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Leaked Documents Reveal CCP Plan to “Eliminate” Falun Gong, Escalating Persecution

The Falun Dafa Information Center has reportedly obtained information from insiders in China’s Ministry of Public Security’s (MPS) regarding the organization’s new plan to “dismantle Falun Gong worldwide,” including in the United States. Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) “is an ancient spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999 and has continued its persecution of the practice until today. The CCP has also targeted the Shen Yun performing arts group, which showcases traditional Chinese culture and religious beliefs and aims to raise awareness about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

The Falun Dafa Information Center’s report stated that “it is abundantly clear both from sources inside China as well as from observable attacks (on Falun Gong and Shen Yun) over the past few months that these escalations against Falun Gong have already begun and are trending into uncharted territory. The internal documents explicitly state that the regime’s aim is to ‘eliminate Falun Gong worldwide.’”

The MPS’ new plan has five tactics:

  1. “Coordinated propaganda attacks against Shen Yun, Falun Gong”
  2. “Inciting conflict between Falun Gong and the U.S. Government”
    The MPS indicates it will deploy a two-pronged strategy:

    1. Incite Falun Gong practitioners to distrust and even protest the U.S. government.
    2. Provoke the U.S. government to investigate Shen Yun Performing Arts and other organizations founded by Falun Gong practitioners.
  3. “Cutting communication channels that expose persecution inside China,” blocking Falun Gong practitioners in China from contacting their overseas supporters
  4. “Manipulating search engines and disseminating content in multiple formats” as a means to “carry out the offensive” against Falun Gong.
  5. “Provoking distrust and internal divisions within the Falun Gong community”

Source: Falun Dafa Information Center website
https://faluninfo.net/weaponizing-social-media/

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: MSCI Index Removes 60 Chinese Stocks

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that MSCI, a stock market index compilation company, removed 60 Chinese stocks from its indices. The stocks will be dropped both from the MSCI China Index as well as from the MSCI All Country World Index. This is likely a reflection of global investors’ cautious attitude towards Chinese A-shares. The latest adjustment by MSCI may further intensify the downward pressure on China’s stock market.

The MSCI August Index Review results showed that the MSCI China Index added two component stocks, both A-shares, while excluding 60 constituent stocks, including five Hong Kong HKSE stocks and 55 Mainland A-shares.

China’s economic outlook is increasingly bleak, with the country’s stocks at risk of losing their  dominance in emerging market portfolios to rivals such as India and Taiwan. After MSCI’s adjustments, the number of MSCI China Index constituent stocks has been reduced from 655 to 597, comprising 432 A-shares, with a weight of 15.2 percent; 148 Hong Kong stocks, with a weight of 75.3 percent; 14 U.S. Chinese-concept stocks, with a weight of 9.2 percent; and three B-shares with the weight of 0.2 percent.

Sources:

Lianhe Zaobao, August 13, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20240813-4481962

Bloomberg, August 13, 2024
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-13/msci-trims-china-s-index-presence-by-removing-dozens-of-stocks

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

HP Comments on Reports Saying That it Will Reduce Production Footprint in China

According to well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA), some recent media reports have said that HP was seeking to move more than half of its PC production out of China. HP responded by calling these reports incorrect. Instead, HP confirmed that “In China, HP’s PC manufacturing business still maintains a pivotal position.” However, HP also indicated in the same response that “to further enhance the resilience of the supply chain, we are actively optimizing our strategy and enhancing flexibility to better serve our global customer base.”

Earlier, Nikkei Asia reported that HP is considering moving more than half of its PC production out of China and setting up a “backup” design center in Singapore, citing “geopolitical risks.” The Nikkei Asia article did point out that the move is HP’s most aggressive move to “diversify its supply chain.” At present, most of HP’s PCs are produced in China. Nikkei Asia reported that HP is currently negotiating with suppliers on the migration and plans to achieve this target within two to three years. The company has even set an internal goal to eventually have 70 percent of its laptops produced outside of China. Nikkei Asia also reported that HP’s main destination for this relocation is Thailand. At least five HP suppliers are building new manufacturing plants or warehousing centers in Thailand.

Source: Sina, August 8, 2024
https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2024-08-08/doc-inchxefi8595209.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Talkie: Another Chinese Chat App Making Waves in the U.S. Market

As TikTok faces potential banishment from the U.S., chatbot app Talkie (also developed by a Chinese company) has become a sensation in America. With more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, Talkie’s audience is similar to that of TikTok, predominantly young people, including many American youths. As of this June, Talkie ranks fifth on the list of entertainment app downloads in the U.S. Globally, it boasts around 11 million active users, with over half in the U.S., and many in the Philippines, the U.K., Canada, and other countries.

Since the app’s launch about a year ago, it has rapidly gained popularity. The app features AI technology (large language models and image generation), providing users with a customized role-play chat interaction featuring virtual representations of celebrities such as Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, and Elon Musk, as well as cartoon characters or fictional characters made up by users of the app. The app can be used to simulate conversations with virtual romantic partners.

Public information shows that Talkie is a startup based in Singapore, but its true parent company is MiniMax, headquartered in Shanghai. MiniMax is recognized as one of the “Four Little AI Dragons,” which are the four largest unicorns (large, privately-held startup companies) in China’s tech sector.

Source: Epoch Times, August 5, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/8/5/n14305303.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources US-China Relations

US House Bans Use of All ByteDance Apps on Staffer Devices, Extending Policy Beyond TikTok

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that, according to a memo sent to staff by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 30, all apps from TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance will be banned from all House staffers’ devices in two weeks. ByteDance’s flagship product, TikTok, has been banned from official U.S. government devices since 2023. Now, the policy will be extended to ByteDance’s other products, including Lemon8, Capcut, Lark and Hypic.

The Congressional Cybersecurity Office will follow up with staff, asking them to remove any ByteDance apps on official devices. The memo explains that all ByteDance products will be blocked and removed from House-managed devices, starting with mobile devices.

The move comes after the Senate approved a House measure in April that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok in the U.S. lest the app be banned from Google’s and Apple’s app stores. President Biden later signed the measure into law. ByteDance has vowed to fight the bill in court. Oral arguments on a potential injunction against the new law will be held on September 16.

Source: NetEase, July 31, 2024
https://www.163.com/dy/article/J8DJ2PHN0511A6N9.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

People’s Daily: “Weakness of The US ‘Iron Chip Curtain’ Exposed”

People’s Daily published a Chinese translation of an English article from China Daily titled “Weakness of The US ‘Iron Chip Curtain’ Exposed.”

The following are highlights from the original China Daily article:

The Joe Biden administration plans to expand the so-called Foreign Direct Product Rule to more Chinese semiconductor fabrication factories. The Rule gives the US government the power to control the trading of US technologies, including in products made in a foreign country. The Biden administration has employed the provision to ban foreign companies from exporting semiconductor manufacturing equipment and advanced chips that contain US technologies or parts to Chinese companies.

Yet Japanese, Dutch and Republic of Korea companies, including Tokyo Electron and ASML, the two largest chipmaking equipment manufacturers, along with companies from 30 other countries and regions, are to be exempted from the expanded controls. That companies from Malaysia, Singapore, Israel and China’s Taiwan island, are not exempt serves to expose the symbolic nature of the move as part of the Democratic Party’s China-bashing stunts before the presidential election.

The other takeaway from the move is that more and more US allies are starting to distance themselves from the Biden administration’s “chip war” against China in fear of being left high and dry should the former “America-first” US president prove successful in his bid to return to the White House. In other words, instead of showing the success of its “chip alliance” scheme to thwart China’s high-tech progress, the prospective new rule indicates that the “united front” the Biden administration has painstakingly formed over the past more than three years is beginning to collapse.

As a matter of fact, the chip-related deals between China and Japan, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea have kept rising steadily over the past years as companies from the latter have found plenty of ways to steer clear of the US government’s de facto coercion. Which might be a practical factor spurring the Biden administration to issue the new rule signaling that it will allow them to trade with China, making the move a face-saving attempt.

Source:
1. People’s Daily, August 3, 2024
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0803/c1002-40291814.html
2. China Daily, August 1, 2024
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202408/01/WS66ab6e75a3104e74fddb8089.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

U.S. to Introduce Regulations Restricting Chinese Automotive Software

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that the U.S. Commerce Department plans to release rules on “connected cars” in August and is expected to impose restrictions on some parts and software produced by China and other countries that are seen as adversaries. The rules will not apply to the entire car, but rather to some management software and key driver components that manage car data. These components must be produced in U.S.-allied countries.

There are a lot of software capabilities in modern smart cars. They may be able to take photos, engage with the driving system, connect to smartphones, and know where the car is going. In May of this year, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that, after the U.S. government’s risk assessment on Chinese car imports, “extreme actions” may be taken to ban or restrict Chinese-made cars. California’s privacy regulatory authority said it would examine the growing amount of data collected by smart cars.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the United States to “respect the laws of the market economy and the principles of fair competition.” China call on the United States to stop its “generalization of the concept of national security” and to “stop discrimination against Chinese companies.”

Source: NetEase, July 17, 2024
https://www.163.com/dy/article/J7AR2HKC051481US.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Times: China Announces Suspension of Talks with U.S. on Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that Mainland China is dissatisfied with the United States’ continued arms sales to Taiwan. China just announced that it has suspended negotiations with the United States on nuclear non-proliferation and on arms control issues.

The United States and China held arms control and non-proliferation talks in Washington last year. As of last week, however, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated at a press conference that the United States “has ignored China’s firm opposition by continuing arms sales to Taiwan. This has seriously damaged China’s core interests, undermined political mutual trust between the two sides, and seriously undermined the political atmosphere for the two sides to continue arms control talks.”

The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it pays close attention to the exchanges and dialogues between the United States and China. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no comment on the recent statement from Beijing.

Source: China Times, July 18, 2024
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20240718002264-260407?chdtv

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations