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Government and Leadership: Wang Yi vs. Qin Gang

Wang Yi and Qin Gang were both promoted after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) 20th National Congress and both will manage China’s diplomacy work. The Epoch Times published an article commenting on their relationship.

Wang Yi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, now sits on the 24-member CCP Central Committee and serves as the Office Manager (办公室主任) of the CCP’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission (中央外事工作委员会) where Xi Jinping is the Chair of the commission. Qin Gang is the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and is expected to become a State Council Member (国务委员, a Deputy-State level official with the same rank as Deputy Prime Minister) appointed by the People’s National Congress in March.

In China, the CCP organ sits above the corresponding state council organ. So Wang Yi in theory is above Qin Gang. However, both of them have direct access to Xi Jinping and therefore, Qin Gang may have autonomy to a certain extent. Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper said that Wang is in charge of Russia and Europe while Qin Gang leads the work with the U.S.

Source: Epoch Times, February 1, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/1/n13920172.htm

Hot Topics | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of Education Requested Chinese Students Attending Overseas Universities to Go Back to School

China’s Ministry of Education backed away from its decision a day ago.

On January 28, the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange under the Ministry of Education announced that for students attending universities overseas, it will not certify their diplomas if they stay in China to take online classes in the 2023 Spring semester. It asked those students to go back to their schools as soon as possible, whereas the school classes may have started or are about to start.

Chinese students were shocked and complained loudly. They didn’t plan to be on campus and thus had no place to live and worse, they might not yet have visa to go to the host country.

On the next day, the Service Center modified its policy to make exceptions for the diploma certification: Those who cannot change their online class option, those who do not have an in-person class option, and those whose classes have started or are about to start and who may not have enough time to apply for a visa, buy airplane tickets, or find housing, can take online classes. They need to save and show the relevant materials (as proof) when applying for a diploma certificate.

Source: VOA, January 30, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-stops-recognizing-online-study-orders-kids-back-to-foreign-unis-20230130/6939733.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Officials Obstructed Western Reporters from Conducting Interviews about Covid in China

Selina Wang, a CNN reporter stationed in China, was interfered with and even blocked from interviewing Chinese people regarding COVID. Her reporting team went to Guizhou Province to do an interview. When they arrived at Rongjiang County where the Dong ethnic group people live, six local officials “welcomed” them and started following them. Four stayed in the same or nearby hotels. Every morning they were in the hotel lobby waiting for Selina’s team and then followed them. Those followers brought an official with them who would speak in the Dong dialects to the villagers before Selina interviewed them. They refused to tell Selina what they told the villagers.

Realizing they could not have a meaningful interview, Selina’s team drove to a town two hours away. When they went to a hospital and started interviewing people, a man showed up. He claimed he was from the Propaganda Department and asked what Selina was doing there. Selina and her team then drove to a village clinic 30 minutes away. That man and another woman followed them and told the people there not to say anything to Selina.

Selina’s team then went to another place and found a woman who was willing to talk to them about the Chinese New Year. After a few questions, a government staff member arrived in the middle of the interview and took the interviewee away. Selina went to a few hospitals afterwards. However. the government staff members always followed them. For that reason, no one was willing to be interviewed.

An Internet posting also revealed that the Tianshui City Maji District Communist Party Propaganda Department, Gansu Province, issued an “Urgent Notice” to all of its towns, street residential committees, and the District Health Bureau. The notice stated, “ The Provincial Propaganda Department called to inform us that on January 17, three foreign media reporters (2 men and 1 woman), without permission, conducted interview activities in hospitals, health centers, community health service stations, and villages in Lanzhou City and Dingxi City (both are in Gansu Province). They are likely to sneak into Tianshui City to continue their activities tomorrow and the next day (January 18 and 19).”

The notice asked towns, street residential committees, and District Health Bureaus to attach great importance and pay close attention (to this activity). If they found those three people’s whereabouts, they were advised report to the District Party Committee Propaganda Department contact person Dong Binbo immediately. They were told that no one from the medical units, villages, and communities is allowed to accept their interviews or answer their inquiries about the epidemic.

Source:
1. Epoch Times, January 23, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/1/27/n13916922.htm
2. Radio Free Asia, January 19, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/gt-01192023010127.html.

Briefings | | |   @CS Social Stability

CCP’s Crimes: How Could the Authorities Match Donor’s Organs to Several People So Quickly?

An article posted on the Internet questioned (using hints) whether the communist regime is conducting organ transplants based on the recipient’s need.

It first mentioned a news item: On January 17, a 20-year-old college student fell down from a bike and was announced brain dead after being taken to the hospital. His parents recalled that their son wanted to donate his organs. Then the student’s organs including heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and corneas, were transplanted to save seven patients.

The author raised a question: Since the college student’s death was a sudden event, how was the hospital able to match his organs with seven people so quickly (organ transplants have to be performed quickly after the death). After all, organ matching between the donor and the recipient is not a quick and high-possibility event, not to mention matching with seven recipients.

The author found a few dozen reports in the past couple of years about death-related organ donations. Most of the cases were about young people who suffered brain death (so their organs could be taken out). For example, the following were cases that occurred since the 2023 New Year: a 23-year-old girl’s organ donation saved five people, an eight-year-old girl’s organ donation saved two people, an 18-year-old college student’s organ donation saved six people.

The author then referred to a recent revelation of Gao Zhanxiang, a former Deputy Communist Party Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, who had replaced many of his organs (Chinascope also briefed on that story: “COVID Death Revealed CCP Officials Transplant Organs so They Can Live Longer”).

The author wrote, “I typed a few sentences (about my suspicions), but deleted them. Let me just write this much.”

Source: Pop Yard, January 22, 2023
https://news.popyard.space/cgi-mod/newscroll.cgi?lan=cn&r=0&sid=15&rid=731187&v=0

Hot Topics | | |   @CS Government/Politics

New Factions among Xi’s Loyalists

Before its 20th National Congress, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) internal fighting used to be among three groups. Each groip was led by a former or current CCP top leader, These were the loyalist group (led by Xi Jinping); the Shanghai clique (led by Jiang Zemin), and the Youth League clique (led by its spiritual leader Hu Jintao).

Since the CCP’s 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping’s followers have dominated the key positions all across the political spectrum. Though they are all from Xi’s camp, they themselves have their own factions. Wu Guogang, advisor to the former CCP’s General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, observed that Xi’s people can be grouped into four factions (identified by locations where Xi had worked previously) and under another five groups.

The four factions are the Fujian (Province) faction, the Zhejiang (Province) faction, the Shanghai (Province) faction, and the Shaanxi (Province) faction. Xi had worked in the first three provinces. The last one, Shaanxi, was where Xi’s father Xi Zhongxun (习仲勋) started. Thus it was also considered a base for Xi’s loyalists.

For example, at the State Council, Li Qiang (李强) – who is anticipated to be the next Premier – is from Zhejiang; Ding Xuexiang (丁薛祥) – who is anticipated to be the next Executive Vice Premier – is from Shanghai; and He Lifeng (何立峰) –  who is anticipated to be the next Vice Premier in charge of Finance – is from Fujiang，

Xi also used many officials from another five groups. These are officials are from the military and industrial sectors, officials related to Tsinghua University, officials related to the CCP’s Central Party School, officials connected to Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan, and officials from the security sector.

These factions and groups sometimes engage in political in-fighting among themselves.

Source: NTDTV, January 28, 2023
https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/01/28/a103636555.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics

Economy: Professors Suggested Taxing People’s Savings to Force Consumers to Spend

China is pushing to make consumer spending its next economic growth driver since its exports has slowed down and government infrastructure investment (mainly focused on housing and construction) has become ineffective.

Recently, an Economy professor from Sichuan Agricultural University published an article on how to get people to spend. He argued that it is difficult to get the high income groups and low income groups to spend more, so the focus should be on the middle income people. His suggestion was to impose a tax on the portion above 500,000 yuan (US$74,000) of people’s money in the bank.

In August 2021, another so-called “famous economist” Xu Hongbo from Wuhan University of Technology put forth a similar idea. A tax should be based on the total cash-equivalent of assets including bank savings, cash, gold (both gold reserve and gold jewelry), and money in the online payment accounts such as Alipay and Wechat. Assets below 1 million yuan would be exempt. Then 1 – 1.5 million and above would be taxed as follows: 1 percent for 1.5  to  2 million; 2 percent for 2 to 2.5 million; 3 percent would be for higher amounts, …, with 40 percent as the top tax rate.

Source: China Digital Times, January 27, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/692392.html

Hot Topics | | |   Economy/Resources

Procuratorate: “The Weak Will Be Trampled by the Strong”

The Procuratorate (China’s term for the Public Prosecutor) at Yichuan County, Shaanxi Province posted the following message on its official Weibo account (Weibo is a social media in China): “Stop talking about showing pity for the weak. In this world, the weak are to be trampled by the strong. You are either to be trampled or you have to become the strong.”

This message has triggered hot discussions among the Chinese people.

Source: China Digital Times, January 19, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/692178.html

Hot Topics | | |   Government/Politics

China Researcher: How Did China Beat the Western Countries in African Investment?

Guancha (The Observer) website is a media in China with a focus on international affairs. It published an interview with Ms. He Wenping, a researcher at the Institute of West Asia and Africa, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), on the differences between China and the Western countries in their investments in Africa.

Ms. He said Africa has three shortcomings: poor infrastructure, lack of skilled people, and lack of money. China’s investments are focusing on these things, such as infrastructure projects and training local people. This includes the Luban Workshop – a number of vocational education classes – and industrial parks at local sites.

Regarding the Western countries’ saying that China is creating a “debt trap” in Africa, Ms. He said it was because they control the discourse power. China is making improvements with CGTN (a state-run English-language news channel based in Beijing) to have its own voice heard. CGTN’s programs are on YouTube and Tweeter and follow the international reporting standard. CGTN’s London station, U.S. station, and Africa station have local people as hosts and reporters. For example, the Africa station at Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, has an “Africa Live” program with an African anchor and African reporters who go to hot spots to interview people every day. Thus some African scholars are following it every day.

Regarding differences between the West’s and China’s investment in Africa , Ms. He said that the West is telling the African countries what to do while China just treats them as partners. The West’s investments have strings attached but China’s do not. Biden held his U.S.-Africa summit in Washington, DC, while China always has its summit in Africa.

Source: Guancha, January 16, 2023
https://www.guancha.cn/HeWenPing/2023_01_16_676060.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend