China Reform Monitor: No. 796

November 27:

Xinjiang's Public Security Department will recruit 1500 Public Security special police personnel. Two-thirds of those selected for the “large-scale recruitment action” will be from the Xinjiang police professional schools and the other third from civilian educational institutions. The official Xinhua News Agency reports that applicants must meet a variety of requirements including being born in “the interior” of China, unmarried and aged between 18 and 25, and have the proper “political qualities.” Applications will be accepted between December 1st and 5th, and the online exam is available on the Xinjiang Personnel Testing Center website. A written exam will be administered on December 19th.

November 28:

The day after a Vietnamese government spokesperson again emphasized Hanoi’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes the country convened a major international conference entitled: “The East Sea: Cooperation for Regional Security and Development," the Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien reports. The two day conference, which included 150 domestic and international delegates from 22 countries including China and the US, is a prelude to Vietnam’s official push to corral China into a multilateral dialogue once it takes the chair of the ASEAN next month. Beijing wants such disputes dealt with bilaterally – a move that exploits its regional clout. Chinese scholars put up a spirited defense of Beijing's claims, delegates said. The state-run Vietnamese news agency VNA website said the conference covered “the origin and development of on-going disputes,” “peace and stability in the East Sea,” and “freedom of navigation.” In veiled references to China it said “actions by naval forces” and “nationalism directed towards the sovereignty issue” were two primary causes of rising tensions and called for cooperation “on search and rescue efforts for fishermen,” a reference to Chinese ‘patriots’ mistreatment of Vietnamese fishermen seeking shelter during a recent storm.

November 30:

After an investigation ordered by China's State Council, 58 people have been charged with covering up a deadly mine disaster three weeks before last year's Olympic Games, the state-run China Daily has said. The accident, which occurred on July 14th at the Lijiawa mine in Yuxian county in Hebei province, near Beijing, killed 34 miners. Reports were suppressed for nearly three months. Officials are alleged to have moved bodies, destroyed evidence and bribed journalists to hush up the disaster. Relatives of the miners were kept quiet with threats and "large payments." In total, 10 journalists and 48 government and mining officials have been charged. The 10 journalists were paid $380,000 to not report the disaster. Beijing has made improving mine safety a priority, but rules are often ignored in favor of profit.

December 1:

The Beijing-leaning Hong Kong daily Wen Wei Po has carried a dispatch noting that the recent reshuffle of party secretaries and governors among Henan, Fujian, Jilin and Liaoning provinces will pave the way for a new generation of provincial and metropolitan level personnel appointments. Beijing will appraise cadres' “professional competence, moral integrity, and capabilities” before appointing replacement officials before the 18th Communist Party Congress.

Beijing is “aggressively augmenting its infrastructure along the border with India” the Times of India reports. Indian intelligence has documented as many 27 airstrips being built or upgraded in Xinjiang and Tibet. New Delhi is concerned these installations would allow Chinese aircraft to conduct sustained combat operations throughout northern India. The expansion follows the deployment of intermediate range missiles like the DF-4 – with a range of 3,000 km – and the completion of several launch pads for nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. Last month Beijing complained about India upgrading its airfields in eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. This week Indian officials confirmed that work has stopped on a road project because the Chinese military objected.