Month: March 2022

A commission appointed by the government of Denmark this week criticized the country’s Foreign Ministry for giving into Chinese pressure and preventing anti-Beijing demonstrations during state visits in 2012 and 2013.

The Tibet Commission found that Denmark’s intelligence and security service used pressure to convince police in Copenhagen to stop all anti-China demonstrations, in violation of the country’s constitution.

Protesters were barred from gathering within sight of the visiting Chinese delegations. The police hid them behind buses and confiscated Tibetan flags.

China had cancelled several official visits to Denmark after a 2009 “unofficial” meeting between then Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and the Dalai Lama. The commission found that the canceled visits caused Copenhagen to pursue China-friendly policies.

This was evident in 2011, when the Dalai Lama visited Denmark to give lectures on management and the meaning of life. The organizers of that visit made it clear that there would be no political meetings during his stay in the country. 

“This issue is being discussed in the press and its being dealt by many ministerial and politicians. Several ministers have already commented that they will try to remedy these mistakes,” Anders Højmark Andersen, chairman of the Tibet Support Committee in Denmark, told RFA’s Tibetan Service.

“This is the second report by the Tibet Commission which has dealt with period from 1995 to 2015, so it covers 20 years. There have been more than 200 Chinese official visits to Denmark in this period but it also deals with Tibetans’ visit to Denmark like His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit,” Andersen said.

Andersen noted that although pro-Tibetan independence groups were allowed to demonstrate, they were often placed in areas where visiting Chinese officials would never run into them.

“And that’s the problem,” he said. “During Hu Jintao’s visit in 2012, police even took Tibetan flags away from us in the street but we still succeeded in showing the Tibetan flag to the Chinese president fortunately”.

“I think that now Chinese officials will hesitate before visiting Denmark on a very high level. And I also think they will only send lower-level leaders to Denmark in the future because now they know that they cannot persuade the police to hide us anymore,” Andersen said.

He noted that Sino-Danish relations have been good since 2008 when Beijing and Copenhagen entered into a strategic partnership, but things have soured more recently.

“The Danish government has realized the worsening human rights record in China and the attempt by the incumbent President Xi to assume lifelong leadership,” said Andersen.

China routinely pressures foreign governments to silence criticism of Beijing, Mandie McKeown, executive director for the UK-based International Tibet Network

International, told RFA in an email.

“We have seen this kind of influence many times before. Most notably back in 1999 when Metropolitan Police broke U.K. law in their handling of demonstrators during the state visit of then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin,” she said.

“In a high court case brought by the Free Tibet Campaign (where I worked), the police agreed they had policed Free Tibet demonstrators “unlawfully” by removing Free Tibet banners and Tibetan National flags from people solely on the basis that they were protesting against the Chinese President’s visit,” said McKeown .

She said Beijing has tried to bully other governments into silence, recalling that in 2016 at least 12 governments issued a joint statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council saying they had been targeted by Chinese pressure.

“Ireland was threatened with the cancelling of a multi-euro trade deal. The Irish Times reported that the Irish government had been warned by the Chinese authorities that a vote by Ireland at the United Nations Human Rights Council could have consequences for a multi-million-euro beef trade deal,” she said.

“Notably we have seen China move towards a more sophisticated plan to build influence by doubling down on building their soft power and its ability to influence other countries, communities and individuals,” McKeown said.

RFA attempted to reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Justice Department in Denmark for comments but received no reply.

Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Authorities in Shanghai, China’s biggest city and financial hub, suddenly announced a full lockdown after the detection of the omicron variant of coronavirus. The strictness of Shanghai’s COVID-19 restrictions caught many residents in the city of 26 million people off-guard, sparking anger and panic-buying that emptied shelves and raised concerns about elderly people unable to access food. While public criticism of government policies is risky in China, some questioned the wisdom of Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping’s insistence on a zero-COVID policy, and one economist said the lockdowns could cost the economy at least $46 billion a month in lost output.

During a meeting with her Russian counterpart in China this week, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she pressed Moscow to end its war with Ukraine, citing the urgent humanitarian situation and the conflict’s ripple effects on the world economy. 

Her Wednesday talk with Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of an international meeting to discuss the situation in another country scarred by war – Afghanistan – focused on the war in Ukraine, Retno told reporters on Thursday.

“Indonesia conveyed the importance of ending the war immediately because of its tremendous humanitarian impact, not to mention its impact on global economic recovery,” Retno told a virtual news conference from China.

“I reiterated Indonesia’s consistent position, including respect for international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.

Retno said that, during a separate meeting on Wednesday, she also asked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to support efforts to end the Russian invasion.

“I conveyed the importance of all parties, including China, to push for an immediate end to the war so that the humanitarian crisis does not get worse,” Retno said of her meeting with Wang.

Retno talked with Lavrov and Wang on the sidelines of a dialogue between Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and its neighboring Chinese district of Tunxi. The dialogue sought to stabilize Afghanistan, which is known today as an Islamic emirate after the Taliban took over following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last year.

Regarding Ukraine, Indonesian officials hope negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv could be positive, she said.

“Flexibility is needed so that negotiations can produce good results. And all parties must strive to end the war immediately to avoid the worsening of the humanitarian situation,” she said.

During peace talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, Russian negotiators agreed to “fundamentally” cut back operations near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, news agencies reported.

Alexander Fomin, Russia’s deputy defense minister, said the move was meant “to increase trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”

Despite those statements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday dismissed Russia’s pledge, saying his army was getting ready for clashes in the east, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We don’t believe anyone, not a single beautiful phrase,” Zelenskyy said in a video address to his nation. “We will not give anything away. We will fight for every meter of our territory.”  

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, more than 4 million Ukrainians have fled their country, according to a United Nations report.

Shuttle diplomacy

Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law professor at the University of Indonesia, said Jakarta should maintain communication with all parties in the Ukraine conflict.

“Indonesia can also send its foreign ministers or a special envoy to engage in shuttle diplomacy to discuss solutions [on ending the war],” he told BenarNews.

He noted that Indonesia will be hosting the G-20 summit of the world’s leading economies in October, and that could be spurring the nation’s interest in seeing fighting end in Ukraine.

“Indonesia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must act immediately to make the G-20 summit a success and ensure that all heads of government and heads of state are present,” he said.

Indonesia has sent invitations to all member countries, including Russia, foreign ministry official Dian Triansyah Djani said earlier.

Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia has said that Putin planned to attend G-20 summit in Bali despite attempts by Western governments to oust Moscow from the grouping.

Ukraine, which is not a G-20 member, had previously urged Indonesia to include discussions on the invasion during the summit.

But Teuku Faizasyah, spokesman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had said Jakarta’s stance was “that the G-20 summit should focus on global economic issues.”

Afghanistan

While attending the gathering of Afghanistan and other countries during the China dialogue, Retno said she stressed the need for the ruling Taliban to open education to all children.

In his own message to dialogue attendees, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged his nation’s support for Afghanistan but without mentioning the Taliban’s alleged human rights abuses, the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile on March 26, Indonesian and Qatari officials signed a letter of intent to provide scholarships and skills training for teen girls in Afghanistan, Retno said.

“I expressed my hope that the ban on schooling for Afghan girls at the secondary school level can be reviewed,” she said of her statement at the dialogue.

“As the largest Muslim country, Indonesia is ready to contribute to helping the people of Afghanistan, including in the field of education,” she said.

The Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, had planned to allow teen girls to attend secondary schools, but dropped the plan last week over concerns about uniforms and the dress-code for schoolgirls. Girls can attend school up to grade six.

She said it was important that the Taliban make good on its promises.

“The Taliban needs to prepare a road map with concrete steps and timelines for fulfilling promises,” Retno said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

China looks set to stay with its controversial zero-COVID policy, as residents of the west bank of Shanghai’s Huangpu river flocked to supermarkets ahead of Friday‘s scheduled lockdown, and patients said they were having trouble getting lifesaving medical treatment due to testing restrictions.

The city, which is home to 26 million people, is under a two-phase lockdown that saw the Pudong financial district locked down for five days, to be followed by Puxi across the river on Friday.

But the Pudong lockdown looks set to be extended as the authorities grapple with a rapidly rising wave of fresh community transmission of the omicron variant of COVID-19.

High-ranking Shanghai government official Ma Chunlei admitted that the government had been taken unawares by the rapid rise in infections, as the city reported more than 5,600 newly confirmed cases, both symptomatic and asymptomatic.

Ma said his government was working hard to address citywide food shortages.

“Our knowledge about the highly contagious omicron variant has been insufficient, we were inadequately prepared for the fast-rising number of infected patients, and our control measures have not been up to speed,” Ma told journalists on Thursday, in a rare official admission of responsibility.

“We sincerely accept everyone’s criticism, and are working hard to improve,” Ma said in a briefing, adding that the government is expanding its COVID-19 testing and patient isolation facilities.

‘Dynamic clearance’

The Shanghai municipal government also sent the message to the city’s residents by mass SMS, a resident surnamed Wang told RFA.

“The Shanghai government was criticized today because of the huge number of complaints we have received,” Wang said. “They started distributing emergency supplies of food yesterday, but it isn’t being distributed to every household, only to those in need.”

“Actually, every household is having difficulty,” he said. “There are many people in my community, and only 100 households have been given a small amount of fresh vegetables.”

State news agency Xinhua weighed in on the side of mass testing and lockdown-style restrictions, saying the CCP’s preferred method of “dynamic clearance” to contain COVID-19 hadn’t changed.

And food supplies aren’t the only issue. Many patients are now unable to access life-saving medical treatment as the city’s hospitals shut their doors.

A woman surnamed Zhou said her husband had been scheduled to get his weekly hemodialysis at Shanghai’s Zhongshan Hospital, but the entire area is now under lockdown.

“Zhongshan Hospital has been helping us find other hospitals to go to,” said Zhou, who estimated that around 500 other patients are in a similar situation to her husband.

Tests before appointments

She said the problem is that hospitals require a negative PCR test before patients are allowed to attend their appointments.

“We were notified that we had an appointment at Longhua Hospital this evening, but it takes 24 hours to get a PCR test result back,” Zhou said. “The results come out too late, sometimes more than 10 hours too late.”

Another resident surnamed Wu said his mother was rejected for treatment for terminal cancer, and local officials didn’t allow her to leave until he complained about it on social media.

“My mother was admitted yesterday … they want a [negative] PCR test result to admit you,” Wu said. “I would call the neighborhood committee but their phone was constantly busy or rang unanswered.”

“Within half an hour [of my social media appeal], they called me,” he said.

But Shanghai resident Zhao Ning said he knew of someone who died of an asthma attack due to the lockdown restrictions imposed on medical patients.

“When he was taken ill, he called an ambulance, and his family went to the police [on guard] at the door for help, but the police didn’t help them,” Zhao said. “Another ambulance came for a COVID-19 patient next door, and they went to ask for help from them, but they couldn’t help them. Then the asthma patient died.”

Shanghai has seen around 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since March 1, although observers believe the true number may be several times higher.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Following North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch last week, its first since 2017, the country’s media has been lauding it as evidence of Kim Jong Un’s leadership and bravery, sources in the country told RFA.

But citizens and soldiers alike are beginning to resent the use of missile launches to praise Kim Jong Un, who is reverently referred to as the “Highest Dignity,” and would rather the government pay more attention to issues like food and supply shortages.

Though it was initially believed that North Korea launched the Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 24, South Korean military authorities reported Tuesday that it was in fact the older Hwasong-15. The Hwasong-17 was involved in a failed launch on March 16 and exploded over Pyongyang, they said.

“Today, while I was reading the news report in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper app on my smartphone, there was a report saying the Highest Dignity signed an order to launch an ICBM and I was skeptical whether our leader is the right person,” an official of Ryongchon county, in the northwestern province of North Pyongan, told RFA’s Korean Service.

“This year, the authorities insist that the food problem should be solved by decisively increasing agricultural production. Cooperative farms are struggling because they do not have fertilizer and other materials that are desperately needed for farming preparations, but the authorities do not provide any funds,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

He said that the money the government is using for nuclear and missile development could be better used to boost the agricultural sector, but the government keeps launching missiles, so farm officials are angry.

In the city of Chongju in the south of the province, government loudspeakers have been broadcasting propaganda about the missile test.

“It says the Highest Dignity directly guided the launch of an ICBM that could stand up to a long-term confrontation with the United States,” a resident of the city told RFA. “This is the 13^th missile they launched this year alone. They are acting like kids playing war games. Is this something we should be proud of?

“The authorities’ propagandize that the launch of the ICBM was carried by the handwritten order of the Highest Dignity, which said to ‘launch bravely for the great dignity and honor of the country and people’. The residents find it absurd … expressing anger at authorities who turn a blind eye to their livelihoods,” the second source said on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

Soldiers in the military also see through the propaganda, griping that authorities are telling to sacrifice their lives for the nation, just as the soldiers who launched the missile are somehow sacrificing themselves to fulfill the orders of Kim Jong Un.

The soldiers and officers have been attending daily “mental education classes” where they learn that the Red Flag Company, which launched the ICBM, are elite fighters who follow through on Kim Jong Un’s orders.

“The ideological education emphasizes that the Red Flag Company is a family that shares joy and suffering with the Supreme Leader. They say the Red Flag Company are dedicating themselves to defending him,” the military source said. “They are told the Red Flag Company are warriors prepared to sacrifice their lives for the Supreme Commander by following the spirit of defending the leader.

“However, the soldiers who listened to the instructor’s lecture continued to have expressionless faces as if they did not know what they were willing to sacrifice their lives for. The soldiers griped about the military authorities, who were forcing them to listen to this propaganda when they needed time to rest after their grueling winter training,” the third source said.

Another military source, in North Pyongan, told RFA that the officers there are not buying the propaganda.

“They know that another intercontinental ballistic missile launch failed on the 16th, so they are wondering how much money was wasted again for this launch,” the fourth source said.

“Rather than focusing on the development of missiles, officers believe that it is urgent for the authorities to improve the poor supply situation in order to increase the morale of the soldiers. This would also increase the actual combat power of the military,” he said.

Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Gas stations are closing across Laos as shortages in the Southeast Asian nation enter their sixth month and citizens clamor for government action, sources in the country say.

Filling stations began to post signs reading “No gas” or “Temporarily closed” around Nov. 1, 2021, with some motorists staying home, unwilling to drive their motorcycles or cars for fear of running out of fuel on the road.

Supplies have now fallen even more, sources told RFA’s Lao Service.

“There has been no gas here since Sunday and my car’s gas tank was empty, so I have had to buy gas sold in bottles on the street,” one motorist in the town of Luang Namtha in Luang Namtha province in northern Laos told RFA on Tuesday.

“I need it to go to work in Viengphouka district, which is also here in the province but is much farther away, and there is no gas in that district either,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The entire province now has only one gas pump open, and long lines have formed there of people waiting to buy gas, he said. “The government should tackle this gas shortage as soon as possible, because many government employees are not going to work now because there is no gas.”

A source in Viengphouka said however that though most filling stations in the district have recently closed, a Petroleum of Thailand (PTT) station remains open, and one or two other stations may open again soon.

“This morning, I got three liters of gas at the PTT gas station, but gas is rationed there, and each driver is allowed to purchase only three liters at a time,” he said.

The owner of a now-shuttered filling station in Luang Namtha town said his own pumps have now run out of gas, with the company that supplies him saying they have none left to sell. “We’re not hoarding gas, though. We would sell it to the public if we had it,” he added.

“Yes, we’ve run out of gas, and I’ve shut down my pump,” echoed another station owner in the province. “But we can’t buy gas from anywhere else as it’s too expensive and would cost us more to buy than the price for which we could sell it.”

Can’t keep up with costs

Speaking to RFA and declining to be named, an official in Luang Namtha province’s Industry and Commerce Department said that the privately owned fuel company importing gas to the province from neighboring Thailand can’t keep up with rising costs.

“The exchange rate between the Lao kip and the Thai baht is much too high,” the official said. “We’re inspecting all gas stations that we suspect of hoarding gas. And if a station is hoarding, it will be fined. We’ll be importing more gas soon,” he added.

In other Lao provinces such as Borikhamxay, Champassak, and Attapeu, and in the capital Vientiane, shortages have grown worse since early March, and many gas stations remain closed, sources said.

“Now, gas prices are going to jump again, and then the cost of everything from fish sauce to beef to toothpaste will go up too,” a government worker in Vientiane told RFA on Monday.

“But our salary is still the same, only two million kip [$170] a month. This is not enough to live on, so I have to sell makeup online to make ends meet,” she said.

A hotel receptionist in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in Vientiane province, said he had paid 170,000 kip [$14.47] in December to put gas in his motorcycle. “But now I pay double that amount, and I also have to pay for rent and food. I can’t keep up with it. I can’t work anymore,” he said.

“My salary is two million kip per month, but now I pay half of that just for gas to come to work,” added a school teacher in Borikhamxay’s Pakkading district. “Sometimes I am waiting in long lines early in the morning to get gas, and I come to the classroom late,” she said.

Speaking recently to RFA, a Lao trade official said that the Lao government is doing everything it can to lower gas prices, “including lowering the value-added tax on gas from 10% to 7%.” However, in a March 18 statement, Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Sompheng said that gas prices themselves would continue to climb.

According to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce website, Laos imports 81% of its gas from Thailand, 18% from Vietnam, and one percent from China.

Translated by Max Avary for RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.