LLD – Page 107 – Chinascope

A Chinese Local Government Shames a Fugitive by Spray-painting His House

A local government in Guangdong Province of China was reported to have spray-painted the characters, “telemarketing fraud fugitive” on the front door of a telemarketing fraud fugitive’s house. It also publicized a letter to family members of the fugitive, including a threat to freeze the identity cards and financial cards of the fugitive’s direct family members.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, a Chinese newspaper based in Beijing, a recent message that the government of Shuzai Township of Dianbai District in Maoming City of Guangdong Province released has drawn widespread attention on the Internet. The Chinese Communist Party’s Shuzai Township Committee and the Shuzai Township People’s Government signed a “letter to the families of fugitives,” dated February 3. The letter stated that, if the telemarketing fraud fugitives do not submit themselves before February 10, the township government will cut the water and electricity supply of their homes, spray-paint the words “telemarketing fraud fugitive” on the suspects’ houses, and freeze the identity cards and financial cards of the fugitives’ direct family members.

On February 13, some netizens released videos and photos showing that the local officials have spray-painted the house of a fugitive. Netizens have expressed that the government’s action was too arbitrary and questioned the act of implicating innocent family members.

Source: Central News Agency, February 15, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201902150181.aspx

Briefings | | February 17, 2019 | Government/Politics

Pro-Beijing Chinese Group Sues Kazakhstan Human Rights Organization

Chinese authorities have drawn global attentions for building re-education camps in Xinjiang. Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights, a Kazakh civil organization, has volunteered to disclose the inside stories about the Xinjiang Re-education camps and to assist the Kazakh, Uighur, and Kirgiz people in Xinjiang in finding missing or imprisoned relatives and friends. Recently, a pro-Beijing local Chinese group in Kazakhstan filed a lawsuit against Atajurt, charging the organization and its founder Serikzhan Bilash with “destroying the friendship between China and Kazakhstan.” It asked the court to declare Atajurt an illegal organization.

According to Radio Free Asia, Atajurt obtained a plethora of information regarding the Chinese government’s ethnic policies and practices in Xinjiang, including burning The Koran, demolishing mosques, prohibiting ethnic minorities from holding traditional weddings or funerals, and even sentencing Imams or causing Imams to die in prison. This information has drawn attention from the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union.

It has been said that the 37-member “patriotic overseas Chinese” group has close ties with the Chinese Embassy. According to Serikzhan, these people have participated in a number of social events that the Chinese Embassy organized in Kazakhstan, such as the annual “National Day” dinner, and they also attended the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (held in Beijing). He said that, “Their purpose is to stop us from organizing activities and stop us from continuing to collect information and evidence about the Xinjiang ‘re-education’ concentration camps.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 13, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-02132019094914.html

Briefings | | February 14, 2019 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Party’s Mouthpiece Newspapers Are Growing in Spite of the Trend

Because online media have had an effect, many media in China have been unable to make ends meet due to the drop in advertising revenue. Around New Year’s Day 2019, more than ten paper-based media such as Beijing Morning Post, Beijing Suburban Daily and Heilongjiang Morning News had ceased publication. Another reason for the suspension is related to the authorities’ tightened control over what the reporters can cover.

A political observer published an article on Monday February 11, pointing out that the Internet is “killing” traditional media. In particular, the popularity of smartphones and social media has led to a “free fall” in the circulation and advertising volume of newspapers and magazines. The advertising revenue of Chinese newspapers has shrunk from 41 billion yuan (US$60.6 billion) in 2012 to 10.2 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in 2016, a drop of three-quarters in just four years. This is also comparable to the decline in the American newspaper industry.

A unique phenomenon in the decline of traditional media in China is that most of the publications that went down or died are local morning and evening newspapers concentrating on stories about local people and events, while the party’s mouthpiece newspapers have not stopped their publications but have generally exhibited a trend of growth. Researchers found that the party’s mouthpiece newspapers have a variety of new sources of income, including local governments’ direct subsidies. For example, Guangzhou Daily, the mouthpiece for the Guangzhou Chinese Communist Party Committee, received a subsidy of 350 million yuan (US$52 million) in 2016. Local governments also put a number of advertisements in the party newspapers to promote their political achievements. Amid the current wave of anti-corruption campaigns, officials dare not put money into their own pockets, but choose to spend money on party newspaper advertisements in order to benefit their careers. In addition, officials need to read the party newspapers to understand the policy trends. They can also showcase their political awareness by subscribing to many party newspapers. All these have led to an increase in the circulation of party newspapers.

An observer told Radio Free Asia, “Because the media is controlled, the media that the party runs still relies on fiscal expenditures. On newspaper subscriptions, every year the provincial government and the provincial propaganda department issue directives to tell us which newspapers we need to subscribe to. People’s Daily and Beijing Daily, (we have to subscribe to them).”

Yang Shaozheng, a former professor at Guizhou University, told RFA that, in mainland China, there is no real market-oriented media. All media have the surname of “party,” but some media are more market-oriented. The cessation of the metropolitan and local newspapers is a good thing for the Chinese Communist Party. “In that case, the Communist Party can shrink the battle’s front line and make sure all the mouthpieces have one voice, which is the voice of the party. The whole country’s ideologies are unified.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 13, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql2-02132019095151.html

Briefings | | February 14, 2019 | Information/Technology

Lawsuit against State Enterprise in China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” Project

China’s “Belt and Road” port project is involved in a legal dispute in Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden in Africa. China’s listed state-owned company China Merchants Port (SEHK: 144) was charged with ignoring the port operator’s franchise agreement and investing in the construction of a new terminal in Djibouti. This is the first time that a multinational company has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese state-owned enterprise in Hong Kong for its “Belt and Road” project.

In August last year, Dubai-based global port operator DP World filed a lawsuit in the Hong Kong High Court against China Merchants Port, that China Merchants Port, knowing that the Djibouti government and DP World had already signed a 30-year port franchise, still unlawfully procured and/or induced Djibouti’s breach of its agreement with DP World.

According to the indictment, the Djibouti government signed an agreement with DP World in 2004 that DP World would enjoy a 30-year franchise for the Doraleh Container Terminal (DTC), which was put into operation in 2009. However, three years later, China Merchants Port proposed cooperation with the Djibouti government and finally built a new “Doraleh Multi-purpose Terminal” next to the local Chinese People’s Liberation Army base. In 2017, the Djibouti government and China Merchants Port signed another agreement to build the “Doraleh International Container Terminal.”

This is the first time that a multinational company has sued a Chinese state-owned enterprise in relation to the “Belt and Road” project in Hong Kong. The case is viewed as a test of Hong Kong’s judicial independence.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 11, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/gf1-02112019095745.html

Briefings | | February 13, 2019 | Geo-Strategic Trend

The Author of Bloody Red Land: Violence in Chinese Communist Party’s Land Reform; Passed Down through Today

Around Chinese New Year, a new book:

The Bloody Red Land – a Collection of Interviews on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Land Reform was published outside of China. The author, Tan Song, a former professor at Chongqing Normal University, is now living in exile in Los Angeles. Tan was expelled from school in 2017 for conducting research on and publicizing the truth about the history of the CCP’s land reform. Over a period of 14 years, Tan interviewed over a hundred Sichuanese who had personally experienced the land reform that took place between 1950 and 1952. Radio Free Asia interviewed Tan on his new book.

The last question the reporter asked was, “What do you think is the main purpose of the CCP’s launch of land reform, what are the methods it used, and what kind of impact has it had on China today?”

Tan replied, “To put it simply, one purpose was to have the people of China, that the CCP just conquered, submit themselves to the rule of the party. The CCP handed out both favors and terror. The favors had to do with the land they gave. Where did the land come from? They did not have either. They would grab it from the landlords. A large number of farmers were thus grateful to this regime. At the same time, it made them scared. The land reform movement was a violent movement and a very bloody movement.”

“There was another purpose. The CCP needed money too much. The CCP took away the landlords’ assets, mainly gold, silver, and treasures. This solved a major financial problem and these were not distributed to the farmers.”

“At the same time, the land reform strengthened the CCP’s rule over the countryside. It established CCP branches in every remote mountain village.”

“The CCP also fulfilled the purpose of eliminating the carrier of the traditional Chinese culture in the countryside – the country gentlemen. The reason was that it needed the Marxist-Leninist culture to govern the countryside.”

What is the relationship between land reform and today’s China? Tan observed, “I think this is the best question and best research topic. In fact, the methods of land reform are basically the same as what it uses today. In the land reform, three methods were used: deception with lies, violent suppression, and buying off with material interest. These three methods are still in use today. There has been no change. The brutal methods in the land reform have been passed down. You can see this from the Cultural Revolution and the suppression of Falun Gong. These cruel and inferior methods are in the same vein and have not changed. Moreover, its nature of robbing the riches from the landlords and distributing their property has not changed at all.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 8, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/yl-02082019115356.html

Briefings | | February 11, 2019 | Government/Politics

China Strikes Hard on “Underground Banks” to Curb Capital Outflow

In order to prevent the illegal outflow of capital, the China’s Supreme Court and the Supreme Procuratorate recently issued a judicial interpretation that if an underground bank conducts illegal trading of foreign exchanges and the amount is more than 5 million yuan (US$ 0.8 million), or the illegal income is more than 100,000 yuan (US$ 14,800), the crime will be punished under the charge of illegal business acts and the “circumstances are serious.”

According to the official media, in practice, the underground banks’ illegally trading in foreign exchanges mainly takes the traditional form of direct transactions within borders. The current, more popular and disguised ways of trading in foreign exchanges are across borders.

The disguised trading of foreign exchanges is not a direct exchange between the yuan and the foreign exchange, but an act of repaying the yuan-denominated debt in foreign exchange, or repaying foreign exchange-denominated debt in yuan, or the swap of foreign exchange and the yuan to fulfill the trading. According to the report, the cross-border payment is a typical disguised trading of foreign exchange. Underground bank criminals would collude with foreign individuals, enterprises, and institutions, or make use of overseas bank accounts for the purpose of cross-border remittances and transfer of funds. At present, the main business of most underground banks is the cross-border payment, which leads to huge capital outflows.

According to the judicial interpretation, engaging in illegal payment settlement business or illegal trading of foreign exchange, if falling into one of the following two circumstances, should be regarded as illegal business acts and the “circumstances are serious.” One, the illegal business amount is more than 5 million yuan (US$ 0.8 million). Two, the amount of illegal income is more than 100,000 yuan (US$ 14,800). The interpretation of illegal business acts and “circumstances are particularly serious” is either the illegal business amount is more than 25 million yuan (US$ 3.7 million) or the amount of illegal income is more than 500,000 yuan (US$ 74,000).

Article 225 of the Chinese Criminal Law stipulates that those who commit the illegal business acts, and when the circumstances are serious, are to be sentenced to not more than five years of fixed-term imprisonment in criminal detention, and may, in addition, or exclusively, be sentenced to a fine not less than 100 percent and not more than 500 percent of their illegal income and, where the circumstances are particularly serious, be sentenced to not less than five years of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of not less than 100 percent and not more than 500 percent of their illegal income or the confiscation of their property.

Source: Central News Agency, February 9, 2019
http://https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201902090145.aspx

Briefings | | February 10, 2019 | Economy/Resources

Beijing’s Intensified Control over China’s Higher Education

A Duowei News article put together information about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) practices of tightened control over the nation’s higher education.

At the beginning of 2019, for the first time, the Chinese media reported a case of the CCP Central Disciplinary Committee intervening in the personnel appointment at a Chinese university. Observers believe that this is a new signal that the CCP is strengthening its discipline and supervision of its universities. Days later, at a Provincial and Ministerial Leadership Seminar on January 21, 2019, Xi Jinping emphasized ideological risk when talking about the “seven major risks.” The two incidents point to the same group in the population – China’s youth. The article gave a list of CCP actions at China’s universities.

In April 2013, the CCP General Office’s “No. 9 Document,” or Bulletin on Current Ideological Situations, issued a warning that there was an ideological crisis in China’s higher education system.

On August 19, 2013, the China National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference identified Chinese universities as “important areas and as having forefront positions in ideology.”

In October 2014, the CCP General Office issued a document that Chinese universities should “adhere to the core leadership position of the Party committee” and that “the Party committee has the overall leadership of the school’s work.”

In June 2017, the CCP Central Committee inspection teams pointed out problems that existed in 14 Centrally Controlled Universities (CCU’s) including Peking University and Tsinghua University. The problems are that “the Party’s leadership has weakened” and that “the core role of the Party committee is not fully functional.” The Central Committee demanded that a comprehensive rectification occur in order to correct all the universities.

In August 2018, it was reported that the Chinese-foreign joint venture universities would be required to set up a Party branch.

In China the CCP Central Committee directly manages a group of 31 so-called Centrally Controlled Universities (CCUs), or colleges and universities. The CCU’s party secretary and president are directly appointed by the CCP Central Committee, instead of the Ministry of Education, and rank at the deputy minister level. It is generally believed that the 31 CCU’s are the top universities in China, including Tsinghua University and Peking University.

Source: Duowei News, February 1, 2019
http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2019-02-01/60116265.html

Briefings | | February 7, 2019 | Government/Politics

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