Day: June 21, 2023

Taiwanese authorities have warned their nationals planning to travel to Hong Kong to avoid carrying electronic tealights, wearing T-shirts referencing the 1989 Tiananmen massacre or possessing news materials relating to the city’s 2019 mass protest movement.

To avoid running afoul of a national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to clamp down on several waves of popular protest in recent years, Taiwanese traveling to Hong Kong are also warned to avoid “seditious” publications referencing the protests, banned slogans and even songs linked to the movement.

The national security law – imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020 – ushered in a citywide crackdown on public dissent and criticism of the authorities that has seen senior journalists, pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai and 47 former lawmakers and democracy activists charged with offenses from “collusion with a foreign power” to “subversion.” 

It applies to speech and acts committed anywhere in the world, and has been used to issue the leaders of a London-based rights group with a takedown order for its website.

Shouting or displaying protest slogans in a public place, including the banned “Free Hong Kong! Revolution Now!” playing the British national anthem in public or appearing to mourn any protesters who died were also on the list of actions to avoid published by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.

Social post leads to charges

As if to illustrate the point, police in Hong Kong last week charged a young woman with “carrying out one or more acts with seditious intent” after she posted one of the banned protest slogans to a Hong Kong forum while she was studying in Japan.

Yuen King-ting, 23, was charged on June 15 following her arrest in March with “arousing hatred or contempt” for the authorities, unlawful attempts to change “legally enacted matters” and inciting others to break the law.

The case against her is based on her posting of “inflammatory remarks” to social media platforms, including the slogan “Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!” while she was studying in Japan, including posts she made before the national security law took effect.

Yuen was granted bail on condition that she delete all of her social media and hand over the data to police.

A Taiwanese resident who gave only the surname Wang said he had no plans to travel to Hong Kong any time soon.

“They can just do whatever they want, because it’s not free or democratic enough [to stop them],” he said.

People asking questions

Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Chan Chi-hung said his department, which is in charge of relations with China, has received a large number of queries from members of the public worried about traveling to Hong Kong and inadvertently getting arrested.

“Some people call us up and ask if they could get into trouble for singing a song, or having a particular song [on their devices],” Chan said. “They even ask if it’s risky to wear black.”

“There are some ways in which this makes life harder, but we don’t want to demonize them, and make it even harder for there to be peaceful exchanges between the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan,” he said.

However, Chan’s department’s new guidelines detail a litany of potential traps for the unwary, particularly now that the Hong Kong government has applied for a High Court injunction banning recordings of the now-banned protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong.”

Local downloads of the song from iTunes and Spotify spiked after the news, which came amid an ongoing crackdown on public expression that has seen hundreds of titles removed from public libraries and bookshops, as well as bans on the screening of some movies in the city.

The Council has a section of its website dedicated to the impact of the national security law in Hong Kong, and Chan said Taiwanese can leave their personal details with the Taiwan government before they travel in case they later need assistance.

International Schools

The growing worries about running afoul of the law come as Hong Kong schools — including English-medium and international schools — are being told to take steps to ensure they are monitoring the actions of students and staff for potential breaches, in a further indication of the Communist Party’s encroachment on civil liberties in Hong Kong.

“International schools as well as other private primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens solely offering non-local curricula also have the responsibility to help their students (regardless of their ethnicity and nationality) acquire a correct and objective understanding and apprehension of the concept of national security and the National Security Law, as well as the duty to cultivate a law-abiding spirit among their students,” the Education Bureau said in fresh guidelines published this month.

Publicly funded schools are also required to set up a working group and find a national security “coordinator” to ensure the law isn’t being broken by students or staff, it said.

That includes monitoring all books and teaching materials, the political credentials of anyone hiring school facilities for events, and attempts to spread “political propaganda” in schools, the guidelines said.

Police should be contacted “if suspected illegal acts are involved,” it said.

Last month, Hong Kong police called for surveillance cameras to be installed in school and university classrooms and public spaces, prompting fears among teachers and students that the “security” measures would be used to listen in on everything said by students and staff alike.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

In Brief

Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and a Senate committee in the first half of this year seeks to change China’s label of developing country used in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Chinese officials have responded by reaffirming that China is still a developing country under international law. 

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) found that there is no clear and uniform definition of a “developing country” within the international community. Different classifications systems used by the UN and World Bank refer to China respectively as a “developing economy” and an “upper middle-income country,” while the WTO allows countries to self-identify as a “developing country.”. 

In addition, China’s classification as a “developing country” in certain international treaties does not imply that there is a universal set of international laws which define China as a “developing country.”

In Depth

The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved the Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act on June 8. The bill requires the State Department to attempt to “stop China from being classified as a developing nation by international organizations”  and specifies the World Trade Organization (WTO) as one international organization in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) receives “beneficial treatment” as a result of its status as a developing country. 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to the bill at a press conference on June 9, saying that “China’s status as the world’s largest developing country is rooted in facts and international law” and that “the rights that China is lawfully entitled to as a developing country” will not be deprived by US politicians.

Wang had earlier claimed at a press conference on May 12 that China’s status as a developing country should not be changed due to the WTO recognition. 

Who decides whether a WTO member is “developing or not?” 

Wang Wenbin’s claim that China’s status as a developing country is recognized by the WTO is false, as the organization allows individual member states to decide for themselves whether they are a developing country or not. 

The WTO does not provide specific definitions for “developed” and “developing” countries. It is up to individual members to declare their own categorization. However, other members have the right to question the decision of a member country to utilize provisions meant for developing countries.”

How do the World Bank and the UN classify China’s economy?

Both the UN and the World Bank use gross national income（GNI） per capita as the defining criteria to measure a countries’ economic development. 

The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects report classifies different countries’ economies into four categories: developed, developing, least developed and economies in transition. China’s economy is classified as developing. 

The World Bank, on the other hand, does not use the word “developing” at all, but instead divides the world’s countries into four tiers: low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high. China stands on the border between upper-middle income and high income countries, with nominal per capita income at $11,880 as of 2021. While a huge leap from forty or even twenty ago, this number is still well below that of other widely recognized developed economies such as Japan, the U.S., Germany, France or Taiwan. 

Does international law entitle China to remain a developing country?

The Chinese foreign ministry claims that the basis of China’s status as a developing country in international law cannot be denied. The ministry pointed to the recognition of such status in international treaties such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Montreal Protocol as proof of its acceptance by the international community. Wang’s statement that the U.S. was attempting to “deprive China of its developing country status” would seem to further imply that China’s status as a developing country is permanent. 

Such claims are misleading. 

“There are no authoritative definitions of ‘developing country’,” Steve Chanozits, an associate professor of law at The George Washington University, tells AFCL. “There is no consensus definition in international law.  Countries can self-assess their own progress toward their development goals and the international community can also make such an assessment.” 

While there are many international treaties which divide countries into different categories based on income, with each category bearing different obligations, Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, told AFCL. These categories and their cutoff points are determined after negotiation amongst the relevant parties, Kenny says. 

Therefore, China’s status is not permanent or “lawfully entitled” as China’s foreign ministry indicated, but it has a certain time limit and must undergo regular review or redefining by member states in the institutions, Chen-en Sung, an expert on international law and director of the Taiwan Constitutional Foundation, told AFCL. China’s developing status shouldn’t be generalized, but must instead be viewed in light of the respective provisions of the cited treaties, along with the rights and obligations of countries labeled under different statuses.

Why does it matter whether a country is labeled as developed or developing? 

In certain international organizations such as the WTO, the designation of being a developing country allows a country to seek (but not necessarily to obtain), “special rights or extra leniency.”

“Various categorizations are used for purposes including who gets financial support to achieve various global objectives, or who gets greater leniency when it comes to international trade rules or who is eligible for ODA [Official development assistance], there are reasons why countries might want to put themselves in the ‘developing’ category,” Kenny says.

Furthermore, the label of a “developed” country often carries a responsibility to help poorer countries in tough economic straits and to abide by more stringent regulations on issues of global importance such as climate change. 

“The PRC often uses its status as a middle-income country to excuse itself from global responsibilities – including fighting climate change and in the provision of debt relief in the current debt crisis. However, the sheer size of the PRC’s economy means that it is impossible to deliver global public goods in climate or in staving off the current debt crisis in many developing countries if it continues to avoid its responsibilities or adherence to international norms,” a United States Agency for International Development spokesperson told AFCL. 

Conclusion

AFCL found that China’s economy qualifies as developing and upper middle income according to the respective standards set by the UN and the World Bank. Currently, within the WTO organization, China is recognized as a “developing country.”

However, the status in the WTO is based on self-declaration, and it may be subject to uncertainty in the future due to its own development or challenges from other members, according to WTO rules. 

China’s foreign ministry’s statement that China’s status as a developing country “rooted in facts and international law” is misleading.

Indonesia is moving the first planned military exercise with other Southeast Asian nations away from disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing has increasingly been asserting its sweeping territorial claims. 

The Indonesian military announced Wednesday a change of location for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations exercise, scheduled for Sept. 18-25. The non-combat drills were originally planned to take place in the North Natuna Sea, which lies within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but parts of which China claims. 

Indonesia is this year’s holder of the rotating ASEAN chairmanship.

The new ASEAN exercise locations “include Batam [near Singapore] and the waters of South Natuna that are part of Indonesia’s archipelagic sea lane,” military spokesman Col. Suhendro Oktosatrio said. He was referring to designated areas where foreign ships are allowed passage while transiting through those waters innocently.

These new locations were chosen because they were suitable for non-combat drills such as joint maritime patrols, medical evacuation and disaster relief, said another Indonesian military official, Rear Adm. Julius Widjojono.

“Priority is given to areas that are prone to [natural] disasters,” he said. 

Indonesia renamed the southern reaches of the South China Sea the North Natuna Sea in 2017, to emphasize its sovereignty over those waters, which encompass natural gas fields. 

Indonesia does not have any territorial disputes with China, but it has repeatedly lodged protests against Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels entering its EEZ near the Natuna Islands.

China has claimed “traditional rights” over fishing resources in the area. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and ASEAN member-states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. 

In 2016, a U.N. arbitration court ruled that China’s nine-dash line, a boundary used by Beijing on Chinese maps to illustrate its claim, was invalid. But Beijing has rejected the ruling and insisted it has jurisdiction over all areas within the dashed line.

Chinese officials said back then that the nine dashes were “for security and order at sea.”

China has built artificial islands and military installations on some reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, raising concerns among other claimants and the United States.

The United States has regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea to challenge China’s claims and has urged ASEAN countries to stand up to Beijing’s assertiveness. 

Indonesia’s military commander Adm. Yudo Margono, who proposed the ASEAN drill during a meeting of the bloc’s defense forces chiefs in Bali earlier this month, said the joint drills would enhance regional stability and “boost our countries’ economy.”

‘Afraid of clashing’

But Cambodia and Myanmar, two ASEAN members with strong ties to China, did not take part in an initial planning conference for the exercise on Monday, according to military spokesman Suhendro. It was not clear whether they would join the drills.

The Indonesian military said it sent official invitations for the planning meeting to the Cambodian and Burmese defense attachés in Jakarta but got no response.

Myanmar, which has been wracked by violence since the military ousted an elected government in 2021, is persona non grata at major ASEAN meetings.

Cambodia’s defense ministry said earlier this month it had not decided on participation in the ASEAN joint exercise, saying that it was still waiting for more information from Indonesia, according to media reports in that country.

Arie Afriansyah, an expert in international sea law at the University of Indonesia, said there could be many reasons for the change of the locations, such as safety and security considerations.

“Maybe they are afraid of clashing with other countries. If it is conducted in South Natuna, Indonesia has full control in that area,” Arie told BenarNews.

“It would be a shame if fear of China is the reason, because this exercise is a way for ASEAN countries to show their unity on the North Natuna and South China Sea issue, which Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also support,” he said.

The joint ASEAN drill is planned as an effort to maintain regional stability, Khairul Fahmi, a military and security observer from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies, told BenarNews.

“The message will not come across well if some ASEAN countries are not on board,” he said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he will establish a park in every province to honor a policy that he says brought the remaining Khmer Rouge holdouts under government control in the 1990s, ending Cambodia’s decades-long civil war.

Dressed in military uniform, with five stars on his shoulder, Hun Sen told those gathered at the Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday that he was pleased with Defense Minister Tea Banh’s idea to build Techo Peace Parks in each of the country’s 24 provinces.

“Techo,” which means powerful or strong, and references an ancient Khmer warrior, is one of Hun Sen’s leadership honorifics.

“Each province should build it because it is a place of recreation for the people and it is not too expensive,” he said.

But critics said his idea is a waste of national money. The parks would be used for Hun Sen’s personal political gain just before the national election on July 23, said Chea You Horn, the president of the Khmer Association of Victoria in Australia.

“Now Hun Sen uses the word peace to arrest and put people in prison,” he said.

Bloody history

Hun Sen said he first introduced the “win-win” policy to co-opt the Khmer Rouge in 1987. The initiative allowed defecting Khmer Rouge cadres to keep their land and to join the government’s armed forces in return.

Other factors contributed to the end of Khmer Rouge, including the 1991 Paris Peace Accord which led to the 1993 U.N.-sponsored election.  

The ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, killing some 1.7 million Cambodians through starvation, overwork or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia. They were finally removed from power by Vietnam, which invaded Cambodia in 1979.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge fighter who fled to Vietnam in 1977, took part in the invasion and first took office as prime minister in 1985.

The Khmer Rouge continued fighting from camps along the Thai border during the 1980s. They again took up arms in 1992, the year after the peace accord was signed. But by 1999, all members and leaders had surrendered or been captured.

The national budget

Tea Banh, the defense minister, said the parks will help Cambodian people remember and appreciate Hun Sen’s work to end the fighting. 

Chea You Horn noted, however, that many other political parties participated in the 1993 elections and also helped bring peace to the country.

If the government wants to use the national budget to build such a large project, it should be widely debated in the National Assembly, Candlelight Party Vice President Rong Chhun said. 

Recent large government spending plans haven’t gone through debate because the Assembly is controlled by one-party, he said.
“If we look at the law, we have to go through a debate to find a consensus,” he said. 

He added the country already has an Independence Monument in Phnom Penh – built in 1958 to commemorate independence from the French – and doesn’t need another monument.

The Victory Monument, built in 2018 to mark the end of the civil war, cost $12 million on an 8-hectare site in Chroy Changvar district near Phnom Penh. Hun Sen’s government has also built monuments in the provinces to commemorate the Vietnamese soldiers who helped defeat the Khmer Rouge.

Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.