By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

A student who traveled to North Korea as a tourist has been detained for a “hostile act”, according to North Korea’s state-run media. Otto F. Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, has been accused of entering North Korea with the intent to bring down the foundation of North Korea’s “single-minded unity”.

Mr. Warmbier traveled to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based company that organizes trips to North Korea. The company released a statement saying that Mr. Warmbier had been detained in Pyongyang on January 2 as he went through customs. It appears that Mr. Warmbier was about to travel to China when he was detained.

Young Pioneer Tours also stated that it was in contact with Mr. Warmbier’s family and the Swedish Embassy, which offers consular assistance to Americans in North Korea. KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news source, has disclosed that Mr. Warmbier is currently under investigation. Further details about Mr. Warmbier’s detainment are currently unknown.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Mark Toner, has stated that the State Department is aware that Mr. Warmbier has been detained and that the Department is working with the Swedish Embassy to address the situation. The Swedish Embassy represents U.S. interests in North Korea, as the U.S. and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations with each other.

Other Americans have been detained by North Korea in the past, often for activities seen as subversive due to their religious or political nature. The U.S. State Department and Canada’s government have warned against traveling to North Korea because of the westerners who have been detained there. Despite the warnings, around 6,000 westerners continue to travel to North Korea every year.

Mr. Warmbier is the third westerner known to be held in North Korea at this time. The others include a Korean-American detained on spying charges and a Canadian pastor who allegedly plotted to overthrow North Korea’s government.

 

For more information, please see:

CNN – North Korea Arrests American Student for ‘Hostile Act’ – 23 January 2016

BBC News – North Korea Arrests US student for ‘Hostile Act’ – 22 January 2016

The New York Times – North Korea Says It’s Holding U.S. Student for ‘Hostile Act’ –22 January 2015

Reuters – North Korea Detains U.S. Student on New Year Trip for ‘Hostile Act’ – 22 January 2016

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

 

At least ten people were killed by an explosion at a military checkpoint outside of Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday. At least 20 people were also wounded. Pakistani authorities say that the death toll is expected to increase as rescue efforts continue.

Shahab Ali Shah, the administrator for the region, has stated that based on eyewitness accounts, the attack was a suicide bombing. According to police, the suicide bomber rode a motorcycle loaded with explosives into a roadside military checkpoint located on the Torkham-Jalalabad Highway, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The bomber drove the motorcycle directly into a police car and the checkpoint, detonating the explosives on the vehicle. In addition to the casualties, several vehicles and buildings near the checkpoint were damaged in the explosion.

Among those killed in the explosion were a child, a military officer, and a prominent senior member of the Tribal Union of Journalists. At least five policemen were also killed. Saiful Islam, an official in the region, has stated that a local security official, Nawab Shah, appears to have been the intended target.

It is unclear at this time who planned the bombing, and multiple parties appear to be taking responsibility for the attack. The senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Maqbool Dawar, is one of the parties who has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Mr. Dawar told Reuters that the bombing was revenge for the deaths of Taliban members who died recently while in government custody. A separate Taliban group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTP-JA), has also claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The explosion occurred in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas near the outskirts of Peshawar. The region has been marked by fighting between security forces and the Pakistani Taliban since more than 150 people were killed in a nearby school in December 2014.

At least 26 people were killed in another suspected suicide attack on a government building in northwestern Pakistan last month.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera America – Deadly suicide blast in Pakistan kills at least 10 – 19 January 2016

BBC – Pakistan Suicide Bombing ‘Kills 10’ in Peshawar – 19 January 2016

NBC News – Motorcycle Suicide Attack Hits Major Pakistan Highway, Killing 10 – 16 January 2016

Newsweek – Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 10 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016

The New York Times – Explosion, Said to Be Suicide Bombing, Kills 8 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

TAIPEI, Taiwan –

Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its new president on Saturday, giving her Democratic Progressive Party greater control in its legislature. Ms. Tsai is the first woman in Taiwan’s history to win the presidential office and is now the most powerful female leader in Asia.

Ms. Tsai ran against Eric Chu, party secretary of the previously governing Kuomintang party, as well as a third-party candidate, James Soong. According to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission, 56% of the vote went to Ms. Tsai, while 31% of the vote went to Mr. Chu.

Economic issues were at the forefront of the election due to Taiwan’s stagnant economy. Ms. Tsai has spoken of strengthening regional industry and manufacturing as well as strengthening Taiwan’s international trade relationships during her presidency. The DPP will also work to improve education and tourism in Taiwan.

Ms. Tsai is only the second president in Taiwan’s history who does not belong to the Kuomintang party (KMT). The other president belonging to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chen Shui-bian, held office from 2000-2008.

Taiwan was an authoritarian state under the KMT’s rule until the late 1980s, when democratic reforms began to be implemented. If the DPP is able to win full control of Taiwan’s legislature, it is expected to initiate an investigation into abuses committed by the KMT during the party’s rule.

Taiwan has been independent from China since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has threatened to take Taiwan back by military force. Taiwan is not formally independent from China in the international arena, with only a few countries recognizing it as an independent nation.

The DPP supports Taiwan’s formal independence from China, while some leaders in the KMT have strived to create a closer relationship with China. Taiwan’s previous president, Ma Ying-jeou, formed more than 20 agreements with China during his term.

Ms. Tsai has stated that she wishes to continue positive relations with China while maintaining Taiwan’s democracy and independence. China is Taiwan’s primary trade partner and receives a significant amount of Taiwan’s exports. Ms. Tsai will face the challenge of balancing Taiwan’s economic interests with its independence during her term as president.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Tsai Ing-wen Elected Taiwan’s First Female President – 17 January 2016

The Guardian – Taiwan Elects First Female President – 16 January 2016

The New York Times – Tsai Ing-wen Elected President of Taiwan, First Woman to Hold Office – 16 January 2016

Time – Taiwan Elects Its First Female President – 16 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

BEIJING, China –

Human rights lawyer Wang Yu and her husband were arrested this week based on charges of political subversion. Ms. Wang and her husband, Bao Longjun, were held in detention for six months before they were formally arrested. Members of their law firm were also detained.

The couple and other members of their law firm, Beijing Fengui Law Firm, were held in “designated residential surveillance” starting in July 2015. Designated residential surveillance allows authorities to place detainees in solitary confinement in secret locations for time periods lasting up to six months. The month after their release, Ms. Wang and Mr. Bao, along with others from their firm, were arrested and charged with subversion.

Ms. Wang has not been permitted to meet with her lawyer, Li Yuhan, since her detainment. According to Ms. Li, police denied her requests to meet with Ms. Wang seven times during the detainment.

Ms. Wang is charged with subversion of state power and “causing a disturbance”, while Mr. Bao is charged with inciting subversion of state power. Their charges could mean sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison. Because the Communist Party controls China’s courts, the couple will likely be convicted at trial.

Ms. Wang has defended other human rights activists, including free speech advocate Wu Gan, women’s rights activist Li Tingting, and activist Cao Shunli. She has also represented Uighur scholar and alleged separatist Illham Tohti and victims of sexual harassment, forced evictions, and illegal jails.

Critics of the Communist Party often face subversion charges. Chinese authorities have also increasingly cracked down on human rights activists and lawyers since President Xi Jinping came into power in 2013. More than 130 lawyers were detained in July 2015 after they were accused of starting protests outside of courtrooms.

Chinese authorities also detained a Swedish man, Peter Jespin Dahlin, earlier this month based on suspicion of state subversion. Mr. Dahlin is a co-founder of the China Urgent Action Working Group, an organization that assists lawyers in providing services to victims of human rights violations.

 

For more information, please see:

Jurist – Prominent China Human Rights Lawyer Arrested for Political Subversion – 14 January 2016

The New York Times – China Arrests Rights Lawyer and Her Husband on Subversion Charges – 13 January 2016

Reuters – China Arrests Most Prominent Woman Rights Lawyer for Subversion – 13 January 2016

Voice of America – US Concerned About China Rights After Lawyers’ Arrest – 13 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

HONG KONG, China –

A Hong Kong bookseller who recently disappeared may have kidnapped by Chinese authorities and brought to mainland China.

Lee Bo, who published and sold books critical of China’s government, was reported missing by his wife last week. Mr. Lee’s wife then withdrew the missing person’s report when she received a letter in his handwriting stating that he had traveled to mainland China to assist with a police investigation. Mr. Lee’s wife says that in addition to the letter, he has also contacted her by telephone. Human rights activists believe that Mr. Lee was under duress when he contacted his wife.

However, there is no official record of Mr. Lee traveling to the mainland. Mr. Lee also failed to take his travel permits with him, which are necessary for travel between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Mr. Lee is associated with Mighty Current Media, a publishing house partly owned by his wife. Mighty Current’s books were sold at the Causeway Bay Bookstore, in which Mr. Lee is a shareholder. Mighty Current is known for publishing gossip-style books about Chinese leaders. The publisher has released books about topics that many other publishers purposely don’t cover, such as Chinese president Xi Jinping’s love affairs.

Albert Ho, a legislator in Hong Kong, states that the bookstore was planning on releasing a book on President Xi Jinping’s personal life and was told not to do so. Mr. Ho believes that Mr. Lee was kidnapped and taken to mainland China.

Four of Mr. Lee’s colleagues have also disappeared recently, including another Mighty Current co-owner named Gui Minhai, a Swedish citizen who went missing in Thailand in October. The other three were last seen in mainland China, according to the BBC.

Mr. Lee has dual citizenship of China and Britain due to Hong Kong’s status as a former British colony. However, the Chinese government does not acknowledge dual citizenship and any efforts on Britain’s part to retrieve Mr. Lee may not be successful.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997 through an agreement between Britain and China. When China gained sovereignty over Hong Kong, it was under a “One Country, Two Systems” model that gave Hong Kong a separate legal system and freedoms of speech and press. As part of the “One Country, Two Systems” model, Britain and China agreed that Hong Kong would have autonomy for 50 years.

Mr. Lee has dual citizenship of China and Britain due to Hong Kong’s status as a former British colony. However, the Chinese government does not acknowledge dual citizenship and any efforts on Britain’s part to retrieve Mr. Lee may not be successful.

Many in Hong Kong fear that the disappearance of Mr. Lee and the other booksellers signifies China’s growing control over Hong Kong. Hong Kong citizens are beginning to feel apprehensive about what the mainland’s growing power will mean for their own civil liberties and legal rights.

 

For more information, please see:

 New York Times – Many in Hong Kong Fear Beijing’s Reach After Editor’s Disappearance – 7 January 2016

Hong Kong Free Press – The Missing Booksellers: If We Let This Go, Will Hong Kong Still be Hong Kong? – 7 January 2016

International Business Times – Who is British Dissident Bookseller Lee Bo, Feared Kidnapped by Chinese Authorities? – 7 January 2016

BBC – Hong Kong Bookseller Mystery Deepens After Letter Appears – 5 January 2016