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Departing Ambassador: Chinese Americans Have a “Great Responsibility to Defend China’s National Dignity”

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai announced on Monday June 21 that he would be leaving his post to return to China. In his farewell letter, Cui described that “Sino-U.S. relations are at a critical crossroads.” He told the Chinese people in the U.S. that they have a major responsibility to “promote the unification of the motherland” and national rejuvenation.

Cui said that the U.S. policy towards China is at a “crossroads” of “dialogue and cooperation vs confrontation and conflict,” and that Chinese Americans need to contribute to the “Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” In addition to mentioning the ongoing “restructuring” of U.S.-China relations, he also recalled that Chinese Americans have always stood up when China was in “crisis” and “spoken out firmly in defense of national dignity.”

In his farewell letter, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, he called for Chinese Americans to continue their contribution to the “new journey of building a comprehensive socialist modern state of China.”

Since 2013, Cui, 69, has served as China’s ambassador to the United States for eight years.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 22, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/wul0622b-06222021053049.html

Scholar Won Official Recommendation for “Beating” Theory of Relativity Using Marxism

China’s Hebei Provincial government recently announced a list of candidates for the province’s Natural Science Award this year. One scholar on the list sparked a public uproar when he used Marxist philosophy to invalidate Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity.”

Li Zifeng, a professor at Yanshan University in Hebei Province, proposed in his project titled, “Adhere to the Materialist View of Space-Time-Mass-Energy and Develop Newtonian Physics,” to use Marxist philosophy to overthrow Einstein’s theory of relativity. The Hebei Provincial government recommended his “research” for the Natural Science Award, as “a non-consensual theoretical physics project that adheres to materialistic philosophy and is subversive and innovative.” The content of the research is about “the most fundamental problems of philosophy and physics, correcting fallacies in physics, and exploring answers to ancient questions.”

The recommendation states that Li’s project “resolves a possible contradiction between physics and philosophy” and even “overturns Einstein’s theory of relativity, which has misled the physics community and mankind’s basic approach to understanding the world, and clears a huge obstacle to the healthy development of science.”

Li is a researcher and Ph.D. advisor at the School of Vehicles and Energy, with a focus on oil and gas mechanics and drilling engineering.

Although Li’s academic specialty has nothing to do with Marxism, his research has been encouraged by the Minister of Science and Technology and is featured in official media, including Xinhua News Agency.

A writer named Cai, who is based in mainland China, told Radio Free Asia that there are many cases like this. “These professors and scholars are doing these studies totally against basic common sense, and actually he was able to get funding for the subject.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 22, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/ac-06222021062526.html

CGTN Recruits Foreigners to Be Pro Beijing and to Promote China

China Global Television Network (CGTN) launched a plan to recruit foreign students and social media Vloggers (someone who creates short films recording thoughts, ideas or opinions and posts them on the Internet) to be pro-Beijing media promoters. According to the British media The Times, CGTN was suspended in the UK this February. It launched a “media challengers” campaign in April “to recruit internet influencers and Vloggers globally. Some of those recruited will promote China and counter western narratives that damage China’s image.” Successful applicants can receive a bonus of up to 10,000 U.S. dollars and get a part-time or full-time job on CGTN. The Times found that at least six students from the University of Leeds and one student from the University of Manchester had signed up.

This is part of the effort that Beijing wants to use to neutralize its wolf-warrior diplomacy by using western faces to tell the “China Story” to the West. Xi Jinping recently stated that he wants to build a credible, lovable and respectable image of China. On May 31, he told the members of the Political Bureau that China should make great efforts to strengthen its international communication capabilities, build a strong talent team, improve the art of communication, and expand its circle of friends in the global media.

Beijing has made a heavy investment in infiltrating foreign media. According to documents disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice last month, China Daily invested more than $1.6 million in advertising expenses in The Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, and Foreign Policy. They paid $1 million to newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Houston Chronicle to print the China Daily publications.

On YouTube, Lee Barrett and his son Oli Barrett own a channel with 2.7 million followers. They often praise China on key issues among Beijing’s propaganda list including poverty alleviation, infrastructure, Huawei, and ethnic relations. Jason Lightfoot is a British vlogger and often appears as a guest speaker on CGTN. In addition to Barrett and his son, David Dumbrill, a Canadian who runs a beer hall in Shenzhen, and Raz Galor, an Israeli, all went to Xinjiang and claimed that there was no forced labor there.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 17, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/xx-06172021104240.html

Beijing under High Security Alert in Preparation for Communist Party’s 100th Anniversary

Beijing has tightened security as the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate its 100th anniversary on July 1. Armed police appear on the streets of Beijing and in the subway. Tiananmen Square is closed. Military soldiers are stationed in the Bird’s Nest Stadium. Petitioners are being arrested. At the same time, Beijing has imposed traffic control and air bans. Multiple videos on the Internet show that dozens of police patrol the streets with dogs and some retired “neighborhood watch guards” are wearing red armbands and are at the doors of some residential buildings watching the residents entering and exiting.

On June 3, the Tiananmen Management Committee announced the closure of Tiananmen Square from midnight on June 23 to July 1 to prepare for the setting up of the celebration.

On June 17, Vice Premier Liu He attended the State Council Security Committee meeting. The committee vowed to contain all forms of incidents or disruptions.

On June 20, the Beijing municipal government announced the blockage of radio signals in certain regions on July 1. Beijing airport announced it has elevated its security screening. All express mail destined for Beijing will go through X-ray security inspections.

Cai Xia, a former communist party school professor tweeted on June 20, “The party is celebrating its 100th anniversary but it looks like it was preparing for a major disaster. The party has guns, money, and high-tech surveillance cameras in its control. It can arrest people and ban anything whenever it wants. What are they afraid of? Is this 100th anniversary celebration a celebration or a funeral?”

Source:
1. Epoch Times, June 23, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/6/23/n13042826.htm
2. Twitter, June 20, 2021

Swedish Court Excludes Huawei from 5G Equipment Suppliers

A Swedish court ruled Tuesday, June 22, to uphold an injunction excluding Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei from being a 5G equipment supplier. The court stressed the importance of national security.

Last year, Sweden banned Huawei from participating in the construction of 5G networks on the grounds of national security. Huawei then appealed the decision. The court rejected Huawei’s appeal on Tuesday, stressing that the security of Sweden is of paramount importance and that, if used in the construction of Sweden’s 5G network, Huawei products could threaten Sweden’s national security.

The media said the court ruling dashed Huawei’s hopes of returning to Europe and that the possibility of China’s retaliatory action against Huawei’s rival, Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, may increase.

Source: Radio France International, June 22, 2021
https://rfi.my/7VlQ.T

Shortage of Semiconductors in China Boosts Circulation of Fake Chips

The global shortage of semiconductors has increased the number of fake chips circulating in China. According to Chinese media, the illegal chips come from two channels. One source is electronic waste. The companies remove the evidence from the old chips. Then they clean and repackage them and sell the second-hand chips at a lower price. Others are defects directly from the manufacturers’ production line. Compared to the genuine product, the performance and reliability of the fake chips are usually inadequate.

These chips are mainly used in consumer electronic products. Unlike automobiles and other manufacturing industries, some OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) of consumer electronics do not conduct long-term verification and testing of chips and other supplies.

Counterfeit or refurbished components have always been in circulation, but the situation this year is serious. Originally, the price of a used chip was only 50 percent of the market price, but now the price is rising and is even close to the market price.

China’s electronic components trading hub is almost the world’s largest, with many companies dismantling tens of thousands of e-waste items every day. This provides opportunities for counterfeit chips, which have even found their way to overseas supply chains.

Source: Central News Agency, June 22, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202106220168.aspx

Sputnik Chinese: China’s Nuclear Arsenal Shows Record Growth

Well-known Russian news agency Sputnik recently reported on its Chinese Edition site that the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) annual report showed the growth rate of China’s nuclear arsenal ranked among the world’s leaders for the second consecutive year. Within one year, China’s existing nuclear warheads increased by 30, reaching 350. In 2019, China surpassed France (which had 290 nuclear warheads) in this regard, and in 2020 it became the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal country. SIPRI pointed out in its annual report that China is building a nuclear-weapon society, which includes solid-fuel ground-based missiles, six nuclear submarines and bombers equipped with ballistic missiles. These strengthen its ability to respond when threatened. The report also indicated that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has resumed the use of H6N bombers on nuclear weapons and has also developed the first H20 strategic bomber that can refuel in the air and has a flying distance of 8,500 kilometers. The major nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, reduced their arsenals of nuclear warheads last year. Russia reduced its arsenal by120 warheads to 6,255, and the United States reduced its arsenal by 150 warheads to 5550.

Source: Sputnik Chinese, June 15, 2021
https://sputniknews.cn/military/202106151033894197/

BBC Chinese: Kim Jong-Un Publicly Admitted North Korea’s Food Shortage

BBC Chinese recently reported that, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un officially admitted that North Korea is facing a food shortage crisis. He stated, “The food situation that the people now face is becoming increasingly tense.” Due to the flooding that last year’s typhoon caused, the agricultural sector failed to achieve its food targets. There are reports that North Korean food prices have soared. Due to economic difficulties and tensions with the U.S., North Korea’s imports from China recently surged. However, North Korea has just closed its borders again to control the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. As a result, trade with China dropped sharply. Generally North Korea depends on China for food, fertilizer and fuel. It has been struggling because of international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 18, 2021
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-57510711