Government/Politics - 68. page

After Hong Kong police arrested Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital, and several other high-level officials for violating the “Hong Kong National Security Act,” the Hong Kong people launched an action to buy Apple Daily, a newspaper under the Next Digital Group. On Tuesday, August 11, Hongkongers could be seen lining up on the street late at night to buy the Apple Daily newspaper. Many people bought dozens of copies and let other people take some free of charge or distribute them to their neighbors. People stated that they would buy the newspaper even if it was a blank sheet of paper. On Tuesday, total circulation for Apple Daily jumped from its normal 70,000 to half a million copies. The front page of the paper reads, “Apple Daily Must Fight On.” At the same time, Next Digital stock also jumped more than 330 percent in just two days.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 11, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-apple-08112020065417.html

Recently, Epoch Times has obtained several internal Chinese Communist Party documents showing that, in the CCP virus pandemic, China’s Ministry of Public Security controls the digital QR code or “health code” data people provide through WeChat. There are concerns about people’s privacy and their personal information. Such data includes those foreigners who visit China by flying there on Chinese airlines.

At present, people in mainland China must scan and register their local “health code” when entering major shopping malls, hospitals, and other public places. The “health code” is a QR code that mainland Chinese generally apply for through Tencent’s WeChat or Alibaba’s Alipay. The “health code” has three colors, green, yellow, or red, which indicates the person’s health status. A green code enables its holder to move about unrestricted. Someone with a yellow code will be asked to stay home for seven days. The red code means a two-week quarantine.

Epoch Times has obtained government pandemic control documents from the Baoding City, Hebei Province; Anxin County, Hebei Province; and Heilongjiang Province Health Commissions. These documents raise concerns about privacy and the security of personal data.

These documents show that WeChat is used for the designated application for the “Health Code” in Hebei Province. China’s Ministry of Public Security and its local departments control WeChat’s “Health Code” data. The government document obtained for Anxin County states that, while the local Pandemic Prevention and Control Team is responsible for organizing and coordinating related work and work promotion, the Public Security Bureau is responsible for big data analysis, mining, and the in-depth application of the “health code.”

Heilongjiang Province launched the international version on March 17. This version requires users to enter data through the WeChat program, and then tie the health code that is given to the mobile phone number which performs real-name authentication. Tencent stated that “the international version brings foreigners into the unified health management system.” The Heilongjiang Provincial Health Commission’s document issued on March 23 reveals that when using the health code system, it is necessary to communicate actively with the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department and Tencent.

The state media China News Weekly reported on April 27, 2020, that, according to a Hangzhou City Health Code official, “The moment you open the health code, the big data in the background has undergone countless calculations and comparisons.”

Source: Epoch Times, August 13, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/8/14/n12329397.htm

The Epoch Times obtained exclusive information from a secret document that the China National Petroleum Corporation (PetroChina) issued. The document addresses how the Chinese consulates have been playing active leadership roles in managing the development of the party in all of the company’s overseas offices. Petro China recently asked that all work of this type go underground.

Below is a translation of the notice:

Notice on Further Implementation of Requirements for Overseas Party Building.

With the recent U.S. and other western countries containment of the CCP, there have been incidents in Australia in which the Chinese personnel’s mobile phones, computers and other personal items were searched and taken away under the claim that they could contain materials about how to develop the CCP. The CCP has therefore asked the respective overseas agencies to destroy or transfer sensitive documents immediately. Based on the directives from senior management, a translation of the notice regarding the execution of the party’s development work in foreign offices is below.
1. Party cells in foreign offices are required to be active in their acceptance of the leadership of the party committee at the consulate, particularly for the Malaysia and Singapore offices in Southeast Asia and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. They need to report their work to the consulate at least once a year. They also need to report major changes in contracts and personnel, and major events.
2. Foreign offices should sort out potential risks, study and develop emergency response plans, and establish emergency contact channels with the consulate and the company headquarters back in China. Offices in Australia and Canada must inform their consulate of their handling of urgent documents. Party members and cadres must strictly guard party secrets when a foreign country is doing an investigation of their work. This is an iron-clad rule.
3. The overseas party development work must be strictly safeguarded along with information about the party’s organizational structure, membership, member’s responsibilities, activities and internal documents. They must understand the distinction between internal and external information and must be flexible while maintaining confidentiality.
4. Overseas party cells need to plan party activities effectively based on the conditions in each situation. They should also establish flexible ways for the members to pay party membership fees and determine their meeting frequencies.
5. Overseas party cells should not publish their activities in social media including Weibo and Wechat. They should not publish talks and articles about party development work and shouldn’t accept media interviews. They should not transmit information that contains information about party membership, organizational structure and party development work using unsecure channels such as Wechat or email. They should not display the party flag, wear the party emblem, or have a bulletin board displaying party development work at their company location.
6. They must temporarily suspend the requirement for record keeping of overseas party development activities including performance assessments and inspections.
7. They must strengthen the management of highly confidential party development documents in their offices in countries such as the U.S., U.K, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. All the relevant electronic records stored in devices such as computers, cell phones, external hard drives, flash drives, and CDs must be deleted. Paper documents need to be destroyed. For any important records that can’t be destroyed, they must be sorted and stored in a safe place or turned over to their home office in China or the local consulate for storage.
8. All related personnel must delete PetroChina party development apps from their phones. A separate communication will be sent out in regard to the collection of the party membership fee.

Source: Epoch Times, August 14, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/8/14/n12332073.htm

The case of Lai Xiaomin, ex-chair of the China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd. (CHAM), one of the largest financial asset management companies in the country, opened a session in a court in Tianjin on August 11. Lai was charged with bribery, corruption and bigamy. Lai pleaded guilty and repented in court.

It was alleged that, between 2008 and 2018, when Lai Xiaomin held the positions of the director of the General Office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary and chair of CHAM, he illegally accepted property with a total value of more than 1.788 billion yuan (US$ 0.26 billion).

This figure may have broken the record for the amount of corruption among all indicted Chinese officials. Pan Lu, a former teacher from Suzhou, gave a vivid description of the 1.788 billion yuan, “The money weighs 20 tons in 100-yuan bills. A one-hundred-square-meter house is not big enough to store that much cash. A dedicated villa is needed.”

China’s Caixin Media reported that there are three “one hundreds” in Lai’s case, including more than one hundred houses, one hundred contacts (with high-up officials), and one hundred lovers. In addition, the investigators found 270 million yuan (US$ 38.9 million) in cash in Lai’s residence, setting a record for the amount of cash seized from corrupt personnel.

Pan believes that the Lai Xiaomin corruption case is not unusual, and pales in comparison with the amount of corruption in China’s red families, the families of top CCP officials. “We know that the amount of corruption in the families of CCP Standing Committee members has reached astronomical figures. Lai was simply sacrificed by the regime to show that the CCP has the ability to fight corruption. One should not believe that the CCP is bold and decisive in fighting corruption just because of Lai’s case.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 11, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/hj-08112020141839.html

Taiwan Liberty Times News reported that, according to an article Xinhua published, on July 29, Xi Jinping participated in a promotion ceremony that the Central Military Commission held. Xi promoted Xu Zhongbo, the political commissar of the PLA Rocket Force to the rank of general. Video footage from CCTV showed that Xu was the only officer at the ceremony accepting a promotion. The ceremony only lasted a little over one minute while six Central Military Commission members sat in the background with straight faces. In the photo that Xi took with Xu, Xi appeared to be preoccupied and did not seem happy. The report quoted a commentator from the Epoch Times who stated that, as domestic infighting and external pressure have been intensifying, Xi is using his appearances to show off his military power. In the past two weeks, Xi visited the following: On July 22-24 he went to the Siping War Memorial and the Changchun Aviation University in Jilin province. [Editor’s note: During his visit, Xi said, “We must defend the great socialist cause created by the party and pass it on from generation to generation.] A few days later, Xi used his military power to warn his opponent. [Editor’s note: On July 30, members of Central Politburo attended a group study session where Xi Jinping emphasized that “a strong country must have a strong army, and a strong army can ensure national security.”] The promotion of Xu Zhongbo appears have broken protocol because Xu was appointed to the political commissar position not too long ago. It seems obvious that, during this uncertain period, Xi has to make unconventional moves to show that his senior ranking officers are still loyalty to him.

1. Liberty Time News, July 31, 2020
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3245263
2. Xinhua, July 29, 2020
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-07/29/c_1126300876.htm