Today’s Focus: Ordinary car accident reveals elite secrets, mysterious wealthy circles in Australia revealed; unrest at Beidaihe Conference, popular candidate for Foreign Minister, Liu Jianchao under investigation? From restraint to madness? True purpose of China’s nuclear expansion exposed.
Recently, a serious car accident occurred in Australia. At first glance, it seemed like a normal car accident, but it revealed a mysterious circle of wealthy individuals, sparking discussions in both China and Australia.
According to media reports, in the early hours of July 27, a serious car accident occurred in the wealthy area of Rose Bay in Sydney. A Rolls-Royce worth over one million US dollars collided head-on with a Mercedes-Benz, resulting in both cars’ front ends being completely smashed.
The driver of the Mercedes-Benz was George Plasaras, the well-known radio host Kyle Sandilands’ driver. The accident left him severely injured with multiple fractures throughout his body and his right hip joint completely removed.
The driver of the Rolls-Royce was a 23-year-old Chinese woman named Yang Lanlan, who was unharmed. Police conducted a breathalyzer test on her at the scene, which came back positive, leading to her arrest. Following her arrest, Yang Lanlan remained silent. Subsequently, she posted bail by paying a large sum and was released. The case is scheduled for trial on August 15.
After the accident, Yang Lanlan’s background attracted public attention. In the eyes of the Australian media, Yang Lanlan seemed “invisible.” She had almost no presence on social media, no company or property registration information, and no details on LinkedIn. Even her neighbors said, “She is polite but not talkative, does not associate deeply with anyone,” and from her behavior, “it can be seen that she does not want people to know who she is.”
However, Yang Lanlan lived a luxurious life. She resided in a top-tier ocean-view apartment in Sydney, owned two Rolls-Royces – in addition to the accident vehicle, she had an unregistered white Rolls-Royce. Yang Lanlan dressed luxuriously in brands like Chanel, Hermes, and other high-end luxury items, and had private bodyguards escorting her in and out.
Her lavish yet secretive lifestyle puzzled the Australian media.
A few days later, Yang Lanlan, adorned head to toe in designer brands, accompanied by her bodyguards, went to the local police station. Faced with questions from reporters, Yang Lanlan kept her head down, covering her face and offering no response. Due to her blocking, the media did not capture a frontal image of her.
The situation of Yang Lanlan is not an isolated case. In Australia, there are more than one young wealthy Chinese like Yang Lanlan, forming a group of their own, but to the locals, they are “invisible.”
In China, the privileged class siphons off a significant amount of funds and transfers it overseas, which is not a secret. Therefore, many speculate about Yang Lanlan’s true lineage.
On August 8, a netizen named “Jonathan” with an IP address showing Australia posted that Yang Lanlan’s family was involved in the iron ore business, mainly selling mines to Chinese listed companies and state-owned enterprises. These wealthy individuals have a fixed circle and gather in Western Australia annually, allocate quotas among themselves, and make profits. He mentioned that these people do not directly engage in the mining business but delegate it down. In simple terms, it’s about the Red Third Generation dividing among the Second Generation officials, who then find people who actually do the work. 80% of the quotas belong to one family, and the remaining 20% is distributed among other wealthy individuals.
However, the information disclosed in the post cannot be verified, so its authenticity is uncertain.
Upon Yang Lanlan’s news reaching China, it triggered discontent among the public. Some netizens recalled a story of a Yang Gailan, whose name differed by just one letter, but had a dramatically different fate. They pointed out the severe polarization in mainland China nowadays, describing society as “one side rich and luxurious, the other side impoverished and destitute.”
Yang Gailan lived in a rural area in Gansu and in 2016, at the age of 28, she killed her four young children and then committed suicide by poisoning herself. This tragedy shook society and was considered a lament from the depths of extreme poverty.
Liu Jianchao, a popular candidate for the next Foreign Minister of the Chinese Communist Party, and the current Minister of the External Affairs Office of the CCP Central Committee, was reported to have been taken away for questioning. As this happened during the Beidaihe Conference, it’s believed to be related to power struggles within the top ranks of the CCP, personnel arrangements, and the overall layout of the Fourth Plenum, generating discussions.
Now, let’s delve into specific details. At the end of July, after concluding his official visits to Singapore, South Africa, and Algeria, Liu Jianchao disappeared from public view.
The Wall Street Journal cited informed sources on August 9, revealing that upon Liu Jianchao’s return to Beijing after his official visits, he was taken away for questioning by relevant authorities. The exact reasons for this action are still unclear.
Liu Jianchao, a native of Jilin, was born in 1964 and graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1982. In 1986, he pursued advanced studies in International Relations at the University of Oxford in the UK. After returning to China in 1987, he served as a staff member in the Translation Department of the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently held various positions, including Deputy Director and Director of the News Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the Philippines and Indonesia, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and served twice as Director of the News Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After 2015, Liu Jianchao joined the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection system. He served as Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018 to assume the role of Deputy Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office. In June 2022, Liu Jianchao was appointed as the Minister of the United Front Work Department and became a member of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Having worked in the diplomatic system for a long time, Liu Jianchao has been associated with multiple “senior leaders,” including Wu Xueqian, Qian Qichen, Tang Jiaxuan, Li Zhaoxing, Yang Jiechi, and Wang Yi, with whom he spent six years. As Qian Qichen, Tang Jiaxuan, Li Zhaoxing, and Yang Jiechi are considered part of the Jiang faction by outsiders, rumors circulated in the Beijing official circles that Liu Jianchao was a follower of Yang Jiechi and affiliated with the Jiang faction.
In September 2015, Liu Jianchao caught the attention of then Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Qishan, and was transferred to serve as Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, head of the International Manhunt and Asset Recovery Office, and Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. These series of moves suggested that Liu Jianchao had connections to Wang Qishan. After Qin Gang was removed from his position in 2023, Wang Yi also resumed the role of Foreign Minister. Subsequently, Liu Jianchao became very active, emerging as a popular candidate for the next Foreign Minister.
Due to the various factions within the CCP’s diplomatic system and the intense internal power struggles, it’s uncertain which faction Liu Jianchao belongs to, making his background complex.
Commentator Li Lin told Dajiyuan that regardless of the faction Liu Jianchao is associated with, news of his being investigated at this moment, elevating suspense around the Beidaihe Conference, indicates unrest in the CCP’s political power struggle, suggesting it may have entered a critical phase.
For the past few decades, China’s stance on nuclear weapons has been relatively restrained. However, the situation has changed. A recent report from the Hudson Institute in the United States revealed that China’s rapid expansion of nuclear weapons isn’t aimed at deterrence or defense but rather towards securing China’s dominance in Asia, intimidating US allies, and undermining America’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The report indicated that a few years ago, China had around 300 nuclear warheads, but by 2027, this number is expected to increase to about 700 warheads, possibly surpassing 1,000 warheads by 2031.
The report mentioned that China’s nuclear capabilities across the army, navy, and air force have undergone comprehensive upgrades, including nuclear submarines; stealth bombers; missile silos; hypersonic weapons; and multiple independent re-entry vehicles. Additionally, efforts have been made to enhance the mobility, precision, and range of the nuclear weapons system, developing low-yield nuclear weapons, among other advancements.
Dr. Chung Chih-Tung from Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute told Dajiyuan that China is not just expanding the number of nuclear warheads but also enhancing the array of vehicles carrying these warheads, such as submarines, stealth bombers, hypersonic missiles, land-based missile launchers, and more. This signals that China has departed from its previous emphasis on the “minimum nuclear deterrence strategy.” China no longer solely focuses on defense but aims to stand on an equal footing with the US. Moreover, China seeks to bolster its nuclear war capabilities to compensate for deficiencies in conventional military strength.
The report states that China’s swift nuclear development stems from a deep-seated sense of insecurity within the Chinese regime. China believes that for Sino-US relations to stabilize and be friendly, the US must recognize China’s political system and its core interests, thereby respecting China’s so-called core interests.
For the Chinese Communist Party, war or military actions are part of a broader, more flexible concept. The use of force is just one form or domain of warfare, with other forms including political warfare, such as information warfare, influence warfare, and psychological warfare, along with institutional warfare. These forms of warfare seek to influence the “emotions, motivations, objective judgments, and behaviors” of the “governments, organizations, groups, and citizens” of the target country to make choices favorable to the CCP, achieving political and military objectives.
In essence, through “strategic narrative manipulation,” China shapes cognition, establishing “psychological” or “thought” advantages, not only for causing disarray, confusion, or chaos but also to shape and control the narrative.
The report further highlights the core narratives of China and its military, including that Chinese dominance is a historical norm and inevitability; the Chinese goal is permanent and unchanging; China and its military are unstoppable; and the US is an increasingly weakening, unpredictable, and unreliable ally. These grand narratives aim to shape the cognitive, psychological, moral, and institutional thought patterns of opponents, weakening the resistance and determination of certain nations to facilitate compromise with Beijing on contentious issues.
Taking Taiwan as an example, China vigorously promotes three narratives globally: Taiwan’s integration into the mainland is China’s permanent core objective; the Chinese military will spare no effort to prevent Taiwan independence; and the US’s resolve for Taiwan’s defense cannot be compared to China’s. For countries or individuals accepting this narrative, the only rational and wise policy response is for the US to avoid war with China over the Taiwan issue under any circumstances.
The report elaborates that nuclear modernization is a unique and strategically powerful element in China’s narrative, aiming to control and manipulate the “thought paths” of opponents, convincing them of and fearing China’s willingness to use nuclear power.
To counter China effectively, the report proposes four suggestions: abandon illusions of “arms control with China”; avoid the militarization of allied nuclear weapons; strengthen conventional deterrence twofold; and retaliate in the information domain.
The report explains that these suggestions arise from the “opaqueness and ambiguity” of China, making traditional arms control agreements impracticable; escalating military development of nuclear weapons by allies to counter China can spark military competitions; enhancing conventional military strength can raise the cost of China’s aggression, deterring rash actions; exposing China’s actions, unveiling China’s nuclear threats openly, and directly linking allied military developments with Beijing’s behavior can break free from China’s mental control.
Dr. Su Ziyun, Director of the Institute of Strategic and Resource Studies at the Taiwan National Defense and Security Research Institute, told Dajiyuan that these four suggestions align with thinking from the American-Soviet era of nuclear war. Strengthening one’s own nuclear deterrence capacity, for the US, means enhancing credible deterrence; preventing materially, intercepting missiles, ensuring that your nuclear weapons are unassailable, creating a lack of threat, thereby fostering resistance psychologically.
Zhong Zhidong emphasized that to hinder China’s diminishing allies’ confidence, a dual approach of “carrot and stick” is needed. He stated that on the soft power front, particularly in terms of cognition, recognizing the dictatorship of China and the fundamental differences between the Western democratic and free ideology is essential. Western nations must understand that fundamentally, China will not change; in terms of hard power, while strengthening the military capabilities in Europe and America, dealing with the risk posed by China, especially the US must take a leadership role, enhancing collective cooperation to bolster the counterbalancing capacity against China.
— Produced by Jiyuan Focus Group