HONG KONG COURT CONVICTS CARDINAL JOSEPH ZEN AND OTHERS
Cardinal Joseph Zen and four others have been found guilty for not registering their 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which helped pay the legal and medical bills for Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. The retired bishop and democracy advocate appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in a black outfit with a clerical collar and a pectoral cross. Zen was arrested in May on suspicion of "colluding with foreign forces" under a Beijing-imposed National Security Law. His arrest sent shockwaves through Hong Kong’s Catholic community, and the Vatican said it was closely monitoring the case. The fund’s five trustees – Zen, singer Denise Ho, scholar Hui Po Keung, and former pro-democracy lawmakers Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho – were each fined only $512. However, the verdict marks the first time Hong Kong residents were found guilty for failing to register under the Societies Ordinance. (NPR, November 25, 2022)
FCC BANS SALES OF HUAWEI AND ZTE EQUIPMENT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced new rules banning U.S. sales and imports of new Huawei and ZTE telecom devices on national security grounds. "The FCC takes an unprecedented step to safeguard our networks and strengthen America’s national security. Our unanimous decision represents the first time in FCC history that we have voted to prohibit the authorization of new equipment based on national security concerns," said FCC commissioner Brendan Carr. In recent years, a number of countries, including Canada, Britain, and Australia, have tightened restrictions on the sale of 5G tech from Huawei and ZTE – two of the world's biggest suppliers of telecom equipment. (Axios, November 25, 2022)
CHINA TRADES T-BILLS FOR RUSSIAN GOLD
Between Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February and the end of September, China bought more than 2000 metric tons of gold from the Russian Central Bank for than $121.2 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds. (NikkeiAsia, November 22, 2022)
CHINA PAID TAIWAN OFFICER TO SURRENDER IF WAR STARTED
Hsiang Te-en, a former colonel in Taiwan’s army, is facing a 12-year prison sentence on corruption and espionage charges. In 2019, a Chinese spy named Shao Wei-chiang recruited Hsiang, a 35-year veteran and head of the Kaohsiung-based Army Infantry Training Command's Operations Research and Development Division, to provide sensitive information in return for a monthly payment of $1,280. Kaohsiung prosecutors have indicted Hsiang, who accepted a total of NT$560,000 ($18,000) from Shao between October 2019 and January 2022. Shao, a retired lieutenant in Taiwan’s army and correspondent for the Taipei-based China Television Company from 1993 until 2019, is also facing charges for bribery and violating the National Security Act. (CNA, November 22, 2022)
CHINA CULTIVATING BRITISH ASSETS—MI5 CHIEF
Beijing is playing a "long game" to "cultivate assets" in academia, business and government in the UK as part of what MI5 chief Ken McCallum said is part of a "game-changing strategic challenge" that threatens the nation’s security, values and democratic institutions. McCallum said China’s efforts to redesign the international system using direct pressure present a "different order of challenge" than the one posed by Russia. China is "trying to rewrite the rule book, to buy the league, to recruit our coaching staff to work for them." China is building "early stage" relationships with potential future politicians, including at local government levels, by "gradually building a debt of obligation." (Financial Times, November 16, 2022)
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