US-China Relations - 34. page

On May 28, a reporter asked a question at a regular press conference at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “U.S. President Joe Biden claimed that a report may be released detailing the findings of the U.S. intelligence community on the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. intelligence agencies have also begun to comment on the traceability of the virus, saying they will continue to study all the evidence and collect and analyze new information. What is China’s comment on this?”

(Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson) Zhao Lijian replied, “Virus tracing is a serious scientific issue, but the U.S. is trying to let its so-called intelligence personnel lead to the conclusion, which only shows that the U.S. side does not care about the truth and does not want to engage in scientific research, but is only bent on playing politics and blaming other countries.”

“It is clear to the world that the U.S. side has recently once again maliciously rehashed the ‘laboratory leak’ and claimed to conduct an ‘investigation’ on this issue with impure motives and sinister intentions. I would like to remind them of two points. First, it is highly unlikely that the Chinese laboratory incident caused the virus, and this conclusion is clearly documented in the study report of the joint China-WHO mission. Second, the United States is the country with the largest and most numerous biological laboratories in the world. The news of the leak at the Fort Detrick biological camp has long been exposed in the media. According to public information, Fort Detrick is inextricably linked to the ‘Unit 731’ of the Japanese army invading China, and the head of the heinous ‘Unit 731’, Shiro Ishii, was a biological weapons advisor to Fort Detrick.”

“I would like to ask the U.S. side when it will provide details on the unexplained respiratory illness in northern Virginia in July 2019 and the massive ‘e-cigarette disease’ in Wisconsin? Is there the will and courage for WHO experts to come to the United States to investigate?”

U.S. President Biden recently ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to re-investigate the source of the coronavirus and urged China to participate in the global investigation. A bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress to require the intelligence community to release information about the investigation into the ties between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the coronavirus.

The mainland Chinese media once reported that according to the declassified information from the U.S. National Archives, after World War II, the U.S. military secretly contacted Shiro Ishii, Masaji Kitano and other personnel, and conducted investigations of Unit 731 of the Japanese army, and compiled a series of reports on Japan’s Unit 731 germ warfare investigations. The U.S. and Japan were also reported to have traded information on germ warfare research results, and the U.S. was able to use Japanese biochemical weapons research information, so as to develop the Fort Detrick Biological Laboratories, which is the only P4 biological processing laboratory in the U.S. Army.

Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry, May 28, 2021
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/wjdt_674879/fyrbt_674889/t1879392.shtml
China Times, May 28, 2021
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20210528005464-260409

Starting on May 24, a “Notice on Disallowing Tesla Vehicles from the Provincial Administrative Center” was circulated online. The notice reads, “Due to a lack of parking spaces and other reasons, starting from May 31, 2021, Tesla vehicles will be disallowed from entering the provincial administrative center. Please notify the staff members in all units.” The “Security Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Administrative Center” signed the notice, which was dated May 21, 2021.

Netizens tended to believe that it was likely an authentic notice, although it has not been confirmed. Two months ago, the Chinese military had already banned Tesla cars from parking in military facilities or dormitory areas.

Wang Aizhong, a political dissident living in Guangzhou, told Radio Free Asia, “Over the years, there has been a sharply rising tide of government-guided nationalist sentiment in China. This includes the boycott of Tesla. Now some government bodies are imposing restrictions on Tesla. This is beyond Tesla’s original expectation when it came to China to set up a factory.”

Staff from at least two government agencies in Beijing and Shanghai received verbal instructions from officials in charge that they should not park Tesla cars in the office areas, Reuters reported on Friday May 21, “As of now, it is unclear whether the ban involves all government agencies or is simply a measure taken by individual officials.”

Recent news of Tesla’s intention to set up factories in Europe suggests that it plans no expansion in China. Media have reported that Tesla is now considering building factories in other parts of the world, including Russia and Germany.

Mr. Jiang, a scholar in Zhejiang, told RFA that the government hopes to obtain Tesla’s advanced technology by introducing the production line. “Learn the technology, copy the technology and then kick them out. Will a company like Tesla repeat the mistakes of its predecessor? Let’s wait and see.”

During the Shanghai Auto Show in April, a woman lodged a protest at the Tesla booth. The official media hyped up the incident and blasted Tesla as “bullying the customer.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 25, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql2-05252021064552.html

Radio Free Asia, through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) system, dug out the financials for the North American bureau of Xinhua, the official news agency of the People’s Republic of China. Xinhua spent more than US$10 million in the 14 months between March 18, 2020 and May 4, 2021. All of the funds came from Beijing. Employee salaries were over $5.3 million. In addition, the agency rented eight properties in the U.S. and spent more than $3.3 million on rent.Also, more than $500,000 was spent on administrative costs, including attorney fees.

Documents show that from March of last year to April of this year, the Xinhua News Agency paid a total of $8.64 million to its North American branches, including its New York headquarters and branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, and Chicago.

In February 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated the Xinhua News Agency as a “foreign mission.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is designed to ensure that the U.S. public is informed of the source of media contents. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Xinhua News Agency to register as a “foreign agent” under FARA. Last March, the U.S. authorities announced a staffing cap for Chinese media outlets including Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network (CGTN), reducing the total number of Chinese employees in the U.S. from 160 to 100.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 10, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-xinhua-05102021153237.html

Major Taiwanese news network China Times recently reported that the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK) just released a report showing that 42 percent of its members are considering or planning to leave Hong Kong. Most of the member surveyed pointed out that the issue was concerns about the Hong Kong’s National Security Law. Around 43 percent of those who are considering or intending or to leave are staying in Asia. The most likely destinations are Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore and Thailand. Some members are worried about their children’s education after passage of the National Security Law. The survey sample included 325 member companies of AmCham HK, which covers about a quarter of all its members. Most of the members who decided to stay cited a “good quality of living” (77 percent). AmCham HK suggested in an announcement that the Hong Kong government should pay more attention to foreign talent’ concerns to prevent a reduction in Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

Source: China Times, May 12, 2021
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20210512002963-260409?chdtv

Global Times recently reported, based on stories told by some Chinese applicants for U.S. visas, that their visa applications were rejected. The U.S. visa officials said that the reason for the rejection was an order from the Secretary of State, who suspended the issuance of a visa to the spouse and children of active-duty employees of the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety, the Ministry of National Security and the Immigration Bureau. This is a very good example that shows how the U.S. intentionally undermines normal personnel exchanges between China and the United States due to political reasons. This is not the way to develop a healthy relationship between the two countries. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed a few other similar cases and commented at a press conference that, with the same logic, maybe China should not issue a visa to U.S. intelligence personnel and their families as well. The United States should correct its wrong-doing.

Source: Global Times, May 13, 2021
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/436ea7rDqEd

On May 12, the State Department announced a sanction against Yu Hui. Yu Hui is the first director of the 610 office for the U.S. to sanction publicly. [Editor’s Note: The 610 office, named after the date of its creation on June 10, 1999—is an extralegal police task force responsible for carrying out the mission of eliminating Falun Gong.] This is also the first time, since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started suppressing Falun Gong in 1999, that the U.S. government has named and sanctioned a CCP official because of the Falun Gong issue.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press briefing, “We will continue to consider all appropriate tools to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in China and elsewhere.” He then announced the release of the department’s annual report on international religious freedom, which cited arbitrary arrests, house raids, societal discrimination, and the forced harvesting of organs from live Falun Gong practitioners. Blinken said the designation was applied to Yu for his involvement in “gross violations of human rights, namely the arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners for their spiritual beliefs.”

On December 10, 2020, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on 17 foreign current and former government officials for serious human rights violations. One of them was Huang Yuanxiong, a police chief from the Wucun Police Station of the Xiamen Public Security Bureau. Pompeo, then the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that Huang Yuanxiong seriously violated Falun Gong practitioners’ freedom of religious belief and “was connected with the detention and interrogation of Falun Gong practitioners simply for practicing their beliefs.” According to relevant regulations in the U.S., Huang and his spouse are not allowed to enter the U.S.

On March 8, according to Minghui, [Editor’s note: Minghui is a website dedicated to reporting on the Falun Gong community worldwide with a focus on China: https://en.minghui.org] Falun Gong practitioners in 38 countries have recently submitted lists of names to their respective governments of agents from the 610 Office at all levels in China. So far, about 9,300 names have been placed on the list. Yu Hui’s name was on the list that was handed over to the U.S. government.

In a statement to the Epoch Times Newspaper, Zhang Erping, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Center in New York, stated that the U.S. decision “will surely send a potent message across China that the world is watching and that there will be real-world consequences for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.” Zhang said, “As the news spreads among the CCP security apparatus, it will very likely make some think twice about perpetrating further abuses.”

Sam Brownback, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said. “I think it sends a very strong signal to China. It sends the signal that we’re not going to let them get away with this war on faith.”

Source: Epoch Times, May 13, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/5/13/n12945359.htm

Global Times recently released a commentary on the U.S. Biden Administration’s position on waivers on vaccine as intellectual property. Although Russia and France appear supportive, many advanced nations are against the waivers, especially Germany and Switzerland. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t directly mention the waivers, but did show support for improving availability and affordability. The U.S. position is positive. However, the current situation is very complicated since all 164 WTO members must agree in order to realize the waivers. A single veto can halt the process. The Biden administration cannot get this done solely based on executive power, let alone convincing the EU members and manufacturers. So far Biden has only made a political statement. Whether this is just a show to hold the “moral high ground” or the U.S. really meant it remains to be seen. If the U.S. does not take tangible actions, then the Biden slogan is just for headline news. Eventually he will blame other people for the failure. If Washington delivers on its position, then this time China will not go against the U.S.

Source: Global Times, May 7, 2021
https://bit.ly/3vJhiVs