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Xinhua Commentary: The Closer South Korea Is to NATO, The Further it is from Being Safe

Xinhua published a commentary on South Korea’s growing closer to the NATO alliance. It blamed NATO for “causing division and chaos” in the world. The follow are excerpts from the commentary:

In recent years, NATO has extended its reach into the Asia-Pacific, using tactics such as drumming up security anxiety to attract countries like South Korea and Japan, steadily increasing its power projection in the region.

Regarding the U.S.-led “shift of NATO into the Asia-Pacific,” the South Korean government appears to be compliant. NATO’s global disruptions, originating from the Cold War, are well-known. As a Cold War relic, NATO still adheres to zero-sum and confrontational thinking, constantly seeking geographical and operational expansion under U.S. leadership, repeatedly provoking martial conflicts.

Since the end of the Cold War, wherever NATO extends its influence, it causes division and chaos: bombing the Southern Alliance, launching the Afghanistan War in the name of “counterterrorism,” invading Iraq, bombing Libya, escalating the Ukraine crisis — all these have resulted in severe disasters for local populations.

As the world’s largest military organization, NATO fundamentally serves as a tool for U.S. hegemony. NATO’s aggressive expansion into the Asia-Pacific seeks to replicate its strategies of provocation and confrontation from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, posing numerous harms without bringing any benefits. The South Korean government should recognize that continuously strengthening cooperation with NATO is akin to “inviting the wolf into the house.” NATO’s eastward expansion in the Asia-Pacific will only stir regional tensions, triggering confrontations or even a “new Cold War” or “new hot war.” This expansion goes against current trends, it reverses the course of history, and it is not in the interest of the people.

Source: Xinhua, January 3, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240103/b2c6fe7f947542268f4d3d1d89a91f64/c.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Near One Billion Chinese Have Per-Capita Disposable Income Less Than 2,000 Yuan Per Month

The Chinese government recently released data on income distribution within the Chinese populace. One data point said that 964 million people in China have monthly income less than 2,000 Yuan (US $282). This statistic sparked hot discussion on the internet. The news followed a statement in 2020 by Li Keqiang, China’s former premier, that about 600 million Chinese people have monthly income less than 1,000 Yuan (US $141). The data were gathered by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission’s Department of Employment, Income Distribution and Consumption as well as the China Institute of Income Distribution at Beijing Normal University.

All the major mouthpieces of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) remained silent on this topic, as the data makes the CCP look bad. NetEase, a major internet portal in China, published an article to “clarify the issue,” i.e. to make the picture look less dismal. It stated that the statistic regarding 964 million people’s income did not pertain to their monthly income but rather to their per-capita monthly disposable income. Per-capita figures are averaged across a larger number of people, including those who are not active in the workforce (the actual number of working people in China is reportedly less than 900 million).

Editor’s Note: Even if the clarification published by NetEase is correct, a per-capita disposable income of less than $282 per month still means that these 964 million people, the majority of the Chinese populace, are near the poverty level struggling to make ends meet.

Source: NetEase, December 30, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/IN6MM7PO0553XH85.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources

Xi Asked Chinese Diplomats to Continue Being “Wolf Warriors”

On December 29, 2023, Xi Jinping met with the diplomats attending the 2023 Annual Conference of Foreign Envoys and delivered a speech. Xi urged Chinese diplomats to continue being “wolf warriors”. Some key points from the speech are translated below:

  • “First, remember the original mission of the communist party and be loyal to the party. Loyalty to the Party, loyalty to the country, and loyalty to the people are the glorious traditions of the diplomatic front.”
  • “Second, be a daring and courageous innovator. Actively confront challenges and come up with practical solutions.”
  • “Third, dare to struggle and be skilled in struggles, to be defenders of national interests.”

Source: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, December 29, 2023
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/web/wjdt_674879/gjldrhd_674881/202312/t20231229_11215237.shtml

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

CCP’s Tactics to Influence People in Taiwan

The director of Taiwan’s Black Bear Institute, Shen Boyang, revealed new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tactics focused on influencing Taiwan’s elections and shaping public opinion. Shen outlined the CCP’s “raising, enticing, and attacking” strategy, part of the CCP’s united front work, where the CCP first supports individuals financially then pressures them to promote CCP-friendly narratives in Taiwan.

Starting 2014, the CCP changed its strategy to focus primarily on Taiwanese youth. The new strategy is known as “three middles and one youth” (“三中一青”): focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises, middle and low-income groups, central and southern regions, and youth. To target young people, the CCP’s online army (“the 50 cent army”) upload content to each of approximately 200 YouTube channels every day.

For example, during the COVID pandemic, the CCP created a channel to attack the policy and efforts of Chen Shih-chung, then Taiwan’s Minister of Health and Welfare. The channel had 30 million views in Taiwan. The CCP also created the supporting group accounts of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-teh on Facebook. After attracting a large number of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters there, the CCP started to post messages attacking Taiwanese politicians and policies.

Shen Boyang mentioned two series on TikTok – one called “DPP Resign” and another called “The DPP’s Domestic Policies Are Incompetent”. These two series garnered a total of 52 million views in Taiwan this year. Shen warned that ifTikTok users see that 99% of the news is about one party’s problems, he might think that the party is truly incompetent [being influenced by the Chinese propaganda].

Source: Epoch Times, December 31, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/12/31/n14147377.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Former President of Micronesia: The CCP Coerces, Bribes, and Infiltrates Pacific Island Countries

David Panuelo, the Former President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), stated that Beijing is infiltrating various Pacific island nations through economic coercion, bribery, and other means.

He gave an example, stating that when the Vice President of Micronesia was still a senator, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to bribe him with a bag full of money, but he refused.

He said that Chinese diplomatic personnel contacted him when he was

He mentioned that during his visit to Beijing, Chinese diplomatic personnel specialized in Pacific island nations contacted him to conveyed the intentions of the CCP leader, Xi Jinping. They emphasized that China would “fulfill all requests made by Micronesia.”

In July of last year, when he traveled to Fiji to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum, he was followed by two Chinese men. Micronesia discovered that they were working at the Chinese Embassy in Fiji, and one of them was an intelligence officer.

Source: Epoch Times, December 1, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/12/1/n14128093.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

China Concedes in Dispute with Lithuania over Taiwanese Representative Office, Lifts Sanctions

China recently lifted the severe trade restrictions imposed on Lithuania after the Baltic state established a “Taiwanese Representative Office” in late 2021.

The sanctions were part of Beijing’s vigorous efforts to prevent  other countries around the world from establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Representatives of the Chinese government said that it would only be permissible for the Taiwanese office in Lithuania to be referred to as a “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office,” and that the terminology “Taiwanese Representative Office” was unacceptable. Under normal diplomatic relations between sovereign states, a similar outpost of one country within another would be called an “Embassy.”

German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on the new development in China-Lithuania relations: the Chinese government has ended its attempt at “economic coercion,” and the name “Taiwanese Representative Office” will remain despite Beijing’s criticism. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised Lithuania, saying that the small country had won the principles-based fights.

Lithuania conducts trade with China worth tens of millions of euros. China’s restrictive measures led to an 80% drop in Lithuania’s 2022 exports to China. The EU raised the issue of Chinese-Lithuanian trade with the World Trade Organization at the end of 2022.

Many EU countries, including Eastern European countries, no longer see China as a favorable partner. Last year, Baltic countries Latvia and Estonia followed Lithuania’s lead in withdrawing from the China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC) initiative, also known as the 14+1 initiative (formerly 17+1). These Baltic states have established trade offices with Taiwan. The Czech Republic also got closer to Taiwan, deviating from its historically-close ties with China. China’s support of Russia during the Russia-Ukraine war further alienated many countries in the EU.

Facing serious economic challenges domestically, China now seeks to ease relations with Western countries. This recent move on trade with Lithuania is one such effort, potentially lightening tensions with the European Union (EU) ahead of the upcoming China-EU Summit. In another such effort, Beijing has cancelled travel visa requirements for citizens of five different EU countries, enabling easier travel to China.

Source: Back China, December 3, 2023
https://www.backchina.com/news//2023/12/03/889175.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Consular Volunteer Programs: Another of the CCP’s Long-Armed Control Mechanisms

According to a report by Spain-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, Beijing has established a “Consular Volunteer” mechanism over the past decade. The Consular Volunteer Programs, which operate out of Chinese consulates in foreign countries, engage in information gathering, infiltration, and surveillance globally. Beijing does not notify host countries about such programs, violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The report follows Safeguard Defenders’ disclosure last year of over 100 overseas police stations established by the Chinese government in more than fifty countries.

Such “Consular Volunteer networks” have been established in several dozen Chinese overseas communities, including in the U.S., Belgium, Sweden, Italy, the U.K., Spain, Greece, Portugal, France, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Turkey, Chile, Malaysia, Japan, the UAE, South Africa, and other countries across five continents. The report by Safeguard Defenders has released an investigative report titled “China’s Consular Volunteers.”

According to the report, the programs would recruit Chinese overseas individuals, some unpaid but provided with operational expenses directly managed by the consulate. Working as “volunteers,” these individuals are controlled by the Chinese government to engage in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) united front work.

The CCP’s integraiton of overseas united front networks with consular services has enabled it to systematically obtain personal information, home addresses, and contact details of different targets. The gathered information may be used to systematically harm or manipulate overseas groups or use coercive means against those who have political views unaligned with Beijing.

The Safeguard Defenders report noted that the G7 group issued a joint statement after its May 2023 summit in Hiroshima, explicitly demanding that China comply with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Just a few months later, China’s State Council promulgated a set of “Consular Protection and Assistance Regulations,” effective starting September 1, 2023, which encouraged Chinese overseas consulates to recruit volunteers and to recognize and reward the volunteers’ performance.

Sources:

Radio Free Asia, November 22, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/hx2-11222023091732.html

SafeguardDefenders.com, November 21, 2023
https://safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/chinas-consular-volunteers

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Pro-CCP Crowd Attacked Anti-CCP Protesters During Xi Jinping’s Visit to San Francisco

Chinese Embassies and Consulates in the United States organized many Chinese associations and student associations to welcome Xi Jinping when he attended the APEC meeting and the Biden-Xi Summit in San Francisco from November 15 to 17. These pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) people outnumbered the anti-CCP protesters by several times. Over a dozen incidents were reported where pro-CCP people attacked anti-CCP protesters and injured them.

A representative of the Chinese Democratic Party, which opposes the CCP and is banned in mainland China, said that 24 of the group’s members were assaulted by individuals associated with pro-CCP overseas groups, resulting in several injuries. The China Democracy and Human Rights Alliance, as well as the Democracy Front, reported that several of their protesters were also assaulted.

Protester Jia Junwei told Voice of America that “They chased me continuously. After surrounding me with the Chinese flag, a woman in her forties or fifties knocked me down. Then, they kicked my head, and used the flagpole to attack my head. Later, I was taken to the hospital.” Hong Kong protester Zhou Qihong, 74, was assaulted twice on November 15 and 17 in different locations by pro-Communist thugs. Topjor Tsultrim, a member of the Free Tibet organization, informed Voice of America, “At least 30 Tibetan protesters were beaten by pro-CCP groups. The attack at the airport protest site on November 17 was the most intense one against the Tibetan protesters. Three young Tibetan university students were attacked by over 20 Chinese individuals with metal rods, resulting in head injuries and broken bones. Eventually, they had to be taken to the hospital. On the same day, several Tibetans were struck with flags, stabbed with iron rods, and women’s hair was pulled. One of our activists was recording everything when her phone was snatched from her and thrown into the river.”

The San Francisco police didn’t arrest any pro-CCP persons. They did arrested protester Jie Lijian, however.

Jie was released from the San Francisco County Jail without bail on November 20. He told Voice of America, “We were peacefully protesting, and people from Chinese overseas groups attacked my back and head with flagpoles and steel pipes. I began vomiting and needed to use the restroom. In the process of finding a restroom, I was isolated and arrested by the police in an alley.” Jie also said, “If I didn’t defend myself in a situation where my head was being attacked with steel pipes, I wouldn’t be here speaking with everyone. I might have been beaten to death by the other party.”

Many human rights activists believe these attacks should not be allowed to happen in the U.S. They show the CCP’s long-armed influence on U.S. soil. Chinese human rights groups and pro-democracy activists have kept tally of beatings and injuries by the pro-CCP groups; they are planning to provide evidence criminal conduct to the FBI and Congress.

Source: Voice of America, November 22, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/congress-urged-to-probe-attacks-on-chinese-dissidents-in-xi-jinping-protest-20231121/7364581.html

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