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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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SETN: Indian Government Is Silently Removing Huawei

Sanlih, one of the primary Taiwanese TV stations, recently reported that, with the worsening of the China-India relationship, the movement inside the Indian government to eliminate Huawei’s presence in India has been expanding quietly. Although India has not officially announced a ban on Huawei and ZTE, yet multiple central government ministers have been telling the Indian domestic telecommunications companies to avoid deploying equipment made in China, including 5G network equipment. A high-ranking executive from India’s top communications service provider said the government has already blocked all Chinese bidders from having access to India’s 5G network tests. “It’s now very clear – it’s game over,” said this anonymous source. India is the world’s second largest mobile telecommunications market, with 850 million users. Huawei was established as a major supplier for all three of India’s top telecommunications providers. If the government were to ban Huawei, it would be a massive setback for Huawei. Another government source suggested that India may not issue an official ban to avoid angering China; however, the Modi administration has been “on high alert.”

Source: SETN, August 25, 2020
https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=802871

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

TechNews: Huawei Urges Suppliers to Ship before the U.S. Ban

Taiwanese technology news site TechNews recently reported that Huawei has lately switched to “survival mode” and is trying to establish a large enough chip stock before the U.S. ban takes effect on September 14. According to sources familiar with the matter from among Huawei’s key Taiwanese suppliers, namely MediaTek, Realtek, Novatek and RichWave, Huawei has been calling suppliers at 4 AM in the morning or setting up midnight teleconferences urging them to sending shipments. Samsung, SK Hynix, and even optical lens manufacturers are also rushing their shipments due to the fact that all these vendors use U.S. technology. In some cases, Huawei obtained agreements from suppliers to ship half-made products or products that have not yet passed the quality assurance (QA) processes. However, one of the largest Huawei suppliers, MediaTek, issued a statement clarifying that they will not ship any products without QA. Some companies declined to comment on the inquiry.

Source: TechNews, August 26, 2020
https:// technews.tw/2020/08/26/huawei-in-survival-mode-as-suppliers-race-to-beat-us-deadline/

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

The CCP Inspects the Entire Internet for Xinjiang Information More than 1 Million Times Per Day

Recently, Epoch Times obtained a document that the Chinese Communist Party’s local branch at the Public Opinion Center of Xinjiang Cyberspace Affairs Office (the Public Opinion Center) issued on June 20, 2019.

According to the document, the Public Opinion Center currently monitors and inspects Xinjiang-related information on the entire Internet at all times, by all means, and through all platforms, with an average of more than 1 million inspections per day.

From its establishment in 2014 to June 2019, the Public Opinion Center “reported and investigated” (i.e., referred for investigations and penalties) a total of more than 1.07 million pieces of information related to the “CCP, government, military, violence, terrorism, and religious extremism.” It shut down over 4,800 websites, canceled over 4,440 new media accounts, and suspended over 760 websites. It interrogated over 690 persons in charge of the websites and investigated over 63,000 netizens.

The document stated that the Public Opinion Center focuses on the Internet postings about the “China threat theory,” the “China penetration theory,” the “Chinese hegemony theory,” and “strictly investigates officials who violate discipline and the law and engage in internal fighting.” The Public Opinion Center monitored and censored over 150,000 pieces of political information, including 145,000 pieces of information outside Xinjiang and over 5,000 pieces of information inside Xinjiang. The CCP Central Government’s Cyberspace Affairs Office repeatedly commended the Public Opinion Center of the Xinjiang Cyberspace Affairs Office.

The Xinjiang Cyberspace Affairs Office keeps an eye on more than 2,300 Xinjiang-related key people and key accounts.

To control the dissemination of videos, over 500,000 videos have been censored, information transmission has been blocked more than 6.3 million times, and 40,281 information samples have been blocked and filtered.

For example, the document stated that in May 2017, the CCP Central Committee and the Xinjiang autonomous region worked together to “purify the public opinion environment.” The Public Opinion Center directed the cyber information offices of all prefectures and cities across Xinjiang to dispose of more than 200,000 pieces of negative information.

To join the Public Opinion Center, one must pass a strict “political” background check, and must also be in good health to be able to monitor online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. As for language skills, people working at the Public Opinion Center are proficient in Uighur, Kazakh, English, Russian, Uzbek, Arabic, and other languages.

Source: Epoch Times, August 30, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/8/26/n12358317.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Mass Protests in Inner Mongolia as Officials Replace Mongolian Language with Chinese

The Education Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region announced that, starting with the new semester on September 1, all elementary and middle schools in the region will adopt what is called the bilingual teaching model. That is, the three subjects related to China, which are history, ethics, and the rule of law,  will be taught in Chinese instead of the traditional Mongolian language. The move triggered a strong backlash from the locals in Inner Mongolia. Mongolian rights organizations in the U.S. also condemned China for suppressing Mongolian freedom of speech and destroying their national identity. They called it “cultural extermination” in Inner Mongolia.

The Mongolian teachers in Erenhot City launched a strike. Many Mongolian parents plan to teach their children at home instead of sending them to school. Herders also held simultaneous demonstrations in major cities across Inner Mongolia to protest the “cultural extinction.” Thousands of local students dressed in traditional Mongolian costumes participated in the demonstrations. Video footage of the protests also circulated on Twitter.

The Inner Mongolia Human Rights Information Center reported that, as the scale of the protests continues to escalate, the authorities also started to suppress the demonstrators. Hundreds of parents from the Mongolian language school in Zalut Banner gathered in front of the school and demanded the immediate release of the children detained in the school’s dormitory. The local police, however, blocked them from entering into the school. In Horqin Zuoyizhong Banner, the police beat the parents. In Hohhot, students and their parents from the Inner Mongolia Normal University Affiliated School protested in front of the school and launched a petition. Many parents said that if the appeal fails, they will not send their children to school. There are also reports that several hundred Mongolian activists were either detained or under house arrest because they participated in organizing the protests.

Source:
1. Secret China, August 30, 2020
https://www.secretchina.com/news/b5/2020/08/30/944635.html
2. Twitter Post
https:// twitter.com/lengshanshipin/status/1300070212746706945

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

College Graduates Took Stability Maintenance Positions as Unemployment Worsened

China’s unemployment rate has been hit hard as the economy has continued to slow down. In the past, students who graduated from Peking and Tsinghua University used to be favorite candidates for the large companies. Now they can hardly find excellent jobs. Some of those who hold doctoral and master degrees from Peking and Tsinghua University reportedly have been applying for positions in the office of sub-districts in Hangzhou city of Zhejiang Province. Some of them have even taken positions as a stability maintenance agent.

According to the official data, there will be 8.74 million college graduates in China in 2020, an increase of more than 400,000 from last year. With COVID 19, the deterioration of US-China relations and the withdrawal of foreign capital from China, the pressure for employment in China has greatly increased. The statistics from a private institution suggest that the unemployment rate in China could reach double digit growth this year.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 24, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/ql-08242020060116.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Owned International Academic Journal Imposes Political Censorship

Wu Ruoxuan, a Doctor from Taiwan, was shocked to learn from the editor of Eye and Vision, a medical journal that Springer Nature publishes, that in accordance with the relevant Chinese policies of the journal and the Springer Nature Group, she must use “Taiwan, China” as her nationality; otherwise her paper would not be published. After Wu posted her story on social media, it drew criticism on the issue of political censorship in the academic journal industry.

In the written correspondence that Radio Free Asia obtained from Springer Nature, it stated that, for journals that they own, the author can decide how they wish to present their academic affiliations. However, since Eye and Vision is a journal that the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in China owns, it must comply with a “different set of regulations.” With its headquarter in London, Springer Nature is the world’s largest academic publisher. It owns more than 3,000 journals including Nature and Scientific American. In November 2017, Springer Nature was also condemned for cooperating with its Chinese partners and blocking at least several hundred articles on Taiwan, Tibet, human rights, and politics from its Chinese website.

According to the website of the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Eye and Vision is an international English journal sponsored by the Wenzhou Medical University. It was launched in October 2014. Qu Jia, the director of the Eye Optometry Hospital is the chief editor. The journal was set up under China’s initiative to “improve the international influence of China’s Science and Technology Journal” which is a plan backed by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The goal is to “open a channel to improve the globalization of journals in the Chinese scientific research community.”

It has become a new trend for China to start publishing journals on its own, to cooperate with foreign publishers, or to acquire foreign publishers directly. “Chinese technology and culture going global” is a phrase that the official Chinese media have often used. In 2019, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Holding Company acquired the French EDP Sciences publishing house founded by famous scientists, including Madame Curie. Xinhua reported at the time that this was an important step for China Science and Technology to implement its globalization strategy.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 26, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/jt-08262020113515.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Central Bank’s Digital Currency Enables Cross-Border Payments without Settlement Risk

A Chinese scholar recently told Russia’s Sputnik News that China’s central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) can achieve cross-border payments without settlement risk.

Due to the Chinese government’s promotion and rapid development of related technologies, China may become the first country in the world to issue legal digital currency. The Ministry of Commerce recently announced that it will carry out digital RMB pilot programs in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the central and western regions where conditions permit. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will formulate a set of policy support measures.

Regarding the cross-border circulation of digital currency, Liu Yihua, a researcher with the Taihe Institute, a government affiliated think tank, said that traditional currency cross-border circulation is mainly reflected in international trade settlement under the current account, in international investment and financing under the capital account, and in international reserves. This is usually done by domestic and overseas banks through the international CLS FX clearing system. Although this model meets the needs of cross-border payments, it lengthens the cross-border payment chain. At the same time, cross-border transactions under this model are highly dependent on bank accounts. Taking RMB cross-border payment as an example, overseas banks need to connect to domestic correspondent banks, clearing banks, domestic fund custodian banks and other institutions to conduct RMB business. Overseas residents and overseas institutions need to open RMB deposit accounts to complete RMB cross-border payments.

Liu said that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the PBOC belongs to the monetary base (M0), which is the central bank’s direct liability to the public (including overseas residents and institutions). The public owns and uses CBDC by opening a CBDC electronic wallet. In this process, the public directly establishes a creditor-debt relationship with the central bank. For the central bank, domestic and overseas (including offshore) CBDC wallets make no difference; for the public, any two CBDC wallets can initiate peer-to-peer transactions, and there is no difference between domestic and overseas (including offshore). For operators of CBDC electronic wallets such as commercial banks, they only perform management functions, and the CBDC in the electronic wallet does not enter their balance sheet. In CBDC transactions, the flow of funds only involves both parties to the transaction. Because CBDC uses a loosely coupled account model (transfers can be realized without a bank account, and the transaction is settlement) to complete the transaction, compared with traditional cross-border payments, CBDC can realize cross-border payment with almost no settlement risk.

Liu pointed out that, for foreign residents and institutions to participate in CBDC cross-border payments, they only need to open a CBDC wallet. As the requirements for opening a CBDC wallet are much lower than opening bank accounts (especially offshore bank accounts), it is beneficial for overseas residents and institutions to own and use CBDC.

Source: Sputnik News, August 27, 2020
http://sputniknews.cn/china/202008271032040233/

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Cypress Papers: China’s Riches Quietly Emigrate Overseas

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has obtained copies of documents that were leaked and which reveal that Cyprus, an EU country, approved 1,400 “golden passports” between 2017 and 2019, among which more than 500 were issued to Chinese. The project started in 2013, when Cyprus launched a “Cyprus Investment Plan.” According to this plan, through the purchase of real estate and other forms of investment in the local area amounting to at least 2.15 million euros, a foreigner could apply for a so-called “golden passport.” A Cyprus passport brings benefits including no requirement of a local residence and the freedom to live and work in the other 26 EU countries.

Al Jazeera discovered that most of the people who obtained the “golden passports” were Russians, Chinese, and Ukrainians. By selling citizenship, the Cyprus government received 7 billion euros in revenue within two years, a good boost for a sluggish economy.

Among about 500 naturalized people from China, Al Jazeera released the information on eight individuals, including Yang Huiyan, a property developer and the majority shareholder of Country Garden Holdings. In 2007, her father, Yang Guoqiang largely transferred the stake to her. She is the richest woman in Asia. It is legal for a Chinese to apply for a passport or permanent resident status of another country, but China does not recognize dual citizenship. In theory, after Yang Huiyan obtained the Cyprus passport on October 23, 2018, she could not continue to remain Chinese as her nationality.

The Chinese who have acquired Cyprus citizenship include a few representatives of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in provincial and city governments. Lu Wenbin, a representative of the Chengdu Municipal People’s Congress, obtained a Cypress passport in July 2019. Chen Anlin, a member of the CPPCC in Huangpi District, Wuhan City, became a Cypress citizen in July 2018. Fu Zhengjun, a former member of the CPPCC in Jinhua city of Zhejiang Province, was naturalized in November 2017. Zhao Zhenpeng, a member of the CPPCC of Binzhou City, Shandong Province, received a Cyprus passport in February 2019. The South China Morning Post pointed out that once these people are found to have foreign citizenship, they will be disqualified as representatives of the NPC or the CPPCC.

According to the South China Morning Post, people holding important positions in state-owned enterprises are not allowed to have foreign passports. Tang Yong, executive director and president of the state giant China Resources Power, is on the list that Al Jazeera disclosed. Tang obtained a Cyprus passport in January 2019. Then in December, he was transferred to China Resources Power as its president.

Being rich is not the only condition for investing in Cyprus to obtain a passport. The Cyprus government requires strict verification of the background of the applicants. Those with criminal records cannot be naturalized. However, the “Cypress Papers” show that Zhang Keqiang, a businessman from China, was sentenced for equity trading. Another Chinese businessman, Li Jiadong, was sanctioned by the United States for laundering more than US$ 100 million. Both of them bought Cyprus “golden passports.” In 2019, Cyprus revised relevant laws so that it now requires a strict investigation of investors and allows cancellation of passports already issued.

The “Cyprus Investment Plan” is an ongoing project. According to Al Jazeera, out of more than 500 people from China, only eight “politically public figures” have been disclosed. Most of the rest have no important political background or criminal history.

The European Commission once gave out warnings about some EU countries carelessly issuing EU visas and even granting EU citizenship for money, claiming that this approach contains risks.

Source: Deutsche Welle, August 25, 2020.
https://p.dw.com/p/3hUXA
Al Jazeera, The Cyprus Papers.
https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/cypruspapers/

Briefings | | |   Social Stability