China Reform Monitor: No. 1216

March 21:

China has instructed local governments along the North Korean border to implement the new UN Security Council sanctions adopted earlier this month, which restricts countries from importing North Korean coal, iron ore and other mineral resources if the proceeds go to the North's nuclear and missile programs. Still, a loophole allows North Korea to export such products if the sales are for "livelihood purposes." Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, and his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, vowed to fully implement the new UN sanctions adopted after North Korea's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and ballistic missile launch on February 7. After the talks with Wu, Kim said China is open to holding three-way talks with South Korea and the U.S. on implementing the new sanctions, reports Yonhap. They also discussed China's proposal to pursue peace treaty talks with Pyongyang in tandem with denuclearization. North Korea has remained defiant, and continues to threaten nuclear strikes on South Korea and the U.S.

March 23:

China's Central Propaganda Department has instructed all government-controlled media outlets to "play down" the recent scandal about the sale and distribution of improperly stored vaccines by unlicensed vendors in Shandong. Discussions of the plight of 20 children who received problematic vaccines have been widely circulated on social media before their removal, Hong Kong's Hsin Pao reports. Media outlets are forbidden from publishing feature stories or to send reporters to cover the story in Shandong. Instead, they are required to "reprint government press releases and news reports by central media outlets only." A report on Caixin published in 2013 on the Shandong's vaccine scandal has been deleted.

March 24:

Zimbabwe Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Beijing as a guest of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last July and met senior CPC officials, including Vice-President Li Yuanchao, reports The Independent. Liu and Mnangagwa held closed-door meetings at which the Chinese side raised several issues and concerns about Zimbabwe that they have refrained from raising with President Robert Mugabe. Afterward, in an interview with the official CCTV, Mnangawga called for reforms "to bring Zimbabwe back to the table of nations" and said Zimbabwe had fallen far behind other countries and the government needed to "bite the bullet" and review some controversial economic policies. "We have to see how we can create an investment environment to attract capital. These are the tasks we face and we have to look at legislation and our social systems need to be reformed in order to catch up with current global trends. So we are looking at the reform measures that China has gone through to help us move forward. You cannot say there are areas of our economy which we are happy with, infrastructure we are behind by 15-16 years, agricultural development the same, manufacturing; in fact, capacity utilization in some areas of our industry is down to 20 percent, so again, we have to retool by acquiring new machinery, technology and machinery so that we are competitive." Mnangagwa's comments angered Mugabe, who revealed his suspicions and hostility towards his deputy in meetings with Xi Jinping last December in Harare, the Zimbabwe Independent reports. Last week, during a Zanu PF rally Mugabe said some leaders were lobbying the Chinese to help their succession bids. "Some are pushing further to the extent of approaching the Chinese telling them they now want a new leader," Mugabe said. Prior to his speech the local Zanu PF chairman accused Beijing of meddling in Zanu PF succession politics.

[Editor's Note: High-ranking Zimbabwean officials, including Mnangagwa and other Zanu PF provincial leaders, have visited China on various exchange programs during which they were strongly advised to embrace change. In 2012, ahead of the 2013 elections, Zanu PF provincial chairpersons visited China for ideological and mass mobilization training by the CPC.]

March 30:

In their first closed-door meeting, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou told President-elect Tsai Ing-wen about "the stance of the Philippines and Vietnam on Taiping Island and how the United States interprets the issue." During their 70-minute meeting Ma also underscored that there has been no cooperation with Beijing on the issue. He praised Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Joseph Wu for having declared during his speech in the U.S. that the DPP will never relinquish Taiwan's sovereign claims in the South China Sea. Tsai, who assumes office on May 20, stressed that the DPP has never changed its stance on Taiwan's claim over Taiping Island, Taiwan's Central News Agency reports.

March 31:

Police in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Hong Kong have completed a 17-month joint operation to destroy three cross-border illegal immigrant smuggling syndicates and detained 2,943 immigrants – 2,860 from Southeast Asia and 83 from South Asia. In Shenzhen, Guangdong a spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security said that most illegal immigrants were trying to sneak from the mainland into Hong Kong to seek employment. Police have arrested 142 suspects, 29 of whom are from Southeast Asia and South Asia, the official China Daily reports.