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Xingtai Calls for Emergency Donations of Pandemic Materials

On January 10, 2021, the United Front Work Department of the Xingtai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Hebei Province, issued a solicitation calling for emergency donations of pandemic materials for Nangong city which is under Xingtai’s jurisdiction.

According to the solicitation, the Xingtai epidemic is at a critical stage. “The situation is grave and the task is arduous.” Nangong City urgently needs the following 16 categories of items: single beds, mattresses, quilts; pillows, toiletry bags, thermos bottles, electric kettles, electric plug panels, water buckets with lids; water scoops, washbasins; hand sanitizers, (13) bed sheets, trash bins, medical disposal bags, and portable potties.

“5,000 sets of the above 16 items are urgently needed: 1,000 sets are needed today (January 10), 2,000 more are needed tomorrow (January 11), and the remaining 2,000 sets may be accepted in installments. It is preferred that all sets come in together at one time.”

The authorities indicated that these materials will be used for front-line medical workers and those personnel working with quarantined people.

Source: Dazhongwang, January 11, 2021
https://w.dzwww.com/p/7571109.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese Pork Market Price Skyrocketed

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that, since the end of December, pork prices have seen a significant increase across China, especially in Eastern China, Southern China and Southwestern China. The daily pork price increase rate reached 0.43 Chinese Yuan. The Imported pork price reached 36.02 Chinese Yuan (per half kilogram). In Northeastern China, the daily price increase reached 0.6 Chinese Yuan and the domestic pork price was almost 20 Chinese Yuan (per half kilogram). With the new year’s price hike, it is widely expected that the upcoming Chinese New Year (early February) will have another major increase in the price of pork. Many retailers now refuse to sell pork in hand and hope to make much more money by waiting just a few days, even if this means the breach of a contract where a compensation deposit was received. China is currently suffering a decline in imported pork volume due to the pandemic. Pork holds two thirds of Chinese meat market and its price significantly impacts the CPI (Consumer Price Index), which is a major indicator of an economy.

Source: Sohu, January 4, 2021
https://m.k.sohu.com/d/507690233?channelId=3&page=5

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

354 Tested Positive and 11,708 Quarantined in Shijiazhuang

At a press conference on January 8, 2021, the Hebei Province authorities stated that, from January 6 to January 9, 2021, Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, tested 10,251,875 residents for COVID-19. There were 354 positive results and 11,708 residents were quarantined.

Of the 354 positive cases, 298 were from in the Gaocheng District. Gaochen is one of eight districts of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province.

In Shijiazhuang, local stores are operating online exclusively to serve residents in the 537 residential communities. They include 90 produce wholesale markets, 59 medium to large supermarkets, 359 chain convenience stores, and 1,200 community convenience stores.

According to the local authorities, as of 8 am on January 9, 2021, Shijiazhuang had quarantined 11,708 people and has activated 120 quarantine facilities. The epidemic has not shown a clear turning point, and the risk of spreading still remains.

Source: Sina.com, January 9, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2021-01-09/doc-iiznezxt1528200.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Sister of Imprisoned and Missing Human Rights Lawyer Committed Suicide

China’s famous human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been missing for more than three years and the Chinese Communist authorities have yet to issue any notice to Gao’s family. At the beginning of 2021, it was learned that Gao’s elder sister was in despair and committed suicide. Gao Zhisheng’s wife Geng He, now living in exile in the U.S., said that his sister attempted suicide twice before, because of the terror and the pressure due to what happened to her brother.

Gao Zhisheng, one of China’s top lawyers, represented cases of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China. Between 2004 and 2005, Gao published three open letters to the then head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, exposing the stories of torture and mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners in labor camps and asking the authorities to change their unlawful policy toward Falun Gong. In 2006, Gao had his lawyer’s license revoked for speaking out for the marginalized and persecuted groups. He was subsequently abducted from his sister’s house in Shandong and sentenced to three years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power.” In 2017, after serving his sentence, he disappeared .

Now Gao has been missing for more than 1,200 days. According to his wife, Geng He, that is the longest period of disappearance for Gao. She is worried that Gao has been tortured badly and is also deeply worried about his health.

On the first day of the new year, Geng He tweeted that in May 2020, Gao Zhisheng’s elder sister in Shandong committed suicide by jumping into the river due to prolonged and deep fear, depression and despair about her brother’s situation.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 4, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/bx-01042021155959.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

LTN: Over 10 Million Chinese Emigrated in 2019

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that, according to the newly released IOM (International Organization for Migration) global report, in 2019, around 10.7 million people from China emigrated to foreign countries. China ranked number three in the world, after India and Mexico. The Report indicated that, in 2019, over 40 percent of the world’s immigrants came from Asia, mainly India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Most Chinese emigrants moved to the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia. By the end of 2019, there were over three million Chinese immigrants living in the U.S., the second largest number after Mexico, which has major illegal immigration issues. Education is the primary driver for the Chinese immigrants, whose average age got consistently younger over the past ten years. New York immigration lawyer Guo Jin explained that, from his experience, a lot of Chinese parents simply could not accept their kids getting brainwashed.

Source: LTN, December 26, 2020
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3393193

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

RFA Chinese: Hong Kong Experiencing Unprecedented Wave of Emigration

Radio Free Asia Chinese Edition recently reported on multiple statistics that showed that Hong Kong is currently facing an unprecedented wave of emigration. In the past two years, more and more Hong Kong residents planned to emigrate. However, with the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, those plans are now actually turning into reality. In May, inquiries on Canadian immigration, HSBC offshore accounts, Citibank overseas accounts, as well as BNO (British National Overseas) passports have skyrocketed. Right now, the Hong Kong police are issuing a record-high number (during the pandemic months)  of Certificates of No Criminal Record, which is usually the last required step for emigration. Most of the people leaving are middle class residents. The wealthiest need more time to sell tied-up local real-estate and the low-income residents cannot afford the emigration costs. The first major emigration wave came after Hong Kong’s return to China, when most of those emigrating did so based because of a lack of confidence; many families only sent members like children overseas. This new round sees more situations of complete families fleeing. The biggest concern is still the worry about children being brainwashed.

Source: RFA Chinese, December 17, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/ac-12172020005741.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

Wall Built along Myanmar Border to Stop People from Fleeing China

The Chinese government is building walls along the China-Myanmar border in Yunnan Province to prevent illegal border crossings. The Twitter account of the first special zone of Myanmar’s northern Shan State, where the Kokang ethnic group resides, recently posted that in order to prevent its citizens from illegally emigrating to Myanmar, the Chinese government has completed the first phase of the project which is code-named “Great Wall of the South” – a 660-kilometer-long wall of barbed wire. The second phase of the project will be completed by the end of next year. By then, more than 2,000 kilometers of the Myanmar-China border will be completely detached.

The Twitter of Myanmar’s northern Shan State also claimed that the third phase of the “Great Wall of the South” will be completed in October 2022, and high-voltage electric wiring will be installed at key smuggling passages. Video surveillance cameras and infrared alarms will be installed everywhere.

Si Ling, a scholar on China-Myanmar relations, told Radio Free Asia that the Chinese government’s construction of a high wall on the China-Myanmar border is not to prevent the influx of the coronavirus.

Si said that China’s decision to build this wall was not made overnight, but after very rigorous planning. In the past, it was easy to cross the borders between China and Vietnam and China and Myanmar. The people of the two countries would be in China today, and go to Vietnam tomorrow, and even go back and forth within the same day. The purpose of Beijing’s construction of this wall is to prevent the people from leaving China.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 14, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/wall-12142020073935.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

RFA: Ministry of Public Security Announced Internet ID Card Pilot Program

The Ministry of Public Security recently announced that China has launched a new pilot program on “Internet ID Cards” in Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Instead of using the personal ID to register for internet service, the new technology uses the applicants’ biometrics. To obtain a certificate, the applicant must provide the police with biological and personal data such as face, fingerprint and ID card chip. After verification, the Ministry of Public Security will issue a certificate. When netizens open or use different online services, they can use the certificate instead of entering identity information for authentication. According to the official statement, the network card is linked to the applicant’s biometrics and ID card, and has multiple passwords. It is extremely difficult to be forged.

The Ministry of Public Security chose Guangdong and Fujian as the pilot sites for network ID cards.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 27, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/GF1-11272020050155.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability