Chinese Heiress Yang Lanlan Set to Appear in Court After Sydney Crash | China in Focus

Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, North Korea's upcoming military parade drawing high ranking guests, including China's Premier Leang, Russia's Dmitri Medvidev, and Vietnam's Tolam. China's decision to send its premiere, the first in 16 years, signals a strategic move to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Taiwan celebrating its 114th National Day this week. President Ling D will spotlight six key priorities driving Taiwan's progress in a speech tomorrow. Earlier, he's been urging the public to never give up on the island's sovereignty. No matter the threat, we must never give up our sovereignty. Let's stand firm for democracy, freedom, and way of life. And above all, protect the Republic of China and make safeguarding Taiwan our top priority. A US diplomat sacked after admitting to a secret romantic relationship with a Chinese citizen reportedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party. A wealthy Chinese aerys said to appear in court in person for the first time after a crash that injured one person. Her flashy lifestyle, defiant attitude, and secretive identity have sparked a media frenzy with speculations she's tied to China's ruling elite. And as China's fourth plenum nears, speculation is swirling over Xiinping's future and the party's next moves. We asked retired General Stillwell what to watch for inside Beijing's power circles. My sense is if he does step down, he no longer gets the protection of the entire system uh for him and he will find himself on the same opposite end of that and find himself incarcerated or worse. [Music] Before we dive into today's news, don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter using the link down below. In tomorrow's newsletter, we take a closer look at China's golden week or what's left of the 8day shopping and travel spree amid a slowing economy. It drops Friday morning straight to your inbox. Don't miss it. High-ranking officials from China, Russia, and Vietnam are in North Korea Thursday. A military parade is expected in Pyongyang Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the ruling party. Russia's delegation is led by Dmitri Medvidev, a close ally of President Putin. Vietnam's Communist Party chief and Laos President are also attending. China has sent its second highest ranking official, Premier Lee Tang, the first Chinese premier to visit North Korea in 16 years. Though China's top leader Xiinping won't be attending, analysts say China's visit still shows goodwill toward North Korea. China's participation in major North Korean anniversaries follows a pattern. In 2015, for the 70th anniversary of the ruling workers party, then pallet bureau standing committee member Leu Yunan attended. He was ranked fifth in the party. In 2010, it was Joe Yongqang, another senior standing committee official. This year, China is sending Premier Lee Chiang, also a standing committee member, in line with past practice. But what's different is that Lee is premier, the head of government, and China's number two official. In terms of both party rank and government function, this marks a clear upgrade in the level of delegation. For North Korea, the top priority is the economy. Years of sanctions have caused food shortages, energy crisis, and fiscal strain. As premier, Lee is expected to bring much needed economic aid seen as a timely gift package from Beijing. According to Chinese reports, North Korea isn't acting alone. It has backing from countries like China and Russia. The coverage suggests Pyongyang is using this show of strength and diplomacy to put the US in a strategically passive position. China's goal is to use the North Korea card more effectively, turning it into a strategic tool to counter the US with a possible Trumpi meeting at the Apex summit. China is sending a clear message to Washington. You can't solve the Korean Peninsula issue without Beijing. And if the US wants China's cooperation, it will have to make concessions on Taiwan, high-tech export controls, and tariffs. President Trump is set to attend the Apex Summit in South Korea at the end of October where he's expected to meet China's leader Xiinping in person. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant predicts a pretty big breakthrough on trade talks after the two meet. But US Ambassador to China David Purdue said earlier this month a Trump meeting is unlikely to happen before next year, leaving it uncertain whether the meeting will actually take place. According to South Korean media, North Korea's military parade is expected to involve tens of thousands of participants. The country has long used major parades to showcase new weapons, and analysts say this one could feature what Kim Jong-un called last month a secret weapon. The Hasang 20 intercontinental ballistic missile, reportedly capable of hitting the US mainland, is expected to appear along with a new type of hypersonic missile. China announced Thursday new export restrictions on certain artificial diamonds, lithium ion batteries, and rare earth materials effective November 8th, just 2 days before the US China tariff truce is set to expire. Exporters will now need licenses to ship these materials. It strengthens Beijing's control over high-tech and clean energy supply chains. Artificial diamonds are vital for semiconductor manufacturing, advanced electronics, and even military applications. The new controls also include synthetic graphite and rare earth processing equipment. China has cited national security concerns ahead of an expected meeting between Presidents Trump and Communist leader Xi Jinping. The European Commission has expressed concern over China's Thursday announcement to tighten export controls on rare earth related technologies and products. EU trade spokesperson said, quote, "The commission expects China to act as a reliable partner and ensure a stable and predictable supply of critical raw materials." The Trump administration says it has imposed sanctions on over 50 individuals, entities, and vessels for propping up Iran's oil and gas industry. A Chinese refinery and terminal was among those targeted. The Treasury Department sanctioned the Shandong Jingchin petrochemical group. The US says the company has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023. The State Department said the US also targeted a China based terminal for the first time for receiving Iranian prochemical products. The US often refers to Iran's sanction evading oil networks as its shadow fleet. US intelligence officials say the fleet helps Thran fund its nuclear program and support militant proxies throughout the Middle East. The State Department fires a US diplomat for secretly having a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman alleged to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Officials say the diplomat admitted to concealing the relationship. The State Department says President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed the case. The department is enforcing a zero tolerance policy to protect national security. The dismissal is believed to be the first over violating a ban introduced late last year. The rule prohibits all American government personnel in China, including family members and contractors with security clearances, from having any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens. A Chinese spokesperson declined a comment, saying this is a matter internal to the US. The US government is adding 15 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list. They are accused of facilitating the purchase of American electronic components found in drones used by Houthi and Hamas terrorists. Here's the latest. 10 companies in China were placed on the Commerce Department's entity list. Five more Chinese companies were added after Israel recovered numerous Hamas operated drones with US origin components. In all, the Commerce Department is adding 29 entries to the list, including companies based in Turkey and the UAE. AeroChina Electronics and Aero Electronics in Hong Kong are among the companies going on the list. Both are subsidiaries of Aero Electronics in Colorado. President Trump provides more details about the implementation of the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas today. He called a a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East. Let's zoom in. uh we ended the war in Gaza and really on a much bigger basis created peace and I think it's going to be a lasting peace hopefully an everlasting peace peace in the Middle East. We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Uh getting them is a complicated process. I'd rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. Uh they're places you don't want to be. But uh we are getting the hostages back on on uh Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday. And that'll be a day of joy. I'm going to try and make a trip over. We're going to try and get over there. The president said his team is working on the timing of his visit to Egypt for the official signing ceremony. He thanked the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for helping to reach the deal, adding that he will see how phase one goes and believes the next phases will move along pretty well. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Trump to address the Israeli Knesset and Trump said he will do it. The Chinese Communist Party is getting ready for a key meeting later this month. The so-called fourth plenum held regularly during each 5-year term of the CCP Central Committee. The plenum is where the party's top brass decide who holds power and set the country's direction. All eyes are on this year's meeting and the one big question is could China's top leader Xi Jinping be under any pressure to step aside. Retired Brigadier General David Stillwell joins us to break down what to watch for. General Stillwell, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Now, the CCP's fourth plenum is coming up towards the end of this month. It's about October 20th to the 23rd. Now, many China analysts are watching this to see if there's any structural changes or hints at that coming out of this. First, what even is the fourth plenum? The um system that has so far worked very well for them began uh in 1978 when Deng Xiaoping uh during the third plenum that's an economic focused plenum uh of the 11th party congress basically declared this idea of reform and opening basically taking a stur turgid broken mauist communist system and reflecting more western economic thought and something of a political opening. uh these plenna to use the plural uh there are seven of them uh and on a five-year cycle for party congress this party congress is the anchoring event right the the one we all remember is the the 18th party congress when I was in Beijing when Cining took over from Hujin this is a basic the party central committee and the standing committee and Cinping transmitting to the uh ursw 205 leaders of the communist party how things are going to go what you're going to tell your people how we're going to run this country. So, it's all transmit, very little received. Uh, and last thing is don't confuse this with the National People's Congress, the NPC, that happens in the spring of odd years. A lot of China analysts are looking at this fourth plenum as, you know, is Xi Jinping going to step down? Is he going to, you know, not stay in power for life. How are you watching that? How likely are we to see him step down? I'd say zero chance. Again, he has painted himself in such a corner with all of the um discipline inspections, corruption stuff, taking down people starting with Boschilai and it's been non-stop that my sense is if he does step down, he no longer gets the protection of the entire system uh for him and he will find himself on the same the opposite end of that and find himself incarcerated or worse. I mean, imagine him swapping with Boschili and occupying the cell while it's still warm. Uh I don't see uh I mean tyrants don't often step down willingly because they know that all the people that they you know assault and punished will probably want have revenge motives in mind. Um now the he doesn't rule in a vacuum. Now he has his his cronies and his henchmen that protect him obviously. Uh but I think there's a large group of people, the PLA for one, who've been um again arrested and uh you know, demoted that he may have some concerns about whether he's going to stay in power much longer. So is there a graceful exit here? Is it that I I don't know. But that's the great thing about talking about this right now is people all eyes should be on the fourth planet. We'll see what comes from this. It does seem on that note there are some pointing out you know Xi Jinping didn't show up for the 80th UN General Assembly Li Chang did instead. So if you know he doesn't stay in power till the end of his life as he seems to want to who would be the next likely candidate to step into that role. Well if you look at the Lee Kang but they made it really easy for us didn't they? Lee Kach out Lie Chong in. Um Lee Kach and and Xinping clearly had their differences. Um if you remember when um Huenta was escorted from the was it the 20th party congress must have been the 20th um it it was Lee Kutang who was looking at Huenta like going dude I feel your pain right so they got rid of him and they brought in uh and they skipped a generation like they did with uh Chin uh Ching Gong and others they skipped a generation to these people that were clearly loyal to Cining. So my guess seeing how prominent Lee Chong has been in all this is he would be the air parent um even though he runs the he's the state guy right he's the uh he's not in he's not the deputy for Xiinping in fact who is that we have yet to name a successor which is another troubling part of this this system now from another perspective there are some pointing to given the economic turmoil inside China and obviously globally as well that you know shiin Ping or whoever you know is trying to rally the forces inside the country is going to turn to nationalism to something to unite the whole nation together and be like oh you know the west is the enemy and might do something like launch that invasion of Taiwan. How are you viewing that? How likely is that? What is that timeline look like? Again I think I am not in the mainstream on this but um one 2027 is an artificial date that was not in their plan ever. um to if you look at the uh how how the the CCP does business and how the Chinese uh culture in general does business uh they're very much following the playbook right in the political warfare playbook. Uh and that playbook doesn't lead with the military by any stretch. In fact, the military is downplayed. Don't don't don't go there because it's incredibly expensive and it's a a coin toss and a very good chance that you're going to lose. Whereas economic information, political, legal warfare, all those warfares have been working spectacularly because we aren't competing. It sounds like this year, you know, there's a lot of analysts looking at what might happen, what might go down at this fourth plenum. So, has it changed in, you know, the past, especially the ones you were talking about? I I think so. um they are no longer they again the fourth uh plenum was generally uh looking at uh legal changes changes to the constitution as if anybody follows that but nonetheless the constitutional and then party management so third one is one we always talk about because that's one has to do with the economy the fourth one that we're coming up is supposed to talk about legal stuff and party but what I see all the leadins are talking more about economy and so you know because the world especially the EU you and obviously the US have begun defending our own markets with tariffs and the like as the system Chinese system keeps dumping stuff into our economies. Uh the Chinese economy is being significantly impacted. Well, General Stillwell as always. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to see you again, Tiffany. Thank you. Coming up, a wealthy Chinese aerist set to appear in court in person for the first time after a crash that injured one person. Her flashy lifestyle, defiant attitude, and secretive identity have sparked a media frenzy with speculation she's tied to China's ruling elite. And Taiwan celebrating its 114th National Day this week. President Ling Du will spotlight six key priorities driving Taiwan's progress in a speech tomorrow. Earlier, he's been urging the public to never give up on the island sovereignty. What? No matter the threat, we must never give up our sovereignty. Let's stand firm for democracy, freedom, and way of life. And above all, protect the Republic of China and make safeguarding Taiwan our top priority. More on that after the break here on China in Focus. Welcome back to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. More details are emerging about a mysterious Chinese aist living in Australia. 23-year-old Yang Len Len is known as a top client of luxury brands, a regular at fine dining spots and is reportedly connected to a powerful figure in China's communist regime. Her name first made headlines after a serious car crash in July. She's scheduled to appear in court for the first time next Friday. In the early hours at the end of July near Sydney, Young slammed her million-dollar Rolls-Royce into a Mercedes van, seriously injuring the driver. Yao walked away unscathed, but she's now facing several criminal charges. The most serious charge is dangerous driving causing severe bodily harm. It carries a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison. In the three months following the devastating crash, sources say Young hasn't visited, made any statement, or even reached out to the victim. The victim told friends he may never be able to work again due to his injuries. Meanwhile, Young has been seen shuffered around, dining at the finest restaurants and surrounded by luxury, seemingly untouched by the tragedy she left behind. According to her lawyer, Young's parents sent her to Australia for school when she was 14, and she has rarely returned home since. Friends told media that Young's English is limited, and she mostly socializes within the Chinese community. A veteran China affairs analyst says Yang likely comes from a high-ranking family within the Chinese Communist Party elite. We already knew that Yang Lan had her own personal bodyguards. In China, even officials at the ministerial level don't get dedicated security for their family members. At the same time, ordinary wealthy families usually don't need this kind of secrecy or protection. Put these two facts together and you can pretty much tell which social class Yang Lan Lan comes from. Young's source of wealth and her true identity remain a mystery. She is rarely seen without a mask, fueling speculation that she fears being recognized, possibly due to powerful family connections. The incident has gone viral online in China, sparking widespread discussion. But some internet users say their posts about Young were deleted and a few were even questioned by the police. No matter what threats we face, never ever give up our sovereignty. That's the message from Taiwanese President Leu as Taiwan marks its 114th National Day. And Flora Hua has more on the story. October 10th is Taiwan's national day. On Thursday, the eve of the holiday, the Taiwanese president delivered a national address as part of the celebration gala. I hope all our fellow citizens, no matter what challenges or threats we face, will never give up our sovereignty. We must stand firm in defending our democratic, free, and human rights based way of life. And above all, protect the Republic of China, making the defense of Taiwan our top priority. The Taiwanese government formerly calls itself the Republic of China. It retreated to the island after the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China. But the Republic of China has been rooted in Taiwan for more than 70 years. Today, the Republic of China and Taiwan are one and the same. Without Taiwan, there would be no Republic of China. And without sovereignty, there would be no nation. Lie said this year has been a challenging one for Taiwan. From Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East to US tariffs and China's push to erase Taiwan from the international stage. Despite these challenges, the president is calling on the Taiwanese people to keep embracing democracy, strengthen diplomatic ties, promote economic growth and innovation, and enhance both defense capabilities and a spirit of compassion. Earlier this week, the Taiwanese president urged President Trump to continue providing security support for the island amid looming threats from China. He also warned that the government would never surrender in the event of an invasion and any reports claiming otherwise should be treated as disinformation. The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having ruled the island. Both Taiwan and its key ally the United States reject that claim. Flora Hua NTD News. That's all for today's China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusentd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For roundtheclock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon. [Music] [Music]