De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 1 maart: Plenum Centraal Comité
Het plenum van het Centraal Comité van de Chinese Communistische Partij dat de beslissingen voorbereidt van de aankomende jaarlijkse zitting van het Nationale Volkscongres – de wetgevende macht van de Chinese staat – is geweest. Onderdeel van de voorgekookte besluiten zijn hervormingen van het staatsapparaat die nog meer macht over zou moeten hevelen van de staat naar de Partij.
Bij de herdenking van het Incident van 28 Februari in Taipei bestormden demonstranten het monument op het moment dat burgemeester Chiang sprak.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
💡 Watching China in Europe, March 2023 – Noah Barkin: ‘One EU official with whom I spoke cited talk that Beijing was considering unilaterally removing its sanctions on EU lawmakers in an attempt to resuscitate the stalled EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, although he expressed doubts about whether such a move would significantly alter the debate in Brussels. “The emptiness of the charm offensive is becoming so obvious that it is verging on the farcical. The cognitive dissonance is extraordinary,” the official said. A German official added: “We’ve seen a more friendly tone, but on substance they have not moved a millimeter.”’ 🇪🇺
Schriftelijke vragen: Het artikel ‘Chinese students signing “loyalty” pledges before arrival in Sweden’ – Hatte van der Woude (VVD), Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 🇳🇱
Chinese fabriek moet autotak Kendrion op gang helpen – FD 🇳🇱
Volkswagen China chief visits Xinjiang plant, claims he sees no sign of forced labour – Reuters 🇩🇪
Volkswagen has fielded uncomfortable questions about its presence in Xinjiang due to allegations that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Plenum Centraal Comité ☭
CCP Central Committee holds consultative meeting on reform plan of Party and state institutions – Xinhua
20th CCP Central Committee 2nd plenary session issues communique – Xinhua: ‘Efforts are needed to deepen institutional reform in key areas and ensure that the Party's leadership over socialist modernization becomes more refined in institutional setup, more […].’
President Xi Jinping signals the unveiling of an overhaul of China’s government agencies when the country’s legislature holds an annual gathering starting next week – Bloomberg: ‘The top leadership is mulling reviving the long-disbanded Central Financial Work Commission to bring the decision-making of China’s financial system further under Xi’s control’
China’s Xi lays out government ‘reform’ plan at party plenum – Nikkei Asia: ‘Reports from Hong Kong media outlets indicate that the plan involves moving policing and security functions from the State Council […] to a new internal affairs commission directly controlled by the Communist Party.’
Invasie Oekraïne 🇺🇦
‘No signs’ China considering arming Russia, Ukraine intel chief says – AFP
China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says – The Guardian
xChina’s plan for Ukraine is no plan at all – Giacomo Bruni and Ilaria Carrozza for The Diplomat: ‘China continues to walk the fine line between its support for Russia and its attempts at not deteriorating its already fraught relations with Western countries’
Anna Netrebko’s Taiwan concert canceled over her ties to Putin – Focus Taiwan
Zeitentechwarwende
Japan defence pacts with UK and Australia move closer to approval – Nikkei Asia
Japan and Australia may conduct South China Sea patrols with US and Philippines, says Philippine ambassador in DC – Reuters
China-EU decoupling would knock 1 per cent off Germany’s GDP, Kiel Institute report says, as diversification push intensifies – SCMP 🇩🇪
Aangezien niemand volledige ontkoppeling met China voorstelt, is zo’n relatief laag cijfer eerder een argument dat haviken helpt dan verzwakt.
EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on February 28, 2023 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘How unsure of itself can the world’s top superpower be to fear a young people’s favorite app like that? The US has been over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress foreign companies. We firmly oppose those wrong actions. The US government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, stop suppressing the companies and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies in the US.’
NB: In China is TikTok niet slechts verboden voor ambtenaren, maar geblokkeerd en ontoegankelijk voor iedereen. In plaats daarvan biedt moederbedrijf ByteDance het afgesloten en gecensureerde Douyin aan.
Australia blocks Chinese investment in rare earth firm citing national interest – Reuters
India GDP outpaces China despite slowdown to 4.4% last quarter – Nikkei Asia
CHIPS Act
The CHIPS Act is about more than chips: Here’s what’s in it – The New York Times
Chipmakers receiving US federal funds barred from expanding in China for 10 years – FT
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China foreign minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 to attend G20 foreign ministers’ meeting – Reuters
Reuters reporters’ online accounts faked to approach China activists – Reuters
CSIS uncovered Chinese plan to donate to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation – The Globe and Mail
China economie
China’s official urban employment and per capita spending logged rare declines in 2022 – Reuters
China’s economy sputters just shy of high-income status – Nikkei Asia
Chinese factories launch charm offensive for buyers after Covid isolation – FT: ‘Local Chinese governments have organised delegations of exporters to trade shows across the US and Europe’
China binnenland
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s article on endeavour path of Party and people in New Era to be published in Qiushi – Xinhua
习近平:新时代党和人民奋进的必由之路 – 《求是》2023/05
Het ‘artikel’ is letterlijk slechts een lang citaat uit een toespraak van Xi.
Rust belt province Heilongjiang got old before it got rich, as much of China will – Reuters
China moves to erase the vestiges of ‘Zero Covid’ to deter dissent – The New York Times: ‘The party is waging an ambitious propaganda campaign to rewrite the public’s memory of “zero Covid,”’
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ends one of the world’s longest mask mandates after 945 days – Bloomberg
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
US urged to stop sowing confusion and trying to mislead the world [sic] on Taiwan – Xinhua
Beijing’s ‘reunification’ plan for Taiwan ‘on fast development track’, NPC deputy and dean of Peking University’s Taiwan Research Institute Lǐ Yìhǔ 李义虎 tells China Review News Agency – SCMP
李义虎:大陆提升了对台海战略形势的塑造力 – 中评社:“大陆将推动国家统一进入快速发展轨道。”
Het stuk gelezen hebbende moet ik Li nageven dat hij erin is geslaagd alle clichés en meest recente vaste frases succesvol aan elkaar te rijgen. Iets echt nieuwswaardigs ontdek ik niet, afgezien van het feit dat zijn „fast development track” de bestaande verwachting dat er iets over Taiwan gaat gebeuren bij de komende Twee Sessies versterkt.
Taiwan’s unofficial diplomacy gains as democracies sour on China – Nikkei Asia
台湾高雄里长暨基层社团参访团赴北京交流——两岸一家亲 越走越亲近 – 《人民日报》(2023年02月28日 第07版)
Taiwan binnenland en economie
28 Februari-Vredesherdenkingsdag
President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 [Cài Yīngwén] commemorates 228 heroes and victims – Taipei Times
Protests against Chiang family legacy halt Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an 蔣萬安 [Jiǎng Wàn'ān]’s 228 speech – Focus Taiwan: ‘Chiang Wan-an apologized, in his capacity as Taipei mayor, for the police’s confiscation of contraband cigarettes from a woman in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947, which was the flashpoint of the anti-government protests in the area.’
Late democracy advocate Nylon Cheng 鄭南榕 [Zhèng Nánróng]’s daughter ahead of march to Taipei mayor Chiang Wan'an 蔣萬安 [Jiǎng Wàn'ān]: Face 228 history – Focus Taiwan
De commandant van de politieoperatie waarbij Cheng om het leven kwam was de huidige burgemeester van New Taipei, Hou You-yi 侯友宜.
Opposition NPP seeks a swift change to political archives act for sake of transitional justice – Taipei Times
228 anniversary reminds of continued struggle for transitional justice in Taiwan – New Bloom
Overige
Investigators track Chinese hacker in Taiwan data leak case – Taipei Times