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Lianhe Zaobao: China Is Helping Saudi Arabia Make Ballistic Missiles

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, according to U.S. Cable News Network (CNN), U.S. intelligence agencies said that Saudi Arabia is actively developing domestically produced ballistic missiles with the assistance of China. This development may cause a major chain reaction throughout the Middle East. The latest satellite images show that Saudi Arabia is currently manufacturing missiles. At a minimum one site is funded by China. Weapons experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies expressed the belief that, considering the facility was built with China’s assistance and new intelligence assessments show Saudi Arabia has recently purchased sensitive ballistic missile technology from China, China may have designed the missiles made there. Sources familiar with the matter said that U.S. officials from multiple agencies, including the White House National Security Council (NSC), have been informed in recent months that classified intelligence has shown that China and Saudi Arabia have conducted multiple large-scale transfers of sensitive ballistic missile technology. Both the NSC and the CIA declined to comment on this piece. If Saudi Arabia successfully develops and manufactures missiles, Iran will be unlikely to agree to stop manufacturing missiles. It will also become more difficult for the Biden administration to limit Iran’s ambitions to manufacture nuclear weapons.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 24, 2021
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20211224-1226128

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: Pro-Mainland Candidates Won Almost All Seats in HK Legislative Council Elections

BBC Chinese recently reported that the results of the Hong Kong Legislative Council election were released on December 20. Eighty-nine of the ninety seats were captured by pro-mainland candidates. Only the social welfare functional constituency seat was filled by the candidate who claimed not to be pro-mainland. This is the first election in Hong Kong after the implementation of the HK National Security Law and after drastically revising the election system to implement “Patriots Run Hong Kong.” Nathan Law, the former Hong Kong Legislative Council member in exile, said that the low voter turnout rate indicates that the Hong Kong people are “boycotting” this election. It is a strong signal to the international community showing that the people of Hong Kong do not have free and fair elections. The district direct-elections had a turnout rate of 30 percent. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that the Hong Kong government has not set a target for turnout rate. Experts explained that the low voter turnout was expected because the pro-democracy supporters do not have their favorite candidates available (to vote for) and the real opposition has either been jailed or has gone into exile. They have no way to participate in the current system.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 20, 2021
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-59723776

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

LTN: Chinese Diplomat Banned on Facebook; Sought an Explanation

Well-known Taiwanese Newspaper Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that Zhang Heqing, a Chinese diplomat in Pakistan, tweeted on December 22nd that both his Facebook account and page were disabled. He asked Facebook for an explanation. Zhang also said he believes Facebook will never give him a reason as per security and safety reasons. He commented on Facebook’s Twitter account and said, “I need an answer.” However, since China blocks the public from using Twitter and Facebook, netizens also bombarded Zhang’s tweet. Some questioned why he had a Facebook account when the Chinese government has banned the use of Facebook. Some asked, “Didn’t China block Facebook first?” Some tried to find out: “What are you doing on Facebook when you prohibit your people from freely using this same platform?” Some complained saying, “My posts about Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong on Weibo and WeChat have also been deleted, and I was not given a reason either.” Some hoped Zhang would be blocked by Twitter too, just like Facebook.

Source: LTN, December 23, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3777406

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Kyodo Chinese: Japan and the U.S. Drafted Combat Plans for Emergencies in Taiwan

Major Japanese news agency Kyodo recently reported in its Chinese edition that sources close to the Japanese government have confirmed that the Japanese military and the U.S. military have formulated a draft of a new Japan-U.S. joint operations plan that envisages emergencies in Taiwan. The contents include that, in the initial stage of the emergency, the U.S. Marine Corps will set up temporary military bases for offensive purposes on the Ryukyu Islands – from Kagoshima Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture. Local residents are likely to be involved in the fighting. It is expected that, at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (2+2) meeting attended by foreign affairs and defense ministers to be held early next year, a consensus will be reached on officially starting operations for the formal formulation of plans. Normally, no new bases would be built. However, in the initial stage as the urgency of emergencies in Taiwan increases, the U.S. troops will be deployed with the support of the Japanese military. The establishment of U.S. military bases in Japan requires the Japanese government to make policy decisions and improve relevant laws on land use and protection of local residents. In the joint statement of the Japan-US summit meeting in April this year, Taiwan Strait Stability was included after about half a century. The two sides secretly advanced discussions on the formulation of a joint combat plan.

Source: Kyodo Chinese, December 23, 2021
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2021/12/544994c0a929.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Restricts Christmas Gatherings and Bans Online Religious Messages and Fundraising

On Christmas Eve, Chinese government officials banned Christmas gatherings on the grounds of the epidemic. Meanwhile, five state agencies issued new regulations to prohibit online religious information and fundraising in the latest effort to prevent the spread of Western values.

Church gatherings to celebrate Christmas are restricted. The implementation differs in different places. Authorities at some locations may adjust the number of restrictions at any time. If a church has large events on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it must report them and obtain prior approval from the authorities.

On December 20, 2021, Rong’an County Education Bureau in Guangxi Province issued a notice prohibiting any “Western Festivals” in primary and secondary schools. Some young people follow Western values and lifestyles, which Western developed countries promote in China using technology. “In accordance with the directives from higher authorities, the Rong’an Education Bureau decided to prohibit teachers and students from organizing any sort of “Western festivals” or celebrations on and off-campus.

Also, on December 20, five state agencies, the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the State Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Security jointly issued the “Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Services.”

The new regulation, dated December 3, 2021, bans any organization or individual from uploading, publishing, forwarding, or spreading religious content on the Internet. No spiritual information may be provided in the form of text, pictures, audio, or video on websites, applications, forums, blogs, microblogs, public accounts, instant messaging tools, webcasts, or anything related.

“Overseas organizations or individuals and their organizations established in China shall not engage in Internet religious information services in China.”

The new regulation, effective on March 1, 2022, states that the religious groups with an “Internet Religious Information Service Permit” may only use their own websites, applications, forums, and other means, for spiritual information. The religious content must guide people to love the country and abide by the law when doing so. Further, the new regulation prohibits online fundraising for religious groups.

Sources:

1.)  Christian Network, December 22, 2021
http://www.jidunet.cn/article/44/59012.html

2.) Radio Free Asia, December 21, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql1-12222021035030.html

3.) China National Religious Affairs Administration, December 20, 2021
http://www.sara.gov.cn/bmgz/364755.jhtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Is Shipping Goods over Land

Due to COVID and the container shortage, the global supply chain has been problematic for quite some time. Shipping over land has become a new option for supply chain companies.

The path from China to Southeast Asia occurs as follows: Container trucks deliver the containers to the Kunming train station. The trains ship the containers to Vientiane in Laos in 20 to 24 hours, and then trucks deliver them to the target regions, such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and even Singapore. The total duration is about a week and the cost is half that of an of air shipment.

The path from China to Europe is as follows: The container truck delivers the containers to the Chengdu train station or Shanghai train station, and then a train ships the containers to European countries via the Siberian Railway. It takes about two weeks to deliver them.

Source: Sing Tao Daily, December 13, 2021
https://std.stheadline.com/realtime/article/1787009

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping’s Red Lines for Art and Literature

Recently, Xi Jinping drew some red lines for the art and literature in China. In addition to “spreading contemporary Chinese values and telling China’s stories well,” he instructed that art and literature should not take the “vulgar” route, and “cannot be tainted with the stink of money and be the slaves of the market.”

On Tuesday December 14, Xi, as well as other Politburo Standing Committee members, spoke at the congresses of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and the China Writers Association (CWA), where he gave the above instructions to the delegates.

CFLAC is an umbrella organization composed of nationwide associations of writers and artists in various fields. Although CFLAC claims it is a non-governmental organization whose mission “is to unite and serve writers and artists, to train literary and art talents, and to promote the development and prosperity of literature and the arts,” It is under the direct leadership of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. With a national, provincial, and city-level hierarchical organization structure, CFLAC aims to control millions of Chinese writers and artists so that their work toes the Party line. CWA is a subordinate organization of CFLAC.

At the congress, Xi expressed the hope that “the vast number of artists, remember their mission …  and make new and greater contributions for the comprehensive construction of a modernized socialist country and the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife and Vice President of CFLAC, was also sitting on the podium alongside other Politburo Standing Committee members.

Xi drew some red lines for art and literature work. “Literature and art should be popular, but should never be vulgar; be lifelike, but not promote unhealthy culture; be innovative, but not engage in strange and ridiculous things; it should be rewarding, but not be tainted with the stink of money or be the slaves of the market.”

Source: People’s Daily, December 15, 2021
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2021/1215/c1024-32308066.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP’s Meeting with European and American Marxist Parties

On December 15, the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a meeting with European and American Marxist parties through a video conference. Representatives of more than 20 European and American Marxist political parties and left-wing political organizations from Spain, Britain, the United States and other countries attended the meeting.

Song Tao, head of CCP’s International Liaison Department, said, “The CCP is willing to strengthen exchanges with Marxist parties around the world and promote the continuous development of the world socialist cause.”  Song also relayed the remarks of Xi Jinping on the CCP’s concept of democracy.

According to the official People’s Daily, leaders of European and American Marxist parties spoke highly of the great developmental achievements that China has made under the leadership of Xi Jinping’s CCP Central Committee, and they endorsed Xi’s idea of democracy. They also expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with the CCP, uphold multilateralism, and jointly promote the cause of world socialism.

Source: People’s Daily, December 17, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-12/17/nw.D110000renmrb_20211217_7-03.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend