By A. Freeman
As of March 23, 2020, the number of people around the world who had contracted the coronavirus exceeded 350,000. Continue reading
Leadership: Beijing Xicheng District Will Handle Ren Zhiqiang’s Case
Ren Zhiqiang, a princeling and a real estate tycoon, who called Xi Jinping a “clown” in his article, “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor” (See Chinascope’s posting: Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang’s Article: “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor”) was arrested in March (see Chinascope’s posting: Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang Disappeared).
Since then, there has been much unconfirmed information about him. Radio France International reported that some said that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection locked him up; some said that he was sent to a hospital due to severe illness; and some said he held a hunger strike. There was news that five retired top-ranking officials wrote Xi a letter to request that Ren be released; those five top-ranking officials were Li Ruihuan, Wen Jiabao, Li Lanqing, Qu Qili, and Tian Jiyun. There has also been news that Ren’s business friends wrote a petition for his release.
On April 7, the Xicheng District Party Commission for Discipline Inspection published a notice that Ren Zhiqiang had violated party discipline and law and was under its disciplinary review and investigation. However, it did not mention which discipline and which law he had violated. (Radio Free Asia)
Apple Daily reported that it was Cai Qi, the Beijing Party Secretary, who decided to take on Ren’s case. Letting the Xicheng District handle Ren’s case showed that Cai Qi did not want to make the case into a big deal; he just wanted a resolution that will be acceptable to Zhongnanhai.
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang Disappeared
- Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang’s Article: “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor”
- Leadership: Xi Jinping Gave Instructions When Visiting Zhejiang Province
- Leadership: Li Keqiang Warned the Coronavirus Risk in China and Asked to Manage the Asymptomatic Carriers
- Leadership: Li Keqiang Asked Officials Not to Hide Data and Prepare for a Long-Lasting Work
Global Times: U.S. DOJ Recommended Shutting Down China Telecom in the U.S.
Global Times recently reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended ending the authorization granted to China Telecom (Americas). The authorization permits China Telecom to operate in the U.S. for international communications. DOJ’s recommendation to the FCC cited national security and law enforcement risks. The DOJ’s recommendation was based on an investigation that proved China Telecom violated conditions in a 2007 signed agreement, which required transparency on the location where U.S. customer information is stored as well as network security details. The DOJ expressed the concern that, under Chinese laws, China Telecom may spy on U.S. communications traffic and provide sensitive information to the Chinese government. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented in a press conference that China is strongly against this recommendation. China asked the U.S. government to stop politicizing normal market-based commercial operations and to provide Chinese companies a fair environment for doing business.
Source: Global Times, April 10, 2020
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/3xmLcpPXDT8
Diplomacy: Germany Refused Chinese Diplomats Request to Praise China
Central News Agency, Taiwan’s official news agency, reported that, according to Welt am Sonntag, a German newspaper, recently, as a result of an effort in a diplomatic campaign, Chinese diplomats asked German officials to praise the actions that China took to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
The German Foreign Ministry had already informed the government agencies last month not to respond to Beijing’s request.
Related postings on Chinascope:
Diplomacy: The CCP Asked Wisconsin Senator for Praise, but Got Condemnation in Return
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched a diplomatic campaign, in which its diplomats are asking officials in other countries to praise the actions that China has taken to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
The Wisconsin Examiner reported that had happened to Wisconsin State Senate President Roger Roth. Senator Roth received two emails from the Chinese consulate staff asking that he pass a resolution praising China’s response to the coronavirus. The Chinese staff even provided a draft of the resolution.
When he received the first email on Feb. 26, he saw it was from a hotmail account and disregarded it as a prank. Then on March 10, 2020, he received a follow up. So he asked his staff to reach out through government channels. They were able to confirm that the email requests were legitimate. They were told that Chinese diplomats routinely use private email accounts because they are faster.
“Then I got mad, because that’s when [COVID-19] cases started cropping up here and you saw the problem exacerbated as we started to learn the truth,” Roth says. “I just sent them back a one-word response. I said ‘nuts.’”
Instead, on March 26, Senator Roth introduced a new resolution to condemn the CCP for concealing information and deliberately misleading the world. The resolution stated,
“That the Wisconsin Senate acknowledges that the Communist Party of China has deliberately and intentionally misled the world, suppressed vital information on the statistics and spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus both domestically and abroad, allowed millions of individuals to travel outside of the province and country despite clear warnings that the virus could be transmitted person-to-person, and engaged in active suppression and persecution of individuals looking to truthfully discuss information related to the Coronavirus, which has led to a global pandemic the likes of which has not been seen for generations;
“That the Wisconsin Senate hereby stands in solidarity with the Chinese people, condemning the actions of the Communist Party of China in the strongest possible terms, and acknowledges that millions, both in China and around the world, are at risk of illness and death due to the negligence and hostile actions of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The date for vote on the resolution has not been announced yet.
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Diplomacy: Nigeria and African Union Protested China for Targeting Nigerian Citizens
- Diplomacy: CCP Changed to Hawk Style in Its Diplomacy
- Diplomacy: Pompeo “Loots a Burning House”
Source: Wisconsin Examiner, April 10, 2020
Publication of “Wuhan Diary” Outside of China Faces Serious Attacks from Mainland
On Wednesday April 8, the day that Wuhan was lifted from the lockdown, the English and German versions of Wuhan Diary, written by Fang Fang, went on pre-sale online. Fang Fang, a writer who lives in Wuhan, started to publish her diary on Weibo at the end of January documenting people’s lives in Wuhan during the 62-days of lockdown. Her work, however was criticized and attacked on the mainland for “spreading negative energy.” As the publication of the diary in the overseas market got closer, there were mounting condemnations from the left wing in China. One person claimed that publishing the diary around the world was just like “a butcher’s knife from the West (aiming towards China).” Another person complained that the overseas Chinese are likely to become targets of the venting. The Chief Editor of China’s mouthpiece Global Times wrote in his Weibo account that the diary is not a documentary work … It will catch the attention of the international media. Very likely, Chinese people including those who supported Fang Fang in the past, will pay for the fame that Fang Fang is gaining in the West. On the same day, Fang Fang also wrote in her Weibo account saying that this time she has truly experienced what Internet violence is like and said that those who attacked her were just ;oke the “COVID 19 virus” that spreads and strikes other people. A writer from Guangdong province told RFA that, even though Fang Fang’s diary only touches on superficial issues and the fact that this type of “progressive voice” is being severely suppressed suggests that there is no freedom of expression on the mainland.
Fang Fang, 54, whose real name is Wang Fang, graduated from the Department of Chinese Language of Wuhan University and served as the Chairman of the Hubei Writers Association from 2007 to 2018.
Source: Radio Free Asia, April 9, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/hc-04092020100438.html
Leadership: Is Xi Jinping in Trouble in the CCP Internal Fight?
There has been some unconfirmed information that Xi might have lost out to some extent in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) infighting.
Liberty Times, a Taiwan media, reported that Kyle Bass, a well-known U.S. hedge fund manager and a current member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China, posted on his Twitter account on April 11:
“Secretary xi is in trouble within China. According to my sources within, the party elite want xi gone. The Guangdong elite (Uncle Deng’s family) are beginning to rattle the cages of change against the supposed “emperor for life”.”
New Highland Vision, a media based in New York, published on its Twitter account:
“Since last Friday (April 9), special protection has been provided to the families of the main princelings and the former CCP Politburo members. X (Xi) is in a bad state. The current situation is: Hu (Jintao) proposed a compromise plan, not removing X, but let Li (Keqiang) and Wang (Qishan) be in charge, and let X take a backseat to rest and study. Most of the retired leaders, including Jiang (Zemin), Zeng (Qinghong), and Wen (Jiabao) expressed their approval. At present, the two sides are coordinating. X has no way out and there has also been strange move of the military, too. Note: Please do not ask for the source; for reference only.”
{CS Editor’s Comments: In the past few months, there have been signs of the CCP’s infighting:
- Zhou Xianwang, the Wuhan Mayor, said in multiple places that he “was not authorized” to take action to contain the coronavirus in the early days, while Xi Jinping claimed that he had been in charge of the virus containment work (See Chinascope’s postings: Leadership: Wuhan Mayor Not “Authorized” to Release Epidemic Information to the Public Before and Leadership: Wuhan Municipal Website Defended Its Mayor) and he was appraised by the Head of the National Health Commission (See Chinascope’s posting: Leadership: A Political Controversy: Head of National Health Commission Praised Wuhan Mayor).
- Ren Zhiqiang, a princeling and a real estate tycoon, called Xi Jinping a “clown” in his article “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor” (See Chinascope posting: Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang’s Article: “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor”).
- Chen Ping, a princeling and the founder of Sun TV who lives in Hong Kong, re-posted an article calling for an “Emergency Enlarged Meeting of the CCP’s Politburo” to discuss whether Xi is suitable for the leadership position (See Chinascope’s posting: Leadership: The Widespread of a WeChat Posting Calling for Politburo Meeting to Remove Xi Jinping).}
CNA: China Auto Industry Faces Parts and Order Shortages
Affected by COVID 19, the Chinese auto industry is facing parts and order shortages. Despite the fact that the Chinese government recently introduced a stimulus plan for electric vehicles and used cars, it is believed that the fate of the Chinese auto industry is dependent on the recovery of the supply chain outside of China. The Central News Agency reported that, due to uncertain future orders, once they are caught up making the existing safety stock orders, many auto manufacturing plants may have to shut down. To reduce their costs, some factories have started to give workers three days off a week from their work shift. Meanwhile the auto market demand is weak as well. Auto sales revenue in the last week of March was down 24 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Airtex in Tianjing is predicting a 30 percent order reduction once the U.S. can get out of its COVID 19 lockdown. As most countries in Europe and the US are dealing with COVID 19, auto makers in China, especially electric auto manufacturers who rely on imports of key components and parts, will face a parts shortage. It is expected that the risk to the auto industry will come in the second half the year.
Source: Central News Agency, April 11, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202004110162.aspx