Geo-Strategic Trend - 93. page

Well-known new Chinese news site The Paper recently reported that on January 9, North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, delivered a speech at the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea describing the current relationship with South Korea as “on the brink of collapse.” Coupled with the speech, North Korea has been publishing information about its plans for tactical nuclear weapons, nuclear submarines, multiple warhead technology and hypersonic missiles. The message to the outside world is that North Korea will continue its nuclear ambitions and the work is focusing on nuclear weapon reliability and the expansion of tactical options. Researchers from the American Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences indicated that Kim is trying to send signals to the new U.S. administration and to firm up North Korea’s “bargaining chips.” The intent is to mount pressure on the U.S. and to demonstrate that North Korea is not eager to go back to the negotiation table, especially when Biden’s previous position was not to meet with Kim unconditionally.

Source: The Paper, January 12, 2021
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_10754474

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hong Kong just released its findings from a study it conducted between December 11 and January 4. The survey was among the 1,400 members of the HK Chamber. The results showed that 61 percent of the respondents expressed the belief that Hong Kong’s business environment last year was unstable and had deteriorated over time. More than 40 percent of the respondents were pessimistic about the city’s outlook for 2021. The report also showed that around one third of the interviewees said Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a global business center has decreased in the past year. Experts widely believed the Pandemic and numerous social events, such as the movement calling for democracy and freedom and the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, significantly impacted the business environment of Hong Kong.

Source: HKET, January 12, 2021
https://bit.ly/2XNMmnW

Less than a week before the end Trump’s first term, on January 13, the Trump administration just declassified a national security document—its 2018 strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific. It includes but is not limited to preventing China from establishing new, illiberal spheres of influence; enabling Taiwan to develop an effective asymmetric defense strategy and capabilities’; and strengthening the capabilities and will of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Australia to contribute to the countering of China’s aggression.

According to ABC Australia, the document was previously classified “secret” and “not for foreign nationals.” It was officially declassified 30 years earlier than would normally be the case. This approach was unusual and it is believed that Trump was trying to put pressure on the next administration to avoid a major alteration of the China’s policy.

The document is 10 pages long with a number of redactions. It listed measures to enable the U.S. to maintain diplomatic preeminence in the Indo-Pacific region. It stressed that China and North Korea pose grave threats to the security of the region. U.S. strategy is to align with those of Australia, India and Japan to create a quadrilateral security framework to counter China’s growing economic aggression while enabling Taiwan to gain the defense capabilities to engage China on its own terms.

In the sections about China, it emphasized that the objective is to “prevent China’s industrial policies and unfair trading practices from distorting global markets and harming U.S. competitiveness; and to build an international consensus that China’s industrial policies and unfair trading practices are damaging the global trading system. It laid out actions including working closely with allies and like-minded countries to prevent Chinese acquisition of military and strategic capabilities; broaden the scope of the Committee on foreign Investment in the United States to cover venture capital and other forms of investment by China; and adopt domestic policies that promote growth in key technologies.”

Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at ANU, said, “This is a highly significant document. It is extraordinary that it has been released decades early. … This strategic framework is very forthright on China — not quite confrontational but very firm.”
Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia, January 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-declassified-01132021042324.html

2. ABC Australia, January 12, 2021
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-12/details-of-trump-administrations-indo-pacific-strategy-revealed/13052216

3. The White House, January 12, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-national-security-advisor-robert-c-obrien-011221/

Canberra has prohibited China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), a PRC state construction company, from taking over an Australian company, as tensions between the two countries show no signs of abating.

On January 11, South Africa-based building and civil engineering contractors Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon (WBHO), the largest shareholder of Melbourne-headquartered Probuild, told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that, upon learning that Canberra’s Foreign Investment Review Board would reject the deal “on the grounds of national security,” China State Construction Engineering Corporation, has abandoned its bid.

The Australian Financial Review reported Tuesday (January 12) that CSCEC planned to spend 300 million Australian dollars (US$ 231 million) to acquire WBHO’s 88 percent stake in Probuild.

Source: Voice of America, January 12, 2021
https://www.voachinese.com/a/australia-blocks-chinese-buyout-20210112/5734816.html

A Melbourne Chinese businessman who supports well-known members of the Liberal Party is facing deportation. He was previously assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) as a risk to national security. The Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce under ASIO is conducting an investigation. Earlier, because of security concerns, the federal government rejected his application for permanent residency.

The businessman is Liu Huifeng, a political donor of the Liberal Party and former soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. He established a personal relationship with the Federal Liberal Party MP Gladys Liu and Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar. Since June 2016, Liu has participated in a series of pre-election fundraising activities and has been a frequent guest at events involving Liu and Sukkar. For example, Liu posted on his social media account on April 27, 2017, “Tonight I was invited to attend the private dinner of Michael Sukkar, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia … He kept telling others that I was his old friend.”

He co-founded a community aid organization that agreed to accept funding from the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne and share information with them. The association, the Australian Emergency Assistance Association Incorporated (AEAAI), acts as an intermediary in policing incidents and legal cases that involve Chinese speakers. On the Chinese social media WeChat, the association promoted itself as a grassroots community platform to its 55,000 members, mainly ethnic Chinese living in Australia.

Liu Huifeng signed a letter of intent with the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne in 2017. In the agreement announcement, Mr. Liu promised “close communication” with the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne. According to a secret document that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) obtained, AEAAI agreed to accept instructions from the consulate, report incidents involving Chinese citizens to the consulate, and provide “information involving security risks.” The letter of appointment signed by AEAAI and the consulate stipulates that, “The association will appoint volunteers in accordance with the authorization and specific requirements from the consulate on a case-by-case basis.” The document stated that volunteers should “assist the Consulate General to go to the scene of the incident to understand the situation of the case, provide assistance to Chinese citizens in need of assistance, and promptly report the situation to the Consulate General.”

Source: ABC, January 4, 2020
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-04/asio-red-flags-liberal-donor-over-foreign-interference-risks/13018938

Radio Free Asia (RFA) Chinese Edition recently reported on a poll sponsored by the Hong Kong government. The year-end poll showed that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam once again scored lower than ever before. The record of the Public Sentiment Index recorded “extremely low.” Residents’ Happiness Level reached the lowest since 1992. In the past year of 2020, Hong Kong suffered a deepening antagonism between the government and the people; a greater division in its society, and the young generation’s growing distrust in the government. The researchers interviewed 250 middle school students during the pandemic. The result showed that 87 percent of the students lost confidence in the government. The same poll in 2019 showed an answer of 40 percent on the same question. The researchers called for the government to listen to the young people instead of seeing them as trouble. Analysts in the education field expressed their worry that Hong Kong seems to be entering Culture Revolution 2.0, which encouraged people to distrust each other under the new HK National Security Law. Some basic moral standards and social justice were also shaken. The Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam was given a score of zero by 44 percent of the people polled. Her approval rate is only 18 percent and her disapproval rate is 69 percent. Nearly all indicators of the poll reached record lows.

Source: RFA Chinese, January 5, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hj-01042021165712.html