Chinascope – Page 513

Global Times: China Is Serious about the Possible U.S. Naval Visits to Taiwan

Global Times recently reported that U.S. President Trump just signed the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes an “assessment of the possibility” of authorizing navy vessels to conduct mutual visits between Taiwan and the United States. Lu Kang, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press briefing that, while the Taiwan sections of the Act are not legally binding, they seriously violate the “One China” policy and “constitute an interference in China’s internal affairs.” China is resolutely opposed to this, and has already lodged stern representations with the U.S. government. The Defense Act also includes Taiwan-related items like inviting the Taiwanese military to join the U.S. “Red Flag” military exercises. For many years, China has been against any form of official relationship between the United States and Taiwan, especially any military relationship.

Source: Global Times, December 14, 2017
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2017-12/11449377.html

Briefings | | December 18, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Huanqiu Opinion Article: PLA’s Option to Unify Taiwan is not a Threat

An opinion article that Huanqiu published reinforced China’s position on Taiwan and threatened military action against Taiwan, if necessary. According to the article, a Chinese official recently warned the assistant of a congressional member that, “The day that U.S. naval ships arrive at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung is the day that the PLA unifies Taiwan with military force.” The article called the warning a “red line” that the mainland established. Other conditions that are considered crossing the red line include Taiwan attempts to organize a referendum on independence, to change its name, or any other actions that are pro Taiwan independence. The article made the following statements: “If the red line is crossed, the PLA will follow what was defined in the Anti-Secession Law, cross the strait, and use force to gain control of the island and end the division. … Taiwan shouldn’t underestimate the will and the determination of the mainland. Otherwise it will allow the Democratic Progressive Party to make a fatal mistake. The determination that the mainland has against ‘Taiwan’s independence’ is far greater than the determination that the Democratic Progressive Party has toward ‘Taiwan’s independence,’ and the determination that the mainland has on Taiwan will also have an overwhelming power over the various attempts that U.S. tries to make when it ‘plays the Taiwan’s card.’ If a showdown were to take place in the Taiwan Strait, mainland military capabilities and strategies would be more than enough to defy any challenge. ‘Taiwan Independence’ would be completely crushed. There is no doubt about it and those who favor ‘Taiwan Independence’ shouldn’t take any chances.’”

Source: Huanqiu, December 10, 2017
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2017-12/11437244.html

Briefings | | December 18, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Senior Monk with China’s Buddhist Association Calls 19th Congressional Report “Modern Day Buddhist Script”

An article that hk01.com published reported that a senior monk with China’s Buddhist Association called the Communist Party the “Living Buddha” and asked the members of the association to follow him to hand write the report from the 19th Congress. The official wechat account of the Hainan Nanhai Buddhist College published the original article and ifeng.com picked it up. However, since then, it has been deleted. According to the article, on December 10, during the session of studying key messages from the 19th Congress, the deputy director of the Hainan Buddhist Association said, “The Communist Party is the living Buddha and the reports from the 19th Congress are the modern Buddhist script.” He hand wrote the reports three times and plans to write them ten more times. The deputy director also stressed that the Buddhist monks must be patriotic, party loving, law-abiding citizens first; they must have faith in both the Buddha and the current leader of China; they also must have the image of a “patriotic Buddhist” and tell “patriotic Buddhist” stories to the public.”

Source: hk01.com, December 14, 2017
https://www.hk01.com/兩岸/141255/中國佛教協會高僧-十九大報告是當代佛經-已手抄3遍要再抄10遍

Briefings | | December 18, 2017 | Government/Politics

Media Reports Showed Signs of War Preparation in Northeast China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Jilin Daily, the official government newspaper of the northeast province Jilin, published a full-page article explaining the nature of a nuclear war and the basic knowledge needed for self-protection. Jilin is the Chinese province that has the longest border with North Korea. When the press asked them, the local government officials replied that this was just the normal military knowledge that civilians should have. In the meantime, the Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily reported on its website that a leaked China Telecom internal document indicated its branch in Changbai County of Jilin Province has a detailed plan to establish communication services in preparation for five refugee camps. The setup work is underway and two of the sites had a very poor signal. Changbai County has a 260 kilometer border with North Korea and will be the Chinese county facing the biggest flood of refugees if there is one.

Sources:
1. Sina, December 6, 2017
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2017-12-06/doc-ifyphxwa8079932.shtml
2. Oriental Daily, December 6, 2017
http://hk.on.cc/cn/bkn/cnt/news/20171206/bkncn-20171206193302366-1206_05011_001.html

Briefings | | December 11, 2017 | Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Sinopec Filed Lawsuit against PDVSA in the States

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that one of the branches of Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation) in the United States filed a lawsuit against PDVSA (Spanish: Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., English: Petroleum of Venezuela), seeking a US$23.7 million sales payment plus damages. The lawsuit was based on a 2012 contract to supply US$43.5 million worth of steel. Half of the delivered products were not paid for. Sinopec accused PDVSA of using a proxy company intentionally as it never had enough funds to make the purchase. It was in PDVSA’s original plan to take this approach in order to prevent Sinopec from obtaining reparations. The Chinese state-owned Sinopec is Asia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical enterprise; it ranked number five on the Fortune 500 World list in 2011 and in 2014.

Source: Sina, December 7, 2017
http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2017-12-07/doc-ifypikwu3776757.shtml

Briefings | | December 11, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: The Impact of the Trump Tax Cut Needs Attention

Xinhua recently published a commentary after the U.S. Senate passed its version of the Trump Tax Cut bill. The commentary started with expressing doubt as to whether the U.S. House and Senate will be able to consolidate their two bills into one in time for Christmas because there are “big gaps on many details.” The commentary suggested that no one should overreact to the Trump Tax Cut since Obama had already started the tax reform before Trump took office and that the U.S. middle class and below could get “angry” about the new Tax Cut that mostly benefits the wealthy. This could mobilize the base of the Democratic Party to vote. So it is questionable how big the long-term impact will really be. However, the commentator expressed the strong belief that the U.S. tax cut could really intensify a wave of “tax cut competition” across the globe, which will worsen the financial situation of many nations. The United States should not be the one to trigger double-taxation and disruption to global supply-chains. Instead, the United States should be the leader of international tax coordination.

Source: Xinhua, December 4, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-12/04/c_1122056783.htm

Briefings | | December 11, 2017 | US-China Relations

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.