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Beijing Passed a Far-reaching Hong Kong National Security Law

On June 30, China passed the Hong Kong national security law, which went into effect immediately. The official Xinhua News Agency published the full text of the law. Four crimes now all carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The law is more far-reaching than most people expected.

A foreigner who exercises freedom of speech in a foreign country and advocates Hong Kong independence may be arrested in Hong Kong. As long as any of the “criminal acts or results” occur in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), it will be deemed to be a crime in Hong Kong. The law also applies to any Hong Kong permanent resident or a Hong Kong based company that commits a relevant crime outside of Hong Kong. For non-Hong Kong permanent residents outside Hong Kong, they are also punishable even if they commit the relevant crimes outside Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong national security law stipulates four crimes.

Separatism. The chief offenders are subject to life imprisonment or imprisonment of more than ten years. Active participants imprisonment may be between three and ten years, while others imprisonment will be less than three years.

Subversion. Any act of subversion shall be punishable by imprisonment of from less than three years up to life imprisonment.

Anyone who incites, assists, abets, or sponsors with money or other property the commission of the above two crimes can be sentenced to from less than five years to more than ten years in jail.

Terrorism. Those that cause significant losses can be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for more than 10 years. Lessor offenders may receive between three and ten years imprisonment. Propagating terrorism and inciting terrorist activities are also crimes and can be subject to imprisonment of less than five years or less than ten years.

Collusion with foreign countries or external forces endangering national security. Offenses include stealing, purchasing, and illegally providing state secrets or intelligence to foreign or overseas organizations and personnel. Offenses also include requesting relevant organizations or individuals to implement or conspire to implement, directly or indirectly accepting their instructions, control, and funding to support the implementation of five actions.

The five actions include conducting sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions against the HKSAR or China; manipulation and sabotaging of the elections, causing possible serious consequences; various illegal methods that trigger the hatred of the Hong Kong residents towards the central government or the HKSAR government that may cause serious consequences.

The HKSAR government will establish a new Committee for Safeguarding National Security (CSNSC), and Beijing will set up a corresponding Commission for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong (CSNSHK), headed by a vice minister of Public Security. For the first time, the national security law clearly stipulates that the CSNSHK, instead of the HKSAR, will exercise direct jurisdiction over the case under three circumstances: First, the case involves the intervention of foreign or external forces, making it difficult for the HKSAR to exercise jurisdiction; second, it involves a serious situation in which the HKSAR government cannot effectively implement the national security law; third, a situation where national security faces a major and real threat.

There are also other controversial stipulations in the national security law.

The work of the CSNSC is free from interference from any other agencies, organizations and individuals in the HKSAR government. The information is not disclosed and decisions made are not subject to judicial review.

The law emphasizes that neither the suspect nor the defendant shall be released on bail unless the judge has sufficient reason to believe that the suspect or the defendant will not continue to endanger national security.

The law stipulates that the Chief Executive of the HKSAR shall appoint a number of judges to handle crimes against national security. Anyone who has expressed words or committed deeds that endanger national security shall not be designated as a judge to hear national security criminal cases. During the appointment, if the judge has words or deeds that endanger national security, the qualification of the appointed judge will be terminated.

If there is any inconsistency between the local laws of HKSAR and the national security law, the provisions of the latter shall apply. The right to interpret the Hong Kong national security law belongs to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Source: Central News Agency, July 1, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202007010006.aspx
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202007010005.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

SIPRI: China Added at Least 30 Nuclear Warheads in 2019

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank, recently released reports, showing a total of 13,400 nuclear warheads worldwide as of January 2020, distributed among the USA, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. China currently has a stockpile of 320 warheads in its arsenal, compared to 5,800 in the United States and 6,370 in Russia. However, “in 2019 China and India were, respectively, the second- and third-largest military spenders in the world. China’s military expenditures reached $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 per cent increase compared with 2018, while India’s grew by 6.8 per cent to $71.1 billion.”

SIPRI pointed out that “China is in the middle of a significant modernization of its nuclear arsenal. It is developing a so-called nuclear triad for the first time, made up of new land- and sea-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft.” According to sources from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China added at least 30 nuclear warheads in 2019, some of which are already ready for deployment. As it is difficult to tell China’s intentions, its unrestricted arsenal has become a threat to many countries. The latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have also contributed to nuclear risks.

The specifics of the nuclear tactics of the PLA, including its weapons manufacturing and the capability of its buildup and deployment, have always been the focus of foreign observers, who believe that the Chinese military has hidden nuclear warheads in many inland provinces, especially Xinjiang. China is believed to have conducted test explosions in the enclosed areas of Xinjiang, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia.

“SIPRI’s estimates suggest that China is the second-largest arms producer in the world, behind the United States and ahead of Russia. All four of the profiled companies would have been ranked among the 20 largest arms-producing and military services companies globally in 2017, with three—AVIC, NORINCO, and CETC—in the top 10.”

SIPRI’s database shows that China was the fifth largest exporter in 2015–19, following the United States, Russia, France, and Germany. The large buyers of Chinese weapons include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Algeria. According to SIPRI, “Most of these countries are considered friendly or are allies of China.”

So far, China has not signed the 2013 United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) or any relevant international agreement. The United States insists that China should join the nuclear arms reduction talks, but China has repeatedly refused. The U.S. has insisted that China join future nuclear arms reduction talks—something that China has categorically ruled out.

Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia, June 26, 2020.
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/cl-06262020125541.html
2. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, June 15, 2020
https://sipri.org/media/press-release/2020/nuclear-weapon-modernization-continues-outlook-arms-control-bleak-new-sipri-yearbook-out-now

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Liberation Army’s Website Information Raises Suspicion about Plan for Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier

On June 23, the website of the “Military Weapon and Equipment Procurement Information Network” (http://www.weain.mil.cn/), headed by the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, released “nine new procurement needs and 53 procurement announcements.” One of the procurement announcements was for a “ship with a nuclear power system analysis model development project.” The announcement that was circulated among mainland military fans was that the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has entered into the evaluation stage.

The PLA already owns two non-nuclear-powered aircraft carriers: the Liaoning and the Shandong. A third larger and more modern aircraft carrier is being built in Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard. According to media reports, this ship, code-named 003, is still using traditional power.

Although the PLA wanted to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, it has not been able to make a breakthrough in the nuclear power system technology. The PLA already owns ten nuclear-powered submarines, but it is much more difficult to develop a nuclear reactor for larger ships.

Source: Central News Agency, June 25, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202006250166.aspx

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China to Abolish Mongolian Language in Schools in an Inner Mongolia City

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is a Chinese province where most ethnic Mongols live and Mongolian has been the native language throughout its history.

Recently officials from the education bureau of Tongliao, a city in eastern Inner Mongolia, passed verbal notices to local schools that, starting from the second half of this year, all courses will stop using Mongolian as the major language for academic activities, except the Mongolian language course. The issue went viral among schools and local residents. Parents worry that, in the future, their children will not understand Mongolian.

A former teacher in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia, told Radio Free Asia that most courses taught in the Mongolian language will disappear beginning on September 1st. The authorities will dispatch personnel to strengthen the supervision, and push through Chinese language education in the Mongolian region. In short, the mother tongue education in Inner Mongolia is facing an unprecedented crisis. Although China’s own Law on Regional National Autonomy guarantees the freedom to use its own native language for education, people are concerned that the policy will lead to the “disappearance” of the Mongolian culture.

The Inner Mongolian authorities have long intended to abolish education in the native language. At the end of 2018, due to the protests by the parents of students, the government aborted its plan to enforce Chinese language teaching in East Ujimqin Banner of Xilinguole League, in the northeast area of the Inner Mongolia. In mid-December 2017, the Bayinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region suddenly stopped all courses taught in Mongolian, triggering strong dissatisfaction among the local Mongolians.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 24, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/language-06242020071829.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

FCC Rejects Phoenix TV’s Application

On Monday June 22, the Federal Communications Commission said it rejected the request of a radio station in Mexico to continue broadcasting Mandarin Chinese language programs to southern California and ordered it to cease operations within 48 hours. The statement reads, “The application was dismissed because the parties failed to include in their application a key participant, Phoenix Radio, which produces the Mandarin programming in its studio. Phoenix Radio is partially owned by two entities with Chinese government ownership, Extra Steps Investment Limited and China Wise International Limited. The parties have 48 hours to cease broadcast operations related to this application.”

After the rejection, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a statement applauding the FCC’s decision. “Today’s decision sends an important message to the world that the U.S. will not allow China to exploit FCC loopholes and spread its propaganda over our airwaves. More importantly, this decision is a critical step in countering the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to control what Americans see, hear, and ultimately think.”

Source: VOA, June 22, 2020
https://www.voachinese.com/a/fcc-dismisses-application-to-deliver-chinese-programs-across-border-20200622/5473019.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Communist Parties of China and Nepal Hold Joint Seminar

People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reported on June 19, that the CCP and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) organized an opening session of the video seminar series on the governance of the party and the country. Song Tao, head of the CCP’s Department of External Relations, and Wu Yingjie, head of CCP Committee of Tibet, participated and gave speeches. Speakers also included Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, head of the CPN and the former Prime Minister of Nepal, Ishwar Pokhrel, a current Secretariat member of the CPN and Nepal’s Minister of Defense. Other attendees included over 100 people from the CPN central committee, heads of the Nepal government agencies and the CPN committees of seven Nepal provinces.

Song Tao said that China and Nepal are “good neighbors, friends, and partners for generations.” Last year, CCP head Xi Jinping visited Nepal and reached an “important consensus” on strengthening exchanges of political experiences between the two parties. The joint seminar was supposed to implement the “important consensus,” to deepen mutual trust, and to promote high-quality cooperation in the areas of the “Belt and Road” project.

In return, Prachanda and Pokhrel “spoke highly of the great achievements of the CCP for leading the Chinese people in epidemic prevention and control, as well as economic and social development.”

Source: People’s Daily, June 20, 2020
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2020-06/20/nw.D110000renmrb_20200620_4-02.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

HKSAR Strengthens Nationalism Education: Schools Must Raise the National Flag and Play the National Anthem

The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) recently issued guidelines to primary and secondary schools that require raising China’s national flag and letting it flow and playing the national anthem on three holidays: New Year’s Day, the HKSAR’s Establishment Day on July 1, and Chinese National Day on October 1.

A Hong Kong radio station reported that the education bureau also announced that it will implement “national anthem” education in the music classes from the first grade of elementary school to the third grade of junior high school.

In particular, the education bureau also pointed out that if students exhibit “abnormal behavior” while singing the national anthem, the school should handle it through counseling and if the situation is serious and involves illegal behavior that cannot be handled by the school, it may consider seeking police assistance.

Source: Central News Agency, June 18, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202006180398.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Mandates Real-name Registration for Online Literature

China’s online literature has grown rapidly in recent years. According to the “2019 Online Literature Development Report” that the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) released in February, the number of online literature users has reached 455 million. Fifty percent of users are online readers; the number of online authors has reached 17.55 million.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported on June 15 that China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) issued a “Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Online Literature Publishing.” The Notice demands “rectifying the order of the online literature industry, strengthening the management of online literature publishing, and leading the online publishing units with a correct publication orientation.”

The Notice requires that online literature publishing units establish and improve content review and the approval mechanism. It strictly regulates the posting and publishing behavior and enforces the “real name registration for online literature creators.” Online publication platforms are told to be explicit in exhibiting posting rules and service agreements.

Source: Central News Agency, June 16, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202006160103.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology