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Shanghai Police Target China’s Largest Provider of Emigration Services

The Shanghai Police have arrested Chairperson He Mei of Wailian Group (外联出国), Shanghai’s largest China-US immigration intermediary company. The arrest is part of an investigation into illegal foreign exchange transactions totaling over a billion RMB. In addition to He, four others have also been arrested.

Wailian Group has been a prominent firm in enabling emigration from China, facilitating quick approvals for various countries’ visas and residency permits.

Several people posted on the internet citing insiders, saying that the police demanded that He Mei hand over all information on clients for whom the firm has provided immigration services over the company’s several decades of operation. One tweet said that the authorities are targeting rich Chinese who have exited China but who still have a lot of property in the country. This would enable the local and national Chinese government to confiscate those valuable properties. Another social media post, seen on Chinese social media Weibo, speculated that the authorities may be aiming to collect information on emigration of lower-ranking government bureaucrats and their family members.

Source: Epoch Times, August 10, 2023.
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/8/10/n14051577.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

LinkedIn, the Last Western Social Media Company in China, Pulls Out

LinkedIn, Microsoft’s social media platform for the workplace, withdrew from Chinese markets on August 9, officially closing the Chinese version of the LinkedIn application.

LinkedIn’s 2014 debut in China came on the heels of Google’s withdrawal from the country in 2010. Google withdrew following the company’s refusal to comply with the Chinese communist regime’s demands that Google censor the content available in China.

LinkedIn took the opposite approach of Google, opting for cooperation with the Chinese regime, implementing censorship mechanisms for the platform. LinkedIn users saw some postings on the platform (e.g. mentioning 1989 the Tiananmen Massacre) deleted by LinkedIn.

The communist regime’s control of the platform gradually became tighter and tighter. In March 2021, the New York Times reported that Chinese regulators had criticized LinkedIn’s executives for failing to control content when they discovered “sensitive” posts during China’s National People’s Congress. As punishment, China required LinkedIn to conduct a “self-assessment” and submit a report to China’s Central Internet Information Office.

LinkedIn’s latest Transparency Report, released in 2023, showed that the Chinese government made 43 requests to LinkedIn to remove content in 2021. LinkedIn complied with all of these requests except one. The number of removal requests was similar in 2020, following relatively lower numbers of requests in 2018 and 2019.

LinkedIn announced in October 2021 that it would remove several features from the Chinese version of its website, including the ability to make posts and interact with user-generated content. Without these social functions, LinkedIn became merely a resume-hosting website and saw its user base decline.

Source: Voice of America, August 8, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/linkedin-becomes-the-last-western-social-platform-to-officially-leave-china-20230808/7216109.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Information/Technology

People’s Daily: Chinese Cars Taking Over “Southern Markets”

People’s Daily stated that cars made in China are taking over the global markets, especially the “Southern World” (non-Western countries).

According to the latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China’s automobile exports reached 2.14 million units in the first half of 2023. This marks a year-on-year increase of 75.7 percent in reported auto exports.

Total reported export value reached $99.97 billion, up by 41.7 percent from the previous year. Total automobile export for this year is anticipated to reach 4 million units, a significant increase from the prior two years. Reported exports were just over 2 million units in 2021 and about 3.3 million units in 2022.

Chinese automakers dominate the fast-growing electric vehicle market in Southeast Asia, contributing three-quarters of the region’s electric vehicle sales in the first quarter of this year. Chinese cars are also gaining traction in markets like the UAE, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America due to their affordability, features, and comprehensive warranty services.

The main factor driving Chinese car exports is competitive pricing, including the market’s ability to offer more features at the same price as competitors. Chinese car companies have been setting up joint ventures for localized auto production in countries such as Thailand and Brazil.

Source: People’s Daily, August 7, 2023
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0807/c1002-40051652.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Henan Audit: 10 Billion Yuan of Questionable Spending from Disaster Relief Funds

Chinese officials have a reputation for stealing or improperly handling money. Recently, the Henan Province government published an audit report on 2022 provincial-level spending. According to the report, there were about 10 billion Yuan (US$1.4 billion) in improper spending using the relief and reconstruction funds designated following last summer’s floods in the region.

  1. Nine counties, including Qi County, spent 405 million Yuan improperly. Two counties, including Weihui County, saw at total of 31 million Yuan withdrawn from government accounts for personal use.
  2. Some 162 projects, worth about 3.13 billion Yuan, were carried out at a very slow pace. Twenty four cities and counties, including Boai County, were involved in such practices.
  3. Four cities and counties, including Hengchuan County, provided fake status updates on 22 projects totaling about 1.28 billion Yuan. Four cities and counties, including Xinmi County, reported 15 non-existent projects totaling 432 million Yuan in claimed value.
  4. Nine cities and counties, including Xinyang County, put 24 projects, worth 523 million Yuan, in use without any acceptance inspection. Seventy three counties, including Zhengyang County, were involved in projects that failed quality requirements. There were 242 such projects worth a total of 3.35 billion Yuan.
  5. Three counties, including Jun County, obtained 375 million Yuan for 3 projects that did not qualify for disaster relief funding.

Source: Hanan Provincial Audit Department website, July 28, 2023
https://sjt.henan.gov.cn/2023/07-28/2787185.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Lithuania Winning Standoff Against Beijing on Taiwan Issue

Over a year ago, Lithuania faced unprecedented pressure from China for refusing to toe Beijing’s line on the Taiwan issue. It took the lead in exiting the China-led “17+1” cooperation mechanism with Central and Eastern European countries in 2021 and later allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwan.” In response, China launched a comprehensive retaliation, including applying economic sanctions, calling back its Ambassador, and downgrading diplomatic relations.

Recently, Matas Maldeikis, Lithuanian Member of Parliament, revealed in an interview with the Voice of America, that the swift and decisive victory the communist regime of China expected did not happen. Lithuania’s economy grew and its exports increased by 45 percent in just a year and a half after Beijing’s sanctions. This demonstrates that countries need not bow to pressure from Beijing.

Maldeikis mentioned Lithuania’s historical tradition of resistance to power and its people’s values as reasons for daring to confront China on the Taiwan issue. Lithuania understood the political dynamics at play and refused to compromise its principles for short-term economic gains, showing a willingness to withstand market pressure and not betray values for profit.

This resilient stance has set an example for other nations on how to navigate relations with China.

Source: Voice of America, August 7, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/lithuania-china-taiwan-european-union-20230804/7212200.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping Keeps Replacing Top Military Generals

Xi Jinping has made a series of changes among the top ranks of the People’s Liberation Army.

On July 31, Xi Jinping promoted Wang Houbin (王厚斌) and Xu Xisheng (徐西盛) to the rank of General and appointed them to the positions of Rocket Force Commander and Political Commissar, respectively. These appointments confirm a rumor that has been circulating for the past month: that former Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao (李玉超) and former Political Commissar Xu Zhongbo (徐忠波) had been removed from their positions.

On July 31, Nanjing News said that Liu Qingsong (刘青松) is the Political Commissar of the Eastern Theater. He had previously held the position of Political Commissar of the Northern Theater.

Wu Junbao (吴俊宝) was promoted to Commander of the Air Force of the Eastern Theater. Before, he held the position of Deputy Commander.

Qiao Xiangji (乔相记) became the Deputy Commander of the Southern Theater and the Commander of the Air Force of the Southern Theater. He had been Deputy Commander of the Western Theater before.

Zhang Jian (张践) became the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Western Theater. He served as the Commander of the Army of the Southern Theater before.

Source: NTDTV, August 4, 2023
https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/08/04/a103760943.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Huanqiu: Russian Border Guards Mistreated Chinese Citizens

Huanqiu (a.k.a. The Global Times), a Chinese state-run newspaper, reported that China’s Embassy to Russia posted an article on the open internet complaining that the Russian government had mistreated five Chinese citizens. There have been many previous incidents where Russian authorities treated Chinese citizens badly, but the Chinese government has always remained silent in the past.

The Huanqiu article said that the Chinese Embassy to Russia lodged a complaint with the Russian authorities on August 4, 2023, after five Chinese citizens were prevented from entering Russia via the Karauzek border checkpoint in Astrakhan Oblast. The individuals’ tourist visas were canceled and they were denied entry to the country. Upon receiving a distress call, the consular staff at the Chinese Embassy to Russia investigated the situation, consoled the affected individuals, and promptly contacted the Russian authorities to seek a resolution. The embassy requested that Russia facilitate the reapplication for visas and ensure the smooth entry of the affected individuals as per their initial request.

According to the article, the Chinese Embassy reviewed videos uploaded by the individuals on August 2 that showed the Russian border personnel questioning them for 4 hours. After reviewing the video, the Chinese Embassy took immediate action. Embassy staff met with Russian authorities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Border Guard Service, and the Federal Security Service, to express concerns over the incident. The embassy criticized the “excessive and brutal enforcement actions” of the Russian border guards, which “seriously harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.” They emphasized that such behavior was not in line with “the friendly relations between China and Russia or the increasing trend of friendly exchanges” between the two countries’ people. The embassy urged Russia to “thoroughly investigate the incident, take active measures to rectify the negative impact, and ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future, while respecting and safeguarding the dignity and legitimate rights of Chinese citizens.”

The article stated that the reported reason for the detention was a discrepancy between the Chinese nationals’ intended destination within Russia and the destination that they had given on their visa applications.

Source: Huanqiu, August 4, 2023
https://hqtime.huanqiu.com/article/4DzJZ1NrAwU

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Guangming Daily: It Is Not China But the U.S. That Does the Economic Coercion

Guangming Daily has published a response to recent criticism from the international community, saying that it is not Communist China that conducts economic coercion of Asia-Pacific countries; rather it is the U.S. that is coercive.

The article said that the U.S. aims to create a new narrative to rally allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, building an “anti-economic coercion” coalition against China’s rise. The U.S. seeks to create a hostile external public opinion environment for China, and the U.S.’ intensified portrayal of China’s “economic threat” is for the purpose of excluding China from the global supply chain, critical technology, and trade systems. This approach, camouflaged as exposition of China’s “economic coercion,” is, in reality, economic coercion by the U.S. against China.

The article further argues that this “economic coercion” by the U.S. will fail for the following reasons:

  1. Many Asia-Pacific countries understand the damage caused by the U.S.’ “economic coercion” and won’t support it.
  2. The U.S.’ “economic coercion” tactic is against the trend of openness and inclusion in the Asia-Pacific region, and therefore it is against the interest of the countries in this region.
  3. The U.S.’ effort of using this “economic coercion” to promote the “de-Chinaization” of the Asia-Pacific economy is nothing but a foolish and unrealistic delusion.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 3, 2023
https://news.gmw.cn/2023-08/03/content_36741488.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS US-China Relations