China Reform Monitor: No. 1101

April 23

In response to “problems in certain fields in the army” China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) led by President Xi Jinping has called for tightened military secrecy. “Secrecy ensures that the Chinese army is capable of winning,” the People’s Liberation Army Daily reports. The CMC directive reminded the military staff “to always remain sober-minded and to spare no effort to keep secrets safe.” It called for “a special check-up and overhaul to fix loopholes in the management of documents and other items carrying classified information as well as secret sites and activities.” The policy appears focused on reducing PLA vulnerability to signals intelligence collection: “With the widespread use of computer networks, mobile communications and other technologies, both administrative and technical measures should be taken to ensure infallible security of confidential military information.”

April 24:

A new Greenpeace report reveals high levels of heavy metal contamination in Chinese soil, water, and rice and claims the proximity of mining, smelting and related industries to agriculture poses a serious public health threat. All but one rice sample from near a non-ferrous metals smelter in Hunan exceeded China’s legal limit of cadmium for human consumption and some samples contained cadmium levels more than 200 times the limit, the New York Times (NYT) reports. Cadmium absorbed by the human body through food concentrates in the kidneys and liver. The intoxication process is gradual, but with a half-life of 17 to 38 years, the heavy metal’s excretion is even slower. The study also examined levels of arsenic, mercury, and lead in rice, of which only mercury levels appeared safe. Last week, NYT reported that Beijing estimates that at least one-fifth of China’s farmland was polluted.

April 25:

An official People’s Daily editorial criticizes the influx of foreign words and argues they “harm the purity and health” of the Chinese language. “The use of imported words is becoming more widespread. It’s become so serious that they are even showing up in regular publications and formal documents, giving rise to resentment.” Citing the increasing prevalence of terms like WiFi, CEO, MBA, CBD, VIP and PM2.5, the editorial sought to explain the reasons behind its “zero translation” policy. “When English absorbs Chinese words they are all transliterated, so why does Chinese have to be mixed up with so much English?” Multiple theories were offered to explain the adoption of English abbreviations ranging from Chinese “laziness” to the “might of the Western culture” to a lack of translators. According to an official expert: “The flood of foreign words will ebb as the cultural self-confidence of the Chinese people becomes stronger.”

[Editor’s Note: In September China released an official list of translations that included some foreign abbreviations such as “IQ,” “IT,” and “WHO,” as well as some Chinese translations. Other foreign terms, such as “GDP” or “PM2.5”, are widely used. The second and third batches of official translations are due to be released later this year.]

Authorities in Shaya county, Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang are offering rewards of between 50 to 50,000 yuan for information regarding “separatism preaching,” “training for terror attacks,” and signs of increasing Islamism including “wearing beards,” al-Jazeera reports. Whistle-blowers are instructed to report suspects and any illegal activities to the public security department or the county-level commission of political and legal affairs. Similar intelligence reward notices were posted last year on the official website of Habahe county, Altay prefecture, and a district of Urumqi. Aksu prefecture has been an epicenter of ethnic tensions. In January, police shot dead six attackers, while another six “died in an explosion they set off when they were surrounded by police,” the official Global Times reports.

April 30:

Three people were killed and 79 wounded in a bomb and knife attack at the South Railway Station in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Quoting police, Reuters reports “knife-wielding mobs slashed people” at an exit of the South Railway Station of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and set off explosives. Pictures posted on Sina Weibo that showed blood on suitcases and debris on the ground in front of the station were deleted by censors. The deadly attack came as President Xi Jinping was ending a four-day visit to the region promoting his “get tough” policies against Uighur separatists. It was not clear if Xi was still in Xinjiang at the time of the attack. Uighurs have traditionally followed a moderate form of Islam but in recent years, as China has intensified a security crackdown, many have begun adopting practices more common to Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, such as full-face veils for women.