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Global Times: South Korea’s Second “Quasi Aircraft Carrier” Officially Enters Service

Global Times recently reported that South Korea’s second amphibious assault ship Marado Island officially entered service on June 28, 14 years after the first ship Dokdo entered service. Marado Island has greatly improved based on lessons learned from the Dokdo. It is also armed with the latest equipment. Marado Island is 199.4 meters long and 31.4 meters high, and can carry around one thousand officers and soldiers. It can support the take-off and landing of five helicopters at the same time, and can also carry high-speed landing crafts as well as amphibious combat vehicles. Marado Island is equipped with four-sided fixed radar for the U.S. Aegis System and its detection and command capabilities have been further improved. The South Korean Navy stated that the Marado Island will conduct combat missions starting in October this year, after a formal evaluation of its operational capabilities.

Source: Global Times, June 29, 2021
https://mil.huanqiu.com/article/43jEDnL0odr

China Will Have 40 million More Retirees over the Next Five Years

The 14th Five-Year Plan that China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently released states that over the next five years, China will see an additional 40 million retirees and 35 million fewer people of working age. This poses a huge challenge for the pension system. This means an average of 8 million additional retirees per year, far more than the 4.5 million added last year.

The government made it clear earlier this year that it would gradually postpone the mandatory retirement age, sparking widespread concerns. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted experts who stated that people born during the “baby boom” in 1963 will soon become 60, leading to a rapid decrease in pension contributions and a dramatic increase in the number of recipients. China’s legal retirement age has stayed unchanged for nearly 70 years. It is 60 for men, 55 for female officials, and 50 for female workers.

China’s seventh population census shows that, last year, the proportion of people over 65 years old reached 13.5 percent of the total population.

Source: Radio Free Asia, July 2, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/3-07022021104522.html

Chinese Communist Party Claimed 95 Million Members But Majority Joined for Personal Interests

The Central Committee Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party announced that the total number of communist party members has exceeded 95 million while there are 4.864 million grassroots party organizations nationwide. The truth is, however, that anyone who wants to work for the government or as a public official must first join the party. The majority of the people who joined the party did so for their personal interests, not because of their belief in the communist ideology. Many college students who applied for party membership did so while they were still in school.

The statistics show that 23.677 million party members are aged 35 and below, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total number of party members. There are 49.513 million party members with college degrees or above, accounting for 52.0 percent of the total number of party members.

At the same time, the vast majority of criminal cases in China in recent years are related to corruption and bribery. Many of them are high-ranking officials. According to the official reports, from December 2012 to May of this year, the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs filed and investigated 392 officials who were at or above the provincial and ministerial level, 22,000 at the department and bureau level, more than 170,000 at the county department level, and 616,000 at the township department level.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 30, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/ql2-06302021093639.html

One-Third of New Academic Degrees in Chinese Universities Are in AI

China’s Ministry of Education recently announced a list of new majors (in 2021) to be included in the catalog of undergraduate programs in higher education institutions. Among the 37 new majors (departments), engineering related programs occupy the lion’s share. About one third of the new majors are in AI and electronic engineering, including intelligent surveillance engineering, intelligent mining engineering and quantum information science.

Since the end of 2020, the president of China, Xi Jinping, has repeatedly stressed the need to strengthen national science and technology forces, to enhance the capabilities of controlling the industrial supply chain and to solve the problem of “being strangled” in key technologies.

In addition to AI, China is also trying to accelerate the development of its own semiconductor industrial talents. 2020 saw the establishment of an Integrated Circuits University in Nanjing, also known as the first “chip university” in China. In early 2021, Anhui University is also setting up an IC (integrated circuit) college. The Shenzhen University of Technology in Guangdong Province established the School of Integrated Circuits in collaboration with China’s leading semiconductor company SMIC in June of this year.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 30, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/5-06302021102334.html

A List of Political Figures Who Sent a Congratulatory Message to the CCP

China’s official newspaper People’s Daily recently published a list of international political figures who called or wrote to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) General Secretary Xi Jinping and the CCP Central Committee to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the CCP.

Edgar Lungu, President of Zambia
David W. Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia
Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of South African Communist Party
Delfim Neves, President of National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
Dési Bouterse, President of National Democratic Party of Suriname
Qasim Suri, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Megawati Soekarnoputri, former Indonesian president
Igor Dodon, former Moldovan president
Asadollah Badamchian, secretary-general of Iran’s Islamic Coalition Party
Wee Ka Siong, Minister of Transport of Malaysia
Korneliya Ninova, Leader of Bulgarian Socialist Party
Ichiro Ozawa, former President of Democratic Party of Japan
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan
Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party
Dogu Perincek, chairman of Turkey’s Patriotic Party
Gyula Thurmer, leader of the Hungarian Workers’ Party
Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten, Chairman of the Institute for East West Strategic Studies in UK

Source: People’s Daily, June 28, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-06/28/nw.D110000renmrb_20210628_1-03.htm

Leaked Files Show: Beijing Is Sinicizing Religions to Control its People

Beijing has been actively transforming religions in order to further its political agenda.

Last February, China’s National Religious Affairs Administration released the regulations called, “Measures for the Administration of Religious Personnel.” Under the regulations, religious groups must follow the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) leadership, publicize the CCP’s directives and policies, and also educate and guide religious believers to support the CCP’s leadership and the socialist system.

Leaked documents from the Chinese Communist Party in Liaoning Province reveal more efforts have been underway to sinicize religions.

The United Front Work Department of the Kuandian County CCP Committee in Liaoning Province disclosed in an internal document dated January 3, 2020, that it would step up efforts to sinicize the Bible.  The document said that it is inevitable to sinicize Christianity and that Christian groups must proactively include core socialist values in their religious activities.

The United Front Work Department of the Dandong City CCP Committee in Liaoning Province stated in an internal document dated May 8, 2020, that, the primary task in sinicizing religions is to “guide religions to adhere to the correct political direction.”

Other CCP documents from Dandong showed that in 2020, local authorities organized a training course titled “Dandong City’s Adherence to the Sinicization of Buddhism” with the theme, “Love the country and love religion, and be a qualified monk in the new era.” These documents also disclosed that the CCP held a number of lectures and preaching competitions, which were “guided by the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party” and resolutely promoted the “sinicization of religions.”

The CCP’s internal documents show that the CCP requires that religions support the CCP leadership and control, and engage in CCP political activities. The Civil Religious Affairs Bureau of Yuanbao District, Dandong City, stated in a work report on April 14, 2021, that [people must] “promote the sinicization of religion and promote the patriotism of religious staff.” The Puji [Buddhist] Palace in Dandong recently laid a wreath in the Korean War Memorial Hall in memory of Chinese soldiers who died in support of North Korea.  Documents also disclosed that on October 25, 2020, the Kuandian County Christian Church celebrated the 70th anniversary of the CCP victory in the 1949 Korean War, as the church conducted its Sunday Christian activity.

Source: Epoch Times, June 18, 2021

https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/6/18/n13031727.htm

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: Communist Party Followers Can Never Betray the Party

Days prior to the 100th anniversary of the communist party, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection published an article and reminded the communist party members that they must never betray the party.

On June 19, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection published an article. Nearly two-thirds of the article was about Gu Shunzhang who is a former security chief and alternate member of the Political Bureau. In 1931, he betrayed the communist party and was arrested. Then in 1935 he tragically died in prison. The article stated that “Never Betray the Party is not just an oath; it is also a political red line.” It reiterated that the party members must display loyalty to the party and that they must unite around the party and never rebel against the party.

The official media also reported that, during his recent visit to Qinghai Province, Xi Jinping told the party members to be loyal to the party. Xi even personally led dozens of officials to a historical exhibition hall to swear to the party oath and pay allegiance to the party.

Source:
1. Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, June 19, 2021
https://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yaowen/202106/t20210619_244195.html
2. Xinhua, June 19, 2021
http://www.qh.xinhuanet.com/2021-06/19/c_11275787p11.htm

Hong Kong to Test Cross-border Use of Digital Chinese Currency

The cross-border use of digital Chinese currency will be fully rolled out for testing in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that, in the coming year, preparations will be stepped up for the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Hong Kong at the wholesale and retail levels, including a study on the application of the electronic Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) at the local retail level.

On Sunday, Chan said in his blogger that he is determined to promote the transformation of Hong Kong in the direction of a digital economy, to encourage more enterprises to use technology and to enhance operational efficiency and expand their businesses.

According to Sing Tao Daily, Hong Kong will continue to work with the People’s Bank of China in the coming year to conduct technical tests on the local use of CDBC, so as to provide convenient cross-border payment services for mainland and Hong Kong residents.

Source: Sing Tao Daily, June 28, 2021
https://std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2370853