Voice of America (VOA) reported that, on October 31, 2016, Deng Maosheng, the Deputy Director of the Research Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, held a press conference to explain the CCP’s 6th Plenum of its 18th Congress. The issue that attracted the attention of Hong Kong reporters the most was his statement about the age rule regarding who can serve as a Politburo Standing Committee member.
Global Times: Construction of Fully-China-Made Aircraft Carrier is Faster than the U.S.
Global Times recently reported that the Ministry of Defense announced at a press conference that China has completed all of the design work on the first aircraft carrier that China has made in its entirety and the main ship hull has also been closed at the dock. It is very rare that the Chinese military reports to the public on the status of an aircraft carrier construction project. Experts estimated that, at the current speed, construction of the entire carrier can be completed in 2016. However, it may take another half year to one year after the launch to get the carrier into active military service. Typically, the United States takes four to five years to build an aircraft carrier. This first Chinese-made carrier is expected to take less time to build. Those doing the construction learned a lot from building the previous Chinese carrier, which had been built on top of an old soviet carrier bought from Ukraine. That experience significantly sped up the building process of the new ship. The article also mentioned the Dongfeng-21C mid-range missile being tested for combat scenarios. It is China’s strategic missile model that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Source: Global Times, October 28, 2016
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2016-10/9611376.html
The Two Super Powers That Only the “Core” Leader Has
At the Sixth Plenum of the 18th Communist Party Congress that ended on October 27, 2016, Xi Jinping was declared as a “core” leader. A netizen with the pen name Niu Lei posted an article to explain what makes the “core” leader different from other leaders. Niu Lei has previously posted many pro-Xi Jinping’s articles on the Internet.
People’s Daily: Thirty Five of the “100 Red Arrest Warrant” Fugitives Have Been Captured
On October 30, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Ministry of Supervision website published the results of the anti-corruption initiative regarding the international pursuit of stolen goods. Since the office for the international pursuit of stolen goods was set up under the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group in 2014, China has launched the special actions of “Skynet 2015” and “Skynet 2016.” As of September 2016, more than 2210 fugitives, including 363 government staff members, had been captured and returned to China from 70 countries and regions. The amount recovered was 7.994 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion). Among the Interpol issued red arrest warrants for 100 suspected criminals who were government workers, 35 have been arrested. A total of 19 were returned from Western developed countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The 100 red warrant suspects came from 23 provinces and cities. Most of them were from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and other coastal provinces in the southeast.
Source: People’s Daily, October 31, 2016
http://legal.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1031/c42510-28819554.html
DWNews: CY Leung Cancelled Beijing Trip to Avoid Embarrassment
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung) had planned a trip to attend the opening ceremony of the “20th Beijing Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium” to be held on November 3 and 4. However, Leung cancelled his trip.
DWNews published an article stating that Leung did it to avoid embarrassment since the top Beijing officials have not yet made any positive gestures that would support his re-election bid.
Xi Jinping was unhappy with the CCP officials in charge of Hong Kong and Macao affairs. Officials who used to support Leung did not express their support this time either. Therefore, it seems that Leung’s re-election bid has only a remote chance of success.
Source: DWNews, November 1, 2016
http://blog.dwnews.com/post-920385.html
China Quietly Held the Central Hong Kong and Macao Working Conference
One of Hong Kong’s major pro-Beijing newspapers, Ming Pao, recently reported that it seems the central government secretly held the Hong Kong and Macao Working Conference from July 11 to July 12. There was no official report on this typically important conference before or after the event. The information was unintentionally leaked via the websites of the Bureau of Security Monitoring and the Bureau of Quality Supervision and Administration of Beijing’s Haidian District. These two bureaus were involved in the logistics of the Conference and reported some details in their running status news on their websites. There was no official report on any activity of President Xi Jinping for July 11. The Central Hong Kong and Macao Coordination Team leader Zhang Dejiang and his deputies – Li Yuanchao and Yang Jiechi, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Office – Wang Guangya, as well as Zhang Xiaoming (Director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong) and Hu Chunhua (Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary) all made no mention in public media of any activities during those two days in July. China has central government level working conferences for Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang – to discuss major policies and strategies in these regions. This was the first time to have one for Hong Kong and Macao.
Source: Ming Pao, October 26, 2016
http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20161027/s00012/1477504758888
Germans Are Apprehensive about Chinese Acquisitions of German Companies
Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently published two articles on the rapid growth rate of the number of acquisitions Chinese companies have been making in Germany. Recent statistics show that, as of the present time, Chinese buyers have acquired around 200 German companies. The acquisitions are mainly in the automobile, mechanical manufacturing, electronics, and injection molding industries. The German economy was slowing down after 2011 and that provided the opportunity for the Chinese to buy financially troubled German companies. The German Ministry of Economic Affairs has recently been asked to protect the domestic high-tech companies from having unwanted buyers acquire them, especially those from non-EU countries. Germany recently proposed a set of EU-level investment screening rules. Any EU government would be allowed to block any acquisition seeking over a 25 percent stake in a company. The rules also add more restrictions if the investor is state-subsidized or state-owned, or if the investor is from a country that has market-entry restrictions against German investors. Not long ago, the Chinese government established a new strategy called, “Made in China 2025,” which is behind all these Chinese acquisitions. The new strategy is apparently modeled after the German “Industrial 4.0” strategy.
Source: Sina, October 23, 2016
http://finance.sina.com/gb/usstock/sinacn/20161023/17271513368.html
http://finance.sina.com/gb/economy/sinacn/20161023/21031513533.html
CNA: Pentagon Said Lenovo Products May Bring Network Hacking Risks
Taiwan’s primary news organization Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported, based on an article that appeared in the Washington Free Beacon, about the risks that may accompany the Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo. The J-2 Intelligence Directorate, which reports to the U.S. Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense, issued an internal warning that the U.S. military officials responsible for network security were concerned that purchasing Lenovo computers and cell phones may increase the risk of bringing network attacks into the U.S. military systems. J-2 also warned that Lenovo has attempted to get into the U.S. military network via acquiring U.S. vendors in the information industry. One U.S. official mentioned that Lenovo products were caught earlier secretly sending information to external individuals. Lenovo (U.S.) spokesperson Ray Gorman said he was not aware that the Joint Chiefs were paying attention to this matter. The spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs, Greg Hicks, refused to comment on individual reports. The Pentagon said the Department of Defense does not have a black list of suppliers.
Sources: Central News Agency, October 24, 2016
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/201610240422-1.aspx
Washington Free Beacon, October 24, 2016
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/military-warns-chinese-computer-gear-poses-cyber-spy-threat/