{Editor’s Note: On each of the three consecutive days March 17th through March 19th, Xinhua News Agency published a commentary criticizing the U.S. from angles of ideology, image, and leadership, respectively. Continue reading
RFA: Fiji Asks Chinese Police to Leave the Country
Radio Free Asia (RFA) recently reported that Beijing’s influence in the South Pacific is growing as China increases its investment and diplomatic relations in the region. This situation has caused concern in Fiji. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka stated recently that he has asked the Chinese police stationed in his country to leave, and that he will review the police cooperation agreement signed with China. He said that the judicial systems and police investigation methods of the two countries are not the same, and that he is uneasy about China’s deployment of public security in the Fiji police force.
Fiji is retaining its police cooperation agreement with China for the time being, allowing senior police officers to continue to receive training in China. The agreement will be under review, however. Rabuka said Chinese diplomats have accepted his decision.
China’s recent investment in the Solomon Islands has attracted attention across the region, and leaders of many South Pacific Island countries are worried that China’s growing influence will lead to the erosion of their democracy and values. Rabuka reminded leaders of relevant countries to be vigilant and consider the price they will have to pay for accepting Chinese investment. Fiji’s decision will likely lead neighboring countries to examine their options in the geopolitical tussle between the United States and China. It appears that China’s policy of using economic aid to promote influence has begun to show cracks.
Source: RFA, March 29, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/ec-03292024033831.html
Lianhe Zaobao: China Bans Government Use of Intel and AMD Chips
Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that China is reportedly phasing out the use of U.S. chips and operating systems for government computers.
Following official procurement standards released last year, Chinese officials are winding down the use of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) components in government computers and servers. At the same time, China is also trying to eliminate the Microsoft Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic software. State-owned enterprises are required to complete the transition to domestic technology by 2027.
China’s Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released seven government procurement standards on December 26 last year. They clearly required that the Communist Party and government agencies at or above the township level comply with the standard of “safety and reliability.” On the same day, China’s Information Security Evaluation Center announced the first list of “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems. All of the recommended processors and operating systems are produced by Chinese companies, including Huawei and Phytium.
In the context of the China-US technology war, China has continuously encouraged government agencies to use domestically produced tech products in recent years. In 2022, government agencies and state-owned enterprises were asked to replace foreign-brand computers with domestic equipment. Mandates for equipment replacement at that time did not include hard-to-replace components such as processors, however. In addition to computers, China is also requiring employees in government agencies and state-owned enterprises to switch to domestically produced mobile phones. As of December last year, at least 10 provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangsu, had implemented such requirements.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, March 24, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20240324-3209230
Xinhua: U.S. and Japan Plan Largest Upgrade of Security Alliance in Over 60 Years
Xinhua recently reported that the United States and Japan are planning to counter China by implementing the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since they signed a security treaty in 1960. According to five people familiar with the matter, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce plans to reorganize the U.S. military headquarters in Japan during Kishida’s visit to the United States in April. The goal is to strengthen combat planning and joint military exercises.
Currently, the Japan Command of the U.S. Forces, based at Yokota Base, does not have command authority over the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet or the Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa. The command of these forces lies with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. It is expected that after the planned upgrade, command authority of the aforementioned forces will still be retained by the Indo-Pacific Command, but authority of the Japan Command will increase. It will gain more authority in U.S.-Japan joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, supply dispatching, and coordination with the Unified Operations Command of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
In recent years, the United States and Japan have been promoting military cooperation between the two countries, publicly stating that the move is aimed at countering China. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin claimed in June of last year that the U.S. and Japan were working hard to further modernize military relations in order to prevent China’s so-called “coercive behavior.”
Source: Xinhua, March 25, 2024
http://www.news.cn/mil/2024-03/25/c_1212345412.htm
Secretariat of China-Central Asia Mechanism Launched
The launching ceremony of the Secretariat of the China-Central Asia Mechanism (CCM) was held in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province on March 30. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — sent congratulatory letters.
Wang Yi stated that the CCM was established four years ago, helping cooperation between China and the countries of Central Asia to develop at a rapid pace. China’s Xinhua news agency stated that “The launch of the secretariat marks the implementation of the heads of states’ consensus and once again demonstrates to the international community the firm determination of the six countries to work together to pursue development and promote cooperation side by side.”
Source: Xinhua, March 30, 2024
http://www.news.cn/politics/leaders/20240330/4b872c0eb352441989dd9063866fafd3/c.html
Chinese Social Media Celebrates Baltimore Bridge Collapse
The Francis Scott Key bridge, located in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed on March 26th after being rammed by a cargo ship, the Dali, which lost control of its steering. Much of the bridge sank into the river within seconds of being rammed.
The accident immediately drew attention on Chinese social media. On Weibo, for example, a video of the accident has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. On Chinese social media platforms, where anti-American sentiment is prevalent, many netizens celebrated the incident. A Weibo blogger named “Air Sky Toner” wrote: “This is a really beautiful sight, like watching a movie; this bridge is free from now on.”
The bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Some Chinese netizens inferred that the bridge collapse signaled the decline of the United States. “It is not a good sign that this bridge collapsed,” one blogger wrote.
Some social media users also used the bridge collapse to mock American democracy. On the Chinese video website Bilibili, a commentary video with 24,000 likes said that the “a ship of democracy” caused the collapse of “a bridge of democracy.” The video went on to criticize the U.S.’ infrastructure problem.
False information about the accident spread widely on Chinese social media. A number of bloggers with large numbers of followers have claimed that the captain of the Dali was from Ukraine and that the accident was staged by the U.S. government. Some bloggers posted photos of the alleged Ukrainian captain’s credentials. The Associated Press found that a Ukrainian captain did indeed pilot the Dali years ago, from March 19 to July 27, 2016.
Some Chinese bloggers also claimed that CNN incorrectly reported that the collision was an attack from China. They posted screenshots with captions reading “A cargo ship loaded with Chinese goods attacked our bridge!” However, unlike Chinese media that often use the term “our country” to refer to China, American media, including CNN, rarely use that term to refer to the United States. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the screenshot was not from CNN, but from NBC’s local channel in Baltimore. In a statement to AFP, CNN said that it had never run a story like that; the image was fake, and the caption, font, and style are not CNN’s either.
Source: VOA, March 31, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/baltimore-china-disinformation-20240329/7549288.html
Chinese State Council Issues Action Plan on Equipment Renewal and Consumer Good Trade-Ins
Recently, the State Council of China issued an “Action Plan for Promotion of Large-Scale Equipment Renewal and Trade-In of Consumer Goods” (the “Action Plan”). The Action Plan aims to implement the decisions of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Economic Work Conference and the Fourth meeting of the Central Finance and Economic Committee.
The Action Plan proposes that, by 2027, equipment investment should increase by more than 25% over 2023 levels in the fields of industry, agriculture, construction, transportation, education, cultural tourism, and medical care. The adoption rate of digital R&D tools and the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) rate of key processes at large-scale industrial enterprises should exceed 90 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Compared with 2023 levels, the rate at which scrapped cars are recycled will double, sales of second-hand cars will increase by 45 percent, and the rate at which scrapped household appliances are recycled will increase by 30 percent.
The “Action Plan” specifies 20 key tasks in five categories. The five categories are:
- Enable equipment renewal: Promote equipment renewal and transformation in key industries, accelerate equipment renewal in construction and infrastructure projects, support the renewal of transportation equipment and old agricultural machinery, and improve equipment used in the fields of education, cultural tourism, and medicine.
- Implement trade-ins for consumer goods: Enable trade-ins of old cars and household appliances, promoting the use of new consumer goods for home renovation.
- Recycle and reuse: Improve the network for recycling of used or scrapped products and equipment.
- Improve standards: Accelerate improvement standards for energy consumption, emissions, and other technical standards, including technical standards for products.
- Strengthen policy support: Increase fiscal policy support, improve tax support policies, optimize financial support, and strengthen support of innovation.
Source: People’s Daily, March 14, 2024
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0314/c1001-40195328.html
“Patriotic” Leader of American Fujian Association Publicly Berates Chinese Consul-General
Radio Free Asia recently published an article on the American Fujian Association’s apparent internal division and conflict with the Chinese Consulate. The American Fujian Association is a U.S.-based organization that has long been regarded as a pro-Communist overseas Chinese organization with extensive ties to the Chinese consulate.
On the evening of March 18th, the American Fujian Association in New York held a swearing-in ceremony for its “Co-President” Liu Aihua at the Junhao Restaurant in Flushing, New York. The honorary chairman of the Fujian Association, Chen Xueduan, a “patriotic overseas leader” for the Chinese community in the U.S., openly berated the Chinese Consul-General in New York, Huang Ping. In an online video, Chen stood on stage with Liu and three other members, holding a microphone and loudly addressing the audience, “President Liu Aihua is now suppressed by someone, by whom? By the Chinese consulate!” “No matter who suppresses him, we are patriots [of China], we will always be patriots. Huang Ping, the Consul-General, is a puppet Consul-General. When he was in power, he was high and mighty; but when he gets put into prison, he can only cry!” Chen also asked the media present to spread his speech.
Chen’s words received enthusiastic response from the audience, both on and off the stage.
The American Fujian Association has a history of 82 years. Recent years have seen internal disputes within the organization, leading to internal division and multiple groups acting independently. It currently has “Co-Presidents.” The Chinese Consulate at New York supports “President” Chen Heng, and on March 16th Consul-General Huang Ping attended an 82nd anniversary celebration hosted by Chen. But Huang didn’t attend “President” Liiu Aihua’s swearing-in ceremony on March 18th.
When it comes to suppressing overseas democratic activists or attacking Falun Gong and other faith groups and ethnic minority groups, the Fujian Association members frequently act as convenient “enforcers” for the Chinese consulate. In recent years, the U.S. has intensified efforts to combat Beijing’s infiltration in the U.S. On April 18, 2023, the FBI arrested two leaders of the Fujian Overseas Chinese Association in New York, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, accusing them of operating a “secret police station (for China)” in Manhattan’s Chinatown and attempting to act as agents of China. Both of these individuals are key members of the Fujian Association.
Some commentators have said that Chen Xueduan’s berating of the Chinese Consul-General is a “call to desertion,” indicating that the Communist Party is about to collapse and its days are numbered.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 27, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/kw-03272024103015.html