Skip to content

Social Stability - 80. page

CNA: Chinese Government Recommended Purchasing Air Purifiers

Primary Taiwanese news agency, the Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) just issued its official guide on health protection given the prevailing air pollution conditions. Currently the smog-based air pollution has triggered warnings in 55 cities across China. The NHC guide advised that office spaces, indoor sports areas and schools should be equipped with air purifiers. It recommended closing windows during smog days and using air purifiers to reduce the PM2.5 level. However NHC did not mention how public school classroom air purifiers would be funded. Studies over the past several years showed that each classroom will require two purifiers. Due to high purifier acquisition cost and high electricity cost for daily operations, so far only the city of Beijing has subsidized the schools for part of the cost. Very few schools standardized the equipment but they are usually funded by donations from the students’ parents. After a time, some schools have even removed purifiers to maintain fairness among the classes. The media suggested that the government should establish a set of criteria on how air purifiers should be deployed in schools. Based on data that the Ministry of Environmental Protection released, this winter Northern China has had low wind speeds and higher temperatures. This may lead to longer-lasting smog days with a wider regional coverage. PM2.5 particles are air pollutants with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, small enough to invade even the smallest airways. These particles generally come from activities that burn fossil fuels, such as traffic, smelting, and metal processing.

Source: CNA, December 11, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201912110072.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Deutsche Welle: The World Bank Terminated Its Controversial Loan to Xinjiang

Deutsche Welle reported that, on November 11, 2019, the World Bank decided to terminate its loan program and financial support to Xinjiang vocational schools amid questions of whether Beijing used the money to repress Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

The World Bank provided a US $50 million loan to the “Xinjiang Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project” in 2015.

In July, a World Bank employee wrote a lengthy email to an executive director on the bank’s board detailing concerns about the Xinjiang program. The employee listed numerous issues perceived as red flags and suggested that the program should be referred to an internal inspection committee for investigation to ensure that World Bank rules were being followed.

For example, according to a tender dated November 2018, Yarkand Technical School, which is managed by another school as part of the World Bank program, spent about $30,000 purchasing 30 tear gas launchers, 100 anti-riot batons, 400 sets of camouflage clothing, 100 sets of “stab-resistant clothing,” 60 pairs of “stab-resistant gloves,” 45 helmets, 12 metal detectors, 10 police batons, and barbed wire. It is not clear if this money came directly from the World Bank loan, or from other funding sources, but it points to a worrying cross-over between the camps and legitimate schools.

The employee’s concerns went unheeded.

On August 23, the U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China issued a letter to World Bank President David Malpass expressing its concern.

On November 11, 2019, the World Bank decided to terminate the loan program. However, human rights organizations and experts were not satisfied since the World Bank didn’t release a thorough investigate result about how the money was used.

Source: Deutsche Welle, November 12, 2019
https://www.dw.com/zh/世银终止资助新疆职业学校-专家批治标不治本/a-51207170

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

To Prevent the Spread of Plague, Government Set up “Firewall” Exiting Inner Mongolia and Entering Beijing

China’s Caixin.com reported on November 22 that an emergency response group of the provincial government of Inner Mongolia in northern China issued a “Work Plan for a Firewall for Exiting Inner Mongolia and entering Beijing” to prevent the spread of the plague. The plan highlights three lines of defense including an early warning of an epidemic situation, investigations by medical institutions, and an inspection of outbound passengers. According to the report, the Xilinhot Airport set up a check point at the entrance, logging the body temperature of every passenger. The Xilinhot Airport is the nearest airport to Xilingol League, where the initial two pneumonic plague patients originated. A body temperature check point was also set up at the highway to Sonid Left Banner, northwest of Xilingol League. All vehicles need to be inspected, and the information of passengers’ names, phone numbers, the point of departure and their destination must be registered. In addition, vehicles carrying livestock, wildlife, or wildlife products are required to register with the agriculture, animal husbandry, or forestry police authorities.

Earlier two patients from Xilingol League of Inner Mongolia were diagnosed in Beijing as having pneumonic plague. Soon afterwards, a patient in Bordered Yellow Banner of Xilingol League was also identified as having the plague. 28 people who were in close contact with this patient are still under medical observation.

The media reported that the recent outbreak of the plague was related to official negligence. This summer, some areas in northern China began to suffer from severe rodent problems. Although there were no new people infected with the plague in Xilingol League, there have been cases of dead animals and animals detected as having a positive plague reaction. There are unconfirmed tweets disclosing that more than 300 villages in northern provinces such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Liaoning, and Jilin were completely blocked. Armed police  were stationed there and villagers were not allowed to enter or exit. Communications have also been cut off.

Source: Central News Agency, November 22, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201911220160.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

One-third of Arrested Hong Kong Democracy Activists Are under 18

According to the Hong Kong government, nearly one-third of the Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators who  the police have arrested are young people under the age of 18.

Young people want to protect their civil liberties from the increasing erosion and suppression of the mainland Chinese government. Many high-schoolers have also participated in the movement.

A high school student told VOA, “The future belongs to us. We must fight for it because this is our own future, the future of the next generation, and the future of the people of Hong Kong. If we do not fight, there will be no one to fight for it.”

Since June, 750 young people under the age of 18 have been arrested for participating in anti-government demonstrations. Among the 2,000 plus arrested, young people account for nearly one-third.

The Hong Kong government also requires universities and schools to report any students who wear masks to participate in anti-government demonstrations.

Source: Voice of America, October 14, 2019
https://www.voachinese.com/a/a-third-of-hong-kong-democracy-activists-arrested-are-teenagers-20191014/5123507.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Police Detained Retired Female Professor for Posting Photos of Hong Kong Protesters

Huang Chun, a 65-year-old retired professor from Guizhou University for Nationalities, was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention for “disturbing the social order.” She posted pictures of Hong Kong demonstrators and the “June 4th” event on WeChat and Twitter. The public security authorities gave her a warning for openly criticizing the government on the Internet or accepting interviews with foreign media. On the evening of the 70th National Day, the authorities restricted her movement and did not allow her students to visit her.

Huang told Radio Free Asia that the Hua Xi public security bureau arrested her. During her arrest, she was stripped naked, forced to wear a uniform, handcuffed, and forced to have her blood and urine tested. She said later they sent her to a location where the Armed Police Force was stationed to serve her sentence of 15 days of detention Over tens of thousands of people were locked inside at that location. An RFA article reported that Huang’s description of the detention location was similar to the education and training center set up in Xinjiang. There is reason to believe that China has expanded its detention facility. Since 2018, the Chinese Armed Police Force was moved and put under the Central Military Commission. This means that the armed police forces are outside the administrative organs of the State Council and are not subject to the control of the local public security.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 11, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/ql2-10112019070603.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

CNA: Reporter Beaten When Covering News of Wuxi Bridge Collapse

According to the Central News Agency, three people died when the bridge in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, collapsed on October 10. The police blocked reporters during the interview at the scene. At the street corner, the police beat one reporter very badly. They also shot down the drone that the media had set up. Authorities set up a road block two kilometers away from the scene. When questioned about the quality of the bridge, the company that is responsible for the bridge design insisted that the design meets all of the requirements that were specified. Local officials even concluded that the collapse was due to an overload of vehicles that happened before the data on the bridge’s weight limit was published. People are concerned that the collapse may have been due to the poor quality of the bridge as well as flaws in the structural design.

Source: Central News Agency, October 12, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201910120102.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Labor Service Organization Closed on National Day; NGOs in China under Increasing Pressure

The Mumian Social Work Association (MSWA), a Guangdong based labor related non-governmental organization, announced the launch of its closing procedure on China’s National Day (October 1), four months after the arrest of its founder Tong Feifei. Local labor rights activists have observed that NGOs in China have little room for survival. The authorities are mounting a cruel suppression of NGO leaders in the name of national security.

In April 2013, Tong Feifei, a Peking University master of sociology, established MSWA. It has launched community development and vocational school students’ service programs in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Shunde. It also conducted social work training and research, as well as public advocacy for social issues. The authorities once recognized its low-key style.

It is believed that the closure of MSWA is related to the Jasic Incident last year. In July 2018, a group of workers from the Shenzhen based Jasic Technology Co., Ltd. (abbr. Jasic) sought to form a labor union to address their low pay and poor working conditions. The factory management responded by firing its employees. This sparked two weeks of protests and demonstrations drawing from both factory workers in Shenzhen along with students. The police crushed the movement and arrested the workers and students.

Right after the Jasic Incident, the authorities started immediately to suppress all civil NGOs involved in labor rights or care giving. In May of this year, the heads of several NGOs including Tong Feifei, Liang Zicun, Li Dajun, and Li Changjiang were arrested. In July, the National Security Bureau in Changsha, Hunan province, arrested a few other activists working on labor discrimination.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 1, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/NGO-10012019094804.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

RFA: Residents in China Must Pass Facial Recognition Test in Order to Apply for Online Services

Radio Free Asia reported that, in order to further strengthen network management and control, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on September 27 that, starting from December 1, telephone users must pass a facial recognition test before they can apply for Internet access. In the notice there is a new set of regulations to be implemented which includes eleven new proposed measures.

On September 1, 2013, China enforced the telephone real-name system. That is, whether it is landline or a mobile telephone, applicants must use real identification for registration. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly issued the “Special Action Plan for the Management of the “Black Market for Telephone card”. On January 1, 2015, the measure for the real-name system for purchasing mobile phone cards was implemented nationwide.

According to the RFA article, the the authorities have been criticized for taking tough measures to increase control over the people. Some say the effect will only be counterproductive and will likely cause rebellion among the people.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 27, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/face-09272019073455.html?encoding=simplified

Briefings | | |   Social Stability