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Briefings - 381. page

World Journal: University of Michigan Announced the Closure of Its Confucius Institute

Well-known U.S. Chinese language newspaper World Journal recently reported that the University of Michigan (UM) just officially announced the discontinuation of its Confucius Institute located in Ann Arbor. The announcement was made after the Confucius Institute had been established for nearly ten years. According to the official headquarter records of the Confucius Institute, the UM Institute is a “unique” organization and was recognized in 2013 as an “Advanced Confucius Institute” by the Chinese central government. The University explained that it will merge the Chinese performing arts materials into its regular curriculum and there is no longer a need to operate under the Confucius Institute. UM is one of the several universities that discontinued their Confucius Institute programs not long ago. These universities are the University of Iowa, the University of North Florida and North Carolina State University. There are around 100 Confucius Institutes operating in the United States.

Source: World Journal, December 11, 2018
https://bit.ly/2UMPePj

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China’s November Auto Sales Saw Sharp Decline

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) just released its November sales numbers for the Chinese domestic automobile market. The report showed that 2.17 million automobiles were sold in November, which is the largest decline in six years (since January 2012), representing a 16.1 percent drop. However, the January 2012 decline was merely a reflection of the Chinese New Year’s impact that year. Looking back a few months, the Chinese automobile market has been declining in each of the past consecutive months. Since September, the decline has been around 12 percent per month. This is indicative of the worst market shrinkage since 1990. Unless December data shows a miracle, CAAM is projecting the first annual decline in over 20 years. The Deputy Director of CAAM explained that the decreasing income of middle and low class consumers was the main cause of the sharp decline. Government policy changes also played a role. International auto manufacturers will also see challenges in the Chinese market.

Source: Sina, December 11, 2018
http://auto.sina.com.cn/news/hy/2018-12-11/detail-ihmutuec8177963.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Aboluowang: CCP Openly Set up Party Branch Offices in State Owned Enterprise in Hong Kong

Aboluowang reported that the relevant documents of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have recently revealed that the mainland state-owned enterprises and private enterprises based in Hong Kong have openly established party branches.

According to the article, People’s Daily disclosed in September that a document that the Central Disciplinary Commission issued at the end of 2017 corroborated the evidence that a Chinese Communist Party’s grassroots party branch had been set up in the State Owned Enterprises in Hong Kong. The “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Prevention and Control of Integrity Risks of Central Enterprises” requires that “the Central Party Committee and the Discipline Inspection Commission effectively fulfill the political responsibility of managing the party and the integrity of the risk prevention and control in party development work overseas.” The guidance disclosed that the international subsidiaries and Hong Kong branches of China Mobile must be under the supervision of the branch office in Shenzhen.

One academic scholar from Hong Kong Baptist University told Voice of America that, in the party organization, work in companies stationed overseas used to be carried out secretly. In recent years, however, the activity has grown more and more open. The goal is obviously “to strengthen the monitoring of all enterprises outside the country, in order to ensure that these enterprises show in their actions that they listen to the party’s commands and obey the party’s mechanism to do things.”

According to an Apple Daily article, there are 123 publicly traded State Owned Enterprises in Hong Kong that have established party offices. Among them, eight of them are blue chip companies. They include, among others, PetroChina, Sinopec, the Industrial and Commercial Bank, the Bank of China, and the Bank of Communications. In addition, there are party branch offices established in private enterprises in Hong Kong. After Suning Appliance acquired Hong Kong Laser Appliances in 2009, the company’s party committee quickly sent people to Hong Kong to set up the “Suning Appliance Hong Kong Laser Company Party Branch,” making it one of the company’s 65 party branches.

The Aboluowang article also mentioned that an article Xinhua published on November 25 disclosed that the party’s newly issued “Regulations on the Work of Party Branches” emphasized that it is necessary to carry forward the tradition and to set up party branches on a company basis. The regulations do not specifically address the operation of party organizations in overseas enterprises. However, it could mean that all enterprises with party members must have party organizations.

Source: Aboluowang, December 16, 2018
https://www.aboluowang.com/2018/1216/1219078.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

RFI: Huawei Sponsors “Seeds for the Future” Project to Establish Contacts with Universities

Radio France Internationale published an article which stated that, not only did Huawei bribe many Australian politicians and the U.S. think tank, The Brookings Institute, it also gave money to top universities through the “Seeds for the future” project. The universities that received the money include Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, York, Nottingham, Surrey, and other institutions in the UK. Huawei also acknowledged that it has cooperated with over 20 universities in the UK over the past five years. Through the “Seeds for the Future” project, Huawei has established contacts with many universities through the British Council to attract young talent and it has paid travel expenses for UK students to live in China for one month.

In addition, The Daily Telegraph reported that, for many years, Huawei has sponsored technology research projects on mobile and audio networks. Huawei promised to invest 5 million pounds (US$6.3 million) to establish a 5G Innovation Center at the University of Surrey. Huawei also invested more than 1 million pounds (US$1.25 million) in a computer lab at the University of Cambridge to support a Manchester University project to develop graphene. Graphene is the thinnest but hardest material in the world with the lowest resistivity. British physicists developed this nanomaterial in 2004.

Previously, Australian media reported that Huawei had sponsored a number of Australian politicians and family members to travel to China. The list of invitees included former Australian Foreign Minister Bishop. In addition, the Washington Post reported that the Brookings Institute, an authoritative U.S. think tank, was to receive a large donation from Huawei and was to speak favorably about Huawei.

Source: Radio France Internationale, December 14, 2018
http://rfi.my/3RCw.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: Hong Kong to Legalize Playing China’s National Anthem during Political Members’ Swearing in Ceremony

Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Hong Kong authorities have enacted the National Anthem Law Bill, which stipulates that China’s national anthem must be played during the swearing in ceremony of the Chief Executive, members of the Executive Council, Legislative Council Members, and judicial officers. Radio Television Hong Kong quoted the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau as saying that the draft is close to being completed and will be submitted to the Legislative Council for initial review as early as next year. The draft also stipulates that anyone who arbitrarily falsifies the national anthem or sings the national anthem in a distorted or derogatory manner can be sentenced to a maximum of three years and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,399). The draft also mentions that “middle schools and elementary schools should teach students to sing the national anthem” but there are no specified penalties.

In recent years, since people in Hong Kong started to advocate “Hong Kong independence” or “self-determination,” many would boo China’s national anthem when it was played during certain events such as a soccer game. This has caused Beijing to pay close attention to the issue of using laws to legalize China’s national anthem.

Source: Central News Agency, December 14, 2018
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201812140214.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Mao Yushi Does Not Want to Stay in the CCP; Communist Ideology Is the Past

Mao Yushi, born in 1929, is a Chinese economist. He co-founded the Unirule Institute of Economics, which promotes private property, freedom of choice, voluntary exchange, the rule of law, and other attributes of a free market economy. On May 4, 2012, Mao Yushi was awarded the Cato Institute’s Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty for his work in classical liberalism and free-market economics. In October 2014 Beijing began a “crackdown on dissent” and banned the publication of his works. In January 2017 they shut down his Web site.

In a recent interview with Voice of America, Mao said the main obstacle to China’s transition toward a market economy is the intervention of power. To solve these problems requires a clean political clarity, freedom of speech, supervision by ordinary people, and an emphasis on an independent judiciary.

Mao believes that in today’s era, the communist ideology is becoming part of the past. The world is changing in the direction of democracy, the rule of law, constitutionalism, and human rights. “Willingly or unwillingly, this is a matter of fact.”

“I have also thought it through. I don’t want to stay in the (CCP) party any more. Many intellectuals share this thought.” Mao added that top leaders and the middle class Chinese are sending their children to the United States. This shows the power of the historic trend.

Mao projects that the time before the advent of China’s political reforms “will not be long.” The change will come true.

Source: Central News Agency, December 15, 2018
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201812150102.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

To Celebrate Chinese Communist Party’s One-hundredth Birthday, Wanda to Build a Red Themed Town

The Wanda Group is a Chinese multinational conglomerate based in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of the Australian Hoyts Group, as well as a majority shareholder of the American AMC Theatres.

On December 13, Yan’an city’s municipal government and Wanda Group signed an agreement in Beijing. Wanda will build a red themed town in Yan’an – Yan’an Wanda Town.

Yan’an is a city in China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province. From late 1935 to early 1947, it was the center of the Chinese Communist revolution. Chinese communists celebrate Yan’an as the birthplace of the revolution.

The project has a total investment of 12 billion yuan (US$ 1.74 billion). It is said to integrate patriotism education, tourism, the holiday, and an intangible cultural heritage experience. The town will consist of red themed blocks, a red themed indoor park, a red themed theater, and a resort hotel group. Yan’an Wanda Town plans to start digging in the first quarter of 2019 and be open to the public in the first half of 2021. Wanda said that the project will serve as a gift for Yan’an to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, said that the Wanda Group will carry forward Yan’an’s spirit with a sense of historical mission and social responsibility, and will make Yan’an Wanda Town a new national red tourism brand.

Source: The Paper, December 13, 2018
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2736036

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Uses High Pay to Lure Tech Talent from South Korea

For at least three to five years, South Korea has been considered to be leading China in the semiconductor industry. In order to reduce this gap and even catch up with South Korea, China has not only invested heavily in facilities, but has also used high pay to hire tech talent from Korea.

Many Koreans are surprised by the amount of money China is willing to pay. The Chinese side usually proposes a salary three times higher than the current job, with a three-year guarantee period. A Korean semiconductor professional said, “If you are over 50 years old and you don’t have an ideal position in the company, the high salary will naturally tempt you. If you continue to work in Korea, you can still work for up to 3 years. However, a three-fold salary plus a three-year guarantee is the same as an additional 7-8 years of salary.”

People said that three times the current pay is a general case. For those who have important technology at hand, the salary that the Chinese propose is even as high as eight times. China has reportedly hired more than 1,000 scientific and technical personnel from the Korean semiconductor industry, offering a high salary.

Semiconductors are South Korea’s most important export to China. For China, the domestically produced semiconductors account for only 15 percent of total demand and the remaining 85 percent need to be purchased from South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

After China has overtaken Korea in mobile phones, display panels, shipbuilding, automobiles, and other industries, the semiconductor has become the only industry in which Korea is leading China. In the first 10 months of this year, Korea’s semiconductor exports to China were about US$60 billion. This figure exactly equals Korea’s trade surplus with China from January to October. If China overtakes the semiconductor, the bilateral balance of trade could reverse.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 12, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ko-12122018101604.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources