Chinascope – Page 450

RFI: “Sponsored” Journalists from Asia and African Countries Were Told They Could Only Write Positive Reports about China

Radio France Internationale reported that, according to The Print, an Indian Media, in order to cooperate with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt and One Road” project, Beijing formulated a plan to target media in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. The plan was to set up a “scholarship program” to host foreign journalists in China free of charge, including living in a luxury residence outside Beijing’s Jianguomen which is normally reserved for diplomats. Once these journalists finished the program, they would receive a certificate from a Chinese university and tour other regions in China. A requirement is that they must write positive reports on Beijing’s authorities.

According to The Print, starting from 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hosted about 100 journalists from Asian and African media to complete a so-called scholarship program which lasted for ten months. These foreign journalists would receive red carpet-style hospitality and live free of charge in the residences reserved for diplomats. The monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in the area normally is 22,000 yuan (US$3,200). The journalist could travel to other provinces free of charge every month and earn an allowance of 5,000 yuan (US$728) per month. At the end of the program, a Chinese university would issue a certificate in international relations and they would be given the right to interview Chinese government officials and ministers. As part of the program, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Diplomacy Association jointly set up the China Africa News Center, the China Southeast Asia News Center, and the China South Asia News Center. These centers granted a press permit to the sponsored foreign journalists. The journalist identity of the original news organization did not work in China. During the 10-month stay, they were not allowed to do interviews about sensitive topics such as human rights, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

According to The Print, in the past three years, journalists participating in the program have come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and other countries and regions. These journalists’ news organizations published most of their news reports, but those media wouldn’t disclose that China gave their journalists special treatment. India, however, was an exception. According to The Print, the Indian Embassy in Beijing clearly separated these journalists from the rest of the Indian journalists who are independently registered to work in China. Indian Journalists who attended China’s sponsored program were not allowed to participate in official Indian events or obtain official background information. Those China sponsored journalists were told that, when they wrote their reports, they had to bear in mind that China has a friendly relationship with their countries, especially about the “one belt and one road” project. One journalist from a Southeast Asia country told The Print that they were specifically informed that they could not report about the conflicts in the South China Sea. The Print quoted one as saying, “We were told that if we wished to complete the sponsorship program, we must write positive reports about China.”

Source: Radio France Internationale, December 1, 2018
http://rfi.my/3OGW.T

Briefings | | December 6, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

100,000 Lawyers Participated in Ceremony Giving Pledge to the Constitution

On Sunday December 2, one day before Constitution Day in China, nearly 100,000 lawyers from more than 400 cities across the country participated in a group ceremony held in their region making a pledge to the constitution. The judicial administrative entity and the lawyer’s associations around the country organized the ceremony. Sohu reported that “the ceremony was not only for the legal profession to show respect for the constitution, a willingness to study the constitution and for their observance and maintenance of the constitution, but also to strengthen the ideological and political, as well as the professionalism of education among lawyers.” Fu Zhenghua, the Chinese Attorney General, even went to Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, serving as a witness to the pledges of hundreds of lawyers. The media described it as the first occurrence of such an event in the history of Communist China.

According to the newly revised “lawyers’ pledge rules,” the pledge is expressly required as a necessary procedure for lawyers to perform. Lawyers must execute the pledge and comply with the procedures and dress requirements that the authorities set. If lawyers do not take the pledge, a penalty will be imposed. However, according to Radio Free Asia, many lawyers in China still haven’t participated in the ceremony despite the potential penalty. One rights lawyer from Shanghai told RFA that he was not invited to the ceremony, but even if he had been invited, he still would not have gone because he dislikes putting on a show. Another lawyer said that the party treats lawyers as party members by organizing a group pledge ceremony. The pledge ceremony should be held individually not as a group, he said. Both lawyers said that China does not have judicial independence. The so-called “ruling the country according to law” is nothing but empty talk.

Sources:
1. Sohu, December 3, 2018
https://www.sohu.com/a/279224006_115423?spm=smmt.mt-news.fd-d.7.1543708800023WRl5Apr
2. Radio Free Asia, December 4, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/gf2-12042018101855.html

Briefings | | December 6, 2018 | Government/Politics

Chinese Companies in Panama

On June 13, 2017, Panama dropped Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China. Since then, many Chinese companies have entered Panama. At present, the Panamanian Chinese Chamber of Commerce has 40 members.

China Harbour Engineering has moved its regional headquarters to Panama and taken over an expansion project of the Colon Port and a cruise terminal project. Not long ago, China Harbour also won the bid for the project of the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal. In 2017, China’s Lan Bridge Group also started the Colon Margarita port expansion project. China State Construction Engineering has successively undertaken infrastructure projects such as the Panama government’s “City of Hope” Housing Project, the Amador Convention Center, and Panama City’s San Isidro Bus Station.

China CAMC Engineering also established an overseas warehouse in the Panama Free Trade Zone in Colon. Goldwind Technology supplies equipment for the Panama wind power project and drives the export of Chinese equipment.

The Bank of China, Huawei, and Nuctech have also made considerable progress in their respective fields. At present, China Railway Engineering Corporation is conducting a feasibility study related to passenger and freight transportation.

Wei Qiang, China’s first ambassador to Panama, said that the enormous energy accumulated during the long-term relationship between China and Pakistan is to be fully released and will comprehensively be promoting cooperation in trade, investment, shipping, civil aviation, finance, agriculture, tourism, and infrastructure. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly promoting the construction of the “Belt and Road.” Panama is the first Latin American country to sign this memorandum with China.

The Panamanian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Miguel Hincapie said that Panama hopes to become China’s gateway to other parts of Latin America.

Source: Xinhua, December 3, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2018-12/03/c_1123799866.htm

Briefings | | December 4, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: China Had to Buy U.S. Pork to Fight Swine Fever

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that China has been importing a massive amount of U.S. pork although China is charging punishing tariffs on pork originated from the United States. Highly infectious swine plague is sweeping across China, putting heavy damage on the pork market and industry in China. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, very recently, Chinese entities placed the largest order for U.S. pork since the beginning of the trade war. The active purchasing moves gave the observers the impression that the Chinese pork market is seeing a significant shortage. This may actually ease the tension between China and the U.S. that the trade war introduced. China is currently charging a 62 percent tariff against U.S. pork. For the week of November 22, purchases of 9,384 tons of 2019 U.S. pork originated from China. This represents a 72 percent share of all U.S. pork export deals during that week. U.S. pork futures increased by four percent.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, November 30, 2018
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20181130-912069

Briefings | | December 4, 2018 | Economy/Resources US-China Relations

Global Times: Three Signals from the China-U.S. Presidential Agreement

Global Times published a commentary immediately after the historic dinner that Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump had in Argentina at the G20 Summit. The presidential agreement can be summarized as follows: one, no more escalation of the trade war; two, no increase of the U.S. tariff to 25 percent on January 1; and three, the two countries should speed up the negotiations on removing the current tariff. This outcome sends three concrete signals. The first is that China’s determination to defend its interests didn’t change; the second is that head of state diplomacy plays a critical role in the China-U.S. relationship; and third, China should remain calm when facing new challenges and should focus on solving internal problems. The commentary concluded that China is no longer the old China of 40 years ago. It is now the second largest economy in the world and no one wants to lose the Chinese market. However, there will still be tough days in the near future and China cannot take the upcoming challenges for granted.

Source: Global Times, December 2, 2018
http://world.huanqiu.com/article/2018-12/13696602.html

Briefings | | December 3, 2018 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: Overseas Scholar Recruitment Summit Held in Guangzhou

Xinhua reported that, from November 28 to 30, the 7th annual meeting for European and American Alumni Association (China Association of Overseas Students) and Guangzhou Haigui (Returned Scholars from Overseas) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit was held in Guangzhou. Three hundred forty candidates participated in the talent matching session held on November 30 and 79 letter of intent agreements were signed. Most of them were in the field of the next generation of information technology, bio-medicine, and artificial intelligence. A representative from the Guangzhou United Front office said solid achievements were made during the summit. The participants had the opportunity to learn about Guangzhou and its talent requirements, which will help promote high quality development in Guangzhou.

The article also listed the qualifications to join the European and American Alumni Association. They are:
1. Graduated from overseas higher education institutions with a bachelor’s degree or above;
2. Graduated from a domestic university with bachelor’s degree; received a master’s degree overseas or worked as a visiting scholar and conducted research projects at an overseas university or research institution for no less than two years;
3. Graduated from a domestic university with a master’s degree or above or worked as a lecturer, engineer, or in other corresponding positions, studied and conducted research at overseas universities, research institutes, or at companies for at least one year. Special consideration will be given to those who have overseas experience of less than one year.
4. Those with outstanding academic achievements or contributions may not be subject to requirements listed above but are subject to the approval of the Alumni Association.

Source: Xinhua, December 2, 2018
http://cx.xinhuanet.com/2018-12/02/c_137645525.htm

Briefings | | December 3, 2018 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: China’s New Energy Vehicle Market Faces Risk of Excess Capacity and Lack of Core Technology

Xinhua published an article on the new energy vehicle industry in China. It reported that, in recent years, the industry has experienced rapid growth. However, the industry is facing some challenges that are also emerging. These include dependence on subsidies, overcapacity, and a lack of ownership of core technologies. According to the article, over the last five years, China has had an annual compound growth rate for new energy vehicle sales of 130 percent, mostly due to financial assistance from the government, which has provided rebates to consumers and subsidies to the manufacturers. Meanwhile, an increased number of public charging stations in residential complexes, work units, and along the highways has boosted the support for electric vehicles. In 2017, the investment in the new energy vehicles industry exceeded 700 billion yuan (US$100 billion), accounting for more than 50 percent of the total investment in the entire automotive industry. However, the new energy vehicle industry also faces challenges. First, the industry is flooded with companies that want to take advantage of the government subsidy program, especially engine battery manufacturers, which has resulted in excess capacity. Also, over a dozen companies have been charged with filing false claims to cheat the subsidy system. Second, the companies lack the drive to develop new technology and to market the vehicles as many of them tend simply to rely on the government subsidies just to break even. According to the 2018 Global Electric Vehicle Development Index, China ranks first overall, but this is mainly reflected in the market scale. On the technical level, China’s vehicle manufacturing is still positioned in the low-tech field. It still relies on imports of basic components such as electric drive high-speed bearings and control chips. Third there is an increased risk in environmental hazard control. The potential environmental waste from used batteries could be a big risk. It is estimated that by 2020, China will have 120,000 to 170,000 tons of electric batteries to be scrapped. Lastly, domestic manufacturers are facing competition as foreign auto manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Honda, Tesla, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar have increased their investment and presence in the new energy vehicle market in China.

Source: Xinhua, November 29, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/energy/2018-11/29/c_1123782958.htm

Briefings | | December 3, 2018 | Information/Technology

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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