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Economy: Jiangsu City Coerced Government Employees into Paying 2.5 Billion Yuan in Fines

As many local governments run out of money, one city in Jiangsu Province came up with a creative way to get more money: to impose a hefty fine on those government employees who have taken a part-time secondary job. The city sent special “working groups” to each government unit to check any government employee who “illegally” took on a secondary job. They targeted those people who have skills (so that they were able to get a secondary job), who do not have connections with higher-powers, and who want to have a smooth retirement. Those employees didn’t think it would be a big fine so they co-oporated with the investigation. Then the government fined them from 600,000 yuan (US$ 88,000) to 1 million yuan (US$ 147,000). Many of them depleted their own savings and some even had to borrow money to make the payment.

The city raised 2.5 billion yuan (US $367 million) by using this approach.

Source: Sound of Hope, February 8, 2023
https://www.soundofhope.org/post/694290

Hot Topics | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

The CCP Is Effective in Its International Propaganda Efforts

James Sheen (沈榮欽), is Assistant Professor at York University, Toronto, Canada and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. He posted on Facebook that research showed that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) propaganda against the international audience is very effective.

He said some scholars from Yale University and Harvard University conducted some multi-country research to compare the international propaganda of China with the information from the U.S. Of course, the U.S. promotes democracy and China promotes an authoritarian system.

The researchers sampled 19 countries across six continents, ranging from dictatorships and semi-democracies, to democratic countries, with low, medium, and high incomes. On average, after being exposed to the CCP’s propaganda, people who think that China’s authoritarian system is better than the U.S. democratic system has tripled from 16 percent to 54 percent. The percentage is even higher in Africa and Latin America where the CCP has  focused many of ts diplomacy activities. The U.S. propaganda has had a much smaller influence on people.

Source: Facebook, Posting by James Sheen
https://www.facebook.com/Independent.think/posts/10226251784754625

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China Plans to Carry out Many “Work for Food” Programs

On January 10, China’s National Development and Reform Commission promulgated a newly revised “Management Measures of the National Work for Food Program.” The measure will be implemented on March 1, 2023. People’s Daily published the question and answers that occurred in an interview between an official from the National Development and Reform Commission and reporters.

The program is to ask people to perform labor (for which they will be paid) instead of simply receiving government welfare. It states, “If manual labor can be used then do not use a machine; if work can be done by local people (on welfare) then do not use professional teams.”

To encourage local governments and business entities to offer more “Work for Food” projects, the central government will increase its subsidy from 15 percent of the labor cost to 30 percent.

[Editor’s Notes: Promoting such programs may mean Beijing wants to  manage its welfare system more effectively. It may also indicate: one, that Beijing may need to provide more social welfare to its people; and two, Beijing may be running low on money so it uses the welfare money (which it has to pay anyway) to cover projects that it would need to pay for with money from other sources.]

Source: People’s Daily, February 1, 2023
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0201/c1001-32616015.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Getting Veterans to Local Leadership Positions

Pei Jinjia (裴金佳), who is the Communist Party Secretary and the Minister of Veterans Affairs, published an article in People’s Daily that stressed how to get veterans into the local government’s leadership positions.

Pei said that veterans in general are politically loyal to the CCP, broad-minded, and dare to take responsibilities. He asked that the policy be implemented to allow the the “Veteran Party Secretary” practice of letting veterans serve the party secretary at the grassroot level offices.

Source: People’s Daily, February 2, 2023
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0202/c448544-32616175.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

People’s Lives: Organ Harvesting Happened in China 30 Years Ago

Mr. Guo Zhigen (郭志艮), a resident at Qingtao City, Shandong Province, told the Epoch Times that he has heard about an organ harvesting case that happened 30 years ago.

In April 1991, Mr. Guo stayed in the Hospital Affiliated with Qingdao University in Qingdao to treat his aplastic anemia. One summer afternoon, on his way to the bathroom, he heard someone crying when passing the nephrology department (hematology and nephrology departments were in the same area at that time). He asked the patient what happened and was told that the patient was going to receive a kidney transplant the next day and was worried about the result since he signed a document to relieve the hospital from accountability. The patient looked like an official under 40-years-old.

The patient’s family member also told Mr. Guo that the police had a “body confiscation team.” Police had already matched both the blood of the person to be executed and the recipient. On the day of execution, the police would ask the dead person’s family members for all sorts of documents to prove their relationship to the dead. As long as there was a document they didn’t bring with them, the police would then refuse to acknowledge their connection to the dead and they then declare the dead person’s body as unclaimed. The “body confiscation team” could then take it to sell to hospitals.”

According to Mr. Guo, the hospital performed two liver transplants on the next day. The operation for the patient he met went well, but the other patient died on the operating table. Qingdao’s newspaper reported that the kidney transplant was successful.

According to published information, the hospital affiliated with Qingdao University was among the first group of hospitals in China to do kidney transplants. It did the first kidney transplant in 1982.

Source: Epoch Times, January 31, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/1/31/n13919567.htm

Hot Topics | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

Government and Leadership: China Plans to Delay the Retirement Starting Age to 65

China’s current retirement rule is that a male’s retirement starts at age 60 and a female starts at age 50 (female cadres start at 55). However, an internet posting, quoted a report by the CITIC Group, formerly the China International Trust Investment Corporation, saying that Beijing is planning to delay the retirement starting age. The government might announce the new plan this year, start implementation in 2025, and by 2055, reach the goal of males and females both retiring at age of 65.

A lack of workers due to the aging population is a reason for the authorities to consider delaying the retirement starting age. However, the big reason is that the government does not have enough money to pay for the retirement pensions.

Source: jrj.com, February 3, 2023
https://m.jrj.com.cn/madapter/finance/2023/02/03190037316790.shtml

Hot Topics | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Hospital’s Death Certificate Needs State Council’s Approval If the Cause Is COVID

Since December, China has suffered a massive number of COVID infections and a large number of deaths. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hides the infection count and especially the death tolls. Epoch Times obtained an official document from the Guangxi Autonomous Region Epidemic Prevention and Control Command Center (document number SJSX223577) issued on December 25, 2022. The document stated that any death caused by COVID must be approved by the central government.

The document said that the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Joint Control System required that, for any death of a COVID patient or patient who had both other diseases and COVID, the death report must first be discussed at the hospital or the medical institute within 24 hours. Then it needs to pass the city’s (COVID) expert group’s review and get its approval. Then it needs to be submitted to the Autonomous Region’s Health Committee’s designated email account, and then following the procedure it is to be reported to the State Council’s Join Prevention and Join Control System’s Medical Treatment Team. Once the State Council’s team approves the cause, the corresponding medical institute can submit it as a COVID case to the Epidemic Direct Report Network. Death cases without the “state’s approval” cannot be submitted to the Epidemic Direct Report Network as a COVID case.

The document also stressed keeping the process confidential and not to disclose the city’s (COVID) expert group’s opinion. Cases with severe COVID infections or deaths, “due to the information’s sensitive nature, must be handled by designated personnel, and must be submitted to the designated email account. WeChat or QQ (social media tools that are more likely to be leaked to the public) are strictly prohibited.”

Source: Epoch Times, February 1, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/1/n13919948.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Chinese Students Do Not Want to Go Back to China after Graduation

China has about 1 million students studying outside of China. Many have expressed that they will think twice about whether to go back to China after graduation. One major reason is the communist regime’s three-year enforcement of the “Zero-COVID” policy that they understand is not for the interest of the people but for politics. Quite a number of these Chinese students had gathered in the campus or in front of Chinese Embassy or Consulate to appeal or support their fellow people in China. (Editor’s Note: The Chinese students studying abroad used to be a group loyal to Beijing in the past, but the spread of COVID has changed many of them).

Another reason for their not wanting to return is the dismal economic situation in China.

Source: Liberty Times, January 29, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4195240

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics