Briefings – Page 325

Labor Service Organization Closed on National Day; NGOs in China under Increasing Pressure

The Mumian Social Work Association (MSWA), a Guangdong based labor related non-governmental organization, announced the launch of its closing procedure on China’s National Day (October 1), four months after the arrest of its founder Tong Feifei. Local labor rights activists have observed that NGOs in China have little room for survival. The authorities are mounting a cruel suppression of NGO leaders in the name of national security.

In April 2013, Tong Feifei, a Peking University master of sociology, established MSWA. It has launched community development and vocational school students’ service programs in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Shunde. It also conducted social work training and research, as well as public advocacy for social issues. The authorities once recognized its low-key style.

It is believed that the closure of MSWA is related to the Jasic Incident last year. In July 2018, a group of workers from the Shenzhen based Jasic Technology Co., Ltd. (abbr. Jasic) sought to form a labor union to address their low pay and poor working conditions. The factory management responded by firing its employees. This sparked two weeks of protests and demonstrations drawing from both factory workers in Shenzhen along with students. The police crushed the movement and arrested the workers and students.

Right after the Jasic Incident, the authorities started immediately to suppress all civil NGOs involved in labor rights or care giving. In May of this year, the heads of several NGOs including Tong Feifei, Liang Zicun, Li Dajun, and Li Changjiang were arrested. In July, the National Security Bureau in Changsha, Hunan province, arrested a few other activists working on labor discrimination.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 1, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/NGO-10012019094804.html

Briefings | | October 2, 2019 | Social Stability

Wang Yi: China Makes All-Out Effort to Protect African Brothers

On September 26, Wang Yi, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister, said that China will make an all-out effort to “do whatever our African brothers expect from us and whatever is in their interests.” Wang made these remarks at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of China and the Security Council of African Member States at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Wang stated that China stands firmly with its African brothers, whether from the past, present, or future. The world today faces unprecedented and major changes that have occurred in the past 100 years. The most important change is the rapid growth of a large number of developing countries such as China and Africa. Wang Yi said that, when China regained its seat in the United Nations, it relied on African brothers and developing countries. African countries are China’s most important and most trusted partners and have been since the first day that China joined the U.N. Security Council.

Wang said reflecting Africa’s appeals, addressing its concerns and safeguarding its interests have become the focus of China’s work in the U.N. Security Council.

Wang further said that China will make an all-out effort to “do whatever the African brothers expect from us and whatever is in their interests.”

Source: Xinhua, September 27, 2019

http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2019-09/27/c_1125045797.htm

Briefings | | October 2, 2019 | Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: China’s Naval Power Is Only behind the U.S.

BBC Chinese recently published an analysis on the growth of China’s Navy after the Cold War. With the end of the Soviet Union, the post Cold War period gave China a golden period of time to develop its economic power, which made China the only country that has the potential of establishing an aircraft-carrier-centered navy which is only behind the U.S. fleets. China’s media have been widely reporting on a new China-made carrier, which in August did its final trial sail before delivery. International observers observed that China has been speeding up its aircraft carrier shipbuilding. It is highly likely that China is aiming to build the next generation nuclear-powered carriers. The currently under-construction third Chinese carrier is expected to have important technology achievements. Assuming there is no major economic downturn, the Chinese economy can sustain a carrier-based navy. Today, China has the second highest military budget in the world. Russia is only number six. Chinese military officials commented in a number of earlier press interviews saying that China may need a minimum of five or six aircraft carriers to have “enough” in service with rotating maintenance schedules.

Source: BBC Chinese, September 25, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-49829195

Briefings | | October 2, 2019 | Defense/Military

The Impact of African Swine Fever on China Is Not Less Than a War

According to a Caixin article, the African swine fever hasn’t merely pushed the pork prices in China to a record high. Some Chinese experts have estimated that the direct losses that the African swine fever caused will reach RMB 1 trillion. Experts also said that the impact is “nothing less than what a war would bring.” It has hit the poverty alleviation efforts, an official priority, rather hard. The government is striving to eliminate the impact and has taken steps to encourage a reduction in the consumption of pork.

Caixin published a quote from Li Defa, an Academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is the Dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology at the China Agricultural University and Vice-Chairman of the World Livestock Product Association. At a forum on pigs on September 24, 2019, Li expressed that, based on estimates, the direct loss due to African swine fever is 1 trillion yuan, not considering the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Li said that half of the pigs in the world are produced in China and African swine fever has taught a lesson to Chinese animal husbandry. “It is impossible to prevent epidemics and diseases. The cost of this loss is too great.”

According to Caixin, in May 2019, Qiu Huaji, the director of the Pig Infectious Diseases Research Office of the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences published a report in the “Shanhe Forum” of the Chinese pig industry on the theory and practice of prevention and control of African swine fever. He said in the report that the impact of African swine fever is wide-ranging. “Although it does not cause human fatalities, the economic losses, the impact on the national economy, the people’s livelihood, and the political, economic, and social impact are nothing less than war.”

In his May 2019 report, Qiu said that some people say that there are 100 million employees in the upstream and downstream of the pig industry, but there are countless families behind these billion people, so the impact is comprehensive. He further said that another important consequence is the impact on “helping the poor and tackling the hardships.” Getting people out of poverty is one of the most important achievements of Xi Jinping, the CCP Secretary.

The Caixin article is no longer available at its website.

Source: RFI, September 25, 2019

http://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20190925-%E5%AD%A6%E8%80%85-%E9%9D%9E%E6%B4%B2%E7%8C%AA%E7%98%9F%E6%8D%9F%E9%80%BE%E4%B8%87%E4%BA%BF-%E4%BC%A4%E7%97%95%E5%A6%82%E6%88%98%E4%BA%89%E4%B9%9F%E9%87%8D%E5%88%9B%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B3%E8%84%B1%E8%B4%AB%E6%A2%A6

Briefings | | October 2, 2019 | Economy/Resources

RFI: Levels of US Officials at the National Day Celebration Significantly Decreased This Year

Radio France Internationale reported that the number of U.S. officials who attended the 70th National Anniversary cocktail reception that the Chinese Embassy held in Washington, DC significantly decreased this year. Fewer attendees appeared from the U.S. side. The highest ranked U.S. officials at the reception were Jonathan Fritz, who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and the Director of the White House National Security Council. They didn’t make a public speech. Most of the U.S. attendees were chatting among themselves and had little interaction with the Chinese officials.

Back in 2017, first daughter Ivanka and Jerod Kushner attended the National Day celebration and had a warm interaction with Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of China. China’s official media had extensive coverage of the event. In 2018, Matt Pottinger, who has been promoted to the White House Deputy National Security Advisor, attended as a senior director of the White House National Security Council and delivered a speech. The Chinese Embassy also posted a statement on Facebook praising the friendship between the U.S. and China.

It was also noticeable that the U.S. officials attending the National Day reception held by the Chinese consulates at other locations did not meet China’s expectations. At the reception held in San Francisco on September 27, the highest U.S. ranking official was an international affairs adviser to the California Deputy Governor.

Source: Radio France Internationale, September 29, 2019
http://rfi.my/4ahM.T

Briefings | | October 1, 2019 | US-China Relations

China’s Large-Scale Industrial Companies Saw Two Percent Drop in Profit in August

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to the latest National Bureau of Statistics data, China’s large-scale (officially classified as “Above Designated Size”) industrial companies’ total profit from January to August suffered a year-over-year decline of 1.7 percent. For just the month of August, large-scale industrial companies had a two percent drop in profit, compared to last August. Among these companies, year-over-year, state-held (with controlling stake) companies saw an 8.6 percent profit decline, joint-stock companies had no profit decline or increase, foreign investment based companies suffered a 5.8 percent decline, and privately-owned companies enjoyed a 6.5 percent profit increase. Key industrial segments that saw most of the profit loss are oil, coal, and other fuel processing (-53.1 percent), ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (-31.3 percent), automobile manufacturing (-19.0 percent), chemical materials and chemical products (-13.1 percent), and textile (-3.4 percent). {Editor’s note: It is very unusual that the National Bureau of Statistics did not release the August profit numbers for state-owned companies this time. Analysts expressed their concerns about a possible unexpected level of profit loss.}

Source: Sina, September 27, 2019
https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2019-09-27/doc-iicezzrq8710855.shtml

Briefings | | September 30, 2019 | Economy/Resources

U.S. Colleges See 20 Percent Fewer Chinese Students This Fall

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, based on numbers reported in the U.S. media, multiple U.S. Colleges confirmed that they are seeing a significant decline in the number of Chinese freshmen coming to their institutions. The total dropped by 20 percent or more. The US-China trade war and the security screening are the primary contributors to the decline. Currently there are 363,000 Chinese students in the U.S. The constitute one third of all the international students. This number is more than any other nation. Typically, international students worry about gun violence and immigration restrictions. Chinese students now face one more challenge – restrictions on high-tech majors. Many Chinese students pay full tuition. This constitutes a sizable contribution to the U.S. college education market.

Source: Sina, September 25, 2019
http://finance.sina.com/gb/economy/economy_global/huanqiu/2019-09-25/doc-ifzpkqrh3249919.shtml

Briefings | | September 30, 2019 | US-China Relations

Briefings - 325. page