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Briefings - 104. page

State Media: China Spearheads Four-Country Joint Patrol of Gulf Region

An article posted in Chinese media suggested that China is leading the efforts to form a new maritime patrol in the Persian Gulf.

The article stated:

China is leading the coordination on forming a new joint patrol in the Persian Gulf. Four countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman – are in discussion to establish a mechanism to defend the safety of navigation in the region.

On contrary, the Combined Maritime Force (CMF), a 34-country patrol group that the US created in the region, is in limbo. The United Arab Emirates recently quit the group and joined the China-led group, as the UAE was disappointed with the US actions. Clearly, the Gulf countries place more value on China’s peace efforts than on those of the US.

If the four-country group works, the US CMF will collapse. The Gulf region is not a place to allow the US to keep messing things up.

Source: Net Ease, June 2, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I67NK4BQ0515D8SH.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

State Media: “As Expected, China Did not Indulge the US, It Rejected Meeting of Defense Ministers”

A Chinese media commented that China has rejected U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s request to meet with China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu as not to “spoil” the U.S. (as one might spoil a child).

The article stated:

Why did China reject the meeting request? The U.S. should reflect on itself. In the past year, the U.S. created many frictions and caused Sino-U.S. relations to hit rock bottom. The U.S. has maliciously speculated about China’s military threat to the U.S., continued to impose malicious sanctions on China, and even embarrassed China in the diplomatic field. It wants to restore high-level communication, especially on military matters, to avoid misjudgments by either side that might lead the two countries into military conflict. This is for the U.S.’s own interest – so that it can continue its military surveillance and border provocation and not to worry about getting its military into danger.

Not removing the sanction on Li Shangfu is another reason for China to reject the meeting.

Since 2021, China has rejected or not answered more than 10 requests initiated from the U.S. Department of Defense on key leadership contact. The U.S. should look at itself for reasons – it has unshirkable responsibility for damaging the relationship between China and the United States.

Source: Net Ease, May 30, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I5VL0HNG05562BTO.html

Briefings | | |   @CS US-China Relations

Chinese Marine Police May Begin Arresting Foreign “Offenders”

China passed the Provisions on Procedures for Marine Police Agencies to Handle Criminal Cases on May 15. The law will be in effect starting on June 15. There are concerns over whether China will use this law to arrest citizens of other countries in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Article 15 stated:

For maritime criminal cases occurring outside the territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the jurisdiction shall be determined in accordance with the following principles:

(3) If a foreigner commits a crime against the state or a citizen of the PRC in waters other than the territorial waters of the PRC and is punishable under the Criminal Law of PRC, he is under the jurisdiction of the marine police agency of the place where the foreigner landed, entered, or resided after entering, the jurisdiction of the marine police agency of the place where the victim resided before leaving the country or currently resides, or the jurisdiction assigned by the Chinese Maritime Police Bureau if he has not entered the country and there is either no victim or the crime is against the state of PRC.

(4) For crimes under international treaties created or participated in by PRC and within the scope for the PRC to exercise criminal jurisdiction under the treaty obligations, the jurisdiction is the marine police agency of the place where the suspect was apprehended or the place he landed or entered.

Source:
1. Epoch Times, June 1, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/6/1/n14007942.htm
2. Peking University Law Library, May 2023
https://law.pkulaw.com/chinalaw/bc12742e184847e1bdfb.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The Wuhan Government Publicized Debtor Names in the Newspaper to Collect Debts

To collect money back from its debtors, on April 26, the Finance Bureau of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, published a full-page debt collection announcement in the Yangtze River Daily (the primary local newspaper in Wuhan).  The announcement listed 259 debtors and their unpaid balances as of the end of 2018. The debtor list included Finance Bureaus at the city’s districts, research institutes, state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and a few private enterprises. The amount each one owed ranged from ten thousand yuan to over ten million yuan, with the total exceeding 100 million yuan (US $14 million).

Wuhan city’s fiscal income in 2020 was 123 billion yuan, down 21.3 percent from 2019 (pre-COVID time). It recovered  158 billion yuan in 2021. The amount came down slightly to 151 billion yuan in 2022. Income in the first quarter this year was 50.8 billion yuan, down 8.5 percent from a year ago.

The debt that Wuhan city is publicly collecting is relatively small compared to Wuhan’s fiscal income, but the act of public debt collection revealed that the city is in such a poor financial situation that it had to resort to a harsh solution. Another issue was that China’s Ministry of Finance required each local government to clean (take back) all money it lent out prior to 2018.

Sources:
1. Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 30, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305300260.aspx
2. China Digital Times, May 30, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/696630.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

China’s War Simulation: 24 Hypersonic Missiles Will Completely Annihilate the Ford Aircraft Carrier Strike Group

Both the South China Morning Post and China Finance Information reported the war simulation result published on the Journal of Testing Technology (测试技术学报). Cao Hongsong’s research team at North Central University conducted 20 rounds of digital war simulation exercises. In each round, China fired 24 hypersonic anti-ship missiles and was able to sink an average of five or six U.S. ships including the USS Ford aircraft carrier, effectively destroying the entire aircraft carrier strike group.

North Central University is a second-class national confidential unit. It is jointly owned by Shanxi Province, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Defense Science and Industry Bureau. The Journal of Testing Technology is a journal jointly run by the university and the China Military Industry Association.

The simulation fired two types of hypersonic missiles: Category A with 2,000 km range and Category B with 4,000 km range. China’s attack came in three waves from six launching bases. The first wave had 8 Class A missiles, mainly to deplete U.S. SM-3 interceptors. The second wave, the main attack wave, contained 8 Class B and 2 Class A missiles and sank the U.S. aircraft carrier and cruisers. The third wave consisted of six Class A missiles to sink the remaining U.S. ships.

Source: Sohu, May 26, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/679199532_121432636

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military

Xi Jinping: China to Withstand “High Winds and Rough Waves”

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s National Security Commission held a meeting today, stating that China is facing an “obvious increase in the complexity and severity of national security issues” and needs to be prepared for “significant tests that may include high winds and rough waves.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Central National Security Commission, presided over the first meeting of the 20th Central National Security Commission on the afternoon of the 30th. During the meeting, he made the following remarks.

Xi Jinping emphasized the need to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, deeply understand the “complex and severe situation facing national security,” correctly grasp the “major national security issues,” accelerate the modernization of the national security system and capabilities, “safeguard the new development pattern with a new security framework,” and strive for a new phase in national security work.

The meeting highlighted that China is currently facing an “obvious increase in the complexity and severity of national security issues.” The national security front must establish strategic confidence, a firm belief in victory, and fully recognize its own advantages and favorable conditions. It is necessary to adhere to bottom-line thinking and extreme thinking and be prepared to withstand “significant tests that may include high winds and rough waves.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 302, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305300394.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Universities Plagued by Rising Depression Rates

According to the “2022 China National Mental Health Report” released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a comprehensive survey was conducted on nearly 80,000 university students to assess their mental health. The findings of the report revealed that the detected rates of depression and anxiety risks were approximately 21.48 percent and 45.28 percent respectively.

Furthermore, a study published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychology” delved into the mental health status of approximately 100,000 university students from 43 cities and 23 universities across the nation. The study revealed that the average prevalence of mental disorders among these students was 22.8 percent.

Another domestic study shed light on the psychological stress experienced by university students, with a staggering 73.2 percent of participants reporting varying degrees of stress. The study identified academic pressure and uncertainty as the primary contributors to mental health impacts.

Notably, students who perceive high academic pressure face a 1.43 times higher risk of developing mental disorders. Moreover, uncertainty stress, which stems from the ambiguity surrounding present and future development, was reported by approximately 54 percent of university students. The risk of mental health issues associated with uncertainty stress was found to be 2.55 times higher compared to other stress factors.

Furthermore, it was revealed that one-fourth of university students lack social support, an essential factor in maintaining good mental health. Research has demonstrated that the absence of social support has become a significant contributing factor to mental health problems among university students. Specifically, a study that focused on Chinese university students revealed  that over one-fourth of them lacked sufficient social support.

Source: ifeng.com, May 25, 2023
https://news.ifeng.com/c/8Q4lx0sgK17

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Leaked Internal Documents: Experts Enlisted for Cyber Army’s Reconnaissance Operation

On March 24, 2023, China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Eleventh Bureau issued an internal notice announcing plans to organize over 40 “experts in cyber intelligence, big data system construction, and data mining” from across the country to engage in a month-long period of “Special Reconnaissance Operations ” in Beijing from March 27 to April 27, 2023. The main objective of this operation was to “send personnel to participate in the battle for public opinion against overseas ‘Internet armies’ and effectively safeguard political security online.”

The leaked notice, suspected to have been obtained through email hacking, revealed that the operation was undertaken by the “Twenty-Fourth Division of the Eleventh Bureau,” led by a person named “Hu Fengming” (胡凤鸣). Several “Public Security Bureau Network Security Defense Brigades” were mentioned in the notice, which also included a list of 32 participating police officers with their real names.

The Network Security Defense Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, also known as the Eleventh Bureau, is an internal agency responsible for handling criminal cases related to computers and information networks. It oversees the management of the national public information network security police, commonly known as the “Internet police.”

The leaked notice was independently verified by China Digital Times (CDT) through online searches and cross-referencing, confirming the identities of some of the listed police officers. As of now, CDT has confirmed that 11 individuals are indeed Internet police officers from various regions (with some screenshots as evidence), leading to the belief that the leaked notice is genuine.

It appears that Chinese authorities are aware of the leak and have taken action. As of the time of this writing, the Baidu Baike pages (Chinese encyclopedia) of the individuals on the list have been taken offline. Weibo (a popular social media platform) has also cleared all names from the list.

Source: China Digital Times, May 24, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/695957.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend