Geo-Strategic Trend - 80. page

On Sunday July 25, in a qualifying match, Chinese women’s gymnastics player Tang Xijing, chose Jiu Er, the end credits song of the Chinese TV series Red Sorghum as the background music for the competition.

The TV series Red Sorghum, starring the Chinese actress Zhou Xun, is adapted from the novel by Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan. Set in Shandong Province during China’s war against Japan between 1937 and 1945, it tells the story of a man and a woman who ended up being killed by the Japanese for participating in the resistance movement.

For many Chinese people, Jiu Er is a familiar melody that reminds them of the TV series and stories of flighting against the Japanese invasion. In addition, Tang also chose a Chinese patriotic song Me and My Motherland for the competition.

Chinese netizens overwhelmingly expressed support for Tang’s pick of this anti-Japanese song for the Tokyo Olympics.

Some posted, “I want to cry when I hear this song; we are strong.”

“The main business is to win. The side business is to take revenge.”

“Not only will the national anthem be played on Japanese soil, but also anti-Japanese songs will be on the game field.”

“(The pick of Jiu Er) is to protest Japan’s provocations in its history of invasion and on its meddling in the Taiwan Strait.”

“When the motherland is strong, you can go to the home of the people who bullied you and hit them in the face.”

“Win win win, we’ve won in spirit.”

However, a few netizens pointed out that it is unethical and against the spirit of the Olympics to play an anti-host song on the host’s home turf. On Twitter, some Japanese netizens expressed their “discomfort” and said that Tang’s action was “deliberately insulting to Japan” and “disrespectful to Japan”.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, July 27, 2021
http://www.czaobao.com/shiju/20210727/97286.html

Between July 2 and 9, the Consulate General of Japan in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Hong Kong Japanese Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey on the business environment in Hong Kong among more than 600 Japanese-owned companies and local catering companies operated by Japanese. The results showed that 56.5 percent of the respondents were “very worried” or “worried” about the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law. This represented an increase of 5.7 percentage points up from the previous survey in April.

When asked about the reasons for worrying about the national security law, most companies, (as high as 79.4 percent of them), expressed their worries about the “restricted information flow,” a surge of 13.8 percentage points from the last survey. 60 percent worried about “Hong Kong losing its ‘rule of law’ and ‘judicial independence,'” and 58.1 percent worried about “brain drain.” The rest of the reasons include “increased intervention from the Chinese government and a weakening of Hong Kong’s autonomy,” the “instability of Hong Kong society,” and the “ambiguous enforcement of the National Security Law.”

Although more than 60 percent of Japanese companies in Hong Kong believe “no change” in the current business environment compared to a year ago, many companies said that one year after the implementation of the national security law, some employees left Hong Kong with their children, some local distributors moved overseas, and 25.5 percent of the companies are considering reducing or withdrawing their investments from Hong Kong.

The survey also asked about the views of the those from the headquarters of Japanese companies in Hong Kong. 31.8 percent of the respondents gave a “pessimistic” answer. Many of them blamed the Japanese news reporting on Hong Kong. 46 percent of the companies said that the headquarters “urged them to reduce the size of their Hong Kong operations.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, July 267, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ac-07272021044949.html

Radio Free Asia Chinese Edition recently reported that the Canadian government announced that university researchers must pass a national security risk assessment when applying for government funding. This is to prevent intellectual property resources from falling into the hands of foreign governments or their agents. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has previously warned on many occasions that organizations or persons with ties to China and Russia are trying to steal intelligence from Canada. An Australian report pointed out that, under the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Canada has become the third most popular destination for scientists. Ottawa’s new policy is a good start. Unfortunately, the effect may be limited because, if these university researchers fail to get funding from Ottawa, they can still get it from other sources like Chinese institutions or companies, such as Huawei. Human Rights Watch, an international organization, pointed out that some university researchers deliberately failed to look into the source of funding or partners. The Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Francois-Philippe Champagne said that Ottawa’s new policy aims to protect intellectual property rights, and he is not worried that China may be unhappy with the required security reviews.

Source: RFA Chinese, July 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lf-07132021135355.html

Japan’s annual defense whitepaper, released on Tuesday July 13, has for the first time explicitly cited the importance of Taiwan’s stability. Japan’s Defense Ministry said in its white paper,“The stability of the situation around Taiwan is important, not only for the security of our country, but for the stability of the international community,”  “Our country must pay close attention to this, with an even greater sense of vigilance.”

The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that Japan’s 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters discovered that four vessels from the Chinese Maritime Police Bureau entered the “territorial waters of Japan” around the Senkaku Islands (also called the Diaoyutai Islands) at around 10:20 a.m. on July 14, and then began to enter the contiguous zone off the “territorial waters” around 11:55 a.m. According to the report, this is the second time after July 12 that Chinese official ships entered the “territorial waters of Japan” around the Senkaku Islands. It is also the 30th day this year. One of the ships is equipped with a machine gun like device. The Japanese Coast Guard patrol ship warned the Chinese official ship to leave the “territorial waters.”

Taiwan has welcomed Japan’s unusually strong position, but Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described the whitepaper’s wording as “extremely wrong and irresponsible.”

Source: Central News Agency, July 14, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202107140283.aspx

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that Nexperia (headquartered in the Netherlands), owned by Chinese company Wingtech, is in the process of acquiring Britain’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, Newport Wafer Fab (NWF). The move raised doubts about British national security. UK Prime Minister Johnson stated in the British Parliament last Wednesday that his national security adviser will look into the acquisition. The analysts expressed the belief that this obviously represents a reversal of the British government’s policy on this case. At the moment when the UK-China relationship is strained and the global chip shortage intensifies, the overseas investment situation of Chinese companies is increasingly under scrutiny. This acquisition case is particularly concerning. It is worth noting that, only one day before the Prime Minister made the comments in Parliament, his spokesperson told reporters that the government thought, “It would be inappropriate to intervene at this moment.” The Chinese government holds around a 30 percent stake in Wingtech.

Source: RFI Chinese, July 7, 2021
https://bit.ly/3k1bjbZ

On July 9, the Taliban spokesman stated that they have made territorial gains and secured 85 percent of the region in Afghanistan. They also see China as a friend and welcome China to return to invest in Afghanistan. In response to the comment, Hu Xijin, the Chief Editor of Global Times, published a post on weibo boasting that the Taliban and China are friends.

Hu wrote in the post: “Now you understand how stable and powerful China’s diplomacy is. The United States has been fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years. More than 2,000 soldiers have been killed. It cost the U.S. one trillion U.S. dollars. The Taliban sees the U.S. as an enemy, and the Afghan government sees the U.S. as a selfish escapee. China’s approach, however, makes us friends with both Kabul and the Taliban. What’s important is that we will always be friends with Afghanistan.”

People posted comments trashing Hu’s post. One person wrote, “Who agrees that you and the Taliban are friends?” “Are we at a point that we need to be friends with the Taliban and use it as an achievement to show off?” “My views of the world, life and values are completely destroyed.” “Do we have no friends?” “It turns out that terrorists are also politically correct. Those who commit so-called terrorist attacks in Hong Kong must be killed without mercy! Meanwhile, Taliban terrorists can be friends. As a person and a country, you really have no bottom line. ”

Source: 163.Com, July 12, 2012
https://www.163.com/dy/article/GEML1RSU055250DA.html

While July 1 was Canada’s National Day, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) in Canada held events to celebrate the centennial of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Since mid-June, the messages about the “July 1 Party Centennial Campaign” have been circulating on WeChat among Canadian users. The CSSA’s at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU), as well as the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver organized the event. The event encourages students to submit artistic and literary works to express their so-called “love for the country and the Party.” Words in praise of the CCP were everywhere in the works of the winners of the awards that the organizers announced. For example, “The Chinese Communist Party has led the Chinese people to miracles that have shocked the world,” “We were born under the red flag and grew up in the spring breeze, and the shining five stars are our faith.”

A student at the University of British Columbia came from an immigrant family in Hong Kong. He told Radio Free Asia that clashes between Chinese and other students on university campuses have already occurred over Hong Kong and Xinjiang issues. The CSSA’s way of doing things is weird. Not all CSSA members are international students, and many are Canadian citizens or residents.

This is one of numerous examples of how Chinese authorities influence campus affairs in Canada.

Source: Radio Free Asia, July 8, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/lf-07082021140950.html