Skip to content

Social Stability - 24. page

UDN: Hong Kong Refused to Renew another Foreign Reporter’s Visa

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that, under the new Hong Kong National Security Law, the Hong Kong government refused to renew another foreign reporter’s work visa. The British magazine The Economist issued a statement on November 12, saying that  Hong Kong government refused to renew the work visa of Sue-Lin Wong, a journalist based in Hong Kong. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, also said, “We regret the decision of the Hong Kong authorities to refuse to renew the visa, and the authorities have not given a reason.” He is proud of Wong’s reports and calls on the Hong Kong government to maintain access to foreign media, which is critical to Hong Kong’s status as an international city. Wong’s reporting focused on social and political news in China and Hong Kong. Before joining The Economist, she was a reporter for the Financial Times and Reuters. The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it does not comment on individual cases. Since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law last year, the Hong Kong government has rejected the work visas of many foreign journalists, including the Irish reporter Aaron McNicholas from the English media The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), and Chris Buckley, a reporter from The New York Times. The government did not give the reason for the refusal.

Source: UDN, November 13, 2021
https://udn.com/news/story/7331/5888787

 

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

Pandemic: COVID Has Spread to 21 Provinces in China

On November 5, Beijing reported that COVID-19 had spread to 20 provinces. It also identified four high risk areas, which are in Beijing; Shijiazhang City, Hebei Province; Alashan League, Inner Mongolia; and Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province, respectively.

On November 11, Jilin Province reported an infection case. It thus became the 21st province in this recent round to have COVID cases .

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for hiding the details about the actual spread of COVID in China.

Related postings on Chinascope:

Sources:
1. China News Agency, November 5, 2021
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2021/11-05/9603192.shtml
2. Epoch Times, November 10, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/11/10/n13366469.htm

Hot Topics | | |   Social Stability

Ten Explosions in One Week in China

Recently the Chinese media reported that ten explosions occurred in China in the period from October 21 to 27.

  1. October 21: Shenyang City, Liaoning Province had an explosion that impacted 2,000 households in the neighborhood. (See Chinascope briefing: A Huge Explosion in Shenyang)
  2. October 22: A chemical plant in the Alashan League High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia, exploded in the middle of the night.
  3. October 24: There was an explosion on the top floor of a residential building in Dalian City, Liaoning Province.
  4. October 24: A lab at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Jiangsu Province, had an explosion.
  5. October 25: An explosion occurred on the food vendor street outside the Huangdao Campus of Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qiangdao, Shandong Province. The whole street was burned out.
  6. October 26: An explosion occurred at Shandong Ding Ding Chemical Technology Co. in Zibo City, Shandong Province.
  7. October 26: An explosion occurred in a residential building in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province.
  8. October 26: Nine fishing boats caught on fire in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province.
  9. October 27: A building under construction in Tianjin City was caught on fire.
  10. October 27: A fire broke out at a factory building and the hotel next to it in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province.

Political commentators expressed the thought that it was abnormal to see so many explosions or even the intensified reporting on the explosions, as the Chinese Communist Party tends to filter out negative news to portray a “stable” society.

Source: Epoch Times, October 31, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/10/31/n13342305.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Does Ruili City Need Help?

Ruili City in Yunnan Province is a key port city bordering Myanmar in southwest China. It has been locked down five times since last year due to Covid. The former Deputy Mayor Dai Rongli recently posted an article on the Internet stating that Ruili residents have suffered severely. He appealed to the government to provide aid to the city and its people.

This article spread widely among Chinese netizens.

The current Ruili Mayor Shang Labian responded that the article was only one person’s opinion and it used out-of-date data. He said that Ruili does not need support from other places. (Note: Communist Officials generally do not want negative exposure.)

Mao Xiao, the Party Secretary of Ruili’s Party Committee also said that the higher-level government has already provided them with a lot of support.

Many netizens from Ruili also posted comments on the Internet, stating, for example, “The mayor does not need help but I need help.”

Sources:
1. Lianhe Zaobao, October 29, 2021
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20211029-1208156
2.  Epoch Times, November 2, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/11/2/n13347206.htm

 

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

A Huge Explosion in Shenyang

On the morning of October 21, there was a huge explosion on the first floor of a building in Shenyang, a northeastern city in China. Videos posted on the Internet showed a mushroom cloud rose to six stories high. Everything, including the side walls, were all blasted off from the lower floors, with only the steel and concrete remaining. A bus driving by at that moment was pushed 10 meters away. Only the bus frame was left. National Business Daily reported this explosion impacted and ruined a total of 99 buildings.

The Latest official report said 5 people died and 47 were injured. The authorities said it was caused by a gap in a pipeline involved in pipeline work.

People questioned whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hid the actual number of injuries and the amount of the damage, given the miserable scenes of the aftermath.

Epoch Times also pointed out that, whether it is a coincidence or there are some reasons, there have been three explosions in China so far this year. All of them happened within the month before a major political event took place. The first one was on February 23. A restaurant in Beijing exploded. It was within one kilometer (0.6 miles) of Zhongnanhai which is where the top officials live. The explosion caused the building to collapse and seven people were injured. It was a month before the National People’s Congress conference in Beijing.

The second one was at Shiyan City, Hubei Province, in June. The CCP reported 25 deaths and 138 injuries. It was right before the CCP’s anniversary on July 1.

The Shenyang explosion is the third of the three explosions. It occurred within 20 days of the CCP’s 19th Congress Sixth Plenary meeting on November 8.

Right after the second explosion, the authorities reported the case of the rape of Wu Yifan (Kris Wu), a famous movie star and singer. For the third explosion, the authorities immediately reported Li Yundi for hiring a prostitute. Li is a pianist and in China, he is as famous as Lang Lang. These entertainment stars’ news became the hot topics that distracted people from focusing on the explosions.

Sources:
1. Epoch Times, October 22, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/10/22/n13323071.htm
2. National Business Daily, October 24, 2021
https://m.nbd.com.cn/articles/2021-10-24/1958549.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Second Baby Boomer Generation Enters Sixties in an Aging China

On October 14, 2021, China Business News ran a feature on the second baby-boomer population. The article was based on an interview with Yuan Xin, professor at the School of Economics of Nankai University, Tianjin, China.

 

Since 1949, China has experienced three “baby boomer periods.” They were from 1950 to1958, 1962 to 1975, and 1981 to1997. Those born during the three “baby boomer periods” will enter their 60s in 2010 to 2018, 2022 to 2035, and 2041 to 2057. These periods will bring three “shock waves” to China’s economy. 

 

Next year, China’s second baby-boomer population will officially become 60 years old.

 

Yuan said that at the end of the 21st century, the population of 60 and above will remain at 400 million and account for over 37 percent of the entire population in China.

 

Yuan said that, compared with other countries in the world, China’s elderly population has four unique characteristics.

 

One, China has a large number of older people who are 60 and above. According to the United Nations (UN) “World Population Prospects 2019,” forecast data shows that in 2052, China’s population of people at age 60 and above will reach the peak of 490 million people. One out of every four older people in the world will live in China.

 

Two, China is aging at an unprecedented rapid speed. Yuan said that the average annual growth rate of China’s elderly population far exceeds the average annual growth rate of the total population. The rate of population aging in China is faster than in countries with more than 100 million people.

 

Three, China has a larger share of the population aged 60 and above in its total population. In 2000, ten percent of its total population were 60 and above (aging country). The 2020 national census shows that the figure has reached 18.7 percent. It will exceed 20 percent in 2025 (making China a deeply aging country) and 30 percent in 2041 (making it a severely aging country), according to the United Nations. This means that it will take China 25 years from 2000 to transition from an aging country to a deeply aging country in 2025. That is 45 to 50 years faster than the average of developed countries. 

Further, it will take merely 16 years for China to transition from a deeply aging country in 2025 to a severely aging country in 2041, 14 years faster than the average of developed countries. In 2041, China will have  one of the oldest populations in the world.

 

Four, China is a super-stable aging country. When the rapid aging process is over, China will be a super-stable aging country in the second half of the 21st century due to its large senior population. By then, the size of China’s elderly population will remain between 400 million and 480 million, which is between 35 percent and 38 percent of its total population. 

 

Source: China Business Network, October 14, 2021

https://www.yicai.com/news/101197277.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Apple Removed the Quran and Bible Related Apps from Its AppStore

Shanghai-based Chinese business news site FX168 recently reported that Apple officially confirmed the removal of two apps from its AppStore, namely, “Quran Majeed” and “Olive Tree.” These two apps carry original religious books and related information. Apple explained that the removal was based on a request from the Chinese government. Critics argue that in some countries, many regulations that focus on “respecting” local rules are equivalent to censorship and Apple is too eager to comply. Apple argues that its first priority is to follow the laws of the countries in which it operates, regardless of whether it agrees with these regulations. The Quran Majeed app is still available on AppStores and Google Play in other countries. As one of the most popular religious apps in China, Quran Majeed has approximately 35 million users worldwide. Its Pakistani developer is in contact with the Chinese authorities to see if the situation can be resolved. The developer of the Bible app Olive Tree did not respond immediately to inquiries. China is one of Apple’s largest markets.

Source: FX168, October 15, 2021
https://news.fx168.com/politics/cn/2110/5410436.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology Social Stability US-China Relations

CNA: Due to Political Pressure, HKCTU Voted to Dissolve

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) issued a press announcement stating that on October 3, the affiliated association passed a resolution of dissolution. The resolution was passed with 57 votes in favor, 8 votes against and 2 abstentions. The representatives of the affiliated association are very aware of the situation of the trade unions and made a helpless decision in a very heavy and struggling mood. Hong Kong media reported in August that the National Security Office of the Hong Kong Police was investigating whether the Trade Union has violated the Hong Kong National Security Law. Some members have received messages stating that if, the Union continues to operate, its members will face threats to their personal safety. HKCTU co-founder and former Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Lee Cheuk-yan is currently in jail. At the beginning of the year, former HKCTU chairperson Carol Ng, was also arrested  on suspicion of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. HKCTU was also accused of working with the U.S. AFL-CIO.

Source: CNA, October 3, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202110030207.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability