Government/Politics - 120. page

The Wanda Group is a Chinese multinational conglomerate based in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of the Australian Hoyts Group, as well as a majority shareholder of the American AMC Theatres.

On December 13, Yan’an city’s municipal government and Wanda Group signed an agreement in Beijing. Wanda will build a red themed town in Yan’an – Yan’an Wanda Town.

Yan’an is a city in China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province. From late 1935 to early 1947, it was the center of the Chinese Communist revolution. Chinese communists celebrate Yan’an as the birthplace of the revolution.

The project has a total investment of 12 billion yuan (US$ 1.74 billion). It is said to integrate patriotism education, tourism, the holiday, and an intangible cultural heritage experience. The town will consist of red themed blocks, a red themed indoor park, a red themed theater, and a resort hotel group. Yan’an Wanda Town plans to start digging in the first quarter of 2019 and be open to the public in the first half of 2021. Wanda said that the project will serve as a gift for Yan’an to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, said that the Wanda Group will carry forward Yan’an’s spirit with a sense of historical mission and social responsibility, and will make Yan’an Wanda Town a new national red tourism brand.

Source: The Paper, December 13, 2018
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2736036

The arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada has triggered “anti-American” sentiment in mainland China. Some people have threatened to boycott U.S. goods. A number of companies are setting up a reward and punishment mechanism, requiring staff to support Huawei and taking disciplinary actions against those who purchase Apple products.

Menpad, a Shenzhen-based LCD display maker, confirmed to reporters that the company decided to support “compatriots” after the arrest of Huawei’s Meng. The management will give a 15 percent subsidy to employees who purchase Huawei phones and impose a 100 percent fine on those who purchase Apple phones.

In Shanghai, a chamber of commerce requires all members to boycott Apple. If a member purchases an Apple electronics product after the notice is issued, that person’s membership in the Chamber of Commerce will be cancelled. The Shaanxi’s Lian Development Group also issued a notice that requires all middle level management to use Huawei products and recommended its subsidiaries offer a subsidy of no less than 20 percent to employees who purchase Huawei mobile phones.

In addition to corporate actions, some netizens spontaneously wanted to “boycott U.S. goods.” On TikTok, a popular Chinese video sharing app, a film is being circulated showing that a man smashed his iPhone to express his anger. Another widespread video shows a man protesting in front of an Apple store, holding the banner “Apple get out of China; release Meng Wanzhou.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 10, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/apple-12102018091629.html
Sputnik News, December 11, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/china/201812111027082873/

On Sunday December 2, one day before Constitution Day in China, nearly 100,000 lawyers from more than 400 cities across the country participated in a group ceremony held in their region making a pledge to the constitution. The judicial administrative entity and the lawyer’s associations around the country organized the ceremony. Sohu reported that “the ceremony was not only for the legal profession to show respect for the constitution, a willingness to study the constitution and for their observance and maintenance of the constitution, but also to strengthen the ideological and political, as well as the professionalism of education among lawyers.” Fu Zhenghua, the Chinese Attorney General, even went to Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, serving as a witness to the pledges of hundreds of lawyers. The media described it as the first occurrence of such an event in the history of Communist China.

According to the newly revised “lawyers’ pledge rules,” the pledge is expressly required as a necessary procedure for lawyers to perform. Lawyers must execute the pledge and comply with the procedures and dress requirements that the authorities set. If lawyers do not take the pledge, a penalty will be imposed. However, according to Radio Free Asia, many lawyers in China still haven’t participated in the ceremony despite the potential penalty. One rights lawyer from Shanghai told RFA that he was not invited to the ceremony, but even if he had been invited, he still would not have gone because he dislikes putting on a show. Another lawyer said that the party treats lawyers as party members by organizing a group pledge ceremony. The pledge ceremony should be held individually not as a group, he said. Both lawyers said that China does not have judicial independence. The so-called “ruling the country according to law” is nothing but empty talk.

Sources:
1. Sohu, December 3, 2018
https://www.sohu.com/a/279224006_115423?spm=smmt.mt-news.fd-d.7.1543708800023WRl5Apr
2. Radio Free Asia, December 4, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/gf2-12042018101855.html

Xinhua reported that, from November 28 to 30, the 7th annual meeting for European and American Alumni Association (China Association of Overseas Students) and Guangzhou Haigui (Returned Scholars from Overseas) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit was held in Guangzhou. Three hundred forty candidates participated in the talent matching session held on November 30 and 79 letter of intent agreements were signed. Most of them were in the field of the next generation of information technology, bio-medicine, and artificial intelligence. A representative from the Guangzhou United Front office said solid achievements were made during the summit. The participants had the opportunity to learn about Guangzhou and its talent requirements, which will help promote high quality development in Guangzhou.

The article also listed the qualifications to join the European and American Alumni Association. They are:
1. Graduated from overseas higher education institutions with a bachelor’s degree or above;
2. Graduated from a domestic university with bachelor’s degree; received a master’s degree overseas or worked as a visiting scholar and conducted research projects at an overseas university or research institution for no less than two years;
3. Graduated from a domestic university with a master’s degree or above or worked as a lecturer, engineer, or in other corresponding positions, studied and conducted research at overseas universities, research institutes, or at companies for at least one year. Special consideration will be given to those who have overseas experience of less than one year.
4. Those with outstanding academic achievements or contributions may not be subject to requirements listed above but are subject to the approval of the Alumni Association.

Source: Xinhua, December 2, 2018
http://cx.xinhuanet.com/2018-12/02/c_137645525.htm

On June 8, the General Office of the party and the General Office of the State Council issued a Notice about the “Selection of Candidates who made Outstanding Contributions to the Reform and Opening up.” According to The Paper, the Notice stated that the candidates should be “individuals who have made a significant impact over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, had significant social influence, and are a role model. They should also have excellent political qualities, have made outstanding contributions to promoting the reform and opening up, abide by constitutional laws, and have a high moral character.” The Notice also stressed that, “It is necessary to adhere to political standards and understand the correct guidelines when selecting candidates.  Anyone who is politically unqualified will not be recommended.” Political standards must be placed in the first position and the Party Central Committee led by Xi Jinping must be unanimously consistent in choosing the candidates.

On November 26, People’s Daily reported that it will publish the names of 100 finalists from November 26 through November 30. Jack Ma of the Alibaba Group and Li Shufu, Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Volvo Cars are among the 100 finalists from Zhejiang Province.

Source: The Paper, November 27, 2018
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2676430

As part of the celebration of the 40 year anniversary of Reform and Opening Up, Xinhua published a series of significant achievements on its website. On November 26, it dedicated one page to the growth of Confucius Institutes. Affiliated with the Ministry of Education, Confucius Institutes were initially formed in Seoul in 2004. They were promoted as a cultural bridge to enable the world to understand China, to promote the Chinese language and teach internationally, and to facilitate cultural exchanges. Below are the statistics listed on Xinhua’s web page.

1. By 2018, there were 525 Confucius Institutes in 138 countries including 118 locations in 33 countries in Asia, 54 locations in 39 countries in Africa, 173 locations in 41 countries in Europe, and 19 locations in 4 countries in the Pacific region.
2. By the end of December 31, 2017, they had 46,200 teachers, 1.7 million classroom students, and 620,100 online students.
3. They had assigned 3,574 Chinese Language teachers to 146 countries and 6,306 volunteers to 127 countries.
4. They have set up 1,100 Chinese Language testing sites in 130 countries and 6.5 million students have taken different levels of tests.

According to the South China Morning Post, Senator Marco Rubio has been among the U.S. lawmakers warning that China has used the Confucius Institutes in an effort to expand its political influence abroad and to function as the political arm of the Chinese government. A number of universities in the U.S. have since closed the Confucius Institute Centers on their campuses.

Source:
1. Xinhua, November 26, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/video/sjxw/2018-11/26/c_1210002251.htm
2. South China Morning Post, August 15, 2018
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2159888/confucius-institute-closed-us-university-amid

Radio Free Asia reported that, on November 22, Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, participated in the commencement ceremony that Lingnan University held. During the ceremony, a dozen students who were graduating with master’s degrees held up a banner and shouted several slogans. They said that the university should abandon its policy of automatically appointing the Chief Executive as the supervisor of the university. The Hong Kong government should drop the charges against the participants of the Occupy Central Movement. They also oppose the East Lantau Metropolis project which plans to build artificial islands in the waters between East Lantau Island and South Hong Kong Island. One protester told RFA that they chose to protest because they are Hong Kong residents; they care about Hong Kong’s development; and they hope to have a dialog with Carrie Lam. Another protester told RFA that they felt that, at Lingnan University, they are losing their freedom of speech.

In the speech that the President of Lingnan University gave, he said that some people challenge the political order of Hong Kong in the name of freedom of speech.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 22, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-student-11222018081312.html