Social Stability - 92. page

Radio Free Asia reported that Wang Qi, a Chinese rights activist and founder of 64tianwang.com asked his lawyer to file a lawsuit against Ten Cent for fabricating a private WeChat conversation between him and two other petitioners. He said that the Public Security Bureau used the false evidence to arrest the three of them and they have been imprisoned for the past year and four months. Wang was allegedly charged with “illegally providing state secrets to a foreign country.” The trial still does not have a start date. Wang said he has been beaten and has suffered physical abuse while imprisoned and is currently suffering kidney failure. Wang’s mother tried to get him released on bail but her request was denied.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 4, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql2-04042018102747.html

Radio France Internationale reported that following Apple, Airbnb (an American company which operates an online marketplace and hospitality service for people to lease or rent short-term lodging) announced that it will share its customer information with the Chinese authorities in order to comply with China’s Internet security law which went into effect last June. The Internet security law requires that foreign technology companies must store their business data and personal information on a domestic server and provide technology support to the national security agency. Airbnb said that there will be no separate notice to the customers when their data is shared with the Chinese authorities. The data will include personal information such as the property owners’ name, phone number, email address, passport information, property address, and customer information. Airbnb customers can decide to withdraw their listing from Airbnb. The new measure will only apply to Airbnb customers in mainland China. Currently Airbnb has business in 191 countries and 65,000 cities. It has over 3 million property listings.

Source: Radio France Internationale, March 31, 2018

http://cn.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20180331-%E7%BB%A7%E8%8B%B9%E6%9E%9C%E5%90%8Eairbnb%E6%B0%91%E5%AE%BF%E7%9F%AD%E7%A7%9F%E5%B9%B3%E5%8F%B0%E5%B0%86%E5%90%91%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%A4%E5%87%BA%E7%94%A8%E6%88%B7%E8%B5%84%E8%AE%AF

An RFA article reported that a Russian soccer player recently died as a result of a car accident in China less than 100 days from the 2018 World Soccer Cup. According to Moscow Evening news, 28 year old Vladimir Gerasimov was a Russian soccer player. He was riding an electronic scooter when he collided with a car which knocked him to the ground. The driver of the car fled the scene. Hours after the accident, Vladimir still remained lying on the ground. He died because no bystanders bothered to help him or call an ambulance. Currently, his teammates and relatives are collecting money to transport his body back to Moscow. The RFA article stated that there have been a number of reports about bystanders in China having a cold reaction and neglecting to help those who suffer car injuries. People believe that it is too costly to be a good Samaritan in China as good people are often suppressed or “rewarded” with false accusations.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 13, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lxy-03132018121436.html

Radio Free Asia reported that the Internet police in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region launched an “Internet cleanup” campaign which requires that, if any Wechat account has over ten members, they must make themselves available for the Internet police to inspect. The campaign also warned that no politically sensitive topics, internal notices, news from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau, from the Military, or from religions are allowed to circulate and the violators could be subject to a 1 to 8 year jail sentence. The Wechat account owner must also take full responsibility as well.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 7, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/ql3-03072018105849.html

Recently, the central administration issued a notice to launch a crackdown on the local corrupt mafia officials. A posting on Sina.com, provided examples of how local mafia officials monopolize public resources such as the reservoir, the forests, slaughter houses, the farm markets, and the local village transportation route. The article reported that these local mafia officials use their power, violence, and money to advance their own agendas. They are just like the characters in “The Godfather.” They are well mannered, wearing brand name outfits, and operating behind the scenes.

The following are two examples included in the article. A village Mafioso was a well-known bully in 1990 and a drug user who had previously been imprisoned. He went to a southern China region and came back as an entrepreneur. He established close ties with a few of the village officials and gained favorable treatment on the sale of some farm land. No one in the village was brave enough to stand up to him. Another example is a village committee director who had been imprisoned a number of times. He managed to open a few arcades. In 2012, he was “elected” to the position of village committee director, with the help of his “brothers.” He drives a Ferrari and lets other local officials be his business partners and invest in his projects. He is bully, a businessman, and a village official, all in one. The article reported that the locals fear the local mafia force more than they fear the officials because these mafia officials are violent and have power, money, and political connections.

Source: Sina.com, February 28, 2018
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2018-02-28/doc-ifyrztfz5199470.shtml

According to Xinhua, the National Internet Information Office announced that, starting on March 20, a new set of rules will be effective in order to regulate the security management of Weibo customer’s information and to prevent the faking or leaking of Weibo customers’ personal information. The new regulation consists of 18 sections which include guidelines for Weibo, the service provider’s responsibilities, and the authenticity of ID card verification, for establishing a rumor clarification system, for enabling social supervision, and for providing administrative management.

Source: Xinhua, February 28, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/legal/2018-02/28/c_1122463290.htm

According to an article that the Epoch Times published, since the news to eliminate term limits for Xi Jinping was announced on February 25, heated discussions have taken place on social media in China. The Chinese authorities quickly started to delete large numbers of online postings, disabled account numbers, and filtered sensitive words. According to the investigation report China Digital Times and Free Weibo published, the authorities screened and blocked sensitive words such as “I disagree,” “immigration,” “migration,” “re-election,” “term limits,” “amendment to the constitution,” and “constitutional provision.” Sina Weibo users are only left with two options on the constitutional amendment topic. They can choose either “like” or “agree,” which has most likely been set up for those from the “50 Cent Army,” which refers to the Internet commentators that the Chinese authorities hire in an attempt to manipulate public opinion to the benefit of those in authority.

Source: Epoch Times, February 26, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/2/26/n10175025.htm

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao, recently reported that Transparency International just released its 2017 report called the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Singapore obtained a score of 84 (out of 100) showing it to be number six in the global ranking and number one in Asia. New Zealand ranked the highest in the world with a score of 89, followed by Denmark with 88. In Asia, Hong Kong had the global rank of 13 (with a score of 77); Japan ranked 20th (with a score of 73); Taiwan ranked 29th (with a score of 63), and South Korea ranked 51st (with a score of 54). China had a global rank of 77 (with a score of 41). The United States ranked 16th (having moved up from last year’s 18) and Russia dropped to the rank of 135. Among the 180 countries and regions, around two thirds had scores below 50. North Korea had a score of 17. Somalia sat at the bottom with a score of nine.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 22, 2018
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/world/story20180222-837109