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India Considers Banning 80 Percent of Rice Exports

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that India, the world’s largest exporter of rice, is considering a ban on all non-Basmati rice — the vast majority of the country’s rice exports. The proposed ban comes as domestic prices rise and the government wants to avoid the risk of higher inflation.

Rice prices in Asia now at 2.5-year high due to El Nino. The Indian government’s move could send already high rice prices soaring further. India’s possible export ban is expected to lower domestic rice prices, but could lead to higher global prices. Rice importers have reacted by starting to aggressively build inventories. Shares of Indian rice mills edged lower on this news.

Rice is the staple food for about half the world’s population, with Asia consuming about 90 percent of the global supply. India accounts for about 40 percent of the global rice trade. India supplies rice to more than 100 countries. Benin, China, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo are India’s largest buyers. According to India’s Food Ministry, rice prices in Delhi have risen about 15 percent this year and the national average price of rice has risen about 8 percent. Vietnam expects rice exports to climb to their highest level in about a decade this year, with big increases to the Philippines, China and Indonesia.

Source: NetEase, July 14, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I9J9CLEU05198NMR.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Internet Posting Calls for A4 Revolution Protest in Chengdu During the FISU World University Games

Chinese people had an “A4 Revolution” (holding a blank sheet of A4-size paper) to protest the communist regime’s inhumane lockdown for COVID control last year, which led to the authorities quickly ending the country’s zero-COVID policy.

Now, people are calling for another A4 Revolution protest in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, when it hosts the Summer FISU World University Games from July 28 to August 8. On July 11, Anna Wang, founder of Shining Light Media, LLC, headquartered in Washington, DC, retweeted a message to call people to protest Xi Jinping’s dictatorship in Chengdu on July 28.

The post listed five points of caution for the safety of all protesters:

  1. Do not disclose any personal information when reposting or communicating on Telegram Messenger, Twitter, etc.
  2. Do not contact anyone whom you met online to jointly participate in the protest. Even if you discuss a joint action online, do not share the exact time and location since the other person might be undercover police.
  3. Before participating in a flash-mob protest, delete sensitive contents from your computer and mobile phone to prevent police searches from gathering information.
  4. Bring a lot of white paper instead of only one piece. If asked about it by the police, just make up a reason. You can also give distribute the white paper to other people to use.
  5. Do not take pictures on the protest site, unless you only take pictures and do not participate in protest. Separating picture taking and protest participation is to prevent the police tracking.

The posting also emphasized that “there is no organizer for this event, it’s a completely atomized protest.” It also said that the event will take place online and offline at the same time.

The post has been widely circulated on GitHub and other social platforms.

Source: Epoch Times, July 12, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/7/12/n14033119.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Social Stability

US Circuit Court Ruled that Falun Gong Practitioners Can Sue Cisco for Supporting the CCP

On July 7, a three-panel decision from the US Ninth Circuit Court gave Falun Gong practitioners a green light to sue Cisco System, Inc. for its action in designing the Internet censorship network used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The CCP carried out its Golden Shield project (金盾工程) from 2003 to 2006 to build the Internet censorship and monitor system used against the Chinese people. The system, known colloquially as “The Great Firewall of China,” not only blocks people inside China from visiting websites that the CCP does not want people to go to, but also monitors people’s actions on the Internet. Cisco, in order to get bigger access to the Chinese market, helped the CCP to design this censorship system; China lacked the sophisticated skills needed to develop the system on its own.

At a Congressional hearing in 2008, Cisco admitted to its involvement in developing the system. Its Vice President admitted that Cisco’s internal presentation included an official statement from the Chinese government on combating hostile elements, including religious organizations. Cisco also stated in the same or related PowerPoint presentations that the CCP would carry out a crackdown campaign against Falun Gong, describing the project as a lucrative opportunity for the company.

In 2011, Falun Gong practitioners brought a lawsuit against Cisco and two of its former executives, CEO John Chambers and China Vice President Fredy Cheung, for assisting the CCP in tracking and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

In 2014, a local district court rejected the case.

On July 7 of this year, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision and reinstated all claims under the Alien Tort Statute against Cisco.

Source:
1. NTDTV, July 8, 2023
https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/07/08/a103745483.html
2. Minghui, July 10, 2023
https://www.minghui.org/mmh/articles/2023/7/10/462850.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

An Arbitrage Opportunity for Trading RMB: Turning 70,000 Yuan to 120,000 Yuan

China’s recent efforts to internationalize its currency Renminbi (RMB) have backfired. Countries such as Russia, Brazil, etc. have received RMB from trading with China and then heavily sold RMB on the offshore RMB market, causing the RMB price to keep falling.

Twitter account “@AsiaFinance” recently tweeted about an arbitrage opportunity in trading RMB: First, sell a little over 70,000 yuan of RMB to buy US$10,000. Second, exchange the US$10,000 for 1.5 million Russian Ruble on the black market. Third, exchange the 1.5 million Ruble, at the official exchange rate, for 127,300 Yuan RMB. Then you have turned 70,000 yuan to over 120,000 yuan.

Source: Twitter “@AsiaFinance” account, July 7, 2023

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Two Chinese Tech Giants Hit with Heavy Fines

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that Chinese regulators on Friday slapped hefty fines on Alipay and Tenpay, owned by digital giants Ant Financial Services Group and Tencent. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced that it would fine Ant Group and its subsidiaries RMB 7.123 billion yuan (around US$986.4 million), and fine its competitor Tenpay nearly RMB 3 billion yuan (around US$415 million). The two private groups dominate China’s payment system and have significant weight in the Chinese financial system. They are not subject to banking supervision and have thus long been thorns in the eyes of the authorities. China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, declaring in a statement following the action that the financial business rectification of large platform companies has now been completed.

The government’s crackdown on tech has cost the dynamic industry billions of dollars in market value over more than two years. Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that owns Ant Financial, became the first company targeted by authorities in late 2020 following public comments by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma that angered the Chinese leadership. Ant Financial Services’ IPO, which was originally regarded as the largest fundraising in history (US$34 billion), was called off at the last minute. Later, the Chinese government started a tough crackdown on digital platforms across the industry including Tencent, Didi (aka Chinese Uber) and all private online education companies, particularly on issues such as personal data collection and protection, anti-competitive behavior, and raising funds abroad.

Source: RFI, July 8, 2023
https://rfi.my/9iAQ

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

China Put University Faculty Under Tight Scrutiny

The Chinese Ministry of Education has launched a campaign to enforce ideological conformity among university teachers. Ever since Xi Jinping took office, education has been focused on cultivating talent supportive of socialism, and universities are now required to offer courses on ideological and political theory, including “Xi Jinping Thought.” The ministry’s recent notice calls for a “self-examination and self-correction” campaign, targeting teachers of these courses to investigate their past academic experiences for any “inappropriate remarks or behaviors.” However, teachers have found templates on Chinese websites to help them complete their self-examination reports.

This campaign has prompted major universities across China to initiate a concentrated learning and education movement to evaluate teachers’ professional ethics. Specifically, teachers of ideological and political theory courses are being scrutinized for their past beliefs, political discipline, academic integrity, and ideological morality. Those deemed to have “crossed the bottom line” in these aspects face removal from their teaching positions through job transfers, dismissals, or resignations. Universities are expected to complete preliminary investigations by mid-July and propose plans to address problematic teachers.

Since Xi Jinping’s call for the “Seven Don’t Mentions” at universities, an increasing number of Chinese professors have faced consequences for discussing topics like universal values, press freedom, and civil society in their classrooms. Several professors from prominent institutions have been affected, leading to a culture of suppressing dissent. Apart from dismissals, outspoken and progressive teachers also face various other forms of retaliation. For instance, Guo Yuhua, a professor at Tsinghua University known for her work on China’s underprivileged communities, was detained by customs officials when she tried to travel to Hong Kong. Guo Yuhua had criticized and exposed policies related to rural areas and grassroots governance in China and publicly withdrew from the Communist Party in 2014.

Source: Radio Free Asia, July 7, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/teacher-07072023015818.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Police Forced German-Chinese to Provide Information on Overseas Protesters

A recent investigation by German news outlet Correctiv has uncovered the case of a young German-Chinese man who was pressured by Chinese authorities to provide information about Chinese-Germans critical of the Chinese government. The man, identified as Alex, was interrogated by police upon his arrival in China and was shown photos of himself participating in anti-government protests in Germany. After hours of questioning, Alex provided fake names of two protesters he knew. Correctiv has verified his account through conversations and evidence such as photos and chat records.

German security agencies are currently investigating the incident. If confirmed, this incident will further strain the already tense relations between Germany and China. Ulrich Lechte, a spokesperson for the Free Democratic Party parliamentary group, and Jürgen Hardt, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, have called on the German Foreign Ministry to issue travel warnings for China in response to this incident.

The German Foreign Ministry has stated that German citizens of Chinese descent have consular protection rights, and they are unaware of any Chinese refusal to recognize the German citizenship of ethnic Chinese Germans. The ministry acknowledged previous cases where China did not fully comply with its international obligations when dealing with ethnic Chinese who obtained foreign citizenship.

This incident adds to the list of instances where Chinese authorities have pressured Chinese citizens or ethnic Chinese living abroad. In a previous investigation, it was revealed that the Chinese government exerts strict control over Chinese students studying in Germany, particularly those receiving scholarships from the China Scholarship Council. These students are required to sign agreements promising not to engage in activities detrimental to China’s interests and regularly report to the Chinese embassy. Several Chinese students expressed fears of government surveillance and harsh reactions from the Chinese consulate if they participated in protests in Germany.

The German Foreign Ministry has not indicated whether travel warnings for China will be updated in light of this incident.

Source: Deutsche Welle, July 8, 2023
https://p.dw.com/p/4TcNi

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Vietnamese Government Orders Removal of Chinese TV Series due to Nine-Dash Line Dispute

The live-action movie “Barbie” has been banned in Vietnam due to a disagreement over the depiction of the “nine-dash line” map, which China uses to define its territorial claim in the South China Sea. Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries do not recognize this line. In addition, the Vietnamese government ordered Netflix and the local telecommunications company FPT to remove the Chinese TV series “Flight To You” from their platforms as it also featured scenes with the disputed map.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture’s Film Bureau claimed that although FPT had blurred the “nine-dash line” map in the TV series, it still contained “inappropriate content” that violated Vietnamese national sovereignty and film laws. The investigation identified specific episodes of the series, stating that they included unacceptable visuals, dialogues, and subtitles related to the disputed map.

The Vietnamese Film Bureau sent a letter to FPT, pointing out that despite blurring the map, the TV series had other unacceptable plot points and scenes that were deemed unsuitable for broadcast in Vietnam. Netflix and FPT were given 24 hours from July 10 to remove the series and submit a written report to the Film Bureau by July 12.

According to a Taiwan Central News Agency report, Netflix and FPT have already taken down the entire series in Vietnam. The series remains available in other regions. The report also mentions previous instances where the “nine-dash line” map caused controversies, such as its appearance on the official website of a South Korean concert in Hanoi and the ban of the Hollywood film “Uncharted” in Vietnam.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled at The Hague in 2016 that China’s claim to the “nine-dash line” lacked a legal basis and is not valid under international law.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 11, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307110080.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend