China
Taiwan must be ready for a Chinese invasion ‘at any time,’ experts say
China’s invasion of Taiwan is only a matter of time, a former Taiwanese army chief has warned, as the island’s defense minister vowed that the armed forces will fight to the end against the Chinese troops.
“The question is not whether China will attack Taiwan but when,” said Huoh Shoou-yeh, formerly Taiwan’s Chief of General Staff and currently serving as a strategic advisor to the Office of the President and chairman of a Defense Ministry think-tank.
“Taiwan must be ready for a conflict at any time,” Huoh told the audience at the annual Taipei Security Dialogue, hosted by the think-tank the Institute for National Defense and Security Research on Wednesday.
The four-star general added that Taiwan “has been on alert” for 70 years but since China’s paramount leader Xi Jinping came to power, Beijing’s pressure on the island has intensified.
Meanwhile Taiwan’s minister of national defense Chiu Kuo-cheng told lawmakers in Taipei that the island “absolutely has a chance of winning” a war against China but it will be an act of national defense and not provocative.
“As long as the enemy can’t land troops or plant its flags on top of the buildings of Taiwan’s central government ministries, it has not won,” Chiu said.
When asked about the Taiwanese army’s readiness, the minister said he was confident that “we are capable of mobilizing 200,000 people within 24 hours” and vowed that Taiwan “will fight to the end.”
CREDIT: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense
Asymmetric warfare
U.S. officials have suggested various dates for an invasion of Taiwan. Adm. Philip Davidson, former Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told a Congressional hearing last year that China may attack in 2027.
Most recently, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday said that “a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window… cannot be ruled out.”
Experts attending the Taipei Security Dialogue, however, cast doubt on this timeframe.
Bonny Lin, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said she personally doesn’t “see any clear indication for an invasion in 2023 or 2024,” but there may be more coercion or some other actions.
In October, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also warned that China is pursuing unification with Taiwan “on a much faster timeline.” Again, Lin said that Blinken did not attach any time schedule and there was no mention of China’s imminent invasion of Taiwan in his statement, which was more about Xi Jinping asserting his hardline stance before the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress.
Gen. Huoh Shoou-yeh spoke of the current war in Ukraine, which he said has helped the world notice the Taiwan issue, too.
Ukrainian people have successfully fought off Russian troops thanks to “the will to resist the enemy, as well as the assistance provided by its neighbors and other democratic countries,” he said.
Some participating experts such as Sarah Kirchberger from the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University in Germany said that learning from the Ukraine war, China should “think twice” about its intention of subduing Taiwan.
“Russia has proved that overlooking the capabilities of the invaded country as well as its will to defend itself can lead to serious miscalculations,” Kirchberger told RFA.
The expert spoke of the brief Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939-1940 when, in just three months, the Soviet army suffered big losses despite superior military strength.
There are similarities between Finland then and Taiwan now, according to Kirchberger, and Taiwan can use its “democratic resilience” to take advantage of the asymmetric warfare against China.
Some other analysts suggest that the Taiwanese military should improve its intelligence and public affairs mechanisms, especially as Chinese cognitive warfare and cyberattacks became common practice.
Read the rest of this article here >>> Taiwan must be ready for a Chinese invasion ‘at any time,’ experts say
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.
China
China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
China unveiled a comprehensive action plan for upgrading industrial equipment, with a focus on driving technological innovation and economic growth. The plan, released on April 9, 2024, aims to enhance competitiveness and sustainability within the manufacturing sector through extensive investment and regulatory support.
China announced an ambitious action plan for industrial equipment upgrading, which aims to drive technological innovation and economic growth through extensive investment and regulatory support.
On April 9, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and six other departments jointly released a notice introducing the Implementation Plan for Promoting Equipment Renewal in the Industrial Sector (hereafter referred to as the “action plan”).
Finalized earlier on March 23, 2024, this comprehensive action plan addresses critical issues related to technological innovation and economic development. It reflects China’s proactive stance in enhancing competitiveness and sustainability within its manufacturing sector. The initiative underscores the recognition of industrial equipment upgrading as a top policy priority.
The scope of China’s action plan to upgrade industrial equipment in manufacturing, is extensive, covering various aspects such as:
In line with China’s ambitious goals for industrial modernization and sustainable development, the action plan outlines several key objectives aimed at driving substantial advancements in the industrial sector by 2027.
These objectives encompass a wide range of areas, from increasing investment to enhancing digitalization and promoting innovation, including:
The objectives and key actions proposed in the action plan are summarized below.
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.
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- China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
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