6th Plenum; New book on doing business with Wen Jiabao’s Family; Rent control; AmChams in China
The Politburo announced that the 6th Plenum will meet in November. They did not disclose the exact date. From the Xinhua readout:
According to the agenda unveiled Tuesday, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee will present its work report to the plenary session, which will study the issue of comprehensively reviewing the major achievements made and the historical experience accumulated during the Party's 100 years of endeavor….
A review of the major achievements made and the historical experience accumulated during the Party's 100 years of endeavor is needed for the new course of fully building a modern socialist country and for upholding and promoting socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the meeting said.
It is also needed for upholding General Secretary Xi Jinping's core position at the CPC Central Committee and in the whole Party, as well as the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership.
This agenda is so broad that I wonder if we will see something like a new “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China”. This year is the 40th anniversary of the passage of that resolution at the 6th Plenum of the 11th Central Committee in 1981
Mao Zedong of course got “A Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party” at the 7th Plenum of the 6th Central Committee in 1945. Given that we are now in the Third Era of the CCP, the Xi Era, and the prior two eras each had a a resolution on the Party History, is it now Xi’s turn? How else might the Plenum cement Xi’s position? Xi Thought?
I have written a few times about the challenge of seeing the forest for the trees as we see all these new regulatory actions appearing like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Each can be rationalized in isolation, but I think we need to consider the much broader political context. The 6th Plenum may help clarify that context, but at this point I would not be surprised if it gives clarity in a way that capitalists and foreign investors may not appreciate.
Let the speculation begin.
Today’s top items:
Politburo meeting schedules 6th Plenum, discusses issues in higher education
New book on doing business with Wen Jiabao’s Family
“Cut off the capital chain behind entertainment chaos”
Days numbered for some of the AmChams in China?
Rent control, urban development restrictions
Upgrading IP protection
Thanks for reading.
1. Politburo meeting schedules 6th Plenum, discusses issues in higher education
19th CPC Central Committee to hold sixth plenary session in November - Xinhua
The whole Party should try to understand why the CPC succeeded in the past 100 years and know how it can sustain the success in the future, following the principle of historical materialism and through a correct perspective of the CPC's history, the meeting said.
Comment: The Politburo also discussed the seventh round of disciplinary inspection launched by the 19th CPC Central Committee, which focused on higher education
The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core gives high priority to education. The meeting said that problems discovered during the inspection should be strictly dealt with. The principle of carrying out comprehensive rectification, focusing on key areas and solving problems effectively should be upheld. The Party's overall leadership over colleges and universities should be upheld and strengthened in pursuit of high-quality development of higher education in the new era, according to the meeting.
The meeting stressed keeping to the socialist orientation in running the schools, cultivating talent for the Party and the country, and strengthening the governance system and capacity of colleges and universities.
The meeting also demanded that colleges and universities exercise full and strict Party self-governance and fight corruption. Colleges and universities should also step up efforts to enhance leadership teams, train cadres and talent, and strengthen primary-level Party organizations, according to the meeting
中共中央政治局召开会议 决定召开十九届六中全会 审议《关于十九届中央第七轮巡视情况的综合报告》 中共中央总书记习近平主持会议-新华网
总结党的百年奋斗的重大成就和历史经验，是在建党百年历史条件下开启全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程、在新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的需要，是增强政治意识、大局意识、核心意识、看齐意识，坚定道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信，做到坚决维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位，坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，确保全党步调一致向前进的需要，是推进党的自我革命、提高全党斗争本领和应对风险挑战能力、永葆党的生机活力、团结带领全国各族人民为实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而继续奋斗的需要。全党要坚持唯物史观和正确党史观，从党的百年奋斗中看清楚过去我们为什么能够成功、弄明白未来我们怎样才能继续成功，从而更加坚定、更加自觉地践行初心使命，在新时代更好坚持和发展中国特色社会主义..
Landmark gathering of China’s Communist Party elite set for November | South China Morning Post
Xie Maosong, a senior researcher with Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, said reflecting on the party’s achievements and lessons since it was founded would be important for President Xi Jinping.
“This plenum will carry lots of symbolic value for Xi in terms of his status in the party’s history as it looks back at the past 100 years, as the party presses ahead with the next centenary goal,” Xie said.
“Mao [Zedong] was the founder of new China and Deng [Xiaoping] made it affluent. Xi – who’s overseeing the party at its centenary – will be seen [at the plenum] as the leader who made the party and China strong. It’s important to send the right message to the Chinese people … from the historical perspective.”
2. New book on doing business with Wen Jiabao’s Family
I highly recommend this book Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China by Desmond Shum about his time working in the PRC, and not because the publisher sent me an advance copy. Shum was married to Whitney Duan, who eventually become a kind of consigliere/consort for Zhang Beili, Wen Jiabao's wife. Things began to fall apart after the New York Times expose of Madame Wen's home-run investment into Ping'an.
Shum lives overseas now with their son, Duan disappeared in September 2017, from the version I heard around the time it happened grabbed in front of the Bulgari Hotel in Beijing she and Shum developed and trundled into a van with a hood over her head, but that may be more gossip than reality. The reality is she has disappeared without a trace for nearly four years.
Shum clearly has many axes to grind and much of what he writes is impossible to verify, but much of it does ring true, and having lived in Beijing during this time I interacted with some of the people mentioned in the book. They even sent their son to the same pre-K/K school as our girls attended, though after ours had gone on to primary school. (The most exciting classmate our kids had was the daughter of one of Zhou Yongkang's mistresses who also disappeared for a while but then reappeared. That is a story for another time).
If Shum's account of his and his wife's dealings with Zhang Beili and other Wen family members is accurate, having her under control and telling everything has been very useful to Xi. These kinds of “insider” accounts from the PRC are rare, and certainly scintillating.
A unique and incendiary memoir from an entrepreneur who rose to the highest realms of power and money in China and whose wife was disappeared, Red Roulette reveals the truth of what is happening inside the country’s wealth-making machine.
After the Communist Revolution, Desmond Shum’s grandfather was marked as belonging to a “black category” that included former landlords and rich peasants—meaning the Shums would be stigmatized and impoverished. As Desmond was growing up, he vowed his life would be different.
Through hard work and sheer tenacity Shum earned an American college degree and returned to China to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of the red aristocracy, vaulted into China’s billionaire class
One interesting deal, on the 2012 Standing Committee meeting that decided to investigate Bo Xilai:
Question: If this account is accurate, and Madame Wen disclosed the contents of a Standing Committee meeting, is she guilty of leaking state secrets to a foreigner? The internal reaction to this book in Beijing could be interesting.
Duan Weihong, 49, who set up companies with relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister from 2003-13, was detained before a Communist Party congress last year, according to three friends and business associates who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by the authorities.
Ms. Duan, also known as Whitney Duan, was a central figure in a 2012 investigation by The New York Times that showed Mr. Wen’s relatives controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion
Desmond and Whitney Shum Fellowship (Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies) | Harvard Worldwide
The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies is pleased to announce the Desmond and Whitney Shum Fellowship, which supports graduate students undertaking social science research projects in China. Harvard doctoral candidates from any school within the university specializing in a field of the social sciences are eligible, with preference given to students of government, public policy, public administration, economics, law, and sociology.
3. “Cut off the capital chain behind entertainment chaos”
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection website: cut off the capital chain behind entertainment chaos. An interview with Jiang Yu, a researcher at the State Council Development Research Center - 中纪委网站：斩断娱乐圈乱象背后的资本链条
Literature and art is by no means simply singing, dancing, blowing, playing and singing, but an important front for ideological, cultural and ideological work, an important part of superstructure and extremely important work for the Party. If capital is allowed to expand in a disorderly manner in literary and art circles, we will lose the role of literature and art in serving the people and socialism, and that will disintegrate the spiritual home of the Chinese nation. Therefore, it is completely timely and necessary for the relevant departments of the central government to deploy measures such as prohibiting inducing fans' consumption, strictly controlling minors' participation, and regulating fund-raising for assistance.
文艺绝不是单纯的唱歌跳舞、吹拉弹唱，而是思想文化和意识形态工作的重要阵地，是上层建筑的重要组成部分，是党的一项极端重要的工作。如果任由资本在文艺界无序扩张，就会失去文艺为人民服务、为社会主义服务的作用，就会瓦解中华民族的精神家园。所以，中央有关部门部署了禁止诱导粉丝消费、严控未成年人参与、规范应援集资等措施，是完全及时和必要的。
Wikipedia on "superstructure" in Marxist Theory:
In Marxist theory, society consists of two parts: the base (or substructure) and superstructure. The base comprises the forces and relations of production (e.g. employer–employee work conditions, the technical division of labour, and property relations) into which people enter to produce the necessities and amenities of life. The base determines society's other relationships and ideas to comprise its superstructure, including its culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and state.
“The ‘fan culture’ is the capital using its power to create a consumption culture, and to manipulate youth spending habits and influence public culture,” said Jiang Yu, a researcher with the macro economy department of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, affiliated with the central government.
Jiang added that the “irrational expansion of capital” has also resulted in other chaos, including the monopoly by tech giants and after-school education firms, calling them “much-hated” phenomena...
“Our party has adequate knowledge of the duality of capital,” he said, adding that Beijing’s recent antitrust efforts as well as its anti-corruption efforts were trying to draw clear lines for the growing power of businesses.
“[We] always insist that there are boundaries with the expansion of capital,” he said. “It should not deflect the direction of China’s socialism development, it should not manipulate key matters of livelihood, undermine national interests, corrupt officials or seek unjust political interests.”
The development direction of fanquan is to deify the idol to control and push the fans at the bottom to do the work. It is the same model as pyramid selling, Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times...
all fanquan groups would move in a direction to affect others and attack those who do not agree and create conflicts on the internet.
Such conflicts would probably be used by ill-intended external forces to make use of fanquan chaos to split Chinese society, Shen warned...
[Shen] said that some Western people may not understand these moves, taking them as crackdowns on cultural freedom. But the moves should be viewed as having the same intention as that of Facebook and Twitter to suspend Donald Trump's accounts, as his speeches would misguide his followers and at last threaten the country's political security.
4. Days numbered for some of the AmChams in China?
AmCham in southwest China suspends operations at ‘48 hours’ notice’ | South China Morning Post
In a message to its members, the group said it would stop operations from Monday and “no longer carry out any activities” under its name, AmCham Southwest, “in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China”.
Benjamin Wang, chairman of AmCham Southwest, said in a message to the South China Morning Post on Tuesday that the group was “still working with the local government to resolve the issue”, without elaborating...
A person familiar with the matter said the AmCham Southwest situation was not related to the earlier closure of the US consulate in Chengdu, and may instead be a result of the Ministry of Civil Affairs enforcing the rule that there can only be one AmCham – the Beijing-registered AmCham China.
The individual said representatives from multiple authorities had entered the AmCham Southwest office over the situation, but that it may be able to continue operating under a separate name – the Chengdu American Chamber of Commerce Business Consulting Co...
A second person familiar with the situation said that AmCham Southwest had a “compliance issue”, as it was operating in a grey area between a non-profit and a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, but it was now converting to the latter.
Question: What about AmCham Shanghai and AmCham South China? If Beijing wants to make the American business community even more nervous forcing AmCham Shanghai would do the trick. Yes these orgs have been operating in a grey area, for many years, so why go after them now?
5. Rent control, urban development restrictions
China Seeks to Cap Rising Home Rents in Latest Equality Move - Bloomberg
The housing ministry aims to control growth in urban rents to no more than 5% per year, it said in a statement on Tuesday. It’s seeking to ensure a balanced supply and demand in the rental market...
In large cities, pressure on rents has partly stemmed from large-scale demolition undertaken for urban renewal. Such activity runs against the government’s original intention and doesn’t fit China, which has entered a later stage of urbanization, Housing Vice Minister Huang Yan said at a briefing...
The statement from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development -住建部：在实施城市更新行动中防止大拆大建-中新网
Annual rent increase in Chinese cities will be capped at 5%, according to a Additionally, the notice sought to ban major reconstruction in urban areas.
“(We) should not rely on construction that is dependent on excessive building of properties, and should not blindly pursue short-term perks and economic interests brought on by large-scale development.” 不沿用过度房地产化的开发建设方式，不片面追求规模扩张带来的短期效益和经济利益。
6. Upgrading IP protection
China Threatens to Ban E-Commerce Companies That Flout IP Laws - Bloomberg
E-commerce platforms will be restricted from online business operations or even have their licenses revoked if they fail to deal with serious violations of IP rights by vendors on their platforms, according to a draft revision of the country’s e-commerce law posted by the State Administration for Market Regulation. The market watchdog is seeking opinions on the draft revision until Oct. 14.
市场监管总局关于公开征求《关于修改〈中华人民共和国电子商务法〉的决定（征求意见稿）》意见的公告
Business, Economy and Trade
Heavily indebted Chinese developer Evergrande warns of default risk | Financial Times $$ The unusually stark wording from the company came in an interim earnings statement on Tuesday that confirmed a profit warning issued last week and outlined a series of measures to shore up its finances that include selling properties. “The group has risks of defaults on borrowings and cases of litigation outside of its normal course of business,” Evergrande said, adding that it would pursue further asset sales, control costs and seek to attract new investors
社论：反垄断和防资本无序扩张重在制度的构建与执行—一财 While anti-monopoly measures and curbs on excessive capital expansion have shown some initial progress, they have also “accidentally hurt” efficiency and innovation, a commentary published by Yicai said this week. “The relationship between anti-monopoly and revitalization of market vitality must be dealt with correctly. The common way is to try to establish rules and regulations so that firms know where the redline is and can still anticipate future development.” 今年以来一系列的反垄断和防资本扩张政策，虽然成效初显，但也对效率和创新产生了或多或少的“误伤”。而要处理好反垄断与激发市场活力的关系，通行的办法就是尽量在事先建好制度、立好规矩，让企业知道“红线”在哪里，对发展有预期。
八部门：深化医疗服务价格改革试点，控制医药费用过快增长—澎湃新闻China says it will pilot a pricing reform model on medical services in three to five years in hopes of having it replicated nationwide by 2025, according to a plan released this week by eight ministries including the drug watchdog and the health authority. While pledging to “curb the excessive growth of drug prices and medical service prices,” the plan also vows to let the market play its role. The goal is to keep expenses driven by market pricing under 10% of total medical services at public hospitals. 严格控制公立医疗机构实行市场调节价的收费项目和费用所占比例，不超过全部医疗服务的10%。
一毛钱搅动快递江湖|快递_新浪科技_新浪网 The top 6 express delivery services are raising prices by 0.1 RMB per parcel and passing all the increase to their couriers, which this report suggests will lead to pay increases of 500 RMB/mo on average
Alibaba Rival J&T Express in Talks to Raise $1 Billion from Tencent — The Information T Express, a fast-growing Asian startup that is challenging Alibaba’s logistics network in a brutal price war, is in talks to raise more than $1 billion from Tencent and other investors at a pre-money valuation of $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The investment could make J&T one of Asia’s most highly valued startups. The soaring valuation reflects investors’ high expectations for Indonesia-based J&T, a major express courier service in Southeast Asia and China
Huawei employs more lobbyists in the EU than Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple, but spends less | South China Morning Post Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co employs more lobbyists in the European Union (EU) than any other global tech company, as it tries to cope with increasing barriers to doing business on the continent.
广州楼市迎来重拳，二手房指导价出台，有小区房价对半砍_腾讯新闻 Guangzhou sets reference prices for secondary housing transactions in several districts
Yicai - Lotus to Invest USD4 billion to Build Global HQ in China’s Wuhan Lotus Cars, a British sports car brand majority owned by China’s Geely Holding Group, plans to open a global headquarters in the Chinese city of Wuhan costing CNY26.3 billion (USD4 billion). CNY6.3 billion (USD975.2 million) will go to construct a 124,000-square-meters HQ park in the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, the UK-based firm told Yicai Global today
Yicai - Chinese Distiller Kweichow Moutai Changes Chair Again to Tackle Slowing Growth Ding Xiongjun, director of the Guizhou Energy Administration, replaces Gao Weidong, the Zunyi, southwestern Guizhou province-based firm said yesterday. At 47 years old he will be the Chinese distiller’s youngest chairman ever. Ding will also be chair of parent firm Kweichow Moutai Group. The distiller, which makes the highly popular rice wine alcohol Moutai, logged its slowest profit growth in six years at 9.08 percent in the first half from the same period last year to CNY24.7 billion (USD3.8 billion).
Evergrande Electric Car Unit Says Ballooning Losses May Force Production Delays - Caixin As China Evergrande Group struggles with a financial crisis, the property developer’s electric car unit is offering little relief, saying that its ballooning first-half loss may force it to delay the start of mass production.
China orders Alipay and other payment apps to report business moves - Nikkei Asia China will require nonbank payment apps such as Ant Group's Alipay to report new products and stock market listings to authorities, seeking to regulate a fast-expanding financial technology sector that has become a vital part of the way Chinese pay for transactions. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, will implement the new disclosure measures on Wednesday. The directives require operators to report about significant business matters before and after the fact.
Politics and Law
Xi's article on Party's great spirit to be published - Xinhua An article by Xi Jinping...on encouraging CPC members to pass on the Party's great spirit as the spiritual treasure of the Party and the state will be published. The article by Xi...will be published on Wednesday in this year's 17th issue of the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee...The pioneers of Communism in China established the CPC a hundred years ago and developed the great founding spirit of the Party featuring the upholding of truth and ideals, staying true to the original aspiration and founding mission, fighting bravely without fear of sacrifice, and remaining loyal to the Party and faithful to the people. This spirit is the Party's source of strength, the article notes
Here is the article, once again just a series of quotes from Xi over the years about this subject -党的伟大精神永远是党和国家的宝贵精神财富 - 求是网
Posts going around WeChat claim he was detained by the Guangxi, Nanning MSS for subversion on August 26 -Fang Ran - HKU Department of Sociology //Fang Ran is a full-time PhD student at HKU Sociology. He received his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Tsinghua University, and has worked as interns at a non-government organization and a social media which focus on China labor issue. His research interests concern labor relation, labor organization as well as labor movement. His current research focuses on the analysis and comparison of various approaches of labor empowerment in Mainland China.
【持续更新】组织互助平台表达骑手不满 外卖骑手盟主被捕 | 中国劳工通讯From April, Fang Ran's work to help food delivery drivers get better treatment may be behind his detention...the nasty irony...on the one hand crack down on the companies exploiting the workers, on the other arrest the people helping the workers...only Party-approved and directed change allowed
文旅部等8部门：合理利用文化文物资源，避免过度商业化娱乐化 Xinhua News Agency, August 31: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other eight departments recently issued "Several Measures for Further Promoting the Development of Cultural and Creative Products in Cultural Relics Units", which clearly stated that social benefits should be given priority, social benefits and economic benefits should be unified, and the development of cultural and creative products that are artistic and practical, meet the needs of modern life and meet market consumption needs should be encouraged. Adhere to the protection first, make rational use of cultural relics resources, and avoid excessive commercialization and entertainment. Cultural and creative products of revolutionary history should be based on historical facts and oppose historical nihilism. // @新华社 8月31日消息：文化和旅游部等8部门近日发布的《关于进一步推动文化文物单位文化创意产品开发的若干措施》明确，坚持把社会效益放在首位、实现社会效益和经济效益相统一，鼓励开发兼具艺术性和实用性、适应现代生活需要、符合市场消费需求的文化创意产品。坚持保护为先，合理利用文化文物资源，避免过度商业化、娱乐化。革命历史类文化创意产品要以历史事实为基础，反对历史虚无主义。// The "Measures" - 关于印发《关于进一步推动文化文物单位文化创意产品开发的若干措施》的通知_文化_中国政府网
河北原副省长李谦一审被判13年：受贿超5000万 Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court publicly sentenced Li Qian, former vice governor of the Hebei Provincial People's Government. to 13 years in bribery for taking 50m RMB in bribes
Two Thousand Former Chinese Judges Fail Nationwide Ethics Review - Caixin Nearly 30% of surveyed former judges and prosecutors who switched careers to become lawyers were found to have done so illegally or manipulated the legal system on behalf of others for personal gain, according to the Chinese Communist Party’s central legal and political body. A nationwide review targeted 7,640 former judges and prosecutors who left their posts after 2012 to work as lawyers, and found that 2,044 of them had “violated laws and regulations,” including 101 acting as “judicial brokers,” who illegally use their influence on behalf of others for profit, Chen Yixin, secretary general of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, said at a Monday press conference // More on the press conference 中国长安网-全国政法队伍教育整顿新闻发布会
谁是李光满？ some background on Li Guangran, the wechat post over the weekend that got so much propaganda love, and was highlighted in yesterday's newsletter. He is a retired 62 year old former state media editor at the "Central China Electric Power Newspaper"
The Juggling Act of Being Female, Chinese, and a Foreign Correspondent – China Media Project Wang Qing (王磬) is the Europe correspondent for a commercial news outlet in Shanghai [Chief International Correspondent @Jiemian_News]. Usually based in Brussels and Amsterdam, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant she has more recently spent months back home in China. There, she is perhaps better known for the podcast TheWeirdo (不合时宜), which she hosts together with two other (former) journalists, and for her presence on Weibo, where she mostly comments on social issues. // Here she is on Twitter Qqingww https://twitter.com/qingww
Rethinking Chinese Politics | Center for Strategic and International Studies In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Joseph Fewsmith, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Boston University Pardee School, to discuss his new book, Rethinking Chinese Politics, which was recently published by Cambridge University Press.
Jude Blanchette on the Enduring Intellectual Puzzle of China - The Wire China $$ Clearly, the hope we’ve typically had — that the external forces of modernity will shape China’s choices in a way that makes it assume democratic market-based liberalism is the northstar — won’t prove to be the case. We also have to understand that this future leader may be taking control of China in a global environment where liberalism is not the norm and illiberalism is the status quo. In which case, China may be leading the way if our democratic domestic politics continue to malfunction and be dysfunctional. The hard-headed base assumption is that China is heading increasingly towards a dictatorship.
SPP vows to maintain tough stance on organized crime - Xinhua China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has issued a set of guidelines on fully performing procuratorial functions in combating organized crime, making arrangements for the prosecutors' work in the area on a regular basis. The guidelines stress maintaining a tough stance on combating organized crime, demanding more cooperation with related departments to create synergy. Prosecutors should focus on combating crimes that prompt the strongest public reaction and anger, and should handle organized crime cases in accordance with the law, according to the guidelines.
Political advisors make suggestions on building a peaceful China - Xinhua Wang Yang...attended the standing committee session of the CPPCC National Committee...Other members also put forward suggestions about strengthening basic research, protecting the rights and interests of new-form employees, and protecting farmland. The advice also extended to enhancing self-reliance in industrial and supply chains, improving laws to safeguard and expand overseas interests, improving food and drug regulations, and cracking down on telecommunications and internet fraud.
Foreign and Defense Affairs
PLA Air Force becomes strategic, to display latest weapons, achievements at airshow - Global Times The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force will display its latest achievements that have transformed the Chinese military into a strategic force on its way to becoming world class, at the Airshow China 2021, the service announced on Tuesday, with military observers predicting that the "20 family" aircraft, namely the J-20 fighter jet, Y-20 large transport aircraft and Z-20 utility helicopter, will likely again be in the spotlight but with new surprises. The latest variant of the WS-10 Taihang turbofan engine will also be on display, event organizers said.
Chinese military ‘not afraid of suffering, death’ after US vows to intimidate enemies | South China Morning Post “The air force has always upheld the mottos that, first, we are not afraid of suffering, and second, we are not afraid of death,” air force spokesman Shen Jinke said on Tuesday. Shen was responding to comments by new United States Air Force secretary Frank Kendall, who said the US would continue investing in leap-ahead technologies that “will be intimidating to our future enemies”.
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s Travel to Japan and the People’s Republic of China - United States Department of Statefrom August 31 to September 3, 2021, to engage with international counterparts on efforts to address the climate crisis. The Special Envoy’s travel bolsters the United States’ bilateral and multilateral efforts to raise climate ambition ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held October 31 to November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, United Kingdom...In Tianjin, Special Envoy Kerry will continue discussions on key aspects of the climate crisis, as outlined in the U.S.-China Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis from April 17, 2021.
China opposes U.S. deporting Chinese students: FM spokesperson - Xinhua According to media reports, three Chinese students with legal visas were returned to China on Aug. 15 after being interrogated by U.S. officials on arrival at Houston Airport. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is strongly dissatisfied with and resolutely opposed to the U.S. move. China has lodged solemn representations with the United States. According to Wang, the reason cited by U.S. officials is that the three students are funded by the Chinese government or suspected of having military backgrounds because photos of military training were found on their mobile phones.
Department of State Offers Reward for Information to Bring Chinese Fentanyl Trafficker to Justice - United States Department of State The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of People’s Republic of China (PRC) national Zhang Jian, a key leader of the transnational criminal Zhang Drug Trafficking Organization. This reward is also offered for information leading to his location. Between 2013 and 2016, with Zhang acting as principal leader and organizer, Zhang’s criminal organization imported and distributed controlled substances and their analogues into the United States that led to the overdose deaths of four Americans in North Dakota, Oregon, North Carolina, and New Jersey and serious bodily injuries to five other Americans.
China demands U.S. revoke offer of reward in "drugs" case - Xinhua Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing that the relevant case has been jointly investigated and handled by the two countries since 2016. Based on limited information provided by the United States, China has done a great deal of work and confirmed the Chinese national's identity, and shared this information with the U.S. side, he said. The type of substance involved in the case was considered an ordinary chemical in China, not a scheduled drug, Wang said, adding that China has repeatedly demanded that the U.S. side provide evidence that the Chinese citizen had violated Chinese laws, but the U.S. side has so far failed to offer any.
Japan ministry seeks 2.6% defense hike amid China worries - AP The ministry’s budget sought 5.48 trillion yen ($49.86 billion) for the year starting April 1, 2022, in what could be a record high if approved by the Finance Ministry and parliament later this year, after a nine-year consecutive increase.
China, DPRK vow to enhance traditional friendly relations - Xinhua Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi met with Ri Ryong Nam, ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to China, in Beijing on Monday.
朱锋：新冠溯源“政治化”丑剧该收场了 Zhu Feng attacks the US in Global Times - The 'politicized' farce of the Covid origins investigation should come to an end
China’s International Development Cooperation Agency Takes Over Distribution of Foreign Aid - Caixin The China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) has replaced the Ministry of Commerce to take the lead in distributing China’s foreign aid, according to guidelines issued Tuesday. The guidelines, jointly issued by the CIDCA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce, aim to clarify the CIDCA’s role in the administration of foreign aid, and specify the responsibilities of executive departments, in an effort to build a “unified, efficient and coordinated foreign aid management system,” a CIDCA statement said. // The guidelines 国家国际发展合作署 外交部 商务部 令 （二〇二一年第1号）《对外援助管理办法》
Covid Origin Probe Calls: Australian Government, Businesses, Universities Hacked - Bloomberg Australian universities, which collect about A$10 billion a year from Chinese students, are reluctant to discuss the country’s online behavior in any aspect. The cybersecurity research department at Monash University in Melbourne does not “get involved in any political stories relating to China” as their researchers “are not comfortable commenting on this issue,” Hande Cater, the media advisor at Monash’s Information Technology Faculty, wrote in an email.
China in the World director Jane Golley stands down - The Australian Financial Review Professor Jane Golley, who caused a furore this year over comments downplaying the treatment of Uighurs, has stood down as director of Australia’s leading centre for research into China. Professor Golley has spent more than a decade at ANU’s Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW) in a number of roles, including most recently as its director. Associate Professor Ben Hillman will act as interim director until a search process is completed.
US Army Views Chinese Military Tactics – Federation Of American Scientists How would China fight a war against the US? A new US Army publication sets out to answer that question, offering a detailed account of the military tactics China could employ. See Chinese Tactics, Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 7-100.3, August 9, 2021. The 250-page document is mainly intended to help provide a realistic basis for training of US forces. But in doing so it sheds some new light on China’s military forces, at least as they are perceived by US military observers. It is based primarily on open sources.
An interesting Twitter thread:
Hong Kong
Gay Games in Hong Kong face attacks as China's proxies target LGBT groups - The Washington Post Leading the crusade is Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker who has called the Gay Games “disgraceful” and a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that could violate the security law. Another lawmaker, Priscilla Leung, said activists could use the sports and cultural event to promote political causes. Peter Shiu, a member of a center-right party, said Hong Kong can “tolerate” but not promote homosexuality.
Taiwan
Taiwan to hold air raid drill alongside mega war games as test of ‘overall alertness’ against Chinese PLA attack | South China Morning Post The annual air raid drill, dubbed the “Wan An exercise”, will be carried out on September 15 across Taiwan, including its frontline islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu, which lie at the doorstep of the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian. This will be timed to coincide with the military’s massive annual live-fire Han Kuang exercises to test combat readiness of the island’s forces
Tech and Media
Best discussion on the new gaming restrictions I have seen - Additional restrictions imposed on Chinese youth gamers – Niko Gaming addiction among minors in China has been a topic that regulators have wrestled with for more than 15 years, with the first anti-addiction systems originally proposed in 2005. The most recent ruling, introduced in 2019, stated that minors could only play online games between 8am and 10pm for 1.5 hours on regular days and 3 hours on holidays. This anti-addiction system was backed by the implementation of a real name identification system which checked user IDs in real time against a national citizen database provided by the Ministry of Public Security. All game developers have had to ensure they were compliant with these restrictions and have implemented the real name identification system by June 1, 2021. Similarly, all internet cafés are legally for 18+ year olds only, and legal opening hours are 8am-midnight, though many cafés find their way around that.
Chinese components double to 60% in new Huawei smartphone - Nikkei Asia Nikkei, together with Tokyo-based research specialist Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, took apart Huawei's Mate 40E, which is compatible with fifth-generation networks, and found that Chinese-made parts account for roughly 60% of the total value of components -- twice as much as the Mate 30, the previous model.
Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History
Chinese university appears to ask for lists of LGBTQ+ students for ‘investigation’ | China | The Guardian A well-known Chinese university appears to have asked its colleges to make lists of their LGBTQ+ students and report on their “state of mind”, according to a purported internal directive published online on both Chinese and foreign social media platforms. Shanghai University has not confirmed the request or responded to queries about its intention, but it has sparked alarm among young Chinese people
China’s Ongoing Struggle Against ‘Sissy’ Young Men - SixthTone The narrative around “sissy pants” or “feminine men” is being discussed in the same breath as the country’s demographic crisis, with the volume of voices claiming China is facing a “masculinity crisis” growing louder both from the public and the state. As early as 2017, authorities announced additional gym classes could be one of the first steps to avert the “feminization” of young men. Such stances were soon endorsed by some leading public figures, too. Wu Jing, famous actor and star of the nationalistic blockbuster “Wolf Warrior” franchise, said in an interview that if his son was a sissy, he would “slap him in the face.”
Energy, Environment, Science and Health
Scientists in China ‘struggle to get instruments because of US export controls’ | South China Morning Post Scientific instruments, mostly analytical or measuring devices for use in a laboratory, made up more than 40 per cent of the items restricted for sale to China after being put on the US commercial export control list,
Columbia | SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy | Getting to 30-60: How China’s Biggest Coal Power, Cement, and Steel Corporations Are Responding to National Decarbonization Pledges This report, part of the China Energy and Climate Program at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, assesses how China’s high-emitting industries have responded to the 30-60 targets and the accompanying elevation of climate within national policy priorities. It focuses on corporate and sectoral emissions reduction targets through June 2021 among 30 major firms in three of China’s largest sources of direct emissions: coal power generation, cement, and steel
China’s Carbon Market May Get Lift From New Permits - Bloomberg Participants in China’s carbon market expect 5 billion tons of emissions allowances to be issued around October, a move that will help kick-start what has so far been moribund trading.
5-year plan gives leg up to chip base material - China Daily China's top industry regulator will include silicon carbide, or SiC, an important semiconductor base material, into a five-year plan for industrial technological innovation development. The move is part of broader efforts by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to guide development of carbon-based materials to support chip innovation and development, experts said.
Education
教育部：对培训机构卷钱跑路问题督办_腾讯新闻 Ministry of Education says it will investigate cases of after school tutoring firms not refunding paid for classes they can no longer offer, or firms just running away with the prepaid funds.
I ordered a copy of "Red Roulette" just now. It may be a good companion volume to the very slender book, "The Rise and Fall of The House of Bo." I heard the author speak at a Beijing International Society event, I think it was, at the time the book was released. It includes some interesting insights into the bloody history of Beijing No. 4 during the Cultural Revolution. I wonder if "Red Roulette" makes any mention of Keystone Academy in Beijing, as apparently Wen Jiabao's nephew is, or has been, the primary financer of that endeavor. At least this was rumor on the street as the school was coming online. Will there ever be a series akin to "The Dream of Red Mansions" about the CCP? It would be entertaining, in its own dark way.