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Briefings - 246. page

China’s Sanction of Australian Coal Backfires; Result: Electricity Shortage

China’s boycott of imported coal from Australia has affected many domestic industries. In order to save on coal consumption, places including Zhejiang and Hunan provinces have implemented restrictive measures on electricity usage.

Some netizens posted that they received messages that Yiwu city of Zhejiang province has started power rationing and blackouts. Small businesses and workshops in Yiwu have had their power cut off.

A trading company employee told Radio Free Asia that the electricity rationing measures have affected people’s lives: “Zhejiang is now rationing electricity of all enterprises and government entities. Despite the cold weather, it has been ordered to keep the heaters off until the indoor temperature is below 3 degrees Celsius. … It is probably because of Australian coal. Heaters do not consume lot of electricity, as not many Chinese people use heaters in the winter.”

Another netizen posted a message that in some cities in Zhejiang and Hunan, the traffic lights were turned off in the later part of the night.

The Hunan Provincial government recently issued a notice stating that the daily electricity consumption time slots are from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm and 16:30 pm to 20:30 pm. During these time slots, the landscape lighting in the province will be turned off and street lights will be dimmed. Communist Party and government office buildings will turn off the power on weekends. The situation may last until the 2021 Chinese New Year in February. No reason was specified for the power rationing.

Most export-oriented factories in Zhejiang province have received the “power cut and production reduction” notice. A supplier in Wenzhou city posted a notice showing that between December 15 and 31, high energy consumption enterprises are required to implement electricity rationing. During this period, the authorities will conduct 24-hour surveillance of the electricity consumption for production use. Factories that fail to follow the regulation will be forced to cut off their power and stop production for 20 days.

Australia is a major source of China’s coal imports.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 16, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql2-12162020032516.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: China’s Rocket Force Increased over 35 Percent in Three Years

A report titled, “Chinese nuclear forces, 2020” was published on December 10 as a result of the research of Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The report examines China’s nuclear arsenal, which is estimated to have surpassed France’s as the world’s third largest.

The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (SAC), is China’s strategic and tactical missile force. The PLARF is a component part of the People’s Liberation Army and controls the nation’s arsenal of land-based ballistic missiles—both nuclear and conventional.

According to the December 10 report, “the number of ballistic missile brigades has increased by over 35 percent in just three years. Some of those are still under construction.  … We estimate the PLA Rocket Force currently has up to 40 brigades with ballistic or cruise missile launchers. Of those brigades, approximately half operate ballistic missile launchers with nuclear capability, a number that is likely to grow further as bases currently under construction are completed.”

The report stated that 12 of the brigades belonged to the eastern and southern command theaters, which mainly deal with Taiwan and South China Sea affairs.

The Chinese government did not publish nuclear weaponry information such as the number of warheads. The report estimated that “China has produced a stockpile of approximately 350 nuclear warheads, of which roughly 272 are for delivery by more than 240 operational land-based ballistic missiles, 48 sea-based ballistic missiles, and 20 nuclear gravity bombs assigned to bombers. The remaining 78 warheads are intended to arm additional land- and sea-based missiles that are in the process of being fielded.”

As of 2019, the U.S. had an inventory of 3,800 nuclear warheads, while early this year, Russia had 4,500.

Although China only recently has begun to reassign a formal nuclear mission to the PLA Air Force units, it is developing a bomber with a longer range and improved capabilities to replace its current H-6 bombers. “US officials have stated for several years that the new bomber, known as H-20, will have a nuclear capability. In early 2020 the US Defense Department described the H-20 as a ‘stealth’ bomber whose production will begin within 10 years.”

Although the Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are still a very noisy design, “it seems likely that China will end production after its now-completed six boats and will turn its efforts to developing the quieter third-generation (Type 096) SSBN, which is scheduled to begin construction in the early 2020s. The completion of a new construction hall at Huludao, where the PLA Navy’s submarines are built, indicates that work may soon begin on the Type 096, which is expected to be larger and heavier than the Type 094.”

Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December 10, 2020
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.2020.1846432

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Skynews: Major Leak ‘Exposes’ Members and ‘Lifts the Lid’ on the Chinese Communist Party

Sharri Markson, the host of the Australian media, Sky News, reported that a major leak has occurred. The leak contains a register with the details of nearly two million Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members – exposing members who are now working all over the world. The leak also lifts the lid on how the party operates under Xi Jinping. Ms. Markson said the leak is a register with the details of Communist Party members, including their names, party position, birthday, national ID number and ethnicity. “It is believed to be the first leak of its kind in the world,” the Sky News host said. “What’s amazing about this database is not just that it exposes people who are members of the communist party and who are now living and working all over the world, from Australia to the US to the UK,” Ms. Markson said. “But it’s amazing because it lifts the lid on how the party operates under President and Chairman Xi Jinping.” Ms. Markson said the leak demonstrates that party branches are embedded in some of the world’s biggest companies and even inside government agencies. “Communist party branches have been set up inside western companies, allowing the infiltration of those companies by CCP members – who, if called on, are answerable directly to the communist party, to the Chairman, the president himself,” she said. “Along with the personal identifying details of 1.95 million communist party members, mostly from Shanghai, there are also the details of 79,000 communist party branches, many of them inside companies.” Ms Markson said the leak is a significant security breach likely to embarrass Xi Jinping. “It is also going to embarrass some global companies who appear to have no plan in place to protect their intellectual property from theft, from economic espionage,” she said. Ms. Markson said the data was extracted from a Shanghai server by Chinese dissidents, whistleblowers, in April 2016, who have been using it for counter-intelligence purposes. “It was then leaked in mid-September to the newly-formed international bi-partisan group, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China – and that group is made up of 150 legislators around the world. “It was then provided to an international consortium of four media organizations, The Australian, The Sunday Mail in the UK, De Standaard in Belgium and a Swedish editor, to analyse over the past two months, and that’s what we’ve done.” Ms. Markson said, “It is worth noting that there’s no suggestion that these members have committed espionage – but the concern is over whether Australia or these companies knew of the CCP members and if so have any steps been taken to protect their data and people.”

The Chinese Newspaper Epoch Times further identified that the list also included members who worked for the 610 office (an extrajudicial entity set up specifically for the purpose of persecuting Falun Gong).

Sources:
1. Skynews, December 13, 2020; The Epoch Times, December 16, 2020
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6215946537001
2. The Epoch Times
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/12/16/n12623600.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ideological and Politics Teachers at Chinese Universities Jumped 60 Percent in Five Years

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, as of November this year, the total number of full-time and part-time registered teachers of ideological and political theory courses in higher education institutions in the country exceeded 100,000, an increase of nearly 60 percent since 2015. This represents an average annual growth rate of 14.4 percent.

Liu Guiqin, an official with the Ministry of Education, stated that the ideological and political courses in Chinese universities will “deepen the reform and innovation” during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. It will also further strengthen these courses by focusing on “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”

In 2019, at a national conference, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, emphasized the importance of ideological and political courses.

Since the 2018 launching of “Marxist theory” as an undergraduate major in universities nationwide and the implementation of the “Special Plan for the Training of Reserve Talent for Ideological and Political Courses in Universities,” the total number of undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students who have the major of “Marxist theory” across the country has exceeded 62,000.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 3, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/bx-12032020152936.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

U.K. Daily Mail Reports Information from Leaked Data Base: Massive CCP Infiltration of UK Firms

The U.K. Daily Mail reported that a leaked database revealed that loyal members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have conducted a massive infiltration of British consulates, universities and some of the UK’s leading companies.

The database was originally leaked on the Telegram, the encrypted instant messaging app. Then in September a Chinese dissident passed it to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which comprises more than 150 legislators around the world who are concerned about the influence and activities of the Chinese government.

The leaked database of 1.95m registered party members reveals how Beijing’s malign influence now stretches into almost every corner of British life, including defense firms, banks and pharmaceutical giants.

According to a report from The Epoch Times, an analysis of the database further revealed that the list included members who worked for the 610 office (an extrajudicial entity set up specifically to persecute practitioners of Falun Gong).

Sources:
1. U.K. Daily Mail, December 14, 2020.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9046783/Leaked-files-expose-mass-infiltration-UK-firms-Chinese-Communist-Party.html
2. The Epoch Times, December 16, 2020.
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/12/16/n12623600.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China News: China Imposes Sanctions on the U.S.

China News, a state-owned Chinese news agency with an international orientation, recently reported that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs just announced sanctions on U.S. government officials and some non-government organization (NGO) staff, as well as their relatives. The sanctions announcement claimed these American individuals seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs and harmed China’s core interests in Hong Kong. China has also decided to cancel US diplomatic passport holders’ visa-free treatment for temporary visits to Hong Kong and Macau. On December 8, the United States sanctioned 14 Vice Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China for their responsibilities in violating China’s treaty promise to the people of Hong Kong. This new China-issued counter-sanction is the answer to the U.S. action. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged the U.S. to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs as well as China’s internal affairs, warning the U.S. not to go down this “dangerous and wrong” path.

Source: China News, December 10, 2020
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2020/12-10/9358930.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Times: U.S. Stock Indexes Removed Chinese Companies

Major Taiwanese news network China Times recently reported that, starting in December and January, the S&P and Dow Jones Indexes will remove 21 Chinese Mainland companies from stock and bond index component lists. A week ago, FTSE Russell also announced the removal of Chinese components from its global series of indexes. U.S. President Trump issued an executive order on December 11 requiring U.S. investors and agencies to remove their stakes in companies related to the Chinese military, with a list of 31 entities. The U.S. Department of Defense also listed four additional Chinese companies in their blacklist. Some of the blacklisted Chinese companies are well-known and large-scale companies, such as SMIC (China’s top domestic chip maker), Hikvision (the world’s largest video surveillance manufacturer), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC, China’s third largest oil company). The U.S. House of Representatives also passed a bill on December 1, requiring the removal for three years of all foreign companies listed in the U.S. stock markets that have not complied with the audit standards set by PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board). SMIC and Hikvision declined to comment on the news.

Source: China Times, December 10, 2020
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20201210005950-260410?ctrack=mo_money_headl_p01&chdtv

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

HKET: China Banned TripAdvisor from Its App Stores

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that China banned major U.S. travel service app TripAdvisor from the China region’s App stores on both Apple and Android markets. As of now, a search in the Chinese App stores will no long find TripAdvisor. This is part of the latest wave of the removal of 105 apps in the Chinese app market. The Chinese authorities claimed these are apps spreading obscene, violent, bloody and other illegal information. Some offered illegal services facilitating gambling and prostitution. Some of the applications did not comply with the “requirements of the government reviews.” It is unclear what caused the removal of a reputable global travel service provider like TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor does provide the capability for customers to make comments on services. China expressed the intent to continue this campaign of “cleaning up the app market” with similar future waves.

Source: HKET, December 9, 2020
https://bit.ly/3a75tAW

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations