CHINA'S ‘CORRUPTION' DRAGNET WIDENS WORLDWIDE
Sky Net 2020, China's "preliminary anti-corruption cooperation network," now reaches all seven continents. Beijing has inked 169 extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance treaties with 81 countries, plus the UN. Over the last six years, China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has arrested 7,831 alleged fugitives from more than 120 countries and regions, including 60 of the 100 most-wanted "Red Notice Chinese fugitives," and recovered $2.88 billion in assets. Between January and August 2020, China captured 799 fugitives. (Anadolu Agency, November 11, 2020)
MALAYSIA REFUSES TO DEPORT UIGHURS, BUT INDONESIA COMPLIES
In September, Malaysia quietly revealed in a parliamentary reply that it would not extradite Uighurs who had fled China, even if the request came from Beijing. The decision, which came without public announcement, marked the first time Malaysia had officially stated its position on the Uighurs. The decision was backed by the prominent Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM), which said this was a "necessary move" for humanitarian reasons. "We welcome the minister's statement on the Uighurs," said ABIM vice-president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Shamsuddin. The decision came after Indonesia deported three Uighurs back to China ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent visit to the Southeast Asian nation. (South China Morning Post, November 15, 2020)
CHINA TO ALLOW COAST GUARD TO USE WEAPONS IN CLAIMED WATERS
China's coast guard will soon be authorized to use weapons against foreign ships involved in illegal activities in waters that Beijing claims as its own, under legislation soon-to-be approved by the National People's Congress. Tokyo, in particular, is concerned that the new measure will allow China's coast guard to target Japanese vessels navigating around the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Chinese vessels have now been observed near the isles on 285 days this year. (Japan Times, November 5, 2020)
JAGUAR PARTS SMUGGLED FROM LATIN AMERICA TO CHINA
Criminal organizations throughout Latin America are bribing police and circumventing customs to smuggle jaguar parts to China. Traffickers sell the felines' bones, genitals and teeth at a hefty mark-up to Chinese clients for their reputed medicinal properties. In Bolivia, criminal groups with links to China-based wholesalers take advantage of poor law enforcement, corruption and porous land borders and airports. The so-called Putian Gang – the South American branch of Chinese organized crime group the Fujian Mafia – is one of the top syndicates smuggling Jaguar parts into China, often passing them off as tiger parts. "We don't even know the true extent. The numbers in Bolivia point to hundreds of jaguar fangs being confiscated in the last few years and that's really only the tip of the iceberg," said Valeria Boron at Panthera, a conservation group. (Channel News Asia, November 5, 2020)
SINO-KYRGYZ RELATIONS ON THE ROCKS
After Kyrgyzstan's October 4th elections, Chinese businesses in the Central Asian state were targeted for shakedowns and violence, people were threatened and beaten, and China's flag was burned. Thirty-five Chinese executives fled to a hotel in the nation's capital, Bishkek, where an armed mob surrounded them demanding payment. Another mob occupied a Chinese mine forcing more than 100 Chinese workers to flee and sleep in a snowy forest. In Kara-Balta, hundreds of protesters, some armed with AK-47s, surrounded the Chinese oil refinery and demanded a $350,000 protection fee or threatened to set it on fire. After ten days of silence, on October 16th, Ambassador Du Dewen called on the Kyrgyz foreign minister to "protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Kyrgyzstan," and the Kyrgyz Ambassador to China was summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a dressing down. China's exports to Kyrgyzstan were down 44.7% in the first three quarters of 2020, and Beijing has yet to respond to Bishkek's requests to reschedule the $1.8 billion that it owes – about 40% of the country's total foreign debt. (Eurasianet, November 12, 2020)
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