CiCM 14th February 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

Shen Yiqin announces campaigns to promote women’s development: China’s State Councilor, Shen Yiqin, in a recent statement emphasized the imperative of advancing high-quality development for women and children during her visit to Fujian Province. Her tour included inspections of local service centers and visits to rural and urban communities to assess ongoing work. Shen, also the president of the All-China Women's Federation, stressed the importance of ensuring the Party's leadership over women's federation work and promoting gender equality and comprehensive development. Concurrently, women's federations nationwide are launching initiatives to empower women in driving high-quality development. These efforts include establishing platforms for female tech professionals, leveraging women's contributions in rural areas, fostering women leaders in wealth creation especially in rural areas through the construction of over 10 million beautiful courtyards across the country, and collaborating with various sectors to boost employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women. The comprehensive approach underscores China's commitment to advancing women's development across various domains.

Taiwan takes notes of 14 Chinese aircrafts over mainland in “combat readiness patrol”: Taiwan's defense ministry reported on Wednesday that it observed 14 PLA Air Force aircraft conducting "joint combat readiness patrols" around the island, in collaboration with PLA warships. Nine of the aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line or nearby areas. This activity occurred shortly after the election of William Lai, described by Beijing as a "separatist," as Taiwan's next president. Beijing, currently celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday, has not yet responded to these reports. In response, Taiwan dispatched its own forces to monitor the situation. The ongoing tensions stem from Beijing's insistence on Taiwan being part of China while Taiwan asserts its autonomy. This was recently emphasized by the Fujian fishing boat case where Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council condemned Taiwan's expulsion of a Fujian fishing boat. The expulsion had led to two deaths. The recent escalations underscore the ongoing geopolitical complexities surrounding the Taiwan Strait.

China’s Clean Energy Corridor breaks records in 2023: The world’s largest clean energy corridor, comprising six massive hydropower stations along China’s Yangtze River, achieved a milestone in 2023. Operated by China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. (CYPC), the corridor generated over 276 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, marking a 5.34 percent increase from the previous year. This remarkable feat not only signifies substantial energy production but also translates into environmental benefits, including a reduction of approximately 83 million tonnes of standard coal consumption and over 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Completed in December 2022, the corridor, led by the fully operational Baihetan hydropower station, serves as a crucial conduit for transmitting electricity from the resource-rich western regions to the energy-consuming eastern areas of China. With a total installed capacity of approximately 71.7 million kilowatts, the corridor underscores China's commitment to clean energy and sustainable development.

Man gets 10 months jail for “breaking a military marriage”: In China, a man named Ma has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for disrupting a "military marriage" by engaging in a relationship and cohabiting with the wife of a serving People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier. This offense, punishable by up to three years in prison under China's Criminal Law, underscores the state's commitment to safeguarding the sanctity of military marriages and the dignity of military personnel, as outlined in China's National Defence Law. Ma's case, reported by the People's Court Daily, illustrates how his relationship with Yuan, who was married to a PLA soldier, led to marital discord and legal repercussions. Despite Ma's attempt to end the relationship upon learning of Yuan's marital status, they resumed dating, eventually cohabiting, prompting Yuan's husband to uncover evidence of her infidelity through surveillance cameras. Ma's confession during court proceedings mitigated his sentence. Apart from safeguarding soldiers’ marriages, Chinese laws also grant additional benefit to PLA members’ children such as extra points in important high school and university entrance tests.

Chinese scientist tackle urban light pollution using Satellite SDGSAT-1: Chinese scientists are combating urban light pollution using the SDGSAT-1 satellite. The study, led by the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), published in the International Journal of Digital Earth, focuses on the adverse effects of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) replacing artificial light at night (ALAN). The SDGSAT-1, launched in November 2021, aids in accurately distinguishing various illumination sources. In Beijing, it achieved a 92 percent accuracy for ALAN and 95 percent for streetlights. Analysis of SDGSAT-1 images reveals spatial heterogeneity in ALAN along Beijing's 5th Ring Road, offering insights into light pollution variation across urban areas. The satellite's role in urban lighting management underscores its significance in supporting the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDGSAT-1's September 2023 atlas of urban nighttime light data further supports research on urban sustainability, featuring data from 147 cities in 105 countries.

Real estate projects see “White List” implementation which accelerates financial support: The proposal of “white list” for real estate projects marks a crucial step in implementing localized policies by local governments. As this initiative gains momentum, it significantly eases financial constraints for real estate firms, facilitating project development and aiding market stability. Backed by a comprehensive financing coordination mechanism, cities are expediting the establishment of these lists, pushing them to commercial banks to address project financing needs effectively. Notably, Nanning City’s establishment of such a mechanism resulted in 107 projects receiving financial support, exemplified by Beitou Lotus Garden securing a 330-million-yuan loan. Across 170 cities, 3218 projects have been listed, with 17.86 billion yuan already disbursed to 83 projects. This transparent approach fosters sustainable project operations, enhances market stability, and ensures timely project completion, benefiting both developers and buyers alike.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Young Chinese women embrace AI boyfriends amid urban stress: A viral video from Beijing features 25-year-old Tufei, who expresses finding comfort in her AI boyfriend on "Glow," a chatbot developed by Shanghai's MiniMax. The AI marketplace, including companies like Baidu, has seen significant traction with an increasing number of girls seeking companionship in China’s fast pace of life and urban isolation. These virtual partners, known for their empathy and kindness, provide emotional support, particularly for young women. Long work hours have made meeting friends regularly difficult for many and there is a lot of uncertainty with the high youth unemployment and a struggling economy, the AI partner hence becomes the perfect virtual shoulder to cry on. However, the trend extends beyond demographics, with grieving families seeking solace from AI companions, often in the form of ghost robots. This video along with several other instances has been covered by various international news sites including NDTV India and the Canadian Affairs which find it reminiscent of the Oscar-winning 2013 US film “Her” This phenomenon underscores a burgeoning industry centered on human-robot relationships in China, blurring the boundaries between reality and technology as individuals of all ages forge genuine connections with AI counterparts amidst life's stresses.

INDIA WATCH

India’s commitment to women’s development has gained momentum in recent times, translating into concrete initiatives tackling various aspects of their well-being. However, one must note that there remain significant differences in India and China’s demography especially when it comes to female population. While China’s focus is on expanding its opportunities to diverse areas, India still grapples with the urban-rural binary and challenges like child marriage. China enjoys a 92.5% Female Literacy rate whereas India stands at the low 79.8%. The labor force participation rate also remains high in China with 63.3% of the women participating actively in the Job market while India is struggling to bring a vast majority of both rural and urban women alike into the workforce. In order to invest in women’s skills, India has launched various digital literacy programs such as Digital Shakti where the government aims to make 5 crore women across rural India digitally literate by 2023. Another version of the program PMGDISHA extends these workshops to rural women and includes fundamentals of accessing government services online. NSDC also offers other programs in tailoring, beauty care, IT-enables services and more. The DDU-GKY focusses on rural youth with a 30% reservation for women in providing training for various sectors like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, leading to better employment prospects. Such policies are effective considering the relatively young age of Indian women (stands at 28.4) as compared to the relatively older Chinese women with the median age of 38.4. Although China’s early focus on education and women-led businesses has promoted women in entrepreneurship and made funding more accessible, Indian government’s slow approach will bring all round inclusion. Besides provisioning financial and skill development help, India has also taken major steps in representation of women especially in Legislative bodies with the passing of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, which reserves 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies for women. China lacks such a legislation and has consistently ranked low in Women representation. Regardless the various measures taken by the respective governments, both the countries face significant challenges. In India for example, women remain the subject of heinous crimes as stated by the Malini Bhattacharya, the national president of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). Women in China face similar issues in the form of workplace harassment and more recently have been subject to the state’s conservative propaganda to propel the country’s birth rate, confining their role to that of the household. Until all these issues are addressed, women’s development in both the countries will remain a drawn-out process.

Prepared By

Alisha Mehra

Alisha is a 2nd year student pursuing Development Studies with a minor in International Relations at IIT, Madras. Her interdisciplinary course offers her a unique perspective on Public Policy and Global Polity issues. She is passionate about China Studies, Economics and Climate and loves to explore the interconnections between the them.