Another Way to Disappear

Wang Lijun before his "vacation-style treatment"

Something strange is happening in Chongqing.

Last week Wang Lijun, the police chief there who was known for spearheading the anti-gang crackdowns in Chongqing for party chief Bo Xilai, was suddenly reassigned another post.

Last Thursday Chongqing's information office said he was given the post of looking after economic affairs. But a few hours later the office amended its message to say the 53-year-old would be in charge of issues including education, the environment and industrial and commercial management.

When someone is reassigned to a junior post it is usually a euphemism for being investigated for corruption of that he fell out with his patron Bo.

However things got stranger earlier today.

There was an incident at the United States embassy in Chengdu, several hours drive from Chongqing, where there are rumours Wang tried to seek asylum.

There are reports the embassy was surrounded by a heavy police presence, and even roads to the building were blocked off.

Microbloggers circulated pictures of the scene where they claimed a car with official license plates had been seen inside the building but was later removed by police.

The Chongqing information office claimed Wang was being treated for stress. "According to information, because of long-term overwork, vice-mayor Wang Lijun is highly stressed and in poor health. He is now accepting vacation-style treatment."

This is a new euphemism -- "vacation-style treatment". What does this mean?

In any event the US embassy in Beijing refused to comment due to the run-up to Vice President Xi Jingping's upcoming visit to Washington next week.

Many believe this incident is a political blow to Bo, who has high hopes of rising up in the political ranks later this year and now this scandal has occurred.

But more importantly, will we ever see Wang again? Or will he forever have "vacation-style treatment".

Busting the Baby Boom

The escalating issue of mainland women flocking to Hong Kong to give birth regardless of any links to the city has led to officials finally saying something about it.

Guangdong governor Zhu Xiaodan said a solution would be found but would not provide any details.

He was in town to attend a function yesterday and also discussed the issue with Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.

"You can be rest assured. There will be ways to solve it," Zhu said. When asked to clarify, he said, "You can rest assured, You can rest assured."

That's very reassuring.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen said the Hong Kong government had proposed to Guangdong to cooperate to stamp out middlemen and agencies that arrange for pregnant mainlanders to come to Hong Kong.

Tam said Zhu was aware of the issue.

Last year 3,560 pregnant mainlanders were refused entry to Hong Kong out of nearly 90,000 women who were examined by immigration officials. About 43,000 mainland women gave birth in Hong Kong last year.

The main reason they flood the city is that children born in Hong Kong immediately get right of abode. And there are rumblings of changing the policy which would mean a reinterpretation of or an amendment to the Basic Law.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Mark Daly urged the Hong Kong government to conduct a study of the impact the growing number of pregnant mainlanders giving birth here might have before it decides what action to take.

"Like the domestic helper cases, there should be a proper study of how many this will affect... I am guessing they [the government] are exaggerating the effect of the mainland mother issue.

"It is very, very serious to be suggesting -- throwing out [for consideration] the idea of having -- a reinterpretation [of the Basic Law]. It is against the rule of law. It is against Hong Kong's legal system. That's one of our few advantages."

Some pan-democrats proposed amending the Basic Law, which Daly cautions means changing the constitution.

Many of the public say if one of the parents is a Hong Kong permanent resident, then the child should be allowed to be born in the city. Those without any kind of links should not be allowed in.

It's this growing resentment of mainlanders coming here to give birth as well as governmental restrictions on how many can cross the border that has led to some pregnant mainlanders to consider giving birth abroad in Canada and the United States. It's not a new phenomena -- there are already agencies that help these women get booked in hospitals and stay in cheap hotels or apartments until their due date.

By now Beijing should be taking notice. People are trying to leave China whichever way they can -- either through jobs or saving enough money to "invest" in a new country; students try to go abroad via secondary and tertiary education. And now parents are securing a better future for their child by literally bearing them elsewhere.

Doesn't the Chinese government realize its people want a better life elsewhere?

Empty Boasts

Chief Executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen's popularity has dropped according to a survey released on Friday. There's a difference of 19.5 percentage points from his rival Leung Chun-ying, an increase of 6.3 percentage points from two weeks ago.

The poll was conducted by the University of Hong Kong where Leung was at 46.9 percent, Tang at 27.4 percent and Albert Ho Chun-yan of the pan-democrats at 8 percent.

Perhaps Tang's fall in the survey has to do with his reluctance not to participate in a public debate with his two other rivals?

However he prefers to shift the blame on his former employer -- the Donald Tsang Yam-kuen administration.

As Tang served as Chief Secretary for nine years, he feels that the popularity drop is attributed to the government's performance.

"I can sympathize. I can understand," said Tang yesterday. "Because the public feels there are inadequacies with the government which can be improved."

However he still insists he has a transparent track record.

"I am the most transparent candidate," he added. "All the records on my previous service can be found. I have been under media scrutiny, too. I can be held accountable for all my previous policy-making decisions."

The media pressed him again about his reluctance in participating in a head-to-head public debate with his rivals despite his self-proclaimed transparency; he replied: "I have my own timetable in [debating and rolling out manifestos]."

The response screams "pathetic" and "procrastinator".

If his popularity plunges again next week what excuse will Tang have this time?

Meanwhile Leung has admitted he doesn't yet have the 150 nominations required to officially join the race.

"Some political groups have not made their decisions on their nominations," he said yesterday. "But I hope to win the race with a landslide victory."

He later said during an ATV interview, "I am very confident I would win if there was universal franchise."

While it's quite boastful of Leung to believe he would win if every adult citizen could vote, this is Hong Kong where only 1,200 people will decide who the next chief executive is.

So he better hurry up and secure enough nominations otherwise he won't even get a chance to officially run at all.

Sounds pretty straight forward to me unless I'm missing something?

Controlling Host

Ah how the mighty have fallen. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave her Chinese counterparts big face by bringing with her a 37-member delegation that included party leaders, senior government officials, and businessmen.

After attending an economic forum, she made a trip down south and was hoping to meet lawyer Mo Shaoping and visit Southern Weekend, a hard-hitting newspaper in Guangzhou.

However, Mo was told by police he could not attend a dinner with Merkel and have a private meeting with her.

"Unfortunately the lawyer was unable to attend. I regret that," Merkel told reporters in Guangzhou at the end of a three-day visit, according to a German government transcript.

The German chancellor said China's vitality and dynamic economic growth should have the confidence that even dissident voices are necessary for its society.

The "vitality and plurality of a civil society must be admitted, and it will finally contribute to strengthening the society and its capabilities," she said in the transcript.

Merkel confirmed she did speak to senior leaders about human rights in the country.

"We have spoken about the overall human rights situation," she said Saturday. "The issue of Tibet was also discussed, not very explicitly, but as one of many issues, which are also very worrying for us."

She also had to cancel a planned visit to the offices of Southern Weekend. The paper said "because of the tight schedule" it could not host Merkel and her delegation. The weak excuse means the newspaper was strongly pressured not to receive her.

One of the delegation members, opposition lawmaker Viola von Cramin-Taubadel of the left-leaning Greens, said her overall impression of the visit was disappointing.''

"The Chinese leadership could have spared itself from acting like that," she told the German news agency dpad. She said preventing Merkel from visiting the newspaper office was a sign of "hyper nervousness."

Mo said he was invited by German diplomats to talk to Merkel about the Chinese legal system and the challenges lawyers face. However, state security officers told him "orders from leaders above" would not allow him to see the German leader.

He is known for defending Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and a number of pro-democracy, labour and religious activists.

China still takes the position of welcoming other countries to do business with it, but under no circumstances can they meet with those related to dissent.

As Merkel says this insecurity is regretful that the authorities go to extremes to try to hide its ugly side, when it's already out in the open.

Just the fact that it's trying to hide something shows China's weakness. Despite its economic might (for now), China still cannot face up or resolve its own domestic issues that are a threat to its own legitimacy.