April 29:
A one-star People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general named Zhu Heping has written in the Guangming Daily warning that U.S.-led “cultural colonialism” seeks to undermine China’s political system. He called on Beijing to counter Western cultural infiltration among young people and expand its soft power abroad “to fight on the cultural front.” “Western cultural infiltration techniques are very clever in their deception and hidden nature. This ‘cultural colonialism’ is like ‘slowly boiling a frog’: the young generation can easily lose its will to resist without knowing. Western hostile forces seize every opportunity to sneak attacks against us, and they are pressing harder and harder,” wrote Zhu, who was the former secretary to the PLA ex-chief of staff Zhang Wannian and is now Chongqing garrison commander. Zhu also condemned “Western hostile forces” for “stoking a de-politicization of the armed forces, in a vain attempt to change our military’s nature and purpose and pose a serious threat to our ideological core.”
April 30:
Chinese police have detained 19 people in Kashgar, Urumqi, and Bayingolin, Xinjiang and seized homemade explosives, weapons, and East Turkistan flags following a clash between residents and officials that killed 21 people last week in Maralbexi county Kashgar, Xinjiang. The government called the violence a “terrorist attack,” though the exiled World Uighur Congress has said the killing of a young Uighur by “Chinese armed personnel” prompted the Uighurs to retaliate. According to Beijing those who carried out the attack “regularly watched video clips advocating religious extremism and terrorism and attended illegal preaching. Since early December 2012, they have gathered to train and practice killing skills learned from terrorist videos.” Vice Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei said the government would mount an “iron-handed crackdown against terrorism,” Reuters reports.
The Republic of China (ROC-Taiwan) Deputy Economics Minister Cho Shih-chao has announced that a service trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will probably go into effect this year. The agreement includes commitment schedules on market access for specific sectors. China is opening up to e-business trade with Taiwan, creative culture, sea and air transportation, finance, medical services, telecommunication, and travel agencies. Taiwan is opening up its financial, medical care, telecommunication and travel agency services to China. The agreement will be the basis for future market-access arrangements, however, “due to security concerns Taiwan will not open up its basic telecommunications or education sectors or professions that require a license, such as those of lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers and doctors,” Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reports.
May 1:
Taiwan’s CNA and Japan's Kyodo News Agency have begun a news exchange and cooperation agreement. Last December in Taipei, CNA president Fan Hsiang-lin and Kyodo News president Satoshi Ishikawa signed the memorandum stipulating that the two agencies will provide mutual assistance in news coverage, exchange photos and share news in Chinese, Japanese and English. Kyodo is looking to promote its Chinese-language service in Taiwan, CNA reports.
May 2:
In opening Taiwan’s service industry to China, Taipei should guard against Beijing’s attempts to gain control over Taiwan through investment, the ROC’s National Security Bureau said in a report to the Legislative Yuan, CNA reports. The government “should remain vigilant against the possibility of China using investment opportunities to influence Taiwan’s industrial development, disrupt the country’s financial stability or implement a united front strategy against Taiwan. In its screening of investment plans by Chinese companies, the government should verify whether applicants are deliberately concealing their true identity or have a military background. Also, the government should prevent any monopoly by Chinese companies and reject business activities that may undermine Taiwan's economic security and financial stability.”