China news roundup / Nachrichten 2022-06-14
Beijing in ‘race against time’ to tackle serious Covid outbreak
"The bar’s business licence has been revoked after officials found it failed to comply with rules including checking customers’ temperature and Covid test results, or making sure customers scanned a digital health code, the market regulator in Chaoyang said
[...] Careless behaviour had turned the unidentified person into the “propagator” of the outbreak.
Beijing authorities said the person did not take a Covid test between 26 May 26 and 8 June, despite visiting a number of restaurants, bars and crowded places at that time.
The patient developed a fever by the evening of 8 June, two days after a visit to Heaven Supermarket.
But despite the fever, the person returned to the bar early on 9 June, the same day a handful of other bar patrons were found to be infected"
--- Chabuduo culture at work again. Has been reported from quite a number of places that, after a while, most venues stop properly checking 'health codes'. Combined with some guy who doesn't care whether he's infected or not & the zero-Covid policy, all this nonsense will keep going on.
Police in China's Tangshan promise citywide crime crackdown after thugs beat woman
"Tangshan mayor Tian Guoliang said the city would "strike hard" against organized crime and improve public order after several of the woman's assailants were found to have ties to a Jiangsu-based criminal gang, the Tian 'an Society"
--- Why do you suddenly strike hard? If you know about these gangs & you know about their criminal activities, why didn't you strike hard before?
"It will target criminal activities that "spur strong emotion from the public and have an adverse influence on society, including intentional injury, extortion, drug abuse and cybercrimes,""
--- Oh, that's why: Because this case caused widespread attention & now you have to show your superiors & the public that you are doing something. & as soon as the attention dies down, you won't strike hard anymore. Because:
"Hebei resident Zheng Cheng said the barbecue restaurant incident was just the tip of the iceberg, in a city plagued by gang violence.
"They have their own independent source of funding, and there are [powerful] people behind them," Zheng told RFA. "These attackers are very arrogant, and act as tyrants in the local area.""
--- These gangs are obviously well-connected. So, the cops will go only after the low-ranked thugs to fulfil some arrest quota & leave their bosses alone.
"Another young woman who asked to be identified as S said she had felt panicky after seeing the video.
"I couldn't breathe," S said. "I couldn't believe that something like this could happen in 2022.""
--- This is one of several US-SJW talking points which then follow. I have a hard time believing they actually come from China. Everyone in China should be aware of the situation around public violence. The gang situation is not necessarily that widely known, though. I had many students who had never heard of Chinese gang culture or triads.
Henan: China Covid app restricts residents after banking protests
"Authorities in the Chinese province of Henan are suspected to be restricting some residents' movements using a Covid app, following rare protests.
Multiple people say they are being forced to quarantine, blocked from public transport or entering buildings.
Most appear to be customers of four rural banks which had run into issues providing cash withdrawals, report Chinese media outlets."
--- Welcome to China, where you get punished when you want your money from a bank.
"Popular Chinese commentator and former newspaper editor Hu Xijin said that "health codes" should "only be used purely for pandemic prevention purposes".
"If any area uses health codes to restrict people's movements for other purposes, this is clearly a breach of pandemic prevention laws... and damages the support of the people for our fight against the virus,""
--- Wasn't the first time. The CCP has used the health code like that before, eg. against dissidents. Still interesting that a former Global Times editor dares to criticise it this time.
Xi Jinping announces plans to allow Chinese military to undertake 'special military operations' abroad
"government reports say they set a legal basis within China for the People's Liberation Army to "safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and development interests", according to an article in the Communist Party's media Global Times.
"Chinese troops can prevent spillover effects of regional instabilities from affecting China, secure vital transport routes for strategic materials like oil, or safeguard China's overseas investments, projects and personnel,""
--- Hm, so yesterday's reports focused more on the China-internal aspects of these laws. But this makes actually more sense. The CCP prepares for its forces to interfere in other countries, eg. the Solomons.
""I think it's definitely a copy of Putin's 'special operation' language," Eugene Kuo Yujen, an analyst with Taiwan's Institute for National Policy Research, said.
"And after what happened in Ukraine, it sends a very threatening signal to Taiwan, Japan and the surrounding countries in the South China Sea"
--- As I said yesterday, Taiwan is an unlikely target of the new laws. Maybe the South China Sea or Japan would make some sense, were it not for the fact that China considers the SCS & the Senkakus Chinese. The PLA doesn't need any new law to 'defend' Chinese territory.
We needed China deal to protect ‘domestic security’, says key Solomon Islands official
"The controversial security deal struck between Solomon Islands and China that caught the western world off guard was needed to maintain internal security and help fight climate change"
--- Well, at least now they quite openly admit what the deal is about. Staying in power. Where climate change comes into the picture of a security deal, though, avoids me.
"The text of the final deal has not been released despite strong urging from opposition MPs and the media. When pressed on whether the government would make the deal public, Beck said: “It’s actually between two governments, it’s actually between the two states. So if the matter of going public with it, it will be a matter between the two governments to consider.”"
--- 'We have nothing to hide, therefore we hide it.' Very Chinese.
Taiwan: Are the US and China heading to war over the island?
"many agree that Beijing recognises that such a move would be too costly and disastrous - not only for China, but also for the world"
--- Many? Define 'many'. But anyway, bullshit. It's the same argument you hear from some (well, maybe many) Western outlets & politicians again & again: 'China would hurt its economy, if it attacks Taiwan. That would be irrational.'
They probably said the same about Russia & Ukraine.
"Similarly, the US would be reluctant to be drawn into a costly military conflict in Asia, and has signalled repeatedly that they do not want war."
--- Phhh... If China invades Taiwan, the USA has not much of a choice, if it doesn't want Chinese hegemony over the Pacific.
""The bright side is that neither party is willing to escalate," said Dr Chong"
--- Dream on. Speaking of a lack of escalation:
US likely to ignore China’s claims over Taiwan Strait
"Chinese military officials during meetings with American counterparts in recent months have repeatedly asserted that the Taiwan Strait is not international waters"
--- They also said that they don't recognise the median line in the Strait anymore. Really happy with the status quo, China.
"There is no such thing as international waters in international maritime law"
--- Oh well: "the law of the sea stipulates that maritime countries essentially control their territorial waters from the shore out to a distance of 12 miles (19.3 km), the “12-mile limit.”"
The Taiwan Strait is at least 130km wide.
Toxic tiles
"Fully 10 percent of global PVC comes from the Uyghur region, the majority of it from Zhongtai. From Xinjiang, Zhongtai’s PVC resin is transported to eastern China, India, and Vietnam, where it is turned into flooring before being exported to the U.S. and other parts of the world."
--- Obscuring delivery chains so that companies have plausible deniability.
"The Home Depot spokesperson sent The Intercept a letter from Home Legend, dated June 10, claiming that Jufeng’s parent company had assured it that Xinjiang PVC was not used to produce flooring for the big box retailer."
--- &, as we all know, Chinese companies never lie.
s.a.: Forced Labour Is Set to Stay in the Uyghur Heartland
Meeting China’s Space Challenge
Five Nations Revive 51-year-old Security Pact Amid China Threat
China sets information blockade after 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits Tibetan county
What Returning to China Taught Me About China
Bloomberg News says ‘encouraged’ by reported bail for detained China staffer
New Chinese textbooks say Hong Kong was not a British colony
--- WION: "Gravitas: Chinese President allows PLA to take missions abroad"
--- The Intercept: "How Vinyl Flooring Made With Uyghur Forced Labor Ends Up at Big Box Stores"
--- BBC News: Racism for Sale - BBC Africa Eye documentary (Full version of yesterday's video, mostly grandstanding by the reporter, though.)
--- WSJ: U.S. vs. China: A Metaverse Divided Over Design and Rules
Feierwütiger Bar-Besucher verursacht Corona-Ausbruch
"Der Mann, der für den neuen Ausbruch verantwortlich gemacht wird, hatte in der vergangenen Woche mehrere Bars und Clubs im Vergnügungsviertel Chaoyang besucht. Obwohl er Fieber hatte, ließ er sich 14 Tage lang nicht testen."
--- Quatsch, Symptome entwickelte er erst in den letzten 2-3 Tagen, was ihn aber offenbar auch nicht weiter kümmerte. Die Bars & Restaurants, die er besuchte, hätten übrigens seinen Covidstatus kontrollieren müssen.
Mal wieder ein schönes Beispiel für die Chabuduo-Kultur, die der allüberwachenden KPCh in die Quere kommt.
Wie China die Corona-Maßnahmen zur sozialen Überwachung missbraucht
"Seit 2020 haben die Behörden in China unter dem Vorwand des Corona-Schutzes einen Überwachungsstaat aufgebaut, der noch vor wenigen Jahren undenkbar erschien"
--- Nur undenkbar für Leute, die China nicht kennen. Wie man aber sieht, ist auch der schlimmste Überwachungsstaat anfällig, wenn ihm die Chabuduo-Kultur gegenübersteht.
"Am Beispiel der Bankschuldnerinnen und -schuldner von Zhengzhou hat sich nun erstmals offen gezeigt, was viele Expertinnen und Experten seit jeher vermuten: dass die Corona-Maßnahmen in China zunehmend zur sozialen Überwachung missbraucht werden. Denn wie sich herausstellte, wurden gezielt Dutzende chinesische Anlegerinnen und Anleger daran gehindert, um gegen die Kommunalbanken zu protestieren, die ihre Ersparnisse eingefroren hatten."
--- Wie kann man auch gegen Bankenwillkür protestieren? Unerhört.
"ungewöhnlich ist die offene Kritik von führenden Patriotinnen und Patrioten: „Die Gesundheitscodes sollten nur zu Zwecken der Pandemieprävention verwendet werden und auf keinen Fall für andere soziale Regulierungen“, schreibt etwa Hu Xijin, der als ehemaliger Chefredakteur der nationalistischen „Global Times“ zu den führenden Publizisten des Landes zählt"
--- In der Tat ungewöhnlich, v.a. wenn man bedenkt, daß die KPCh dieses Mittel auch schon gegen Dissidenten einsetzte. Was Hu geflissentlich ignoriert.
Wie China staatskritische Prominente zum Schweigen bringt
"Nachdem der chinesische Schmink-Künstler Li Jiaqui während einer Sendung auf seinem Shoppingkanal auf das Tian’anmen-Massaker hinwies, sperrte China ihm die Social-Media-Kanäle"
--- Er wies nicht daraufhin, sondern er präsentierte (vermutlich zufälligerweise) eine Nachspeise, die einem Panzer ähnelte.
"Li Jiaqis Socialmedia-Kanäle wurden daraufhin allesamt sofort offline genommen. Die Karriere des jungen Unternehmers, der vor allem durch den Verkauf von Lippenstiften bekannt wurde, ist damit beendet. Mit dem Effekt, dass vor allem viele seiner jungen Fans nun zum ersten Mal überhaupt von dem Massaker erfahren. Da sie sich Lis Verschwinden aus dem Internet nicht erklären konnten, haben sie angefangen zu recherchieren. Die Kommunstische Partei hat also mit ihrem Übergriff das genaue Gegenteil von dem erreicht, was ihr vorschwebte"
--- Der sogenannte Streisandeffekt.
China erklärt die Taiwan-Straße zum eigenen Gewässer
"„Es ist eine falsche Behauptung, wenn gewisse Länder die Taiwanstraße als ‚internationales Gewässer‘ bezeichnen, um einen Vorwand zu finden, die Taiwanfrage zu manipulieren und Chinas Souveränität und Sicherheit zu bedrohen“, sagte der Sprecher des Außenministeriums in Peking am Montag. Die Taiwanstraße unterliege als Ausschließliche Wirtschaftszone Chinas Souveränität."
--- Man tut so, als gäbe es keine internationalen Gewässer. Außerdem hat die KPCh anscheinend auch erklärt, daß man die Medianlinie in der Taiwanstraße nicht mehr anerkennt. Sollte diese tatsächlich ignoriert werden, könnte es zu Zusammenstößen mit taiwanesischen Kräften kommen. Aber, hey, es sind natürlich die anderen, die provozieren & eskalieren.
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