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1st Chinese California Superior Court Judge Lillian Sing (born in Shanghai) speak out against US racism, demonizing Chinese, China and promoting proxy war in Taiwan Province against China.
The representative of China at the United Nations Human Rights Council called on the US, Canada and Australia to seriously
reflect on the systematic discrimination and oppression of indigenous peoples in their countries on Wednesday.
China Is Greeting Meng Wanzhou As A National Hero. How About Two Michaels?
https://youtu.be/IAwJbyqZ4_Y
Meng Wanzhou waves to a cheering crowd as she steps out of a charter plane at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 25, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)
Hard-won victory reflects legal, political wrestling; good for ties
When many Chinese woke up Saturday morning surprisingly learning that the return of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to China became a reality, some said it was the best news in quite a while.
The high-profile case of Meng, which has become a political dilemma significantly affecting the global geopolitical landscape, has been settled through both legal channels and political wrestling, experts said, noting that China, the US and Canada have seen the best scenario with much compromise made by the Biden administration in resolving the matter. It also helped pave the way for the positive interaction between the world's largest economies in the near future amid strained China-US relations.
It was also one mistake of the US administration that has been corrected in line with the request of China, as China put forward two lists to the US during the bilateral talks in Tianjin in July, including the List of US Wrongdoings that Must Stop which urged the US to release Meng, showing that Beijing's US policies began taking effect and remaining mistakes of the US have to be corrected.
Meng Wanzhou speaks to media outside the British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada on Friday. Photo: cnsphoto
After being separated for more than 1,000 days, she finally reunited with her family and such an emotional moment also aroused reactions from ordinary Chinese people who firmly believe that the motherland will always be "on their back" and save them from crisis.
An official report by the Xinhua News Agency said thanks to sustained efforts by the Chinese government, Meng left Canada on a chartered plane arranged by the Chinese government on Friday local time. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian also welcomed her return in a post on his personal Weibo account.
"Meng's return once again shows China's steadfast position in defending the rights and interests of Chinese citizens in its diplomacy with the US and overall foreign diplomacy," Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Saturday.
Such firm position is also being taken as the backbone for Chinese citizens and companies overseas, inspiring numerous Huawei staff amid the US-led severe crackdown on its 5G technologies and sanctions over the past three years. On her return, dozens of Huawei employees shared the moment on their personal accounts, saying that with the support of the government, they would never yield to any unilateral foreign sanctions or bullying.
Many ordinary Chinese cheered Meng's return, posting welcome notes on social media. Chinese netizens were also thrilled at the news. Topics related to Meng's return topped the search list of Sina Weibo for almost the whole day, with relevant posts being read more than 100 million times.
The Global Times reporter saw crowds gathering at Shenzhen Baoan Airport with Welcome Home banners, and they cheered on Meng's return. Some were family members and relatives of Huawei staff, and they hailed the senior executive as a role model in facing US hegemony and a national hero, while more than 30 million netizens watched her arrival on livestream.
The Ping'an International Financial Center, a landmark skyscraper in Shenzhen, was lit up on Saturday evening to welcome Meng's return.
Meng waves to the crowd after her arrival at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.(Photo: Xinhua)
Hard-won victory
In a video seen by the Global Times, a GPS tracker ankle bracelet that Meng had worn for over two years was removed on Friday, leaving a bruise on her ankle that some Chinese netizens considered "an impressive memory" about US bullying and political persecution against a Chinese citizen.
It has never been an easy fight for the defense team of Meng over the past two years, who has been battling with the help of the Western legal tools against extradition to the US, and reached a "pretty good" result in the eyes of both Chinese and foreign legal experts after the marathon-like legal proceedings.
Meng appeared virtually in an American federal courtroom in Brooklyn on Friday, and reached a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in a case of federal charges against her for bank and wire fraud. Under the terms of the agreement, Meng will not be prosecuted further in the US and the extradition proceedings in Canada will be terminated, according to a statement of William Taylor, one of the lawyers who represented Meng.
"She has not pleaded guilty and we fully expect the indictment to be dismissed with prejudice after 14 months. Now, she will be free to return home to be with her family," he said.
The senior executive of Huawei was arrested by Canadian authorities in December 2018 at the behest of the US, who remained under detention in Canada pending a Canadian judge's ruling on the US' extradition request for nearly three years. Meng and her defense team made the final push against extradition to the US, and the legal proceedings ended on August 18 without a decision.
A statement from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said that under the terms of the DPA, Meng acknowledged that she knowingly made false statement to a financial institution in Iran-related transactions, and agreed not to commit other federal, state or local crimes.
"It's a pretty good deal," Gary Botting, a Canadian legal expert and author of several books on extradition, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that through the case, many believe that the US is in no position to lead the world like a "police," and hopefully, the US judge presiding over the prosecution of Meng will see that.
Some Chinese legal experts said that it's not accurate to take a DPA as a guilty plea agreement, like some Western media reported, as any arrangement should be accepted by all parties. Without paying a hefty fine or admitting guilt in court is also considered a good arrangement, experts said, noting that the US would make much more compromise to "pull out a nail set by the US" in China-Canada and China-US relations.
Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times early Saturday that there are multiple factors driving the US to resolve this issue, including the consistent attitude of the Chinese government in urging the US and Canada to release Meng, and the mounting pressure that Canada has been facing as it clearly knows that if it insists on the extradition of Meng to the US, it would create irretrievable negative consequences on China-Canada relations, and also the unjustified procedures with the lack of evidence throughout the legal proceedings in Canada would further extend the legal battle many years.
Photo:Cui Meng/GT
Political wrestling
The day Meng flew back home, Canadian media reported that two Canadians - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - left China on a plane to Canada. Spavor was sentenced in August in China to 11 years in prison after being convicted of spying on China's national secrets. He was ordered deported from China.
Although some Western media outlets and politicians claimed the release of the two Canadians was an example of "hostage diplomacy," experts said Meng was a "political hostage" taken by the US and Canada, noting that mounting evidence throughout the legal proceedings during Meng's fight against extradition showed she was the victim of political prosecution.
"In Spavor's case, imposing the order of deportation means he may not serve his jail time in China but will be deported to Canada. It leaves room for indictment while unleashing a gesture of goodwill," Qin Qianhong, a constitutional law professor at Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Saturday.
Kovrig and Spavor were charged by the Prosecutor General's Office in China for crimes undermining China's national security in June 2020. Spavor was convicted of spying on China's national secrets and was ordered deported from China, a court in Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, announced on August 11.
Spavor was found to have taken photos and video of Chinese military equipment on multiple occasions and illegally provided some of those photos to people outside China, which have been identified as second-tier state secrets, a source close to the matter told the Global Times on September 1.
Chinese officials and diplomats reiterated that the incident of Meng is different from the cases of the two Canadians in nature.
China's position on Meng's case is consistent and clear, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday. Facts have fully proved that this is an incident of political persecution against Chinese citizen, with the purpose of suppressing China's high-tech enterprises, she noted.
The accusation of Meng's so-called "fraud" is purely fabricated, she said, noting that even HSBC, which the US refers to as a "victim," has issued documents sufficient to prove her innocence. The actions of the US and Canada were typical arbitrary detention, the spokesperson added.
"There are flexibilities in legal proceedings around the world with different factors considered, which is sometimes embedded with the nature of humanity. Releasing the two Canadian citizens unlocks the bottleneck in China-Canada ties, which was expected," Lü said.
For Canada, which made a wrong political choice of being an accomplice of the US, it is still bearing the "bitter fruits." The deal can also help it ease strained ties with China, especially in trade, experts said.
He Weiwen, a former senior Chinese trade official, said Canada should make a further step if it wants to mend ties with China. "For instance, to show a positive attitude in China's participation in the CPTPP."
The deal indicates that the US has started to face up to the bottom lines China has drawn for further cooperation, and Washington is now "correcting mistakes it has made," experts said, noting that "it might be a turning point for China-US relations."
China in July put forward two lists to the US during talks in North China's Tianjin, one of which was the List of US Wrongdoings that Must Stop and the other the List of Key Individual Cases that China Has Concerns with.
China's attitude toward the US and Meng's case has been clear: her release is a must, and it seems bilateral ties are moving forward based on the two lists China put forward, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Saturday.
In the List of US Wrongdoings, China urged the US to revoke the extradition request for Meng among other requests.
In the list, China also urged the US to unconditionally revoke the visa restrictions over CPC members and their families, revoke sanctions on Chinese leaders, officials and government agencies, and remove visa restrictions on Chinese students.
In the other List of Key Individual Cases, China expressed serious concerns to the US on some key individual cases, including some Chinese students' visa applications being rejected, Chinese citizens receiving unfair treatment in the US, Chinese diplomatic and consular missions being harassed and rammed into by perpetrators in the US, growing anti-Asian and anti-China sentiment, and Chinese citizens suffering violent attacks.
Gao said the US' decision was obvious, since many things in the world such as climate change and the pandemic fight require China-US cooperation. And the US has been hurt from the deteriorating ties - inflation and debt - which made it urgent for the US to mend ties with China.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she would seek to improve US business ties with China. Raimondo said she plans to lead delegations of US chief executives overseas, including to China, to hunt for business and discuss longstanding trade issues, though nothing has yet been put on the calendar.
The US also realizes that measures that aim to suppress and contain China are useless. In the end, the world's two largest economies must return to the right track of cooperation, Gao said.
Although the deal with the DOJ ended up with no crime and no punishment as Meng admitted wrongdoing but without a guilty plea, the agreement pertains only on Meng, Reuters said, noting that the DOJ said it is preparing for a trial against Huawei and looks forward to proving its case in court.
Huawei said in a statement on Saturday that the company expected Meng's return and reunion with her family. Meanwhile, the company will safeguard its interests in the lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York.
Some experts also warned that though the landmark progress of the incident created a positive atmosphere for China-US ties to return to the right path, Washington has created too much trouble over the past few years in confronting China, and some severely challenged Beijing's sovereignty. It will unlikely give up its plan of suppressing China's high-tech development.
"It will be difficult to see fundamental changes in the bilateral relationship in the next few years, unless the US takes more brave and active moves in improving ties," Li said.
Meanwhile, China-Canada relations have entered a period of debugging. Obstacles to the smooth development of China-Canada relations have been clearly removed. It also created conditions for Trudeau's China policy afterwards, he noted.
For Huawei, struggling on its track of transforming from a hardware maker to software provider amid the still tight US chip ban is still a long-term work, which has been gradually making progress.
"The transformation process is painful, since it's a transformation of the business model. But the good news is that we have gradually changed," Xu Zhijun, Huawei's rotating chairman, said during a roundtable interview Friday, noting that a frequent reshuffle of its senior executives is a reflection of how hard the transformation process is.
Key events in Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's case. Graphic: GT
While many observers expect the
return of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to create a
relatively favorable atmosphere for US-China relations, some stubborn
anti-China forces can't help but flagrantly ...
Sniffing out signs of life: The K-9 unit of the City Fire and Rescue operations looking for possible victims at the site of the bridge collapse near Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR: Structural failure possibly caused the collapse of an under-construction pedestrian bridge at KL Eco City near Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum here.
Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) director-general Datuk Mohtar Musri said the initial investigation suggested that a defective structure could have led to the disaster on Wednesday.
He said the department would refer to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall regarding the quality of materials used in the construction of the bridge.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said a task force has been set up to probe the incident.
He said the result of the investigation was expected to be made public in a month, and that tough action could be taken against the developer if it was found to have flouted safety regulations.
“We can bring them to court, not just under DOSH but CIDB too. Under the CIDB Malaysia Act 1994, they can face a RM500,000 fine or a two-year jail sentence,” he said.
The RM7mil pedestrian bridge linking the planned KL Eco City project to the Gardens Shopping Mall in Mid Valley, which was still under construction, collapsed and killed one worker and injured five others on Wednesday.
The search-and-rescue operation at the site of the incident was halted after it was confirmed that there was no worker trapped underneath the mangled brick-and-iron structure.
City Fire and Rescue Department deputy operations chief Ruhisha Haris said K-9 teams had confirmed that there were no signs of a body.
However, the mystery of the missing construction worker remains.
“We first received information that a worker might have been trapped because a colleague saw him under the bridge minutes before it collapsed.
“A head count by the developer also revealed a missing worker, but they were unable to give us a name,” he said.
The dead victim has been identified as Tran Xuan Vang, 21, from Vietnam. Two other Vietnamese, Tran Van Hai and Luong Van Guyet, as well as Indonesian Nor Syamsi, Bangladeshi MD Jashim and Pakistan national Rais Aman Majid were injured and are currently being treated at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
Medical staff were forced to amputate Rais’ left leg on site to save his life.
In a statement issued on the day of the incident, SP Setia, the developer of the project, said it deeply regretted the incident and was working with the authorities in the investigation.
“The project team is still assessing the situation,” it said.
Work on the KL Eco City project – a mixed development comprising three residential towers, one serviced apartments tower, three corporate office towers, 12 boutique office blocks and one retail podium – started in 2011 and is scheduled to be fully completed by 2023.
Commenting on the incident, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the time had come for players in the construction industry to practise their commitment to safety.
“All these accidents are preventable if the person in charge puts into practice good occupational and safety health measures and the site safety supervisor makes sure work is done properly,” he said.
By M. kumar and Nicholas Cheng The Star/Asian News Network
Stop history repeating itself
THE Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) is horrified with the news of the collapse of the incomplete pedestrian bridge meant to connect KL Eco City and Mid Valley Megamall in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Not even a month after a couple was crushed by a piling rig that fell on them at a construction site along Persiaran Astana, Klang, another tragic incident leading to serious injury and death has occurred.
If all the parties involved in the building industry – including the local councils, developers, contractors, architects, quantity surveyors, structural engineers, DOSH and all the others – had carried out their roles and functions efficiently, this could have been prevented.
Despite our repeated calls for the Government to conduct a full inquiry into the operations of the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH), it would seem like the relevant authorities are unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation.
When incidents like this happen, it becomes clear to us that DOSH and developers do not have their priorities right.
Instead of working on preventing such incidents, they wait until it happens before scrambling to take corrective measures to fix the problem.
The issue here is that there are no corrective measures that can be taken once a life is lost; that is not something that can be recovered.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Professor Datuk Dr Mahyuddin Ramli has been reported saying that incidents of this nature can happen when contractors do not comply with safety standards.
In this case, he said that concrete takes at least a week to dry and harden; the wet weather we have been experiencing means it will take even longer.
The USM professor also said that another way something like this can happen is if contractors do not use proper scaffolding during the construction process.
The distance between scaffolds and the size of the scaffolds used are very important as they will vary according to the structure they are meant to hold up.
DOSH’s director-general, Datuk Mohtar Musri, has stated that their initial investigation suggested that the incident happened because the structure was defective.
He said that they need to look into the quality of the materials that were used to construct the pedestrian bridge.
Whatever the cause, the relevant authorities and the public need to be aware that this is just history repeating itself.
If the incident did truly happen because of a structural defect, then it needs to be made clear that nobody can plead ignorance.
DOSH safety officers and onsite safety inspectors should have known about the structural defects if they did exist.
This begs the question of whether or not proper safety inspections were done at the appropriate stages by the relevant parties.
We ask that the results of the investigation into the latest incident be shared with the general public.
CAP would also like to know what happened to the findings from the investigation of previous incidents.
Why has this information not been shared with the public when their lives are also put in danger by the conduct of those at construction sites?
In view of this, CAP calls for penal action to be taken against all parties who have been involved in the project. They should all be held accountable even if they were not directly involved.
By S. M. MOHAMED IDRIS President Consumers Association of Penang
The Star Graphics: http://clips.thestar.com.my.s3.amazonaws.com/Interactive/midvalley/midvalley.mp4
KUALA LUMPUR: A Vietnamese construction worker was killed and five others were injured when a 70m yet-to-be-completed bridge near Jalan Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum and Mid Valley Megamall collapsed.
The victim was buried in the rubble of the collapsed pedestrian bridge.
As of press time, rescue workers were still searching for a Bangladeshi worker believed to be trapped in the rubble.
The authorities have since mobilised the K9 unit to locate him.
The firemen and paramedics were seen changing shift as the rescue mission continued into the night. Some were heard saying that locating the victim would be challenging.
However, all the rescuers were resolute in their attempt to find the last victim, never once giving up hope.
The five injured workers – two Vietnamese, two Bangladeshis and an Indonesian – were sent to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre for treatment.
Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Sharul Othman Mansor said the bridge was 80% completed when the incident occurred.
“We are still investigating the incident.
“We were alerted at about 4pm of the incident and quickly mobilised a search-and-rescue team,” he said at the scene.
Four roads were also affected by massive jams due to the incident.
According to Star Media Radio Traffic, the affected roads were the Federal Highway from the arch, the Kerinchi Link after the Pantai toll plaza, Kerinchi Intersection from Bangsar South or Pantai Medical Centre and Jalan Syed Putra from the Kuen Cheng School till the Robson Intersection.
While the main reason for the traffic congestion was due to certain road closures to make way for rescue workers, traffic was backed up near the mall due to many motorists slowing down to see the collapsed bridge.
Mall patrons, construction workers and curious onlookers were seen crowding the area near the bridge, where it was cordoned off for safety precautions.
By Farik Zolkepli, Jastin Ahmad Tarmizi, and Austin Camoens The Star/ANN
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government would like to take over the job of monitoring safety at construction sites away from developers following a string of deaths as a result of mishaps in the last three months.
Those duties, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, may be entrusted to third party organisations that will be given autonomy in the planning, execution and supervision of workplace safety at construction sites.
Usually, these jobs are handled by contractors hired by the project developers but Fadillah said that this would mean the monitoring process was not independent.
Speaking at the launch of the Sustainable Construction Excellence Centre (Mampan), the minister said the suggestion for independent monitoring was brought up by the experts at the centre.
Mampan is headed by the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (Cream), a subsidiary of the Government’s Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).
Fadillah said the proposal to appoint third party safety monitors would be implemented first in Government construction projects.
He added that he hoped the private sector construction industry would do the same.
Currently, the Department of Occupational and Safety Hazard (DOSH) monitors government projects but it is reportedly too understaffed to keep track of every project.
For now we will have to make do with existing laws. This is why we need a commitment from the industry players,” he told reporters after the launch.
For now we will have to make do with existing laws. This is why we need a commitment from the industry players. Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof
He said that Mampan would be a key organisation under the Government’s environmental sustainability initiative for its Construction Industry Transformation Programme.
The centre will undertake research with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Rehda Institute to instil better industry practices, certification and awareness in the construction industry.
“We don’t want to build bridges that have no resilience and collapse when there is a flood.
“Our short-term goal is to position Malaysia as a regional leader in sustainability in construction and to raise the perception of sustainability in construction here,” he said.
Fadillah witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Cream chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali and academics from the four universities and research institutes which will be a part of the new centre.
Parties, media call for justice for telecomfraud victims. Political parties and media outlets from Chinese Mainland and Taiwan have denounced a telecomfraud case, and said the suspects must be brought to justice. This is after Taiwan police on Saturday released 20 suspects who were deported from Malaysia....
Malaysia repatriated a group of telecom fraud suspects Friday, including
20 Taiwanese. Taiwan authorities maneuvered to have them sent to
Taiwan.
To the surprise of the outsiders, these Taiwanese
suspects were released in a few hours after arrival at Taoyuan
International Airport.
When Kenya last week sent a batch of
telecom fraud suspects to the Chinese mainland, also including
Taiwanese, it triggered a public outcry in Taiwan. Pro-independence
media and leading figures, including Tsai Ing-wen, protested against the
mainland for "illegal abduction." Now Taiwan is showing that it is more
lenient to fraud suspects than anywhere in the world.
Taiwan's
judicial authorities expressed that the crime was committed in Malaysia
and victims were mainlanders. Since they do not hold evidence against
these suspects, they have to release them first.
However last
week, the same department stated that it was in accordance with
international law that Kenya repatriated Taiwan suspects to the
mainland, and "only the mainland can hold them in control."
Pro-independence forces would not admit the change was a result of
pressure they exerted.
To the outside world, protests against the
mainland and releasing suspects show the ugly side of Taiwan politics
when it is taken hostage by radical public opinion.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is manipulating and coping with populism.
The release of the 20 suspects has disgraced the Taiwanese media and Taiwan's rule of law.
The
mainland is clear how the DPP is manipulating public opinion to
instigate "anti-China" sentiments. Swayed by such sentiments, Taiwan
politics prioritizes stance over facts.
Western democratic
politics can easily provide a hotbed for radicalism and extremism.
Taiwan and Hong Kong both have demonstrated this tendency.
A
judiciary case, which should be fact-oriented, is turned into a
political event across the Straits. The suspects even applauded Taiwan
for its "human rights" after being released. Should the mainland feel
indignant or treat it with disdain?
The key is that the mainland
should stick more firmly to its principles, and resolutely resist the
rascally demands by Taiwan's twisted politics.
Taiwan's poor
performance in handling the suspects is also teaching a lesson to other
countries. Malaysia is proved wrong in repatriating the fraud suspects
back to Taiwan. Kuala Lumpur should learn from the case and not be
tricked by Taiwan in the future.
Taiwan, which is an inseparable
part of China, is always eager to prove it is a "country." Taiwan's
ingrained sense of inferiority and paranoia have permeated into its
politics, resulting in its self-righteous performances, of which
Taiwan's public should be aware.- Global Times
China urges Taiwan to give fraud suspects "punishment they deserve"
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
A Chinese mainland spokesman on Saturday urged Taiwan to give fraud suspects "the punishment they deserve," stressing that the release of them will only make fraud more rampant and harm cross-Straits law enforcement cooperation.
Taiwan police earlier on Saturday released 20 fraud suspects who were deported from Malaysia Friday evening, citing a lack of evidence. They were among 52 people from Taiwan arrested in Malaysia for suspected telecommunication fraud.
"By releasing the suspects, Taiwan authorities disregarded many victims' interests and harmed them a second time. It also harmed the two sides' cooperation in jointly cracking down on crimes," said An Fengshan, the spokesman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.
Taiwan phone scammers come clean
Phone scams are nothing new, and yet the people behind this faceless crime continue to swindle billions of yuan from hapless victims every year.
Boiler rooms run by scammers from Taiwan were responsible for over 50 percent of all telecom fraud in China's mainland. Nearly all major cases with reported losses in excess of 10 million yuan ($1.54 million) were organized by scammers from Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
In the past seven days, 77 alleged fraud syndicate members, including 45 from Taiwan, were repatriated to China's mainland from Africa.
In interviews with Xinhua, some of the suspects from Taiwan came clean about this illicit practice.
WHO, HOW ?
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
One suspect from Taoyuan in Taiwan, identified only by his surname Jian, traveled to Kenya to join a boiler room in 2014.
According to Jian, the organization he worked for divided its members into first-, second- and third-tier groups according to their roles. All worked off pre-written scripts when talking to their "clients."
The first-tier group, a team of about a dozen people, masqueraded as managers of medical insurance accounts to acquire their victims' personal information, Jian explained.
In the calls, the victims were told that they were victims of identity theft, and their "case" would be transferred to the police after they had confirmed certain information.
Then it was time for the second-tier group, the "police officers," to take over the case. This team informed the victims that their identities had been used to facilitate money laundering, said Jian, who was one of the "police officers."
The victims were then pressed for more information, such as family background, occupation, income and bank account details. The second-tier group would then try and wheedle out how much cash the victims had in their bank accounts.
"If there was not much money, we would talk the victims into transferring their balance to us," said Jian, "however, if they were holding large deposits we would transfer the case to the third-tier group."
Another suspect, who was identified by the surname Xu, was a member of this third-tier group. His bluff was that he was the director of the financial crime department.
"We told the victims that their money must be transferred to our 'safe account' for investigation, and instructed them how to do this at an ATM," said Xu.
The fraudsters used software that changed the numbers they called from to those registered to mainland police stations.
"Any 'savvy' victim could check the number while we were on the phone," he said, "and they would be reassured."
The gang even played recordings of police stations or hospitals as background noise during the calls to further win the trust of their unsuspecting victims.
According to the police, members of the gang received a monthly salary based on their performance. The third-tier group, usually the most skilled fraudsters, earned the most, getting up to eight percent of the money earned in each deal.
Police said that the bosses and core members of many fraud rings were from Taiwan. In Jian and Xu's case, only members of the first-tier groups were from the mainland, who were usually new to the world of telecom scams.
Investigators found that during recruitment, fraud rings often favored those with criminal records.
"I am familiar with how phone scams work, so that was why the boss asked me to join," said Xu, who served a seven month sentence for fraud in Taiwan's Taichung City in 2010.
Mainland urges Taiwan to give fraud suspects 'punishment they deserve'
EXPORTING FRAUD
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan
on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
The people of Taiwan have been aware of phone scams and for this reason, around 2002, fraud rings from Taiwan began to target mainlanders.
These fraud gangs are oldhands at writing convincing scripts and devising new methods to cheat victims out of their money and information, said Zhang Jun from the criminal investigation department of the MPS. Some, he added, even create mirror websites of mainland judicial agencies to further support their back stories.
Authorities on the mainland and Taiwan worked hard to improve cooperation and stamp out telecom fraud across the Strait. However, rather than packing up and "going straight," many gangs just relocated to Southeast Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Since 2011, police from both sides have arrested more than 7,700 suspects implicated in telecom fraud gangs working in Southeast Asia, with about 4,600 of them from Taiwan.
"To hide from the police, many telecom fraud rings established themselves far from Chinese eyes, like Kenya in this case. But we are confident that we will find them, no matter where they are," said Zhang. - Xinhua)
Chinese telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Kenya
https://youtu.be/9ATJqOjmbSg
BEIJING, April 13, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecom fraud suspects deported from Kenya get off a plane after arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, April 13, 2016. Kenyan police deported 77 Chinese telecom fraud suspects, including 45 Taiwanese, to the Chinese mainland. The first group of 10 people had been repatriated on Saturday and the remaining 67 were sent back by a chartered plane on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
The first 10 people were repatriated on Saturday and the remaining 67 on Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has confirmed. It is the first time that China has repatriated such a large group of telecom fraud suspects from Africa.
In recent years, syndicates led by suspects from Taiwan and based in Southeast Asia, Africa and Oceania have been falsely presenting themselves as law enforcement officers to extort money from people on the Chinese mainland through telephone calls, according to Chinese police.
In one case cited by the MPS in a statement, a person surnamed Yang from Duyun City of Guizhou Province was cheated by a syndicate, led by a Taiwan suspect, of 117 million yuan (18.1 million U.S. dollars) in December 2015.
Victims in other cases included migrant workers, teachers, students and elderly people from the Chinese mainland, and some of them committed suicide under the pressure of their economic losses, according to the statement.
The MPS said judicial organs on the Chinese mainland have legal rights of jurisdiction over the repatriated suspects.
Mainland police will investigate Taiwan suspects in strict accordance with the law and keep Taiwan authorities informed, the statement added.
The 77 suspects are from two telecom fraud syndicates. On Nov. 29, of 2014, Kenyan police arrested 48 people from the Chinese mainland and 28 from Taiwan over telecom scams. On April 8 of 2016, 19 suspects from the mainland and 22 from Taiwan were apprehended on similar charges.
In the past few years, police from the mainland and Taiwan have arrested more than 7,700 suspects, about 4,600 of them from Taiwan, in 47 joint operations to fight telecom frauds based in Southeast Asia.
However, in many of the cases handled by Taiwan judicial organs, Taiwan suspects were not brought to justice and victims on the mainland were unable to retrieve their lost money, An Fengshan, spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference on Wednesday.
Quite a few Taiwan suspects were released as soon as they were returned to Taiwan and some resumed their wrongdoing soon after, An said.
"They have caused a tremendous loss to people on the Chinese mainland... triggering strong discontent," according to the spokesperson.
An said the office's director Zhang Zhijun informed Taiwan's mainland affairs chief Andrew Hsia about the repatriation on Tuesday.
The legal rights and interests of the repatriated Taiwan suspects will be guaranteed in accordance with the law, he said.
"Judicial departments from Taiwan are welcome to visit the mainland to explore ways of strengthening cooperation between the two sides in cracking down on such international telecom fraud," said the MPS. - Xinhua
Kenya right to extradite Taiwan suspects to mainland
Taiwan's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" criticized the Chinese mainland Monday after eight out 23 Taiwanese people were deported from Kenya to the Chinese mainland following their acquittal on telecommunications fraud charges. The news, hyped up by the Taiwanese media, soon became a focus of attention on the island. The Taiwan government has demanded the mainland immediately return the eight to Taiwan.
Taiwan's public opinion sphere has launched strong protests and criticism against the mainland's "illegal abduction." However, Taiwan's judiciary authority acknowledged Tuesday that although the eight Taiwanese were acquitted of unlicensed business activities related to telecommunications, they still face charges of fraud, and the mainland's extradition conforms to international laws.
It is not news that some Taiwanese involve themselves in telecommunications fraud, with mostly mainland people as victims. Mainlanders' losses reached NY$500 million ($15.4 million) reportedly.
The responses from the Taiwanese public opinion sphere, especially the pro-independence media, is politicized, which, to a large extent, has contributed to the local authorities' attitude. The pro-independence camp always associates cross-Straits disputes with the mainland "suppressing" Taiwan, provoking "anti-mainland" sentiments on the island to the maximum.
It is indisputable, both in law and in the One China policy, that the Chinese mainland can extradite the eight Taiwanese involved in the fraud charges. The mainland's handling of the case is supported by international laws.
As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will take office soon, the radical forces on the island are increasingly active and arrogant. Targeting the mainland and the One China policy, they are responsible for the surging number of petty actions on the island.
The mainland needs to respond firmly to the radical pro-independence forces of Taiwan. The mainland has many more tools at its disposal now to punish these forces, compared with 16 years ago when Chen Shui-bian came to power. The mainland won't intentionally seek trouble with the other side, even after the DPP assumes power.
But the new Taiwan administration must hold itself with dignity, exercising restraint and opposition to the extreme show of radical forces. The mainland will be able to see clearly if the new administration is appeasing them.
As the DPP moves closer to taking office, Taiwan is shrouded in an aggressive atmosphere.
Whether Taiwanese are allowed to use a "Republic of Taiwan" sticker on their passport is being debated in the legislative body. Now Taiwan is making a fuss about the mainland extraditing Taiwan suspects from abroad. Don't expect the mainland to yield to these disgraceful acts.
Taiwanese society should pursue dignity from development and progress, not from "national sovereignty." The latter is an illusion to Taiwan which the DPP is trying to sell.
Taiwan should approach this latest incident from a cross-Straits judiciary cooperation perspective and negotiate with the mainland. It is important that the Taiwan side does not politicize the matter. - Global Times
Experts defend mainland's jurisdiction over Taiwanese fraud suspects
Kenya's deportation of Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects to the Chinese mainland within the past week was lawful and reasonable, according to legal observers on the mainland.
There were 45 Taiwanese among 77 Chinese alleged fraud syndicate members who arrived in the mainland on Saturday and Wednesday. It is the first time that China has such a large group of telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Africa.
"As all victims are from the mainland, judicial organs on the mainland have legal rights of jurisdiction over the repatriated Taiwanese suspects, according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction required in international criminal litigation," said Lin Wei, vice president of China Youth University of Political Studies.
The deportations have sparked debate in Taiwan about the mainland's jurisdiction in the case. Mainland authorities said Taiwan has been too lenient in its handling telecom fraudsters in the past.
In many of the cases handled by Taiwan's judicial organs, suspects were not brought to justice and victims on the mainland were unable to retrieve their lost money, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Quite a few Taiwanese suspects were released as soon as they were returned to Taiwan and some resumed their wrongdoing soon after, said Liu Huawen, assistant director of the Institute of International Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"They have caused a tremendous loss to people on the Chinese mainland," said Liu.
"Telecom fraud has been regarded as quite a petty act of swindling in Taiwan, with short prison sentences and light financial penalties," said Fan Chongyi, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law.
Taiwanese authorities should be tougher on such criminals, Fan said. - Xinhua
We must separate the roles of the Attorney-General as legal advisor to the Government and Public Prosecutor who prosecutes cases in court.
IT has become fashionable for critics to express dissatisfaction every time the Auditor-General presents his report to Parliament. So when the second report this year was tabled on June 15, the reaction was generally expected.
But the reaction from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed is particularly important. Nur Jazlan, who is also Ideas’ Council member this time, says that he is disappointed with the performance of many Government agencies because they have failed to improve.
He also said that not long ago he praised Government officials for showing improvements every time the Auditor-General’s report is published. But he felt compelled to retract that praise because this time it was particularly bad.
He went on to say that many of the problems originate from the attitude of civil servants. Apparently the quality of our civil servants has deteriorated, and they don’t even bother to read the rules.
When the PAC Chairman makes such a bold statement, you know that there is something really wrong in the way civil servants manage our money. It is ironic that the Prime Minister recently announced a bonus for our civil servants despite such abysmal indictment.
Under Nur Jazlan, the PAC has been doing a much better job in identifying weaknesses in Government machinery and in demanding accountability. In fact, thanks to the PAC, the public now knows about the risk posed by Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd, a Government-linked company that has one of the biggest liabilities among Malaysia’s GLCs. The company has been off the audit radar for almost 10 years, despite the large amount of debt that it has accumulated.
The work of bodies like the PAC is important in our push for better governance in the country. The issues the PAC looks into are not necessarily about corruption.
Their responsibility is wider, covering also problems such as leakages and failure to adhere to published policies and procedures.
Fighting corruption, on the other hand, is more commonly associated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). I am still waiting to see if the MACC would act on a recent admission by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that a Special Branch report found that around 80% of our border enforcement officers are involved in corruption.
Nevertheless, I am very aware that even if the MACC were to start an investigation, that is only half of the journey. The other half lies outside of the MACC’s jurisdiction, and that is the prosecution of corruption cases.
Our system is designed in such a way that the MACC, just like the police, can only investigate and not prosecute. Prosecution is the sole discretion of the Attorney-General, who doubles up as our Public Prosecutor.
I have no problem with the MACC not having the power to prosecute. In fact, I think it is right to keep prosecutorial powers away from the investigation agency. Back in 2012, we at Ideas looked into this issue and compared the experience of Indonesia and Hong Kong in fighting corruption.
We published the findings in July 2012 and concluded that it really does not matter whether or not the MACC has prosecution power. Instead, what is most important is the integrity of the judiciary and the Attorney-General’s office.
Any effort to improve the quality of MACC, therefore, will have to be accompanied by reform in both the judiciary and the Attorney-General’s Office. Focusing on the MACC alone is not sufficient.
If we want to see a more effective fight against corruption we must separate the roles of the Attorney-General as legal advisor to the Government and Public Prosecutor who prosecutes cases in court.
Let me justify that with a simple analogy using the case of the allegedly corrupt border enforcement officers.
Let’s say the MACC do investigate the allegation and find that the problem runs all the way up to Ministerial level.
The MACC then passes the files to the Attorney-General. How much confidence do we have that the Attorney-General will prosecute his friends in Cabinet?
It is obvious that as legal advisor to the Government, he is conflicted. How can he prosecute the very party he is supposed to advise?
There are actually many more proposals to improve the MACC that deserve public attention. If you are interested in this topic, I suggest you search for reports published by the Special Committee on Corruption now chaired by Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang. This bipartisan committee, whose membership consists of members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, regularly comes up with some very good ideas.
One of those ideas is for the MACC to be given independence in recruiting their own officers. This suggestion has been mooted since 2010 and it makes a lot of sense. To be truly independent, MACC cannot continue to be dependent on seconded staff from the Public Service Commission, because this creates a conflict of loyalty.
But unfortunately, this idea has not received the attention that it deserves from the Government. There are times when I ask myself if our Ministers are really serious in the fight against corruption. For if they are really serious, why are they ignoring sensible ideas coming from a committee whose membership is from among their own colleagues?
Don’t they realise that the longer they choose to do nothing, the more people will feel that they have things to hide?
By Wan Saiful Wan Jan, thinking liberally The Star
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.ideas.org.my). The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
(From L) Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan, China’s President Xi Jinping, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, his wife Iriana Widodo, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansur, Mufidhah, wife of Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Jusuf Kalla and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen walk down the street with other Asian and African leaders during ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung on western Java island on April 24, 2015. Bandung was the site of the landmark 1955 Asian African Conference, credited with galvanising momentum towards the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement. - AFP
Bandung 2015 is a chance to build on the cooperation among developing countries launched by Bandung 1955.
LAST Friday, I took a 10-minute walk from an old hotel to another old building, a conference hall. About 300 others were on the same walk on the warm and sunny day.
It didn’t seem anything remarkable or newsworthy. But this was no ordinary walk. Sixty years ago, on this same date, a small but powerful group of men and women took the same walk and then launched a movement that snowballed into a united anti-colonial and post–colonial battle.
We had come to commemorate and celebrate the anniversary of the Bandung conference of Asian and African leaders, all of whom had just won Independence or were on the verge of doing so.
The same grand Savoy Homann hotel was where the leaders had stayed, and they had taken the historic short walk on the Asia Africa Road to the Merdeka Building.
Bandung April 24, 1955, saw giants like Sukarno of Indonesia, the host, Zhou Enlai of China, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, U Nu of Burma and some leaders of Africa, coming together to discuss the need for newly independent countries to unite and fight for common interests.
They adopted the Bandung principles, that included respect for national sovereignty and self-determination, equality of all nations and abstention from use of force or exerting pressure on countries.
Bandung 1955 was the first ever meeting of the developing countries, who pledged to help other countries still under colonialism to complete their independence struggle, and to cooperate to develop their poor economies.
That Bandung spirit led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, and indirectly also led to the Group of 77 in 1964, the two major umbrella organisations of the developing countries.
Last Friday, political leaders from over 40 countries, led by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and officials from international organisations walked from Savoy Hotel to Merdeka Building and took part in a brief but meaningful commemoration ceremony.
Among the leaders present were the presidents of China, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, and the prime ministers of Malaysia, Nepal and Egypt.
We were told the Merdeka Building had not changed, and the chairs were the same as the ones used 60 years ago.
Widodo invoked the memory of the leadership and spirit of the giants of old, who had pioneered their nations’ independence and forged unity among the newly independent countries.
In a two-day Asian African summit conference in Jakarta preceding the Bandung ceremony, even more leaders were present to discuss the theme, South-South Cooperation for Peace and Prosperity.
President Widodo made a strong speech highlighting the continuing power inequalities and injustices in the world, in which developing countries were still struggling to get their rightful fair share in decision-making in world affairs.
Global injustice is obvious, when wealthy nations think they can change the world with their might, when the United Nations is powerless, when force is used without the mandate of the UN and powerful countries ignore the existence of the UN, he said.
Injustice exists when rich countries refuse to recognise the shifts in world economic power and only recognise the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, he added.
“The fate of the global economy cannot be left to these three organisations, we need to build a new world order that is open to new countries. A new and fair global system is needed.”
Widodo also stressed that as the Bandung spirit demanded independence for countries, we are still indebted to the people of Palestine. “We have to struggle with them to give birth to an independent state of Palestine.”
The plight and struggle of Palestinians became a major issue at the Summit. It was obvious that the continuing occupation of Palestine lands and their unfulfilled fight for an independent state was a big piece of “unfinished business” of the Asian African Bandung conference.
A special declaration in support of Palestine was adopted by the conference. Two other documents adopted were the Bandung Message and the new Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership, which details the actions that are to be taken to promote more cooperation in economic, health, food security, education and other areas.
President Xi Jinping of China pledged to provide places for 100,000 students and officials in Asia and Africa for education and training in his country over five years.
He put forward several principles, including to seek common ground and be open to one another’s views, expand South-South cooperation, and the closing of the North-South gap. He also mentioned the new Chinese initiatives of setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment bank as well as a new fund to finance the activities of the Economic Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road.
These initiatives by China were a reminder that with the growing wealth of China and some other emerging economies, there is now a real possibility for the developing countries to help one another in financing their own development.
A new trend in South-South gatherings is that criticism of the ways of the West in dominating the South is now combined with announcements of how the developing countries are organising various ways to rely more on one another, including creating new institutions.
In a speech representing the South Centre, I mentioned that we support the call by the Indonesian president to establish a new world order where the developing countries have an equal say and enjoy their fair share of the benefits.
In this new and more equitable world order, the developing countries will be able to contribute to the solutions to the multiple crises of global finance and economy, food security, unfulfilled social development, energy and climate change.
The developed countries will change their unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, and assist the developing countries through financial resources and technology transfer to embark on new sustainable development pathways.
South-South cooperation, based on solidarity and mutual benefits, will play an increasingly important role. There is much to be done politically and concretely in this area.
Bandung 1955 was a landmark event that launched many good developments for the newly independent countries.
Bandung 2015 could also prove to be a landmark event that catalyses further breakthroughs in South-South cooperation which, together with our better performance in multilateral relations, will implement the building of the new world order that our first generation of leaders were dreaming of.
As the Jakarta and Bandung events came to a close, Indonesian officials indicated that they will be undertaking follow-up actions after the Summit. It is important that concrete programmes are formulated, so that the good-intentioned declarations do not remain only on paper but spark new shoots of South-South cooperation.
Global Trends by Martin Khor
Martin Khor is executive director of the South Centre, a research centre of 51 developing countries, based in Geneva. You can e-mail him at director@southcentre.org. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
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