A Vietnamese court on Friday sentenced Facebook user Bui Van Thuan to eight years in prison–under vague rules that are often used by authorities to stifle criticism–for a series of posts in which he criticized the power struggle among local officials, which he nicknamed “the dog fighting ring.”
In his final statement during the trial, Thuan, 41, gave up his right to appeal because he said he cannot trust the judicial system in Vietnam.
“The sentence for my husband may have met the authorities’ expectations, but it is utterly unconvincing to me,” his wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, told Radio Free Asia in a text message.
“My husband did not appeal, not because he pleaded guilty or surrendered,” she wrote. “The reason is: No political prisoners have appealed successfully so far.”
The People’s Court in the northern province of Than Hoa found Thuan guilty of “disseminating anti-state materials,” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s penal code. In addition to the time in prison, Thuan must also serve five years probation.
According to the indictment, Thuan penned 27 Facebook posts with “content against the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
The prosecution called 12 witnesses but only one, Le Quoc Quyen, who is a Facebook friend of Thuan and the head of Thuan’s local police station, showed up to the court.
According to the defense, the witness could not provide concrete details about the charges against Thuan. But when they requested that criminal charges be brought against the witness for false testimony, the judge denied the request.
“Sending a man to prison for eight years on the basis of a few Facebook posts indicates the government’s total intolerance for any sort of criticism,” Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Asia Director, told RFA via text message.
“At this point, one wonders why the Vietnam government even bothers to send such cases to trial since the long sentences issued by these kangaroo courts are entirely predictable, and justice and rule of law in the country is a farce,” Robertson said.
According to RFA Vietnamese, Bui Van Thuan is the eighth activist sentenced on charges of conducting propaganda against the state this year. The rest were sentenced to five to eight years in prison and three to five years on probation.
Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
U.S. authorities are investigating claims that Chinese police are operating clandestine foreign stations in the United States, FBI director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing on Thursday.
Safeguard Defenders, a watchdog that tracks disappearances of critics of the Chinese Communist Party, issued a report in September detailing claims that Chinese police are operating a program of foreign stations to harass regime critics abroad.
Beijing claims the so-called overseas service stations were set up to provide essential services to citizens. But Safeguard Defenders said they in fact are used to coerce emigrants to return home to face criminal charges in China, in an effort to silence dissent of the regime abroad.
Speaking at a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Wray said the FBI was investigating the claims, which include allegations of a station in New York City.
“I’m very concerned about this. We are aware of the existence of these stations,” Wray said, without offering further details.
“It is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop, you know, in New York, let’s say, without proper coordination,” he said. “It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes.”
Safeguard Defenders, which is based in Madrid, claimed in its report in September that China was running “illegal, transnational policing operations” across five continents via 54 so-called police service stations in 30 countries, including Europe and Australia.
The Dutch and Irish governments have already ordered China to shut down the operations, while the stations are also being investigated by the governments of the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Jing-jie Chen, one of the authors of the recent report by Safeguard Defenders, has called for governments around the world to investigate the presence of the stations as just one part of Beijing’s efforts to repress dissent in foreign countries.
“It enables the Chinese state to reach out and silence dissidents, to spread fear and distrust among Chinese communities, and dissidents – despite having fled China – will not be able to continue their activism,” Jing-jie Chen told Radio Free Asia.
“Foreign governments should take this issue seriously as this is not only protecting Chinese citizens but also defending democracy.”
Chinese authorities in Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa have announced a partial easing of restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, allowing some residents to return to work, but local sources say little has changed.
Meanwhile, in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, quarantine measures have been extended to southern prefectures heavily populated by the region’s mostly Muslim Uyghurs.
Officials in Tibet have said that COVID restrictions are being relaxed in Lhasa, a Tibetan living in the area told RFA this week.
“For example, they say that persons arriving in the city from outside areas don’t have to quarantine, that quarantine periods themselves are being reduced, and that many people are returning to work,” the source said.
However, strict lockdowns remain in force in certain areas, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“In the Toelung area of Lhasa, restrictions related to COVID are still in place,” he said. “People are still kept under lockdown and have no income to buy food or other daily necessities.”
Also speaking to RFA, a second Tibetan source confirmed the continuing lockdown in Toelung, a county in the large Lhasa municipality, and at the large Drepung monastery outside the city.
“The Chinese government is still sending people to quarantine shelters, whether they show symptoms of infection or not, and residents are allowed to shop only in the stores closest to their homes,” the source said. “They are not allowed to travel any farther than that.”
Though authorities say that restrictions are being relaxed in Lhasa, many people are still not allowed to go to work, the source said, also requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
“It has therefore been really hard for the public to endure these difficulties,” he added.
China’s government says that no new COVID cases have recently been reported in Lhasa, and that city residents are now free to go about their daily lives, the source said.
“And though official reports say that only 18,692 COVID cases have been recorded in the Tibet Autonomous Region, those numbers are not correct,” he said. “Lhasa city has a population of about 80,000, and around 35,000 people have been sent to lockdown shelters, even if they showed no symptoms of infection.”
“So I’m sure that the numbers of actual cases are far greater than reported,” he said.
New lockdowns in Xinjiang
Authorities in the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or XUAR, are meanwhile extending areas under lockdown from the region’s north, where harsh restrictions were put in place beginning in August to prefectures in the south, sources say.
Speaking at a Nov. 14 meeting addressing the spread of COVID in the region, Communist Party chief for Xinjiang Ma Xingrui said that the pandemic has now spread into the region’s southern areas of Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu and Korla.
“And there is a huge risk of it spreading now into other regions,” Ma said.
“The situation is still serious and complicated, and we have a huge responsibility,” he added. “We cannot relax even a little. We must clearly understand the complex demands involved in preventing the spread of COVID to the entire XUAR.”
Chinese officials imposed strict lockdowns in Xinjiang in August and September that locals said resulted in the deaths of some Uyghurs from starvation and a lack of medical care, with authorities detaining 600 Uyghurs from a village in Ghulja in the northern part of Xinjiang after they protested the lockdown.
Prior to the protest, state-run Xinjiang TV had warned residents that they would be arrested for separatism, a charge often used to detain Uyhgurs, if they “spread rumors” about a COVID outbreak in the area.
Videos posted by Uyghurs on the Chinese social media platforms Duoyin and TikTok show a continuing mass quarantine of Uyghurs, especially in the region’s south, in large compounds being built outside of major cities.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan and Alim Seytoff for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Rick Finney. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Chinese nationals studying in overseas universities have called on the international community to find out what happened to a protester who hung a banner calling for the removal of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on a Beijing overpass on the eve of last month’s party congress.
The protester, who was last seen in a video clip being loaded into a police car at the scene on Oct. 13, has been named as Peng Lifa, who used the handle Peng Zaizhou on social media, in a literary reference to popular anger with governments.
“The Chinese Communist Party has basically ‘disappeared’ Peng Zaizhou,” exiled dissident Wang Jingyu, who is currently in the Netherlands, told RFA.
“I appeal to the international community to directly ask the Chinese government about Peng Zaizhou’s whereabouts.”
He called on overseas Chinese democracy activists to protest outside Chinese embassies, calling for Peng’s immediate and unconditional release.
U.S.-based student Han Yutao, who has detailed repeated harassment of his family in China since he showed his face and real name on a video in support of Peng, said the lone protest had struck a chord with many young Chinese overseas.
“In a society like China’s that has institutionalized human beings, the Communist Party has been suppressing young people for a long time, rubbing off any edges they once had,” Han told RFA. “The Peng Lifa incident reignited young people’s enthusiasm, and this will continue for as long as they live.”
A Chinese student, who gave only the initial W for fear of reprisals, and a friend stage a piece of performance art with their eyes and mouths covered to protest the treatment of the woman found chained in an outbuilding in Jiangsu, China, in February 2022. Credit: Provided by W
‘Spontaneous action’
Meanwhile, on the campus of the University of Southern California, a Chinese student who gave only the initial W for fear of reprisals told RFA that she had put up posters on campus in support of Peng on Oct. 25.
She and a friend later also staged a piece of performance art with their eyes and mouths covered to protest the treatment of the woman found chained in an outbuilding in the eastern province of Jiangsu, who became a national symbol of gender inequality after a video clip of her discovery went viral in February.
“There was no organization,” W told RFA. “It was just spontaneous action by some students.”
“I did it myself on two occasions — one time I put up posters [supporting Peng] and another time I put on a performance art event about the woman in chains,” she said. “Those two times were basically with different friends.”
She said the performance art came out of discussions about the chained woman with friends on Instagram, and had been interrupted by an unidentified man who claimed she couldn’t prove the facts of the story, and appeared “unfriendly.”
A fellow SoCal student who gave only the surname Zhang said the majority of Chinese students are still highly supportive of the Chinese Communist Party, at least in public.
But the lone bridge protest in Beijing had possibly changed a few minds, he said.
“The majority [of Chinese students] support the Communist Party in our school,” Zhang said. “Most Chinese students studying overseas don’t care about politics.”
“But judging from the situation in recent months, there are more and more people opposing the Chinese government, or more and more with the courage to speak out,” he said. “I think that proportion could continue to rise in future.”
The Chinese student, W, has also put up posters in October 2022 on the campus of the University of Southern California in support of Peng Lifa, the Beijing bridge protester. Credit: Provided by W
Privileged families
According to W, even those who do take part in poster and leafleting campaigns do so anonymously, and many come from families that are considered privileged in today’s China.
“Living and studying in the United States, we don’t have to worry about the basic issues of food, housing and clothing,” W said. “We could still have a good life and find a job without bothering with [politics].”
“But I have the sense that I could also be saving myself … It was very painful for me to see news reports that everyone had lost their freedom due to certain policies, and that some people had died [for lack of medical attention] or were jumping off buildings, as well as the suppression of dissenting voices,” she said, in a reference to the Chinese government’s zero-COVID policy.
“If people like us, who run fewer risks overseas, just enjoy life and never speak out, won’t that just lead to more suffering back home?” W said. “Do we expect those who run greater risks or are in danger to resist instead?”
“Given that we have this privilege, I think we should use it to do something we think is necessary,” she said. “It’s my responsibility.”
Zhang said he had experienced solidarity from other overseas students from different countries while protesting on campus.
“A lot of people probably know what is going on in China, although many Americans still don’t,” he said. “The first step is to let them know about the human rights abuses that are going on in China.”
A British lawmaker’s mention of Wang Yaohui as a part-owner of Birmingham City Football Club during a recent parliamentary debate may increase scrutiny on the Cambodian diplomat, but a cousin said Wang’s alleged involvement is based on a misunderstanding.
Shabana Mahmood, who represents the Birmingham Ladywood constituency, home to the club’s stadium, mentioned Wang last week during a discussion on the financial sustainability of English soccer clubs.
“Wang is a Chinese Cambodian national who has served as an adviser to the Cambodian prime minister and as a diplomat in Cambodia’s embassy in Singapore,” Mahmood told Parliament.
“He was previously detained by the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog on allegations of bribery and money laundering regarding a state-owned Chinese bank. Although he went uncharged, his associate was hit with corruption charges and sentenced to life imprisonment,” Mahmood said.
She cited RFA’s reporting in May that identified Wang as the beneficial owner of a British Virgin Islands firm called Dragon Villa Ltd., according to an affidavit submitted to Singapore’s High Court by his longtime associate Jenny Shao.
Lawyers for Wang identified Shao as enjoying power of attorney authority over the diplomat’s affairs during an unrelated California court battle in 2010.
RFA’s report stating that Dragon Villa controls 12.81% of the club’s shares prompted an ongoing investigation by the English Football League, which supervises the club. Mahmood’s comments suggest interest in Wang’s alleged involvement with the team is growing.
A ‘mistake’
Attempts to contact Wang have been unsuccessful. However, his cousin and longtime business partner, Vong Pech, told RFA on Nov. 9 that Shao’s statement to the Singapore High Court was incorrect. Vong himself is named as the beneficial owner of 39% of Birmingham City’s shares.
A beneficial owner is a person who enjoys the benefits of owning a company, even if it is held in someone else’s name.
“Wang has helped his friend managing the business there [in Singapore]. Jenny Shao made a mistake,” Vong wrote in a WhatsApp message to RFA, adding that he had been told as much by Wang.
That friend, he said, was Lei Sutong, the man identified as Dragon Villa’s beneficial owner in submissions made to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the English Football League. Lei, he added, made his money, “doing construction materials business many years ago.”
Informed of Vong’s statement, an assistant to Mahmood told RFA they would be offering no further comment beyond what had already been said in Parliament and a press release issued shortly after.
Attempts to contact Shao were also unsuccessful.
“It appears that Wang [Yaohui], pictured, has gone to great lengths to conceal his undeclared commercial footprint,” says British MP Shabana Mahmood. Credit: Handout photo.
Dragon Villa
Born in China in 1966, Wang Yaohui is a naturalized Cambodian citizen and minister counselor at the Cambodian Embassy in Singapore. He has extensive business ties to one of Cambodia’s most powerful families, headed by ruling party Sen. Lau Ming Kan and his wife Choeung Sopheap, who are both allies of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
EFL rules require that clubs under its supervision disclose the identities of all individuals controlling more than 10% of their shares. Penalties for non-compliance range from a fine to point deductions in league play.
While Wang’s name appears nowhere in public filings connected with the club, RFA’s reporting established his ties to two companies controlling 14.75% of the soccer team’s shares: Dragon Villa and Chigwell Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong firm controlling 1.94%.
In its own disclosure statement, Birmingham City identifies Dragon Villa as being owned by Lei Sutong. But documents seen by RFA suggest that he is the owner in name only.
Dragon Villa is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, where lax reporting requirements make it virtually impossible to ascertain its owners.
RFA was able to do so by examining the filings with the Singapore court, which is reviewing a civil action against Dragon Villa’s subsidiary, Gold Star Aviation Pte. Ltd., an owner and operator of a fleet of private jets.
Jenny Shao is among the defendants in the suit.
Wang’s ownership
In his comments to RFA, Vong is challenging a sworn affidavit submitted by Shao’s lawyers on her behalf in October 2020 stating that Dragon Villa “is beneficially owned by Mr. Wang.”
Former associates of Wang, who asked not to be identified citing security concerns, have also confirmed to RFA that Wang was Dragon Villa’s beneficial owner.
Shao’s claims about Wang’s ownership of Dragon Villa were also echoed in affidavits submitted in the Singapore court case by two employees at Gold Star.
“She [Shao] said that Mr. Wang’s aircrafts should be her business as she handled all his business matters under a company called Dragon Villa,” Mohideen Abdul Kader, an employee of Gold Star, wrote in a 2019 affidavit.
Gianluca Zanigni, a former Gold Star Aviation pilot, also submitted an affidavit suggesting that the company was run by Shao on behalf of Wang, noting that its sole director, Leong Chee Kong, was the diplomat’s former driver.
Records also show that Dragon Villa has been involved in the ownership networks of several other Wang-linked enterprises.
A ‘complex matter’
“It appears that Wang has gone to great lengths to conceal his undeclared commercial footprint,” Mahmood told Parliament. “Documents uncovered by Radio Free Asia show that Wang was the beneficial owner of Dragon Villa and concealed from the Hong Kong stock exchange and the English Football League his substantial stake in Birmingham City football club.”
Mahmood added that the EFL told her the situation is a “complex matter” and that the league “has made applications for the disclosure of documents, from not only the club but individuals linked to the club.”
Flight records obtained by RFA also showed that Wang frequently flew with senior officials at Birmingham City’s Hong Kong parent company on his private jet.
Whatever fallout Wang might be experiencing in the U.K. from the EFL’s investigation, his standing in Cambodia appears unscathed.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was photographed last month alighting from another of Wang’s jets in Havana while on his way to meet with Cuban officials.
BERA (Pahang, Malaysia)— Malaysia supports and is satisfied with the Dutch Court’s decision in finding the three accused in the trial involving the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014, guilty of the crime, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the decision of The Hague District Court has set an important benchmark in the quest to find the truth and bring justice to all the 298 victims including 43 Malaysians who perished in the tragedy, as well as to their families and next-of-kin.
“Malaysia’s stance has always been that the trial should be based on the truth, justice and full of responsibility. In this context, Malaysia fully supports the decision made by the court.
“Malaysia is also satisfied with the reliable and transparent trial carried out via the Dutch legal system based on the rule of law in order to obtain the long-awaited justice,” he told a press conference after attending the meet-and-greet programme with the presidents of Bandar 32 here.
The Boeing 777 aircraft was downed by a BUK missile while flying over the conflict-hit eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
In its verdict Thursday, the Dutch Court sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life imprisonment after finding them guilty on charges of causing the downing of Flight MH17 and the murders of all 298 people on board.
They are Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko. However, the court acquitted another Russian, Oleg Pulatov of the same charges.
Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis, who read a summary of the judgment, said the court has no doubt whatsoever that the MH17 was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from the farm field near Pervomaisk in eastern Ukraine.
He also ordered the three men to pay more than 16 million euros (RM75.26 million) in compensation to relatives of the victims.
Ismail Sabri said Malaysia, on behalf of the parties affected by the tragedy, also expressed appreciation to the Joint Investigation Team comprising the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine, who had worked tirelessly in investigating the MH17 tragedy.
He also expressed sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and crew members of MH17.
“It is hoped that the court’s decision will give some relief and peace to the families of the victims who perished in the tragedy,” he added.
