Put in a Bind with New Law

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WEEK 24, 2021 ma g es CHINA INSIDER

Foreign Businesses in China Put in a Bind with New Law

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Will Russell/Getty Images OPINION Beijing’s ‘Anti-Foreign Sanctions’ Law Puts Global Businesses in Further Bind

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Fan Yu People walk by an H&M oreign companies doing busi- store in Beijing on ness in China will soon find their March 30, operating environment littered 2021. with economic roadblocks because of a series of new “anti- Fforeign sanctions” rules that China’s leg- islature rushed to pass on June 10. The new rules were introduced as coun- termeasures against foreign nations enact- ing sanctions on Beijing. This development may put foreign organizations and individuals enforcing their home countries’ sanctions against China in a tough position going forward. The new law expands the Chinese regime’s toolkit to fight back against sanctions and can be used in conjunction with the existing Unreliable Entities List of companies it created last year. The measures are extensive and give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) broad powers to sanction organizations and individuals complying with sanctions against China. So, what exactly can it do? The CCP The Chinese consulate in Perth, Australia, on March 24, 2014. could deny visas for, deport, and restrict travel for affected entities, seize properties bank complying with President Joe Biden’s measures casually, these measures are now they have within China, block business updated executive order to affirm the available to the CCP under the new law. OPINION or personal transactions, put pressure on Trump administration policy of restricting For foreign investors and investors in the target’s family members and associ- the purchase of stock in certain Chinese multinational corporations with a presence ates, and any “other necessary measures” companies with military links by refusing in China, this law is a compliance night- deemed appropriate by the regime. to buy those companies’ stock in its Asia mare and severely increases operational Ban CCP Land Ownership Basically, the law allows the CCP to do any- emerging markets fund. risk in China. Corporate CEOs could be thing it wants under the pretense of combat- In this scenario, the CCP could punish facing a dilemma with few viable solutions. ing “discriminatory” foreign sanctions. the bank by forcing Chinese companies China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman to cancel all their business with the bank. Wang Wenbin on June 11 told reporters Immense Pressure Beijing could go as far as seizing property in Beijing, in one of the most obtuse state- in the USA: A New Bill From Texas The CCP rushed the legislation—it gave or assets owned by the bank in China. If ments of the week, that the Anti-Foreign hints that this was coming merely days the bank is one of the major U.S. invest- Sanctions Law is a net positive for foreign Anders Corr tions related to the ownership of land by ‘Party-building’ amongst its employees. one law of 1923 targeted the land owner- prior—during the 29th session of the 13th ment banks such as JPMorgan, which investment in China. CCP members. “How many purchases As of 2018, Guanghui Group operated 40 ship of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent. National People’s Congress, without the recently took full ownership of its China “China will only open its door wider to the Don’t mess with Texas. have proximity to U.S. military bases? internal Communist Party committees, A 1921 law in Washington that targeted usual period of public consultation. subsidiary, the CCP could seize its Chinese world and remain committed to fostering U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Re- How many direct connections to the U.S. 227 local grassroots CPC branches, and the Japanese went to the Supreme Court, Beijing has been increasingly dismayed business entirely. a better business environment for foreign publican who represents power grid do they already have control employed more than 6,000 Communist was upheld, and caused diplomatic ten- by recent escalating pressure from the Take fast-fashion retailer H&M as an- companies,” Wang said. the 21st Congressional over? How many of these purchases are Party of China members. ... it appears that sion with Japan. Some laws focused on new United States and its allies. The interna- other example. H&M earlier this year was Ironically, if the law is carried out, China District, which includes on farms where they are stealing valuable Guanghui Group is much more embed- Asian immigrants, but not new Scandina- tional community has stepped up criticism caught in a firestorm in China for its earlier will automatically be forcing foreign com- parts of Austin and San genetic seeds to ship back to the mainland? ded in the Communist Party-State ap- vian immigrants. of the CCP’s human rights abuses against statements condemning forced labor in panies to decouple from China. Antonio, is taking on the Why have we allowed a Chinese company paratus than most other ‘private’ sector These types of argument, however, can Uyghur minorities and Falun Gong prac- This development China’s Xinjiang region. With the new law, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a big, to acquire one of the largest poultry pro- businesses.” conflate patriotic support for American titioners and its suppression of political may put foreign the CCP can go much further than incit- Fan Yu is an expert in finance and eco- Texan way. Roy proposes to ban CCP mem- ducers in America?” Sun and his GH America are the types democracy and anti-communism with freedoms in Hong Kong. ing social media users to boycott H&M in nomics and has contributed analyses on bers from purchasing land in the United He appealed to the principle of reciproc- of entities that would be targeted by Roy’s racism, or reject the sovereign right of a Several actions were taken during the past organizations and China. The CCP can outright shut down China’s economy since 2015. States. ity, supported by the U.S.–China Economic CCP land bill. nation to control immigration. They typi- few years, including Canada’s house arrest of individuals enforcing H&M’s stores in China or permanently ban It’s a short, sweet, and brilliantly cut- and Security Review Commission (USCC) But there are a couple of arguments that cally fail to account for the growing mili- Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, international their home countries’ it from operating in the country. Views expressed in this article are the ting edge bill that should be voted into last November, with respect to land sales detractors will throw against the bill. First, tary, economic, and diplomatic power of retailers’ boycott of Xinjiang-harvested cot- While these are hyperbolic examples opinions of the author and do not neces- law ASA P. to CCP members. the Committee on Foreign Investment in 21st-century China, or its totalitarian char- ton, U.S. sanctions and trade restrictions af- sanctions against and I don’t expect the CCP to resort to such sarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. This two-page bill has a potent engine of a “China doesn’t allow former U.S. mili- the United States (CFIUS) already reviews acteristics under the rule of the CCP. The fecting Chinese state-linked companies, and China in a tough single sentence: “Notwithstanding any other tary officers to acquire 200 square miles of some land purchases by Chinese nation- China of today is not the China of the 19th the EU putting on ice its trade and invest- position going provision of law, the President shall take such land between an active Chinese military als (including CCP members). So CFIUS century, nor is it the Japan of the 1920s. ment pact with Beijing, all of which were GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images actions as may be necessary to prohibit the base and their border with Taiwan ... so can cancel any sales that have national Today, China is communist, territorially viewed by the CCP as measures to “contain forward. Chinese Foreign purchase of public or private real estate lo- why should the U.S. allow such strategic security implications. CCP investment in aggressive, promoting its political influ- Ministry and suppress” a rising China. spokesman cated in the United States by members of the purchases by Chinese na- non-strategic land, say in the ence globally, and threatening elite cap- Wang Wenbin Chinese Communist Party.” tionals?” he said. middle of Nowheresville, ture in nations small and large. The CCP Foreign Companies to Be Marginalized takes a question Roy’s press release to accompany the bill In April, Bass gave testi- United States, provides an today enables the destruction of political, The CCP’s new retaliatory sanctions law’s at the Foreign pulls no punches. mony to the Texas Senate economic hostage of sorts. cultural, and linguistic diversity on a do- broad language makes it unprecedented in Ministry briefing “In their quest for global domination, on the issue of CCP owner- In their quest for global For example, if the U.S. mestic and global level, including through in Beijing on Nov. scope compared to historical sanctions en- 9, 2020. China has been buying up land and stra- ship of land in Texas, spe- domination, China has government needs to con- its genocide against the Uyghurs. The CCP acted by other countries. As a result, foreign tegic infrastructure all over the world and cifically, “the ownership by been buying up land and fiscate CCP property in the leads that genocide. companies could easily find themselves in the United States,” it reads. “Direct Chi- Guanghui Group America United States as compensa- The bill proposed by Roy, therefore, is the with a target on their backs. Beijing could nese investment in the U.S. economy is a (GH America Investments strategic infrastructure tion for economic damages right bill for 2021. But it will need a lot more retaliate against companies or individuals major threat to the American way of life Group Inc.) and its leader, all over the world and in from COVID-19, it would be support to become law. Bass noted, “For complying with legal sanctions from their and requires that we take serious action former Chinese People’s the United States. useful to have CCP property the bill to be powerful, I believe it needs home countries. to thwart the Chinese Communist Party Liberation Army officer in the United States avail- Democratic sponsors and Republican AmCham China Chairman Greg Gilligan (CCP) from ever seizing control of strategi- Sun Guangxin, of multiple Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) able for the taking. The more sponsors alike.” summarizes it well. cally valuable domestic assets in the U.S.” Texas land (at least 10 Texas property the CCP keeps in That’s exactly right. Three representatives “This new law presents potentially irrec- The bill is called the Securing America’s ranches) and business holdings (spanning the United States, the less willing it should who have done the right thing to introduce oncilable compliance problems for foreign Land from Foreign Interference Act. Ac- at least 130,000 acres and including Blue be to risk expropriation of that property by the bill with Roy are Reps. Lance Gooden companies,” he told Bloomberg News in cording to a statement from the congress- Hills Wind Farm in Val Verde County).” harming America. (R-Texas), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Randy an interview. man: “Data from the U.S. Department of Bass noted in his testimony: However, given the magnitude of dam- Weber (R-Texas). For example, imagine an international Agriculture shows that foreign investors “GH America, Sun Guangxin, and Guan- ages owed by China, which are at least $19 Where are the Democrats? Where is the control nearly 30 million acres of U.S. ghui Group are closely connected to the trillion globally, the quantity of land that Republican leadership? At the very least, farmland, roughly the size of Ohio. Texas Chinese military and the Communist Party the CCP is purchasing is too negligible where is the rhetorical support for reciprocity has the second-highest amount of foreign of China. Sun is a former member of the to make a difference. But it could make with China on the issue of land ownership? ownership with 3 million acres under for- 8th, 9th, and 11th sessions of the Xinjiang a difference if strategically located, or it America’s failure to act decisively against eign control.” Chinese People’s Consultative Conference provides a foothold for political influence, the threat of the CCP, if such indecision The release notes that a China-based en- (CPPCC). SUN maintains close and positive espionage, or elite capture. continues, will be its own undoing. ergy company bought more than 130,000 relations with current and former Commu- The second major argument against the Roy’s bill is decisive. It’s a corrective. acres in Texas, near an Air Force base, and nist Party leadership. These relationships bill is that it will remind detractors of alien With the introduction of this bill, he’s “is now attempting to build a wind farm to are likely the key to his business success land laws of the late 19th century, the Chi- putting the heat on not only the CCP, but access the U.S. power grid.” in China. Guanghui Group’s website em- nese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the Im- other members of Congress. Who is going Roy’s office notes that China is the sec- phasizes the conglomerate’s determina- migration Act of 1790, amended in 1875, to step up to the plate, buck the naysay- ond-largest foreign owner of land in Aus- tion in supporting Communist Party of along with other such laws. Many argue ers, and do the right thing to cosponsor TRUTH and TRADITION tralia, including an Australian island that China’s leadership, as well as prioritizing that these laws were racist. For example, this bill? How much longer will American

is now off-limits to Australian residents. Martin Hunter/Getty Images politicians of both parties allow China to TRUTH and TRADITION China leased an airport in Australia for 100 walk all over us? years, and now, “China owns the airspace and Australian citizens can’t land in their Anders Corr has a bachelor’s/master’s own country without approval from the in political science from Yale University Chinese government.” (2001) and a doctorate in government Kyle Bass, the billionaire Texan who has from Harvard University (2008). He is a long criticized the CCP and shorted curren- principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher READ WHAT OTHERS WON’T REPORT cies from China and Hong Kong, supports of the Journal of Political Risk, and has READ WHAT OTHERS WON’T REPORT the bill. conducted extensive research in North He wrote in an email: “The Communist America, Europe, and Asia. He authored Party of China exploits every nook and “The Concentration of Power” (forthcom- cranny of our open society to achieve their ing in 2021) and “No Trespassing,” and SUBSCRIBE TODAY goal of primacy over the U.S. Allowing stra- edited “Great Powers, Grand Strategies.” ReadEpoch.com tegic purchases of land and improvements SUBSCRIBE TODAY by CPC members here in the United States Views expressed in this article are the ReadEpoch.com presents clear and present dangers to U.S. opinions of the author and do not neces- national security.” China is one of a number of countries that are systematically buying up or leasing large tracts of sarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Bass has asked a series of tough ques- arable land overseas. 4 | CHINA INSIDER Week 24, 2021 Week 24, 2021 CHINA INSIDER | 5

Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images OPINION Italy Is Turning Away From the Chinese Communist Regime

Pingping Yu Chinese regime in Beijing. Epoch Times. “There are five reasons In 2019, Italy under the leadership why this is bound to happen.” piece of breaking news appeared of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Although China’s “mask diplomacy” on various popular Chinese- Conte, became the first G7 country to strategy helped ease some immediate language websites on June embrace China’s Belt and Road Initiative supply shortages for Italy, the country 7 claiming that the Italian (BRI), against the advice of the United can’t forget that China’s cover up of its Prime Minister Mario Draghi States and other G7 members. coronavirus breakout caused the ca- Ahad admitted that the COVID-19 pan- In 2020 when the pandemic hit, Italy tastrophe in the first place, Cheng said. demic had originated in Italy in a virtual was the most impacted country in Eu- Italians have seen four million COVID-19 interview by Radiotelevisione Italiana rope. China donated 31 tons of personal infections, and almost 127,000 deaths (RAI). The Chinese reports claimed that protective equipment and virus testing from the disease caused by the Chinese Italy had mistaken COVID outbreaks in kits to Italy in March 2020, as well as a Communist Party (CCP) virus. The pan- Milan, Genoa, and Venice in the summer dozen medical experts to support the demic was devastating for Italy’s already of 2019 for influenza. health response. struggling economy, causing a 13 percent This soon was exposed as fake news. Italy had also been one of the most pro- drop in per capita income in 2020 while The Italian embassy in Beijing issued a China EU members in recent decades. the economy contracted by almost 11 statement that afternoon, saying that Between 2000 and 2019, Italy received percent. Free facial masks are just not “The Italian Embassy strongly em- 15.9 billion euros ($19.25 billion) in enough to clear the clouds, Cheng said. phasizes that the content of the article Chinese investments, making it Europe’s Secondly, China has made itself with concerning the Prime Minister’s remarks third biggest beneficiary. Recent finan- Chinese money was a bad reputation in business ethics and is a complete lie and that the information cial troubles saw numerous China-based enthusiastically conduct over the past decade, Cheng has no basis whatsoever.” companies acquire a number of Italian said, adding that Chinese businesses and This happened shortly after Italy’s re- businesses. As of 2020, more than 400 welcomed in Italy investors are known for violating local cent veto of Beijing’s attempted takeover Chinese groups held stakes in 760 Italian when the BRI regulations and agreements, which deep- of LPE, a Milan-based semiconductor companies across “highly profitable or MoU was signed ly upsets Europeans who value integrity. manufacturer, on March 31. strategic sectors.” “Chinese money was enthusiastically There is no way of knowing if the fake One of the best-known acquisitions was in 2019. But the welcomed in Italy when the BRI MoU COVID-19 origins report was Beijing’s that of the AC Milan football club for 740 country has since was signed in 2019. But the country has retaliation for the aborted deal but it cer- million euros ($788 million), previously found no material since found no material benefit from tainly didn’t ease tensions between the owned by former Prime Minister Silvio the collaborations,” he added. “On the sion and human rights abuses, as well wire articles per day from Xinhua News Italian PM Giuseppe China Sea for a “freedom of navigation” two countries. Berlusconi. benefit from the contrary, some century old Italian busi- as the investigation in China’s role in the Agency, the state-run wire service for the Conte and Chinese patrol in February. leader Xi Jinping during a But the change in approach to China collaborations. nesses have turned for the worse or even outbreak of the pandemic, have encour- Chinese Communist Party. Again, ANSA welcoming ceremony at On May 22, Lithuanian Foreign Min- Expert: 5 Reasons Italy Is Cooling Its didn’t surprise experts like Cheng Chin- went bankrupt after they started part- aged G7 countries to openly speak and does not disclose to its readers that the Villa Madama in Rome on ister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a Relationship With China mo, director at the department of diplo- Cheng Chin-mo, director, nering with China.” act against the CCP’s atrocities, which Chinese government runs and approves March 23, 2019. statement that the Baltic nation does Italy’s blocking of the Chinese acquisi- macy and international relations of the department of diplomacy Thirdly, China’s “wolf warrior diplo- they had avoided for many years fearing all Xinhua content,” the report read. not see itself as part of Beijing’s “17+1” tion was an abrupt change in course Tamkang University in Taiwan. “This and international relations macy” has turned many former fans off, hurt to their business relationship with Italian national newspaper Il Giornale has platform for EU member states and five for the European nation that had been demonstrates the unravelling of China’s of the Tamkang University in Cheng said. In response to the EU’s sanc- China. Meanwhile, Europe is growing been publishing CCP propaganda regularly Balkan countries anymore, according growing a close relationship with the diplomacy in Europe,” Cheng told The Taiwan tions in March over the regime’s genocide much more wary of the threat the CCP’s since 2019. A May article in Il Giornale sug- to the Baltic News Service. He said the of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China’s Ministry poses to nation’s security after the CCP’s gested that reports about the CCP’s geno- Chinese platform was “divisive” from

Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that infiltration tools such as Huawei and the cide of the Muslim Uyghur people were the EU’s point of view and called on EU the sanctions were based on “nothing but Confucius Institute were exposed. a mere “media manipulation of events” members to pursue “a much more effec- lies and disinformation.” It asked Brus- crafted to use “human rights concerns” to tive 27+1 approach” for its communica- sels to “reflect on itself [and] face squarely Italy Still Influenced by the CCP’s further America’s foreign policy agenda, tion with China. the severity of its mistake” and stop “in- Overseas Propaganda echoing the regime’s party line. Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, who terfering in [China’s] internal affairs.” However, public sentiment toward the The Breitbart report also noted that a mag- has reportedly built cordial ties with Draghi’s political position is the fourth Chinese regime may take some time to azine published by Cinitalia “openly admits the Chinese regime, including massive factor, Cheng said. Draghi, who holds a very change, as many Italian national media that it produces its Italian content in associa- Italian national joint business projects, and has several friendly attitude toward the United States outlets have been frequently publishing tion with the Chinese Embassy in Italy.” times this year blocked EU statements and the EU, described his foreign policy as pro-regime content and the mindsets Il Giornale is owned by former Prime newspaper Il denouncing the Chinese regime’s record “strongly pro-European and Atlanticist, in of their journalists have been infiltrated Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was criti- Giornale has on human rights, had to pause a planned line with Italy’s historical anchors.” Con- quite deeply by CCP propaganda. Fran- cal of the CCP until he sold the AC Milan been publishing project with China’s Fudan University trary to his predecessor, Draghi, who was cesco Galietti of the Rome-based think- soccer club to Chinese investors for $788 amidst massive protests this month. elected in February, has shown clear deter- tank Policy Sonar told Breitbart that “the million in 2017 due to financial troubles. CCP propaganda His government has since announced a mination to seek alliance with the United Chinese have 100 percent infiltrated Since then, Il Giornale’s China-related regularly since 2019. referendum on the project. States. Shortly after his appointment, Italian media.” content have looked very similar to the Draghi reaffirmed Rome’s membership in Breitbart also revealed in a June 7 CCP’s propaganda. Pingping Yu has been a writer, translator, NATO and the historic friendship between report that an Italian-language video and researcher for The Epoch Times since Italy and the United States. The vetoing of series on “Xi Jinping’s Classical Quotes” New Era in EU-China Relations 2007. She covers a variety of topics related the LPE deal is seen as a signal of the new developed by Chinese state-owned EU members, including Italy and Hun- to China, with a strong focus on human administration’s focus on stemming Bei- China Media Group had been broadcast gary, are starting to push back on the rights, economy, and business. jing’s political and economic influence in on Italy’s Mediaset and the Chinese- CCP’s coercion both economically and Italy, Cheng said. language outlet Cinitalia. politically. Sophia Lam contributed to the report. An aerial view of the port Lastly, Cheng pointed to the global “The National Associated Press Agency The EU condemned the Chinese re- city of Trieste in Italy which China is considering environment, which is turning against (ANSA), Italy’s equivalent to The Associat- gime’s human rights record in a confer- Views expressed in this article are the for its Belt and Road China. The U.S.-led international effort to ed Press or Agence France Presse, has also ence earlier this year, and France sent opinions of the author and do not neces- Initiative. curb communist China’s global expan- been publishing up to 50 Italian language a warship and submarine to the South sarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Epoch Times CCP Virus and try to find collaborators in the States, it’s very easy because we communicate, we speak the same language.” Following the onset of the pandemic in Spread of COVID-19 Variants Around the World Could Be Seen 2020, Taiwan was able to keep schools and businesses open while also implementing as ‘Next Pandemic’: Taiwan Health Official effective pandemic defense measures, which resulted in strong economic performance. Adam Molon The forum was held only days after U.S.-produced vaccines. He noted, unlike nization,” Wu said. Taiwan achieved annual GDP growth of U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy COVID-19 vaccines produced by Ameri- “The Pfizer, the Moderna, the [Astra- nearly 3 percent in 2020, higher than China’s Following the onset Wu Chung-hsiun, President of Taiwan’s Development The continuous mutation of the CCP virus, Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dan Sullivan (R- can firms, vaccines from Chinese firms are Zeneca] [vaccines] ... we could have very for the first time in three decades. of the pandemic in Center for Biotechnology and with multiple variants circulating around Ark.) visited Taiwan—flying in on a U.S. produced using attenuated, or weakened, clear public information about those, and “Taiwan’s goal for the pandemic is to keep Director of the Biotechnology the world, could be described as the “next Air Force C-17 cargo plane—to announce coronaviruses, which can be dangerous they are coming from reliable sources that economic growth steady,” DCB Vice Presi- 2020, Taiwan was and Pharmaceutical Industries pandemic,” a top Taiwanese health official a donation of 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine if the coronaviruses aren’t killed or suf- we use to corroborate. So, I think, in that dent Chang Chi-feng told The Epoch Times. able to keep schools Promotion Office of Taiwan’s has warned. doses. Duckworth said during the stopover ficiently weakened. aspect, that’s one of the major justifica- “Taiwan became very good [economically] and businesses Ministry of Economic Affairs. Wu Chung-hsiun, president of Taiwan’s that “the United States will not let [Taiwan] tions that we tend to use the Pfizer and in the last year, because we kept everything Development Center for Biotechnology stand alone” and that the vaccine donation Moderna [vaccines], etcetera. And also, we normal, everything steady.” open while also (DCB) and director of the Biotechnology “also reflects gratitude for Taiwan’s efforts have the capability to manufacture those More than a year later and with the ar- implementing The Epoch Times and Pharmaceutical Industries Promotion to send PPE [personal protective equip- Taiwan became very good if needed.” rival of the UK variant, the Taiwanese gov- effective pandemic Office of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic ment] and other supplies to America in the Wu noted that many members of the ernment has for the first time decided to Affairs (MOEA), told The Epoch Times that early days of the pandemic.” [economically] in the last year, DCB’s management team hold degrees closed all its schools and has introduced defense measures, he thought it was too early to predict the Taiwan has received vaccine shipments because we kept everything from both U.S. and Taiwanese universities, other restrictions while saying that it isn’t which resulted in end of the COVID-19 pandemic “because from U.S.-based Moderna and UK-based normal, everything steady. and robust scientific and academic interac- planning to introduce a full lockdown, but strong economic this [virus] ... keeps mutating and is still AstraZeneca, but authoritarian China tion means Taiwanese and U.S. scientists will instead adjust the strictness of restric- infecting people around the world.” reportedly blocked democratic Taiwan’s Chang Chi-feng, vice president, Taiwan’s share a common language and philosophy. tions as needed. performance “So, actually, maybe we can consider that plans to purchase vaccines from the Ger- Development Center for Biotechnology “We share the same philosophy as people Wu stated sharing its expertise in pan- as the next pandemic,” he said. man firm BioNTech. in the States because we have our higher demic management is one way in which Wu’s comments were made in advance of Wu said a Taiwan-produced vaccine may education,” he said. “Our thinking process, Taiwan can continue to contribute to the the DCB’s annual Taiwan Biotech Forum be available by July at the earliest, and ex- “[Chinese vaccine makers] are using the pretty much, is in line with the scientists global community. on June 10. The forum, which included pre- pressed serious concern about the quality attenuated virus. That kind of approach or the academic in the States. So, when we “Our national capability, actually we can Chang Chi-feng, vice sentations by vaccine makers Pfizer and of vaccines that Chinese firms have pro- could cause very serious side effects if the exchange information, we know exactly, contribute a lot,” he said. “Taiwan is experi- president of Taiwan’s AstraZeneca, featured the theme “Prepar- posed to provide to Taiwan, stating Taiwan attenuation part is incomplete. So, that when we say ‘A,’ we mean ‘A,’ and you hear enced in fighting the pandemic. ... Taiwan Development Center for ing for the Next Pandemic.” is more confident in and comfortable with could cause infection rather than immu- ‘A’ literally ... when we try to do something can help.” Biotechnology. 6 | CHINA INSIDER Week 24, 2021 Week 24, 2021 CHINA INSIDER | 7

Courtesy of Zhou You RELIGIOUS FREEDOM US Lawmaker Calls on Chinese Regime to Free Detained Relative of Falun Gong Adherents

Eva Fu promotes the values of truthfulness, “We can only guess why my father was compassion, and forbearance. arrested in the first place. I don’t think Zhou Deyong last saw his wife and son in Something felt off to Zhou’s family It’s really my father had any clue himself.” Florida half a year ago, before flying back when calls to his phone went unan- unforgivable some The authorities initially denied a re- to China to care for his ailing parents, swered for days. They finally learned of the things the quest for Zhou to meet with his lawyer. aged 87 and 90. of his arrest after reading an article on On May 25, the day before a scheduled He’s now being held in a Chinese Minghui—a U.S.-based website dedi- Chinese Communist video meeting, police called the lawyer detention center with little access to the cated to documenting the persecution of Party has done to to call off the meeting, citing “weather outside world. Falun Gong practitioners in China—that these wonderful conditions.” His wife and son both practice Falun also noted the arrests of 18 practitioners “Over those few days, there was no ex- Gong, a spiritual practice that has been from the region. people. treme weather, and the meeting equip- targeted for brutal suppression by the Under Chinese criminal law, one could Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) ment ... it’s just a software they install at communist party in China for more than face three to seven years of jail time for the police bureau and a camera, rain and two decades. making and spreading 250 books and wind should have no impact on them,” Zhou, a senior geological engineer at publications that the regime deems to be Zhou You said. “They are simply finding the Geological Scientific Research Insti- “heretical propaganda.” For one-fifth of an excuse to stop us from seeing him.” tute of the Shengli Oil Field, the second- that quantity, the sentencing could be up On the U.S. side, the family’s plight largest crude producer in China, was to three years. caught the attention of Rep. Gus Bilira- Rep. Gus arrested on April 23 at his home in Don- kis (R-Fla.), who wrote a letter to Chi- Bilirakis (R-Fla.) gying, a coastal city in eastern Shandong ‘A Stone Dropped Into the Vast Sea’ nese leader Xi Jinping calling for Zhou’s during a hearing Province. They accused Zhou of “utiliz- Authorities were tight-lipped on any release. on Capitol Hill in Washington on ing heretical religion to sabotage the information pertaining to the detainees. Bilirakis, who co-chairs the Congres- May 14, 2020. enforcement of law”—a common charge Many calls from Zhou’s wife, You Ling, to sional International Religious Freedom that many religious believers have faced local police stations and detention cen- Caucus and is a member of the Tom Lan- under a regime that has shown little ters in China never got through. And the tos Human Rights Commission, spoke heart problems and high blood pressure, Gong, we didn’t know if we could come Those times were marked with confu- tolerance of faith. few times that she was able to speak with highly of the family and says he wants to among other health issues. They told back,” You said. sion and fear, noted Shi, who now resides The police produced no official docu- someone, the officials tended to dodge “do everything in my power to make sure them that Zhou had returned back to the She said that she has minimized her in New Jersey. ment when they raided Zhou’s house and her questions or even played communist the gentlemen is released.” United States for a second visit. use of phones for nearly 20 years due to “We were merely trying to be good seized more than 100 Falun Gong-related “red songs,” she said. “It’s really unforgivable some of the In the two-month period between surveillance concerns. people. Why would it come to this?” she books and booklets—items his family “It was like a stone dropped into the things the Chinese Communist Party March 1 and April 30, nearly 2,860 Falun Shi Ning, a former data center engi- said of the Chinese authorities. had left behind when they fled to the vast sea. They completely ignore you,” has done to these wonderful people,” he Gong practitioners are known to have ex- neer at the oil field who has also suffered She cited the death of a friend whom United States. According to FalunDafa. Zhou You, the couple’s son, told The told The Epoch Times, referring to the perienced police harassment or arrests, persecution for her Falun Gong faith and she suspected had been a victim of state- org, the self-improvement discipline Epoch Times. Every time we Falun Gong community. according to Minghui. escaped to the United States, told The sanctioned forced organ harvesting. Shi went out to talk “This just should not happen anymore, The local police in Zhou’s hometown Epoch Times that she endured a total of said that when the woman’s family went and it has.” of Dongying City conducted a campaign nearly eight years of official and unofficial to see her body in the hospital, hours Courtesy of You Ling to people about A grandson of Greek immigrants, this year to collect the personal details of detention throughout a two-decade span. after the police had claimed that she the persecution Bilirakis recalled having a family mem- each Falun Gong practitioner, including At one labor camp, at least 100 people was dead, they saw tears coming out of of Falun Gong, we ber who had to leave Turkey in the early their addresses, details about the vehi- took turns day and night persuading her her eyes when they cried and called her 1900s during the persecution of Greek cles they own, and their phone numbers. to give up practicing Falun Gong, she name—indicating she was still alive. The didn’t know if we Orthodox Christians, a heritage that said of her ordeal in China. She would family begged doctors at the hospital to could come back. helped him to identify with the Falun Shengli Oil Field hear “horrible cries” as Falun Gong help her, but none would, and by the next Gong practitioners, he said. The state-controlled Shengli Oil Field— practitioners detained in the same cell day, she was dead. Her husband was also You Ling, Falun Gong “These are peaceful people,” Bilirakis which translates to “victory” from got pulled out one by one. When it was tortured after questioning her cause of practitioner said, noting that they “should have a right Chinese—is a major economic power- her turn, her hands were cuffed behind death and died under mysterious cir- to practice any ... spiritual meditation.” house in the region that employs tens of her back as 11 people rained down blows cumstances two years later. “It’s only a positive thing.” thousands of workers, including Zhou on her head and waist. Three days later, “There were no reports on this. None,” The U.S. pressure appeared to have an and his wife, You. For years, thousands when she saw herself in front of a mirror, Shi said. “Who has the guts to report on impact on the situation. Half an hour of Shengli employees have experienced she could hardly recognize the body she Greg Nash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images this in mainland China? ... They kept after Zhou You mentioned Bilirakis’s house raids, detention, forced labor, or saw reflected back. silent in the face of crimes.” letter in a call to the judicial officials, the imprisonment for persisting in their “My head ... was completely swollen,” Bilirakis was one of the original spon- detention center called the lawyer and practice of Falun Gong. Dozens of them Shi told The Epoch Times. “My two eyes sors for a House resolution a decade ago said that the meeting would proceed. lost their jobs, and at least 11 people died were almost triangular—you couldn’t see that called for an end to the ongoing Zhou’s family said they’re concerned under the ongoing persecution. the eyeballs at all.” persecution of Falun Gong. about his health after receiving updates You, who has sought refuge in Florida, She started a hunger strike and was Now, it’s time to bring another one to from the lawyer. Zhou, who will turn 60 recalled spending more than 40 days sent to the hospital four times due to Congress’s attention, he said. in a few weeks, already looks thinner. in a “black jail” operated by the oil field failing health. There, a guard hit her head “It needs to be brought to the forefront He also asked his lawyer to pass along in 2012, where she was fed propaganda with an iron rod after spotting her doing again,” Bilirakis said. “It’s going to be a a message to his son: “Stay there [in the materials that maligned her faith on a Falun Gong’s qigong exercises. strongly worded resolution. Falun Gong practitioner United States] and be well.” daily basis. She lost around 66 pounds—approxi- Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) “We’re not going to back down, and during a hearing on Cap- You Ling meditates near The family has carefully kept the news “Every time we went out to talk to mately half of her body weight—over the we’re not going to be intimidated by the her home in Tampa, Fla., itol Hill in Washington on on June 10, 2021. from Zhou’s parents, who both have people about the persecution of Falun months of brutal detention. May 14, 2020. Chinese Communist Party.”

Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images OPINION able progress over the past two decades. In particular, the J-20 and J-31 programs demonstrate China’s ambitions—and the aggressive steps it is prepared to take—to China: Building a Modern Air Force claw its way up into the vanguard of advanced fighter-jet producers. Overall, the PLAAF is increasingly a ser- Richard A. Bitzinger level of military modernization, which the China’s arms industry has churned out an (PLAAF), at a rate of about 30 aircraft a year. vice dominated by fourth- and fifth-gener- PLA and the CCP have termed “intelligen- increasingly impressive array of modern ar- In addition, China has two “fifth-gen- ation fighters, and this has made it a much The People’s Liberation tized warfare.” Intelligentized warfare es- maments, including state-of-the-art destroy- eration” combat aircraft programs—the greater force to be reckoned with. Accord- Army (PLA) is engaged sentially entails the PLA’s weaponization of ers and cruisers, new types of submarines J-20 and the J-31—currently in the works. ing to China’s 2019 defense white paper, in a de`cades-long, con- such cutting-edge technologies as artificial (both nuclear and conventionally powered), The J-20 first flew in January 2011, and the the PLAAF is “accelerating the transition certed effort to modern- intelligence in order to gain a predominant all manner of advanced missile systems, im- J-31 followed suit in October 2012. The J-20 … from territorial air defense” to more of- ize and upgrade its capa- technological advantage over its rivals, par- proved tanks and armored vehicles, and so is already in low-rate production for the fensive operations. It is conducting force- bilities. Most recently, the ticularly the U.S. military, according to the on. Many of these weapons systems are com- PLAAF. Meanwhile, the J-31 was recently projection combat patrols in in areas where Chinese Communist Party regime’s plans. petitive with their Western counterparts. spotted at a naval aviation training facility it did not previously operate, particularly in (CCP) has laid out a nearly 30-year-long Perhaps no segment of the Chinese de- in Wuhan, driving speculation that it may the South and East China Seas and into the agenda for the development of the PLA. fense industry has witnessed more prog- be the PLA Navy’s next-generation carrier- western Pacific. Together with an increas- In the first place, Xi Jinping and the CCP ress than its aerospace sector, particularly based fighter jet. ingly modernized and capable PLA Navy, want the PLA to be a “fully modernized” The Chinese defense industrial when it comes to combat aircraft. Not too At the same time, China’s modern fighter the PLAAF is advancing toward meeting military by 2027, the hundredth anniver- long ago, the Chinese fighter jet industry jet programs remain cloaked in mystery— the CCP’s and PLA’s joint goal of creating sary of its founding. The PLA is expected to base has extensively expanded was notorious for its poor quality and obso- and even deceit. It is believed, for instance, a “world-class” Chinese military by the achieve both “mechanization and informa- and modernized, bankrolled by lete products. Its “best” fighter jets were the that the J-20 and J-31 have benefitted heav- middle of the century. tization.” This entails upgrading existing generous increases in military J-7 and the J-8II; the former was a clone of ily from industrial espionage aimed at for- military equipment and introducing new the Soviet-designed MiG-21—a plane that eign fighter programs, particularly the F-35 Richard A. Bitzinger is an independent types of conventional weapons, together expenditures over the past 20 first flew in the 1950s—while the J-8II was Joint Strike Fighter. At the same time, the international security analyst. He was with a longer-term transformation of the years or more. a problem-plagued indigenous project so actual details surrounding both the J-20 and previously a senior fellow with the Mili- PLA along the lines of “informationiza- bad that the PLA never fully embraced it. J-31—how stealthy they are, how advanced tary Transformations Program at the tion”—that is, harnessing the information Things began to turn around in the first is their radar and other avionics, what kind S. Rajaratnam School of International technologies-based “revolution in military Consequently, by 2049—the centenary years of the 21st century. Around this same of sophisticated weaponry do they carry, Studies in Singapore, and he has held affairs” (RMA). of the founding of the People’s Repub- time, China began manufacturing its first etc.—remains sketchy. Consequently, one jobs in the U.S. government and at vari- By 2035, the PLA expects to achieve lic—the PLA is to be transformed into a indigenous “fourth-generation” combat should be skeptical as to how much these J-10 fighter jets of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force Ba Yi aerobatics team perform an aerial display during the Singapore Airshow media ous think tanks. His research focuses on “complete military modernization.” Ac- “world-class” military, capable of fighting aircraft, the J-10. The J-10 is a highly agile planes are true fifth-generation fighters. preview in Singapore on Feb. 9, 2020. security and defense issues relating to the cording to the U.S. Defense Department, and winning future intelligentized wars. fighter jet roughly in the same class as a For its part, the J-10 experienced a troubled Asia-Pacific region, including the rise of this means comprehensively advancing In support of this ambitious agenda, late-model F-16. It features a fly-by-wire and protracted development process, and Consequently, nearly modern Chinese Its current workhorse engine, the WS-10, then, Russia has been reluctant to export its China as a military power, and military “the modernization of military theory, or- the Chinese defense industrial base has flight control system, an advanced radar, rumors abounded that it depended on con- fighter jet is based on stolen or copied has suffered long teething problems. Even best jet engines, knowing that China will modernization and arms proliferation in ganizational structure, military personnel, extensively expanded and modernized, and a glass cockpit featuring several liquid- siderable amounts of Israeli technical as- technology. Even then, the Chinese aero- so, according to a recent Business Insider try to reverse-engineer them. the region. and weaponry and equipment in step with bankrolled by generous increases in mili- crystal multifunction displays. The J-10 first sistance. Other so-called “Chinese” combat space sector has witness significant tech- article, the WS-10 can barely operate 30 Nevertheless, even with a continuing de- the [overall] modernization of the country.” tary expenditures over the past 20 years flew in 1997 and went into production in aircraft—the J-11B, J-15, and J-16—are mostly nological snags. Most critically, perhaps, hours before failing. pendency on Russian-supplied jet engines, Views expressed in this article are the In particular, this phase entails moving or more. the early 2000s. Upwards to 500 J-10s have reverse-engineered versions of extant Rus- it has been unable to produce a reliable As a result, most Chinese fighters con- the Chinese aerospace industry—and by opinions of the author and do not neces- from “informationized warfare” to the next Since the beginning of the 21st century, been so far delivered to the PLA Air Force sian fighter jets, such as the Su-27 and Su-30. and powerful enough turbofan engine. tinue to rely on Russian-built engines. Even extension, the PLAAF—have made remark- sarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. 8 | CHINA INSIDER Week 24, 2021

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