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Xi Jinping: China to Withstand “High Winds and Rough Waves”

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s National Security Commission held a meeting today, stating that China is facing an “obvious increase in the complexity and severity of national security issues” and needs to be prepared for “significant tests that may include high winds and rough waves.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Central National Security Commission, presided over the first meeting of the 20th Central National Security Commission on the afternoon of the 30th. During the meeting, he made the following remarks.

Xi Jinping emphasized the need to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, deeply understand the “complex and severe situation facing national security,” correctly grasp the “major national security issues,” accelerate the modernization of the national security system and capabilities, “safeguard the new development pattern with a new security framework,” and strive for a new phase in national security work.

The meeting highlighted that China is currently facing an “obvious increase in the complexity and severity of national security issues.” The national security front must establish strategic confidence, a firm belief in victory, and fully recognize its own advantages and favorable conditions. It is necessary to adhere to bottom-line thinking and extreme thinking and be prepared to withstand “significant tests that may include high winds and rough waves.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 302, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305300394.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Universities Plagued by Rising Depression Rates

According to the “2022 China National Mental Health Report” released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a comprehensive survey was conducted on nearly 80,000 university students to assess their mental health. The findings of the report revealed that the detected rates of depression and anxiety risks were approximately 21.48 percent and 45.28 percent respectively.

Furthermore, a study published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychology” delved into the mental health status of approximately 100,000 university students from 43 cities and 23 universities across the nation. The study revealed that the average prevalence of mental disorders among these students was 22.8 percent.

Another domestic study shed light on the psychological stress experienced by university students, with a staggering 73.2 percent of participants reporting varying degrees of stress. The study identified academic pressure and uncertainty as the primary contributors to mental health impacts.

Notably, students who perceive high academic pressure face a 1.43 times higher risk of developing mental disorders. Moreover, uncertainty stress, which stems from the ambiguity surrounding present and future development, was reported by approximately 54 percent of university students. The risk of mental health issues associated with uncertainty stress was found to be 2.55 times higher compared to other stress factors.

Furthermore, it was revealed that one-fourth of university students lack social support, an essential factor in maintaining good mental health. Research has demonstrated that the absence of social support has become a significant contributing factor to mental health problems among university students. Specifically, a study that focused on Chinese university students revealed  that over one-fourth of them lacked sufficient social support.

Source: ifeng.com, May 25, 2023
https://news.ifeng.com/c/8Q4lx0sgK17

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Leaked Internal Documents: Experts Enlisted for Cyber Army’s Reconnaissance Operation

On March 24, 2023, China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Eleventh Bureau issued an internal notice announcing plans to organize over 40 “experts in cyber intelligence, big data system construction, and data mining” from across the country to engage in a month-long period of “Special Reconnaissance Operations ” in Beijing from March 27 to April 27, 2023. The main objective of this operation was to “send personnel to participate in the battle for public opinion against overseas ‘Internet armies’ and effectively safeguard political security online.”

The leaked notice, suspected to have been obtained through email hacking, revealed that the operation was undertaken by the “Twenty-Fourth Division of the Eleventh Bureau,” led by a person named “Hu Fengming” (胡凤鸣). Several “Public Security Bureau Network Security Defense Brigades” were mentioned in the notice, which also included a list of 32 participating police officers with their real names.

The Network Security Defense Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, also known as the Eleventh Bureau, is an internal agency responsible for handling criminal cases related to computers and information networks. It oversees the management of the national public information network security police, commonly known as the “Internet police.”

The leaked notice was independently verified by China Digital Times (CDT) through online searches and cross-referencing, confirming the identities of some of the listed police officers. As of now, CDT has confirmed that 11 individuals are indeed Internet police officers from various regions (with some screenshots as evidence), leading to the belief that the leaked notice is genuine.

It appears that Chinese authorities are aware of the leak and have taken action. As of the time of this writing, the Baidu Baike pages (Chinese encyclopedia) of the individuals on the list have been taken offline. Weibo (a popular social media platform) has also cleared all names from the list.

Source: China Digital Times, May 24, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/695957.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s EV Battery Material Industry Unleashes Global Expansion

The Chinese company Yunnan Energy New Material (Semcorp), the world’s largest manufacturer of battery separators, is planning to launch its first overseas factory in Hungary and aims to increase its global market share to 50 percent by 2025. The company has dispatched approximately 100 employees to the Hungarian factory and is currently recruiting locally. The factory, with an investment of approximately €340 million, is expected to start production in 2023.

Battery separators are essential components in lithium-ion batteries that prevent short circuits and regulate the movement of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes during charging and discharging. Yunnan Energy New Material surpassed Japan’s Asahi Kasei in 2018 to become the global market leader in the separator market. By 2022, the company had achieved a market share of 37 percent.

Yunnan Energy New Material’s overall production capacity reached 7 billion square meters by the end of 2022. The company recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its second-phase factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and plans gradually to establish and expand factories in China. By 2025, the production capacity is expected to reach 16 billion square meters, a 2.3-fold increase from the current level.

The company’s revenue for the 2022 fiscal year increased by 58 percent compared to the previous year, reaching ¥12.5 billion, and its net profit increased by 47 percent to ¥4 billion. Yunnan Energy New Material has experienced continuous revenue and profit growth since its listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2016, driven by the rapid development of Chinese battery manufacturers such as CATL and BYD.

While the company faces competition from technologically advanced Japanese and South Korean enterprises, it maintains a cost advantage due to its overwhelming production scale. Its customers include major battery manufacturers such as Panasonic and Samsung. However, the company faces three major challenges in achieving further growth: technological gaps with Japanese and South Korean competitors, economic security concerns between China and the United States, and the risk of oversupply in the separator market.

Yunnan Energy New Material has approximately 500 researchers, including Chinese experts who previously worked for Asahi Kasei and Toray. While the company is catching up with leading Japanese and South Korean companies in terms of quality, battery industry experts believe that expanding market share in Europe will require higher technical capabilities. Entry into the vast US market also poses difficulties due to the potential exclusion of foreign companies from tax incentives under the Biden administration’s inflation reduction law.

In the global market for the four main lithium-ion battery materials (positive electrodes, negative electrodes, separators, and electrolytes), Chinese companies hold a market share of 74 to 88 percent, while Japanese companies’ presence is declining. The focus of the market share battle will shift to the next generation of batteries, including semi-solid-state and all-solid-state batteries, which are expected to improve battery performance and safety.

Overall, Yunnan Energy New Material is aggressively expanding its presence in the global market, but it faces challenges in terms of technology, economic security, and potential oversupply. The company aims to leverage its production scale and continue its research and development efforts to remain competitive in the evolving battery industry.

Source: Nikkei, May 24, 2023
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/china/ccompany/52475-2023-05-24-05-00-00.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Police Demand to Inspect Students’ Phones to Remove Chat Apps like Telegram

Chinese authorities have issued notifications in several regions, urging parents, under the pretext of “preventing online crimes,” to check their children’s mobile phones in order to remove “secret chat apps.”

According to reports from state media outlets like Guangming Daily Online, the official WeChat public account of the Nanjing Public Security Bureau stated on the 16th that secret chat apps, known for their strong encryption and features like “disappearing messages,” provide criminals with a convenient means to destroy evidence, making these apps a “gray area.”

Law enforcement agencies have expressed concern that criminals exploit secret chat apps to manipulate minors through deception, coaxing them into providing personal information and engaging in illegal activities. In some cases, individuals who assist in such online crimes can be charged with “assisting information network criminal activities,” which carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment, detention, or a fine for serious offenses.

Apart from the Nanjing police, similar warnings have been issued by authorities in various locations, including Fuzhou City in Fujian Province, Dazhou City in Sichuan Province, Hainanzhou in Qinghai Province, Hezhou City in Guangxi Province, Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia, and Lanzhou City in Gansu Province.

Some notifications also urge teachers and parents to check if their children have installed such apps on their phones, warning that their children may be assisting overseas fraudsters in illegal activities. If any installed apps are discovered, it is advised to take the matter seriously, inform the child about the potential harm, and accompany them to the nearest public security agency to investigate whether they are involved in any illegal activities.

The mentioned problematic apps include WhatsApp, Telegram, and Twitter, which are commonly used overseas.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 22, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305220035.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

US Lawmakers: In the Face of the CCP’s Persecution, America and Its’Allies Should Support Falun Gong

The Chinese authorities’ recent persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has once again sparked public attention. On Tuesday, the U.S. Congress held a special briefing where lawmakers and scholars called for international support for religious freedom and solidarity with the Falun Gong group which the Chinese regime suppresses.

Since Jiang Zemin declared a crackdown on Falun Gong in 1999, the Chinese authorities’ persecution of this spiritual movement has continued to the present day. The “Monthly Report on Political Prisoners and Conscience Prisoners in Mainland China” published by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders in April this year pointed out that the brutal repression of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is ongoing. Nevertheless, Falun Gong practitioners continue to resist without fear. Among the cases of sentencing collected in the report each month, Falun Gong practitioners constitute the largest group.

It is widely believed that the statistics from the Chinese civil society platforms are just the tip of the iceberg and the actual number of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted by the Chinese authorities may be much higher.

In response, the International Religious Freedom Caucus, a subsidiary group of the U.S. House of Representatives, held a briefing on Tuesday. Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida condemned the long-term mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese authorities, stating that the CCP has a long history of oppressing and eradicating specific religions and ethnicities. He said, “The Chinese regime seeks to eradicate their culture. Falun Gong is one of their main targets. Under the Chinese Communist Party, Falun Gong practitioners are charged, threatened, investigated, imprisoned, subjected to forced labor, abused, subjected to having their organs harvested, and they are even killed, solely because of their beliefs.”

Nina Shea, Director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, also spoke at the briefing, emphasizing the severity of the CCP’s atrocities against Falun Gong: “Of all the religious persecution in the world, the CCP’s crimes against Falun Gong are not often discussed, but they are extremely serious and even reach the level of religious genocide… The Chinese authorities are persecuting 70 to 100 million Falun Gong believers within China, arresting them, subjecting them to forced labor, torture, and abuse. Many believers disappear or die during their detention.”

Shea also pointed out that personnel from the illegal overseas police stations set up by the Chinese authorities in Manhattan, New York, have unlawfully oppressed and harassed Falun Gong practitioners within the United States.

During the briefing, Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted by the Chinese authorities as well as their family members shared their experiences. One participant, Simon Zhang, talked about his mother’s imprisonment and torture, highlighting the mistreatment and malnutrition she suffered. He described how his father, who is not a Falun Gong practitioner, was sentenced to eight years in prison on false charges of participating in Falun Gong after he returned to China from the United States.

In light of the persecution faced by Falun Gong practitioners, Representative Bilirakis called on the U.S. government and Congress to take action, stating that the United States and its allies should send a strong message in defense of basic human rights. He emphasized that no one should be intimidated, displaced from their homeland, imprisoned, or even murdered because of their beliefs. Simon Zhang urged the U.S. government to sanction the Chinese officials responsible for the persecution, noting that many Chinese police officers and officials fear being sanctioned as it would affect their children’s education and their ability to immigrate or buy or retain property in the United States.

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/tj-05232023121202.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Population Decline in China’s Major Cities Sparks Response from Official Media

China’s state-run newspaper, People’s Daily, has recently published articles addressing the country’s population issues in the wake of negative population growth in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

In the first article titled “Comprehensively Understanding and Correctly Viewing the New Situation of China’s Population Development,” the author, who goes by the pen name Zhongyin, notes that China’s aging population will become a permanent reality and that it is a global problem faced by many developed countries. The article stresses that China should focus on developing high-quality human resources to support its modernization process.

The second article, titled, “Focusing on Improving the Overall Quality of the Population”, emphasizes the need to improve the overall quality of China’s population while striving to maintain a moderate birth rate and population size. It suggests that China should create a modern human resources system with high-quality and abundant resources that are optimally distributed.

These articles highlight the challenges faced by China due to its aging population, declining birth rates, and the need to develop high-quality human resources.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 16, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305160355.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Dissidents Protested at the Chinese Embassy in Finland; The Embassy Falsely Accused them and had them Arrested

Two Chinese exiled dissidents protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Finland and were subsequently arrested and detained for two days after the embassy staff reported them to the police for “multiple serious crimes.”

Last Friday, Wang Jingyu arrived in Finland and joined another exiled dissident, Zhao Yunting, in protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy. The embassy filed a complaint stating that the protesters were disrupting their normal operations, but the police released the two protesters after questioning them. On the following day, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting continued their protest in front of the embassy. Subsequently, police officers arrived and arrested them. The next day, they were officially detained and informed that they were suspected of serious crimes. During the interrogation, Wang Jingyu was informed that a Chinese Embassy staff member named “Zhang Kui” had reported them for carrying explosives, extortion, and robbery. Based on these charges, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting could potentially face a one-year prison sentence.

With the assistance of their lawyers and the Finnish Central Criminal Police, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting were released after being detained for two days. On Wednesday, Wang Jingyu recounted the events and said, “On May 7th, the Finnish police formally arrested and detained us.. A police officer said that Zhao Yunting and I were suspected of serious criminal offenses. On May 8th, the Finnish police interrogated me again and told me that a person named ‘Zhang Kui’ from the Chinese Embassy had called them and accused us of planting bombs in Helsinki and robbing their diplomatic property, as well as extortion. After investigating, the Finnish police confirmed that we did not commit these acts.”

Wang Jingyu also mentioned that he had been subjected to death threats and harassment for over a year, with Chinese overseas police officers falsely reporting him numerous times. He believes this incident follows the same pattern and indicates a connection between the Chinese Embassy and illegal Chinese overseas police agencies.

The Chinese Embassy in Finland was contacted multiple times by the media, but they stated that there is no person named “Zhang Kui” in the embassy. Currently, Finnish lawyers are preparing to seek state compensation for the actions of the police. Wang Jingyu urged the police to  disclose the information about  the individual who made the false bomb threat publicly and called for a public condemnation statement.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 11, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/bomb-05112023112424.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend