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Best Buy Plans to Stop Carrying Huawei Handsets

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that America’s largest electronic product retailer Best Buy has stopped ordering smart phones from Huawei. In the very near future, Best Buy will discontinue selling Huawei handsets in its stores. Neither Best Buy’s nor Huawei’s spokespersons confirmed this news. Multiple international media pointed out that Best Buy’s move could be a very big loss for Huawei and it was unclear whether this was the result of political pressure from the U.S. government or not. As the world’s third largest smart phone vendor (after Apple and Samsung), Huawei has been struggling to gain a foothold in the U.S. market. Best Buy has been one of Huawei’s largest partners. Its stores are among the very rare places where one can actually see Huawei smart phones. None of the U.S. cellular carriers resells Huawei handsets, and most Americans buy their smart phones from their mobile carriers.

Source: Sina, March 22, 2018
http://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/gsnews/2018-03-22/doc-ifysnevk4735544.shtml

Huanqiu Opinion Article: In the Trade War, China Must Destroy U.S. Arrogance

China Daily carried an opinion article that Huanqiu originally published which was titled, “In the Trade War, China must Destroy U.S. Arrogance.” The article commented that Trump’s announcement of tariffs against China was meant to “threaten other countries so as to demonstrate that the U.S. is No. 1 in the world and to induce the faster developing countries, such as China, to give in to the U.S. in economic resources and opportunities in order for the U.S. to realize the prominent powerful status it wants to achieve.” The article stated that the Trump administration is the one that “most favors applying extreme pressure everywhere and forcing the world, including China, to accept its behavior.” The article further stated that “China should teach Trump a lesson. Once he is defeated in the US-China trade war, it will become a political lesson for the U.S. which will make the U.S. give up the idea of engaging in a trade war idea in the future. … China has a huge market. While China battles trade wars with the U.S., China should also gain support from the European countries in order to isolate the U.S. rather than let the U.S. isolate China. We should set up our ultimate goal which is that we must destroy U.S. arrogance over its aggressive trade policy against China and make sure Washington is clear when it plans to exercise tough measures against China in other areas.”

Source: China Daily, March 24, 2018
http://china.chinadaily.com.cn/2018-03/24/content_35909583.htm

“610 Office” Eliminated During Xi’s Central Governing Body Restructuring

According to an article that Singtao and Epoch Times published, on March 21, Xi’s new administration, in a release about consolidating government agencies, made a list of restructuring announcements on the existing central administration offices. One noticeable change was that three government agencies, including the Central Public Security Comprehensive Management Commission, the Central Stability Maintenance Office, and the “610 Office” (established for the purpose of coordinating and implementing the persecution of Falun Gong) would be merged under the political and legislative affairs committee. The Singtao article stated that these three agencies have massive organizational structures which often have powers that overlap with each other. It also said that the announcement meant that the “610 office” is officially “dead.” The Epoch Times article commented that the announcement officially ended the infamous “610 office” which Jiang Zemin established on June 10, 1999, for the purpose of persecuting Falun Gong adherents. The “610 office” was reported to have had the authority to mobilize the nations resources to carry out the persecution. It has tens and thousands of agencies throughout China. In addition to the above consolidation announcement, the Singtao article also reported that three other central administration agencies have expanded roles. The Publicity Department will manage the press, publication, film, and television industry; the United Front Work Department will take over the State Council Overseas Office, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, and the State Administration for Religious Affairs; and the Ministry of Organization will take over the National Civil Service Bureau and the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform.

Sources:
1. Singtao, March 23, 2018
https://www.singtaousa.com/sf/445-%E8%A6%81%E8%81%9E/554241-%E9%98%B2%E9%82%AA%E8%BE%A6%E3%80%8C%E5%A3%BD%E7%B5%82%E6%AD%A3%E5%AF%A2%E3%80%8D/

2. Epoch Times, March 23, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/3/23/n10242450.htm

RFA: SARFT Issued Regulation Preventing Derivative Work on Classical Literature, Movies, and Television Works

According to an article Radio Free Asia published, people are concerned that a new regulation that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced on March 22 will limit derivative work and suppress freedom of creativity. SARFT announced that it will prevent any online program from producing or publishing programs that distort, spoof, or demonize classic works of literature. It also forbids editing, dubbing, or adding subtitles to any classic works of literature, radio, or television programs, and any original Internet programs. The announcement claimed that since the end of January this year, the Ministry of Culture has cleaned up 3,898 movies that contain spoofs of contents of classic revolutionary songs and 165 of those that contain spoofs of music. An artist from Beijing was quoted as saying that the authorities have issued a number regulations that appear to stabilize the social order, but the real intent is to eliminate any voice of opposition from the public. Another Taiwan movie director was quoted in the article as saying that he supports freedom of creativity, but he agrees that the derivative works violate the copyright issue. RFA reached out to SARFT for further clarification, but the person who answered the phone said he was not responsible for giving an explanation.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 23, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/creation-03232018083138.html

Global Times Editorial: South Korea, the United States, and Japan Must Not Interfere with Sino-DPRK Friendship Relations

China’s Global Times published an editorial commenting on the recent developments in North Korea’s nuclear issue. The editorial stated, “The North Korean nuclear crisis has pushed North Korea into the spotlight of global public opinion. The information that South Korea, Japan, and Western media organizations have produced have basically dominated the world public opinion field. For China and the DPRK, how to distinguish and grasp the differences between the conflict on both sides of the nuclear issue and the Sino-DPRK friendship relations, and how to avoid the influence of South Korea, Japan, and Western public opinion in this regard is a major test that both countries should regard highly.”

The article warned that Chinese society must be clear-headed, stay calm, and must not be manipulated by the (hostile) forces that have ulterior motives.

It continued, “The Global Times has always firmly supported the Chinese government’s proposal to denuclearize the peninsula and oppose wartime conflicts on the peninsula. At the same time, it firmly believes that it is necessary to maintain the Sino-DPRK friendship relations and minimize the impact of the nuclear conflict issues on this relationship.”

“There are serious differences on the nuclear issue. This is the reality of the China-DPRK relationship, but it should not become the whole of the relationship between the two countries at any time, and it should not cut off the long-term strategic track of China-DPRK relations.”

Source: Global Times, March 18, 2018
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2018-03/11674091.html

Duowei: Chinese Experts Say China Made a Big Strategic Mistake in Its North Korea Policy

According to Duowei News, U.S. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a historic meeting, which has put China in an awkward position as it is sandwiched by enemies on both sides. It is said that China may have committed a major mistake.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, told the Russian Satellite Network that under Donald Trump’s persuasion, pressure, and deception, China imposed six to seven rounds of sanctions on North Korea last year. China almost exhausted all of its measures of sanction against the DPRK. One of the most important consequences of these measures is that Pyongyang’s resentment toward China is growing.

Shi also said, “The dramatic changes on the Korean Peninsula have in fact knocked China out of the picture. Although the possibility of a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula has been greatly reduced, still, China has in fact been excluded from the current affairs related to the nuclear crisis. Due to North Korea’s resentment towards China, such a situation is unlikely to change in the near future.” “Kim Jong-un has been working hard to improve relations with South Korea and the United States. Given this situation, he no longer needs to rely on China. This has become a major problem for China’s diplomacy.“ “I dare not say that by joining the sanctions camp, our government has made a major mistake. However, China’s actions have not been rewarded. This is a fact.”

Duowei also quoted The British Guardian’s report on March 9 that Zhao Tong, a researcher at the Carnegie Center for Global Policy at Tsinghua University, said, “In the short term, I think Beijing will be happy and will welcome this development very much.” However, Zhao Tong also said that China may feel nervous about the potential results of the meeting.

Source: Duowei, March 16, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/global/news/2018-03-16/60046367.html

Duowei News: Xi Jinping Elevates the Focus of China’s Foreign Diplomatic Affairs

Duowei News published an article on March 20 stating that Xi has changed his focus on China’s foreign affairs effort, thereby elevating it to an important position and that there will be a major reshaping of China’s foreign affairs work to enable it to play a more important role in the party’s governing body. The change includes an increase in the budget, a change in personnel, the reform of the foreign affairs agency and the setting up of a state-level International Development Cooperation Agency. The article reported that in 2018, the budget for Foreign Affairs was 60 billion yuan or US$9.5 billion, an increase of 15.6 percent from 2017 and 40 percent from 2013 when Xi first took power. The personnel change includes the appointment of Wang Yi to state councilor to handle pressing foreign affairs issues including the US – China relationship, North Korea, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Wang Qishan was appointed to be the Vice President with his main focus being on foreign affairs; Xi’s economic adviser Liu He was appointed to be the Vice premier. He is expected to handle the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China. The newly established state-level International Development Cooperation Agency is expected to manage the ever increasing foreign aid budget.

Source: Duowei, March 20, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2018-03-20/60047051.html