{Editor’s Notes: Yan Chunguo, also known as NGAN, Shun-kau (颜纯钩), is a Hong Kong-based writer who grew up in China and participated in the Culture Revolution. He recently wrote an article expressing his view that Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are inseparable. Continue reading
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700,000 Chinese Villages Owe 900 Billion Yuan in Debt
China Newsweek Magazine published an article stating that “small villages with big debts” have become a problem that cannot be ignored. A survey by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Development found that, as of the first half of 2019, China’s 700,000 administrative villages have accumulated a total of 900 billion yuan (US$123 billion) in debt. Average debt has reached 1.3 million yuan per village.
Source: China Newsweekly, September 8, 2023
http://www.heb.chinanews.com.cn/zgxwzk/20230908438999.shtml
Chinese Scholar: China Is Facing The Worst External Environment in 40 Years
Wang Wen, Executive Director of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, published an article stating that China is facing the worst external environment in 40 years.
Wang listed three points regarding the international environment:
- China’s annual and quarterly economic growth rate became lower than that of the United States, which has not been seen for more than four decades.
- There are signs that production and supply chains are moving out of China, also not seen for more than four decades.
- The United States has coordinated a political consensus and comprehensive action among Western countries regarding the “China threat,” also not seen for more than four decades.
Wang gave a few strategic prescriptions for easing China’s situation (a nice way of implying that the authorities have made strategically poor decisions):
- Reflect on the long-term, difficult, and complex nature of the rise (of China) as a great power. {Editor’s Notes: The author is suggesting that China has not reached the great power that it wants to achieve; it still needs time to continue building up its power.}
- Objectively face the basic fact that the U.S., though it will decline, has not yet declined too much.
- Objectively face the basic fact that China, though it will surpass the U.S., has not yet surpassed it.
- Chinese society needs to mentally prepare for the worst and most dire scenarios to occur.
Source: Sohu, August 27, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/715303788_120094090
CCP Publishes Textbooks on “Xi Jinping Thought”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for brainwashing the public, especially young people, with communist ideology and lies. Recently, PRC media outlet Xinhua reported that the CCP Central Propaganda Department, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, created a textbook titled “Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era.” The textbook will be distributed nationwide, effective immediately.
Xinhua said the text book is designed to “further promote Xi Jinping Thought in teaching materials, in classrooms, and in (student’s) minds.”
Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2023
https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202308/content_6900617.htm
For “Humanitarian Reasons,” China Doesn’t Block Philippine Resupply of Grounded Warship in Disputed Waters
On August 7, China blocked two Philippine supply vessels from unloading supplies at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. China blocked the supply vessels by firing water cannons at them. The vessels were supposed to deliver supplies to soldiers stationed on a Philippine warship BRP Sierra Madra that has been grounded at the atoll since 1999. Both China and the Philippines claim sovereignty over the Spratly Island area where the Second Thomas Shoal is located.
On August 22, the Philippines sent resupply ships to the shoal again. This time, China didn’t stop them.
Following the event, Xinhua published a statement by the Spokesman of Chinese Coast Guard Bureau: “On August 22, two Philippine supply vessels and two [Philippine] marine police vessels entered the waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Island in the Spratly Islands area without the permission from the Chinese Government. In accordance with the law, the Chinese Marine Police gave the Philippine vessels a stern warning, followed them throughout their entire journey, and effectively restrained them. At the same time, in view of the fact that the Philippine vessels were not carrying large-scale building materials, the Chinese Marine Police made a temporary special arrangement for humanitarian reasons, allowing the Philippine vessels to transport food and other living necessities to the military vessels stranded on the beach. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Island. China firmly opposes the Philippines using the excuse of “resupply” to deliver illegal building materials to the illegally-grounded warship. The Chinese Maritime Police will continue to protect China’s rights and carry out law-enforcement activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction in accordance with the law.”
Source: Xinhua, August 22, 2023
http://www.news.cn/world/2023-08/22/c_1129816942.htm
China’s Weaponization of Mekong River Dams to Pressure Downstream Countries
For the past decade, the Mekong River has had abnormal water pattern: high flows during the dry season and low flows during the rainy season. This is caused by the upstream Chinese dams, which release water for power generation during the dry season and retain water during the rainy season.
The Mekong River has a total length of more than 4,800 kilometers (~3000 miles) in its main branch. Its 2,139-kilometer (1330 mile) upper section in China is known as the Lancang River. After flowing out of China, the Mekong River flows through five countries in Southeast Asia – Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is a lifeline supporting 65 million people.
By the end of December 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had built 12 giant dams on the main branch of the Lancang River, with eight more under construction. In addition, there are 85 dams on hundreds of tributaries to the Lancang River.
On January 1, 2019, China put four newly-constructed dams into operation. As a result, the Lower Mekong has experienced a severe drought starting that year and lasting for more than four years (through the present).
The year 2020 was the driest year for the Mekong on record. Although upstream Chinese reservoirs had sufficient water during the rainy season, some of the Mekong River beds downstream were dry and cracked.
China’s use of dams to exert pressure on downstream countries has been going on since at least 2016. In March of that year, the Mekong River’s water volume was reduced, and Vietnam’s rice region suffered a severe drought, with seawater back filling the river bed. The CCP then took the “generous” step of releasing water for “disaster relief.” A week later, China’s then-Premier Li Keqiang hosted the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Meeting in Sanya, Hainan. The five thirsty downstream countries signed the Lancang-Mekong Agreement, signing on to Chinese investment, loans, and a special fund to promote China’s Belt Road Initiative in Southeast Asia.
Source: Epoch Times, August 10, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/8/10/n14051766.htm
Guangcha: U.S. Media Reported on China’s New Airport at Disputed Island Near Vietnam
Chinese media outlet Guangcha reported on a story run by U.S.-based news website The Drive. The “Warzone” of section of The Drive reported that China is building an airport on Triton Island, a small island among the disputed Paracels archipelago in the South China Sea. Triton Island is the closest of the archipelago’s islands to the coast of Vietnam.
Satellite images show a newly constructed runway, a large construction area, and a cement factory. The Drive’s article notes swift progress on construction of a 600-meter (2,000 feet) runway which the article says enhances logistic and aviation support capabilities, strengthening the Chinese army’s presence. The runway could be used for hosting short takeoff and landing fixed-wing types, such as turboprops and light aircraft, and also unmanned drones. According to the article, the island expands China’s surveillance and regional denial capabilities and may also be able to host forward operations such as submarine base.
The Guangcha article, after republishing some content from the article by The Drive, quoted Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “The U.S.’ use of the South China Sea issue to provoke issues among regional countries is extremely irresponsible and has ulterior motives.” “China, together with ASEAN countries, will continue to work to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and to promote prosperity and development in the region.”
{Editor’s Note: Guangcha is a Chinese media outlet that translates or summarizes reports from media in other countries with the purpose of aggrandizing the Chinese communist regime or of criticizing the U.S. and other Western countries, taking shots at the Western democratic system and “`values.}
Sources:
1. Guangcha, August 17, 2023
https://www.guancha.cn/military-affairs/2023_08_17_705410.shtml
2. The Drive, August 15, 2023
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/runway-being-built-on-chinas-closest-island-outpost-to-vietnam
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Chinese Police Communicating With Australians Over the Internet
Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently reported that it has obtained a Chinese government document indicating that Chinese police have begun using cloud technology to operate “contact points,” extending the reach of Chinese policing into Australia. The “contact points” are operated by the Hai’an Police Department in Jiangsu Province, using cloud meeting by Tencent (similar to a Zoom meeting) and WeChat to communicate with Australian citizens as well as Chinese people living in Australia. According to Chinese media Xinhua Daily, Chinese students in Australia have been hired as overseas liaison officers to onboard people into this online system.
The report follows the high-profile discovery of several clandestine “Chinese police stations” operating in Canada, the U.S., and several European countries earlier this year. Chinese authorities maintain that these covert police stations were merely providing administrative services such as renewal of passports or driver’s licenses, while human rights experts have said that the police stations were likely used to intimidate Chinese dissidents and monitor Chinese nationals living abroad.
Westphalian sovereignty, a well-known principle in international law, holds that each country has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. A consequence of this principle is that states should not conduct official business (including policing) within other countries. Western countries have viewed Chinese police activities within their borders as violations of their sovereignty.
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 4, 2023
https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2023-08-04/china-overseas-police-station-australian-contact-point-cloud/102685646