March 6:
China and Russia are on the verge of concluding their biggest arms contract in a decade but it is being held up by Moscow’s insistence on new intellectual property rights protections to limit Chinese competition in third country markets. Beijing has agreed in principle to buy 48 Su-35 multi-role fighters for $4 billion (approximately $85 million each) but is reluctant to stop copying Russian fighter aircraft. Despite an existing Sino-Russian agreement concluded in 2008 on the protection of military and technological intellectual property, Moscow is demanding additional guarantees. Yet, even if Beijing agrees to formalize Russian intellectual ownership of the Su-35, tracking compliance would be impossible, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reports. China’s share of Russian arms exports has declined steadily since 2007 and the two have not concluded a major contract since 2003.
[Editor’s Note: The Su-35 is a long-range fighter capable of speeds over 2,500 kph, a range of 3,400 km and a combat radius of approximately 1,600 km. It is armed with a 30-mm cannon and has 12 stations for mounted ordnance, including missiles and bombs. Moscow has grounds for its reservations. The Chinese J-10 fighter is a copy of Russia’s Su-27, the J-11 is China’s imitation of the Su-30, and China copied Russia’s Su-33 from the T-10K test model, which it acquired from Ukraine, and built a Chinese version called the J-15. Most recently China copied the Su-30MK2 fighter and produced the J-16. Russian originals and their Chinese copies have already clashed on the market. In 2009 the $35 million MiG-29 and its $10 million Chinese version the FC-1 competed for Myanmar’s business, but due to the MiG’s superior technology Moscow won the $500 million contract. This incident increased Moscow’s concerns about China’s completion and in July 2010 the Russia initiated a special investigation into the problem.]
March 7:
Zhang Chunxian, secretary of Xinjiang Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has linked Uighur violence toward Han Chinese with an international Islamist network. According to the People's Daily, he said: “Several violent incidents that occurred last year and the February 28 incident in Yecheng County were linked with international backgrounds, with the 'three forces,' [separatism, extremism and terrorism] and with the world terrorist forces. We should not judge these terrorists with a normal attitude. This is not a religious or ethnic issue but an antihuman issue. In the future, we will resolutely crack down on any terrorist incident as soon as it breaks out.”
March 8:
China is amending its Criminal Procedure Law to include stipulations “respecting and safeguarding human rights,” outlawing the torture of suspects and increasing judiciary review of death penalty cases. The draft amendment, the first since 1996, states that suspect confessions, witness testimony and victim depositions obtained by illegal means, such as torture, violence or threats, should be excluded during trials. To prevent extortion of confessions, interrogations will be audio or videotaped and suspects will be sent to a detention facility for custody after being interrogated, the official China Daily reports. The amendment also specifies that the Supreme People’s Court must review all death penalty cases to ensure they are handled “with sufficient care” and “legal oversight.” The Court can overrule a death sentence verdict to demand a retrial or revise the judgment.
March 9:
Police shot dead four Uighur men during a pre-dawn raid on a bomb-making operation in a farmhouse near Korla, Xinjiang. The raid, which was part of China’s “strike hard” anti-crime campaign and “stability drive,” was based on information extracted from interrogations on 21 suspects and after a man injured himself while making a bomb at his home, raising suspicions. Local police told Radio Free Asia that six police were involved in the initial raid but they called in 40 more reinforcements to surround the area after being attacked. “We surrounded the storage room and were ready to rush in when one man rushed out from the room holding an axe, and chopped one of our policemen’s hands,” said police officer Ghulamidin Yasin. The rest of the Uighur men ran out carrying knives and police shot them. “We found two bows, some bomb- making materials, and boxing gloves,” Yasin said.
March 11:
China’s Supreme People's Court chief justice Wang Shengjun has issued a scathing report to the National People’s Congress criticizing the country’s courts and calling for judicial reform, the official China Dailyreports. “Some courts have not improved the transparency of court affairs and promoted a democratic judicial system,” Wang said. Some judges behave badly, have poor working styles, irregular practices during court proceedings, or delay hearings. Some take bribes and pervert the law, he said. Wang called for increased public supervision, including soliciting opinions from the public, lawmakers and media. Wang said the Supreme Court would work to reform the court procedures, speed up small claims civil proceedings, and improve rules for citizens to observe trials.
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China Reform Monitor: No. 956
Related Categories:
Arms Control and Proliferation; Democracy and Governance; Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues; Islamic Extremism; China; Russia