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Briefings - 207. page

13.7 million Chinese Sign Petition to Investigate U.S. Lab

The Chinese official media Global Times recently launched an online petition urging the international community to investigate whether the U.S. military’s Fort Detrick Biological Laboratory was the origin of the new coronavirus.

As of July 26, the petition was alive and the number of signatures has been growing over time. The signatories below the signature counter did not post any name, but simply stated that a “netizen” from somewhere in China had participated. The increase in the number of signatures is considerable. According to Global Times, the signatures began on July 17 and by July 22 more than 5 million people had signed. Just one day later, by midnight Beijing time on July 23, the number of signatures jumped to more than 9.4 million. By July 26, the number was over 13.7 million.

The petition is in response to an open letter allegedly signed by Chinese netizens in early June of this year calling for a WHO investigation into the U.S. Fort Detrick Biological Laboratory.

The letter claimed that the U.S. military’s Fort Detrick Biological Laboratory had a leak in the fall of 2019 on the eve of the Covid-19 outbreak, and that the U.S. side covered up the details in the interest of national security. This has led to concerns about whether the event was related to the coronavirus and to calls for a WHO investigation.

In fact, Fort Detrick has been a thorn in the side of Chinese officials since March of last year. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said last March that the notion that the virus came from a U.S. lab was crazy. However, according to the website of Foreign Policy magazine, from early March last year until now, Chinese officials and state media have mentioned the Fort Detrick lab more than four hundred times in articles, videos, tweets and press conferences and have repeatedly asked the lab to open up for China to send its staff to investigate.

The narrative linking Fort Detrick to the coronavirus in these conversations is that U.S. Army soldier Maatje Benassi brought the virus from the Fort Detrick to Wuhan in October 2019 while he was there for the World Military Games.

Richard H. Ebright, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University, denounced this claim as utter nonsense, telling Radio Free Asia that the analysis of the genome sequence of the coronavirus extracted from humans indicates that this virus infected human bodies in or near Wuhan sometime around September to November 2019.

According to public information, the Fort Detrick Biological Laboratory, which is part of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), did receive a directive from the Centers for Disease Control to close in 2019. The New York Times reported that a USAMRIID spokesperson said at the time that the closure was primarily due to a lack of proper disinfection of the lab, but that there was no threat that would endanger public safety, nor was there any leakage of hazardous materials that would cause injury to anyone.

Source: Radio Free Asia, July 22, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/wy-07222021111401.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

FoxConn’s Largest Plant in China Impacted by Zhengzhou Flood

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that, after the major flood in the city of Zhengzhou (Henan Province), the situation at the Foxconn plants in Zhengzhou were seriously challenging. Zhengzhou has Foxconn’s largest industrial park in China and it is the world’s largest production base for Apple mobile phones. Foxconn Group has three plants in Zhengzhou, namely the Airport Plant, the Economic Development Zone Plant, and the Zhongmu Plant. The Zhongmu Plant, which is the closest to Zhengzhou City, was the most impacted. Starting July 20, the plant’s operations were suspended and some workers were trapped in the staff dormitory where the first floor was under water. The water supply and electricity were cut off, and people hadn’t eaten for nearly two days. On July 22, workers were rescued and transported to a safe location by forklift. The Economic Development Zone Plant was also shut down for one day. By the end of July 22, some workers had still not been accounted for. No one at the local company office or the local government office answered the calls from reporters.

Source: NetEase, July 22, 2021
https://www.163.com/dy/article/GFGTGVTD0519D3BI.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability US-China Relations

Local Chinese Block Western Journalist from Reporting on Zhengzhou

In flood-stricken Zhengzhou City in central China, not only local Chinese journalists, but foreign reporters, including  those from Taiwan and Hong Kong, have been covering the story. However, a Twitter video shows that some “patriotic people” in the city have been interfering with the reporting of a Western journalist.

These people surrounded the journalist and accused the journalist of “demonizing China” and of “selective reporting.” They even demanded to see the footage.

At the same time, according to online information, the number of missing people in Henan province has reached 130. Their friends and relatives have posted photos of the missing and described their appearance and body features. Most of the missing are residents of Zhengzhou.

The military has now taken over the Jingguang Road Tunnel, where hundreds of cars were trapped in the flood. People are prohibited from approaching the site and also from taking photos. Those who sought to find the whereabouts of their loved ones who were supposedly trapped in the tunnel have also been held back.

Although the official figure is that only four people were killed in the tunnel, netizens have widely questioned the number. Cyber authorities have deleted some of the online posts that questioned the number.

Source: Twitter, July 25, 2021


Radio Free Asia, July 25, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-07252021144949.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese Foreign Minister’s Criticism of U.S. before Meeting with Wendy Sherman

Days before meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeatedly named and criticized the United States.

“The U.S. has always wanted to use its strength to exert pressure on other countries, conveying the idea that it is superior. But I want to tell the U.S. side clearly that there has never been any superior country in this world, nor should there be a superior country. China will not accept any country claiming to be superior.” Wang said this at a press event on July 24, when meeting with the Pakistan Foreign Minister in Chengdu, Sichuan.

Wang continued, “If the United States has not yet learned how to deal with other countries on an equal footing, it is our responsibility, along with the international community, to give the United States this lesson.”

On July 25, Wang met with the Foreign Minister of Finland in Chengdu, Sichuan. When asked by a reporter, Wang said, “The U.S. side is hyping up the lab leak theory with the presumption of guilt. Its purpose is to shift the blame for its own ineffectiveness in fighting the epidemic and to achieve the political goal of discrediting and suppressing other countries. … It is necessary to write this ugly page in the history of the human race’s fight against the epidemic.”

“We should trace the original source of not only the new coronavirus, but also the political virus.” He criticized the WHO’s second stage of Covid-19 origin probe as a deviation from the requirements of the 73rd WHO General Assembly resolution. “It seems that the U.S. has returned to the WHO with the intention of not joining the international fight against the epidemic but of continuing to use the platform to spread political viruses.”

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman arrived in Tianjin on July 25 and was scheduled to meet with Wang Yi on Monday July 26. She was also to meet with China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, who oversees U.S.-China relations.

Source: Central News Agency, July 26, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202107260015.aspx

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

LTN: Washington Pressured Netherlands to Ban Selling Lithography Systems to China

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the U.S. Biden administration is putting pressure on the Netherlands not to sell lithography systems to Chinese semiconductor companies. The Netherlands’ ASML is the world’s top lithography systems manufacturer primarily for machines to produce computer chips. Even though China urged ASML to sell its EUV lithography system, the Dutch government still retained the export license of ASML EUV. So far, not even one has fallen into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, even though ASML’s CEO Peter Wennink said that export restrictions may backfire. Less than a month after Biden took office, his national security advisor Jacob Sullivan and his Dutch counterparts discussed the “close cooperation” between the two countries on advanced technologies. Sullivan’s top priority is to continue to restrict ASML’s business with China. The Chinese communists hoped to provide domestic chipmakers with US$150 million EUV lithography systems so that Huawei and other Chinese semiconductor companies can reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers.

Source: LTN, July 17, 2021
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3607159

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

The U.S. military Rarely Dispatched 25 F-22s to Western Pacific

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that the Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Air Force Command said that it will deploy approximately 25 F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Guam and Tinian to participate in an exercise named Pacific Iron 2021. Ken Wilsbach, commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Force said the U.S. has never deployed so many Raptor fighters in the Pacific Air Force combat area. The F-22 is a fifth-generation fighter with stealth combat capabilities and is one of the most advanced fighters in the world. Dispatching over 20 F-22 fighters is an unusually large-scale deployment. Analysts expressed the belief that this is a “strong deterrent signal” sent by the United States to its “potential adversary” China. A typical F-22 deployment includes six to twelve fighters. The U.S. Pacific Air Force is demonstrating that they can deploy the same or more fifth-generation fighters than are in China’s entire current inventory in a short period of time. The Chinese Air Force now has about 20 to 24 fifth-generation fighters in service. Today, the U.S. military has around 180 F-22s.

Source: Sina, July 17, 2021
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2021-07-17/doc-ikqcfnca7442564.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations

RFA Chinese: Canada Requires Universities to Pass National Security Assessments

Radio Free Asia Chinese Edition recently reported that the Canadian government announced that university researchers must pass a national security risk assessment when applying for government funding. This is to prevent intellectual property resources from falling into the hands of foreign governments or their agents. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has previously warned on many occasions that organizations or persons with ties to China and Russia are trying to steal intelligence from Canada. An Australian report pointed out that, under the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Canada has become the third most popular destination for scientists. Ottawa’s new policy is a good start. Unfortunately, the effect may be limited because, if these university researchers fail to get funding from Ottawa, they can still get it from other sources like Chinese institutions or companies, such as Huawei. Human Rights Watch, an international organization, pointed out that some university researchers deliberately failed to look into the source of funding or partners. The Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Francois-Philippe Champagne said that Ottawa’s new policy aims to protect intellectual property rights, and he is not worried that China may be unhappy with the required security reviews.

Source: RFA Chinese, July 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lf-07132021135355.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Hit Back after U.S. Announced Sanctions against Hong Kong Officials

The U.S. government issued a Hong Kong Business Warning for the first time, reminding U.S. companies to be alert to the risks caused by the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Act. Washington also announced sanctions against seven deputy directors of the Hong Kong Central Liaison Office. Beijing and Hong Kong then quickly hit back.

On July 16, the .US. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security jointly issued a Hong Kong business advisory, “Risks and Considerations for Businesses Operating in Hong Kong.” It warned the U.S. companies operating in Hong Kong that they are subject to the laws of Hong Kong, including the National Security Law. So far, some foreign nationals have been arrested, including one U.S. citizen.

The advisory reminded companies that those operating in Hong Kong could “face the risks associated with electronic surveillance without warrants and the surrender of data to the authorities.” It stated that, “individuals and entities should be aware of the potential consequences of certain types of engagement with sanctioned individuals or entities” and warned them that, “Businesses operating in Hong Kong may face heightened risks and uncertainty related to retaliation from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) against companies that comply with sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries, including through enforcement of the Countering Foreign Sanctions Law.”

At the same time, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against the seven deputy directors of the Liaison Office in Hong Kong and added them to the Treasury’s “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.” Earlier, the U.S. had announced sanctions against 11 Chinese and Hong Kong officials, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Liaison Office Director Luo Huining, for damaging Hong Kong’s autonomy. The assets of those on the sanctions list have been frozen.

In the statement that Secretary of State Blinken issued, he stated, “I am committed to continuing to work with Congress and our allies and partners around the world to stand with the people in Hong Kong against [China’s] egregious policies and actions.  …  We will continue to call on the PRC to abide by its international obligations and commitments; to cease its dismantling of Hong Kong’s democratic institutions, autonomy, and rule of law; to release immediately and drop all charges against individuals unjustly detained in Hong Kong; and to respect the human rights of all individuals in Hong Kong.”

The Liaison Office of the Central Committee of Hong Kong countered with a statement calling the U.S. sanctions a piece of wastepaper and an attempt to disrupt Hong Kong’s economic growth after its political failure. The statement also emphasized: “The sanctions imposed by the United States on our officials have no meaning other than making us despise those politicians and encourage us to fight for our national interests.”

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional Government also issued statements calling the sanctions bully’ behavior which violates international laws and interferes with China’s domestic affairs. Chinese official media followed suit and published a series of anti-U.S. commentaries.

Source: Deutsche Welle, July 17, 2021
https://www.dw.com/zh/美国制裁中联办官员-中方废纸一张/a-58297941

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations