Geo-Strategic Trend - 32. page

Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that a Taiwanese Army Colonel surnamed Xie is suspected of leaking national defense secrets to a designated intermediary in China. The Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office recently ordered the investigation; Xie and others were questioned and their homes searched, leading to arrests for violating the Criminal Code’s provisions on offenses related to foreign states.

Colonel Xie was stationed at the 601st Special Forces Brigade in Longtan District, Taoyuan City. He is suspected of recruiting spies within the Taiwanese military. Xie’s brigade is one of the Army’s most powerful aerial firepower units, responsible for significant defense tasks in the northern region of Taiwan including the central Taipei area.

The ongoing investigation into Xie revealed that he may have developed an intelligence-gathering spy network comprising active-duty and retired Taiwanese military personnel. According to compiled data from court records and reports by Taiwan’s mainstream media, at least 21 active-duty or retired Taiwanese military officers with ranks of captain or higher have been convicted of engaging in espionage activities for China in the past decade.

Source: Deutsche Welle, August 2, 2023
https://www.dw.com/zh/再爆共谍案台陆军中校涉嫌泄密被羁押/a-66416539

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg has become the first German university to suspend cooperation with the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The university cited concerns about the potential risk of espionage by Chinese students as the reason for the decision.

The CSC is a Chinese government agency that is responsible for providing scholarships to Chinese students who want to study abroad. The agency has been accused of using its scholarships to control Chinese students who study abroad.

In 2022, a report by the German newspaper Die Zeit found that the CSC was requiring Chinese students who studied in Germany to sign agreements that prohibited them from criticizing the Chinese government or participating in political activities. The report also found that the CSC was requiring Chinese students to maintain contact with the Chinese embassy in Germany and to return to China after completing their studies.

The CSC has denied allegations that it has engaged in censorship and control. The agency said that its scholarships are designed to help Chinese students gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the global economy.

The suspension of cooperation between University of Erlangen–Nuremberg and the CSC is a sign of the growing tensions between Germany and China. The two countries have been at odds over a number of issues, including trade, human rights, and the South China Sea. The suspension of cooperation is likely to have a significant impact on German-Chinese relations. The university is one of the most prestigious in Germany, and it is a major center for research and innovation.

Source: Deutsche Welle, July 29, 2023
https://p.dw.com/p/4UXSZ

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, the 24 countries surveyed generally have negative views on China’s foreign policy and few countries believe China will do the right thing in international affairs.

Around 57 percent surveyed believe that China interferes in the affairs of other countries to a large or considerable extent. Nearly 70 percent of the respondents in the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Japan and South Korea believe that China interferes in the affairs of other countries. Among the 24 countries, the median negative perception of China is 67 percent; among them, 13 countries have a negative perception reaching historic highs, ranging from 34 to 87 percent.

The negative perception of China in developed countries has always been higher than that in middle-income countries. However, this year the negative opinion of major middle-income countries has also increased. Among middle-income countries, the negative opinion of China held in Argentina, Brazil and India reached record high levels ranging from 34 to 67 percent. Among high-income countries, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Australia have also reached record high negative opinions on China, ranging from 51 to 87 percent.

The survey asked Americans to list the countries that pose the greatest threat to the United States, and only three countries made the list, China (50 percent), Russia (17 percent) and North Korea (2 percent). The survey also showed that, in the United States, Canada, and most Western European and Asia-Pacific countries, about half of the people said they have no confidence in the Chinese government at all. In Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, however, the majority of respondents have confidence in the Chinese government.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, July 28, 2023
https://www.kzaobao.com/shiju/20230728/143706.html

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that Pope Francis has backed down on his earlier position, agreeing to formally recognize Beijing’s pick of Shen Bin as the new bishop of Shanghai. Beijing placed She Bin in this position three months ago.

Although the Vatican agreed to recognize Shen Bin, it criticized China’s unilateral decision on personnel as “disregarding the spirit of dialogue and cooperation.” The Bishop position of the Shanghai Diocese had been vacant for ten years since the previous bishop Jin Luxian passed away in 2013. Father Ma Daqin, once seen as a successor to Jin Luxian, was placed under house arrest after he resigned from his positions in the official Chinese Patriotic Association. The Vatican said in April that they only learned about China’s appointment of Shen Bin from media reports.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that the Pope’s decision to accept Shen Bin as the Shanghai bishop is for the benefit of the Shanghai Diocese and to promote dialogue with the Chinese authorities. Parolin also said China’s move runs counter to the “spirit of cooperation” outlined in the 2018 agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops.

China and the Vatican have had no formal diplomatic relations since the Communist Party took power and expelled foreign priests in 1951. However, the two sides do have a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops, originally signed in 2018 and extended for two-year periods in 2020 and 2022. The wording of the agreement has been kept secret.

Source: DW Chinese, July 16, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/mrj3nwv5