Briefings – Page 52

CCP Expands Military Recruitment, Especially in Rural Areas

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expanding its military recruitment, particularly in rural areas.

Recently-leaked CCP recruitment documents state that the CCP’s recruiting focus should be on college students, while also recruiting widely in the countryside, “leaving no dead zones” (no unrecruited rural areas). For those Chinese citizens who leave their city of residence to travel for work or school, it is mandatory that they register with the military regarding their travel plans. Expert observers believe this expanded recruitment activity is preparation for large-scale war.

The CCP is focused on recruiting college graduates, who are suitable for adaptation to modern information warfare. Rural recruits are also targeted to provide a large pool of soldiers whose casualties may have less immediate economic and political impact. There are reports that the CCP has been recruiting discharged soldiers back into service only 5 years after they leave the military, as well as relaxing requirements to allow military service by people with criminal records.

New military recruitment regulations enacted in May 2022 have enabled this expansion. The new regulations include allowing retired soldiers to re-enlist, as well as directives to recruit students with high-tech skills. The CCP has completed a nationwide military service registration covering the country’s entire population, signaling preparation for war.

According to expert Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal expert living in exile in Australia, the CCP under Xi Jinping is waiting to see what will happen in the 2024 US presidential election. The CCP believes that, regardless of who wins, the result will divide America for years, creating a window of opportunity for the CCP to attack Taiwan. Yuan says China’s war preparations are likely focused on seizing this window of time in 2025-2027. Expanded recruitment from rural areas in particular will provide “cannon fodder” for large-scale combat operations against Taiwan planned for this period.

Source: Epoch Times, February 12, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/2/12/n14179638.htm

Briefings | | February 22, 2024 | Defense/Military

Two Chinese Fishermen Drown in Taiwanese Waters, Beijing and Taiwan Respond

There have been many instances of mainland-Chinese fishermen entering Taiwanese waters using “three-no” vessels (i.e. boats without a name, without a vessel certificate, and without a registered port). On February 14, a “three-no” vessel went fishing in Taiwanese waters near Beiding Island, Kinmen (Taiwan). As the Taiwanese coast guard approached the boat, the Chinese boat capsized while attempting to flee. Two of the four Chinese nationals died by drowning, and the other two were arrested by Taiwanese authorities.

On February 17th, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a press release stating that there was no such thing as “prohibited or restricted waters” in the strait between Kinmen and Xiamen (mainland). On February 18, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, alleged that the Taiwanese coast guard had “violently driven away” the mainland-Chinese fishing boats, resulting in the deaths of the two fishermen. “It was a callous act and caused strong indignation among people from all walks of life in mainland China, seriously harming the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and seriously damaging cross-strait relations. The Taiwan Affairs Office firmly supports the decision of the mainland China’s maritime police department on conducting routine law enforcement patrols, to maintain the normal order of the relevant waters and ensure the safety of mainland fishermen’s lives and property.” (Editor’s notes: Beijing’s patrol boats are much larger than Taiwan’s. China has been using large maritime patrol boats to intimidate smaller Philippine patrol vessels in the ongoing Spratly Islands dispute in the South China Sea).

On February 18, Taiwan’s United Daily News reported on a press release by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responding to the comments from Beijing. According to the article, the press release stated that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not affiliated with each other. According to the regulations of Taiwan’s Cross-Strait Act, mainland vessels are not allowed to enter restricted or prohibited waters of Taiwan without permission. Our competent authority will continue to enforce the law by expelling or detaining trespassing vessels to safeguard the rights and interests of fishermen. This has been the case in the past, is the case now, and will continue to be the case in the future.”

Sources:
1. People’s Daily, February 18, 2024
http://tw.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0218/c14657-40178728.html
2. United Daily News (Taiwan), February 18, 2024
https://money.udn.com/money/story/5603/7775972

Briefings | | February 20, 2024 | Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

UDN: North Korea’s Kim Yo-Jong Unofficially Wants to Invite Japanese Prime Minister to Visit

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong recently made an unusual comment, saying that North Korea is open to improving relations with Japan. She hinted that North Korea may invite the Japanese leader to visit Pyongyang in the future. The remarks came in response to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida saying not long ago that there has been a strong need to change the current relationship between the two countries.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Yo Jong said that, as long as Japan abandons its bad habit of criticizing North Korea’s exercise of legitimate defense rights and stops talking about the “already resolved” issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea, the two countries can work together. However, Kim Yo Jong emphasized that this was just her personal opinion (rather than an statement from the North Korean government).

In January, Kim Jong-un sent a rare telegram to Kishida expressing condolences after the Noto earthquake in Japan. Analysts say it may be that North Korea is signaling desire for improved relations with Japan.

The Japanese government has been analyzing the content of Kim Yo Jong’s statements and has declined to comment for the time being.

The senior official for North Korea affairs at the U.S. State Department said that the U.S. supports all diplomacy and dialogue between Japan and North Korea. An official from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that communications between Japan and North Korea should be conducive to denuclearization of North Korea as well as to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Source: UDN, February 17, 2024
https://udn.com/news/story/6809/7774277

Briefings | | February 19, 2024 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Sohu: U.S. Wafer Fab Construction Near Slowest in the World

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported on a study done by Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service Think Tank regarding the speeds at which various countries have been able to complete construction of silicon wafer fabs (integrated circuit fabrication facilities). Sohu reported that the construction speed of wafer fabs in the United States is among the slowest in the world, and that Mainland China is quickly catching up in speed to the U.S. Below are some key points from the article:

Since the 1890s, a total of 635 new wafer fabs have been built around the world, with an average construction time of 682 days. The fastest construction time for wafer fabs is in Japan, which takes an average of 584 days to construct its factories , followed by South Korea at 620 days, Taiwan at 654 days, Europe and the Middle East at 690 days, and Mainland China at 701 days. In the United States, it takes up to 736 days, which is only slightly faster than the 781 days in Southeast Asia.

In 1990s and 2000s, wafer fabs construction in the United States took an average of only 675 days. By the 2010s, the fab construction speed had slowed to 918 days. Meanwhile, Mainland China and Taiwan shortened their fab construction times to 675 and 642 days, respectively. Entering the 2020s, the construction of wafer fabs in the United States is even more difficult and often cannot be completed on schedule. For example, TSMC’s Fab #21 in Arizona has been postponed for another year; Intel’s factory in Ohio has been postponed from 2025 to the end of 2026; and Samsung’s factory in Texas has been postponed to 2025.

The biggest factor leading to slowdown of fab construction in the United States is the various complicated laws and regulations, which may seem to be of benefit to the public, but which seriously hinder the development of semiconductors.

Source: Sohu, February 17, 2024
https://www.sohu.com/a/758247853_163726

Briefings | | February 19, 2024 | Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

HK01: MSCI Removes 66 Chinese Companies From Indices

HK01, a popular Hong Kong-based online media network, recently reported that finance company MSCI removed 66 Chinese stocks from its benchmark China Index and its All Country World Index during the latest MSCI quarterly review. The move by MSCI comes as Mainland China and Hong Kong stock markets plummeted, losing trillions of dollars in market value from their peak in 2021.

Most of the removed companies are in the real estate, pharmaceuticals, internet, and aviation sector. Specific names removed including famous companies such as Weibo, China Southern Airlines, Ping An Healthcare and Technology, as well as real estate developers Gemdale Group and Greentown China. The number of Chinese companies removed was the greatest seen in at least two years. The removals will be effective from the close of trading on February 29, 2024.

China’s weight in global investment portfolios has fallen significantly as China’s real estate industry sinks further into crisis, Chinese consumer spending continues to weaken, and alternative emerging markets such as India continue to perform well. Some experts expressed that MSCI’s stock removals highlight how money is moving out of Chinese equities as investors reduce their exposure. Such investor behavior is largely due to recent weakness in Chinese market fundamentals, ongoing financial instability, regulatory uncertainty, and concern over national-level risks.

Source: HK01, February 14, 2024
http://tinyurl.com/5t2te57y

Briefings | | February 19, 2024 | Economy/Resources US-China Relations

Guangming Daily Editorial: “The Economic Landscape in China Is Most Uniquely Beautiful”

Xi Jinping delivered a Lunar New Year address on February 8, comparing China’s economy last year to a beautiful landscape: “the [economic] scenery here [in China] is uniquely beautiful” (“风景这边独好”).

On February 10, Guangming Daily published an editorial propaganda piece titled “Living Better Days!” aiming to substantiate the idea that China’s economic “scenery” in the best in the world. Here is a key paragraph from the piece:

“You see, we decisively implemented a transition from the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control phase [to an open society]. The bustling streets and the prosperity of markets tell us that we have come through that difficult period. Agricultural production has again reached new highs: the rumbling of machinery and the reaping of silver sickles proclaim that we have achieved twenty consecutive years of abundant harvests. The vitality of strategic emerging industries can be seen in [the country’s] continuous breakthroughs in technological innovation, in the rapid formation of new productive forces, and in the total export of the “three new industries” (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells) having surpassing one trillion yuan (US$ 140 billion). Despite the continued global economic downturn, we have still sent out 17,000 China-Europe freight trains and generated 126 trillion yuan in total economic output. ‘The economic scenery on China’s side is uniquely the best’ – this is the declaration that we have sent out to the world.”

Source: Guangming Daily, February 10, 2024
https://news.gmw.cn/2024-02/10/content_37142995.htm

Briefings | | February 18, 2024 | @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Briefings - 52. page