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China’s State Media Took on Li Ka-shing

After the Hong Kong Real Estate Tycoon Li Ka-shing asked that the administration be lenient toward “the future owners of Hong Kong,” China’s state media blamed him for creating the housing crisis in Hong Kong. One observer thought this might indicate that Beijing is aiming at the wallets of the Hong Kong business elites to help it get through the current economic crisis.

In the past, Li Ka-shing remained low-key on the Hong Kong issue. His son Richard Li Tzar Kai presented a position statement. After pro-CCP gangsters severely cut a news reporter from the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Richard Li, who owns the newspaper, stated that he would cover all of the medical expenses and rehabilitation treatment for the staff and called for the police to bring the gangsters to justice.

Recently Beijing demanded that the Hong Kong business community express their support for Beijing and the Hong Kong government. Li Ka-shing put ads in newspaper, but people felt the ads could be interpreted as either pro Beijing or pro Hong Kong protesters.

On September 8, Li Ka-shing said at a prayer meeting that he wishes the young people be considerate about the big picture and the administration be lenient toward the future owners of Hong Kong. “Though there can be conflicts between the Law and the human feelings, on political issues, if (people) can think about the other party, many big issues can turn into smaller ones.”

On September 12, China’s state media fired at Li.  The Chang’an Sword, the pen name of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), published an article titled “Li Ka-shing Spoke – Who Should Be Lenient toward the Hong Kong People?” The article stated that “a few future owners of Hong Kong illegally gathered on the street, beat the passengers, attacked the police, lit fires, … (They) created much violence.” “(Being lenient to these people) is nothing more than conniving in their crime. This is not thinking for Hong Kong, but it is watching Hong Kong slip into an abyss.”

It then said that people questioned Li Ka-shing on Internet postings. During the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Li Ka-shing continued to request the small businesses to pay back their debts. “Why didn’t we see you be lenient toward Hong Kong citizen then?”

It further blamed Li Ka-shing and other real estate businesses for hoarding land in Hong Kong and thus created the extremely-high housing prices in Hong Kong. It suggested that the government should develop more affordable housing to improve people’s living standards. “Don’t know if those real estate businessmen, like the richest man Li, will be ‘lenient’ toward the Hong Kong people this time? Will be ‘lenient’ toward the future owners of Hong Kong?”

The People’s Daily also published an article on the Tencent QQ site, titled “Hong Kong Can No Longer Wait to Solve Its Housing Problem!” It said that a large reason that many young people who were not interested in politics got involved in the past three months was because they felt that they cannot control their future. Unaffordable housing prices in Hong Kong are a key reason.

It suggested that the government can follow the Land Resumption Regulation, to use its administrative power to take the land back from private owners. “According to the Basic Law, the compensation for the acquisition of land ‘is equivalent to the actual value of the property at the time.’ The private owner will be paid.”

“For the sake of the people, for the sake of their living, it is time for the real estate developers to show their maximum good will. They should not just think for themselves and grab the last penny they can get. What is it to be responsible to the future of Hong Kong? What is it to be ‘lenient’ to the young people of Hong Kong? This is.”

Reuters quoted a source on September 13 that said Beijing has recently gathering the top executives of nearly 100 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and asked them to increase their investment in the real estate, retail, and tourism industries in Hong Kong and gain control over Hong Kong companies.

One SOE representative told Reuters, “Hong Kong business elites have done way too little (this time). Most of them don’t belong to (our side).”

A China issues expert commented that the CCP’s taking on Li Ka-shing has a deeper meaning. Beijing’s foreign reserves will be depleted soon. How to quickly gather foreign money has become an urgent issue for the CCP to extend its life. Hong Kong companies might become the CCP’s target for their money pool.

Sources:
1. Epoch Times, September 13, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/9/13/n11519711.htm
2. SINA, September 12, 2019
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2019-09-12/doc-iicezzrq5484878.shtml
3. QQ, September 12, 2019
https://new.qq.com/omn/20190912/20190912A0NVAA00.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Epoch Times: CCP Applies Five Measures to Control Hong Kong

Hong Kong Legislative Council Member Eddie Chu recently attended a forum in Taiwan called “What Happened to Hong Kong and What can Taiwan Do?” He said that the CCP used five methods to suppress Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement and reminded people that, in the future, these measures may also be used to control Taiwan. He called on the Taiwanese people to come together to fight against the CCP, to support Hong Kong, and to defend Taiwan’s freedom and democracy. Chu appeared at the forum together with Joshua Wong, secretary-general of pro-democracy party Demosistō and Lester Shum, former deputy secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. Freddy Lim, a Taiwan politician, also participated in the forum.

When asked about why the Taiwanese people need to pay attention to Hong Kong’s anti-extradition law movement, Zhu pointed out that Taiwan is facing the same type of attack from the mainland as Hong Kong is. He summarized the measures that the mainland uses to control Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong police exercising violence, the use high-tech surveillance technology, the application of pressure on business owners to control their employees, the employment of gang violence and the dissemination of fake news. Chu continued that the mainland deploys these five measures overseas. “If everyone thinks that the world should move toward freedom and democracy, we must regard the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement as a battle against the Chinese Communist Party. If more Taiwanese people stand up, it will definitely put more pressure on the CCP. They will re-adjust their strategy toward Hong Kong. It is not only helpful to the situation in Hong Kong. It is also an action that the Taiwanese people can take to defend democracy and freedom and prevent this terrorist rule from taking root in Taiwan.” Chu said that as long as Hong Kong is not a democratic government and does not have free elections, laws similar to the extradition law will continue to come out.

Source: Epoch Times, September 9, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/9/9/n11509346.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Epoch Times: Security Is the Priority for October 1

October 1, 2019, is the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) taking over China. Also, the 4th Plenary Session of the 19th CCP Central Committee will be held in October. The CCP will hold a military parade and other activities in Tiananmen Square in Beijing; also, members of the CCP Central Committee will go to Beijing to attend the 4th Plenary Session. To ensure the smooth progress of the above activities and meetings, the CCP is placing a high priority on maintaining stability, as if one were facing a formidable enemy.

In an exclusive report, the Epoch Times published a copy of an urgent and confidential document that the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP National Security Commission issued on September 2. The document states that Shanxi Province is part of the overall Beijing defenses and is required to be ready for war and to be on duty 24 hours a day.

Following Shanxi, another province, Shaanxi Province, used the term “wartime” in its official document concerning social stability in October.

Hu Minglang, Deputy Governor of Shaanxi Province and Director of the Public Security Department, issued an order on September 4, 2019, imposing a “wartime” prohibition on alcohol for all Shaanxi public security personnel from September 15 to October 4. All public security organs, police officers, police assistants, and other public security personnel at all levels in Shaanxi Province are prohibited from drinking alcohol for any reason at any time and on any occasion. Violators and their chain of command will be held accountable.

As October 1 is approaching, the CCP has strengthened security from the top down. Starting from the end of August, Beijing entered the “October 1 modus operandi” which mandated the removal of knives such as fruit knives and kitchen knives from shelves in the stores. On the eve of the military parade rehearsal from September 7 to 8, Beijing made massive arrests of people who visited Beijing to seek redress of their grievances that the local governments caused.

Meanwhile, Beijing’s Municipal CCP Secretary Cai Qi spoke on August 31, 2019, at the kickoff of the October 1 security campaign asking Beijing security personnel to be “excellent and perfect, and never lose.” His remark became the headline in the State media, Beijing Youth Daily.

Overseas media observed that, by treating its people as the enemy, it appears that the CCP is not preparing for a celebration, but rather, for a major disaster.

Source: Epoch Times, September 12, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/9/12/n11515358.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Beijing Asks Chinese People to Promote Communist Ideology

On Tuesday September 10, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s top Internet regulator, issued a draft version of the “Cyber Ecological Governance Regulations.”  The document listed 20 categories of contents that are “prohibited ” or “not allowed,” but for the first time, the authorities explicitly encouraged seven types of information to be circulated in cyberspace.

The seven areas include propagating Xi Jinping’s thoughts; propagating the party’s theories, principles, policies, and major decisions, and the highlights of China’s economic and social development; promoting socialist values; guiding consensus among the Chinese people on certain social issues; improving the international influence of the Chinese culture, and promoting stability.

CAC stated that the main purpose of the regulations is to control the contents of the cyber information of the government, enterprises, society and netizens, and to strengthen positive energy and punish illegal information.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 12, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/gf2-09122019085837.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Government’s Disinformation and anti-American Propaganda: On the First Day of School!

On September 2, the first day of the new school year, the Chinese official media again pushed the party’s ideological education in the form of the “First Class of the New Semester” program. A popular China Central Television host called on the students across the country to love and care for the Chinese national flag as much as they love life.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that, on September 2, teachers in some schools taught the students that the United States has manufactured the Hong Kong “independence movement” so as to stop China’s rise.

Mr. Xie, a legal professional working in Beijing, told RFA that the Ministry of Education mandated ideological education sessions, from the kindergartens to the universities, on the first day of school. Even kindergarten children aged between three and six were asked to memorize and recite this stuff.

Another RFA interviewee said that the Ministry of Education issued an official document that required every school and every family to organize the students to watch (the program). Some schools even used the Hong Kong situation as the subject of the first class of the semester. Now the government characterizes the Hong Kong situation as a Hong Kong independence movement. School teachers do not know the truth about Hong Kong. They can only accept the order that the Ministry of Education issued.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 2, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/education-09022019093615.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Facing Risks and Challenges, Xi Emphasizes a “Fighting Spirit”

Recently, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Party School of the CCP Central Committee. The speech centered on the theme of “fighting” or “battling.” He said that the major battles during China’s development will be no less and no more complicated [than previous battles], and this includes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan issues.

An official from Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi’s speech was given on September 3rd at the Party School, at the opening ceremony of the training session for young and middle-aged CCP cadres. Xi said that cadres should “promote the fighting spirit and enhance fighting capabilities” and that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is not easy. It cannot be achieved by beating gongs and sounding drums. A great fight must be put up to achieve a great dream.”

Xi Jinping declared [the need] to fight against and defeat four major risks and challenges. They include “endangering the leadership of the CCP and the Chinese socialist system, endangering China’s core interests and major principles, endangering the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, and endangering China’s goal of ‘two hundred years’ and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Source: Central News Agency, September 3, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201909030318.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Communist Party Strengthens Grassroots Propaganda Work

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released the “Regulations on the Propaganda Work of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The spokesperson for The CCP’s Central Propaganda Department said that, considering the new situation, some tasks are urgent. They include codifying the “important thoughts of General Secretary Xi Jinping on propaganda and ideological work and also the experiences and practices of the CCP’s long-term propaganda work, especially the work since the 18th CCP Congress.”

The spokesperson mentioned that the grassroots propaganda work is relatively weak. The regulation made the grassroots propaganda work a separate chapter. It clearly stipulates the propaganda work in enterprises, rural areas, institutions, schools, research institutes, streets and communities, and social organizations. For example, township (street) party organizations should specify one party committee member to be responsible for propaganda; village (community) party organizations should employ dedicated propaganda staff; state-owned and state-controlled enterprise party organizations should set up a propaganda work office. The party committee of a university should set up a propaganda department. The party organizations in enterprises with state shares, non-state economic organizations, and social organizations shall employ propaganda staff.

Party committees at all levels have been told to take the study and promotion of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, aka Xi Jinping Thought, as their primary political task.

Source: Central News Agency, September 1, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201909010099.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily Weibo Account Quoted CY Leung’s Article on Hong Kong

Xiakedao, the Weibo account of People’s Daily, republished an article by Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung), who the Chinese Communist Party hand-picked as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2017. Leung argued that Beijing can use many forces, either regular or unconventional, to put down the Hong Kong movement.

CY Leung made the following points:

1. We need to have the right strategic judgment. The movement is no longer a peaceful demonstration. It is using violence and other illegal means to paralyze the society and create a regime change in Hong Kong. It will then make Hong Kong independent of China and the “subversion base” to replicate violence in mainland China.

2. We need to have the right strategic positioning. However the situation in Hong Kong is, nothing can change the fact that Hong Kong is part of China; nor can it change that China possesses tremendous political, foreign diplomatic, military, and economic power in the world.

3. We need to have strategic confidence. The Hong Kong government, pro-China politicians, and the business community must have confidence in the Central government and the Hong Kong government. They should not worry and surrender.

4. We need to have a comprehensive strategic plan. The Hong Kong government and the Central government have a whole set of political, administrative, fiscal, legal, and military tools, including many forces that they can use but have not yet used.

When it is necessary, besides the forces in Hong Kong, the Central government also has many more powerful forces outside. We should mobilize every regular and unconventional force inside and outside of Hong Kong and plan well the short, mid-term, and long term actions.

5. The Chinese idiom goes, “During a confrontation in a narrow passage, whoever is the bravest will win out.”

Source: Sina, September 01, 2019
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2019-09-01/doc-iicezzrq2653635.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics