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Mingpao: Tanzania Called Off China-Funded Port Construction Project

Mingpao, one of the primary Hong Kong newspapers, recently reported that the eastern African country Tanzania just called off the construction project at Bagamoyo Port. China was to fund the project at a total cost of US$10 billion. The goal was to turn Bagamoyo into a large city like China’s Shenzhen (a city next to Hong Kong known for its rapid growth). The project included railways and roads to oil fields. The aim was that, on completion, Tanzania would have built the largest port in Eastern Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the project agreement in March 2013. However, the newly elected Tanzanian President John Magufuli does not consider this project to be a critical investment. He indicated that the conditions of this project were “exploitative and awkward.” According to the agreement, China “rents” the port for a century (99 years) and Tanzania does not have a say on who else can come and invest in the port once it is operational.

Source: Mingpao, June 29, 2019
https://bit.ly/2JbMA0x

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Apple Daily: HK Chief Executive Polled Record Low Support

Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that the latest poll showed that Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor saw a free-fall in the level of her support after her handling of the two protests that were held (one involving a million residents and another involving nearly double that size). They were held to protest the government-proposed amendment of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (also known as the Extradition Bill). Carrie Lam’s support rate fell to 23 percent, according to the poll. Her opposition rate reached 67 percent. This is the lowest level since she took office in 2017. The poll also showed that she lost more support from the younger population and from the people who had a higher education. The opposition parties are calling for her resignation. The same poll showed the Hong Kong government suffered a support rate of 18 percent while the opposition rate was at 72 percent. This is the lowest point since July 2003. The number of residents polled who still trust the city’s government reached the lowest level since 1992. In terms of the economy, the quality of life and the political environment, the particular element that receives the most complaints remains the political environment.

Source: Apple Daily, June 25, 2019
https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20190625/1589799/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

Taiwan Reporter Resigned from Want China Times Because of the Newspaper’s Pro-China Change

A veteran news reporter, Liao Zhaoxiang, resigned from the Want China Times, one of the largest news media in Taiwan, criticizing the media because it has changed its position, lost its stance, and become an echo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Some background about the Want China Times follows: The China Times is a daily Chinese newspaper, one of the four largest newspapers in Taiwan. In the early 2000s, it purchased China Television and Chung T’ien Television and thus became a big media group in Taiwan. In 2008, the owner of the Want Want group, a Taiwan businessman who went to mainland China and focused on the market there, bought China Times and, in 2009, created the Want China Times Group. The newspaper has become a pro-CCP newspaper. Chien-Jung Hsu of National Dong Hwa University stated, “Want China Times seems to be a representative of the Xinhua News Agency in Taiwan.”

The New Talk website published Liao’s resignation letter that he sent to the management of the Want China Times. In his letter, Liao said that the main reason he chose to leave was that the company not only does not care about the first-line reporters’ judgments; it has also severely damaged Taiwan’s freedom of the press and democracy. He has become completely heart-broken and given up.

Liao pointed out that when he interviewed people, he was frequently criticized because the media created fake news. It was hard for him to defend the company because what people said was true.

Liao further pointed out that his conscience would not allow him to continue working there anymore. “If the company is selling a ‘social drug’ using the lie that it is letting employees get rich, turning news reporting into the  splitting of Taiwan society and creating social conflicts, then as employees, can we just tell people, ‘It is not my fault because I just did what my boss told me to do’? The reality is that society will view us as an accomplice.”

“My son is a fourth-grader. He is interested in history. He knows that China is a totalitarian country, without democracy, rule of law, or freedom of the press. He asked me one day, ‘Dad, you are a reporter. Why does your company keep saying bad things about Taiwan and praise mainland China when it does not have freedom of the press and arrests news reporters and human rights attorneys at will? If someday Taiwan is taken over by the CCP, will you be put in prison? What should I do?’ I couldn’t answer him, but instead kept silent.”

“Even a fourth-grader understands this basic principle. All my managers, do you know what kind of government you are supporting and what editorial policy you are taking? Do you know what you are doing is killing the freedom of press in Taiwan?”

Liao also criticized China Times for removing all materials from its website that are related to the Tiananmen Massacre, including the news and photos that China Times’ own reporter Xu Zongmao brought back. He was actually shot and has a PLA soldier’s bullet in his head from when he was doing news reporting in Beijing at that time.

Sources:
1. New Talk website, June 21, 2019
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2019-06-21/262746
2. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Times

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Lianhe Zaobao: Multiple Chinese Exporters Fined for Forging Labels in Cambodia

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the U.S. authorities have caught and fined multiple Chinese exporters because they were found to have forged Country of Origin labels. These Chinese exporters shipped goods to Cambodia where they forged “Made in Vietnam” labels in the Cambodia Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone. This is in line with an earlier report that Vietnamese Customs discovered several cases of illegal labels designed to bypass the new U.S. tariffs. The U.S. Embassy confirmed this incident. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is located 210 kilometers west of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. It’s an economic development zone that Cambodia and China constructed jointly. It is one of the symbolic projects of China’s One Belt One Road initiative. According to the World Bank Group, the Cambodian economy saw a 7.5 percent increase in 2018 due to the strong growth of exports to the United States.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, June 20, 2019
https://beltandroad.zaobao.com/beltandroad/news/story20190620-965996

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

BBC Chinese: Former Interpol Chairman Meng Hongwei Pled Guilty

BBC Chinese recently reported that, according to the Chinese authorities, former Interpol Chairman Meng Hongwei pled guilty to the charge of accepting bribes. Meng reportedly admitted in a Chinese court that he accepted a total of US$2 million in bribes. This happened between 2005 and 2017 when he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party branch at the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety, and when he was serving the positions of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Safety and the Director of the Chinese Marine Police Bureau. Meng was the first Chinese who became the Chairman of Interpol. His arrest was part of the large-scale anti-corruption movement that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been pushing. Meng’s wife, Grace Meng, received French political asylum this May and claimed her husband’s arrest was solely based on political grounds. Meng resigned from his post as the Chairman of Interpol.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 20, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-48703362

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Large Scale Rally in Taiwan to Say No to CCP “Red Media” and to Safeguard Democracy in Taiwan

According to Radio France Internationale, on Sunday June 23, a large number of Taiwanese gathered in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taiwan for a rally in protest against the infiltration of the mainland’s “Red Media” and to safeguard democracy in Taiwan. Chen Chih-han, a Taiwan Internet celebrity and Huang Kuo-chang, a Taiwan politician and member of New Power Party organized the rally. Despite the rainy weather, tens of thousands of people, many of whom were young people, attended the rally. In addition to voicing their opinions against “CCP totalitarianism” and the infiltration of the (CCP’s) “red media,” the organizers also called for the Taiwan government to impose necessary restrictions on issuing media licenses. Speakers at the rally vowed that Taiwan will not allow mainland media to influence Taiwan. Others criticized that, as mainland companies have entered the Taiwan market, they have also affected Taiwan’s Media. People in Taiwan should be on guard against the infiltration of the “red media.” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said earlier that the gathering expressed concern about the CCP’s infiltration into the media in Taiwan and she believed that it would also effectively raise everyone’s awareness.

Source: Radio France Internationale, June 23, 2019
http://cn.rfi.fr/20190623-%E5%8F%B0%E6%B9%BE%E6%B0%91%E4%BC%97%E5%A4%A7%E6%B8%B8%E8%A1%8C-%E6%8B%92%E7%BB%9D%E7%BA%A2%E8%89%B2%E5%AA%92%E4%BD%93%E6%B8%97%E9%80%8F/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Vietnam Tightens Inspections of Chinese Exports That Forge Vietnam As the Country of Origin

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the U.S tariffs against China are creating a significant challenge for Chinese exporters. More and more Chinese sellers are using a third country route in order to get their products into the United States. This circumstance places heavy pressure on Vietnam since Vietnamese Customs is now seeing a flood of fraud on manufacturing origin certificates. The Vietnamese government announced new rules and has increased the level of its penalties on illegal trade activities. In order to keep its positive trend on a rapid growth of exports to the U.S., Vietnam increased the cost and tightened up the verification process for “Made in Vietnam” labels under the name of protecting the reputation of the label and the nation. According to the U.S. data, in the first quarter, Vietnam saw a year-over-year 40.2 percent growth in exports that are being sent to the U.S. This has made Vietnam the top country that sees the fastest trade growth with the U.S. No wonder Vietnam is now willing to do anything to please the United States.

Source: Sohu, June 13, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/320230420_99994729

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

Thai Government Sues Taiwanese Businessman for Assisting Radio Broadcast to China

Jiang Yongxin, a Taiwanese business executive working in Thailand, was accused of illegally engaging in telecommunications broadcasting. The Thai police sued him earlier this year and the second trial will start next week. Jiang denied that he was engaged in telecommunications broadcasting. The U.S. based Sound of Hope Radio said that the case was an example of how the Thai government has lost its judicial sovereignty because of China’s pressure.

In 2018, Jiang, who was working in Bangkok, rented a vacation home in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand. He loaned the house to a Taiwanese friend from Taiwan. The Taiwanese friend, a volunteer working for the hope of the U.S. based Chinese-language radio network Sound of Hope Radio, set up a short-wave device to broadcast Chinese language programs.

In January last year, the Thai police arrested Jiang. The first trial was held in February of this year. The second trial will start next week. Jiang has denied the charge of alleged illegal telecommunication broadcasting.

Jiang said that during the police interrogation, he discovered that the Thai information that police had came from the Chinese government. His Thai lawyer also said that the Thai police were under great pressure from China. “My lawyer told me that this is only a small case. The prosecutor did not intend to sue, but because of the pressure from the Chinese embassy, they had to file the charge.”

Sound of Hope Radio is a radio station that Falun Gong practitioners in the United States set up. It uses a shortwave radio to broadcast Chinese programs to China all year round. The station issued a statement on Tuesday urging the Thai government to release Jiang Yongxin. Zeng Yong, the president of the radio station, revealed that the network has hundreds of underground launching stations in China’s neighboring countries and regions. In recent years the Chinese government has exerted increasing pressure on those countries to close those underground launch sites.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 12, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/xql-06122019152931.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend