China Reform Monitor: No. 910

June 24:

Russia’s Gubernskiye Vedomosti newspaper reports that meetings between officials from the Sakhalin Region and Heilongjiang Province in Harbin focused on environmental issues and culminated in cooperation agreements in the construction, coal mining, timber processing and tourism sectors. The Russian delegation headed by Sakhalin Region deputy governor Sergey Vilyamov was visiting China to attend the 22nd Harbin Trade Fair in Heilongjiang. Ties between Harbin and the Russian Far East continue to expand as part of a concerted policy to boost cross-border trade and investment.

July 14:

Li Yuanchao, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has met with a delegation of the Communist Party of India headed by senior political bureau member Sitaram Yechury. At the meeting, which took place in Beijing, Li Yuanchao praised the “contribution made by the Communist Party of India to promote friendly cooperation between China and India.” Li praised the “traditional friendship” between the two political parties and said the CPC was ready to hold discussions on “party management and on government administration,” the official China Radio International reports.

July 15:

A survey conducted by Shenzhen University’s Research Institute of Politics in Contemporary China in 2008 shows that 89 percent of CPC cadre respondents believe their fellow CPC members “lack the initiative to serve the people.” The Hong Kong Economic Journal (Hsin Pao) said: “This lack of initiative in serving the people is caused by a lack of a sound system that can support inner party democracy within the CPC.” The paper called for “the CPC to establish a system that allows party members to criticize and express their opinions without being purged.”

July 19:

As part of Beijing’s efforts to cool the housing market, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has launched investigations into excessive housing price rises and will draft a home-purchase-limit list including about 20 second- and third- tier cities. More than 40 Chinese cities have already implemented property purchase limits causing the property transaction volume in these cities to shrink sharply. In response, the Shanghai Daily reports, speculators have flocked to less affluent areas without restrictions on property purchases. Following the State Council’s recent declaration urging cities with excessive property price growth to restrict home purchases, a statement was posted on the central government’s official website on July 14. China’s property purchase limits will likely be expanded to over 100 cities nationwide, the Asia Pulse reports.

July 20:

A group of men has stormed the Narbag police station in Hotan, Xinjiang killing two officers and two hostages with knives, axes, Molitov cocktails and other explosives, according to Hotan police accounts independently confirmed by the Financial Times. “There were 18 attackers. We shot 14 dead and captured four alive, who are now being questioned,” said Zhao Genlin, deputy party secretary of the Hotan City Police. The attackers briefly replaced the red People’s Republic of China flag on the police station’s roof with the blue half moon flag of East Turkestan used by the advocates of an independent Uighur state. Roughly two dozen People’s Armed Police personnel were deployed to the city along with 60 armored vehicles to keep the peace.

[Editor’s Note: The Germany-based World Uighur Congress, which advocates Xinjiang’s independence from China, said the incident began after police opened fire on more than 100 peaceful Uighur demonstrators. That account, however, appears to be false according to Financial Times reports from Hotan.]