Today’s Focus: Skyscrapers everywhere but nowhere to stay? People sleeping under bridges in Shenzhen; Jiang family’s old network breaks another link? Close aide to Chen Zhu falls from power in corruption scandal; US officials reveal DeepSeek serving the PLA to obtain high-end chips.
China’s first economic special zone, the super first-tier city Shenzhen, is currently experiencing an unprecedented economic downturn. Post-pandemic, Shenzhen’s economy has not recovered. With the mass exodus of foreign and Taiwanese enterprises, the local manufacturing and service industries have been hit hard, leading to factory closures and a significant increase in unemployment. Today, Shenzhen is filled with desolation, with many people wandering the streets, including high-end talent.
Recently, blogger “996Rainmaker” released a video showing people sleeping at places like Longhua Bus Station, squares, parks, etc. One interviewee mentioned staying under bridges or in parks long term, and now deciding to sleep in the square.
Blogger “Revealing Sister Shenzhen” wrote that Shenzhen is facing phenomena such as foreign capital withdrawal, Taiwanese company relocation, factory closures, malls shuttering, layoffs of office workers, and people sleeping on the streets. She stated that the streets are becoming increasingly quiet due to the sparse population, the subway ridership is decreasing, CBD office vacancy rates are rising, turning into empty headquarters, and even some Starbucks and McDonald’s in Futian District have closed and left China.
“Revealing Sister Shenzhen” stated that Shenzhen grew from a small fishing village to an international metropolis, mainly benefiting from the manufacturing, export, technology, and supply chains built by Taiwanese and foreign companies. However, now, some Taiwanese factories have collectively moved to Vietnam, India, Indonesia, etc. With factories relocating, a large number of workers are unemployed. Industrial areas in areas like Longhua, Bao’an, and Pingshan have become quite desolate.
Many netizens have uploaded videos showing areas under bridges, squares, office building alleys, with cardboard laid out, and many people sleeping there, including software engineers, construction workers, and delivery riders. These individuals search for job opportunities during the day and spend the night outdoors. To save expenses, some people only eat instant noodles, and some even drink tap water.
In September last year, the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a research report on Taiwanese companies titled “Diversification, Not Disconnection – Taiwanese Industries Dealing with Geopolitical Risks”.
The report pointed out that over 57% of Taiwanese companies are considering or have already withdrawn from mainland China. They are not only worried about difficulties in making profits but also concerned about not being able to take the money out and withdraw the companies. There were reports that authorities have imposed stricter controls on companies leaving and capital flow. For example, if a Taiwanese company wants to relocate, it needs to go through layers of filing and approval, and foreign exchange settlements are facing stricter scrutiny and delays. Some business owners have tried to quietly close their factories, only to encounter obstacles.
Some netizens bluntly stated that many bosses originally planned to quietly close their factories and doors, only to find them blocked overnight. Some Taiwanese and foreign bosses simply dismantled their equipment overnight and moved it out. They are afraid that delaying even a day will give landlords the opportunity to take advantage.
Some netizens lamented, “This city is no longer the international metropolis full of dreams. Today’s Shenzhen has become a ‘city of hardship’ with high prices, high pressure, high unemployment, low hope, low income, and low sense of security. From the outside, it may look glamorous, but inside it exudes a sense of desolation. Yet the government clings tightly to the last bit of popularity, eager to nail people down to this land. Not allowed to leave, not allowed to complain, and not allowed to speak out the truth…
On June 22, the Chinese Communist authorities announced that Yu Wenming, former director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, had fallen from power. What caught public attention was that Yu Wenming was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party but a member of a “democratic party;” he was a close aide to the deputy state-level official Chen Zhu, who is the confidant of Jiang Zemin’s son Jiang Mianheng. Additionally, Yu Wenming is the third high-ranking official in the medical supervision system to fall from grace in nearly the past four months.
The announcement stated that former director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Yu Wenming is “suspected of serious violations of laws and regulations and is currently under supervision and investigation by the National Supervisory Commission.”
Recently, the Chinese Communist Party has conducted an anti-corruption campaign within the medical system. Before Yu Wenming, former deputy director of the National Medical Products Administration Chen Shifei and former director of the State Administration for Food and Drug Administration Bi Jingquan have been implicated.
Yu Wenming, a member of a democratic party, previously served as the vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Agricultural Workers’ and Workers’ Democratic Party and was elected as a standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for two terms. As he is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party, he did not undergo investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Of note is that Yu Wenming was a former subordinate and deputy to Chen Zhu, a deputy state-level official, and a former top aide to Jiang Mianheng; Lu Ming, a vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Political Consultative Conference and director of the Beijing Municipal Health Committee, who has already fallen from grace, was once under Yu Wenming’s command.
Let’s briefly introduce Yu Wenming. Yu Wenming was born in June 1963 in Shandong Province. He graduated from Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, obtaining a master’s degree in medicine before entering the China Traditional Chinese Medicine newspaper and serving as deputy director of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Communication. In 1997, he became the director of the China Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Development and Exchange Center. In April 2004, he became the Deputy Director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In June 2018, Yu Wenming became the director, stepping down in July 2023.
Yu Wenming retired at the age of 60 and was succeeded by Yu Yanhong, who is one year older than him, showing that Yu Wenming’s retirement was not age-related.
Prior to this, at the end of 2022, Yu Wenming failed to be re-elected as the vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Agricultural Workers’ Party but continued as a standby for the newly appointed vice chairmen, all of whom were around his age or even older. For example, the vice chairmen of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, Yang Zhen, is two years older than him, Yang Guanlin is one year older, Wang Lu is four months older, Lv Zhongmei is three months older, Wang Jinnan is one month younger, and Jiao Hong is three months younger.
From the above content, it can be seen that there were signs of Yu Wenming’s problem long ago.
To be continued…