Geo-Strategic Trend - 80. page

On June 1, China’s General Administration of Customs announced a list of unqualified imported children’s products. Swedish clothing brand H&M and U.S. sports brand Nike are on the list for using hazardous materials. H&M and Nike were targets of a boycott in China after Chinese netizens unearthed old statements from the brands stating that they had taken a stand against cotton sourced from the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang over concerns about reports of forced labor involving the Muslim Uyghur minority.

The official website of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China reported the quality of some imported children’s products investigated over the past year, involving 81 batches of imported children’s products in five categories: clothing, toys, toothbrushes, shoes, and pacifiers and bottles. Among them, ten brands including H&M, Nike, MUJI, ARCELO BURLON, Bonton, GAP, GU, mikiHOUSE, STORY LORIS, and ZARA allegedly failed to pass the standard for rubbing color fastness, or the ability to sustain the original color of dyed fabrics when rubbing. GAC claimed there is a risk that dyes or harmful substances may be absorbed by the human body through the skin, mouth and other health hazards.

Source: Central News Agency, June 1, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202106010379.aspx

China’s state media People’s Daily reported the official launch of a 100 MW solar power plant in Kaposvár, Hungary last week. The project, built by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC), is expected to generate 130 million kilowatts of electricity per year, saving 45,000 tons of standard coal and reducing 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions after it is connected to the grid.

The Kaposvár plant is the largest solar power plant in Hungary in terms of installed capacity. The paper quoted the Hungarian Minister of Innovation and Technology, Laszlo Palkovics, “The ‘Belt & Road Initiative’ is highly compatible with Hungary’s policy of ‘opening up to the east.’ The Kaposvár solar power plant is a key project of cooperation between Hungary and China in the field of clean energy.”

The paper continued, “Due to the high proportion of coal in the energy structure, Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are generally facing the challenge of energy transition. … CEE countries have set their own emission reduction targets and energy transition tasks and are vigorously investing in hydrogen, nuclear, solar, wind and other clean energy. Many Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the energy transition of CEE countries. Many Chinese manufacturers of new energy vehicles, lithium battery and parts have set up factories in CEE countries. A large number of green, low-carbon, eco-friendly and popular clean energy projects have been steadily promoted. Projects such as the Mozura wind farm in Montenegro, the combined cycle power plant in Pančevo, Serbia, and the hydropower plant in Dabar, Bosnia and Herzegovina have completed or started construction, bringing huge economic and environmental benefits to the local communities.”

The report also mentioned the solar power plant in Poland. The China-Central and Eastern Europe Investment Cooperation Fund invested in it and acquired it. In February, the plant’s first batch of four projects were officially completed and connected to the grid after one year of construction. Poland’s Minister of Climate and Environment Michał Kurtyka said, “By 2040, half of Poland’s installed power generation capacity should have zero-emissions. We very much hope that Chinese companies actively participate in the development of Poland’s clean energy industry and look for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation opportunities.”

Source: People’s Daily, June 3, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-06/03/nw.D110000renmrb_20210603_5-17.htm

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, passed a motion on May 26 expressing its strongest condemnation of “the various human rights violations that China has committed against its ethnic minorities and religious groups.” It called on China to grant the UN High Commissioner access to “re-education camps” in Xinjiang. The resolution from the parliament of the first European country who joined China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” certainly dealt a blow to China.

The motion shows that the pro-China trade and economic policy of the former Italian government has begun to falter. In particular, since he became prime minister in February this year, Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, has come to the forefront of the European Union’s efforts to strengthen its tough stance on China. Draghi had recently invoked its so-called Golden Power to block China’s takeover of a semiconductor firm in Italy.

The Chamber of Deputies did not adopt the use of the term “genocide”, which has been used by the Canadian and U.S. governments. In Europe, the British Parliament first proposed to adopt the finding that the Chinese government’s serious and systematic violations against the Uighurs in Xinjiang were genocide. Because the discussion of “genocide” caused a serious political division, the motion ultimately chose to avoid the word.

The motion calls on the Draghi government and EU partner countries to take a “firm stand” against China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which include illegal birth control, the repression of religious freedom, forced labor in detention camp factories, arbitrary detention and the use of digital technology for surveillance purposes.

Laura Harth, campaign director of Safeguard Defenders, a human rights non-governmental organization, told Radio Free Asia, “The bill was debated in Parliament and the media made a big deal out of it. Before it was very difficult to discuss the Uighur issue in Italy, but the epidemic from China has significantly changed the attitude of the MP’s.”

Italy, single-handedly signing the “Belt and Road Memorandum” with Beijing among EU member states, has been seen as an important bridgehead for China to conquer EU. The Italian public began to see the other side of China upon the outbreak of the epidemic, as well as from receiving the fake news spread by Chinese diplomats on Twitter, claiming that Italians were grateful for Chinese aid and were playing the Chinese national anthem. In March, Deputy Foreign Minister Marina Sereni summoned the Chinese Ambassador to protest against the sanctions that  China imposed on several European parliamentarians and to reiterate Italy’s position in defense of human rights and freedoms.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 31, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/cl-05312021160148.html

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to the British National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, China became Britain’s largest supplier. This broke Germany’s number one position which it had held since 1997. In the first quarter, imports from China increased by 66 percent, to 16.9 billion pounds. In the meantime, imports from Germany declined by a quarter to 12.5 billion pounds. The increase on the China side was the direct result of the high demand for the personal protection products (PPP) for the pandemic. The German decline was largely caused by the shrinking car sales, also due to the pandemic. At the moment, the top five importing countries for the UK are China, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands and Belgium. China’s exports to Britain are mainly in three categories: machinery products, electronic equipment, and various chemical products. Britain’s exports to China grew mainly in the areas of machinery and transportation equipment. In addition to cars and fossil fuels, British exports also include products in the pharmaceutical industry and material manufacturing. London is the one city alone that has ranked number five among all British exporting areas.

Source: Sina, May 27, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2021-05-27/doc-ikmxzfmm4907145.shtml

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Hong Kong government just officially announced the suspension of the operation of the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (HKETCO) in Taiwan, which is the Hong Kong government representative’s office. The announcement clarified that the suspension has nothing to do with the current pandemic situation in Taiwan. This move is widely considered as the first step in closing down The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong, which is the representative office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Hong Kong. Currently the Hong Kong government has already stopped the renewal of visas to the personnel of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong. In the past few years, since Taiwan strongly supported the democracy movement in Hong Kong and the movement against the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Taiwanese government has had a difficult relationship with the Hong Kong government. Analysts expressed the concern that the suspension, along with the potential closure of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong will bring a lot of difficulties for the Hong Kong residents who want to move to Taiwan.

Source: LTN, May 18, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3536877

Primary Hong Kong news media Sing Tao News Group recently reported that the Vatican just announced the surprising appointment of Stephen Chow as the Bishop of Hong Kong. There has been no Bishop since January 2019, when Michael Yeung passed away after holding the position for less than two years. Chow’s appointment was seen as a surprise since he was not previously mentioned as one of the likely candidates for the position. Chow is recognized as a person with a gentle personality and the intent to facilitate collaboration. The Vatican’s choice appears to be a balance between Beijing and the local Catholic communities. Chow is the current Provincial superior of the Chinese Jesuit Province and is serving as the supervisor of both Wah Yan colleges in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. He commenced his doctoral studies at Harvard University in 2000 and was granted a Doctor of Education six years later. After last year’s Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, as the supervisor of two schools, Chow reminded his students to be careful about the legal consequences that one’s actions can bring.

Source: Sing Tao, May 18, 2021
https://bit.ly/3oEpDaH