Hello everyone, welcome to “News Perspective”, I am Li Xin.
Today’s focus: Trump encounters assassination attempt again, mystery abounds; the news hits the top of Weibo hot search list, attracting over a hundred million Chinese people to watch! Gold prices skyrocket, customers are startled! Jewelry stores are closing one after another; seismic changes in personnel at the Academy of Social Sciences, “nationwide silence” movement escalating layer by layer!
On Sunday (15th), the Republican presidential candidate and former President of the United States, Donald Trump, was once again the target of an assassination attempt.
On Monday, authorities announced that the suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was charged with two crimes, including possessing a firearm during a felony and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Previously, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County, Florida, revealed that on the afternoon of the 15th, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel with a scope protruding from the fence of the golf club and immediately took action by firing at the gunman. The gunman then fled the scene in a car, which was later intercepted by the police, leading to his arrest.
At the time of the incident, Trump (Trump) was playing golf at the golf club.
Court documents show that the gunman may have been lying in wait in the estate bushes for nearly 12 hours.
The FBI and Secret Service are investigating the case from five aspects: whether the suspect acted alone; whether the suspect fired at Trump or Secret Service agents; how the suspect knew Trump’s whereabouts; what is the suspect’s relationship with Ukraine; the FBI is also questioning the suspect’s family and friends in Hawaii.
What is most important is the motive of the suspect? How did he know Trump’s whereabouts? Is there a mole around Trump collaborating with the gunman?
Sheriff William Snyder of Martin County, Florida, said, “From an investigative perspective, his motive will be crucial.” “They want to know what he was thinking. Did he receive help? Is this part of a conspiracy? Is this a lone wolf? Is he a stooge of an organization?”
Currently, the case is being handled by the FBI. However, Governor DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, reiterated on Monday that the state will independently investigate the apparent assassination attempt against Trump.
On Monday morning (16th) Beijing time, the phrase “Trump suspected of assassination attempt in Florida” topped the Weibo hot search list. By 8 p.m., the reading volume of Chinese netizens had exceeded 110 million.
Several state-run Chinese media outlets subsequently released follow-up reports, such as “gunman failed to shoot Trump within 457 meters”, attracting nearly 70 million reads and maintaining a high ranking on the Weibo hot search list.
Voice of America reported that despite the unclear nature of the assassination attempt, Chinese Weibo netizens began elaborating on various conspiracy theories throughout the day.
The renowned internet influencer known for patriotic and anti-American discourse, Zhao Shengye, posted that Trump has been targeted by the “shadow government” controlling the American political arena, saying, “If he doesn’t die once, he will be killed twice, if he survives twice, there will be a third and fourth time…”
Zhao Shengye’s post filled with conspiracy theories garnered 30 reposts, with many netizens agreeing, such as “America is hopeless”, “The Democratic Party really can’t lose”, and so on.
Many Chinese netizens questioned the authenticity of the assassination attempt, even speculating that it was Trump’s “self-directed act” for risky electoral gains.
Global Times reported that Trump later emphasized in an email that “the shooting incident will only make him more determined”. A netizen from Shaanxi commented, saying Trump and others are “a group of self-directed American politicians”, while a netizen from Jiangsu jokingly said, “Trump found the election password”.
Other netizens struck a relatively friendly tone. For example, Weibo user “Steward” said Trump is “fortunate and blessed”, with other users commenting, “Trump is so cute”, “Thumbs up to Trump”, and “The old man is really not easy”.
Commentator Commander, in an interview with Voice of America, stated that the various conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt are likely unique to the online sentiment in China, with hardly any similar speculation heard in other countries.
Since the establishment of the Communist Party, China has adopted a governance model based on political movements, leading to a lack of trust among the Chinese people toward political figures.
This is indeed true. Former Chairman Liu Shaoqi almost overnight became a “traitor, spy, and capitalist-roader”. Lin Biao, once Mao Zedong’s close comrade-in-arms and Deputy Leader of the Communist Party, who had been designated Mao’s successor in the Party Constitution and the 1970 Constitution, suddenly fled for fear of legal prosecution, perishing in a plane crash. Accusations such as anti-Party clique, ambitious conspirator, counterrevolutionary two-faced operative, traitor, and sell-out were swiftly levied. This contradictory and extreme propaganda within the Communist Party had a huge impact on the ordinary people, making them feel that political figures are all unreliable.
Expert Chen Wenjia from Taiwan’s Kai Nan University believes that the propensity of Chinese netizens to propagate various conspiracy theories may be linked to the Communist Party’s encouragement of criticizing American democracy in cyber sentiment. He warned that the direction of Chinese cyber opinion may involve official manipulation, with some Chinese netizens echoing the sentiment that American elections are just a game of elite interests, unable to truly represent public opinion, accusing the U.S. democratic system of inefficiency and unfairness, which is likely one of the tactics used by the Communist Party to manipulate false information.
The Communist Party employs a large number of internet navy soldiers, and with the addition of AI technology, they constantly monitor the domestic cyber sentiment in China, driving the discourse. Discrediting the democracies of the U.S. and Taiwan, labeling them as inefficient, and dissuading the people from believing in them, thus consolidating power under the Communist leadership.
However, it should not be forgotten that under a democratic system, the dark sides of politics are exposed to the public, whereas the Communist regime operates as a complete black box, leaving the people entirely uninformed. The ultimate goal of the Communist manipulation of information is to discredit the democratic system, making people believe that democracy is ineffective.
Additionally, the Academy of Social Sciences of the Communist Party has recently undergone significant personnel changes, attracting attention.
Personnel changes occurred in the Party Committee Secretary, Director, Deputy Party Committee Secretary, and Deputy Director of the Economic Research Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Communist Party.
According to Hong Kong’s “Sing Tao Daily”, the incident was triggered by the Deputy Director Zhu Hengpeng of the Institute who is accused of “misjudging the Central government”, and has been dealt with. However, the article did not disclose the specific content of Zhu Hengpeng’s “misjudgment of the Central government”.
On April 25 of this year, Zhu Hengpeng, as the Deputy Director of the Economic Research Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences, spoke at the First “China Pension Industry Forum” hosted by Caixin Media about the pension system. He suggested letting young people contribute to support their parents’ retirement in their hometowns, sparking discussions.
Official confirmation regarding Zhu Hengpeng’s disciplinary action for his statements cannot be obtained, yet on September 11, the Communist Party Academy organized a “learning and education summary meeting on party discipline”, during which Director and Party Secretary Gao Xiang emphasized the creation of a “loyal and reliable theoretical academic iron army”. It is evident that the Communist Party is intensifying its “nationwide silence” movement.
In recent years, China’s economy has continued to decline, and the domestic political situation is delicate. Authorities have strengthened their suppression of speech, even former chief editor Hu Xijin of the Global Times, who had long been a mouthpiece for the Communist Party, was banned from speaking for three months due to his statements.
Commentator Du Zheng stated that even Hu Xijin has “violated party rules”, indicating that the party-state is now more authoritarian yet more fragile. With a failing economy, the legitimacy of the Communist Party’s rule and Xi Jinping’s grip on power will be shaken. Criticism of speech is imperative at this time. Along with the deteriorating political and economic situation, the authorities’ “nationwide silence” movement is escalating layer by layer.
Over the past year, many Chinese economic scholars have been silenced for expressing viewpoints inconsistent with the official line. Liu Jipeng, Dean of the Business School at China University of Political Science and Law, publicly urged investors not to enter the market at the end of last year. He was subsequently banned from speaking on all online platforms, and later resigned from his position as Dean. On September 13, Liu Jipeng’s Weibo account was found to be in a “mute state” due to a violation of relevant laws and regulations, with reasons undisclosed.
In recent days, the international gold price has set a new record high, reaching $2,583.45 per ounce on the 13th. However, the soaring price of gold has made more and more consumers hesitant to make a purchase. This has caused a wave of distress in the jewelry industry.
Gold consumption in China’s jewelry sector in the first half of this year decreased by 18% compared to last year to 270 tons. The demand for jewelry in the Chinese market in the second quarter was only 86 tons, a 35% decrease compared to the same period last year. The soaring gold prices and slowing economic growth were the main factors hindering consumers from buying jewelry in the first half of the year.
Many store owners have stated that despite making concessions on the processing fees for gold jewelry, the number of customers actually purchasing gold jewelry remains very low. “Out of over ten customers in the store in the morning, at least 80% were frightened by the high gold price.”
In Shuibei Gold and Jewelry Agglomeration Area in Shenzhen, Huang, the manager responsible for gold sales, said that the sales volume of gold jewelry has declined by 30% to 50% in recent months.
According to statistics from the China Gold Association, in the first half of 2024, the consumption volume of gold jewelry, which had always performed well, decreased by 26.68% year-on-year.
Hong Kong’s renowned jewelry brand Chow Tai Fook saw a 20% decrease in retail value from April to June, with an expected 18.6% decrease in retail value in mainland China, and a 28.8% decrease in Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets.
Moreover, from April to June this year, Chow Tai Fook’s jewelry store closures in mainland China totaled 91; while in the first quarter of this year, 89 stores in mainland China were closed. This means that in just six months, Chow Tai Fook has closed 180 jewelry stores in mainland China, averaging one closure per day.
Other gold jewelry brands have also decided to shut down their stores. Ye Zhibin, President of the China Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Industry Association, said that with the continuous rise in gold prices, consumers’ purchasing power for gold has dropped to the lowest level since 2013, suppressing gold jewelry consumption, with a weakened market demand. The industry’s development is now faced with strategic opportunities and challenges and increased uncertainty, requiring industry transformation and upgrade to meet future challenges.
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“News Perspective” Production Team