Category: China

It has been well known that China has paid online commenters that many in China call the “50-Cent Army” or “50-Cent Party”.  One of the 50-Cent Army used to regularly post here on ROK Drop.  Now due to leaked emails the size of China’s 50-Cent Army is now known; they have an incredible 89 million members:

On May 17, a hacker nicknamed XiaoLan leaked a package of emails revealing details of the recruitment of college students by the Shanghai League of Communist Youth, one of the most significant Chinese Communist Party organizations under the single party regime. The students serve as voluntary online commentators that spread positive energy and “purify” the internet.

The existence of the commentators is not a state secret: the latest round of massive recruitment was revealed in a document issued by the China Communist Youth League in February 2015. The League set out to recruit no less than 20 percent of its members to serve as “civilization volunteers” by spreading positive energy and acting as models for “good netizens”.

The League had more than 89 million members at the end of 2013, which means it must recruit around 18 million “civilization volunteers” to meet its target. The characters depicted in the sketch at the top of this post are two figurative examples of “civilization volunteers” posted by the Youth League in April on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.

Pro-government Internet commentators are a constant target for criticism by China’s netizens, who give them the sarcastic nickname of “wumaodang” or “50 Cent Party” in English, since it is said that they receive a typical payment of half a Chinese Yuan per post, equivalent to 8 cents in U.S. dollar terms.

Though the nature of their work is similar, the “civilization volunteers” are political loyalists who do not receive payment at all. The hacker’s revelation shows that the League mobilized its members for Internet-civilizing via its college sub-branches.  [Global Voices]

You can read the rest at the link, but remember that these college students they recruit are also mobilized to do the government’s bidding in countries overseas.  Many ROK Heads may remember the Olympic Torch violence in Seoul perpetrated by Chinese college students mobilized by the Chinese embassy in 2008.

The new PACOM commander is not mincing words about what he thinks of the Chinese land and maritime grabs in the South China Sea:

The newly promoted head of U.S. Pacific Command on Wednesday described China’s claims to a vast swathe of islands in the South China Sea as “preposterous.”

China’s disputed island claims was one of several challenges Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., said he would face as the new head of PACOM during his change-of-command ceremony, whose backdrop was the submerged USS Arizona Memorial.

At the same ceremony, Adm. Scott H. Swift assumed command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, which Harris had commanded since October 2013.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told the audience that the U.S. opposes any further work by China to militarize disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Harris projected a scrappy stance toward China in his remarks.

“So ladies and gentlemen, our president is crystal clear,” Harris said. “The U.S. will rebalance to the Pacific. Our joint forces will work closely with our allies and friends in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.”

And the greatest challenges those forces face, he said, are from North Korea, “with its quest for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them intercontinentally,” China’s “preposterous claims to and land reclamation activities in the South China Sea,” and a “resurgent Russia” in the Pacific.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

It may be noteworthy that the Chinese actually bring up the instability on the peninsula being caused by North Korea, but are they willing to take any measures to do something about it?:

China has expressed concerns over instability on the Korean Peninsula, in a rare public departure from its staunch loyalty to North Korea.

In a white paper released Tuesday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said, “The Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia are shrouded in instability and uncertainty.”

These have “a negative impact on the security and stability along China’s periphery,” it added.

This suggests that China is determined to remain active in trying to curb North Korea’s nuclear arms development.

The paper also cites security threats like the U.S.’ “pivot to Asia” or reorientation of defense efforts to deter China, Japanese rearmament, and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

China tops US as biggest oil importer—and inherits loads of Mideast headaches. @KFJ_FP reports http://t.co/lAKKgI9mbi pic.twitter.com/ORY1AYzDMX

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) May 11, 2015

China's Air Superiority Fighters Are Getting Stealthier http://t.co/jsfxNeajNB pic.twitter.com/sUs98EUakd

— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) May 6, 2015

70.5% of South Koreans think #China will be the economic superpower. More on #SouthKorea's outlook: http://t.co/eZxPHcc3yL by @Snydersas

— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) May 4, 2015

Pigs can fly: Chinese May Day celebration criticised for pushing pigs off bridge http://t.co/X4Yr2uquKp pic.twitter.com/KEUP4k00OU

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 4, 2015

Chinese media has sought to extract maximum propaganda value from the withdrawal of China's citizens from Kathmandu. http://t.co/HI472iP4bO

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) April 27, 2015

China’s AIIB and the US Reputation Risk http://t.co/tHLizY2tfg pic.twitter.com/VmBd0sNfgI

— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) April 16, 2015

Is China getting ready to pull off a “Crimea” like scenario in Asia?