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Duowei News: Beijing’s Suppression of Taiwan Is Inevitable

Duowei News published an article that stated that Beijing’s suppression of Taiwan is inevitable and that the Tsai Ing-wen administration’s incompetence in handling its domestic affairs will cause it to get into more trouble. The article was referring to the Dominican Republic’s May 1 cutting its ties with Taiwan and its establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing. This is the third country that has discontinued its foreign relations with Taiwan since Tsai took office. The article stated that it is good news that the number of countries that recognize Taiwan is down from 20 to 19. It claimed that, for Beijing, the two sides of the Strait are still in a state of civil war. The competition between the two sides in the international arena has always been a dispute of who represents China and it is a reasonable and inevitable choice for China to suppress Taiwan. The article further attacked the Tsai administration for its inability to deal with domestic disagreements and the lack of unity among the parties. It reminded Tsai that her administration should focus more on domestic affairs and unity rather than on playing politics.

Source: Duowei, May 1, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/taiwan/news/2018-05-01/60055249.html

Epoch Times: Ten Years Later Victims of Sichuan Earthquake Still under Surveillance

Epoch Times reported that, as of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake in Sichuan Province, officials are still covering up their corruption and are still retaliating against those who choose to appeal. The article stated that those who were responsible for the shabby construction, especially of the school buildings, have not been held accountable; the official’s embezzlement of the rescue funding is still kept secret; and parents and the local people who reported on the officials or who wanted to appeal are still under surveillance. One woman told the Epoch Times that people were warned not to accept interviews from foreign media. She told the reporter that her house was damaged during the earthquake but she has no money to repair it. She said that the villagers were forced to sign a cash receipt showing an amount that was higher than what they actually received while the officials pocketed the rest of the money. A writer from Sichuan Province who wrote an appeal letter for these villagers told Epoch Times that he was saddened to see how those legal citizens ended up losing their freedom to speak and to appeal.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a report that confirmed that, as of September 25, 2008, following the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province, 69,227 had died, 374,643 had been injured, and 17,923 were missing. The unofficial number that the Bashu United League released stated that the death toll was at 300,000. Among them, 30,000 were students; most of them were children in kindergarten. During the earthquake, the schools reported having the most casualties because of the poor quality of the buildings. The government buildings, however, were found to be the most earthquake resistant.

Source: Epoch Times, April 28, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/4/28/n10344935.htm

Higher Income Tax, Social Security Fees and an Over-priced Housing Market Drove Up Labor Costs in China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently published a news article discussing the 2018 China Green Companies Summit that the China Entrepreneur Club sponsored. Xu Shanda, the former Deputy Director-General of the Tax System Reformation Department of the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) spoke at the summit.  Xu stated that the higher personal income tax rate, social security fees, and the over-priced housing market are the three main causes that have driven the increase in labor costs in China. Currently, the personal income tax rate in China is at 45 percent, which is much higher than in developed countries. Xu also called for speeding up personal income tax reform.

Source: Sina, April 22, 2018
http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/2018-04-22/doc-ifznefkh8378239.shtml

DW Chinese: German Government Will Tighten the Rules on Acquisitions from China

Deutsche Welle Chinese recently reported that German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, said not long ago in Berlin that, since more and more Chinese investors have shown an interest in acquiring German companies, the government has been considering tightening up its foreign investment policies. Traditionally, the government would only interfere with a foreign acquisition when the deal was above 25 percent of the total market value of the company. The German government is now considering lowering the veto threshold to 10 percent. In the past, the German government typically stepped in when public security was at risk. Now, more and more consideration is given to the strategic position of the company, as well as whether the buyer is from a European Union member country or not. It is notable that Minister Altmaier picked up on this topic right before German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the United States.

Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, April 27, 2018
https://bit.ly/2FpROlk

HKET: China Smartphone Market Suffered Largest Quarterly Setback in History

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that the Mainland’s first quarter smartphone sales suffered a year-over-year decline of 21 percent. Total smartphone handset volume dropped below 100 million to 91 million. This was the lowest point since 2013 and was the biggest quarterly decline in history. With the exception of Huawei and Xiaomi, all smartphone vendors saw a sales decline. Apple iPhone’s sales ranking fell out of the top-four list. At this point, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi – all are domestic manufacturers – lead China’s smartphone market. The top-four occupy 73 percent of the Chinese Mainland market. Analysts expressed the belief that Apple’s lack of innovation (except for the iPhone X) and high price were the reasons for its loss. In the past two quarters, China’s smartphone market had already suffered a decline. Most of the consumers in the market have completed the conversion from basic phone to smartphone. As the quality and lifespan of a smartphone improve, customers have less of an interest in switching to a handset.

Source: Hong Kong Economic Times, April 27, 2018
https://bit.ly/2vWadXp

Samsung Intends to Expand in Vietnam

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase recently reported that Samsung’s CEO Koh Dong-jin told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of his intent to expand the scale of Samsung’s manufacturing in Vietnam. Samsung is Vietnam’s largest foreign investor. In 2017, Samsung Vietnam achieved US$54 billion in exports for Vietnam. This amounted to one quarter of the nation’s total export income. According to the Vietnamese government, Samsung has established eight manufacturing factories and one research and development (R&D) center in Vietnam. The total investment from Samsung has reached US$17.3 billion. Vietnam is now Samsung’s largest smartphone manufacturing base. Prime Minister Nguyen also assured Koh with his promise of providing Samsung with the best investment environment for growth. Samsung currently has plans to hire more local Vietnamese workers in Northern Vietnam. Not long ago, Samsung completely closed down its Shenzhen branch in China.

Source: NetEase, April 21, 2018
http://tech.163.com/18/0421/08/DFTD0S4H00097U7S.html

RFA: China Youth Daily’s Online Coverage of Beijing University Sexual Harassment Case Was Deleted Leaving Blank Open Page on Its Website

RFA reported that Beijing University was allegedly covering up a sexual harassment case involving a professor and a female student from 20 years earlier. A currently enrolled Beijing University student asked the University to release the investigation report to the public but the University authorities suppressed her request. On April 29, China Youth Daily circulated a full page article about the incident. Its online version was then deleted, leaving a blank open page on its website. In its deleted article, China Youth Daily reported that Beijing University lagged behind in following the requirement of the Ministry of Education to disclose university information to the public voluntarily. Its ranking dropped below the top 50 in the “2016 China Higher Education Transparency Index Report.” Some faculty members and students acknowledged that, as soon as they requested that the university release the sexual harassment investigation information to the public, they also faced pressure from the university authorities. Some came to the conclusion that there is an underlying understanding that the university has shared all they are able to share with the public and that anything beyond that would impact the interests of the university. A twitter posting stated that the head of Ministry of Education reacted with outrage over the China Youth Daily article.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 29, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/6-04292018164149.html

Chinese Military Airplane Trespasses into Korean Air Defense Identification Zone

On April 28, the second day after the historical meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and their signing of the Panmunjom Declaration, Chinese military aircraft trespassed into the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) without notifying Korea ahead of time. According to a YouTube posting from the Korean Television Station Arirang TV, the plane entered the zone at 10:44 am Korean Time. It flew close to Pohang Southeast of Korea and then headed towards Ulleungdo in Northeast Japan. The plane flew out of the zone at 2:33 pm. A Korean fighter jet was forced to monitor the movements. Beijing later claimed it was conducting normal training exercises within legal international air space. Epoch Times reported that this is the third time that Chinese military aircraft trespassed KADIZ in 2018. The last two times were on January 29 and February 27. The one on February 27, in particular, drew 10 Korean fighter jets to monitor the airspace and a complaint that the Defense Ministry of Korea sent to the Chinese Embassy in Korea. The article also mentioned that other than KADIZ, in recent months, Chinese military aircraft did the same trespassing in the southern part of Japan and in the airspace near Taiwan.

Sources:
1. Arirang TV, April 28, 2018
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h5S4i_4PV4
2. Epoch Times, April 28, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/4/28/n10344780.htm