Day: October 18, 2022

The wife of a slain supporter of Cambodia’s Candlelight Party said Tuesday she has rejected a compensation offer of U.S. $7,000 from the alleged assailant in exchange for dropping the criminal case, but has said she would consider accepting a larger sum because she doesn’t have money for her husband’s funeral.

Wen Kimyi also urged police to arrest the suspect who shot dead her husband, 49-year-old Po Hin Lean, early in the morning of Oct. 16 while he was on his way to go fishing.

She told RFA that police in Ou Reang Ov district of Chak commune in Tbong Khmum province, where her family lives, summoned her to the police station and told her that the suspect offered to pay her if she would drop charges. 

The widow said she wants the money, but that her family also wants justice.

“The police said there were two suspects, one of whom had the gun that killed him,” Wen Kimyi said. “I didn’t get a chance to see the suspect to ask [the reasons]. I will accept the compensation because I don’t have money for the funeral. But I won’t accept $7,000; I will need $15,000.”

Police told her that the suspect is a “security guard” or “neighborhood watchman” for the commune, but declined to disclose where he put the weapon or his motive for the shooting.

Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior established a network of such local guards to provide security to villagers in communes and districts, though they are not supposed to carry weapons. 

RFA could not reach Vong Sophy, the police chief of Ou Reang Ov district, or On Sam On, police chief of Chak commune for comment on Tuesday.

‘Embarrassing for the authorities’

Leng Seng Han, a provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, also known as ADHOC, said the murder cannot be resolved through compensation and that the suspect must be brought to justice.

“It is wrong for [police] to be involved in meditation outside the court,” he said. 

 Eng Sroy, a Police Academy lecturer and president of the Candlelight Party​ working group in Tbong Khmum province, said he is dismayed that authorities have not yet apprehended the suspects and urged them to conduct a transparent investigation to show they are providing good security.

 “It is embarrassing for the authorities if they can’t arrest the suspects,” he said. “The authorities must differentiate between black and white and remain neutral during the investigation.” 

There have been numerous physical attacks this year on activists and supporters of the Candlelight Party, an opposition party that emerged from the ashes of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was banned and dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court in November 2017.

This April, Candlelight Party candidate Khorn Tun was attacked by unidentified men who threw rocks at her home in Tbong Khmum province during the campaign period for local elections held in June. Prak Seyha, a party youth leader for Phnom Penh’s Kamboul district, was attacked and beaten by a mob.

Those incidents followed the death of Phnom Penh Candlelight candidate Choeun Sarim, who was attacked from behind and killed in traffic while riding a motorbike, following threats and assaults.

The killing of the man in this case, Po Hin Lean, came a day before Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to arrest Sam Rainsy, head of the banned CNRP, who has lived in exile in France since 2015, if he returns to Cambodia. 

Sam Rainsy, 73, was sentenced in absentia in March 2021 to 25 years in jail for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government.

Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, made the comment at a graduation ceremony where he spoke, in response to recent remarks by Sam Rainsy criticizing the strongman’s plans to appoint his son, Hun Manet, as his replacement.

Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Chinese authorities in Tibet have sentenced six Tibetan writers and activists to prison terms from four to 14 years on charges of “inciting separatism” and “endangering state security,” Tibetan sources say.

The six were sentenced in September in Sichuan’s Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture after being held incommunicado for from one to two years following their arrests, a source living in exile said.

“This was all done in complete secrecy,” RFA’s source, a former political prisoner living in Switzerland named Golog Jigme said, citing contacts in the region.

“Because of tight restrictions and constant scrutiny inside Tibet, it is very difficult now to learn more detailed information about their current health conditions or where they are being held,” Jigme added.

Sentenced by the Kardze People’s Court were Gangkye Drupa Kyab, a writer and former schoolteacher now serving a 14-year prison term; Seynam, a writer and environmental activist given a 6-year term; and Gangbu Yudrum, a political activist now serving a 7-year term.

Also sentenced by the court in Kardze were Tsering Dolma, a political activist given eight years; Pema Rinchen, a writer given four years; and Samdup, a political activist now serving an 8-year term.

The arrests and sentencing of the group, who had also served previous prison terms for their activities, underscore Beijing’s continuing drive to destroy the influence of men and women whose views of life in Tibetan regions of China go against official Chinese narratives.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago, and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers later fled into exile in India and other countries around the world following a failed 1959 national uprising against China’s rule.

Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment and extrajudicial killings.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Regional Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chiefs signed up to political mantras supporting Xi Jinping at the 20th party congress on Tuesday, discussing charter amendments that analysts said will likely bake in Xi’s status as supreme leader of party and government.

Trusted Xi ally and current Guangdong provincial party chief Li Xi told a breakout meeting of Guangdong delegates to the 20th National Congress in Beijing that he fully supports Xi’s status, encoded in the political buzzwords the “two establishes” and the “two safeguards,” which refer to upholding CCP rule with Xi at the “core.”

Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, Beijing CCP secretary Cai Qi, Chongqing party boss Chong Min’er and Tianjin party secretary Li Hongzhong all made similar statements of support to their regional delegates, state media reported on Tuesday.

Public statements of support for the “two establishes” and the “two safeguards” is now a key test for Xi allies within party ranks, analysts said.

“Unpacked, the ‘two establishes’ is a claim to the legitimacy of Xi Jinping’s rule, and a challenge to any who might oppose him,” the China Media Project (CMP) said in an analysis on Aug. 10, 2022. “As such, the phrase is an important part of the process of ‘loyalty signaling,’ or biaotai, the registering of support for the top leader.”

Similarly, the “two safeguards” refer to safeguarding Xi’s “core” status and the centralized authority of the CCP, it said in a Sept. 2 article titled “All Aboard the Adulation Express.”

“Together, the ‘two establishes’ and the ‘two safeguards’ lay claim to the basic principles governing China today, centered on Xi himself — and they define the protection of these principles as the chief task of the country,” CMP director David Bandurski wrote in the second article.

An overseas commentator who gave only the surname Yang said the media reports about the regional party chiefs were laying the groundwork for Xi’s acceptance for a third term in office.

“The whole government and party propaganda and public opinion machine has now achieved a momentum that is no different from how it was in [late supreme leader] Mao Zedong’s time,” Yang told RFA.

“The 20th party congress has been held in such secrecy, because they are afraid of a single misstep,” he said. “The final confirmation will come after the 20th National Congress ends.”

‘Think and act as one.’

Yang said he didn’t expect any dissent at the congress, which is being held behind closed doors.

“They will have prepared in advance for every eventuality, and they’ll have measures in place to counter any dissenting voices that may emerge during the congress,” Yang said.

The statements of loyalty also give some clue as to which regional leaders may be up for promotion, and a seat on the all-powerful Politburo standing committee.

The CCP’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, carried a front-page report about a meeting between Xi and the Guangxi delegation.

Xi told delegates they should “think and act as one.”

“What is this unity, and who sets this goal?” political commentator Tang Jun asked rhetorically. “Is it all being dictated by a single person, by the party as a whole, or by the people of China?”

He said it is clear that Xi’s remarks mean that there is no room for dissent within the party.

“We can tell from the current propaganda phrasing that the doctrine of never swerving from the central party line has become fixed [in party ideology],” Tang said.

Political commentator Si Ling said the sharp increase in the number of references to “security” and “stability” in Xi’s Oct. 16 political report to the party congress showed that Xi likely doesn’t feel entirely secure in his supreme status yet.

“What Xi Jinping means when he talks about national security … is doing more to control people and to suppress a plurality of voices,” Si told RFA.

Fear of dissent

He said the protest banners calling for Xi’s removal on the Sitong traffic overpass in Beijing on the eve of the congress had highlighted just how much the government fears dissent and public opposition.

“This rare protest called for Xi Jinping to step down, for an end to the inhumane zero-COVID policy, and for reforms to the political system,” Si said. “I think these are the things that the Chinese government feels most insecure about.”

“This security that Xi Jinping talks about sends a signal to the rest of the world that China will further suppress ‘unstable’ factors among Chinese officials, and that the freedom of independent election candidates, human rights lawyers and rights groups could be further suppressed,” he said.

Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, said there is likely far more anti-Xi feeling within party and government ranks than ever reaches the public eye.

“[Xi] also talked about struggle, which means destroying opposition within the CCP,” Feng said. “Giving such high priority to ‘security’ and ‘struggle’ strikes an ominous tone in his report.”

The Wall Street Journal ran a report on Tuesday naming six new members of the CCP Standing Committee as key Xi ally Wang Huning, CCP disciplinary chief Zhao Leji, Shanghai party secretary Li Qiang, Guangdong leader Li Xi and CCP general office director Ding Xuexiang.

Citing sources close to the party leadership, the report said Li Qiang, 63, was a favorite to succeed incumbent Li Keqiang as premier at the National People’s Congress (NPC) in March 2023.

Other candidates to replace Li Keqiang include Wang Yang, currently chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference advisory body’s standing committee, and Hu Chunhua, the youngest of China’s four vice premiers, analysts told the paper.

Taiwan’s United Daily News predicted on Tuesday that the new Politburo standing committee would comprise Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji, Ding Xuexiang, Chen Min’er, and Hu Chunhua. 

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Britain’s foreign secretary has urgently summoned a top Chinese diplomat in response to the assault of a man who was dragged into the Chinese Consulate in Manchester and beaten by a group of unidentified men during an altercation over a ripped protest banner, media reports said Tuesday.

Senior British officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will question China’s charge d’affaires to London, Yang Xiaoguang, about the assault on the Hong Kong pro-democracy protester on Sunday after department officials expressed “deep concern” to the Chinese embassy, Politico reported, citing foreign office minister Jesse Norman.

“The foreign secretary has issued a summons to the Chinese charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in London to express His Majesty’s Government’s deep concern at the incident, and to demand an explanation for the actions of the consulate staff,” Norman said during an emergency debate at the House of Commons.

Norman told lawmakers that a probe into the incident by the Greater Manchester Police will determine whether the Chinese consul general Zheng Xiyuan and other Chinese officials had committed an offense under British law and should be expelled from the United Kingdom.

Video of the incident posted to social media showed a verbal altercation between 30-40 people peacefully protesting outside the consulate in Manchester on the first day of the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress in Beijing and a man believed to be a member of consulate staff, who kicked and ripped a protest banner placed on the sidewalk outside the compound gates.

A protester who identified himself only as Bob told RFA he was then dragged into the consulate grounds where he was held to the ground and beaten by four people for more than a minute before a policeman pulled him away from his attackers. He was sent to the hospital after suffering “several physical injuries” in the assault.

Bob said the officer who eventually saved him admitted he wasn’t supposed to go inside the gates at all.

Tuesday’s debate was requested by Alicia Kearns, the U.K.’s newly elected chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, who directly accused the Chinese consul general of “ripping down posters” and said the attack had been carried out by “officials who have been recognized as member[s] of the Chinese Communist Party,” Politico said.

The Chinese Consulate on Monday called the weekend protest “deplorable” and accused demonstrators of hanging “an insulting portrait of the Chinese president at the main entrance,” according to the BBC.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry later claimed that “troublemakers illegally entered” the consulate grounds during the incident.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee declined to comment on the incident on Tuesday, saying he did not know the details of the case.

The beating was not the first incident in the U.K. involving Chinese state actors using violence in the service of China’s policies, and came amid widespread revulsion in Western nations toward China’s pugnacious, nationalistic “wolf warrior” diplomats.

North Korea is trying to encourage patriotism among young people by handing out t-shirts bearing the national flag, among 70 kinds of clothing articles produced to drum up support for the regime. The government has also warned people against throwing away old clothing emblazoned with the flag, telling them to turn frayed garments into the state instead.

Recent tensions over Taiwan are due to a change in approach from Beijing, which is pursuing its goal of “reunification on a much faster timeline,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.

The warning came as a key senator proposed doubling U.S. military aid to Taiwan to $10 billion as part of a defense spending bill. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday also used his opening speech for the 20th Communist Party National Congress to vow Beijing would “never promise to renounce the use of force” to reunify with Taiwan.

Speaking alongside former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at Stanford University, Blinken said U.S.-China policy on Taiwan had proven “incredibly successful” for decades, with both sides prioritizing the maintenance of peace.

But he said that was no longer the case.

“There has been a change in the approach from Beijing toward Taiwan in recent years,” Blinken said. “Instead of sticking with the status quo that was established in a positive way, a fundamental decision [was made] that the status quo was no longer acceptable and that Beijing was determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline.” 

“If peaceful means didn’t work, then it would employ coercive means – and possibly, if coercive means don’t work, maybe forceful means – to achieve its objectives,” he said. “And that is what is profoundly disrupting the status quo and creating tremendous tensions.”

Blinken said U.S. pledges to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion from Beijing – eschewing decades of “strategic ambiguity” about whether the U.S. would directly confront China – had been forced by the elevated threats of such an event, which he said would be devastating.

“On semiconductors, if Taiwanese production were disrupted as a result of a crisis, you would have an economic crisis around the world,” Blinken said. “So there’s a profound stake not just for us but for countries around the world in preserving peace and stability when it comes to Taiwan and the straits, and to making sure that the differences that exist are resolved peacefully. So that’s why we’ve been so engaged on this.”

Kharis Templeman, an expert on Taiwan at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution who attended Blinken’s talk on Monday, said that his comments reflected a changing situation between Beijing and Taiwan.

“It’s fair to say the majority view in the Biden administration is that Xi has moved from deterring independence as his top priority, to making progress toward unification,” said Templeman. But he added that “the comment about a ‘much faster timeline’ is a bit misleading.”

“Faster than what?” he said. “Faster than waiting indefinitely, but nothing more certain than that. I do not see a consensus within the administration that Xi has set a concrete deadline for achieving unification, or even that it needs to happen while he is still in charge. Anyone who tells you a specific deadline is reading too much into the tea leaves.”

The comments came as the United States seeks to ramp up military support for Taiwan in the wake of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which has raised global concerns about the threat of a similar invasion of Taiwan.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) last week filed an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that doubles military aid to Taiwan to over $10 billion, doubling the $4.5 billion initially proposed by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next month.