Hebei health products company suspected of pyramid schemes

Taiwan’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is deliberately conflating the 1992 Consensus with the principle of “one country, two systems” and is “misleading” residents of Taiwan, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday.

The consensus is the common political foundation for the development of cross-Straits relations, he said, adding that it clearly defines the nature of those relations and indicates that both sides adhere to the one-China principle, he said.

“One country, two systems” refers to the institutional arrangement for Taiwan after national reunification, he said. In a speech earlier this month, Tsai said the 1992 Consensus amounts to “one country, two systems”.

Confusing the two concepts further exposes the separatist position of some in Taiwan and their attempts to undermine cross-Straits relations, as well as seeking personal gain, by heightening confrontation and hostility between the two sides, he said.

“But I believe people on the two sides will not be fooled,” he said.

Only when cross-Straits relations are good will Taiwan compatriots be better off, Ma said, adding that for those people and forces acting against the wishes of the people, a good cross-Straits relationship will not be a happy thing.

On Jan 8, the United States’ National Security Council urged Beijing to stop its “coercion” by threatening use of force to compel reunification with Taiwan.

In response, Ma said the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair and no outside interference is allowed.

“We are ready to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and effort, but we will never tolerate Taiwan independence and reserve the option to take all necessary measures,” he said.

“There is no such thing as threatening or oppressing the people of Taiwan by force,” said Ma, who added that the United States should not play an irresponsible role in provoking the feelings of the people on both sides or send the wrong message to the island.

On Jan 2, in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the “message to compatriots in Taiwan”, President Xi Jinping affirmed the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle.

Xi said China must be and will be reunified. He proposed that the principles of “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems” are the best approaches.

Tsai made a public speech later, declining the proposals.

Wang Yingjin, director of the Center for Cross-Straits Relations at Renmin University of China, said Tsai’s administration is facing tough conditions, especially after the DPP’s defeat in Taiwan’s mayoral elections in November and Xi’s speech on peaceful reunification.

Under the circumstances, she will be more willing to act as a pawn of the US to contain the Chinese mainland, and she sees the US as the only power that can be borrowed to resist reunification with the mainland, he said.

Wang said it is not hard to judge that the US-Taiwan relationship will be closer in the future, and that the US remains the most important external factor affecting the peaceful reunification of China.

In his speech, Xi did not renounce the use of force. One reason is interference by external forces, mainly the US, Wang added.

Heads of a health products company in Hebei province have been held by police on suspicion of organizing pyramid schemes, a government-led investigation team said on Tuesday.

The company — Hebei Hualin Acid-Base Biotechnology Co — was accused last week in media reports of making exaggerated and false claims in advertisements and being involved in pyramid schemes.

The local government in Huanghua, a county-level city in Cangzhou, Hebei, where the company is based, began an investigation into the company on Sunday.

After a two-day investigation, the primary managers of Hualin and related people were detained by police, according to investigators, who added that a thorough investigation will continue and anyone found responsible for misbehavior will be punished.

On Jan 9, Henan Metropolitan Channel, a television station in Henan province, reported that Hualin was selling a type of health equipment that its employees claimed could promote the acidbase balance of the human body through electrotherapy.

In the report, a female massage therapist surnamed Hu said the equipment, the Acid-Base DDS Cosmetology Health Massager, can send out a current and transmit it through her body to a patient’s body while she is doing a massage.

The therapy process can help expel toxins from the body and adjust the acid-base balance, thereby curing diseases, Hu was quoted as saying.

The equipment had not been approved for sale by the government.

According to a direct-sales management website run by the Ministry of Commerce, Hualin was allowed to directly sell eight kinds of cosmetics, including hand lotions, facial cleansers and organic essence.

The company, which also sold other health products, recruited product sellers and promoters through training meetings during which lecturers would tell attendees that they could become members and earn money by selling Hualin’s products and also by recruiting other new members.

But to be a member, a person needed to buy products first and pay membership fees.

A member is rewarded after he or she recruits other members. The more a new member pays at first, the more rewards he or she stands to receive, the TV report said.

The investigation into Hualin follows another similar probe last month into Tianjin-based Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology Development, another health products company.

Quanjian was accused in online reports of making exaggerated claims in advertisements and being involved in a pyramid scheme.

After investigation by local authorities, 18 suspects, including the chairman and founder of Quanjian, were detained on suspicion of organizing a pyramid scheme and engaging in false advertising.

The State Administration for Market Regulation and 12 other central government departments launched a nationwide campaign on Jan 8 to crack down on wrongdoing in the health products market.

The administration said that during the 100-day campaign, law enforcement officers will focus on food, equipment, daily necessities, small home electrical appliances, wearable articles and services that claim to promote health.

Violations include false advertising, the production and sale of counterfeit or low-quality products, illegal direct selling and pyramid selling.