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Cathay Pacific Fires another Employee for “Upholding the Basic Law”

After firing Rebecca Sy, the head of Cathay Dragon’s Flight Attendants Association, Cathay Pacific issued a statement on August 23, saying that, “it fully supports the upholding of the Basic Law and all the rights and freedoms afforded by it.”

Two days ago, Cathay Pacific already warned its employees that even if they publish or share posts on social media or leave online messages outside of duty hours, they are not exempted from the regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The company also warned employees that participation in illegal parades or violent activities is unacceptable. It has adopted a “zero tolerance” attitude towards employees participating in illegal activities. If employees participate, they will be investigated by the company and may even be dismissed.

On August 9, the CAAC issued a “severe aviation risk warning” to Cathay. A week later, Rupert Hogg resigned as Cathay Pacific’s CEO. Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer & Commercial Officer, Paul Loo, also resigned. Within those two weeks, multiple employees were fired due to their speeches relating to current protests in Hong Kong, including four pilots.

Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, founded 70 years ago. 80 percent of its more than 30,000 employees are in the city.

Source: Central News Agency, August 23, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908230167.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China in 2022: One Surveillance Camera for Every Two People

Chinese cities are perhaps the most closely monitored places in the world. It is predicted that, by 2022, on average every two people in the country will be covered by a surveillance camera. The city of Chongqing currently has 2.6 million monitoring devices, or an average of 168 cameras per thousand people, higher than any other city in the world.

China plans to finish installing a social credit system by 2020. Surveillance monitors are becoming a weapon for creating so-called “smart cities” and “efficient governments.” On the streets of Shanghai, when a traffic violation occurs, the camera will immediately capture and broadcast the faces of the offenders in public, to the surprise of many foreign tourists.

The South China Morning Post quoted the British research firm Comparitech, which stated that, in the ranking of most monitors allocated to each thousand people, eight cities in China made it to the top 10. The top 10 are Chongqing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jinan, London (UK), Wuhan, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Atlanta (USA). Chongqing leads the world with 168.03 monitors per thousand people, followed by Shenzhen, with every thousand people covered by 159.09 cameras.

It is generally believed that China currently has about 200 million surveillance cameras. It is predicted that the number of cameras in China will grow by 213 percent by 2022 and reach 626 million. On average, about every two people will be within the sight of a camera.

Source: Central News Agency, August 20, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201908200039.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Risk Prone Chinese Made Programs Abound in the World VPN App Market

Chinese companies develop about 60 percent of the world’s free VPN (virtual private network) programs and 90 percent of them have security risks. The overseas website “Top10VPN” published a survey last week, and indicated that 77 percent of the popular VPN programs have potential risks.

According to “Top10VPN,” potentially risky VPN programs have been downloaded 210 million times from the Google App Store, while the figure at the Apple’s App Store reached 3.8 million times a month. Although “Top10VPN” has already brought up the issue to Google and Apple regarding this issue and also reported that 80 percent of the free VPN programs in the app store violate Apple’s own data sharing regulations,  nevertheless, neither company seemed to care to look into the problem.

Ten years ago, the Chinese government installed a national firewall making many famous websites inaccessible in China, such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook. In order to access blocked foreign websites, many Chinese netizens try various circumvention methods, among which VPN is a stable technology.

One IT professional involved in the VPN business told the Taiwan based Central News Agency that Chinese companies’ practices of launching VPN businesses or acquiring overseas VPN operations began in 2015. After China took over the VPN companies, it has been more and more difficult for the Chinese people to circumvent the Great Firewall. Deutsche Welle also reported the worrisome fact that many VPN operators chose not to tell their customers about the information of their parent companies.

Because it is very difficult for Chinese authorities to completely block netizens from accessing overseas websites, one interviewee told Radio Free Asia, “So the Chinese government has adopted the smartest approach. If it can’t stop the users’ needs, it creates a management model that can (put people) under surveillance. This is the main reason behind the proliferation of Chinese made VPNs in major app stores.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 21, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql1-08212019065631.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Beijing Unveils Plan to Promote Shen Zhen as New Center for “One Country, Two Systems”

At the time when Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill protests continued, the Chinese government announced its plan to support Shenzhen as a pilot zone for a new practice of “one country, two systems.” Some scholars believe that the move shows the central government’s wish to tell Hong Kong that China’s development will not be affected by the situation in Hong Kong and that Shenzhen, with strong support from the central government, may replace Hong Kong in terms of its financial and economic standing.

On August 18, the State Council issued an opinion about developing a “Pilot Zone for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” in Shenzhen. The document indicated that the plan is conducive to promoting reform and opening up, implementing the strategy of the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and enriching the development of “one country, two systems.” It includes a total of 19 specific goals, aims to make Shen Zhen a world top city by 2025, and a national model by 2035.

He Ping, a professor at Tsinghua University told Radio Free Asia that Hong Kong’s frequent protests in recent days has led to political instability. At this juncture, the central government’s plan to develop Shenzhen vigorously is actually to show Hong Kong that Shenzhen can be as prosperous as Hong Kong. He believes that if Hong Kong’s demonstrations continue and the economy stagnates, Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center may not be sustainable, and Shenzhen may replace Hong Kong.

However, Liu Kaiming, a scholar at a Shen Zhen think tank, pointed out that even if the central government strongly supports Shenzhen, Hong Kong’s full-fledged rule of law and financial institutions, which are in line with international standards, makes it impossible for a mainland city to take over. If the mainland wants to attract foreign investors, it has to change and use the rule of law and the financial system, but that cannot be done in the short run.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 19, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/shenzhen-08192019083422.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

The Paper: Former Iowa State Representative Called on Hong Kong Protesters to Stop Violence

The communist party often prefers to publish Westerner’s opinions when they are supportive of its position. The Paper reported that Gregory Cusack, {a Democrat and former member of the Iowa State House of Representatives from January 8, 1973, to October 1, 1981,} wrote a letter to Shanghai Daily on August 14, in which he expressed his concerns about the Hong Kong protesters and called on them to “renounce violence.”

The article quoted the following from the Cusack’s letter:

“From the first protests in Hong Kong this summer, I have been troubled by the ever-expanding demands of the protesters. This is one of the consequences, by the way, of the lack of clear leadership. Unfortunately, during the recent outbreak of violence employed by a small number of the protesters, a truly ominous escalation has occurred. The New York Times quoted a young female protester as saying, ‘We saw that violence has proved successful elsewhere in attaining objectives so we decided to use it, too.'”

“I have no idea who the ‘we’ are, but whatever number of people (who hold that belief) are in grave error. Violence may seem ‘purifying’ or ‘necessary,’ but as it dramatically escalates both emotions and stakes the only thing violence achieves is greater violence.”

According to the Paper, this is not the first time that Cusack has written to Shanghai Daily. Earlier, Cusack wrote a letter after reading Xinhua’s report on the U.S.-China trade dispute that brought disaster to the farmers in the Midwestern United States. In his letter, he specifically stated that, “One heck of a lot of farmers in America are not happy, and an even greater number are very worried about how this will all play out, especially the longer the stand-off continues.” That letter was published on Shanghai Daily on June 21 this year.

Source:
The Paper, August 16, 2019
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4179295
Shine.cn, August 16, 2019
https://www.shine.cn/opinion/1908160287/
China Global Television Network (CGTN), June 22, 2019
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-06-22/Media-s-role-in-informing-U-S-farmers-HJPIe5Xo9W/index.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Epoch Times: Xi Ordered “Stand Still”

According to The Epoch Times, after the anti-extradition movement had continued for more than two months in Hong Kong, the CCP’s media repeatedly released the film, “A Large Number of Armed Police Convoys in Shenzhen” to intimidate protesters. On August 14th and 15th, President Trump urged Xi Jinping several times to solve the Hong Kong problem humanely before he would make a deal on tariffs. Thereafter, it is said that Xi Jinping sent  a special agent group to Hong Kong to convey an urgent message of the highest order: “Stand Still.”

An informer said that, since demonstrators occupied the Hong Kong airport, for safety reasons the special agent group flew from Beijing to Shenzhen, and then took special vehicles to Hong Kong. They secretly conveyed the highest order to the Hong Kong Liaison Office of China and the Hong Kong Garrison, as well as the SAR Government. The highest order had been made at the CCP’s annual Beidaihe meeting.

The informer also said that, now that Xi Jinping would not order “sending troops” to Hong Kong, Zhongnanhai had reached a consensus and would temporarily take the strategy of “Standing Still” and “Slowing Down” {Editor’s note: Both are from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War}. As soon as the Zhongnanhai special agent group arrived in Hong Kong, the group began to “work” and conveyed the “Slow Down” strategy about “how to restore order in Hong Kong  ASAP” to “special groups.”

The participants in the 1.7 million people’s rally on the 18th in Hong Kong said that the behavior of the police  had “changed.” This was the first time the police did not shoot and fire tear gas at the demonstrators, which was evidently related to Zhongnanhai’s latest strategy.

Source:
The Epoch Times, August 21, , 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/8/20/n11465818.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics Social Stability

CNA: Beijing Defines Extradition Protest in Hong Kong as a “Color Revolution”

According to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao News, at the Beidaihe meeting, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) top officials defined the violence that the Hong Kong anti-extradition protest triggered as color revolution. The article said that the current and retired leaders have reached a consensus that the incident is the result of a color revolution “led by military and political intelligence agencies from multiple nations and regions.” They defined the target; it is against the CCP. The CCP’s top officials have concluded that the color revolution is likely to expand into areas such as finance, trade, or national security. Therefore, the Hong Kong Government may not be capable of handling it and may need or require Beijing’s support. However, they still hope that the Hong Kong government can use its ability to calm the civil strife within a limited time and legal framework. According to sources, if the Hong Kong government is not able to do so, Beijing can, under the law, provide all needed “assistance.”

In July and August each year, the CCP leadership takes a vacation at the Beidaihe summer resort, Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province and discusses a number of major issues. This is commonly known as the Beidaihe Conference.

The state CCTV news recently broadcasted that Li Zhanshu, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Chairman of the National People’s Congress attended an event in Beijing, indicating that this year’s Beidaihe Conference has ended. Hence the report in Ming Pao.

Source: Central News Agency, August 17, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201908170032.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Huanqiu Article: Expose the “Gang That Endangered Hong Kong Security”

Huanqiu published an article that condemned a list of leaders of those in Hong Kong who have been involved in the protest against the proposed extradition bill and warned them not to use democracy as an excuse and not to portray students as victims. It cautioned them, saying they should forget about launching a “Color Revolution” in Hong Kong.

The list included the following people: Jimmy Lai (Lai Chee-Ying), businessman; Martin Lee Chu-ming, politician; Anson Chan (Chan Fang On-sang), formal Chief Secretary for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government; Albert Ho Chun-yan, a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the District Council; Joshua Wong Chi-fung, student activist; Nathan Law Kwun-chung, student leader; and Alex Chow Yong-kang, social activist. The article listed their crimes which include assisting foreign forces to interfere in Hong Kong, inciting violent individuals to destroy Hong Kong, and inciting students to march on the streets. It specifically criticized them for the following:

1. Jimmy Lai for meeting with Pence, Pompeo, and Bolton in July and publishing anti-extradition statements in the New York Times;
2. Martin Lee Chu-ming for meeting with Pompeo in May and Julie Eadeh, US Consulate General, in Hong Kong in August;
3. Anson Chan, for meeting with Pence, Pelosi, and representatives from the National Security Bureau; for appealing and calling on the U.S. to put pressure on Beijing in March as well as meeting with Julie Eadeh in August;
4. Albert Ho Chun-yan for attending the protest in Yuen Long in July and meeting with a male foreigner in August;
5. Joshua Wong Chi-fung for meeting with Julie Eadeh in August; and for inciting violence during the protests;
6. Nathan Law Kwun-chung for making up rumors to endanger the police force; for calling on the public to participate in the protest through social media; and for meeting Julie Eadeh in August;
7. Alex Chow Yong-kang for his speech in the U.S. in March in which he started that there is no democracy and freedom in Hong Kong; for calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to further study the development of Hong Kong democracy; and for participating in protest activities in front of the Chinese consulate in New York in August.

Source: Huanqiu, August 17, 2019
http://china.huanqiu.com/gangao/2019-08/15316859.html?agt=15422

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics