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Chinese Lung Transplant Doctor Revealed Organ Harvesting Secret

Chen Jingyu (陈静瑜) and her team published a paper on China’s lung transplantation in JAMA Network Open, a publication under the Journal of the American Medical Association  (JAMA). Chen’s Lung Transplant Center in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, claimed this as the first time that Chinese lung transplant clinical data has been accepted by a top international journal. Chen is known as “the number one doctor in China’s lung transplants.”

Chen excitedly posted the news on WeChat and Weibo on May 8. She stated, “For a long time because we used organs from death row prisoners, the foreign (medical community) boycotted the organ transplantation in China because of ethical issues… In 2015, China fully implemented organ donation from people under heart and brain death. The organs of citizens with brain death have become our only source for organs. There is much gratitude for the 6,000 or so cases of organ donations each year in our country, which have allowed us to go global with lung transplants.”

Chen’s statement admitted two things: One: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long taken organs from death row inmates. Two: China is using organs from “brain-dead” people, not the “heart-brain-dead” people as the CCP ostensibly claimed.

Whether “brain-death” is considered real death is debatable in the medical community, since a “brain-dead” person can still keep breathing and has a heartbeat under medical equipment for a while. “Heart-brain-death” is fully dead.

China does not have a law on “brain-death.” Its definition of death in the Criminal Law is in line with the definition of “heart-brain-death.” Therefore, using organs from “brain-dead” people is illegal according to China’s own law.

China has been using the “Primary Brainstem Injury Impactor” device, invented by Wang Lijun, the former Vice Mayor and Public Security Chief of Chongqing. It is capable of precisely creating brainstem death without damaging other brain tissues or other organs. This invention was patented by China’s State Intellectual Property Office in 2012 under the patent number CN 202376254 U.

Source: Epoch Times, May 22, 2023
http://cn.epochtimes.com/gb/23/5/22/n14001686.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

It’s Getting Difficult to Enter the Ridesharing Business

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that large cities like Changsha, Sanya, Jinan, Suining, and Dongguan have successively released risk warning notices for the Uber-like ridesharing industry in China. The government has been reminding workers to enter cautiously. The ridesharing platforms and the number of ridesharing vehicles are growing rapidly and the market capacity is becoming saturated. In order to “maintain the market order” of the ridesharing industry, many local governments have decided to suspend the acceptance of related businesses registrations. Only a year ago, the ridesharing market was relatively free to enter. It was regarded by many people as one of the options for flexible employment opportunities. Now many cities have suspended the acceptance of related businesses. With the rapid growth of the unemployment rate, the industry as a whole is in a situation of more drivers and fewer orders, which will lead to a reduction in unit price and per capita order volume. This will result in a decline in driver income and an increase in working hours. Over time, service quality may fade away and friction between drivers and passengers will increase, among other issues. In the past two and half years, the number of ridesharing platforms that have obtained business licenses increased by 102, an increase of 49 percent. Also, the number of ridesharing driver licenses issued increased by 2.861 million, an increase of 112.4 percent. In the past 12 months, China added 1.014 million registered ridesharing drivers and 538,000 new ridesharing vehicles. However, the total number of orders nationwide has not increased significantly.

Source: Sina, May 18, 2023
https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/roll/2023-05-18/doc-imyufcvw4965891.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

Lianhe Zaobao: Unemployment Rate among Chinese Youth Rose Significantly

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the unemployment rate among Chinese youth aged 16-24 rose to more than 20.4 percent in April, reaching a record high. The same number was 19.6 percent only one month ago. Chinese officials admitted frankly that structural problems in employment are still relatively prominent. The number of college graduates hit a new high this year, and the unemployment rate among young people remains high too. Stabilizing and expanding youth employment still “requires continued efforts.” Since 2020, the bottom of the youth unemployment rate curve has been rising. This also means that, excluding cyclical and structural factors, the overall youth unemployment rate has been consistently on the rise. A high unemployment rate just shows that there is a problem with the supply of jobs. The decline in job supply is essentially caused by economic growth that has not met expectations. In recent years, the number of college graduates has continued to rise. Coupled with the unemployed groups left over from the past few years, the number of college students seeking jobs will continue to increase in 2023. This “snowball” effect of employment pressure is obvious. At the same time, the mismatch of skills and preferences increases the difficulty of employment as well.

Sources:
(1) Lianhe Zaobao, May 16, 2023
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20230516-1395140

(2) Tencent News, May 16, 2023
https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20230516A044CQ00

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

RFI Chinese: Hong Kong Government Removes Books from Public Libraries

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that the Hong Kong government asked all departments to strengthen the protection of national security. The Hong Kong public library system has removed many books from the library. This has included books by at least four former Legislative Council members and scholars belonging to the moderate democrats. In addition it has included the well-known late pro-democracy veteran Szeto Wah. The public library system, which is operated with public funds and managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, has refused to reveal the number of books removed from shelves due to national security concerns. Some commentators worry that this may be the beginning of the “Hong Kong Cultural Revolution.” A Ming Pao investigative report found that, since the end of 2020, the newspaper’s collection of materials in public libraries has been consolidated, among which 468 audio-visual materials and books involving political themes and figures have been taken off the shelves. At least 195 items, that is, 40 percent, have been removed in the past two and a half years. 96 of them, which accounts for nearly half of the total number of removals, were removed in the past year. The subject matter of many removed books has nothing to do with national security. The authorities seem to be searching and removing books from the shelves based on the author’s name. Some local commentators are worried that the frontline bureaucrats of the Hong Kong government do not understand Chinese politics. They only know how to carry out orders involving a book list and a few names.

Source: RFI Chinese, May 15, 2023
https://bit.ly/3IvTInT

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

The Chinese Government Refused to Help Its Citizens Who Were Kidnapped to Work as Slaves to Conduct Telemarketing Fraud

Some Chinese and Taiwanese were enticed to go to Southeast Asian countries for work and were then kidnapped there and forced to conduct telemarketing fraud against the Chinese people. Recently Little Chen, a man trapped in Myawaddy, Myanmar, called Radio Free Asia (RFA) to help. An RFA reporter spent a month attempting to contact various authorities in China to request help for him, but not a single office extended a hand.

Little Chen was from Hunan Province. He and two other fellow Hunan residents were sold by kidnappers to the East Wind Park in Myawaddy. He said that over 1,000 Chinese were working as slaves at that park. The slave master asked for US$30,000 to give him his freedom, but his family did not have the money. The slaves were closely monitored and were not allowed to contact their family members or friends for help.

Somehow Little Chen’s friend managed to contact his family in Hunan. His family reported the situation to the Hunan police, but the police took no action and instead, asked him to come back to China and warned that he would face criminal charge if he did not come back soon.

An RFA reporter tried to contract China’s Embassy at Myanmar, but none of the calls to listed public phone numbers went through. The reporter then contacted the Hunan Provincial Police Bureau, but the officer there rejected the request for help. The reporter contacted the office of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was told to contact the diplomat security bureau. The reporter contacted the diplomat security bureau, but the bureau staff said this was not their responsibility. The reporter contacted China’s Embassy in Thailand, since Thailand was just next to Myawaddy. The embassy referred the reporter to contact the Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai. The consulate told the reporter they knew that many Chinese were trapped in Myanmar, but said it was outside their scope. Only if those Chinese came to Thailand could they help. However, they do not suggest that they cross the Thai border since that is illegal. The reporter asked the progress of the joint effort to clean-out the telemarketing fraud by China, Myanmar, and Thailand; but the consulate staff said there is no such thing at all.

Little Chen has been losing his hope.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 5, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/myanmar-05052023125339.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

HK01: China Ranked Lower in World Press Freedom Index

Popular Hong Kong online media HK01 Network recently reported that, May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released the World Press Freedom Index 2023. Among the 180 countries and regions in the world, Mainland China hit a new low with 179th as the second lowest. Taiwan ranked 35th, up from last year’s 38. Hong Kong ranked 140th. The index is scored based on five indicators including politics, law, economy, society, and security in various regions, and through questionnaires from journalists, scholars, and human rights activists. The total score is obtained by quantifying and counting incidents of journalists and media being violated. Norway ranked first with a score of 95.18, followed by Ireland and Denmark. According to RSF, the bottom three places in this year’s ranking are all Asian countries, namely Vietnam (178th), China (179th) and North Korea (180th). It was the first time China had fallen to such a low ranking since the survey began. Over the past year, the rhetoric and approach of the Beijing government’s propaganda has become closer and closer to that of North Korea. In 2002, RSF released the Press Freedom Index for each region of the world for the first time. Hong Kong was ranked 18th at the time. In the following 21 years, Hong Kong’s ranking suffered a freefall to the 140th today.

Source: HK01, May 4, 2023
https://bit.ly/3AXJjNI

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Suicide Cases Are More Frequent In China

Suicide cases have been reported more frequently as the political and economic environments continue to deteriorate in China under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) rule.

On April 25, a male from Linyi City, Shandong Province bought a knife at a convenient store and then cut his own throat right there.

On April 23, a man jumped out of a shopping mall in Shanghai and died. His body also hit and injured a woman who was shopping at the mall.

On the same day, two 5th grade girls from Xiangtan City, Hunan Province jumped out of a high building.

On April 20, three people came to a tourist site in Shifang City, Shandong Province and drank poison to commit suicide.

On April 4, four people from different provinces gathered at Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, a famous mountainous site in China, took poison and then jumped off the cliff.

Source: Aboluowang.com, April 27
https://www.aboluowang.com/2023/0427/1894748.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability