Skip to content

All posts by NNL - 25. page

Wang Huning on Building “Christianity With Chinese Characteristics”

Xinhua reported that the 11th National Congress of Chinese Christianity was held in Beijing from December 20 to 21. Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met with members of the leadership of the national Christian congress.

Wang Huning stressed “adherence to the sinicization of Christianity in China, following the principles of being independent [from Western Christianity] and self-managed, and providing doctrinal interpretations that align with contemporary China’s development, socialist core values, and traditional Chinese culture. [Chinese Christians] must adhere to comprehensive and strict governance of religious practice, conduct religious activities in accordance with laws and regulations, and build a team of religious professionals who are politically reliable, knowledgeable in religion, morally influential, and capable of playing a crucial role at critical time.”

Source: Xinhua, December 24, 2023
http://www.news.cn/mrdx/2023-12/24/c_1310756999.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China’s “Cultural Enterprises” Expanding Overseas

People’s Daily reported that many Chinese culture enterprises — companies providing culture-related services and entertainment or selling products related to China’s culture heritage — have been expanding to the global market in recent years.

The People’s Daily report gave the following examples of cultural enterprises: Chinese TV series with Chinese culture elements, such as silk embroidery, qipao (traditional Chinese dress), jade carving, etc, have become popular online; commercial virtual reality videos to show undersea world near the coast of China; and companies hosting online livestreams of the Peking Opera performance.

At China’s 2023 Cultural, Trade, Investment and Financing Expo in Hefei City, Anhui Province, approximately 1,000 companies from both domestic and international origins participated. The expo showcased over ten thousand cultural products and various distinctive artistic skills.

Source: People’s Daily, January 3, 2024
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0103/c1002-40151847.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

The CCP’s Nine Modes of Interference in Taiwan’s Election

Taiwan will have its Presidential election on January 13. The Epoch Times listed nine modes of influence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been exercising in attempts to force an election outcome favorable to Beijing.

  1. Xi Jinping and the CCP’s Taiwan Affairs Office have been making veiled threats of war, sending a message to Taiwanese voters. In Xi Jinping’s New Years address on December 26, 2023, Xi Jinping stated that the reunification of Taiwan is “a must” and “historically inevitable.” Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, referred to the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Mei-chin, as “war instigators.” At the same time, Chen expressed a willingness to cooperate with Hou Youyi, the presidential candidate from Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) party. The CCP’s endorsement of Hou Youyi is clear.
  2. On January 9th, the CCP launched a satellite using the Long March 2C carrier rocket. The rocket flew over the southern end of Taiwan’s airspace. This served as a reminder to the Taiwanese people that the CCP’s rockets could be overhead at any moment.
  3. The Chinese military conducted maritime exercises in the East China Sea from January 8 to 9.
  4. Chinese military aircraft and warships persist in infringing upon Taiwan’s airspace and territorial waters.
  5. Chinese surveillance balloons over Taiwan – From December 7, 2023 to January 10, 2024, a total of 30 Chinese surveillance balloons flew over the median line of the Taiwan Strait or directly crossed into Taiwan’s airspace.
  6. Inviting Taiwanese politicians to visit mainland China – Liu Zhaoxuan, the former head of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan (the Taiwanese executive cabinet) during Ma Ying-jeou’s presidency, visited China and met with Wang Huning, a CCP Central Committee’s Politburo Standing Committee member. One day later, Ma Ying-jeou suggested that the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party join forces and rally behind a single presidential candidate to beat the DPP. Vice Chairman Xia Liyan of the KMT visited mainland China on December 13, 2023; this was his fourth visit to the mainland since the summer of 2023. The CCP has also launched a campaign to invite Taiwan’s local officials and village heads to visit mainland China.
  7. Beijing has increased economic pressure on Taiwan, recently announcing increased import tariffs on several categories of Taiwanese goods.
  8. The CCP has provided campaign funds for favored Taiwanese politicians.
  9. The CCP has utilized online platforms to conduct cognitive warfare and disinformation warfare against Taiwan’s population. Techniques employed “integrate cyber, information, psychological and social engineering attack methods and can operate simultaneously with other physical means to influence the attitudes and behaviors of target individuals or groups to gain an advantage.”

Source: Epoch Times, January 10, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/1/10/n14155496.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

Australian Court Delivers Landmark Verdict: CCP United Front Work Member Convicted of Foreign Interference

In November 2020, the Australian police charged former Liberal Party member Di Sanh “Sunny” Duong, also known as Yang Yisheng, with violating the “Foreign Interference Laws”: Duong was accused of preparing or planning foreign interference activities. On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, an Australian court ruled that the charges were substantiated. This marks the first such verdict under foreign interference laws enacted in 2018. Duong may face up to 10 years in prison.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), prosecutors informed the court that Duong had maintained regular contact with Chinese intelligence agencies and attempted to influence then Federal Minister Alan Tudge to further the goals of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Born in Vietnam, Sunny Duong, 68 years old, is a well-known businessman in the Australian Chinese community. He serves as the chairman of the Oceania Cambodia Vietnam Chinese Association and holds various leadership positions in Chinese community organizations in the Australian state of Victoria. He is believed to be associated with the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, which is controlled by the CCP’s United Front Work Department.

ABC’s report stated that prosecutor Patrick Doyle SC told the jury that Duong’s actions couldn’t be compared to the espionage seen in spy novels or 007 movies. He said that Duong’s actions were rather a “subtle form of interference,” emphasizing that the motivation was to gain influence [for the CCP].

A secret recording showed that Sunny Duong told a colleague, “What I do won’t be reported in the media, but Beijing knows what I’m doing.”

Source: Voice of America, December 19, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/australia-court-finds-melbourne-man-guilty-of-foreign-interference-121923/7404075.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

CCP Pilots Ethnic Interpenetration Policy in Xinjiang

The Xinjiang Daily reported on December 14, 2023 that the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang has enacted “Regulations on Promoting Interaction, Communication, and Integration among Various Ethnic Groups.” Consisting of 19 articles, the legislation aims to commingle diverse ethnic groups together. This would serve as a pilot implementation of the “ethnic interpenetration” policy endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party in 2014.

Critics pointed out that forcing various ethnic groups to live and mix together plays to the CCP’s policy of eliminating minority ethnic cultures and implementing more complete control populations living in China. For example, when members of the Han ethnic group (the majority population in China) are imported to Xinjiang and mixed with the Uighur ethnic group, the Han people’s acceptance of CCP culture will naturally manifest itself in daily life and thereby reduce the religious and cultural cohesion of the Uighur people.

Per the CCP’s ideology, forcible mixing of different ethnicities and cultures is used to foment conflicts between those cultural and ethnic groups. This aids the CCP in “inciting struggle among the people,” e.g. provoking conflicts between the Han and Uighur ethnicities. The resulting instability and incohesion makes it easier for the CCP to implement control.

Such ethnic interpenetration policies also enable the CCP to more conveniently organize intelligence operations and strengthen surveillance over minority ethnic groups.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 22, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-12222023161033.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

Sing Tao Daily: At Least 30 Generals Involved in Rocket Force Corruption Case

China recently announced the removal of nine senior generals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from the National People’s Congress for their involvement in the Rocket Force’s corruption case. Three Lieutenant Generals were among the indicted: former Air Force Commander Ding Laihang, and former Commanders and Commisar of the Rocket Force Li Yuchao and Zhou Yaning.

Hong Kong-based Sing Tao Daily reported that the involved people also include former Defense Minister General Li Shangfu and General Wei Fenghe, as well as over 30 generals, and many more officers at the divisional level and above.

Source: Sing Tao Daily, December 31, 2023
http://tinyurl.com/4bnss7r7

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

Xinhua: North Korea Claims South Korea Misjudged its Military Activity

Xinhua reported that Kim Yo Jong of North Korea has claimed that South Korea misjudged North Korea’s military movements. The following is a translation of the report.

According to the report from the Korean Central News Agency (North Korean media), Kim Yo Jong, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, made a statement on January 7, pointing out that South Korea has made a misjudgment and speculative assumptions about the movements of the North Korean military.

The report stated that South Korea claimed that North Korea fired shells northwest of Yonpyeong Island on the afternoon of January 6, and that the shells fell in the western sea area north of the “Northern Limit Line.” Kim Yo Jong of North Korean responded to this claim in the statement, saying that the North Korean military had in fact detonated explosives simulating the sound of coastal artillery. North Korea’s purpose was to observe South Korea’s reaction.

Kim Yo Jong said that South Korea mistook the explosive sound for artillery fire, took the sounds as provocative shelling, and falsely claimed that the impact point was in the sea buffer zone north of the “Northern Limit Line” in the western sea area.

Kim Yo Jong also warned that even if South Korea makes a small provocation, the North Korean military will immediately respond with “shelling.”

According to another report by Yonhap News Agency (South Korean media) on January 7, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff dismissed Kim Yo Jong’s remarks as just “low-level psychological warfare” denigrating the detection capabilities of the South Korean military. He stated that if North Korea provokes South Korean territory and national security, the South Korean military will respond resolutely and decisively based on the principles of “immediate, strong, and thorough countermeasures.”

There have been persistent disagreements between the two Koreas over the demarcation of the western sea area of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea has delineated a maritime boundary called the “Northern Limit Line” between the “West Sea Five Islands,” including Yonpyeong Island, and the western coast of North Korea, which North Korea does not recognize.

Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240107/8c243d2644a54e719a9956b811cdcfb4/c.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: China Sanctions Five U.S. Defense Companies

The following in an official announcement from Xinhua:

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 7 – The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to questions from reporters on January 7 regarding countermeasures against the United States’ sale of weapons to the Taiwan region and [U.S.] sanctions against Chinese entities. The spokesperson stated that China has decided to impose sanctions on five U.S. military-industrial enterprises.

A reporter asked: Recently, the U.S. has announced a new round of arms sales to Taiwan and imposed sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals under various pretexts. China has stated that it will take countermeasures. Could the spokesperson please say what specific measures have been taken by China?

The spokesperson said that the U.S. openly violated the One-China principle and the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, especially the provisions of the “August 17” communiqué, by selling weapons to the Taiwan region and implementing illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals under various pretexts. This seriously damages China’s sovereignty and security interests, severely disrupts the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals. China strongly protests and firmly opposes this, and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side.

The spokesperson stated that in response to the severe wrongful actions of the U.S. side, in accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People’s Republic of China, China has decided to impose sanctions on five U.S. military-industrial enterprises, including BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operation, AeroVironment, ViaSat, and Data Link Solutions. The measures include freezing movable and immovable property in China, and prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from engaging in transactions, cooperation, and other activities with those companies.

“I want to emphasize that the Chinese government’s determination to defend national sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens is unwavering. We urge the U.S. side to earnestly abide by the One-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, adhere to international law and the basic norms of international relations, stop arming Taiwan, and cease illegal unilateral sanctions against China. Otherwise, [the U.S.] will inevitably face China’s resolute and powerful counterattacks,” the spokesperson said.

Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2024
https://h.xinhuaxmt.com/vh512/share/11846107

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations