@CS – Page 15 – Chinascope

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

Briefings | | August 24, 2023 | @CS Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

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

Briefings | | August 19, 2023 | @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

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

Briefings | | August 11, 2023 | @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Shanghai Police Target China’s Largest Provider of Emigration Services

The Shanghai Police have arrested Chairperson He Mei of Wailian Group (外联出国), Shanghai’s largest China-US immigration intermediary company. The arrest is part of an investigation into illegal foreign exchange transactions totaling over a billion RMB. In addition to He, four others have also been arrested.

Wailian Group has been a prominent firm in enabling emigration from China, facilitating quick approvals for various countries’ visas and residency permits.

Several people posted on the internet citing insiders, saying that the police demanded that He Mei hand over all information on clients for whom the firm has provided immigration services over the company’s several decades of operation. One tweet said that the authorities are targeting rich Chinese who have exited China but who still have a lot of property in the country. This would enable the local and national Chinese government to confiscate those valuable properties. Another social media post, seen on Chinese social media Weibo, speculated that the authorities may be aiming to collect information on emigration of lower-ranking government bureaucrats and their family members.

Source: Epoch Times, August 10, 2023.
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/8/10/n14051577.htm

Briefings | | August 11, 2023 | @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

LinkedIn, the Last Western Social Media Company in China, Pulls Out

LinkedIn, Microsoft’s social media platform for the workplace, withdrew from Chinese markets on August 9, officially closing the Chinese version of the LinkedIn application.

LinkedIn’s 2014 debut in China came on the heels of Google’s withdrawal from the country in 2010. Google withdrew following the company’s refusal to comply with the Chinese communist regime’s demands that Google censor the content available in China.

LinkedIn took the opposite approach of Google, opting for cooperation with the Chinese regime, implementing censorship mechanisms for the platform. LinkedIn users saw some postings on the platform (e.g. mentioning 1989 the Tiananmen Massacre) deleted by LinkedIn.

The communist regime’s control of the platform gradually became tighter and tighter. In March 2021, the New York Times reported that Chinese regulators had criticized LinkedIn’s executives for failing to control content when they discovered “sensitive” posts during China’s National People’s Congress. As punishment, China required LinkedIn to conduct a “self-assessment” and submit a report to China’s Central Internet Information Office.

LinkedIn’s latest Transparency Report, released in 2023, showed that the Chinese government made 43 requests to LinkedIn to remove content in 2021. LinkedIn complied with all of these requests except one. The number of removal requests was similar in 2020, following relatively lower numbers of requests in 2018 and 2019.

LinkedIn announced in October 2021 that it would remove several features from the Chinese version of its website, including the ability to make posts and interact with user-generated content. Without these social functions, LinkedIn became merely a resume-hosting website and saw its user base decline.

Source: Voice of America, August 8, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/linkedin-becomes-the-last-western-social-platform-to-officially-leave-china-20230808/7216109.html

Briefings | | August 10, 2023 | @CS Government/Politics Information/Technology

Lithuania Winning Standoff Against Beijing on Taiwan Issue

Over a year ago, Lithuania faced unprecedented pressure from China for refusing to toe Beijing’s line on the Taiwan issue. It took the lead in exiting the China-led “17+1” cooperation mechanism with Central and Eastern European countries in 2021 and later allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwan.” In response, China launched a comprehensive retaliation, including applying economic sanctions, calling back its Ambassador, and downgrading diplomatic relations.

Recently, Matas Maldeikis, Lithuanian Member of Parliament, revealed in an interview with the Voice of America, that the swift and decisive victory the communist regime of China expected did not happen. Lithuania’s economy grew and its exports increased by 45 percent in just a year and a half after Beijing’s sanctions. This demonstrates that countries need not bow to pressure from Beijing.

Maldeikis mentioned Lithuania’s historical tradition of resistance to power and its people’s values as reasons for daring to confront China on the Taiwan issue. Lithuania understood the political dynamics at play and refused to compromise its principles for short-term economic gains, showing a willingness to withstand market pressure and not betray values for profit.

This resilient stance has set an example for other nations on how to navigate relations with China.

Source: Voice of America, August 7, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/lithuania-china-taiwan-european-union-20230804/7212200.html

Briefings | | August 7, 2023 | @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

Guangming Daily: It Is Not China But the U.S. That Does the Economic Coercion

Guangming Daily has published a response to recent criticism from the international community, saying that it is not Communist China that conducts economic coercion of Asia-Pacific countries; rather it is the U.S. that is coercive.

The article said that the U.S. aims to create a new narrative to rally allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, building an “anti-economic coercion” coalition against China’s rise. The U.S. seeks to create a hostile external public opinion environment for China, and the U.S.’ intensified portrayal of China’s “economic threat” is for the purpose of excluding China from the global supply chain, critical technology, and trade systems. This approach, camouflaged as exposition of China’s “economic coercion,” is, in reality, economic coercion by the U.S. against China.

The article further argues that this “economic coercion” by the U.S. will fail for the following reasons:

Many Asia-Pacific countries understand the damage caused by the U.S.’ “economic coercion” and won’t support it.
The U.S.’ “economic coercion” tactic is against the trend of openness and inclusion in the Asia-Pacific region, and therefore it is against the interest of the countries in this region.
The U.S.’ effort of using this “economic coercion” to promote the “de-Chinaization” of the Asia-Pacific economy is nothing but a foolish and unrealistic delusion.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 3, 2023
https://news.gmw.cn/2023-08/03/content_36741488.htm

Briefings | | August 4, 2023 | @CS US-China Relations

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