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Chinese Violence: Its Diplomats Dragged Protesters Inside Its Consulate to Beat Them

On Sunday, China’s consul-general and other staff members of the Manchester Consulate in England attacked protesters outside their facility and dragged a man inside their compound so they could beat him. As the situation heated up, China continued its wolf warrior approach and lodged representations to the U.K. to demand the protection of its diplomats.

On Sunday, a group of Hong Kong activists held a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Consulate. In response to their peaceful protest, a group of men, wearing masks, came out of the consulate gate and started beating them. The consulate staff members even dragged one protester inside the consulate grounds to assault him further. U.K. police intervened and pulled the man out.

The victim, Bob Chan, explained, “I was pulled inside and was beaten up.”  He had injuries to one of his eyes, and pain in his head and back. He said, “The worst is that near my spine there are some internal injuries and it still hurts when I sit down.”

Scenes of the attack were videotaped and widely viewed online. The British were shocked by the Chinese diplomats’ actions.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News that the episode was “absolutely unacceptable” as the protests were “peaceful and legal.” James pointed out, “They were on British soil.”

British Foreign Office summoned Chinese charge d’affaires Yang Xiaoguang on Tuesday. “Today we have made our view clear to the Chinese authorities: the right to peaceful protest in the UK must be respected,” said foreign office minister Zac Goldsmith.

China countered toughly.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the media conference on Wednesday that China lodged representations to the UK. “We hope that the UK will earnestly fulfill its responsibility and take effective measures to strengthen the protection of the premises and staff of Chinese embassy and consulates in the UK,” Wang said.

Zheng Xiyuan, China’s consul-general at Manchester, who was videotaped for coming to the protesters, kicking the banner, and pulling Bob’s hair, told Sky News that he was at the demonstration “peacefully.” “He (Bob Chan) was abusing my country, my leader, I think it’s my duty,” said Zheng.

In a letter sent to Greater Manchester Police, Zheng stated the banners featured a “volume of deeply offensive imagery and slogans,” including a picture of the Chinese president Xi Jinping with a noose around his neck. He also stated that he was disappointed police didn’t do more to help the consulate and claimed his staff were under attack.

Sources:
1. Radio France International, October 19, 2022
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/国际/20221019-中国称就驻英领馆港人被打事件向英方-提出交涉
2. Radio Free Asia, October 18, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/al-10182022082738.html
3. Sky News, October 20, 2022
https://news.sky.com/story/chinese-consul-general-defends-actions-after-being-seen-pulling-protesters-hair-in-manchester-12724934
4. Global Times, October 19, 2022
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277465.shtml

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Possible Methods for the CCP to Interfere on Taiwan’s Election

Taiwan will hold its election on November 26. Included will be local public service positions, the mayor, county executive, city and county council members, and others.

Su Ziyun, Director of the Defense Strategy and Resources Studies, Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the Epoch Times that the U.S. has confirmed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has interfered in a number of other countries’ elections. The CCP spent at least several billion dollars to intrude directly or indirectly in other countries’ political operations, using agents such as the Confucius Institute.

Su thinks that the CCP has three methods to interfere in Taiwan’s election this year. One, spread specific information, via their agents in Taiwan, to shift voter’s minds. Two, force Taiwan business people who are doing business in China to state publicly that they support certain candidates. Three, use Taiwan’s local associations, such as agricultural and fishery associations, temple systems, and whatever they can, to impact the support for local candidates.

Source: Epoch Times, October 9, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/9/n13841851.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Several Countries Are Taking Action against China’s Police Stations on Their Land

After a report revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established police service stations and conducted police operations in foreign countries, some  of these countries started conducting investigations. In some other countries politicians have put on pressure for action to be taken.

Safeguard Defenders, a human rights organization in Spain, reported in September that the CCP has extended its police operations overseas. It has set up at least 54 police service stations in 30 countries, including the U.S. (New York), France (Paris), Canada (Toronto), Spain (Madrid), and elsewhere. Their main mission is to hunt for those Chinese who stole money and went overseas. “Rather than using legal forms of international cooperation, they have resorted to pressuring targets to return. In fact some 230,000 people have been involved for a little over year.”

These police service stations have physical locations and phone numbers so that people can call and provide information. Beijing claimed that its purpose was to provide ID services or China’s driver’s license renewal to Chinese citizens overseas.

However, some countries where Beijing has conducted these police operations, feel this is a violation of their sovereignty.

Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Ministry officials have expressed concern to the Chinese Embassy and are consulting within the entire government as to how to resolve this issue.

The Ministry of Interior in Spain started its investigation.

In the U.S., Jim Bank (R), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Michael Waltz (R), Mike Gallagher (R), along with 18 other House Representatives, wrote a letter to Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Justice Garland, stating, “There should be no room for the Chinese government to exercise extraterritorial law enforcement unilaterally on U.S. soil.”

On October 4, the Canadian House of Commons committee on relations between Canada and the People’s Republic of China held a hearing on this issue. Weldon Epp, a China lead with Global Affairs Canada, stated at the hearing, “The activity that’s being alleged (about the police service stations) would be entirely illegal, totally inappropriate and would be the subject of very serious representations.”

Sources:
1. Scribd.com
https://www.scribd.com/document/599145539/Banks-Waltz-Gallagher-letter-to-Austin-Blinken-about-CCP-police-arm-in-NYC?secret_password=Rnjt1JQ6WoEg4gW1d91F
2. Epoch Times, October 10, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/10/n13842597.htm
3. Epoch Times, October 9, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/9/n13841856.htm
4. Epoch Times, October 11, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/11/n13843260.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China’s State Outlet Re-emphasized Zero-Covid Policy

Despite speculation that, after the 20th Chinese Communist Party’s Congress coming up in a week, the government may relax stringent Covid controls and reopen to the world, a recent article in the state mouthpiece dashed many people’s hopes.

An article titled “Enhancing Confidence and Patience in the Current Epidemic Prevention and Control Policy,” appeared in People’s Daily on October 10. It claimed that “China’s current epidemic prevention and control policy fits the national conditions, and is scientific and effective.”

The article then went on to say that as long as victory is not achieved, one cannot speak lightly of success. The multiple different sub-strains of the new Omicron mutant currently found in China are not less transmissible and pathogenic than the previously prevalent Omicron strain, The latest strain still poses a great threat to the elderly and to patients with underlying diseases. The article urged, “It is for this reason that we must remain vigilant about the spread of the epidemic and increase our confidence and patience in our epidemic prevention and control policies.”

While most countries around the world have announced the end of the Corona virus epidemic and have returned to a normal economic and social life, Chinese authorities still adhere to a strict zero-Covid policy. The article that was published emphasized, “We have the conditions and ability dynamically to achieve  a zero number of Covid cases.”

Source: Deutsche Welle, October 10, 2022
https://p.dw.com/p/4Hztn

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

The CCP Uses Celebrities to Promote Its Messages

Epoch Times reported that two professors at the University of Richmond, Dan Chen and Gengsong Gao, published an article to expose the CCP’s tactic in sending its official messages via celebrities, including some Taiwanese entertainment stars.

Their study found that 85 percent of the top 218 celebrities in China re-posted the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) official messages on their social media account at least once over a six-month period in the second half of 2021.

On August 2, the day when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan, the CCP’s mouthpiece CCTV sent out a post on Weibo, a Chinese-owned Twitter-like social media platform, with the message “There is only one China in the World” statement. Within hours, Chinese celebrities re-posted this message on their extensive networks of followers, including Xie Na (谢娜), a 41-year-old popular TV host and actress who posted it for her 128 million followers on Weibo, and Jackson Yee (易烊千玺), a 22-year-old singer, dancer and actor ranked the No.1 celebrity in Forbes’ 2021 Chinese Celebrity List.  He posted it for Taiwan celebrities conducting business in mainland China, such as Chen Qiaoen (陈乔恩) and Wu Qilong (吴奇隆), and also re-tweeted this message, about a day later.

One celebrity news outlet listed more than 20 Taiwan celebrities who reposted the “Only one China in the World and he praised them for “fulfilling their responsibility to voice political support.” It also listed 11 Taiwan celebrities who did not retweet the message and suggested that fans will judge them accordingly.

Fans and media in China harassed and criticized those Taiwan celebrities who did not express that they lined up with the CCP’s position, including a well-known Taiwan singer Hebe Tien (田馥甄) who has 13 million followers on Weibo.

In addition to using the fans to “teach” the celebrities, the CCP can also directly punish the celebrities. In 2014, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a notice to require all broadcasting platforms to block “tainted artists” – celebrities who engage in illegal behavior or actions that are illegal, indecent, or politically incorrect.

This practice forced many celebrities to endorse the official lines to make themselves safe. Also, the state-endorsed celebrities have better opportunities to perform on state televisions or in state-sponsored films and TV shows.

Source: Epoch Times, October 1, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/1/n13836744.htm

Reports | | |   Government/Politics

The CCP Party School Established a Center for Communication Studies

At a conference held in Beijing, the Central Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a top political institution which trains CCP cadres, announced the establishment of the “Center for the Study of Chinese Civilization and the Chinese Path” and the “Center for International Communication Research.”

Xie Chuntao, vice president of the Central Party School, said at the meeting that the two centers were established to implement Xi Jinping’s ideas on the localization of Marxism, to promote Chinese civilization and to improve international communication.

Li Xiguang, a professor at Tsinghua University, pointed out that China should deepen cross-civilizational cooperation and dialogue with Eurasia and other like-minded countries around the world. Li suggested that through the joint efforts of thinkers, academics and media from non-Western countries, China should achieve “replacing the ideas of Western colonizers and Western imperialism with our ideas.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), October 3, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202210030143.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

RFA Chinese: WeChat Notified Overseas Users that Data will be Sent to China

Radio Free Asia (RFA) Chinese Edition recently reported that a large number of overseas WeChat users have been notified that, if they accept the WeChat service agreement, their personal information will be sent back to servers in China. Experts pointed out that WeChat once intended to set up domestic and overseas versions to avert any allegations of infringement overseas. The fact is, however, that WeChat has never stopped acting as the CCP’s censorship proxy. Jurists are calling on Western countries to legislate to ban Chinese apps to prevent the CCP from its long-arm intrusions. On September 6, WeChat users in many countries said that when they were about to read the content of their WeChat subscription, they suddenly received a prompt saying that once the overseas users activate the WeChat function, their personal information will be sent back to China for processing. Under international pressure and the requirements of privacy protection regulations, in September last year, WeChat “separated” into the domestic version of Weixin and the international version of WeChat. It then asked non-China-bound mobile phone users to re-sign the WeChat agreement to show that the company complied with the  laws and regulations of the host country. So now it has just torn off the original mask. Experts said that the Chinese government has always used WeChat in China as a tool to control society and censor speech, which is actually part of its establishment of China’s high-tech totalitarian control, and it has always used WeChat as a tool to export censorship overseas. The United States and other Western countries should consider and re-evaluate WeChat’s threats to national security, data security, personal privacy, etc. Western countries should pass legislation on Chinese apps, or even block Chinese apps, like India has done.

Source: RFA Chinese, September 7, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/wechat-09072022123951.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics Information/Technology

Head of Xinhua News Agency: Actively Control Online Media So it Serves as the Party’s Mouthpiece

Fu Hua, Director of the Xinhua News Agency, published an article on September 2 in which he talked about building Xinhua into an international first-class media.

Fu stressed that Xinhua agency is a main component of the Communist Party’s news and public opinion work. Xinhua agency has been developing its power in news reporting, opinion guidance, public influence, and credibility on the mobile internet. “We will strive to build a new international first-class all-media organization, lead the online media, perform our duties as Chinas’ mouthpiece, eyes and ears, as the think tank of the Party Central Committee, and better carry out our mission of bearing the flag, uniting the people, promoting culture, and displaying China’s image.”

Fu said that facing the complicated international environment, Xinhua News Agency has put in a lot of effort to build up overseas social media accounts in order to increase its message to the world. The total number of fans of its overseas accounts is over 280 million and several celebrity news reporters’ accounts have more than one million fans. They have been able to tell China’s story, promote China’s voice, and promptly clarify and counter any attacks on China’s core interests.

Sources:
1. Shanghai Security News, September 2, 2022
https://news.cnstock.com/news,yw-202209-4950785.htm
2. China News Agency, September 4, 2022
https://www.cna.com.t

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics