China Reform Monitor: No. 1167

June 1:

Much to India’s chagrin, China continues to staple visas for residents of Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as “South Tibet.” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the visa issue remains “unresolved,” and was mentioned again by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Beijing, The Hindu reports.

June 4:

Amid China's increasing maritime assertiveness, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino have agreed to bolster security ties and hold joint exercises. After holding talks for the sixth time, they announced that Japan would provide 10 patrol boats to the Philippine Coast Guard. During Aquino's state visit, Abe agreed to sell more defense equipment and technology, including the P-3C patrol aircraft and radar equipment. In a joint statement the two leaders “exchanged their concerns over unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the South China Sea.” Manila has taken its dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea to a UN tribunal, a move Tokyo supports. Japan was the Philippines’ biggest trading partner in 2014 and its largest source of official development assistance, Kyodo reports.

June 5:

Fewer college graduates want to become officials and more are leaving public service as a result of President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign, The Economistreports. In 2014 232,000 officials were punished for graft, a 30% increase over 2013. Many officials and their spouses are being taken to visit former colleagues in prison. Many civil servants, now fearing the party’s anti-corruption crackdown, are looking for more lucrative jobs in finance and industry. Similarly, low pay and constant bureaucratic interference have led many judges and lawyers to leave the party-controlled justice system to seek private sector employment. Since 2010, more than 500 people either resigned or requested transfers from Beijing’s city court system, citing low pay and high pressure. The official People’s Daily has called for pay raises and other measures to retain judges, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports.

June 8:

On June 8, the daughter of former premier Li Peng, Li Xiaolin, was reportedly transferred out of the vice presidency of the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), where she served for 12 years, to be VP at China Datang Corp. The move surprised industry experts that had expected she would head CPI, which merged with State Nuclear Power Technology last month, SCMP reports. Li’s son, Li Xiaopeng, severed as chairman of Huaneng Power International before becoming governor of coal-rich Shanxi province.

[Editor’s Note: Hong Kong’s The Standard reports unconfirmed rumors that on June 1 Li Peng died in Beijing. The 86-year-old, who was premier in June 1989, had been in a critical condition in the 301 Military Hospital, where he was admitted several months ago. Li initiated the martial law declaration against the student-led democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, which facilitated the military assault on June 4, 1989.]

June 9:

On June 4, Evan Medeiros, the U.S. National Security Council’s the top Asia expert, was replaced by Daniel Kritenbrink, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in China. Medeiros was appointed as the NSC top Asia adviser two years ago, but had been working at the NSC since Obama took office in 2009. The move comes amid growing tension between the two nations over the South China Sea and ahead of President Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit to the three months from now. White House officials have said the change will not affect U.S. policy towards China, but WantChinaTimesreports: “This may indicate that Obama Administration is about to take a more hardline stance against China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea.”