Third plenum, NATO accuses China, and food safety scandal
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THROUGH THE LENS
IN FOCUS
Chinese lose confidence in meritocracy
Chinese people are blaming inequality in the economic system for diminishing their chances at amassing wealth, as urgency builds for Beijing to revive confidence at a key policy meeting.
Connections and growing up in a rich family were now seen as the top predictors of wealth in a survey of thousands of Chinese citizens published Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That’s a dramatic shift from the decade prior to 2015 when ability and talent was the most popular response.
Unequal opportunity replaced lack of ability in the survey as the primary reason why people in China were poor. That marked the first time it had topped responses in the two decades researchers have conducted the nationwide polls, the Washington-based think tank said in its report.
“These trends suggest less confidence in meritocracy and the economy to deliver for all citizens equitably,” CSIS fellows Ilaria Mazzocco and Scott Kennedy wrote, warning of the dangers in that scenario. “A public that is more uncertain of its future is less likely to engage in consumption or invest in new business.”
Read: Chinese Lose Confidence in Meritocracy as Path to Greater Wealth
XINJIANG
EU Should Add Xinjiang, Aluminum to Forced Labor Database
Human Rights Watch
Listing Xinjiang and the aluminum sector in the FLR database is crucial for the regulation to have concrete impact on state-imposed forced labor in China. The European Commission should also include other sectors among more than 17 industries associated with state-imposed forced labor that the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region, including Human Rights Watch, has identified.
Though it seems simple, this action demands political courage, as China’s past retaliatory practices have created a climate of fear. It will doubtlessly also face resistance from those EU countries, Germany among them, that have strong economic dependencies on China. Finding that courage would add considerable strength to the global response, along with the US, Canada, Mexico, and other governments considering forced labor import bans, to address state-imposed forced labor, and more broadly, the Chinese government’s grave international crimes in Xinjiang.
Landmark decision as Argentina Court of Cassation reverses judge’s decision not to open Uyghur case for crimes against humanity and genocide
World Uyghur Congress
On 11 July 2024, the Argentinian Federal Court of Criminal Cassation handed down their decision in relation to a criminal complaint filed by the World Uyghur Congress, Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, and the Uyghur Human Rights Project for genocide and crimes against humanity. The Court of Cassation held that the Court of Appeal of Buenos Aires had been wrong to agree with the Prosecutor’s decision to archive the complaint and ordered the Prosecutor to open an investigation. The result of yesterday decision is that the first instance judge will have to open the case and being the Court’s investigatory stage of proceedings.
This is a groundbreaking moment for the Uyghurs who are now closer to achieving justice for the international crimes committed against their people by Chinese state agents, as part of the systematic repression of Turkic people in the Uyghur Region.
The Court of Cassation’s decision follows the filing on 16 August 2022, of a criminal complaint in Buenos Aires, under the universal jurisdiction provisions set out in Article 118 of Argentinian Constitution, which allow for complaints concerning international crimes to be tried by any court in Argentina, no matter where these offences occur around the world.
POLITICS & SOCIETY
China plays down hopes for ‘strong medicine’ at top economic policy meeting
Financial Times
Analysts have been scrutinising recent speeches by Xi and other leaders for signals of Beijing’s policy direction over the next five or more years that could be unveiled at the conclave, which will be held from July 15 to 18.
Possible areas of focus include Xi’s “new quality productive forces”, party jargon that analysts believe refers to advanced technology, green energy industries and upgraded manufacturing, as well as fiscal and social welfare reforms, changes to China’s hukou household registration system and efforts to reinvigorate private sector confidence.
The central committee — which currently consists of 205 full members and 171 alternates appointed at the party’s 20th congress in October 2022 — generally convenes seven plenums over its five-year term. The third meeting attracts particular international attention because of past pronouncements on economic policy.
“The base case is that this third plenum will not mark a fundamental departure from the course Xi has already laid out,” said Gavekal analysts Andrew Batson and Wei He in a research note.
“Its official agenda is to study ‘advancing Chinese-style modernisation’, Xi’s term for pursuing his vision of national greatness, in which technological self-sufficiency and national security outweigh economic growth.”
Politics First: The Key to Understanding China’s Third Plenum
Asia Society
The policy signals for this month’s plenum suggest a strong emphasis on Xi’s goals of achieving technological self-reliance, addressing financial risks, streamlining central-local relations, and improving social welfare. There are also hints that Beijing may try to ease conditions for private firms and foreign investors in high-tech sectors, as well as efforts to enhance internal Party governance. Additionally, several previously sacked officials are expected to lose their seats on the Central Committee.
This article analyzes the historical context, policy signals, personnel movements, and key documents related to the upcoming Third Plenum.
Was fallen Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe compromised by hostile force?
SCMP
China’s fallen former defence minister Wei Fenghe may have been compromised by a hostile force as the peculiar wording of the official indictment hinted.
In an unprecedented move, Wei, along with his successor Li Shangfu, was officially impeached by the Politburo headed by President Xi Jinping on June 27. The duo were expelled from the party and could face further legal action.
While Beijing has not revealed details of their offences, one particular phrase from the official impeachment against Wei caught the attention of seasoned Chinese experts.
Of the all top generals who fell in Xi’s war against corruption, Wei was the only one described as “zhongcheng shi jie” or “ being disloyal and losing one’s chastity”.
The hard-to-translate phrase “shi jie” has its origins in Chinese history, where it was used to describe the moral degradation of the scholar-gentry who formed the ruling class.
In the fourth century BC the word “jie” was a bamboo or bronze sceptre representing royal authority – while “shi” means to lose – so a betrayal or defection would imply the loss of this jie.
Later in the Song dynasty (which ruled from the 10th to 13th centuries), it referred to women perceived as unchaste, such as widows who remarried.
China watchers familiar with the Communist Party’s history note that it has used the phrase as a euphemism for betraying the party and being compromised by a hostile force.
Outrage in China over use of unwashed fuel tankers to transport cooking oil
The Guardian
A food safety scandal has caused mounting public outrage in China days before a high-level Chinese Communist party meeting at which leaders will try to boost confidence in the economy.
Last week the state-run newspaper Beijing News published an in-depth exposé on the “open secret” of fuel tankers being used to transport cooking oil, without the tankers being washed or disinfected in between.
App that tracked fuel tankers in China used to transport cooking oil is disabled
The Guardian
An app that allows users to track trucks across China has been disabled after a scandal in which reporters discovered that tankers used to transport fuel were also being used to transport cooking oil, without proper cleaning in between.
On Thursday, Chinese media reported that the tracking function on Shipping Help, an app used to track cargos, had been disabled. The app displayed a message saying the service was being “upgraded” and was therefore “temporarily unavailable”.
Previously, Shipping Help’s tracking function could be used by normal people and businesses to inquire about the location of specific trucks, using satellite monitors.
Report: Is It Me or the Economic System? Changing Evaluations of Inequality in China
Big Data China
The original question animating many observers’ attention concerned the relationship between inequality and political stability. It appears that those who thought there was a social volcano ready to erupt and remove the CCP from power did not appreciate that the Chinese populace for a long time found acceptable the country’s inequality and the trajectory of their own lives. The latest survey, though, shows a growing disquietude, with more widespread feelings of inequity and unfairness.
[…]
While some are focused on the potential links between inequality and political stability, the discussion suggests that more attention should be placed on the immediate, more tangible effects of changing perceptions. In addition to lying down, laying low, or leaving, a public that is more uncertain of its future is less likely to engage in consumption or invest in new business. And so the most likely consequence of a sense of inequity is a slowing economy. It also means that the kinds of statements and actions the government must take to assuage such concerns are higher than in periods of greater optimism. And it is possible that the bar officialdom will have to clear to induce greater public confidence will grow higher.
China releases tortured rights lawyer Chang Weiping
RFA
Chinese authorities have released human rights attorney Chang Weiping, sending him to live in the southern island province of Hainan under a travel ban following the completion of his 3 1/2-year jail term for "subversion," his U.S.-based wife said on Tuesday.
Chang was released from Weinan Prison near his birthplace in the northern province of Shaanxi on July 8, his wife Chen Zijuan told RFA Mandarin in an interview.
She said prison officers took him to Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, where his household registration, or “hukou,” is, but a place he has scant ties to now.
"Our family doesn't have any property or any relatives there," Chen said. "According to my understanding of the law, someone who has been released from prison ought to be free."
Chang was arrested after attending a gathering of dissidents in the southeastern city of Xiamen in December 2019, and sentenced to three-and-a-half years for “incitement to subvert state power.”
Chinese Cities Roll Back Pandemic-Era Tourist Site Ticketing Systems
Sixth Tone
Cities across China are moving to scrap online ticketing systems for tourist sites that require real-name registration.
Some major Chinese tourist attractions began requiring visitors to reserve tickets — sometimes several days ahead of time — via online platforms in 2019 to deal with overcrowding. After COVID-19 struck, this became mandatory in cities all over the country, with authorities using the systems to track and trace close contacts and restrict visitor numbers.
But online-only ticketing also caused a number of issues, with many visitors complaining that the systems were inconvenient, required too much personal information, and were frequently hijacked by scalpers.
Now, a growing number of local governments are moving to roll back the systems, with the eastern city of Hangzhou becoming the latest to announce the scrapping of mandatory online ticketing on July 5.
China Issues Flood Warning With Yangtze River Seen at Risk
Bloomberg
China warned it will face a “complex and severe” challenge to prevent floods over the coming week, with some of its major rivers under threat as the country entered the main season for inundations.
The upper reaches of the Yangtze River will be hit by more flooding, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said in a statement on the ministry’s website late on Friday.
China’s southern areas have been battered by heavy rain in recent weeks. Li’s ministry has already issued emergency responses in several provinces, relocating people from flood-prone areas and urging better monitoring, including patrolling of dikes.
China’s Three Gorges Dam on flood alert as rain batters megacity Chongqing
SCMP
Devastating rains have struck Chongqing municipality in southwest China with the Three Gorges Dam on high alert for a new round of flooding.
Six people deaths had been recorded as a result of heavy rainfall in Chongqing’s Dianjiang county as of Thursday. State broadcaster CCTV said four people had been killed by “geological disasters” and the other two had drowned.
The rainfall in Dianjiang reached a record single-day high of 269.2mm (10.6 inches), affecting more than 40,000 people.
CCTV said it had damaged nearly 1,800 hectares (4,448 acres) of crops, and caused direct economic losses of around 82 million yuan (US$11.3 million).
On Thursday the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters in Chongqing raised the flood emergency response to Level 3 for 14 districts and counties and the geological disaster alert to Level 3 for nine areas. The alerts are part of a four-tier system in which Level 1 is the most severe.
HONG KONG & MACAO
After US renews HK's 'emergency status,' China slams 'delusion'
HKFP
Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has accused the US of “persecutory delusion” after Washington extended the city’s “emergency status,” citing “recent actions” taken by China.
The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong released a statement on Thursday warning the US to stop interfering in the city’s affairs.
“The US has again generalised the concept of national security to delusionally claim that Hong Kong’s situation poses a threat to US security, foreign policy and economy,” the Chinese statement read. “[US] persecutory delusion is getting worse.”
Hong Kong police to replace US-made guns with Chinese-made pistols
HKFP
Ko did not disclose the number of guns imported and the costs involved during the press conference, citing confidentiality.
When asked whether the decision to switch to Chinese pistols was affected by foreign sanctions that banned the exports of weaponry to the city, Ko said the force had complied with the government’s procurement requirements and compared guns manufactured by different places.
“It involves a lot of factors, such as the procurement procedure, government resources, and the selection process has been very rigorous,” he said in Cantonese.
Hong Kong to limit number of cars from Guangdong, Macau entering via mega bridge
SCMP
Hong Kong will allow several hundred private cars from mainland China and Macau to enter the city via a mega bridge starting as early as the end of the year, with the transport minister telling the Post he wanted a ‘smaller-scale’ launch for the new border-crossing policy.
In a wide-ranging interview, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung revealed the long-awaited “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” scheme would have more than 1,000 automated car parking spaces located on the artificial island of the local side of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, upon the completion of the first stage of the initiative.
Lam no longer mentioned plans for 6,000 parking spaces to be made available at the facility, as he discussed in March.
“We want to start it off with a smaller scale,” he said. “If demand is good, we will map out our next step of the development. I expect it will be popular.”
The scheme has been on the drawing board for years as a key feature of the “one-hour living circle” vision for the Greater Bay Area, an emerging economic zone consisting of Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province.
TAIWAN
Taiwan monitors Chinese military surge, calls China a threat to stability
Reuters
Taiwan said on Thursday that it was closely watching the Chinese military, which it said posed a rising threat to the region, after a flurry of warplanes passed near the island to join drills with China's Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
The Chinese military exercises coincide with a NATO summit in Washington, where a draft communique says China has become a decisive enabler of Russia's war effort in Ukraine and Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Europe and to security.
The Shandong passed close to the Philippines on its way to the Pacific exercises, Taiwan's defence minister said on Wednesday.
Taiwan on alert over 'waves' of missile tests in north China
Reuters
Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday it was monitoring "waves" of missile tests taking place in China's far northern region of Inner Mongolia and that its air defence forces were on alert.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, keeps a close watch on all Chinese military activities given Beijing's regular activities around the island, but only rarely releases details of what it sees taking place inside China.
The ministry said that from 4 a.m. (2000 GMT on Friday) it had detected "multiple waves of test launches" by China's Rocket Force in Inner Mongolia, which lies some 2,000 km (1,200 miles from Taiwan.
Taiwan to strengthen civil defence to prepare against China threat
Financial Times
Taiwan’s government is working to prepare public services and infrastructure to function in wartime as China’s increasingly aggressive stance fuels concerns about the risk of open conflict.
The reform agenda includes proposals to boost civil defence manpower, build up food and energy stockpiles and emergency medical capacity and strengthen communication infrastructure, according to several government officials familiar with the discussions.
Taiwan foreign minister steps up economic diplomacy under China pressure
Nikkei Asia
Taiwan's new foreign minister is making a fresh push on economic diplomacy, with plans to set up industrial zones overseas and support small businesses' expansion abroad, according to several government officials and foreign diplomats in Taipei.
Lin Chia-lung, a former mayor and political heavyweight who was appointed foreign minister in new President Lai Ching-te's administration, is prioritizing trade and commerce as he settles into the role. Opening a window on the strategy of Lai's team, a senior official told Nikkei Asia: "We are planning to set up industrial zones in Japan, the Czech Republic and one of the New Southbound countries, probably the Philippines, Vietnam or Thailand."
That would build on the New Southbound Policy of Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, who sought to strengthen ties with countries in Oceania and South and Southeast Asia to lessen Taiwan's dependence on China. Taiwanese companies invested more in those countries than in China for the first time in 2022.
China Sanctions Six US Defense Companies for Taiwan Arms Sale
Bloomberg
China is sanctioning six American defense companies and senior executives for their involvement in a recent US arms sale to Taiwan, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The sale “seriously violates the one-China principle,” interferes in China’s internal affairs and undermines the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the ministry’s statement.
The China-based assets of the six companies — including Anduril Industries, Maritime Tactical Systems, Pacific Rim Defense, AEVEX Aerospace, LKD Aerospace and Summit Technologies Inc. — will be frozen, effective July 12, MOFA added.
Three senior executives from Anduril, including CEO Brian Schimpf, will also have their assets in China frozen and be denied entry into the country, it said. Similar measures are also applied to two executives of US drone maker AeroVironment Inc., including Chairman and CEO Wahid Nawabi.
Greg Abbott Opens Texas-Taiwan Office
Newsweek
Amid his first visit to Taiwan, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Sunday the opening of a Texas-Taiwan trade representative office in Taipei to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island.
Taiwan-based companies have been expanding into Texas for years, specifically in the semiconductor and petrochemical industries. Totaling $21.3 billion in 2023, Taiwan is Texas' seventh-largest trade partner, according to Abbott.
Tainan: The 400-year-old cradle of Taiwanese culture
BBC
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of both Fort Zeelandia and the city of Tainan that developed around the fort. And here in Taiwan's oldest city, celebrations are in full swing. The Tainan 400 celebrations, which began in January with the hosting of the Taiwan Lantern Festival and will continue into December, are dedicated to exploring Tainan's many stories, told in many languages. Under the slogan "Tainan, Where You Belong", a full year's worth of concerts, exhibitions and public celebrations are highlighting how the city has evolved as a melting pot of different cultures.
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