17- 23 May 2021 Weekly Journal of Press EU parliament ‘freezes’ China trade deal over sanctions Vincent Ni China affairs correspondent, Thu 20 May 2021 Tit-for-tat sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs puts halt on investment agreement 1 Weekly Journal of Press 17 - 23 May 2021 The European parliament has voted overw- the Chinese economy remain unclear. helmingly to “freeze” any consideration of The deal was controversial from the begin- a massive investment deal with China, fol- ning in Europe. Even before the negotiations lowing recent tit-for-tat sanctions over Bei- were concluded, China sceptics as well as hu- jing’s treatment of its Uyghur population in man rights advocates had long urged Brus- East Turkistan. sels to prioritise the issue of human rights in its dealing with Beijing. According to the resolution, the parliament, Then, in a dramatic turn of events in Mar- which must ratify the deal, “demands that ch, the European Union imposed sanctions China lift the sanctions before parliament can on four Chinese officials involved in Beijing’s deal with the Comprehensive Agreement on policy on East Turkistan. In response, China Investment (CAI)”. Some MEPs warned that swiftly imposed counter-sanctions that targe- the lifting of the sanctions would not in itself ted several high-profile members of the Euro- ensure the deal’s ratification. pean parliament, three members of national The vote on the motion was passed by a lan- parliaments, two EU committees, and a num- dslide, with 599 votes for, 30 votes against ber of China-focused European researchers. and with 58 abstentions. On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spo- Thursday’s outcome is yet another sign of the kesperson Zhao Lijian urged the EU to “make deterioration of the China-EU relations, and in-depth reflections and immediately stop in- is not surprising to observers of the diploma- terfering in China’s internal affairs”. tic ties. He added: “The CAI is a balanced and win- “The European parliament has always been win deal that benefits both sides, rather than a more critical voice on China in the past. It a ‘gift’ or favour bestowed by one side to the is now able to wield more power to vote aga- other. An early ratification of the agreement inst any trade and investment agreements on is in the interests of both China and the EU.” the grounds of political conditionality,” said Thursday’s move comes after European Com- Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China at mission’s executive vice-president Valdis London-based thinktank Chatham House. Dombrovskis, earlier this month, said that The massive trade deal was a result of se- political outreach to promote the controver- ven years of marathon negotiations. The fi- sial trade agreement had been ‘suspended’ nal talks were wrapped up late last year by after recent sanctions. the Chinese president Xi Jinping, along with European leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Emmanuel Macron as well as the European Commission president, Ursu- la von der Leyen. If ratified, it could lead to Beijing loosening some of its notoriously stringent rules on fo- reign companies such as the need to operate through joint ventures with local partners. Analysts said that economic planners in Be- ijing had hoped to use this agreement as an opportunity to push for domestic reform, even though the implications of the CAI for 2 17- 23 May 2021 Weekly Journal of Press The conclusion of the initial CAI negotiations But Yu Jie of London’s Chatham House said last December was said to be helped by Ger- that it will now become “increasingly diffi- man chancellor Angela Merkel. The Chinese cult” to push the deal through after Merkel’s market is especially important to German departure in September. In the meantime, carmakers and manufacturers who have a the mood in Brussels is changing, too, with large presence in the country. the talk of “strategic autonomy” becoming a German economy minister Peter Altmaier main part of Brussels’s foreign policy discour- maintained his defence of the investment se. deal. He said that China is the EU’s largest “Any chance of salvaging the CAI will now trading partner and plays an important role take a major political willingness on both si- in the global economy. “We want to reach des, but neither seems to be willing to speak results with China that are in the interest of soft at this stage.” both sides,” he added. Lithuanian parliament latest to term China’s treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’ ANI, May 21, 2021 Lithuania’s parliament on Thursday became the latest to describe China’s treat- ment of its Uyghur minority as “genocide”, voting to call for a U.N. investigation of internment camps and to ask the European Commissi- on to review relations with Beijing. A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skil- ls education centre in Dabancheng in East Turkistan, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/ Thomas Peter 3 Weekly Journal of Press 17 - 23 May 2021 The Biden administration in the United Sta- China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Liji- tes has used the term genocide to describe an told a briefing on Friday that Beijing firm- China’s actions towards the Uyghurs, as have ly opposed the move and urged Lithuania to countries including Britain and Canada. Bei- correct its mistakes to avoid harming relati- jing denies abusing minorities and has con- ons. demned countries for using the term. Lithuania, which suffered repression under The non-binding resolution, supported by th- Soviet rule from 1940-1991, is now a mem- ree-fifths of Lithuanian parliament members, ber of the EU and NATO, and has often ta- also called on China to abolish a national se- ken a prominent role in pushing for tougher curity law in Hong Kong, and to let observers Western diplomatic lines towards Russia and into Tibet and begin talks with its spiritual le- Communist countries such as China. ader, the Dalai Lama. Rights groups, researchers, former residents Neither Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte nor and some Western lawmakers say authorities Foreign Minsiter Gabrielius Landsbergis par- in East Turkistan province have arbitrarily de- ticipated in the vote, despite being present in tained around a million Uyghurs and mem- the parliament. bers of other primarily Muslim minorities in “We support democracy, as we will never for- camps since 2016. get the cruel lesson of living under occupati- Beijing initially denied the camps existed but on by a Communist regime for 50 years”, said has since said they are training centres desig- Dovile Sakaliene, a lawmaker blacklisted by ned to combat religious extremism. China and who sponsored the resolution. Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guang- dong are preparing to trans- Man Jailed Over fer website administrator Niu Tengyu to a different jail at the start of his 14-year jail Photo of Chinese term for allegedly posting a photo of the daughter of Leader’s Daughter ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping online. ‘Soon to be Niu, 22, was jailed in the southern province of Guang- Transferred’ dong after someone posted a photo of Xi Mingze to meme site Zhina Wiki, an act that RFA, 2021-05-20 was later blamed by police on Niu’s Vulgar Wiki. 4 17- 23 May 2021 Weekly Journal of Press Niu Tengyu will soon be moved to Yangjiang Prison after a Guangdong court rejected his appeal. Niu Tengyu, jailed for 14 years for discussing personal details of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s family online, is shown in an undated photo. Niu will soon be transferred from the Mao- normal,” the employee said. ming No. 1 Detention Center to Yangjiang Prison to serve his sentence, his mother, who Complaint over torture gave only a nickname Coco, told RFA. Niu’s rights attorneys, Bao Longjun and Wang “I heard recently that they will be transferring Yu, have filed an official complaint over -tor Tengyu to prison, and I am very heavy-hear- ture Niu suffered while in police detention in ted,” she said. “I worry about his health and October 2019, resulting in injury to his right his recovery following his torture.” hand. “If that finger isn’t treated in time, he will be Bao told RFA’s Cantonese Service on March 5 left with a lifelong disability,” she said. “Given that Niu had also been stripped, suspended the current state of my own health, I don’t from the ceiling, and his genitals burned with know if I will ever see my son again.” a lighter. An employee who answered the phone at the After months in detention, Niu Tengyu was Maoming No. 1 Detention Center where Niu handed a 14-year jail term on Dec. 30, 2020 by Tengyu is currently being detained said it was the Maonan District People’s Court in Guang- normal for detainees to be sent to regular dong’s Maoming city, which found him guilty prisons after they had had a second instance of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” appeal rejected. “violating others’ privacy” and “running an “The decision of the second instance court illegal business.” has been finalized, so transfer at this point is 5 Weekly Journal of Press 17 - 23 May 2021 Reports at the time indicated that 23 young “It should have been impossible to find Niu people detained around the same time in guilty based on the available evidence,” Bao connection with the Vulgar Wiki case had told RFA. “This is a fundamentally political also been tortured and mistreated in deten- case.” tion.