September 16:
China will “not support” a new India-Vietnam agreement to enable India’s ONGC to build two more oil wells within disputed South China Sea waters, the Times of Indiareports. When asked for his reaction to the deal signed during President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Vietnam China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha (Spratly) islands and adjacent waters. We hold no objection to legitimate and lawful agreement between Vietnam and a third country. But one thing is to be clear. If such agreement concerns waters administered by China or if such cooperation project is not approved by the Chinese government, then we will be concerned and we will not support it.” China has had similar objections to previous wells allotted to ONGC by Hanoi. It is still unclear where the two new oil wells will be located.
[Editor’s Note: Last May, Hanoi resisted Beijing’s attempts to deploy an oil rig in disputed territory. In Vietnam large-scale anti-Chinese riots and the burning of over 400 mostly Chinese-run factories led to the deaths of four Chinese with over 100 Chinese injured. China has recalled over 7,000 workers from Vietnam over safety concerns.]
Beijing’s municipal government has released new standards for foreign nationals to “lift the threshold for acquiring a job in the city.” The new rules stipulate that for non-Chinese citizens to work in Beijing they must be aged between 18 to 60, have no criminal record, hold a bachelor’s degree or better with at least two years of relevant work experience, and have a designated employer and a valid work permit or residence certificate. The new age limit for senior foreign experts is 65. More than 37,000 foreigners work in Beijing, mainly in the fields of information, computer science, education, consulting and science and technology. Some 95% hold a bachelor degree or better, the official China Daily reports
September 17:
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has sent its first medical team to Sierra Leone to treat Ebola patients. The group of 30 personnel from the 302 Military Hospital, China’s largest infectious disease hospital, has left Beijing on a specially-equipped plane. Li Jin, vice president of the hospital and the group’s leader, said that during the two-month medical aid mission, the team will offer technical help to local medical institutions, conduct epidemic prevention, and health education. Meanwhile, the team will also conduct physical check-ups for Chinese embassy staff based in Sierra Leone and for other “China-funded agencies,” the official PLA Daily reports.
September 21:
China has launched Fox Hunt 2014, an operation to “block the last route of retreat” for corrupt officials that will last until the end of the year. Since July, Chinese police have seized 88 suspects in the international manhunt targeting corrupt officials and suspects in economic crimes that have fled the county. The Ministry of Public Security “persuaded” 35 of the 88 to return to China and turn themselves in. Eleven suspects have been at large for more than 10 years, including one who has been on the run for 14 years in Canada after embezzling more than 60 million yuan (nearly $10 million). One suspect accused of stealing 100 million yuan was caught in a joint operation between the Thai authorities and police from Anhui Province, the official China Dailyreports.
September 23:
Ilham Tohti, a prominent ethnic Uighur economics professor in Beijing, has been convicted in Urumqi, Xinjiang on charges of separatism, sentenced to life in prison and had all of his assets seized, BBC reports. The proceedings, which were closed to the public were the first time his wife had seen him in eight months. He was not allowed to meet with lawyers for the first five months. Tohti, a proponent of religious freedom and an outspoken critic of government policies in Xinjiang, maintains his innocence. In January, police raided his home and arrested and charged him along with seven of his students. The parents of one student received a notice from the Urumqi police saying their son was being charged with harming state security. They have been unable to contact him since his arrest in Beijing on January 15. The U.S. Embassy requested permission to attend Tohti’s trial but received no response and an American diplomat was turned away from the courthouse, the New York Times reports.