China
China sentences mother of Uyghur Dutch airman to 15 years for visiting him abroad
Chinese authorities have sentenced the mother and sister-in-law of an ethnic Uyghur member of the Dutch air force to 15 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism and revealing state secrets, Radio Free Asia has learned.
The cases are another example of Beijing severely punishing members of the ethnic minority for visiting or contacting relatives abroad.
Capt. Munirdin Jadikar, now a Dutch citizen, has been living in the Netherlands since 2006. His mother came to visit him in 2014 to attend his wedding, he told RFA’s Uyghur Service.
In 2016, the same year he joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force, he lost contact with his mother, Imanem Nesrulla, and his sister-in-law, Ayhan Memet, he said.
In 2018, while he was stationed in the United States, his sister-in-law was able to initiate contact with him for the first time in two years, using the WeChat messaging platform. She told him that Chinese authorities arrested his mother and sent her to a concentration camp, Munirdin said.
Then in 2019, he heard that his sister-in-law was arrested for telling him about his mother’s arrest.
Munirdin made several appeals to the Dutch government to find out more information about both cases, but it wasn’t until he returned to the Netherlands in 2020 that his inquiries made any headway.
The Dutch foreign ministry contacted the Chinese Embassy, and in July 2021 he received news that his mother and sister-in-law had both been sentenced to 15 years in prison, he said.
“[Ayhan] had told me of my mother’s situation, hoping I would get my mother released since I was living in Europe and working in the military,” Munirdin said. “Just for this information, the authorities sentenced her to 15 years in jail.”
‘Enemy force’
According to the written response he received from the ministry, Imanem was charged with “supporting terrorist activities and inciting ethnicity [sic] hatred and discrimination,” and Ayhan for “illegally providing national intelligence to foreign forces.”
In China’s view, Munirdin said, he is considered to be part of an “enemy force.”
Munirdin said he was very disappointed that the Dutch foreign ministry could do nothing to help him after they were able to reveal his family members’ fates. “It seems this will hurt their big interests,” he said. “I wrote to my prime minister twice but did not receive any response.”
Munirdin said that both his mother and sister-in-law lived and worked in Qumul (in Chinese Hami), about 370 miles east of Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
In an effort to find more details about both cases, RFA contacted Imanem’s last known place of employment, a veterinary hospital in the town of Gherbitagh inside Qumul. Staff there confirmed she had been arrested but denied knowledge of the sentence or where she was imprisoned.
RFA also contacted the police station in Gherbitagh, and a police officer said he did not know the exact details of Imanem’s case. “I heard from my colleagues that she was arrested because she had traveled abroad,” he said. “I don’t even know which country she visited.”
Another officer confirmed that Ayhan was sentenced to a lengthy prison term along with her mother-in-law, but denied exact knowledge because the city-level police bureau had handled the case.
“I was not involved with this. I heard the reason for her arrest was that she had written to someone abroad,” the second officer said.
Due to his professional responsibilities, Munirdin has refrained from any involvement with political activities, but he expressed to RFA that he can remain silent no more, and he is now doing as much as he can for his mother and sister-in-law.
“[Previously] I was not willing to speak to the media as a complainer and a victim because of my position,” he said. But now, “I have to do this for my mother and sister-in-law, who are in prison because of me.”
Translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
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China
China Unveils Measures to Enhance Hotel Accommodation for Foreign Workers
China’s new measures aim to simplify hotel accommodations for overseas travelers by removing qualification barriers and improving service standards, payment convenience, and registration processes. This addresses challenges faced by foreign guests and supports China’s goals of high-level openness and inbound tourism growth, following complaints from foreign travelers.
China introduced new measures aiming to simplify hotel accommodations for overseas travelers by removing qualification barriers and enhancing service standards, payment convenience, and registration processes. These changes address previous challenges faced by foreign guests and support China’s broader goals of high-level openness and inbound tourism growth.
On July 25, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and six other departments jointly issued the Notice on Several Measures to Facilitate Accommodation for Overseas Personnel in High-Level Service and Opening Up (The Notice), to address the difficulties faced by inbound overseas travelers regarding hotel accommodation.
This follows up on several foreign travelers from Nigeria and the United Kingdom who left messages on the Chinese government website, reflecting that they were refused when attempting to check in at hotels in China.
To solve the issues flagged by overseas travelers, the Notice proposed accommodation facilitation measures in the following eight aspects: operating in compliance with the law, enhancing reception capacity, strengthening industry self-discipline, leveraging platform roles, optimizing registration management, ensuring smooth service channels, improving payment convenience, and fostering a friendly atmosphere.
We summarize the details of the proposed measures below:
Foreign travelers often encounter difficulties when attempting to check into hotels in China. Reasons for hotel refusals include not having the necessary qualifications for foreign guests or not knowing how to input information into the system.
In China, there used to be a rule that only foreign-related hotels, or “涉外酒店” (shè wài jiǔdiàn) can accommodate foreigners. Such hotels refers to accommodation facilities such as hotels, guesthouses, apartments, and resorts that have been approved by various levels of business administration and public security departments to accommodate foreigners, overseas Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau compatriots, and Taiwanese.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
China Provides Tax Incentives on Special Equipment for Green and Digital Development
China has introduced a new tax incentive for companies investing in digital and smart upgrades of special equipment to encourage environmental protection and safe production. Companies can enjoy a 10 percent deduction from their corporate income tax payable. Eligibility and requirements are outlined by the Ministry of Finance and State Tax Administration.
A new China tax incentive aims to encourage companies to invest in digital and smart upgrades of special equipment. Companies upgrading certain equipment that aids environmental protection and safe production can enjoy a deduction of the investment at a rate of 10 percent from their corporate income tax payable. We explain the requirements of the new tax incentive.
China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) and State Tax Administration (STA) have issued a new preferential corporate income tax (CIT) incentive for companies investing in digital and intelligent transformations of certain types of equipment. To be eligible for the incentive, companies must invest in the digital and intelligent transformation of equipment related to energy and water conservation, environmental protection, and safe production.
The new tax incentive aligns with a State Council Action Plan, released in March 2024, which aims to accelerate the renewal of large-scale equipment and consumer goods, promoting high-quality development and driving investment and consumption for long-term benefits.
If the annual CIT payable is insufficient for the offset, it can be carried forward to future years for up to five years.
The CIT payable refers to the balance after multiplying the annual taxable income by the applicable tax rate and deducting the tax reductions and exemptions according to China’s CIT Law and relevant preferential policies.
Note that companies enjoying the tax incentives must use the transformed equipment themselves. If the equipment is transferred or leased within five tax years after the transformation is completed, the incentives must stop from the month the equipment is no longer in use, and the previously offset CIT must be repaid.
The “special equipment” eligible for the preferential tax treatment covers equipment purchased and used by companies listed in the Catalog of Special Equipment for Safe Production for Corporate Income Tax Incentives (2018 Edition) and the Catalog of Special Equipment for Energy Saving, Water Conservation, and Environmental Protection for Corporate Income Tax Incentives (2017 Edition).
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Revealing the Encouraged Industries of Hainan in 2024: Unlocking Opportunities
The 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue, issued by the NDRC, MOF, and STA, aims to boost industries in the Hainan Free Trade Port. It prioritizes sectors like tourism, modern services, and high technologies, offering incentives for foreign investment and market access expansion since 2020. The Catalogue includes 176 entries across 14 categories, with 33 new additions focusing on cultural tourism, new energy, medicine and health, aviation, aerospace, and environmental protection.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the State Taxation Administration (STA), has issued the Catalogue of Industries Encouraged to Develop in Hainan Free Trade Port (2024 Version), hereinafter referred to as the “2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue.” The updated Catalogue took effect on March 1, 2024, replacing the previous 2020 Edition.
Beyond the industries already addressed in existing national catalogues, the new entries in the 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue are based on practical implementation experiences and the specific needs within Hainan, prioritizing sectors such as tourism, modern services, and high technologies.
The Hainan FTP has been providing incentives to draw investors to invest and establish businesses in the region, especially foreign investment. Alongside a phased approach to opening the capital account and facilitating free capital movement, Hainan has significantly expanded market access for foreign enterprises since 2020, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, and education.
The Hainan Encouraged Catalogue comprises two main sections:
Similar to the approach adopted by the western regions, foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) should always implement their production or operations in accordance with the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment.
On top of the industries already addressed in existing national catalogues, the 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue encompasses 14 distinct categories and a total of 176 entries especially encouraged in the region, including 33 new additions compared to the 2020 Edition. These new entries predominantly span cultural tourism, new energy, medicine and health, aviation and aerospace, and ecological and environmental protection, among others.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
- China Unveils Measures to Enhance Hotel Accommodation for Foreign Workers
- China Provides Tax Incentives on Special Equipment for Green and Digital Development
- Revealing the Encouraged Industries of Hainan in 2024: Unlocking Opportunities
- Key Guidelines for Companies in Compliance Audits for Personal Information Protection Standards
- A Comprehensive Guide to China’s Expanded 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy at 37 Ports
- Regulatory Changes in China Aim to Boost Service Sector Growth in Six Cities
