A princeling (the second generation of high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials) gave the Epoch Times some insider information about the CCP’s political in-fighting on the Hong Kong movement.

“Some (top CCP officials) tried to stir things up to force Xi Jinping to make mistakes. They hoped Xi would order firing on people and create another June 4th event in Hong Kong. Some suggested using force and the military, or even having the military take control. All of these schemes were to set Xi up.”

“Xi was very clear about their agenda. He set a big principle that there would be no blood and another June 4th event would be avoided at any cost. He was very firm on this. He made three points: no matter what happened in Hong Kong, ‘It is not allowed to shed blood, not allowed to use guns, and not allowed to use the military stationed in Hong Kong.’ He wanted to quiet down the event.”

Chen Daoxiang, Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in Hong Kong, met David Helvey, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian & Pacific Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, on June 13. Chen forwarded Xi’s message, stating that Beijing would not use the military.

“Xi is observing, who is doing what in Hong Kong affairs. This might eventually lead to a fight between the anti-Xi group and Xi’s group.”

In addition, “there are CCP spies who came in as protesters, trying to stir things up. The bigger the event, the harder it is to resolve, the better for the anti-X group.”

“After Xi Jinping compromised with Jiang Zemin’s group (Jiang is the former CCP leader; he tried to grab power after his retirement and thus created friction between himself and his successors) at the CCP 19th National Congress, Xi started getting into trouble. Xi agreed not to take down Jiang and his right-hand man Zeng Qinghong. However, from time to time, Jiang and Zeng have tried to create problems for Xi. The Hong Kong turmoil benefits Jiang and Zeng. The two factions of Jiang and Xi have been fighting over Hong Kong.”

“Xi wants to keep Carrie Lam in her position and does not want to make a big change in Hong Kong.”

“As for the officials from Beijing’s offices who are stationed in Hong Kong, including the CCP Liaison Office in Hong Kong and the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, more than a dozen were punished, and some were even dismissed. The CCP was tough on its own officials but wants to Keep Carrie Lam.”

Source: Epoch Times, July 20, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/7/19/n11396919.htm

The Chinese Social Organization Report was recently released. It stated that the regulatory reviews that the NGOs in China are facing are the toughest in the past 20 years. On July 12, the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences University and the Social Sciences Literature Publishing House jointly released the “Blue Book of Social Organizations: China’s Social Organization Report” (2019). The report used “unprecedented in 20 years” five times to describe the current state of social organizations in China, including efforts to crack down on illegal social organizations, cleaning up the standardization of registered social organizations, the strictness of annual inspections, the punishment of social organizations, and the supervision of social organizations. The intensity and the strictness of the social organization registration reviews are the toughest they have been in more than the past 20 years.

From April 1st to the end of December last year, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security jointly launched a special campaign to crack down on illegal social organizations. In 2018, more than 1,600 social organizations were de-listed and punished for serious violations of the law. The report said that these illegal social organizations include those who use the projects such as the “One Belt and One Road,” “military and civilian integration,”  “poverty alleviation,” and other national strategies to defraud people of their money.

In addition, in recent years, Chinese NGOs, especially those that advocate citizenship Initiatives, have already faced difficulties in surviving. For example, in 2014 and 2015, in the context of frequent labor movements, organizations for labor rights protection have been suppressed. The “Regulations on the Management of Domestic Activities of Foreign NGOs,” which was implemented on New Year’s Day in 2017, has also restricted NGOs from receiving financial support and talent training from overseas.

There are currently more than 800,000 social organizations in China. They are regulated by the “Regulations on the Administration of Social Organizations,” the “Regulations on the Administration of Foundations,” and the “Provisional Regulations on the Registration of Private Non-Enterprise Units.” Last year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the “Soliciting Opinions for Social Organization Registration Management,” which is expected to be revised this year.

Source: Central News Agency, July 17, 2019
http://https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201907170199.aspx

Last year, the U.S. Department of Defense launched a Language Flagship program to provide funding for universities in the U.S. to develop Chinese language education. A federal law was passed to require that the funding for the program come from only one source. The universities must choose between the Pentagon and the Confucius Institutes for funding their Chinese Language education program. So far, 13 universities in the United States have chosen to close their Confucius Institute. It is expected that more Confucius Institutes at universities will close this year after their contracts expire.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said the Confucius Institute has exposed American universities to the threat of spying and intellectual property theft, both of which have taken place at many universities. Cruz added an amendment to the US military spending bill last year stipulating that any university with a Confucius Institute could not also get the Chinese training funds from the Department of Defense.

After the opening of the first Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland in 2004, the number has expanded to more than 100 Confucius Institutes in the U.S. and more than 500 around the world. The Confucius Institute is considered to be China’s overseas expansion of soft power and supervision of Chinese students. It does not allow the discussion of sensitive issues such as democracy, human rights, Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan.

The deputy head of education at the University of Oregon, who recently closed their Confucius Institute, said that making choices between the two was painful, but they had to make a choice. The Department of Defense’s “Language Flagship Program” provides nearly $1 million a year for Chinese language programs.

Source: Radio France Internationale, July 19, 2019
http://rfi.my/4HuH.T