Chinascope – Page 354

Taiwan: A Taiwan Businessman Values Others’ Lives Before His Own

Liu Jinxing, a Taiwan Legislator (Member of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan), posted a letter from a Taiwan businessman on Facebook.

The letter said:

“I am a Taiwan citizen stuck in mainland China. I am sending this posting for no other reason than to ask President Tsai Ing-wen to increase the Wuhan Pneumonia control level in Taiwan and to deny entrance to Taiwan for any people from the mainland .

Beijing is having a severe (epidemic) situation, but Taiwan still has five airports open to China. Though where I stay still is some distance from Beijing, three corpses have been removed from around my community…

The main reason that I don’t leave China is that I am concerned about bringing the virus back to Taiwan or even transmitting it to my family. President Tsai, please temporarily close the door. If it is my destiny to die out of my hometown, I will take it. President Tsai, please take care of my family in Taiwan. If the worst thing happens to me, I will not, and I have no reason, to blame the government (of Taiwan).

Not every Taiwanese in mainland China is so afraid of death. Even if there are 1 million Taiwanese in mainland China, there are 20 million on the island of Taiwan. Each Taiwanese businessman understands clearly which is more important. Don’t worry about us.

If everyone in Taiwan is kept safe, that is the biggest comfort to me because I am away from home.”

Liu also posted an explanation from a friend at the Interior Ministry saying that the number of people from mainland China who have travelled to Taiwan has decreased significantly. Completely cutting any entry from China might lead people to try to enter via a third country which would make it even harder to track or monitor them.

Leadership: China Postponed the “Lianghui” (“The Two Conferences”)

The “Lianghui,” or the “Two Conferences,” is a common Mandarin Chinese abbreviation for the national or local People’s Congress and the national or local committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. It’s a rubber stamp process to show that representatives of the people in the country or in a local region review and approve the work of the central or local government and make decisions on the personnel in the committees of the People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The national level of the “Lianghui” was scheduled to be held in Beijing in early March. There had been reports that Beijing would postpone them due to the coronavirus outbreak. On February 24, Beijing officially announced the suspension decision without a specific date for when the meetings would be rescheduled.

Ming Pao, a Hong Kong based media with ties to Beijing, reported on February 20 that Xi Jinping did not want to postpone the meetings. Most of the Politburo Standing Committee members preferred to do so. There were three reasons against holding the conferences:

Gathering over 10,000 people in Beijing presents a big risk of coronavirus infection.
Li Keqiang strongly requested that the meeting be postponed because he needed to rewrite the government work report to re-adjust for the impact of the epidemic .
Officials are tied to fighting the coronavirus and do not have time to prepare for the two conferences.

RTHK: Japan Strengthens Approval Process on Foreign Investments

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK, the top government-owned broadcasting organization of Hong Kong) recently reported that Japan plans to strengthen its review and approval process of foreign investments significantly. It will do this in 12 key categories, including national defense, nuclear, air and space, public services, natural gas, network security, and telecommunications. Foreign investments that will take a one percent or more stake in Japanese companies in these categories will require a review and approval first. The criteria used to be ten percent. There are around 400 to 500 publicly listed Japanese companies fitting the criteria. The Japanese government plans to announce the official list of companies in April. In the meantime, the Japanese congress is planning to pass a new law tightening up reporting requirements on foreign investments in national security related companies. Analysts expressed the belief that Japan is concerned that China is trying to obtain critical technologies. The Japanese Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the new law is to address certain concerns on national security, but it is also designed to welcome more investments. The new approval process is expected to take effect in May.

Source: RTHK, February 21, 2020
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1509965-20200221.htm?spTabChangeable=0

Briefings | | February 25, 2020 | Geo-Strategic Trend

UDN: The U.S. Plans to Restrict China’s Use of Chip-Making Equipment

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that the U.S. Trump administration is considering a new trade restriction. This time it points to banning China from using U.S. chip-making equipment for manufacturing. The U.S. Department of Commerce is planning to amend its policies around Country of Origin, which means if it is national security related, there will be more restrictions on foreign vendors who want to use U.S. technology based equipment. This may result in a requirement to obtain prior U.S. permission for foreign manufacturers to produce chips to supply Huawei. Analysts expressed the belief that the new policy aims to slow down China’s speed of improving its technologies. However, the plan may also bring the risk of disrupting the global supply chain of the U.S. giants in the semiconductor industry. The plan is still under debate within the U.S. federal government.

Source: UDN, February 17, 2020
https://udn.com/news/story/12639/4351556

Briefings | | February 24, 2020 | Information/Technology US-China Relations

Beijing Daily: Car Sales in the First Half of February Dropped 92 Percent

Beijing Daily recently reported that the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) just released data showing that, in the first half of February, Chinese passenger car sales saw a landslide decline. Year-over-year domestic sales recorded a 92 percent decline, which is the sharpest drop in history. Apparently, the spreading coronavirus is having an impact on the economy. Most of the car dealerships across China are still not open for business. Some have initiated online sales but have not received much business. China’s Ministry of Commerce commented that the central government is coming up with a plan to encourage consumers to spend on cars. Some local governments have already announced new government subsidies for new purchases of both commercial and passenger automobiles. According to the CPCA, in January, the Chinese automobile market already saw a year-over-year decline of 21.5 percent.

Source: Beijing Daily, February 21, 2020
http://www.bjd.com.cn/a/202002/21/WS5e4f97abe4b0b1db6f9b8bd3.html

Briefings | | February 24, 2020 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

RTHK: Japan Strengthens Approval Process on Foreign Investments

UDN: The U.S. Plans to Restrict China’s Use of Chip-Making Equipment

Beijing Daily: Car Sales in the First Half of February Dropped 92 Percent

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