China Reform Monitor: No. 1160

April 9:

China’s representative office in Hong Kong has acquired Sino United Publishing Ltd., giving Beijing control over more than 80 percent of Hong Kong’s publishing industry. Sino United now owns three major Hong Kong bookstore chains: Joint Publishing HK, Chung Hwa Book Co. and the Commercial Press. Last month, the three booksellers stopped selling publications related to last year’s pro-democracy movement. The liaison office already owns the Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Pao, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspapers, and the online Orange News. Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong told Radio Free Asia: “They are using official and semi-official channels to interfere with Hong Kong’s media; that is already a long-standing problem.”

April 14:

The General Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs has held a “national internet reporting work conference” to review last year’s reporting, announce plans for 2015, and give awards to 24 teams and 30 individuals “who did an outstanding job in internet reporting in 2014.” Deputy Director Peng Bo addressed the conference, which was attended by cadres from all local internet reporting offices and the heads of hundreds of websites’ reporting offices. Peng said a basic framework for reporting “harmful” and “illegal” online information is in place. “A unified and coordinated national Internet reporting work system must be built as soon as possible, websites must be urged to undertake primary responsibility for content management, and harmful online information must be cleaned up. We must strengthen publicity for the Internet reporting system as well as internet laws and regulations.” The Communist Youth League has launched a “Youth Internet Civilization Volunteer Campaign” including 10.5 million participants to spread “positive energy” online and report “incorrect” comments, China Digital Times reports. Internet companies in China face serious consequences if they fail to sufficiently self-censor. Earlier this month, censors’ threatened Sina news with “a complete shutdown,” the official Xinhua news agency reports..

April 16:

China has criminalized the use of screen names and profile pictures that violate existing laws, pose a threat to national security, destroy ethnic unity, or defame others. On February 4, China’s State Internet Information Office released the Regulation on the Management of Internet User Accounts, which lists nine restrictions on users’ screen names. Although they may still use avatars or handles, users will need to reveal their real name to authorities. A few days before the regulation went into effect on March 1, more than 60,000 user accounts were deleted from major social media platforms. More than 7,000 were deleted in March, Global Voices reports.

April 27:

This PLA has unveiled new rules to tighten military management and prevent the abuse of power. More than half of the 33 officers placed under investigation during the last three months worked at joint logistics departments or at provincial military area commands. “Senior officers working at joint logistics departments, one of the four main departments within the PLA, are more prone to corruption as they exercise control over expenses, land, transport, and all other military resources,” the official Global Times reports. Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel at the General Staff Department said: “The new rules will target officers working for the logistics department, who have control over military expenditure. It is also possible that more senior level officials will be investigated. Officers working for the provincial military area commands may also abuse their power because of their close connections with local departments and enterprises, and may have given military-owned land to them in exchange for benefits.”

April 28:

Residents ofElishku, Xinjiang told Agence France Presse that last July a conflict between hundreds of residents protesting government restrictions on religion and armed police left at least 96 dead, hundreds missing, and 27 on death row. Locals were upset that the authorities had obstructed Ramadan prayers and branded some gatherings “illegal religious activity.” A crackdown on women preparing for the Eid al-Fitr feast sparked the July 28 march, and while it remains unclear whether the protestors attacked security forces, officers did fire on the crowd. Afterward all local residents were placed under twenty-day house arrest, their homes were searched, and they were ordered to a nearby military barracks and told the official version of the incident: foreign militants incited rioters to attack police. “A gang armed with knives and axes attacked a police station and government offices” leading “officers to gun down 59 attackers” and 37 civilians, the official China Daily reported in October. No security personnel were killed.