China Reform Monitor: No. 1174

July 8:

China began a shakeup in the political leadership of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air force that will culminate at the 19th party congress in2017, when several top military officials will retire. Three senior regional air service officials have been promoted to the political department of the army's air force. Lieutenant General Yu Zhongfu, former political commissar of Nanjing military area command's air force, was promoted to political commissar of the air force, replacing General Tian Xiusi. Lieutenant General Zhao Yiliang, 61, political commissar of the Shenyang military area command's air force, will become Yu's deputy. Major General Fan Xiaojun, 59, former deputy political commissar of the Shenyang military area and political commissar of its air force, will replace Lieutenant General Fang Jianguo as head of the air force's political office, the South China Morning Post reports.

July 9:

“In order to avoid the Internet being used as a communication tool for social peril,” China’s new draftcyber security law “stipulates that Internet service could be temporarily suspended to respond to ‘major emergencies’ that may seriously threaten public security.” The 68-article draft law “is designed to protect the public, not to undermine their freedom,” the official Shanghai Daily reports. Nearly 32 percent of 332 million Chinese that use mobile payment have been attacked by phishing and other scams, with losses increasing four fold in 2014. Last year President Xi Jinping, who heads the Internet security and informatization leading group, said “no Internet safety means no national security.”

July 11:

Thailand has forcibly deported 109 Uighurs to China. The refugees, who were detained after arriving in Thailand last year, claimed to be Turkish and Istanbul was prepared to issue them passports. China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said: “Illegal emigrants” that are “charged with serious criminal offences will be brought to justice.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the deportation: “We deplore this act...carried out in spite of our numerous initiatives.” The U.S. called the decision a “grave disappointment,” noting that the “action runs counter to Thailand's international obligations,” the Taipei Times reports. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it considered Thailand’s action “a flagrant violation of international law,” and appealed to Bangkok “to refrain from such deportations.” Amnesty International said: “Deporting these people is a despicable act...akin to sentencing them to the worst punishment imaginable.” Over the past month, Thailand has sent 170 Uighurs to Turkey, while fifty more still remain in Thailand, Reuters reports.

July 14:

During a raid more than 200 police in Shenyang, Liaoning, have shot dead three “knife-wielding” Uighurs, caught 16 "terrorism suspects," and detained a woman and her three children, the BBC reports. Police were searching for suspects related to the “June 12 Hijra case,” but provided no further details. “The case in Shenyang suggests that the Hijra movement might have spread across the country,” Li Wei of the official China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations told the SCMP. Li said Henan and Liaoning have become “interchange stations” for militants seeking to join "terrorist groups abroad,” including Islamic State. “If they fail [to escape China], they might carry out terrorist attacks in the region where they become stuck, just like those who hacked passengers at the Kunming train station in March 2014.”

[Editor’s Note: Hijra refers to the journey of the Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Uighurs, have left China in recent years, crossing into Southeast Asia before making their way toTurkey,Reuters reports. According to a police document leaked earlier this year, Guangdong has overtaken Yunnan and Guangxi provinces as the preferred route for fleeing Uighurs. Since 2014 police in Yunnan have shot dead four ethnic Uighurs leaving China and found 553 people attempting to flee the country.]

July 15:

The PLA will announce the promotion of top generals ahead of the army's anniversary on August 1, SCMP reports. According to an anonymous Beijing-based PLA senior colonel: “Fan [Changlong, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC)] and some leaders in the CMC are likely to retire as they will reach the retirement age of 68 before the 19th Party congress in 2017. As President Xi Jinping's most trusted right-hand man in the army, Fan needs to help Xi find capable successors. He is likely to select candidates from his powerbase in Jinan, Shandong. Among the hopefuls is Lieutenant General Zhao Zongqi, 60, commander of Jinan military area command, who recently accompanied Fan on an inspection tour in Gansu, Xinjiang and Ningxia. Zhao was promoted to lieutenant general in 2009 and in 2012, replaced Fan as commander in Jinan.