Information/Technology - 50. page

On August 21, the China Internet Security and Information Office got a new director, Zhuang Rongwen. New censorship is now being directed against new social media in the form of short video platforms.

Since July, the Office has been urging all major short video platforms to impose “self-censorship.” So far more than 1.1 million accounts that violated the rules have been blocked, 8.1 million instances of “harmful” short videos have been deleted and 19 short video apps have been disciplined.

The Office also called for a meeting with 36 commercial short video platforms to give them guidelines. One example is that they must ensure “socialism’s core values” are reflected in their production. The Office also encouraged government and traditional media entering this new media platform “to occupy the new frontier of propaganda actively.” As a good example, it cited the “Youth League” setting up an account in the popular “Dou Yin” platform. The Dou Yin platform was one of the most popular social media in China. It has reported having .5 billion active users globally with overseas versions in Japan, Thailand, India, and Germany, among other countries.

On Aug 21, the Office together with Public Security Ministry issued a new notice. Short videos need to use “real names.” It also started to “blacklist” those (“rule-breaking”) broadcasters.

Source: Deutsche Welle, August 24, 2018
https://p.dw.com/p/33hQ9

Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that China may have developed cyberattack technologies enabling it to intervene in neighboring countries’ politics. It is believed that China may have used Cambodia’s July 29 general election as a rehearsal, giving it the potential to interfere with intelligence collection and political elections in Asian countries in the future. According to the report, the practices include obtaining confidential information by illegal means, releasing false web information to manipulate voter psychology, and influencing the outcome of the elections by polarizing the target country’s public opinion and attacking the opposition camp.

The report expressed the suspicion that China set up its cyber warfare command center on Hainan Island. The evidence is an email received by Kem Monovithya, the daughter of Kem Sokha, the leader of Cambodia’s largest opposition party. The e-mail carried a virus that was capable of collecting confidential information. An Investigation showed that the server that the email was sent from is located on Hainan Island, China. Based upon the technology and hardware infrastructure, the investigation concluded that the email was undoubtedly linked to China.

This Hainan-based server, according to the report, was found to infringe frequently on Cambodian facilities. It is quite possible that China is using the Cambodian election as a drill to improve its cyber-attack technology. The ultimate goal may be to use the Internet to intervene in the politics of neighboring countries. This practice could be just treading on the heels of Russia.

Source: Radio France International, August 20, 2018
http://rfi.my/31Xx.T

On August 13, China Unicom’s Beijing branch officially released the “5G NEXT” plan. At the same time, it launched the first batch of 5G sites. As one of China Unicom’s 16 5G pilot cities, Beijing Unicom took the lead in rolling out 5G scale tests for commercial use. It plans to build 300 stations by the end of 2018, covering a wide range of applications such as large scale network testing, the application of ecological services, and business experience promotion.

A Beijing Municipal official said that, in the next five years, in key areas including Beijing City’s Second Center, Beijing’s New Airport, the 2019 Beijing World Expo, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and Chang’an Street, there will be demonstrations of applications of automatic driving, big data health and medical care, industrial grade Internet, smart city, and ultra-high definition video.

Source: Sputnik News, August 13, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/china/201808131026111173/

Radio Free Asia reported that, according to a notice that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued, certain batches of Valsartan (the medication used for high blood pressure and heart failure treatment) that the Zhejiang Tianyu Pharmaceutical Company manufactured were found to be impure and polluted with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). EMA is working with other international partners to investigate the impact of Valsartan. Prior to this, the study found that, when taken on a daily basis, one in every 5,000 patients who took a high dosage of the Valsartan that the Zhejiang Huahai company (not related to Zhejiang Tianyu) manufactured had cancer. In July, there was already a recall of Valsartan, due to safety concerns. The Canadian Health Department also stated that several drug companies have recalled the Valsartan generic drug out of concern for NDMA contamination. Currently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) as a material that causes cancer.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 11, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/3-08112018123648.html

Xinhua reported that, in recent years, China’s international express service has rapidly expanded overseas. For the first six months of 2018, the International express service’s volume, including service to Hong Kong and Macau, reached 520 million pieces, which was a 43.1 percent increase from the same period in 2017. China’s JD Logistics has a delivery service that covers seven islands and 483 cities in Indonesia. YTO Express Group, ZTO Express, and Rookie Network can provide supply chain service in receiving, warehousing, and freight forwarding with the ability to deliver anywhere around the world in less than 10 days. These freight companies have also invested in building international air transportation channels and setting up warehouses in other countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Japan. The Xinhua article stated, “China is using its logistics technology and supply chain management capabilities to let the world enjoy “China’s speed.”

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2018-08/05/c_1123225398.htm

The vaccine safety problem that has occurred in China recently highlights the ineffectiveness of China’s drug regulatory system. At present, since China supplies 40 percent of world’s pharmaceutical raw materials, the international community has begun to question its drug quality. The Central News Agency reported that, in 2017, the value of pharmaceutical raw materials that China exported was US$29 billion. Their customers included Teva Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis. It is estimated that 80 percent of the pharmaceutical raw materials used by U.S. drug companies are sourced from China and India. In 2017, Chinese drug manufactures received 22 warnings from the FDA compared to 5 warnings in 2014. European Medicines Agency data reported that 10 percent of the pharmaceutical raw materials made in China failed its inspection. In July, European Medicines Agency and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration issued warnings that antihypertensive drugs made in Zhejiang Province could cause cancer. In Beijing, the officials announced that hundreds and thousands of vaccines with quality issues were sold on the market and vaccine manufacturers were accused of forged production data. According to the FDA news website, in 2017, China joined the ICH (International Council for Harmonization) as its eighth regulatory member, pledging to transform its pharmaceutical regulatory authorities, industry, and research institutions gradually in order to implement the international coalition’s technical standards and guidelines.

Source: Central News Agency, August 7, 2018
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201808070293-1.aspx

On July 31, the “Airborne Traffic Police,” the multi-rotor drones, were formally put into use in Jinan City of Shandong Province. Their main purpose was to photograph drivers who were using phones illegally or making phone calls while driving. This is the first time that Jinan has used police drones to capture traffic violators. The traffic police team has invested in four drones to cooperate with law enforcement.  Beijing Youth Daily reported that, half an hour into their debut, five illegal activities were captured on the spot.

“At 7 o’clock in the morning, at one traffic light crossroad, a multi-rotor drone carrying a high-definition camera was hovering around and ‘observing’ the car drivers to see whether there were illegal activities such as using mobile phones and making phone calls. Not long after, a white car appeared in the surveillance video connected to the drone. While waiting at the red light, the driver’s right hand was on the steering wheel and his left hand picked up the phone to play. The drone repeatedly adjusted the angle and focal length, while recording the whole process of the man playing with the mobile phone while driving. Soon, the traffic police at the traffic light intersection found the man and fined him for the violation.

“The Jinan Municipal Public Security Bureau formed the police aviation team, which started trial operations in April of this year. The members of the police team have superb drone flight skills and practical experience in traffic management. The team has carried out trial operations for nearly three months and the team members have accumulated more than 200 hours of safe flight time. The drone and its videotaping device are specially designed for collecting evidence of both dynamic and static traffic violations.”

Source: Beijing Youth Daily, August 1, 2018
http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2018-08/01/content_298239.htm?div=-1