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LTN: Russia Banned China’s WeChat

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Russian Federal Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media Supervision Agency (Roskomnadzor) issued a statement stating that Russian government officials are prohibited from using some communications software developed and operated by foreign companies, including Discord, Teams, Skype for Business, Snapchat, Telegram, Threema, Viber, WhatsApp, and China’s WeChat. After the news spread across China, Chinese netizens ridiculed the government’s whining about the U.S. ban of TikTok. Last month the U.S. banned the TikTok use across federal agencies. In response to the U.S. ban, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “The U.S. is so afraid of an app that young people like; it is too underconfident.” However, the Chinese government remained quiet on the Russian WeChat ban, and the Chinese mainstream media has been compltely silent. WeChat is the most popular mobile instant messaging app in China. It has been the world’s largest standalone mobile app since 2018 with over 1 billion monthly active users. The Russian WeChat ban was based on the amendments to the “Information, Information Technology and Information Protection Act” passed in 2022, and the amendments went into effect on March 1, 2023. The ban also applies to businesses and financial organizations with state involvement. The WeChat blockage by the Kremlin also made many Chinese people feel (it was) sudden and (they were) puzzled, due to China’s friendly position on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source: LTN, March 5, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4230008

China’s Military Spending to Increase by 7.2 Percent

On March 6th, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei responded to the 7.2 percent increase in the military budget for 2023 by stating that China’s “limited defense spending is entirely to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.” The additional funds will be allocated toward strengthening military training and preparation, as well as major projects in science, technology, and equipment.

Tan explained that the Chinese government adheres to the policy of “coordinated development of national defense and economic construction,” and “reasonably determines” the scale of defense spending based on national defense needs and the level of national economic development. Over the past few years, China has maintained “moderate growth” in defense spending while ensuring sustained and healthy economic and social development. This approach aims to promote “simultaneous enhancement of national defense strength and economic strength.”

According to Tan, China’s increased defense spending this year will primarily be used to: comprehensively strengthen military training and preparation for war, in line with the 14th Five-Year Plan for military construction; accelerate the construction of a modernized logistics system; implement major projects in defense science and technology and weaponry, and transform science and technology into combat power; consolidate and expand the achievements of national defense and military reform; and improve the level of military governance. The increased funding will also adapt to the level of national economic and social development and continuously improve the working, training, and living conditions of troops.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 6, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202303060281.aspx

China to Limit the Export of Solar Technology; Experts Express Concern

On December 30, 2022, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology released a draft of the “Catalogue of China’s Prohibited and Restricted Technologies for Export” for public consultation. It includes “photovoltaic silicon wafer (solar silicon wafer) technology” in the list of restricted export technologies.

However, some experts have expressed concerns that limiting the export of solar technology could harm China’s related industries. Bai Chong’en, dean of the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, stated in his proposal that many overseas enterprises are already seeking alternative solutions to Chinese technology. In particular, companies in Europe and the United States are restarting the manufacturing of slicer equipment and the construction of solar rod pulling and slicing capacity.

Bai believes that foreign countries have been reducing their dependence on China’s energy sector in recent years and that restricting the exportation of solar silicon wafer preparation technology would be detrimental to China’s related industries. He also stated that the technological barrier for solar silicon wafer preparation is not high and that China’s solar industry mainly relies on the advantages of a mature supply chain and low labor costs to maintain its leading position. Moreover, other countries such as the United States, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan already possess semiconductor-grade monocrystalline silicon wafer production technology, which naturally equips them with the ability to produce solar silicon wafers.

Bai expressed concern that if China restricts the export of this technology, the prolonged approval process could make overseas cooperation and negotiations more uncertain, potentially missing the best opportunities for overseas deployment. Instead, foreign companies that master semiconductor silicon wafer technology, such as those in Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, could quickly form a substitute for Chinese solar companies.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 6, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202303060220.aspx

The Low Birth Rate Impacts Education in China

In 2014, China introduced the “two-child” policy, resulting in a peak of 17.86 million births in 2016, the highest number since 2000. However, the “two-child effect” has diminished significantly, with only 15.23 million births in 2018 and a continuous decrease in subsequent years. In 2022, the number of births fell below 10 million, which means that the birth rate in China has dropped by almost half in six years.

The government’s plan to build a public preschool education system with wide coverage, basic protection, and quality by 2020 has resulted in the construction of new public kindergartens throughout the country. However, due to the decline in births, the situation has changed. A kindergarten in Wuhan, Hubei province, which was previously exclusive to children of employees of large state enterprises, is now enrolling children from the general public.

According to a professor at China’s University of International Business and Economics, the decrease in the number of educational institutions, including kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools, has been going on for some time due to the declining birth rate. In rural areas, schools have merged due to the shrinking population. In an interview with Chinese media, a professor at Beijing Normal University predicted a decline of 30 million in the number of students in compulsory education by around 2035, compared to 140 million in 2020.

The low birth rate has impacted China’s education sector, making kindergarten enrollment difficult and resulting in the shrinkage of educational institutions.

Source: Sputnik News, March 6, 2023
https://sputniknews.cn/20230306/1048470268.html

China’s Countermeasure to Starlink

Seeing the SpaceX’s Starlink power in the Ukraine war, the Chinese military has been thinking about how to counter it. Recently, in the February edition of the Command, Control and Simulation Journal, a researcher at China’s Space Engineering University published a thesis, “The Impact of Starlink’s Cconstellation on Space Situational Awareness and Countermeasures.”

The article said that Starlink’s near 42,000 low-orbit satellites can realize high-speed network communication and a high military potential, as well as present a huge threat to China’s space development.

The China Satellite Network Group Co. Ltd. has a “Giant Constellations” plan called Guo Wang (GW), Chinese words “国网,” (meaning National Web), to deploy 13,000 low-orbit Internet satellites, to compete with and occupy orbital tracks and radio frequencies. That company was established by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) on April 28, 2021, with 10 billion yuan in registered capital.

The thesis also said that it can deploy “lethal” weapons on its satellites, such as lasers and high-powered microwaves weapons, to attack the Starlink satellites. “If necessary, (China) can paralyze the Starlink with specialized electronic warfare and sophisticated electromagnetic jamming techniques.”

SpaceX owner, Elon Musk, mentioned on October 7, 2022, that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expressed that they did not want him to use Starlink to help the Ukrainian army and asked him to guarantee not to sell the Starlink service in China. He also said in 2015 that the CCP threatened that they would blow out his satellites if he provided the Chinese people with network service which would bypass the CCP’s censorship.

Sources:
1. Liberty Times, February 25, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4222704
2. Epoch Times, March 3, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/3/3/n13942178.htm

Chinese City Announced Stoppage of Public Transit Operations

An Internet picture showed a notice from the Public Transit Company at Mohe City, Heilongjiang Province, announcing it would stop its public transit operations due to heavy financial losses. The notice said that it had not been able to make payments on its bus purchase loans, employee salaries, and electric fees on charging poles. Usually public transit companies rely on government funding to subsidize their low fare. The financial problem showed the local government had a severe shortage of money.

After the announcement, the city government contacted the company and settled the issue. The public transit operation did not stop.

Source: Guancha, February 13, 2023
https://www.guancha.cn/economy/2023_02_13_679622.shtml

China’s Migrant Workers Return to Their Hometowns

China’s economic situation has continued to deteriorate. After the Chinese New Year, many migrant workers (peasants who go to work in the cities) came back to the cities. Surprisingly, they found that there were no jobs waiting for them. Even if there were jobs, the pay would have been too low. Thus many of them decided to return to their hometowns.

However, these migrant workers no longer have the traditional sense of peasants. They are used to an urban life and are not accustomed to farmland work anymore. The urban experiences gave them the knowledge and courage to defend their rights. Thus they could stand up when facing unfair treatment in the villages and potentially shake the CCP’s grassroots level control.

Source: Creaders.net, February 26, 2023
https://news.creaders.net/china/2023/02/26/2581647.html

EU Parliament, Japan and Canada Banned Government Use of TikTok

Popular Hong Kong online media HK01 Network recently reported that, following the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament is expected to announce a ban on government use of TikTok. In addition to prohibiting Parliament employees from installing TikTok on their work smartphones, private devices having access to the Parliament’s emails and the Parliament’s networks are also included. The Parliament is worried about TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and that the Chinese government may use the app to collect personal data and other information. In Denmark, one of the EU member states, its parliament also strongly recommended that parliamentarians and employees delete TikTok.

According to major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN), almost at the same time, Japanese government spokesman and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno stated at a press conference that, for network security reasons, government employees are prohibited from using TikTok and other social media services that require connection to external networks on mobile phones and other terminal devices that may be involved in processing confidential information. Also in the meantime, the Canadian government announced that the use of TikTok on government devices and equipment is prohibited, citing information security risks. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this could be the first step. With the government banning TikTok, many Canadians and businesses will reflect on their online security and may choose to do so too.

Sources:
(1) HK01, March 1, 2023
https://bit.ly/3kLq05A
(2) LTN, February 28, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1569473
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4224212