NNL – Page 81 – Chinascope

Government & Leadership: After Meng Wanzhou, China Wants U.S. to Fix All Its Wrongs on Two Lists

Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, during a press conference on September 28, that Xi Jinping, himself, gave directions on Meng Wanzhou’s case and requested the United States to resolve it properly.

Hua stated that Xi Jinping has given his personal attention to Meng’s case since she had been detained in early December 2018. The Chinese government representatives at all levels have worked to their full strength in every situation to help Meng.

Hua pointed out, in the recent China-U.S. diplomat meeting at Tianjin, that China gave the U.S. two lists. One list included the wrong talks and actions that the U.S. must stop. The other one included the key cases to which China pays attention. Both lists clearly requested that the U.S. should cancel its wrong accusation against Meng and let her return to China quickly.

“When the two state heads talked (Editor’s Note: referring to the Biden-Xi talk on September 9), … Meng said, “President Xi Jinping clearly made an effort on Meng’s case. He stated China’s stand and requested the U.S. to resolve the situation properly.”

Hua said that she has noticed that some media commented on how the resolution of Meng Wanzhou’s case helped to pull out a thorn that was deeply embedded in Sino-U.S. relations. “Due to the fact that the U.S. side has carried out a wrong China policy in the past period, there are many other thorns, big and small, in the Sino-U.S. relations. China hopes the U.S. will pay high attention (to them) and take substantive actions, to clear all items on the two lists.”

Sources:
1. China Press, September 28, 2021
https://www.chinapress.com.my/20210928/华春莹答覆孟晚舟事件-习近平明确部署工作！/
2. China Youth Daily, September 29, 2021
http://news.cyol.com/gb/articles/2021-09/29/content_Xx507fpEJ.html

Hot Topics | | September 29, 2021 | Government/Politics US-China Relations

After Biden-Xi Talk, CCP Held a Party Dialog with the U.S.

China reported that, on September 13, the Chinese Communist Party held its 12^th Sino-U.S. party dialog in an online video conference. The CCP Foreign Liaison Department along with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in the U.S. organized the dialog.

Song Tao, the Minister of the CCP Foreign Liaison Department spoke for China.

Howard Dean, former Chair of the Democratic National Committee and former Vermont Governor represented the Democratic Party.

Carla Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development represented the Republic Party.

Around 50 representatives, from the ministries and universities of China, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and key think tanks in the U.S., attended the dialog.

Source: China News Agency, September 14, 2021
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2021/09-14/9564748.shtml

Briefings | | September 29, 2021 | Government/Politics US-China Relations

Beijing Plans to Lead the World in Human Rights Work

Although the world recognizes that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a poor record on human rights, the CCP does not view it that way. In its “National Human Rights Action Plan (2021 to 2025)” published on September 9, the CCP states that it plans to be active in helping the world manage human rights.

The plan listed the following as some of its goals for creating and implementing its action plan: “To participate actively in global human rights governance; to deepen (China’s) involvement in the work of the United Nations human rights mechanisms; to promote the construction of a fairer, more equitable, reasonable, and inclusive global human rights governance system; and jointly to build a community with a shared future for mankind.”

Source: People’s Daily, September 9, 2021
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2021/0909/c1001-32222401.html

Briefings | | September 23, 2021 | Government/Politics

HK01: Xi Jinping Said, “The Days When the Hong Kong Real Estate Tycoons Influenced Hong Kong Policy Are Gone

HK01 reported on September 21 that, in 2018, Xi Jinping made a clear statement in an internal meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Hong Kong and Macau Coordination Group. He Stated, “The days of the Hong Kong business community influencing the Central Government’s policies on Hong Kong are gone.” A source familiar with the situation said that the “Hong Kong business community” actually refers to the real estate developers there.

The article also reported that the richest real estate tycoon invited key officers from the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong for a family banquet. The tycoon had all important members of his family attend the banquet. He explained (to one of the key officers) that his family’s comments during the anti-Extradition Law movement were not “sympathetic to the gangsters or the violence.” {Editor’s comment: This is likely referring to Li Ka-shing, who is Hong Kong’s richest man and also published a neutral-toned page in the newspaper regarding the Hong Kong protest. Some people felt his message was pro-Hong Kong protesters.}

The article mentioned that Reuters recently reported that Beijing requested Hong Kong real estate developers to solve the housing shortage problem. It stated, “The rules of the game have changed” and Beijing will no longer tolerate “monopoly.”

For a while, the CCP has not been happy with Hong Kong’s real estate tycoons. During the anti-Extradition Law protest, these tycoons remained silent. It was not until a mainland newspaper criticized them for not lining up with the central government that they start making statements to support the government’s actions to “stop violence.” In September 2019, the People’s Daily also blamed the Hong Kong protest on the real estate developers for making the housing prices unaffordable.

In July this year, Xia Baolong, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (central government), stated that he expects the housing problem in Hong Kong will be greatly improved.

HK01 is a newspaper close to Xi Jinping’s group.

Source: HK01, September 21, 2021
https://www.hk01.com/政情/679198/01消息-習近平內部會議明言-地產商-左右治港-已一去不復返

Briefings | | September 23, 2021 | Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Military: Huanqiu Report: “PLA Warships Appeared Near the U.S. Coast”

Huanqiu reported that the U.S. Department of Defense revealed, on September 12, that China’s warships appeared near the U.S. coast. The U.S. posted a picture which showed that, on August 30, the U.S. Coast Guard patrol ship USCGC Bertholf was conducting “close surveillance” of Chinese naval vessels entering international waters in the U.S. exclusive economic zone near the Aleutian Islands. The Chinese vessels included a Type 055 destroyer, a Type 052D destroyer, and a replenishment ship.

Though Huanqiu quoted a Chinese military expert as stating that “this might be a routine ocean-going training exercise and that there is no offensive implication,” the hottest comments in this article by the Chinese netizens overwhelmingly suggested that they view it as an answer to the U.S. naval ships sailing in the South China Sea. While Beijing claims the waters there to be China’s waters, the international community does not.

Some of the comments were:

“China’s freedom of navigation has begun, and the U.S. needs to get used to it!”

“Right, we should knock on the U.S. door to see if the American Empire is home.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! You Yankees can sail freely, why can’t China sail freely? This is the best answer to you Yankees.”

“It is to provoke (confrontation). So what!”

“It’s just free sailing. Chinese warships are brave adolescents who like to wander around to any location in their own territory. So what if you don’t like it?”

Source: Huanqiu, September 14, 2021
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/44l3rQZKpOG

Hot Topics | | September 16, 2021 | Defense/Military US-China Relations

Leadership: Fantasia Holdings, a Business of Zeng Qinghong’s Niece, Is in Trouble

Zeng Baobao, the niece of Zeng Qinghong, owns Fantasia Holdings. Zeng Qinghong is a retired Chinese Communist Party (CCP) top official. He is former CCP head Jiang Zemin’s right-hand man, the Vice President of China, and a CCP Politburo Standing Committee member. He is still believed to have considerable political influence in China. Many media have reported him as heading a CCP faction that is against Xi Jinping.

Zeng Baobao established Fantasia Holdings in 1996. The company went IPO in Hong Kong in 2009. Its main business is real estate development.

Recently, Citibank and Credit Suisse gave a zero loan value to Fantasia’s notes, meaning that their private wealth management customers can no longer use Fantasia’s notes as collateral for loans. On September 14, S&P Global Ratings announced a negative outlook on the company and affirmed a “B” rating, as the company’s large foreign debt maturity will weigh on its financials.

Many real estate companies in China are facing cash flow problems. However, the fact that Fantasia Holdings is facing trouble may also carry a political message. It may mean that Zeng Qinghong is likely to be in bad shape. He is not able to save his family’s company.

Sources:
1. Liberty Times, September 7, 2021
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3663843
2. Sina, September 15, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2021-09-15/doc-iktzqtyt6156639.shtml

Hot Topics | | September 16, 2021 | Economy/Resources Government/Politics

All posts by NNL - 81. page