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Chinese Government’s Disinformation and anti-American Propaganda: On the First Day of School!

On September 2, the first day of the new school year, the Chinese official media again pushed the party’s ideological education in the form of the “First Class of the New Semester” program. A popular China Central Television host called on the students across the country to love and care for the Chinese national flag as much as they love life.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that, on September 2, teachers in some schools taught the students that the United States has manufactured the Hong Kong “independence movement” so as to stop China’s rise.

Mr. Xie, a legal professional working in Beijing, told RFA that the Ministry of Education mandated ideological education sessions, from the kindergartens to the universities, on the first day of school. Even kindergarten children aged between three and six were asked to memorize and recite this stuff.

Another RFA interviewee said that the Ministry of Education issued an official document that required every school and every family to organize the students to watch (the program). Some schools even used the Hong Kong situation as the subject of the first class of the semester. Now the government characterizes the Hong Kong situation as a Hong Kong independence movement. School teachers do not know the truth about Hong Kong. They can only accept the order that the Ministry of Education issued.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 2, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/education-09022019093615.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

JP Morgan to Include China in Its Benchmark Bond Index

Starting on February 28, 2020, Chinese government’s debt will start to be part of the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM), a benchmark emerging-markets index that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will manage. The process of inclusion will be completed over 10 months.

The total capital of GBI-EM, which tracks global emerging markets, is approximately $226 billion, among which some $202 billion will be tracked in the GBI-EM global diversified benchmark. The Chinese government bonds will be capped at 10 percent of the index.

Earlier in April, Bloomberg Barclays, another index provider, began adding Chinese bonds to its global benchmark.

Source: The Paper, September 4, 2019
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4335465

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Facing Risks and Challenges, Xi Emphasizes a “Fighting Spirit”

Recently, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Party School of the CCP Central Committee. The speech centered on the theme of “fighting” or “battling.” He said that the major battles during China’s development will be no less and no more complicated [than previous battles], and this includes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan issues.

An official from Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi’s speech was given on September 3rd at the Party School, at the opening ceremony of the training session for young and middle-aged CCP cadres. Xi said that cadres should “promote the fighting spirit and enhance fighting capabilities” and that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is not easy. It cannot be achieved by beating gongs and sounding drums. A great fight must be put up to achieve a great dream.”

Xi Jinping declared [the need] to fight against and defeat four major risks and challenges. They include “endangering the leadership of the CCP and the Chinese socialist system, endangering China’s core interests and major principles, endangering the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, and endangering China’s goal of ‘two hundred years’ and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Source: Central News Agency, September 3, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201909030318.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Communist Party Strengthens Grassroots Propaganda Work

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released the “Regulations on the Propaganda Work of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The spokesperson for The CCP’s Central Propaganda Department said that, considering the new situation, some tasks are urgent. They include codifying the “important thoughts of General Secretary Xi Jinping on propaganda and ideological work and also the experiences and practices of the CCP’s long-term propaganda work, especially the work since the 18th CCP Congress.”

The spokesperson mentioned that the grassroots propaganda work is relatively weak. The regulation made the grassroots propaganda work a separate chapter. It clearly stipulates the propaganda work in enterprises, rural areas, institutions, schools, research institutes, streets and communities, and social organizations. For example, township (street) party organizations should specify one party committee member to be responsible for propaganda; village (community) party organizations should employ dedicated propaganda staff; state-owned and state-controlled enterprise party organizations should set up a propaganda work office. The party committee of a university should set up a propaganda department. The party organizations in enterprises with state shares, non-state economic organizations, and social organizations shall employ propaganda staff.

Party committees at all levels have been told to take the study and promotion of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, aka Xi Jinping Thought, as their primary political task.

Source: Central News Agency, September 1, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201909010099.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Taiwanese Government Boycotts CCP’s United Front Work and its 70th Anniversary Events

On August 29, at China’s State Council Information Office’s press conference regarding the 70th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) founding, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Qun said, “Artists from Hong Kong, Macao. and Taiwan who love the motherland and safeguard the ‘one country, two systems’ and the peaceful unification of the motherland will work with mainland artists to present a high-level evening gala.”

At a press conference on the same day, spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan called on the Taiwanese people not to become a target of the CCP’s united front work against the island.

Chiu said that five bills surrounding Taiwan’s national security have recently been amended. The government is not happy to see the general public going to mainland China to participate in activities with political implications. Chiu called on the Taiwanese people to consider their national dignity and the social perception and avoid violating the law. On July 3, iIn order to strengthen the regulation of current or retired public servants and military personnel going to mainland China, Taiwan passed articles 9 and 91 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. These articles will be officially implemented starting September 1. If personnel subject to the regulations obstruct the national dignity, they will be punished according to the law.

MAC believes that Beijing will use the anniversary activities to spread propaganda about the achievements of the regime and use large scale military parades to display new weapons to intimidate Taiwan and neighboring countries. Chiu emphasized that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and Taiwan does not accept “one country, two systems.”

Source: Central News Agency, August 29, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908290281.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Hong Kong’s Forum Server under Attack, Chinese Authorities Suspected Using Telegram to ID Protesters

Many of Hong Kong’s “anti-extradition law” protesters use a Hong Kong based online discussion forum, LIHKG, to mobilize and organize their actions. LIHKG announced around 6 am on Sunday that the “LIHKG has been under (un)precedented DDoS attacks for the past 24 hours. We have reason to believe that there is a power, or even a national level power, behind the organization of such attacks as botnets from all over the world were manipulated in launching this attack.”

“The enormous amount of network requests has caused Internet congestion and has overloaded the server, which has occasionally affected the access to LIHKG. The website data and members’ information have been unaffected.”

In addition, British media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Telegram, a U.K. based instant messaging service, recently detected that Hong Kong or the mainland Chinese government may have uploaded a large number of phone numbers to the application, trying to identify the demonstrators using its matching function. Telegram software will automatically match the members of the communication group by phone number. The Chinese government only needs to ask the local telephone company to find out the true identities of the Telegram users. It is unclear whether the Chinese government has successfully identified the demonstrators.

Telegram is working on a fix to allow the users to disable the matching by phone number, so as to protect the privacy of Hong Kong protesters.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 31, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-apps-08312019091610.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

German Think Tank: Hong Kong Is Losing its Status as a Financial Center

A German think tank scholar is concerned that the ongoing demonstrations have caused irreparable harm to the status of Hong Kong as a financial center and that the situation, if allowed to further deteriorate, may also hurt China.

Max Zenglein, head of research in economics at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics), said, after a visit to Hong Kong, that people in Hong Kong believe that the city is gradually losing its freedom. They are therefore pessimistic about the future. Hong Kong’s economy is facing an unprecedented crisis; the number of visitors from abroad has gone back to the level during severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003.

Zenglein observed that many foreign businessmen are worried that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy will be gone forever and are preparing for the worst. As the situation worsens, when Hong Kong loses its advantages of judicial independence and freedom of speech, and is no different from a Chinese city, foreign companies will move their Asian headquarters to Singapore or Tokyo.

Zenglein’s analysis is that the continuous demonstrations over two months have caused irreparable harm to Hong Kong. “Hong Kong’s best time as a global financial center has already passed.” Moreover, the demonstrators did not cause the harm. The Chinese government’s tough reaction caused it. The massive assembly of armed police on the border will only bring greater fear.

Zenglein believes that China’s state-owned enterprises and rich people are highly reliant on Hong Kong’s capital market. China’s “Belt and Road” project also needs Hong Kong. China’s richest people have begun to transfer their assets to Singapore or London, and no longer view Hong Kong as a safe haven.

Source: Central News Agency, August 27, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908270017.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

BBC: Five Approaches of China in Response to Hong Kong

On August 22, BBC Chinese reported on five methods China has used to respond to the protesters in Hong Kong.

1. Media and Propaganda

In the beginning, the Chinese media’s news was silent about the million people parades. Shortly thereafter, the official propaganda outlets launched campaigns to focus on the “violence” in Hong Kong’s protests, portraying an image of “foreign funded violent protesters.” Outside of China, the official media have been making use of Western social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. Chinese diplomats have also published articles or done interviews in the local media to criticize the protesters or support the actions of overseas pro-Beijing Chinese students.

2. Economic Pressure

Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, was hard hit. China accused Cathay employees of participating in the violent protests. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a “significant aviation safety risk warning” to Cathay Pacific. Cathay’s share price plummeted, and the CEO and managing director Rupert Hogg resigned. This gave a clear warning to the Hong Kong business circle. Shortly afterwards, Hong Kong’s real estate developers, banks, and accounting firms placed advertisements in newspapers to condemn the violence and side with Beijing and the SAR government.

3. Threats of Military and Police Involvement

The People’s Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong and the Chinese police force have also turned up the volume of propaganda with messages that included threats. Hong Kong’s PLA released a video entitled, “Do Not Forget Our Original Aspirations, Defend Hong Kong.” The content shown in-the-street exercises in the containment of protesters — with snipers, machine guns, and loudspeakers. On the other hand, the Chinese armed police conducted a drill in Shenzhen, across the river from Hong Kong. Although China said that this was a routine exercise in preparation for National Day security on August 19th, the mouthpiece newspaper People’s Daily published a video of the drill, indicating that suppression by force was still an option for Beijing to use in handling Hong Kong.

4. Pro-China parades

In Hong Kong, multiple gatherings to support the SAR government and the police have been held many times, participants have included many movie stars. On August 17, real estate tycoons in Hong Kong attended a rally organized by the pro-Beijing political party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) to express their opposition to violence.

Outside Hong Kong, after the Chinese students at the University of Queensland in Australia confronted the students who supported Hong Kong protesters, the Chinese Embassy in Australia affirmed the “spontaneous patriotic behavior” of Chinese students. In Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Vancouver, Toronto, and other cities, Chinese students and local Chinese organized demonstrations in support of the Hong Kong government and the police.

5, Legal Means

On August 21, the speech of the spokesman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zang Tiewei, actually ruled out the possibility of restarting Hong Kong’s political reform and achieving universal suffrage for the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the Legislative Council.

Zang said, “Recently, some illegal criminals in Hong Kong have openly attacked the legislature, violently attacked the police, and willfully beat innocent people. These acts are serious crimes in any country under the rule of law and will be punished according to the law.”

On the issue of universal suffrage, Zang said that the “8·31” decision was a legally binding decision adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The handling of Hong Kong affairs must be resolved within the framework of the Constitution, and the Hong Kong Basic Law.

The so-called “8·31” decision refers to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China on August 31, 2014 regarding the general election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the method for the generation of the 2016 Legislative Council.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 22, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-49422502

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics