China Reform Monitor: No. 1021

February 26:

Last week China began “deliberate interference” with Voice of America (VOA) and BBC English-language broadcasts in China – particularly in Tibet and along the Sino-Indian border. VOA Director David Ensor condemned the jamming: “The Chinese government has for years jammed VOA and Radio Free Asia Chinese and Tibetan-language programs and blocked VOA vernacular language websites, but [not] English language programs. We are working to determine the precise origin of the jamming. The free flow of information is a universal right and VOA will continue to provide accurate and balanced information to areas subject to censorship.” The jamming, which is similar to the type Ethiopia targets at VOA Horn of Africa broadcasts using Chinese equipment, affects about 75 percent of VOA English-language transmissions to China.

February 27:

As part of China’s “political reforms” the CPC has approved “super-ministry system reforms” intended to improve government efficiency and management, the official People’s Daily reports. The draft plan, which is based on decisions taken at the 18th CPC National Congress last November, was discussed on February 23 at a CPC Political Bureau meeting, where the Party agreed to unanimously approve it at the CPC Central Committee plenary session on March 1 and “recommend” them to the National People’s Congress for adoption. Xin Ming of the CPC Central Party School said “inefficiency is rife” in many government agencies so instead of just increasing their size, the reforms must also transform their functions. “For example, food safety inspection duties are shared by nine different departments,” Xin said.

South Korea’s new government will prioritize relations with Washington over Beijing, Yun Byung-se, Seoul’s foreign minister-nominee said, stressing the importance of the U.S.-South Korean alliance ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearing. According to Yun: “The U.S. is South Korea’s first-priority diplomatic partner and China comes next. Japan and Russia are also important partners for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” Yonhap news agency reports.

[Editor’s Note: One looming U.S.-South Korea sticking point is Seoul’s push to expand its “non-military nuclear program,” which Washington considers a nonproliferation issue. Under a 1974 nuclear energy cooperation agreement, South Korea cannot reprocess spent fuel or enrich uranium, but the pact expires in 2014. Seoul wants to reprocess its spent fuel, claiming it must store more than 10,000 tons of nuclear waste and its facilities will reach capacity in 2016. When asked about this Yun replied: “Our target is to lay a ground work to expand the use of our peaceful nuclear energy.”]

February 28:

The PLA has officially responded to U.S. media accusations of cyber-espionage by denying the charge and claiming that of the 144,000 monthly foreign hacks in 2012 on Chinese military websites, 62.9 percent are from the U.S. “By expanding its cyber war force and setting rules on cyber war the U.S. government’s ‘pre-emptive’ policy against attacks will not be constructive in promoting cyber security,” a military spokesperson said in comments carried by the official People’s Daily. “The PLA has the dual responsibilities of mechanizing and informationizing the armed forces and is working to upgrade its technological cyber security capabilities.”

March 1:

The Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court has sentenced a retired Republic of China (ROC-Taiwan) naval officer to three years in prison for passing classified intelligence to Beijing. Chien Ching-kuo, a former ROC Navy lieutenant, provided plans for the “Chingyang Project,” the ROC Navy’s (later aborted) plan to escort Taiwan’s fishing vessels through the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden. The court said Chien, a former missile launch instructor on Chengkung-class frigates, met Chinese intelligence agents while visiting Bali, Indonesia through a fellow officer, named Lu, who is also under investigation. China’s spies first wooed Chien, treating him to pricey overseas vacations, then got him to provide the aforementioned intelligence and invite his fellow active ROC servicemen to join the Communist Party of China (CPC). Chien himself became a CPC member in 2011, the ROC’s official Central News Agency reports.