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CAAC to Cathay: Crew Members Who Support Hong Kong Protesters Should Be Banned from Mainland Routes

Starting on Friday August 9, at one of the busiest airports in Asia, the Hong Kong International Airport, a large-scale assemblage of citizens who are against the extradition law have gathered. They have been there for the last three days. During the rally, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a major aviation safety risk warning to Cathay Pacific Airways, the flag carrier of Hong Kong.

CAAC said that it is concerned that some crew members of Cathay have been charged with rioting because they have participated in violent attacks, but they were not stopped from flying. In addition, CAAC believes that some Cathay employees have maliciously leaked passenger information, posing a serious threat to aviation safety.

CAAC demanded of Cathay Pacific, starting from the early hours on Saturday morning, that all personnel who participated or supported the “illegal” parades and protests and violent attacks and exhibited “excessive” behaviors should be stopped immediately from performing all duties on the mainland flights. Starting in the early morning on Sunday, Cathay Pacific was required submit to the mainland Chinese authority the identity information of all crew members on routes arriving at or flying over mainland China. Beijing would not accept the flight unless approval was given to the crew members.

At the same time, hundreds of Hong Kong citizens have been participating in anti-extradition law rallies at the arrival area of the Hong Kong International Airport. Most people wear black clothes and some wear masks. They have been explaining to travelers what has happened in the past two months in Hong Kong. They have used posters, pictures, songs, slogans, and printed materials. Some people expressed the belief that the event at the airport can help attract international attention.

The BBC reported that, in a statement on Monday afternoon, Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said it was cancelling all flights that were not yet checked in. “More than 160 flights scheduled to leave after 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) will now not depart.”

Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia , August 9, 2019.
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/gf1-08092019081926.html
2. BBC, August 112, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49317975

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Aboluowang: Secrete Document Shows Social Credit System to Be Applied to Religious Sites

In recent years, communist China has continued to expand its persecution of religious groups. It was disclosed that the authorities have established a system in which it rates religious sites. Those that have a low score could face a temporary shutdown. If the points continue to fall below the threshold, they will be closed completely.

According to a document that the United Front Work Department of the Henan Provincial Government issued, the authorities have asked officials to rate each religious site from 1 to 5 stars. The document shows that religious sites that scored 95 or more will be rated 5 stars. If the scores are between 50 and 75 for two consecutive years, they will be forced to stop operations for 1 year for internal restructuring and the management will be replaced. If they refuse to make changes or if their score is less than 50 points for two consecutive years, their license will be revoked, which means that they will be completely closed.

The scoring criteria are quite strict and there are numerous ways for points to be reduced. For example, the authorities regard the illuminated cross as a “missionary act.” If a religious place displays signs with neon, a horn, or an illuminated cross, it will lose ten points. If the relevant personnel are unfamiliar with the religious policy, 5 to 10 points will be taken off. If the party members enter the church for personal reasons, 5 points will be taken off. If religious print materials are distributed, 10 points will be taken off.

It is expected that the social credit system will be fully launched and implemented nationwide next year. The rights of the religious personnel could suffer further infringement.

Source: Aboluowang, August 4, 2019
https://www.aboluowang.com/2019/0804/1324416.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Liberty Times: Beijing Is Planning to Impose Martial Law in Hong Kong

According to Liberty Times, Guo Wengui, a wealthy Chinese businessman who applied for asylum in exile in the United States, said in a live broadcast on August 1 that he has obtained internal information from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that the Communist Party has fully issued a statement of its intent to declare martial law in Hong Kong!

Guo said that the CCP’s preliminary plan is to start implementing the martial law between August 4 and 6, subject to the situation on the 5th of the development of the upcoming August 5th protest. All groups of people, including the Hong Kong government staff, are planning to participate in that protest. The CCP’s martial law is said to be based on China’s National Security Law and the PLA’s Garrison Law in Hong Kong, and is to be “at the request of the Hong Kong Government.”

Guo pointed out that, during the period of martial law in Hong Kong, basically no person will be allowed to enter Hong Kong but only to exit. Both the Hong Kong Government and the PLA’s Garrison will establish the martial law headquarters. It will control the food, drink, medicine and medical treatment, and society’s security. One country with two systems will die completely.

It is said that foreign personnel and institutions stationed in Hong Kong will be investigated and the protesters, who have been on the streets since June 9, will be arrested.

Source: Liberty Times, August 2, 2019
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2871551

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics Social Stability

RFI: Over Tens Thousand Wuhan Residents Protest against Waste Burning Power Plant

The residents of Yangluo Street, Xinzhou District, Wuhan, on the outskirts of Hubei Province, have been protesting on the streets because the authorities expressed their intention to build a large-scale waste burning power plant. Some media said that the number of protesters was more than ten thousand people. The local police used force to disperse the demonstrators and some people were reportedly injured. The protest started on June 28 and lasted until July 2 and 3 when images taken from the protest scene started to circulate on the Internet. According to the local residents, the authorities plan to build a power plant that can burn 4,000 tons of waste each day. The location of the plant is in an area with a population of over 300,000 people and there are two large size colleges. People are concerned about the toxic quality of the air from the plant and the fact that the authorities did not communicate with the locals about the project.

From the video and photos taken at the scene, it can be seen that the public protest went into the late evening. Thousands of people were on the streets. The uniformed police force is seen standing next to them. After a fight broke out, the police took away a number of residents. Some of them were injured and had blood flowing from their heads. Meanwhile there are inconsistent messages from the local officials. One official’s open letter said that the news about the power plant was fake news and there were no plans to build such a plant. However based on public information, in June, officials from Wuhan City responded to a question and stated that the existing landfill in the region of Yangluo Street would stop operating by the end of 2020 and would be replaced with a waste burning power plant that can burn 2,000 tons of waste each day.

Source: Radio France Internationale, July 6, 2019
http://cn.rfi.fr/20190706-%E6%AD%A6%E6%B1%89%E4%B8%87%E4%BA%BA%E4%B8%8A%E8%A1%97%E5%8F%8D%E5%AF%B9%E5%BB%BA%E7%84%9A%E5%8C%96%E5%8E%82-%E8%AD%A6%E6%96%B9%E5%BC%BA%E5%8A%9B%E6%B8%85%E5%9C%BA%E8%A7%81%E8%A1%80/

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Apple Daily: HK Chief Executive Polled Record Low Support

Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that the latest poll showed that Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor saw a free-fall in the level of her support after her handling of the two protests that were held (one involving a million residents and another involving nearly double that size). They were held to protest the government-proposed amendment of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (also known as the Extradition Bill). Carrie Lam’s support rate fell to 23 percent, according to the poll. Her opposition rate reached 67 percent. This is the lowest level since she took office in 2017. The poll also showed that she lost more support from the younger population and from the people who had a higher education. The opposition parties are calling for her resignation. The same poll showed the Hong Kong government suffered a support rate of 18 percent while the opposition rate was at 72 percent. This is the lowest point since July 2003. The number of residents polled who still trust the city’s government reached the lowest level since 1992. In terms of the economy, the quality of life and the political environment, the particular element that receives the most complaints remains the political environment.

Source: Apple Daily, June 25, 2019
https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20190625/1589799/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

China’s Movie Market Saw First Box Office Decline in Nine Years

The China Business Journal recently reported from the Shanghai International Film Festival that statistics showed that the Chinese movie market saw a box office year-over-year decline of 6.35 percent in the first five months of this year. During this period, the national total viewership also declined from 689 million people to around 589 million. This is the first time since 2011 for the Chinese movie market to suffer a decline in box office revenue. One of the reasons for this dramatic decline was that, in 2018, the entertainment industry was hit with tax related scandals. Domestic movie makers were affected when the stock they held lost 72 percent of its value in the stock market. Another major issue is that half of the movies in the Chinese market were from the United States. The current poor relationship between China and the U.S. led to a government intervention which affected U.S. movie distribution in China. Even domestic movies were limited in choosing themes and stories.

Source: China Business Journal, June 16, 2019
http://www.cb.com.cn/index/show/zj/cv/cv13451781268/p/1.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

Mingpao: Hong Kong Lawyers Marched in Black

Mingpao, one of the primary Hong Kong newspapers, recently reported that, on June 7, around 3,000 Hong Kong lawyers marched in silence against the government’s recent plan to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. The proposed amendments effectively extend the Mainland’s criminal laws to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong legal community, along with the local residents, are deeply concerned about the independent status of Hong Kong’s its legal system. All participants in the march were dressed in black, with no signs, banners or slogans. The group walked from the Court of Final Appeal to the city government headquarters. The protesters were led by seven former chairpersons of the highly respected Hong Kong Bar Association. The number of participants in the march is considered to be the highest since Hong Kong returned to China. Multiple members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council also joined the march. The Legal community is also worried about the fact that the government criticized the judges expressing their opinions and did not consult them on law amendments. The focal point of these local public opinions is that, in the past, it was the Mainland government trying to bypass the Hong Kong legal system

This time it is the Hong Kong government.

Source: Mingpao, June 7, 2019
https://bit.ly/2F0r6CB

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

World Journal: U.S. Reporter Detained in Beijing for Interviewing People before June 4

Well-known U.S. Chinese language newspaper, the World Journal, recently reported that, right before June 4, a U.S. CBS reporter interviewed random Chinese people in the streets of Beijing. He entered the tightly controlled Tiananmen Square area asking young people about their knowledge of the Tank Man. The reporter also showed people the world-famous photo of the Tank Man blocking the path of the communist tanks on June 4, 1989. Most of the Chinese people questioned had no idea who the Tank man was. The local police ended up detaining the CBS reporter for about six hours. BBC reporters also did similar street interviews using the Tank Man photo. Most people interviewed did not know anything about the Tank Man. However, some appeared to know but refused to admit it.

Source: World Journal, June 5, 2019
https://bit.ly/2XCtqXM

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability