China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-11-19

2 days ago

Car driven into crowd outside China primary school

"State media said "several students and adults were injured and fell to the ground", and several people were hospitalised, but a police statement later said there were no life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the vehicle - identified as a white SUV - was caught by parents and school security officers and handed over to police.
This is the third attack on a crowd in China in a week, and it has fuelled concerns about public safety."

--- Actually not quite sure whether this was intentional or not, though it wouldn't be surprising if it was. The last attack with a car was quite 'successful', so you will see some copycats in the future.

"According to police records, there have been 19 incidents of indiscriminate violence in China this year in which the perpetrator was not known to the victims. Sixty-three people have been killed and 166 injured in these attacks."

--- Phhh..., police records. There were way more such attacks.

Investigation into possible sabotage underway after 2 underwater cables cut in Baltic Sea

"An underwater cable that runs between Lithuania and Sweden in the Baltic Sea was cut on Sunday around 10 a.m. local time, Telia spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis told ABC News. Telia is a Lithuanian telecommunications company. A cable that runs between Germany and Finland was cut on Monday around 3 p.m. local time.
[...] The cause of the damage to the cables has yet to be established. The interruptions come against a backdrop of concerns over Russian sabotage operations in Europe and elsewhere"

--- Russian sabotage? Or rather another example of Chinese greyzone warfare:

Details of Baltic Sea Cable Incident Remain Murky as Danish Coast Guard Shadows Chinese Vessel

"The incident is reminiscent of a similar event in 2023 when the Balticonnector between Finland and Estonia was damaged. Hong Kong-registered container vessel NewNew Polar Bear was later found to have dragged its anchor across the pipeline.
Danish authorities appear to have narrowed down a possible culprit to Chinese bulker Yi Peng 3, which traveled over the reported incident site at the time of the failure. Its AIS track shows the vessel drifting back and forth for around an hour the morning of November 18."

--- The presence of a Chinese ship was of course entirely coincidental. Chinese ships would never damage underwater infrastructure.
If the ship damaged the infrastructure, it was of course entirely accidental. Chinese ships would never deliberately damage underwater infrastructure.
If the ship damaged the infrastructure deliberately, it was of course a criminal act by this individual ship's captain. The Chinese government would never condone sabotage. Never ever. Trust the CCP!

Speaking of China's totally non-existent greyzone warfare: New China-linked hacking group attacking telecommunications networks

EU to Demand Tech Transfers from Chinese Companies for Subsidy Access

"According to two senior EU officials, Chinese firms must establish European factories and share tech know-how in a €1 billion battery grant tender starting in December"

--- Reciprocity. Finally the EU learns.

China rebuffs meeting with US defense secretary

"Austin sought to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Laos as part of a long-standing effort to maintain military lines of communication between the US and the People’s Republic of China. But China did not accept the offer, pointing to a recent Taiwan arms sale as their rationale"

--- So much for those allegedly improving relations & China seeking better contacts.

Leader of rebel army detained in China’s Yunnan province

"The MNDAA’s leader, Peng Daxun, traveled to Yunnan province in late October for medical treatment and was later detained by Chinese authorities
[...] China has also cut off shipments of fuel, medicine and food items through its border into the MNDAA-controlled areas in Shan state.
In September, the MNDAA said it had cut ties with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government. It said it would work with China to bring peace"

--- Another conflict in which China is completely neutral.

Shark lobby slams China, Japan for vetoing US-led move to ban ‘finning’

"It would not have banned catching sharks, only required that they be landed with their fins naturally attached. Shark finning is the practice of catching sharks and cutting off their fins — primarily for use in food and traditional medicine — then throwing the fish back into the ocean to die, and is banned by dozens of countries and decried by conservationists. But China and Japan, both among the world's biggest consumer markets and exporters of shark fin, refused to green-light the plan, which needed consensus to pass."

--- Our environmental champion China showing again how seriously it takes environmental protection.

Japan move closer to FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification with crushing win over China

"ruthless Japan moved to the brink of qualifying for their eighth straight World Cup after beating old rivals China 3-1 away on Tuesday"

--- Ouch! (again)

Trump and Xi Jinping’s ‘loving’ relationship has soured - can they rebuild it?

International outrage over sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong

Germany's Scholz, China's Xi hold talks at G20

--- Bloomberg: "Mass Killings Test China's Crime Narrative"

Scholz und Xi sprechen über Friedensbemühungen

"Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hat bei seinem Treffen mit dem Staats- und Parteichef Xi Jinping dafür geworben, sich gemeinsam für Frieden und Sicherheit in der Welt einzusetzen."

--- Der Mann lernt's einfach nicht.

Durchtrennte Datenkabel in Ostsee: Frachter aus China unter Verdacht

"Was der Frachter „Yi Peng 3″ am Montag in dem Gewässer unternahm, ist noch unbekannt. Bekannt ist nach Aufzeichnungen von Daten aus Tracking-Apps nur, dass das 226 Meter lange Schiff am Montagmorgen in dem Seegebiet südlich von Öland fast 90 Minuten stoppte, driftete und zwei Kreise fuhr. Ob der Frachter dabei auch seinen Anker fallen ließ und über den Meeresboden zog, ist unklar.
Die dänische Marine reagierte auf den Vorfall am Montagnachmittag. Zunächst wurde die Fregatte „Niels Juel“ zur „Yi Peng 3″ geschickt. In der Nacht zum Dienstag sendete das dänische Marinekommando auch das Patrouillenboot „Rota“ dorthin. Es übernahm die Eskorte der aus Ust Luga in Russland kommenden „Yi Ping 3″ durch die Kadetrinne bis zum Großen Belt."

--- Welch ein Zufall: mal wieder ein chinesisches Schiff in der Nähe eines Unterwasserkabelbruchs unterwegs.

Jahrelang zog China Know-how aus der EU ab – jetzt dreht sich der Wind

" Jahrelang floss Know-how vor allem in eine Richtung: von Europa nach China. Wenn europäische Unternehmen Marktzugang in China erhalten wollten, mussten sie dort produzieren. Dabei floss nicht nur Geld, sondern auch technologisches Wissen in die Volksrepublik – ohne dass die EU großartig etwas dagegen unternommen hätte.
Inzwischen ist der Zeitgeist ein anderer, und auch die EU will nun offenbar nicht länger zusehen. Nach Informationen der „Financial Times“, will sie Subventionen für saubere Technologien nur noch dann chinesischen Unternehmen gewähren, wenn diese in Europa produzieren und technologisches Know-how weitergeben."

--- Anders als Scholz ist die EU offensichtlich lernfähig.

Spionage aus China: Bundesinnenministerium warnt vor falschen Reportern

"Der australische Geheimdienst-Forscher Alex Joske geht von weltweit bis zu 200 chinesischen Agenten aus, die sich als Reporter ausgeben. Es sei außergewöhnlich, dass verdeckte Agenten öffentlich enttarnt und sogar des Landes verwiesen würden, sagt Joske. Zu groß sei offenbar die Angst, dass China im Gegenzug westliche Korrespondenten des Landes verweisen könnte."

--- Nur 200? Halte ich für stark untertrieben. Man kann davon ausgehen, daß so ziemlich jeder chinesische 'Journalist' zumindest als Informant für die chinesischen Geheimdienste tätig ist.