By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A Beijing restaurant owner, recently displayed a sign in the window of his establishment which read, “This shop does not receive, the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s).”

The restaurant owner, identified only by his surname “Wang,” refused to serve patrons of the three ethnicities delineated in his sign.  His refusal to serve Japanese, Filipino, and Vietnamese customers is perhaps a nod to the extreme nationalism prevalent in China due to the history of maritime and national boundary disputes in the eastern part of the country and in the South China Seas.

The most recent dispute is an ongoing feud between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands (which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands).  The Japanese control the islands, however, Beijing lays claim to the island territory.  Vietnam and the Philippines are also feuding with Beijing over additional sets of islands in the South China Sea.

Frustrations and tension over these disputes has led to widespread Anti-Chinese demonstrations in Vietnam’s largest metropolitan hub, Ho Chi Minh City.  Additionally, thousands of Vietnamese resorted to posting on social networking sites and sending in comments to local newspapers to offer their angry reactions regarding the restaurant owner’s sign.

The restaurant owner removed the sign due to intense pressure from public outcries which he described to be “bothersome” and, perhaps, intrusive to his normal flow of business.  The central Chinese government has not condemned the restaurant owner’s actions nor issued any official statements regarding the matter.

Zhai Lei Ming, Chinese Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, issued a statement to a local Vietnamese newspaper deploring Wang’s actions, saying it was “wrong” and “definitely unsatisfactory.”  Zhai commented that horrible people exist all over the world, and the opinions of the singular restaurant owner did not represent the opinion of the Chinese people or the central government.

Zhai lacked knowledge on why the central government had not released a statement or reprimanded the individual for his actions and could not comment on this issue.  When the restaurant owner was asked to comment, he told the press that he had no regrets regarding his actions and would not apologize for the sign.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines, released a statement, possibly vindicating China, calling the restaurant owner’s actions an isolated incident.  Raul Hernandez, Assistant Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs, told a local newspaper that he hopes the sentiments of the restaurant owner are not state policy, and Filipinos are welcomed into Beijing restaurants.

For further information, please see:

The Age – Outrage over Beijing restaurant’s racist sign – 28 February 2013

BBC – China restaurant takes down maritime dispute sign – 28 February 2013

Breitbart – BEIJING RESTAURANT REMOVES ‘RACIST’ SIGN AFTER FURY – 28 February 2013

Tuoi Tre News – Beijing eatery wrong to post racist sign: Chinese diplomat – 28 February 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Violent protests erupted in Delhi after a seven year old girl was reportedly sexually attacked and raped by an unknown man while at school.

The young female victim was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital to be treated for her gruesome injuries after she was found lying in a pool of blood near her house.  The police report places the girl missing around 8pm on February 28^th, and she was allegedly raped by the at large perpetrator on school grounds.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar, the young girl’s treating physician, reported to the press that her injuries were consistent with a patient who had suffered a rape.  Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, released a press statement calling the incident at the school “shameful” and “shocking.”

Protestors gathered outside of the hospital, in the Mangolpuri area of Northern Delhi, where the girl was being treated to show their outrage regarding the recent string of sexual crimes being committed against women in India.

India has been under intense international scrutiny over sexual violence against women after a student was raped and murdered on a local bus in December.  In a separate incident, another seven year old girl in the city of Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, was raped, murdered and her body was dumped in a sewer.  These sexual assaults have sparked protests across the nation.

This most recent incident involving the young girl being raped in the school has sparked demonstrations that turned violent outside of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.  Police resorted to beating protesters with clubs in an effort disperse the angry crowd.  The protestors retaliated by throwing stones at the police and caused damage to government property.

The protestors allege that the police have been doing a poor job at speedily investigating and resolving these heinous incidents of sexual assault.  The police report for the girl’s rape in Mongolpuri district was not filed until March 1.  Additionally, no arrests have been made yet, and police currently do not have any suspects.

Sushil Kumar Shinde, Home Minister in the area, told the press that at least one policeman had been suspended for their slow work of locating three sisters that had been abducted in Maharashtra last month.  Police in the current case, however, have been making efforts to interview all employees of the school and parents of the children who attend the local school where the violent sexual attack occurred.

The young girl has yet to identify any suspects for the police to investigate.  Rekha Gupta, chairperson for the New Delhi Municipal Council’s Education Committee, has vowed support for the family in the medical treatment of their child as well as full cooperation with the police during the investigation.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Delhi protest over ‘sex attack’ on seven-year-old girl – 1 March 2013

International Business Times – New Delhi Rape Crisis: 7-Year-Old Girl Abducted and Raped inside School – 1 March 2013

News Bharati – Minor girl raped inside Delhi school premises – 1 March 2013

Tiger News International – Another shocker from Delhi: 7-year-old girl raped inside municipal school – 1 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HONG KONG, China – Ten individuals were arrested in Hong Kong for attempting to smuggle baby formula past customs out of the island territory and into mainland China.

The Hong Kong government recently passed a new regulation which restricted the amount of baby formula travelers were allowed to take out of Hong Kong and into mainland China.  The regulation only allows travelers to take 1.8 kilograms (about 4 pounds) of formula through customs.

The individuals who were placed under arrest were both Hong Kong citizens and mainland Chinese citizens.  The smugglers were caught with a total of 53 cans of baby formula.  One man was attempting to smuggle 15 cans through customs by himself.

Under the new regulation, individuals caught with more than the allowed 1.8 kilograms of milk powder can face fines of up to 500,000 Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to about $65,000 U.S.).  Additionally, smugglers could also be subjected to up to two years in jail.

Travelers are taking the extreme risk of smuggling the baby formula out of Hong Kong and into mainland China because of the recent milk powder scandals that have been rampant in mainland China.  The most infamous of these scandals happened in 2008 when six infants died after ingesting milk which contained traces of the industrial chemical melamine.

Due to the high demand of baby formula from mainland Chinese citizens, Hong Kong has been experience severe shortages causing extreme tensions between the island territory and Beijing.  Hong Kong citizens have been having a hard time obtaining baby formula for their own children.

Hong Kong resident, Bruce Lui, says that every morning, parents are lined up outside shops and pharmacies for the opportunity to purchase formula.  Some are lucky if they can get even one can to feed their hungry infants.

Lui says that he walks from neighborhood to neighborhood attempting to hunt down the precious baby formula.  Sometimes he must walk through at least ten pharmacies and shops before he can get his hands on one can.  Other times, he is unlucky and comes home empty handed.

Adding to the distress of local Hong Kong parents, some shops and pharmacies will not sell to locals because they know that they can obtain higher profits from selling exclusively to mainlanders desperate for safe formula.  Some mainland Chinese parents are willing to pay up to 50 percent above retail for cans of powdered baby formula.

Proponents of the new regulation hope that the new law will help prevent shortages like one that happened last month in Hong Kong when stores sold out of the most popular brands of baby formula.

For further information, please see:

Shanghai Daily – 10 caught flouting Hong Kong’s new infant formula rule – 2 March 2013

Yahoo News Philippines – Hong Kong cracks down on baby formula trade – 2 March 2013

BBC – Ten arrested in Hong Kong over baby milk formula curbs – 1 March 2013

The Sunday Times – Hong Kong limits export of baby formula after furore – 1 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Tuesday alleging that Sri Lankan military forces used rape and sexual torture to get confessions out of suspected Tamil rebels during the bloody civil war between the central government and the Tamil separatist movement from 2006 to 2012.

The report documented roughly 75 cases of rape which include 41 female victims, 31 male victims, and at least three juvenile boys under the age of 18.  The victims stated that their torturers’ brutality did not cease until they confessed that they had ties to the Tamil separatist movement.

One male victim, who was a rebel fighter in the conflict and surrendered in 2009, said the Sri Lankan military inserted a metal rod along with metal balls inside his private parts.  The foreign objects were later surgically extracted from his body only after he had escaped from Sri Lanka.

Another male victim says that he suffered at the hands of the Sri Lankan military when he was still a juvenile.  The man said that he was beaten, raped, and then hung upside down while he was only 17 years old.  A female victim says she was raped as recently as one year ago in the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department.

Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to New Delhi, spoke on behalf of the Sri Lankan government.  The High Commissioner says there is no evidence to support the statements and allegations made by the victims in the HRW report.

Kariyawasam stated that the 75 victims could possibly be economic refugees attempting to fabricate a good sob story to gain asylum into countries like Britain.  He believes that until Sri Lanka executes a proper, domestic inquiry into the allegations, the HRW report cannot be legitimate.

The HRW report, however, contained numerous medical reports on the alleged victims which confirmed their stories.  The medical reports showed evidence that the 75 victims had been subjected to sexual torture.  The victims had cigarette burns on their inner thighs, breasts, and there was also evidence that the victims had been bitten in the buttocks and breast regions.

Kariyawasam maintains that these alleged war crimes have been publicized at a convenient time because the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva will be voting on a U.S. supported resolution criticizing Sri Lanka’s human rights track record later this week.

The U.S. supported resolution will urge Sri Lanka to bring suspected war criminals to justice.  Sri Lanka is believed to be protecting their own military personnel who have been suspected of killing civilians during the armed conflict with the Tamil separatist movement.  Displaced Tamil refugees in Britain, Canada, and the European Union are expected to show strong support for the U.N. resolution.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Sri Lankan forces ‘raped’ Tamils in custody, study says – 26 February 2013

The Guardian – Sri Lankan military ‘still raping and torturing suspected rebels’ – 26 February 2013

Reuters – Sri Lanka security rape, torture Tamil detainees: HRW – 26 February 2013

The Star – Sri Lanka security forces rape, torture Tamil detainees – group – 26 February 2013

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MALE, Maldives – Yesterday, a Maldivian court sentenced a 15-year-old rape victim to receive 100 lashes for engaging in premarital sex.

Last year, the Maldivian police examined allegations against the victim’s stepfather for raping and killing their baby.  Authorities subsequently discovered the dead baby buried on the island of Feydhoo in Shavivani Atoll.  If the victim’s stepfather, is convicted, he may face 25 years in prison.  Meanwhile, the victim’s mother is also facing charges for failure to report the incident to the Maldivian police.

After further investigation, the victim admitted to having a sexually consensual relationship with another man.

Maldives’s legal system has attributes of both Islamic and English common law.  Accordingly, in Maldives, sex outside marriage is illegal.

According to BBC News, a spokesperson for the juvenile court, Zaima Nasheed, stated that the court ordered the victim to remain at a children’s home under house arrest for the next eight months. Furthermore, the victim will not receive her punishment until she reaches the age of 18 or consents to an earlier time.

The 15-year-old victim is not the first to face this particular punishment.  In September of last year, a Maldivian court ordered the public flogging of a 16-year-old girl for premarital sex.

Amnesty International censured the punishment as “cruel, degrading and inhumane.”  “We are very surprised that the government is not doing anything to stop this punishment – to remove it altogether from the statute books,” stated Ahmed Faiz, a researcher with Amnesty.

“This is not the only case.  It is happening frequently – only last month there was another girl who was sexually abused and sentenced to lashes,” continued Mr. Faiz.

Furthermore, Human Rights Watch has chastised the punishment and stated that this in reality was a sex crime against the victim.  In addition, the United Nations has continually asked Maldivian authorities to cease using the “barbaric practice” of flogging women.

However,there is hope for the 15-year-old victim. The Maldivian government disagrees with the court’s sentence.  “The President has asked the Attorney-General to appeal against the lower court decision,” stated spokesman Abbas Adil Riza to AFP. “The girl will also be provided with the necessary legal counsel and we hope the case will be concluded in about a month,” continued Mr. Riza.

For further information, please see:

The Globe and Mail – Maldives government to appeal flogging of rape victim, 15, for premarital sex – 28 February 2013

BBC News – Maldives girl to get 100 lashes for pre-marital sex – 26 February 2013

Fox News – Alleged Maldives rape victim, 15, to get 100 lashes for having premarital sex – 27 February 2013