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Xinmin Evening News: China Had Record Low Marriage Rate in 2018

Xinmin Evening News reported that, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the national marriage rate in 2018 was only 7.2 percent, which is the lowest it has been in nearly 10 years. 2013 was the turning point and the marriage rate has been declining for five consecutive years since 2014. More developed regions had a relatively lower marriage rate. The marriage rate in 2018 in Shanghai was only 4.4 percent, the lowest in the nation. Zhejiang was 5.9 percent which was the second lowest, and the marriage rates in Guangdong, Beijing, Tianjin and other places were also lower. Economists believe that the low national marriage rate in 2018 is closely related to the stronger independence of young people. With the improvement of the income level and the change of perspective about life, economically independent young people can have more options. They can maintain a relationship or they can live together but not get married. Therefore, many people believe that, while marriage is a need for a certain group of people, it is not for everyone, nor is it the only correct choice. While China’s marriage rate has hit a record low, the divorce rate has been climbing for 16 consecutive years. In 2002, only one out of seven married couples got a divorce. By 2017, the divorce rate was one out of every three marriages. One scholar pointed out that the imbalance between males and females is an important reason for the low marriage rate in the country. According to the sixth national census data, there were 154 million males aged between 14 and 27 in 2010 and 143 million females aged 12 to 25 in 2010. That means that a large number of males will not be able to get married when they reach the legal age for marriage, which is 22.

Source: qq.com, July 13, 2019
https://xw.qq.com/partner/hwbrowser/20190713A0NZQ5/20190713A0NZQ500?ADTAG=hwb&pgv_ref=hwb&appid=hwbrowser&ctype=news

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

LTN: Chinese Customs Stops Transport of Umbrellas and Helmets to Hong Kong

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that, according to various unverified sources and online communications, Chinese Customs ordered several shipping companies for online shopping sites to stop carrying yellow helmets, yellow umbrellas, flags, flagpoles, and banners (along with other demonstration supplies) that had Hong Kong as their destination. The ban took effect on July 11. This appears to be a new mechanism that the Mainland government came up with to undermine the on-going protests that the Hong Kong residents carried out. Even loud speakers and masks were banned. The Customs notification to the shipping companies used a very strong tone and warned that an “extremely serious punishment” may follow any violation. This news triggered a major wave of discussions in the online Chinese communities outside China. Many netizens suggested sending the goods to Taiwan first and then they could be shipped to Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong Economic Daily, the Chinese Customs actually issued the initial notification on June 27. However, the latest notification sounded more serious.

Source: LTN, July 12, 2019
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2851235

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Taiwan Student under Investigation for Remarks Praising Japan and Supporting Taiwan Independence

Taiwan United Daily News reported on July 12 that Wuhan University recently launched an investigation of an exchange student from Taiwan for his “Taiwan Independence” remarks. Wuhan University said that it will weigh in on the investigation results and decide on its final decision. Ke Quanyao, who recently graduated from National Taiwan Normal University with a Master’s degree from the Physical Education program was accepted at Wuhan University as an exchange student. However a Weibo posting addressed to the university on July 11 claimed that Wuhan University has “recruited a student who worships the ‘Japanese Spirit’ and favors ‘Taiwan Independence.’” The posting also contained the offer letter Wuhan University issued to Ke Quanyao along with screen shots of articles posted on Ke’s Facebook page. The posting also claimed that Ke Quanyao does not agree with the “1992 Consensus” . . . and that he believes that Japan is his motherland and he hopes that Japan will unify Taiwan. It further stated that Ke is not suitable to be an exchange student in the mainland and that “I hope your school will consider it carefully.” In the statement Wuhan University issued, it wrote that Wuhan University is directly affiliated with the Ministry of Education and, according to the statement, “We welcome all Taiwan compatriots, overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese who support the one-China principle to study and exchange with Wuhan University”

China Times reported on the same day that Ke Quanyao had decided not to pursue his studies at Wuhan University as an exchange student. Ke told the Central News Agency that there is nothing he could do if people from the mainland broke the firewall to visit his Facebook page and take screen shots of his comments which were meant to be seen only by his Facebook “friends.”

Source:
1. United Daily News, July 12, 2019
https://udn.com/news/story/7331/3924498
2. China Times, July 12, 2019
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20190712002798-260407?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Automobile Market Saw a 9.6 Percent Decline in June

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s domestic automobile market suffered a year-over-year decline of 9.6 percent. In the first half of 2019, the total automobile sales saw a year-over-year decline of 12.4 percent. CAAM expressed its belief that the full year outcome may turn out to show a negative growth. The Chinese automobile market has already suffered 12-consecutive-months of decline. The year 2018 was the first year in 28 years that the industry had a negative growth rate. The numbers showed that passenger cars had a better sales performance than commercial vehicles. The month of June showed that mid-duty commercial trucks had a year-over-year decline of 39 percent. CAAM called for a government intervention to stimulate consumer spending. Also in 2019, the government is expected to reduce the subsidy for new-energy vehicles by 70 percent. Even with the previous high subsidy, the new-energy vehicle profit margin remains very low, far less than for conventional vehicles.

Source: Sina, July 11, 2019
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hyyj/2019-07-11/doc-ihytcitm1155583.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Soldiers Crossed Indian Border to Prevent Tibetans from Holding Birthday Celebration for the Dalai Lama

Epoch Times reported that a group of Chinese soldiers recently crossed the border into India and tried to prevent local Tibetan residents from hosting an annual birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama.

According to Indian Economic Times, the incident occurred on July 6. At that time, about 11 Chinese soldiers wearing plain clothes were accused of crossing the line of actual control (the line of actual control is the de facto boundary between China and India), and entering the Indian-controlled Kashmir Ladakh area. At the time, the local residents were holding the 84th birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama.

Chinese government sources said that the Chinese soldiers only protested near the line of actual control, held a banner with the words “All activities to separate Tibet are prohibited,” and also did not cross the line. However, the residents of the Ladakh region of India refuted the statement. In a Facebook page that Urgain Chodon, head of Koyul Village, posted, she shared photos of the soldiers standing next to their vehicle and the five-star flag and banner. She said that the village residents have been holding birthday celebration ceremonies for the Dalai Lama for a number of years. This year, for the first time, Chinese soldiers crossed the border and entered 6 kilometers into India. Not only did they put up the five-star flag representing China, but they also told them that they could not put up the Tibetan flag, claiming that it was inciting the villagers.

This is believed to be the first large-scale invasion of Chinese soldiers since the confrontation between the Chinese and Indian troops in 2017.

Chodon questioned why these Chinese soldiers wouldn’t communicate their message with the Indian military. She said that she will write to Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister and Rajnath Singh, head of National Defense about the incident.

Source: Epoch Times, July 14, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/7/14/n11383617.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

UDN: Beijing May Impose Sanctions on U.S. Companies That Sell Arms to Taiwan

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented on the newly announced U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. At a press conference, Geng said that the Trump administration’s approval of the sale of arms was a serious violation of the basic norms of international law and international relations. He confirmed that, to protect China’s national security, China will impose sanctions on the U.S. companies involved in this transaction. The companies may include General Dynamics (for M1A2 Tanks), BAE (for M88A2 armored recovery vehicles), Oshkosh Corporation (for M1070A1 Heavy Equipment Transporters), and Raytheon (for Stinger surface-to-air missiles). This round of arms sales to Taiwan has the highest dollar amount value among all sales made by the Trump administration, reaching around US$2.2 billion.

Source: UDN, July 13, 2019
https://udn.com/news/story/7331/3926327

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

Expert: How to Stop Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Organ Harvesting

The Independent People’s Tribunal in London pronounced its verdict on June 17, saying that the CCP is still conducting organ harvesting from dissidents, especially the Falun Gong practitioners and the Uyghurs. The Epoch Times interviewed Ethan Gutmann, founder of the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) on how to stop the CCP’s organ harvesting.

Gutmann believes that there is ample evidence of the CCP’s organ harvesting. What the world needs now is action. “Will (the People’s Tribunal verdict) mean that more countries will prohibit their citizens from going to China for an organ transplant? “I hope so,” said Gutmann. Will this mean more countries will stand up to oppose the CCP’s actions? “I very much hope so.” The London Tribunal has pointed out that if you trade with the CCP, you are trading with a criminal state. I hope the verdict will cause the world to cut ties with the Chinese doctors who conduct organ transplants.”

Gutmann explained what cutting ties means: Chinese doctors doing organ transplants are not welcome at Western conferences and cannot publish articles in Western medical magazines, receive Western training, or buy equipment. Western medicine companies should stop clinical trials in China.

Gutmann believes that cutting ties is the most powerful means that the West can use.

He also pointed out that cutting ties would mean the CCP will lose a lot of money which is what the CCP really cares about. “If the Western pharmaceutical industry wants people to buy medicine from China, people must first have a high confidence in China’s medical system. If people lose that confidence because of the organ harvesting, the CCP’s ability to make money will be impacted dramatically.”

Source: Epoch Times, June 30, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/6/29/n11354404.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

China’s Companies Are Facing Credit Default Challenges

The 21st Century Business Herald reported that 96 businesses suffered credit defaults for a total valuation of 66.8 billion yuan (US$ 9.7 billion) in the first six months of 2019, a 263 percent increase from the same period in 2018.

Some analysts think this is the continuation of the credit default wave outburst from the second half of last year, which reached 100 billion yuan in that period.

CITIC Securities analyst Lv Pin warned about the increasing risk of credit defaults in the coming months, since companies are facing more difficulties in getting new money to pay back their debts. “The speed of credit defaults in the second half of this year may increase for the following reasons: First, the market is re-assessing (downgrading) the credit rating of many institutions. Second, the market is tightening the requirements for securing properties when issuing loans to companies that have a low credit rating. Third, the special ways of issuing bonds in the past may no longer continue, which will make bond issuance harder.”

Source: 21st Century Business Herald, July 2
https://m.21jingji.com/article/20190702/c28db078ab114f9ff3a7938acae0ec7f.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources