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China Publishes Tough Law on ‘Taiwan Independence Elements,’ Including Death Penalty

On May 26, 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security, and Ministry of Justice jointly issued a document titled “Opinions on Lawfully Punishing Stubborn ‘Taiwan Independence’ Elements for Crimes of Splitting the State and Incitement of Splitting the State.”

The document defines ‘the crime of splitting the state’ as:

(1) Initiating or establishing “Taiwan Independence” separatist organizations, planning or formulating “Taiwan Independence” separatist action programs, plans, or schemes, or directing members of “Taiwan Independence” separatist organizations or other individuals to engage in activities that split the state or undermine national unity.

(2) Formulating, amending, interpreting, or repealing relevant regulations in the Taiwan region or through “referendums”, in attempt to change the legal status of Taiwan as part of China.

(3) Attempting to create “two Chinas,” “one China, one Taiwan,” or “Taiwan independence” in the international community by promoting Taiwan’s membership in international organizations whose members are limited to sovereign states or through official exchanges or military contacts.

(4) Abusing authority power to extensively distort or falsify the fact that Taiwan is part of China in the fields of education, culture, history, or news media, or suppressing parties, groups, or individuals that support the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and national unity.

(5) Other actions attempting to separate Taiwan from China.

It defines the principal offenders or those with particularly serious crimes shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years. Among them, those causing particularly serious harm to the state and the people, as well as those with particularly heinous circumstances, may be sentenced to death. Active participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than three years but less than ten years. Other participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of less than three years, detention, control, or deprivation of political rights.

Source: China Review News, June 21, 2024
https://bj.crntt.com/doc/1069/4/6/0/106946098.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=106946098&mdate=0621155631

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

Huawei Hires TSMC Talents to Build Out Chinese Semiconductor Capabilities

Financial journalist Emmy Hu recently revealed on her Facebook account “Emmy’s Drama Watch Time” (“Emmy追劇時間”) that Huawei is poaching talents from Taiwan’s chipmaker TSMC so that Huawei can expand beyond the telecommunications business into chip manufacturing. Huawei establishes new legal entities for such poaching operations, making it hard for outsiders to connect the dots back to Huawei.

As early as 2022, a TSMC employee informed Emmy Hu that Huawei had been conducting a lot of interviews with TSMC staff. Huawei poached a star TSMC plant manager using a legal entity “Sheng Wei Xu (昇维旭)” which claimed to be manufacturing memory chips. The interview questions posed were all about integrated logic circuits (logic ICs), however, and all the interviewees were Huawei personnel. “Peng Xin Wei (鹏芯微)” is another company established by Huawei. This company moved even faster in purchasing equipment than “Sheng Wei Xu.” Emmy Hu was told that Huawei aimed to poach 300 mid-to-senior level employees at once because Beijing realized that poaching a single person, like Liang Mong Song (currently the CEO of SMIC), would result in slower progress (in terms of setting up manufacturing capabilities) than poaching a larger number of people. According to Emmy, Huawei’s goal is to bring in an entire factory management team to ramp up operations quickly.

Emmy Hu mentioned that two years ago SMIC (a Chinese chipmaker) attempted to produce 7nm chips supporting Huawei’s new Mate60 smartphone, but SMIC could not handle the task by itself. Huawei masterminded the effort, putting to work its resources recruited from Taiwan. Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuits, an independent Chinese company, now follows Huawei’s direction; it used to produce memory chips but now has switched to producing logic ICs. There are now a total of seven such logic IC chip companies working with Huawei; they are refer to the “Seven Little Dragons.”

Source: Facebook, account “Emmy追劇時間,” June 5, 2024
https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1005948894485371&id=100052108087251&_rdr

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Visas Revoked as More Chinese Tourists Overstay in Japan

Recently there has been an increase in the number of Chinese tourists leaving their tour groups without authorization while visiting Japan. According to insiders in China’s tourism industry, more than ten groups of Chinese tourists have gone missing from their tours to Japan during May and June of this year.

Japan has decided to stop issuing visas to freelancers and low-income groups, and the Japanese government has revoked the visa issuance rights of 11 travel agencies in Guangdong and other provinces for tours to Japan. Another 15 provinces and cities have been added to a “high-risk” list and are being denied visas.

In recent months there have been multiple incidents of Chinese tourists from various travel agencies defecting from their tour groups and illegally overstaying in Japan during their visits. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent among 6-day tour groups from Guangdong to Osaka and Kyoto. As a result, Japan has tightened visa requirements for Chinese tourists across the board.

A leaked notice from the Japanese Consulate General in Guangzhou states that 11 travel agencies, including Guangdong Tieqing International Cultural Tourism Group and Shenzhen China Merchants International Travel Co., Ltd., have had their rights to apply for Japanese tourist visas revoked due to violations.

Travel industry insiders reveal that, in just the first part of June, there were already two tour groups from Guangdong with tour members defecting in Japan. Defectors included tourists from Fujian province. Japanese authorities are now requiring additional financial documentation from tour members when applying for visas.

Japan is denying visas to freelancers, those with low education levels or with no social insurance, as well as residents of provinces like Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Shandong, which are considered high-risk areas for illegal overstays when touring in Japan.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 18, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql1-06182024073312.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: Turkey to Increase Tariffs on All Chinese Cars

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that Turkey will increase tariffs on all cars imported from China by 40 percent in a bid to narrow the country’s trade deficit with China. Turkey’s Trade Ministry said that the move is meant to protect Turkey’s declining share of domestic production. The Ministry’s statement also mentioned that the additional tariffs will reduce Turkey’s current account deficit and to encourage domestic investments. The decision will take effect on July 7.

The additional tariffs will be at least US$7,000 per vehicle; if the 40 percent tariff (as calculated based on the price of the imported car) is less than US$7,000 then a minimum tariff of US$7,000 will be imposed.

Turkey previously raised tariffs on Chinese electric cars in 2023 to support the country’s first domestically produced electric car. The Turkish government is now taking measures to combat inflation, including the maintenance of tight monetary policy, the strengthening of fiscal positions, and the narrowing of the trade deficit. Last year, Turkey’s trade deficit was US$45.2 billion. At the end of May, the country’s inflation rate reached about 75.5 percent.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, June 8, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/world/story20240608-3866680

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFI Chinese: Amsterdam Replaces Chinese Monitoring Devices

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that the Amsterdam city councilor responsible for information and communications technology policies said that Amsterdam’s city government will stop using CCTV systems and cameras made in China due to concerns over human rights and espionage. Chinese-made devices are expected to be phased out within five years.

There are currently 1,280 Chinese-made cameras in Amsterdam used for various municipal tasks such as surveillance or monitoring of road traffic. In May 2023 the City Council passed a motion calling on the mayor to stop using monitoring devices made in China because they could transmit data and images to the manufacturer, to the Chinese government, or both. There are also concerns that Chinese camera manufacturers may be complicit in human rights abuses in China, including abuses against the Uyghurs.

All organizational units in the city of Amsterdam must look for alternatives to Chinese equipment; each organizational unit can assess alternatives’ feasibility and cost on its own. The city government will also ban intermediary suppliers from sourcing from Chinese manufacturers.

The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) said many municipalities are struggling to resolve the issue of dependence on Chinese devices. The VNG will share details of the Amsterdam procurement contract terms and incentives with all other municipalities.

Source: RFI Chinese, June 11, 2024
https://tinyurl.com/bdrdvk7z

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: U.S. was ASEAN’s Largest Export Market in Q1

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that, from January to March of this year, the exports to the United States by member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surpassed their exports to China. This was the first time in six quarters that ASEAN exports to the U.S. have surpassed exports to China. Trade activity in the region appears to be shifting with the reorganization of global supply chains.

According to statistics reported by the ASEAN Secretariat as well as ASEAN member governments and local media, ASEAN’s exports to the United States in the first quarter this year were US$67.2 billion, exceeding the US$57 billion in exports to China. Experts expressed the belief that this trend reflects that the United States is purchasing more and more semiconductors and electronic components from ASEAN markets while China’s economy continues to exhibit sluggishness.

Malaysia’s exports to the United States in the first quarter increased by eight percent year-over-year, while Malaysian exports to China decreased by 3.3 percent year-over-year. Vietnam’s Q1 exports to the United States increased by 24 percent year-over-year to US$25.7 billion, the highest total among ASEAN countries, far exceeding Thailand’s US$12.6 billion and Singapore’s US$12 billion.

Source: CNA, June 13, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202406130343.aspx

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

Philippine Mayor Alice Guo Suspended Amid Allegation of Being Chinese Spy

Alice Guo (Guo Huaping), the 35-year-old mayor of Bamban City in Tarlac Province, Philippines, has been suspended from work after being accused of being a Chinese spy and of involvement in a scam operation. Alice Guo’s background is quite mysterious. In 2021, she suddenly emerged and registered to run for mayor of Bamban City. She won the election smoothly.

The dynamics of Chinese influence over Philippine politics have changed, as relations between the Philippines and China worsened in recent years.

There are many immigrants from Fujian Province, China, in the Philippines, and Fujianese leaders have significant influence there. During presidential elections in the Philippines, the Chinese diaspora leaders and businessmen spend significant amounts of money financing the campaigns of their preferred politicians, as having their preferred president in office results in several years of prosperity for their businesses. They maintain close ties with the Chinese Communist Party’s Department of United Front Works as well as with China’s diplomatic and intelligence departments; in the past these Fujianese diaspora leaders and businessmen have played key roles in the Philippines during moments that Beijing considers critical.

In March of last year, the Philippine police raided a location in Bamban which was disguised as a POGO site (a local term for an offshore gambling venue). The venue was actually a scam center; the police rescued nearly 700 individuals, including 202 Chinese nationals and 73 people from other countries, who had been forced into “online romance scams.” Alice Guo was found to own half of the land involved in the POGO operation, which was located right behind her office. Alice Guo owns a helicopter and a Ford Expedition SUV.

Source: Creaders.net, June 4, 2024
https://news.creaders.net/world/2024/06/04/2739029.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Xinhua Report: Middle East Battlefield Notes: Iraqi KFC Attacked

Xinhua published a report from the middle east named “Middle East Battlefield Notes: KFC in Iraq Attacked.” The following are the excerpts from the report.

Recently, attacks on American businesses have been occurring frequently in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. On May 26, an explosive device was thrown at a KFC on Palestine Street. The next day, a group of masked men armed with guns and clubs vandalized a KFC in the Karada district. On the same day, another American restaurant, Chili House and Lee’s, was also attacked. In the early hours of May 30, a flashbang attack targeted a Caterpillar store in Baghdad. On the evening of June 3, angry protesters stormed the KFC on Palestine Street and vandalized another Chili House and Lee’s restaurant in a different district.

Analysts believe these American businesses have become targets of attacks because of the U.S.’ biased stance towards Israel in the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. has consistently supported Israel, refusing to adjust its policy or to acknowledge that Israel has crossed a “red line.”

“Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. has been indulging Israel, continuously sending arms, and ignoring the fact that Gaza has become a hell on earth. How many more innocent lives must be lost before the US stops?” said Baghdad resident Ali emotionally to the (Chinese) reporter.

Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last October, large and small anti-American protests have been frequently occurring in Baghdad. Iraqi Islamic resistance organizations have launched hundreds of attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria as well as on Israeli targets. There have been constant demands from the Iraqi government, militia forces, and the public for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. After Israel attacked the Rafah refugee camp, Iraqi Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr called for the closure of the U.S. embassy in Iraq and the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador.

The Iraqis’ anti-American sentiment is as hot as the current 45-degree Celsius heat in Baghdad. The KFC restaurants, instead of welcoming a bustling crowd of customers, have faced wave after wave of attacks by “protesters.” The U.S. government’s unjust stance has forced its businesses to pay the price.

Source: Xinhua, June 5, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240605/22261cb6770b4c34954df0b15e1c8ce1/c.html

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