[News Highlights]Didi’s 16 crimes punished 8 billion yuan and the Xi camp forced to make concessions? | Cyberspace Administration | Didi Chuxing | Involving national security

[The Epoch Times, July 22, 2022]Hello everyone, welcome everyone to pay attention to the news, I am Li Muyang. Today is Thursday, July 21st, ET, and Friday, July 22nd, Asia Pacific.

Today’s focus: Didi 16 was fined 8 billion yuan, and Cheng Weiliuqing was also fined; the Cyberspace Administration of China’s Internet Information Office has a serious nature, and the punishment is relatively light; Cheng Weiliuqing “spends money to be exempted from punishment”, and the Xi camp is forced to make concessions? Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan changed? Democrats’ election failure? No one can stop the flowers from blooming[News Highlights Li Muyang 7.21]

Today I want to talk about three things. First, I will focus on the punishment of Didi Chuxing. The characterization is quite serious, but the handling is relatively light, and Cheng Wei and Liu Qing, two of Didi’s top executives, were each fined 1 million yuan. Behind the weirdness, it actually reflects Xi Jiangdou, and Xi Jinping may have encountered resistance.

Then talk about Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Biden’s words may change Pelosi’s plan to visit Taiwan. This change is quite detrimental to the Democratic Party, and both the midterm elections in November and the 2024 US election may be hit. Finally, I will talk about the mourning of the victims of the Zhengzhou flood, and no one can stop the flowers from blooming.

Didi 16 crimes punished 8 billion Cheng Wei Liu Qing was also fined

Today (21st), the Internet Information Office of the Communist Party of China announced the decision to impose administrative penalties on Didi Chuxing, the mainland’s online car-hailing giant. The Cyberspace Administration of China said that Didi had a total of “16 illegal facts”. According to the ruling, Didi was fined 8.026 billion yuan, and the company’s chairman and CEO Cheng Wei and President Liu Qing were each fined 1 million yuan.

What did Didi do? The Cyberspace Administration of China summarized Didi’s “illegal facts” into eight aspects. They are: 1. Illegal collection of user mobile phone screenshot information; 2. Excessive collection of user clipboard information and application list information; 3. Excessive collection of passenger face recognition, age, occupation, address and other information; Longitude and latitude location; 5. Excessive collection of driver’s educational information; 6. Analysis of passengers’ travel intentions without clearly informing passengers; 7. Frequent requests for irrelevant “telephone permission” when passengers use ride-hailing services; 8. Inaccurate and clear explanations User device information.

The Cyberspace Administration of China also stated that the previous cybersecurity review also found that Didi has data processing activities that seriously affect national security, as well as refusal to fulfill the clear requirements of the regulatory authorities, and other violations of “national security” such as violating the law, maliciously evading supervision, etc. Violation issues.

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, Didi’s violation of the law has “conclusive evidence, serious circumstances, and vile nature, and should be severely punished.” Chairman and CEO Cheng Wei and President Liu Qing should be “mainly responsible” for many illegal acts, so the two were also fined 1 million yuan.

Didi was fairly acquainted with the punishment imposed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, and quickly responded “positively”. Didi stated on its official Weibo account that it “sincerely accepts and resolutely obeys”, and “in-depth self-examination”, cooperates with supervision, and “conscientiously completes rectification.”

The Wall Street Journal yesterday (20th), citing sources, said that after the results of the punishment on Didi were announced, the authorities may relax restrictions that prohibit Didi Chuxing from adding new users on its platform and allow the Beijing-based technology company. Mobile applications resumed in China.

The report also said that the Didi app is used by tens of millions of users in China every month, and the fine may also pave the way for Didi. The ride-hailing company may launch a Hong Kong listing.

The Cyberspace Administration of China imposes relatively severe penalties

For Didi’s punishment, many people think that the authorities are out of money, and now they are harvesting leeks for big technology companies. Indeed, in the past two years, the CCP has done a very good job of cutting leeks to satisfy hunger, and it has issued large fines at every turn. From small individual private companies to large technology companies, the CCP will not let it go.

I have talked about the situation of the CCP cutting leeks in many programs. The huge fine for Didi Chuxing this time is obviously hoping to fill the huge gap. But if you compare the “crimes” listed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, do you think the 8 billion fine is a bit small? Or is it a felony and a light sentence?

This is the first point I want to say, Didi’s crime is heavy, but the fine is relatively light. I personally have no opinion on Didi, let’s just talk about it. With Didi’s crime, it can survive. I think the Beijing authorities have “raised their hands”, or that Didi has “victory”.

Let’s take a look at the statement of the Cyberspace Administration of China. Although he did not list the specific 16 crimes, the eight categories of illegal acts summarized are quite serious. At the end of its seven-year operation, Didi has collected a large amount of information on users and drivers. Including screenshots of nearly 12 million mobile photo albums; more than 8.3 billion clipboard information and application list information; more than 100 million face information, more than 53 million age group information, and more than 16 million professional information , nearly 1.4 million family relationship information and more than 150 million taxi addresses and so on.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said that Didi was punished in accordance with regulations such as the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, the Personal Information Protection Law and the Administrative Penalty Law. In fact, this is for the common people, which means to tell the common people that personal privacy cannot be violated.

In fact, after reading the charges against Didi by the Cyberspace Administration of China, does anyone still believe that they have privacy? However, this issue is not the focus of my discussion today. We will continue to talk about the characterization of Didi Chuxing by the Cyberspace Administration of China.

But everyone pay attention, there is a less conspicuous but very serious sentence behind the Cyberspace Administration of China, “involving national security”. This characterization is quite serious, and it involves national security, which is already unforgivable.

In fact, this sentence is enough to die twice. But the fact is not. The Cyberspace Administration of China only imposed an “administrative punishment” on Didi, with a fine of 8 billion yuan, and the punishment was replaced by the punishment. So in my opinion, in terms of the nature of the Cyberspace Administration of China, let alone the fine of 8 billion yuan, the 18 billion fined by Alibaba is not much.

According to public information, Didi Chuxing’s total revenue last year was 173.83 billion yuan, and its revenue in 2020 is 141.7 billion yuan. The fine of 8 billion is only about 4.3% of the total revenue last year.

Do you still remember the fines imposed by the CCP on some celebrities? Fan Bingbing was fined 880 million yuan. The fine for Zheng Shuang is 299 million yuan, and the fine for “first sister” Wei Ya, the “first sister” of live streaming, is 1.3 billion yuan. There are so many fines for individuals, but only 8 billion fines for a large technology company. Is it too much? Too few, Didi should be “sneaky”.

So why did Didi get a light punishment for a felony? This is also the second point I want to talk about. Cheng Wei and Liu Qing were specifically named and fined, which involved infighting in the CCP. In this round of infighting, Xi Jinping seemed to take the initiative, but was actually resisted.

Cheng Wei Liuqing “spends money to avoid punishment” Xi camp forced to make concessions?

I mentioned just now that Didi has collected a large amount of information on Chinese users and drivers. Such an approach, in the eyes of the CCP authorities, has endangered “national security”. Why endanger national security? This also comes from two points.

The first is the background of Cheng Wei and Liu Qing, and the Beijing authorities cannot rest assured. Let’s start with Cheng Wei. Before he founded Didi Chuxing, he worked in Alibaba Group for 8 years and was the youngest regional manager of Alibaba’s B2B department at that time. I haven’t found out what the relationship between Cheng Wei and Jack Ma is, but it is estimated that if they can work together for 8 years, the relationship should not be bad.

Jack Ma’s background color is relatively obvious. He and Alibaba’s take-off have a close relationship with Jiang Zemin’s family. Will Cheng Wei meet the Jiang family through Jack Ma? Although there is little information in this regard, will the Beijing authorities have such suspicions? I think so.

In addition to Cheng Wei, Liu Qing, the director and president of Didi Chuxing, is even more uneasy for the Beijing authorities. Liu Qing joined Didi in 2014 as chief operating officer, and was promoted to executive president the following year. Before joining Didi, Liu Qing was the general manager of Goldman Sachs Asia. He studied computer science at Peking University and has experience studying abroad at Harvard University.

But even more disturbing to the Beijing authorities is Liu Qing’s father, Liu Chuanzhi, founder of Lenovo Group. Liu Chuanzhi, who was originally from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, made his fortune when Jiang Zemin, a “compatriot of Jiangsu”, was in power, and quickly rose to prominence.

Liu Chuanzhi established the status of the so-called “IT Godfather” by serving as the chairman of the mysterious top rich organization “Taishan Club” and the chairman of the Chinese Entrepreneurs Club. Among them, Jack Ma and Wanda founder Wang Jianlin are among them in the Chinese Entrepreneurs Club.

In the early years of Lenovo Group’s board of directors, there was an independent non-executive director, Ma Xuezheng, who served as Liu Chuanzhi’s deputy for 17 years. Ma Xuezheng also has an identity that must not be ignored. She is the co-founder of Boyu Capital, a well-known private equity investment company in mainland China.

The situation of Boyu Capital, as we have mentioned before, was founded by Jiang Zhicheng, the grandson of Jiang Zemin, and Ma Xuezheng is also the co-founder of Boyu Capital. To be able to co-found a company with Jiang Sun, their relationship must be extraordinary, and they should be deeply trusted by the Jiang family.

By combing through these relationships, it can be seen that both Didi Chuxing executives have ties to Jiang Zemin, Xi’s mortal enemy. In other words, these two people are most likely from Jiang Zemin’s camp, and Didi Chuxing is most likely a tool for Jiang Zemin’s camp to make money.

People in Jiang Zemin’s camp have a huge amount of information about the Chinese people. Do you think Xi Jinping can sleep soundly? In particular, Didi Chuxing is preparing to go public in the United States. At a small scale, it is to avoid the supervision of the CCP, and at a larger scale, it is suspected of treason. So of course Xi Jinping has trouble sleeping and eating.

Everyone, please note that this time, Cheng Wei and Liu Qing were named and punished individually, which was not the case before. Alibaba and Tencent have both been punished, but Ma Yun and Ma Huateng have not been individually named and fined, nor have they been held personally responsible. Why were Cheng Wei and Liu Qing individually named and fined?

This is likely to be a manifestation of the wrestling between Xi Jinping’s camp and Jiang Zemin’s faction. If you really look at Didi Chuxing’s crimes, Cheng Wei and Liu Qing, as the direct responsible persons, are suspected of treason and are likely to be imprisoned. But no, just fined 1 million yuan.

1 million is a large number for ordinary people, and some people can’t even make so much money in their lifetime. But to Cheng Wei and Liu Qing, 1 million is nothing, it’s a drop in the bucket. Some netizens made a metaphor, saying that the 1 million is “the difference between 10 yuan and 100 yuan” for these two rich people.

In other words, the punishment for Cheng Wei and Liu Qing is very light, and it can even be said to be “exemption”. Does Xi Jinping not want to be punished severely? It is unlikely, because the two factions of Xijiang are at odds with each other. I think Xi Jinping wanted to impose a heavy punishment, but encountered resistance from Jiang Zemin’s faction. Therefore, it is unreasonable not to punish, but the punishment is too heavy and the resistance is too great, so I choose a compromise method, “forgive the death penalty, live the crime is inevitable.”

Do you think so? We hope that you will leave a comment below our video and express your views. Next we talk about another thing.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan changed? Democrats’ election failure?

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office told The Washington Post today (21st) that “we do not pre-confirm or deny international travel itineraries in light of long-established security practices.”

Pelosi’s office responded to Biden’s statement yesterday. Asked at the White House for his thoughts on Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, Biden said, “The military doesn’t think it’s a good idea right now. But I don’t know how it’s going.”

Biden meant he didn’t know what Pelosi’s plans to visit Taiwan were, but said “the military thinks” Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan now is “not a good idea.” Therefore, Pelosi’s office responded today, saying that for security reasons, the situation of international travel will not be confirmed or denied in advance.

Many foreign media said when reporting that this may mean that Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has changed. That said, Pelosi’s plans to visit Taiwan in August may have changed.

If Pelosi’s plan to visit Taiwan changes, it will obviously be influenced by the Biden administration, and Biden may be influenced by the CCP. Because Biden also mentioned yesterday that in the next 10 days, he will have a conversation with Xi Jinping.

We don’t know what Biden will talk about with Xi, but it is estimated that the US-China trade issue will be discussed, and the Taiwan issue is likely to be a must. Prior to this, the confrontation between the United States and China over the Taiwan issue was sharp, and trade between the two sides had also declined due to the tariffs imposed by the trade war.

At present, there is inflation all over the world, especially American consumers, who are quite resentful about the high prices. In order to ease domestic pressure, the Biden administration is trying to reduce tariffs on some Chinese goods. It is the so-called request of others will be controlled by others. Biden took the initiative to seek a call with Xi Jinping, apparently losing some initiative.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is visiting Taiwan, said the itinerary of U.S. officials should not be influenced by China. In a joint interview with the media today, Esper said that there is a big problem with the U.S. policy toward China. “China (the CCP) has too much say in U.S. decision-making.” America should do what it thinks is “right.”

Esper also pointed out that it is very important for American politicians to visit Taiwan in person, so as to really understand the situation in Taiwan, to have the opportunity to meet with Taiwan leaders, to understand what is going on in Taiwan, and to hear Taiwan’s views, “This will help the United States.” Politicians make decisions”.

Esper also stressed that U.S. policy “is in great need of updating and modernization.” He believes that “the one-China policy is outdated, and the United States needs a new perspective.” The fact is very simple. “The United States is also worried about how the US Speaker’s visit to Taiwan will cause China (the CCP), which means that the United States needs to re-examine its policies.”

It should be pointed out that Biden’s current approval rating is very low, only 27%. Even CNN, a hardcore Democrat, gave a polling figure of only 30%.

The lack of public opinion clearly reflects that the government’s decision-making is unpopular. At present, the anti-communist voices from the ruling and opposition parties in the United States are unprecedentedly strong, and the anti-communist sentiment among the people is also very high. If the Biden administration has a tendency to compromise with the CCP, will it lose more public support?

At present, there are still more than three months before the mid-term elections. The outside world has observed that the election of the Democratic Party is not favored by observers. This has a certain relationship with the previous decisions of the Biden administration.

In the next period of time, Democrats will definitely do their best to get more votes. And this stage has a lot to do with the administration of the Biden administration. A little bit of carelessness in the Biden administration may lead to more voters turning to the Republican Party.

If the Democrats lose the midterm elections and the House of Representatives returns to Republican control, then the Biden administration may experience some constraints over the next two years. If you think about the smooth sailing situation of the first two years in power, I am afraid it will be quite difficult.

In other words, in addition to anti-communist decisions, the Biden administration will likely encounter resistance if it wants to launch other policies. Under such circumstances, it is increasingly unfavorable for the Biden administration. If the vicious circle continues, how much hope does the Democratic Party have in the 2024 election?

No one can stop the flowers from blooming

Finally, let me tell you about Zhengzhou. At the beginning of the program yesterday (20th), I mentioned that it was the first anniversary of the Zhengzhou flood. However, the media in mainland China seems to have forgotten this day. No media has published relevant articles, and the Internet is also silent.

The CCP’s media network has forgotten it, but the common people have not. A year has passed, and they all express their condolences and grief in different ways. Especially the citizens of Zhengzhou, a large number of yellow and white flowers appeared in the two places with the most casualties: the Shakou Road Station of Metro Line 5 and the entrance of the Jingguang Tunnel.

From the video on the Internet, it can be seen that there are a lot of yellow and white bouquets in front of the Shakou Road Station of Zhengzhou Metro Line 5. There are still many people watching, and some people are sending flowers here one after another. No words are needed, a bouquet of flowers says it all.

Authorities are again sensitive to people’s spontaneous mourning. A person from Zhengzhou posted a screenshot in the group. It shows that someone has ordered two bouquets of flowers at the flower shop, intending to go to the tunnel after get off work to mourn the deceased. But the florist said it had been notified that it would not be allowed to sell flowers to people trying to mourn the “7.20 incident”.

Another Zhengzhou native decided to try it out, but ten minutes later, he posted the recording of the conversation with the flower shop to the group. The flower shop said there was an “urgent notice” on it and that it couldn’t deliver flowers to that place on Line 5. “Including the police-Guangzhou tunnel, it can’t be delivered. The notice they issued.”

Another friend from Zhengzhou went to Shakou Road Station after get off work. He said in the group that “the neighborhood is all plain clothes” and the bouquet “can’t be delivered”.

“It’s not allowed to sell flowers”, “It’s not allowed to send flowers”, such outrageous things make people angry. After learning the news, a non-local netizen decisively ordered a bunch of chrysanthemums online. He chose the address for sending flowers at Exit C of Shakou Road Station of Zhengzhou Metro, and wrote a sentence on the remarks, “We have not forgotten.”

The flower shop took the order, and so did the rider. Half an hour later, the rider followed the mobile phone number left by the netizen and called. The rider said that he had arrived at the subway entrance, but the police were guarding him, so he could only take flowers by the roadside.

The netizen told the rider that he was not in Zhengzhou and just wanted to send a bunch of flowers, so just put the flowers nearby. According to the request of netizens, the rider put the bunch of chrysanthemums not far from the subway entrance, and removed the black plastic bag over it. Then I took another photo and sent it to netizens.

Although the night was dark and the light was very dim, it could not stop the flowers from blooming. No one can stop it.

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Responsible editor: Li Hao