China Reform Monitor No. 1480

Related Categories: Democracy and Governance; Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues; China; Taiwan

MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY: MANY CASES OF DEPRESSION, LACK OF TREATMENT
Last month, China completed its first national survey of adult mental disorders, the China Mental Health Survey. The three-year research project, headed by Xu Xiufeng and Lu Jin of Kunming Medical University's First Affiliated Hospital, found that only 9.5% of the roughly 90 million Chinese people suffering from depression received any care. "Depression is a very common disease in China, with a per capita prevalence rate is about 4%-8%," the study noted. The report further found that depression was more prevalent among females than males, unemployed than employed, and more common among those separated or divorced than married people. The antidepressant market in China is expected to grow from $9.9 billion in 2020 to over $13.3 billion in 2030. (Sina, September 27, 2021)

NEWS LEAKS OF U.S. SECRETLY TRAINING TAIWAN FORCES...
For more than a year, about two dozen U.S. troops, including a Special Operations unit and a detachment of Marines, have been in Taiwan to train military forces there, according to news leaks. Neither the Pentagon nor Taiwan's Defense Ministry would confirm or deny the report. Last November, Taiwan's Naval Command said U.S. troops had arrived to train Taiwanese marines and special forces in small-boat and amphibious operations. At the time, however, both Washington and Taipei denied the claim and described the interactions as "military exchanges." (Al Jazeera, October 7, 2021)

...AS BEIJING WARNS WASHINGTON
In response to revelations that U.S. troops have been stationed on Taiwan for more than a year, China has reiterated calls for the Washington to cut its military ties to Taipei. "China will take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Hu Xijin, editor in chief of the official Global Times, taunted the U.S. for sending only 24 soldiers instead of establishing a base on the island: "Roll the dice, and let's see whose willpower is ultimately stronger when it comes to the Taiwan issue." At the Yushan forum in Taipei, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott warned: "it's quite possible that Beijing could lash out disastrously very soon" and argued that "[n]othing is more pressing right now" than showing support for Taiwan. "I don't think America could stand by and watch Taiwan swallowed up." (Washington Post, October 8, 2021)

MICROSOFT TO SHUT DOWN LINKEDIN APP IN CHINA
Seven years after Microsoft's LinkedIn launched its site in China, the company has announced that it will shut it down because it is facing "significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China." In March, LinkedIn paused new member sign-ups in China, and two months later China's internet regulator found that LinkedIn, Microsoft's Bing search engine, and about 100 other apps were "improperly collecting and using data." In 2019, Bing was temporarily blocked in China and the company's president, Brad Smith, revealed that executives had had difficult discussions with Beijing over censorship and other demands. This summer, LinkedIn began warning users if they share "prohibited content" that would not be available in China. LinkedIn will create a new app for China called InJobs that has career-networking features, but not a social feed or the ability to share posts or articles. (Associated Press, October 14, 2021)

APPLE STORE CRACKDOWN HITS HOLY BOOKS AND AMAZON'S AUDIBLE
Amazon's audiobook service Audible and apps for reading the Bible and the Quran have disappeared from the Apple store in China "due to permit requirements." Pakistan Data Management Services, whose Quran Majeed app has nearly 1 million users in China and about 40 million worldwide, said it is awaiting information from Beijing about how its app can be restored. The U.S.-based Olive Tree Bible Software Bible app was also removed after learning from Apple's App Store review process that it needed permission to distribute its app in China. (Associated Press, October 15, 2021)