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China’s Marriage Registration Declined for Eight Consecutive Years

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDQ: SINA) recently reported that, in 2021, the number of marriage registrations in China dropped to 7.636 million couples. This meant there had been a decline for eight consecutive years. In addition, the age of each first marriage has been significantly delayed. In 2021, the average age of the first marriage of those in Anhui Province was 31.89 years old for males and 30.73 years old for females. The reasons for the decline in the number of marriages are: first, the decline in the number of young people, second, there are more men and fewer women in the marriageable population, third is the high cost of raising children, fourth is the high cost of marriage, fifth is fierce social competition and employment pressure, and lastly, the younger generation’s perception of marriage has changed. Economists suggested the following to tackle the situation. First, increase the supply of residential land in big cities and provide housing subsidies for families with children; second,reduce the costs of childbirth, childcare, and education; third, establish a social support system that is gender-equal and child-friendly; fourth, relax the conditions for adoption and placement; fifth, lower the legal age of marriage to 18; and sixth, protect single women’s reproductive rights. The suggestion of lowering the legal age of marriage to 18 years old resulted in intense discussions and controversies online, and one time even ranked at the top of the national hot search. Currently, the legal age of marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women. It is lower than Japan, the U.S., India, Germany, France, Canada, and even Mexico. The ultra-low birth rate and the rapid shrinkage of the young population have become major challenges facing Chinese society.

Source: Sina, February 8, 2023
https://finance.sina.com.cn/money/smjj/smdt/2023-02-08/doc-imyeyxpn6454987.shtml?cref=cj

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The CCP Is Effective in Its International Propaganda Efforts

James Sheen (沈榮欽), is Assistant Professor at York University, Toronto, Canada and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. He posted on Facebook that research showed that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) propaganda against the international audience is very effective.

He said some scholars from Yale University and Harvard University conducted some multi-country research to compare the international propaganda of China with the information from the U.S. Of course, the U.S. promotes democracy and China promotes an authoritarian system.

The researchers sampled 19 countries across six continents, ranging from dictatorships and semi-democracies, to democratic countries, with low, medium, and high incomes. On average, after being exposed to the CCP’s propaganda, people who think that China’s authoritarian system is better than the U.S. democratic system has tripled from 16 percent to 54 percent. The percentage is even higher in Africa and Latin America where the CCP has  focused many of ts diplomacy activities. The U.S. propaganda has had a much smaller influence on people.

Source: Facebook, Posting by James Sheen
https://www.facebook.com/Independent.think/posts/10226251784754625

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China Plans to Carry out Many “Work for Food” Programs

On January 10, China’s National Development and Reform Commission promulgated a newly revised “Management Measures of the National Work for Food Program.” The measure will be implemented on March 1, 2023. People’s Daily published the question and answers that occurred in an interview between an official from the National Development and Reform Commission and reporters.

The program is to ask people to perform labor (for which they will be paid) instead of simply receiving government welfare. It states, “If manual labor can be used then do not use a machine; if work can be done by local people (on welfare) then do not use professional teams.”

To encourage local governments and business entities to offer more “Work for Food” projects, the central government will increase its subsidy from 15 percent of the labor cost to 30 percent.

[Editor’s Notes: Promoting such programs may mean Beijing wants to  manage its welfare system more effectively. It may also indicate: one, that Beijing may need to provide more social welfare to its people; and two, Beijing may be running low on money so it uses the welfare money (which it has to pay anyway) to cover projects that it would need to pay for with money from other sources.]

Source: People’s Daily, February 1, 2023
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0201/c1001-32616015.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Getting Veterans to Local Leadership Positions

Pei Jinjia (裴金佳), who is the Communist Party Secretary and the Minister of Veterans Affairs, published an article in People’s Daily that stressed how to get veterans into the local government’s leadership positions.

Pei said that veterans in general are politically loyal to the CCP, broad-minded, and dare to take responsibilities. He asked that the policy be implemented to allow the the “Veteran Party Secretary” practice of letting veterans serve the party secretary at the grassroot level offices.

Source: People’s Daily, February 2, 2023
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0202/c448544-32616175.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

U.S. Chip Policy against China Has Shown Results

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that the Chinese tech giant Huawei is once again facing new technology curbs amid an escalation in U.S.-China strategic competition. Some scholars pointed out that, under the cooperation of the United States, Japan and the Netherlands, China’s semiconductor industry is facing real danger. Also, two months after China’s largest chipmaker, Yangtze Memory Technology, was included in the “Entity List” of entities banned by the U.S. Department of Commerce, it announced plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce. The U.S. government has stopped issuing permits to U.S. companies to export most products and technology to Huawei. This move highlights that the United States has further tightened regulations and related policies on technology exports to China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference, “This is blatant technological bullying. This practice violates the principles of the market economy and the international economic and trade rules. It damages the international community’s confidence in the U.S. business environment. Mao also emphasized that the bullying behavior seriously undermines the order of international trade. Not only does it damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, but it also affects the stability of the global industrial chain and the supply chain. Part of the reason for the move by the U.S. Ministry of Commerce is that Huawei has changed a lot compared to when it focused on 5G four years ago. For example, Huawei has expanded its business to submarine cables, cloud computing and other fields. Huawei has yet to comment on the matter.

Source: NetEase, February 1, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HSFTUF1A055618XM.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

BBC Chinese: Philippines Opens Four Additional Bases for the U.S. Military

BBC Chinese recently reported that the U.S. has, through an agreement, gained access to four new military bases in the Philippines. These important sites will provide the U.S. military with a forward position to monitor Chinese activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. With the agreement, Washington has filled a gap in the U.S. chain of Pacific islands from South Korea and Japan to Australia in the south. That gap in the island chain used to be none other than the Philippines, which borders two of the biggest potential flashpoints, Taiwan and the South China Sea. According to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed by the United States and the Philippines in 2014, the United States previously had limited access to five bases located in the Philippines. The new locations and expanded access will allow for more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines and to address other shared challenges. The White House did not disclose the locations of the new military bases, but three of them may be located on the island of Luzon on the northern edge of the Philippines. If China is not considered, this is the only large landmass close to Taiwan. This agreement to some extent reverses the situation in which the United States left its former colony more than 30 years ago, and the impact cannot be underestimated. However, the White House is seeking access to “light and flexible operations” sites that can resupply and monitor “as needed,” rather than military bases housing large numbers of troops.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 2, 2023
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-64494506

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

F-35 First Deployed at U.S. Arctic Base

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDQ: SINA) recently reported that the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighter jets have been deployed for the first time at Thule Air Force Base, the northernmost U.S. military base in Greenland. In the region, the warplanes took part in a joint military exercise run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from January 15 to 31. Thule Air Force Base, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, was home to four F-35A stealth fighter jets. According to markings on one of the jets it showed that the planes were deployed at the  Alaska Eielson Air Force Base, which is another very important military base related to the Arctic. As Russia seeks to expand its influence in the Arctic region, Thule Air Base is playing an increasingly important strategic role. As for China, U.S. officials have been sounding the alarm about China’s “interest in the Arctic.” The U.S. media claimed that the deployment of the F-35 fighter jets and its ever-expanding concept of operations is largely to ensure “the dominance of the United States in the light of the potential Chinese threat and the Russian threat.” Given that competition for Arctic resources has increasingly become an important part of U.S. geopolitical interests, the U.S. will continue to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic region. Not long ago, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed, during his visit to Canada, that Russia’s and China’s cooperation in the Arctic is not in the interests of NATO countries. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that NATO falsely claimed that the China-Russia cooperation poses a challenge to NATO’s values and interests, which once again exposed NATO’s attempt to export the Cold War mentality and to replicate confrontation between camps.

Source: Sina, February 1, 2023
https://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2023-02-01/doc-imyefnhe6749794.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Hospital’s Death Certificate Needs State Council’s Approval If the Cause Is COVID

Since December, China has suffered a massive number of COVID infections and a large number of deaths. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hides the infection count and especially the death tolls. Epoch Times obtained an official document from the Guangxi Autonomous Region Epidemic Prevention and Control Command Center (document number SJSX223577) issued on December 25, 2022. The document stated that any death caused by COVID must be approved by the central government.

The document said that the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Joint Control System required that, for any death of a COVID patient or patient who had both other diseases and COVID, the death report must first be discussed at the hospital or the medical institute within 24 hours. Then it needs to pass the city’s (COVID) expert group’s review and get its approval. Then it needs to be submitted to the Autonomous Region’s Health Committee’s designated email account, and then following the procedure it is to be reported to the State Council’s Join Prevention and Join Control System’s Medical Treatment Team. Once the State Council’s team approves the cause, the corresponding medical institute can submit it as a COVID case to the Epidemic Direct Report Network. Death cases without the “state’s approval” cannot be submitted to the Epidemic Direct Report Network as a COVID case.

The document also stressed keeping the process confidential and not to disclose the city’s (COVID) expert group’s opinion. Cases with severe COVID infections or deaths, “due to the information’s sensitive nature, must be handled by designated personnel, and must be submitted to the designated email account. WeChat or QQ (social media tools that are more likely to be leaked to the public) are strictly prohibited.”

Source: Epoch Times, February 1, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/1/n13919948.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability