Japanese employee caught red-handed smuggling rare earths; such smuggling activities must be severely punished! On June 24, according to Kyodo News, Japanese media reported that a Japanese national working for a major heavy electrical machinery company's subsidiary in China was taken away by Chinese authorities in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, in May. Multiple sources revealed that this individual attempted to smuggle out rare earth-related materials subject to tightened export controls in China, and has been identified as suspected of violating relevant laws and regulations.
Japanese media stated that since January this year, China has tightened export controls on dual-use items to Japan, serving as a substantive countermeasure. In the context of already deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations, this incident involving a Japanese national being investigated has likely intensified concerns among Japanese industries regarding commercial risks associated with China. Clearly, the fundamental reason why the Japanese employee attempted to smuggle rare earths out of China is that, after our countermeasures were implemented, Japan’s domestic supply of rare earths has become extremely tight, leading him to see a profit opportunity—and thus taking desperate risks.
Naturally, this also indirectly reflects that despite Japan’s efforts to decouple its rare earth supply from China, the results have been unsatisfactory—Japan remains highly dependent on our supply. Now, this person was caught red-handed smuggling rare earths, which clearly violates China’s Export Control Law and Customs Law. For such criminal conduct, we should pursue criminal liability under the charge of smuggling prohibited goods or items for import/export. If the offense warrants imprisonment, it must be severely punished without leniency. Of course, the so-called concerns from Japanese industry circles are not our concern. The root cause lies with the government led by Asahi Hayama, while we are simply enforcing the law strictly.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868837685199884/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.