Information/Technology - 45. page

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that Huawei’s 2018 average staff salary reached RMB 1,100,000 (around US$162,404). This annual income level is four times the average of Alibaba, five times the average of ZTE, and six times that of Xiaomi. However, Huawei’s Ph.D. employees have been leaving the company at a high rate. Huawei President Ren Zhengfei admitted that the company is not able to retain high-end talent. According to Huawei’s own internal research, since 2014, nearly half of its Ph.D. employees have left the company. The research also showed that most of the people left due to extremely high work pressure. As for Ph.D. employees, another reason was misalignment between their assignments and their skills. As an example, Huawei’s high-pressure work environment can be reflected in its rule of a full cut-off of any connection between its internal network and the public Internet. Another example is its policy that total daily personal phone call time cannot be longer than five minutes. Huawei’s average daily staff overtime is 3.96 hours.

Source: Sohu, February 17, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/295282687_482734?scm=1002.0.0.0

Because online media have had an effect, many media in China have been unable to make ends meet due to the drop in advertising revenue. Around New Year’s Day 2019, more than ten paper-based media such as Beijing Morning Post, Beijing Suburban Daily and Heilongjiang Morning News had ceased publication. Another reason for the suspension is related to the authorities’ tightened control over what the reporters can cover.

A political observer published an article on Monday February 11, pointing out that the Internet is “killing” traditional media. In particular, the popularity of smartphones and social media has led to a “free fall” in the circulation and advertising volume of newspapers and magazines. The advertising revenue of Chinese newspapers has shrunk from 41 billion yuan (US$60.6 billion) in 2012 to 10.2 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in 2016, a drop of three-quarters in just four years. This is also comparable to the decline in the American newspaper industry.

A unique phenomenon in the decline of traditional media in China is that most of the publications that went down or died are local morning and evening newspapers concentrating on stories about local people and events, while the party’s mouthpiece newspapers have not stopped their publications but have generally exhibited a trend of growth. Researchers found that the party’s mouthpiece newspapers have a variety of new sources of income, including local governments’ direct subsidies. For example, Guangzhou Daily, the mouthpiece for the Guangzhou Chinese Communist Party Committee, received a subsidy of 350 million yuan (US$52 million) in 2016. Local governments also put a number of advertisements in the party newspapers to promote their political achievements. Amid the current wave of anti-corruption campaigns, officials dare not put money into their own pockets, but choose to spend money on party newspaper advertisements in order to benefit their careers. In addition, officials need to read the party newspapers to understand the policy trends. They can also showcase their political awareness by subscribing to many party newspapers. All these have led to an increase in the circulation of party newspapers.

An observer told Radio Free Asia, “Because the media is controlled, the media that the party runs still relies on fiscal expenditures. On newspaper subscriptions, every year the provincial government and the provincial propaganda department issue directives to tell us which newspapers we need to subscribe to. People’s Daily and Beijing Daily, (we have to subscribe to them).”

Yang Shaozheng, a former professor at Guizhou University, told RFA that, in mainland China, there is no real market-oriented media. All media have the surname of “party,” but some media are more market-oriented. The cessation of the metropolitan and local newspapers is a good thing for the Chinese Communist Party. “In that case, the Communist Party can shrink the battle’s front line and make sure all the mouthpieces have one voice, which is the voice of the party. The whole country’s ideologies are unified.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 13, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql2-02132019095151.html

According to a report that the market research institute IDC released on January 30, the deployment of video surveillance cameras in China will reach 2.76 billion units by 2022. With nearly 1.4 billion Chinese, on average, each person will “own” two surveillance cameras. The report also said that, in the next few years, China will spend another $30 billion on improving the technical capabilities of tracking activities .

China has become the world’s largest market for security and surveillance technology. Research firm IHS Markit predicts that China will purchase three-quarters of the servers used for facial recognition in video footage.

In recent years, with the advancement of smart city projects, the public video surveillance network has achieved rapid development. At present, facial recognition systems have been deployed in streets and alleys across China, recording every move that the people make. The government calls it a “smart city.” China has also built the world’s largest video surveillance system, which can accurately identify a pedestrian’s age, gender, and dress.

After the completion of China’s huge video surveillance system “Skynet Project,” another “Bright-as-Snow Project” targeting rural areas started last year and, for the first time, was included in the “No. 1 Document” of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee. A Guangdong company launched a monitoring system for the “Bright-as-Snow Project,” which uses home TVs and smart phones to deliver surveillance videos to the house.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 4, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql1-02042019104522.html

Radio Free Asia reported that China claims that its new round of nuclear power construction will use domestic technology. On Thursday, January 31, the authorities approved the construction of four nuclear power plants in Huizhou, Guangdong and Zhangzhou, Fujian.They are expected to use the “Hualong No. 1” technology, which is known as independent research and development. However, some experts have questioned whether this so-called domestic technology was actually derived from a bankrupt U.S. company.

The Hong Kong Public Professionals Alliance has been following the safety of nuclear power plants in mainland China. Its policy spokesman, Li Guangde, told RFA that, although China claims to have independently developed the “Hualong No. 1” technology, in fact, Westinghouse Electric AP1000 technology developed its prototype before it filed for bankruptcy. Although the China Nuclear Safety administration approved these technologies, there has never been a disclosure of the technical documents and there has been no public participation in the approval process. According to Li, China is well aware that, in its future energy strategy, the focus is on renewable energy, including solar energy and hydropower. China already has this type of infrastructure, which is not fully used. The nuclear power industry could represent a big interest group, Li said, the battle between renewable energy and nuclear power will continue.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 1, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/gf1-02012019100816.html