Category: China

Report Claims that Chinese Customs Taking Bribes to Avoid North Korean Sanctions

| April 10, 2016

Who knows if this is true or not, but I would not be surprised at all if China is claiming one thing to the international media about enforcing sanctions and then in reality continuing to let banned items into North Korea to sustain the Kim regime’s military:

china north korea image

Although inspections at border customs offices have officially intensified as China takes measures to abide by international sanctions targeting North Korea (UNSCR 2270), it is being been reported that Chinese companies and their North Korean counterparts have been disguising military supplies as everyday merchandise in order to smuggle them through customs checkpoints.

“There is a lot of talk about how the new sanctions are harsher than those adopted in years past, but illegal smuggling through border customs is continuing relatively unimpeded,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on April 1.

This is because the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces operates a number of entities acting under the pretense of ordinary trading companies, trading entities and mobilization offices that are tasked with bringing banned items into North Korea.

“In particular, the Kumunsan Trade Company and a munitions branch called ‘Sung Kang Office,’ are using bribery and illicit methods to smuggle supplies despite the sanctions. These items include tires, stainless steel, machine components, acetone, industrial lubricant, and raw materials needed for gunpowder production. The items are labeled as normal goods in order to get them past the customs guards,” the source added.        [The Daily NK]

You can read more at the link.

China Blames the West of Launching Disinformation Campaign with Leak of Panama Papers

| April 6, 2016

The Panama Papers have shown links to secret offshore companies from major Chinese politicians to include President Xi.  This is definitely a huge blow to to Xi who has been pushing anti-corruption reforms within China when his own family is hiding money.  In response to this the Chinese government is claiming this is all lies and have launched a massive campaign to scrub all information on the Panama Papers from the Chinese Internet:

A huge leak of tax documents that revealed the secret offshore accounts of relatives of former and current Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, could be a part of a “disinformation” campaign by Western forces, a newspaper published by China’s Communist Party said Tuesday.

The revelation came after a year-long investigation by more than 100 media groups worldwide into 11.5 million documents, leaked from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, found offshore financial transactions by influential figures such as aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dubbed the “Panama Papers,” the leaked documents were obtained by a German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media organizations worldwide by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

In an editorial titled “Powerful force is behind Panama Papers,” the state-run Global Times newspaper said, “The documents revealed do have basic political targets.”

“In the Internet era, disinformation poses no major risks to Western influential elites or the West,” it said. “In the long run, it will become a new means for the ideology-allied Western nations to strike a blow to non-Western political elites and key organizations.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.  The release of the Panama Papers does make me wonder if western intelligence agencies did have anything to do with  the release of the documents?  This would be a great shot across the bow to China and Russia to do more to stop North Korea’s provocations and nuclear ambitions or face the release of more embarrassing documents.

Tweet of the Day: China International Hub of Money Laundering

| March 30, 2016

Argentine Coast Guard Sinks Chinese Fishing Boat

| March 16, 2016

This is what the ROK and everyone else should do to these thug Chinese fishermen who violate territorial waters and then endanger the lives of Coast Guaed personnel responding to their illegal actions:

Buenos Aires (CNN)Argentina’s coast guard says it sank a Chinese fishing vessel that was fishing in a restricted area off the South American country’s coast.

The Argentine Naval Prefecture chased and eventually sank the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010 vessel after detecting it illegally fishing within the country’s exclusive economic zone, officials said Tuesday.

First, according to a statement from the Argentine coast guard, warning shots were fired. The Chinese vessel, Argentine authorities said, responded by turning off its lights and deliberately trying to crash.

“On distinct occasions, the offending boat realized maneuvers aimed at colliding with the coast guard, putting not only its own crew at risk, but also the personnel of the coast guard,” the statement said.  [CNN]

You can read more at the link. 

Picture of the Day: Giant Chinese Cruise Ship Visits Incheon

| March 11, 2016

Cruise ship comes to Incheon with Chinese tourists

Quantum of the Seas, the largest cruise ship plying Northeast Asia, docks at Songdo Port in Incheon, west of Seoul, on March 4, 2016, carrying some 4,800 Chinese tourists. The 167,000-ton ship can carry up to 4,900 passengers and 1,500 crew members. South Korea is expecting more than 1.5 million people to visit Korea on cruise ships this year. (Yonhap) 

Has China Finally Gotten Serious With Sanctions on North Korea?

| March 9, 2016

At least on the surface for international consumption it appears that China has finally gotten serious with implementing sanctions on the Kim regime, but I have to wonder how stringently they will stop all the black market and shady ways they can move money and goods into North Korea?:

north korea nuke

Even before the Security Council passed Resolution 2270, the UN’s harshest sanctions on North Korea, Chinese officials acted. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China’s largest bank, reportedly froze the accounts of North Korean customers in Dandong, the Chinese city across the Yalu River from the North. It appears Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, and Bank of Dandong also dropped North Koreans.

After 2270, China put 31 of Pyongyang’s vessels on a “blacklist” and prevented one of them from docking. Two others are now sailing away from Chinese ports.

Because at least 75 percent of the North’s trade is with China, Beijing could bring down its ally if it continues to enforce the Security Council’s new measures.

The Kim regime, therefore, could be confronted with “an existential crisis,” Scarlatoiu says. Wu Dawei, China’s always discreet point man on North Korea, seems to agree. In comments made a few days ago to Pulse News, a South Korean site, he said the North “signed its own death warrant.”The Kimster, therefore, has much to think about. One thing we know: He’s not going to sit back and accept his demise. So what will he do?  [Daily Beast]

The whole article is worth reading at the link.

Chinese Premier Threatens Taiwan If Island Seeks Formal Independence

| March 8, 2016

A couple of questions to think about is would the Chinese go to war to stop Taiwan from moving towards formal independence and if so should the US go all in to defeat a Chinese attack?:

china image

China’s President Xi Jinping has pledged to contain any moves by Taiwan toward formal independence in his first public remarks on the issue since the self-governing island democracy elected a president and legislature from the independence-leaning party in January.

Speaking to delegates to the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament, Xi said China won’t budge in its insistence that Taiwan recognize it is part of China, regardless of political changes on the island of 23 million.

“We will resolutely contain Taiwan independence secessionist activities in any form,” Xi was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency at their meeting Saturday. “We will safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and never allow the historical tragedy of national secession to happen again.”

The landslide election of Tsai Ing-wen as president, along with a legislative majority for her Democratic Progressive Party, has thrown a question mark over the future of relations between the sides.

Tsai, who won’t be inaugurated until May, takes over from China-friendly Nationalist Party President Ma Ying-jeou, who oversaw the signing of a series of agreements during his eight years in power establishing closer economic ties between the sides.  [Washington Post]

You can read more at the link.

China Calls for Restraint After North Korea Threatens to Nuke Seoul

| March 4, 2016

I wonder what China would be saying if another country threatened to nuke Beijing?

BEIJING, March 4 (Yonhap) — China called for calm and restraint on Friday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his military to be ready to use its atomic weapons at any time.
The order by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked a further escalation of tensions, a day after the North fired short-range projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of defiance following the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of new sanctions against Pyongyang over its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch.

“We hope that relevant countries can exercise restraint, speak and act prudently,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. [Yonhap]

Tweet of the Day: Dandong Banks Stop Transfer of Yuan to NK

| March 3, 2016

Tweet of the Day: China’s Ambassador Says THAAD Could Destroy Relations

| February 28, 2016