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

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CNA: Beijing Declared It Has Ten Rights in Hong Kong

Major Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that Zhang Xiaoming, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Office of the Chinese State Council, published an article discussing how to “improve” the “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement. Zhang declared that the Mainland government has ten rights in Hong Kong. These include especially the right to appoint the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the principal officials of the Hong Kong Government, the supervisory right over the autonomy of the SAR, and the right to issue commands to the chief executive. The Hong Kong Basic Law does not spell out the details of these rights of the Mainland central government. Analysts expressed the belief that, given the current situation in Hong Kong, Beijing is prepared to be serious in the exercise of these rights. It is widely understood that the right to issue commands to the Chief Executive will be used more frequently in the future since such commands cannot be challenged in Hong Kong’s local courts and (exercising this right) is faster than taking a legal approach. This right has been invoked before to invalidate the eligibility of some elected lawmakers (all of whom have been considered anti-Mainland), but not very frequently. Zhang’s article also indicated that the right to appoint major HK officials will be exercised “substantively.” It appears Mainland interference in the Hong Kong political landscape will be intensified in the future.

Source: CNA, November 11, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201911100090.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese State Media: For Police to Fire at Protesters Is both “Reasonable and Legal”

In response to the Hong Kong police shooting the demonstrators at close range on November 11, the Chinese official media posted articles condemning the demonstrators and stressing that for the Hong Kong police to shoot was both reasonable and legal and followed the international standard.

People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, commented on November 12 that, when facing demonstrators’ violent criminal actions, attempts to grab guns out of the policemen’s hands, and the acts that might pose a danger to public safety, “police officers have no choice but to fire their guns, which is reasonable and legitimate.”

The comment claimed that (the authorities) should not let the demonstrator’s arrogance develop into a habit, and should “manage” (take actions) to stop the riots and the violence. It supported what the “bold head sheriff” Liu Zeji (from Hong Kong) stated on his Weibo on November 12, “Don’t think the policemen will never fire their guns. (Firing them) is the international standard.”

The CCP’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee also claimed through its WeChat account “Chang’an Sword,” that shooting is the international standard. “When a mob attacks a policeman and tries to take his gun, if (the police officer) does not fire, what was the use of the gun and what was the use of there being a policeman?”

The Global Times published a commentary to encourage the Hong Kong police: “You are fighting on the front line, but you are not alone. You are not only behind the Hong Kong people who love Hong Kong, but also the people of the whole country. There are national armed police forces and troops stationed in Hong Kong . . .  the mobs can’t turn the sky.”

Sources: Lianhe Zaobao, November 13, 2019
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/report/politic/hkpol/story20191113-1004812?cx_testId=45&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=3#cxrecs_s

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Global Times Chief Editor: China’s Armed Police and the PLA Can Support Hong Kong Police Any Time

On November 11th, Hu Xinjin, the Editor-in-chief of Global Times posted on his Weibo that he “absolutely supports the Hong Kong policeman in shooting down the mob that besieged him” and claimed that China’s armed police and the People’s Liberation Army can enter Hong Kong anytime to reinforce the Hong Kong police.

He called Hong Kong protesters “mobs,” and he described that incident as follows: “The policeman faced several thugs; he faced the threat of his gun being stolen and the threat of being beaten. He apparently warned the black masked mob that intended to steal his gun that they should not approach him, but they ignored his warning. The police officer fired back at these thugs on the scene and sent a clear signal to other mobs in Hong Kong. Their besieging the police would bear certain legal risks including being killed on the spot.”

Hu said that some Hong Kong and Western media focused on the policeman’s shooting and played down the mob’s crimes and how this type of report is disgusting.

He also said that he “wants to tell the police in Hong Kong not to be afraid of anything but to defend the rule of law in Hong Kong resolutely and in accordance with the law. You are fighting on the front line, but you are not alone. Behind you, there are not only the broad masses of Hong Kong people and the people of the whole country who love Hong Kong, but also the armed police forces of the country and the PLA troops stationed in Hong Kong. When necessary, they can enter Hong Kong any minute to directly reinforce you in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law. The mob can’t turn the sky upside down, nor can the Western forces. Hong Kong’s sky and earth do not belong to them.”

Source: Weibo, November 11, 2019
https://www.weibo.com/1989660417/IfHrWu6h0?type=comment

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China Times: Teardown Analysis on Huawei’s Latest Smartphone

Major Taiwanese news network China Times recently reported that Chinese leading communications equipment company Huawei, which is currently under U.S. sanction, recently released its flagship smartphone Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has bragged on multiple occasions that Huawei can comfortably survive without using any supply of U.S. parts. International tech firm TechInsights recently published its tear-down analysis of the newly released Huawei flagship handset and found that, out of a total of 36 chips used in the phone, Huawei made half of them. The rest depended on foreign supplies, among which key components still rely on U.S. vendors. Critical parts are from U.S. suppliers like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Cirrus Logic. TechInsights did notice that Huawei replaced U.S. DRAM supplier Micron with South Korean supplier SK-Hynix. However, the U.S. ban may also apply to SK-Hynix due to the amount of U.S. technology used in SK-Hynix products. Analysts expressed the belief that Huawei is currently sustaining itself based on its stock of U.S. parts. It is nearly impossible for Huawei to produce a smartphone without any U.S. technology.

Source: China Times, November 11, 2019
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20191111000008-260410?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Columbia University’s Cancellation of Human Rights Forum Draws Criticism

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, was scheduled to hold a seminar at Columbia University on Thursday, November 14. The topics included the human rights situation in China, including Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Beijing’s infiltration overseas. The day before the meeting, Columbia University told the organizers that the seminar had to be cancelled. According to Radio Free Asia’s interview of Teng Biao, a human rights activist and lawyer from China who was supposed to speak at the seminar, the explanation that the University gave was that a Chinese student group said that it would go to the seminar to hold a protest. As the school could not guarantee the safety of the participants, it decided to cancel the event.

A commentary published on the overseas Chinese website Boxun compared the incident with an event in 2017 at the University of California-San Diego, in which the Dalai Lama had been invited to give a commencement speech. Despite the opposition from the campus Chinese students’ organization, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), UCSD stood behind its decision to host the Dalai Lama.

The commentary questioned whether the so-called Chinese student organization mentioned by Columbia University is the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), a network of organizations that the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department oversees. The commentary questioned whether the CSSA has registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The commentary also questioned whether Columbia University has upheld freedom of expression and academic freedom.

Mr. Teng Biao pointed to the fact that, in recent years, there have been multiple incidents in which the Chinese Communist Party used Chinese students to interfere with freedom of speech and academic freedom on a U.S. campus and that these incidents deserve high attention from American society. It is understood that Columbia is the only Ivy League university in the United States that {still} hosts a Confucius Institute.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 15, 2019.
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/lh-11152019155936.html
Boxun, November 16, 2019
https://www.boxun.com/news/gb/pubvp/2019/11/201911161023.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Greek Police Detained Falun Gong Practitioners during Xi Jinping’s State Visit

On November 10, 2019, when some of Falun Gong practitioners in Athens, the capital of Greece, came to the “Freedom Park” outside of the Megaro Moussikis subway station, to do their exercises as they have always done on weekends, a group of security police officers arrived to stop their exercises. The police took the practitioners to the police headquarters in Athens. The police checked the four Falun Gong practitioners and their identity cards, turned off and confiscated their mobile phones, and detained them for two hours. When the Falun Gong practitioners asked why, the answer was “execution of orders.” The practitioners further asked, “Since you have canceled our exercises today, why do you take us to the police station?” The answer was still “execution of orders.” During the period, a police officer sympathetic to Falun Gong practitioners made phone calls and attempted to reverse the decision, but his efforts were in vain: the order must be executed.

Falun Gong is a meditation practice that originated in China. Starting in 1999, the Chinese communist regime launched an extensive persecution campaign against Falun Gong. Many Falun Gong practitioners have been monitored, arrested, physically and mentally tortured and murdered.

November 10 was the day when the Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping arrived in Greece for a state visit. Due to the interference of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, it was not the first time that the activities of local Falun Gong practitioners had been cancelled. It was also not the first time that local Falun Gong practitioners had been brought to the police station. Similar incidents have occurred in other countries, including Australia, Iceland, Denmark, France, and Serbia, whenever Chinese Communist Party officials visited those countries.

Source: Falun Gong’s Zhenjian Website, November 14, 2019.
http://www.zhengjian.org/node/255202

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping’s Books Placed in Nanjing Hotel Rooms

A journalist with the Taiwan based Central News Agency reported that, when traveling to Nanjing on a business trip in early November, she found two copies of English versions of Xi Jinping’s Talks about Governing the Country in her hotel room cabinet. She thought that it was an impressive practice for the hotel to place the writings of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the hotel room, instead of the Bible, as is the practice in many hotels in the West. She later found out that the Xinhua Newspaper Media Group in Jiangsu province had actually invested in and built the hotel where she had stayed. Xinhua News Agency is the official propaganda outlet for the Chinese Communist Party.

This practice still shows China’s ambition to promote its ideology to people from other countries. As Xinhua News Agency reported, the circulation of Xi Jinping’s Talks about Governing the Country has exceeded 20 million copies and has been translated into more than 20 languages. At the end of October, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued the “Outline for Implementing the Moral Development of Citizens in the New Era.” It included the information on the regulation of Internet contents.

In terms of book publications, the general morale in the country is not high. Since last year, the film, news, and publishing industries have been placed under the management of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party of China. The number of officially allowed book titles is shrinking and there are more controls on what kind of books can be published. A senior editor said that it would take half a year to apply for even a book number for books in social sciences. If it were a development, arts appreciation, or health book, the book number would be approved in a week.

Source: Central News Agency, November 10, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201911100052.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP Special Forces Used Dim Mak Technique to Kill Hong Kong Protesters

Epoch Times reported that an Internet posting stated that the special police forces in China were responsible for a number of the “floating corpses of protesters” in Hong Kong. After comparing many pictures, the author, who said he is in the special police forces, concluded that the Chinese special police forces did the killing with a special killing technique that only they know, called Dim Mak.

Dim Mak (点穴 or 点脉), is a mysterious Chinese martial arts technique. It was invented by Master Zhang Sanfeng (born in the 12th century) as part of his Wudang martial arts and healing system. Chinese medicine theory stresses the flow of “qi and blood (气血).” The Dim Mak technique is to press or hit a person’s acupoint to block the qi and blood flow either immediately or slowly, which can give that person great pain, slow or hinder his movement, or,  in the severe cases, lead to his death. This technique is also called “Touch of Death.”

Dim Mak may sound foreign and incredible to Westerners, but, thanks to martial arts novels, the concept is widely known to Chinese. Many Chinese martial arts practitioners know or believe it.

Since the “anti-extradition” movement in Hong Kong started in May, the conflict between the police and the protesters has become more and more brutal. Since June, more than one hundred protesters have been found to have mysteriously committed “suicide.” A number of “floating corpses” were found in water or in the seas, including that of Chan Yin-lam, a 15-year-old female student who had been a diving team member and was a good swimmer. One reporter observed that, when being arrested, it is not unusual for protesters to shout their name and yell that they are not suicidal. “If they aren’t heard from again, they want to make sure it’s clear who’s to blame.”

The Hong Kong police have failed to provide a satisfactory explanation in those cases. Many times, the authorities did a quick examination of the dead body and then sent it to be cremated.

Since the dead bodies did not have any sign of a clear fatal injury or convincing drowning signs, the author of the posting argued that the Chinese special forces used the “Dim Mak” technique to put the victims in a state of near death and let them die “naturally” in the water over a period of time.

The author pointed out, “The training of special forces in any country in the world is focused on controlling and killing suspects. Only China has another kind of training to put the apprehended in a near death state that can last for some time via Dim Mak.”

“The bodies that were pulled out from the waters had obvious bruises, which were likely to be the result of the special forces staff hitting or pressing the acupoints on the person’s arms, chest, abdomen, thighs, ankles, and back.”

The author claimed that “this is the most secretive murder method of the Chinese special forces” and is “killing without evidence.” “Even the professional forensic doctors cannot find, through an autopsy, what the real cause of death was and where the fatal blow was.”

Epoch Times said that it is not able to verify the accuracy of the claim.

Sources:
1. Epoch Times, November 2, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/11/2/n11628953.htm
2. Taiji World website
http://www.taijiworld.com/Dim-Mak.html
3. Atlantic, November 12, 2019
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/11/escalating-violence-hong-kong-protests/601804/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Grapevine