Chinese Military,Political and Social Superthread

[CougarKing]

Redheads aside...

Meanwhile in the South China Sea, the Chinese Coast Guard clashes with Filipino fishermen:

Inquirer

Philippine Fishermen put up fight vs. China Coast Guard at Scarborough Shoal

SUBIC, Zambales—Filipino fishermen last week fought off a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that was driving them away from the Scarborough Shoal, according to a crew member of a fishing vessel that had just arrived from the shoal.The crew of FB Leslie May struck the approaching rubber boat deployed by the Chinese on April 15 after the Chinese patrol threatened to cut off the vessel’s anchor, said Joely Saligan, 36, a fisherman from Barangay Calapandayan here.The Filipinos were fishing near the shoal around 9 a.m. on April 15 when the Chinese chanced upon them.“Their rubber boat was damaged and they immediately left us there. At that instance, we knew they called for backup,” Saligan told the Inquirer on Saturday.

Saligan, who was tasked with managing the engine of FB Leslie May, said the rubber boat returned, escorted by a Chinese Coast Guard ship. One of the ship’s crew members ordered the Filipinos to leave the shoal, he said.The shoal is located 230 kilometers from Masinloc town, Zambales province, well within the Philippines’ 370-km exclusive economic zone.It is also known to residents of this coastal town as Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.“Philippines go away! Go home!” Saligan said, quoting one of the Chinese coast guards.Instead of leaving, Saligan said they turned to the other Filipino fishermen who were in the area.

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[CougarKing]

One major result of capital flight of billions from mainland China in recent years: China's noveau rich 1 percenters, taking advantage of Canada's and other western nations' immigrant investor visa category, and who have been dumping their fu er dai/富二代/"2nd generation rich" kids in places like here in Vancouver where they form muscle car clubs to the annoyance of locals here: 

New York Times

Chinese Scions’ Song: My Daddy’s Rich and My Lamborghini’s Good-Looking

By DAN LEVIN
APRIL 12, 2016

China’s rapid economic rise has turned peasants into billionaires. Many wealthy Chinese are increasingly eager to stow their families, and their riches, in the West, where rule of law, clean air and good schools offer peace of mind, especially for those looking to escape scrutiny from the Communist Party and an anti-corruption campaign that has sent hundreds of the rich and powerful to jail.

With its relatively weak currency and welcoming immigration policies, Canada has become a top destination for China’s 1 percenters. According to government figures, from 2005 to 2012, at least 37,000 Chinese millionaires took advantage of a now-defunct immigrant investor program to become permanent residents of British Columbia, the province that includes Vancouver.

(...SNIPPED)

Many residents say the flood of Chinese capital has caused an affordable housing crisis. Vancouver is the most expensive city in Canada to buy a home, according to a 2016 survey by the consulting firm Demographia. The average price of a detached house in greater Vancouver more than doubled from 2005 to 2015, to about 1.6 million Canadian dollars ($1.2 million), according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Residents angry about the rise of rich foreign real estate buyers and absentee owners, particularly from China, have begun protests on social media, including a #DontHave1Million Twitter campaign. The provincial government agreed this year to begin tracking foreign ownership of real estate in response to demands from local politicians.

The anger has had little effect on the gilded lives of Vancouver’s wealthy Chinese. Indeed, to the newcomers for whom money is no object, the next purchase after a house is usually a car, and then a few more.

A large number of luxury car dealerships here employ Chinese staff, a testament to the spending power of the city’s newest residents. In 2015, there were 2,500 cars worth more than $150,000 registered in metropolitan Vancouver, up from 1,300 in 2009, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.

Many of Vancouver’s young supercar owners are known as fuerdai, a Mandarin expression, akin to trust-fund kids, that means “rich second generation.” In China, where the superrich are widely criticized as being corrupt and materialistic, the term provokes a mix of scorn and envy.

The fuerdai have brought their passion for extravagance to Vancouver. White Lamborghinis are popular among young Chinese women; the men often turn in their leased supercars after a few months for a newer, cooler status symbol.

(...SNIPPED)

Plus more on further capital flight to come:

Reuters

China expected to see $538 billion capital exodus in 2016, IIF says
By Marc Jones | Reuters – 8 hours ago


By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors are expected to pull $538 billion out of China's slowing economy in 2016, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) estimated on Monday, although the pace of outflows has dropped.

That number would be down a fifth from the $674 billion pulled out last year, the industry association said, but could accelerate again if fears re-emerge of a "disorderly" drop in the yuan, or the renminbi, as the currency is also known.

Capital exodus from China can influence emerging markets more generally, partly because of its sheer size and partly because sustained outflows can trigger more exchange rate volatility, which could then feed a fresh wave of outflows.

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[CougarKing]

This is from the same kind of manipulative diplomacy that China uses to quash Taiwan's membership bid at the UN every year:

Quartz

Hello Gambia! Beijing is searching far and wide for allies to back its grab of the South China Sea

China has a habit of making improbably grouped friends. When it held a World War 2 victory parade last year, key attendees included officials from East Timor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and North Korea.

Today Beijing is cobbling together a similarly incongruous group of nations in support of its position on the South China Sea—ahead of an upcoming ruling in an international court that isn’t likely to go China’s way.

China says nearly all of the South China Sea is its territory, basing its claim partly on a nine-dash line drawn after the end of World War 2—a line that conflicts with the claims of other nations in the area, including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The Philippines is legally challenging the validity of that line, saying it violates agreements about exclusive economic zones and territorial seas established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations will issue a ruling, likely in late May or early June.

China has refused to recognize the court’s authority in the matter and says its position—that the issue should be resolved directly between the nations involved—will not change regardless of the ruling. In the meantime, it’s drumming up international support to complement its militarization, island-building, and aggressive fishing in the sea.

Last week Gambia released a statement expressing its support for China’s position. It said that China had “indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and the adjacent waters” that the court has “no jurisdiction in pronouncing a verdict on maritime boundaries in the South China Sea,” and that the matter ought to be resolved bilaterally. Gambia, which lies on Africa’s west coast and faces the Atlantic Ocean, would seem a rather odd nation to be weighing in on the matter.

Not every ally Beijing has enlisted is so remote. China’s foreign ministry indicated over the weekend that three nations in Southeast Asia have voiced their support for Beijing’s position: Laos, Cambodia, and Brunei. All three oppose “any attempt to unilaterally impose an agenda,” according to state news wire Xinhua, and agree that nations should resolve disputes between themselves.

Of course, Laos is completely landlocked, and Cambodia’s single stretch of coastline faces the Gulf of Thailand, well removed from the waters around China’s nine-dash line. China is also a major aid donor to and trade partner with both of the economically challenged nations. Brunei actually does face the South China Sea—but it’s an oil-enriched speck of a nation with fewer than 500,000 people.

China is also courting Russia, which has reasons to dislike the Permanent Court of Arbitration: A Ukrainian businessman brought a case to the court over his right to operate a passenger airport in ­Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula. The court, Moscow argues, lacks jurisdiction over the matter.

“Both China and Russia should remain alert against behavior abusing the mechanism of compulsory arbitration,” said Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who visited his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov Moscow last week.

Lavrov indicated Russia favors direct negotiation between the countries involved and opposes “any attempts to internationalize” the South China Sea issue.

 

[tomahawk6]

Another super read concerning the growing PRC capability in the hypersonic weapons field.To acheive this capability ahead of the US would give China the edge in the Pacific.I suspect that China will be the first to deploy these Mach 5 missiles.At the moment we lack the ability to shoot them down.We would be looking at either war with China or a serious loss of face if we failed to respond to PRC aggression.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/asias-mach-5-nightmare-chinas-hypersonic-weapons-build-16006

Back just three years ago, in February of 2013, a high-ranking US naval official remarked that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was preparing to wage, if called upon, what he called “a short sharp war to destroy Japanese forces in the East China Sea …”

Capt. James Fanell, then deputy chief of staff intelligence and information operations for PACFLEET, made the remark in reference to training exercises being conducted by China when it came to Japanese holdings in the East China Sea. Such remarks took the press by storm, clearly a sign of the dangers presented by Beijing’s rapid military modernization as well as its constant saber-rattling over the Senkaku Islands.

 

[jollyjacktar]

‎China‬'s ‪‎PLA‬ army enlists rap-style music video to recruit young soldiers  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTdOnDSPZ_Q

The video very good I must say, but it does cement my belief that rap is shit, no matter the language.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

One major result of capital flight of billions from mainland China in recent years: China's noveau rich 1 percenters, taking advantage of Canada's and other western nations' immigrant investor visa category, and who have been dumping their fu er dai/富二代/"2nd generation rich" kids in places like here in Vancouver where they form muscle car clubs to the annoyance of locals here: 

Every gun shop in Vancouver has a Mandarin speaker as that's where the real money is.

 

[CougarKing]

Every gun shop in Vancouver has a Mandarin speaker as that's where the real money is.

And speaking of "the real money"...

Vancouver's real-estate controversy in the news again:

Vancity Buzz

Chinese-language reality show about high-end real estate might be coming to Vancouver
By
Lauren Sundstrom
9:01 AM PDT, Fri May 06, 2016

(...SNIPPED)

The trailer is titled Gold Broker and prominently features local real estate agent Chris Lee showing prospective home buyers luxurious properties in Vancouver. Sprinkled throughout the trailer are b-roll shots of Vancouver scenery.

At one point, a real estate agent holds up a sign that reads “18.5m.”

The trailer comes as controversy about the state of the city’s real estate market starts to reach new heights. With bidding wars resulting in homes selling for $1 million over the asking price, monthly sales consistently breaking records, and young Vancouverites seeking alternatives to get a foot in the proverbial real estate door, buying a home in Vancouver has become a hot topic.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

The latest USN FONOP in the South China Sea:

U.S. Warship Challenges China's Claims in South China Sea

(Source: Bloomberg link embedded in headline above)

USS William P. Lawrence

 

[CougarKing]

Tsai is finally inaugurated into office in Taiwan: it remains to be seen if she will more aggressively pursue independence from this day forward. And if her moves will incite mainland China to send the PLA across the Strait to end the existence of the "Republic of China" once and for all.

Or whether she will be more pragmatic and maintain the "ROC" status quo while laying the groundwork for her successor to take them further down the independence path.

Defense News

Taiwan Swears In Independence-Minded President
Wendell Minnick, Defense News 11:30 a.m. EDT May 20, 2016

TAIPEI — Beijing’s Communist Party leadership has a new problem with what it terms its “renegade province” off China’s east coast. On Friday, Taiwan swore in a new president who pledged to continue democratic reform, improve the economy, and maintain cross-strait peace and security.

Taiwan’s 14th president, Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to serve, said in her inaugural address that the “two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history, and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides.”

(...SNIPPED)

New Taiwan president pledges peace, urges China to drop historical baggage
By: J.R. Wu and Faith Hung, Reuters
May 20, 2016 6:48 PM

TAIPEI - Taiwan's new president urged China on Friday to "drop the baggage of history" in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing's Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence.

President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan's export-driven economy on the ropes and China, which views the self-ruled island as its own, looking across the Taiwan Strait for anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties.

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favored independence, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on a voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. It takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou

(...SNIPPED)

Meanwhile, unrest continues in Hong Kong:

Top China official visit stirs anger in Hong Kong
By: Aaron Tam, Agence France-Presse
May 18, 2016 12:10 PM

HONG KONG - One of China's most powerful officials lands in Hong Kong Tuesday in an attempt to build bridges in the divided city, but the trip has already stirred anger among opponents.

The three-day visit by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official in four years and comes as concerns grow in semi-autonomous Hong Kong that Beijing is tightening its grip.

While Zhang is ostensibly visiting to speak at an economic conference on Wednesday, the trip is widely seen as a bid to take the temperature in an increasingly febrile political climate which has fostered a fledgling independence movement, riling China.

As part of the trip, Zhang will meet with a group of veteran pro-democracy lawmakers Wednesday evening, a rare move observers say is designed to defuse frustrations.
(...SNIPPED)

 

[The Bread Guy]

Remember these guys?

The highlighted company's name is coming up again, this time dealing with Canada....CBC.ca, 15 May 12

The former head of U.S. counter-espionage says the Harper government is putting North American security at risk by allowing a giant Chinese technology company to participate in major Canadian telecommunications projects.

In an exclusive interview in Washington, Michelle K. Van Cleave told CBC News the involvement of Huawei Technologies in Canadian telecom networks risks turning the information highway into a freeway for Chinese espionage against both the U.S. and Canada.

Huawei has long argued there is no evidence linking the company to the growing tidal wave of international computer hacking and other forms of espionage originating in China.

Nonetheless, the U.S. and Australia have already blocked Huawei from major telecom projects in those countries, and otherwise made it clear they regard China's largest telecommunications company as a potential security threat.

Van Cleave, who served as top spy-catcher for the Bush administration until 2006, describes Huawei as a potential "stalking horse" for Chinese military and intelligence objectives ...

More on the Aussies' concerns here and here, with a U.S. Open Source Centre report on the company (shared by the Federation of American Scientists via their Secrecy News blog) from a while back attached.

The latest ...

The Canadian government is preparing to reject the permanent residence applications of three Chinese people who work for China’s telecom giant Huawei, citing concerns of spying, terrorism or government subversion.

A fourth individual, who used to work for Huawei and whose spouse is currently employed by the company, was also told the couple’s application would be rejected. The cases come after Huawei, the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, which started operating in Canada in 2008, faced unsubstantiated spying concerns in recent years.

In a March 18 letter from the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong, an immigration officer told a Chinese applicant that officials were preparing to reject the person’s application, which also included the applicant’s spouse; both individuals currently work for Huawei. The letter said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the principal applicant is inadmissible under section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which deems individuals involved in espionage, terrorism or government subversion inadmissible ...

More from Vice here.

 

[CougarKing]

The "culture wars" in China continue: A Chinese tycoon unveils a plan to open a series of theme parks to challenge the 2 new Disneylands in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In his speech at the video report, he justified these theme parks by saying they will reportedly focus more on Chinese culture, all the while alluding to the usual "China was a victim of western influence and colonialism" view that seems to dominate their history books.

*While there are many theme parks in China, probably the closest forerunner I can think of to these "Wanda Cities" would be the "Middle Kingdom" park in Hong Kong that used to be right beside Ocean Park; Middle Kingdom was a theme park where old, imperial China was recreated.

Forbes

China's richest man unveils plan to take down Disney

Casey Hall
May 29, 2016

This weekend China’s massive real estate and entertainment conglomerate, Dalian Wanda, is unveiling the first of a series of “Wanda Cities”.

The company, headed by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, has overtly taken aim at the foreign entertainment and theme park interloper, Disney (who are slated to open their $6 billion Shanghai Disney theme park on June 16, though a soft opening period is already underway).

(...SNIPPE

 

[The Bread Guy]

Oooh, SOMEONE's touchy ...

China's visiting foreign minister publicly berated a Canadian journalist on Wednesday for asking a question about his country's human rights record.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was "irresponsible" of a journalist from the web outlet iPolitics to ask about human rights and the jailing of a Canadian, Kevin Garratt, who is charged with espionage.

Wang appeared visibly angry as he delivered the scolding in the lobby of Global Affairs headquarters at a joint news conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion.

"Your question is full of prejudice and against China and arrogance ... I don't know where that comes from. This is totally unacceptable," Wang said through a translator.

"Other people don't know better than the Chinese people about the human rights condition in China and it is the Chinese people who are in the best situation, in the best position to have a say about China's human rights situation," he continued.

"So I would like to suggest to you that please don't ask questions in such an irresponsible manner. We welcome goodwill suggestions but we reject groundless or unwarranted accusations." ...

Quite undiplomatic for a foreign minister ...

 

[Lumber]

Suddenly, I like China a little bit more. What's wrong with showing a little gusto?

 

[The Bread Guy]

What's wrong with showing a little gusto?

Not to mention a bit of hypocrisy - but what are diplomats for, right? 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Oooh, SOMEONE's touchy ...Quite undiplomatic for a foreign minister ...

There are a couple of issues at play ... Chinese sensitivity to complaints about what they see as "internal/domestic" matters is long standing. Then there is this "spying" issue.

If we want a free trade deal with China, and I think we do, then we must expect a "shopping list" from the Chinese. That list will not be confined to just trade issues ... they will want a bit of kow-towing, too.

I think that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit is all about that potential trade deal and I suspect that every word and move, here and in China, has been carefully choreographed.

 

[Lumber]

Maybe we should take a page out of their books and simply mind our own business.

I'm sure that once the billions in investment start pouring in, and the standard of living starts going up, people will forget all about their perceived distaste for the Maoists.

Pass me the gravy;
These Benjamins need some sauce.
Dalai Lama, who?

 

[Lightguns]

Concur, I am getting tired of our (western) need to moralize everything. 

What's interesting is how much the Liberals are going to have to taint their relationship with First Nations to make this happen.  I think it would be unwise to string the Chinese too long, especially since Canadian oil and gas wants access to this market.  Liberals could find themselves between an economy and an armed native protest, AKA Rexton, NB on a national scale.  FN are really expecting this guy to shut down all these pipelines and view his reluctance to support as acceptance of their hegemony over natural resources with the "duty to consult" is still very mucky concept. 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Concur, I am getting tired of our (western) need to moralize everything. 

What's interesting is how much the Liberals are going to have to taint their relationship with First Nations to make this happen.  I think it would be unwise to string the Chinese too long, especially since Canadian oil and gas wants access to this market.  Liberals could find themselves between an economy and an armed native protest, AKA Rexton, NB on a national scale.  FN are really expecting this guy to shut down all these pipelines and view his reluctance to support as acceptance of their hegemony over natural resources with the "duty to consult" is still very mucky concept.

It really, really shouldn't be too hard ... expensive? yes, hard? no.

There is only a tiny minority of people who really know and care about the environmental issues (rather more don't know but care a lot); this is mostly about money. The First Nations want a lot of it ... hard to blame then, really. The First Nations can, I believe, be bought ... now it's up to Prime Minister Trudeau to to negotiate the price.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Concur, I am getting tired of our (western) need to moralize everything. 

What's interesting is how much the Liberals are going to have to taint their relationship with First Nations to make this happen.  I think it would be unwise to string the Chinese too long, especially since Canadian oil and gas wants access to this market.  Liberals could find themselves between an economy and an armed native protest, AKA Rexton, NB on a national scale.  FN are really expecting this guy to shut down all these pipelines and view his reluctance to support as acceptance of their hegemony over natural resources with the "duty to consult" is still very mucky concept.

You find the FN responses a mixed bag, depending on the product and where they sit on the supply chain and the risk/benefit analysis for them. examples http://haisla.ca/economic-development/kitimat-advantage/
http://www.metlakatla.ca/overview/economic-development

 

[Lumber]

The article stated that one of the things the Chinese are looking for in order to consider a free trade agreement with Canada is that we approve and build the Northern Gateway pipeline. However, what about the alternative refinery producing oil from train-shipped solid bitumen?

Forget tankers and pipelines, David Black has a plan for a ‘West Coast exit’ for Canada’s oil

http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/david-black-refinery-oil?__lsa=41a9-1df7