China Reform Monitor No. 1398

Related Categories: Democracy and Governance; Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues; Public Diplomacy and Information Operations; China; South Asia; Southeast Asia

CHINA TO EDUCATE ITS TOURISTS
"We will educate our tourists to behave properly in Malaysia," China's Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian, has said in response to complaints. He said the embassy is concerned about reports of misbehavior by Chinese tourists in Malaysia, and mentioned the case of two Chinese women jailed for dancing in front of the Sabah mosque, arguing that what Malaysian authorities did by fining the offenders and expelling them from the country "was right." Bai's comments reflet the importance that Beijing attaches to its ties to Kuala Lumpur. China sent 2,281,666 tourists to Malaysia in 2017, and 2,944,133 in 2018. In the first half of this year alone, 1,558,782 PRC citizens toured the country. (MalayMail, November 24, 2019)

CHINA TARGETS INDONESIAN ELITES TO MUTE CRITICISM OF XINJIANG CAMPS
Beijing is feting Indonesian religious leaders, academics, journalists and social-media influencers to convince them that the reeducation camps in Xinjiang are a job training program to combat extremism. Dozens of Indonesian thought leaders, many of whom were paid a $500 per diem, visited Xinjiang to tour the camps. They visited classrooms where they were told students received vocational training, heard from officials about terrorist attacks, and prayed at mosques. After his tour, Masduki Baidlowi of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, said the camp was excellent and had comfortable classrooms. "There's a problem" with extremism in Xinjiang, Baidlowi said, "and they're handling it. They provide a solution: life skills, a vocation." On her tour, former Miss Indonesia Alya Nurshabrina posted a pic of a mosque in Beijing to her 86,000 Instagram followers, adding: "Yes a mosque! China welcomes every religion." By contrast, after his tour, Bayu Hermawan, a journalist at the newspaper Republika, cited camp residents who said they never received trials or were there for adhering to a Muslim diet. Soon afterward, Republika's website faced a massive cyberattack. (Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2019)

ARMED POLICE SWARM TIBETAN TOWNSHIP AFTER PROTESTS
Following Tibet independence protests in mid-November, security forces, many in plain clothes, have poured into Shiqu (Sershul) Dza Mey township in Kardze prefecture, Sichuan. Arriving in a large convoy, armed police fanned out across the region and are patrolling the streets in vehicles. The protests in Dza Mey—a small, primarily Tibetan town—follow those earlier that month in an adjacent township, where small groups scattered pro-independence leaflets in the courtyards of government and police offices. (Radio Free Asia, November 25, 2019)

SCORES OF SCAMMERS ARRESTED IN INDONESIA
Police have arrested 85 PRC nationals and six Indonesians at six locations across Indonesia for running an international cybercrime syndicate targeting people in China. After being recruited in China, the suspects entered Indonesia on tourist visas where they worked for three months phoning targets back in China pretending to be authority figures who were able to sort out problems relating to the police, courts, or banks. The victims were asked to send money to bank accounts in China. Police confiscated 192 mobile phones and 39 SIM cards. "We received information from the Chinese police and the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia that there were criminal activities being conducted here with victims in China," said Jakarta Police chief inspector Gatot Eddy Pramono. The Jakarta Police department, the Chinese Embassy and the Indonesian Immigration Office are discussing how to handle the PRC suspects. (Jakarta Post, November 26, 2019)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The incident is the latest in a recurring pattern. In November 21, Malaysian authorities likewise arrested 680 PRC nationals for running a mass online scam. In 2017, Indonesia deported 153 Chinese nationals for committing cyberfraud. This past April, the Semarang Police arrested 12 Taiwanese and 28 Chinese nationals who were running an online fraud scheme. The following month, Bali Police detained 103 Chinese nationals, and in September, the Riau Islands Police arrested 29 Taiwanese and 18 Chinese nationals on similar charges.]

LOCAL PROTESTS AGAINST A PLANNED CREMATORIUM LEAD TO CLASHES
Hundreds of residents in Wenlou, Guangdong marched on city government offices to protest plans to build a crematorium on land that had been set aside for a park. Locals were concerned the crematorium would pollute their water supply. Dozens were injured and at least 100 were detained when police fired tear gas and used batons to beat back the crowds. Even after the city agreed to suspend crematorium construction and the police stopped firing tear gas and detaining protesters, hundreds of residents still remain locked in a stand-off with police outside the government offices. (South China Morning Post, November 30, 2019)