Chinascope – Page 375

DW Chinese: China Performed Precise Blockage during Democratic Presidential Debate

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that the Chinese government performed a precise blockage of the online real-time streaming of the latest Television Debate of U.S. Democratic Party Presidential Candidates. At around 9:00 PM, the official online video streaming went “black-screen” in China, without warning. At that very moment, PBS moderator Judy Woodruff was asking Mayor Pete Buttigieg about whether boycotting 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics was the right response to China’s detaining Uighurs in Xinjiang, China. Mayor Buttigieg responded by accusing President Trump of not doing enough about China’s human rights records. The online streaming in China was blocked for about nine minutes, during which time the debate also focused on the Hong Kong movement, the South China Sea situation, and China’s military ambitions.

Source: DW Chinese, December 20, 2019
https://p.dw.com/p/3V9Go

Briefings | | December 25, 2019 | US-China Relations

China Completes its “10,000 Villages Connected” Project in Kenya

According to Xinhua, China’s official News Agency, the completion ceremony for Kenya’s “10,000 Villages Connected” project was held at the Kinyanjui Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 20, 2019. The “10,000 Villages Connected” project is an African aid project that China launched in 2019. The plan was to install satellite receiving antennas, set-top boxes, digital televisions, projection televisions, solar systems, and other facilities in 800 villages in 47 counties in Kenya.

Source: People’s Daily, December 22, 2019
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2019-12/22/nw.D110000renmrb_20191222_11-03.htm

Briefings | | December 25, 2019 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Trump’s Twitter Response after Impeachment Was Widely Reported in China

Beijing News quickly reported that, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, the U.S. President posted a picture to respond. He tweeted as soon as he completed his speech at a Michigan rally with a picture in which he pointed out to his supporters that, “In reality they’re not after me. They are after you. I’m just in the way.” Trump indicated in the Michigan speech that the impeachment was “illegal, unconstitutional, and partisan.” He called his supporters to “drive Pelosi out of office.” The Republicans have been accusing the Democrats of attempting to overturn the Trump administration because they could not accept the 2016 presidential election result. However, the Democrats said they were just defending the Constitution. {Editor’s comment: The Trump pictorial twitter response was widely reported and republished in Chinese official media, including in Beijing News, Beijing Daily, Global Times, iFeng, China.com, Tencent News, Sohu, Sina, and others.}

Source: Beijing News, December 19, 2019
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/world/2019/12/19/663954.html

Briefings | | December 23, 2019 | US-China Relations

China’s Cyber Regulation Bans Information Endangering National Security

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently issued the “Regulations on the Ecological Governance of Cyber Information Content,” which states that online content producers must not produce, copy, or publish contents that “endanger national security, leak state secrets, subvert state power, or disrupt national unity.” The regulation is to be implemented starting March 1, 2020.

The regulation encourages Internet content producers to generate, copy, and publish information that “promotes Xi Jinping thoughts, accurately and vividly interpret socialist roads, theories, systems, and culture with Chinese characteristics, and positive contents that “promote socialist core values, excellent moral culture and the spirit of the times, and fully display the Chinese nation’s upward spirit.”

In addition, the regulation states that online content producers must not produce, copy, or publish illegal information that contains contents that “endanger national security, leak state secrets, subvert state power, and disrupt national unity” and information that “damages national honor and interests.” They should take measures to prevent and resist the production, copying, and release of bad messages containing content that “uses exaggerated titles, is seriously inconsistent with the title” and contains information that “hypes scandals, love affairs, and misdeeds.”

Source: Central News Agency, December 20, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201912200233.aspx

Briefings | | December 23, 2019 | Information/Technology

Chinese Communist Party Releases Document Vowing to Protect Legal Property of Private Enterprises

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Committee and the State Council of the Chinese government issued the “Opinions on Supporting the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises.” In the contents, the CCP vows to “protect the legal property of private enterprises and entrepreneurs” and to “implement larger scale tax and fee cuts” to “substantially reduce the burden on private enterprises.”

This opinion claims to improve the fair and competitive market environment, improve a precise and effective policy environment, enhance the legal environment for equal protection, encourage and guide the reforms and innovations of private enterprises, and promote the normal and healthy development of private enterprises.

On the “protect the legal property of private enterprises and entrepreneurs,” the opinion claims to adopt measures such as seizure and freezing in strict accordance with legal procedures, strictly to distinguish illegal income in other case-related property and legal property, strictly to distinguish corporate legal personal property from shareholders’ personal property, and strictly to distinguish between the personal property of the persons involved and the property of family members.

As China’s economic policy has turned left in recent years, private enterprises are projecting a gloomier future. In the second half of 2019, the founders of a few large private enterprises in China retired one by one. Following the announcements, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Ma Huateng from Tencent, Li Yanhong from Baidu, and Liu Qiangdong from JD.com, Inc. all resigned as chairman one after the other. In December, Wang Wei, chairman of SF Express Group, and Liu Chuanzhi, founder of the Lenovo Group announced their resignations. In response, Beijing’s recent move is suspected to boost the low economic sentiments, especially among the private sector.

Source: Central News Agency, December 22, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201912220192.aspx

Briefings | | December 23, 2019 | Economy/Resources

Taiwan Legislator: Ten Ways the CCP Is Interfering in Taiwan’s Elections

The Presidential Election of the Republic of China (ROC) will be held in Taiwan on January 11, 2020. Recently a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator, Li Junyi, drew attention to the severity of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) interference in the Taiwan’s election. He thinks that Taiwan needs an “Anti-Infiltration Law” to prevent the CCP from using Taiwan’s democratic system to defeat its democracy.

He listed ten ways in which the CCP is interfering:

1. Hacker Attacks – the CCP attacks the government and other websites so it can access and steal information.

2. Establishing Organizations and Communication Tools – CCP spy Zhou Hongxu was suspected of using Wang Bingzhou, a key member of the New Party (a political party in Taiwan), to create Fire News media in order to spread the CCP’s United Front message.

3. Information Control – the CCP controlled social media calls Hong Kong protesters “violent activists.” They are now applying the same method of control in Taiwan.

4. Fake News – the University of Gothenburg, Sweden found that Taiwan has received the largest number of foreign fake news attacks.

5. Buying Social Sites – A group of fans who supported Han Guoyu (the Kuomintang’s Presidential candidate whom the CCP likes and is spending money to support) recently changed its position to support Tsai Ing-wen (the ROC President seeking re-election, as the DPP candidate). The fans group said that a rich businessman from mainland China promised them money (if they supported Han), but after the CCP’s spy Wang Liqiang defected to Australia, that businessman disappeared.

6. Using Civil Organizations – President Zhou Qingjun and member Zhang Xiuye of the Patriot Alliance Association (a pro-CCP organization in the ROC) have been sued for receiving the CCP’s money for Zhang to bid for Taipei’s Council member position.

7. Using an Interfering Party – The Chinese Unification Promotion Party (a Party in the ROC that has been criticized for its connection to the CCP and to gangsters) recently held a ceremony for the CCP’s 70th anniversary of taking over the mainland from the ROC. This party openly advocates that Taiwan re-unites with the CCP.

8. Drawing in Retired Generals – Retired General Wu Sz-huai went to mainland China and saluted the CCP’s flag. Retired General Luo Wen-shan received a political donation from the CCP’s contacts.

9. Connecting with the Media – The CCP invited Taiwan media executives to visit the mainland and to promote the “One Country, Two Systems” concept, which is the CCP’s offer to re-unite Taiwan under its control.

10. Illegal Money Exchanges – Taiwan authorities have found 80 billion New Taiwan Dollars (US $2.64 billion) that came to Taiwan through underground channels.

Source: Epoch Times, December 4, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/12/4/n11700590.htm

Briefings | | December 19, 2019 | Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China’s Global Lawyers Forum Cancelled Speech Calling for “Independence of the Bar and the Judiciary”

China recently hosted a Global Lawyers Forum in Guangzhou, claiming that more than 400 international participants had been invited. Among them, a representative of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA), who was originally invited to give a speech at the conference, had his speech cancelled at the last minute. UIA issued a statement expressing its dissatisfaction.

In the beginning, the Chinese authorities called this event in Chinese the equivalent of the “World Lawyers Congress,” but its official English name was “Global Lawyers Forum.” China’s official mouthpiece, Xinhua News Agency reported that the participants included more than 400 international judicial professionals from 57 countries, including the International Bar Association (IBA), the International Association of Lawyers (UIA), the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), and the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA).

The French-based International Association of Lawyers (UIA) issued a press release on December 17 to shed some light on an incident that Chinese media had not covered. The release stated that UIA President Jerome Roth was originally invited to give a keynote speech at the meeting, but the scheduled speech was cancelled after the content of the speech was submitted to the organizer in advance as had been requested.

UIA’s release shared part of Roth’s speech, which emphasized, “The unique role that both individual lawyers and bar associations play as privileged guardians and defenders of citizens’ rights and of the Rule of Law.” “We advocate for the independence of the bar and of the judiciary, without which there would be no Rule of Law.”

Roth’s speech also talked about the significance of the rule of law, including, “the accountability of political authorities of a nation to its citizens, the separation of powers, and laws that are publicly promulgated, equitably enforced, independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.”

UIA did not say in the press release whether the cancellation of Roth’s speech was because it sounded too harsh on Beijing.

At the end of the statement, UIA reiterated its concern over Chinese lawyers who had disappeared, were threatened, detained, and even physically and mentally abused during their practice of the law, and who were unable to defend their own rights through proper judicial channels.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 19, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/rc-12192019103919.html

Briefings | | December 19, 2019 | Economy/Resources

China Mobile Inspector Revealed How He Monitored the Internet

A former China Mobile worker disclosed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) monitoring over its citizens’ phone conversations and text messages to Bitter Winter, a publication focused on the CCP’s human rights abuses.

The former inspector of China Mobile Online, who remained anonymous, said that China Mobile monitors its customers’ conversations and text messages using the excuse that it is managing “inappropriate messages.” Covering all territories in mainland China, its system can automatically detect messages related to politics and religion, including those messages against the CCP or those that make fun of the top leaders. All the detected messages must go through a manual inspection.

The former inspector worked with at least 500 colleagues on this duty and their work was intense.

“If you accidentally let a ‘sensitive message’ pass, your monthly salary will be reduced and your annual bonus will be impacted, too. I usually had to process over 10,000 messages each month. In a year’s time it was inevitable to make a mistake or two.”

“Almighty God,” “Falun Gong,” and other religious words are “sensitive words.” Any mention of “Party,” “Quitting the Party,” and “Quitting the Communist Youth League” in messages or discussions is also tightly monitored.

“Any information that is negative about the CCP is put in the politics category,” he explained, “For example, the information about the CCP conducting live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners is directly ‘dealt with’ (meaning deleted), to prevent it from being circulated.”

“If sensitive words were detected in conversations, Multimedia Messaging Services, test messages, or WeChat postings, the system will automatically block it. It will lock the user’s account and prohibit the user from making phone calls or sending messages. The user has to bring his ID card to China Mobile’s retail office and write a guarantee statement to promise not to send sensitive messages any more in order to get his account unlocked.”

Locking a user account or phone is still a small warning. The authorities will impose much harsher punishment for “severe cases.” A resident in Fujian Province was stopped at China’s border. The border guards destroyed his passport and prevented him from going abroad. They said that he had sent messages in the WeChat group to criticize a CCP leader, which was “insulting national leaders and disrupting the public order.”

“The monitoring standard has been updated frequently in the past few years. As it progresses, it gets stricter and stricter, with fewer and fewer loopholes.”

Source: Bitter Winter, December 4, 2019

監聽全國用戶通訊、刪對黨不利留言　前審查員揭中共控制手段

Briefings | | December 18, 2019 | Government/Politics

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.”