China Reform Monitor: No. 1168

June 4:

Hackers in China appear to be responsible for one of the largest-ever breaches of U.S. federal employee data, involving at least four million current and former government workers, the New York Times reports. The scope was massive, affecting a vast majority of the federal work force. The compromised data was held by the Office of Personnel Management, which handles government security clearances and federal employee records. The hack was detected in April, but began at least late last year. The information could help identify covert agents, scientists and others with data of interest to Beijing.

[Editor’s Note: For the past three years, the Obama administration has been trying to engage Beijing on cyber security. He and Chinese president Xi Jinping have spent hours discussing the subject. A year ago, the Justice Department indicted five members of Unit 61398, a hacking unit of the Chinese military, accusing them of stealing data from American firms to benefit state-owned Chinese companies.]

June 9:

“China is beefing up investments to secure economic growth amid [the] slowdown,” theofficial China Daily reports. China will invest 17.9 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) (10.39 billion yuan from “self-raised funds and bank loans,” 4.93 billion yuan from Beijing, and 2.58 billion yuan from local governments) to “finance 4,238 agricultural projects, including 1,445 planting bases, 1,369 breeding bases, and 914 product processing items.” Special emphasis will be placed on developing “leading agricultural enterprises, superior or distinctive agricultural products involving livestock breeding, grain and oil as well as vegetables.” China’s total foreign trade has fallen 9.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.97 trillion yuan ($320 billion), with exports declining 2.8 percent to 1.17 trillion yuan ($190 billion).

June 10:

“In a sign of quickened fiscal spending to spur slowing growth,” China's National Development and Reform Commission has approved seven new infrastructure projects valued at 120 billion yuan ($19 billion). “The government is looking to boost infrastructure investment to support faltering growth,” the official Global Times reports. The projects include railways and airports and an experiment base for China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology Center for Aviation Safety Technology. The four airports will be built in Hainan, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang and the railway projects include one in Guangxi, and a Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou link. Earlier this year, fixed-asset investment in railway construction received 800 billion yuan ($129 billion) to support 7,000 km of new rail track, 64 new “railway projects,” and upkeep.

June 16:

Religious leaders in Xinjiang must “Sinicise” their teachings, Zhang Chunxian, Xinjiang's top Communist Party official in the province, announced in a meeting attended by some 700 Muslim, Buddhist and Christian representatives. Spiritual leaders must “immerse religions in the Chinese culture,” work under socialism to serve economic development, social harmony, ethnic unity and national unification. Zhang said “hostile forces” inside and outside China were infiltrating to engage in “destructive activities,” the South China Morning Post reports. “This is a serious political struggle between us and religious extremism and there is no room for negotiation,” Zhang said. “Only a good citizen, can be a good believer.” Religious leaders must support the party’s leadership and safeguard the motherland’s unity and social stability, and “staunchly resist separatism, religious extremism and illegal religious activities.”

June 18:

“The restriction on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang to fast during the holy month [of Ramadan] violates human rights. Therefore, we urge the Chinese government to allow Uighurs to perform fasting in the holy month,” said Anwar Abbas, Chairman of Education Affairs at Indonesia’s Ulema Council. “If the Chinese government continues to impose religious restrictions, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain peace and tranquility in the country,” he said in comments carried by the Indonesian government-owned Antara news agency. “We urge the Indonesian government to take some measures related to the Ramadan fasting ban imposed on Uighur Muslims in China.” Authorities have ordered Uighur shops to sell alcohol, subjected them to discrimination, prevented them from worshiping openly, banned beards and headscarves, and prevented them from teaching Quran to their children. Officials and people below 18 years of age are banned from attending religious activities.