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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Recent Opaque CCP Operations

Communist regimes have acquired a reputation for their black-box operations, where they carefully hide certain internal affairs from the outside world, including from people living under the regime. Several such mysterious operations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have recently attracted attention.

The hottest recent topic is the whereabouts of Qin Gang, former Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs. Qin disappeared about a month ago. Beijing gave an unconvincing explanation that Qin had been away for “health reasons.” Eventually, Beijing announced that Qin has been removed from his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs and that Wang Yi has been appointed as a replacement. Wang was the head of the CCP’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, which overseas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CCP still has not given any details about what happened to Qin Gang.

Wu Guohua (吴国华), Deputy Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, died on July 4, but the government never announced his death. A short notice about Wu’s death was posted on the Internet on July 27, but it was quickly removed and can no longer be seen. Rumor has it that Wu committed suicide. There were also rumors that several top officials of the Rocket Force, including its Commander Li Yuchao (李玉超)  and a few others, were under investigation for corruption and leaking secrets.

Wang Shaojun (王少军), former Director of the CCP’s Central Security Bureau, was officially announced dead on July 24, three months after his death. No details were given about how he died. The Central Security Bureau is responsible for providing security protection for top CCP officials (CCP Politburo member-level or above).

Source: Radio France International, July 27, 2023
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/中国/20230727-秘不发丧-从火箭军副司令吴国华神秘死亡说起

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics

Internet Article: Sad to See Shanghai Economy Fall to This Level

A Chinese netizen posted an article describing store closures in the key areas of Shanghai. The article provides an angle on the run-down economy of Shanghai as well as throughout broader China.

The author gave examples of three sites, representing small, mid-sized, and large retail stores.

  • Shanghai Train Station: There used to be many small stores selling stationery, mobile phone covers, clothes, etc., along its underground tunnel. These stores are now closed.
  • Hongqiao Train Station: There used to be many mid-sized stores, but most of them are now closed. The train station was hot and the author wondered if the authority couldn’t even afford air conditioning there.
  • Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street: This is a premium shopping district in Shanghai with many large retail stores. Zhidi Square Plaza, a landmark retail plaza, was closed, with some stores at upper level of the plaza still open.

Sources:
1. Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 24, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307240273.aspx
2. Have8.tv (copy of the original posting)
https://news.have8.tv/3244441.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Acknowledges That It Inflated 2022 Letin Auto Revenue

{Editor’s Note: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for reporting fake (inflated) Gross Domestic Production (GDP) numbers, to make itself look better. A recent case evidenced that practice.}

Letin Auto, also known as Levdeo, is an electric vehicle manufacturer in China. Its founder Li Guoxin posted an article under the company’s official account on January 14, accusing the county party chief Wang Xiao for forcing Letin to report an extra non-existing 4.7 billion Yuan (US$660 million) in revenue so that the county could have a better GDP number.

The government conducted an investigation and announced the result: Letin reported GDP 7.095 billion Yuan of revenue in 2022, but its actual revenue was only 2.552 billion Yuan, which means that 4.543 billion Yuan of revenue was fabricated. Following the investigation, the punishment was light. Nine people were said to be involved and were each given a warning within the party. There was no criminal or administrative punishment. The county party chief was also cleared from being guilty.

Letin filed for bankruptcy in May 2023.

Source: Net Ease, July 27, 2023
https://m.163.com/dy/article/IALU4IGA05560VPM.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources

China Holds New Media Forum on “Telling the Chinese Story”

On July 12, 2023, China held the International Communication Forum for New Media in Changsha. The forum focused on the theme of “Telling the Chinese Story and Shaping China’s Image.” Prominent media figures, experts, scholars, and representatives of overseas brands attended the conference.

Du Zhanyuan, Director of the China Foreign Language Publishing and Distribution Administration, made the following suggestions at the forum: One, emphasize the importance of showcasing China’s modernization journey and effectively narrating the stories of China’s development. Two, establish comprehensive and authoritative foreign-language online platforms, covering websites, mobile platforms, and overseas social media networks. Three, adopt new technologies such as mobile, social, and visual communication, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence.

The General Editor of Xinhua Net, Qian Tong, highlighted the increasing participation of Chinese media and companies doing business overseas in international communication, saying that more voices contribute to a more splendid chorus of global communication.

Deputy Chief Editor of China Daily, Wang Hao, suggested strengthening the application of technology to make China’s image more visible and tangible, and using the mouths of media celebrities of other countries to make China’s image more lovely and trustworthy.

Xu Rong, Deputy General of Hunan Broadcasting and Television Group, shared about the Group’s success in distributing a significant number of films and TV series overseas, including the popular series “The Rational Life,” which gained international recognition on Netflix. Xu also shared that the Group organized performances domestically and overseas, using popular art forms to open doors to mainstream overseas markets.

Source: Guangming Daily, July 13, 2023
https://topics.gmw.cn/2023-07/13/content_36694283.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Chinese Media More Effective on Facebook Than on Twitter

According to a research report titled “Global Mainstream Media Network Communication Power Research (2023)” released by Fudan University on July 21, Chinese media’s overall communication effectiveness on Facebook surpasses that on Twitter.

The survey, completed by Fudan University’s Global Communication and All-Media Research Institute, included 222 mainstream media from 33 countries, analyzing content published by these media on their certified accounts on Twitter and Facebook last year.

The study designed a set of influence evaluation indicators to analyze media’s communication effectiveness in terms of exposure, interactions, dissemination, and recognition.

The report shows that Chinese media’s overall communication effectiveness on Facebook is higher than on Twitter. China Global Television Network (CGTN), People’s Daily, China Daily, Global Times, and Xinhua News Agency are among the top ranks of the 222 media, with CGTN ranked within the top 10 on the comprehensive list.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 22, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307220121.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

People’s Daily: China Is Leading Quantum Technology Development Worldwide

People’s Daily published an article claiming that China has made significant strides in quantum technology and become a leading country at the forefront of quantum technology research globally.

The article praised Chinese scientist Pan Jianwei and his research team at the University of Science and Technology of China for spearheading the research.

According to the article, China launched the “Micius” satellite in 2016, which was the world’s first space quantum science experimental satellite. It established a global quantum communication experiment platform, significantly advancing space-based quantum communication technology. By distributing quantum keys between the satellite and ground stations, it achieved secure communication at 10kbps, far surpassing ground-based quantum communication levels. Quantum computing is considered a key technology for the next information revolution. In 2020, China successfully constructed quantum a computing prototype “Jiuzhang” computer with 76 photons, 100,000 times faster than the fastest supercomputer at that time. China later constructed a “Jiuzhang II” computer with 113 photons, outperforming the world’s fastest supercomputers by a factor of 10 billion. “Jiuzhang II” can solve a problem in 1 millisecond that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 100 days to finish.

Source: People’s Daily, July 25, 2023
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0725/c1004-40042581.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Chinese Scholar: Possible Underestimate of Youth Unemployment Rate

According to Zhang Dandan, a professor from Beijing University, the youth unemployment rate in China may be underestimated due to discouraged workers temporarily leaving the labor force during weak job markets,

According to an article published by Zhang in China Digital Times, structural and short-term factors both contribute to high youth unemployment. In the long run, three years of COVID-19 restrictions significantly impacted consumption, business, and economic vitality. In the short run, the 16.6% year-on-year increase in college graduates in 2022 and the 12% increase in graduate students flooded the job market. Rapid AI development has also begun replacing human roles in some white-collar professions like finance and sales, disproportionately impacting highly-educated youth. While vocational youth employment has rebounded slightly since March, unemployment remains high for 4-year college graduates. The number of civil service exam takers surged 80% during the period 2022-2023, reflecting graduates’ job insecurity. With 11.58 million total 2023 graduates, competition is fierce.

According to China’s Bureau of Statistics, urban youth in the 16-to-24-year old age range comprise 96 million individuals, of whom 64 million do not have jobs. Among this group of non-laboring urban youth, 16 million are non-students, many of whom choose to “lie flat” by relying on their parents rather than working. If these individuals were counted as unemployed, the youth unemployment rate could be as high as 46.5% rather than the reported 19.7%.

College graduates are increasingly choosing to not work immediately after graduation, comprising about 75% of the youth who choose to “lie flat. This situation may be helped as college graduates reduce their salary expectations and gradually enter the workforce. However, economic recovery is needed to fundamentally address the root cause of youth unemployment.

Source: China Digital Times, July 19, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/698406.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi’an’s “Exam Migration” Controversy Tests Limits of Hukou Reforms

An imbalance in educational resources in the Chinese city of Xi’an sparked intense debate last week. Parents sought answers from the local education authorities, asking why so many students from other provinces took the high school entrance exam (zhongkao) in the city this year.

After the Xi’an government released the results of the zhongkao (senior high school entrance examination) results on July 14th, rumors circulated that 40,000 of the 100,000 exam takers were “returning students” – students who came to Xi’an just to take the exam, hoping to later take the Xi’an gaokao (college entrance exam) because Xi’an has a lower college admission cutoff than other areas. This would potentially enable test takers to get into better universities.

Experts believe that the trend of allowing outsiders to take exams locally is “irreversible” in most cities, saying that authorities should be rational about zhongkao and gaokao migration and be more transparent about “returning student” data.

Xi’an officials responded last week, claiming only 3,608 “returning students,” or 3.5% of exam takers, took the zhongkao in Xi’an. The parents of local students, who were not convinced by the official data, protested against unfair use of local resources by outsiders. After widespread pushback from parents, Xi’an authorities launched an investigation. By Monday, police had detained 40 people for providing false registration information to ineligible students.

The “returning students” benefited from Xi’an’s 2017 household registration (hukou) reforms, which allowed non-local children of Xi’an hukou holders working elsewhere to take exams in Xi’an. The reforms also granted Xi’an hukou to outsider talent, making their children eligible to take Xi’an school tests as “returning students.”

Experts say the core issue at play is unequal distribution of educational resources nationwide, with college admission cutoff lines being different from one province to another. This gives rise to the phenomenon of “zhongkao migration.”

Authorities have vowed to verify each “returning student’s” eligibility and cancel admissions obtained fraudulently. By Monday, police had cracked down on institutions providing false services to ineligible students.

Source: BBC, July 24, 2023
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-66291281

Briefings | | |   Social Stability