China seems to always have civil discontent bubbling just below the surface. A military force loyal to the Party is essential to maintain power. With the massive loss of paper wealth in the past few weeks on the Chinese stock market, the slowing economy and lay-offs are potential flashpoints.
Speculation has been rife as to why the change in the PLA is happening now. One reason may be that the PLA is not modern in its organization and is unprepared to meet an external threat in modern times. The PRC is involved in several territorial disputes with its Asian neighbours. It has been accused of land grabs in the S. China Sea. Rhetoric has been exchanged with the US regarding the PRC’s territorial claims as well. A modern military must be efficient in information gathering and dispersing that knowledge to the correct parties. And not least is the fact that the PLA has no experience fighting a modern enemy. Since the 1950s the Party has maintained control and quashed opposition but a civilian opposition is not the challenge of facing trained and experienced foes. Aside from tightening control to ensure loyalty to the central party, the reforms may be a way to root out corruption within the PLA. President Xi has made it public policy to expose corrupt officials. It looks as if the anti-corruption campaign is serious. Fourteen PLA generals have been named as corrupt and face court-marshal. Some have already been expelled from the Party which spells disaster on a personal level. In any case, it is interesting times. Sources: Marine Corps Times The Diplomat The Diplomat
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The long shadow of the Chinese Mainland has darkened with the appearance of the disappeared Hong Kong booksellers on Phoenix TV confessing to various crimes. The booksellers specialized in selling publications that were critical of the PRC government. Many of their publications were banned in Mainland China. The booksellers vanished from HK late last year. One, Gui Minhai, appeared on TV in January confessing to a fatal hit and run accident that occurred a decade before. Monday three more of the disappeared appeared confessing to various crimes against the state. They confessed to selling banned books to Chinese citizens and making up some of the books. As part of the hand over of the former British colony, HK was to have guarantees of freedom which includes freedom of the press. While many believe that the five were kidnapped by Chinese and illegally transported to the mainland, authorities vehemently deny that their officials would act in any way that is illegal. However, in some cases the men disappeared from their bookstores in HK and had left behind travel documents, money and personal effects. Lee Bo carries a British passport. His current whereabouts are unknown in spite of efforts by British diplomats. Gui Minhai carries a Swedish passport yet efforts by Swedish diplomats have been stonewalled. The remaining three booksellers – Lui Bo, Lam Wingkei and Cheung Jiping do not have even that scanty protection. An author currently living in New York, Xi Nuo, claims that he is responsible for this crisis as he has a published a novel titled “President Xi Jinping and His Lovers”. Others see it as an intimidation of press freedom in HK in general. Several bookstores have already culled some of their publications from their shelves. Upcoming elections in the former colony may have Beijing with the jitters. There is a growing movement in HK of an independence party. Beijing has referred to those advocating greater independence as “radical separatists” and “inclined toward terrorism”. Sources: BBC Bloomberg Business The need to allow younger people a chance to develop and aspire to the presidency was part of his urging the population to vote no.
There has also been criticism from Reporters Without Borders that Kagame keeps a tight hold on the media in his country, effectively quashing opposition. One of the ways that tight control is kept in the capital city is through the use of Gikondo Transit Center aka Kwa Kabuga. It is where police are alleged to sweep the city streets clear of any they deem undesirable. Human rights abuses are common. Former detainees at Gikondo told Human Rights Watch that up to 800 people could be held at the center at one time, in several large rooms. Some described up to 400 detainees held in one room. HRW Human Rights Watch has characterized this trend in Africa of rulers changing their country’s constitution that limits the terms eligible for re-election as “a constitutional coup”. Other countries currently in the midst of constitutional coups are Burundi and the Congo Republic. Both are experiencing some degree of civil unrest. Sources: BBC Voice of America Human Rights Watch
Former Pres. Jonathan announced periodically that breakthroughs were being made in gaining the girls’ freedom but little action was seen. Reports of soldiers fleeing towns that they were tasked to defend made me wonder if they were cowardly. News has been trickling out that the soldiers were issued with scant ammunition and other weapons and had no tools to fight the well-armed terrorists.
Money for the purchase of helicopters, fighter jets, bombs and ammunition is missing. Recent video footage taken surreptitiously by an enlisted man shows the soldiers training in bare or sandaled feet, no uniforms and no weapons. Thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided" if the money had been properly spent, Femi Adesina, an adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a statement on Tuesday. Al Jazeera Nigeria should be a wealthy country. It has been a major supplier of petroleum from the fields at the mouth of the Niger River Delta. Instead, those living in the Delta area are coping with the loss of livelihood from the widespread pollution. Endemic corruption by those in power has diverted billions of dollars into private hands. The sums are staggering. As much as $150 billion may have been stolen in the past decade. [Who or what is Boko Haram? Boko Haram is a militant extremist group that opposes any political or social activity that may be viewed as Western. This is why women or girls in the process of being educated are sometimes a target. The Islamist group or sect, Boko Haram, was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002 but he was killed by authorities in 2009. The group reformed and in the last few years have escalated violence once again.] Sources: Al Jazeera The Telegraph |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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