CiCM 20th November 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Arab-Islamic delegation arrives in Beijing: A joint delegation from Arab and Islamic countries held talks with the Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. The delegation, consisting of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki and the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha, mainly talked about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Wang stressed on the need to comply with international humanitarian law and said that China is firm in its stand for the return to the two-state solution and a lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue at the earliest. Wang went on to call for a “more effective international peace conference”, adding that China will keep making peace efforts between Palestine and Israel. Han said that Beijing appreciates and supports the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit’s peace efforts. On their part, the delegation thanked China for its efforts and leadership in pushing for an immediate ceasefire and promoting the adoption of resolutions by the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
Australian allegations of warship encounter rejected by China: Australia’s claim of a Chinese warship acting in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner while engaging with an Australian vessel has been rejected as baseless and “completely untrue” by China. Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said that the Chinese warship, CNS Ningbo, was tracking, monitoring, identifying, and verifying the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba in accordance with international rules and regulations. Furthermore, Wu clarified that the Chinese and Australian vessels did not engage in any action and that there is no demarcation between Chinese and Japanese waters in the East China Sea in response to the Australian remark that their HMAS Toowoomba was inside Japan’s exclusive economic waters.
Myanmar handed over telecom scam suspects to China: In total, 31,000 telecom scam suspects were handed over to Chinese custody from Myanmar. This comes after the crackdown on telecom fraud which has affected Chinese citizens. In order to enhance the crackdown, Chinese public security organs deepened their enforcement cooperation with Myanmar. Post their custody transfer, the suspects were sent to the areas they targeted for further investigation. Under this crackdown, three leaders - Ming Guoping, Ming Julan and Ming Zhenzhen - of the fraud group, wanted by the Chinese security organs, were captured in Myanmar. An official of the Ministry of Public Security said that the ministry would continue to crack down on telecom fraud operations in Myanmar with cooperation from local law enforcement.
Lai announces running mate for Taiwan elections: Electoral candidates in Taiwan have begun to register with the Election Commission. While the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has announced its candidate, other parties including the Kuomintang and the Taiwan's People's Party have not announced their candidates yet. DPP’s William Lai Ching-te, the current Taiwanese Vice President, has declared Hsiao Bi-Khim, who is greatly in favour of Taiwan's secession from mainland China, as his running mate. While the DPP has once again reiterated its aim for Taiwanese independence, the Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of the CPC has announced sanctions against Hsiao for her association with foreign, especially US agencies and has accused Hsiao of provoking animosity between the two regions.
Premier Li Qiang chairs meeting with Central Financial Commission: Premier Li Qiang chaired a meeting with the Central Financial Commission and reviewed the division of responsibilities for key tasks related to promoting high-quality development in the financial sector. Participants at the event suggested the need for greater support of the financial sector in key areas while also maintaining a stable monetary policy. During the meeting Premier Li also emphasized on the need to improve the quality of financial services for economic and social development.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Biopic on girls’ educator stirs controversy over portrayal of women: “Beyond the Clouds” the biopic on Zhang Guimei, a popular girl’s educator who launched Huaping High School for Girls in rural Yunnan, has caused a social media storm over the depiction of women including that of an alcoholic mother. Netizens who watched the movie questioned why female characters were portrayed in a bad light as well as being contrary to historical facts. The growing criticism also led to a now deleted response form the film’s screenwriters. In the post, Yuan Yuan stated that the decision to project the mother as an alcoholic was meant to show women helping women. Some viewers who attended the screening also claimed that although the characters could have been depicted better, it did not look it was intentionally trying to demean women and that the film would not have been as emotionally powerful if the filmmakers did not exercise some artistic license in their depiction.

INDIA WATCH

China’s talks with the joint delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries on 20^th November 2023 has played well in projecting Beijing’s presence as a global mediator during conflicts. Although the meeting was announced a while before the conflict between Isarel and Hamas broke out in early October, the optics of Beijing leading the joint discussion with key regional players has presented China with the opportunity to capitalise upon its more recently cultivated image of a mediator.

India, in this instance, has been very careful in taking sides during the conflict, treading carefully on its path. By reiterating the two-state solution while also condemning Hamas’s terror attack, New Delhi has portrayed its role well in projecting its global interests and values. This strategy has not only enabled New Delhi to live up to its growing partnership with Tel Aviv but also remain steadily committed to its decades long policy for a two-state solution. However, given New Delhi’s global ambitions, it must also play a proactive role in ensuring that a peaceful resolution to the conflict is reached. With the Arab delegation also visiting New Delhi and other global capitals, it is important that New Delhi capitalises on the opportunity to advocate for a peaceful resolution going forward. Only then will India truly be able to showcase substance in its leadership position in the global arena.