Chinascope – Page 197

LTN: Chinese Diplomat Banned on Facebook; Sought an Explanation

Well-known Taiwanese Newspaper Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that Zhang Heqing, a Chinese diplomat in Pakistan, tweeted on December 22nd that both his Facebook account and page were disabled. He asked Facebook for an explanation. Zhang also said he believes Facebook will never give him a reason as per security and safety reasons. He commented on Facebook’s Twitter account and said, “I need an answer.” However, since China blocks the public from using Twitter and Facebook, netizens also bombarded Zhang’s tweet. Some questioned why he had a Facebook account when the Chinese government has banned the use of Facebook. Some asked, “Didn’t China block Facebook first?” Some tried to find out: “What are you doing on Facebook when you prohibit your people from freely using this same platform?” Some complained saying, “My posts about Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong on Weibo and WeChat have also been deleted, and I was not given a reason either.” Some hoped Zhang would be blocked by Twitter too, just like Facebook.

Source: LTN, December 23, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3777406

Briefings | | December 27, 2021 | US-China Relations

Kyodo Chinese: Japan and the U.S. Drafted Combat Plans for Emergencies in Taiwan

Major Japanese news agency Kyodo recently reported in its Chinese edition that sources close to the Japanese government have confirmed that the Japanese military and the U.S. military have formulated a draft of a new Japan-U.S. joint operations plan that envisages emergencies in Taiwan. The contents include that, in the initial stage of the emergency, the U.S. Marine Corps will set up temporary military bases for offensive purposes on the Ryukyu Islands – from Kagoshima Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture. Local residents are likely to be involved in the fighting. It is expected that, at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (2+2) meeting attended by foreign affairs and defense ministers to be held early next year, a consensus will be reached on officially starting operations for the formal formulation of plans. Normally, no new bases would be built. However, in the initial stage as the urgency of emergencies in Taiwan increases, the U.S. troops will be deployed with the support of the Japanese military. The establishment of U.S. military bases in Japan requires the Japanese government to make policy decisions and improve relevant laws on land use and protection of local residents. In the joint statement of the Japan-US summit meeting in April this year, Taiwan Strait Stability was included after about half a century. The two sides secretly advanced discussions on the formulation of a joint combat plan.

Source: Kyodo Chinese, December 23, 2021
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2021/12/544994c0a929.html

Briefings | | December 26, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China Restricts Christmas Gatherings and Bans Online Religious Messages and Fundraising

On Christmas Eve, Chinese government officials banned Christmas gatherings on the grounds of the epidemic. Meanwhile, five state agencies issued new regulations to prohibit online religious information and fundraising in the latest effort to prevent the spread of Western values.

Church gatherings to celebrate Christmas are restricted. The implementation differs in different places. Authorities at some locations may adjust the number of restrictions at any time. If a church has large events on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it must report them and obtain prior approval from the authorities.

On December 20, 2021, Rong’an County Education Bureau in Guangxi Province issued a notice prohibiting any “Western Festivals” in primary and secondary schools. Some young people follow Western values and lifestyles, which Western developed countries promote in China using technology. “In accordance with the directives from higher authorities, the Rong’an Education Bureau decided to prohibit teachers and students from organizing any sort of “Western festivals” or celebrations on and off-campus.

Also, on December 20, five state agencies, the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the State Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Security jointly issued the “Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Services.”

The new regulation, dated December 3, 2021, bans any organization or individual from uploading, publishing, forwarding, or spreading religious content on the Internet. No spiritual information may be provided in the form of text, pictures, audio, or video on websites, applications, forums, blogs, microblogs, public accounts, instant messaging tools, webcasts, or anything related.

“Overseas organizations or individuals and their organizations established in China shall not engage in Internet religious information services in China.”

The new regulation, effective on March 1, 2022, states that the religious groups with an “Internet Religious Information Service Permit” may only use their own websites, applications, forums, and other means, for spiritual information. The religious content must guide people to love the country and abide by the law when doing so. Further, the new regulation prohibits online fundraising for religious groups.

Sources:

1.) Christian Network, December 22, 2021
http://www.jidunet.cn/article/44/59012.html

2.) Radio Free Asia, December 21, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql1-12222021035030.html

3.) China National Religious Affairs Administration, December 20, 2021
http://www.sara.gov.cn/bmgz/364755.jhtml

Briefings | | December 24, 2021 | Government/Politics

Communism and Terrorism

As American troops withdrew from Afghanistan in the Summer of 2021, the country once again fell into the Taliban’s hands. Continue reading →

Analyses | | December 24, 2021 | @CS Government/Politics

Subnational Infiltration: Using Western Countries’ Local Governments to Counter the State’s Policy

The Voice of America (VOA) published an article that discussed two research reports exploring the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) subnational infiltration of Western countries. According to the reports, in a systematic way, the CCP takes advantage of the pluralistic and decentralized nature of the Western political system to rope in and encourage local governments to confront and dismantle, at the sub-national level, their state’s negative policies toward China. The VOA called it “encircling the cities from rural areas,” a military strategy that the CCP used to win the civil war in China in the late 1940’s.

In the U.S., the CCP’s strategy is to bypass Washington and to target the governors, mayors, and non-governmental organizations directly. The purpose is to foster a positive connection between Beijing and the local officials or organizations.

The two reports refer to the “All Over the Map” strategy. This strategy addresses the Chinese Communist Party’s “subnational Interests in the United States” as reported by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the “Big fish in small ponds strategy,” which is China’s subnational diplomacy in Europe” as discussed in an article by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).

The FDD report states that China has a long history of trying to influence local governments in the United States, including through events and forums that promote U.S.-China relations and friendship cities (or sister cities), Internet forums, governors’ forums, and other examples. Though at the national level, the U.S., holds a critical attitude toward Beijing, the National Governors Association expresses positive descriptions about Beijing.

The MERICS article pointed out that, within the five biggest member countries of the European Union – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland, local governments have established 146 partnerships with the CCP. In many situations, Beijing or its entities can sign investment or cooperation treaties with Europen cities or regions, which usually do not need the central government’s participation.

Source: VOA, December 7, 2021
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-subnational-diplomacy-20211207/6343105.html

Hot Topics | | December 23, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

China Is Shipping Goods over Land

Due to COVID and the container shortage, the global supply chain has been problematic for quite some time. Shipping over land has become a new option for supply chain companies.

The path from China to Southeast Asia occurs as follows: Container trucks deliver the containers to the Kunming train station. The trains ship the containers to Vientiane in Laos in 20 to 24 hours, and then trucks deliver them to the target regions, such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and even Singapore. The total duration is about a week and the cost is half that of an of air shipment.

The path from China to Europe is as follows: The container truck delivers the containers to the Chengdu train station or Shanghai train station, and then a train ships the containers to European countries via the Siberian Railway. It takes about two weeks to deliver them.

Source: Sing Tao Daily, December 13, 2021
https://std.stheadline.com/realtime/article/1787009

Briefings | | December 23, 2021 | Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Pandemic: COVID Spreads to Xi’an

COVID-19 continued spreading in China. The National Health Commission reported 100 cases on December 22, among which, 71 were local residents and the rest were carried in from overseas. Xi’an city, Shaanxi Province reported 63 cases. The CCP is known for hiding information, so the actual infection count is unknown.

Xi’an city had infection cases for several days. Authorities locked down certain areas and then conducted testing for all residents in Xi’an. They found infection cases outside of the lockdown areas – meaning the virus could still spread. The authorities locked down more areas and started the second round of testing the whole city. The authorities also stopped long-distance buses and forbade taxis and mobile-app taxis from going into high-risk areas or going out of the city.

Xi Jinping’s Red Lines for Art and Literature

Recently, Xi Jinping drew some red lines for the art and literature in China. In addition to “spreading contemporary Chinese values and telling China’s stories well,” he instructed that art and literature should not take the “vulgar” route, and “cannot be tainted with the stink of money and be the slaves of the market.”

On Tuesday December 14, Xi, as well as other Politburo Standing Committee members, spoke at the congresses of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and the China Writers Association (CWA), where he gave the above instructions to the delegates.

CFLAC is an umbrella organization composed of nationwide associations of writers and artists in various fields. Although CFLAC claims it is a non-governmental organization whose mission “is to unite and serve writers and artists, to train literary and art talents, and to promote the development and prosperity of literature and the arts,” It is under the direct leadership of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. With a national, provincial, and city-level hierarchical organization structure, CFLAC aims to control millions of Chinese writers and artists so that their work toes the Party line. CWA is a subordinate organization of CFLAC.

At the congress, Xi expressed the hope that “the vast number of artists, remember their mission … and make new and greater contributions for the comprehensive construction of a modernized socialist country and the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife and Vice President of CFLAC, was also sitting on the podium alongside other Politburo Standing Committee members.

Xi drew some red lines for art and literature work. “Literature and art should be popular, but should never be vulgar; be lifelike, but not promote unhealthy culture; be innovative, but not engage in strange and ridiculous things; it should be rewarding, but not be tainted with the stink of money or be the slaves of the market.”

Source: People’s Daily, December 15, 2021
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2021/1215/c1024-32308066.html

Briefings | | December 22, 2021 | Government/Politics

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