Three Arrested in Hong Kong for Allegedly Insulting Chinese National Anthem
Three Hong Kong citizens were arrested on June 6 at a football stadium for allegedly insulting the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China.
The World Cup Asian qualifying match between Hong Kong and Iran was held at the Hong Kong Stadium on the night of the June 6. As is customary, the Chinese national anthem was played before the match.
The police stated that during the playing of the national anthem, the three arrested individuals either turned their backs to the field or did not stand up, violating Hong Kong’s National Anthem Ordinance. They were subsequently removed from the stadium and arrested.
The case is currently under investigation by Hong Kong’s Serious Crime Team. All three individuals have been released on bail and will have to report to the police early next month.
After the 2014 “Occupy Central” movement in Hong Kong, the city saw a local rise in anti-China sentiment. During international football matches, large groups of fans would boo during the Chinese national anthem.
In June 2020, the “National Anthem Ordinance” came into effect, criminalizing improper use of the national anthem as well as the public, intentional insult of the anthem. The ordinance stipulates that insulting the national anthem can result in a HK$50,000 fine or 3 years imprisonment.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 7, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202406070057.aspx
China’s Communist Party Members Revised Disciplinary Code Details “Hundred Sins”
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) nearly 100 million members are studying a newly revised set of “Disciplinary Regulations.” The regulations contain over 100 provisions, leading Hong Kong media outlet Ming Pao to sarcastically comment that members who can avoid violating any of them are almost “saints” or “perfect people.”
According to the commentary in Ming Pao, the revised regulations list 158 disciplinary violations for party members. These include bans on religious beliefs, stock trading, and joining alumni or hometown associations without approval.
First introduced in 2003 and frequently revised since, the latest version of the CCP’s “Disciplinary Regulations” took effect on January 1st, 2023 after the latest revisions were finalized in December 2022. Violations span six categories: political, organizational, integrity, mass relations, work, and life.
On the political discipline front, publicly expressing “right-wing” views that “adhere to the position of bourgeois liberalization and oppose the Four Cardinal Principles,” as well as “ultra-leftist” opposition to China’s reform and opening up policies, are considered violations. Newly added are violations like “opportunistic networking” and “associating with ‘political fraudsters.'”
“Political fraudsters” refer to those who claim high-level connections to officials, those who claim to have “special backgrounds” as experts/masters, and those who ingratiate themselves with local politicians to facilitate promotions or to resolve legal cases for personal gain.
The Ming Pao commentary noted that, while some violations like “failing to resolutely implement central policies” are clear, others like “pursuing sensual pleasures and vulgar interests” or “inaction, false action, and slow action” are more vague and hard to interpret.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 11, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202406110039.aspx
Divided Reactions in China as Students Wave Palestinian Flags After College Entrance Exams
During China’s national college entrance examination on June 7th, multiple exam sites witnessed students waving Palestinian flags and expressing support for Palestine after leaving the exam rooms. Some students even actively approached media outlets to voice their stance. Police officers were also seen confiscating flags from some students, though no punishments were reported.
This occurred at exam sites across multiple provinces, including Hunan, Henan, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu and Jiangxi. Students raised Palestinian flags after exams, with some holding Chinese flags alongside. In Jiangsu, police confiscated flags from two students. At a youth music festival in Shaanxi, an audience member’s Palestinian flag was confiscated by security staff.
While no punishments of students were reported, the incidents revealed divides in Chinese society’s perception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some believed that students should prioritize Chinese domestic issues, while others saw the students’ flag waving as aligning with Beijing’s official pro-Palestinian stance.
The student flag-waving sparked divergent reactions online. A plurality of online commentators expressed views that, since Chinese state-run media have been severely criticizing Western support for Israel, the students’ expression of solidarity for Palestine is merely following the Chinese government media’s “safe” (politically-correct) stance. Some speculated that the students are not acting independently but rather that there are forces orchestrating these students’ actions behind the scenes. Overseas Chinese who are critical of the Chinese government took the opportunity to mock the students, suggesting that they should go protest in Gaza themselves.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), June 10, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202406100181.aspx
Philippine Mayor Alice Guo Suspended Amid Allegation of Being Chinese Spy
Alice Guo (Guo Huaping), the 35-year-old mayor of Bamban City in Tarlac Province, Philippines, has been suspended from work after being accused of being a Chinese spy and of involvement in a scam operation. Alice Guo’s background is quite mysterious. In 2021, she suddenly emerged and registered to run for mayor of Bamban City. She won the election smoothly.
The dynamics of Chinese influence over Philippine politics have changed, as relations between the Philippines and China worsened in recent years.
There are many immigrants from Fujian Province, China, in the Philippines, and Fujianese leaders have significant influence there. During presidential elections in the Philippines, the Chinese diaspora leaders and businessmen spend significant amounts of money financing the campaigns of their preferred politicians, as having their preferred president in office results in several years of prosperity for their businesses. They maintain close ties with the Chinese Communist Party’s Department of United Front Works as well as with China’s diplomatic and intelligence departments; in the past these Fujianese diaspora leaders and businessmen have played key roles in the Philippines during moments that Beijing considers critical.
In March of last year, the Philippine police raided a location in Bamban which was disguised as a POGO site (a local term for an offshore gambling venue). The venue was actually a scam center; the police rescued nearly 700 individuals, including 202 Chinese nationals and 73 people from other countries, who had been forced into “online romance scams.” Alice Guo was found to own half of the land involved in the POGO operation, which was located right behind her office. Alice Guo owns a helicopter and a Ford Expedition SUV.
Source: Creaders.net, June 4, 2024
https://news.creaders.net/world/2024/06/04/2739029.html
Henan Province Massively Cuts Government Jobs
As China’s fiscal pressure remains unabated, local governments are seeking ways to reduce the number of “iron rice bowl” positions (secure government jobs).
In 2023, all Chinese provinces and municipalities (except Fujian Province) recorded budget deficits. Henan Province had an income of 451 billion yuan (US$ 62 billion) while its recorded expenditures reached 1.106 trillion yuan (US$ 152 billion), resulting in a deficit of 655 billion yuan (US$ 90 billion). The province has cut over 5,600 government positions in the past few years and will continue its efforts to cut more positions going forward.
Henan Province announced that, with the exception of schools and hospitals, it is planning to cut or consolidate at least 50 percent of government units, 30% of staffing positions, and 10 percent of fiscal funding for staffing positions. In principle, the government will no longer retain work units at the division level and below if they have fewer than 16 staff positions.
Source: Epoch Times, May 5, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/5/5/n14241546.htm
Xinhua Report: Middle East Battlefield Notes: Iraqi KFC Attacked
Xinhua published a report from the middle east named “Middle East Battlefield Notes: KFC in Iraq Attacked.” The following are the excerpts from the report.
Recently, attacks on American businesses have been occurring frequently in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. On May 26, an explosive device was thrown at a KFC on Palestine Street. The next day, a group of masked men armed with guns and clubs vandalized a KFC in the Karada district. On the same day, another American restaurant, Chili House and Lee’s, was also attacked. In the early hours of May 30, a flashbang attack targeted a Caterpillar store in Baghdad. On the evening of June 3, angry protesters stormed the KFC on Palestine Street and vandalized another Chili House and Lee’s restaurant in a different district.
Analysts believe these American businesses have become targets of attacks because of the U.S.’ biased stance towards Israel in the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. has consistently supported Israel, refusing to adjust its policy or to acknowledge that Israel has crossed a “red line.”
“Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. has been indulging Israel, continuously sending arms, and ignoring the fact that Gaza has become a hell on earth. How many more innocent lives must be lost before the US stops?” said Baghdad resident Ali emotionally to the (Chinese) reporter.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last October, large and small anti-American protests have been frequently occurring in Baghdad. Iraqi Islamic resistance organizations have launched hundreds of attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria as well as on Israeli targets. There have been constant demands from the Iraqi government, militia forces, and the public for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. After Israel attacked the Rafah refugee camp, Iraqi Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr called for the closure of the U.S. embassy in Iraq and the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador.
The Iraqis’ anti-American sentiment is as hot as the current 45-degree Celsius heat in Baghdad. The KFC restaurants, instead of welcoming a bustling crowd of customers, have faced wave after wave of attacks by “protesters.” The U.S. government’s unjust stance has forced its businesses to pay the price.
Source: Xinhua, June 5, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240605/22261cb6770b4c34954df0b15e1c8ce1/c.html
China to Accelerate Cross-Border e-Commerce Activity
Beijing aims to increase activity by cross-border e-commerce merchants in an attempt to buoy China’s economy by expanding the country’s exports.
China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong stated on May 30th that the Ministry is working to finalize a policy titled “Opinions on Expanding Cross-Border E-Commerce Exports and Promoting the Construction of Overseas Warehouses.” The policy’s goal will be to accelerate the development of cross-border e-commerce.
In the first quarter of 2024, China’s total import and export volume for cross-border e-commerce reached 577.6 billion yuan (US$80 billion), an increase of 9.6 percent. Of this volume, exports accounted for 448 billion yuan, a 14 percent increase. Preliminary statistics from various regions indicate that China has over 120,000 cross-border e-commerce entities, more than 1,000 cross-border e-commerce industrial parks, and over 2,500 overseas warehouses with over 30 million square meters of storage.
Source: Xinhua, May 31, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/tech/20240531/1426a7a71be64b72a79ee7fa467ef159/c.html
Xinhua Denounces Lai Ching-te’s Statement on “Three Chains”
Xinhua News Agency published an article suggesting that the “three chains” statement in the inaugural speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te was a blatant attempt to “seek (Taiwanese) independence” and “sell Taiwan’s interests to the United States.” In his speech, Lai Ching-te said that Taiwan holds a “strategic position in the ‘first island chain'” and is a “highlight of the ‘world democratic chain'” as well as “a key part of the global democratic supply chain.”
The recent Xinhua article stated that the “island chain” is an anti-China concept used to “contain China.” According to the article, the concept of a “world democratic chain” is a joke, as Lai Ching-te is the person least qualified to talk about democracy. The “global democratic supply chain” will drive Taiwan’s economy to a dead end; supply chains have never been about democracy but are rather about efficiency.
The article went on to say that Lai’s “three chains” statement completely exposes Lai Ching-te’s evil intentions of “seeking independence by relying on external forces” and “using democracy to seek independence.” It reveals his sycophantic attitude, acting as a pawn for external forces and aligning with the so-called “democratic camp.” It shows Lai Ching-te’s willingness to sacrifice Taiwan’s interests for American hegemony.
Source: Xinhua, June 5, 2024
http://www.news.cn/tw/20240605/0af665bf39b4403fb5bd3d944b4693db/c.html