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The “United Front” is both a strategy and an ecosystem of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  It is a guided or CCP-controlled group charged with advancing both China’s domestic control and its international influence. The media represent an important front. Beijing’s “World Media Summit” is an annual platform to influence overseas media.

According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, the fourth World Media Summit was held in Beijing on November 22. Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and head of Central Propaganda Department, attended the plenary session and read the CCP Chair Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter and delivered a keynote address.

Huang pointed out that Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter fully affirmed the achievements of the summit and placed great expectations on the global media to shoulder their social responsibilities and promote the building of a “community of human destiny in a better way.”

Huang told the media “to adhere to objectivity, truthfulness, and scientific and rational judgment; to oppose rumors and bias, and to be responsible in disseminating public information.” Huang then went ahead with the party line: “The CCP and the State have made historic achievements and have made important contributions to the peaceful development of the world.”

Xinhua news agency hosted this year’s summit. Nearly 400 Chinese and foreign guests from more than 260 media and institutions in nearly 100 countries and regions attended the meeting online and in person.

Source: People’s Daily, November 23, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-11/23/nw.D110000renmrb_20211123_4-04.htm

Nepal, a country that borders Tibet, is giving consideration to joining the U.S. Millennium Challenge (MCC) aid program. Local media have recently exposed a classified report from Nepal’s national security authorities that revealed that  China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has a long history of intelligence espionage and would stop at nothing to thwart the program.

Khabarhub, a Nepali English language media, revealed the classified report on November 12. “Khabarhub obtained the document on the condition of confidentiality and anonymity. It covered in detail the Chinese intelligence apparatus, its modus operandi inside Nepal, and the people involved in it.” “The report also included details about intelligence officials working as diplomats, journalists, and even businessmen.”

“The document states that China is ‘playing a role’ in souring Nepal’s relations with third countries, particularly with the United States, and is currently actively propagating, lobbying and spending against the MCC.”

“The 50-page confidential intelligence document also details all of China’s intelligence priorities, objectives, networks, and individuals in Nepal. Many details of the past are also mentioned in the document.”

“Nepali security forces have concluded that the Chinese intelligence officials’ top priority is to invalidate MCC at any cost. The security authorities have also concluded that the Chinese intelligence agency is actively involved in lobbying against MCC and is disseminating disinformation.”

“Nepali security and intelligence officials warn that the rapid advance and increased Chinese intelligence volume could even play a role in changing Nepal’s political position.”

“Lately, besides gathering intelligence, the Chinese are actively influencing and spending money on Nepali politicians, journalists and even businessmen.”

The report also identifies a Chinese national, Ning Lin, a name at the top of the security authorities’ list of those involved in crafting anti-MCC rhetoric in Nepal. Lin, (also known as “Oscar Ning”), a Chinese intelligence agency (MSS) official, carries two passports and is said to have come from the Chinese province of Hubei.

Source: Khabarhub, November 12, 2021

Nepali security authorities identify a Chinese intelligence agency official involved in anti-MCC propaganda

On Thursday, November 11, multiple Indian media reported that  the Indian government told the country’s Supreme Court  that the Indian military needs to expand the roads along the India-China border to meet the need to transport the army’s current state-of-the-art BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and other military equipment. Earlier India’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat told a forum that China has become India’s number one security threat.

The move came after India unveiled an INR120 million strategic project to connect four pilgrimage sites in North Akhand with a 900-kilometer highway. The government on Thursday petitioned the Supreme Court to revise the plan, as Attorney General K. K. Venugopal reportedly claimed that local terrain conditions were harsh and that the 5.5-meter-wide road was insufficient to transport the 12.8-meter-long BrahMos missile and its launcher. If the Indian military cannot transport the device and other heavy mechanical equipment to the northern border of India and China, it will be difficult for India to respond in the event of war.

The BrahMos missile is the most advanced long-range supersonic missile of the Indian military. Rawat said that the Indian military has prepared for “any misadventure.” “If a Galwan [Editor: referring to the place of a previous clash] were to happen again, it would not be in our hands; it is up to the Chinese. They can carry out a Galwan again but should they do it, they will get in the same coin they got last time.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-11132021171839.html

ARD Fernsehen, a German TV station, reported that one of its investigative programs, “The Munich Report” and the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag (“World on Sunday”) discovered the role that German technology has been playing on Chinese warships.

German manufacturers have developed and even built a sizable portion of the engines that power the Chinese Navy’s warships. The MTU Friedrichshafen, a manufacturer of internal combustion engines, and MAN, the French subsidiary of Volkswagen, are involved. One can find detailed information about the German engine and turbine manufacturer’s supplies to China in the publicly accessible database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). MTU is said to have been a regular supplier of China’s most advanced Brigadier III class destroyers until at least 2020. The supply comes through the circuitous route of licensed production in China. MAN and MTU assured the Munich Report and Welt am Sonntag that they have always complied with export control regulations. According to MTU, the business of delivering submarine components to China “completely stopped” after the Song-class submarines were equipped. The company “has never signed a contract with the Chinese Ministry of Defense or armed forces itself.” The engines installed in the Brigantine III-class destroyers, as SIPRI calls them, do not require an export license because they are so-called dual-use goods. That is, the engines can also be used for civilian purposes.

This year, the Chinese Navy is putting more of its Brigantine III-class destroyers into service. The most recent is the destroyer Kaifeng, which was unveiled in July on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

MTU and MAN can claim that their deliveries are permitted. The EU imposed an arms embargo on China after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, but the embargo’s binding effect is limited. Sebastian Rossner, a Cologne-based lawyer and export expert, told Germany’s ARD public broadcaster, “Because the EU arms embargo on China was not formally decided in accordance with the European treaties, certain exports of ship engines may also be permissible (if intended for the Chinese navy).” He added, “If you want to change this, the EU must either amend the Dual-Use Regulation or formally impose an arms embargo.”

Source: Radio France International, November 7, 2021
https://rfi.my/7tZR