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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xi Jinping’s Latest Power Purge: Two Former Security and Justice Officers Ousted

Within a two day period, two high ranking officials in the public security sector in China were ousted. This move indicates Xi Jinping is continuing to purge his political opponents prior to the Chinese communist party’s 20th Congress in 2022. Xi has determined that, by 2022, he must completely secure the power of his leadership.

On October 2, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a short statement that Fu Zhenghua, the former Minister of Justice, is being investigated. The Commission didn’t provide further details. Just two days earlier, on September 30, the Commission issued a separate notice announcing Sun Lijun, the former vice-minister of Public Security, would be prosecuted for fraud, being too politically ambitious, and damaging the party’s unity.

Between 2013 and 2018, both Fu and Sun held several official positions. One was the head of the 610 Office—an extralegal secret police force akin to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, which has been implementing Beijing’s persecution policies against Chinese citizens who practice Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that involves meditation exercises and moral teachings.

In 2012, Xi Jinping began a relentless “anti-corruption campaign” to eliminate his political opponents. Since then, more than 100 “tigers and flies”— high- and low-ranking officials — have been purged for crimes of corruption such as bribery and embezzlement. There has been some speculation that, following the removal of Fu and Sun, another bigger “tiger” could be ousted next.

Source: Epoch Times, October 2, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/10/2/n13277204.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Electricity Prices Increase Following Recent Power Cuts

Since August, over 20 provinces in China have issued notices to limit electricity usage. This has caused blackouts in certain regions. The power plants are faced with increased electricity demand while there is a coal shortage and thus coal prices are higher. They are operating at a loss because the electricity price is set according to State Council guidelines.

Starting in July, over eight provinces have increased the price of electricity, but they are still within the 10 percent ceiling previously required by the State Council. Several provinces introduced peak demand pricing to normalize the usage. Currently the electricity price increase is aimed at business electricity consumption rather than at residential use.

On September 29, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice calling for increased coal production while enabling the coal power plants to set a price that is market driven and reflects the changes in demand and cost.

The central authorities said it is expected that this wave of price increases will continue to expand.

Source: Central News Agency, October 1, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202110010291.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Cost of Ocean Freight from China to U.S. Up Tenfold Due to Container Shortage

Because of a container shortage, the cost of ocean freight from China to the U.S. has soared tenfold since August and reached a record high.

The price of a 40-foot container from China to the U.S. used to cost between US$1,000 and US$2,000, but since August it has risen to a record US$20,000. COVID shutdowns in ports in certain cities in China and other countries as well as a shortage of drivers at the port are the main culprits. It has a domino effect on the downstream supply chain, particularly in September and October when most of the goods entering the North American and European markets are for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

Even though Chinese container manufacturers have increased their capacity to build more containers, it will still take some time to ease the constraint. Therefore, the container shortage will last for a while.

Source: Epoch Times, September 28, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/9/28/n13265311.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Global Times Editorial: Mainland Military Aircraft Flying over Taiwan Is an Unmistakable declaration of China’s Sovereignty over Taiwan

China’s state-run media Global Times published an editorial stating that mainland China will have a showdown with Taiwan if the DPP authorities continue to make trouble colluding with the U.S. and Japan. Below is an excerpt from the article:

“The Taiwan issue continues to ferment. More than half of China’s diplomatic troubles are related to this issue. In the long run, maintaining the current form of peace in the Taiwan Strait means higher and higher costs for the mainland. The U.S.-Taiwan collusion and the Japan-Taiwan collusion can happen for numerous reasons, which will continue to consume the mainland’s diplomatic resources and energy.”

“In view of the fact that the DPP authorities (of Taiwan) are determined to work with the U.S. and Japan against the mainland and that the United States is also making more and more frequent strategic manipulations of the Taiwan issue, while the mainland only takes fundamental measures and launches a resolute fight, can this situation be stopped, the DPP authorities and their supporters completely suppressed, and the strategic initiative of the situation across the Taiwan Strait brought under firm control.”

“The PLA fighter planes flew over the island of Taiwan. This is a step we must take. That will constitute a fundamental warning to the DPP authorities and bring about the reconstruction of the situation across the Taiwan Strait. It will be a clear and unmistakable declaration of China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, and will create unprecedented conditions for us to further implement this sovereignty.”

“The mainland military aircraft flying over the island of Taiwan must be backed by a large-scale and overwhelming military action. The military aircraft flying over is only part of the mainland’s strong determination to reset the Taiwan Strait structure. This is the showdown, giving the DPP authorities a choice between two alternatives: either accept that the mainland aircraft are to cruise through Taiwan, and step back its extreme anti-mainland path of colluding with the United States and Japan, or provoke a war by firing against the mainland military aircraft and be destroyed and eliminated by the People’s Liberation Army.”

Source: Global Times, September 13, 2021
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/44kv8MlneoQ

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

A Young Man Who Fled to the U.S. Received a Threatening Call from His Village Chief in China

Ding Yiduo, a young man born in the 1980s in mainland China, fled to the United States and accepted an interview with the Epoch Times. Newspaper. After a year, He told his story about posting a message supporting “Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill movement” on the WeChat group on the eve of the Chinese Communist Party’s Anniversary (October 1) in 2019. His act alarmed the local CCP public security agencies, incurring a series of acts of intimidation and compulsory requests. For example, he was summoned, interrogated, detained, forced to write guarantees, physically examined, had his blood drawn and more.

What he didn’t expect was that on September 27, when he was in the U.S., he received a threatening call from mainland China. “I was so scared at the moment because it was my first domestic call, and it was from our village chief. He told me, ‘The Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China has listed you as a key surveillance target.’ When I finally settled down, I recorded our conversation, and he spoke for more than 8 minutes.”

“I’ll be on the road to death when I go back.” Ding Yiduo said. That was the main message of the village chief’s call to him. The village chief also emphasized, “What if the United States does not take you and sends you back to China? Did you think about the consequences the moment you landed (the United States)?”

At the end of the long-distance call, the village chief warned him that if he fails to handle the report (by the Epoch times) properly as soon as possible and erase the “negative” impact (on the CCP), he will be treated as a traitor and his name will be removed from the genealogy.

Source: Epoch Times, September 29, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/9/29/n13269831.htmt

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP’s Grassroots Control of Local Communities – Grid Administrator’s Microscopic Grip over every Chinese Citizen and Resident.

Chen Yixin, Secretary General of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Committee, recently visited the city of Shenzhen. Chen pointed out that the current domestic and international security environment is becoming more complex and that it is necessary to optimize the grid-based grassroots management mechanism, improve the coverage of video surveillance, and set up a “red property management team.”

The PLAC is a very powerful Chinese Communist Party organ that oversees all judicial and law enforcement authorities, including the Supreme Court, Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of State Security, Ministry and Public Security, and the police force. The Secretary General is a senior leadership position in the Commission.

Chen pointed out that, in recent years, there have been mass social unrest cases where people’s conflicts and disputes were not solved in a timely manner. They all relate to “grassroots governance.” He said that “grid management” is an effective innovation in grassroots governance, and it is necessary to improve China’s grid management.

The Chinese government has divided local “grassroots” communities into a grid pattern, with each grid made up of 15 to 20 households. They are monitored by a designated person called the “grid administrator.” These persons must fully familiarize themselves with the residents in their grid – who lives there, their housing and facilities, their membership in organizations, and their place of work. In addition, they must identify any possible hidden dangers. The authorities make use of the “grid management” system to exert the most microscopic grip over every Chinese citizen and resident.

Chen proposed that there should be a focus on the entrances and exits of buildings and public areas, improved coverage of video surveillance, and a focus on the use of big data to predict risks and refine the “grid management” to ensure that the grid covers a moderate population and area. Business buildings, enterprises and institutions are divided into specially designated grids.

Chen asked grid administrators to mingle themselves with the people, watch out for the first signs of any problems, and organize CCP members and cadres in the community grids.

Chen said he would work with government bodies to promote “red property management” and introduce the participation of CCP members and university students, so that CCP cadres in the community also serve as the head of property management.

Source: Website of Political and Legal Affairs Commission, September 22, 2021
http://www.chinapeace.gov.cn/chinapeace/c100007/2021-09/21/content_12539687.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Tsinghua to Cut Number of Doctoral Students in Liberal Arts

In recent years, the Chinese government has signaled that there are “too many liberal arts students.” Tsinghua University in Beijing has proposed to control the scale of liberal arts programs and reduce the number of liberal arts doctoral students.

According to Tsinghua University’s website, when Qiu Yong. the current president of Tsinghua University, attended a conference on liberal arts on September 17, he put forward a 10-point to-do list for the future liberal arts education. At the top of the list was to control the scale of discipline and to downsize doctoral programs.

According to China Youth Daily, an official newspaper targeting young people, starting in 2019, Chinese universities and colleges have kept a tight grip on enrollment and significantly scaled back humanities and social science programs.

In April of this year, the People’s Bank of China published a paper titled, “Understanding and Responding to China’s Demographic Transition.” The paper argued that one of the reasons that Southeast Asian countries fell into the middle-income trap was that “there were too many liberal arts students.” It suggested that China “should pay attention to science and technology education” when formulating population policy.

Source: Tsinghua University, September 20, 2021
https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/1177/87151.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Sets a Goal to Become an Intellectual Property Power in the Next 15 Years

According to a Xinhua report, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council recently issued the “Guideline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country (2021-2035).” The “Guideline” states that it is a major top-level design for the development of China’s intellectual property industry over the next 15 years.

The “Guideline” proposes that, by 2025, the added value of patent-intensive industries will account for 13 percent of GDP. The added value of copyright industries will account for 7.5 percent of GDP, and the total amount of royalties from the annual imports and exports of intellectual property will reach 350 billion yuan. The number of patents for high-value inventions per 10,000 people will reach 12.

Source: Xinhuanet, September 30, 2021
http://www.news.cn/politics/2021-09/30/c_1127922346.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics