Police Drafted in as China's Anti-Graft Team 'Swamped' by Complaints

 
Authorities in the northern Chinese province of Hebei have thrown a security cordon of armed police around an anti-corruption inspection team from Beijing after it was swamped by ordinary people with complaints against alleged government wrong-doing.

The team was one of 13 sent by the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) to probe official business across the country.

Inspectors are charged with looking for "possible misconduct," including corruption, failure to implement the Party's frugality directives and other policies as well as malpractice in official selection and promotion procedures, the CCDI said in a statement at the beginning of the month.

But the team was kept separate from hundreds of people who converged on government buildings with complaints in recent days, as the authorities drafted in large numbers of police, plainclothes state security police and private security guards, eyewitnesses said.

"There are uniformed police standing guard on both sides of the streets, as well as some plainclothes officers driving around in cars," Hebei petitioner Bao Runpu told RFA on Tuesday.

"There are a lot [of people with complaints]," he added. "No sooner does one group leave than another arrives."

But he said none of the petitioners was being allowed to meet with the investigation team directly.

"They can't meet with them," Bao said. "They have set up a hotline but it doesn't matter how often you call it; you can't get through. It's permanently busy."

He said he had been followed to provincial government headquarters by a detail of police from his hometown.

"The first day, they detained me and wouldn't let me go," Bao said.

Repeated calls to the anti-graft hotline resulted in a busy signal during office hours on Tuesday.

'Totally surrounded'

A second petitioner, Zhang Cuilei, said the inspection team had been "totally surrounded" by police since arriving in the province.

"There's one every three paces, with security guards and plainclothes police squatting in the bushes at the roadside," Zhang said. "As soon as they see someone, they leap out and grab them and take them away."

"Some wait in their cars," Zhang said. "They're everywhere ... They drag you onto the buses they have standing ready. The interceptors are everywhere."

She said police were checking the IDs, questioning and searching the bags of anyone who tried to approach the buildings.

"They are at every intersection, across a few square kilometers," Zhang said. "There are several thousand of them; the streets are full of them."

Zhang said the complaints office of the provincial government was "piled high" with petitioners.

"If they don't find a way to end corruption here, we'll definitely find a way to meet with the investigation team," she added.

Hebei legal advocate Tian Qizhuang said mounting public outrage at corruption has led to a massive "overflow" in attempts to win redress.

"Corruption is so widespread ... that it is bound to create a strong backlash," Tian said. "[But] the authorities are afraid to dig up the turnip for fear of the dirt that will come up with it."

"That's why they surround themselves with interceptors, because they're worried that some of these people's complaints will actually be heard by central government."

Army of petitioners

China's army of petitioners pursue complaints about the government, often for decades and in spite of extrajudicial detentions, beatings, and other forms of mistreatment.

They say they are increasingly stonewalled by the courts, and instead flood the government's "letters and visits" petitioning system with more than 20,000 new complaints a day, according to figures released last November.

China's Administrative Procedure Law allowing citizens to sue the government was passed during an era of relative political openness, the late 1980s, and commanded wide support among intellectuals who believed it could help hold an increasingly corrupt government to account.

But in today's China, anyone seeking to file a lawsuit, the majority of which involve eviction or land disputes, will find the country's courts highly unwilling to accept the case, campaigners said last month.

US considers lifting ban on lethal weapon sales

Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieut. Gen. Truong Quang Khanh on August 4 received visiting US Senator Bob Corker, Ranking Member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Khanh affirmed that the Vietnam government and people always attach great importance to maintaining peaceful relations with other nations, in the best interest of national development.
During periods of peace, the Vietnam State and People’s Army have continually developed defence ties with other countries, including the US, Khanh told his guest.
Regarding East Sea issue, he reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of settling disputes through peaceful measures in accordance with international law.
Senator Corker said the US Senate is considering lifting its ban on lethal weapon sales to Vietnam.
He also highlighted the Vietnam-US fruitful relations, adding that the two sides are nearing agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
NA wants to bolster cooperation with US Congress

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Senator Bob Corker.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung expressed the Vietnamese legislative body’s willingness to boost closer cooperative relations with the US Congress at a reception for Senator Bob Corker in Hanoi on August 4.
Hung told Senator Bob Corker, ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Vietnam protests China's actions in the East Sea which have threatened regional peace and security and wants to maintain and build friendly relations with the countries in the region and around the world.

“All countries need to work together to ensure peace, stability and development. Vietnam advocates political and diplomatic measures with consideration of legal solutions to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Vietnam NA trusts in the role of the United Nations and international organizations in protecting the legitimate interests of the countries in the East Sea.” the top legislator emphasized.Hung also expressed his pleasure at the flourishing relations between the two countries over the past two decades, hoping that the US Senator’s visit will make a positive contribution to fostering bilateral ties between the two legislatures.

Senator Bob Corker, in turn, confirmed the US Senator’s readiness to beef up stronger ties with the Vietnam NA by sharing law enactment experience.
He said he hopes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement will be signed soon, adding fresh impetus to pushing up Vietnam’s economic development in the future.
The US guest noted that his nation has also closely followed the situation in the East Sea and opposed China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in recent past.
Meeting with US Senator Bob Corker the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh highlighted the two countries’ huge potential for further cooperation in the future. He proposed the Senator and the US Congress intensify delegation exchanges, strengthen bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, continue to grant Vietnam flexible and preferential treatment in the TPP Agreement negotiations and open its wider doors for Vietnamese products.

The two sides also exchanged view on regional and global issues of mutual concern. Minh praised the US Senate’s contributions to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
Senator Corker expressed his concern about the recent developments in the East Sea since China illegally put its oil rig in Vietnam’s waters. He agreed that all sovereignty disputes should be resolved through peaceful means according to international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Unions up wage demands

 
Deposite not coming close to achieving their goal of a $160 monthly minimum garment wage, unions announced yesterday that they will raise their demands to $177 for 2015.
Ken Chhenglang, acting pres­ident of the National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia (NIFTUC), said about 10 union representatives had last week reached an agreement to push for this figure in a meeting with employers scheduled for Friday.
“The groups of unions have got a positive result by [agreeing] to $177 for LAC [Labour Advisory Committee] negotiations,” she said.

With the minimum wage now at $100 and the government having used deadly violence in January to crush demands for further increases, Chhenglang conceded the new demand was ambitious.
“We know the government increases the minimum wage in very small amounts,” she said. “I won’t know what they are willing to go to until the tripartite meeting in October between the Ministry of Labour, unions and employers.”

Kong Athit, vice president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said unions were prepared to ultimately accept less, without saying how low they would be willing to go.
“We do not want to see protests . . . but we will wait and see the situation,” he said.
According to a letter from the unions, $177 is an appropriate figure given the profits made in Cambodia’s billion-dollar industry and higher wages in neighbouring countries.
“Compare [Cambodia’s wage] to $237 in Thailand . . . between $74 and $219 in Indonesia, between $152 and $273 in Philippines and between $245 and $275 in Malaysia,” the letter reads.
Ken Loo, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia secretary-general, said $177 was unrealistic “for the same reasons as before when they were demanding $160”.
GMAC has said such a wage would place undue pressure on factory owners.
It was too soon to say what a realistic and fair increase would be, Loo added.

Would-be Buddha on PM’s bad side

 
Thean Vuthy’s claim to spiritual superiority has reached the ear of Hun Sen, and judging by the premier’s response – he demanded yesterday that the Ministry of Cult and Religion arrest Vuthy using the “American” style – he doesn’t like the sound of it.
Addressing a graduation ceremony at Koh Pich Center yesterday, Hun Sen became fixated on the somewhat obscure – until now – story of Vuthy, a monk in Kandal province who believes he is the next Buddha and whose pagoda was temporarily shut down by the authorities on Sunday. Vuthy’s whereabouts were unknown.

“Excellency Min Khin is tracking this case seriously. It’s unspeakable,” Hun Sen told the crowd, referring to the minister of cult and religion.Officials from the ministry made the decision to shut the pagoda for one week and relocate its monks after finding jewellery and other “irregular” items, including elephant tusks and “tiger fangs”, in Vuthy’sroom during the weekend raid.
Vuthy first came to the government’s attention a few months ago when the ministry seized books, CDs and photos that touted his greatness on sale at the pagoda.
“The monk kneeled to salute a normal person who claimed [to be] a god,” Hun Sen said. “It is impossible. Even the King kneels to salute the monks, so why did the monks kneel to salute the normal person like that? It is hard to understand.”

The prime minister suggested that Vuthy be arrested like fugitives in the United States, where, he said, they are pushed to the ground, handcuffed and stepped on.
In response to the speech, Ministry of Cult and Religion spokesman Seng Somony said that authorities are still looking for the suspect. The ministry has said that Vuthy’s actions “seriously offend the values of our state religion”, but it’s not clear on what charges he could be brought before a court.Police are looking for him, Somony said. “But we do not know where he is right now.”

Lawmakers to take oath

 
This afternoon, the 55 opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party politicians who won office in last year’s disputed election will officially take their oaths as lawmakers in front of King Norodom Sihamoni, ending more than 10 months boycotting parliament.
The ceremony at the Royal Palace, announced yesterday, comes two weeks after the CNRP and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party inked a deal to end the yearlong political deadlock that began after the opposition rejected last July’s election result.The agreement was made with eight opposition officials behind bars over a violent protest on July 15. They were released hours afterwards.On Saturday, another three youth-wing members were arrested, which the CNRP said was tantamount to further “intimidation”.

Nonetheless, the party decided to officially join parliament today after finalising constitutional and legal amendments that will be pushed through the assembly as part of agreed-upon reforms between the parties, officials said yesterday.“It [the swearing-in] is confirmed tomorrow at 4pm at the palace, but we will meet at the National Assembly at 3pm,” senior lawmaker and public affairs head Mu Sochua said yesterday afternoon, following an internal party meeting.A statement from the palace also confirmed the ceremony after a flurry of letters requesting it, first from CNRP president Sam Rainsy to National Assembly chairman Heng Samrin, and then from the assembly to the palace.

CNRP officials could not confirm when they would take their seats in a special session of parliament but said it would happen in the days after today’s oath-taking.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said that the CNRP could take its seats on Thursday.
“I don’t want to speak on behalf of the CNRP, but this is from official sources on the CPP side,” he said, adding that today’s swearing-in would mark a “new chapter” in Cambodian democracy.
“Right now, the CPP as well as the CNRP understand fully that divisions do not help democracy.”
The July 22 agreement saw the CNRP win, among other concessions, an overhaul of the National Election Committee – which it has maintained is a partisan institution that needs to be reformed in order to make the next election free and fair – in exchange for joining parliament.
The past two weeks have seen working groups jostle over details of reforms. While negotiations in some areas have proceeded smoothly, other areas have been more thorny.

In particular, the issue of immunity for the nine members of the new NEC emerged as a possible stumbling block last week, with the CPP strongly opposing that provision, which was backed by the CNRP.The overhauled NEC will be composed of four members selected by each party, and a “consensus” candidate.Pung Chhiv Kek, a prominent rights activist, was chosen by both parties as the ninth candidate, but she set parliamentary-style immunity as a condition for accepting.
It now appears the opposition has compromised.
Yesterday, CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said that immunity will no longer be included in constitutional amendments that will enshrine the new NEC.
“We will find a sentence or word similar to the meaning of ‘immunity’, and we will put it into the election law [not the constitution] to defend NEC members from arrest and mistreatment,” he said.
Kek could not be reached for comment as to whether she would still accept her nominated position.
In a letter to Rainsy yesterday morning, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said that the CPP supported draft constitutional amendments discussed in a meeting of working groups on Friday.
But Kheng asked for provisions related to the “autonomy” of the NEC and how departing members would be replaced.
“[The CPP] views it as unnecessary to include these points in the constitution, because the constitution is the highest law in the nation and should state the main principles only,” he wrote.
The minister added that the draft amendments without those provisions would still “guarantee the independence and neutrality of the NEC”.
According to Sochua, Rainsy agreed to Kheng’s demands, following which he requested today’s oath-taking ceremony.
Separately yesterday, a group of prominent watchdogs and independent experts including Comfrel, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and NGO Forum called on both political parties to make specific changes to the internal rules of parliament in order to bolster “the effectiveness and transparency of the parliamentary process”.
While the parties have agreed to review and amend internal rules to strengthen the role of the opposition, few details have been released.
Among the groups’ recommended changes are that parliament should hold public hearings once a week in which experts and “relevant stakeholders” can testify on draft, proposed and existing laws.
The opposition should also be formally recognised, be allowed to assign a spokesperson “for the oversight of government ministries” and be entitled to request debate on government policies, they say.
Parliamentary records and documents, except those concerning national security, should also be made public, while oral and written responses from the government to questions from MPs should be required within 15 days.
A motion of censure against the government should require the backing of at least 30 MPs to allow discussion of it, the groups argue, and if such a motion is raised twice, the assembly must conduct a public session to discuss voting on the dismissal of cabinet members or the government.
“We stand ready to work with both the ruling and opposition parties to provide further guidance on implementation of these amendments if provided the opportunity to do so,” they wrote in a joint statement, which included the recommended changes in formal legal language.

China investigates Canadian couple suspected of stealing state secrets

 

A Canadian couple living in a city close to China's border with North Korea are under investigation for the suspected theft of state secrets, state media said Tuesday.Kevin and Julia Garratt, who run a cafe in the northeastern city of Dandong, are suspected of stealing information about China's "military and national defense research," according to a brief report released by China's official news agency Xinhua.It is not clear whether the pair have been detained. Calls to their café, Peter's Coffee House, were not answered on Tuesday morning. 

Xinhua said that the State Security Bureau in Dandong was investigating the case.

Officials at the Ministry of Public Security in Dandong, when contacted by CNN, said they were not aware of the situation.The couple had been living in China since 1984 and had been running the coffeehouse, named after their youngest son, since 2008, according to Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper.The Canadian Embassy in Beijing said it was aware of the reports and consular officials stood ready to provide assistance if required, it added.

"We are gathering information and monitoring developments closely," a spokesperson said in an email.The cafe's website says it's "only meters from the border of North Korea and Dandong's Friendship Bridge" and a "perfect stop off while en route or returning from the Hermit Kingdom."

The cafe also held a weekly "English corner" to helps locals wanting to practice their language skills.

The investigation comes at a time of strained ties between Beijing and Ottawa after the Canadian government last week publicly blamed China for hacking government computers,