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“Belt and Road” Alliance for Music Education

The Central Conservatory of Music, China’s leading music school, recently held the conference of the “Belt and Road” Alliance for Music Education. The events included three sessions: “The Dean’s Forum,” “The ‘Belt and Road’ Music Art Exhibition,” and “The Music Academic Workshop.” Deans and musicians from music schools or art schools from 30 countries and regions, including Russia, Italy, and Korea, attended the conference.

In May 2017, under the guidance of the Ministry of Education, the Central Conservatory of Music held the inaugural conference for the “Belt and Road” Alliance for Music Education. At present, the Alliance has 61 member institutions, including 37 foreign members and 24 domestic members. Zhao Min, secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Conservatory of Music, believes that with the mechanism of the “Belt and Road” Alliance for Music Education, China can proactively meet the demands from the alliance partners, build more exchange platforms for culture, art, education, and training, and carry out humanitarian exchanges and cooperation.

Source: People’s Daily, May 10, 2019
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2019-05/10/nw.D110000renmrb_20190510_6-14.htm

China’s Ministry of Education to Strengthen the Training of Ideology and Politics Teachers

As the Chinese regime continues to focus on the ideological work of students and of the young generation, the Chinese Ministry of Education has recently issued a document to strengthen the training of those who teach ideology and politics in colleges and universities. It even set the goal of creating dozens of “influential ideology and politics master teachers.”

The Xinhua News Agency reported that the document is titled, “The 2019 to 2023 Training Program for Teachers of Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Colleges and Universities.” The program proposes to build a strong team of teachers of ideology and politics using a number of channels, such as rotational theoretical training sessions, demonstration programs, specially funded projects, propaganda, and promotions. This plan clearly states that it is necessary “to train and create dozens of master teachers of ideology and politics who have extensive nationwide influence, hundreds of leaders with talent in teaching ideology and politics, and tens of thousands of outstanding teaching staff in the field.”

In addition, the Ministry of Education will also cooperate with other government authorities to set up a number of “research bases for college and university teachers of ideology and politics in the new era” in the infrastructure sector, such as high-speed rail, bridges, and ports, as well as the scientific and technological sectors, such as space and deep sea exploration. Within the next five years, ideology and politics teachers in all colleges and universities may be required to attend sessions in these bases.

Source: Central News Agency, May 6, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201905060302.aspx

Guangdong Police Found Massive Invasive Mobile Apps

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that, in a recent focus investigation, the police from Guangdong Province discovered a large number of Chinese mobile applications that have stolen customer’s private information. In the first quarter of this year, Guangdong Province identified over 1,670 mobile apps that exceeded the proper scope and collected user information without permission. Key categories of these invasive apps were in the areas of TV and entertainment, the stock market, free novels, and money management. The apps collect user information like phone call logs, text messages, contacts lists, and other accounts. Abuse of the microphone and of video cameras is also a common practice. The Guangdong police activities are a part of a campaign that the Central Government Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Administration of Market Supervision lead jointly.

Source: Sohu, April 30, 2019
https://www.sohu.com/a/311163491_120027127?sec=wd

China News: Northern China PM2.5 Pollution Increased after Remediation

China News recently reported that China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment just released its 2018-2019 Fall and Winter Air Quality Improvement Report. The report indicated that, on a year-over-year basis, 28 cities in Northern China saw a PM2.5 pollution increase rather than a decrease after intensive air pollution control and remediation activities. These cities include Beijing and many cities near Beijing. The Report explained that, in addition to certain natural causes, it has been harder to apply environmental protection controls and, over time, the cities have again become undisciplined. The Report is part of the assessment process of the Three-Year Combat Plan for Protecting the Blue Sky. The initiative was designed to improve air quality in multiple major regions. While the Eastern region achieved an 8.3 percent improvement, the Northern regions suffered a 6.5 percent decline in quality. Statistics on both the average pollution level and the number of heavy pollution days showed the situation deteriorated. Local governments’ relaxed administrative and monitoring strength was identified as the key issue.

Source: China News, May 1, 2019
http://chinanews.sina.com/gb/chnmedia/sinacn/2019-05-01/doc-ifzhxuxa7524553.shtml

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responded to Pentagon’s New Policies against Confucius Institute

Reference News, a well-known branch of Xinhua, recently reported that Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented at a press conference on the new policies the Pentagon established to stop sponsoring colleges that have a Confucius Institute. With more and more people becoming aware of the expansion of Chinese influence via the Confucius Institute, academic freedom has become a U.S. public concern. The Pentagon confirmed that, unless an exception is granted, it will no longer sponsor Chinese language education programs in colleges that have a Confucius Institute. Lu described this policy as a “Cold War mindset.” He said the Confucius Institutes have not done anything unlawful. The pentagon’s decision was baseless and lacked self-confidence. It’s turning a cultural exchange effort into a political fight.

Quite a few U.S. colleges have discontinued or plan to discontinue their Confucius Institute contracts.

Source: Reference News, May 2
http://www.cankaoxiaoxi.com/world/20190502/2379026.shtml

Epoch Times: Taiwan Falun Gong Practitioners Denied Entry into Hong Kong

On April 26 and 27, the Hong Kong government refused to allow about 70 Taiwanese and Japanese citizens to enter Hong Kong. The Taiwan Affairs Commission solemnly protested to the Hong Kong government. President Tsai Ing-wen told the media on April 29 that the incident exposed the attitude of the Hong Kong government. She stressed that Taiwan would not accept it regardless of whether it is one country, two systems, or one country, one system.

On April 27, Falun Gong practitioners from Hong Kong held an anti-persecution rally to commemorate the 20th anniversary of “April 25th.” [Editor’s note: On April 25, 1999, 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered spontaneously at Zhongnanhai in Beijing to ask the government to stop its escalating harassment of Falun Gong practitioners. They had learned that, the day before, over 40 practitioners in the nearby city of Tianjin had been arrested and beaten. They also asked to be allowed an open environment for their practice.] In 2019 in Hong Kong, nearly 70 Falun Gong practitioners from Taiwan and Japan were scheduled to participate in the April 27 event. However, after arriving in Hong Kong, they were refused entry. They held legal travel documents but were still denied entry and were forcibly deported.

In addition to the Hong Kong Government deporting Taiwan’s Falun Gong practitioners, 130,000 Hong Kong people took to the streets on Sunday to oppose the revision of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said, “I feel that these things have happened repeatedly. For the Hong Kong people, the one country two systems is not the most desirable and acceptable solution. Whether it is one country two systems or one country one system, it is an impossible solution for us.” William Lai, former legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010 called for international solidarity to defend universal values and support Falun Gong practitioners’ freedom of speech in Hong Kong.

Jian Hongzhang, President of Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association said that the actions of the Hong Kong Government were in violation of international norms and that the world should strictly condemn such actions.

Source: Epoch Times, April 30, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/4/30/n11223272.htm

Radio Free Asia: Chinese Universities Tightened Security on “May 4th”

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that on the100th anniversary of the “May 4th Movement,” Beijing’s major universities stepped up their alerts. The police also took away five left-wing students who supported the labor movement activities. They currently have no contact with the outside world.

This Saturday, May 4th, was the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement in China. Recently, most colleges and universities in Beijing increased inspections on campus. Every day, plainclothes police cars have been stationed at the entrance to Peking University. A local resident who did not want to be named told reporters on Friday that the university campus in Zhongguancun had recently stepped up its alerts. School personnel and students have had to present their credentials when entering the campus. Foreigners have been required to register personal identification cards and other information. The guard at the receptionist area would then further verify the details.

The “May 4th Movement” took place on May 4, 1919. Young students called on citizens and business people to participate in demonstrations, petitions, and strikes to protest against the then Chinese Beiyang government’s disregard of public opinion and they shouted to fight against the infringement of foreign countries’ powers and for the punishment of those officials who were pro-Japan while they advocated saving the country with science and democracy.

An RFA article stated that, 70 years later, in 1989, when college students in Beijing commemorated the passing of Hu Yaobang, general secretary of the Communist Party of China, they also called out the slogan of the May Fourth Movement. The government finally used force to suppress them. Since the 100th anniversary of the “May 4th Movement” is in this year, Beijing is extremely sensitive about this date.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 3, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql1-05032019092522.html

VOA: Report Indicates Huawei Will Build a Chip Factory in Cambridge

The British Financial Times reported that Huawei plans to build a 400-person chip research and development plant in a suburb of Cambridge, England, and plans to start production in 2021.

According to the report, the plant will be located in the heart of the UK’s silicon chip industry, only 15 minutes from the headquarters of Arm Holdings, the UK’s largest chip design company. Huawei plans to use its plant to develop chips for broadband networks.

The U.S. has repeatedly warned that the Chinese government can use Huawei’s equipment for espionage and has urged allies not to use Huawei products in the construction of 5G networks.

The report said that, in order to win the support of local people, when Huawei announced the plan at a local junior high school last week, Huawei executives urged local residents to raise their concerns. They also claimed that Huawei could fund new medical centers or build bus stations locally.

A local resident told the Financial Times that the site that Huawei chose is an ideal location to monitor the British government. However, most locals have a positive attitude toward Huawei’s construction.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Huawei has thousands of employees in the UK, including about 120 in Cambridge. Also Huawei didn’t deny that it selected Cambridge as the chip factory site with the intention to gain access to Cambridge graduates.

Source: Voice of America, May 6, 2019
https://www.voachinese.com/a/huawei-to-build-chip-plant-in-cambridge/4903659.html