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Another Vaccine Scandal, Cheap Variant Passed off as Quality Product

China had yet another vaccine problem. This time, the child of parents in Hebei Province was supposed to have been vaccinated with a 5-way vaccine at a price 600 yuan (US$ 89). However,  a community health service center administered the Hib vaccine instead.

5-way vaccine, priced at 600 yuan (US$ 89), is for vaccinating against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and the haemophilus influenza type b infection. However the Hib vaccine, which sells for around 100 yuan (US$ 15), targets only the haemophilus influenza type b infection, the last of the five diseases. In other words, the functions of 5-way vaccine include the function of the Hib vaccine and more. The swap would potentially expose the child to diseases that the Hib vaccine cannot prevent.

The local government of Shijiazhuang city, where the community health center is located, announced on February 1 that the report of the “vaccination error” was true, although the vaccine had no quality problem. The center’s chief and a few staff members were fired immediately.

China has seen multiple vaccine scandals. Last year, Changchun Changsheng Biotech sold 252,600 doses of ineffective DPT vaccines to inoculate children. A month ago, in Jiangsu Province, a scandal occurred involving another expired vaccine, triggering mass protests and suppression from the government.

Source: Central News Agency, February 2, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201902020166.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Claws of the Panda: Canadian Journalist Warns of China’s Influence and Infiltration

At a time of tense relations between Canada and China, Jonathan Manthorpe, a long time a foreign correspondent and international affairs columnist, published a new book on February 2, “Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada.” The book portrays how the Chinese Communist Party has used a number of different means to infiltrate Canada and other Western countries.

Manthorpe said that Canada has had wrong expectations of China over the past 40 years. He said that Canada has two major blind spots on China. The first is the thought that, with the integration of China into the global economy, it will become a country that values democracy, human rights, and freedom. The second is the belief that China has no ambitions and it will not use its hegemonic powers to suppress other nations. Today, the Meng Wanzhou incident is only a tipping point for the outside world to see the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.

Manthorpe said, “We can see how China is trying to be able to influence public life, business life and academic life in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada. The bits and pieces disclosed in the Meng Wanzhou incident are exactly the same as what was mentioned in the book. This invisible penetration of Western countries is terrible. Do you ask me whether China is dangerous? I said that the Chinese people are not dangerous, but the Chinese Communist Party is absolutely dangerous and terrible.”

“This (Meng Wanzhou incident) is a very important and positive wake-up call for Canadian political leaders and ordinary Canadians, that we have to adjust and revisit our relations with China. Dealing with China should depend on reality and cannot be based on our own expectations.”

A typical example in the book is how China stole Canada’s nuclear research program, the Slowpoke nuclear reactor. This nuclear reactor was a unique research innovation of Canada in the 1970s. But over the years, the details of this nuclear research were leaked to China bit by bit. Later, when a Canadian researcher visited China, he was surprised to find that China was stealing, copying, and reproducing the Canadian technology. In this competition of nuclear research, China completely defeated Canada.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 2, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lf-02022019132637.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

A Researcher: Search Engine Baidu Has Died

Fang Kecheng, a PhD candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, and former news reporter for Southern Weekend (a relatively liberal media in Guangzhou), published an article in which he stated that Baidu is no longer a search engine for the public but rather a media promoting its own contents.

According to an experiment that Fang conducted, the first page of Baidu’s search results lists links to Bai Jiahao, Baidu’s own content platform. For example, when searching “British Brexit,” there were seven results on the first page. The first one was Baidu Baike (Encyclopedia), the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh were all Bai Jiahao articles. Searching “U.S. government shutdown,” half of the 8 links on the first page, including the first and second, were Bai Jiahao links. In a search for “Trump,” the links on the first page were: Baidu Baike, Baidu Tieba (Forum), Bai Jiahao, Bai Jiahao, Bai Jiahao, Bai Jiahao, Sina, Bai Jiahao, and Baidu Baike.

The quality of Bai Jiahao’s articles is questionable. For example, it published an article claiming that the CIA admitted that Bin Laden was not related to the “9-11” attack and apologized to his family. That article had been read 400,000 times.

Fang gave his analysis on why Baidu has become so “off the mark”:

One, China’s Internet has fierce competition and those mega companies, such as WeChat, Microblog, and Taobao, do not let Baidu search their contents, so, Baidu’s results are narrow.

Two, Baidu does not want to be a search engine anymore. It just wants to be a marketing platform, so it converts all people using its searches into traffic intended for its own site and then it will make money.

Fang argued that it is not a sustainable business model. Once people discover that they can’t find what they need, they will use it less and less. Baidu’s strategy was equivalent to spending all its money before doomsday.

Baidu’s Counter and Fang’s Rebuttal

Baidu responded to the article and claimed that contents from Bai Jiahao represent less than 10 percent of Baidu’s total search results.

Fang rebutted, “It is meaningless to use the total research results as a measure (and also, aren’t Bai Jiahao’s contents at 10 percent already too big a share of the total result)? People normally just look at the first and second page. It would be more meaningful if Baidu released the percentage data on the first page.”

Sources:

1. Aboluo, January 24, 2019
https://www.aboluowang.com/2019/0124/1236625.html
2. Kejilie.com
http://www.kejilie.com/qq/article/imaYrm.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

CNA: Hong Kong Working on Law with Potential Three Years in Prison for Insulting China’s National Anthem

Central News Agency (CNA) of Taiwan reported that the Hong Kong government is working on a draft law for the National Anthem. A person will face a maximum of three years in prison and a HK$50,000 (US$6,500) fine if he shows disrespect  for China’s national anthem.

The new law also requires that all students in Hong Kong must learn the Chinese national anthem, its history, and its spirit.

The Economists reported that, though Hong Kong was handed over to Beijing in 1997, Hong Kong soccer fans have maintained a tradition of making noises when China’s national anthem is played in the field. Some fans wave the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (instead of China’s flag), and some even wave the Hong Kong flag from the era when it was under the U.K.’s control.

Currently, Beijing influences the Hong Kong government. Beijing is happy to see that the Hong Kong government is working on this law.

CNA warned that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) promise cannot be trusted. Its “one country, two systems” policy means “one country under one party’s rule and two systems with one system dominating the other one.” “Hong Kong’s national anthem law is a warning to Taiwan of its possible future (if Taiwan chooses to unite under the CCP).”

Source: CNA, January 24, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201901240132.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

To Buy Fireworks in Beijing Now Needs Real Name Registration

  • The first time a person wishes the purchase fireworks or firecrackers in Beijing, he now has to register for the purchase using his real name. For the record, the purchaser needs to provide personal identification information, a mobile phone number, and enter the type and quantity of fireworks and firecrackers into the computer database. According to media reports, a Beijing municipal official revealed that the number of retail outlets for purchasing fireworks and firecrackers will be reduced from more than 80 last year to no more than 30. The sales time window is from January 30 to February 9. The purpose of real-name registration is said to be strengthening the supervision of the flow of fireworks and firecrackers. “Every retail outlet will be equipped with special instruments and an ID card will be used for the purchase. Then, once a problem occurs, it can be traced back to the purchaser.”
  • Beijing is the second city after Xinjiang, which started in 2014, to have implemented real-name registration for purchasing fireworks and firecrackers.
  • Beijing will hold a number of major political events this year. First, the second “One Belt, One Road” international cooperation summit forum will be held in April. Following that will be the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The government has been conducting a series of security deployments since New Year’s Day to ensure political security, including the sale of fireworks and firecrackers.
  • Source: Radio Free Asia, January 31, 2019
    https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql-01312019102334.html
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Why Huawei and Beijing Are Singing Different Tunes

Epoch Times reported that Huawei has taken a low-key approach because of the restrictions the Western countries have placed on its products due to their fear that Huawei is spying for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Founder Ren Zhengfei said, “If they don’t want Huawei to stay in certain markets, we can reduce our scale.” Huawei Chairman Liang Hua said at the Davos Economic Forum that, if the restrictions continue, Huawei might have to exit from Western countries.

However, Beijing has taken a strong stance against Canada. After Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, It arrested at least 10 Canadian citizens  and modified one Canadian’s sentence to the death penalty. China’s Ambassador Lu Shaye threatened Canada saying that there will be severe consequences if Canada restricts Huawei from supplying 5G network equipment to its market.

Epoch Times collected opinions from several newspapers and commentators on why Huawei and Beijing are taking different stances.

Hong Kong Economic Times thinks that Huawei is taking a soft approach in order to try to resolve its crisis or minimize its impact. Having a strong position would create more conflict between Huawei and the Western countries. Also a strong position will not help Ren Zhengfei save his daughter since the judicial systems of the U.S. and Canada are independent and will not yield to Huawei.

Hu Ping, Honorary Chief Editor of Beijing Spring suggested that Beijing is worried about Huawei being targeted. Huawei is related to the CCP’s future economy and high-tech development plans, so Beijing is taking a tough stance to protect its interests.

Source: Epoch Times, January 23, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/1/23/n10996914.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

Huawei Warns to “Prepare for Bitter Days”

Recently, Ren Zhifei, the founder of Huawei, issued two letters to Huawei employees. He warned not to be too optimistic about the prospects for Huawei and that people should prepare for bitter days.

Ren stated that, if they make an assessment that certain business units are not providing much value, they should be cut or the work reduced so as to focus on (more valuable portions). He also said that Huawei should give up some mediocre employees so as to reduce the cost of human resources.

“In the next few years, the whole environment (for Huawei) will not be as promising as we imagined. We should prepare for bitter days.”

He said that, unlike the 4G business that flourished for Huawei, the 5G business may just bloom in some spots, but not on a widespread scale. However, Huawei has 180,000 employees and it pays over US$30 billion in salaries and stock distributions each year. “If we can’t produce as much, how can we get the money to share?”

Source: Sina, January 21, 2019
https://news.sina.com.cn/o/2019-01-21/doc-ihqfskcn9133229.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

Chinese Military Expert on Protection against Nuclear Attacks

On January 30, 2019, People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), published an interview with a military expert, Qian Qihu.

Qian Qihu was born in October 1937. He is a military engineer and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He won China’s 2018 Highest Science and Technology Award. According to the article, for more than 60 years, Qian has been working on protective engineering research and personnel training. He established China’s theoretical system of modern protective engineering and solved some key technical problems, including nuclear weapons’ airborne explosions, ground-contact explosions, ground- penetrating explosions and new ground-penetrating bombs.

Qian said, “our national defense projects, especially underground protection projects, are the cornerstone of the country’s active defense strategy, the last line of defense for national security, and an important guarantee for our peaceful environment.”

Qian also said, “In the information battlefield, there have been great developments of satellite reconnaissance and surveillance technology, as well as the application of precision-guided weapons. As a result, the bunker buster missiles equipped with a smart fuze has a higher hit ratio, stronger ground-penetration ability, and more destructive power. All these pose greater challenges to the protection project. Recently, a country has tested hypersonic missiles that have a strong penetration capability. It is said that no anti-missile system can prevent it. When the anti-missile system fails to intercept it midway, the role of the ground and underground protection works stand out.”

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily, January 30, 2019
http://www.81.cn/jfjbmap/content/2019-01/30/content_226530.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military