中国２邦人拘束 「法治」による統制が目に余る

The Yomiuri Shimbun
By arresting Japanese citizens, Xi displays high-handed rule by ‘law’
中国２邦人拘束　「法治」による統制が目に余る

The recent arrests of two Japanese nationals apparently symbolize efforts by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government to defend its one-party dictatorship at all costs by bolstering its domestic control even further.
　中国の習近平政権が共産党の一党独裁を死守するため、国内統制を一層強めていることを象徴する動きと言えよう。

The Japanese government announced that Chinese authorities detained one Japanese in Liaoning Province and another in Zhejian Province in May this year. The two are male civilians who traveled to China from Japan.
　日本政府は、邦人２人が今年５月、中国遼寧省と浙江省で、それぞれ中国当局に拘束されたと発表した。２人は日本から渡航した民間人男性だ。

China’s Foreign Ministry said the two were arrested on suspicion of spying, and stressed they will be tried and punished under the law. However, the ministry has not disclosed any details of its suspicions.
　中国外務省は、拘束理由として「スパイ活動」を挙げ、「法に基づいて審理し、処罰を進める」と強調した。だが、容疑の詳細は公表していない。

China probably detained the two under its counterespionage law enforced in November. The law can be applied to the theft of national secrets, inciting public officials to sedition or bribing them, and activities deemed harmful to the safety of the country. It can also be applied to “any other spying activity.”
　中国は昨年１１月施行の「反スパイ法」を適用し、拘束したのではないか。この法律は国家機密の窃取や公務員の扇動・買収、国家安全への危害のほか、「その他のスパイ活動」も摘発対象だ。

At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “Our country has done no such thing.” He urged Beijing to release the two as soon as possible.
　菅官房長官は「我が国は、そうしたことは絶対していない」と反論し、早期解放を求めた。

It is a matter of concern that Chinese authorities may arbitrarily interpret and apply ambiguous stipulations in the law. Japan, the United States and Europe must exercise caution against any attempt by China to use the “rule of law” as a tool for single-party control.
　懸念されるのは、当局があいまいな規定を恣意しい的に運用する事態だ。中国が「法治」を一党支配の手段として利用することに、日本や欧米は警戒する必要がある。

The man arrested in Liaoning Province is said to have visited Dandong, a major city at China’s border with North Korea. Meanwhile, Zhejian Province is a significant area hosting facilities of the Chinese navy. Japan cannot remain completely aloof of an espionage war by China or North Korea.
　遼寧省で拘束された男性は、北朝鮮との国境の拠点都市、丹東を訪れたとされる。浙江省は中国海軍の施設などがある要所だ。日本も、中国や北朝鮮の諜報ちょうほう戦と全く無関係ではいられない。

Law for one-party regime

It is feared that the detention period for the two, already four months long, will be extended further. Pre-indictment procedures in China take more time than those in the United States and Europe. In addition, opacity is expected to increase in a case related to national security.
　４か月に及ぶ２人の拘束期間がさらに長期化する恐れもある。中国では、欧米諸国に比べて、起訴前の手続きに時間がかかる。国家安全絡みの事件では、不透明さが一段と高まるとみられる。

In March, an American woman who visited China on a business tour reportedly was detained and investigated on suspicion of harming national security.
　今年３月には、ビジネスツアーで訪中した米国人女性が「国家安全に危害を加えた疑い」で拘束され、調査を受けているという。

When Chinese authorities arrested four Japanese employees of midsize general contractor Fujita Corp. in 2010, some observers saw their arrests as revenge by Beijing for Japan’s actions after a Chinese fishing boat rammed a Japan Coast Guard vessel in seas off the Senkaku Islands.
　２０１０年、中堅ゼネコン「フジタ」の日本人社員４人が中国当局に拘束された際、尖閣諸島沖での中国漁船衝突事件を巡る中国の「報復」との見方が出ていた。

Beijing may have intended to rattle Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government by using the arrests of the two Japanese citizens this time as a tool to put diplomatic pressure on Japan.
　中国は今回、拘束した２人についても、対日圧力の外交カードとして、安倍政権を揺さぶる思惑がないとは言い切れまい。

In addition to the anti-spying law, the Xi government put a new national security law into effect in July to enhance domestic security measures. Beijing must be seriously concerned about the stability of Chinese society amid its slowing economy.
　習政権は、反スパイ法に加え、今年７月、治安対策強化を狙った新法の国家安全法も施行した。経済が減速する中、社会の安定に危機感を募らせているのだろう。

The Chinese government also submitted a bill to put foreign nongovernmental organizations working in the country under government surveillance, fearing that values such as democracy and human rights from the United States and Europe would infiltrate into China.
　欧米から中国に民主主義や人権などの価値観が流入、浸透するのを警戒し、外国の民間活動団体（ＮＧＯ）の監視などを目的とする法案も提出している。

If the Xi government turns its back to international criticism and continues its coercive rule of the country, it will only further show that China is an “aberrant superpower.”
　習政権が国際社会の批判に背を向け、強権統治を続けるのなら、「異質の大国」の姿がますます際立つだけである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 3, 2015)