@CS - 6. page

On May 20, Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te was sworn into office. On the same day, Beijing announced sanctions against three American defense contractors: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Boeing Defense, Space & Security, for their involvement in arms sales to Taiwan.

On the next day, Beijing announced sanctions against Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, who served as the Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party before resigning in April this year. The Chinese government said it will “freeze” Gallagher’s movable and immovable assets and other types of property within China; prohibit Chinese organizations and individuals from engaging in transactions, cooperation, or other activities with him; and deny him a visa and entry into China.

Gallagher, 40, has served as a federal congressman from Wisconsin since 2017. He is a staunch China hawk, having strongly condemned Beijing’s malign policies and practices, and having repeatedly expressed firm support for Taiwan. In February of this year, Gallagher led a delegation from the U.S. Congress to visit Taiwan, meeting with then-President Tsai Ing-wen and President-elect Lai Ching-te.

Source: VOA, May 21, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-sanctions-ex-us-lawmaker-and-supporter-of-taiwan-20240521/7620716.html

On May 11, Xinhua published a critical commentary saying that the U.S. is the creator and exacerbator of the Ukraine crisis and declaring that China is innocent on the matter. The below is a partial translation of the article.

The crisis in Ukraine, ongoing for over two years, is chiefly attributed to the United States’ geopolitical ambitions. Viewing NATO as a tool for hegemony, the US spearheaded NATO’s eastward expansion, disregarding Russia’s security concerns and pushing for Ukraine’s integration into NATO. By persistently exacerbating the crisis, the US aims to maintain its global dominance. Providing significant military aid to Ukraine, it has fostered a proxy war against Russia, leveraging the turmoil to bolster its geopolitical interests and its sales of natural gas and arms. However, the U.S.’s motivations lie not in concern for Ukrainian well-being or global stability, but in preserving the hegemonic status of the U.S. By crafting a “Ukraine trap,” it has sought to entangle Russia and assert control over Europe, ultimately reshaping the global geopolitical landscape to its advantage.

The U.S. is well aware of its role in the Ukrainian crisis. However, because of this, the guilt-ridden U.S. continually shifts blame and deflects attention regarding the crisis. Not only has it spread false information following the eruption of the crisis, blaming Russia on all counts, but the U.S. has also attempted to unfairly implicate China, which has no connection to the crisis. Recently, the U.S. has absurdly claimed that China helped Russia establish the Russian defense industry. Before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China, the U.S. even threatened to sanction Chinese banks so as to hinder China’s ability to support Russian military production. China’s stance is clear: it is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it involved, and China has not engaged in any opportunistic behavior. China will not shoulder blame nor pay for others’ actions. The U.S. should stop smearing and pressuring China, and it should cease its unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies. Such irresponsible and deceitful behavior by the U.S. will only exacerbate the crisis, damage its own reputation, and backfire.

Source: Xinhua, May 11, 2024
http://www3.xinhuanet.com/world/20240511/2a8c6b098fa54506944831e7c1aaf29a/c.html

The Francis Scott Key bridge, located in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed on March 26th after being rammed by a cargo ship, the Dali, which lost control of its steering. Much of the bridge sank into the river within seconds of being rammed.

The accident immediately drew attention on Chinese social media. On Weibo, for example, a video of the accident has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. On Chinese social media platforms, where anti-American sentiment is prevalent, many netizens celebrated the incident. A Weibo blogger named “Air Sky Toner” wrote: “This is a really beautiful sight, like watching a movie; this bridge is free from now on.”

The bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Some Chinese netizens inferred that the bridge collapse signaled the decline of the United States. “It is not a good sign that this bridge collapsed,” one blogger wrote.

Some social media users also used the bridge collapse to mock American democracy. On the Chinese video website Bilibili, a commentary video with 24,000 likes said that the “a ship of democracy” caused the collapse of “a bridge of democracy.” The video went on to criticize the U.S.’ infrastructure problem.

False information about the accident spread widely on Chinese social media. A number of bloggers with large numbers of followers have claimed that the captain of the Dali was from Ukraine and that the accident was staged by the U.S. government. Some bloggers posted photos of the alleged Ukrainian captain’s credentials. The Associated Press found that a Ukrainian captain did indeed pilot the Dali years ago, from March 19 to July 27, 2016.

Some Chinese bloggers also claimed that CNN incorrectly reported that the collision was an attack from China. They posted screenshots with captions reading “A cargo ship loaded with Chinese goods attacked our bridge!” However, unlike Chinese media that often use the term “our country” to refer to China, American media, including CNN, rarely use that term to refer to the United States. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the screenshot was not from CNN, but from NBC’s local channel in Baltimore. In a statement to AFP, CNN said that it had never run a story like that; the image was fake, and the caption, font, and style are not CNN’s either.

Source: VOA, March 31, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/baltimore-china-disinformation-20240329/7549288.html

Radio Free Asia recently published an article on the American Fujian Association’s apparent internal division and conflict with the Chinese Consulate. The American Fujian Association is a U.S.-based organization that has long been regarded as a pro-Communist overseas Chinese organization with extensive ties to the Chinese consulate.

On the evening of March 18th, the American Fujian Association in New York held a swearing-in ceremony for its “Co-President” Liu Aihua at the Junhao Restaurant in Flushing, New York. The honorary chairman of the Fujian Association, Chen Xueduan, a “patriotic overseas leader” for the Chinese community in the U.S., openly berated the Chinese Consul-General in New York, Huang Ping. In an online video, Chen stood on stage with Liu and three other members, holding a microphone and loudly addressing the audience, “President Liu Aihua is now suppressed by someone, by whom? By the Chinese consulate!” “No matter who suppresses him, we are patriots [of China], we will always be patriots. Huang Ping, the Consul-General, is a puppet Consul-General. When he was in power, he was high and mighty; but when he gets put into prison, he can only cry!” Chen also asked the media present to spread his speech.

Chen’s words received enthusiastic response from the audience, both on and off the stage.

The American Fujian Association has a history of 82 years. Recent years have seen internal disputes within the organization, leading to internal division and multiple groups acting independently. It currently has “Co-Presidents.” The Chinese Consulate at New York supports “President” Chen Heng, and on March 16th Consul-General Huang Ping attended an 82nd anniversary celebration hosted by Chen. But Huang didn’t attend “President” Liiu Aihua’s swearing-in ceremony on March 18th.

When it comes to suppressing overseas democratic activists or attacking Falun Gong and other faith groups and ethnic minority groups, the Fujian Association members frequently act as convenient “enforcers” for the Chinese consulate. In recent years, the U.S. has intensified efforts to combat Beijing’s infiltration in the U.S. On April 18, 2023, the FBI arrested two leaders of the Fujian Overseas Chinese Association in New York, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, accusing them of operating a “secret police station (for China)” in Manhattan’s Chinatown and attempting to act as agents of China. Both of these individuals are key members of the Fujian Association.

Some commentators have said that Chen Xueduan’s berating of the Chinese Consul-General is a “call to desertion,” indicating that the Communist Party is about to collapse and its days are numbered.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 27, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/kw-03272024103015.html

During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in November 2023, he announced a plan to invite 50,000 American youths to study and exchange in China during the next five years. Since then, this five-year program has been highly-publicized in Chinese media.

Xinhua News Agency reported on March 17 that a group of 24 middle school students from Washington state, organized by the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, left San Francisco on March 16 for an 11-day visit to China. Other Chinese media have published subsequent reports about their trip. A Yibao article titled “Xi Jinping’s recruitment of America’s youngsters,” published on Feb. 16, 2024, stated that at least five groups of U.S. students completed trips to China as of January 2024. These groups include graduate students from Columbia University; table tennis players from Virginia; undergraduates from California State University, Long Beach; high school students from Muscatine, Iowa; and even elementary school students from Utah.

Political observers have remarked that Beijing likely wants to get something out of this exchange program. Since the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. federal government have taken a bipartisan stance against the CCP, Beijing is trying to gain influence through civil exchange as well as through local governments (e.g. winning over agricultural U.S. states by buying agricultural products from them), circumventing the federal government.

Source: Epoch Times, March 25, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/3/25/n14210335.htm