曾錚的世界

（Jennifer’s note: Below is the comment left by Chen Huang under my video “How Has the CCP Turned Mekong River into a Political Chip to Control Southeast Asia？”

曾錚注：以下是一名叫Chen Huang 的觀衆在我的關於中共將湄公河變成它控制東南來國家的籌碼的英文視頻節目How Has the CCP Turned Mekong River into a Political Chip to Control Southeast Asia？下面的留言。留言是英文的，中文翻譯是我做的。）

Good to see you talking about this.

很高興看到你在談論這個問題。

I have worked as contractor for CCP SOE（ state-owned enterprises ）, as architect (Worked with Shanghai Construction Group mostly), and some of their projects in Cambodia… many are built to GB standard, especially some strange requirements, where highways from Phnom Penh to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and to Bangkok, were to be 500mm thick reinforced concrete, these are to accommodate military tanks….

作爲一名建築師，我曾做過中共國企的承包商，主要在上海建工集團工作，也參加過他們在柬埔寨的一些項目……項目很多都是按照中國國標標準建造的，特別是，有些項目有一些奇怪的要求，從金邊到西貢/胡志明市和曼谷的公路，都是500毫米厚的鋼筋混凝土，這些都是為了能承載軍用坦克才需要的建築標準……

Strange that Cambodia would need such a specification, many small details which raised my eyebrows.

我感到奇怪的是，爲何柬埔寨竟然需要這樣規格的公路？還有很多小細節，讓我大跌眼鏡。

Not to mention some of the specifications for the Ports and Airports that were built with CCP SOE investment money.

更不用說一些用中共國企投資資金建設的港口和機場的規格了。

After thinking about it, I know they are building to reinforce South China Sea PLA bases as well as encircling Vietnam and Thailand. This is a section of the greater ring being made to encircle India via Pakistan. (I’m talking about predominately Airports and Seaways, I worked less on the inland projects going through Myanmar, Tibet, etc),

我思前想後，終於明白他們這樣做，是為了加強南海解放軍基地，同時包抄越南和泰國。這是正在建設中的經巴基斯坦包圍印度的大環中的一段。我說的主要是機場和海路，我對經過緬甸、西藏等內陸項目參與較少。

Hello, everyone, welcome to “Inconvenient Truths”. I am your host Jennifer Zeng.  

I am not sure if you have heard about the Mekong  River. It is the most important water system, the longest river in Southeast Asia, the 6th longest in Asia and the 10th longest in the world. It originates on Tibet and flows through six countries. Early this year, it once again experienced a serious drop in water levels, causing widespread international concerns, and a lot of people in this area were affected. Today I’d like to give you an idea about how the CCP turned this river into a political chip to control Southeast Asia. It’s definitely one of the CCP’s “Unrestricted Warfare” methods against the world. 

Mekong River: From Water Abundance of to Water Crises

First, let’s give a brief introduction of the Mekong River. Let’s show Picture 1. You can see from the map that the upper reach of the Mekong River is the Lancang River inside China. The six countries it flows through are China, Myanmar or Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Then it flows into the South China Sea. 

Mekong River watershed

So the lower and upper reaches of the river are collectively known as the Lancang-Mekong River. It has a main stream of more than 4,000 kilometers, or 2485 miles. About 70 million people are directly dependent on the Mekong River for their livelihoods.

This river was originally very rich in water resources, but has been experiencing frequent water crises since 2010.

So what happened? 

An organization called Eye on Earth did some research and published a report called  Monitoring the Quantity of Water Flowing Through the Upper Mekong Basin Under Natural (Unimpeded) Conditions. This study developed a reliable and simple model that predicts the natural flow of the Upper Mekong, then used this prediction to determine how the cascade of dams built on the Upper Mekong is altering the natural flow of the river. The foundation of this study is based on satellite data from 1992 to 2019 and daily river height gauge data from a place called Chiang Saen in Thailand.

 Let’s show Picture 2. It shows the time series of gauge and model predicted measurements at Chiang Saen from Jan 1992-March 2019. The green color is the difference field. If the values are negative, the gauge is missing water, and if they are positive there is excess water at the gauge. 

Time series of gauge and model predicted measurements at Chiang Saen from Jan 1992-March 2019. The green is the difference field. If the values are negative, the gauge is missing water, and if they are positive there is excess water at the gauge. Source: Eyes on Earth

So by simulating the flow of the Mekong River from 1992 to 2019, and comparing the data before and after the dams were built,  Eyes on Earth concluded that the construction of upstream dams by the CCP has affected the volume of water in the Mekong River.

The report says, “Considerable differences in measured and predicted flow occurred in 2010, when the major Xiaowan dam was completed and the generators came online.”

The report also says, Xiaowan reservoir “can hold about seven times the amount of water as the previous three reservoirs combined, therefore its ability to regulate and restrict flow rises to another order of magnitude. The capacity to restrict flow is clearly demonstrated in the relationship between predicted natural flow and measured flow, since a large quantity of water is ‘missing’ at the gauge during the warm season, when river flow normally would greatly increase, due to melting snow and recent precipitation on the Tibetan plateau.”

Let’s show Picture 3. This is an enlargement of the time series between  2010-2019. We can see that most of the time the green line is in the negative area, which means that water is missing due to the restriction of the dams. 

This is an enlargement of figure 1 over the years 2010-2019. Source: Eyes on Earth

Number Games To Shift Responsibilities

In 2010,  Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia all complained to the CCP about the serious drop in water levels in the Mekong River, arguing that the CCP’s dams were causing the drought downstream. 

However, the CCP didn’t agree, and claimed that the annual flow of the Lancang River was only 13.5 percent of the Mekong’s flow to the sea, and with such a small percentage, it could not affect the overall situation. 

Is that really the case? A German-based expert Mr. Wang Weiluo said to the Epoch Times that the CCP has been playing number games to shift the responsibilities. Many of the data of China’s rivers are kept secret. Even the disclosed data are often contradictory. 

Wang Weiluo said, for example, the CCP has two sets of data about the average annual outflow of the Lancang River at China’s border. One set says 64 billion cubic meters, another version says 76 billion. So the difference is 12  billion cubic meters. 

If one takes 76 billion as the true number, the annual flow of the Lancang River would be 16 percent of the Mekong’s flow to the sea,  not the 13.5 percent claimed by the CCP. 

Wang Weiluo said, the CCP once also claimed that China has 18.6 percent of the water rights of the Lancang-Mekong River, meaning that 18.6 percent of the water resources belong to China.  

So the point is, the CCP’s numbers keep changing, from 13.5 percent to 16 percent, and then to 18.6 percent.  

When discussing rights, the CCP chose 18.6 percent, but when it comes to accountability, it chose 13.5 percent.

Wang Weiluo also said that the 13.5 percent is the result of dividing the average annual runoff at the exit of the Lancang River by the average annual runoff at the mouth of the Mekong River.

However, it is not the right way to measure it. The right way is to look at the section of the river near China, that is, the section right after the Lancang River flows out of China. That is, if you check the river section that is just out of China, and within, say,  300 kilometers from the Chinese border, you will find that 2/3 of the water comes from the upper reaches of China. If you stop the water inside China, the people downstream will of course immediately scream that they don’t have any water coming down.”

Now let’s show Picture 5. It is a table of the average volume for the dry season and its ratio to annual volume along the Lancang-Mekong mainstream. Please look at the red square in the top line. It shows that during the Mekong’s dry season, the outflow from the Jinghong dam in China has reached 41 percent of the flow of the main stem of the Lancang-Mekong River between 2010 and 2015. 

Average volume for the dry season and its ratio to annual volume along the Lancang-Mekong mainstream. Source: Mekong River Commission and Ministry of Water Resources of China

This table is taken from a report jointly issued by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Mekong River Commission.

It confirms the viewpoint that the dams hold a large percent of water of Mekong, not a small percent as claimed by the CCP. 

The problem is, the CCP has built not only just a few small dams. According to the report by Eyes on Earth, in addition to the Xiaowan Reservoir we just talked about, the CCP also built the larger Nuozadu Reservoir on the Lancang River, with a capacity of 27.49 billion cubic meters. Its first generator was commissioned in 2012, and the impact on the downstream exceeds that of the Xiaowan Reservoir.

A Helping Hand, or A Political Chip? 

While the CCP chose to ignore the drought in the Mekong River Basin in 2010, it went out of its way to offer help six years later. 

In 2016, Vietnam experienced a severe drought, with some coastal areas encroached by seawater due to a reduction in river water. 

According to the CCP’s mouthpiece Xinhua, the CCP extended a helping hand to the lower Mekong countries by releasing water from the dams, and raising the water level during the Mekong’s dry season. 

Wang Weiluo said that in 2016, during the CCP’s “disaster relief” period, it released at least 1,000 cubic meters per second of water into the lower reaches of the Mekong River every day. This scale exceeded the flow of the Lancang River during the dry season, and was five times the natural flow of the lower reaches. 

This also means that the CCP has actually taken control of the “water tap” of the Mekong River. If the CCP turns the tap on, the lower reaches can have water; if it turns the tap off, the lower reaches will have little water. 

So why did the CCP choose to help in 2016? It’s all out of political considerations. 

In 2014, Chinese premier Li Keqiang proposed the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Summit at a meeting with leaders of other Asain countries. 

Two years later, in March 2016, the first Lancang-Mekong Summit was held in Sanya City, Hainan Province in China. Leaders from 5 countries of the Lancang-Mekong River region attended the summit. Let’s show Picture 6. We can see that Xinhua reported the summit in a very high profile manner.  So the CCP took this opportunity to show its “friendship” by releasing water downstream. 

Xinhua’s special reports about the first Lancang-Mekong Summit in March 2016.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang made a speech at the summit and mentioned that it was necessary to build a “Community of Shared Future” among Lancang-Mekong countries, and that “China has signed or is negotiating with several Mekong countries the initiatives to build ‘One Belt, One Road’ projects. ” 

Therefore, showing some good gesture was a political need for the CCP at that time. The “disaster relief” effort could also pave the way for the CCP to invest in Southeast Asian countries.

According to Chinese media China Times, accompanying the first-ever Lancang-Mekong summit in 2016 were a list of 78 projects, a special fund for Lancang-Mekong cooperation, a 10 billion RMB  (1.55 billion USD) loan and a 10 billion USD credit line, all provided by the CCP. 

What Can the CCP Gain from Mekong Countries?

Why was the CCP interested in offering help? Its aim was to gain natural resources in those countries, to expand international trade, to export excess domestic capacity through the Belt and Road projects, to build a strategic partnership and to deepen relationships with other countries in the region. 

Another purpose is that the CCP can also expand its shipping routes. It could gain the opportunity to create an alternative shipping route to the Strait of Malacca, which is to open up an alternative route to the South China Sea through the Mekong River. This route could help the CCP to import energy such as oil, and to reduce the control that the US and Japan have over the shipping routes.

What Harms Has the CCP done to the Lancang-Mekong River?

Then what have the dams done to the people of the Lancang-Mekong River Basin? We can say a lot of harm. Not only do they suffer from frequent droughts,  but their fishing industry has also suffered a significant impact. 

Why? First of all, after the reservoirs were built, the sediment could not go down, while the nutrients for fish were contained in the sediment. So this means that the fish downstream cannot get those nutrients any more. 

Second, the temperature of the water inside the reservoir is several degrees lower than that of the normal river water. The lower temperature disrupts the fish breeding. Fishermen have been complaining that their harvest has been decreasing, and they worry that they will lose the basis of survival in the near future.

While people outside China are suffering, people inside China are not benefiting from the dams either. 

Why? 

First of all, the height of the dams of the Lancang River is very high, most of them are over 100 meters, and the highest one reaches 294.5 meters. So after the construction of the reservoirs, local farmers had to move up to the mountains, where the land is very poor and not suitable for farming. 

Secondly, the local farmers’  irrigation water is restricted because the water is now restrained by the hydropower stations. 

Third, the subsidies provided by the CCP to the reservoir migrants actually came from the Chinese taxpayers, not from the money earned from the hydropower stations.

There is another huge problem that is often overlooked, that is, the flooding of the Lancang River is relatively large, with a maximum measured flow peak of 12,800 cubic meters per second.

In the meantime, the Xiaowan Reservoir has a flood discharge capacity of 20,000 cubic meters per second, which is much higher than the largest flood ever measured in history. 

Therefore, if any problem occurs, for example, if the Xiaowan Dam breaks, or if the CCP chooses to release the water in the reservoir to reduce the pressure on the dam,  people downstream, including those at the Mekong River Basin, will be greatly threatened.

Another problem is, while the hydropower stations have brought a lot of damage and threats, some of the electricity generated by them has become the so-called “abandoned power”, meaning that the electricity generated is not used and is wasted on nothing. 

For example, in 2016, due to overcapacity, 31.4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydropower were wasted in Yunnan Province, and hydropower stations on the Lancang River were facing the same problem. 

To reduce the “abandoned power”, the CCP had to invest in transmission lines to send electricity from Yunnan to places with higher demand, such as Guangdong Province. The investment in these hydropower stations and transmission lines seemed to be of no benefit other than helping the CCP to generate more GDP.

Mekong River: A New Geopolitical Hotspot

In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the threat posed by the CCP to Southeast Asian countries, the United States and Japan have taken corresponding actions. The Mekong River has become a new geopolitical hotspot.

One of the key points why the Mekong River has become a political bargaining chip for the CCP is the lack of information transparency. Although the CCP claimed in 2020 that it would share hydrological information on the Lancang River, it has never done so.

The normal international practice for transnational rivers is that the river basin countries basically follow three principles: first, to make fair and reasonable use of the water resources of the transnational rivers; second, not to cause significant damage to other countries; and third, to notify other countries in advance of any construction work on the rivers, and only after obtaining their consent can the work begin. ”  

Unfortunately, the CCP doesn’t follow international norms, as it has become accustomed to not only keeping everything in the dark, but also doing everything in the dark. 

 OK, That’s all for today’s “Inconvenient Truths”. YouTube keeps on suppressing my channel in a variety of ways. So please do help me by subscribing to and sharing my channel. Please also like my videos, leave some comments and keep checking if there are new videos.

Thank you. See you next time! 

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Hello, everyone, welcome to “Inconvenient Truths”. I am your host Jennifer Zeng.  

If you are closely familiar with Chinese politics, you may have heard the name Hua Guofeng mentioned.  Otherwise, you might never know who this person was. Actually, many people in China, especially younger people, don’t know who Hua Guofeng was, and what he did either. He was a forgotten man in Chinese politics. However, recently the CCP suddenly held a very high profile event to commemorate him.  This unusual move caused a lot of China experts to ponder why the CCP would do such a thing, and what it means to Chinese politics. So today let’s discuss this issue.

The CCP’s event to commemorate Hua Guofeng’s 100th birthday on Feb 20, 2021 in Beijing.

Who Was Hua Guofeng

First of all, let’s talk briefly about who Hua Guofeng was.

Mao Zedong’s photo at Tiananmen Square

If you don’t know Hua Guofeng, you must know Mao Zedong. Let’s show Picture 1 and 2. These are photos of Mao’s picture still at Tiananmen Square today. Mao was the founder of the CCP’s People’s Republic of China, and is regarded as the First Generation leader of the CCP.  He started the Great Culture Revolution and many other political movements in China, which killed dozens of millions of Chinese people. 

Mao Zedong and Hua Guofeng

Mao Zedong and Hua Guofeng

Now let’s show Picture 3. This is a picture of Mao Zedong and Hua Guofeng. So in short, Hua Guofeng was Mao’s immediate successor after Mao died in 1976. 

Now Let’s show Picture 4. This is a very commonly used propaganda photo of Mao and Hua Guofeng together.  

It was said that Mao Zedong personally designated Hua Guofeng as his successor before he died, with a message saying that, “I am at ease knowing that you are doing the job,” or “I feel relieved that you are going to do the job.” This message was once a household slogan in China to show why Hua Guofeng was the new leader of China after Chairman Mao, because he was chosen by Mao . 

So after Mao Zedong died, Hua Guofeng became the new paramount CCP leader, with 3 titles:  the Chairman of the CCP, the Premier of China, and the Chairman of the CCP’s Central Military Commission. So he controlled the party, the government, and the military, and was the almighty powerful of China then.

Short-Lived Power and Two Legencies

However, his al-mighty power was very short-lived. He was ousted between 1980 to 1981, with his three job titles taken away one by one, and Deng Xiaoping became the new de facto leader of the CCP.

In his very short-lived political career, Hua Guofeng left over two political  legacies. One was the two “Whatevers” that he promoted: “Whatever Chairman Mao said, we will say and whatever Chairman Mao did, we will do.”  By promoting the two “Whatevers”, he wanted to firmly continue with whatever Mao had been doing.

Hua Guofeng’s second legacy was the removal of the so-called Gang of Four. The members of Gang of Four included Mao Zedong’s widow Jiang Qing.  Let’s show Picture 5, a picture of Jiang Qing, and Picture 6, which shows Jiang Qing and Mao Zedong together. 

Jiang Qing

Mao Zedong and Jiang Qing

The removal of the Gang of Four was later regarded as the official end of the Cultural Revolution and the start of the next era of China, the so-called “Reform and Opening up to the outside world.” 

Sometimes people also say that Hua Guofeng was related to two coups: the first coup was the removal of the Gang of Four, in which he played an important role. The second coup was the removal of himself, in which he was the victim.

Three Rumors or Facts Related to Hua Guofeng

There are three other rumors, or facts, that are related to Hua Guofeng. The first one was that he was actually the eldest, but an illegitimate son of Mao Zedong. 

The second one was that Deng Xiaopend had asked Hua Guofeng to take up a key military post and to assist with the crackdown of the pro-democracy student movement in 1989, but  Hua Guofeng refused.

The third one was that Hua Guofeng had quit the CCP many years before he died in 2008, because he thought the CCP had become very bad and he didn’t want to be a member anymore.

Anyway, these rumors are hard to verify or falsify, although many Chinese people believe they are true.

Four Theories about the Messages Behind the Commemoration of Hua Guofeng

So, given Hua Guofeng’s background, given the fact that he was seldom mentioned, and was even forgotten by most Chinese, why did the CCP suddenly commemorate his 100th birthday in such a high profile manner?

There are several different theories about this.

Theory 1: A Warning Message

This first one is that Xi Jinping was giving a warning message to the so-called “Second Generation Red” and other CCP officials. 

“Second Generation Red” refers to the children of the first generation CCP officials who had been involved in the so-called “founding of New China”. These people always think they are special, so all their family members should enjoy special treatment, as China belongs to them.

Because of Hua Guofeng’s famous “Two whatevers” slogan, he was considered a good example of being loyal to Mao and to the CCP.  So commemorating him means asking the “Second Generation Red” and other CCP officials to stay loyal to the CCP and its leader Xi Jinping. 

Theory 2: Appointing a Successor

The second interpretation is that Xi Jinping is considering appointing a successor, or he wants to show the world that he will appoint a successor soon. For any kind of regime, the smooth transition of power is very important. In democratic countries, there are regular elections to ensure this. In CCP’s China, although there are no real elections, some sort of compromise, or understanding, as who is going to be the next leader of the CCP also needs to be reached among those who are in control of the power. 

Although everyone knows that Xi Jinping is seeking to be the president for life after he removed the two-term limit on the presidency in China’s constitution back in 2018, not having an appointed successor is still a potential threat to the safety and stability of the regime, as nobody can guarantee that Xi Jinping won’t encounter any unexpected events including health issues. If anything happens to Xi, who can be the next leader? This is of course a question that needs to be considered, and Xi will surely be under some kind of pressure to make some sort of arrangement. So some people think that by commemorating Hua Guofeng, Xi wants to show the outside world and other CCP leaders that he IS considering appointing a successor, just like Mao had appointed Hua Guofeng as his successor before he died. 

Theory 3: Fighting Back Against Criticism 

The third theory is that Xi did this to fight back against those inside the party who oppose and criticize him. 

We all know now that Hua Guofeng was virtually removed and replaced by Deng Xiaoping, who was later called “the chief architect of China’s economic reforms and China’s socialist modernization”.

In the meantime, Hua Guofeng was considered as a symbol of the rigid old era of Mao, who was dead set on carrying on with whatever Mao had been doing.  

So in this sense, Deng Xiaoping and Hua Guofeng were opposite to each other. They were political rivals.

If we understand this, we will understand why Xi Jinping suddenly commemorated Hua Guofeng now. 

In recent years, because of Xi Jinping’s mishandling of many issues, he encountered a lot of pressure from within the party. Some party members started to say Deng Xiaoping’s policies were better, and that Xi Jinping shouldn’t have gone back to Maoism. 

So commemorating Hua Guofeng is a fight back against the criticism inside the party. Hua Guofeng once asked to stick to “whatever” Mao had been saying and doing; now Xi Jinping is demanding the same kind of treatment: he wants everyone to stick to whatever he says and does. 

Theory 4: Another Coup is Looming

The fourth theory is that another coup is looming. 

As Hua Guofeng’s second legacy is to remove the Gang of Four, the purpose for Xi commemorating him is to send out a signal that Xi Jinping might do the same thing to get rid of political rivals. 

Back in 2012, the CCP’s rising political star Bo Xilai was arrested. (Show P7. Let’s show a picture of Bo Xilai. ) He served as a member of the CCP’s Politburo, as well as the party secretary of Chongqing City before he was arrested. It was widely believed that although Xi Jinping was designated as the new leader of the CCP then, Bo Xilai had the ambition to replace him and become the new leader himself. It is also believed that Bo Xilai belonged to former CCP leader Jiang Zemin’s faction. 

However, as their coup intention was leaked in advance, Bo Xilai was arrested. Both Xi Jinping and his predecessor Hu Jintao were involved in the arrest of Bo Xilai.

But the arrest of Bo Xilai also triggered a counterattack by Jiang’s forces, and caused an unprecedented internal crisis for the CCP. 

Later on Xi had to choose to reach some kind of compromise with Jiang’s faction to preserve his power, and it seemed that a new balance had been achieved somehow. 

However, in recent years, because of the series of President Trump’s heavy blows to the CCP, the interests of the powerful families inside the CCP were badly damaged. As a result,  Xi’s handling of the situation was also questioned and challenged within the party.

So, under this kind of circumstance, commemorating Hua Guofeng can be understood as a sign that Xi Jinping is preparing to get rid of another Gang of Four within the party. 

But it could also be understood as a sign that Jiang Zemin’s faction is preparing to get rid of Xi Jinping instead.

Given the fact that Xi Jinping himself didn’t attend the ceremony to commemorate Hua Guofeng, and it was Wang Huning who hosted the event, some China experts believe it could be more of a sign that Xi Jinping could be the target of another coup.

Why do people think so? Let’s show a picture of Wang Huning first.

Wang Huning

Wang Huning is currently a member of the CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee, and the First Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the CCP. The CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee has altogether only 7 members, and Wang Huning is one of them. So he is among the top 7 CCP leaders. 

Wang Huning comes from Shanghai, and started his political career in Shanghai. Jiang Zemin also comes from Shanghai, and was the mayor and party secretary of Shanghai City before he became the CCP’s Paramount leader in the early 1990s, after the Tiananmen Massacre.  So it is a common understanding that Wang Huning belongs to Jiang’s clique. 

So, the fact that it was Wang Huning, not Xi Jinping, who hosted the ceremony to commemorate Hua Guofeng leads some people to believe that it is a sign that Jiang Zemin’s faction is working on launching a coup against Xi Jinping, not the other way around. 

Whatever the case, it seems that the year 2021 is destined to be a dangerous year for the CCP. At the top level, another Gang of Four could be arrested; or another top leader could be replaced, just like how Hua Guofeng was replaced by Deng Xiaoping many years ago.

What will actually happen? We will have to wait and see.

Well, that’s all for today. Truth saves lives. Please do subscribe to my channel, and check out my other videos. 

Thank you. See you soon!

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現在爲止，我只談過一次戀愛。那時候熱情奔放地追我的人太多了，但最後我發現吸引我的，是一個性格非常含蓄，且從未追過我的人。於是我就去把他追到手了。

（不過，後來有朋友問我們倆是誰先追誰的，他總是說是他先追我的，從不承認是我追他的。也許坐那兒等我去追他，就是他追我的特殊方式？如果是那樣，那他也太狡猾了……）

我現在想，假如我會再談一次戀愛，這次得那人來追我才行了吧。我現在也老了，沒年輕時的熱情了，大約也追不動誰了……

曾錚1989年攝於北京香山

57 years old liver transplant expert Zang Yunjin died on Feb 26, 2021. He had done over 2600 liver transplants and was the director of the Institute of Organ Donation and Transplantation of Qingdao University Medical School, and the director of the Organ Transplantation Center of Qingdao University Hospital.

据大陆媒体《医学界》报导，”2021年2月26日凌晨4时40分，我国著名器官移植专家、青岛大学医疗集团副院长臧运金在青岛大学附属医院辞世，享年57岁。据悉，臧运金至今已完成肝脏移植手术超过2600例，居国内前列。”

According to Chinese media Yixuejie (Medical Community) “Rumor has it that he jumped to his death. When being asked about the cause of Zang’s death, three members of Zang Yunjin’s funeral working group said “we are not quite sure”, or “it’s not convenient to disclose”.

《医学界》报导说：“有消息称，臧运金系跳楼身亡。为此，2月27日 ，’医学界’与臧运金教授治丧工作组三位成员取得联系，对方均表示’不清楚’’不方便透露’”。

According to independent China Tribunal, the CCP has been killing detainees in China for organ transplants for years, and victims include imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners.

国际独立法庭中国法庭（China Tribunal）曾在判决书中说，中共一直在杀害包括法輪功修炼者在内的囚徒，以获取他们的器官。

A screenshot of Chinese report about Zang’s death. 《医学界》报导 截图

Today I received the following letter from a reader：

今天收到一封讀者來信說：

“I happened to see your translation of Di Dongsheng’ video and learned about your past experiences. What I want to know is whether your daughter is now reunited with you abroad?

“ 很偶然的看到您翻译的翟东升的视频，进而了解到您的过往。我想了解的是，现时您的女儿是否也在国外和您团聚了呢？

“I saw an old photo on your website, but it was 20 years ago.”

“ 看到您网站上的旧时合照，已经20年之前的事。

“I would also like to ask your opinion about Falun Gong at the present time. After all, people’s thoughts are like rivers, they are not static.”

”另外也想请教一下当下的您对法轮功的看法。毕竟，人的思想如河流一般，不是一成不变的。”

He then said that he had just started to read my autobiography “Witnessing History: One Woman’s Fight for Freedom and Falun Gong”, in which I talked about how I was puzzled by many questions I had towards the world and human life.

他說，刚刚开始读我的自傳《 静水流深》，裏面谈到我对世界的迷惑之处。

Then he gave me a website for Buddhist practice in English, and suggested that I check it out.

然後他給了我一個英文的佛教修習網址，建議我去看一看。

And I gave him the following reply:

我給他的回覆是：

“Thank you very much for writing to me. My daughter has since come out, and this short article talks about it.

“ 謝謝您的關心。我女兒後來出來了，這篇短文裏有寫到。

“Also, after reading ‘Zhuan Falun’ other Falun Gong books, all my previous questions about the universe and human life have been answered. Since then, I have been practicing Falun Gong for almost 24 years. I have no more questions about the world. What I have now is only a sense of responsibility.

“ 另外，我看完《轉法輪》和其他法輪功的書以後，我之前所有關於宇宙和人生的疑問都已經獲得了答案，我如今修煉已近24年，對世界早已沒有疑問，只剩責任感了。

“Thank you again for reaching out!”

“謝謝您！”

2/27/2021 *

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Jennifer doing the 5th Exercise of Falun Gong, Reinforcing Supernatural Powers on Oct 6, 2020 in a park in New York. Photo by Olivia Jingyi. 圖：曾錚2020年10月6日攝於紐約一公園修煉法輪功第五套功法《神通加持法》。攝影：吉林省攝影家協會成員 Olivia Jingyi

Die allgegenwärtige Überwachungsindustrie ist das neue Triebwerk der chinesischen Wirtschaft geworden

Hallo, alle zusammen, willkommen bei Inconvenient Truths (Unbequeme Wahrheiten). Ich bin Ihre Gastgeberin Jennifer Zeng.  

Der jüngste Stromausfall in Texas in den USA hat viel Aufmerksamkeit aus der ganzen Welt auf sich gezogen. Aber wussten Sie, dass ähnliche Stromausfälle seit letztem Jahr auch in vielen Städten in China aufgetreten sind? 

Was ist der Grund für die Stromausfälle und die Stromknappheit in China? Heute möchte ich Ihnen einige Fakten darüber präsentieren, wie die schnell wachsende, allgegenwärtige digitale Überwachungsindustrie zum sogenannten neuen Triebwerk für die chinesische Wirtschaft geworden ist, sowie zum „stromfressenden Tiger“, wie die Chinesen es nennen.

Ein „Kriegszustand“ für die Stromversorgung

Ende 2020 und Anfang 2021 wurde in China zum ersten Mal seit fast vier Jahren die Alarmstufe Orange für eine Kältewelle ausgerufen. Inmitten der großen Kälte kam es in einigen Gebieten Chinas zu Stromausfällen und Einschränkungen, darunter Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi und die Innere Mongolei, die Chinas wichtigste Provinz für die Stromeinspeisung und ein wichtiger Kohleproduzent ist.

In der Stadt Changsha in der Provinz Hunan mussten einige Büros ihre Aufzüge abschalten, und viele Menschen mussten 20 bis 30 Stockwerke die Treppen hochsteigen, um zur Arbeit zu kommen. Das Elektrizitätswerk in Hunan verkündete sogar den „Kriegszustand“ für die Energieversorgung. Schauen wir uns Bild 1 an. Dies ist ein Gebäude in Changsha, in dem die meisten Räume im Dunkeln liegen. 

Tatsächlich hat China in den letzten 18 Jahren aggressiv Kraftwerke gebaut. Bis Ende 2020 war Chinas installierte Stromerzeugungskapazität mehr als sechsmal so hoch wie 2002.

Abgesehen davon hat Chinas Kohlekraftwerksbranche tatsächlich eine starke Überkapazität. 

Warum also kam es in China zu einer Stromknappheit? 

Die offiziellen Erklärungen der KPCh sind: 

1. Die Wiederaufnahme der industriellen Produktion erhöhte die Nachfrage nach Strom; 

2. Das extrem kalte Wetter erhöhte die Nachfrage; 

3. Die begrenzte externe Stromversorgung und der Ausfall des Triebwerks. 

Sind dies wirklich der Fall?

„Neue Infrastruktur“ und „Digitale Wirtschaft“

Laut einem Bericht der Staatseigenen Kommission zur Überwachung und Verwaltung von Vermögenswerten des Regierungsrats spiegelt der Anstieg des chinesischen Stromverbrauchs die „starke Erholung“ der chinesischen Wirtschaft nach der Pandemie wider. Und wenn man genauer hinsieht, kommt ein Großteil des Anstiegs aus der „digitalen Wirtschaft“ und der „intelligenten Produktion“, die eng mit dem „Aufbau der neuen Infrastruktur“ zusammenhängen.

Was bedeutet „neue Infrastruktur?“

Die traditionelle Infrastruktur bezieht sich hauptsächlich auf Straßen, Eisenbahnen, Brücken, Flughäfen, Häfen, Stromnetze und andere Einrichtungen, während sich die „neue Infrastruktur“ der KPCh auf digitale Infrastruktur wie 5G-Basisstationen, Internet-Dinge, Rechenzentren, und so weiter bezieht. Diese Infrastrukturen können Informationen und Geschäftsaktivitäten digitalisieren; und ein Wirtschaftssystem, das auf digitaler Rechentechnik basiert, wird als „digitale Wirtschaft“ bezeichnet

Die „Entwicklung der digitalen Wirtschaft“ ist eines der Ziele der KPCh, die in ihrem 14. Fünf-Jahres-Plan und der nationalen wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Entwicklung sowie den visionären Zielen für 2035 enthalten sind.

In dem eben erwähnten Bericht der KPCh wurden zwei „herausragende digitale Hersteller“, darunter Lens Technologie und Sunward Intelligenz, besonders erwähnt und für ihr „schnelles Wachstum“ beim Stromverbrauch gelobt. Ihr durchschnittlicher täglicher Stromverbrauch stieg im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um 53 % beziehungsweise 72 %, was „stark zum Anstieg des lokalen Stromverbrauchs beigetragen hat.“

Bitte beachten Sie, dass Hunan und Zhejiang, die in diesem Bericht gelobt wurden, auch Orte waren, die im Winter 2020 stark unter Stromknappheit litten.

Dieser offizielle Bericht kam auch zu einer wichtigen Schlussfolgerung: Die Branchen „digitale Wirtschaft“ und „intelligente Produktion“ sind die neue treibende Kraft für das Wachstum des Stromverbrauchs geworden. 

Ein weiterer Bericht des „Nationalen Elektrizitätsanalyse und Prognoseberichts zu Angebot und Nachfrage 2020-2021“ bestätigt dies auch. 

Der Bericht besagt, dass im Jahr 2020 der Stromverbrauch der Primärindustrie um 10,2 % im Vergleich zum Vorjahr gestiegen sei. In der Zwischenzeit, „aufgrund des schnellen Wachstums der Anwendung neuer Technologien wie Big Data, Cloud-Computing und den Internet-Dingen“, wuchs der Stromverbrauch im Bereich Informationsübertragung, Software und dem Dienstleistungsbereich für Informationstechnologie in China um 23,9 % im Vergleich zum Vorjahr. 

Ulanqab in der Inneren Mongolei: Die „Big Data“-Stadt der Elektrizitätsknappheit

Lassen Sie uns nun eine Fallstudie der Stadt Ulanqab in der Inneren Mongolei durchführen. Schauen wir uns Bild 2 an. Dies ist eine Karte von China, der kleine rote Punkt im Norden der Inneren Mongolei ist der Ort, an dem sich Ulanqab befindet.

Die Autonome Region der Inneren Mongolei ist eine wichtige energiereiche Provinz in China. Sie versorgt nicht nur 10 andere Provinzen und Regionen mit Strom, sondern ist auch eine der wichtigsten Kohleproduktionsstätten Chinas, die mehr als ein Viertel der Kohle des Landes produziert.

Allerdings war die Innere Mongolei auch der erste Ort in China, an dem es im November 2020 zu einer Stromknappheit kam. 

Was ist also passiert? 

Vielleicht kann uns eine im September letzten Jahres veröffentlichte Geschichte das Geheimnis verraten.

Der Titel dieser Geschichte ist: „Ulanqab: Eine ‘einsame’ Stadt umgeben von Big Data“. Der Artikel beschreibt, wie Ulanqab sich für ihre Entwicklung auf Wissenschaft und Technologie verlässt. 

In dem Artikel heißt es, dass diese kleine Stadt in der Inneren Mongolei mit 2,87 Millionen Einwohnern einst ein Ackerbau- und Viehzuchtgebiet war, windig und arm. Doch seit Huawei 2013 beschloss, in dieser Stadt ein Rechenzentrum zu errichten, ist sie nicht nur die nördliche Basis des nationalen Big-Data-Katastrophenschutzzentrums, sondern auch ein Big-Data-Zentrum für viele Unternehmen wie Alibaba und Huaishou geworden.

Nach Angaben der Stadtverwaltung von Ulanqab belief sich das Bruttoregionalprodukt der Stadt im Jahr 2019 auf 80,84 Mrd. Yuan (10,25 Mrd. Euro), wovon 45 % auf die tertiäre Industrie entfielen.

Im Jahr 2013, dem Jahr, in dem das große Datenzentrum in Ulanqab errichtet wurde, trug die tertiäre Industrie jedoch nur 29,4 % zum Bruttoregionalprodukt bei. 

Das heißt, dass der Anteil der tertiären Industrie von 29,4 % im Jahr 2013 auf 45 % im Jahr 2019 deutlich gestiegen ist. Dies zeigt, dass das Rechenzentrum stark zu diesem Anstieg beigetragen hat. 

Tatsächlich hat die „Big-Data-Industrie“ diese Stadt von einem „windigen und armen“ Ackerbau- und Viehzuchtgebiet mit 76,3 % Wald- und Grasland in ein „Wolkental auf dem Grasland“ verwandelt. So wird es jetzt beschrieben. 

Nach Angaben der Stadtverwaltung von Ulanqab stieg der Stromverbrauch im Jahr 2020 in der Dienstleistungsbranche für Informationsübertragung, Software- und Informationstechnologie, zu der auch neue Technologien wie „Big Data und Cloud-Computing“ gehören, um 24,9 % im Vergleich zum gleichen Zeitraum des Vorjahres an. 

Der rasante Anstieg der Stromnachfrage in Verbindung mit dem erhöhten Stromverbrauch der Einwohner im Winter hatte dazu geführt, dass Ulanqab im vergangenen November als erste Stadt eine „Stromknappheit“ ankündigte. 

Rechenzentren:  Energieverbrauchs-Giganten 

Als nächstes berichten wir etwas über die Rechenzentren. 

Wenn von einem Rechenzentrum die Rede ist, denkt man oft an eine Reihe von Computer-Reihen, die scheinbar viel weniger Energie verbrauchen als die Stahlwerke mit ihren großen rauchenden Schornsteinen. 

Ist das wirklich so? Tatsächlich haben Rechenzentren im Vergleich zu gewöhnlichen Serverräumen sehr hohe Anforderungen in Bezug auf Temperatur, Luftfeuchtigkeit, Magnetfeldstörungen und andere Bedingungen, die alle sehr anspruchsvoll sind. 

Abgesehen von der unterbrechungsfreien Stromversorgung werden auch viele Geräte wie Klimaanlagen und Kältemaschinen benötigt, die bei der Beleuchtung, Kühlung und so weiter helfen. Tatsächlich macht der Strom 56,7 % der Betriebskosten von Rechenzentren aus.

Laut dem Sprachrohr der KPCh, People’s Daily, überstieg der Stromverbrauch von Chinas Rechenzentren bereits 2016 die jährliche Stromerzeugung des Drei-Schluchten-Staudamms, und 2017 überstieg der Gesamtstromverbrauch von Chinas Rechenzentren die gesamte Stromerzeugung des Drei-Schluchten-Staudamms und des Gezhouba-Kraftwerks. 

Im Jahr 2018 war der Gesamtstromverbrauch von Chinas Rechenzentren höher als der Stromverbrauch der gesamten Stadt Schanghai, einer Stadt mit 26 Millionen Einwohnern. 

Was die Provinz Hunan betrifft, die im vergangenen Dezember als Erste einen „Kriegszustand“ für die Stromversorgung verkündete, hatte Anfang 2020 die Provinzregierung 86 Schlüsselprojekte auf Provinzebene für die Entwicklung der Big-Data- und Blockchain-Industrie angekündigt und zur energischen Entwicklung von „Big Data“ aufgerufen.

Auch in der Provinz Zhejiang, wo früher die Stromversorgung unterbrochen oder eingeschränkt war, sind viele Rechenzentren entstanden. Allein in der Stadt Hangzhou sind mehr als 50 Rechenzentren in Betrieb.

Die 5G-Basisstationen, die beim Sammeln von Big-Data helfen, werden von vielen Chinesen auch „stromfressende Tiger“ genannt.  Der Stromverbrauch der 5G-Basisstationen ist mehr als neun Mal so hoch wie der von 4G. 

Inzwischen liegt der Abdeckungsradius von 5G-Basisstationen bei 300 bis 500 Metern. Es sind also mindestens drei 5G-Basisstationen erforderlich, um den Bereich einer 4G-Basisstation unter den gleichen Bedingungen abzudecken.

Im August 2020 hat die China-Unicom-Niederlassung in Luoyang einige ihrer 5G-Basisstationen in einigen Zeitfenstern in der Nacht aufgrund hoher Stromkosten abgeschaltet und damit ein Signal für den hohen Stromverbrauch von 5G-Basisstationen in die Welt gesendet.

Laut dem offiziellen Bericht der KPCh wurden bis November letzten Jahres 700,000 5G-Basisstationen in China gebaut, die mehr als 180 Millionen 5G-Endgeräte miteinander verbinden. Das Tempo des 5G-Baus nimmt rapide zu, und im Jahr 2021 werden mehr als 1 Million 5G-Basisstationen gebaut sein. 

Es wird außerdem geschätzt, dass bis 2025 in China die 5G-Basisstationen 17 Mal so viel Strom verbrauchen könnten wie im Jahr 2020.

5G und digitale Knotenpunkte verbrauchen nicht nur riesige Mengen an Strom, sondern helfen der KPCh auch beim Aufbau einer orwellschen Gesellschaft mit allgegenwärtiger Überwachung. 

Beiträge von „Neuer Infrastruktur“ und „Digitaler Wirtschaft“ 

Nach dem Ausbruch des KPCh-Virus Anfang 2020 wurden „neue Infrastrukturen“ wie 5G, künstliche Intelligenz, Big Data, Cloud-Computing und Internet-Dinge von der KPCh mit hoher Priorität behandelt und direkt in den Arbeitsbericht der KPCh-Regierung aufgenommen.

Laut einem Artikel, der von Xinhua im April 2020 veröffentlicht wurde, war die Pandemie eine direkte Motivation für die Entwicklung der „neuen Infrastruktur.“ Der Artikel behauptet, dass die Energieeffizienz der traditionellen Infrastruktur abnimmt und die neue Infrastruktur, die durch die digitale Infrastruktur repräsentiert wird, ein neuer Wachstumsmotor für die Wirtschaft der KPCh werden kann und „den Abwärtsdruck auf die Wirtschaft effektiv bewältigen kann.“

Die „neue Infrastruktur“ kann auch eine große Menge an Investitionen anziehen, was das Wirtschaftswachstum weiter ankurbeln kann. 

Laut Xinhua haben bis Mai 2020 mehr als 20 Provinzen in China Pläne für „neue Infrastruktur“ in Höhe von Billionen von Yuan aufgelegt. 

Für die KPCh ist der Einsatz von „neuen Infrastrukturprojekten“ wie 5G, künstliche Intelligenz und Rechenzentren „zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen.“  Sie kann nicht nur ein allgegenwärtiges Überwachungsnetz bereitstellen, sondern auch zu einer treibenden Kraft für die Wirtschaft werden. 

Das allgegenwärtige Überwachungsnetzwerk

Wie funktioniert das allgegenwärtige Überwachungsnetzwerk der KPCh? Wir brauchen beispielsweise nur einen Blick auf den CampusGo von Huawei zu werfen. Schauen wir uns Bild 3 an. Es handelt sich um einen Screenshot von CampusGo von der Website von Huawei, das zeigt, was dieses System leisten kann.

CampusGo wird als modellhaftes intelligentes System für die „Verwaltung“ von Geschäfts- und Wohngebäuden sowie für die Stadtverwaltung und so weiter vorgestellt. Es kann Einbruchserkennung, Restbestandserkennung, Gesichtsidentitätsüberprüfung, Wanderungserkennung, Fahrzeugkennzeichenerkennung und andere intelligente Analysetechnologien sowie führende Technologien wie intelligente Algorithmen und maschinelles Lernen bieten, um eine hochpräzise Wahrnehmung und Verarbeitung von Informationen über Gesichter, Fahrzeuge, Ereignisse und Verhaltensweisen zu gewährleisten.

Huawei Cloud hat auch ein Produkt auf Basis der 5G-Technologie auf den Markt gebracht, das 5G „Kluge Sicherheitslösungen“ genannt wird. Schauen wir uns Bild 4 an. Es ist ein Screenshot von der Huawei-Website, das zeigt, was diese „Kluge Sicherheitslösungen“ leisten können.

Im Grunde beinhaltet die Lösung die Verwendung von Drohnen, Robotern, 5G-AR-Brillen, Überkopfkameras und so weiter, um ständig HD-Videos von Schlüsselbereichen über das 5G-Netzwerk an die Cloud-Plattform zurückzusenden und dann Personen und Ereignisse zu analysieren, zu identifizieren und aufzuzeichnen und so weiter.

Die Essenz von CampusGo und 5G kluge Sicherheitslösungen ist also die Überwachung, Aufzeichnung und Analyse aller Menschen, Dinge und Ereignisse durch Kameras, 5G-Technologie, künstliche Intelligenz und Datenzentren und so weiter.

In der Zwischenzeit können alle gesammelten Daten und Informationen von der KPCh verwendet und missbraucht werden. 

Tatsächlich ist ganz China zu einem „Technologielabor“ für die KPCh geworden. 54 % der weltweiten Überwachungskameras befanden sich bis Ende 2019 in China. 

Des Weiteren befinden sich unter den Top 10 der Städte mit der höchsten Überwachungsdichte der Welt, sechs Städte in China, darunter Peking, Harbin, Xiamen, Chengdu, Taiyuan und Kunming, wobei die Anzahl der Kameras in Peking mit 1,15 Millionen die höchste der Welt erreicht.

Neben der Gesichtserkennung hat die KPCh im Jahr 2019 auch das nach eigenen Angaben weltweit erste Überwachungssystem mit „Gangerkennung“ vorgestellt. Mit anderen Worten, das System kann die Gehhaltung einer Person identifizieren, auch wenn das Gesicht dieser Person verdeckt ist. 

Die KPCh kann außerdem verschiedene Methoden zur Überwachung von Personen einsetzen, wie beispielsweise Stimmerkennung, Emotionserkennung und das Abhören von Handys. 

Der Punkt ist also, egal wo man in China hingeht, man wird nie aus dem intelligenten Big-Data-Netz der KPCh herauskommen können. 

Überwachen: Die neue Maschine von Chinas Wirtschaftswachstum

Im Januar dieses Jahres kündigte die KPCh eine jährliche BIP-Wachstumsrate von 2,3 % für 2020 an und sagte, dass China damit die einzige große Volkswirtschaft der Welt geworden sei, die ein positives BIP-Wachstum verzeichnet. Von allen Sektoren wuchs der Dienstleistungssektor Informationsübertragung, Software und Informationstechnologie, zu dem auch „Big Data und Cloud-Computing“ gehören, mit einem Plus von 16,9 % im Vergleich zum Vorjahr am schnellsten.

Im Juli 2020 veröffentlichte die Akademie für Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik Chinas ihr Weißdokument zur Entwicklung der digitalen Wirtschaft in China (2020).

Im Weißdokument heißt es: „Im Jahr 2019 erreichte der zusätzliche Wert der digitalen Wirtschaft in China 35,8 Billionen RMB, was 36,2 % des BIP ausmacht. Auf vergleichbarer Basis lag das nominale Wachstum der digitalen Wirtschaft Chinas im Jahr 2019 bei 15,6 % und damit um 7,85 % höher als das des BIP im gleichen Zeitraum. “

Schauen wir uns Bild 5 an. Es stammt aus dem Weißdokument, das wir gerade erwähnt haben. Die rote Linie ist das Wachstum der digitalen Wirtschaft, und die dunkelblaue Linie ist das BIP-Wachstum. Sie können sehen, dass seit dem Jahr 2012 das Wachstum der digitalen Wirtschaft viel höher war als das BIP-Wachstum und das Wachstum aller anderen Sektoren.

Also sagte der KPCh-Beamte, dass „die digitale Wirtschaft zu einem neuen Triebwerk für eine hochwertige Entwicklung geworden ist.“ 

„Digitale Wirtschaft“ und Menschenrechtsverletzungen 

Hinter der Entwicklung der „Digitalen Wirtschaft“ verbergen sich die Überwachung und die Menschenrechtsverletzungen der KPCh. Nachdem sie ein allgegenwärtiges Überwachungsnetz ausgelegt hat, verfolgt die KPCh genau, was 1,4 Milliarden Menschen in China jeden Tag, jede Minute und jede Sekunde sagen, sehen und tun. Und sie analysiert ihr Verhalten, ihre wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten, ihren täglichen Konsum und sogar ihre Kultur und Unterhaltungsaktivitäten und vieles mehr. 

In der Zwischenzeit hat die KPCh ihr Überwachungsnetzwerk im Ausland erweitert, indem sie internationalen Organisationen wie den Vereinten Nationen bei der Einrichtung von Datenzentren geholfen hat.

Am 21. Oktober 2019 veröffentlichte das Magazin Foreign Policy den Artikel „China’s Surveillance State Has Tens of Millions of New Targets“ (Chinas Überwachungsstaat hat Zehntausende von Millionen neue Ziele) und legt nahe, dass die KPCh mit dem Ministerium für öffentliche Sicherheit und Technologieunternehmen zusammenarbeitet, detaillierte Informationen über sogenannte „Schlüsselpersonen“ in einer Datenbank sammelt und diese in Echtzeit teilt, um gegen Menschen vorzugehen.

„Schlüsselpersonen“ sind die Hauptziele der Unterdrückung durch die KPCh, darunter Falun-Dafa-Praktizierende, Bittsteller, Menschenrechtsverteidiger (einschließlich Menschenrechtsanwälten), Dissidenten, Demonstranten und ethnische Minderheitengruppen wie die Uiguren. Die Zahl der „Schlüsselpersonen“, die überwacht werden, hat sich erheblich erhöht, da sich der Umfang der Verfolgung durch die KPCh erweitert hat, als immer mehr Menschen begannen, die KPCh zu kritisieren. 

Leider ist das, was viele Menschen in der Welt sehen, das „prächtige“ BIP-Wachstum der KPCh, und eine ganze Reihe ausländischer Investoren werden immer noch von den wirtschaftlichen „Errungenschaften“ der KPCh angezogen und investieren daher weiterhin in China. 

Nun, das war es für heute mit den „unbequemen Wahrheiten“. Bitte abonnieren und teilen Sie meinen Kanal, geben Sie meinen Videos ein Like, hinterlassen Sie einen Kommentar, um meine Videos zu unterstützen. Die Aufrufe meiner Videos sind seit dem 6. Januar dramatisch gesunken. Ich habe auch mehr als 500 Abonnenten verloren. Normalerweise stiegen die Abonnements, wenn ich neue Programme machte. Aber jetzt verliere ich ständig Abonnenten. Leute haben mir erzählt, dass sie ohne ihr Wissen abgemeldet wurden. Bitte helfen Sie mir also, gegen die Zensur zu kämpfen.

Ich danke Ihnen sehr für Ihre Unterstützung. Bis zum nächsten Mal!

2/21/2021

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Hello, everyone, welcome to “Inconvenient Truths”. I am your host Jennifer Zeng.  

Several days ago, on Feb 20, we heard about another Boeing incident: the engine of a Boeing 777 blew apart after takeoff from Denver. It was lucky that on one was hurt. Then, two days later, on Feb 22,  a Boeing 757-200 of Delta Air Lines made an emergency landing at Salt Lake International Airport after an engine performance issue. 

You may also remember that in 2018 and 2019, two Boeing 737 Max crashed and killed 346 people, and that model of Boeing planes have been grounded ever since.  Although the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, announced in Nov last year that it had cleared Boeing’s 737 Max for flight after a “comprehensive and methodical məˈθɒd ɪ kəl ” 20-month review process, the planes won’t return to the skies before pilot training is done.

Have you ever asked what’s wrong with Boeing? Well, I have. Back in 2019, I did an interview on behalf of the Epoch Times with a former supply chain manager of the contractor for Boeing’s flight control systems after the crashes of the 2  Boeing 737 Max.  Let’s show Picture A. This is the report I wrote after the interview. This manager told me some shocking facts: substandard parts made in China with non-aerospace material had been installed in Boeing 777 and 737 planes that are still in service !  

Today I think it’s high time that I share with everyone the content of my interview again, as the problems could still exist, and haven’t been properly dealt with. If we don’t get to the bottom of the problems, more accidents could happen in the future. 

Charles Shi: A Whistleblower and a Former Supply Chain Manager for Moog

First, let’s see a few pictures of this former supply chain manager I interviewed. His English name is Charles Shi. His Chinese name is Shi Chaosheng. He worked for one of Boeing’s main suppliers, Moog Aircraft,  for 10 years, from 2006 to 2016. Let’s show Picture 1, it’s a screenshot of Moog’s website.  Actually, it was Charles Shi who set up the Moog supply chain in China in 2006, and almost all  Moog’s suppliers inside China were audited and approved by him. 

Let’s show Picture 2 now. This is Charles Shi attending the 2011 Conference of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China in Shanghai, as both the East Asian Supply Chain Manager and C919 Program Manager for Moog. 

Charles Shi attending the 2011 Conference of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) in Shanghai, as both the East Asian Supply Chain Manager and C919 Program Manager for Moog. (Courtesy Charles Shi)

Let’s also show Picture 3, 4 and 5. These are all Charles Shi working as a manager for Moog, either attending meetings, or inspecting Chinese suppliers. These photos are from Charles’s own Facebook page.  Let’s show Picture 6. This is his Facebook page.

Now, let’s watch a short video of Charles’ own introduction of what he did at Moog. I interviewed him on March 19, 2019 via Zoom. So the video you are going to see was recorded on that day. 

 New HongJi (NHJ) Outsources Its Orders And Fakes Material Certificates

Charles told me that in 2015, he was told that one of Moog’s suppliers, New HongJi Precision Parts Co in Suzhou city, China, used substandard materials to make parts for Boeing. Let’s Show Picture 7. This is a screenshot from New Hongji’s website. You can see on its website “Aviation” products are included in what they produce. New HongJi is also called NHJ for short. 

New HongJi’s website

Now, let’s listen to what Charles said about New HongJi.

 The B/E Aerospace Charles mentioned is the sole source for lavatories on Boeing 737 aircrafts built since 2012, and is also the only other aerospace customer of New HongJi. Let’s show Picture 8.  It is the “product” page of B/E Aerospace to show what kind of products they make. 

B/E Aerospace ‘s product page

So basically Charles was saying that this B/E Aerospace had stopped buying from New HongJi after they found New HongJi used substandard materials to create parts for them. So Charles reported this issue to his supervisor at Moog and also started his own investigations about New HongJi.

Let’s watch another clip of what he says.

 So basically Charles said that New HongJi outsourced ⅓ of its products to unknown, and uncertified suppliers. 

Another alarming finding was that New HongJi was not adopting the proper tracing system for its materials. Let’s listen to what Charles says about this.

Charles said he later found out that New HongJi bought a small amount of qualified materials, say, 20 kgs of the material, from an approved vendor, and obtained the certificates for the materials. Then they made fake certificates for a large amount, say, 80 kgs of the materials bought from unapproved vendors to reduce the cost, because materials from unapproved vendors were much, much cheaper.  Let’s watch a short clip again. 

 There were other issues that Charles and his managers found about New JongJi, such as their materials were not properly labeled or stored, things were very messy at their sites, etc. 

So, after Charles found out all those alarming things about New HongJi, he reported them to Moog on Jan. 12, 2016. But unfortunately, he was fired on the following day.

FAA Finds Two of Charles’ Allegations “Substantiated”

He then immediately made a formal complaint to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, which found that two of his allegations were  “substantiated”.

Let’s show Picture 9. It is the appeal review report issued by the FAA, which  was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. It recorded all the complaints Charles made, and the FAA’s investigation activities, findings and follow up actions.

Let’s show Picture 10. We can see that Charles has made 9 complaints. I won’t read them all here. If you are interested, you can pause the video and read all the items on the screen.

P10: 9 complainants made by Charles Shi

Anyway, out of the 9 items, the FAA found two allegations were  “substantiated”. Let’s show Picture 11. 

You can see on the screen that “Allegation 3” is: “Moog’s supplier NHJ outsourced Moog machined parts to an unknown supplier.” 

And the “Finding” is: “A violation of a regulation, order, or standard of the FAA was substantiated”. 

And the “corrective action” by the FAA is: “In February 2016, Moog immediately issued NHJ a corrective action request to stop subcontracting the rough machining of Moog’s parts. All outsourced parts were returned to NHJ for inspection and machining by NHJ employees. Moog’s receiving inspection department also reinspected the parts. Nonconformances were not found. All corrective actions have been taken. No further corrective action is required.”

P11: Allegation 3

Now let’s show Picture 12. We can see that  “Allegation 8” is: “Shenhai, a NHJ subcontractor, did not properly bake parts both before and after the cadmium plating process, and forged production process cards. The improperly baked parts consisted of four different part numbers.”

The FAA found following nonconformance issues:

“(a) Required stress relief (baking) was not performed prior to cadmium plating;

“(b) Hydrogen embrittlement relief treatment (baking) after cadmium plating was performed for only 4 hours on all parts, not 8 hours as required per AMS-QQ-P-416C specification;

“(c) Baking procedure controls were not per AMS2750 specification; and

“(d) No records of furnace traces [times] were being maintained for more than one week.”

And the “Finding” is: “A violation of a regulation, order, or standard of the FAA was substantiated”. 

P12

And the “corrective action” is-Let’s show Picture 13- You can see on the screen that the “corrective action” is: “Moog immediately issued Stop and Release Order for all models containing suspect parts. Affected parts that were in stock and in production were quarantined. Moog reworked the discrepant parts that were captured and dispositioned the parts that were already installed on aircraft. Two hundred seventy-three discrepant parts delivered to Boeing were installed into spoilers on the Boeing 777 aircraft.” 

I will skip reading one paragraph here. Again, you can replay this part to check it out later if you are interested. 

So the “corrective action” section continues to say that “Based on the test results and the fact that the material(15-5 stainless steel) has a low likelihood of hydrogen embrittlement, Moog recommended a disposition of ‘use-as-is’ for the 273 discrepant parts that were installed on Boeing’s 777 aircraft. Boeing accepted Moog’s recommendation on December 10, 2015. 

“The FAA’s Certificate Management Office that oversees the Boeing Aircraft Company has issued a Formal Compliance Action 2016CA41035 to track this issue. All corrective actions have been taken. No further corrective action is required.”

By the way, I think the FAA has made a mistake with the date of when Boeing accepted Moog’s recommendation. It should be 2016 instead of 2015, as the complaint and investigation were made in 2016. So the “corrective action” couldn’t be done in 2015. 

P13

Are FAA’s Follow Up Actions Good Enough?

I don’t know what you think after reading the FAA report. My thoughts are: 

1. At least two allegations of Charles Shi were supported by the FAA investigations.

2. I feel very worried about how many substandard parts had already been installed on Boeing planes before New HongJi was caught and found to have outsourced their orders. When did they start doing it? Why didn’t the FAA ask Moog or Boeing to call back all the planes that already had those parts on them? Wouldn’t it be too risky?

3. After reading through the 18 page report of the FAA, I found that the FAA’s investigation team only went to Moog’s New York plant to conduct their investigation, and only listened to what Moog’s staff had to say. They didn’t send people to China, to New HongJi’s factory, to do the investigation, nor did they interview Charles Shi, the whistleblower. If you investigate a crime, and you only listen to what the suspect says, not the victim or the whistleblower says, is that investigation comprehensive and reliable? I doubt it very much.

Charles had expressed many times that if he was given the chance, he was willing to travel to the US on his own expenses to testify under oath about what he knew. But he was never given the chance.

Charles said he was not satisfied with the FAA’s handling of the matter, especially the substantiated allegations. He found himself “to be in disbelief that the FAA decided to let these admittedly unauthorized and literally unbaked parts to remain in service, sparing Moog and/or Boeing millions of dollars for removal and retrofitting.”

In response to my request for information and comment regarding Charles Shi’s allegations, the FAA emailed the following statement:

“The FAA closed its Moog investigation regarding Mr. Shi’s allegations. The agency determined the corrective action defined by Moog and Boeing associated with the open substantiated allegation was appropriate to address the related issues identified in the investigation. The FAA investigation determined unsafe conditions did not exist.”

Boeing hasn’t responded to requests for comment. 

6986 Substandard “Single Point Of Failure”  Parts Installed on Boeing

One of the greatest concerns of Charles is that many New HongJi parts are “safety sensitive,” and one is “safety critical.”

Now let’s show Picture 14. This is a purchase list provided by Charles. Please take a look at item 24 in the red circle. The Part number is P665A0039–02. This is the blocking or mounting lug of the Boeing 737’s spoiler. Let’s show Picture 15. So this is how this part looks. It is a “Single Point Of Failure (SPOF)” part; which means, if this part fails, the entire system will fail, which may cause a fatal accident.

P14

Now let’s go back to Picture 14, and look at item 24 again in the red circle. It shows that in 2015, Moog bought 1800 of this part from NHJ, 2606 in 2016, and 2580 in 2017. So altogether, Moog had bought 6986  pieces of this “Single Point Of Failure”  part from NHJ in three years, from 2015 to 2017. 

Charles told me that Moog is the exclusive supplier for all models of the Boeing 737, including the Max planes, and NHJ is the only supplier for this “Single Point Of Failure” part for the Boing 737 spoiler. His conservative estimate is that 500 Boeing planes may have been compromised, and are still in service.

I contacted Moog  for comment back in 2019 after I interviewed Charles. Moog gave me a one-sentence statement and denied Charles’s allegations. This one-sentence statement goes like this: “In response to your request, please note that the Moog parts Mr. Shi references are not on the 737 MAX.”

I submitted a follow-up inquiry to Moog, with a list of 58 different NHJ parts purchased by Moog, and asked Moog to clarify and verify on which planes these parts are used.

But Moog did not respond to my follow-up inquiry. 

Charles also told me that the substitute material was one-third or even one-half cheaper, and that was the reason why NHJ used them. 

I tried to reach out to NHJ for comments too, but didn’t get a response.

 A Possible Scenario of Boeing 737 Max’s Crash

Charles also demonstrated to me what he believed could be a possible scenario of Boeing 737 Max’s crash.

 So, his point was, through that kind of fierce struggle by the pilot to try to take control of the airplane, if any parts of the plane were not strong enough, and couldn’t handle the pressure, it could lead to a crash. 

As I am not an expert of this, I cannot make judgement on whether what Charles said was correct. However, common sense tells us that it is vitally important to make sure that every single part of the planes is made of qualified materials, not substandard ones.

P15

 The Price of Being a Whistleblower 

The follow up story is, after talking publicly about these problems, Charles Shi was summoned to the local police station many times. The first time when he was notified by the CCP police that he needed to go to the police station, he was so scared that he sent me a list of emergency contact numbers, and asked me to notify those people on the list if he didn’t contact me after more than 24 hours.

About one year later, on May 29 of last year, the Epoch Times did a follow-up story of  Charles. Let’s show Picture 16.  This is the follow-up story. According to this report, Charles told The Epoch Times that he was invited to a U.S. airline safety hearing on October 17, 2019, but was informed by the police that he was banned from overseas travel. The police also warned him to stop speaking to the press.

Charles also said that the CCP police told him that “NHJ counterfeiting was not necessarily a crime.”

P16

Now let’s show Picture 17. It’s a screenshot of a court ruling by the  People’s Court at Suzhou Industrial Park in China. According to this ruling, Charles was sued by New HongJi in April 2019 for defamation.  That was one month after he received my interview. 

The court issued its judgement one year later,  on April 30, 2020, and ruled that:

1. Charles must stop “infringement” on New HongJi within 10 days, and remove all his remarks and videos about New HongJi from the Internet.

2. Charles must apologize to New HongJi within 10 days, eliminate the bad impact, and restore the reputation of New HongJi.

3. Charles must pay 10,000 yuan to New Hongji within 10 days as compensation.

P17: Court ruling of the  People’s Court at Suzhou Industrial Park in China

Well, that’s the price Charles had to pay for exposing the problems of New Hongji, one of Boeing’s part suppliers. 

In August 2019, Charles also had to divorce his wife of 30 years, to spare her the psychological and mental stress they were going through.

Charles posted his last Facebook post on Dec 29 last year. Let’s show picture 6 again. His twitter account was suspended. Let’s show Picture 18. It is not clear when it was suspended. He used to tweet about his allegations on Twitter too. 

P18: Charles Shi’s Twitter account was suspended

Well, that is the exclusive story I feel like sharing with everyone now. Haven’t I always said that “Truth saves lives”? Unfortunately, although people like Charles Shi paid such a huge price to tell a little bit of the truth, his words were not paid much attention, his efforts haven’t paid off, and the serious safety risks he worries so much about still exist. 

So, if you want to help with saving lives, please do help me spread this video. Hopefully someday, somehow,  before the next tragedy happens, some people will listen, pay attention, and do something about it. 

That’s all for today. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my channel if you haven’t. Please also take some time to check out my other videos, like them and leave us some comments.  

Thank you. See you next time!

2/24/2021

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The Omnipresent Surveillance Industry Has Become the New Engine for Chinese Economy 

 Hello, everyone, welcome to “Inconvenient Truths”. I am your host Jennifer Zeng.  

The recent blackout in Texas in the US has drawn a lot of attention from all over the world. But do you know that similar blackouts have happened in many cities in China since last year? What’s the reason behind the blackouts and power shortage in China? Today let me present you some facts about how the fast-growing, omnipresent digital surveillance industry has become the so-called new engine for the Chinese economy, as well as the “electricity-eating tiger”, as the Chinese people call it.

A “State of War” Status for Power Supply

In late 2020 and early 2021, China saw its first orange alert for a cold wave in nearly four years. Amidst the severe coldness, some areas in China were experiencing power outages and restrictions, including Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Inner Mongolia, which is China’s major province of electricity out feeding and a major producer of coal. 

In Changsha City, Hunan Province, some offices had to turn off their elevators, and many people had to climb 20 to 30 floors of stairs to work. The Hunan Electric Power Company even announced a “state of war” status for power supply. Let’s Show Picture 1. This is a building in Changsha with most of the rooms in the buildings in darkness. 

Changsha city in darkness

As a matter of fact, for the past 18 years, China has been aggressively building power plants. By the end of 2020, China’s installed power generation capacity was more than six times the 2002 level.

Apart from that, China’s coal power industry has actually encountered severe overcapacity. 

So why did China encounter a power shortage? 

The official explanations from the CCP are: 

1. The resumption of industrial production increased the demand for electricity; 

2. The extreme cold weather increased the demand; 

3. The limited external power supply and the breakdown of the engine. 

Are these really the case?

2. “New Infrastructure” and “Digital Economy”

According to a report by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the increase in China’s electricity consumption reflects the “strong recovery” of China’s economy after the pandemic. And if one looks more closely, much of the increase came from the “digital economy” and “smart manufacturing”, which are closely related to the “new infrastructure construction”.

What is the “new infrastructure”?

The traditional infrastructure mainly refers to roads, railroads, bridges, airports, ports, power grids and other facilities, while the CCP’s “new infrastructure” refers to digital infrastructure such as 5G base stations, Internet of Things, data centers, etc. These infrastructures can digitize  information and business activities; and an economic system based on digital computing technology is referred to as “digital economy”.

“Developing digital economy” is one of the CCP’s goals included in its 14th 5-Year Plan and National Economic and Social Development and the Visionary Goals for 2035.

In the CCP’s report we just mentioned, two “outstanding” “digital manufacturers” including Lens Technology and Sunward Intelligent were specially mentioned and praised for their “rapid growth” in electricity consumption. Their average daily electricity consumption increased by 53% and 72% year-on-year respectively, which “greatly contributed to the increase of local electricity consumption”.

Please note that Hunan and Zhejiang, which were praised in this report, were also places that suffered badly from power shortages in the winter of 2020.

This official report also came to an important conclusion: the “digital economy” and “smart manufacturing” industries have become the new driving force for electricity consumption growth. 

Another report by the “National Electricity Supply and Demand Analysis and Forecast Report 2020-2021” also confirms this. 

The report says, in 2020, the electricity consumption of the primary industry increased by 10.2% year-on-year. In the meantime,  “due to the rapid growth of the application of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things”, the electricity consumption in the information transmission, software and information technology service sector in China grew by 23.9% year-on-year. 

3. Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia: The “Big Data” City of Electricity Shortage

Now, let’s do a case study of Inner Mongolia city Ulanqab. Let’s Show Picture 2. This is a map of China, the little red dot at the north near Mongolia is where Ulanqab is located.

Ulanqab’s location.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is a major energy-rich province in China. It not only supplies electricity to 10 other provinces and regions, but is also one of China’s major coal production bases, which produces more than a quarter of the country’s coal.

However, Inner Mongolia was also the first place in China to experience a power shortage in November 2020. 

So what happened? 

Perhaps a story published in Sep. last year can tell us the secret.

The title of this story is: “Ulanqab: A ‘Lonely’ City Surrounded by Big Data“. The article describes how Ulanqab relies on science and technology to develop. 

The article says,  the labels for this small Inner Mongolian city of 2.87 million people were once a farming & herding area, windy and poor. However,  since Huawei decided to establish a data center in this city in 2013, it has not only become the northern base of the national big data disaster preparedness center, but also a big data center for many companies such as Alibaba and Huaishou.

According to Ulanqab City Government, the city’s gross regional product in 2019 was 80.84 billion yuan ($12.46 billion) , of which the tertiary industry contributed 45%.

However, in 2013, the year when the big data center was established in Ulanqab, the tertiary industry only contributed  29.4% to the  gross regional product. 

This is to say,  the percentage of the tertiary industry has increased significantly from 29.4% in 2013 to 45% in 2019. This shows that the data center contributed greatly to this increase. 

As a matter of fact, the “big data industry” has changed this city from a “windy and poor” farming and herding area with 76.3% forest and grass coverage into a “Cloud Valley on the Grassland”. That is how it is described now. 

According to the Ulanqab city government, in 2020, electricity consumption in the information transmission, software and information technology service industry, which includes new technologies such as “big data and cloud computing”, increased by 24.9% compared to the same period last year. 

The rapid increase in electricity demand, coupled with the increase in electricity consumption by local residents in the winter, had led Ulanqab to become the first city to announce a “power shortage” last November. 

Data Centers:  Energy Consumption Giants 

Next, we have something to share about the data centers. 

Whenever a data center is mentioned, people often think about a row of computer racks, which seem to consume much less energy than the steel plants with their big smoking chimneys. 

Is that the case? As a matter of fact, compared to ordinary server rooms, data centers have very high requirements in terms of temperature, humidity, magnetic field interference, and other conditions, which are all very demanding. 

Apart from uninterrupted power, a lot of equipment, such as air conditioners and chillers is also required to assist with lighting, cooling, etc. As a matter of fact, electricity accounts for 56.7% of the operating cost of data centers.

According to the CCP’s mouthpiece People’s Daily, as early as 2016, the power consumption of China’s data centers had exceeded the annual power generation of the Three Gorges Dam, and by 2017, the total power consumption of China’s data centers exceeded the total power generation of the Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Power Plant. 

In 2018, the total electricity consumption of China’s data centers was more than the electricity consumption of the whole city of Shanghai, a city with a population of 26 million. 

As to Hunan Province, which was the first to announced a “Wartime Status” for power supply last December, at the beginning of 2020, the provincial government had announced 86 provincial-level key projects for the development of big data and blockchain industries, calling for the vigorous development of “big data”.

In Zhejiang province, where the power supply had once been disconnected or limited, many data centers have been established too. In Hangzhou city alone, there are more than 50 data centers in operation.

The 5G base stations, which help collect big data, are also called “electricity-eating tigers” by many Chinese people.  The power consumption level of 5G base stations is more than 9 times that of 4G. 

In the meantime, the coverage radius of 5G base stations is 300 to 500 meters. So at least three 5G base stations are required to cover the area of a 4G base station under the same condition.

In August 2020, China Unicom’s Luoyang Branch shut down some of its 5G base stations during some time slots in the night due to high electricity costs, sending a signal to the world about the high power consumption of 5G base stations.

According to CCP’s official report,  as of Nov. last year, 700 K 5G base stations have been built in China, linking more than 180 million 5G terminals. The pace of 5G construction is increasing rapidly, and more than 1 million 5G base stations will be built in 2021. 

It is also estimated that by 2025, 5G base stations in China could consume 17 times as much electricity as they did in 2020.

5G and digital hubs not only consume huge amounts of power, but also help the CCP build an Orwellian society with omnipresent surveillance. 

Contributions of “New Infrastructure” And “Digital Economy” 

After the outbreak of the CCP virus in early 2020, “new infrastructures” such as 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things were given high priority by the CCP and were directly included in the CCP government work report.

According to an article published by Xinhua in April, 2020, the pandemic was a direct motivation for the development of “new infrastructure”. The article claims that the energy efficiency of traditional infrastructure is diminishing and new infrastructure represented by digital infrastructure can become a new growth engine for the CCP’s economy and can “effectively cope with the downward pressure on the economy.”

The “new infrastructure” can also attract a large amount of investment, which can further boost economic growth. 

According to Xinhua, as of May 2020, more than 20 provinces in China have launched “new infrastructure” plans totaling trillions of yuan. 

For the CCP, the deployment of “new infrastructure” projects such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and data centers is “killing two birds with one stone”.  It can not only provide an omnipresent surveillance network, but also become a driving force for the economy. 

The Omnipresent Surveillance Network

How does the CCP’s omnipresent surveillance network operate? We just need to take a look at Huawei’s CampusGo as an example. Let’s show Picture 3. It is a screenshot of CampusGo from Huawei’s website to show what this system can do.

Screenshot of CampusGo

CampusGo is presented as a model smart system to provide “management” for commercial and residential buildings, as well as urban governance, etc. It can provide intrusion detection, remnant detection, facial identity verification, wandering detection, vehicle license plate recognition and other intelligent analysis technologies, as well as leading technologies such as intelligent algorithms and deep learning to ensure high-precision perception and processing of information of faces, vehicles, events and behaviors.

Huawei Cloud also launched a product based on 5G technology, which is called 5G “Smart Security Solutions“. Let’s show Picture 4. It is a screenshot from Huawei’s website to show what this “Smart City Solutions” can do.

Screenshot of Smart City Solutions

Basically, the solution includes the use of drones, robots, 5G AR glasses, overhead cameras, etc., to constantly send back HD videos from key areas to the cloud platform through the 5G network, and then to analyze, identify, and record people and events, etc.

So the essence of CampusGo and 5G Smart Security Solutions is to monitor, record and analyze all people, things and events through cameras, 5G technology, artificial intelligence and data centers, etc.

In the meantime, all the data and information collected can be used and abused by the CCP. 

As a matter of fact, all of China has become a “technology laboratory” for the CCP. 54% of the world’s surveillance cameras were in China by the end of 2019. 

Also, among the top 10 cities with the highest density of surveillance in the world, six cities are in China, including Beijing, Harbin, Xiamen, Chengdu, Taiyuan and Kunming, with the number of cameras in Beijing reaching 1.15 million, the highest in the world.

In addition to face recognition, the CCP also released what it says is the world’s first “gait recognition” surveillance system in 2019. In other words, the system can identify a person’s walking posture even if this person’s face is covered. 

The CCP can also use various methods to monitor people, such as voice recognition, emotion recognition, and cell phone tapping. 

So the point is, no matter where you go in China, you will never be able to get out of the smart big data net of the CCP. 

Surveillance: The New Engine of China’s Economic Growth

 In January this year, the CCP announced an annual GDP growth rate of 2.3% for 2020, and said that China had thus become the only major economy in the world to record positive GDP growth. Among all sectors, the information transmission, software and information technology services sector, which includes “big data and cloud computing,” grew the fastest, up 16.9% year-on-year.

In July 2020,  China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released its white paper on Digital Economy Development in China (2020)

The White Paper says, “the year 2019 saw the added value of the digital economy in China hitting RMB 35.8 trillion, accounting for 36.2% of GDP”. “On a comparable basis, the nominal growth of China’s digital economy in 2019 was 15.6%, about 7.85% higher than that of GDP in the same period. ”

Let’s show Picture 5. It is from the White Paper we just mentioned. The red line is the growth of the digital economy, and the darker blue line is the GDP growth. You can see that from the year 2012, the growth of the digital economy has been much higher than the GDP growth, and the growth of all other sectors.

So the CCP official said  that “digital economy has become a new engine for high-quality development”. 

“Digital Economy” and Human Rights Abuses

Behind the development of the digital economy is the prevalence of  the CCP’s surveillance and human rights abuses. After laying out an omnipresent surveillance net, the CCP closely tracks what 1.4 billion people in China say, see, and do every day, every minute, and every second, analyzing their behavior, economic activities, daily consumption, and even culture and entertainment activities, etc. 

In the meantimes, the CCP has expanded its surveillance network overseas by helping international organizations, such as the United Nations, to establish data centers.

On October 21, 2019, Foreign Policy magazine published an article “China’s Surveillance State Has Tens of Millions of New Targets” and suggests that the CCP is working with the Ministry of Public Security and technology companies to collect detailed information on so-called “key individuals ” in a ” ” database and share it in real time to crackdown on people.

“Key individuals” are the main targets of the CCP’s suppression, including Falun Gong practitioners, petitioners, human rights defenders (including human rights lawyers), dissidents, protesters, and ethnic minority groups, such as Uighurs. The number of “key individuals” under surveillance has increased significantly as the scope of the CCP’s persecution has expanded when more and more people start to criticize the CCP.

Unfortunately, what many people in the world see is the “splendid” GDP growth of the CCP, and quite a lot overseas investors are still being attracted by the economic “achievements”  of the CCP and thus keeping on investing in China. 

Well, that’s all for today’s “inconvenient truths”. Please do subscribe to and share my channel, like my videos, leave a comment to boost my videos. The views of my videos have dropped dramatically since Jan. 6. I have also lost more than 500  subscribers. Usually the subscriptions kept growing when I did new programs. But now I keep losing  subscribers. People told me that they got unsubscribed without their knowledge. So please do help me to fight the censorship.

Thank you very much for your support. See you next time!

2/21/2021

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