Asia

China Sacks Another Top State Official in Corruption Crackdown

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China — Chinese authorities have fired high-ranking economic official, Jiang Jiemin, in part of a growing crackdown on corruption. Analysts said the firing of Jiemin, who previously led an official body overseeing China’s state-owned enterprises, is also part of an effort by authorities to gain more control of state backed companies.

Jiang Jiemin, a top member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, was fired earlier today as China continues to crackdown on corruption. (Photo courtesy of AP)

China’s central news agency, Xinhua said Jiang Jiemin was removed from his post as head of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission for suspected “serious disciplinary violations,” a common phrase used to describe corruption.

 The decision comes only two days after authorities announced Jiang was under investigation. It also comes amid a growing probe into four other top executives at the state owned oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Jiemin previously served as the chairman of CNPC and its subsidiary PetroChina. Jiemin has gradually risen up within the ranks of China’s state-run oil industry over the past two decades.

City University of Hong Kong political scientist, Joseph Cheng, said the decision to target Jiemin and other top oil executives is a signal that the government is trying to reign in state-owned companies as the government continues to promote substantial economic reform.

“The top officials of these very powerful state owned enterprises are more or less independent kingdoms, they are the targets, so these cases will create a sort of threatening affect, a deterrent effect, which hopefully will help the leadership to push through reform. The reform probably is to reduce the privileges of the state sector,” said Cheng. He believes the investigation provides a rare opportunity to promote economic reform of China’s state-owned enterprises, which have “too much influence on China’s economy and are too big a source of corruption.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to crack down on high- and low-ranking corrupt officials. Some believe the investigation into Jiang is a sign that the anti-corruption drive is deepening and that other high-ranking officials could be next. Only a few short months ago top political leader, Bo Xilai, was tried on charges of corruption, stemming from his wife’s murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood.

Jiang Jiemin sits on the Communist Party’s Central Committee, a top group of more than 200 officials. Jiemin is the first on the committee to be investigated and removed.

There has been speculation that former public security chief Zhou Yongkang could be the next official targeted. Yongkang previously served as a CNPC official and was an influential member of the petroleum clique. Nothing further has surfaced yet.

For more information, please see:

Xinhua — Jiang Jiemin removed from office — 3 September 2013

Reuters — China probes top official in latest anti-graft push — 3 September 2013

Chosun Ilbo — China Sacks State Enterprise Official — 4 September 2013

The Scotsman — China: Major scalp for corruption inquiry — 4 September 2013

Militants Attempt to Disrupt Supply Line in Afghanistan

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NANGARHAR, Afghanistan — Militants have attacked a U.S. base in the Nangarhar province near the Pakistani border, setting dozens of parked NATO supply vehicles on fire, officials said. Dressed as Afghan police officers, three insurgents were killed after a lengthy gun battle with helicopter gunships. The incident was described as an “attempted but unsuccessful coordinated attack by enemy forces”.

NATO supply vehicles were set ablaze in the attack, blocking the supply route from Pakistan.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzia, a Nangarhar provincial spokesman, said militants wearing suicide vests and carrying weapons initiated the attack and that Afghan and U.S. forces exchanged gunfire with the insurgents until NATO helicopters joined the fight. The encounter began at approximately 6:30 A.M. and lasted three and a half hours.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in an upwelling of violence in Afghanistan. The violence is being interpreted by some as an effort by the Taliban to test the strength of Afghan forces ahead of the planned withdrawal of U.S.-led forces anticipated to occur by the end of next year.

The U.S. provides the bulk of military presence in Afghanistan with 68,000 troops, followed by the U.K. with 9,000 troops.

Officials have stated that no Afghan or U.S. soldiers were killed in the raid, and the attacks never gained entry to the base.

The financial cost of the attack to the United States is likely to be enormous.  “Our investigation shows some 41 vehicles – supply trucks and vehicles belonging to U.S. forces – were destroyed in the attack.” Abdulzai said.

The U.S. base is home to roughly 66,000 American troops along with forces from other countries. The base is an essential stopping point for NATO vehicles. The highway between Jalalabad city and Torkham, leading to the base, has been closed due to the attack.

Militants have frequently targeted the supply line through Afghanistan, leading NATO to a shift in transporting a majority of its supplies along routes in Central Asian states instead of through Pakistan.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Taliban bombers attack US base in Afghanistan – 2 September 2013

UPI – Militants launch unsuccessful attack near U.S. base in Afghanistan – 2 September 2013

The Independent – Taliban attacks Nato base in Afghanistan – 2 September 2013

Yahoo! News – Afghan Taliban attack US base, NATO supply vehicles – 2 September 2013

Chinese Grinning Official on Trial For Corruption

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China — Yang Dacai, a Chinese official who sparked a national outcry after images showed him grinning while on the scene of a fatal bus crash, has pled guilty to corruption charges.

Mr Dacai said he used his legal income to buy the many watches he owned.

In Xi’an Intermediate People’s Court, Yang admitted to taking 250,000 yuan (40,518 U.S. dollars) in bribes.

Dacai is the latest Chinese government official to be ousted from his position by online whistleblowers.

His trial comes during growing public anger over the allegations of corruption in the Chinese government. A majority of the protests occur online with drives against corruption, and internet users increasingly pursuing those perceived as having done wrong through online exposure.

Dacai has been Nicknamed “Brother Watch” by internet users after images of him wearing various luxury watches circulated online. Dacai has been seen wearing 11 luxury watches; five of which combined are worth more than 300,000 Yuan (48,000 U.S. dollars).

Chinese citizens on the internet have argued that Dacai should not have been able to afford the watches on his salary as a civil servant.

However, Dacai has claimed that he “used legal income” to buy a number of watches, saying that the most expensive one he owned was worth 35,000 Yuan (5,500 U.S. dollars).

After an initial investigation, Dacai was removed as the head and chief of the provincial work safety administration and was dismissed from his post as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Community Party of China (CPC).

Yu Guoming, deputy dead of journalism at Renmin University of China, said the positive response and timely punishment showed the authorities commitment to anti-graft campaigning and boosted the Chinese enthusiasm to root out corruption clues.

Last December, Yuan Zhanting, the mayor of Lanzhou, the capital of China’s relatively poor northwestern province of Gansu, was ridiculed after pictures surfaced of him wearing luxury watches. One of them, an Omega, worth 150,000 Yuan (24,000 U.S. dollars).

In recent weeks, there have been signs that this internet campaign has worried authorities, resulting in a number of journalists being arrested for “rumor-mongering”, one being a high-profile blogger.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Trial for China’s ‘smiling official’ Yang Dacai – 30 August 2013

Yahoo! News – China’s ‘smiling face’ official on trial for graft – 30 August 2013

Channel News Asia – China’s ‘smiling face’ official on trial for graft – 30 August 2013

Global Post – China’s ‘smiling face’ official on trial for graft – 31 August 2013

Riots Ensue in Another Bout of Religions Unrest in Myanmar

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– About 1,000 anti-Muslim rioters burned shops and homes in yet another outbreak of religious unrest in Myanmar. The former army-ruled nation has grappled with spreading religious violence since civilian rule was fully restored in 2011.

A young boy salvages for belongings amid burnt remains after anti-Muslim riots rocked the Sagaing region. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Police fired multiple warning shots as the mob set property ablaze and attacked fire engines that were attempting to put out fires in a village at Kanbalu, in the central region of Sagaing. According to a Ministry of Information statement, “the local security forces stepped in to stop a group of approximately 1,000 people as they tried to torch a house. But the crowd kept shooting with slingshots and the situation became uncontrollable.”

The unrest erupted after a man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a Buddhist woman on Saturday evening, according to some sources. A crowd of about 150 people and three Buddhist monks gathered at the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them. When the authorities refused, the mob lashed out, attacking Muslim property in the area. The crowd grew in size and ferocity as the night went on.

Attacks against Muslims – who make up at least 4% of the population – have exposed deep chasms in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, casting a shadow over widely praised political reforms since instated since the end of military rule in 2011. This latest bout of violence is the first anti-Muslim incident reported in Sagaing, but signals that the unrest is continuing to widen.

It began in the west of Myanmar last year and has spread across the country since bloody riots broke out in the central town of Meiktila, where dozens were killed in March. Last week watchdog, Physicians for Human Rights, warned that Myanmar risked “catastrophic” levels of conflict with “potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide” if authorities failed to stem anti-Muslim hate speech and a culture of impunity around the clashes. Rights groups have accused authorities of being unable or unwilling to contain the unrest, which has left about 250 people dead and more than 140,000 homeless. Myanmar has rejected these claims.

Many of the incidents have featured retaliatory violence against Muslim communities in response to accusations of seemingly isolated criminal acts. An unnamed police official, said the latest conflict broke out after the suspect allegedly approached a 25-year-old woman, “grabbed her hand and attempted to rape her.”

No injuries have been reported in the violence, but the ministry statement said at least 20 homes were destroyed as well as over a dozen shops and a local mill. Fire engines battled the blazes and the ministry said security has been reinforced since early yesterday, in hopes of restoring peace in the region.

A radical Buddhist monk, Wirathu, who has been accused of stoking the unrest with anti-Muslim and nationalist speeches, posted a message about the incident on his Facebook page. He blamed Muslims in general for the unrest.

Two outbreaks of similar violence in the western state of Rakhine in June and October last year left about 200 people dead, mainly Rohingya Muslims. In March, sectarian strife in Meiktila killed at least 44 and thousands of homes were set ablaze.

The U.N. rights envoy to Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, slammed the government last week for allowing an aggressive crowd to surround his car and beat on the windows during a visit to Meiktila. He said the incident gave him “insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs”.

Myanmar responded, stating that the envoy was not in any danger.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Burma violence: Rioters burn Muslim homes and shops — 25 August 2013

Reuters — Order restored after fresh Myanmar religious unrest — 25 August 2013

Al Jazeera — Twelve arrested after fresh unrest in Myanmar — 25 August 2013

Gulf Times — Rioters burn shops, homes in fresh Myanmar unrest — 25 August 2013

Maldives Overturns Sentence of 100 Lashes For Rape Victim

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

FEYDHOO, Maldives — A Maldivian court has overturned a sentence of 100 lashes for a 15 year old rape victim. The sentence sparked international outrage and focused attention on the holiday isle’s treatment of women.

The Maldives observes elements of Sharia as well as English common law.

The court ruled on Wednesday that the girl had been wrongly convicted by a juvenile court for having premarital sex. Police first investigated the complainant when it was alleged she was raped by her stepfather, but later confessed to also having consensual sex with another man.

Premarital sex is illegal in the Maldives, a popular tourist destination in the Indian Ocean.

The child’s stepfather in this case faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of rape and a separate charge of murder, after he allegedly killed a baby as a result of his alleged rape of his stepdaughter.

President Mohamed Waheed was “overjoyed” with the High Court Decision. He said in a statement that “as sexual assaults on women and children are increasing, it is important to formulate the criminal justice system in a way to prevent further victimizing women and children.”

Maldives observes elements of Islamic Sharia law as well as English common law.

In its decision, the court said the sentence of the lower court was based on a confession that the girl made while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The London-based rights group Amnesty International, which campaigned to spare the victim, believed the girl should have never been put on trial in the first place.

“Annulling this sentence was of course the right thing to do.” Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director said in a statement. “We are relieved that the girl will be spared the inhumane ‘punishment’ based on an outrageous conviction.”

The UN as well as international rights groups have continuously asked the Maldives to end the “barbaric practice” of flogging women.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Maldives girl’s 100 lashes sentence overturned – 22 August 2013

The Times of India – Maldives court quashes flogging of teenage rape victim – 22 August 2013

Yahoo! News – Maldives quashes flogging of teenager for premarital sex – 22 August 2013

South China Morning Post – Maldives overturns flogging sentence for rape victim – 22 August 2013