Chinascope – Page 226

Taliban Hopes China Will Contribute to the Reconstruction of Afghanistan

Popular Hong Kong new online media HK01 Network recently reported that, on August 19th, China Global Television Network (CGTN) of China Central Radio and Television, interviewed Suhail Shaheen, spokesperson for the Taliban in Afghanistan. When talking about rebuilding and maintaining peace in Afghanistan, Shaheen expressed the hope that, in the future, China can contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Shaheen mentioned that members of the Taliban have visited China many times and China has played a constructive role during the process of promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Shaheen said that China appointed a special envoy to Afghanistan earlier, and the two parties kept in touch. Now, China has appointed a new special envoy to Afghanistan, and the connection remains. Recently, the Taliban delegation met with the new special envoy. The Taliban hopes that China will continue its contribution to the future of Afghanistan. “The Afghan people look forward to it,” he said. Shaheen also explained that, according to the current structure of the Taliban, Afghanistan will set up a governing committee in the future, and the new head of the government may be the leader of the Taliban.

Source: HK01, August 20, 2021
https://bit.ly/3y36BOm

Briefings | | August 24, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend

UDN: China Plans to Require Companies Seeking U.S. IPO to Hand Over Data Control

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that the Mainland China regulatory authorities are considering mounting pressure on companies with a large volume of data. If companies want to go public in the United States, they must hand over data governance and supervision rights to a third-party. The Chinese regulatory authorities prefer the third-party information security companies to have a government background and to be responsible for managing and supervising the data owned by those companies that intend to conduct IPOs in the U.S. The method can effectively limit the IPO companies’ ability to transfer data to foreign countries. China worries that those companies may be forced to hand over some of their data to foreign institutions when listing overseas, which will undermine China’s national security. This plan is one of the several proposals being considered. In recent months, China has strengthened its control over domestic Internet platforms which caused a significant drop in the stock market and severely affected investor confidence.

Source: UDN, August 20, 2021
https://udn.com/news/story/7333/5688489

Briefings | | August 24, 2021 | US-China Relations

Vote Delayed on Extending Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law to Hong Kong

On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress adjourned its meeting. Standing Committee Member Tan Yaozong from Hong Kong stated to Hong Kong 01 that the Standing Committee did not vote on the draft for incorporating the China Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (June 210, 2021) into Annex III of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China.

The Basic Law is a national law of China that serves as the de facto Hong Kong constitution. With 160 articles and three annexes, the Basic Law was enacted under the Constitution of China to implement the Sino-British Joint Declaration and went into effect July 1, 1997, in Hong Kong. An affirmative vote by the Standing Committee on August 20, 2021, would have extended China’s Anti-Foreign Sanction Law to Hong Kong by adding it as Annex III of the Basic Law.

According to Tan, the Standing Committee deliberated on the proposal to add Annex III to the Basic Law, but the chairman’s meeting decided not to vote for the time being but rather, to continue to study related issues.

A few days earlier, Tan said that on August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee would discuss and consider including the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in Annex III of the Basic Law. Tan Yaozong expressed that the draft to be discussed was relatively simple. It only required that the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law be included in Annex III of the Basic Law and that the SAR government establishes relevant systems. It would not discuss specific implementation details in Hong Kong and has not set a legislative timetable for Hong Kong.

On June 10, 2021, the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. The Chinese Communist Party intends the law to oppose foreign sanctions against China, counter foreign discriminatory measures, and respond to the “long-arm jurisdiction” of the United States.

According to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, China’s State Council may deal with measures such as denial of visa, denial of entry, deportation, seizure and freezing of property in China, and prohibiting or restricting doing business in China.

Hong Kong economist Luo Jiacong said that more than 200 banks are currently in Hong Kong, and more than 80 percent of them are foreign banks. If China extends the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law to Hong Kong, it is estimated that foreign banks will choose to leave Hong Kong because they will not give up their U.S. dollar business.

Analysts warned that the surprising decision on August 20 to defer extending the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law to Hong Kong does not signal any retreat or U-turn on retaliatory steps against the West. Instead, the CCP may opt for a more tailored retaliatory approach in order not to jeopardize Hong Kong’s financial hub.

Sources:

1.) Hong Kong 01, August 20, 2021.
https://tinyurl.com/4s3n9yvm

2.) Radio Free Asia, August 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/ec-08132021082231.html

3.) Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People’s Republic of China, June 10, 2021
http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202106/d4a714d5813c4ad2ac54a5f0f78a5270.shtml

Briefings | | August 23, 2021 | Government/Politics

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China Continues to Tighten-Up Control of Internet-Related Companies

According to China Economic Net, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China is continuing its efforts to clean up and rectify private tech companies. MIIT announced that 43 APPs still have problems of rectification not being thorough, using technical means to counter rectification, and the same problem not being rectified consistently in different regions.

China Economic Network reporters found that many mainstream apps such as WeChat, Aichiyi, Ctrip, have an issue of where to go are on the list. Among them, tech company Tencent alone has four apps involved – Tencent video, enterprise WeChat, Tencent map and WeChat. The problems of 43 APPS are still in “violation of illegal use of call contacts and geographical location permissions,” “harassing users with open screen pop-ups,” and other persistent APP violations. MIIT demanded that rectification of the APPs listed be completed by August 25.

Source: China Economic Net, August 18, 2021
http://www.ce.cn/cysc/tech/gd2012/202108/18/t20210818_36821191.shtml

Briefings | | August 19, 2021 | Government/Politics

Chinese Tech Giant Tencent to Pour an Additional 50 Billion Yuan into the “Get-Rich-Together Plan”

Following the launch of the “Sustainable Social Value Innovation” strategy with an investment of 50 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion) (in April), Chinese tech giant Tencent announced on August 18 that it would increase its capital by another 50 billion yuan to launch the “Common Prosperity Special Plan” (or “Get-Rich-Together Plan”). The funds will be used to provide continuous assistance in areas such as rural revitalization, increases in income for low-income groups, improvements in the primary health care system, and balanced development of education.

The 10th Conference of the Central Finance Committee, held on August 17, made it clear that common prosperity should be promoted in stages, allowing some people to get rich first. Then the riches should help the poor to get rich.

Source: Techweb, August 19, 2021
http://www.techweb.com.cn/finance/2021-08-19/2854250.shtml

Briefings | | August 19, 2021 | Economy/Resources

Global Times Editorial: Lessons the Taiwan Authorities Need to Learn from Afghanistan

China’s state-run media, Global Times, published an editorial warning Taiwan that today’s Afghanistan may be tomorrow’s Taiwan. The article stated that, “The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the rapid collapse of the Kabul regime. The U.S. used helicopters to transport diplomats to the airport to flee Kabul while Taliban soldiers poured into the presidential palace. This scene left a deep impression on the world and gave a critical hit to the credibility and reliability of the United States.”

The article said, “Some parts of Asia have felt the hit of the U.S. abandoning the Kabul regime particularly hard, with Taiwan being the first to bear the brunt. Taiwan is undoubtedly the region in Asia that is most heavily dependent on the United States for protection. The DPP authorities have exacerbated this aberrant line of dependence. After the United States abandoned Afghanistan, the situation suddenly turned upside down. The United States left the country alone and only cared about its own withdrawal. Is this some kind of harbinger of Taiwan’s future destiny?”

The article warned: “Once a war breaks out across the strait and the mainland forcefully seizes the island of Taiwan, the United States will have to have much more determination to implement military intervention in Taiwan than it did to to persist in Afghanistan and northern Syria, and not to abandon South Vietnam in 1975.”

“The DPP authorities need to stay awake with their last bit of brain power, and all kinds of the “Taiwan independence” forces that are still dreaming need to be able to wake up. They should understand from the Afghan incident that once a full-scale war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the resistance of the Taiwan military will collapse in the span of hours. The aid of the U.S. military will not come. The DPP authorities will soon surrender, and some high-ranking officials may escape by plane. Such a situation will be a sure thing.”

Source: Global Times, August 16, 2021
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/44NXKQHceOw

Briefings | | August 19, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping Calls for Wealth Redistribution and Common Prosperity

On August 17, Xi Jinping, in his keynote speech at the tenth meeting of the Central Finance and Economics Committee, highlighted the need to redistribute wealth and strengthen the “regulation and management” of high-income earners.

After cracking down on Chinese technology giants, financial companies, and the after-school training industry, the CCP is now targeting “high-income earners.”

According to the People’s Daily, Xi told the CCP leadership that there must be a mechanism to redistribute wealth, to promote “social equality,” to establish basic system arrangements for the coordination of primary distribution, redistribution, and third-time distribution; to intensify efforts and to improve the accuracy in taxation, social security, transfer payments, and related areas.; … to rationally regulate high income; ban illegal income; … and to promote social equality.”

It is necessary to “strengthen the regulation and adjustment of high incomes, …, rationally regulate excessively high incomes, and encourage high-income groups and enterprises to return more to the society. We must clean up and standardize unreasonable income, rectify the order of income distribution, and resolutely ban illegal income.”

Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” is regarded as the key for the CCP to maintain its power. “The meeting emphasized that common prosperity is the prosperity of all people, ‘not the prosperity of a few people.’ We must take the promotion of common prosperity for all the people as the focal point for seeking happiness for the people, and constantly consolidate the foundation of the Party’s long-term governance.”

At this meeting, the CCP did not provide specifics on the criteria for “high-income earners.” Xi Jinping’s focus on wealth redistribution is closely related to the broader economic goals of the CCP. In recent months, in the name of curbing financial risks, protecting the economy, and fighting corruption, the CCP has issued a number of regulations and directives against industries such as technology, finance, and education. Xi Jinping’s redistributing wealth and realizing “common prosperity” is believed to be behind the CCP’s latest regulatory crackdown on these industries.

Source: People’s Daily, August 18, 2021.
http://jhsjk.people.cn/article/32197470?isindex=1

Briefings | | August 18, 2021 | Government/Politics

China Built Zambia’s Largest Hydropower Plant

The first generator for the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station, an infrastructure project in Zambia, which Chinese companies built, was recently put into operation. The power plant is the largest single infrastructure project in Zambia. It is also the largest hydropower plant in the country.

Zambia has been tackling power shortages for a long time. Only about 25 percent of the urban population and 3 percent of the rural population have a stable electricity supply. According to China’s state media, People’s Daily, the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station, Power Construction Corp of China, or Power China, plans to install five turbine power generating units, with a total installed capacity of 750 megawatts. Once the five generating units go into full operation, the country’s power supply will see an increase of 38 percent.

Source: People’s Daily, August 12, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-08/12/nw.D110000renmrb_20210812_3-17.htm

Briefings | | August 18, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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