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China Times: Over 50 Percent of Professionals Plan to Leave Hong Kong

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported on a survey by Robert Walters which found that, although the Hong Kong government has introduced a number of measures in recent years to retain and attract talents, more than half of professionals still plan to leave Hong Kong.

Around 15.6 percent of the professionals hope to leave Hong Kong as soon as possible, and 36.7 percent plan to leave in the next 3 to 5 years. Among those planning to leave, 51 percent are between the ages of 27 and 42, and 38 percent are between the ages of 43 and 58.

The survey shows that 96 percent of the professionals who plan to leave have already taken strategic actions to prepare for working abroad. The most common strategy was working for a multinational company, with 60 percent of the respondents adopting this strategy. Meanwhile, some 40 percent of the respondents have already applied for overseas jobs, and 31 percent have started training and studying for overseas careers.

The survey interviewed professionals in different fields such as accounting, engineering and development, financial services, healthcare, human resources, legal and compliance, sales and marketing, supply chain, logistics and procurement, as well as technology and transformation, etc.

Source: China Times, October 2, 2023
https://www.ctee.com.tw/news/20231002701097-430801

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

Yunan University Military Training Performance: Students Act Out Police Suppression of Workers’ Protest

A recent video circulating online shows scenes from a military training performance at Chuxiong Normal University in Yunnan Province. In the video, students acted out how police might suppress workers who have not been paid and who are protesting for their salaries.

In the video, some students dressed as the “unpaid workers,” holding white pieces of paper displaying signs that read “Pay Our Debts.” Some workers at the fore wore black masks and rushed toward the “police,” also played by students. The police dressed in camouflage uniforms, using tear gas and other methods to disperse the workers. They then surrounded and violently restrained the workers, arresting and taking them away one by one.

The video has sparked widespread discussions among internet users. People commented that the CCP “does not treat people as people,” regarding even workers’ demands for unpaid wages as illegal. A report by the Epoch Times provided a footnote saying that China’s economy is worsening, so authorities may anticipate more incidents and clashes around workers’ unpaid salaries.

Source: Epoch Times, October 4, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/10/4/n14087686.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Social Stability

Third Wave of Mass COVID Infection in China

COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise again in China. According to the Beijing CDC, the number of COVID patients has surged by more than 70% in recent days, with outbreaks occurring in many places throughout China. The main strain of the COVID virus currently prevalent within China is EG.5, according to an August 19 announcement by China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A large number of young children in various places are showing symptoms such as high fever, “white lungs” (patient’s lung appear as white in X-ray or CT picture due to infection), and difficulty in breathing. Many hospitals in China are calling the virus “mycoplasma pneumonia.” Some people have speculated that the authorities may be purposely avoiding the term “COVID,” opting to call the infection by a different name.

Many Chinese people are now being infected with the COVID virus for the third time, known as the “third positive” on Chinese social media. The “first positive” wave happened during late 2022 and early 2023, and the “second positive” wave happened in Spring of 2023.

Source: NTDTV, August 31, 2023
http://cn.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/08/31/a103776688.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese MSS: Retired Cadres Plotted “Death Squads” to Topple Regime

The China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) website revealed that in 2016 it uncovered and foiled a plot by a retired school official in Yunnan province to “violently overthrow the government.” The official, surnamed Su, had posted anti-government rhetoric online for years before contacting members of a “foreign hostile organization” to purchase weapons and recruit “death squads” for what he called the “Benghazi Project of China.” Su planned to carry out violent operations to subvert state power. China’s state security organs reportedly identified and arrested all those involved while the plot was still in early stages of planning.

The MSS said this case reflects the threat of “color revolutions” (referring to revolutions in post-Soviet states attempting to establish Western-style liberal democracy) and other attempts by “hostile forces” to undermine China’s political system and Chinese Communist Party leadership. “Political security is the foundation of national security,” it emphasized.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), August 15, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202308150324.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

CNA: China Has One of the Lowest Fertility Rates Globally

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that fertility rates in China are now among the lowest in the world. According to projections, the country’s trend of negative population growth will continue until the 2070s or 2080s.

In 2015, Beijing announced the end of its one-child policy, which had been in place for decades. The two-child policy was enacted the following year, followed by a three-child policy in 2021. These attempts to mitigate the country’s low birth rates have met with little success.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China in January this year, China’s population in 2022 decreased by 850,000 from the end of 2021. This was the first negative population growth in China in 61 years.

According to the article, China’s low fertility rate is attributable to three major factors: some people can’t afford children, some don’t want to have children, and some are not able to have children. The financial factor is due to unsatisfactory material conditions, such as housing pressure and low disposable income. Reluctance to give birth, on the other hand, stems from psychological factors. The government does not have many options to change the situation.

The future of China’s demographic structure looks quite pessimistic.

Source: CNA, August 12, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202308120027.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China Continues Campaign Against Healthcare Sector Corruption, 10 Arrested in a Week

A report from Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that a crackdown on corruption in China’s medical industry is continuing, with at least 10 more people in the field investigated in the past week. The most recently investigated include hospital directors and CCP secretaries. This brings the total number of people investigated to at least 159 since the beginning of the crackdown.

The report cited a case in which a hospital director pocketed a 16 million yuan in kickbacks after importing a linear accelerator at an inflated price. It also described how pharmaceutical companies are trying to gain a higher market share by infiltrating hospitals through various channels, and how the expectation of large kickbacks is squeezing medical suppliers and sales agents. According to one industry insider, average kickbacks to hospital insiders is 20% to 30%, while sales staff have been squeezed, receiving only very small commissions. This situation comes about because there is typically more than one supplier to a given hospital department for the same product, and the department will choose to purchase the product from the company that offers the highest kickback.

Some pharmaceutical companies have used the pretext of sponsoring scientific research funds and academic conferences to transfer illegal benefits. The industry insider said that some high-level hospital officials drive luxury cars or fly business class when traveling. They are often invited to meetings and travel often “while ordinary people have to face the high cost of medical care.”

The report said that the current medical corruption crackdown is targeting the key links of production, supply, sales, use and reimbursement in the medical field, and pharmaceutical companies have also become a central focus of the campaign.

The National Health Commission of China and the country’s disciplinary inspection and supervision organs have held video conferences to mobilize and deploy efforts in addressing medical corruption nationwide. The meetings stressed the need to “increase the intensity of discipline and law enforcement, focus on leading cadres and key post personnel, persist in investigating bribery, concentrate forces to investigate and deal with corruption cases in the medical field, and form a ‘deterrent'”.

The crackdown on medical corruption is a major initiative by the Chinese government to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce the financial burden on patients. It is a sign that the government is serious about addressing the problem of corruption in the healthcare sector.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), August 8, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202308080307.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The “Four-Don’ts Youth” vs. the “Four-Wants Youth”

Since April 2023, the phrase “Four-Don’ts Youth” (“四不青年”) has been circulating on the Chinese Internet, referring to Chinese youths who “don’t look for a date, don’t get married, don’t buy a house, and don’t have children” (“不找对象、不结婚、不买房、不要孩子”). It is another form of “lying flat,” a negative life attitude among young people who have lost hope in life and decide not to put in effort to change their situation.

China’s communist regime is concerned about the country’s demographic situation — it needs people to produce more babies and spend more money so as to head off economic stagnation. A document reportedly from the Guangzhou Municipal Communist Youth League said that, in survey of 15,501 individuals, 1,215 respondents have chosen to follow the “Four-Don’ts” lifestyle. The authorities called for converting youths from “Four-Don’ts” to “Four-Wants” (“want to look for a date, want to get married, want to buy a house, and want to have children” (“要谈恋爱、要结婚、要买房、要孩子”).

Source: China Digital Times, July 19, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/698115.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Social Stability

Beijing City Passes Anti-Terrorism Measures

The Beijing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee has voted to pass implementation measures for the “People’s Republic of China Anti-Terrorism Law.” The measures will come into effect on January 1, 2024. The passed measures cover a wide range of activities in daily life, including renting a car, renting a homestay, buying gasoline, and sending a parcel.

For example, the passed measures require that people who rent a car must be identified and their information must be registered. Postal and express companies must also conduct security inspections of parcels and register parcels information. Gas stations must identify people who buy gasoline and record the amount of gasoline bought and the purpose for which it is used.

The measures also require that people who rent a homestay be identified and that people who take the Beijing subway must undergo security checks. Drone owners must register their drones with the government and must update their registration information if they sell, transfer, damage, scrap, or lose their drone or if it is stolen.

Under the new measures, Internet service providers must take measures to prevent the spread of information that contains terrorist or extremist content. If internet service providers find information that contains terrorist or extremist content, they must immediately stop transmitting it, save the relevant records, delete the relevant information from the web, and report the incident to the public security organs or relevant departments of the government. Internet service providers that provide information on the sale of goods or accommodation, instant delivery, or car rental must provide technical assistance to the public security organs and national security organs in accordance with the law to prevent and investigate terrorist activities.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 30, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307300108.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability