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Briefings - 144. page

Xi Jinping Praises ‘One Country, Two Systems’ while Hong Kong People Flee Faster

On June 30, Xi Jinping, general secretary of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) arrived in Hong Kong to attend a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of its return to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong. Xi highly praised “one country, two systems” as a good system. However, Hong Kong people refute that Hong Kong no longer has two systems and do not trust CCP. Hong Kong’s economic outlook has become bleak, and a new wave of emigration has begun.

“One country, two systems” means that Hong Kong and mainland China have two different systems. In the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984, it is stated that after Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, China shall, under the principle of “one country, two systems”, ensure that Hong Kong’s own capitalist system and way of life shall remain “unchanged for 50 years”, and will protect Hong Kong people’s rights and freedoms of person, speech, publication, assembly, association and religious belief.

But today, 25 years later, former Hong Kong legislator Raymond Hui told Free Asia that the freedoms that Hong Kong people used to enjoy have been completely taken away under high-handed governance, and that “one country, two systems” has disappeared.

A poll conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong last year showed that nearly 60 percent of the 800 respondents aged 15 to 30 want to leave Hong Kong once they have chances.

Hong Kong’s economic outlook has become bleak over the past 25 years since the handover, the Wall Street Journal reported on the 30th, especially for the younger generation, their life has become much more difficult.

Since 1997, Hong Kong’s real estate prices have risen sharply. Many people cannot afford to buy a house. Young people’s monthly salary is also much less than that in the past. According to official data, the average monthly salary of Hong Kong people aged 20 to 24 in 2019 (the most recent year for which annual data are available) is 25 percent less than that of the same age group in 1994 after adjusting for inflation.

In 2021, the latest year for which full-year data are available, the unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 29 in Hong Kong is 8.1 percent, compared with 5.2 percent for the total population; In 1997, the difference between the two was only 0.6 percentage points.

Some young people in Hong Kong also believe that jobs are being taken away by mainlanders. In 2020, according to recruiting firm Robert Walters Group, about 30 percent of investment banking jobs in Hong Kong were filled by local staff, that was down from 40 percent of two years ago. While 60 percent of the jobs were filled by mainland staff and 10 percent by overseas staff.

Hong Kong resident immigration figures show a net outflow of over 140,000 Hong Kong people in the first three months of this year. And a cumulative net departure of 329,808 people as of April 3 this year, calculated from July 1, 2020 (20 months). In 2022, in February and March alone, the net outflow has reached 99,018 people, in contrast to 11,829 people in the same period last year.

One of the immigration hot spots for Hong Kong people is the United Kingdom, where authorities opened British National Overseas (BNO) visa applications at the end of January last year, allowing BNO passport holders and their families to apply for visas to work, study and live in UK. The British Home Office announced last month the latest data, 2021, a total of 103,900 people applied for BNO visas, of which more than 93% have been approved.

Sources:

1. Epoch Times, June 30, 2022.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/22/6/30/n13770900.htm

2. Capitalwatch, April 6, 2022.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      https://www.163.com/dy/article/H49579MR0519ANON.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese Premier: Prevent Incidents that Break the Moral Bottom Line

On June 27, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at an event that, “The population trapped in dire conditions has increased due to the impact of the epidemic and natural disasters.” Li told China’s officials to “detect in a timely manner those people who lost their jobs, those who need to be included in the low-income programs, and those in temporary distress, and prevent the occurrence of incidents that break the moral bottom line.”

Although Li did not specify what the events might be that could “break the moral bottom line,” this is not an often used wording for the premier to use to describe China’s economic difficulties.

Li Keqiang considered that the current economy has recovered to a certain extent, but “the foundation is not yet solid.” He emphasized that, “The unemployment rate should be brought down and controlled as soon as possible.”

The above remarks were made on June 27 when Li Keqiang visited the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 28, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202206280409.aspxhat

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Profit of China’s Local State Enterprises Plunged 22.7 Percent in the First Five Months

China’s Ministry of Finance released the economic statistics of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises for the first five months of 2022. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the profit of local state-owned enterprises dropped by 22.7 percent.

Although the revenue of state-owned enterprises from January to May increased by 9.2 percent over the same period last year, the profit of all state-owned enterprises dropped 6.5 percent. Among them, local state-owned enterprises saw a deep profit dive of 22.7 percent.

As of the end of May, the asset and liability ratio of Chinese state-owned enterprises was 64.3 percent, of which the ratio for central enterprises was 67 percent, and 63.0 percent for local state-owned enterprises.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 28, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202206280330.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Kyodo Chinese: Japan Approved TSMC Plant Construction Plan

Major Japanese news agency Kyodo News recently reported in its Chinese edition that the Japanese government announced, based on the relevant laws,  to support the construction of semiconductor factories in Japan. The global semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and others have been approved to build factories in Kumamoto Prefecture. The Japanese government will give a subsidy of up to 476 billion yen (about US$3.5 billion). TSMC will join hands with the Sony Group and Denso to manufacture mainly in order to supply Japanese customers. The factory is expected to make its first shipments in December 2024. The monthly production capacity of semiconductors in the 10 to 20 nanometer scale will reach about 55,000 pieces. According to the plan, the factory covers an area of about 213,000 square meters and employs about 1,700 people. The government believes that TSMC has met the conditions of continuous production for at least 10 years and supplies more than half of the materials purchased in Japan. The Minister of Economy and Industry said at a press conference that the government looks forward to enhancing the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain.

Source: Kyodo Chinese, June 17, 2022
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2022/06/4abfb33025f7–4760.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

DW Chinese: Russia Became China’s largest Crude Oil Supplier

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that, in May of this year, China’s crude oil imports from Russia hit a new high, an increase of 55 percent over the same period last year. So far, Russia has replaced Saudi Arabia as China’s largest crude oil supplier. Chinese customs data showed that, despite sanctions from the West, Russia has been able to find Chinese buyers for its crude, but has had to cut prices. Though China’s demand for crude oil has fallen due to Covid, yet companies such as PetroChina and Zhenhua Oil have increased imports of cheap Russian crude. Saudi Arabia is China’s second-largest oil supplier. Its daily supply to China fell to 1.84 million barrels in May from 2.17 million barrels in April. Chinese customs data also showed that China imported 260,000 tons of crude oil from Iran in May of this year, which is the third batch of Iranian crude oil China has imported since December of last year. Despite U.S. sanctions on Iran, China typically imports Iranian oil through third countries, with Iranian crude accounting for 7 percent of China’s total imports. Chinese customs data also showed that China imported 400,000 tons of Russian LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) in May of this year, a 56 percent increase from May of last year. In the first five months of this year, China’s LNG imports from Russia increased by 22 percent year-over-year to 1.84 million tons.

Source: DW Chinese, June 20, 2022
https://bit.ly/3QPPtpJ

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: Tencent Plans More Layoffs

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao, recently reported that, in the second half of this year, Chinese Internet giant Tencent will continue to lay off staff. All business groups will reduce their staff by at least 10 percent and will start laying off more staff from the management levels. In the first half of this year, Tencent “optimized” the personnel of each business group. In the second half of the year, the whole company will continue to lay off employees on the same basis as in the first half of the year. The proportion of layoffs in the different sub-divisions of the Platform and Content Business Group will even reach 40 to 50 percent. A few business groups will face discontinuation. Tencent’s core business groups, including the WeChat Group and the Gaming Group were not touched much in the first half. However, in this upcoming new round, 10 percent or more will also see layoffs. Tencent is currently at a low point in its performance. According to Tencent’s financial report for the first quarter of this year, Tencent’s adjusted net profit fell by 23 percent year-over-year and its net profit has declined for three consecutive quarters.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, June 23, 2022
https://www.kzaobao.com/shiju/20220623/119811.html   already

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

China Russia Interactions

While the Western world has imposed tough sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia held a series of activities recently.

  1. On June 10, the Heilhe-Bragoveshchensk road bridge officially opened. Hu Chunhua, China’s Vice Premier, attended and addressed the online opening ceremony.
  2. On June 15, Putin called Xi Jinping on Xi’s birthday.
  3. On June 17, Xi Jinping attended, online, and addressed the plenary session of the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia.
  4. Russia and China sent naval ships which separately sailed around the Japanese archipelago.
  5. On June 17, China’s Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said that China is ready to provide airplane parts to Russian Airlines. The Western sanctions ban exporting airline parts and leasing or supplying airplanes to Russia.
  6. On June 20, Russia’s St. Petersburg Stock Exchange started trading 12 stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including Tencent, Alibaba, Meituan, Xiaomi, and Jingdong.

Sources:
1. China’s Government Website, June 10, 2022
http://www.gov.cn/guowuyuan/2022-06/10/content_5695126.htm
2. China’s Foreign Ministry Website, June 17, 2022
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202206/t20220617_10705728.html
3. Net Ease, June 23, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HAGVK42D0542ONXL.html
4. Epoch Times, June 21, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/6/21/n13764456.htm
5. Net Ease, June 17, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HA3938FF05198CJN.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Under Xi Jinping, the Number of Chinese Asylum-seekers Is Increasing. Despite COVID

Figures released by the United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR showed that around 12,000 Chinese nationals sought asylum overseas in 2012, the year that Xi took office as CCP general secretary. By 2021 that number rose to nearly 120,000.

According to the release of Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO based in Madrid, Spain, “By 2019, that figure surpassed 100,000, and despite travel restrictions both in China and worldwide, it continued to increase in both 2020 and 2021. Last year, that figure reached nearly 120,000 people. That is ten times the number of asylum seekers the year Xi came to power.”

“In one year of Xi Jinping’s rule, 2021, China had more asylum-seekers than during the last eight years of the rule of his predecessor Hu Jintao.”

“In fact, since 2012 China has seen some 730,000 people seek asylum. Another 170,000+ persons are living outside of China under refugee status. The number of refugees has held steady for a long time (Many of them are Tibetans living in India).”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 18, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202206180103.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability