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Beijing to Launch Social Media Platforms for Ideological and Political Education in Universities

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Propaganda Department, the CCP’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Education, and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, will be jointly promoting the launch of a number of social media platforms in universities and colleges. The “first group of universities and colleges ideological and political public accounts list” includes the social media accounts of Tsinghua University and Peking University.

Since 2013, the CCP has been strengthening the ideological education in schools and universities. As early as 2013, at the CCP’s National Propaganda Work Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping vowed to solidify the guiding position of Marxism in ideology and propaganda, especially on school campuses.

To celebrate the centennial of the founding of the CCP, the authorities launched a large-scale study campaign on the history of the Party, using the latest version of the “Brief History of the Chinese Communist Party ” as the official designated study material.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education has also blacklisted books that “do not conform to the core socialist values.” They are prohibited from being used in elementary and secondary schools and in kindergartens.

Source: Central News Agency, May 28, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202105280123.aspx

China Accuses U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories of Secret Dealings with Japanese Unit 731

On May 28, a reporter asked a question at a regular press conference at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “U.S. President Joe Biden claimed that a report may be released detailing the findings of the U.S. intelligence community on the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. intelligence agencies have also begun to comment on the traceability of the virus, saying they will continue to study all the evidence and collect and analyze new information. What is China’s comment on this?”

(Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson) Zhao Lijian replied, “Virus tracing is a serious scientific issue, but the U.S. is trying to let its so-called intelligence personnel lead to the conclusion, which only shows that the U.S. side does not care about the truth and does not want to engage in scientific research, but is only bent on playing politics and blaming other countries.”

“It is clear to the world that the U.S. side has recently once again maliciously rehashed the ‘laboratory leak’ and claimed to conduct an ‘investigation’ on this issue with impure motives and sinister intentions. I would like to remind them of two points. First, it is highly unlikely that the Chinese laboratory incident caused the virus, and this conclusion is clearly documented in the study report of the joint China-WHO mission. Second, the United States is the country with the largest and most numerous biological laboratories in the world. The news of the leak at the Fort Detrick biological camp has long been exposed in the media. According to public information, Fort Detrick is inextricably linked to the ‘Unit 731’ of the Japanese army invading China, and the head of the heinous ‘Unit 731’, Shiro Ishii, was a biological weapons advisor to Fort Detrick.”

“I would like to ask the U.S. side when it will provide details on the unexplained respiratory illness in northern Virginia in July 2019 and the massive ‘e-cigarette disease’ in Wisconsin? Is there the will and courage for WHO experts to come to the United States to investigate?”

U.S. President Biden recently ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to re-investigate the source of the coronavirus and urged China to participate in the global investigation. A bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress to require the intelligence community to release information about the investigation into the ties between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the coronavirus.

The mainland Chinese media once reported that according to the declassified information from the U.S. National Archives, after World War II, the U.S. military secretly contacted Shiro Ishii, Masaji Kitano and other personnel, and conducted investigations of Unit 731 of the Japanese army, and compiled a series of reports on Japan’s Unit 731 germ warfare investigations. The U.S. and Japan were also reported to have traded information on germ warfare research results, and the U.S. was able to use Japanese biochemical weapons research information, so as to develop the Fort Detrick Biological Laboratories, which is the only P4 biological processing laboratory in the U.S. Army.

Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry, May 28, 2021
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/wjdt_674879/fyrbt_674889/t1879392.shtml
China Times, May 28, 2021
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20210528005464-260409

Tesla Cars Not Welcome in Government and Military Facilities in China

Starting on May 24, a “Notice on Disallowing Tesla Vehicles from the Provincial Administrative Center” was circulated online. The notice reads, “Due to a lack of parking spaces and other reasons, starting from May 31, 2021, Tesla vehicles will be disallowed from entering the provincial administrative center. Please notify the staff members in all units.” The “Security Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Administrative Center” signed the notice, which was dated May 21, 2021.

Netizens tended to believe that it was likely an authentic notice, although it has not been confirmed. Two months ago, the Chinese military had already banned Tesla cars from parking in military facilities or dormitory areas.

Wang Aizhong, a political dissident living in Guangzhou, told Radio Free Asia, “Over the years, there has been a sharply rising tide of government-guided nationalist sentiment in China. This includes the boycott of Tesla. Now some government bodies are imposing restrictions on Tesla. This is beyond Tesla’s original expectation when it came to China to set up a factory.”

Staff from at least two government agencies in Beijing and Shanghai received verbal instructions from officials in charge that they should not park Tesla cars in the office areas, Reuters reported on Friday May 21, “As of now, it is unclear whether the ban involves all government agencies or is simply a measure taken by individual officials.”

Recent news of Tesla’s intention to set up factories in Europe suggests that it plans no expansion in China. Media have reported that Tesla is now considering building factories in other parts of the world, including Russia and Germany.

Mr. Jiang, a scholar in Zhejiang, told RFA that the government hopes to obtain Tesla’s advanced technology by introducing the production line. “Learn the technology, copy the technology and then kick them out. Will a company like Tesla repeat the mistakes of its predecessor? Let’s wait and see.”

During the Shanghai Auto Show in April, a woman lodged a protest at the Tesla booth. The official media hyped up the incident and blasted Tesla as “bullying the customer.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 25, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql2-05252021064552.html

How Xinhua Spent More than $10 Million in North America

Radio Free Asia, through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) system, dug out the financials for the North American bureau of Xinhua, the official news agency of the People’s Republic of China. Xinhua spent more than US$10 million in the 14 months between March 18, 2020 and May 4, 2021. All of the funds came from Beijing. Employee salaries were over $5.3 million. In addition, the agency rented eight properties in the U.S. and spent more than $3.3 million on rent.Also, more than $500,000 was spent on administrative costs, including attorney fees.

Documents show that from March of last year to April of this year, the Xinhua News Agency paid a total of $8.64 million to its North American branches, including its New York headquarters and branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, and Chicago.

In February 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated the Xinhua News Agency as a “foreign mission.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is designed to ensure that the U.S. public is informed of the source of media contents. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Xinhua News Agency to register as a “foreign agent” under FARA. Last March, the U.S. authorities announced a staffing cap for Chinese media outlets including Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network (CGTN), reducing the total number of Chinese employees in the U.S. from 160 to 100.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 10, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-xinhua-05102021153237.html

UK Started the Removal of Huawei Equipment

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that British Telecom (BT), in accordance with government regulations, has started removing all Huawei equipment in its Great Britain network. All Huawei equipment will be replaced by Nokia equipment. In addition to 5G equipment, all 4G Huawei equipment will be removed as well. This BT project will remove 12,000 of its 18,000 base stations. It will take ten years and cost US$700 million. To remove all Huawei equipment across the entire British communications system, it is estimated that the cost will be US$2 billion. That will delay Britain’s 5G deployment plan by at least three years. It seems the UK finally made up its mind, thanks to the threats from the United States. This may have a big impact on the Huawei global 5G strategy. However, the bigger loss is on the British side. Without the British market, Huawei is still the largest 5G equipment vendor due to the size of the Chinese market.

Source: NetEase, May 18, 2021
https://3g.163.com/dy/article/GA8P7FGP0528O7LT.html

LTN: HK Government Suddenly Closed Representative Office in Taiwan

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Hong Kong government just officially announced the suspension of the operation of the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (HKETCO) in Taiwan, which is the Hong Kong government representative’s office. The announcement clarified that the suspension has nothing to do with the current pandemic situation in Taiwan. This move is widely considered as the first step in closing down The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong, which is the representative office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Hong Kong. Currently the Hong Kong government has already stopped the renewal of visas to the personnel of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong. In the past few years, since Taiwan strongly supported the democracy movement in Hong Kong and the movement against the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Taiwanese government has had a difficult relationship with the Hong Kong government. Analysts expressed the concern that the suspension, along with the potential closure of the Taipei Office in Hong Kong will bring a lot of difficulties for the Hong Kong residents who want to move to Taiwan.

Source: LTN, May 18, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3536877

Sing Tao: Vatican Surprisingly Appointed Stephen Chow as HK Bishop

Primary Hong Kong news media Sing Tao News Group recently reported that the Vatican just announced the surprising appointment of Stephen Chow as the Bishop of Hong Kong. There has been no Bishop since January 2019, when Michael Yeung passed away after holding the position for less than two years. Chow’s appointment was seen as a surprise since he was not previously mentioned as one of the likely candidates for the position. Chow is recognized as a person with a gentle personality and the intent to facilitate collaboration. The Vatican’s choice appears to be a balance between Beijing and the local Catholic communities. Chow is the current Provincial superior of the Chinese Jesuit Province and is serving as the supervisor of both Wah Yan colleges in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. He commenced his doctoral studies at Harvard University in 2000 and was granted a Doctor of Education six years later. After last year’s Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, as the supervisor of two schools, Chow reminded his students to be careful about the legal consequences that one’s actions can bring.

Source: Sing Tao, May 18, 2021
https://bit.ly/3oEpDaH

Kim Jong-un Bans the Use of Chinese Drugs

According to the Daily UK, an online newspaper that a group of North Korean Defectors runs using news sourced from inside of North Korea, earlier this month, a senior North Korean official died after he received an injection of Chinese-made drugs. Kim Jong-un was furious about it and ordered the main hospital in Pyongyang to ban Chinese-made drugs.

According to reports, the senior official was in his 60s and held an important position in North Korea’s national economics department. He had worked in that department ever since the late Kim Jong-il was in power. He was recently treated at the Pyongyang Medical College hospital for heart disease and high blood pressure. As his health condition deteriorated, the doctor decided to inject “cocarboxylase” a drug that was made in China instead of North Korea because it was supposed to be of a higher quality. Nevertheless, the official died after he received the injection.

After Kim Jong-un learned the news, he immediately ordered Pyongyang’s main hospitals to ban Chinese-made drugs, including the Chinese COVID vaccine samples that are used in the development of the North Korea vaccine.

The real cause of death of the senior official is unclear and is still under investigation.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 21, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/nk-kim-05212021023211.html