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Briefings - 216. page

How Xinhua Spent More than $10 Million in North America

Radio Free Asia, through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) system, dug out the financials for the North American bureau of Xinhua, the official news agency of the People’s Republic of China. Xinhua spent more than US$10 million in the 14 months between March 18, 2020 and May 4, 2021. All of the funds came from Beijing. Employee salaries were over $5.3 million. In addition, the agency rented eight properties in the U.S. and spent more than $3.3 million on rent.Also, more than $500,000 was spent on administrative costs, including attorney fees.

Documents show that from March of last year to April of this year, the Xinhua News Agency paid a total of $8.64 million to its North American branches, including its New York headquarters and branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, and Chicago.

In February 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated the Xinhua News Agency as a “foreign mission.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is designed to ensure that the U.S. public is informed of the source of media contents. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Xinhua News Agency to register as a “foreign agent” under FARA. Last March, the U.S. authorities announced a staffing cap for Chinese media outlets including Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network (CGTN), reducing the total number of Chinese employees in the U.S. from 160 to 100.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 10, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-xinhua-05102021153237.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

UK Started the Removal of Huawei Equipment

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that British Telecom (BT), in accordance with government regulations, has started removing all Huawei equipment in its Great Britain network. All Huawei equipment will be replaced by Nokia equipment. In addition to 5G equipment, all 4G Huawei equipment will be removed as well. This BT project will remove 12,000 of its 18,000 base stations. It will take ten years and cost US$700 million. To remove all Huawei equipment across the entire British communications system, it is estimated that the cost will be US$2 billion. That will delay Britain’s 5G deployment plan by at least three years. It seems the UK finally made up its mind, thanks to the threats from the United States. This may have a big impact on the Huawei global 5G strategy. However, the bigger loss is on the British side. Without the British market, Huawei is still the largest 5G equipment vendor due to the size of the Chinese market.

Source: NetEase, May 18, 2021
https://3g.163.com/dy/article/GA8P7FGP0528O7LT.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

LTN: HK Government Suddenly Closed Representative Office in Taiwan

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Hong Kong government just officially announced the suspension of the operation of the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (HKETCO) in Taiwan, which is the Hong Kong government representative’s office. The announcement clarified that the suspension has nothing to do with the current pandemic situation in Taiwan. This move is widely considered as the first step in closing down The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong, which is the representative office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Hong Kong. Currently the Hong Kong government has already stopped the renewal of visas to the personnel of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong. In the past few years, since Taiwan strongly supported the democracy movement in Hong Kong and the movement against the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Taiwanese government has had a difficult relationship with the Hong Kong government. Analysts expressed the concern that the suspension, along with the potential closure of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong will bring a lot of difficulties for the Hong Kong residents who want to move to Taiwan.

Source: LTN, May 18, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3536877

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Sing Tao: Vatican Surprisingly Appointed Stephen Chow as HK Bishop

Primary Hong Kong news media Sing Tao News Group recently reported that the Vatican just announced the surprising appointment of Stephen Chow as the Bishop of Hong Kong. There has been no Bishop since January 2019, when Michael Yeung passed away after holding the position for less than two years. Chow’s appointment was seen as a surprise since he was not previously mentioned as one of the likely candidates for the position. Chow is recognized as a person with a gentle personality and the intent to facilitate collaboration. The Vatican’s choice appears to be a balance between Beijing and the local Catholic communities. Chow is the current Provincial superior of the Chinese Jesuit Province and is serving as the supervisor of both Wah Yan colleges in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. He commenced his doctoral studies at Harvard University in 2000 and was granted a Doctor of Education six years later. After last year’s Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, as the supervisor of two schools, Chow reminded his students to be careful about the legal consequences that one’s actions can bring.

Source: Sing Tao, May 18, 2021
https://bit.ly/3oEpDaH

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Kim Jong-un Bans the Use of Chinese Drugs

According to the Daily UK, an online newspaper that a group of North Korean Defectors runs using news sourced from inside of North Korea, earlier this month, a senior North Korean official died after he received an injection of Chinese-made drugs. Kim Jong-un was furious about it and ordered the main hospital in Pyongyang to ban Chinese-made drugs.

According to reports, the senior official was in his 60s and held an important position in North Korea’s national economics department. He had worked in that department ever since the late Kim Jong-il was in power. He was recently treated at the Pyongyang Medical College hospital for heart disease and high blood pressure. As his health condition deteriorated, the doctor decided to inject “cocarboxylase” a drug that was made in China instead of North Korea because it was supposed to be of a higher quality. Nevertheless, the official died after he received the injection.

After Kim Jong-un learned the news, he immediately ordered Pyongyang’s main hospitals to ban Chinese-made drugs, including the Chinese COVID vaccine samples that are used in the development of the North Korea vaccine.

The real cause of death of the senior official is unclear and is still under investigation.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 21, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/nk-kim-05212021023211.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lithuania Withdraws from 17+1, Calling on Other Countries to Follow Suit

Amid the deterioration of relations between the 27 EU countries and China, Lithuania believes that China constitutes a “division of the 17+1 mechanism.”  The country’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced that Lithuania has decided not to attend the 17+1 summit. Landsbergis called on EU member states to respond to China in unison, and called on other member states to withdraw from this mechanism.

The 17 + 1 mechanism was a cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. It was an initiative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote business and investment relations between China and the 17 CEE countries.

On Thursday, this Baltic country’s parliament formally adopted a resolution that found Beijing to be committing “genocide” and a “human holocaust” against Uighur Muslims. The Lithuanian parliament also called on the United Nations to organize a mission to Xinjiang to investigate the mass detention of Uighurs and asked the European Union to revise its relations with Beijing.

Lithuania has taken several initiatives in recent months that have infuriated Beijing including vetoing Chinese investments and opening commercial offices in Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry lodged a protest on March 4, “strongly opposing” the establishment of Lithuanian official institutions in Taiwan.

In February this year, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia took the lead in lowering the level of participation in the summit between China and CEE countries, sending in a minister instead of a president or a prime minister. Six countries followed suit.

China has attached unprecedented importance to the February 17+1 summit. President Xi Jinping personally chaired the conference, which was usually hosted by Premier Li Keqiang. Although the Chinese Foreign Ministry has also been making frequent behind-the-scenes moves to get leaders of member states to attend, this year’s summit saw the lowest level of participation ever since the mechanism was established in 2012.

Analysis suggests that the 17+1, which was seen from the beginning by the EU as a mechanism to try to divide Europe, is now losing its initial aura. The failure of the Chinese to deliver on their investment promises, as well as the disproportionate trade benefit brought to Beijing, has disappointed the host countries. The outbreak of the corona virus epidemic has impaired China’s image even worse. Beijing’s recent counter-sanctions against the EU over the Uighur human rights issue have caused unprecedented damage to bilateral relations. The European Parliament’s recent decision to freeze the “EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement” is another example of the apparent deterioration of bilateral relations.

Source: Radio France International, May 23, 2021
https://rfi.my/7QAU.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

National English Public Speaking Contest Organizer Picked Topic: To Praise the Party

A national annual English public speaking contest that the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press hosted drew wide critics online. Considered among the top ranking English public speaking contests in China, the contest [Editor’s note: https://uchallenge.unipus.cn/] is open to college students under the age of 35. The preliminary contest is held from June to October; the provincial finals are held before November 8; and the national finals are held from December 6th to 10th. In the past years, the assigned topics have been closely related to life events or have been about Chinese culture. This year, however, the topic is “Red Star over China.” It asked the contestants to sing praises to the party. People complained that the organizer is simply “training a new generation of party spokespersons.” The authorities have deleted all of the online negative comments.

“Red Star over China” is a 1937 book by an American pro-communist journalist, Edgar Snow. The book describes to Western readers an accounting of the Chinese Communist Party when it was a guerrilla army.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 21, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/speech-05212021035809.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Invested in 700 Land Deals in Japan; Most Are Near Military Facilities

Chinese buyers are among the foreign investors who are buying Japanese real estate on a large scale before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They are targeting land that is close to military facilities. The Japanese government set up an expert panel in November last year to review the national security risks of such land transactions. The panel found that at least 700 some deals involved Chinese companies.

Sankei Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Japan, reported on May 13 that most of these investment programs involved land that is located near defense bases, including: Self-Defense Forces (SDF), U.S. military bases, the Japanese Coast Guard and space development facilities.

According to the study, Chinese entities purchased 80 parcels of land in Japan’s “high security zone,” including 20 acres near the Hokkaido Self-Defense Force’s Chitose Air Base. Another deal was on Taketomi Island in Okinawa, which is near Taiwan. A third suspicious purchase gave buyers linked to Beijing control over what the SDF described as an “absolute choke point” near the vital Cape Noshappu radar base, which monitors the Russian border.

The report also mentioned a new wave of land purchases that appear to be focused on air and sea radar facilities off the coast of Japan. Examples are deals involving U.S. military bases on Okinawa and Japanese defense sites in Tottori Prefecture. The report stated that Chinese investors are targeting these areas. The reason is that these lands overlook the aforementioned facilities, enabling them to keep tabs on the activities of Japanese and U.S. ships, warplanes and personnel.

The Japanese Cabinet is considering a bill which designates real estate purchases by foreign investors within one kilometer of key facilities as meriting special review, including a requirement for the buyers to declare in advance how they plan to use the property.

Source: Epoch Times, May 16, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/5/16/n12953830.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend