Recently, Russia announced an offer of the port of Vladivostok, its most important unfrozen port in the Far East, to China as an internal port. Russia claimed that it has completed the preparation for China’s mass shipping needs.

China plans to  open the port officially on June 1. It hopes this will boost the economy at the Northeastern provinces, especially for Heilongjiang and Jilin, which have no access to the sea and have to transport their goods entirely over land, or partially to the port of Dalian and then ship them over the sea. Once Vladivostok becomes available, they can transport their goods to this seaport first (which is at a much shorter distance) and then ship the goods out. Also China’s foreign trade goods can go through Vladivostok without tariffs and other taxes.

One analysis said that Russia previously planned to develop its Far East region with Japan and South Korea as partners.  It was afraid that China might dominate the Far East as its power grows. However, this plan didn’t get very far. Now Russia finally agreed to offer it to China, showing it truly takes China as its best partner in developing the Far East. This will also trigger more trade between China and Russia.

Some people suggested that Russia has been forced to give China Vladivostok. Being that it is suppressed and sanctioned by the West for its invasion of Ukraine, Russia can only look east and rely on China.

Following this model, Russia may also open a seaport on the Japan Sea to the Chinese navy, allowing China to set a foot into the Japan Sea and counterbalance the U.S., Japanese, and Korean naval forces.

Some background information is that China’s history claims that Vladivostok, whose Chinese name Haishenwai (海参崴), was under the Qing Dynasty’s rule and was ceded to Russia in 1860 as the Qing government was no military rival to Russia.

Sources:
1. Sohu, May 18, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/676627195_121470982
2. Net Ease, May 16, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I4SQNHJC05561Y1A.html

Two Chinese exiled dissidents protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Finland and were subsequently arrested and detained for two days after the embassy staff reported them to the police for “multiple serious crimes.”

Last Friday, Wang Jingyu arrived in Finland and joined another exiled dissident, Zhao Yunting, in protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy. The embassy filed a complaint stating that the protesters were disrupting their normal operations, but the police released the two protesters after questioning them. On the following day, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting continued their protest in front of the embassy. Subsequently, police officers arrived and arrested them. The next day, they were officially detained and informed that they were suspected of serious crimes. During the interrogation, Wang Jingyu was informed that a Chinese Embassy staff member named “Zhang Kui” had reported them for carrying explosives, extortion, and robbery. Based on these charges, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting could potentially face a one-year prison sentence.

With the assistance of their lawyers and the Finnish Central Criminal Police, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting were released after being detained for two days. On Wednesday, Wang Jingyu recounted the events and said, “On May 7th, the Finnish police formally arrested and detained us.. A police officer said that Zhao Yunting and I were suspected of serious criminal offenses. On May 8th, the Finnish police interrogated me again and told me that a person named ‘Zhang Kui’ from the Chinese Embassy had called them and accused us of planting bombs in Helsinki and robbing their diplomatic property, as well as extortion. After investigating, the Finnish police confirmed that we did not commit these acts.”

Wang Jingyu also mentioned that he had been subjected to death threats and harassment for over a year, with Chinese overseas police officers falsely reporting him numerous times. He believes this incident follows the same pattern and indicates a connection between the Chinese Embassy and illegal Chinese overseas police agencies.

The Chinese Embassy in Finland was contacted multiple times by the media, but they stated that there is no person named “Zhang Kui” in the embassy. Currently, Finnish lawyers are preparing to seek state compensation for the actions of the police. Wang Jingyu urged the police to  disclose the information about  the individual who made the false bomb threat publicly and called for a public condemnation statement.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 11, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/bomb-05112023112424.html

According to a Dutch media report, in the past two years, several provinces and cities in the Netherlands have ended their sister province and sister city relationships with China . China has been using these relationships as a means of external influence and penetration, but China  is facing increasing resistance.

The investigation by the Dutch newspaper NRC revealed that one-fourth of the sister friendly cooperation relationships, established between local authorities in the Netherlands and China in the past two years, have been canceled. Furthermore, several other municipal institutions are also preparing to end such cooperative relationships, while some municipalities are reevaluating their relationships with Chinese sister cities.

The report states that Dutch municipal authorities often cite China’s persecution of the Uighur ethnic group as the reason for terminating these relationships. Ahmed Marchouc, the mayor of Arnhem, said, “We must respect the principles of democracy, the rule of law, press freedom, and freedom of speech… (but) maintaining (friendly) relations with Chinese cities creates an image that disrespects these principles.” The city ended its relationship with Wuhan in 2021.

Some cities also mentioned that the economic benefits derived from these sister city relationships with China were not significant, which contributed to their decision to end them.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/9-05082023154300.html