China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win
{Editor’s Notes: China, from the government to businesses to individuals, watched the U.S. presidential election intensively. Continue reading
Chinese Local Governments ‘Deep-Sea Fishing’ Scheme: Cross-Regional Law Enforcement for Revenue Generation
Local governments in China have reportedly been engaging in a practice dubbed “deep-sea fishing” (远洋捕捞) wherein they conduct law enforcement operations outside their jurisdictions to address local budget shortfalls. This practice involves, for example, freezing company assets or imposing fines under pretenses such as fraud allegations.
The issue is particularly severe in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong. According to a research center in Guangdong, nearly 10,000 businesses in Guangzhou, mostly private enterprises, have been affected by these cross-jurisdictional law enforcement actions since last year.
A notable example is the Guangzhou Yijiankang Group, a company with annual revenue of 2.423 billion yuan (approximately $334 million). The company was targeted by Henan police under fraud allegations, which prevented its planned Hong Kong IPO. Despite having original case amounts of only 600,000 yuan (approximately $83,000), authorities froze 64 company accounts, forcing the company to withdraw its IPO application and halt factory operations.
This trend is reportedly driven by local fiscal pressures, with local governments using fines from these cases to determine budget allocations for law enforcement departments. The practice has severely damaged the business environment and government credibility.
The issue has caught Beijing’s attention. On October 8, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zheng Shanjie, called for standardizing cross-jurisdictional law enforcement and preventing selective and profit-driven enforcement. On October 30, the Ministry of Public Security issued new regulations to standardize the freezing of assets in criminal cases.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 4, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202411040041.aspx
Chinese State Media Mocks US Election as ‘Battle of Five Presidents’ While Analysts Warn of Propaganda Motives
On the eve of the US presidential election, China’s state television CCTV posted a topic on Weibo about “Five US Presidents in a Chaos Battle,” which quickly became a trending topic. Chinese netizens reacted to the post with mockery and criticism of the US electoral system by Chinese netizens. The five presidents mentioned in the post were Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, all of whom were politically active during this last election cycle.
CCTV’s post described President Biden as “out,” Trump as “nearly physically eliminated due to assassination attempts,” and claimed former presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter were “interfering” (in the election cycle), turning the election into a “battle of five kings.” The post garnered 150 million views and sparked extensive discussion.
Chinese social media users criticized the US election process, with some describing it as lacking civility and democratic atmosphere, comparing it to a marketplace quarrel or gang fight. The topic “#USElection” attracted nearly 15.3 billion views on Weibo.
Analysts note that this coverage is part of China’s internal propaganda strategy to shape public opinion against the US democratic system. An anonymous source from Chongqing stated that Chinese state media regularly crafts anti-US narratives to control public opinion while avoiding any mention of internal political conflicts within the CCP.
Dr. Du Shengcong, a media expert from Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University, describes the Weibo post as “gaseous language” – low-brow statements meant to reach mass audiences. He said that “state media should be more responsible in their reporting” to avoid misinterpretation. He noted,
despite pre-election chaos, US democratic institutions continue to function normally after elections.”
Source: Voice of America, November 5, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/cctv-paints-the-us-elections-in-a-bad-light/7852130.html
Japanese Schools in Shanghai Switch to Online Classes for Nanjing Massacre Anniversary Amid Safety Concerns
On December 13, marking the 87th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese Consulate-General in Shanghai announced that two Japanese schools in Shanghai would switch to online classes for the day. This decision follows recent incidents of violence against Japanese residents in China, including a fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old Japanese student in Shenzhen on September 18 (the anniversary of the Mukden Incident) and an attack on a Japanese mother and child in Suzhou in June.
Due to ongoing anti-Japanese sentiment in China, parents of Japanese students are particularly concerned about their children’s safety during sensitive historical dates. The Shanghai Japanese schools’ Hongqiao and Pudong campuses will conduct online classes on December 13, which is China’s National Memorial Day. Japanese consular sources confirmed this decision is a “safety measure” due to potential heightened anti-Japanese sentiment on this day.
A parent interviewed by CNA expressed that while online classes offer some protection, parents hope for more fundamental solutions rather than living in constant fear, especially during historically significant dates. The online learning arrangement applies only to elementary and middle school students, while high school classes will continue in person. Japanese schools in Suzhou and Hangzhou, also under the Shanghai consulate’s jurisdiction, have not yet announced similar measures.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), October 31, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202410310391.aspx
Lianhe Zaobao: Chinese Military Developed AI Tools Based on Meta’s AI Models
Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, in a paper published in June this year, six Chinese military researchers detailed how they used an early version of Meta’s Llama large language model (LLM) to build their ChatBIT model. These researchers named on the publication are from the Military Scientific Information Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Institute, the Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Minzu University of China.
The Chinese researchers utilized the Llama 2 13B large-scale language model released by Meta in February 2023. Combined with their own parameters, they built a military-focused artificial intelligence tool for collecting and processing intelligence to provide accurate and reliable information for combat decision-making. The paper states that, after fine-tuning, ChatBIT was optimized for question-and-answer tasks in the military field and that its performance exceeded other artificial intelligence models.
Reportedly, the Chinese models are approximately 90 percent as capable as OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4. The Chinese researchers did not elaborate on how they measured performance or on whether the AI model is already in use in the field.
Meta has publicly released many AI models, including Llama, and has imposed licensing restrictions on the use of these models. Specifically, Meta prohibits the use of its models for “military, war, nuclear industry and espionage.” Meta’s public policy director Molly Montgomery said “Any use of our model by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is unauthorized and violates our acceptable use policy.”
A fierce debate is ongoing in the U.S. national security and technology community over the consequences of technology companies such as Meta making their models public.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, November 1, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20241101-5283840
CNA: EU Launches Investigation into Chinese E-Commerce Company Temu
Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the European Commission has announced it will investigate Temu, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, under the EU Digital Services Act. The online shopping platform is suspected of selling illegal goods and has designs that make consumers addicted. According to Temu’s declaration, as of September, there were 92 million monthly active users in the European Union, which complies with the definition of Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), which requires more stringent regulation.
The focus of the EU investigation is, first, whether the Temu system can effectively prevent illegal commodity transactions, including preventing the products of low-quality sellers that have been suspended from being relisted. The EU also wants to investigate whether Temu’s design to make users addictive, such as providing rewards in a game-like manner, and whether its system includes risk prevention measures to avoid the negative impact of addiction on users’ physical and mental health.
Temu’s cheap dumping strategy and inferior product quality have caused much controversy internationally. In addition to EU, the governments of the United States, South Korea, and Thailand have also announced that they will launch investigations.
Source: CNA, October 31, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202410310305.aspx
Doctor Mysteriously Dies After Exposing Alleged Organ Harvesting at Xiangya Second Hospital
On May 8, Luo Shuaiyu, an intern doctor in the transplant department at Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University, in Changsha City, Hunan Province, mysteriously fell to his death. Before his death, Luo had reported the hospital’s director and others for allegedly harvesting and selling human organs. Luo’s parents suspect that he was murdered. The Epoch Times obtained some of the evidence Luo had collected before his death, which indicates that the hospital was seeking child donors for transplants and research.
In one audio recording made by Luo, someone at the hospital assigned Luo the task of finding child donors, specifying requirements: “Children aged 3-9, divided into 3-5 and 6-9 age groups, with three boys and three girls in each group, totaling six per group.” The individual, identified as a “liaison,” mentioned on the phone that the project was led by the hospital director and was intended to be a long-term project.
Another recording captured an on-site conversation when Luo was sent to a hospital to procure organs. Luo specified that he needed only the kidneys, not the liver. Then, the surgeon asked others if they wanted liver, suggesting that representatives from other hospitals were present to collect organs as well.
An insider mentioned that Luo was killed because he reported the misconduct of doctor Liu Xiangfeng and other doctors in the transplant department. Luo refused to find 12 child donors; the day before the incident, they pressured him again, and he became upset and threatened to report them. The next day, the doctors conspired to have him killed. Luo also mentioned (in one recording) that mysterious deaths had been occurring at the hospital.
Source: Epoch Times, October 31, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/10/31/n14361508.htm
Chinese Coast Guard Intensifies Patrols Near Taiwanese Kinmen Islands
Xinhua News Agency reported that the Fujian Coast Guard conducted “routine law enforcement patrols” in waters near the Kinmen Islands on October 30. It said that since the beginning of October, Fujian Coast Guard has organized ship formations to intensify patrols in the area, “further strengthening control over the relevant waters.” This effort is aimed at “effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights, interests, and safety of Chinese fishermen, including those from Taiwan, and ensuring the orderly navigation and operations in the Xiamen-Kinmen waters.”
According to Wikipedia, Kinmen is “a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only 10 km east” from mainland China’s Xiamen City, Fujian Province, and 187 km west of Taiwan island.
Sources:
Xinhua, October 30, 2024
http://www.news.cn/legal/20241030/1670d57f2aa94d4ca7f8f5f29d6ccd09/c.html
Wikipedia, Retrieved November 4, 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinmen