Chinascope – Page 165

China Saw Weak Movie Box Office for the Qingming National Festival Period

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to statistics from the Office of National Film Special Fund Management Committee, during the 2022 Qingming National Festival Period (April 3 – April 5), the total box office revenue in China was RMB 122 million yuan (around US$19.15 million). Last year, the box office total for the same period reached RMB 820 million yuan (around US$128.7 million). Except for the full shutdown of theaters in the same period in 2020, this result is the lowest box office number for the same period in the past decade. Statistics also showed that the total number of screenings in the Qingming Festival Period was 627,900 this year. The figure was nearly halved year-over-year. The number of movie-goers reached 3,420,200, only one-sixth of what it was for the same period last year. A number of factors are involved. Behind the bleak box office is the sluggish theater operating rate and the withdrawal of films. Nearly half of the theaters across the country were closed because they were affected by the spread of Covid-19. The operating rate of theaters in the major movie markets in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong and other regional markets was less than five percent. This was especially so for the theater operating rate in Shanghai which was zero. The State Film Administration issued a notice that all theaters in medium and high-risk areas will not be allowed to open for the time being. Affected by this order, a large number of movies were withdrawn. Under the brutal market environment, theaters have been forced to turn to another business. There are regional projection operators who switched to the food catering market. Local governments are providing subsidies to the industry to help sustain it.

Source: Sina, April 6, 2022
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hyyj/2022-04-06/doc-imcwiwst0206810.shtml

Briefings | | April 19, 2022 | Social Stability

Chosun: South Korea May Join the Anti-China Siege Network

South Korea’s largest newspaper Chosun recently reported, in its Chinese Edition, that Hong Nam-Ki, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister of Economy and Minister of Planning and Finance, said at the 6th Foreign Economic Security Strategy Conference that the discussions on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will be more concrete and accelerated (than previously). South Korea is positioned to move toward an active and engaged direction. IPEF is an economic alliance that the the United States is building along with allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region to reduce its dependence on China in the fields of the global supply chain, infrastructure, the digital economy, and renewable energy. Hong Nam-Ki’s remarks may actually mean South Korea has decided to join the IPEF. Regarding CPTPP (The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), which does not include the United States, considering that most of the member countries are agriculturally developed countries, it is expected to cause a considerable blow to South Korea’s agriculture. Thus the South Korean government is formulating corresponding support plans. With the recent expansion of Covid-19’s spread in China, major cities such as Shanghai have been closed down and there has been a major supply chain impact from China. Hong Nam-Ki expressed that he was worried about the related impact on production lines in South Korea and he suggested to improve the country’s preparedness for the need to respond.

Source: Chosun, April 17, 2022
https://cnnews.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?nNewsNumb=20220456957&cate=&mcate=M1001

Briefings | | April 19, 2022 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Indonesians Regard China as their Top Security Threat

Singapore News Network recently reported that, according to the result of a survey that the Australian Lowy Institute conducted, the Indonesian people identify China as their biggest security threat. The survey showed that only 43 percent of Indonesians believe that Chinese investments are beneficial to Indonesia. That figure is down from the 54 percent in 2011. A whopping 50 percent believe that China’s goal is to dominate Indonesia. The survey also showed that China has replaced Malaysia as the country considered by the most Indonesians to be a potential aggressor Also, about half of the respondents believe that China will pose a security threat in the next ten years, which is an increase of ten percentage points from the previous survey results. However, only 55 percent of the respondents expressed trust in Australia, down 20 percent from 2011. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they trust the U.S., down 16 percent. Around 65 percent of those surveyed trust Japan, but this is down 15 percent from the past. Survey results clearly showed Indonesians have little trust in big powers. Evan Laksmana, a senior researcher at the Center for Asia and Globalization at the National University of Singapore, who participated in this research, said that, for the Indonesian people, China is no longer seen as a mere economic opportunity, but as a series of challenges.

Source: Singapore News Network, April 7, 2022
https://www.sgnews.co/21142.html

Briefings | | April 18, 2022 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Pandemic: Shanghai Adopted Implication Measure to Force People to Go to Modular Hospitals

Shanghai reported 26,330 COVID cases (1,189 confirmed infection cases and 25,141 asymptomatic cases) on April 13. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for hiding COVID information, so the actual infection count is unknown.

One of the methods the Shanghai authorities use to hide the COVID count is the way they handle those people who test positive. The authorities still report them as negative on official records but verbally notify them that they are positive. Then when authorities come to take them to the modular hospitals to isolate them, the infected people refuse to go since their official records show they are negative.

The Shanghai police announced that they will “strictly handle” any actions that COVID patients take in refusing to be placed in isolation. The police listed ten prohibited actions, including people leaving their apartment while being quarantined and intentionally destroying the seal on their door in order to get out.

A residential committee in Hongkou District issued a notice on April 12 saying, “For those confirmed patients (from official testing), even if their self-test showed negative (which might mean they have healed), they must go to modular hospitals for treatment and obtain a paper stating they are released from quarantine. If residents refuse to go, they will be permanently marked as red in their Health Code application (thus they will have a hard time going out, entering facilities, or traveling); and the whole building in which they live will be put on lockdown. In other words, residents in the entire building will be implicated.

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

Chosun: South Korea May Join the Anti-China Siege Network

Indonesians Regard China as their Top Security Threat

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