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SCHWEIZER
BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE |
Der wöchentliche
Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic
of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP
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DPRK
Mongolia
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| Foreign Policy |
Chinese state councilor meets with Pakistan's senate chairman (Xinhua)
2018-08-16
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday met with Pakistan's Chairman of Senate Sadiq Sanjrani. Pakistan has just held a successfully general election, Wang said, adding that he believed Pakistan's national construction would gain new achievements under the new government. "China is willing to support Pakistan to uphold its sovereignty and right to development, make joint efforts with Pakistan to boost the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as well as to deepen the bilateral all-weather strategic cooperative partnership," Wang said. Sanjrani said Pakistan would always uphold a friendly policy towards China, which was the consensus reached by all parties in Pakistan and a cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. "The new government is ready to work with China to push forward the construction of Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," Sanjrani said. ^ top ^
Chinese Air Force aerobatics team departs for performance in Russia (Global Times)
2018-08-16
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force's August 1st aerobatics team Thursday left for Russia to perform at the Army 2018 International Military and Technical Forum. As the only foreign aerobatic team invited, the August 1st team, which includes seven J-10 aerobatic fighter jets and two Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, will give two performances during the forum. The Army 2018 International Military and Technical Forum will be held from Aug. 21 to 26. It consists of a series of programs including business meetings and contract signings in addition to exhibits of equipment and weapons. The August 1st team, which left from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Thursday morning, will arrive at Kubinka Airport, near Moscow, on Friday. Established in 1962, the team has staged more than 600 aerobatic performances for over 700 delegations from 168 countries and regions. This will be the second time that it will perform in Moscow. ^ top ^
Dubai launches Chinese language training course for inspectors (Global Times)
2018-08-17
Dubai's Department of Economic Development (DED) has launched a Chinese language course to train its inspectors to deal more efficiently with Chinese traders and consumers, local media reported Thursday. The training course, running from Aug. 9 to Nov. 15, was launched by the DED's Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in cooperation with the University of Dubai, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. The program aims to enhance communication skills of DED staff and equip them to deal more efficiently with Chinese traders and consumers, particularly in commercial supervision and inspection as well as protecting consumer rights, the WAM report said. Abdullah Al Kaabi, CCCP director of development and follow-up, was quoted as saying that the program was launched under the directives of the leadership "in order to provide the necessary skills for our inspectors to perform their tasks with high quality and efficiency." "The program will equip the inspectors with the basics of Chinese language as well as on terminology related to commercial inspection, consumer protection and other CCCP functions," Kaabi said. The first program will offer 120 training hours in Chinese language learning. Kaabi added that the program is necessary as Chinese businesses and consumers constitute a large and growing share of DED customers. "The Chinese language course is therefore aimed to improve overall customer satisfaction and service quality through empowering our employees to deal with the public in such a way that enhances happiness of our customers, particularly the Chinese speaking customers," he said. ^ top ^
Indian official's project invite deserves 'cautious welcome' (Global Times)
2018-08-17
Indian officials have hinted at inviting China to participate in an India-Bangladesh connectivity project in a surprise move that Chinese observers broadly and cautiously welcomed on Thursday. India was seeking Chinese participation in a newly drafted project that involves connecting the northeastern states with Bangladesh's Chittagong port, The Times of India reported on Thursday. The pitch was made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ram Madhav and cabinet ministers of three BJP-ruled states: Assam, Tripura and Nagaland, the report said. "If the Indian government confirms an invitation to China to participate in its northeastern projects, that means India is shifting toward China's Belt and Road initiative," Zhao Gancheng, director of the Shanghai Institute for the International Studies Center for Asia-Pacific Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday. China would highly welcome the Indian government's proposal, Zhao said, given the recent uncertainties in the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor. China could offer economic support and investment to India and infrastructure construction, such as building highways, to Bangladesh. But it was a decision that needed to be made by the Indian prime minister or the national government, not a party political leader, Zhao noted. Lan Jianxue, an associate research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies echoed Zhao, saying as long as the project did not relate to any territorial dispute, China would likely get involved. Cooperation between India and China is promising, but India needs to banish any vestiges of a Cold War mentality, Lan told the Global Times on Thursday. The Indian Embassy in Beijing did not reply to an interview request from the Global Times as of press time. ^ top ^
Putin says Russia ready to strengthen ties with China (Global Times)
2018-08-16
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country is willing to improve strategic communication with China and strengthen bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. Russia is also ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in various areas and enhance coordination on international and regional affairs, Putin said here when meeting Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Putin said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached new and important consensuses on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa last month, and that Russia-China relations are significant to both countries and the whole world. Putin said he is looking forward to meeting Xi again. Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said this year marked a milestone in the development of China-Russia ties. Xi and Putin has met twice this year, charting the course for further cooperation, Yang said. Under the leadership of both presidents, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination maintains a strong momentum and sets an example as a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, he said. The senior official said China is willing to work with Russia to implement the important consensuses reached between the two presidents, continue high-level strategic coordination, help make the international order more just and reasonable, and open up broad prospects for bilateral ties. Earlier in the day, Yang and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev co-hosted the 14th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation in Moscow. Yang and Patrushev exchanged views on China-Russia ties as well as global and regional issues of mutual concern, with extensive consensuses reached. ^ top ^
AU hails partnership, cooperation with China (Global Times)
2018-08-17
The African Union (AU) has forged a strong partnership with China through cooperation on many areas, a senior AU official has said. On behalf of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Amira Elfadil, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, said China and Africa have been enjoying a long-standing relationship. The official made the remarks after she received the credentials of the newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to AU, Liu Yuxi, on Thursday at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. "China-Africa relationship is not a new relationship; what we have here on the level of the African Union Commission is a strong partnership with the government of China," said the Commissioner. She noted that the partnership covers all important areas, including political area, peace and security, economic development, investment, infrastructure and energy, public health partnership as well as in the development and establishment of Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). "This (China-Africa) partnership is one of the strongest partnerships we have at the African Union level; we have projects that we are now implementing. We have follow-up mechanism for this partnership," she said. Recalling that the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, made a successful visit to China in February, the Commissioner said Mahamat would lead a high-level delegation of the pan-African bloc to participate in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing next month. The newly appointed Chinese ambassador to AU, Liu Yuxi, told Xinhua that he would endeavor to further promote the friendship and cooperation forged between China and Africa. Reiterating that China and Africa are good friends, good partners, and good brothers, the ambassador said the two sides have been enjoying fruitful results of their cooperation. "China highly appreciates the important role of the AU in the field of peace and security and China also highly appreciates the friendly relation and cooperation between China and AU; and it is willing to further promote this cooperation," he said. He also called for concerted efforts to enhance cooperation via the Belt and Road Initiative and achieve win-win cooperation goals. ^ top ^
Chinese bombers are training to strike US targets in the Pacific, Pentagon claims (SCMP)
2018-08-17
Chinese bombers are likely training for strikes against US and allied targets in the Pacific, according to a new Pentagon report that also details how Beijing is transforming its ground forces to "fight and win." The annual report to Congress, released Thursday, highlights China's growing military, economic and diplomatic clout and how Beijing is leveraging this to rapidly build its international footprint and establish regional dominance. In the case of China's air power, the report states that Chinese bombers are developing capabilities to hit targets as far from China as possible. "Over the last three years, the PLA (People's Liberation Army) has rapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions and likely training for strikes against US and allied targets," the document states, noting how China is pushing its operations out into the Pacific. In August 2017, six Chinese H-6K bombers flew through the Miyako Strait in the southwest of the Japanese islands, and then for the first time turned north to fly east of Okinawa, where 47,000 US troops are based. The PLA may demonstrate the "capability to strike US and allied forces and military bases in the western Pacific Ocean, including Guam," the report says. China is engaged in a decades-long build-up and modernisation of its once-backward armed forces, and military leaders have set a goal of fielding a world-class military by 2050. President Xi Jinping last year ordered the PLA to step up efforts, saying China needed a military ready to "fight and win" wars. The call has alarmed China's neighbours, several of whom are embroiled in tense border disputes with the superpower. According to the Pentagon, the PLA in April 2017 undertook a massive transformation of operational and tactical units as part of its structural reforms. With nearly a million troops, the PLA is the largest standing ground force in the world. "The purpose of these reforms is to create a more mobile, modular, lethal ground force capable of being the core of joint operations and able to meet Xi Jinping's directive to 'fight and win wars,'" the report notes. China's military budget for 2017 was about US$190 billion, according to the report, far behind the Pentagon's annual budget of about US$700 billion. When the Pentagon released its annual report last year, Beijing dismissed it as "irresponsible" in predicting that China would expand its global military presence by building overseas bases in countries like Pakistan. This year's report reiterates that China will seek to establish new bases in countries such as Pakistan. Key to this expanding footprint is China's "belt and road" initiative that seeks to bolster ties with other nations through lending and infrastructure deals. The document also shines a light on China's ongoing military preparations for a "contingency" in the Taiwan Strait. Officially, China advocates for a peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but it has never repudiated the use of military force, the document notes. "The PLA also is likely preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with China by force, while simultaneously deterring, delaying, or denying any third-party intervention on Taiwan's behalf," it states. "Should the United States intervene, China would try to delay effective intervention and seek victory in a high-intensity, limited war of short duration." To the ire of regional neighbours, China has built a series of islets and ocean features into military facilities in the South China Sea. Beijing has now stopped substantial land reclamation. "However, it continued to build infrastructure at three outposts," the report says. ^ top ^
Chinese hackers 'attacked US government and companies' to get secrets from Alaskan trade delegation (SCMP)
2018-08-17
Hackers operating from an elite Chinese university probed American companies and government departments for espionage opportunities following a US trade delegation visit to China earlier this year, security researchers told Reuters. Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said the group used computers at China's Tsinghua University to target US energy and communications companies, as well as the Alaskan state government, in the weeks before and after Alaska's trade mission to China. Led by Governor Bill Walker, representatives of companies and economic development agencies spent a week in China in May. Organizations involved in the trade mission were subject to focused attention from Chinese hackers, underscoring the tensions around an escalating tit-for-tat trade war between Washington and Beijing. China was Alaska's largest foreign trading partner in 2017, with over US $1.32 billion in exports. Recorded Future said in a report released on Thursday that the websites of Alaskan internet service providers and government offices were closely inspected in May by university computers searching for security flaws, which can be used by hackers to break into normally locked and confidential systems. The Alaskan government was again scanned for software vulnerabilities in June, just 24 hours after Walker said he would raise concerns in Washington about the economic damage caused by the US-China trade dispute. A Tsinghua University official, reached by telephone, said the allegations were false. "This is baseless. I've never heard of this, so I have no way to give a response," said the official, who declined to give his name. Tsinghua University, known as "China's MIT," is closely connected to Tsinghua Holdings, a state-backed company focused on the development of various technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotics. China's defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Recorded Future gave a copy of its report to US law enforcement agencies. The FBI declined to comment. It is unclear whether the targeted systems were compromised, but the highly focused, extensive and peculiar scanning activity indicates a "serious interest" in hacking them, said Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic threat development at Recorded Future and former head of the National Security Agency's East Asia and Pacific cyber threats office. "The spike in scanning activity at the conclusion of trade discussions on related topics indicates that the activity was likely an attempt to gain insight into the Alaskan perspective on the trip and strategic advantage in the post-visit negotiations," Recorded Future said in the report. The targeted organisations included Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc, Ensco PLC's Atwood Oceanics, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska governor's office and regional internet service provider TelAlaska. Alaska Communications declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Alaska Governor's Office said "every day, the State of Alaska, like most state governments, has anonymous activity on the perimeter of our networks that amounts to someone checking if the door is locked. The activity referenced here is not unique." The other targets did not respond to requests for comment. US-China trade tensions have escalated in recent months with both sides imposing a series of punitive tariffs and restrictions across multiple industries, and threatening more. The economic conflict has also damaged cooperation in cyberspace following a 2015 agreement by Beijing and Washington to stop cyber-enabled industrial espionage, Moriuchi said. "In the fall of 2015, cybersecurity cooperation was seen as a bright spot in the US-China relationship," she said. "It was seen as a topic that the US and China could actually have substantive discussions on. That's not really the case any more, especially with this trade war that both sides have vowed not to lose." ^ top ^
Cambodia's Hun Sen thanks China as he confirms winning all 125 seats in unopposed election (SCMP)
2018-08-16
Cambodia's 33-year ruler, Prime Minister Hun Sen, pledged to work closely with China with "full commitment" as he announced the ruling party's winning of full seats in the parliament. Hun Sen has published his first thank-you letters to China after announcing the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had won all 125 parliament seats in an unopposed general election held in July. The messages were sent in response to the congratulatory messages from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday night, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. It reported that Xi said he was glad to see that under Hun Sen's leadership in recent years, Cambodia had become more politically stable and more developed in its economy, raised its international status and shown achievements in various fields. "We believe that the CPP will continue to unite and lead the Cambodian people to follow the development path suitable for their own conditions," Xi said. The message from Xi was the first to a foreign counterpart since the end of the annual closed-doors Beidaihe meeting, held in early August among senior Communist Party leaders to set the tone on the nation's major issues. The flattery between the two leaders highlights the increasingly close relations between Beijing and Phnom Penh, with military cooperation and China committing to Belt and Road Initiative projects in Cambodia as its biggest foreign investor. Over the past two years, Beijing has given the kingdom US$600 million – mostly in concessional loans – committed almost US$2 billion to build roads and bridges, handed the country another US$150 million in aid and signed dozens of major infrastructure and business deals worth millions of dollars. This has been in stark contrast to Hun Sen's relations with the United States and the European Union, who withdrew funding for the elections, saying they would not support them because they were uncontested. The main opposition party, Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved under a court order last November, when a five-year political ban was also imposed for all 118 members. The CPP pointed to 83 per cent voter turnout as evidence that a boycott by the opposition, backed by the West, had failed, but allegations of voter intimidation and some 600,000 spoiled ballots undermined the claims. Hun Sen claimed the election had "proceeded peacefully, freely, orderly and in a transparent manner... thanks to a large contribution from the Chinese government" in his letters to China. "China has not only provided generous assistance for the election process, but also sent the largest ever group of observers to witness this crucial event in my country, for which we are profoundly grateful," the 67-year-old Cambodian prime minister wrote in his letter to Xi, reported Xinhua. Before the election, the Cambodian National Election Commission said that in December China had provided 30 types of equipment, including computers and voting booths. ^ top ^
Malaysian PM's visit to open up new prospects for bilateral ties (Xinhua)
2018-08-17
The official visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to China, which starts Friday, will open up new prospects for bilateral ties between the two countries, said Bai Tian, the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia. In an article published on local media Friday, Bai said Mahathir visits China "not only as the incumbent prime minister of a friendly neighboring country but also as a well-respected and long-time friend of the Chinese people." This will be Mahathir's first visit to China since becoming prime minister in May. He has visited China seven times when he was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, according to Malaysia's foreign ministry. Mahathir's first tenure as the Malaysian prime minister from 1981 to 2003 covered exactly half of the 44 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia, said the Chinese ambassador. "His important contributions laid a solid foundation for the comprehensive and profound bilateral relations we are enjoying today," he said, adding that "I am confident that this time around, he will again seek ways to further strengthen and enhance relations with Chinese leaders and iron out a new blueprint for the two countries' future cooperation." China and Malaysia share similar aspirations and objectives to ensure lasting peace and stability both domestically and internationally, Bai said. Mahathir's visit is "a chance for China and Malaysia to show the world that we value our bilateral relations and respect each other's core interests and major concerns," he said. "We may not see eye to eye on every issue but we are committed to resolving the differences or settling the issues through sincere and friendly dialogues in the manner of friends or brothers," said the ambassador. "This is the key to enhancing mutual understanding and building a relationship based on respect, trust and beneficial cooperation that could serve as a good example of bilateral relations to other countries," he said. Economic cooperation between China and Malaysia has significantly increased in recent years. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, the largest investor in Malaysia's manufacturing industry for two consecutive years and the largest source country of foreign tourists to Malaysia for six consecutive years, said Bai. "Yet we still have a huge potential to tap into," he said. The Belt and Road Initiative has more to offer Malaysia as well. During this visit, leaders of the two countries are expected to reach consensus on many areas of cooperation and to witness the signing of a number of MoUs and agreements. These will enable Malaysia and China to further synchronize their development strategies, take mutually-beneficial cooperation to a new level, and reap the fruits of growth in multiple areas, including trade, investments, agriculture, digital economy, advanced technology and tourism, said the ambassador. Citing Mahathir's recent meeting with Jack Ma, chairman of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Li Shufu, chairman of China's car manufacturer Geely Group, respectively, Bai said China always regards Malaysia as a priority partner in investment and cooperation, and encourages creditworthy and best-performing Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia. "I expect more Chinese companies, after this visit, will come to invest in Malaysia and carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, create more job opportunities, offer technology transfer and bring about more benefits to the Malaysian people," he said. "The Chinese government is ready to work with the new government of Malaysia to build a stronger relationship based on shared interests for our mutual benefit. I am fully confident that there will be a fruitful visit awaiting Dr. Mahathir in China," Bai said. ^ top ^
China, Russia vow to safeguard "just and equitable" international order (Xinhua)
2018-08-15
Senior officials from China and Russia vowed Wednesday to jointly safeguard "just and equitable" international order and promote global and regional peace and stability. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev made the remarks when co-hosting the 14th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation here. Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said both countries should firmly support each other on issues of major concern, increase coordination within multilateral frameworks, and jointly push for the settlement of international hot-spot issues. He said China-Russia relations are developing at a high level and have entered the best period in history under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yang said Xi and Putin have already met twice this year and reached important consensuses. Both countries should work to implement those consensuses and continue to cement and enrich their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, the senior official said. China and Russia should deepen cooperation in various areas so that it can better benefit the two peoples, Yang said. Patrushev said Russia-China ties are developing at an unprecedentedly high level thanks to the efforts of both presidents. Russia is ready to continue high-level contacts, strengthen strategic coordination, and work for greater results from practical cooperation, he said. The two sides also discussed issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal, and they reached broad consensuses. ^ top ^
China urges Japan to reflect on its invasion history (Xinhua)
2018-08-15
China on Wednesday urged Japan to face up to and reflect on its invasion history, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a press release. According to reports, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual donation to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Wednesday, which was also visited by a few Japanese congress members. Lu said China has noticed and is firmly opposed to these actions. "The Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II who were directly responsible for the aggression," said the spokesperson. He said China urges Japan to face up to and reflect on its invasion history and regain trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions. ^ top ^
Tonga Prime Minister asks China to write off Pacific islands' debt (SCMP)
2018-08-15
Tonga Prime Minister Akalisi Pohiva has called on China to write off the debts owed by Pacific island countries, warning that repayments impose a huge burden on the impoverished nations. Chinese aid in the Pacific has ballooned in recent years with much of the funds coming in the form of loans from Beijing's state-run Exim Bank. Tonga has run-up enormous debts to China, estimated at more than US$100 million by Australia's Lowy Institute think tank, and Pohiva said his country would struggle to repay them. He said the situation was common in the Oceania region and needed to be addressed at next month's Pacific Island Forum summit in Nauru. "We need to discuss the issue," he told the Samoa Observer in an interview published on Tuesday. "All the Pacific Island countries should sign this submission asking the Chinese government to forgive their debts. "To me, that is the only way we can all move forward, if we just can't pay off our debts." Tonga took out the Chinese loans to rebuild in the wake of deadly 2006 riots that razed the centre of the capital Nuku'alofa. Beijing has previously refused to write-off the loans by turning them into aid grants but did give Tonga an amnesty on repayments. Pohiva said China now wanted the debts repaid. "By September 2018, we anticipate to pay US$14 million, which cuts away a huge part of our budget," he said. Tonga's ability to pay has been further dented this year by another massive rebuilding effort in Nuku'alofa, this time after a category five cyclone slammed into the capital in February. "If we fail to pay, the Chinese may come and take our assets, which are our buildings," Pohiva said. "That is why the only option is to sign a submission asking the Chinese government to forgive our debts." His comments come as Australia and New Zealand ramp up aid efforts in the Pacific to counter China's growing presence in the region. Australia has raised fears in recent months Pacific nations' debts to China leaves them susceptible to Beijing's influence. It has resulted in a race to win hearts and minds in the region. Canberra recently announced plans to negotiate a security treaty with Vanuatu, while also funding and building an undersea communications cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Meanwhile, Chinese company Huawei has agreed to build Papua New Guinea's domestic internet network with funds supplied by Exim Bank. ^ top ^
Chinese defense ministry opposes China-related contents in U.S. defense act (Xinhua)
2018-08-14
The Chinese Defense Ministry on Tuesday expressed opposition to the China-related contents in a new act adopted by the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 into law. The act includes clauses such as directing a whole-of-government strategy on China and submitting the assessment and plan on strengthening Taiwan's force readiness. "The China-related contents in that act are filled with a cold-war mentality, advocating confrontations between the two countries and interfering with China's internal affairs," said Wu Qian, spokesperson with the Ministry of National Defense. Wu identified the related contents as violations to the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three joint communiques between China and the United States. He highlighted their damage to the bilateral relations, military ties, mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. "Chinese armed forces firmly oppose the contents and have lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side," said Wu. Taiwan is a part of China and the Taiwan issue, concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, is the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations, according to Wu. Wu reiterated the resolute opposition to any form of official or military contact between any country and Taiwan, and stressed that "We will never allow anyone, at any time or in any form, to separate Taiwan from China." Wu called on the United States to adhere to the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three joint communiques between China and the United States, and handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, so as to avoid damaging China-U.S. relations, the military ties or the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. ^ top ^
China, Africa to strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction (Xinhua)
2018-08-14
China and Africa will step up cooperation to reduce poverty, a Chinese poverty relief official said Tuesday. "Reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development are shared targets and historical tasks of China and Africa," said Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. The two sides will strengthen communication to share their experience of poverty alleviation and work together to conduct research in the field. China will continue to train poverty relief workers from Africa according to the needs of African countries, Liu told a conference on poverty reduction and development under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The two sides will launch some pilot projects that serve as examples or provide technical support for poverty relief work, according to Liu. ^ top ^
New firewall prevents Pentagon cooperation with Confucius Institutes on American campuses (SCMP)
2018-08-15
Concern about Chinese influence operations on American campuses hit a new high this year after officials at Arizona State University bragged about mixing the school's Pentagon-funded Chinese language programmes and its Chinese Communist Party-funded Confucius Institute. Now, all US institutions may have to choose between Washington or Beijing paying for its students to learn Chinese. Tucked inside the US$716 billion John McCain 2019 National Defence Authorisation Act that US President Donald Trump signed Monday is a provision barring any US university from using Pentagon resources for any programme involving Confucius Institutes, Chinese government-funded language schools embedded inside US colleges. In the future, any universities that have Pentagon-funded and Chinese government-funded Chinese language programmes will have to secure a Pentagon waiver if they want to keep both. Senator Ted Cruz, who sponsored the legislative language, said Confucius Institutes are a threat to academic freedom and US national security. Confucius Institutes are connected to the Chinese Communist Party's "united front" influence efforts abroad. There are more than 100 Confucius Institutes on American campuses and more than 500 worldwide. "Confucius Institutes are a key way the regime infiltrates American higher education to silence criticism and sanitise education about China," Cruz said. "American taxpayer dollars should not be subsidising their propaganda." He was referring to ASU, which for two years had a Pentagon grant to build a pipeline to its collegiate-level Language Flagship Programme (funded by the Pentagon) from its K-12 Chinese language programmes, which are heavily supported by its Confucius Institute. The Flagship programme is prestigious, and its graduates often go on to be top national security officials covering China. The actual overlap was limited, and ASU had informed the Pentagon about the cooperation. The cooperation might not have raised eyebrows except that top ASU officials appear to have claimed it to be deeper and more significant than it actually was. In an April panel at the National Press Club, former Arizona congressman Matt Salmon, now ASU's vice-president for government affairs, claimed incorrectly that the Pentagon was actually funding ASU's Confucius Institute and therefore did not see it as a national security concern. "The Department of Defence has invested in Arizona's Confucius programme because they are looking for this kind of a pipeline to find people who speak Mandarin and are able to do so in their field of study," Salmon said. "I think that shows they are not concerned about it being a threat to national security." Salmon also said those who are concerned about the institutes were engaged in "McCarthyism," adding that, "if it does pose a security threat, then the Department of Defence has made a big mistake by funding our programme." The state media organ China Daily quickly reported Salmon's comments to claim the Pentagon was funding Confucius Institutes and therefore wasn't concerned about them. The ASU Confucius Institute had also been bragging about its cooperation with the Pentagon-funded Flagship programme. They credited that cooperation when accepting their award as 2016 Confucius Institute of the Year. After Salmon's comments, the Pentagon contacted ASU and directed the school to completely separate its Pentagon-funded programmes and ASU's Confucius Institute. For a time, ASU professor Joe Cutter oversaw both programmes. University officials said he voluntarily stepped down from both roles. The Pentagon also did not select ASU for a new grant to link its government-funded college programmes with its K-12 Chinese language programme. Defence officials acknowledged that ASU hadn't broken its agreements but said Salmon's comments showed that the cooperation had gone too far and was being used to misrepresent the Defence Department's position. They do not see Confucius Institutes as benign. "We do absolutely see this as a national security issue," a senior defence official said. "We asked [ASU] what were the facts. Then we took action very quickly to shut it down." ASU officials said the school has now placed a firewall between its Pentagon-funded programmes and its Confucius Institute programmes. "ASU will of course comply with the new parameters set forth in the National Defence Authorisation Act and has already taken steps to do so," a university spokesperson said. More than a dozen other colleges and universities that are subject to the new law because they have both Pentagon-funded Chinese language programmes and Confucius Institutes said they had never mixed the two programmes and would apply for a waiver so that they could continue with both. But several university officialssaid the new waiver process could complicate their next bid for Pentagon funding for Chinese language programmes. They also fear that the Pentagon may look warily upon schools with Confucius Institutes as it plans to begin a new competition for the prestigious Flagship programme next year. ^ top ^
US supports evil cults to destabilize China (Global Times)
2018-08-14
The US is trying to destabilize Chinese society by supporting evil cults in China, and its accusation that the Chinese government is restricting religious freedom is a pack of lies, a Chinese expert said on Tuesday. Article 36 of China's Constitution states that citizens of China enjoy freedom of religious belief, "but an evil cult isn't a religion," Li Anping, former deputy secretary-general of the China Anti-Cult Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday. "Cults call themselves religions, but are in fact reactionary organizations that disrupt social stability," Li said. On the contrary, Li noted, "cracking down on cults is protecting religious freedom and human rights." Li's remarks came after a statement released by the US Embassy in China last month, accusing China of restricting religious freedom and naming the illegal cult Falun Gong as a victim of repression and discrimination. The US accusation was "a pack of lies. It cannot be accepted," Li said. Falun Gong is not the only cult that has US backing. Almighty God cult leader Zhao Weishan escaped to the US in 2000 and controls the cult in China remotely, China Central Television reported. From November 2016 to March 2017, the cult transferred 140 million yuan ($20.3 million) abroad, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday. In 2014, five Almighty God members murdered a woman at a McDonald's restaurant in Zhaoyuan, East China's Shandong Province. Cults must be cracked down upon to maintain social stability and ensure people's safety, according to Li. ^ top ^
Donald Trump signs defence bill imposing tougher regulations on foreign investments – including China (SCMP)
2018-08-17
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a new defence appropriations bill that authorises tougher regulations on foreign investments in the US – including deals from China. The US$716 billion John S. McCain National Defence Authorisation Act – which is named for the Arizona senator, who is battling brain cancer – broadens the command of a cross-agency unit that reviews foreign investments in the US for national security concerns. Under the new law, the unit, known as the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, will have the authority to review a broader set of mergers and acquisitions by foreign buyers. The law "significantly expands CFIUS's jurisdictional ambit, and reflects the most comprehensive reform to CFIUS in its history", Mario Mancuso, a senior member of George W. Bush's national security team and author of A Dealmaker's Guide to CFIUS, said on Monday. Changes to the review process were originally introduced as a separate bill – the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act of 2018, also known as FIRRMA – in November 2017 by Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. It was later incorporated into the defence spending bill. In a statement on Monday, Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organisation for International Investment (OFII), said that "FIRRMA does not radically change the scope of CFIUS to make it a tool for escalating trade disputes, coercing market reciprocity or imposing bygone industrial policy". Instead, she said, "It keeps CFIUS squarely focused on protecting US national security from the deceitful efforts of our nation's adversaries." This is the first reform that the review process has undergone in more than a decade. Although the bill did not single out any countries in particular, the lawmakers have not shied away from spelling out that China's acquisitions of US key technologies are their main concern. The current review process "has allowed bad actors to exploit gaps in our safeguards to gain a competitive edge on the United States", Cornyn said in a statement shortly after the bill was signed. "We can no longer allow dual-use military technology to be vacuumed up by countries like China." Mancuso, who currently leads the CFIUS practice at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, said the new law "will capture many investments that have not been historically subject to CFIUS's review", including venture capital and private equity deals, as in many cases it shifts the reviewer's focus "from whether a foreign investor could 'control' a US business to whether the foreign investor is 'non-passive'". Before the new law goes into effect, the Treasury Department will provide guidance on terms, including definitions of what "critical" technologies might be. Analysts have expressed concern over the lack of clarity regarding what kinds of technology will raise red flags for the committee. That could lead to abuse, or paralyse companies trying to decide what technologies might be off-limit, they have said. The law also finalises weakened regulations that were originally intended to clamp down on Chinese telecoms company ZTE, which was found to have sold parts to Iran and North Korea in violation of US sanctions. A Senate proposal would have effectively reintroduced US sanctions against ZTE, stopping it from buying US parts and putting it out of business, but intervention from the White House saw it watered down. Now, under the new law, the US government is barred from buying from ZTE, but the phone maker is still allowed to buy US parts and sell to American consumers. Despite the bill being named for McCain, Trump avoided mentioning the Republican senator's name in his opening speech. McCain has been a vocal opponent of Trump's. ^ top ^
China finds sulfide deposites in Indian Ocean (Global Times)
2018-08-17
China's unmanned submersible Qianlong 2 achieved a new record for voyage length and working time during the country's 49th ocean expedition which ended on Sunday, allowing scientists to explore sulfide resources in the seabed of west Indian Ocean. Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 10 reached Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday after 250 days in the Indian Ocean, where Chinese scientists surveyed the distribution of polymetallic sulfide, the hydrothermal area, as well as ocean microplastics for the first time, covering southwest and northwest Indian Ocean. During the voyage, the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operated for 257 hours in nine separate underwater missions and covered 654 kilometers, according to a statement sent to the Global Times on Monday by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The AUV helped discover polymetallic sulfide, a mineral resource produced from seafloor hydrothermal activities. The expedition discovered three mineralization zones of polymetallic sulfide, and with the help of Qianlong 2, scientists confirmed the distribution characteristics of the mineral resource. In 2011, China entered into a deal with the International Seabed Authority for a polymetallic sulfide exploration area of 10,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean for 15 years. The expedition discovered three mineral zones of polymetallic sulfide, which means hydrothermally formed deposits of sulfides and accompanying mineral resources which contain concentrations of metals, including inter alia, copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver. The international mining industry is interested in the mineral resource because of the gold and silver deposits. The AUV also succeeded in working without help from its mother vessel and working while using multiple sensor modules, Science and Technology Daily quoted the trip's chief scientist, Tao Chunhui, who is also a researcher at the State Oceanic Administration's Second Institute of Oceanography. Measuring 3.5 meters long, 1.3 meters high and 0.7 meters wide, the Qianlong 2 was designed by Chinese scientists, and is capable of driving to depths of up to 4,500 meters. The AUV was unveiled in October 2014, and has conducted 50 underwater missions in the last three years, the statement said. Gan Yanping, a professor at Ocean University of China, told the Global Times that oceanic resources would be an important substitute as inland mineral resources are depleting. China has made progress in maritime research expeditions with the help of deep-sea exploration equipment, including the Jiaolong, Hailong and Qianlong, which form a complete system of deep-sea exploration for China, Gan said. China also plans to put three maritime satellites in space to improve maritime research, reports said. The maritime economy generated 7.8 trillion yuan ($1.22 trillion) in 2017, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announced in January. In the past five years, China has expanded its international seabed mining scope to 86,000 square kilometers in the last five years, CCTV reported. ^ top ^
Trump urged to apologize for calling foreign students 'spies' (Global Times)
2018-08-17
More than 4,000 signatures had been collected by Monday on the White House petition website, urging US President Donald Trump to apologize for reportedly saying "almost every student that comes over to this country is a spy." Chinese students account for 32.5 percent of total overseas students in the US, more than any other country for eight consecutive years, according to a white paper issued by education agency MentorX in June. More than 350,000 Chinese students studied in the US last year, a 6.8 percent year on year growth. Chinese students contributed $12.55 billion to the US last year, the white paper said. Chinese observers condemned the president's fear-mongering comments as "regrettably irrational" and dangerous to the Chinese community residing or studying in the US. United Chinese Americans (UCA), a federation of Chinese-American organizations from all across the US, issued a statement on Thursday denouncing Trump's "wrongheaded and un-American" remarks. UCA called the comments "unjustified" and "deeply offensive" and called on the White House to clarify the president's disparagement of Chinese students. The White House has yet to comment on Trump's statement. Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University's institute of international relations, said the event reflects not only the top US leader's individual discriminative opinion but also the policymaking elites' common voice against China and Chinese people. Such irrational comments, especially from a US leader, will aggravate US society's fear of China and the Chinese people and endanger the Chinese community in the US, Li told the Global Times on Monday. Li warned that the US under its irrational leadership is losing its competitiveness as a major innovation center capable of attracting worldwide talent. "I'm worried if my child would be captured by the US just because they suspect he is a spy," one Beijing mother with a child planning on US study told the Global Times on Monday. She refused to be named. ^ top ^
China willing to join Japan to seek sound development of ties (Xinhua)
2018-08-12
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday Beijing is willing to join hands with Tokyo to work for the long-term healthy and stable development of bilateral ties. Li and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe exchanged congratulatory messages on Sunday to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. In his message, Li noted that 40 years ago, the leaders of the two countries made the decision to sign the treaty and affirmed various principles in the China-Japan Joint Statement in the form of law, creating a milestone for bilateral ties. Over the past 40 years, the relationship between China and Japan has seen remarkable progress, which has brought benefits to the two peoples, and contributed to the prosperity and stability in the region and around the world, Li added. In May, the Chinese premier paid an official visit to Japan, where he also attended the 7th China-Japan-South Korea leaders' meeting. Li said his visit and the meeting have helped put China-Japan relations back on the track of normal development. China is willing to work with Japan to safeguard the political foundation of the bilateral relationship, deepen cooperation of mutual benefit, properly handle differences and promote a long-term sound and stable development of bilateral ties in the spirit of "taking the past as a mirror and looking forward to the future," and following the principles laid out in the four political documents signed between the two sides, he added. Abe, in his message, said that thanks to joint efforts, the relationship between the two sides has witnessed substantial development in such areas as politics, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges. Both Japan and China shoulder important duties for regional and world peace and prosperity, said Abe, adding that the two countries should continue deepening their cooperation, and contribute to the settlement of all sorts of problems facing the international community. Speaking highly of Li's visit to Japan this May, Abe said is looking forward to visiting China later this year so as to help bring bilateral ties into a new stage of development. ^ top ^
German journalism student in China refused visa renewal after making film about human rights lawyer for class (HKFP)
2018-08-13
Chinese authorities have refused to renew a student visa granted to German journalism student David Missal after he submitted a project on human rights lawyers for his master's programme at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. Missal told HKFP that he handed in his application to renew his visa two months ago. But last Friday, he went to the Entry-Exit Administration and was told that his visa would not be renewed as he was engaging in activities that were not covered by his student visa. He was told that he had ten days to leave the country. Missal is studying under a DAAD scholarship and has one more year left of his programme. "I asked them what kind of activities did I do… and they said you should know by yourself," he told HKFP on Thursday. Missal said he suspected that the reason was that he had chosen to make a mini-documentary on human rights lawyers for his class project. He spoke to several lawyers and visited lawyer Lin Qilei in Hunan. In May, he accompanied Lin on a trip to Wuhan to visit detained democracy activist Qin Yongmin, and was detained by local police there while he was shooting footage. Qin was found guilty of "subversion of state power" and sentenced to 13 years in jail last month. Lin has also represented Wang Quanzhang, a lawyer detained in the 2015 crackdown on human rights lawyers. The student also accompanied Li Wenzu, the wife of detained lawyer Wang Quanzhang, while she was attempting to walk 100 kilometres to raise awareness of her husband's plight. Missal said: "I think I didn't do anything else that would be the reason for denying me the visa. And when I was together with one human rights lawyer from Wuhan… the police came by and took me to the police station." He said he was detained for three hours and officers took his passport. After the incident in Wuhan, Missal was told by his advisor that the school was unhappy about his chosen topic – despite the fact he obtained approval from his teacher beforehand. He said his advisor had received the message from the school's leaders. He said he was told by Tsinghua that there was nothing they could do to change the Entry-Exit Administration's decision. He said he does not know what will happen regarding his status at the university: "I don't have a visa, so I can't finish my studies, so I guess I can't get my degree. I don't know what's going to happen." He plans to go back to Germany for now and perhaps study in Taiwan in the future. He said he may return to China if he is granted a visa in the future, but does not think it is likely. "I really would like to work as a journalist for foreign media in China but I think the possibility for this now is not really big any more." The Exit and Entry Administration of the Beijing Public Security Bureau referred HKFP's enquiries regarding Missal's visa to the school. HKFP has contacted Tsinghua's International Students Office, the School of Journalism and Communication, and Missal's professor for comment. ^ top ^
China calls for dialogue to solve Iran issue (Xinhua)
2018-08-11
China called on relevant parties to resolve the Iran issue through dialogue and consultation based on the principle of equality and mutual respect, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. Spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks regarding the United States' announcement to reimpose formal sanctions on Iran on Monday. "China always opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction," said Lu. He said China has had open, transparent and normal commercial cooperation with Iran in economy, trade, energy and other fields for a long time, which has not violated the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council or China's commitment to its international obligations, nor has it undermined the interests of other countries. Such cooperation should be respected and maintained, said Lu. China always believes that imposing or threatening to impose sanctions will not help resolve issues, and dialogue and consultation are better alternatives, said the spokesperson. ^ top ^
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CPC leaders hear reports on defective vaccine investigation (Xinhua)
2018-08-17
The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Thursday held a meeting to hear reports on the investigation of the defective vaccine case involving Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited. The meeting was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, who attaches great attention to the case and has made important instructions over it on multiple occasions. He stressed that those involved in the case should be held accountable and punished severely according to the law. Xi also instructed all-out efforts to be made to ensure the bottom line of safety and safeguard the public interest and social stability, according to the meeting. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council has held several meetings and sent investigation teams to probe the case. "So far, the facts of the case and the performance of duties of relevant departments and officials have been basically ascertained," the meeting said. "Vaccines are something that concerns public health and national security. The case is a serious offense, in which the vaccine producer violated the law and relevant standards and regulations in pursuit of profits and fabricated false production inspection records. "A number of local government officials and supervisory departments were found in dereliction of duty. The case resulted in a negative impact and exposed many loopholes, such as inadequate supervision, and reflected institutional defects in the production, circulation and use of vaccines." Chinese leaders pledged concrete measures in response to the incident at the meeting. Participants at the meeting stressed that it is important to improve laws and rules, define and implement regulatory duties, step up on-spot production inspection, and prompt companies to fulfill their own responsibilities. They also emphasized the necessity of establishing mechanisms to trace product quality and safety, and target product risks. For vaccine production that contains high risks and requires expertise, the participants of the meeting also agreed that it was necessary to clarify the regulatory authority and special inspection agencies should be sent to assist local supervision. A more professional supervisory force will be formed. Law-breaking companies will pay a much higher price for their illegal activities, according to the meeting. Those who dare to "challenge the bottom line of morality and conscience" will face severe punishment and crackdown, with zero tolerance. People involved in cases that endanger public safety, such as defective vaccines, will receive severe punishment, including huge penalties and life-long bans in the sector. Officials will be motivated to earnestly perform their duties, with those derelict in their duties held accountable. The meeting stressed Party committees and governments at all levels should learn a lesson and take solid action to ensure vaccine quality and safety. The follow-up work of the incident should be conducted in a proper and orderly manner, including re-vaccination and compensation. The long-term vaccine management system will be improved. Participants at the meeting agreed to remove Jin Yuhui from his post as vice governor of Jilin Province, who was put in charge of supervisory work over food and drug administration in Jilin Provine since April 2017, and asked Li Jinxiu to resign from his post as vice chairman of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Li was vice governor responsible for supervisory work over food and drug administration in Jilin from December 2015 to April 2017. The meeting asked Liu Changlong to resign from the post of mayor of Changchun, and Bi Jingquan to resign from the post of the Leading Party Members Group Secretary of the State Administration for Market Regulation and as deputy head of the administration. Bi served as the former head of the now defunct China Food and Drug Administration from February 2015 to March 2018. It urged Jiang Zhiying, a standing committee member of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and secretary of the CPC Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture Committee in Jilin, and Jiao Hong, head of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), to make profound self-examinations. A total of 35 non-centrally-administered officials will be held accountable. Wu Zhen, former deputy head of the now defunct China Food and Drug Administration and National Health and Family Planning Commission, will be investigated by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission, according to the meeting. It also urged the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, Jilin provincial government and NMPA to make profound self-examinations to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. ^ top ^
Top CPC committee sacks several officials over rabies vaccine scandal (Global Times)
2018-08-17
The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Thursday dismissed several senior officials involved in the Changsheng vaccine scandal. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council held multiple meetings to study the issue and dispatched special teams to investigate the case. The details of the case and issues on relevant government departments and officials' duties and responsibilities have been basically discovered, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday. Among senior officials dismissed were the vice governor of Jilin Province Jin Yuhui (who had supervision over food and drugs in the province since April 2017), vice chairperson of Jilin Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Li Jinxiu (who was the vice governor of the province in 2015-17) and Liu Changlong, mayor of provincial capital Changchun. The meeting also ordered the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission to start investigating Wu Zhen, former deputy head of China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). The meeting instructed the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, Jilin Provincial Government and the CFDA to engage in profound self-criticism and self-inspection to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, CCTV reported. ^ top ^
State Council: guilty producers to be severely punished, officials held accountable for substandard vaccines (Global Times)
2018-08-17
Decisions were made at the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Thursday, following a report on the findings of investigations into the case of substandard vaccine producer of Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd.. Mandated by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the investigation team has established the basic facts involving the breaching of laws and regulations in rabies vaccine production and the production of substandard DPT vaccines by Changchun Changsheng. In its reckless pursuit of profits, the company committed unlawful acts of grave nature. The case has exposed supervision failures on the part of local governments and regulatory agencies in implementing their overall responsibility in ensuring food and drug safety, and the fact that state and local supervision authorities lacked severely in lawfully fulfilling their duties of supervision. These include particularly the failure to report major risks and potential risky conditions, and improper contingency management, pointing to serious dereliction of duties and nonfeasance. Up to now, public security authorities have finished the investigation of the Changsheng case and those suspected of breaking the law have all been handed over to judicial authorities for prosecution. Competent department will also properly deal with the substandard vaccines that have been sold overseas. The meeting demanded that those who engaged in law-breaking and criminal activities be severely penalized and those who neglected their duties be held accountable. The company will be punished according to the Drug Administration Law, and all illegal profits of Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. will be confiscated, and a maximum of fine will be imposed. At the same time, local governments and regulatory agencies be strictly held accountable for misconduct, as a warning to others. Drug safety and quality checks will also be carried out for vaccine producers across the country. Any misconduct and problems should be made public and addressed in time. "Our investigation findings and safety checks must stand the test of history," Li stressed at the meeting. "We must conduct thorough safety checks on vaccine production both by producers themselves and competent authorities and close all loopholes in the vaccine regulatory mechanism. Efforts should be made to build public confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines made in China." The meeting urged for putting in place the most rigorous drug regulatory mechanism and for improving the supervision of entire-chain vaccine production as well as related electronic tracking system, and for promoting domestically produced vaccines for quality upgrading so as to ensure drug safety. ^ top ^
China begins 3-year action plan to improve environmental monitoring (Xinhua)
2018-08-16
China's top environmental watchdog will implement a three-year action plan from this year to clamp down on environmental offenses including fabrication and interference of monitoring data. China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment will step up supervision and checks on the data gathered by monitoring agencies at provincial, municipal and county levels, an official with the ministry said Thursday. Polluters in key regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and Yangtze River Delta as well as sectors including papermaking will be scrutinized, according to the official. Despite progress in China's ecological and environmental monitoring in recent years, salient and urgent problems still exist such as repeated falsification of data by polluters and recurrent interference from local authorities, the official noted. Local officials found guilty of interfering with environmental monitoring will receive disciplinary punishment in accordance with relevant law and rules, and those confirmed of criminal offenses in tampering with or fabricating monitoring data will be prosecuted by judicial organs, the official added. Earlier this month, the ministry held talks with leading government officials from the city of Linfen in coal-rich Shanxi Province regarding lax environmental protection measures and worsening air quality. The ministry found the city had fabricated environmental monitoring data from April 2017 to March 2018 by interfering with its six monitoring stations nearly 100 times. Sixteen people involved in fabricating data were convicted and sentenced to varying jail terms in May 2018. ^ top ^
"Internet celebrity" detained over online extortion (Global Times)
2018-08-17
Chinese police have arrested a man who allegedly used his influence on social media to extort money. Police in central China's Hunan Province said they had launched a criminal investigation into Chen Jieren, director of the board of Beijing Hualin Management and Consulting Co. Ltd., for allegations including extortion and illegal business operations. Chen was a self-proclaimed "internet celebrity," who built a massive following on Chinese social media, the police said. Investigation has showed he had published more than 3,000 disturbing articles, for clickbait and verbal attacks, for instance, and engaged in illegal activities such as blackmailing, accumulating tens of millions of yuan over the years. The police source said Chen's activities exhibited features of an online criminal gang, with the participation of his ex-wife, brothers, and a mistress. The victims of the blackmailing include business owners, government officials, and other individuals. Multiple victims said they knew the articles Chen used to blackmail were fake, but they were willing to give away the money to avoid trouble. Chen fabricated his college diploma and status as a university researcher. He whitewashed his experience of being fired by several media outlets for involvement in concocting fake news, according to the police source. "When Chen found that writing could be a lucrative business, he used it to make big money," said his mistress, who was only identified by her surname, Liu. "He knew how to write sensational pieces." Chen had confessed and regretted his acts, said the police source. ^ top ^
China detains 1,834 suspects in online porn crackdown (Global Times)
2018-08-16
China's anti-pornography office said Thursday that 1,834 suspects had been arrested and 1,052 criminal cases solved in a national crackdown on pornography. Operations targeting live-streaming platforms, online games, literature and video have been launched across the country to fight against pornographic content since February, according to the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications. In one case, police in the city of Chenzhou, Hunan Province, smashed a large transnational live-streaming platform aggregator, busting more than 100 platforms displaying porn and detaining 163 people. "The fight against online porn concerns the healthy growth of young people and the immediate interests of the public," said the office, which vowed to continue the crackdown. ^ top ^
Paper proposes fertility fund to encourage births (Global Times)
2018-08-16
Chinese scholars have caused public outcry for proposing salary deductions for all under-40s to subsidize families with 2 kids in a bid to encourage more births. China recorded 17.23 million births in 2017, 630,000 less than in 2016, with births in the first half of 2018 at least 15 percent less than in the same period in 2017. "The peak birth period since the 'two-child' policy has passed," the newspaper, Xinhua Daily, said on Tuesday. The number of Chinese women in their peak fertility age will drop by 40 percent within the next 10 years. China's fertility rate faces a significant drop, the report noted. The report stressed that the country should "immediately remove birth limits as a short-term response." The report also proposed to establish a fertility fund where citizens under the age of 40 would be required to contribute to the fund every year until they have two children. They can withdraw their money and a subsidy supported by the government when they have their second child or beyond. Some netizens, however, consider the recommendation unfair for families who prefer not to have a second child. The report considers people born between 1986 and 1990 the group that would be most open to having children. This group numbers 120 million and has two years left in their peak childbearing period. The country "should seize the opportunity to maximize fertility," the report said. The report also called for an end to charging fees for having more children. On the contrary, the fees already collected should serve as a subsidy for families of four. According to State Council regulations, families that have more children than allowed will be charged a fee, which is normally three times the average annual income of a family in the region. ^ top ^
Former provincial official imprisoned for bribery (Xinhua)
2018-08-16
Zhang Wenxiong, former head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Hunan provincial committee, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 2 million yuan for taking bribes and holding a huge amount of property with unidentified sources. Zhang's illicit gains will be turned over to the state treasury, according to the verdict announced by the Intermediate People's Court of Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The court found that between 2002 and 2016, Zhang took advantage of his positions to seek benefits for others in project contracting, and personnel arrangements and promotions, among others. He was convicted of accepting money and gifts worth over 23.35 million yuan (3.4 million U.S. dollars) personally or through his wife, Tu Aifang, between 2004 and 2016. Zhang also could not account for his assets of 51.58 million yuan, said the court, adding Zhang's family wealth and expenditure clearly exceeded his legal income. Zhang confessed his crimes, pled guilty and expressed remorse, and returned most of the bribes, which constituted mitigation of sentence, the court said. ^ top ^
China regulator orders bailout of peer-to-peer lenders by managers of distressed assets (SCMP)
2018-08-17
China's financial regulator will expand the business scope of the country's distressed-asset managers, enlisting their help to bail out a corner of the financial system that is in danger of collapsing. During a Wednesday meeting in Beijing, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asked four managers of distressed assets - Huarong, Cinda, Great Wall and Orient - to extend their mandate to non-performing loans owed by peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, according to a source familiar with the matter. The meeting was first reported by Reuters on Thursday. The bailout comes in the wake of closures by scores of P2P lenders across China this year - their causes range from credit squeeze to mismanagement and outright fraud - that have caused panic and protests by aggrieved investors. The government of the People's Republic is particularly sensitive to public displays of grievance, especially during a time of slower economic growth, a stock market rout and amid a trade war with the US that's not showing any sign of abating. Concerned that social unrest could get out of hand, the regulator sought out the state-owned asset management corporations (AMCs) to help stabilise the industry. Online lenders must cooperate with traditional banks - the very institutions the P2P platforms sought to disrupt - to work out their financial woes, according to 10 guidelines issued by the regulator. One solution offered by the regulator was to let Cinda and the remaining three AMCs take over P2P platforms suffering from a credit squeeze, but which have good underlying assets, said the source, who declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media. "The state AMCs are the only ones that can help with this difficult situation, which is driving government officials around the clock," said Nanjing University Business School's Professor Sun Wujun. "Economic growth is still under pressure. It is not the best time to absorb distressed assets." The AMCs were created in 1999 to help China's four largest state-owned banks - Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank - remove bad debts from their books in the aftermath of the 1997 Asia Financial Crisis. After nearly two decades of operations, the AMCs themselves are bloated with distressed assets that they too are struggling to dispose of. Huarong, the largest of the AMCs and a processor of loans for ICBC, had 866.5 billion yuan in assets (US$125.6 billion) in 2015, compared with 14.5 billion yuan in net income. The AMCs have their work cut out, and it's arguable how much help they can offer to the P2P platforms. A total of 165 lending platforms stopped allowing investor withdrawals in July alone, locking up hundreds of billions of yuan of capital. Hundreds of P2P proprietors have absconded their investors' cash in July, compared with 65 cases in June, and 10 in May, according to data compiled by Wangdaizhijia, which compiles research on China's online lending business. Investors are taking their online grievances to the streets, prompting Beijing police to come out in full force last week to shield the capital's Finance Street - where the central bank and most regulators are located - from angry demonstrators who call themselves the "P2P refugees." "It is out of political and social responsibility, not economic sense, that the AMCs are stepping in," said Sun. ^ top ^
Judges seek clarity on illegal lending (China Daily)
2018-08-15
Judges have called on lawmakers to clearly define illegal private lending and provide guidelines for the police, prosecutors and courts as soon as possible to prevent financial risks. Personal loans between private parties are legal in China, provided the agreed annual interest does not exceed 24 percent, under guidelines from the Supreme People's Court. In recent years, disputes over missed payments have become commonplace in civil courts nationwide, as lenders file lawsuits to reclaim the money they are owed, either in cash or other assets, such as property. However, judicial officials are concerned many cases may involve lenders using illegal methods and manipulation to make large profits from vulnerable borrowers, according to Li Li, a civil court judge who specializes in financial cases in Fangshan District People's Court in Beijing. Jiang Nan, a criminal judge in the capital's Haidian District People's Court, said that those illegal methods include private lenders offering loans to people who they know will default, so they can force them to hand over property or other assets. That is fraud, Jiang said. On Sunday, the SPC issued a notice ordering civil courts - which handle the vast majority of private loan defaults - to strictly distinguish crimes from economic disputes when dealing with such cases and to transfer suspect cases to the police. Li, who is also a national legislator, welcomed the move but said judges still need a clear definition of illegal lending as well as advice on how to collect evidence. Civil court judges can rule only on the facts in front of them, such as bank transfer documents and loan agreements, she said. Only when there are signs of serious wrongdoing - such as threats of violence or blackmail - will a case be referred to the police for investigation. Li said her court heard about 400 disputes involving private loans in 2012. Last year, the number was almost 3,000, and she estimated that the vast majority of them involved illegal behavior. However, judges and police struggle to find sufficient evidence to open a criminal case, she said. "Civil punishments are not powerful enough to solve this increasingly serious problem. We urgently need criminal penalties to combat illegal private lending," Li said. "It should be defined as a crime, as illegal loans cause great damage to social stability, people's personal and property safety and the financial market." As a deputy to the National People's Congress, Li submitted a suggestion to amend the Criminal Law at the annual session of the top legislature in Beijing in March. Under that suggestion, it would be a criminal offense to fraudulently take possession of another's property in the name of a private loan. She also highlighted several situations in which lenders should be given heavy punishments, such as when borrowers are injured or die over disputes about private loans. Li said what she most wants to see is the legislature officially identify the behaviors as soon as possible. Her suggestion has yet to receive a response from the NPC. Jiang said revising the law needs some time, adding that providing specific steps on how to transfer cases from civil tribunals to police is more practical in the short term. ^ top ^
CPC to promote patriotism among intellectuals (China Daily)
2018-08-16
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has initiated a campaign to promote a "patriotic striving spirit" among the country's intellectuals. The campaign aims to rally outstanding intellectuals for "the pursuing of the great endeavor of the Party and the people," and build a talent pool consisting of bright people with a spirit of patriotism, devotion and innovation, according to a circular jointly issued by the CPC organization and publicity departments earlier this week. The campaign will focus on young and middle-aged intellectuals, with activities such as media promotion, study and discussion sessions, special training and promotion of exemplary models, according to a statement from both departments. It will also encourage intellectuals to maintain a patriotic spirit in their practical work. Special characteristics and the diversity of the intelligentsia must be given full respect, the statement said. ^ top ^
Chinese Hui mosque protest ends after authorities promise to consult community (SCMP)
2018-08-14
A three-day protest by thousands of ethnic Hui Muslims in northwest China came to a quiet end over the weekend, after authorities held off on demolition of a new mosque and promised not to alter its appearance without community approval. The peaceful gathering at the Weizhou Grand Mosque, which started on Thursday over a government ultimatum to demolish the building, was by far the biggest show of opposition by the Hui against a sweeping Communist Party push to "Sinicise religion", including Islam. Residents in Weizhou, a Hui town of about 20,000 people in the northern Ningxia region on the Yellow River floodplain, said that life was returning to normal after assurances were given on Saturday afternoon by the chief of Tongxin county, which governs Weizhou. "It's all calmed down now," a resident who witnessed the protest said. "The county's party chief has told everyone that the mosque is to be revamped, not demolished, and the reconstruction will only take place after everyone is happy [with the renovation plan]." A business owner said: "[The county chief] said we should first celebrate Eid al-Adha, and negotiations over the reconstruction could resume afterwards." Eid al-Adha, known as "festival of sacrifice", is one of the two major annual Islamic festivals and starts next week, running over four days. Internet services also resumed in the town on Monday afternoon after two days of outages, and prayer services at the mosque were again being held as usual, residents said. Even so, some people in the town were reluctant to talk when contacted by the South China Morning Post. Two hung up the phone immediately when asked about the mosque, while another said she "knew nothing about it". A woman who answered a call to the office of Tongxin's party committee confirmed that the mosque was going to be overhauled, but said she did not know any specific plans. The party chief was in the regional capital of Yinchuan for a meeting on Tuesday and could not be reached, she said. The Weizhou government had originally demanded that the mosque, which was completed only last year to replace an older centre, be torn down by Friday, saying it had not been granted the necessary planning and construction permits. That was despite the government appearing to support its construction in 2015, according to an official document seen by the Post. In a letter addressed to the county's religious affairs bureau, the Weizhou government then proposed that the older mosque be rebuilt. It said county inspectors had found a number of "safety hazards" in 2014, including inadequate safeguards against earthquakes and fire. The previous mosque was built in 1979 to replace Weizhou's 600-year-old Chinese-style mosque, which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. "To let the Hui people in Weizhou bathe under the party's sunshine and worship Allah in peace, and for society to develop harmoniously, [we] now request the reconstruction of the Weizhou Grand Mosque," the government said in the letter. Residents in Weizhou said they were happy with the result of last week's last-ditch effort to defend the new mosque, although there was still uncertainty about the result of the "rectification plan". The government had earlier proposed toning down the mosque's "Arab style" by removing eight of its nine domes, an idea rejected by the community. "The domes should be kept together, because they're a whole and that's their style," the business owner said. Domes have been removed from some smaller mosques around Weizhou in recent months while Islamic icons and Arabic signs have also been removed from secular buildings across Ningxia. The authorities' heavy-handed approach in Ningxia is seen by some critics as an extension of the harsh religious policies in place in Xinjiang, a region in the country's far west that is home to the Muslim Uygur ethnic minority. Critics say that in the past two years Xinjiang has been turned into a "massive police state", with hundreds of thousands of Uygurs deemed prone to extremist influence detained in "re-education camps". But China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected the claims, saying that anti-China forces are behind the "unfounded slandering" of the country's anti-terrorism measures. ^ top ^
Family planning subsidies to be gradually increased (Global Times)
2018-08-14
The government will gradually raise subsidies to families with few or no children in a move to compensate families affected by the previous birth control policy, Chinese demographers said on Tuesday. Subsidies will be paid to one-child families in rural areas, families with special situations and some residing in western China. They prepare society for "a possible full termination of birth control policy in order to comfort those families affected by the old policy and to pave the way for a new policy that encourages childbirth," Yi Fuxian, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the Global Times on Tuesday. China's old family planning policy will end this year, Yi predicted. The subsidies weren't really a new policy, but an extension of an old regulation in use for years, Liang Zhongtang, an expert at the former National Population and Family Planning Commission, said on Tuesday. In 2006, the government began paying an annual stipend of more than 600 yuan ($88) to each rural resident over 60 years old without children, or with one child or two female children. Similar subsidies were also paid to parents of dead or disabled children whose options had been limited by the "one-child" policy. By 2010, the number of families that lost their only child was about 841,000, according to industry news website chyxx.com. That number is expected to reach 1 million by 2020. Central and local governments will pay for the subsidies, according to a notice released on the government website on Monday. Photos of posters headlined "1,001 reasons to have a baby" in subway train carriages in the Hunan Province city of Changsha were posted online by Sina Weibo user fingerscrossed on Monday. The post was removed as of press time. Introduced in 1979, China's "one-child" policy was implemented for more than 30 years and averted an estimated 400 million births. The policy began to be phased out into a "two-child" policy at the end of 2015. ^ top ^
Lawyers urge more privacy protection (China Daily)
2018-08-17
Legal experts are calling for new legislation to enhance privacy protections as soon as possible to better deal with spam and unsolicited text messages as well as identity fraud. Although telecom and technology companies are prohibited from sending unsolicited advertisements to customers, "there is no rule clarifying what punishments the enterprises will face if they break the rule," said Li Ya, a lawyer with Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm. "There are no punishments and no deterrents," he said. Apple Inc recently said it is exploring ways to reduce spam, including using advanced technology to identify unsolicited messages and rolling out more tools to block unwanted downloads. It has been working to reduce spam for some time, according to the China News Service. Li welcomed the move, but he said the more crucial and urgent issue is to pay attention to privacy leaks, and solve it by legislation. "We've made legal efforts on privacy protection in recent years, such as providing heavier punishments for those stealing others' information and highlighting protections in our civil laws, but this has not been totally effective," he said. "The articles dealing with privacy protection are scattered throughout 14 laws and regulations instead of being concentrated within one," he said. "Each of them is only loosely related, let alone powerful enough to combat problem. "According to existing regulations, judicial authorities and technology companies as well as government authorities are doing their own job without communicating with each other. So it is unclear who should play the leading role and what responsibilities each party will take when a privacy leak occurs," he said. China has been carrying out periodic campaigns to address the problem. For example, Beijing police detained 138 people suspected of selling, illegally providing and obtaining citizens' personal information during a crackdown in May. "I don't think occasional crackdowns are an effective way of eradicating the problem," said Yan Chuan, a colleague of Li who handles privacy infringement disputes. Yan added that privacy-related legislation should be put on the agenda as quickly as possible. "Many companies can block or remove users' unwanted information on their platforms by advanced technology, but they don't do that because of the current weak rules," Yan added. Zhu Wei, an associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law, also supports new legislation. "We need a unified law to figure out which party's interest should be more protected or which should take more responsibility if personal data is found to be stolen," he said. "We also need a new law to be a 'bridge' between scattered articles, guiding law enforcement departments to do their work efficiently and accurately." ^ top ^
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| Beijing |
Huge investment to improve infrastructure in north Beijing communities (Xinhua)
2018-08-16
Beijing plans to invest around 20 billion yuan (2.9 billion U. S. dollars) to improve public service and infrastructure in Huilongguan and Tiantongyuan communities, local authorities said Thursday. According to Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, the city will spend three years improving functions such as education, health care and transport of the two densely-populated communities located in north Beijing. Since 1998, Beijing has been building large areas of affordable housing in the area. Wang Qiang, deputy head of the commission, said that urbanization and the development of nearby Zhongguancun science park and a future science park had increased the population. The two communities, covering 63 square km, currently have 863,000 permanent residents, and have long been plagued by traffic congestion and a lack of adequate public services. According to the plan, by the year 2020, public services in education, health care, culture and sports will all be improved and a multi-layered road network will be set up to ease traffic. The communities will also have a better water supply, drainage and power supply infrastructure by 2020. ^ top ^
Chinese monk accused of sexual harassment resigns as chairman of Buddhist Association of China (SCMP)
2018-08-15
A high-ranking monk has resigned his positions at the Buddhist Association of China after accusations of sexual assault and other misconduct made against him went viral on social media. Xuecheng, who is also a member of China's top political advisory body, stepped down as chairman and from other key roles after the State Administration for Religious Affairs launched an investigation earlier this month, the association said on Wednesday. The 52-year-old, who is abbot of the well-known Longquan Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, was accused by two of the monastery's former monks of coercing nuns into sex, building illegal temples and embezzling funds. The claims were made in a 95-page document published by the pair on July 31 and promptly went viral on Chinese social media, fuelling support for the country's #MeToo movement, which has been steadily gathering momentum. Xuecheng denied the allegations in an online statement on August 1, saying they stemmed from "fabricated material" and "distorted facts", but just a day later the religious affairs administration said it had started its own investigation. The abbot's resignation was announced at a Buddhist association meeting held to discuss measures to combat the commercialisation of Buddhism and Taoism, the group said in a statement. Yanjue, abbot of Beijing's Guangji Temple and deputy chairman of the association, will temporarily take over Xuecheng's roles, it said. Xuecheng did not respond to a request for comment. Shi Xianjia and Shi Xianqi, the two women who compiled the damning report, said the abbot sent suggestive messages to two female monks at Longquan Temple and made unwanted sexual advances towards at least four others. The document was laden with detail, including screenshots of text messages said to have been sent by Xuecheng. Other chapters outlined how he had overseen the illegal construction of several buildings at the monastery and embezzled funds. Despite its now high profile, Shi Xianjia told China Newsweek on August 2 that it was not her intention to make the report public. "Because that would have a negative impact on Buddhism," she said. "At first we just showed it to some masters but then it was shared widely [online]. The government has taken some action and I don't dare to say more." Neither Shi Xianjia nor Shi Xianqi have made any public statements since. Longquan Temple is known as China's hi-tech temple for its use of artificial intelligence technology to aid enlightenment and the development of a miniature robotic monk. Many of its monks are former top academics from prominent universities. Both Shi Xianjia and Shi Xianqi have doctorates in engineering from the prestigious Tsinghua University. At Wednesday's meeting, the Buddhist association warned of the growing threat commercial activity poses towards monastic life. "The commercialisation of Buddhism has disturbed the order of Buddhist activities, damaged the image and legal rights of Buddhism, and corrupted social values," the statement said. ^ top ^
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| Tibet |
PLA conducts live-fire drill on Qinghai-Tibet plateau (Global Times)
2018-08-16
A digital combat unit of the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted live-fire drills at an altitude of over 4,000 meters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a practice which military experts said showcased the country's determination to build a victorious army. The drills mainly tested the complete digital combat system in the extreme environment, Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert and TV commentator told the Global Times on Thursday. Song noted such a practice is not targeted against any particular nation near the area, but forms part of China's bigger plan to build a strong army capable of winning a war in all weathers and territories. Almost all units will regularly practice in the area, he said. Hundreds of military vehicles carrying advanced weaponry including drones, early warning radar, howitzers and air defense missiles participated in the PLA maneuver, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on August 11. The PLA digital combat unit is able to independently perform counter fire missions including anti-tank and air defense tasks, CCTV said. The exact location of the drill is not identified in the report. CCTV quoted Xu Dingguo, an army officer, saying the digital command system allowed the battlefield information to cover every part of the unit at all stages of combat. Drones can carry out surveillance, strike missions and gather strike results after an artillery attack, Song said. The air-defense troops and missiles guarantee absolute security for the army's weapons. According to the CCTV, the artillery strike could destroy nearly 80 percent of targets after a first round of shooting, before it took out the rest with additional fire. An article published by the Sina military channel on Thursday said that the artillery deployed in the drills were PLL-09, a Chinese 122 millimeter self-propelled howitzer. Although it is less powerful individually than 155 millimeter canons, its maneuverability is better and it can respond quicker in the battlefield to be transported thousands of kilometers via air. PLA naval vessels from three theater commands have also conducted air defense and anti-missile live-fire exercises in the East China Sea, PLA Daily reported Saturday. ^ top ^
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| Xinjiang |
Southern Xinjiang residents get lectures on social harmony (Global Times)
2018-08-17
University students in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have been delivering lectures on ethnic solidarity and policies to local residents in southern Xinjiang, a move to further unify the region, experts said. The training sessions are being conducted in four prefectures in southern Xinjiang, going deep into villages to spread traditional Chinese culture and the latest technologies, Xinjiang-based newspaper City Consumer Morning Post reported on Wednesday. More than 200 students from Xinjiang University have organized 500 lectures from early July to mid-August on various themes, including ethnic solidarity, China's opening-up and reform policies, traditional Chinese culture and the importance of knowledge. Some 150,000 local residents attended the lectures, the report said. Other lectures focused on popularizing science and technology. "Students from Xinjiang University came to our village and explained the government's policies and played games with us. We are very happy," the newspaper quoted local resident Abduwali Abdukadir as saying. "Religious and ethnic issues are relatively sensitive and complicated in South Xinjiang, and students' social practices will greatly contribute to ethnic solidarity," Xiong Kunxin, a professor on ethnic studies at Minzu University of China in Beijing said on Thursday. Xiong said that their contribution is not limited to the spread of China's ethnic policies, but also in how they can befriend local people and better understand each other. "Southern Xinjiang is a region that is less developed in many ways. It is important for local people to expand their horizons to overcome poverty," Xiong said. A unity week campaign conducted by Xinjiang since 2017 has seen cadres and employees from government and institutes across the region live together with their foster families in grass-roots villages and communities of different ethnic groups. Southern Xinjiang is mainly populated by Uyghurs. For instance, more than 96 percent of the population in Hotan is Uyghur, according to the Hotan government website. ^ top ^
UN's claim China holds 1 million Uygurs in Xinjiang camps has ulterior motives, repeats Beijing (SCMP)
2018-08-14
Anti-China forces are behind claims aired by a UN human rights panel that a million ethnic Uygurs may be held in internment camps in the far western region of Xinjiang, the Chinese foreign ministry reiterated on Tuesday. China has previously said Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamists plotting attacks and stirring up tension between the mostly Muslim Uygur minority who call the region home and the country's ethnic Han majority. Authorities have dramatically stepped up security and surveillance there, likened by critics to near martial law conditions, with armed police checkpoints, re-education centres and mass DNA collection. Members of a United Nations human rights panel reviewing China's rights record have said they received credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uygurs are held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy". But "ulterior motives" of anti-China forces were behind the "unfounded" slandering of the country's anti-terrorism measures, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement on Tuesday. "Any defamatory rumours are futile," Lu said. "People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang cherish the current situation of living and working in peace and happiness." China has never officially confirmed the existence of detention centres in Xinjiang, but its treatment of Uygurs, as well as accounts of its use of relatives in China as leverage to silence a vocal diaspora, have spurred an international outcry. China officially guarantees freedom of religion, but in recent years officials nervous about the possibility of radicalisation and violence have tightened controls in heavily Muslim areas. China's policy of "Sinification" of religion has increasingly alarmed many in other Muslim groups, who fear the government is widening strict curbs in Xinjiang to additional Muslim areas, such as the region of Ningxia and Gansu province. In the crackdown, the government has banned religious education for young people in mosques, ordered that the call to prayer over loudspeakers be silenced in some places, and sought to stamp out what it sees as Arab elements in mosques. ^ top ^
China slashes foreign media for smearing anti-terror measures in Xinjiang (Xinhua)
2018-08-14
China Tuesday criticized some foreign media for smearing China's anti-terrorism and crime-fighting measures in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, saying their reports are driven by ulterior motives. "Some anti-China forces have made false accusations against China for political purposes," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a written statement. The United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination reviewed the situation in China at its 96th session on Aug. 10 and 13 in Geneva. The committee is the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its states parties. Governments are obliged to submit regular reports to the committee on how the rights are being implemented. Lu said the Chinese delegation had given a detailed account of China's new progress in protecting the rights of ethnic minorities and the committee affirmed the efforts and achievements made by the Chinese government. He said some foreign media have misrepresented the deliberation of the committee and smeared China's anti-terrorism and anti-crime measures in Xinjiang. At present, the overall situation of Xinjiang is stable, the momentum of its economic development is sound, and all ethnic groups there live in harmony, said Lu. "The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang cherish their happy and peaceful life," he said, adding that all rumors and slander will be futile. ^ top ^
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| Hongkong |
HK, Macao, Taiwan residents eligible for residence permit (China Daily)
2018-08-16
Residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can apply for a mainland residence permit to enjoy better public services from Sept 1, according to a new regulation to be issued by the State Council, China's cabinet. The permit card, which can be read automatically at electronic terminal devices at various places such as railway stations, airports and banks, can facilitate their study, work and life on the mainland, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday. The application is voluntary, and applicants need to live on the mainland for longer than six months, with stable job and accommodation. ^ top ^
China lets Swedish doctor see detained bookseller Gui Minhai seven months after his arrest (SCMP)
2018-08-14
China has allowed a Swedish doctor to examine publisher Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swede who vanished into Chinese custody in January in murky circumstances for a second time, Sweden said on Monday. "Swedish medical personnel have on Monday, August 13, been able to carry out a visit with detained Swedish citizen Gui Minhai. This is welcome," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement. Gui was one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers – known for publishing gossipy titles about Chinese political leaders – who disappeared in 2015 and resurfaced in mainland China. He was released in October, but arrested on a train to Beijing in January while travelling with two Swedish diplomats. He was reportedly en route to see a Swedish specialist over fears he had the neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Wallstrom, who provided no details about Gui's condition or Monday's medical visit, reiterated Sweden's call for him to be freed, saying "Gui Minhai must be released and be allowed to reunite with his family." Sweden was continuing its "intensive work" in the matter, and the medical visit would be "followed up in several different ways", she said. Gui, 54, first disappeared in 2015 while on holiday in Thailand. He eventually surfaced at an undisclosed location in China, confessing to involvement in a fatal traffic accident and smuggling illegal books into the mainland. Chinese authorities declared they had released him in October but his daughter Angela Gui said at the time that he was under "loose house arrest" in Ningbo. In February, after his second disappearance, Gui appeared in a video interview confessing to wrongdoing and accusing his adopted country Sweden of manipulating him like a "chess piece". It was unclear whether that statement was made under duress, but video of his confession showed him flanked by two police officers. A close friend said the remarks were "not to be believed". The Chinese embassy in Sweden said in February that Gui was being held in a detention centre in the city. ^ top ^
HK foreign press club blasted (China Daily)
2018-08-15
The Foreign Ministry's top representative in Hong Kong urged the city's Foreign Correspondents' Club on Tuesday to stop harming national security under the guise of freedom of the press and speech. The censure came in a statement issued by the Commissioner's Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after local pro-independence activist Andy Chan Ho-tin delivered a speech at the FCC in Central. The country's Constitution and Hong Kong's Basic Law guarantee freedom of speech, the office stressed. After 70 years in Hong Kong, the FCC must acknowledge that Hong Kong's freedom of the press is fully protected. However, freedom entails certain limits and bottom lines, it added. The advocacy of "Hong Kong independence" does not fall into the domain of freedom of speech as it violates the Constitution, the Basic Law and relevant law in the city, the office stressed. Article 19 of the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, but that right may be subject to certain restrictions provided by law and when necessary for the protection of national security or of public order, the office cited. The office said all countries have their own limits on freedom of speech despite different social realities and legal systems. It is unacceptable to invite war criminals from World War II to deliver a public speech in France, the office said, and Germany would never allow any party to give believers in Nazism the floor. Moreover, no country would allow foreign organizations to invite separatists to spread notions of independence and violence. By providing a platform for an independence advocate, the FCC intruded on Hong Kong's rule of law and abused freedom of the press, the office said. The central government, Hong Kong SAR government and all Chinese people will not allow "Hong Kong independence" advocates and the FCC to cross a red line and the bottom line of sovereignty and national security, it stressed. Also on Tuesday, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the Hong Kong government "deeply regrets" and is "highly concerned" about the pro-independence talk. Calling the FCC's move "unacceptable" and "inappropriate", Cheung stressed that the SAR government would not tolerate any "Hong Kong independence" advocacy, as it is a blatant violation of the Basic Law and a direct affront to national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is no room for discussing such advocacy, nor any compromises in safeguarding national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Cheung added. Some 32 lawmakers issued a joint statement urging the Hong Kong government to take concrete measures to prevent local organizations from providing venues for separatists. Several local groups gathered outside FCC in Central to protest Chan's speech and the FCC's role in the talk. Protesters condemned the advocacy of "Hong Kong independence". They also called for local legislation on the national security law. Chan is founder of the Hong Kong National Party, the only political party in the city that explicitly advocates "Hong Kong independence" and advertises it on its website. The party is now facing a proposed government ban on operations for its possible breach of the Societies Ordinance. ^ top ^
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| Taiwan |
History downgrade misleads Taiwan students (China Daily)
2018-08-16
The Chinese mainland strongly condemned on Wednesday Taiwan's downgrading of the nation's history in senior high school textbooks as evidence of separatist sentiment and moves toward "Taiwan independence" on the island. "Such de-Sinicization in education will not only poison the young generation's minds on the island, but also further damage cross-Straits relations and intensify confrontation," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Education authorities" on the island said on Monday that starting next year the history curriculum for senior high school students will be divided into three regions－Taiwan, East Asia and the world, instead of the three formerly used categories of Taiwan, China and the world. The China portion will no longer exist independently, but instead under the category of East Asia. China content has also been largely reduced, and will no longer be told chronologically by dynastic periods, but instead by thematic units. Ma stressed that both sides of the Straits belong to one China, compatriots on both sides belong to the Chinese nation, and the island's culture is an integral part of Chinese culture. Any attempts at "de-Sinicization" will never undo the historical and cultural links between the two sides, he added. "Such activities are intended to let people forget their origins," he said, adding that they have already been strongly opposed by Taiwan society and will be subject to more forceful containment by compatriots on both sides. Zhu Songling, a professor specializing in Taiwan studies at Beijing Union University, said the Democratic Progressive Party is using education to influence the understanding of history by youth, and is making students believe the two sides are two separate nations. They are gradually downgrading the Chinese mainland in history education, he said. "Originally, Taiwan was studied as part of the history of China in textbooks, and then the two were separated into two independent parts. Now they put the Chinese mainland within the East Asia category, and in the future they will perhaps put East Asia under world history," he added. However, Zhu said they cannot change the fact that the two sides both belong to the Chinese nation because most have roots in the mainland and exchanges will keep reminding them of the true history. But it is still a serious issue and attempts at de-Sinicization will mislead young people in the short run, Zhu added. "People are the real victims. They will suffer historical or cultural conflicts between what they learn from textbooks and what they realize in practice as cross-Straits exchanges deepen," he added. ^ top ^
US denies change to 'One China' policy after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's speech in California (SCMP)
2018-08-15
US President Donald Trump's administration denied Tuesday any change to its "One China" policy after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen made a political speech in the US, the first time in 15 years a Taiwanese leader has done so. Beijing said that it had lodged an official protest with the United States over Tsai's speech Monday in Los Angeles, where she said Taiwan's freedom and future was not negotiable. Tsai spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library while in transit on a trip to Paraguay and Belize, two of the few countries that continue to recognise the government in Taipei. State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the speech did not represent any move by the Trump administration to alter the official US stance that accepts Beijing as the sole government of China, and does not officially recognise Taiwan's government. "Our policy on Taiwan has not changed," she told reporters. "The United States in regard to this trip facilitates from time to time representatives of the Taiwan authorities to transit the United States. "Those are largely undertaken out of consideration for the safety and the comfort of those travellers, and that is in keeping with our One China policy." Yet previous US administrations have prevented Taiwan leaders from making speeches in the United States that would implicitly elevate their diplomatic status and irk Beijing. Tsai's transit in Los Angeles was the most high-profile since former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian's 2003 stopover in New York, where he accepted a human rights award and delivered several public speeches. Tsai, a firm defender of Taiwan's independence, said in the speech Monday that "We will keep our pledge that we are willing to jointly promote regional stability and peace under the principles of national interests, freedom and democracy." Tsai praised Ronald Reagan for his contribution to Taiwan-US relations, including a commitment not to pressure Taipei to negotiate with Beijing. "Everything was negotiable except two things: our freedom and our future," she quoted from Reagan's remarks in her talk, adding that this is also the sentiment of Taiwanese people at the moment. China's Taiwan Affairs Office on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to any attempt to promote Taiwan's independence when asked to comment on Tsai's US transit. "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. We firmly oppose any attempt to create 'two Chinas', 'one China, one Taiwan' and 'Taiwan independence' in the international arena," it said in a statement. The Chinese foreign ministry said it had lodged an official protest with the United States as it recalled that it has always "firmly opposed" the US or other countries with diplomatic relations with China arranging such transits. The ministry urged Washington to "scrupulously abide by the one China principle" and "not send any wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' forces". Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times accused the US and Taiwan of "shady dealings", warning that the mainland was capable of giving the Taiwanese authorities "a drastic punishment". Tsai's trip to Paraguay comes as Taiwan seeks to firm up ties with its dwindling band of diplomatic allies, whose number fell to 18 after Burkina Faso and the Dominican Republic switched recognition to Beijing in May. Tsai's stopover came amid a rise in tensions between China and Taiwan that has raised concerns in Washington. In April the Chinese military held live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait in what was widely seen as a move to intimidate Taipei. In Singapore in June, US Secretary of Defence James Mattis warned China not to alter the security status quo in the region. Last month, Beijing forced several international airlines, including US carriers, to begin listing Taiwan as a part of China in advertising their services. Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979, but it remains the island's biggest arms supplier and most important unofficial ally. Ties have warmed further since Trump came to power, and were further bolstered by the passage this week of the National Defence Authorisation Act, which includes a commitment to support Taiwan militarily. ^ top ^
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| Economy |
Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.8894 against USD Friday (Xinhua)
2018-08-17
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 52 basis points to 6.8894 against the U.S. dollar Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. ^ top ^
China's vice commerce minister to visit U.S. on trade issues (Xinhua)
2018-08-17
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen will, at the invitation of U.S. side, visit the United States in late August to talk with the U.S. counterpart on bilateral economic and trade issues of their own concern, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday. Wang Shouwen is also the deputy China international trade representative. The U.S. delegation will be led by David Malpass, Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. China has reaffirmed its stance of opposing unilateralism and trade protectionism, and not accepting any forms of unilateral restrictive trade measures, according to an MOC statement posted on its website. China welcomes dialogue and communication on the basis of reciprocity, equality and integrity, according to the statement. ^ top ^
China promises new measures to boost private investment for steady growth (Xinhua)
2018-08-17
The Chinese government will step up reform and roll out a series of new incentives to better remove hurdles hampering private investment and businesses and boost economic vitality, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Thursday. The meeting decided on a host of measures to further facilitate private investment and boost the sound development of the private sector. Premier Li stressed that further measures should be taken to unleash market vitality and boost private investment. A number of favorable projects should be identified as potential targets for attracting private investment. "Our economy is showing a stable performance with good momentum for growth. Facing new circumstances and new challenges, we should step up reform, pay attention to emerging problems, plan ahead, and fine-tune policies as necessary to make sure that the economy performs within a proper range," Li said. Recent years have witnessed the government's relentless efforts in encouraging private investment. In the first seven months of this year, the total value of private investment reached 22.26 trillion yuan (about 3.32 trillion U.S. dollars), registering a year-on-year growth of 8.8 percent, 3.3 percentage points higher than overall investment growth. This amounts to 62.6 percent of total investment in the country, making private investment a major pillar of investment growth. "The stability we aim for should be achieved in the context of continued progress and stability is in itself a step forward for the economy. It is vital to strengthen the financial sector to better serve the real economy," Li said. The meeting called for greater efforts to encourage more private investment and to lower threshold for private investment to enter key areas. The meeting called for shoring up the weak links, boosting domestic demand, promoting employment and strengthening the impetus for long-term development. Additional conditions hampering private investment entering fields such as health care and caring for the elderly will be reduced or lifted, and the government will make targeted efforts to remove hidden obstacles in land use, funding support and personnel training in these areas with stronger compliance regulation. "The potential of consumption as a driver for growth need to be further unlocked. At the same time, more efforts need to be made to reduce business costs, support export, and make better use of foreign investment," Li said. Tax and fee cutting measures for private businesses will be further implemented, while value-added tax reform will be deepened, the meeting decided. Financing transmission mechanisms will be improved to allow financial sector better serve the real economy. A risk compensation mechanism for lending to private businesses will be established to make financing more accessible and affordable for private businesses. "This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, which remains essential for China's social and economic development," Li pointed out. ^ top ^
China seeks WTO dispute settlement over US safeguard measures, subsidies (Xinhua)
2018-08-15
China on Tuesday launched the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement procedure over U.S. safeguard measures on imported photovoltaic products and subsidies for its renewable energy products, the Ministry of Commerce said. "As the U.S. measures severely damaged Chinese trade interests, China's choice to resort to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is a necessary move to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and multilateral trade rules," a spokesperson with the ministry said. Previously, the United States took safeguard measures on imports of some photovoltaic products with additional tariffs of up to 30 percent. The U.S. measures are suspected of violating WTO Agreement on Safeguards. "This kind of abuse of safeguard measures not only hurts the legitimate rights and interests of China, but also affects the seriousness and authority of WTO rules," the spokesperson said. "Besides the safeguard measures, the United States granted additional subsidies to domestic renewable energy products, including photovoltaic products, which are suspected of being import substitution subsidies and violating its national treatment obligations. "The U.S. subsidies provided its domestic renewable energy industry with an unfair competitive advantage, and damaged the rights and interests of Chinese renewable energy companies. "The above-mentioned U.S. wrongful measures seriously distorted the international market for photovoltaic and other products and severely damaged China's trade interests. We urge the U.S. side to take practical action, respect WTO rules and abandon its wrong practices, to bring the trade of related products back to normal." ^ top ^
Dangers of China's household debt must not be overlooked (Global Times)
2018-08-15
While the structure of world power is experiencing radical changes, it is crucial to contain and mitigate potential risks that could threaten economic growth. Household debt needs more attention, as the main focus has been on the debts of local governments and businesses. The total amount of household debt appears to be low, but it exists in many different social strata and regions. If we don't deal with it carefully, household debt could become a serious risk. Though China's household debt was only 48 percent of GDP in 2017, it has surpassed the level of other developing countries. The growth rate of household income is far behind that of GDP growth, which is one major difference with other countries. So the indicators used to measure household debt need to fit the Chinese situation. By the end of 2017, the ratio of total household debt to disposable personal income hit 107.2 percent. This number is above the level in the US before the 2008 financial crisis. The structure of China's household debt has also diversified. Housing mortgages only increased slightly in 2017. But other types of loans, especially short-term loans, increased rapidly last year. One reason for this is that families have to seek other ways to finance their home purchases due to the tighter controls on mortgages. There is a difference in the loan-to-deposit ratios in various regions in China. Provinces with a heated real estate market or that have put more efforts into rebuilding poorer areas tend to have higher ratios. Therefore, the regional systemic risks need to be considered. One dangerous sign is that debt levels are sometimes high in provinces with lower disposable income. Household debt can also affect consumption, in two contradictory ways. The positive effect is that borrowing allows for more spending. But on the other hand, since China has a less developed second mortgage market, which means fewer people take out loans against the value of their homes, higher debts can compromise consumption. Household debt has spillover effects as well. Aside from household consumption, household debt aggravates the problem of insufficient liquidity in the business sector and instability in the banking system. Business risks can also drag down personal disposable income through salary reductions and lay-offs. Families with mortgages will suffer the most under this situation. The interaction between household and business debts will spill over into the banking system as well. If businesses cannot pay back their debts on time, or even become "zombie companies," the risk will pass on to the banks, imperiling the stability of the banking system. Mitigating the household debt issue will require continued structural deleveraging efforts along with other reforms. Deleveraging must cover more than just local governments and businesses - it must also cover households. First, more attention should be paid to household debt and its detrimental effects. The issue should be publicized, so that families are aware of the problem. Individual income tax reform will also have to speed up in order to improve families' disposable income and ease liquidity pressure. Second, deeper reforms of financial institutions should be undertaken. Better credit and loan policies allow for more efficient allocation of financial resources, keeping businesses' debts at a reasonable level. This will help to control the risk of businesses taking out excessive short-term loans. Third, in the long run, China should enact factor market reform with greater determination and allow the market to play the key role in resource allocation. More opening-up, wider market access and stronger intellectual property protection will further improve the investment environment in China. The Chinese economy is facing a complex international environment and various uncertainties. It is vital to keep the opening-up promise, as it will push reform and turn challenges into opportunities. In this process, preventing and curbing risks will become top priorities. Curbing household, business and government debts can provide stability for the Chinese economy. ^ top ^
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| DPRK |
US blacklists Chinese and Russian companies for breaking North Korea embargo and aiding trade worth over US$1 billion (SCMP)
2018-08-15
The US Treasury announced sanctions on Russian and Chinese companies on Wednesday for violating the economic embargo on North Korea as Washington seeks to keep pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear programme. The Treasury accused China-based Dalian Sun Moon Star International Logistics Trading Co and its Singapore-based affiliate, SINSMS Pte., of falsifying documents to facilitate shipments of alcohol and cigarettes to North Korea. Those shipments helped fuel what the Treasury alleged was a huge "illicit" cigarette trade earning the Pyongyang regime US$1 billion a year. It also blacklisted Russia-based Profinet Pte. for violating UN sanctions by providing port services like loading and refuelling to sanctioned North Korean-flagged ships at three eastern Russia ports. Also named was Profinet director general Vasili Aleksandrovich Kolchanov, whom the Treasury said "was personally involved" in deals with the North Koreans. "Treasury reminds the shipping industry, including flag states, ship owners and operators, crew members and captains, insurance companies, brokers, oil companies, ports, classification service providers, and others of the significant risks posed by North Korea's shipping practices," the Treasury said in a statement. Despite having opened direct talks with Pyongyang, Washington continues to enforce the embargo on trade with North Korea in order to put pressure on the country to end its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme. "Treasury will continue to implement existing sanctions on North Korea, and will take action to block and designate companies, ports, and vessels that facilitate illicit shipments and provide revenue streams to the DPRK," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement Wednesday. "Consequences for violating these sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea." ^ top ^
China looks forward to positive results from north-south summit in Pyongyang (Global Times)
2018-08-15
China Wednesday welcomed the upcoming north-south summit in Pyongyang set for next month, saying it looks forward to positive results. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) agreed Monday to hold a third summit between their respective leaders Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang in September. "We welcome the agreement and commend the efforts of both sides to this end," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a press statement. He said China, as a close neighbor, is glad to see and supports contact and dialogue between the north and south of the peninsula, as well as efforts to implement the Panmunjom Declaration and promote reconciliation and cooperation. "We hope that the summit will be held smoothly and yield positive results, and believe the efforts will help forge ahead the denuclearization process and a political solution on the peninsula," Lu said in the statement. Kim and Moon signed the Panmunjom Declaration after their first meeting on April 27. Under the declaration, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation and exchanges. ^ top ^
North Korea stops tourist visas as republic's 70th anniversary approaches (SCMP)
2018-08-14
North Korea has stopped processing tourist visas for foreigners ahead of a high-profile anniversary next month, according to a China-based tour operator. The measure follows reports that Pyongyang had suspended visits by Chinese tour groups as it prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known. Koryo Tours, a popular agency among Western tourists seeking to visit the North, said on its website it had been "informed on 13 August by our partners in Pyongyang that they had been instructed from above that all tourist visa applications currently under way are to be frozen". It was not given a reason for the freeze, the company said, but was told it would apply until the anniversary on September 9. "This suggests to us that... a higher power in the country is simply pressing pause on tourism until it is clear to them who is coming in such delegations and how many people," it added. Pyongyang has previously celebrated the date lavishly with military parades or mass games involving thousands of people performing acrobatic choreography in unison, and is expected this time to hold its first mass games for five years. Speculation has also mounted that the nuclear-armed North could be preparing to stage a parade – at which it normally shows off some of the weapons that have earned it multiple sets of UN Security Council sanctions. Chinese President Xi Jinping is speculated to be on the guest list, after officials in the North told South Korean journalists that he was invited to the event. In his New Year speech in January, leader Kim Jong-un said North Korean people would "greet the 70th founding anniversary of their Republic as a great, auspicious event". The occasion comes during a rare diplomatic detente on the Korean peninsula during which the South's president Moon Jae-in and Kim have meet twice, with a third summit planned for September. The rapprochement also led to a landmark summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, where the two leaders signed a vague agreement on denuclearisation. Although Trump touted his summit with Kim as a historic breakthrough, the North has since criticised Washington for its "gangster-like" demands of complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament. The US has urged the international community to maintain tough sanctions on the isolated regime. ^ top ^
Kim, Moon to meet again in September (Global Times)
2018-08-17
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit between their leaders in Pyongyang in September, leading Chinese analysts to say that Seoul should show more autonomy and determination in promoting peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula regardless of the US stance on those issues. The agreement on the leaders' meeting was reached after senior-level talks between the two sides were held on Monday at Tongilgak, a North Korean building in the border village of Panmunjom. In a joint statement released after the talks, the two Koreas agreed to hold the summit in Pyongyang before the end of September but did not provide a detailed schedule, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The Yonhap News Agency reported that a date for the Kim-Moon meeting has been set, citing senior officials in Seoul. The South Korean agency also noted the meeting would be the first between the two countries' leaders to take place in the North Korean capital since 2007. Economic cooperation, practical moves toward denuclearization and issues related to a formal peace treaty to legally end the state of war between the North and the South are likely to be discussed during the summit, said analysts. Since announcing its willingness to denuclearize, North Korea has been eager to begin its economic transformation with substantial support from South Korea and China, Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. How to pragmatically push forward potential railway and road cooperation, and other projects that could improve the lives of North Koreans without violating the UN Security Council's sanctions are likely to be discussed, said Lü. New impetus The third summit between Kim and Moon would come amid warming inter-Korean relations and an apparent deadlock in denuclearization and talks between Washington and Pyongyang. "Little practical progress has been seen in implementing the Panmunjom Declaration after it was signed in April during the first Kim-Moon meeting. The US has failed to respond to North Korea's denuclearization efforts with sincere moves, and the deadlock cannot be broken by one sides' endeavors alone," Lü said. The September summit is a chance to create new impetus toward peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and South Korea needs to show it can act independently of the US, Lü noted on Monday. Following initial positive interactions among Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington in the first half of 2018, it seemed certain that inter-Korean relations were moving toward a major breakthrough, but now it is not certain if US-North Korean relations can maintain momentum as mistrust between the two has not been addressed, said Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. "Whether the warming of inter-Korean relations can break the deadlock in US-North Korean relations or whether Washington will drag those ties down remains to be seen," said Yang. However, Pyongyang is more willing to negotiate with Washington, and a third Kim-Moon summit is unlikely to achieve a breakthrough, Yang stressed on Monday. Meanwhile, travel agencies based in Dandong, a border city with North Korea, report that tours to North Korea were suspended on Saturday and will not resume until September 5. A salesperson at the Dandong Jiuzhou International Travel Service told the Global Times that the suspension was due to the celebration of North Korea's national day which falls on September 9, though such trips were not halted during the same period last year. ^ top ^
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| Mongolia |
International mining investors to convene in Ulaanbaatar (Montsame)
2018-08-16
16th 'Discover Mongolia', an international mining investors' forum, is to be held in Ulaanbaatar on September 7. Keynote remarks of the forum will be delivered by Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar. He will present the Government's policy and decisions under the theme 'Developing Mongolia's leading economic sector'. Moreover, general introduction of the Oyu Tolgoi Project is to be provided on the topic 'International-level mining development in Mongolia'. The Government of Mongolia, the National Mining Association and the Business Council of Mongolia are jointly organizing the event. ^ top ^
Mongolia preparing to launch second satellite (Montsame)
2018-08-17
In July, 2017, Mongolia launched its first satellite 'Mazaalai'. Now, the country is in the preparation stage to launch its second satellite, said D. Erdenebaatar, engineer of the 'Mazaalai' Project, at the 3rd meeting of international project 'BIRDS'. Aimed at developing space studies in Mongolia, training specialists and joining to space technology network of developed countries, the meeting opened on August 16 at the National University of Mongolia, with involvement of scientists and researchers from 18 countries. During the meeting, participants are discussing about creating Mongolia's 2nd satellite as large-scaled and launching the satellite. "After resolving financial issues, assembling of the satellite will begin and then a release date will be clear. The second satellite is intended to be made for two purposes; science-oriented and application-oriented. We are able to develop mini-scaled scientific purpose satellite in the National University of Mongolia. It is significant to naturalize high-technology in the native country and produce innovation products in the country," said D. Erdenebaatar. Mongolia's first satellite 'Mazaalai' is part of BIRDS-1 constellation of satellites, built through the Joint Global Multi-National Birds Satellite at Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology, a program intended to help universities in non-spacefaring countries get satellites into space. The BIRDS-1 constellation also included satellites from Japan, Ghana, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Mazaalai satellite performs experiments, including air density measurement and investigation of cosmic radiation. ^ top ^
Defense Minister receives ICRC delegation (Montsame)
2018-08-10
As the President of Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS), Defense Minister N.Enkhbold met today with Larry Maybee, the Deputy Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation for East Asia. The Deputy Head thanked the MRCS as well as the Government and the Ministry of Defense of Mongolia for supporting international humanitarian activities. The meeting discussed progress and results of the establishment of a Mongolian National Group in charge of implementation and promotion of International Red Cross' legal status and law. The national group will be established soon and its regulations will be approved to ensure its operation. Ms. Larry Maybee expressed gratitude to the Government of Mongolia for showing a good example to other countries with its strict adherence to the International Red Cross' law in the process of international peacekeeping operations and voiced readiness to work more effectively in the future. ^ top ^
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Ms. Selina Morell
Embassy of Switzerland
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The Press review is a random selection
of political and social related news gathered from various media
and news services located in the PRC, edited or translated by
the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and distributed among Swiss
Government Offices. The Embassy does not accept responsibility
for accuracy of quotes or truthfulness of content. Additionally
the contents of the selected news mustn't correspond to the opinion
of the Embassy.
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