健全高校基层党组织，加强教师党支部、学生党支部特别是研究生党支部建设，充分发挥党支部组织教育管理党员和宣传引导凝聚师生的主体作用。// Source: Xinhua, 27 February 2017.

Zhu Jidong (朱继东) from Marxism Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argued that the Opinion was an integral part of the Party’s ideological work which deserved attention. It is particularly true for the selection of teachers at universities, given the ideological nature of social sciences and the threats from western thoughts such as liberalism and notion of neutrality.

• //中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院研究员朱继东等学者在接受人民网记者采访时谈到，高校思想政治工作必须解决好培养什么人的问题，高校思想政治工作是党的意 识形态工作的重要组成部分，是高校意识形态工作的核心，是培养社会主义事业的合格建设者和接班人的关键所在。[…] 朱继东认为，贯彻落实习近平总书记系列重要讲话精神，必须从内心深处真正高度重视以高校思想政治工作为核心的高校意识形态工作，必须有过硬的意识形态能力。高等院校尤其是在选人用人时，要真正坚持又红又专、德才兼备的标准，从而引导所有高校领导、党员师生都能在事关大是大非和政治原则问题上增强主动性、掌握主动权、打好主动仗，帮助广大非党员师生划清是非界限、澄清模糊认识、坚定理想信念。[…] “人文社会科学具有鲜明的意识形态属性。”朱继东向记者谈到，我们应清醒地认识和研判这些问题和挑战，不回避高等教育的意识形态属性，在学术研究中坚决反对评判标准的西方化，坚决不搞所谓“自由主义”“中立主义”的评价。要加快构建中国特色哲学社会科学学科体系和教材体系，推出更多高水平教材，创新学术话语体系，建立科学权威、公开透明的哲学社会科学成果评价体系，努力构建全方位、全领域、全要素的哲学社会科学体系，引导广大专家学者用自己的研究成果为我国的社会主义建设服务。// Source: The People’s Daily, 28 February 2017.

Minister for Education Chen Baosheng (陈宝生) also argued that teachers and students are two key elements in the implementation of political and thought work:

• //抓住教师和教材两个关键，把好政治关。高校党委要负责对新入职教师的综合考察和把关，完善教师评聘和考核机制，引导广大教师自觉做先进思想文化的传播者和党执政的坚定支持者。要建立健全高校哲学社会科学教材编审机制，为高校思想政治工作提供重要载体。高校党委要对哲学社会科学教材选用进行政治把关，对引进教材选用负总责，组织好马克思主义理论研究和建设工程重点教材的统一使用工作。// Source: China Education Daily, 10 February 2017.

Liu Zunxu (刘尊旭) suggested that the recent university students, the “post-90s” generation, now had no technological difficulties in using the Internet for information. It was thus important for political and thought work at higher education institutes to tell good stories on the Internet, but in an innovative way. The purpose was to use daily stories to attract university students and spread the political and thought work implicitly.

• //把握好移动互联网要做好“供给侧改革”。高校思想政治工作做好“互联网+”不等于“+互联网”，不等于把传统的思想政治教育直接搬到互联网上来。大学生关注的话题比较轻松，语言风格也比较活泼，对图文、视频产品比较感兴趣，对寓教于故事的产品比较乐于接受，要在这些产品方面多下功夫。做高校思想政治工作还要讲好故事。好的故事要有灵魂、有温度、接地气，要多讲述亲历、亲见、亲闻、亲为的鲜活故事，增加真实感。要用大学生乐于接受的话语体系讲解，要创新大学故事的校园话语表述，让大学生想了解、愿接受，从而增强校园新媒体的创造力、感召力、公信力，起到润物无声的效果，在潜移默化中做好思想政治工作。// Source: The People’s Daily, 28 February 2017.

In the meantime, China’s top colleges were recently investigated for their adherence to ideological lines. SCMP report suggested that the persistent crackdown on academic freedom at top universities in China led to their declining attraction to foreign students and scholars.

• //The Communist Party’s top discipline and anti-graft watchdog is to dispatch inspection teams to China’s top-tier universities to check whether they are toeing the party line as the country’s college campuses fall under increasingly tight ideological control. Graft busters will investigate 29 of the best universities across the mainland in the coming months, including the prestigious Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website on Wednesday night. […] The communist party’s persistent crackdowns on academic freedom in campuses, however, have reduced their attraction for overseas students considering studying on the mainland, even though some schools boast state-of-art facilities and date back well before the establishment of communist rule. Tsinghua University has lowered the entrance requirements for overseas students to try to attract more foreign scholars. Stanford University in the United States has decided to indefinitely suspend its undergraduate overseas studies programme at Peking University campus because of low enrolment. The anti-graft watchdog will also try to root out any corruption within universities. One high-profile graft case involved a student recruitment official at Renmin University in Beijing, Cai Rongsheng, who admitted two years ago taking millions of yuan in bribes to help unqualified applicants enrol at the college.// Source: SCMP, 23 February 2017.

CHINA – POLITICS

Recent deadly attack in Pishan county, Xinjiang and its aftermath

There was a recent attack on people in Pishan county, Xinjiang, which resulted in five deaths. The identities of the attackers were not known to the public. It followed another attack on government building in Karakax county, next to Pishan, about two months ago. A report on the Global Times also mentioned the arrest of seven individuals who had been accused of spreading religious extremism and illegal contents in the form of rumors, fake news, insults and defamatory statements as part of the effort to “clean up” cyberspace.

• // A news portal of the Hotan government reported on early Wednesday morning that three knife-wielding men attacked and stabbed multiple people in Pishan county. Police shot dead the three attackers. Ten people were injured in the attack. Among them, five were certified dead after being sent to hospital. Social order has been restored and an investigation is ongoing, the report said. The identity of the attackers were not disclosed.// Source: SCMP, 15 February 2017.

• //According to the news portal of the Xinjiang government, a car carrying several terrorists crashed into the yard of the office building of the local Communist Party committee in Karakax county at 4.50pm on Wednesday. Police shot and killed the three attackers, who were wielding knives and managed to detonate a home-made explosive, Xinhua reported, quoting the Ministry of Public Security. An official and a security worker were also killed and three others injured, it said. The local government had earlier said four attackers were involved. Social order had been restored, Xinhua reported, without identifying the attackers.// Source: SCMP, 29 December 2016.

• //The authorities in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have busted seven cases of individuals spreading extremist and illegal content online after tip-offs, part of their effort to clean up cyberspace, news portal news.ts.cn reported Monday. The Xinjiang cyberspace administration office said suspects spread information online relating to terrorism, violence, religious extremism and separatism, as well as rumors, fake news, insults and defamatory statements, according to the report. The office said that among the seven cases, two were related to pro-terrorist content, three to publicizing religious extremism, one to spreading fake reports of terrorism and the last one to a hostile attack on governmental measures of stabilization. Three of the cases were discovered in December 2016, and the other four occurred in January 2017. Suspects involved are aged from 21 to 34. […] Xinjiang adopted its own regulation based on China’s Anti-Terrorism Law in 2016, giving detailed instructions on how to deal with terrorist activities.// Source: Global Times, 14 February 2017.

In response to the recent incident, the government recently showed off its force to handle terrorism, and also announced a plan to force vehicles to install GPS tracking device in the part of Xinjiang where violence has been repeatedly seen recently. Some other measures, such as the order to confiscate passports of residents living in Xinjiang by the government, were also implemented in the name of maintaining social order starting November last year.

• //Xinjiang’s Communist Party secretary Chen Quanguo told the ranks of armed police lined up outside Urumqi’s international convention centre that they must realise the “grim conditions” facing the region’s security. “Bury the corpses of terrorists and terror gangs in the vast sea of the people’s war,” Chen said, according to the Xinjiang government’s official news site Tianshan Net on Tuesday. At an Urumqi airport later that day, Chen dispatched 1,500 armed police to the “frontlines” in the Xinjiang cities of Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu. Those cities, which have seen their own mass rallies in recent weeks, are part of the region’s southern Uygur heartland, where recent violence has flared. Three knife-wielding attackers killed five people and injured five others before being shot dead in Hotan this month. […] Rights groups and exiles say anger at tightening Chinese controls on the religion and culture of Uygurs is to blame for violence in the region, though China denies any repression.// Source: SCMP, 28 February 2017.

• //Security officials in China’s violence-stricken north-west have ordered residents to install GPS tracking devices in their vehicles so authorities are able to keep permanent tabs on their movements. The compulsory measure, which came into force this week and could eventually affect hundreds of thousands of vehicles, is being rolled out in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang, a sprawling region that borders Central Asia and sees regular eruptions of deadly violence. The move comes amid an apparent spike in killing that authorities blame on Islamist extremists and separatists but experts say is also fuelled by ethnic friction between Han Chinese migrants and members of the predominantly Muslim Uighur minority to whom Xinjiang is home. […] Between 20 February and 30 June all private, secondhand and government vehicles as well as heavy vehicles such as bulldozers and lorries will have to comply with the order by installing the China-made Beidou satellite navigation system. Drivers who refuse to do so will not be allowed to fill their tanks at petrol stations. Recent years have seen radicals with links to Xinjiang use vehicles to carry out a series of terror attacks in China including a May 2014 market bombing in the capital Urumqi and an attack in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in October 2013. […] Yang Shu, a terrorism expert at Lanzhou University in north-west China, said the tracking devices would help bolster the government’s fight against terror in a vast but sparsely populated region where about 1.5 million residents are spread over an area almost twice the size of the United Kingdom. […] James Leibold, a Xinjiang expert from Australia’s La Trobe university, said that ever since deadly ethnic rioting in 2009 authorities had gradually been transforming the region into a police state in a bid to halt the killing. “There has been tremendous investment in both low-tech and hi-tech methods of surveillance,” he said.// Source: The Guardian, 21 February 2017.

• //Citizens of Xinjiang, an oil-rich but ethnically divided region more than six times the size of the UK, must hand their documents to police and apply to get them back if they want to travel, state-controlled newspaper Global Times reported on Thursday. The purpose was to “maintain social order”, the paper said. […] The passport announcement was greeted with anger and dismay by Chinese internet users, who complained they would need to submit unusual amounts of personal information and travel documents to get their passports back. Some Xinjiang residents working in other parts of China have received phone calls telling them to travel home and hand in their passports. […] Beijing blames the rising appeal of radical Islam among Uighurs for a series of fatal attacks in recent years, while Uighurs fault China’s repressive rule as well as problems such as uncompensated land grabs for the unrest. […] Outside Xinjiang, China’s anti-corruption campaign has extended to millions of ordinary citizens the limitations on travel often meted out to political dissidents and “troublemakers”. Many civil servants have had to hand in their passports over the past few years — overseas jaunts by officials or travel to move assets abroad have been one of the more common — and resented — forms of official corruption in China. While China issues both official and personal passports, in some cases civil servants have had to hand in both. Designed to prevent official corruption, the requirement has ensnared unlikely groups. Schoolteachers in Chengdu, a southwestern city known for its educational institutions, were outraged at an order to hand in their passports in March this year. As state employees, some apparently fell under the category of “officials”. Restrictions on overseas travel have had a chilling effect on academic exchanges, with Chinese scholars cancelling appearances at international conferences.// Source: Financial Times, 24 November 2016.

• //Islamic State militants from China’s Uygur ethnic minority have vowed to return home and “shed blood like rivers”, according to a jihadi-tracking firm, in what observers said marked the first IS threat against Chinese targets. The threat came in a half-hour video released on Monday by a division of Islamic State in western Iraq, and featuring militants from China’s Uygur ethnic group, said the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which analysed the footage. China has for years blamed exiled Uygur “separatists” for a series of violent attacks in its western Xinjiang region – the Uygur homeland – and warned of the potential for militants to link up with global jihadist groups. […] The video appeared to be the Islamic State’s “first direct threat” against China, said Michael Clarke, a specialist on Xinjiang at Australian National University. “It is the first time that Uygur-speaking militants have claimed allegiance to IS,” he added. The video showed that China was now “very firmly a target of jihadist rhetoric” Clarke said, marking a shift from years past when it rarely figured in statements by global jihadist groups. But Clarke said the video could also indicate a possible split among Uygur fighters, as it included a warning to those fighting with the al-Qaeda-aligned Turkestan Islamic Party in Syria.// Source: SCMP, 01 March 2017.

CHINA – ECONOMY

China Railway Corporation struggles to gain revenue

China Railway Corporation that operates the world’s largest rail system has difficulty in being financially viable and adapting to the fast-changing market situations due to its bureaucracy inherited from the past, huge indebtedness for high-speed rail construction, declining demand resulting from China’s economic downturn, and infertile efforts in generating additional revenue from housing construction.

• // Working on the railroad was a dream for many Chinese in the 1980s, when trains were the country’s main form of transportation and offered a glamorous life of travel that was off-limits to most. But that aura has faded today, in an era when air travel is common and even ordinary people can afford modest vacations. The transformation has created an identity crisis for China Railway Corp. (CRC), operator of the world’s biggest rail system, which also includes a state-of-the-art high-speed rail network. Despite its attempts to behave like a company, the state-owned operator is plagued by a bloated payroll of 2 million employees and the inability to quickly roll out new products to capture market demand and generate new revenue. Instead, CRC has emerged from its former status as a government entity to become a slow-moving behemoth saddled by trillions of yuan in debt, with little prospects of repaying that money anytime soon. Adding further baggage to the company is a culture lacking transparency and a series of traumatic accidents that have dogged CRC. Falling freight traffic is also a cause for worry as demand for bulk commodities slides with China’s slowing economy. At the same time, the company is saddled with 4.3 trillion yuan ($625 billion) in debt from building the nation’s high speed rail network, now 22,000 km long and set to keep growing over the next five years. Some have likened that load to a ticking time bomb, which could one day explode unless the company can develop new revenue sources. “The largest challenges CRC faces now are the increasing debt and declining freight traffic,” said Zhao Jian, director of China Urban Research Center at Beijing Jiaotong University. “All new rail projects are high-speed ones, which cost a lot. But the revenue so far can’t even cover the interest of the loans.” […] CRC has tried to offset the slowdown by offering transport services for higher value-added goods, such as apparel and electronics. But its big bureaucracy and inability to provide modern logistics services have hampered that effort. […] Meantime, a new generation of privately owned transport and logistics companies like SF Express and YTO Express have been more than happy to fill the gap, providing state-of-the-art tracking services and door-to-door pickups and deliveries. […] CRC took its current form in 2013, as the operational arm of China’s railroad network after the Ministry of Railways was split into two. But its lack of experience as a commercial entity has made it slow to adapt to unexpected market changes. […] The company needs to delegate some powers to lower levels and partner with private logistics companies if it wants to improve its service to win clients, said Beijing Jiaotong University’s Zhao. Another potential gold mine for CRC is in real estate development in areas close to tracks and railway stations — a model used in other parts of world. But even there, CRC has had little or no success, despite government assistance. […] As new revenue sources are slow to take off, a more-promising funding avenue could come from private investors looking to participate in new project construction. CRC was allowed to accept private investment as early as 2005, and the central government has issued several documents supporting private capital entering the monopolized sector. But progress has been slow due to a shortage of appealing projects, not only for CRC but other rail operators as well.// Source: Caixin, 24 February 2017.

 CHINA – DIPLOMACY

1. Souring relationship between China and North Korea over recent ban on coal trade

In response to North Korea’s latest ballistic missile testing, the UN has made a resolution to further sanction the country. China vowed to fully enforce the sanction, leading to its toughest ban on the imports of coal from North Korea and supposedly hitting hard North Korea’s economy. Some scholars argued that China’s action was a response to the recent assassination of Kim’s elder brother, Kim Jong-nam, and reflected Beijing’s eagerness to find areas of cooperation with the Trump Administration in the United States, which repeatedly called for China’s action to contain North Korea’s nuclear ambition. Scholars from Mainland China contended that the friendship between China and North Korea was just a myth, and the recent development signaled a growing rift between the two countries over the issue of denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

• //China said on Saturday that it was suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of its effort to enact United Nations Security Council sanctions aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile program. The ban takes effect on Sunday and will last until the end of the year, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website on Saturday. Chinese trade and aid have long been a vital economic crutch for North Korea, and the decision strips North Korea of one of its most important sources of foreign currency. Coal has accounted for 34 percent to 40 percent of North Korean exports in the past several years, and almost all of it was shipped to China, according to South Korean government estimates. The ban comes six days after the North Korean test of a ballistic missile that the Security Council condemned as a violation of its resolutions that prohibited the country from developing and testing ballistic missile technology. In the test, North Korea claimed that it had successfully launched a new type of nuclear-capable missile. It said its intermediate-range Pukguksong-2 missile used a solid-fuel technology that American experts say will make it harder to detect missile attacks from the North.// Source: New York Times, 18 February 2017.

• //North Korea on Thursday criticized China in unusually bitter language for tightening sanctions, accusing its powerful Communist neighbor of “mean behavior” and “dancing to the tune of the U.S.” The anti-Beijing commentary carried by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, did not name China and was written by a writer named Jong Phil. While it was not a formal government statement, commentators in North Korea do not depart from the government’s official position. Jong left no doubt about his target, referring to “a neighboring country, which often claims itself to be a ‘friendly neighbor.’”// Source: New York Times, 23 February 2017.

• //State-controlled Korean Central News Agency, which has largely kept quiet over the past week, finally broke the embarrassing silence and slammed Beijing for colluding with “hostile forces in conspiracies to bring down” the North Korean regime. […] Although it was not the first time Beijing had taken steps to punish Pyongyang by cutting imports of coal, the country’s single biggest export and source of hard currency, it was widely seen as one of the toughest by far, signalling Beijing’s growing unease with its neighbour’s nuclear weapons programme. […] The last time China banned North Korean coal imports was in April last year, a month after UN Resolution 2270 was passed in response to Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test and satellite launch. But that resolution contained an exception clause, allowing trade in North Korean coal for “livelihood purposes”. Thanks to the loophole, Beijing made exceptions for North Korean coal intended for household use, a move widely criticised by the United States and its allies as undermining the effectiveness of the resolution. […] Beijing has repeatedly denied a link but many analysts have pointed out that China’s latest ban on North Korea coal imports came soon after Pyongyang’s first missile test this year and the assassination of Kim’s elder brother, Kim Jong-nam. Professor Lee Jung-nam, a China affairs expert at Korea University’s Asiatic Research Institute, said South Korean analysts generally believed Beijing was irritated by Kim Jong-nam’s death, seeing it as another blow to relations between the communist allies. Other analysts said the timing of Beijing’s action against Pyongyang was also linked to Beijing’s eagerness for closer ties with US President Donald Trump. “Apparently, North Korea plays an increasingly important role in Beijing’s ties with Washington as both sides seek to find new areas of common interest and cooperation,” said Cui Zhiying, a Korean affairs analyst at Shanghai’s Tongji University. But most observers cautioned that Beijing was unlikely to take further action to punish Pyongyang, such as banning oil supplies, for fear that the North Korean regime could be devastated.// Source: SCMP, 25 February 2017.

• //“At first many people thought it was a fake commentary,” Cheng Xiaohe, associate professor of international studies at Renmin University, said of the tirade against China, published in the North’s state-run news media on Thursday. “It is a big surprise that North Korea has launched such a strong attack against China. I expected an angry reaction — but not this strong.” The diatribe, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, came just before the Malaysian government announced that VX nerve agent had killed Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. North Korean agents are suspected of masterminding the attack. […] Earlier this month, the North issued a more indirect takedown of Beijing in its government newspaper Minju Joson, signaling a growing rift. Shortly afterward, China announced the suspension of coal imports. […] Despite past periods of turbulence, including under Mao Zedong, both sides have more or less tried to preserve a polite public veneer of amity. But the friendship was a myth, said Shen Zhihua, a professor of history at East China Normal University. The Chinese government has always viewed North Korea as a “vassal country,” he said in an interview with Phoenix Television on Thursday, shortly before the North Korean editorial was published. “You can go through the People’s Daily from 1949 to this day, we have never said a single word of ill, all words of praise,” about North Korea, said Mr. Shen, who is one of China’s pre-eminent historians on the North. “Meanwhile, the North Korean newspapers do not speak ill of China.” Even as the relationship has noticeably worsened in recent weeks, China has maintained public restraint. An editorial in Global Times, a state-run tabloid that sometimes reflects the thinking of senior government officials, noted on Friday that the suspension of coal imports was “fair” and in keeping with United Nations sanctions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also kept up that facade. “China and North Korea are friendly neighbors, and we are willing to work with the North Korean side in joint efforts to develop healthy and stable relations,” said Geng Shuang, the ministry spokesman. […] The exposure of the deepening rift comes as the Trump administration has been pressuring Beijing to use its leverage to curtail the North’s rapidly expanding nuclear weapons program. […] President Trump has said China can do significantly more to persuade the North to scale back its nuclear program, even as Beijing has told Washington that it holds limited influence. The latest flare-up is likely to further weaken that leverage, while illustrating the resistance of Kim Jong-un to China’s arguments in favor of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. “In terms of diplomacy, I see no solution,” said Yan Xuetong, the director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University. Mr. Yan, writing in the Chinese news media this week, said that China had no choice but to accept the North as a nuclear-armed state. That was because China had only two options: either a nuclear North Korea that was friendly toward China or a nuclear North Korea that was unfriendly, he wrote.// Source: New York Times, 24 February 2017.

• //In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump pressed China to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, saying Beijing could resolve the issue « very easily if it wanted to. » China dismissed Trump’s remarks, saying on Friday the crux of the matter was a dispute between Washington and Pyongyang. Beijing has repeatedly called for a return to negotiations between Pyongyang and world powers.// Source: Reuters, 27 February 2017.

Charles K. Armstrong from Korean Studies at Columbia University and a political historian John Barry Kotch argued in one article on SCMP that after taking into account China’s and the US’s interests, cooperation between the two countries to press North Korea for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula was a good strategy for the US.

• //How should the US respond to the reality of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the US homeland? One possibility is pre-emption, which risks collateral damage to South Korea (Seoul is already in range of North Korea’s conventional artillery) and Japan. Or reliance on an antiballistic missile system, such as the THAAD defensive shield set to be deployed in South Korea by the end of the year. THAAD, unfortunately, is not foolproof and is seen by China as a threat to its own strategic deterrent capability. Or the US can explore a third way: a diplomatic initiative in concert with China. For now, however, the Trump administration is most likely to double down on sanctions while accelerating the deployment of THAAD. North Korea is already probably the most heavily sanctioned country in the world and this move would do nothing to alter the reality of Pyongyang’s move towards nuclear capability. Further, most of its trade passes through China, facilitated by Chinese companies, banks and individuals. Beijing is not about to impose punishing sanctions on its Korean neighbour, destabilising a regime that serves as a buffer against encroachment by its southern rival and power projection to China’s border by the United States. In its report on recommendations for the new administration on US policy towards China, the Asia Society ranks working with China to halt North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme as the most urgent. Specifically, it recommends that the US president “immediately engage” President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) to create a new “high-level channel dedicated to the joint resolution of this problem”. […] Follow-on multilateral security arrangements guaranteeing the security of both Koreas would mitigate the gap between China’s view of North Korea as a buffer state and the US view of the North as a nuclear threat. As the only outside power with a military presence on the Korean peninsula, it is incumbent on the US to take the lead in designing and implementing a multilateral security framework by building on principles previously agreed by the two Koreas but never implemented. // Source: SCMP, 17 February 2017.

According to the Daily North Korea, an online newspaper operated by North Korean defectors, North Korea’s coal continued to be smuggled into the Chinese borders as trading companies changed trading ports despite the official ban.

• //Although China’s Ministry of Commerce previously announced the suspension of coal imports from North Korea until the end of 2017, coal trading has continued in Rizao Port, Shandong Province, where regulatory control is known to be relatively loose. However, as of February 23, the customs clearance process was reportedly also strengthened in this region, leading to speculation that the coal trade will likely be curtailed in Rizao as well. « Even on February 20, the day after the announcement to suspend North Korean coal imports, a vessel loaded with North Korean coal was permitted to unload after passing quality inspection at Rizao Port. Although official coal imports from North Korea have all been stopped, coal shipments have been continually imported through Rizao Port while circumventing customs clearance,” a source close to North Korean affairs in China told Daily NK on February 23. « The North Korean trading companies have already signed contracts for coal trading in the first half of 2017, so they have no choice but to continue shipping in order to receive foreign currency. But the regulations have been strengthened as of today, so all coal is supposedly banned from entering China, » the source added. To date, North Korean coal has been primarily exported by ships traveling through Nampo Port to Rizao Port, or from Songrim Port in North Hwanghae Province to Dongjiang Port in Dandong or Dalian. The coal is then sold to regions in southern China after passing quality inspection. « The Chinese companies are obliged to import North Korean coal to secure their sales volumes. The coal trade between China and North Korea is mostly between individual merchants, so they are continuing to engage in smuggling, ignoring diplomatic pressure and sanctions, » the source said. « When sanctions were imposed in earnest in April last year, the North Korean trading companies overcame the restrictions by changing their trading ports.”// Source: Daily NK, 27 February 2017.

 2. China’s opposition to the deployment of THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea

As the deal about the deployment of THAAD anti-missile system came to an end with the Korean conglomerate the Lotte Group agreeing to provide the South Korean government an owned land of golf course for the installation, China made strong reactions to the deal and warned the Lotte Group of the consequences it needed to bear afterwards, e.g. losing the Chinese market. In a commentary article on Xinhua, it wrote:

• //China objects for two reasons. Firstly, reacting to an arms threat with a threat of arms is not going to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, in fact it will only undermine the regional strategic balance. Secondly, the THAAD installment poses a severe threat to China’s security interests, and could be used to monitor Chinese territory. If Lotte agrees to the deal the ROK and the U.S. governments will speed up the planned THAAD deployment. By association, Lotte will hurt the Chinese people and the consequences could be severe. The Chinese people will not support a company complicit in damaging China’s interests. Lotte, the ROK’s fifth largest conglomerate, has over 150 branches in China in the retail sector alone, and its business ranges from food, retail, tourism, construction to finance and service. Chinese customers contributed 70 percent of Lotte’s overall sales at its duty-free shops in the first quarter of last year, company data shows. Lotte stands to lose Chinese customers and the Chinese market. That would be a very large slice out of their business pie.// Source: Xinhua, 19 February 2017.

• //Lotte is one of Korea’s largest conglomerates, with assets in real estate, hotels, cinemas, electronics, and food and beverage. It’s perhaps best known to people living outside of Korea as the maker of Choco Pie cookies and the operator of duty free stores in airports across Asia. About half of Lotte Shopping’s overseas revenue comes from China (pdf, p. 122), and the company has been expanding rapidly there by building malls and movie theaters. Already, Lotte has faced obstacles in completing some of its recent projects in China. Earlier this month the company told media that the Chinese city of Shenyang had halted construction on a planned $2.9 billion Lotte theme park. A spokesman also confirmed the company would consider shutting down three department store in Beijing, though it claimed the decision was due to weak profits, not political pushback. To date, both South Korea and Beijing have avoided directly calling the business obstacles a “trade war” stemming from THAAD.// Source: Quartz, 21 February 2017.

A researcher Lü Chao from Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences argued on the Global Times that the recent deal on the deployment of THAAD anti-missile system on a land formerly owned by the Korean business agglomerate Lotte would show the intention of South Korea to hold hostile attitude toward China and Russia. A commentator in the same article suggested all-round boycotts of products from South Korea.

• //The deal means the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system will be deployed on a Lotte-owned golf course in Seongju county. Lotte will receive a parcel of military-owned land in return. The country’s defense ministry plans to sign the deal with Lotte as early as Tuesday, the Yonhap News Agency reported. This will likely accelerate the remaining procedures for the THAAD deployment, including the provision of the land to the US military, the design of the base, the evaluation of environmental effects and construction, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Negotiations with Lotte started in January, and were the final obstacle to the deployment. This was pushed through despite protests in South Korea and neighboring countries, said Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences. The deployment will break the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, Lü said, adding that the decision to deploy THAAD shows South Korea’s intention to strengthen ties with the US and reveals its hostile attitude toward China and Russia. However, instead of making South Korea a safer place, the deployment of THAAD will expose it to more uncertainties, as China and Russia will surely take countermeasures against the system that could enable South Korea and the US to snoop on their territories and military intelligence, Lü said. […] South Korea’s military will hurry the process to finish the deployment of THAAD during Park’s term, so the deployment will become a fact and leave little room for the next president to overturn the decision, experts said. […] China’s foreign ministry on Monday expressed strong opposition and discontent toward THAAD, and vowed to « resolutely take necessary measures » to safeguard its security interests. […] Apart from government countermeasures, boycott campaigns launched by the public and private sectors in China could also offer a bitter pill for South Korea, a Beijing-based commentator on South Korean affairs, surnamed Chen, told the Global Times on Monday. According to a poll participated in by more than 6,000 Net users on news site huanqiu.com, 95 percent of respondents called for an all-round boycott of South Korean products, as well as the country’s cultural and entertainment products that are extremely popular in China. « Many Chinese people find it hard to accept that their money will be used by the South Korean company on military facilities that will hurt China’s national security, » Chen said.// Source: Global Times, 27 February 2017.

There have been a temporary suspension of Korea drama on online video websites and refusal to invite Korean drama stars to shows aired in China. In response to a question about whether it is a retaliation against South Korea’s deployment of the THAAD system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China indicated implicitly that the continued deployment should be stopped in order to avoid the negative impacts on the economic cooperation and cultural exchange between the two countries.

• //近日，有不少网友发现在一些视频网站上不能正常观看韩剧，一些电视台也不再邀请韩艺人参加节目或参演电视剧。外交部发言人耿爽今天就“中国政府是否对韩采取报复措施”回应：首先，中方反对美韩在韩部署“萨德”系统的立场是明确、一贯的，意志是坚定的。中方对中韩之间的交流合作持积极开发态度，但这需要相应的民意基础和适当的舆论氛围。我们希望韩方珍视中韩关系发展取得的宝贵成果，正视中方合理关切，倾听民众呼声，停止“萨德” 相关部署进程，避免对两国关系和双方经贸合作、人文交流造成更严重的负面影响// Source: IFeng, 01 March 2017.

Other reports suggest the ban on Korean stars was issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) since July last year.

• //從7月底起，香港、南韓媒體接連報導了廣電總局限制韓星來中國演藝的消息，並將原因指向「薩德」（THAAD）。2016年初，在北韓實施第四次核試驗後，南韓同意美國在其國土上部署「薩德」——一款攔截導彈的防禦系統。中國政府表示強烈不滿，認為此舉會損害中國的核心利益和東北亞地區的戰略平衡。8月7日，《人民日報》海外版旗下微信公眾號「俠客島」發文《中國推「限韓令」反制薩德？媒體：不能說兩者無關》，梳理「限韓令」一旦成真對南韓造成的損失，文中寫道：「對於韓國老百姓來說，掙錢才是硬道理……剩下的，就要韓國政府自己去掂量了。」[…] 11月，網絡曝光了廣電總局發給各大衞視的內部通知：韓劇、南韓電影、韓星參演的影視綜藝及根據南韓影視改編的作品均不得播出。「限韓令」全面升級。與此同時，中國外交部卻表示沒有聽過「限韓令」，但中韓兩國的人文交流是需要有民意基礎的，並再次重申堅決反對「薩德」。網民們迅速「領悟」到外交部的「言外之意」，在各大社交平台掀起了波瀾壯闊的聲援活動：「什麼限韓令，根本沒聽過，我們是自發限韓的」、「終於有機會報效祖國了，請國家放心甩鍋，這鍋我背」……廣大韓飯也紛紛表示支持「限韓令」，高呼「國家面前無愛豆」，並宣稱對自己的偶像「脱粉」（註：脱離粉絲身份）。一時間群情激昂、眾志成城。[…] 在2016年底發表的《社會藍皮書：2017年中國社會形勢分析與預測》中，作為大陸官方頂級智囊機構，中國社科院首次給「小粉紅」下了定義：網絡愛國青年。「藍皮書」指出，「小粉紅」在成長過程中享有改革開放的紅利，目睹國力強盛，對於國家模式和發展道路認同度更高。當「小粉紅」與「韓飯」合體，而國家與「愛豆」卻要分手時，張皓月們想盡辦法去「挽留」。[…] 這是南京大屠殺死難者國家公祭日的前一天。粉絲們都知道，明星若在這樣的日子上微博熱搜榜絕非好事。此前，馬來西亞歌手光良在玉樹地震哀悼日曬小狗的照片，台灣歌手范瑋琪在紀念反法西斯戰爭勝利70週年閲兵日曬兒子照片，都遭到大陸網民圍攻。而EXO剛好在南京大屠殺紀念日的前一天，在南京開了演唱會。於是，粉絲們拼盡全力，要在網絡上讓愛豆隱身。「我們真得把公祭日之類的紀念日記得好清楚，」張皓月說，「不然就是往槍口上撞。」百度貼吧的EXO粉絲有297萬，動員能力並不亞於真正的「小粉紅」。當微博上出現關於愛豆的新聞時，資深粉絲就會迅速指揮小粉絲去「控評」（在微博留言區引導評論）。「我們會有模板，把這幾句話甩個大家，按這個思路做，」31歲的劉娛是宋仲基百度貼吧的吧主，她舉例告訴端傳媒，在這個95萬人的貼吧裏，有宣傳組、翻譯組、財務組、製圖組、視頻組等分工明確的各個小組，其中宣傳組的日常工作之一就是監控大的媒體號、公眾號發布的新聞，「發現以後，第一時間去佔領——好的我們要站，不好的我們要控制，只說我們自己的好。」// Source: The Initium, 05 January 2017.

 HONG KONG – POLITICS

 1. Former Chief Executive Donald Tsang convicted of misconduct in public office

The former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang faced three charges, two related to “misconduct in public office” and one related to “bribery”. The trial was initiated since 2015 and after a further 6-week trial in early 2017, Tsang was found guilty of “misconduct in public office” by a 9-person jury in his approval of granting a license for a digital radio company. One of the shareholders of the digital radio company Wong Cho-bau is alleged to secure Tsang a 3-storey penthouse in Futian, Shenzhen, at a below-market-value price in return for the approval. Tsang received an imprisonment term of 22 months on 22 February.

• //In 2010, Tsang was looking forward to retirement, the court heard, and began looking for a place with his wife of 40 years, Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei. They hoped their new home would provide the pair with some privacy after Tsang’s long career in politics, and have space for all of their property, after a time in the palatial Government House. Tsang began negotiating with businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau, director of property company East Pacific Holdings, over a redevelopment of a formerly “unsanitary” clubhouse in Shenzhen. But Wong was also a major shareholder in radio station Wave Media. […] [T]sang did not disclose his connection to Wong when he approved three licence applications from the radio station – two in 2010 and another in 2012. One of the applications sought to switch the station’s broadcasting licence to a digital one. In November 2010, the same month Wave Media’s broadcasting licence was approved, Tsang’s wife transferred 800,000 yuan (HK$902,000) to Wong’s company. The defence said the payment was rent for the apartment, but the prosecution suggested it could have instead been Tsang buying the property from Wong at a bargain price, putting the then chief executive in a “position of obligation”.// Source: SCMP, 16 February 2017.

• //Tsang claimed he had paid developer Shenzhen East Pacific Group – of which businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau was a shareholder – an annual rental payment of 800,000 yuan (HK$903,000) for the property. His failure to declare his ties with Wong landed him in court. Months before he stepped down, he abandoned his plans to live in the penthouse after it came under media scrutiny.// Source: SCMP, 16 February 2017.

• //But the jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a bribery charge – of the chief executive accepting an advantage – which accused Tsang of accepting the free redecoration of the Shenzhen penthouse. It cost HK$3.35 million, all paid for by Wong’s company. Prosecutors are expected to file an application for a retrial to pursue the bribery charge. Thanking and disbanding the jury, the judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai exempted them from serving for the next 10 years. The jury was unanimous in acquitting Tsang on a separate count of misconduct in public office. He had been accused of putting forward interior designer Barrie Ho Chow-lai for an honour under the city’s award system, without revealing to government bodies Ho was engaged in design work for the penthouse.// Source: SCMP, 18 February 2017.

A stack of mitigation letters in support of Tsang:

• //Prominent among a stack of some 40 letters was one written by Wong Yan-lung SC, who served as Tsang’s justice minister. Attending the mitigation session, he recalled that Tsang was a boss who put his own reputation on the line for the democratic development of Hong Kong. Wong wrote that in 2010, the political reform package proposed by Tsang’s administration was losing support in the Legislative Council – unless it was modified to incorporate suggestions made by the Democratic Party. “It was an agonising decision for him as he had to override certain internal opposition and risk personal credibility and trust before the [central people’s government],” Wong recalled. Wong described Tsang’s decision to accommodate the Democrats’ suggestions as “a selfless act” for the long-term well-being of Hong Kong in its quest for universal suffrage. “Donald truly believes in judicial independence. He assured me repeatedly the independent and internationally renowned judiciary in the HKSAR is our pride and the cornerstone of our success,” he said. Wong recalled Tsang’s staunch support for him when the former justice minister was against a reinterpretation of the Basic Law by Beijing over an international legal dispute. […] The two strongest contenders for the next chief executive’s job, John Tsang Chun-wah and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also spoke up for their former boss. […] Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang pleaded for Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai to show leniency. “Forty-five years of dedicated service has come to nought. His reputation is in ruins,” she wrote. “Mr Tsang, his wife and his family have endured a five-year ordeal that few of us can even begin to appreciate. This is punishment in itself.” A handful of senior officials – including former chief secretaries Henry Tang Ying-yen and Stephen Lam Sui-lung and current Monetary Authority chief Norman Chan Tak-lam – wrote in praise of Tsang’s efforts in combating the Asian financial crisis when he was the city’s finance minister in 1997.// Source: SCMP, 21 February 2017.

Kent Ewing argued that the Hong Kong government is generally clean despite the conviction of two top government officials with corruption charges if compared to other Asian countries:

• //The misconduct conviction was related to the allegations involving Wong, and Tsang now faces the prospect of joining his deputy, former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan, in a jail-yard tandem once considered unthinkable in “clean” Hong Kong. Hui was jailed two years ago for accepting nearly HK$20 million in bribes from Sun Hung Kai chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and two middlemen— reportedly to serve as the property giant’s “eyes and ears” in the government—during his tenure as chief secretary. Of course, such a convicted high-level corruption duo delivers a serious blow to the city’s reputation as a bastion of the rule of law in a country, China, still riddled with graft and a region, Asia, where poor governance and malfeasance are the norm. In the final analysis, however, Hong Kong governance still looks pretty good in comparison to, say, places like Malaysia, where the prime minister, Najib Razak, has allegedly used the country’s sovereign wealth fund as his own private piggybank to the tune of several hundred million US dollars. That makes the charges surrounding Tsang’s Shenzhen penthouse look like peanuts.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 21 February 2017.

2. Seven policemen found guilty of assault on activist Ken Tsang during the Umbrella Movement and imprisoned for 2 years

• //The man they were filmed kicking and punching 28 months ago, social worker Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, hailed their punishment as “a minor victory for civil society against police violence”. Tsang is currently appealing his own five-week prison sentence for assault. District Court judge David Dufton said in passing sentence that there was “no justification” for the “vicious assault” on a “defenceless” Tsang outside a substation in Admiralty on October 15, 2014. “The defendants have not only brought dishonour to the Hong Kong Police Force they have also damaged Hong Kong’s reputation in the international community, the assault having been widely viewed around the world and reported as front-page news in a number of countries,” he said. […] The highly controversial ruling and sentencing has reignited tensions that first exploded during the 79-day civil disobedience movement of 2014, when thousands of protesters occupied major thoroughfares to demand greater democracy. Dufton had originally slapped a jail term of two years and six months on each officer over their joint conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.// Source: SCMP, 18 February 2017.

• //Police Commissioner Lo Wai-chung has expressed his sadness after seven officers were convicted for assaulting activist Ken Tsang during the 2014 pro-democracy Occupy protests. The letter to his police colleagues came two days before the sentences for the seven police officers are due to be handed down, on Friday. It was the first time Lo responded to the judgment. […] Lo said that the management will keep in close contact with staff associations, and the personnel department will be communicating with the seven families “to do their best to provide them with all possible assistance.” “I understand that in the past few years colleagues have had to bear the duty of maintaining law and order in a chaotic environment, that you are all under pressure,” he wrote. “The Hong Kong Police is a law enforcement team of professional standard and trusted by the public.” “In this difficult time, I hope colleagues can work together, adhere strictly to your positions, to continue making the Hong Kong Police an excellent and united team.”// Source: HKFP, 16 February 2017.

• //Pro-establishment and pro-police figures have voiced their discontent at the sentence. Pro-police group PolitiHK Social Strategic demonstrated outside the court on Friday morning. Its chairman Innes Tang told reporters that the sentence was “unfair,” because “the organisers behind the Occupy protests were not prosecuted.” He added that he would organise a rally on Saturday afternoon in Central, to support the police and “express dissatisfaction at the judicial sector.” He estimated that 200 people would participate. […] Meanwhile, legislator and solicitor Junius Ho called the sentence against the seven police officers “too heavy,” describing them as “The Magnificent Seven.”// Source: HKFP, 17 February 2017.

State-owned media such as the People’s Daily (Overseas) and Global Times published articles that criticized the verdict for the seven policemen as too severe in punishment. In an interview with the People’s Daily (Overseas), Gu Minkang (顾敏康) from the Law School of the City University of Hong Kong challenged the heavy verdict laid down by the judge by saying the foreign background of the judge in this case, and the tolerance of these judges in the common-law legal system in Hong Kong, might allow their ideological position to affect their judgements. Also, the rule of law in Hong Kong may be affected if the anti-government activists received lighter penalties, while the policemen involved were punished heavily.

• //Many people think Dufton’s rule is unfair. The Occupy Central movement led to great losses for Hong Kong. Many participants committed illegal acts. However, the heaviest penalty was given to the seven police officers, including two police officers who were not involved in the beating. For those who disrupted the order of Hong Kong and assaulted police officers, they were spared or received only short prison sentences. It seems that Dufton’s sentence is influenced by political factors and will have real political impact. Occupy Central movement severely damaged Hong Kong’s rule of law, and Dufton’s sentence aggravated the damages. It will frustrate Hong Kong police but inspire Hong Kong’s troublemakers to take more harmful actions in the name of « fighting for democracy. » Hong Kong’s legal system has long been one of the city’s most competitive sectors. However, as the system is influenced by the city’s colonial history, it lacks loyalty to the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law. So when dealing with political cases, the system is likely to depart from the basic spirit of law.// Source: Global Times, 21 February 2017.

• //“我个人对这个判决感到非常意外”，香港城市大学法律学院副院长顾敏康教授接受本报记者专访时表示。他说，一般而言，司法独立意味着法官判决案件不需要各方满意。但是，当一个判决令社会大众普遍感觉不满意时，很难说这个判决是公正的。[…] 香港适用的是英美法系的普通法（判例法），法官拥有较大的自由裁量权。对此，顾敏康认为，此案中法官的立场的确引起了公众的质疑，因为人们看到那些反政府人士虽然因为冲击政府或袭警被判罪成，但往往是“高高提起、轻轻放下”、所判处的刑罚往往是社会服务令；相反，为维护香港法治作出贡献的警察却因为冲动殴打行为需要被监禁两年。“如果这样都可以，那么香港的法治就令人十分担忧了。”判决此案的法官杜大卫是英国人，而香港法律系统中不仅有大量外国籍法官，且更多人是港英政府培养出来的。顾敏康说，从制度上讲，《基本法》允许保留这种状况。但是，这种制度显然存在商榷的地方，那就是立场问题可能影响他们对案件的判断。他举例说，法官在轻判冲击政府广场的学生领袖黄之锋、罗冠聪和周永康时，认为此案与其他刑事案件不同，他们犯罪是因为出于良好的动机，即真心因自己政治理念或对社会现状的关心而“表达自己诉求”（冲击变成了表达诉求）。// Source: The People’s Daily (Overseas), 21 February 2017.

Associate Dean of the Law School of University of Hong Kong Simon Yeung argued that the punishment was severe but not without legal grounds, citing the fact that the policemen committed crime as law enforcer and they made the assault on the activist with demonstrated intention.

• //代表首被告黃祖成的資深大律師駱應淦在庭外指出，個人認為判刑不是太重，法官有其理據。香港大學法律學院副院長楊艾文認為，7人被判的刑期接近最高懲罰，「刑期是重，但有原因」。楊艾文解釋，判刑需要考慮本身犯法的程度及罪犯背景。他分析，雖然眾被告首次犯法、本身在社會有地位、重犯風險不高，加上事件令他們前途盡毁，但被告身分是警員，知法犯法，一班警員故意帶受害人到一旁施以襲擊，所以情况較為嚴重，被判的刑期亦較重。至於7人在事件中的角色不同，但仍判相同刑期，楊表示，由於7人在案發時所站的位置接近，所以須負上的刑責差別不大。// Source: Ming Pao Daily, 18 February 2017.

In a show of support for the convicted policemen, the police force’s unions have organized a rally which had a turnout of 33,000 former and current officers and their family members (there are currently around 34,000 police officers in Hong Kong). Some pro-establishment politicians are also present. In the rather orderly rally, the participants have expressed discontents about the unfair judgements to the seven convicts. Some speakers regarded the Hong Kong policemen as being in a situation similar to the prosecuted Jews under the Nazi regime. The rally at the end urged the government to legislate an act to criminalize insult to policemen.

• //Hong Kong witnessed one of the most significant mass demonstrations in its history last night when 33,000 serving and former police officers held a show of support for colleagues who were jailed for assaulting an activist during the 2014 Occupy protests. The mass rally, held on a soccer pitch at the Police Sports and Recreation Club in Mong Kok, was described by one officer in attendance as “the largest-ever single gathering of police officers the world has ever seen”. […] The remarkable scenes, with many turning up in white as a mark of solidarity, followed the jailing for two years of seven officers for assaulting Occupy activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, 41. The sentencing sparked an outpouring of condemnation by police officers and sections of the public, who complained that the courts were being far more lenient by comparison with Occupy protesters who broke the law. […] Another officer at the rally, which included a significant number of family members of serving and ex-police officers, said: “This is not a protest against the courts or Hong Kong’s judicial system, nor an attempt to undermine the rule of law. […] “It is a deep and heartfelt expression of genuine support for our colleagues and their families, who we feel have been unfairly treated and whose actions came out of a time of highly charged political emotion and stress.” […] Joe Chan Cho-kwong, chairman of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, said he was surprised by the number of people who showed up at the gathering. He said his association and three other police staff associations – the Superintendents’ Association, the Police Inspectors’ Association and the Overseas Inspectors’ Association – would write to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying urging legislation that would ban insulting acts against public officers on duty. “We hope that all public officers would not be insulted in the future and the laws would not be just for the police, but for all public officers,” Chan said.// Source: SCMP, 22 February 2017.

• // A video taken by Apple Daily showed a speaker at the rally describing how officers are often insulted by protesters. “How I would describe it is: it’s like in the second world war. We are Jews, and we are being persecuted. We are like the Jews being persecuted by the Nazi armies. Am I right?” The crowd then shouted “yes!” Lyons told HKFP that it was inappropriate for the officers to equate their experience with protesters to the experience of persecuted Jews. […] In a statement, the Consulate-General of Israel in Hong Kong said it wishes no further comparisons will be made between the seven police officers and the Holocaust. “Without relating to the trial of the seven police officers, the alleged statement at the rally yesterday that made a reference to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany is inappropriate and regretful,” it said. […] Maria Tam Wai-chu, Hong Kong deputy to China’s national legislature, said at the rally she established a fund to assist the relatives of the seven convicted police officers. She added that “friends from the banking sector” had called her, saying that they would hire the seven officers after their two-year sentence. Organisers claimed that 38,000 attended the rally at its peak.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 23 February 2017.

3. Updates on Chief Executive Election

By the end of the nomination period on 01 March, three Chief Executive hopefuls had successfully confirmed their candidacy, namely, in order of their nomination confirmation, 1) John Tsang, 2) Woo Kwok-hing, and 3) Carrie Lam. According to SCMP, they were reported to hold 160, 179, and 572 nominations respectively to enter the election, which asked only 150 nominations for a person to become a legally recognized candidate. Tsang’s nominators have a large proportion of pro-democracy electors with a few pro-establishment backing. Woo has all his backing from pro-democracy electors, and Lam has all her nominators from the pro-establishment camp. Regina Ip, who is regarded as a pro-establishment politician with similar political background with Carrie Lam, announced termination of her electoral campaign as she failed to obtain enough number of nominations. Another left-wing lawmaker, Leung Kwok-hung (Long Hair) also withdrew his plan to run the election, citing that he failed to obtain enough nominations from the public (1% of eligible voters) for him to receive a public mandate to enter the ‘small-circle’ election and to protest against it.

• //Critics say Tsang, who enjoys higher support in opinion polls, has only a slim chance of winning as he secured little backing from the pro-establishment camp, bagging just 10 of his 160 nominees from that sector. […] The pan-democrat camp, which holds 326, or a quarter of the seats on the committee, handed Tsang 125 nominations. […] Among Tsang’s 10 pro-establishment nominees are Thomas Jefferson Wu, a second-generation tycoon and managing director of Hopewell Holdings; Liberal Party leaders James Tien Pei-chun, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee and Felix Chung Kwok-pan; financier Ricky Chim kim-lun and Hong Kong Securities Association vice-chairman Tsui Luen-on. The remaining 25 do not have a strong political leaning, such as film director Derek Yee Tung-sing, two businessmen from the textile and garment sector and five from the Catholic and Protestant sectors.// Source: SCMP, 26 February 2017.

• //The 71-year-old former High Court judge handed in his nominations at 4:30pm on Monday, at the Electoral Affairs Commission in Wanchai. For a candidate to officially run as chief executive, 150 nominations from the 1,200-member small-circle Election Committee are required. Woo received 47 new nominations on Saturday, which took his total to 156. Speaking after he handed in his application, Woo said that he received a total of 180 nominations. He told reporters that he was “200 per cent determined” to stop rival contender Carrie Lam from being elected, criticising her as more authoritarian and less sensitive to public opinion than incumbent leader Leung Chun-ying. […] All of Woo’s nominations came from pro-democracy electors, including those in the medical, health services and social welfare sectors. He told reporters over the weekend that he initially had the support of one pro-establishment elector, but that elector decided not to nominate him in the end.// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 27 February 2017.

• // When a beaming Lam submitted her 579 nominations on Tuesday, it was not quite the landslide that some quarters had expected from her, given reports of open lobbying on her behalf by Beijing’s liaison office, which was said to have aimed for up to 800 entry tickets for Lam to discourage her popular arch-rival, John Tsang Chun-wah, from running. On Wednesday, the electoral office deemed seven nominations invalid, reducing Lam’s total to 572.Yet Lam’s revised tally still dwarfed the numbers of nominations obtained by former finance minister Tsang and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, at 160 and 179 respectively. The qualifying threshold is 150 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee, and a candidate will need at least 601 votes to win the election on March 26. With Lam’s significant lead in the first stage, the playing field is not as relatively level as the last game in 2012, when Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying bagged 390 and 305 nominations respectively. But this time, while supporters of Tsang and Woo are mostly pan-democrats, all of Lam’s nominators come from the pro-establishment bloc. […] Among Lam’s nominators are all but one of the city’s major land developers. Hong Kong’s richest man, CK Hutchison Holdings boss Li Ka-shing, is not on her list – but Li’s elder son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, gave her a ticket. Other nominations are largely from sectors such as the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), National People’s Congress (NPC), rural affairs body Heung Yee Kuk, agriculture and fisheries, and New Territories District Councils. […] Conspicuously missing are three pro-Beijing blocs: the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon District Councils, the labour sector and the Chinese Enterprises Association. Chinese University of Hong Kong political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said the absence of those blocs appeared to be a “strategy” on Lam’s part because, for one, she did not want to be seen as too close to the association, which is closely linked to the central government.// Source: SCMP, 01 March 2017.

• //She [Regina Ip] conceded the number of entry tickets she had secured during her 77-day campaign was “far behind what was needed”. “I lagged behind because I am an independent,” she said. “I hoped to be an open-minded pro-establishment candidate … who could win support across the spectrum. It is difficult, but I have no regrets.” Ip, 66, who announced her intention to run on December 15, blamed it on the election system. […] However, Ip stopped short of saying she had been treated unfairly, despite reports that central government officials had actively canvassed votes for Lam behind the scenes. On her future relations with Beijing’s liaison office, the lawmaker said she had many friends and acquaintances there and predicted her working relationship would continue. […] Ip, who joined the government in 1975, has transformed herself from a once disliked minister into one of Hong Kong’s most popular female politicians. In 2003, she tried to push through national security legislation, despite widespread public suspicion and opposition. After half a million people took to the streets in protest, Ip quit the government and went to further her studies at Stanford University. She returned to Hong Kong in 2006 to set up her think tank, the Savantas Policy Institute, which was seen as a platform to build up her political support base. She won a seat in the legislature in the 2008 election and in 2011 founded the New People’s Party.// Source: SCMP, 01 March 2017.

Pro-Beijing figures to speak about the central’s preference over CE candidates:

Former Chief Executive and the current vice chairman of National People’s Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee-hwa warned that the central government might not appoint the victor in the Chief Executive Election if needed, hinting that if John Tsang would be the victor:

• //The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported on Wednesday morning that Tung made the comments during a closed-door meeting with his political think-tank Our Hong Kong Foundation last week. Tung reportedly said that he “invited” former chief secretary Carrie Lam to run, in order to avoid the “embarrassing situation” in which Beijing would refuse to appoint former financial secretary Tsang. Tung was Hong Kong’s first chief executive, serving from 1997 to 2004 when he resigned following a plunge in popularity. He has since become a vice chairman of China’s top legislative body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Last month, Lam told Commercial Radio that Tung had contacted her after incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he would not seek a second term. She said that Tung had asked her to consider running for the top job. […] John Tsang said he understood that Beijing had the right to appoint the chief executive and senior officials. However, he would not respond to any rumours: “as the election approaches, rumours like this will only increase.” “This is a fair, open and just election,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why [Beijing] would not accept the election result.”// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 23 February 2017.

Rumours about what Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, said about the candidates:

• //On Tuesday, news site HK01 cited unidentified sources as saying that Wang told Tong that former finance secretary John Tsang was the contender least supported the central government, even though the central government will not publicly support any one. The report claimed Wang’s two reasons for not supporting Tsang were that Beijing had received unidentified negative rumours about him, whilst Lam was “clean.” It said that Tsang actively told Chinese president Xi Jinping of his intention to run for the top job in March last year, but he could not convince the central government of how he would defend “One Country, Two Systems.”// Source: Hong Kong Free Press, 21 February 2017.

Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, dismissed the idea that the central government was divided in choosing who should be the next Chief Executive:

• //Fan said the rumours based on the over-interpretation of the handshakes had prompted Zhang to hold a recent meeting in Shenzhen to clarify that Lam was the only candidate with Beijing’s blessing. “Anyone who has any understanding of Chinese politics will know that today in China, no major decision can be made by anybody except Mr Xi,” she said. […] Lam’s relations with the pan-democrats have been upset by reports that Beijing’s liaison office has actively lobbied for her from behind the scenes. But Fan said Lam was blameless as she was not in a position to ask the liaison office to halt such lobbying. She argued that Election Committee members could easily resist such lobbying. She said Beijing wanted someone competent and strong to ­provide a bridge between the city and the mainland, and protect national security, instead of “a nice guy or woman smiling at everybody”. […] Fan, who has been critical of outgoing Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, remained confident that Lam would not follow in the footsteps of the unpopular incumbent, saying the front runner had a “totally different” personality from Leung, who was unable to cultivate cordial relations with the pan-democrats.// Source: SCMP, 01 March 2017.