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Briefings - 192. page

CCP’s Grassroots Control of Local Communities – Grid Administrator’s Microscopic Grip over every Chinese Citizen and Resident.

Chen Yixin, Secretary General of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Committee, recently visited the city of Shenzhen. Chen pointed out that the current domestic and international security environment is becoming more complex and that it is necessary to optimize the grid-based grassroots management mechanism, improve the coverage of video surveillance, and set up a “red property management team.”

The PLAC is a very powerful Chinese Communist Party organ that oversees all judicial and law enforcement authorities, including the Supreme Court, Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of State Security, Ministry and Public Security, and the police force. The Secretary General is a senior leadership position in the Commission.

Chen pointed out that, in recent years, there have been mass social unrest cases where people’s conflicts and disputes were not solved in a timely manner. They all relate to “grassroots governance.” He said that “grid management” is an effective innovation in grassroots governance, and it is necessary to improve China’s grid management.

The Chinese government has divided local “grassroots” communities into a grid pattern, with each grid made up of 15 to 20 households. They are monitored by a designated person called the “grid administrator.” These persons must fully familiarize themselves with the residents in their grid – who lives there, their housing and facilities, their membership in organizations, and their place of work. In addition, they must identify any possible hidden dangers. The authorities make use of the “grid management” system to exert the most microscopic grip over every Chinese citizen and resident.

Chen proposed that there should be a focus on the entrances and exits of buildings and public areas, improved coverage of video surveillance, and a focus on the use of big data to predict risks and refine the “grid management” to ensure that the grid covers a moderate population and area. Business buildings, enterprises and institutions are divided into specially designated grids.

Chen asked grid administrators to mingle themselves with the people, watch out for the first signs of any problems, and organize CCP members and cadres in the community grids.

Chen said he would work with government bodies to promote “red property management” and introduce the participation of CCP members and university students, so that CCP cadres in the community also serve as the head of property management.

Source: Website of Political and Legal Affairs Commission, September 22, 2021
http://www.chinapeace.gov.cn/chinapeace/c100007/2021-09/21/content_12539687.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Tsinghua to Cut Number of Doctoral Students in Liberal Arts

In recent years, the Chinese government has signaled that there are “too many liberal arts students.” Tsinghua University in Beijing has proposed to control the scale of liberal arts programs and reduce the number of liberal arts doctoral students.

According to Tsinghua University’s website, when Qiu Yong. the current president of Tsinghua University, attended a conference on liberal arts on September 17, he put forward a 10-point to-do list for the future liberal arts education. At the top of the list was to control the scale of discipline and to downsize doctoral programs.

According to China Youth Daily, an official newspaper targeting young people, starting in 2019, Chinese universities and colleges have kept a tight grip on enrollment and significantly scaled back humanities and social science programs.

In April of this year, the People’s Bank of China published a paper titled, “Understanding and Responding to China’s Demographic Transition.” The paper argued that one of the reasons that Southeast Asian countries fell into the middle-income trap was that “there were too many liberal arts students.” It suggested that China “should pay attention to science and technology education” when formulating population policy.

Source: Tsinghua University, September 20, 2021
https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/1177/87151.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Sets a Goal to Become an Intellectual Property Power in the Next 15 Years

According to a Xinhua report, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council recently issued the “Guideline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country (2021-2035).” The “Guideline” states that it is a major top-level design for the development of China’s intellectual property industry over the next 15 years.

The “Guideline” proposes that, by 2025, the added value of patent-intensive industries will account for 13 percent of GDP. The added value of copyright industries will account for 7.5 percent of GDP, and the total amount of royalties from the annual imports and exports of intellectual property will reach 350 billion yuan. The number of patents for high-value inventions per 10,000 people will reach 12.

Source: Xinhuanet, September 30, 2021
http://www.news.cn/politics/2021-09/30/c_1127922346.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China’s New Equipment Manufacturing State Giant

China Electrical Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CEEG) was established in Shanghai on the 25th. CEEG is a state-owned company which the central government manages directly. It is based on the restructuring of a few electric equipment companies including China XD Group Co. Ltd, XJ Group Corp, Pinggao Group Co. Ltd and Shandong Electric Engineering & Equipment Group Co. Ltd.

China aims to move its electrical equipment manufacturing industry up to the high-end of the global value chain. It is viewed as being of strategic importance to the implementation of China’s energy security.

After the completion of the reorganization, CEEG’s business will produce equipment related to power generation (including new energy), power transmission, transformation, and distribution. It may also be involved in energy storage, rail transportation, industrial automation, and energy grid. It vows to be the most capable and comprehensive manufacturer of AC and DC electrical equipment.

Source: SASAC, September 25, 2021
http://www.sasac.gov.cn/n2588025/n2643314/c20909163/content.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

After Biden-Xi Talk, CCP Held a Party Dialog with the U.S.

China reported that, on September 13, the Chinese Communist Party held its 12th Sino-U.S. party dialog in an online video conference. The CCP Foreign Liaison Department along with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in the U.S. organized the dialog.

Song Tao, the Minister of the CCP Foreign Liaison Department spoke for China.

Howard Dean, former Chair of the Democratic National Committee and former Vermont Governor represented the Democratic Party.

Carla Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development represented the Republic Party.

Around 50 representatives, from the ministries and universities of China, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and key think tanks in the U.S., attended the dialog.

Source: China News Agency, September 14, 2021
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2021/09-14/9564748.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

LTN: For Seven Consecutive Years China Ranked Worst Abuser of Online Freedom in the World ; Taiwan Is Number One in Asia-Pacific

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the U.S. human rights organization Freedom House just released its annual Freedom on the Net Report. For the seventh consecutive year China has been ranked as the country with the worst Internet freedom in the world. Meanwhile, Taiwan was included in the appraisal for the first time. It ranked the fifth out of 70 countries,  taking the top spot in the Asia-Pacific region. Freedom House’s evaluation criteria include three indicators: obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. China has been ranked at the bottom of the list for seven consecutive years, behind Cuba, Myanmar and Iran. The Chinese government remains the world’s worst online freedom violator. The Report pointed out that now, in 2021, one of the most censored topics in China is still content related to the Covid-19 virus. China’s official media, its official social media accounts, and other government-related accounts are flooding cyberspace with false claims on the dangers of U.S. vaccines as well as the source of the coronavirus. The highest ranked countries are Iceland and Estonia; Canada and Costa Rica are tied for the third place.

Sources: LTN, September 21, 2021
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3678934

world’s worst abuser of internet freedom for the seventh consecutive year

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology Social Stability

Xiaomi Cellphones Found to Have Security Issues

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that, in July, the Baltic State of Lithuania allowed Taiwan to set up a “representative office” under the name “Taiwan,” leading to a sudden escalation of diplomatic tension between the two countries, Lithuania and China. Now the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania released an investigation report, claiming that content censorship “features” have been found in mobile phones produced by some Chinese companies like Xiaomi. The Ministry even advised consumers to avoid buying Chinese mobile phones or to trash them if they currently own such equipment. The National Cyber Security Center of the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania indicated that Xiaomi’s flagship phones have built-in detection and censorship functions which can be turned on remotely. Xiaomi’s encrypted mobile phone usage data is transmitted to a server in Singapore. Similar loopholes have also been found on one Huawei model. According to Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) confirmed that, based on the Lithuania Report, it has launched an investigation into allegations of security vulnerabilities in Chinese mobile phones such as Xiaomi.

Sources:
(1) Sohu, September 22, 2021
https://www.sohu.com/a/491346708_115479
(2) DW Chinese, September 25, 2021
https://p.dw.com/p/40qBc

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Power and Production Restrictions Impact an Expanded List of Publicly Traded Companies

Shanghai Securities News recently reported that the Chinese government’s “dual energy consumption control” policy has been implemented across the country. In many provinces, the government has introduced intense restrictions on the consumption of electrical power and on manufacturing production; high energy consumption companies have received production restriction notices. These companies and related industrial chains have all been affected. On the upstream side, the prices of raw materials such as steel, cement, aluminum, and yellow phosphorus have risen due to limited production which stimulates short supply. The prices of some products have been setting record highs. On the downstream side, in addition to the ripple effects of price increases raising production costs, the supply cycle has begun to lengthen and the pressure on order delivery has increased. This round of electricity and production restrictions may force many high-energy small-and-medium-sized companies either to withdraw from the market or to transform and upgrade. The New Energy industry chain, including many photovoltaic industrial manufacturers as well as the vehicle battery industry, have also been affected by the power curtailment. Tens of the publicly traded companies issued announcements on the impact of the new government policies; some have had to pause production.

Source: Shanghai Securities News, September 24, 2021
https://paper.cnstock.com/html/2021-09/24/content_1522765.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources