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Provincial Official’s Documents Revealed How Officials Work on Persecuting Falun Gong

Chinese Epoch Times published a few official documents from Liaoning Province that gave instructions on intensifying the work of “attacking” Falun Gong.

Yu Ming, a Falun Gong practitioner who recently escaped from China brought these documents out with him. Falun Gong is a mind-body exercise in the Buddhist school. It was introduced to the public in 1992 and, by the late 1990s had widely spread in China due to its teaching of the principles of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” and its effectiveness in healing illnesses and aiding fitness. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned it in 1999. The Central Leading Group on Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions (Central LGPDHR) is the leading CCP organ that manages the work against Falun Gong. The “610 Office,” so named because it formed on June 10, 1999, is the execution arm of this leading group.

These documents include:

1. “Pertaining to the Request for Instructions on Recent Work Arrangements on Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions,” by the Liaoning Provincial LGPDHR, on July 23, 2013. The document mentioned that Li Dongsheng (李东生), the Director of the CCP Central LGPDHR, instructed, during his visit to Liaoning, that Liaoning needed to increase the intensity of its work on preventing and dealing with (Falun Gong) and to take all necessary measures to intensify the education and transformation of (Falun Gong practitioners), to dig deeper to (find and) attack them, and to contain the resurgence of the Falun Gong issue.

It stated that the Provincial LGPDHR would call for a work coordination meeting on July 24, 2013, with top officials from the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Bureau, the Provincial Procuratorate, the Provincial Court, Provincial Judicial Bureau, Provincial State Security Bureau, Provincial Internet Management Bureau, and also the corresponding offices in Dalian (the capital city of Liaoning).

The request was sent to Su Hongzheng (苏宏章), Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Liaoning Provincial Committee, and Party Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee; Pan Liguo (潘利国), Deputy Governor of Liaoning; and Wang Dawei (王大伟), head of Liaoning Provincial Public Security Bureau.

2. A notice without title, from the Liaoning Provincial LGPDHR, dated July 23, 2013. It was sent to secretary Qi to ask him to submit the drafted leader’s instructions on preventing and dealing with (Falun Gong).

3. “Comrade Liguo’s Instruction,” signed by Pan Liguo. It stated that each locality and each department must implement Li Dongsheng’s important instructions. The Public Security and State Security organs needed to maintain the high pressure (against Falun Gong), intensify intelligence collection, and intensify the struggle’s strength by adhering to the principles of “taking care of it early, or while it is small and attacking it whenever there is a sign.” Each local office must gather the information about stubborn Falun Gong practitioners and members of the “Quan Neng Shen” (another religion that the CCP called heretical) and fully utilize the current forced labor camp and resources, to push forward the intensified “transformation” work against them.

Source: Epoch Times, April 4, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/4/3/n11159391.htm

“Chinese Communist Party to Mobilize Ten Million Young Volunteers to Develop the Countryside

The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CCCYL), the leading authority of the communist organization for young people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, recently announced that, over the next three years, it will send ten million college students to the countryside, in order to implement president Xi Jinping’s “important thoughts on youth work” and his Strategic Plan for the Vitalization of Rural Areas.

CCCYL issued the “Opinions on Further Implementing the Movement of Rural Vitalization and Accomplishment for Youth.” It swears that it will let Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, also known as Xi Jinping Thought, enter into young people’s minds and show in their actions.

The Opinions ask China’s young generation to participate in the rural projects to improve the local humanitarian environment without mentioning the details. It also includes entrepreneur projects where the young people start businesses and get rich. In addition, there are rural e- commerce fostering projects which are supposed to help 10,000 young people to use e-commerce to create jobs in the agricultural sector. College students will need to volunteer themselves to go to poor regions to gain experience.

It was very easy for Chinese people to relate to a Mao Zedong era movement half a century ago. In 1968, Mao believed that “it was necessary for young intellectuals to go to the countryside and be re-educated by the poor peasants.” He launched the “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement.” It is estimated that more than 16 million young Chinese intellectuals, including Chinese president Xi Jinping, were forced to relocate to the countryside during the ten-year Great Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976.

Many parents worry that the state will inevitably force their children to go to the countryside. Possible means (the state might use) include not issuing a diploma and youth not being able to work for the government.

Source: Central News Agency, April 10, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201904100216.aspx

Duowei: China Can’t Give the “Reciprocity” That the United States Wants in Trade Negotiations

Duowei, a Chinese government controlled news media stationed in North America, published an article stating that, in the Sino-U.S. trade negotiations, China cannot give the U.S. “reciprocity.” The article said, “As long as it meets the needs of economic and social development, China does not mind forming a reciprocal relationship with the United States on market rules.“

“However, China cannot achieve full reciprocity with the United States in terms of market access and industrial policies. First, China still belongs to developing countries. Under the WTO’s trade rules, China has the right to set up barriers to market access and tariff policies. Second, China’s transition from a planned economy to a market economy has been relatively short and China has developed a unique economic system that cannot be aligned with the U.S. economic system. Finally, China’s development of technology is far less than that of the United States. It is unfair to adopt the same industrial policy for the development of Chinese industry. Because the United States has absolute advantages in capital and technology, the United States is keen to promote trade liberalization and market opening. However, major economies around the world have set different levels of tariff and non-tariff barriers in order to protect their own economic interests. According to WTO data, the main developed economies have higher barriers than the United States, both in terms of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers. Therefore, the United States’ requirement of trade equivalence will inevitably damage the fairness of trade.”

“In market openness and industrial competition policy, China cannot give the reciprocal relationship that the United States wants. In order to expand openness and develop the economy, China will make compromises in some areas. At the same time it will use external pressure to promote internal reforms. However, due to the huge differences in the level of development and in the political systems between China and the United States, China and the United States are destined to be unable to establish a comprehensive ‘reciprocal’ trade relationship.”

Source: Duowei, April 10, 2019
http://economics.dwnews.com/news/2019-04-10/60128174.html

Global Times: Do Not Rule Out the Removal of Targeted Taiwan Military Base

The Chinese PLA’s warplanes flew over the “Taiwan Strait Line” recently, which has increased the tension across the strait. China’s state media Global Times published a commentary threatening that the mainland will not exclude the possibility of wiping out the targeted Taiwan military base.

The article said, “First of all, the ‘Strait Line’ is an imaginary psychological line that the mainland has never accepted.”

“The U.S.-Taiwan collusion is intensifying and the U.S. warships have crossed the Taiwan Strait three times this year. This is excessive. Many people tend to think that the military forcefully crossing the center line is the mainland’s response to the recent provocations of the U.S. and Taiwan. If the U.S. and Taiwan were to maintain restraint from now on, it would be a trivial matter for the PLA fighters to pass over the ‘Strait Line.’ However, if the U.S. and Taiwan . . .  further show strength, then the tensions in the Taiwan Strait will inevitably escalate and lead to serious uncertainty.”

“As military tension in the Taiwan Strait intensifies, the possibility of sporadic military friction or limited military conflict will increase. For example, if the two sides exchanged fire and a plane were to be shot down, then, in the future, the possibility of  the targeted removal of a certain military base that threatened the mainland could not be completely ruled out.

“Once the Taiwan Strait crisis is out of control, the mainland has enough will and capital to fight to the end and both the United States and Taiwan have their own scruples. The DPP is afraid that the regime will not survive. Washington is afraid that it will be involved in a major war and that Taiwan’s public opinion will be tired of turmoil and will no longer accept U.S. support.”

“The last thing we want to say is that the U.S. and Taiwan must be restrained because the Taiwan Strait crisis is already a gamble they can’t afford.”

Source: Global Times, April 2, 2019
http://mil.huanqiu.com/world/2019-04/14650724.html?agt=15422

Yunnan Built Big Data Center for Police Force

People’s Daily reported on April 9 that, since 2018, China’s Yunnan province has been vigorously promoting the construction of big data centers for the police force. The local government has invested 514 million yuan (US$ 76.5 million) to promote border defense technology, video surveillance, vehicle checkup, facial recognition and capture, and mobile phone hotspots. With 130,000 sets of equipment, the police are able to collect 140 million records of data on a daily basis. Yunnan has built a three-dimensional smart network to monitor blind spots effectively.

The Yunnan provincial Police Department also has developed seven categories for a 25 machine learning intelligent module system, including hundreds of professional application models and more than 1,500 combat simulation tools.

Source: People’s Daily, April 10, 2019
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2019-04/10/nw.D110000renmrb_20190410_5-10.htm

Oracle May Close Down China Development Center

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the U.S. software giant Oracle is in the middle of downsizing its workforce and that the plan may include eliminating its entire China Development Center (CDC). This may impact around 1,600 staff members currently working at that Center. According to information that some Chinese staff at CDC revealed, the first phase of the layoff includes 500 people from CDC; of those, 130 to 190 are cloud computing staff. Cloud computing is the area Oracle claimed to focus on for a greater head count instead of a reduction. CDC internal staff also described that the layoff was delivered in a very “rude” way and team after team were let go in bulk. However, Oracle does not officially acknowledge the downsizing and the only public communication indicated that the company was going through a re-organization process to shift the business focus on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

Source: Sohu, April 5, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/306138940_468650

Apple Daily: The Muslim Countries Stopped Criticizing China

Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that, under Beijing’s pressure, the Muslim countries have stopped criticizing China. The article questioned, “Who is there to help Xinjiang?” The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with 57 member countries was, not long ago, still airing their concerns about the human rights conditions of Xinjiang Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. However, that position has changed since last month. The Foreign Ministers Council passed a resolution in March praising China’s efforts to help its Muslim citizens. The resolution further expressed its expectation to deepen cooperation with China in the future. The change of position resulted in unhappiness among human rights groups. The Pakistani Prime Minister even said he was unclear about the Muslim situation in China. It appears China is mounting a lot of pressure on Islamic countries. Many of the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are involved in China’s One Belt One Road plan.

Source: Apple Daily, April 7, 2019
https://hk.news.appledaily.com/china/realtime/article/20190407/59458664

Global Times: The EU Should Not Be Marginalized by the U.S.

Global Times recently published an official commentary suggesting that, in the West, the United States is marginalizing the European Union. The article indicated that the combined size of the EU economy is not only larger than China’s, but also outweighs the U.S. economy. However, the EU’s international influence is far weaker than that of the U.S. and its international competitiveness is far behind the U.S. as well. It is obvious that the EU’s weakness is the result of a lack of cohesion. The EU members sometimes act on their own. How can the EU improve? First, the EU should not be “constrained” by the U.S. and it should have an independent opinion. Second, the EU has a very weak military position and it has a high dependency on U.S. military protection. The EU’s own security is like a sand castle on the beach. Third, the idea that the EU and the U.S. share the same common values is in fact not true. It is because a lot of these “values” are there to serve the U.S.’ national interests, not the EU’s. The EU has become numb due to long “U.S. rule.” In the meantime, it has become very sensitive about the rise of China. The EU should adjust its strategy and prevent itself from being lost.

Source: Global Times, March 25, 2019
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2019-03/14607756.html?agt=15422