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Journalists in China Mandated to Receive 90 Hours of “Continuing Education” Every Year

On October 15, China’s top media regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, issued a draft interim provision on “Continuing Education for Professional Journalists and Technical Workers.” The provision requires journalists, editors and other news personnel to receive no less than 90 hours of continuing education each year.

The provision states that the continuing education of journalists should “closely focus on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) mission for journalism and public opinion work, carry out in-depth education on Marxist journalism,  …  and guide professional journalists and technical workers in using the correct political direction, public opinion and value orientation.”

The contents of the study include policies, regulations, and professional knowledge, as well as new theories and technologies needed for keeping up with the industrial trend. It will become an important qualification for journalists to receive promotions and press credentials.

The provision also emphasizes that doing so is conducive to the building of a team of politically committed, professional, and ethical journalists with whom “the party and the people can have peace of mind.”

This year, the Chinese government has further escalated control over the media. Earlier this month, China’s Development and Reform Commission released a draft of the “Market Access Negative List (2021 Edition),” which requires that private capital shall not engage in the news gathering, editing or broadcasting business.

Source: National Press and Publication Administration, October 15, 2021
http://www.nppa.gov.cn/nppa/contents/279/99411.shtml

Apple Removed the Quran and Bible Related Apps from Its AppStore

Shanghai-based Chinese business news site FX168 recently reported that Apple officially confirmed the removal of two apps from its AppStore, namely, “Quran Majeed” and “Olive Tree.” These two apps carry original religious books and related information. Apple explained that the removal was based on a request from the Chinese government. Critics argue that in some countries, many regulations that focus on “respecting” local rules are equivalent to censorship and Apple is too eager to comply. Apple argues that its first priority is to follow the laws of the countries in which it operates, regardless of whether it agrees with these regulations. The Quran Majeed app is still available on AppStores and Google Play in other countries. As one of the most popular religious apps in China, Quran Majeed has approximately 35 million users worldwide. Its Pakistani developer is in contact with the Chinese authorities to see if the situation can be resolved. The developer of the Bible app Olive Tree did not respond immediately to inquiries. China is one of Apple’s largest markets.

Source: FX168, October 15, 2021
https://news.fx168.com/politics/cn/2110/5410436.shtml

CNA: LinkedIn Closes Chinese Website

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the Microsoft-owned social network platform LinkedIn announced that it will close its website in China, which means that the last major U.S. social network publicly accessible in China will close. According to LinkedIn’s official announcement, the reason for this decision was that the operating environment in China has become much more challenging and the Chinese authorities have imposed more compliance requirements. In March, the Chinese Internet Regulatory Authority told LinkedIn that it must strengthen the compliance level of its web content and it must comply within 30 days. In recent months, LinkedIn has notified human rights activists, scholars and journalists who are concerned about the situation in China that their personal records on the platform have been blocked in China because they allegedly contain prohibited content.

Source: CNA, October 14, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202110140401.aspx

Wal-Mart Moved Supplier Enablement from China to India

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that Walmart announced that its Supplier Enablement under Walmart Global Sourcing is moving from China to India. According to Wal-Mart’s commitment, the company will purchase more than US$10 billion of Indian-made products from India. This relocation work has already started. Walmart did clarify later that this is not a move of the Global Supplier Business Unit, which is independent from Walmart China. Walmart China did not respond directly to inquiries about the reason for the relocation. At least one Chinese Walmart supplier confirmed that it did receive the notification. Walmart entered the Chinese retail market in 1996 and opened its first Walmart store in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. However, in the four year period from 2016 to 2020, Walmart closed 80 stores in China. Starting from the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, Walmart’s gross profit margin in China has declined for 10 consecutive quarters. There are reports in 2021 that more of its business in China will be sold.

Source: NetEase, October 11, 2021
https://www.163.com/dy/article/GM05S4GT05445BQZ.html

Financial Experts: Increase in Cost of Electricity Would Be Devastating to High Energy Consumption Industries

To deal with a power shortage, the National Development and Reform Commission announced on Tuesday that it will, in an orderly manner, lift the electricity price restrictions and will not cap the price increase for high energy consumption companies. Financial experts believe that if China continues to ban coal imports, the coal shortage will remain an issue. It will also have a devastating impact on the high energy-consuming industries such as steel and chip manufacturing.

As price restrictions are lifted, the government is hoping that it will give coal manufacturers and power companies more incentives to find coal. Beijing has imposed a restriction on coal imports from Australia. China imported 780,000 tons of coal from Australia in the first half of the year, down 98.6 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile the price of coal has risen by more than 100 percent.

The electricity price increase will not only impact high energy consumption industries but also residential consumers. In China, industrial electricity consumption is close to 70 percent while residential electricity consumption is about 14 percent. Even though the head of the Commission gave his assurance that the increase in the price of electricity will not impact residential consumers, Huaxi Securities previously predicted that the rise in electricity prices will directly and indirectly affect the consumer price index.

Since late September, a number of cities in three northeastern provinces suddenly had power outages for as short as 5 hours or as long as more than 10 hours. Power outages have caused an inconvenience to people’s lives as many people complained that they couldn’t charge their phones and couldn’t make online payments or contact their relatives and friends. Some areas even had a water outage as well and the schools were forced to close. Later on, the power crisis was extended to 20 provinces throughout the country.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 12, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ac-10122021051920.html

“Workers’ Lives Matter” Gains Popularity in China

An online survey “Worker’s Lives Matter!” is gaining popularity in China. It is a collection of the working hours for employees who work for high tech and other well-known companies. The survey is sparking a debate about the so-called “overtime culture” in China.

“Worker’s Lives Matter!” – Workers also need to live was launched by four recent college graduates. They posted a form on GitHub for tech company employees to fill out listing their company’s name, their position, and their daily working hours.

By last Thursday, more than 4,000 people had signed up to share their data. The companies they work for include high-tech Internet companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and Tik Tok.
The collected information shows that most businesses require a five-day work week, but employees actually work between 10 and 12 hours a day.

Working long hours has been a hot topic in China’s high-tech companies and in other white-collar jobs. In 2019, tech company employees launched a similar online initiative to bring the 996 model to the public’s attention for the first time. 996 means employees work from 9 in the morning till 9 in the evening, six days a week.

In recent months, criticism of overtime has been growing. The government’s recent crackdown on high-tech companies has also begun to focus on the treatment of their employees. This year, Internet companies such as Tik Tok, Kuaishou and Meituan have begun cutting their mandatory weekend overtime. In August, China’s Supreme Court ruled that the 996 model is illegal.

Source: Deutsche Welle, October 14, 2021
https://p.dw.com/p/41gnO

Taiwan Business Investment In Mainland Dropped by Half in Past Decade

Taiwan business investments in mainland China have dropped by almost half from 61.2 per cent to 33.3 per cent in the past decade. This suggests that Taiwanese businesses are fleeing China in large numbers. Those who are still doing business in China face mounting business risks.

Lin Zonghong, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Taiwan recently spoke at an online forum regarding Taiwan business investment risks in the mainland. According to Lin, Taiwan business investment in the mainland can be divided into three stages. The first stage was from 1992 to 2007. That was when Taiwan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the mainland kept rising. By 2002, it passed 60 percent of its total FDI. From the 2008 global financial crisis to 2014 when the Sunflower Student Movement broke out in Taiwan, FDI from Taiwan in Mainland reached its peak. The Sunflower Student Movement refers to a movement in which a coalition of students and civic groups organized  to protest the passing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA) by the then ruling party, the  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The third stage is post 2015 when Taiwan investments were withdrawn from the mainland and shifted to other southeast Asian countries and the U.S..

Lin believes that China’s FDI has been overstated because it includes investments from Hong Kong, which accounts for 75-80 percent of the total. Those investments from Hong Kong were originally from the mainland. They were re-directed through Hong Kong into the mainland just to qualify for foreign investment tax incentives. If the inflow from Hong Kong was excluded, China would have seen a negative FDI.

Since 2007, Taiwan businesses have been losing tax and labor benefits that they used to receive on the mainland. Many of them ended up moving to middle or western regions in China. In 2007, there were still 356 Taiwanese businesses in the mainland. By 2017, the number was 124. By 2020, only 108 were left. Also compared to Taiwan, business costs are higher in the mainland. The data suggests that the gross profit for Taiwan businesses operating in the mainland is less than it is for those operating in Taiwan.

Since Taiwan businesses entered the mainland in 1998, Taiwan has seen factory closures, unemployment, low wages among the younger generation and an increase in poverty. Lin reiterated that Taiwan businesses must understand the business risks in the mainland and look at the current business environment in the mainland as a warning for future business decisions.

Source: Epoch Times, October 17, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/10/17/n13310415.htm

Development and Reform Commission: Private Capital Shall not Engage in News Gathering, Editing and Broadcasting Business!

According to the website of the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission publicly solicited opinions on the “Market Access Negative List (2021 Edition)” on the 8th of October. The draft mentions that it is forbidden to conduct news and media-related businesses in violation of regulations.

1. Private capital shall not engage in the news gathering, editing and broadcasting business.

2. Private capital shall not invest in the establishment and operation of news organizations, including but not limited to news agencies, newspaper publishing companies, radio and television broadcasting organizations, radio and television stations, and Internet news information collection, editing and publishing service organizations.

3. Private capital shall not operate the layout, news frequency, news channel, column, or public accounts owned by news organizations.

4. Private capital shall not engage in live broadcast services of activities and events involving politics, the economy, the military, diplomacy, major society, culture, science and technology, health, education, sports, and other related political directions, public opinion orientations, and value orientations.

5. Private capital shall not introduce news released by overseas entities.

6. Private capital shall not hold forums or summits and award selection activities in the field of news and public opinion.

Source: Xinhua, October 9, 2021
http://www.news.cn/fortune/2021-10/09/c_1127938584.htm

Related Article: China to Ban Private Capital in the News Business
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