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To Celebrate Chinese Communist Party’s One-hundredth Birthday, Wanda to Build a Red Themed Town

The Wanda Group is a Chinese multinational conglomerate based in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of the Australian Hoyts Group, as well as a majority shareholder of the American AMC Theatres.

On December 13, Yan’an city’s municipal government and Wanda Group signed an agreement in Beijing. Wanda will build a red themed town in Yan’an – Yan’an Wanda Town.

Yan’an is a city in China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province. From late 1935 to early 1947, it was the center of the Chinese Communist revolution. Chinese communists celebrate Yan’an as the birthplace of the revolution.

The project has a total investment of 12 billion yuan (US$ 1.74 billion). It is said to integrate patriotism education, tourism, the holiday, and an intangible cultural heritage experience. The town will consist of red themed blocks, a red themed indoor park, a red themed theater, and a resort hotel group. Yan’an Wanda Town plans to start digging in the first quarter of 2019 and be open to the public in the first half of 2021. Wanda said that the project will serve as a gift for Yan’an to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, said that the Wanda Group will carry forward Yan’an’s spirit with a sense of historical mission and social responsibility, and will make Yan’an Wanda Town a new national red tourism brand.

Source: The Paper, December 13, 2018
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2736036

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Uses High Pay to Lure Tech Talent from South Korea

For at least three to five years, South Korea has been considered to be leading China in the semiconductor industry. In order to reduce this gap and even catch up with South Korea, China has not only invested heavily in facilities, but has also used high pay to hire tech talent from Korea.

Many Koreans are surprised by the amount of money China is willing to pay. The Chinese side usually proposes a salary three times higher than the current job, with a three-year guarantee period. A Korean semiconductor professional said, “If you are over 50 years old and you don’t have an ideal position in the company, the high salary will naturally tempt you. If you continue to work in Korea, you can still work for up to 3 years. However, a three-fold salary plus a three-year guarantee is the same as an additional 7-8 years of salary.”

People said that three times the current pay is a general case. For those who have important technology at hand, the salary that the Chinese propose is even as high as eight times. China has reportedly hired more than 1,000 scientific and technical personnel from the Korean semiconductor industry, offering a high salary.

Semiconductors are South Korea’s most important export to China. For China, the domestically produced semiconductors account for only 15 percent of total demand and the remaining 85 percent need to be purchased from South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

After China has overtaken Korea in mobile phones, display panels, shipbuilding, automobiles, and other industries, the semiconductor has become the only industry in which Korea is leading China. In the first 10 months of this year, Korea’s semiconductor exports to China were about US$60 billion. This figure exactly equals Korea’s trade surplus with China from January to October. If China overtakes the semiconductor, the bilateral balance of trade could reverse.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 12, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ko-12122018101604.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Study Shows Overtime is Common in China

China’s National Business Daily reported that a study that the China Social Science Publishing House and the Inner Mongolia University issued on December 10 showed that it was quite common in 2017 for Chinese workers to work overtime (net working hours greater than 8 hours a day), with an overtime rate of 42.2 percent. Working overtime is particularly serious among low-income, low-education, and manufacturing workers. The overtime rate among manufacturing workers can be as high as 58.8 percent. The study was based on an analysis of the time utilization information from 12,471 households (30,591 household members) in 29 provinces in China, not including Xinjiang and Tibet.

According to the analysis of urban traffic data, Huawei topped Chinese companies with an average daily overtime of 3.96 hours per person.

Many Chinese are still working even though they are on vacation. The traveler bloggers website (www.mafengwo.cn) released The “Chinese White-collar Workers Travel Research Report 2017,” which showed that 88 percent of white-collar workers need to handle work even during travel. Ten percent of respondents said they would like to take a low-key vacation and never tell their colleagues. Forty-six percent of people would proceed cautiously, sharing the vacation information only with close colleagues.

Source: Central News Agency, December 11, 2018
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201812110215.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Anti-American Actions in China after the Arrest of Huawei CFO

The arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada has triggered “anti-American” sentiment in mainland China. Some people have threatened to boycott U.S. goods. A number of companies are setting up a reward and punishment mechanism, requiring staff to support Huawei and taking disciplinary actions against those who purchase Apple products.

Menpad, a Shenzhen-based LCD display maker, confirmed to reporters that the company decided to support “compatriots” after the arrest of Huawei’s Meng. The management will give a 15 percent subsidy to employees who purchase Huawei phones and impose a 100 percent fine on those who purchase Apple phones.

In Shanghai, a chamber of commerce requires all members to boycott Apple. If a member purchases an Apple electronics product after the notice is issued, that person’s membership in the Chamber of Commerce will be cancelled. The Shaanxi’s Lian Development Group also issued a notice that requires all middle level management to use Huawei products and recommended its subsidiaries offer a subsidy of no less than 20 percent to employees who purchase Huawei mobile phones.

In addition to corporate actions, some netizens spontaneously wanted to “boycott U.S. goods.” On TikTok, a popular Chinese video sharing app, a film is being circulated showing that a man smashed his iPhone to express his anger. Another widespread video shows a man protesting in front of an Apple store, holding the banner “Apple get out of China; release Meng Wanzhou.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 10, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/apple-12102018091629.html
Sputnik News, December 11, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/china/201812111027082873/

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Millions of “Untrustworthy” Chinese Restricted from Air and High-speed Rail Travel

In 2018, China has continued to enhance its social credit score system. The authorities have released 32 Memorandums of Cooperation (MoCs) on disciplinary actions in fields that include social security, intellectual property, research, medical care, and marriage registrations.

Restrictions on plane and train travel appear in almost every MoC. For example, the Memorandum of Cooperation on Joint Disciplinary Actions against Seriously Untrustworthy Enterprises and Personnel in Social Security, jointly issued by 28 authorities, lists 32 types of penalties for nine cases of violations, including refusal to pay social security fees, failure to report social security income truthfully, and social security fraud. Among the disciplinary actions are restrictions on air travel, sleeping carriages with cushioned berths on trains, on second-class on ships, on all seats on the G-series multiple unit (MU) trains (high-speed rail), and on first-class seats on other MU’s.

Beginning in June 2018, on the first working day of each month, the “Credit China” website (http://www.creditchina.gov.cn/) will announce a list of people who are restricted from trains and planes. As more MoC’s have been issued, the number of people restricted from travel by air or by train has been increasing every month. As of September 2018, the cumulative occurrence of restrictions on air ticket purchases has been 14.78 million; on high-speed rail tickets it has been 5.24 million.

Another punishment for being “untrustworthy” is the denial of the qualification for working as a civil servant. In some recently issued joint MoC’s, some new disciplinary measures have begun to appear, such as not being able to buy a house and a restriction on tourist travels. People who owe taxes of more than 100,000 yuan (US$ 14,500) are also blacklisted and subject to restrictions such as no bring allowed to leave the country.

Source: China News Service, December 8, 2018
http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2018/12-08/8695727.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China’s Lunar Rover Mission to the Dark Side of the Moon

According to Chinese official media, the successful landing of Chang’e 4 is the first touchdown of a spacecraft on the far side of the moon in human history, the first Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 relay and exploration, and the first moon based low-frequency radio astronomical observation. It is also the first time in China for the measurement of the nighttime lunar soil temperature.

The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) conducted the mission. The lunar rover carried a list of equipment to the Von Kármán Crater on the moon, including a topographic camera, a landing camera, a low-frequency radio spectrum analyzer, a panoramic camera, an infrared imaging spectrometer, and moon-receiving radar.

Source: The Paper, December 9, 2018
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2720485

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

The 13th Confucius Institute Conference

On December 4 and 5, the 13th Confucius Institute Conference was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. During the two-day session, the conference held two panel discussions, eight presidents’ forums, and 20 workshops. According Hanban, the global headquarters of the Confucius Institute, more than 1,500 representatives from more than 150 countries and regions attended the conference.

Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier of the State Council and Chairman of the Headquarters Council of the Confucius Institute, attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. Chen Baosheng, the Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of the Headquarters Council of the Confucius Institute, hosted the opening ceremony. Vice Minister of Education Tian Xuejun attended the closing ceremony and delivered a speech. Forums and workshops had 460 participants who made a total of 220 speeches.

At present, 154 countries and regions have established 548 Confucius Institutes, 1,193 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools, and 5,665 Chinese teaching centers. 46,000 full-time and part-time teachers have been teaching the Chinese language to 11 million students.

Source: Hanban, December 5, 2018
http://conference.hanban.org/pc/news_details.html?main_lan=cn&_id=17

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Established Online Game Ethics Committee

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, under the guidance of the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, an online game ethics committee was recently established in Beijing. Shortly after its establishment, the committee reviewed the first batch of 20 “morally problematic” online games and decided to disapprove of nine of them.

According to official media reports, the establishment of the online game ethics committee is an important measure to follow the guidance of CCP’s National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference held in August, and to enrich the ideological and cultural contents of online games. The committee consists of experts and scholars from regulators, universities, professional institutions, and news media. Information such as the people and the organizational structure is not known. The committee was entitled to conduct an ethical review of online games and related services that may or may not have produced moral controversy and public opinion discussions.

The news itself has caused controversy among Chinese netizens. Some commented, “Whether a game is ethical or not, it should be judged by the majority of players and the whole society, instead of a few unidentified experts sitting at a desk.” Others voiced worry that such a so-called official “ethics committee” will appear in other areas of society in the future. Some netizens believe that such a unified approval model will limit the diverse and innovative development of the Chinese game industry.

Source: Radio France International, December 7, 2018
http://rfi.my/3Pk1.T

Briefings | | |   Social Stability