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Foreign Car Manufacturers Face Cold Winter in China Due to Cutthroat Price War

China’s economy is currently slowing down. Despite supply for electric vehicles (EVs) outpacing demand, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continued to incentivize increased scale of EV production. Some sources have reported China’s economy is currently producing cars at a rate of 40 million units per year, but its domestic consumption is only 22 million units annually, leading to fierce competition among car makers. According to Stephen Dyer of Alix Partners, there were 123 automotive brands that sold at least one electric vehicle in China in 2023. The oversupply of EVs in China has led to accusations that Chinese manufacturers are dumping EVs overseas.

Over the past few decades, foreign automotive manufacturers have enjoyed rapid growth and high profits in the Chinese market. However, they now face serious challenges due to severe competition fueled by the CCP’s subsidies to domestic Chinese auto brands.

Volkswagen had been the top-selling car brand in China since 2000; it lost its top position to Chinese brand BYD last year. Recently, the Volkswagen Group announced that it may have to close its factory in Germany. This would be the first time that the VW group closes a factory in its home country in the brand’s 87-year history. Volkswagen’s car sales in Europe have decreased by 500,000 units annually, equivalent to the output of two car factories. Volkswagen’s sales in China during the first half of 2024 dropped to 1.34 million units, a year-over-year decrease of 7 percent and a drop of more than a quarter compared to three years ago. VW’s joint ventures in mainland China have reported a quarterly loss for the first time in 15 years. China is Volkswagen’s largest market.

As of Q2 2024, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, saw its revenue from joint ventures in China decrease by 73 percent year-over-year.

The sales of General Motors’ joint ventures in China (which include 10 partnerships) dropped from a peak of 4 million units in 2017 to 2.1 million units last year.

In October 2023, Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors announced it would end production in mainland China due to years of declining sales. Honda (HMC), Hyundai, and Ford have also implemented various cost-cutting measures, including layoffs and factory closures.

In July, the market share of foreign car manufacturers in the Chinese automotive market fell from 53 percent two years ago to 33 percent.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said of the price competition in China that “frankly, it’s unsustainable, because the amount of companies losing money there cannot continue indefinitely. And really, when you get into the type of pricing war that’s going on now, it’s really a race to the bottom and [it destroys] residuals.”

Source: Epoch Times, September 7, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/9/7/n14326042.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources

Stand News Editors Convicted of Sedition by Hong Kong Court, Marking Setback for Freedom of Press in Hong Kong

During the 2019 “Anti-Extradition” protests in Hong Kong, local media outlet Stand News featured extensive coverage of the events. On August 29 the Hong Kong District Court found the former and acting editors of the media outlet guilty of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications.” The judge delivered the verdict but postponed sentencing to September 26, allowing the defendants to be temporarily released on bail. This case marks the first time that senior members of a news organization in Hong Kong have been convicted of “sedition” since the city’s handover to China.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association condemned the ruling, stating that it represents a serious setback for freedom of the press.

In December 2021, Hong Kong’s National Security Department froze Stand News‘ assets, worth HKD 60 million (US$ 7.7 million), forcing the media outlet to cease operations.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 29, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/ec-hong-kong-court-sedition-conviction-08292024114316.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

Tibetan Leaders Criticize CCP’s Tibet Policy Following CCP Media Report

On August 28, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouth-pieces CCTV and Xinhua News Agency released a nearly-3-minute video showcasing the “achievements of the 30th Anniversary of Paired Assistance (from Provinces and Institutions) to Tibet.” The end of the video included a quote from Xi Jinping regarding four “as long as” conditions regarding Tibet: “As long as we work together, as long as we promote ethnic unity, as long as we follow the CCP, and as long as we adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we will surely achieve the glorious goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as planned.”

Comments from Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and from Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Central Tibetan Administration’s representative in Taiwan, outlined a critical view of the CCP’s policies for governing Tibet during Xi’s era, summarizing four main goals of the CCP:

  1. Completely remove the influence of the 14th Dalai Lama from the subconscious of Tibetans by searching their homes and personal phones.
  2. Treat Tibetan religious language and culture as a “tumor,” close privately run Tibetan language schools, and arrest intellectual elites who attempt to preserve Tibetan culture.
  3. Force Tibetan children to attend boarding school, leaving behind their parents and their culture. Compel the children to study Mandarin Chinese and Han Chinese culture under the framework of “forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.”
  4. Fully implement the “Sinicization of religion” (i.e. the modification and watering down of religion to meet the requirements of the Chinese Communist Party)

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 29, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/hx2-xi-jinping-tibet-08292024072621.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics

Former Aide to New York Governor Accused of Acting as Chinese Agent

Linda Sun, who served as a staff member for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and also as the former Deputy Chief of Staff for current Governor Kathy Hochul, has been accused of acting as an agent for China and the Chinese Communist Party. The prosecutor handling the case stated that, starting in 2016, Linda Sun took actions at the request of Chinese consulate officials to limit contact between Taiwanese government officials and the New York Governor’s office. Linda Sun and her husband Chris Hu received substantial financial rewards for their work on behalf of China, including multi-million-dollar deals for Hu’s business activities in China, travel benefits, promotion of a family friend’s business, and the securing of employment for Sun’s cousin in China. The indictment states that the couple “laundered millions of dollars for foreign entities and used the illicit funds to purchase luxury cars and multi-million-dollar properties in New York.”

In January 2019, Linda Sun wrote to a Chinese official expressing how much she valued her relationship with the Chinese consulate, noting that during her time working for Governor Cuomo she had done a great deal to foster the relationship between the state’s government and the consulate. She also mentioned that she had successfully blocked all contact between the New York state government and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, rejecting all requests from that office.

Linda Sun’s assistance to Beijing included her arranging for Governor Cuomo to attend a “SelectUSA” reception in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Chinese Embassy, rather than an event hosted by Taiwan around June 21, 2016. She also prevented the Governor from meeting with then Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to New York in July 2019. Sun joined local Chinese “community leaders” in Manhattan to oppose Tsai’s visit.

After the case against Sun was made public, New York Governor Hochul requested that the State Department expel the Chinese Consul General in New York, Huang Ping. Huang has since left the New York mission, though the U.S. State Department announced that Huang’s departure was not due to an expulsion but rather due to Huang’s reaching the end of a regular rotation term as consul general.

Sources:
1. VOA, September 4, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/former-new-york-governor-aide-linda-sun-prevented-cuomo-from-meeting-tsai-ing-wen-20240903/7770612.html
2. Politico, September 4, 2024
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/04/hochul-chinese-consul-general-00177319

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Leaked Documents Reveal CCP Plan to “Eliminate” Falun Gong, Escalating Persecution

The Falun Dafa Information Center has reportedly obtained information from insiders in China’s Ministry of Public Security’s (MPS) regarding the organization’s new plan to “dismantle Falun Gong worldwide,” including in the United States. Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) “is an ancient spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999 and has continued its persecution of the practice until today. The CCP has also targeted the Shen Yun performing arts group, which showcases traditional Chinese culture and religious beliefs and aims to raise awareness about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

The Falun Dafa Information Center’s report stated that “it is abundantly clear both from sources inside China as well as from observable attacks (on Falun Gong and Shen Yun) over the past few months that these escalations against Falun Gong have already begun and are trending into uncharted territory. The internal documents explicitly state that the regime’s aim is to ‘eliminate Falun Gong worldwide.’”

The MPS’ new plan has five tactics:

  1. “Coordinated propaganda attacks against Shen Yun, Falun Gong”
  2. “Inciting conflict between Falun Gong and the U.S. Government”
    The MPS indicates it will deploy a two-pronged strategy:

    1. Incite Falun Gong practitioners to distrust and even protest the U.S. government.
    2. Provoke the U.S. government to investigate Shen Yun Performing Arts and other organizations founded by Falun Gong practitioners.
  3. “Cutting communication channels that expose persecution inside China,” blocking Falun Gong practitioners in China from contacting their overseas supporters
  4. “Manipulating search engines and disseminating content in multiple formats” as a means to “carry out the offensive” against Falun Gong.
  5. “Provoking distrust and internal divisions within the Falun Gong community”

Source: Falun Dafa Information Center website
https://faluninfo.net/weaponizing-social-media/

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability US-China Relations

Retired CCP Cadre and Professor Urges CCP to Step Down, Proposes “Federal Republic of China” Unifying Mainland China with Taiwan

Veteran Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadre and retired professor from Renmin University, Leng Jiepu, recently published an open letter addressed to the two Vice Chairmen of the CCP Central Military Commission, proposing the establishment of a Federal Republic of China and urged the CCP to step down.

The open letter is available on X platform. Leng talked with a reporter from the Epoch Times on August 11 to confirm that he was the author of the open letter.

Leng’s letter was addressed to Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, the two Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission, and was also communicated to the general public. He mentioned that he had learned that Xi Jinping was very ill and unable to work and that all party, government, and military affairs had fallen on Zhang and He. He expressed his hopes the two would support his proposal. Leng mentioned that the hanging of a large banner “The CCP Must Step Down” on Sitong bridge in Beijing in 2022 and the march with banners calling for the “Downfall of the CCP” in several cities have indicated that “the situation (for the CCP) is not optimistic.” He therefore suggested that the CCP take “the route of compromise” by establishing a Federal Republic of China and unifying the country with Taiwan, calling his proposal “the best possible solution.” He also proposed specific operational steps, including the formation of a “Grand Committee for the Unification of the Chinese Nation.”

Source:
1. Epoch Times, August 12, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/8/12/n14309516.htm
2. X Platform, @china_epoch
https://x.com/china_epoch/status/1822441580361372096?s=42

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics

Xiamen University: “Urgently Prepare for Taiwan Takeover”

On August 5th, the Xiamen University Cross-Strait Urban Planning Research Institute published an article titled “Urgently Prepare for Taiwan Takeover.” The paper stated that, with the increasing likelihood of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, Beijing’s “unification” with Taiwan could come sooner than expected. According to the article, the “turmoil” observed in Hong Kong over the past few years shows that “lack of full preparation could have serious consequences for a smooth power transition.” Since Hong Kong’s policy of “50 years of no change” does not apply to Taiwan, the depth and breadth of the mainland’s takeover of Taiwan will far exceed that of Hong Kong in 1997, according to the article. “It is urgent to prepare comprehensive plans for taking over Taiwan after unification.”

The article was taken down shortly after publication. However, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, has preserved the article and translated it into English on its website.

The CSIS published the following “key takeaways” regarding the Xiamen paper:

  • Researchers at the Xiamen University Cross-Strait Institute of Urban Planning argue Beijing should set up a shadow government in preparation for intended “reunification” with Taiwan.
  • The unnamed authors suggest that “reunification” will be a complex process, and the “One Country, Two Systems” model Beijing has adopted toward Hong Kong would be inappropriate for governing Taiwan. Instead, they argue that “full integration into the mainland” should be Beijing’s goal.
  • They suggest Beijing set up a “Central Taiwan Work Committee” to research and prepare “post-takeover” policies on a variety of issues – including currency conversion, education systems, military integration, and customs, among others – based on a solid understanding of existing policies and institutions in Taiwan.
  • They also recommend Beijing set up a “Taiwan Governance Experimental Zone,” which would be a “highly realistic physical environment” for simulating and testing out governance practices prior to “reunification.” This would involve recruiting retired military officers, civil servants, and teachers from Taiwan to train cadres from the mainland in how to govern Taiwan (thereby conferring what they call “regime building experience”).
  • Importantly, the authors suggest that these activities will speed up the process of “reunification” by shaping political dynamics in Taiwan and encouraging what they call “anti-Taiwan independence” forces on the island to better organize and vocalize their positions.

Sources:
1. Radio France International, August 17, 2024
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/台湾/20240817-厦门大学呼吁尽快准备-接管台湾-并称没有类似香港50年不变问题-此文遭下架
2. CSIS website, August 5, 2024

Start Taiwan Takeover Preparations as Soon as Possible

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

Another Chinese Young Man Confronts CCP, Calls for Xi Jinping’s Resignation

Recently a Chinese young man has attracted attention by calling for the ouster of Xi Jinping using a wifi router to spread his message.

On August 14, Su Yutong, a Chinese freelance writer living in Germany, released a video on the web and stated: “A young person from China who has been promoting the movement to dismantle the Great Firewall (CCP’s internet censorship/blockade system) was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital on political charges. This morning, I received this video showing that he has once again confronted the CCP.” In the video, the young man shouted: “Oppose the CCP’s internet censorship and control of speech,” “No privileges, we want equality,” and “We need freedom of speech and internet freedom.” The video was recorded outdoors. The young man hoped that Chinese people would be able to “see the true face of the CCP.” The young man also mentioned that, in the past, he had used routers and other equipment to broadcast messages such as “Xi Jinping, step down.” The authorities issued a warrant for him as a “political criminal,” ransacked his home, and confiscated his equipment including routers, laser sound systems, transmitter modules, and mobile phones.

On August 16, Su Yutong posted again on the X platform again, identifying the young man as Yan Zhongjian, born in February 1999. Su received a message from a friend entrusted by Yan: the friend and Yan had agreed that, if Yan could not be contacted for a certain period of time, the friend would release Yan’s personal information and call on netizens to show concern and support for him.

The young man followed in the footsteps of several other dissidents in recent history. For example, in October 2022 Peng Lifa posted banners and played recordings denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and asking for the ouster of Xi Jinping. On July 30 of this year, Fang Yirong posted similar messages on an overpass in Hunan Province (see this ChinaScope briefing).

Source: Epoch Times, August 17, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/8/17/n14313098.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability