China Reform Monitor: No. 1007

December 11:

A Xinjiang court has sentenced three men to death and another to life in prison after finding them guilty of attempting to hijack an aircraft on June 29, the official China Daily reports. Musa Yvsup and Arxidikali Yimin, the group leaders, and Eyumer Yimin, a major participant, were sentenced to death. Alem Musa plead guilty and received a life sentence. The Intermediate People’s Court in Hotan ruled the men were guilty of organizing a terrorist group, and attempting to hijack the aircraft and detonate explosives. The court also found they were influenced by “religious extremists and terrorists” and began preparations for their hijacking in mid-May.

December 12:

The semiofficial Global Times has printed an editorial that blames the West for separatism in Xinjiang. It reads: “Terrorism has constantly emerged in Xinjiang in recent years. It is associated with international anti-China forces and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). The Internet has made it easier for extremism to penetrate Xinjiang. ETIM, with the notorious Chinese separatist Rebiya Kadeer as its leader, is publicly sheltered by the West and is trying to disturb Xinjiang in various ways. The chaotic situation in Xinjiang will mean people like Rebiya have more value to the West, and consequently they will receive more financing from organizations backed by the West. The funds received by ETIM’s overseas cells are traded for the lives of many innocent but ignorant terrorists in Xinjiang. To the West, spending money to support separatists in Xinjiang and Tibet can at least create some problems in China's ethnic areas, distracting the authorities from their focus. It is an effective tool for them.”

December 14:

Emboldened by Xi Jinping’s warning last month that corruption threatens the party’s rule more than 1,000 lawyers, academics and professionals have signed an open letter calling for the 205 newly appointed members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee to disclose their family assets. “In the face of a grave situation, we ask the officials to declare their assets from the top down in accordance with their seniority. They control huge public resources and authorities, which has a bearing on the happiness and well being of 1.3 billion people,” the letter said. The letter will be sent to the National People’s Congress (NPC) said Wang Quanjie, a former NPC deputy. Wang, who signed the letter, told the South China Morning Post that the party should have forced financial disclosure decades ago: “To start with the top echelon is the only way to get it done as they can set an example for other officials to follow suit.”

December 18:

The People’s Liberation Army General Armament Department has set up a laboratory in Beijing to research technologies to minimize the damage of nuclear and biochemical disasters. It will focus on ways to evaluate and monitor damage and protect people, facilities and the environment in the event of such disasters. The facility has already developed several technologies used to monitor poisonous gas and biochemical threats, United Press International reports. It has laborites for analytical chemistry, environmental science, and chemical warfare protection.

December 19:

China is accelerating the creation of “comprehensive development zones” designed to “attract capital, technology, labor and information for greatly prompting regional development,” the official People’s Daily reports. This summer the State Council approved two more such zones –the Lanzhou New Area in Gansu and the Nansha New District in Guangzhou, Guangdong –increasing the number to six. Lanzhou is mandated “to accelerate the development of its western regions,” while Nansha will lead industrial restructuring in the Pearl River Delta and increase cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Shanghai’s Pudong, established in 1992, was the first and most prominent development zone, followed by Tianjin’s Binhai, begun in 1994; the others were established over the past two years. Each new zone has its unique mandate: Chongqing’s Liangjiang is a pilot area for urban-rural reform, Zhejiang’s Zhoushan Islands develops maritime resources, and Qianhai in Shenzhen, Guangdong is experimenting with increasing the international convertibility of the yuan.