May 7:
Under ambitious party boss Bo Xilai, the 32 million-person Chongqing district, which includes the city of Congqing’s urban center and surrounding rural areas, is in the midst of a new “red revival” political campaign and bold economic reforms that have received praise and scorn alike. Chongqing residents are learning 36 newly written “red songs” to prepare for the Communist Party’s 90th anniversary, high-ranking officials are being required to spend time in the countryside, and a ban on billboard and television ads has been enacted. Experiments are underway to reform state-owned enterprise sector and the hukou land registration system. Chongqing’s reforms offer rural hukou holders who have lived in the city for five years or more the opportunity to exchange their arable land for city homes that come with an urban hukou – allowing the family to access the same hospitals and schools as those born within the city limits. To avoid a land crisis, the Globe and Mail reports that, if successful, the “Chongqing Model” may be implemented around the country in an effort to convert hundreds of millions of small-scale farms into larger, more productive plots.
May 9:
Authorities in Shenzhen have warned both workers and firms that any petition or rallies over unpaid wages during a five-month period including the upcoming Universiade games will be regarded as criminal acts. The warning was issued by the Shenzhen Housing and Construction Bureau, which posted a notice advising workers not to petition, hold rallies or use any “abnormal methods” to get unpaid salaries between May 1 and September 30. “Anyone who organizes or takes part in a group petition will be punished severely, and those who have brought about serious consequences or bad results will be the subject of a legal responsibilities inquiry,” the notice said. The bureau also warned construction companies that they would be banned for at least three months if their failure to pay migrant workers on time triggered a group petition or protests or if they otherwise fail to stop migrant workers' protests. The South China Morning Post reports former Shenzhen mayor Xu Zongheng and at least three senior officials were removed from office because of corruption linked to construction projects for the Summer Universiade - the world university games.
[Editor’s Note: In February this year, Shenzhen issued a controversial draft regulation that outlawed 14 acts as “illegal petitioning” - including suicide; creating public disturbances such as stopping work or protesting; damaging public facilities; or wearing clothes that express a grievance or threaten authorities.]
May 12:
According to a 15-year study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s law faculty, mainland courts’ almost exclusive reliance on confessions for convictions has resulted in long detention periods, abusive police interrogation and rushed trials. The study, the first ever independent study based on comprehensive empirical research, analyzed 1,144 prosecution case files gathered from courts in 13 locations on the mainland, as well as 267 interviews with judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers. It revealed that China’s courts rely on a 95 percent confession rate to convict defendants, prosecution witnesses were produced in only 19 out of 227 trials and that in all but one trial, only one witness was produced. “If you have confessed, it is almost certain that you will be convicted,” Mike McConville, dean of the law faculty in charge of the study, told the South China Morning Post. Trials were often rushed with one-third of hearings in intermediate courts and two-thirds in lower-level courts taking under an hour. Defendants were afraid to complain about police torture for fear of losing leniency in sentencing and the courts ignored the few defendants that did make allegations against their interrogators. The study contradicts the view of China’s top official on political and legal affairs, Zhou Yongkang, who said last year that judicial reform was progressing solidly, effectively and in an orderly manner.
May 14:
Beijing has tried to suppress a UN report revealing that North Korea and Iran have been routinely sharing “ballistic missile-related items,” sometimes transporting them through China, in breach of United Nations sanctions, the New York Times reports. The transfers are believed to be taking place on regularly scheduled flights of Air Koryo and Iran Air, using air cargo hubs that have less stringent security than passenger terminals. Experts found that the technology transfers had “trans-shipment through a neighboring third country” they later identified as China. The report was submitted to Security Council members, but was delayed for days because the Chinese expert on the panel refused to sign off on the report, “under pressure from Beijing.” “This raises serious issues about a panel of experts that is supposed to be free from political interference,” said a senior UN diplomat.
