Xinhua report in Global Times, Aug 24, 2017 at 13:11:50
China’s top disciplinary watchdog has named a number of grassroots officials implicated in abuse of poverty relief funds.
The nine cases involve dereliction of duty, embezzlement of poverty relief funds and theft of allowances for house renovation, according to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
In one case, Long Zuoshi, former Party chief of Jile Village in Hunan Province, was stripped of his CPC membership for stealing 81,800 yuan (12,300 US dollars) of poverty relief funds and abusing his power to help another villager illegally obtain 100,000 yuan. Long’s case has been transferred to judicial organs.
Xiao Guangliang, head of the agricultural cooperative society of Fenghuang village in Guizhou Province embezzled 150,000 yuan for his personal use and hosted banquets using public funds, among other violations, from 2014 to 2016. Xiao was stripped of his CPC membership and his case has been transferred to judicial organs.
The CCDI ordered harsh punishments for officials implicated in misuse of poverty relief funds.
China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society, which requires the eradication of poverty. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1062930.shtml
China’s image at risk as cross-border crimes rise: By Su Tan in Global Times, Aug 24, 2017 at 23:03:40
Recently, two Chinese citizens were detained by inspectors of the Land of the Leopard National Park in the southwest region of Primorsky in Russia’s Far East, according to a news release from the reserve. They were suspected of poaching ginseng, which in Russia only grows in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk regions.It is regrettable that there is nothing new about Chinese nationals being accused of poaching and smuggling animals and plants in other countries, and their range seems to be widening. In January, Russian media also reported that the Russian border patrol caught four Chinese nationals at a checkpoint in Primorsky Krai and foiled their attempt to smuggle 4,600 sea cucumbers. And there have been reports that Chinese nationals engaged in illegal logging in Myanmar and smuggled endangered forest turtles in the Philippines. Naturally, these actions upset local residents.
Poaching and smuggling are illegal in China, just as in other nations, and have long been cracked down on. But when such crimes cross borders, they generate a broader impact than just environmental damage.
In the Belt and Road initiative that China is vigorously pushing forward, our neighbors, like the countries in Southeast Asia, are a priority. Yet China’s rise has aroused doubts in these nations about what such a major power wants and they are sensitive in this regard. Many residents become hostile to Chinese investment and businesses in their countries and their impressions of China are easily affected by specific things.
China’s decision to impose a one-year ban on the ivory trade in 2015 was widely lauded by many international organizations. This indicates how much weight environmental protection currently carries across the globe, and what backlash there would be if damage is done to a country’s environment. The poaching and smuggling carried out by Chinese nationals in these countries often cause damage to the local environment, angering local people and staining China’s image.
Yet this is a field in which China and its neighboring countries can cooperate. After all, China alone is unable to eliminate such cross-border crimes.
All the countries involved need to work together to conduct overall management of these rare animals and plants, and stop such illegal moves by enhancing education of the crimes and law enforcement. They can also set up a protection mechanism for rare species and include it in bilateral or multilateral cooperation. In this way China sends a positive signal to people in neighboring countries about its determination and hence builds a better image to ensure that the Belt and Road initiative can be promoted smoothly. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1063062.shtml
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