China Reform Monitor No. 1502

RESEARCHERS FIND "SMOKING GUN" ON CHINA'S ORGAN HARVESTING
Each year, China harvests the organs from at least 25,000 prisoners in "reeducation camps" and sells them for transplants to local and foreign customers. "This is not sporadic, [China has] created a policy of ethnic cleansing – a potentially very profitable one," notes Israeli researcher Ethan Gutmann. Customers are mainly wealthy Chinese and "organ tourists" from Japan and South Korea, as well as Muslims from Gulf nations who prefer "halal organs" taken from Uighur Muslims. Some 15 million people, mostly Uighurs, have undergone medical examinations to check if their organs match for transplants. "Until now, there was a lot of circumstantial evidence. However, our research provides for the first-time testimonies made by people involved in their own language," said Gutmann, who also identified 71 academic papers from 56 different hospitals in 33 cities and 15 provinces that show organs were harvested before the donor's death. "This spread, proves that this is not an isolated or temporary problem. It must be a policy. We found clear and unequivocal proof that brain death was not determined before the organ harvesting operation commenced," said Jacob Lavee at Australian National University. (Haaretz, April 10, 2022)

CHINESE ARMY MAKES INCURSION BIDS IN LADAKH
On March 20th and again on March 28th, PLA troops faced-off with forces from India along the disputed border between the two countries in Burtse and Depsang north of Ladakh, India. According to New Delhi, Indian troops blocked the PLA advance to reach Old Patrol Point, an Indian security force base. China is eyeing the area which overlooks the strategic Karakoram highway linking China with Pakistan-controlled-Kashmir. In 2013, the PLA set up camp in the same area, leading to a three-week stalemate with Indian troops. China claims about 90,000 square kilometers of territory known in India as Arunachal Pradesh, and 38,000 square kilometers in Jammu and Kashmir. (The Tribune, April 5, 2022)

CHINA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE UKRAINE'S SECURITY
China will not guarantee Ukraine's security, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, during a recent call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants China to be among the security guarantors for a deal with Russia, according to his aide, Andriy Yermak. "We expect China to contribute meaningfully to this new system of security for Ukraine and we also expect China to be one of the guarantors within the framework of this security system," Yermak noted. For his part, Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia has written: "The state of negotiations with China is probably less ready compared with other countries. We maintain contact with them twice a day, but with China it is getting more and more difficult." (South China Morning Post, April 6, 2022)

CHINA'S STATE-OWNED COMPANIES AVOID NEW OIL DEALS WITH RUSSIA
Amid escalating Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, China's state-owned refiners are fulfilling existing Russian oil contracts but avoiding new deals despite steep discounts. China's state-owned oil and gas companies (i.e., Sinopec, CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinochem) are reluctant to buy more from Russia after the U.S. banned Russian oil and Europe imposed sanctions on top Russian exporters Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. China has refused to condemn Moscow and repeatedly criticized Western sanctions against Russia. China, the world's largest oil importer, buys 1.6 million barrels of Russian oil each day. (Reuters, April 6, 2022)

INDONESIANS SEE THE U.S. MORE FAVORABLY THAN CHINA
The Australia-based Lowy Institute's Indonesia Poll 2021, a survey of 3000 Indonesians, found that positive views of China had fallen to 30, compared to 42% for the U.S. Respondents saw the U.S. as more important for Indonesia's economy than China, and a majority said Jakarta should join countries to limit Beijing's influence. President Joe Biden was supported by 44% of respondents, compared to about 33% for both Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong-un. "China ranks less favorably than the U.S. across a range of indicators, from military and economic leadership, and influence and security concerns, to ‘soft power' benchmarks such as education and work destinations," the institute said in its summary of findings. (Taipei Times, April 6, 2022)