In an investigation it conducted, the Epoch Times uncovered a 15-year-long crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the Shen Yun Performing Arts Group on U.S. soil. Continue reading
Luo Siyi: Lessons from the Ukraine War: Counting on U.S.’ ‘Kindness’ Is Pointless
Luo Siyi, a Senior Researcher at the Chongyang Financial Research Institute, Renmin University of China, published an article on Guancha.cn (the Observer) discussing the intentions of the U.S. in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. Some excerpts from the article follow:
“For more than 20 years, the foreign military expansion of the United States has been obvious. Even so, the occurrence of the Ukraine war also represents a qualitative change in U.S. military policy. Before the Ukraine war, the United States had only taken military action against developing countries that were far weaker in military power and did not possess nuclear weapons.”
“However, the U.S. threat to bring Ukraine into NATO, triggering a war in Ukraine, shows that U.S. military policy is not limited to attacking developing countries that are far weaker than itself. Although the United States knew in advance that its eastward expansion of NATO into Ukraine would affect Russia’s most important interests (a move that clearly crossed Russia’s red line when Russia’s extremely powerful military and nuclear capabilities are on par with the United States), it was still prepared to take the risk.”
The U.S. is combining its basic political stance (the U.S. insists that Ukraine ‘has the right’ to join NATO) along with the military facts (the U.S. provides arms to Ukraine). It clearly shows that the U.S. has deliberately provoked a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, even though this will inevitably lead to the United States and Russia being in a direct conflict. Therefore, when assessing the Ukraine crisis, it should be noted that the U.S. escalated its military threats from targeting developing countries. Such threats are unjust but without the direct risk of triggering a world war — to targeting a powerful country like Russia, which may lead to a global military conflict.”
”The United States is fully aware that the one-China policy involves China’s most important national interests and is the foundation of U.S.-China relations. To abandon the one-China policy is to cross China’s red line, which is more dangerous than trying to incorporate Ukraine into NATO. So it is clear that the U.S. is trying to undermine the one-China policy in a provocative way, just as it deliberately decided to cross Russia’s red line on Ukraine.
“On the question of whether the U.S. provocation against China and Russia is temporary or long-term and permanent, the clear conclusion of this article is that the U.S. military escalation trend will continue.”
Source: Guancha.cn, April 22, 2022
https://www.guancha.cn/LuoSiYi/2022_04_22_636204.shtml
Jin Canrong: China Should Increase its Military Spending to Two Percent of GDP
In discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jin Canrong, a professor on American issues at the School of International Relations, Renmin University of China, made a statement in an interview with the Guancha (Observer). He advised that China should quickly increase its military spending to 2 percent of GDP in preparation for a potential war with Taiwan over its independence and with the American right wing forces.
Jin said, “From a technical point of view, the Ukraine issue can indeed be seen as a rehearsal for the Taiwan Strait crisis. This is a good learning opportunity. China can learn a lot from it, such as how to fight militarily, what pressures may be encountered politically, how to resolve these pressures, and more.
“For this conflict, different parties have learned experiences from different aspects. For example, for Taiwan, I believe this is a shock to the Taiwan authorities, but judging from their current position, it seems that they have not interpreted it in the right direction. For example, they say that Taiwan’s military strength is stronger than Ukraine’s. They also keep comforting themselves that, ‘for the United States, Taiwan’s strategic value is greater than Ukraine’s.’ This perception is dangerous.
“There is still a danger that some ‘Taiwan independence proponents, along with the U.S. right wing forces, will take the initiative to provoke a Taiwan Strait crisis because they also know that, from the perspective of development, time is advantageous to the mainland. They may not want to follow the rhythm of the mainland anymore. Believing that the mainland is not ready yet, they will make trouble ahead of time. This places higher requirements on our work. We must strengthen military preparations so that we can smash their plans at any time.
“In addition, I agree with a proposal by Lao Hu (Hu Xijin, former chief editor of Global Times), who although our military expenditure has increased 7.1 percent over last year, it is still low in general. It is less than 2 percent of GDP. Considering that the danger (of war) is increasing, it is very necessary to raise our military spending to 2 percent of GDP. We cannot underestimate the risk of the “Taiwan independence” forces and the American right-wing extremists.”
Source: Guancha.cn, April 2, 2022
https://www.guancha.cn/JinCanRong/2022_04_02_632942_s.shtml
China Is Quickly Building up Its Nuclear Warheads
A Pentagon report estimated that China currently has 200 nuclear weapons and predicted that it will increase the count five-fold, to 1,000, by 2030.
Peter Pry, Executive Director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and Director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, Center for Security Policy, estimated a much higher number. In an interview with the Epoch TV, he stated that, according to the speed with which China builds new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and launching sites, and its speed in manufacturing uranium, China’s nuclear warheads will be around 4,000 by 2030.
Source: Epoch Times, April 20, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/4/20/n13715671.htm
Former China’s Central Banker: It is Possible for the RMB to Replace SWIFT
Zhou Xiaochuan, former head of China’s Central Bank, the People’s Bank, said that it is possible for the Renminbi (RMB) to replace the SWIFT system.
Zhou made such statement at Qinghua University’s 2022 Global Finance Forum on April 14. Zhou expressed that SWIFT is not a cross-border international payment system, but rather a communications organization. The RMB’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) is a payment, clearing, and settlement system.
Zhou stated that circumventing SWIFT is theoretically feasible. Trade is the foundation and in the worst case scenario, people can conduct trade by exchanging goods for goods (instead of using currency).
Source: Net Ease, April 17, 2022
https://www.163.com/money/article/H557RS8M002580S6.html
China’s Ministry of Commerce: Companies Should Not Condemn Russia under Pressure
Russian news agency Sputnik reported that China’s Ministry of Commerce asked Chinese companies not to yield to the pressure to condemn Russia.
At the ministry’s press conference on April 14, a media reporter asked the Ministry spokesperson Su Jueting, “According to some China companies, some of their foreign business partners have asked them to state their opposition to Russia’s military actions against Ukraine. Otherwise their normal business cooperation will be affected. Do you want to say something?”
Su responded, “Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, some countries have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia. This has disrupted the normal economic and trade relationship between China and Russia. Some foreign companies have violated the normal market principles and threatened Chinese enterprises to pick a side. Here, we reiterate that China always firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdictions’ that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the United Nations’ Security Council. China also opposes undue bans or restrictions on normal economic and trade activities between Chinese enterprises and those of other countries.”
Su also stressed that, according to the Foreign Trade Law and other relevant laws and regulations, in order to maintain a fair and free foreign trade order, companies and individuals must not succumb to external coercion or to make improper statements. China will take necessary measures to firmly protect Chinese enterprises’ legitimate rights and interests.
Source: Sputnik, April 14, 2022
https://big5.sputniknews.cn/20220414/1040683843.html
China Blocks Lyrics of its own National Anthem
The lockdown of the city of Shanghai has given rise to a great deal of public discontent. Many people are using social media to express their frustration due to the shortage of supplies and the dysfunction of Chinese government. The popular microblogging platform Weibo has blocked several trending topics related to this issue over the past few days, including even the first line of China’s national anthem, March of the Voluntary Army, which reads “Rise up, people who do not want to be slaves.”
It is not the first time Beijing have blocked content from the national anthem. The death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the “whistle blower” at the beginning of the Wuhan outbreak in 2020, triggered outrage among netizens against the authorities. At the time, the same anthem lyrics were blocked for “containing radical current affairs or ideology.”
Western observers and journalists are caught between laughter and tears over the Chinese censors’ move.
Tim Culpan,a Bloomberg journalist tweeted, “Patriotism in China is a tricky balance.”
Henry Gao, a professor from Singapore Management University asked, “So when will the whole national anthem be censored?”
While Financial Times reporter Eli Meixler thought it “Unreal,” American economist Chris Balding commented, “Revolutions always eat their creators.”
Source: Voice of America, April 18, 2022
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-on-twitter-national-anthem-cencored-20220418/6534587.html
Report: China Concerned about Rising Household Debt
According to a February report that a Chinese research institute published, the country’s household debt ratio, which measures debt as a share of income, has climbed from less than 5 percent in 2000 to 62.2 percent at the end of last year, surpassing both Germany and neighboring Japan.
The report, that scholars at the government think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, co-authored, points out that, “A sudden increase in household indebtedness will affect the stability of the fiscal system. High household debt largely triggered the global financial turmoil in 2008. In China, the risk of household debt is closely related to the real estate market, to the growth of income and to the growth and distribution of wealth.”
The authors also pointed to the very difficult problem for some households that do not have cash on hand to spend. Low-income workers, the self-employed and migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the epidemic. The unstable income of these groups may lead to greater pressure on overall household debt.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 19, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202204190215.aspx