Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Welcomes Aid for Arakan Crisis, Defends Rohingya Travel Restrictions

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 06:12 AM PDT

A Rohingya family have a meager meal in a camp for displaced Muslim families in May. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's government told international community representatives on Tuesday that its handling of the Arakan crisis is leading to improvements, adding that US $66 million in international aid allocated to projects in the area was helping affected communities.

Authorities also defended the travel restrictions that are being imposing on the state's Rohingya Muslims, which have been widely criticized as discriminatory and in violation of basic human rights.

"We have tightened security for Bengali people at their camps. We blocked them from travelling to areas where there are Arakanese in order to avoid further violence," Arakan State government spokesman Hla Thein told dozens of diplomats, UN officials and aid workers gathered for a briefing at the Foreign Ministry.

"We did not confine [Muslims] to the camps. We just protect them for security reasons. We are worried that some people misunderstand our intentions. They separated [their communities] themselves after the violence," Hla Thein said.

Some 140,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, remained displaced in Arakan State after last year's inter-communal violence, which killed 192 people. Authorities are being accused of supporting Buddhist mob attacks on the Rohingya.

The government does not recognize the group as Burmese citizens and refers to them as "Bengalis," to suggest they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Central government officials also addressed the international community to talk about cooperation between the government and aid organizations, which committed $66 million in foreign aid so far in order to relieve the situation in Arakan State.

"The current coordination between the government and the UN agencies is progressing but needs further necessary coordination," said Maj-Gen Zaw Win, a member of the Committee for Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development in Arakan State.

The committee's chairman Aye Win said that deep divisions remained between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Arakan.

"We have studied the feeling and ideas of the people and found that they still don't feel like staying together… Both sides have destroyed their livelihoods and they lost confidence in each other," he told the international community, adding that it would take time before the communities could live together again.

Aye Win said that the region needed to have socio-economic development in order to create a way out of the crisis and the inter-communal tensions.

International human rights groups have accused the government of reinforcing the Rohingya's statelessness and of tightening numerous restrictions on the Muslim population, which have affected their freedom of movement, access to healthcare, education and employment, and other basic rights.

There is a deep mistrust towards the authorities among the displaced Muslim population, which has been forced to stay in dirty, crowded camps in the countryside.

Aid groups have complained that relief operations in the Rohingya camps are regularly blocked by authorities and have called for lifting the restrictions on the Muslim population.

One of the UN representatives attending Tuesday's briefing noted that the government was right in concluding that the Arakan crisis can only be resolved if trust is restored.

"The authorities have emphasized the building of trust and confidence. And that is the main thing that needs to happen now, between the communities, and between the authorities and the communities," said Hans ten Feld, Burma representative for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Law Giving Burma’s Central Bank Autonomy Due ‘Within Days’

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 05:28 AM PDT

A Burmese bank employee counts kyat banknotes. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma is expected to enact a law within days that will give more autonomy to the central bank, which is currently part of the Finance Ministry, a senior official in the President's Office said on Tuesday.

The new law is part of a series of economic and political reforms pushed through by the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein, in office since nearly half a century of military rule ended in March 2011.

Parliament passed the law on Monday and it now goes to the president.

"The bill is expected to get to the President's Office today. According to normal procedure, the president has to sign the bill into law within a week," the official said, asking not to be named since he was speaking to the media without authorization.

"Since the president is leaving the country on a state visit to the UK and France on July 14, he can sign the new Central Bank Law within days," he added.

The website of the existing Central Bank of Myanmar says its aim is "to preserve the internal and external value of the Myanmar currency, the kyat."

Helped by the International Monetary Fund, the central bank introduced a managed float of the kyat in April 2012 as part of the unification of the exchange rate system.

The kyat first floated at 818 per dollar, a level in line with the black market at the time but which the IMF and economists said was overvalued. Since then, the kyat has fallen and the central bank's daily reference rate was set at 980 on Tuesday.

Asked about the new law, senior central bank official Win Hteik said: "The most significant point, so far as I know, is the new law will give the central bank greater autonomy so that it will be able to operate like other international central banks."

"Its governor and three deputy-governors will be nominated by the president and approved by Parliament. It will no longer be a department under the Ministry of Finance," he said.

Full rules and regulations would be published once the law was enacted, he said, adding that these could include details of how joint-venture banks could be set up.

Under present plans, foreign banks will only be allowed to set up joint ventures with local banks initially when they are allowed to operate in the country. The date for that has not been set, although more than 30 foreign banks have set up representative offices.

Under-Construction Flyover’s Support Column Collapses in Rangoon

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 04:49 AM PDT

The construction site of the Shwe Gon Daing overpass in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

A column of steel reinforcing bars collapsed on Monday at an under-construction overpass in Rangoon, where one of several infrastructure projects is ongoing as city planners in the commercial capital grapple with an influx of new vehicles in recent years.

The two-way overpass, known as the Bayint Naung flyover, has been under construction since last year and is slated for completion by December of this year. No one was injured in the collapse on Monday.

An engineer at the construction site told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the vertical steel frame, which was to support the flyover's largest concrete post, was struck by a crane, bending its rods to the ground.

"The concrete post did not fall down," he said. "It was an accident, while we were pouring cement for the concrete post. We had already poured five feet of cement at the base. After that we used a crane for higher cementing as it is the highest post [supporting the middle of the bridge]. So the crane hit the rod frame and the frame fell down as the rods at a height of 15-20 feet were snapped."

Bayint Naung, a bustling intersection of commerce and cars, sits at a junction where roads from Mayangone, Insein, Thirimingala and Hlaing Tharyar townships meet.

Monday's accident was the construction site's first, the engineer said, adding that appropriate workplace safety practices were being followed. Construction of the flyover, which has employed crews working both day and night shifts, is being overseen by Burmese and Thai engineers.

The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has undertaken the construction of several overpasses to alleviate increasing congestion in Burma's former capital. In April, the Hledan overpass on Prome Road, a main Rangoon artery, was opened after commuters suffered through traffic snarls for years, with the congestion peaking last year as its six lanes were reduced to just two.

Like Bayint Naung, the Shwe Gon Daing overpass in downtown Rangoon is also slowing the flow of traffic near that construction site.

Both overpasses are set to be completed by the end of this year, according to Captain Sithu Lwin, deputy head of the YCDC's Roads and Bridges Department. He recently told The Irrawaddy that crews are also repairing the roads and their drainage systems to reduce flooding.

Sithu Lwin said about 40 percent of the Shwe Gon Daing overpass is completed, while about 60 percent of construction is done at the Bayint Naung flyover.

The overpasses' construction, while ultimately intended to ease traffic congestion, has tested some drivers' patience as projects have temporarily narrowed roads amid a flood of new vehicles on Rangoon's streets in recent years.

"The Shwe Gon Daing overpass construction does not seem to progress," said Zaw Myo Htun, a commuter who passes by the construction site daily on the way to his job in the Sule Pagoda area. The project had worsened traffic and flooding in the area, he added.

Another engineer at the Shwe Gon Daing overpass said one reason for slow progress at the construction site was the need to avoid underground water pipes laid there. The frequent rains that mark the current monsoon season were another cause for delay, he said.

Additional reporting by May Sitt Paing.

Burma Tightens Security at Buddhist Sites, Following Bodha Gaya Blasts

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 04:37 AM PDT

Armed policemen guard the eastern entrance way to the upper terrace of Shwedagon Pagoda on Tuesday. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The government has tightened security at Burma's main Buddhist sites and police have been stationed at Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda, Mandalay's Maha Myat Muni Pagoda and at the historical temple complex of Bagan.

The measures were taken following a series of bomb blasts on Sunday at Bodh Gaya in northern India, one of Buddhism's holiest sites.

On Sunday night, Burmese authorities sent about 70 armed police to guard the entrance points to the upper terrace surrounding Shwedagon Pagoda, where they check visitors and search their bags, according to the pagoda's trustees. Plain clothes security personnel were also seen patrolling along the pagoda's platform on Tuesday.

Shwedagon Pagoda is an important pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists and a major draw for international tourists.

"Policemen have taken over security at the pagoda. We have our own security group, but it is not enough as we are not armed or highly-authorized, so we cannot provide enough security for pilgrims," said Win Kyaing, chief trustee of Shwedagon Pagoda.

"We don't want our Buddhist religious sites to be blown up like in India. So, we will protect this holy place as much as we can," he said. "We are cooperating with police to ensure convenience for the pilgrims."

In Mandalay, armed security forces were posted at the entry of the compound of Maha Myat Muni Pagoda, home to a venerated Buddhist image called Maha Myat Muni. Visitors are being asked to leave their bags in lockers at the pagoda's entrance.

Residents at historical Buddhist temple complex at Bagan in central Burma said that police forces were stationed there in recent days. Security was reportedly also put in place at pagodas in Kyaukse and Pyin Oo Lwin, both sites in central Burma.

Officers at police stations at Rangoon Division and Mandalay Division offices declined to comment on the security measures when contacted by The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

The security measures were taken after a series of bomb blasts injured two people on Sunday at Bodh Gaya, a Unesco World heritage site in India's Bihar State, where the Buddha is believed to have gained enlightenment.

Some Indian media reports claim that the attacks were conducted by radical Muslim groups seeking to avenge violence committed against Muslims in Burma by Buddhist groups.

Waves of inter-communal violence have rocked Burma since June 2012 and have left about 250 people dead and some 150,000 people, mostly Muslims, homeless. The government has been accused of doing little to prevent attacks on the country's Muslim minorities.

During a government press conference on the situation in Arakan State on Tuesday, officials were asked if the bomb attacks in India could affect Burma's inter-communal tensions.

"Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country with different other religions and national ethnic groups and so on. So, we are concerned whenever tensions happen [anywhere] between religious groups," deputy foreign minister Than Kyaw said.

"As you know we are trying to promote interfaith trust building in our country. This is a priority right now," he said, adding that the government condemned any acts of terror such as those that occurred in Bodh Gaya.

Burmese travel agents who specialize in providing Buddhist pilgrimages trips to Bodh Gaya said that their tour programs were not being affected by the incidents.

"We received some enquiries about the security situation there in Bodh Gaya and questions about whether or not the travels agents have cancelled their tours," said an employee at Mahar Toe Travels in Rangoon. "But until now we've had no cancellations, neither from our destination sites nor from our customers."

Additional reporting by Lawi Weng.

UN Calls for Release of All Burmese Child Soldiers

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 04:28 AM PDT

Samboo, a 12-year-old soldier in the Karen rebel army, poses with a gun in a jungle camp near the Thai border in this file photo from January 2000. (Photo: Reuters)

The United Nations has welcomed Burma's decision to free dozens of child soldiers and called for all remaining children to be released from the country's armed forces.

The demobilization of 42 child soldiers on Sunday from Burma's military, known as the Tatmadaw, was "encouraging," says Unicef's representative in Rangoon, Bertrand Bainvel, but not the last step.

"We are happy for the children who were released and their families," he told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "We of course would like more and more children to benefit from such action. We want to see more and more children released from the ranks of the Tatmadaw in the future."

There is a lack of official data on the number of remaining child soldiers in Burma, both in the government's armed forces and rebel armed groups, but Bainvel estimates that about 520 children have been demobilized so far, as the country transitions from nearly half a century of military rule. Under the former junta, the Tatmadaw recruited children as young as 12 years old.

In addition to the government's military, Bainvel said seven non-state rebel groups have been found by Unicef to use child soldiers. Operating in ethnic minority states, these include the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, the United Wa State Army, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) and the Karenni Army.

He said the UN agency was continuing to talk with Burma's government and respective non-state armed groups to gain access to military facilities in conflict zones, including those controlled by the government army and ethnic rebels.

Unicef expects to launch a campaign in the next couple months to protect Burmese children from recruitment into the army, he added. The campaign will include a hotline call system to report violations against minors and the recruitment of child soldiers.

In Burma, children have been taken away by the Burmese Army while walking to and from school or waiting for transportation at railway stations and bus stops.

"Children should be in schools. They should be with their families. They shouldn’t be in the military," Bainvel said.

Burma's government signed an action plan with the UN last year, pledging to end all recruitment and use of children in the armed forces by December this year. However, although recruitment has decreased, according to reports by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, it still continues.

Under the action plan, the Burmese government agreed to locate all children recruited by the Tatmadaw. The government also agreed to discharge the child soldiers and facilitate their quick reintegration into their families and communities.

"We expect the Tatmadaw will now be in a position to speed up the release of all children," Ashok Nigam, a UN resident coordinator in Burma, said in a statement released by the UN News Center on Monday.

The UN Resident Coordinator's Office and Unicef are co-chairs of a UN task force that is observing children's rights in Burma. The task force is required by a UN Security Council resolution to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism for six children's rights violations in the country, including the recruitment and use of children in armed forces. The other violations include killing or maiming children; attacking schools or hospitals; committing rape or sexual assault; abduction; or denying humanitarian access.

The UN secretary-general's report on child soldiers in Burma focuses on the Tatmadaw and seven other ethnic minority armed groups that fought for autonomy for more than six decades.

"All parties recognize this is about the future of Myanmar," Nigam said in the statement. "No child should have to endure the hardship of being taken away from their families, friends, schools and communities."

He said his organization would work with the Burmese government to expand access for its monitoring teams.

"Nothing justifies the recruitment of children in armed forces," he said. "An army is not a place for a child to grow up."

Yangon: A City Worth Saving

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 02:01 AM PDT

The exterior of the Pegu Club. (Photo: Jacques Maudy / Jimi Cassaccia)

Two photographers have embarked on a Myanmar book project documenting the crumbling British colonial-era architecture for which Yangon is rightfully renowned.

Moroccan-born Australian Jacques Maudy and Italian Jimi Cassaccia manage to depict a time-warp metropolis through their striking pictures while also sending a serious historical preservation message.

Their book, "Yangon: A City to Rescue", was released as a 60-page hardcover on April 22 during a launch at the Australian Embassy.

The body of work offers quality imagery and fine detail in saturated color with a special feel for the monsoonal mood of the former capital.

The work is part of a collective effort by historians to enact legislation to protect this valuable aspect of the city's culture for generations to come.

The trust received a significant boost when Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr visited Yangon in June and pledged his government's support and expertise to help protect the nation's rich architectural heritage.

There is deep concern that with the recent easing of economic sanctions, a drive for development may pose a serious threat to the significant yet fast-decaying examples of 19th century design. Many buildings are in need of serious restoration after years of idle neglect.

Already, as a direct result of the trust's work, the government has reportedly suspended 20 building permits until the subject of conservation can be clarified.

Mr. Maudy and Mr. Cassaccia have made the best possible use of Yangon's dank and overcast climate to soften shadows and bring out excellent details of the heritage buildings in arresting color. In addition, there are many fine examples of portraiture and Yangon street scenes.

The photo book includes special sections for the Pegu Club, the Secretariat and Shwedagon Pagoda.

The ancient Shwedagon Pagoda forms the cultural heart of Yangon, and at a height of 110 meters it towers over the surrounding parks and monasteries. The photographers captured visiting Buddhist worshipers and the intricate complex and its gilded spires against the backdrop of Yangon's overcast skies.

The exclusive Pegu Club of colonial times was built in the late 1880s of top quality teak, and although now in serious disrepair, it has withstood the test of time remarkably well. The club was in its heyday both elitist and racist, with even the highest ranking Myanmar nationals banned from admittance.

A number of exterior and interior photos highlight the iconic Yangon Secretariat building. This is where Bogyoke Aung San, Myanmar's independence hero and father of current democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was murdered by a political rival in 1947.

Since the time of his assassination the building has been closed to outsiders, so these images give a rare glimpse into a significant period of Myanmar history.

This story appeared in the June 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

India Police Detain 1 over Buddhist Shrine Blasts

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 01:01 AM PDT

The Mahabodhi Temple compound is shown in the eastern Indian city of Bodh Gaya on Jan. 23, 2008. (Photo: Reuters / Desmond Boylan)

PATNA, India — One man has been detained and sketches of two others have been prepared as investigators searched for clues Monday into a series of blasts at some of Buddhism's holiest sites in eastern India.

Two people were wounded in the eight blasts that went off Sunday in and around the main temple complex in Bodh Gaya, the town where the Buddha is believed to have gained enlightenment.

The Mahabodhi or Great Awakening Temple is the main shrine in the town and has been declared a Unesco world heritage site. Another explosion took place in an empty tourist bus parked near the temple complex.

Senior police officer S.K. Bhardwaj said Monday that police had detained a man whose identification documents had been found at one of the sites. He provided no further details about the detained man or the sketches of two other people investigators would like to find.

Local magistrate Balamurugan said the temple complex would reopen later Monday after monks held a special prayer. Balamurugan uses one name.

Federal Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that federal investigators had flown to Bodh Gaya and were in charge of the probe.

The Mahabodhi Temple is adjacent to the Banyan tree believed to have grown from a sapling of the same tree the Buddha meditated under. Bodh Gaya is one of Buddhism's four most sacred sites and every year large number of pilgrims, especially from Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Burma visit, though the main pilgrimage starts in September.

The entire town is dotted with temples built with donations from Buddhists all over the world.

Japan Says Faces Increasing Threats from China, North Korea

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 10:46 PM PDT

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second left, and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, third left, review an honor guard at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Jan. 20, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

TOKYO — Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, a defense ministry report said on Tuesday, as ruling politicians call for the military to beef up its ability to respond to such threats.

The report, the first since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office vowing to boost Japan's defenses, was likely to prompt a sharp response from Beijing, whose ties with Tokyo are strained by a territorial row.

China is also upset by remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.

"There are various issues and destabilizing factors in the security environment surrounding Japan, some of which are becoming increasingly tangible, acute and serious," the annual defense white paper said.

"China has attempted to change the status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible with the existing order of international law," the report said, echoing recent comments by Abe and his cabinet.

"China should accept and stick to the international norms."

A Sino-Japanese dispute over rival claims to tiny East China Sea islets flared up last September after Japan nationalized the isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Japan has been gradually ratcheting up its expressions of concern about Beijing's military expansion. Last year's defense white paper, issued before the islands flare-up, flagged the risks of the army's role in shaping Chinese foreign policy.

Patrol ships from both countries routinely shadow each other near the islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.

"Some of China's activities involve its intrusion into Japan's territorial waters, its violation of Japan's territorial airspace and even dangerous actions that could cause a contingency, and are extremely regrettable," the paper said.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said in February that a Chinese naval vessel had locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer. Directing such radar at a target can be considered a step away from actual firing.

China denied the warship had locked its radar on the Japanese vessel. But the white paper said Beijing's assertion was "inconsistent with the facts."

Abe returned to power for a rare second term after his ruling bloc won a general election late last year, promising to revive the economy and strengthen Japan's defenses. He also wants to revise the post-World War Two pacifist constitution to legitimize the military, although winning support for contentious revisions is likely to take time.

Japan is already bolstering defense of the disputed islands and this year raised its defense budget for the first time in 11 years.

The military is conducting joint drills with the United States, its main security ally, and fortifying defenses against missile attacks, while the government is reviewing its mid-term defense policy.

Japan plans to draw up a new defense plan by December, and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) submitted recommendations to the government last month that included looking into acquiring the capability to attack enemy targets.

Japan has long maintained that it has the right to strike enemy targets when an intention to attack Japan is clear, the threat is imminent and there are no other options.

But any sign that Japan is moving to obtain such capabilities could upset China and South Korea, where resentment against Japan's wartime aggression and colonization runs deep.

The LDP also recommended that, in order to boost the defense of remote islands, the military should set up an amphibious Marines division equipped with tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey.

"The balance of power will be lost if we don't start considering striking back when attacked," said Osaka University professor Kazuya Sakamoto, who sits on a panel advising Abe on security policies.

"If we don't have weapons that reach an enemy, Japan cannot defend itself. It cannot maintain deterrence."

Such moves, Sakamoto added, should not unnerve China, with its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Abe, whose LDP is expected to cement its grip on power in this month's upper house election, also wants to revise an interpretation of the constitution that bans using the right of collective self-defense, or aiding an ally under attack.

A panel set up during Abe's first 2006-07 term recommended that the ban be lifted in certain cases, such as intercepting ballistic missiles bound for the United States. A new committee of advisers is expected to reach similar conclusions.

North Korea launched a missile in December, stepping up the threat that the isolated, impoverished state poses to rivals. In February, it conducted a third nuclear test, which moved Pyongyang closer to developing long-range nuclear missiles.

"The launch of a missile … showed that North Korea has advanced its technologies to extend the range and improve the accuracy of ballistic missiles," the white paper said.

Rescuers Evacuate 5 Indonesians Trapped by Tigers

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 10:38 PM PDT

A young Sumatran tiger is seen at the Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. (Photo: Reuters)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Rescuers on Monday reached five men trapped in trees by several Sumatran tigers for five days after the angry animals mauled a sixth man to death, police said.

First Lt Surya Purba said three tamers managed to drive the tigers away before the men, who were in weak condition, were evacuated from trees in the protected Mount Leuser National Park in Tamiang, an Aceh district neighboring with North Sumatra province.

The men were looking for rare agarwood—used to make incense and perfume—and accidently caught a tiger cub in a trap they were using to catch deer for food, said district police chief Lt. Col. Dicky Sondani.

The incident caused five other tigers in the area to attack the men, Sondani said, citing reports from villagers who received mobile phone messages Thursday from the survivors. One of the men was mauled to death, while the five others managed to climb into trees.

The rescue team needed three days to reach the rugged area, said Sondani, who was worried that the men could be weak and fall from the trees due to a lack of food.

"I received a report from rescuers that they have just evacuated the men after tamers managed to drive away the tigers," Purba said. "They are all in weak condition." He added they survived by drinking rain water.

The 28-year-old man who was mauled to death had managed to climb a tree, "but the branch broke, causing him to fall to the ground," Purba said.

There were seven tigers wandering around the trees but four left before the rescuers arrived, he said.

The rescue team of soldiers, policemen and conservationists was sent after villagers failed to reach the men because of the tigers.

Besides Sumatran tigers, Leuser park is home to other protected animals, including orangutans, elephants, rhinos and leopards.

Sumatran tigers are the most critically endangered tiger subspecies. About 400 remain, down from 1,000 in the 1970s, because of forest destruction and poaching.

Agarwood is relatively rare and is highly valued for its dark aromatic resin, which is used in incense and perfumes.

China Ex-Rail Boss Gets Suspended Death for Graft

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 10:25 PM PDT

China's former railways minister, Liu Zhijun, attends a trial for charges of corruption and abuse of power at a courthouse in Beijing in this still image taken from video dated June 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / CCTV)

BEIJING — China's former railways minister Liu Zhijun was given a suspended death sentence Monday that will likely be commuted to life imprisonment for bribery and abuse of power in one of the country's highest-profile corruption cases in years.

Liu's sentence is seen as lenient in a country where the death penalty is meted out even for economic crimes like tax evasion, and likely reflects the Communist Party leadership's desire to not antagonize ruling party factions that might face similar charges.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Liu was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. After two years, such sentences typically are commuted to life in prison if the inmate shows good behavior.

"If they were to sentence Liu Zhijun to death now, that generates expectations in the minds of officials and the people that officials of similar seniority will have to be executed," said Willy Lam, a professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong. "The party leadership is reluctant to set up these kinds of expectations because there are so many corrupt officials who might have really sterling, good political connections."

Liu, 60, who oversaw the ministry's high-profile bullet train development, was accused of taking massive bribes and steering lucrative projects to associates.

New Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made fighting corruption a hallmark campaign of his term in office so far. Though Liu was arrested and investigated before Xi came to power, the public is still likely to view his sentence as undermining Xi's pledge to treat both high- and low-level corrupt officials with equal severity.

It also feeds public perception of a judicial system that protects those with powerful political connections while severely punishing ordinary people.

"The public reaction is going to be one of strong resentment, because some cases are very clear, when ordinary people commit minor economic crimes, they get heavy sentences," said Zhang Ming, a China politics expert at Renmin University in Beijing. "When you compare this to those cases, you can see that justice is unfair."

"They might as well abolish the death penalty. If they don't do that but they only sentence ordinary people to it and never high-level officials, then there is a problem," Zhang said.

The court found Liu guilty of using his position of influence to help about 11 business associates win promotions and project contracts and accepting 64.6 million Chinese yuan ($10.5 million) in unspecified bribes between 1986 and 2011.

State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of Liu, a thin, bespectacled man in a grey, zippered jacket and matching pants, standing with his hands at his side in a courtroom during the sentencing, his face void of expression.

The court sentenced Liu to 10 years' imprisonment for the crime of abuse of power and also ordered the confiscation of all of Liu's personal property, Xinhua reported.

Liu's lawyer Qian Lieyang said his client would likely not appeal the sentence. Qian refused comment further on the case.

Xinhua said Liu should have been given the death penalty for the crime of bribery, "which violated the integrity of a state official's duty behavior and undermined the state functionary's reputation" but that the court granted him a reprieve because he admitted guilt and showed repentance.

The report quoted the judge who ruled in the case, Bai Shanyun, as saying that Liu had cooperated with the investigations, told the truth about crimes that he committed, offered information on cases that the authorities had not known about and helped recover a large part of the misused funds, the report said.

Liu was ousted in February 2011 for unspecified discipline violations. Months later, a high-speed train crash killed 40 people near the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou.

Earlier this year, Beijing dismantled the Ministry of Railways and separated its regulatory and commercial arms in a bid to reduce bureaucracy and boost efficiency.
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