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Xinhua: Over 60 Foreign and Online Media Will Air Chinese Programs Commemorating Upcoming 70th Anniversary of National Day

Xinhua reported that from August to October, over 60 media and online platforms in 50 countries around the world will air 70 documentaries, television programs, and movies about China on topics including Xi Jinping’s thoughts and leadership style, The party’s news strategy, and its achievements. Currently the programs will be aired on national television stations in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Mongolian National Broadcaster, Poland Fukus TV, Hungarian ATV, Cuban National TV, the U.S. Discovery Channel, CiTi TV, YouTube, and many others.

Source: Xinhua, August 23, 2019
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-08/23/c_1124913354.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC: Five Approaches of China in Response to Hong Kong

On August 22, BBC Chinese reported on five methods China has used to respond to the protesters in Hong Kong.

1. Media and Propaganda

In the beginning, the Chinese media’s news was silent about the million people parades. Shortly thereafter, the official propaganda outlets launched campaigns to focus on the “violence” in Hong Kong’s protests, portraying an image of “foreign funded violent protesters.” Outside of China, the official media have been making use of Western social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. Chinese diplomats have also published articles or done interviews in the local media to criticize the protesters or support the actions of overseas pro-Beijing Chinese students.

2. Economic Pressure

Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, was hard hit. China accused Cathay employees of participating in the violent protests. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a “significant aviation safety risk warning” to Cathay Pacific. Cathay’s share price plummeted, and the CEO and managing director Rupert Hogg resigned. This gave a clear warning to the Hong Kong business circle. Shortly afterwards, Hong Kong’s real estate developers, banks, and accounting firms placed advertisements in newspapers to condemn the violence and side with Beijing and the SAR government.

3. Threats of Military and Police Involvement

The People’s Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong and the Chinese police force have also turned up the volume of propaganda with messages that included threats. Hong Kong’s PLA released a video entitled, “Do Not Forget Our Original Aspirations, Defend Hong Kong.” The content shown in-the-street exercises in the containment of protesters — with snipers, machine guns, and loudspeakers. On the other hand, the Chinese armed police conducted a drill in Shenzhen, across the river from Hong Kong. Although China said that this was a routine exercise in preparation for National Day security on August 19th, the mouthpiece newspaper People’s Daily published a video of the drill, indicating that suppression by force was still an option for Beijing to use in handling Hong Kong.

4. Pro-China parades

In Hong Kong, multiple gatherings to support the SAR government and the police have been held many times, participants have included many movie stars. On August 17, real estate tycoons in Hong Kong attended a rally organized by the pro-Beijing political party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) to express their opposition to violence.

Outside Hong Kong, after the Chinese students at the University of Queensland in Australia confronted the students who supported Hong Kong protesters, the Chinese Embassy in Australia affirmed the “spontaneous patriotic behavior” of Chinese students. In Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Vancouver, Toronto, and other cities, Chinese students and local Chinese organized demonstrations in support of the Hong Kong government and the police.

5, Legal Means

On August 21, the speech of the spokesman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zang Tiewei, actually ruled out the possibility of restarting Hong Kong’s political reform and achieving universal suffrage for the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the Legislative Council.

Zang said, “Recently, some illegal criminals in Hong Kong have openly attacked the legislature, violently attacked the police, and willfully beat innocent people. These acts are serious crimes in any country under the rule of law and will be punished according to the law.”

On the issue of universal suffrage, Zang said that the “8·31” decision was a legally binding decision adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The handling of Hong Kong affairs must be resolved within the framework of the Constitution, and the Hong Kong Basic Law.

The so-called “8·31” decision refers to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China on August 31, 2014 regarding the general election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the method for the generation of the 2016 Legislative Council.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 22, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-49422502

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Ministry of Finance: Government Should Lead in Financially Tight Days

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Liu Kun, the Chinese Minister of Finance, represented the State Council and delivered a Report to the People’s Congress on the budget and China’s spending status. The Report indicated that the central government will lead the way to work hard to reduce its operational costs and that not a single penny can be wasted. Liu also called for a massive tightening-up on the local government level. The Report listed the key areas in which the entire government system should cut spending, including office operations, logistics, domestic conferences and travel spending, hospitality, and international business trips. The central government is aiming at a ten percent budget reduction and local governments are required to deliver a five percent cut and should attempt to reach the ten percent mark. More regulations on waste control will be established and maintained for the long term.

Source: Sina, August 24, 2019
https://finance.sina.com.cn/china/gncj/2019-08-24/doc-ihytcern3202168.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Cathay Pacific Fires another Employee for “Upholding the Basic Law”

After firing Rebecca Sy, the head of Cathay Dragon’s Flight Attendants Association, Cathay Pacific issued a statement on August 23, saying that, “it fully supports the upholding of the Basic Law and all the rights and freedoms afforded by it.”

Two days ago, Cathay Pacific already warned its employees that even if they publish or share posts on social media or leave online messages outside of duty hours, they are not exempted from the regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The company also warned employees that participation in illegal parades or violent activities is unacceptable. It has adopted a “zero tolerance” attitude towards employees participating in illegal activities. If employees participate, they will be investigated by the company and may even be dismissed.

On August 9, the CAAC issued a “severe aviation risk warning” to Cathay. A week later, Rupert Hogg resigned as Cathay Pacific’s CEO. Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer & Commercial Officer, Paul Loo, also resigned. Within those two weeks, multiple employees were fired due to their speeches relating to current protests in Hong Kong, including four pilots.

Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, founded 70 years ago. 80 percent of its more than 30,000 employees are in the city.

Source: Central News Agency, August 23, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908230167.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Defending the Rule of Law in Hong Kong

For the past eleven consecutive weeks, the Hong Kong people have been protesting the proposed extradition bill and later, how the authorities have mistreated people. Beijing has turned a deaf ear to them and even plans to use either the army or police forces from the mainland to bring “order” to Hong Kong. How should the West handle the CCP’s threats?

Before answering that question, let’s first try to understand this question: What do the Hong Kong people really want and what are they defending?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has called the Hong Kong people “Hong Kong separationists” or “dogs of the British colony.” We all know that is not true; they are not asking for Hong Kong’s independence; they are not asking to go back to the U.K., either.

Are they asking for universal suffrage? Yes, they asked for it in the Occupy Central movement in 2014 and are asking for it now. However, one may wonder, “The Hong Kong people didn’t have universal suffrage under British rule. They didn’t ask for it then. Why now?”

This is because universal suffrage is not their essential appeal. Their essential appeal is for the “rule of law.”

Being a global financial center and trading hub, the rule of law is a must for Hong Kong. It needs that to assure people that they can be at ease doing business in Hong Kong: their personal safety is guaranteed, the security of their assets is protected, contracts are honored, legal processes are trustworthy, and officials’ abuse of power is systematically prevented.

Hong Kong enjoyed the rule of law under the British rule and continued with it under the “One Country, Two Systems” in accordance with Beijing’s agreement after it took over in 1997. However, as the CCP has gradually gained more control over Hong Kong, adherence to the rule of law has been deteriorating and the CCP has been replacing it with “rule by the Communist Party.” Chinascope has published an analysis explaining that in China, it is not the “rule of law” and not even the “rule by law” that has prevailed, but just “rule by the Communist Party.” {1}

Among the five demands that the Hong Kong people have made, four are related to the “rule of law.” They are: the withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, the government’s retraction of its characterization of the violent clashes as “riots,” unconditional release of arrested protesters and dropping charges against them, and a completely independent investigation of police behavior.

So, what the Hong Kong people are doing is defending Hong Kong’s rule of law. The request for universal suffrage is a means to enable that defense. An executive that the public elects is more likely to honor the public’s interest and the rule of law while an executive that the CCP selects will likely be the CCP’s puppet. This was not an issue during the British rule because the rule of law was already honored under the British, and thus, the Hong Kong people didn’t ask for the governor to be elected.

Now let’s come back to the opening question: How should the West handle the CCP’s threats? Should the world acquiesce to the CCP’s use of force to end the protests in Hong Kong?

No, definitely not. The moment the CCP uses the gun instead of a humane approach to solve the Hong Kong issue, that is when the new era for Hong Kong starts. It will be the era of “rule by the party” in Hong Kong. The rule of law will be gone and Hong Kong will no longer be a global center.

The damage is not just that.

If the world lets Beijing expand its “rule by the party” to Hong Kong, we are telling our companies that they must kowtow to the CCP if they want to do business in China. In fact, many of them have already practiced bowing to the CCP all these years and done it very well.

If the world lets Beijing renounce its promise that “One Country, Two Systems” will not change for 50 years, we are telling Beijing that it can sign any trade deal with any country and any organization, knowing that it can break its promise at any time. Beijing has already done that in many instances. Its WTO promises are just one.

If the world lets Beijing use tear gas, bullets, or tanks to put down protests in Hong Kong, we are telling Beijing that we do not care about human rights and we can tolerate a “Thuggish Regime.” We already made that mistake in responding to the Tiananmen Massacre.

The Hong Kong people have shown the world that they are willing to use their human flesh to defend the rule of law in front of a mighty state machine. If Beijing has its way with Hong Kong who is next?

Now it is time for the U.S., the West, and the whole world to join them, to show that we are committed to defending the rule of law, the spirit of the contract, human rights, and at the moral level, what it means to make a promise and to keep your word! We are also telling the thugs and evildoers that immoral acts have consequences.

Endnote:
{1} Chinascope, “China: Rule of Law or Rule by the Party?” April 5, 2015.
http://chinascope.org/archives/6497.

Perspectives | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics US-China Relations

The Paper: Former Iowa State Representative Called on Hong Kong Protesters to Stop Violence

The communist party often prefers to publish Westerner’s opinions when they are supportive of its position. The Paper reported that Gregory Cusack, {a Democrat and former member of the Iowa State House of Representatives from January 8, 1973, to October 1, 1981,} wrote a letter to Shanghai Daily on August 14, in which he expressed his concerns about the Hong Kong protesters and called on them to “renounce violence.”

The article quoted the following from the Cusack’s letter:

“From the first protests in Hong Kong this summer, I have been troubled by the ever-expanding demands of the protesters. This is one of the consequences, by the way, of the lack of clear leadership. Unfortunately, during the recent outbreak of violence employed by a small number of the protesters, a truly ominous escalation has occurred. The New York Times quoted a young female protester as saying, ‘We saw that violence has proved successful elsewhere in attaining objectives so we decided to use it, too.'”

“I have no idea who the ‘we’ are, but whatever number of people (who hold that belief) are in grave error. Violence may seem ‘purifying’ or ‘necessary,’ but as it dramatically escalates both emotions and stakes the only thing violence achieves is greater violence.”

According to the Paper, this is not the first time that Cusack has written to Shanghai Daily. Earlier, Cusack wrote a letter after reading Xinhua’s report on the U.S.-China trade dispute that brought disaster to the farmers in the Midwestern United States. In his letter, he specifically stated that, “One heck of a lot of farmers in America are not happy, and an even greater number are very worried about how this will all play out, especially the longer the stand-off continues.” That letter was published on Shanghai Daily on June 21 this year.

Source:
The Paper, August 16, 2019
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4179295
Shine.cn, August 16, 2019
https://www.shine.cn/opinion/1908160287/
China Global Television Network (CGTN), June 22, 2019
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-06-22/Media-s-role-in-informing-U-S-farmers-HJPIe5Xo9W/index.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Epoch Times: Xi Ordered “Stand Still”

According to The Epoch Times, after the anti-extradition movement had continued for more than two months in Hong Kong, the CCP’s media repeatedly released the film, “A Large Number of Armed Police Convoys in Shenzhen” to intimidate protesters. On August 14th and 15th, President Trump urged Xi Jinping several times to solve the Hong Kong problem humanely before he would make a deal on tariffs. Thereafter, it is said that Xi Jinping sent  a special agent group to Hong Kong to convey an urgent message of the highest order: “Stand Still.”

An informer said that, since demonstrators occupied the Hong Kong airport, for safety reasons the special agent group flew from Beijing to Shenzhen, and then took special vehicles to Hong Kong. They secretly conveyed the highest order to the Hong Kong Liaison Office of China and the Hong Kong Garrison, as well as the SAR Government. The highest order had been made at the CCP’s annual Beidaihe meeting.

The informer also said that, now that Xi Jinping would not order “sending troops” to Hong Kong, Zhongnanhai had reached a consensus and would temporarily take the strategy of “Standing Still” and “Slowing Down” {Editor’s note: Both are from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War}. As soon as the Zhongnanhai special agent group arrived in Hong Kong, the group began to “work” and conveyed the “Slow Down” strategy about “how to restore order in Hong Kong  ASAP” to “special groups.”

The participants in the 1.7 million people’s rally on the 18th in Hong Kong said that the behavior of the police  had “changed.” This was the first time the police did not shoot and fire tear gas at the demonstrators, which was evidently related to Zhongnanhai’s latest strategy.

Source:
The Epoch Times, August 21, , 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/8/20/n11465818.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics Social Stability

CNA: Beijing Defines Extradition Protest in Hong Kong as a “Color Revolution”

According to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao News, at the Beidaihe meeting, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) top officials defined the violence that the Hong Kong anti-extradition protest triggered as color revolution. The article said that the current and retired leaders have reached a consensus that the incident is the result of a color revolution “led by military and political intelligence agencies from multiple nations and regions.” They defined the target; it is against the CCP. The CCP’s top officials have concluded that the color revolution is likely to expand into areas such as finance, trade, or national security. Therefore, the Hong Kong Government may not be capable of handling it and may need or require Beijing’s support. However, they still hope that the Hong Kong government can use its ability to calm the civil strife within a limited time and legal framework. According to sources, if the Hong Kong government is not able to do so, Beijing can, under the law, provide all needed “assistance.”

In July and August each year, the CCP leadership takes a vacation at the Beidaihe summer resort, Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province and discusses a number of major issues. This is commonly known as the Beidaihe Conference.

The state CCTV news recently broadcasted that Li Zhanshu, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Chairman of the National People’s Congress attended an event in Beijing, indicating that this year’s Beidaihe Conference has ended. Hence the report in Ming Pao.

Source: Central News Agency, August 17, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201908170032.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics