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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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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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China’s Automobile Market Saw a 9.6 Percent Decline in June

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s domestic automobile market suffered a year-over-year decline of 9.6 percent. In the first half of 2019, the total automobile sales saw a year-over-year decline of 12.4 percent. CAAM expressed its belief that the full year outcome may turn out to show a negative growth. The Chinese automobile market has already suffered 12-consecutive-months of decline. The year 2018 was the first year in 28 years that the industry had a negative growth rate. The numbers showed that passenger cars had a better sales performance than commercial vehicles. The month of June showed that mid-duty commercial trucks had a year-over-year decline of 39 percent. CAAM called for a government intervention to stimulate consumer spending. Also in 2019, the government is expected to reduce the subsidy for new-energy vehicles by 70 percent. Even with the previous high subsidy, the new-energy vehicle profit margin remains very low, far less than for conventional vehicles.

Source: Sina, July 11, 2019
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hyyj/2019-07-11/doc-ihytcitm1155583.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Soldiers Crossed Indian Border to Prevent Tibetans from Holding Birthday Celebration for the Dalai Lama

Epoch Times reported that a group of Chinese soldiers recently crossed the border into India and tried to prevent local Tibetan residents from hosting an annual birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama.

According to Indian Economic Times, the incident occurred on July 6. At that time, about 11 Chinese soldiers wearing plain clothes were accused of crossing the line of actual control (the line of actual control is the de facto boundary between China and India), and entering the Indian-controlled Kashmir Ladakh area. At the time, the local residents were holding the 84th birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama.

Chinese government sources said that the Chinese soldiers only protested near the line of actual control, held a banner with the words “All activities to separate Tibet are prohibited,” and also did not cross the line. However, the residents of the Ladakh region of India refuted the statement. In a Facebook page that Urgain Chodon, head of Koyul Village, posted, she shared photos of the soldiers standing next to their vehicle and the five-star flag and banner. She said that the village residents have been holding birthday celebration ceremonies for the Dalai Lama for a number of years. This year, for the first time, Chinese soldiers crossed the border and entered 6 kilometers into India. Not only did they put up the five-star flag representing China, but they also told them that they could not put up the Tibetan flag, claiming that it was inciting the villagers.

This is believed to be the first large-scale invasion of Chinese soldiers since the confrontation between the Chinese and Indian troops in 2017.

Chodon questioned why these Chinese soldiers wouldn’t communicate their message with the Indian military. She said that she will write to Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister and Rajnath Singh, head of National Defense about the incident.

Source: Epoch Times, July 14, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/7/14/n11383617.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

UDN: Beijing May Impose Sanctions on U.S. Companies That Sell Arms to Taiwan

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented on the newly announced U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. At a press conference, Geng said that the Trump administration’s approval of the sale of arms was a serious violation of the basic norms of international law and international relations. He confirmed that, to protect China’s national security, China will impose sanctions on the U.S. companies involved in this transaction. The companies may include General Dynamics (for M1A2 Tanks), BAE (for M88A2 armored recovery vehicles), Oshkosh Corporation (for M1070A1 Heavy Equipment Transporters), and Raytheon (for Stinger surface-to-air missiles). This round of arms sales to Taiwan has the highest dollar amount value among all sales made by the Trump administration, reaching around US$2.2 billion.

Source: UDN, July 13, 2019
https://udn.com/news/story/7331/3926327

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Expert: How to Stop Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Organ Harvesting

The Independent People’s Tribunal in London pronounced its verdict on June 17, saying that the CCP is still conducting organ harvesting from dissidents, especially the Falun Gong practitioners and the Uyghurs. The Epoch Times interviewed Ethan Gutmann, founder of the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) on how to stop the CCP’s organ harvesting.

Gutmann believes that there is ample evidence of the CCP’s organ harvesting. What the world needs now is action. “Will (the People’s Tribunal verdict) mean that more countries will prohibit their citizens from going to China for an organ transplant? “I hope so,” said Gutmann. Will this mean more countries will stand up to oppose the CCP’s actions? “I very much hope so.” The London Tribunal has pointed out that if you trade with the CCP, you are trading with a criminal state. I hope the verdict will cause the world to cut ties with the Chinese doctors who conduct organ transplants.”

Gutmann explained what cutting ties means: Chinese doctors doing organ transplants are not welcome at Western conferences and cannot publish articles in Western medical magazines, receive Western training, or buy equipment. Western medicine companies should stop clinical trials in China.

Gutmann believes that cutting ties is the most powerful means that the West can use.

He also pointed out that cutting ties would mean the CCP will lose a lot of money which is what the CCP really cares about. “If the Western pharmaceutical industry wants people to buy medicine from China, people must first have a high confidence in China’s medical system. If people lose that confidence because of the organ harvesting, the CCP’s ability to make money will be impacted dramatically.”

Source: Epoch Times, June 30, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/6/29/n11354404.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

China’s Companies Are Facing Credit Default Challenges

The 21st Century Business Herald reported that 96 businesses suffered credit defaults for a total valuation of 66.8 billion yuan (US$ 9.7 billion) in the first six months of 2019, a 263 percent increase from the same period in 2018.

Some analysts think this is the continuation of the credit default wave outburst from the second half of last year, which reached 100 billion yuan in that period.

CITIC Securities analyst Lv Pin warned about the increasing risk of credit defaults in the coming months, since companies are facing more difficulties in getting new money to pay back their debts. “The speed of credit defaults in the second half of this year may increase for the following reasons: First, the market is re-assessing (downgrading) the credit rating of many institutions. Second, the market is tightening the requirements for securing properties when issuing loans to companies that have a low credit rating. Third, the special ways of issuing bonds in the past may no longer continue, which will make bond issuance harder.”

Source: 21st Century Business Herald, July 2
https://m.21jingji.com/article/20190702/c28db078ab114f9ff3a7938acae0ec7f.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Taiwan Professor: The CCP’s Sharp Power Is Reaching Taiwan’s Local Radio Stations

Professor Hong-zen Wang of National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan, wrote an article to alarm people that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) infiltration in Taiwan has reached local radio stations that broadcast in the Taiwanese language.

In Taiwan, major radio stations speak mandarin, the official language. Some smaller local stations broadcast in Taiwanese, the main local language. Hosts of these stations normally have audience members call in to order songs to play. Most of the songs that are ordered are in Taiwanese, while some are in Mandarin. Usually the old songs are from before the 1980s because the people who call in tend to be in their 50’s or older and they became used to listening to the radio and listening to those songs when they were younger.

However, in the past six months, Professor Wang has been hearing newer Mandarin songs. They are songs from the mainland and he is not familiar with them at all. One song said “riding a train to Lhasa” (the song portrayed the Tibetan people as having a good life under the CCP’s leadership). Professor Wang questioned why any Taiwanese would listen to this song or agree with the message, though the host claimed that someone asked for it.

A radio host mentioned on his radio program that he had a work experience exchange with radio hosts in Shanghai and found out that radio hosts in the mainland spend only an hour on the radio program and that the rest of the time involves administrative work. (Professor Wang was surprised that this kind of exchange took place.)

The author pointed out, “This is a real case in which the CCP’s sharp power has invaded in Taiwan; it is similar to social media brainwashing. It starts with non-political activities and then will exercise its influence when it is time to vote. Establishing and growing a social media group takes two to three years to do, but taking over the Taiwanese radio stations is much faster. All the CCP needs to do is to buy the board of directors (of the stations). Then the CCP inherits a group of loyal listeners. The scariest thing is that we don’t even know how this change actually happened.”

Source: Voice Tank, June 11, 2019
https://www.voicettank.org/single-post/2019/06/11/061101

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

New Plan from Hong Kong: Withdraw Cash from Bank of China

RFI reported that protesters in Hong Kong have called for a new action this weekend: withdraw cash from the Bank of China.

As the anti-extradition bill movement continues in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong people raised “Five Major Requests” for the response of the authorities.
1. Remove the extradition bill;
2. Retract the “riot” declaration;
3. Investigate the police accountability in firing at people (on June 12);
4. Do not prosecute protesters; and
5. Carrie Lam should resign.

Some protesters called for an action to target Chinese banks to apply pressure to Beijing.

The plan was passed among people via an Internet platform Telegram. On Twitter, the plan is called “Everyone to Withdraw Cash: Send the Bank of China Back to China.” The announcement requests the Hong Kong government respond to each and every item of the “five major requests” by 6 p.m. on Friday July 12. Otherwise, it calls for everyone to take their money out of the Bank of China.

The announcement pointed out that withdrawing money does not break the law and should not be investigated or result in arrest. Nor should the authorities go after anyone after the event is settled. Withdrawal will start on the morning of July 13. The location will be announced on the TG channel on the evening of July 12. If there is no announcement, people should go to Bank of China’s branches near their homes.

Source: RFI, July 8, 2019
http://cn.rfi.fr/港澳台/20190708-香港反送中新计划全民到中国银行取钱测试其压力

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Digital Times: Junior Student Informants Model in Elementary Schools

China Digital Times published an article about the “junior student informants” model in elementary schools in China. The article posted a picture with a group of elementary school students holding a banner which reads, “‘Junior Student Informants’ Patriot Education Summer Session.” The name of the school on the banner is Xi’an Gaoxing No 1 Elementary School Eastern District Class of 2C4.

The article referenced a similar junior student informant model in Shen Zhen which had previously been reported and which the public criticized widely. People are concerned that it is a twisted education model to reward children for learning to be informants at such a young age. It will make them unable to develop friendships properly and to deal with personal privacy in real life. It will also cause isolation and conflicts among them. It is the teachers’ responsibility to understand their students, but not through a “student informants” model. Therefore, the model and the program it represents need to be stopped.

According to the report, in Nan Shan Qian Hai elementary school in Shen Zhen, in addition to study, the student informants are responsible for completing the “hidden” tasks that their teacher assigns. Their tasks include observing emotional and psychological changes in the students around them and then providing this “intelligence” to the teacher on a regular basis every week so that the teacher can understand the mental state of the students in time. The “intelligence” they have collected includes dating among classmates, absent-mindedness, and being distracted; students who lack parental care, deliberately missing school to attract the attention of their parents; poor family economic conditions, lack of confidence, lack of interest in communicating with others, making up nicknames for other students and other such tasks.

Source: China Digital Times, July 3, 2019

【旧闻】晶报 | 那些潜伏在校园里的“小小情报员”

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics