China Reform Monitor: No. 1137

December 2:

Despite China’s well-publicized anti-corruption campaign, according to Transparency International’s (TI) 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, perceptions of Chinese corruption are up sharply. The index ranked China 104 of 175 countries, a drop of 20 places from last year, and the single largest drop for any country. A spokesman for TI told the New York Times: “The perception among some experts and businesspeople that [China’s] anticorruption campaign was partial, opaque and politically motivated, casting doubt on its efficacy. The campaign is just the tip of the iceberg, and is not even being done in a transparent manner. The problem is what China is not doing: transparency and accountability of public officials.” What is missing are “stronger laws on bribery, access to information, whistleblower protection, more open budgets and asset declarations. More transparency and judicial independence would also help.” In a separate report on corporate disclosure practices published by TI last month, Chinese companies held eight of the bottom 13 places in the index.

Absent from China’s official media coverage and censor-approved social media discussion on the KMT’s historic electoral defeat in last week’s Taiwan elections was any mention of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. According to Weiboscope, operated by the University of Hong Kong, “Taiwan” was a top censored term on Chinese social network Weibo on both November 29 and 30. Mainland coverage of the Taiwan elections portrayed Taiwan’s democratic system as chaotic and mired in partisan gridlock. But for many voters in Taiwan, slogans such as “today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan” seem to have resonated, Foreign Policy reports.

December 4:

President and Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou has officially announced his resignation as party chairman at KMT Central Standing Committee meeting. His resignation comes after his party’s landslide election losses to its rival DPP. The China Post reports that Ma repeatedly apologized for “letting the people down” and said he hopes the new chairman will unite the party and bring fresh hope. Outside the KMT headquarters, police were armed with shields and assembled into groups. There were no disturbances.

December 5:

Taipei has arrested a spy ringleader named Zhen Xiaojiang. Based in Xiamen, Fujian, Zhen, who once held a “senior post in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is believed to now work for China's intelligence agency,” the China Post reports. He “recruited several active and retired Taiwanese military personnel to join a Chinese espionage network,” including retired general Hsu Nai-chuan, who ran unsuccessfully for Kinmen County magistrate in last week’s nation-wide elections. Hsu was previously stationed on Kinmen and Matsu and after retiring from the military in 2007 was appointed head of the Kinmen County Government Social Affairs Bureau. Hsu is now in custody after law enforcement agents raided his home and campaign office.

December 8:

China, Russia and Iran plan to conduct naval drills, Iranian Rear-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in comments carried by the Tasnim news agency. In September, after the PLA Navy’s first-ever berth in Iran, the two sides held bilateral naval exercises in the Persian Gulf including a PLA logistic warship and a destroyer. PLA Navy ships stayed in Bandar Abbas on the strategic Strait of Hormuz for four days. In October, two Russian warships berthed at Bandar-e Anzali on the Caspian Sea.