Chinascope – Page 195

Minister of Finance: Plan to Live with a Tighter Budget

Liu Kun, China’s Minister of Finance published an article in the 12^th issue of the magazine, “Organ’s Party Development Research,” calling on officials to work hard and be thrifty. It doesn’t matter if there is an ample or an insufficient budget, (officials) should always manage income and expenditure as a whole, truly spend the money where it most needs to go, and effectively put the requirement of living on a tight budget into practice.

Source: Sohu, December 29, 2021
https://www.sohu.com/a/512608562_115479

Briefings | | January 6, 2022 | Economy/Resources Government/Politics

A Chinese Student at Yale Called on the School to Reflect on its Ethics in Investing in China

VOA reported that Yale Daily News, the oldest college newspaper in the United States, published an article that a Chinese student wrote. (His name was protected so that his family members in China would not be endagered). The article, titled, “Where is Peng Shuai,” suggested that people should not forget about Peng Shuai as the (Chinese Communist Party) regime has gone rogue; it no longer bothers even with keeping up a façade of protecting human rights.

More importantly, the article asked Yale to reflect on whether its investment in China is ethical. “Despite having a significant Chinese portfolio, which includes top-earning tech companies like Tencent and JD.com, the Yale Investments Office currently has no publicly available ethical policy specific to China; nor has it reviewed any ethical implications.”

“Shouldn’t we be legitimately concerned that Yale’s Chinese portfolio might create a conflict of interest between placating parties close to the CCP and using Yale’s influence to advocate for Chinese people’s human rights? Additionally, what has prevented Yale, while profiting from China, from just releasing a statement acknowledging that human rights abuse allegations even exist?”

“The Yale endowment needs to do some soul-searching. We are demanding answers to these questions, because we have a right to know whether our University that claims to uphold both ‘light and truth’ is playing an unethical role in perpetuating some of the worst human rights abuses in modern history – and whether our institutional integrity remains intact when doing the right thing is hard.”

Source: VOA, January 4, 2022
https://www.voachinese.com/a/yale-chinese-student-pengshuai-20220103/6380863.html

Briefings | | January 5, 2022 | US-China Relations

China Revises Cybersecurity Review Measures

The Cyber Administration of China (CAC) announced on its website on January 4 that the agency, as well as 12 other government bodies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security, have revised the “Cybersecurity Review Measures.”

The original regulation already took effect in June 2020. CAC pointed out that the revision is due to the implementation of the “Data Security Law” in September 2021, which requires that the state establish a data security review system.

After the revision, article 7 of the Measures stipulates that online platform operators that possess personal information about more than 1 million users must report to the Office of Cybersecurity Review when they go public abroad.

The Measure also specifies that operators of “critical information infrastructures” such as transportation, communications, and finance must also apply for security a review when purchasing network products and services that may affect national security.

It also lists key national security risk factors, including illegal control, the interference or disruption of “critical information infrastructure, possible disruption of product services due to political, diplomatic and trade factors, and the possibility of core data or substantial personal data being influenced, controlled and maliciously used by “foreign governments.”

The revised regulation is to be effective on February 15. It also adds the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to the cybersecurity review mechanism.

Source: Cyber Administration of China, January 4, 2021
http://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-01/04/c_1642894602144070.htm

Briefings | | January 4, 2022 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Qiushi Publishes Xi’s Speech at CCP Plenary Session

Qiushi, the flagship publication of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) central committee, recently released a talk that Xi Jinping gave at a meeting of the sixth plenary session of the 19th CCP Central Committee that took place in November 2021. Xi demanded that the all CCP members be loyal to the Party and that those who “run political gangs and interest groups inside the Party” should be disciplined without mercy.

Xi Jinping said that the “historical resolution” passed by the sixth plenary session emphasized the importance of the “centralized and unified leadership of the Party” which “requires the entire body of CCP members unite under the Party’s banner into ‘a piece of solid steel’ and move forward in unison.”

Xi added that the risks and challenges facing the CCP on its “new journey” will only become more and more complex and will even include unimaginable shock waves. “Different struggles . . . will accompany the whole process of achieving the ‘second century’ goal.” The second centenary goal is Xi’s ambition to build China into “a great modern socialist country in all respects” by 2049. That date is 100 years from the time of the 1949 revolution that put the CCP in power. The related first century goal, which was to double the 2010 GDP and double the 2010 income of both urban and rural residents by 2020 is about 100 years from the date of the founding of the CCP in 1921.

Xi concluded by saying that, at the centennial year of the Party, it is important to be vigilant, to look out for danger in times of peace, and to be on guard at all times against the possibility of the CCP becoming old and sick. “It should neither be slow to react to its own problems, nor be soft to fix them. Otherwise eventually the policies will die as the person-in-charge dies.”

Source: Qiushi, January 1, 2022
http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/qs/2022-01/01/c_1128219233.htm

Briefings | | January 4, 2022 | Government/Politics

Chinese Student Wanted for Acquiring Japanese Security Software under False Identity

Japanese media including NHK and Yomiuri News reported on December 28 that Japanese police have identified a Chinese student who entered Japan and was suspected of attempting to purchase Japanese high-tech security software illegally. He was apparently under the command of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer. The Japanese Police Department has obtained an arrest warrant for the student and will soon issue an international warrant.

Police investigators say the Chinese student, in his 30s, is suspected of having attempted the purchase used the name of a fictitious Japanese company and the person who was in charge in November 2016. The PLA officer who contacted him belonged to China’s “61419th Army,” a unit believed to be the Chinese hacking group Tick, which is responsible for cyberattacks on Japanese companies and research institutions.

Fortunately, the transaction was not concluded because the software company found it suspicious. As the Chinese student has returned to China, Japanese police have received permission to arrest him on suspicion of fraud. They will soon issue an international warrant through Interpol. The Japanese police believe that China is trying to buy Japanese high-tech security software to analyze the weaknesses of Japanese companies’ systems and collect intelligence to carry out cyberattacks.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 28, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/japan-12282021094647.html

Briefings | | January 4, 2022 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Reference News: China and Japan Agreed to Establish a Defense Hotline

Reference News, a well-known branch of Xinhua News, recently reported that, on the December 27, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held a video conference with the Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. The call took about two hours, which exceeded the original scheduled time. The two defense ministers agreed to strengthen bilateral strategic communication and manage risks to prevent conflicts from escalating. Also, they agreed that a defense hotline will be established in 2022. The Japanese Cabinet recently approved a preliminary budget for 2022. The annual increase in the defense budget was 1.1 percent. It not only marks the tenth consecutive year of growth in Japan’s defense budget, but also breaks Japan’s long-standing rule of capping the increase in the defense budget at under one percent of the nation’s GDP. Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao also reported on this news and indicated that, during the call, Nobuo Kishi emphasized the importance of maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait. This point was left out in the Reference News report.

Sources:
(1) Reference News, December 29, 2021
http://www.cankaoxiaoxi.com/china/20211229/2464431_2.shtml
(2) Lianhe Zaobao, December 28, 2021
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/world/story20211228-1227197

Briefings | | January 3, 2022 | Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Global Times: China Mobile Forced to Terminate Canadian Operations

Global Times recently reported that CMLink, a subsidiary of China Mobile Canada, announced on December 28, that, at the request of the Canadian Federal Government, the company will cease its operations on January 5, 2022. Users can apply for refunds from the same day. This is yet another example of the Canadian government’s use of “national security” to suppress Chinese companies. Radio Free Asia (RFA) Chinese Edition also reported that China Mobile landed in Canada in 2015 and got popular among users who travel frequently between Canada and the China/Hong Kong region. At the beginning of 2021, the Canadian government began to review China Mobile Canada based on national security considerations. It issued an order on August 9 instructing the company to divest itself of its parent company’s shares or terminate its Canadian operations. The company filed in court against the government’s order. It lost the case. Analysts expressed the belief that China Mobile Canada’s refusal to draw a clear line with the parent company confirmed the fact that the so-called Chinese overseas subsidiaries can operate independently is nonsense.

Sources:
(1) Global Times, December 30, 2021
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/46C1aJ3bt55
(2) RFA Chinese, December 29, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lf2-12292021123434.html

Briefings | | January 3, 2022 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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