55 Convicted in Mass Trial in China's Northwest

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Olivia Elswick, Asia CorrespondentLast Modified: 12:36 p.m. DST, 1 June 2014

"Harmony in Urumqi #2" Photo by: David Vilder

XINJIANG UYGHUR  - In China’s Xinjiang stadium packed with 7,000 observers, 55 people were convicted of terrorism, murder, and separatism. At least one convict was given a death sentence. One man was jailed for 15 years after preaching holy war to his son and another man. Another was given five years in prison for ethnically discriminatory comments he made in chat groups. Three defendants were convicted of using “extremely cruel methods” to kill four people, including a 3-year-old girl on April 20, 2013.

China used mass trials in the Cultural Revolution and again in the 1980s and 90s to combat the rise in crime due to social upheavals related to China’s economic overhaul, but the practice has since faded from use. The AP says, “Such sentencing rallies — designed to humiliate the accused and feed a public thirst for retribution — were formerly common across China, but have in recent years been mostly restricted to Xinjiang and the neighboring restive region of Tibet.”

These convicts are reported to be Uighurs, members of the region’s biggest Muslim minority group. They are Turkic Central Asian people related to Khazaks and Uzbeks. With different accents and slightly European features, they are recognized as distinctly different from China’s Jan majority. Uighurs face discrimination, restrictions on culture and religion, and economic disenfranchisement, and they are increasingly fighting for independence for their northwestern homeland of Xinjiang, an area that borders Afghanistan. The Chinese government claims the unrest amongst the Uighurs is due to extremist groups with ties to Islamic terrorist groups abroad, though experts dispute this.

In the mainly Muslim area of Xinjiang, last week 43 people were killed and 90 wounded, in a vegetable market in Urumqi after two SUVs rammed through shoppers and set off explosives. The Xinjiang regional government said the early morning attack was “a serious violent terrorist incident of a particularly vile nature”. This is the second attack in Urumqi in 3 weeks, after a bomb killed one and wounded 79 in a train station in April.

On Tuesday police in southwestern Xinjiang arrested five people in relation to a bomb plot. The government has detained more than 200 people this month and 23 extremist groups have been broken up. Additionally, the Yili branch of the Xinjiang High Court, announced that 65 people were arrested and detained for offenses including separatism and covering up crimes and rape. In March 2014, 29 people were stabbed to death at a train station in Yunnana. All of these attacks are blamed on Uighur extremists.

Uighur’s have been increasingly facing harassment by the police after a suicide SUV attack at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Five have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this “carefully planned terrorism,” police revealed. Knives, iron rods, and a flag with religious slogans were found in the vehicle used in this attack. Dozens were injured, and three of the car’s occupants and two bystanders were killed. If proved to be carried out by Uighurs, this is the first attack outside the Xinjiang region in recent history.

China has declared a year-long campaign against terrorism.

Follow Olivia on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Asia Correspondent: @OCELswick

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Liu Han, Forbes' Listed Sichuan Billionaire Arrested as Triad Boss

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BEIJING, China - The average American is most familiar with China as a manufacturer of low costs products which make our lives easier and more affordable in these economically challenging times.

From tooth paste, to pet food, from home furnishing, to kitchen appliances, the percentage of Chinese made products sold by U.S. retailers is astoundingly high. There are many reasons for this inequity, but the focus of this article lies elsewhere.

If one were to poll these same consumers about the number of Chinese people ranked on the Forbes’ lists of richest people, most would probably guess none. That is because China is most often depicted as a country which routinely engages in unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, human rights violations, totalitarianism, and the most egregious of all its failings - it is a Communist nation which enslaves and oppresses an estimated population of 1.4 billion.

All of these accusations are true to greater or lesser degrees depending upon who is directly impacted, but what isn’t so well known is the fact that some of the wealthiest individuals in the world now herald from Asia countries. In fact, as of September 2013, Business Insider reported that "dollar billionaires in China has passed 300 for the first time in an annual ranking of wealth in the world's second-largest economy."

One such person is Sichuan mining tycoon Liu Han, 48. A resident of Hong Kong, he is ranked 148th in Forbes' 2012 list of China's richest men, with an estimated fortune of US$855 million.

Mr. Liu first came to the attention of the media when a school building that he funded emerged unscathed during the devastating 2008 earthquake. The quake which measured 8.0 magnitudes and killed 9,300 people could not topple the Liuhan Hope Primary School despite its proximity to the epicenter of the quake which was eight kilometers away in Beichuan.

Because none of the students were hurt, the school which had been constructed a decade earlier became known as “the safest primary school” in China. Shortly after the Sichuan quake, the billionaire donated more than 50 million yuan to charity groups for disaster relief. The move propelled him to greater prominence and, in 2009, he was ranked 16th in the Shanghai-based Hurun Report's China Philanthropy List. (Source: South China Morning Post)

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Published: 22 February 2014 (Page 2 of 2)

From that point forward it seemed as if Liu’s efforts to recede back into obscurity were on track. He quietly continued to amass wealth and was in the process of finalizing US$1.4 bn deal to acquire an Australian mining company when in a Shakespearean twist of fate, his younger brother, Liu Wei, 44, was indicted for a murder that allegedly occurred in 2009.

As is usually the case, when one shines a light into darkness many things can be revealed, and in this case because Liu harbored his brother who was a fugitive, he found himself the subject of investigation. During the course of background investigation of the philanthropist, authorities determined that his wealth may have been derived through more nefarious enterprises.

On Thursday night 20 February 2014, the China state media, Xinhua, alleged that not only was Wei a murderer, but Liu, who has since been placed under house arrest by Beijing police for harboring his fugitive brother; was in fact a puppet master implicated in numerous mafia-style gang attacks that resulted in at least nine deaths.

As the investigation progressed, according to South China Morning Post, Hubei police searched and seized from Liu’s residence three hand grenades, more than 20 guns and over 600 bullets. They subsequently announced the initial findings of their investigations and declared that the great philanthropist was in fact a high-ranking member of the Triads.

Most are familiar with the Triads as a Chinese equivalent of the Mafia. It is a transnational organized crime organizations based in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and also in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Siam (now Thailand), Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. (Source: Wikipedia)

As with other organized crime entities, the Triads are also involved in Contract killing, Prostitution, Counterfeiting, Health care fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking, extortion, and murder. Xinhua announced that Liu, was in fact the boss of a criminal enterprise that consisted of 35 individuals who were responsible for managing the day-to-day criminal affairs of his organization.

Like many wealthy American criminals, Liu is comfortably ensconced in his residence under house arrest as the investigation progresses. However, if he is convicted of the 15 charges of murder, bribery, weapons charges, money laundering, gambling, and other unspecified crimes he could face death.

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Ascendancy of the Yuan, Signals Dollars Decline

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:15 PM EDT, 1 June 2012

US Dollar Burning, Photo by Images of MoneyWASHINGTON, DC - For decades the American public was warned of the impending crash of the U.S. dollar. Economist sounded the alarm far in advance of the 2007–2012 global financial crises, which was the result of a confluence of complex financial events. However, to simplify the catastrophic cascade of financial market collapses, the root causes were high-levels of global debt, risky and speculative investment practices, and unchecked avarice.

High-net worth individuals will be able to weather the storm of the impending diminution of the dollar’s value, but people of moderate to impecunious means will suffer levels of hardship not witnessed since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In 2004, then Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan prognosticated, “Foreigners will eventually sour on U.S. bonds and the dollar because of America's bulging trade and budget deficits, posing significant risks to the nation's economy.

Greenspan told a banking conference in Frankfurt, Germany, that international investors were likely to either unload their dollar-denominated investments or demand higher interest rates. Either scenario would present problems for an economy that is heavily dependent on foreign capital to fuel its free-spending ways.” (Source: LA Times)

Eight years later, billionaire market movers such as Warren Buffet are more insistent and vociferous in warning Americans of the real possibility of the removal of the dollar as the global reserve currency. Unfortunately, most Americans have little bandwidth to digest or calculate the exact impact a change of this magnitude will have on their lives. The average American in recent years has been focused on how to pay for gas, put food on their table, and cover the cost of every day needs with less money.

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Published: 1 June 2012 (Page 2 of 3)

During this U.S. election season, politicians bandy about well-worn slogans that make it seem as if the decline of the U.S. dollar is a partisan issue. However, the $15.7 trillion deficit that plagues America is not a partisan issue, though the Republicans, Democrats, and Independent candidates who campaign on this platform would have you believe otherwise. In sonorous speeches to preselected audiences, these politicians deliver performances worthy of the man behind the mirror in the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ but this is no laughing matter.

What is truly behind the curtain is the reality that America’s debt is almost wholly owned by foreign nations with China owning the lion share. How China effectively waged and is winning this quiet war is best described by the Chinese proverb, “When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, and then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armor a weakness that can be attacked instead.”

In 1956, Chairman Mao Zedong stated, “If the U.S. monopoly capitalist groups persist in pushing their policies of aggression and war, the day is bound to come when they will be hanged by the people of the whole world,” a statement that makes the overthrow of the dollar anything but accidental.

In 2005, Herbert Franz Schurmann, noted historian, emeritus professor of history and sociology at U.C. Berkeley, wrote an in-depth, historical article for New America Media in which he outlines the ascendancy of the yuan as the new reserve currency.

"Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a military conflict by borrowing money from somewhere else," Former President Bill Clinton said. He pointed out that the Chinese keep loaning us money "for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina."

As a result, the Chinese yuan is silently beginning to look like a universal currency. It plentifully delivers everyday economic values without devaluation. It has enough money to finance capital anywhere and anytime. And it is a "safest currency" or a "safe haven."

Not so long ago, Hong Kong banks did not handle yuan. Now they handle not only mainland China yuan but most of the Indian Ocean countries' currencies. Even Kuwait, which houses a major American base also deals in yuan. Russia and former Soviet republics have for some time welcomed the yuan.

China and Japan have started direct currency trading as Beijing marked another stage on its journey to foster the Yuan's use internationally. "Yuan-yen direct trading is just a small step toward making the yuan a reserve currency.” (New American Media)

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Published: 1 June 2012 (Page 3 of 3)

The Federal Reserve estimates that the majority of the U.S. cash in circulation today is outside the United States, (Source: New York Fed) and since the 2008 global financial crisis, China, the largest holder of U.S. debt has divested $238bn of those holdings in currency swap agreements with dozens of countries. As of 2010, Japan held $800bn which makes the news of the two countries bilateral agreement to engage in direct yuan yen trading, an ominous portent of further economic upheaval for American citizens.

What does this mean for the average American? Many witnessed the rapid depreciation of their stock market investments during the crash; I personally lost 50% of the value of my modest portfolio. Others lost the total value of their largest asset, their homes, as the housing market sunk into a morass of foreclosures.

Though it seems as if the worst is over, the growing chatter about the replacement of the U.S. dollar by the Chinese yuan as the global reserve currency signals even deeper, more prolonged economic difficulties for Americans and those individuals and countries heavily invested in the dollar.

However, for the Forbes 400 whose portfolios and holding are incredibly diversified, a switch from the dollar to the yuan may be slightly inconvenient, but may have relatively little impact on the total value of their assets.

For average Americans, the choices are more limited but not insurmountable. These include but are not limited to buying precious metal coins which are easily transportable and transferable, and the second is to start a business.

Alan Uke has written a practical guide to help readers bring this seemingly gargantuan problem into perspective and he outlines tangible, actionable steps toward preventing the national tragedy that is looming on the horizon.

Aptly titled, “Buying America Back: A Real-Deal Blueprint for Restoring American Prosperity,” it is educational and inspirational, because as Betty Williams said, “There's no use talking about the problem unless you talk about the solution.”

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Yu Jie, Chinese Dissident | U.S. Asylum?

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:43 PM EDT, 16 January 2012

Yu Jie

CHINA - Yu Jie, age 38,  is a writer and Chinese dissident who was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Yu has been a strong proponent of freedom of speech and an active participant in China's human rights movement. In 2006 as vice-president of the Independent Chinese PEN Center he and two other dissidents met with President George W. Bush at the White House.

On Friday, January 13, 2011, Yu petitioned for exile in the United States, vowing to give a graphic account of the year he was confined under house arrest, including episodes of torture endured by he and other Chinese dissidents during last year's crackdown.

Yu has openly expressed his own views about the increased suppression of free speech in China, and as one of China's most prominent Christian dissidents, he is vociferous in his condemnation of the Communist Party's antipathy toward religion and political criticism.

Unlike Liu Xiabo, who is currently jailed by the Chinese government, Yu is allowed to travel. Liu was convicted in 2009 on charges of inciting subversion and sentenced to 11 years in jail. His jailing and secretive house arrest of his wife Liu Xia, have become the focus of an international outcry over China's punishment of dissent.

Yu said authorities became heavy-handed after Liu Xiaobo, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Similar to Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi; Yu was confined under house arrest in an attempt to intimidate and silence him. As the Arab Spring spread across the Middle East the Chinese Communist Party directed police to detain hundreds of dissidents, activists and protest organizers to quash similar uprisings.

The announcement by Yu of his desire to seek asylum, precedes a possible visit to Washington by Chinese leader-in-waiting, Vice President Xi Jinping. China's Communist Party is preparing for a leadership handover late this year to Vice President Xi, and the party is determined to fend off challenges to its rule by tightly controlling its media image.

Yu's writings have been censored in mainland China, and 5 years ago after he drew nationwide attention because his dissidence, his works were banned completely. However, his writings continue to be published in Hong Kong and abroad.

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