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Briefings - 189. page

China to Ban Private Capital in the News Business

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently announced a draft “Negative List” for a Market Access List (2021 Version), and invited public comments. The draft stated that non-state capital is prohibited from carrying out news and media-related businesses, and from introducing news published by “overseas entities.”

The draft stated that non-state capital shall not engage in the news gathering, editing and broadcasting business, shall not invest in the establishment and operation of news organizations, including but not limited to news agencies, newspaper publishing units, radio and television broadcasters, radio and television stations, as well as online news information gathering and publishing services.

Non-state capital is also not allowed to operate pages, frequencies, channels, columns, or public accounts for news agencies; it shall not engage in the live broadcast business in the areas of political, economic, military, diplomatic, social, cultural, science and technology, health, education, sports and other activities related to the political direction, public opinion guidance and ideologies.

In addition, the draft points out that non-state capital is also not allowed to introduce news published by foreign entities and it cannot hold forums, summits, and awards ceremonies in the field of news media and any public opinion related business.

Source: Central News Agency, October 9, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202110090064.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Deutsche Welle: German Scholar Gives up Teaching in China

Deutsche Welle’s Chinese website published an interview with Alicia Hennig, a scholar at the Dresden University of Technology. Hennig explained why she no longer wants to teach in China after she was in the country for 15 years.

She started teaching when she worked at a Chinese university in 2015. At the time, China had already begun to restrict the use of Western textbooks. She had to order her Philosophy of Economics textbooks from overseas, but the books were held up in customs.

When she was at Southeast University in Nanjing in October 2018, classrooms were already equipped with surveillance cameras. This was one reason that she did not want to continue teaching business ethics in China. Human rights is also a topic in the curriculum. She said, “I don’t want to teach in China anymore because I’m worried that I won’t be able to have a real discussion in the classroom.”

Hennig also found that organizing conferences with foreigners (non-Chinese) became extremely difficult because of the review process and the need to ensure that ideological red-lines were not crossed. She added that there is a lot of ideological oversight and censorship in Chinese universities. The school dean once asked her to remove certain comments from social media.

Regarding the issue of some German schools wanting to collaborate with Chinese universities, Hennig cautioned that, in addition to the possibility that the bureaucrats used corruption in dealing with academic funds, it is also important to pay attention to the fields of collaborative research. “The field of humanities is very much restricted in terms of ideology; (cooperation in) natural sciences and also technology cannot exclude (Chinese) military applications.”

Source: Deutsche Welle, October 12, 2021
https://p.dw.com/p/41XWc

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Acquires Canada’s Neo Lithium

China’s state-controlled Zijin Mining Group Co. acquired all the shares of Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp. for Canadian$6.50 per share in cash, for a total amount of C$960 million, making it the second acquisition a Chinese company has made within two months of a Canadian lithium mining company.

The transaction is still subject to consideration and approval at the Neo Lithium’s shareholders’ special meeting. It will also require regulatory and court approvals from the Chinese and from Canadian regulators.

Neo Lithium’s core asset is the Tres Quebradas (3Q) Lithium Project, a newly discovered lithium saline and brine reservoir complex in Catamarca Province, the biggest lithium producer in Argentina. It is estimated that its total lithium carbonate-equivalent resources are approximately 7.565 million tons. In September, Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) acquired all shares of Canada’s Millennial Lithium Corp. in a cash transaction worth Can$377 million. CATL, is a supplier to the U.S. company Tesla Inc. It also became the third-largest shareholder in Neo Lithium last year after purchasing 10 million of its shares.

Source: Radio France International, October 11, 2021
https://rfi.my/7oq3

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Taliban: We Don’t Want U.S. Anti-terrorism Assistance

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives will hold talks to discuss the containment of extremist organizations in Afghanistan and relax the conditions for the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban stated that they did not want US counter-terrorism assistance and warned Washington not to carry out any “over-the-horizon” attacks on Afghan territory from beyond the country’s borders. A U.S. official said that the U.S. will seek a Taliban commitment to allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave Afghanistan, as well as Afghans who have worked for the U.S. military or government and other Afghan allies. Representatives of the Afghan Taliban Provisional Government traveled to Doha, where they will meet with the U.S. delegation. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.

Source: Sina, October 9, 2021
https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2021-10-09/doc-iktzqtyu0493790.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: Due to Political Pressure, HKCTU Voted to Dissolve

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) issued a press announcement stating that on October 3, the affiliated association passed a resolution of dissolution. The resolution was passed with 57 votes in favor, 8 votes against and 2 abstentions. The representatives of the affiliated association are very aware of the situation of the trade unions and made a helpless decision in a very heavy and struggling mood. Hong Kong media reported in August that the National Security Office of the Hong Kong Police was investigating whether the Trade Union has violated the Hong Kong National Security Law. Some members have received messages stating that if, the Union continues to operate, its members will face threats to their personal safety. HKCTU co-founder and former Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Lee Cheuk-yan is currently in jail. At the beginning of the year, former HKCTU chairperson Carol Ng, was also arrested  on suspicion of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. HKCTU was also accused of working with the U.S. AFL-CIO.

Source: CNA, October 3, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202110030207.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

Moscow City Sealed Off the Central Building of the Russian Communist Party

Pro-communism Chinese news site Kun Lun Ce recently reported, with the authorization of the Russian Communist Party, that on October 1, the City of Moscow sealed off the Central Building of the Russian Communist Party and arrested the leading cadres of the Russian Communist Party on a large scale. The Moscow City Government organized a siege of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and its Moscow City Committee. Internal Affairs, Public Security, National Guards, and the Taxation departments were Involved in the siege. The government mass-arrested and imprisoned the main cadres of the Russian Communist Party at all levels in the Central Federal District. The article mentioned that the Communist Party’s legal department did not recognize remote electronic voting results and some Party leadership members “arbitrarily” discussed the issue of elected representatives and voters online. The Russian Communist party called for the establishment of a committee to investigate the “political persecution.” Coincidentally, it was on October 3 to 4, 1993, that Yeltsin’s supporters in Moscow “violently” suppressed the Supreme Soviet.

Source: Kun Lun Ce, October 1, 2021
http://www.kunlunce.com/ssjj/ssjjhuanqiu/2021-10-04/155571.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Refugee Recalls Harassment Call From China

On September 27, Ding Yiduo, a refugee from China, shared with the Epoch Times about a harassment phone call he received from China.

In 2019, prior to China’s National Day, Ding posted comments in his WeChat account to support the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. He was detained, interrogated and threatened. After his release, Ding worked as crew member for a Chinese ocean carrier. In 2020, when he was on a business trip to the US, Ding decided to stay and seek refugee protection.

On September 25, Epoch Times published an interview with Ding about his experience in China. Two days later, Ding received a call from the chief of his village back home. The village chief called Ding a traitor and accused Ding because he vilified China and the party. He told Ding that if Ding can’t control the damage from the  Epoch Times‘ report, Ding’s name will be removed from his family’s genealogy.

Ding believes that the CCP public security bureau must have ordered the village chief to make the call, which was full of CCP propaganda and manipulation. He told Epoch Times he became more disappointed about CCP regime after the call. He thinks that he should do more to expose the evil nature of the CCP.

Source: Epoch Times, September 29, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/9/29/n13269831.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Party Officials Take the Tang Ping Attitude

“Tang Ping” has become a social buzzword in China. It refers mainly to the younger generation, to those who choose to take a passive attitude toward life and to stay away from the fierce competition in China. This vast form of passive civil disobedience came at a time when the communist regime was promoting “working and consuming” to keep the economy running, as it faces international isolation. At the beginning of this year, the CCP’s mouthpiece People’s Daily issued number of articles urging young people to abandon this idea.

Recently, however, it appears that CCP party officials have taken on the “Tang Ping” attitude at work. On September 27, People’s Daily published an article that the CCP organization department in Longwan district, Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province wrote. The article highlighted a phenomenon that some party officials are holding a “Tang Ping” mentality because of re-election. It cited that some officials have stopped doing their jobs or taking any responsibilities because they feel they have reached their retirement age or they have little chance of being elected or promoted. The article appealed to the officials to change their attitude and not to “Tang Ping.” It asked them to change their mentality for the sake of the party and the nation and to put self-interest behind the bigger goal (of the party).

Source: People’s Daily, September 27, 2021
http://m.people.cn/n4/0/2021/0927/c4304-15218152_2.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics