China
Hong Kong’s crisis drags on
Author: Editorial Board, ANU
It’s been over six months since peaceful protests started in Hong Kong in response to a proposed extradition treaty with China. The situation continues to deteriorate as episodes of violence spiral out of control.
The protests and the response from authorities have brought the city to its knees. There has been violence, death, mass arrest and misinformation. The economy is contracting with the recession deeper than expected, hotels half empty, universities under siege, retail seriously hurt and transport routinely disrupted. But the pro-democracy opposition won a sweeping victory in the city’s district elections at the end of November, highlighting public support for the protest movement.
The protest movement is leaderless — by design — and the initial demand to withdraw the extradition bill has been met. The other four demands, including amnesty for the arrested protestors and universal suffrage, will be harder for the administration to meet. The reform hurdles for universal suffrage are high and in fact it was the opposition legislators that vetoed change in 2014.
Kerry Brown sums up the situation in Hong Kong in this week’s lead essay explaining that it’s ‘as though a whole generation had become wedded to protest at whatever the cost and the administration which was meant to supply security had ran out of ideas’. As the protests and response from authorities escalated, ‘even the political overlords in Beijing sometimes seemed at a loss for what to do’.
Beijing has avoided direct intervention, which would provoke significant international backlash. It is unlikely to back down to the protestors but intervening would invite a mess in Hong Kong and have huge international consequences. Beijing can afford to wait it out with the military force on show across the border.
How long can the fragile situation continue? As Brown explains, ‘2019 resolved nothing. It has just postponed things until 2020’. The longer the crisis continues, the more damage to Hong Kong.
At stake is the welfare of the people of Hong Kong and the importance the city carries for prosperity and security in East Asia. Hong Kong has a unique and strategic importance as a gateway into the mainland for the West, with its familiar institutions. And for China, beyond the issue of sovereignty, Hong Kong is where companies and policymakers can learn governance and finance at the technological frontier — lessons that can be used to power the mainland economy.
What makes Hong Kong special for China and the rest of the world is diminished the longer the crisis continues.
In November the US Congress passed an act committing to support freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, further complicating the great power rivalry and strategic competition between China and the United States. Large-scale protest movements and their responses have crippled major cities in 2019 but none involve the stakes of the two global superpowers quite like Hong Kong.
The United States has involved itself in the Hong Kong issue but what can other governments do? There’s plenty to lose in getting involved in the lose-lose crisis. Tim Summers wrote back in October that other countries need to understand the full range of views across the Hong Kong community, not just those who lobby Washington, London and Canberra. It means ‘giving some support to the Hong Kong government and encouraging it to find the right balance between interests in Hong Kong and those in Beijing’. Most importantly of all, ‘this wave of violence must come to an end’, else ‘Hong Kong’s society may never recover’.
Beijing wants the protests and disruption to stop. The protestors want their demands met. There will have to be a middle ground where both sides save face and a process is put in place that can rebuild society.
Hong Kong and China will operate as ‘one country, two systems’ until 2047 when the 50 year agreement with the British that is enshrined in Hong Kong’s constitution lapses. What happens after that is not clear and there is a lot that will change in the meantime. In the 22 years since the British handover of Hong Kong to China, much has changed, especially in China.
In 2047 China will be a different country. Its economy will be the largest in the world. But whether it has achieved its dream of becoming prosperous and high income will most likely depend on whether it is able to reform its economy and its political institutions. The success of these reforms will also shape Hong Kongers’ attitudes about relations with the…
China
New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
China has been the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 years, producing one-third of global manufacturing output. In the Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024, China ranks highest among eight emerging countries in the region. Challenges for these countries include global demand disparities affecting industrial output and export orders.
Known as the “World’s Factory”, China has held the title of the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 consecutive years, starting from 2010. Its factories churn out approximately one-third of the global manufacturing output, a testament to its industrial might and capacity.
China’s dominant role as the world’s sole manufacturing power is reaffirmed in Dezan Shira & Associates’ Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024 report (“EAMI 2024”), in which China secures the top spot among eight emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The other seven economies are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
The EAMI 2024 aims to assess the potential of these eight economies, navigate the risks, and pinpoint specific factors affecting the manufacturing landscape.
In this article, we delve into the key findings of the EAMI 2024 report and navigate China’s advantages and disadvantages in the manufacturing sector, placing them within the Asia-Pacific comparative context.
Emerging Asia countries face various challenges, especially in the current phase of increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). One notable challenge is the impact of global demand disparities on the manufacturing sector, affecting industrial output and export orders.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
Chinese social media influencers have recently claimed that prominent Chinese-born Australian journalist Vicky Xu had posted a message saying she planned to return to China.
There is no evidence for this. The source did not provide evidence to support the claim, and Xu herself later confirmed to AFCL that she has no such plans.
Currently working as an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, Xu has previously written for both the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, and The New York Times.
A Chinese language netizen on X initially claimed on March 31 that the changing geopolitical relations between Sydney and Beijing had caused Xu to become an expendable asset and that she had posted a message expressing a strong desire to return to China. An illegible, blurred photo of the supposed message accompanied the post.
This claim was retweeted by a widely followed influencer on the popular Chinese social media site Weibo one day later, who additionally commented that Xu was a “traitor” who had been abandoned by Australian media.
Following the publication of an ASPI article in 2021 which exposed forced labor conditions in Xinjiang co-authored by Xu, the journalist was labeled “morally bankrupt” and “anti-China” by the Chinese state owned media outlet Global Times and subjected to an influx of threatening messages and digital abuse, eventually forcing her to temporarily close several of her social media accounts.
AFCL found that neither Xu’s active X nor LinkedIn account has any mention of her supposed return to China, and received the following response from Xu herself about the rumor:
“I can confirm that I don’t have plans to go back to China. I think if I do go back I’ll most definitely be detained or imprisoned – so the only career I’ll be having is probably going to be prison labor or something like that, which wouldn’t be ideal.”
Neither a keyword search nor reverse image search on the photo attached to the original X post turned up any text from Xu supporting the netizens’ claims.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Read the rest of this article here >>> Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
China
Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
Foreign residents in China can request a criminal record check from their local security bureau. This certificate may be required for visa applications or job opportunities. Requirements and procedures vary by city. In Shanghai, foreigners must have lived there for 180 days with a valid visa to obtain the certificate.
Foreign residents living in China can request a criminal record check from the local security bureau in the city in which they have lived for at least 180 days. Certificates of no criminal record may be required for people leaving China, or those who are starting a new position in China and applying for a new visa or residence permit. Taking Shanghai as an example, we outline the requirements for obtaining a China criminal record check.
Securing a Certificate of No Criminal Record, often referred to as a criminal record or criminal background check, is a crucial step for various employment opportunities, as well as visa applications and residency permits in China. Nevertheless, navigating the process can be a daunting task due to bureaucratic procedures and language barriers.
In this article, we use Shanghai as an example to explore the essential information and steps required to successfully obtain a no-criminal record check. Requirements and procedures may differ in other cities and counties in China.
Note that foreigners who are not currently living in China and need a criminal record check to apply for a Chinese visa must obtain the certificate from their country of residence or nationality, and have it notarized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
Foreigners who have a valid residence permit and have lived in Shanghai for at least 180 days can request a criminal record check in the city. This means that the applicant will also need to currently have a work, study, or other form of visa or stay permit that allows them to live in China long-term.
If a foreigner has lived in another part of China and is planning to or has recently moved to Shanghai, they will need to request a criminal record check in the place where they previously spent at least 180 days.
There are two steps to obtaining a criminal record certificate in Shanghai: requesting the criminal record check from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and getting the resulting Certificate of No Criminal Record notarized by an authorized notary agency.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
- New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
- Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
- Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
- China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
- China deepens engagement with new Indonesian president as top diplomat visits Jakarta
- New Publication: A Guide for Foreign Investors on Navigating China’s New Company Law
