Voice of America reported that the latest organization announcement showed that the United Front Work Department will take over the function of the State Council Overseas Office, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, and the State Administration for Religious Affairs. It is expected that Beijing will exercise tighter control over religion and ethnic issues and further carry out its efforts on exercising influence overseas. Continue reading
China to Form the World’s Largest Media – “Voice of China”
According to an article in Radio Free Asia, based on a document that the State Council released on March 21, China will form the world’s largest media station called “Voice of China.” It will combine the existing China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International under one unified name. The Publicity Department will manage it and have the responsibility to “promote the Party theory and guidelines, organize major publicity and coverage, guide social hot topics, strengthen international communication capabilities, and publish positive news on China.” The article reported that, based on information from an undisclosed source, Voice of China will not only produce the party’s propaganda program, it will also copy the model of those public funded stations in foreign countries, receive government funding, and limit the amount of advertising during its programs. According to the official statistics, China Central Television has at least 10,000 employees with over 70 branch stations overseas. China National Radio has over 2,100 employees and China Radio International has over 2,000 employees and broadcasts in over 60 languages. It is expected that, following the consolidation, Voice of China will become world’s largest media.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 21, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/propaganda-03212018093531.html
Shanghai Delays Cancellation of Resident Status for Citizens Living Outside of China
Radio Free Asia reported that the Shanghai Public Security Bureau published an announcement on its website that it will delay the cancellation of the resident status of those Chinese citizens who live outside of China or have been granted resident status in a foreign country. The original policy was going to take effect in May and use Shanghai as the test city. The website claims that it needs time to further define what it means by “people who have foreign resident status.” Huanqiu published an article last week saying the policy was targeting those who hold dual citizenship. The initial notice drew heated discussions in social media overseas because many Chinese residents who live overseas may face the issue of whether their entitlement to pensions and medical benefits will be stripped in China if the policy were to go into in effective.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 26, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/nu-03262018102304.html
Xinhua: The U.S. Should not Stand on the Opposite Side of the Whole World
Xinhua published a commentary immediately after U.S. President Trump signed the order to impose tariffs based on the result of the Section 301 Investigation. The commentary said this “typical” unilateralism and trade protectionism position only put the United States on the opposite side of the whole world. The U.S. move will seriously undermine the global multilateral trading system and disrupt the normal international trade order. This protectionism is going completely against the world’s trend of globalization. Xinhua also suggested that all these things the Trump administration did will not even serve the best interests of the United States itself. The immediate free fall of the U.S. stock market after the bad news was obvious proof that the U.S. policies could only cause panic among global investors. In the long run, the American image of uncertainty will damage the national reputation of the United States as well as the core U.S. competitiveness. The commentary ended with the call for the United States to pull back before it’s too late.
Source: Xinhua, March 23, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2018-03/23/c_129836554.htm
LTN: John Bolton Will Be a Taiwan-Friendly National Security Advisor
Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that U.S. President Trump appointed former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton to be his new National Security Advisor. Since Bolton is widely seen as a political “hawk,” it is getting clearer that the Trump administration will be packed with hard-liners. Bolton has had a very good relationship with Taiwan for a long time. He once suggested allowing Taiwan to join the United Nations. He also met with then Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian when he visited Taiwan in August 2007. In January 2017, Bolton wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that the United States send troops to Taiwan. Last December, in an interview with Breitbart, Bolton criticized China’s rough attitude and activities in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
Source: LTN, March 23, 2018
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2374024
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