Hello everyone, welcome to the Five People News. Today’s co-hosts are Qin Peng, Li Xin, Qin Yue, special guest Zhou Ziding, and me, Jin Shi. Ziding is connected to us via Skype. With the collision of views from the five of us and diverse perspectives, we will guide you into the rich world of news. Feel free to subscribe and like our independent channel.
Today’s focus: Can Ukraine afford to lose? The unbearable weight; What did US-China defense ministers talk about after 18 months of separation? Obstacles for China’s electric cars going global; Does Musk regret coming to China? Moving factories to Southeast Asia; Multiple channels open! Are the US and Japan preparing for conflict in the Taiwan Strait? New scam? Male driver encounters a “collision fraud group.”
There have been some changes in our lineup for this episode because some of the hosts are preparing for a live broadcast program this weekend to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the peaceful petition by tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners. The live broadcast will be at 12:00 pm on April 21st. We welcome viewers to tune in at that time.
You may have seen staged accidents before, but have you seen a “collective staged accident”? Recently, in a certain neighborhood in Beijing, a man driving home was stopped by a group of people at the entrance of the community. Then, a woman walked in front of the car and pretended to fall down, thus staging a fake accident.
Faced with the group’s attack, the male driver sought help from the property management, but they said they couldn’t do anything. Eventually, the police were called, but even they couldn’t control the situation, and the driver was eventually persuaded to apologize and get off the car.
In response to the group’s aggression, the male driver asked the property management if they could intervene, to which they replied that they couldn’t.
Surrounding voices were using foul language and accusing the driver of hitting someone, demanding him to get out of the car. It was quite intimidating, and if the driver had been a timid woman, he would have had no choice but to admit fault. With the arrival of the police, without a dashboard camera recording and with the public opinion of the crowd, it was hard for the driver to argue. A dashcam company could use this video for advertising and potentially boost sales.
In the past, staged accidents were common, but bringing a group of actors to stage accidents is something new. It was estimated that there were about 20 people involved. If you think about how much each person was paid, it seems like a whole village showed up. If the legality of these staged accidents was taken into account, the police would need more vehicles to handle the situation. In the past, the CCP often planted spies among the crowd to influence public opinion, but now that the public sentiment has turned against them, it may backfire on the CCP.
Li Xin, Qin Peng, how do you feel about this scene described?
Li Xin: In today’s Chinese society, unruly behavior seems to prevail. Upstanding individuals are busy with legitimate matters, lacking time to deal with troublemakers like these. For a long time, China’s cultural and entertainment industries like crosstalk/skits often use vulgar and obscene content for humor. Cultural endeavors have long been interfered with and restricted by public authorities, resulting in the desertification and degradation of artistic and cultural life, aligning public tastes with the lowest standards.
As the essence and values of traditional Chinese culture are distorted and destroyed step by step by the CCP, a culture of unruliness thrives. The core of this culture is the lack of respect for universal values, with disregard for right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, all measured by personal interest. In pursuit of their goals, they spare no means.
Let’s take a break here and we will discuss more international and domestic hot topics shortly.
On April 16th, US Defense Secretary Austin held a video call with his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China, Defense Minister Dong Jun. This was the first call between the defense ministers of the US and China after an 18-month hiatus. During the call, Austin emphasized the importance of continuing military communication between the US and China, focusing on the significance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. On the Taiwan issue, Dong Jun maintained China’s consistent stance, referring to the Taiwan issue as a core interest of the Chinese mainland.
On the same day, Japan released its latest Diplomatic Bluebook, referring to Taiwan as a shared partner in upholding values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, underscoring China as the greatest strategic challenge to the international community. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force also announced the first deployment of special forces to the Indo-Pacific region to provide support to some countries. It is evident that efforts to deter China have intensified.
Now, shifting our focus to China’s economy. Following the breakdown of the three pillars of the Chinese economy, the Chinese government is actively promoting what they call “new productive forces,” introducing the new “Three Items,” namely electric cars, lithium batteries, and solar panels, in an attempt to revitalize China’s exports.
The “new Three Items” are indeed remarkable as they differ from China’s past exports like household electronics, textiles, and toys, in terms of the higher technological requirements, product quality, safety standards, and their impact on the global market. This has caused strong reactions from Western governments and industries.
Professor Xie Tian from the School of Business at the University of South Carolina recently pointed out that for Chinese electric cars to go global, they face three obstacles: government subsidies leading to trade barriers or market access restrictions raised by Western countries, quality and safety issues of Chinese electric cars that may not meet the strict testing standards in Europe, and the “national origin” effect, referring to the negative reputation of the Chinese regime internationally, which is bound to affect the acceptance of Chinese products in the international market.
Qin Peng, what do you think about the three obstacles mentioned for Chinese electric cars to go global, and do you think there are other barriers? Service system and sanctions from various countries.
Li Xin, we know that the rapid development of Chinese electric cars is closely related to Musk’s promotion of Tesla entering China years ago and sharing technological innovations. Now, with Tesla facing declining sales, reduced market share in China, and reports of company-wide layoffs globally this week, do you think Musk regrets his decisions now?
Now, let’s turn our attention to the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. While the world’s attention is focused on the Middle East, there have been some new developments on the Russia-Ukraine front. BBC announced on April 16th that since the Russia-Ukraine war, the confirmed death toll of Russian soldiers has reached fifty thousand, far exceeding the figures officially released by the Russian government.
However, the situation is not optimistic for Ukraine at the moment. Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander of the UK Allied Forces, recently stated that there is a significant risk that Ukraine will lose the war this year. Ukrainian President Zelensky has been continuously warning that Ukraine’s missile supply is running low.
Zhou Ziding, what is the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and why, despite heavy casualties on the Russian side, is there still a possibility of Ukraine losing the war?
Zhou Ziding, if Russia defeats Ukraine, what do you think will happen next?
We will have to see how the global situation unfolds. Thank you for watching this episode of Five People News. Until next time.
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