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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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Taiwanese Government Boycotts CCP’s United Front Work and its 70th Anniversary Events

On August 29, at China’s State Council Information Office’s press conference regarding the 70th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) founding, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Qun said, “Artists from Hong Kong, Macao. and Taiwan who love the motherland and safeguard the ‘one country, two systems’ and the peaceful unification of the motherland will work with mainland artists to present a high-level evening gala.”

At a press conference on the same day, spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan called on the Taiwanese people not to become a target of the CCP’s united front work against the island.

Chiu said that five bills surrounding Taiwan’s national security have recently been amended. The government is not happy to see the general public going to mainland China to participate in activities with political implications. Chiu called on the Taiwanese people to consider their national dignity and the social perception and avoid violating the law. On July 3, iIn order to strengthen the regulation of current or retired public servants and military personnel going to mainland China, Taiwan passed articles 9 and 91 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. These articles will be officially implemented starting September 1. If personnel subject to the regulations obstruct the national dignity, they will be punished according to the law.

MAC believes that Beijing will use the anniversary activities to spread propaganda about the achievements of the regime and use large scale military parades to display new weapons to intimidate Taiwan and neighboring countries. Chiu emphasized that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and Taiwan does not accept “one country, two systems.”

Source: Central News Agency, August 29, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908290281.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily Weibo Account Quoted CY Leung’s Article on Hong Kong

Xiakedao, the Weibo account of People’s Daily, republished an article by Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung), who the Chinese Communist Party hand-picked as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2017. Leung argued that Beijing can use many forces, either regular or unconventional, to put down the Hong Kong movement.

CY Leung made the following points:

1. We need to have the right strategic judgment. The movement is no longer a peaceful demonstration. It is using violence and other illegal means to paralyze the society and create a regime change in Hong Kong. It will then make Hong Kong independent of China and the “subversion base” to replicate violence in mainland China.

2. We need to have the right strategic positioning. However the situation in Hong Kong is, nothing can change the fact that Hong Kong is part of China; nor can it change that China possesses tremendous political, foreign diplomatic, military, and economic power in the world.

3. We need to have strategic confidence. The Hong Kong government, pro-China politicians, and the business community must have confidence in the Central government and the Hong Kong government. They should not worry and surrender.

4. We need to have a comprehensive strategic plan. The Hong Kong government and the Central government have a whole set of political, administrative, fiscal, legal, and military tools, including many forces that they can use but have not yet used.

When it is necessary, besides the forces in Hong Kong, the Central government also has many more powerful forces outside. We should mobilize every regular and unconventional force inside and outside of Hong Kong and plan well the short, mid-term, and long term actions.

5. The Chinese idiom goes, “During a confrontation in a narrow passage, whoever is the bravest will win out.”

Source: Sina, September 01, 2019
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2019-09-01/doc-iicezzrq2653635.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China News: China Adding Six More Free Trade Zones

China News recently reported that China just announced the establishment of six more free trade zones in Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Hebei, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang Provinces. By now China has a total of 18 free trade zones and all coastal provinces are covered. The focuses of the free trade zones are different. However, this round of new zones mainly emphasizes transportation, high-tech, logistics, high-end manufacturing, health, biology, tourism, culture, and financial areas. Developing relationships with geographically nearby countries, such as South Korea and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, was also set as a priority. The new announcement also mentioned the importance of the experimental nature of the free trade zones as well as the necessity of risk control. Meanwhile, according to LTN (Taiwan), China’s first free trade zone, the Shanghai Zone, suffered the record of not being able to deliver on key promises such as the free flow of currencies.

Source: China News, August 27, 2019
http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2019/08-27/8938498.shtml
Source: Liberty Times Network (LTN), September 2, 2019
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/2903528

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Hong Kong’s Forum Server under Attack, Chinese Authorities Suspected Using Telegram to ID Protesters

Many of Hong Kong’s “anti-extradition law” protesters use a Hong Kong based online discussion forum, LIHKG, to mobilize and organize their actions. LIHKG announced around 6 am on Sunday that the “LIHKG has been under (un)precedented DDoS attacks for the past 24 hours. We have reason to believe that there is a power, or even a national level power, behind the organization of such attacks as botnets from all over the world were manipulated in launching this attack.”

“The enormous amount of network requests has caused Internet congestion and has overloaded the server, which has occasionally affected the access to LIHKG. The website data and members’ information have been unaffected.”

In addition, British media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Telegram, a U.K. based instant messaging service, recently detected that Hong Kong or the mainland Chinese government may have uploaded a large number of phone numbers to the application, trying to identify the demonstrators using its matching function. Telegram software will automatically match the members of the communication group by phone number. The Chinese government only needs to ask the local telephone company to find out the true identities of the Telegram users. It is unclear whether the Chinese government has successfully identified the demonstrators.

Telegram is working on a fix to allow the users to disable the matching by phone number, so as to protect the privacy of Hong Kong protesters.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 31, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-apps-08312019091610.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

German Think Tank: Hong Kong Is Losing its Status as a Financial Center

A German think tank scholar is concerned that the ongoing demonstrations have caused irreparable harm to the status of Hong Kong as a financial center and that the situation, if allowed to further deteriorate, may also hurt China.

Max Zenglein, head of research in economics at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics), said, after a visit to Hong Kong, that people in Hong Kong believe that the city is gradually losing its freedom. They are therefore pessimistic about the future. Hong Kong’s economy is facing an unprecedented crisis; the number of visitors from abroad has gone back to the level during severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003.

Zenglein observed that many foreign businessmen are worried that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy will be gone forever and are preparing for the worst. As the situation worsens, when Hong Kong loses its advantages of judicial independence and freedom of speech, and is no different from a Chinese city, foreign companies will move their Asian headquarters to Singapore or Tokyo.

Zenglein’s analysis is that the continuous demonstrations over two months have caused irreparable harm to Hong Kong. “Hong Kong’s best time as a global financial center has already passed.” Moreover, the demonstrators did not cause the harm. The Chinese government’s tough reaction caused it. The massive assembly of armed police on the border will only bring greater fear.

Zenglein believes that China’s state-owned enterprises and rich people are highly reliant on Hong Kong’s capital market. China’s “Belt and Road” project also needs Hong Kong. China’s richest people have begun to transfer their assets to Singapore or London, and no longer view Hong Kong as a safe haven.

Source: Central News Agency, August 27, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201908270017.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Epoch Times: Residents Jam-Packed and Fought over Products at the Opening Day of the Costco Store in Shanghai

On the opening day of the first Costco store in Shanghai, people jam-packed the store and forced it to close early. Despite the escalation of the China-US trade war and the official mouthpiece’s constant high-profile anti-US media campaign, Chinese citizens still  favor the US store. Some scholars even say Chinese people are not anti-U.S.

According to Epoch Times, on the opening day, there was traffic jam and people waited in line in 100 degree weather to get inside the store. Many are in their 70’s or 80’s. People fought over the items in the store. Many products sold out quickly and the store was forced to close early. On the second and third day, the store had to limit the customers to under 2,000 at any given time. Customers told Epoch Times that the overall economy is declining. Things are expensive but wages do not grow. Average people don’t have much savings and live on a tight budget. Everyone wants to spend less. People jam-packed the Costco store because they don’t have trust in the food quality elsewhere. Costco products, on the other hand, are known for their superior quality and low prices. Many people are jokingly asking, “Why aren’t the officials coming out to ask people to embargo U.S. products?” It is not true that the Chinese people are anti-US. Many of the anti-US demonstrations are organized [by the government] and the participants are rewarded with money or monetary items. The authorities have been instilling in the people that the U.S. has launched a trade war. In fact, people know that the U.S. government does not rob the Chinese people and it is the Chinese government (the CCP) that hurts the Chinese people.

Source: Epoch Times, August 29, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/8/29/n11486339.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua: Over 60 Foreign and Online Media Will Air Chinese Programs Commemorating Upcoming 70th Anniversary of National Day

Xinhua reported that from August to October, over 60 media and online platforms in 50 countries around the world will air 70 documentaries, television programs, and movies about China on topics including Xi Jinping’s thoughts and leadership style, The party’s news strategy, and its achievements. Currently the programs will be aired on national television stations in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Mongolian National Broadcaster, Poland Fukus TV, Hungarian ATV, Cuban National TV, the U.S. Discovery Channel, CiTi TV, YouTube, and many others.

Source: Xinhua, August 23, 2019
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-08/23/c_1124913354.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC: Five Approaches of China in Response to Hong Kong

On August 22, BBC Chinese reported on five methods China has used to respond to the protesters in Hong Kong.

1. Media and Propaganda

In the beginning, the Chinese media’s news was silent about the million people parades. Shortly thereafter, the official propaganda outlets launched campaigns to focus on the “violence” in Hong Kong’s protests, portraying an image of “foreign funded violent protesters.” Outside of China, the official media have been making use of Western social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. Chinese diplomats have also published articles or done interviews in the local media to criticize the protesters or support the actions of overseas pro-Beijing Chinese students.

2. Economic Pressure

Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, was hard hit. China accused Cathay employees of participating in the violent protests. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a “significant aviation safety risk warning” to Cathay Pacific. Cathay’s share price plummeted, and the CEO and managing director Rupert Hogg resigned. This gave a clear warning to the Hong Kong business circle. Shortly afterwards, Hong Kong’s real estate developers, banks, and accounting firms placed advertisements in newspapers to condemn the violence and side with Beijing and the SAR government.

3. Threats of Military and Police Involvement

The People’s Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong and the Chinese police force have also turned up the volume of propaganda with messages that included threats. Hong Kong’s PLA released a video entitled, “Do Not Forget Our Original Aspirations, Defend Hong Kong.” The content shown in-the-street exercises in the containment of protesters — with snipers, machine guns, and loudspeakers. On the other hand, the Chinese armed police conducted a drill in Shenzhen, across the river from Hong Kong. Although China said that this was a routine exercise in preparation for National Day security on August 19th, the mouthpiece newspaper People’s Daily published a video of the drill, indicating that suppression by force was still an option for Beijing to use in handling Hong Kong.

4. Pro-China parades

In Hong Kong, multiple gatherings to support the SAR government and the police have been held many times, participants have included many movie stars. On August 17, real estate tycoons in Hong Kong attended a rally organized by the pro-Beijing political party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) to express their opposition to violence.

Outside Hong Kong, after the Chinese students at the University of Queensland in Australia confronted the students who supported Hong Kong protesters, the Chinese Embassy in Australia affirmed the “spontaneous patriotic behavior” of Chinese students. In Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Vancouver, Toronto, and other cities, Chinese students and local Chinese organized demonstrations in support of the Hong Kong government and the police.

5, Legal Means

On August 21, the speech of the spokesman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zang Tiewei, actually ruled out the possibility of restarting Hong Kong’s political reform and achieving universal suffrage for the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the Legislative Council.

Zang said, “Recently, some illegal criminals in Hong Kong have openly attacked the legislature, violently attacked the police, and willfully beat innocent people. These acts are serious crimes in any country under the rule of law and will be punished according to the law.”

On the issue of universal suffrage, Zang said that the “8·31” decision was a legally binding decision adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The handling of Hong Kong affairs must be resolved within the framework of the Constitution, and the Hong Kong Basic Law.

The so-called “8·31” decision refers to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China on August 31, 2014 regarding the general election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the method for the generation of the 2016 Legislative Council.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 22, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-49422502

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics