China News - 10 November 2020
This morning, CRG hosted Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu to speak with MPs. A recording and summary of remarks will be posted at 1pm on our website.
International
US sanctions four more Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown. The US on Monday imposed sanctions on four more Chinese officials in Hong Kong's governing and security establishment over their alleged role in the implementation of the National Security Law. Washington has already imposed similar sanctions on Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, and the city’s current and former police chiefs. “These individuals will be barred from travelling to the United States and their assets within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the possession or control of US persons will be blocked,” said Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. SCMP, Al Jazeera, 10 November
Hong Kong pro-democracy legislators threaten mass resignations. There were reports that Beijing plans to disqualify four opposition lawmakers who had been accused by the ruling camp of potentially unlawful filibustering in the legislature. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy politicians said they would quit en masse if Beijing moves to disqualify any individual members of the Legislative Council. Reuters, Bloomberg, 10 November
American citizen facing prosecution over pro-democracy protests says he was denied refuge in Hong Kong’s US consulate. WSJ, 8 November
Apple suspends iPhone assembler in China after labour abuses. Apple has sanctioned one of its largest manufacturers after a Financial Times investigation found that thousands of student interns had worked overtime to assemble iPhones, in breach of Chinese law. FT, 9 November
New ICC Uighur genocide complaint backed by 60 parliamentarians around world. The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has been urged by 60 parliamentarians from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) to accept a complaint alleging genocide by China against its Uyghur Muslim minority. The Guardian, 10 November
China tried to kill me, says Uyghur man shot in street. Yusufjan Amet had been preparing to give an interview to the BBC World Service. The Times, 10 November
Covid: China's Sinovac final-stage vaccine trial halted in Brazil after health authorities reported a "severe adverse" incident. BBC, The Telegraph, 10 November
Scientists watch as China remote glaciers in Qilian mountains near Tibet melt at 'shocking' pace, retreating about 450 metres since the 1950s. Reuters, 10 November
China watch
China brings in new disinfection rules for cold chain food imports. New cases of infection from imported cold chain foods have shown up in recent months, infecting those who came into close contact. Yicai
China's consumer prices head for deflation, defying broader recovery, although largely driven by swings in volatile items such as pork. Reuters, Bloomberg
Economy & tech
British genomics start-up Congenica sells stake to China's Tencent. Sky News reports that Tencent is one of the investors in Cambridge-based Congenica’s $50m Series C round. It will be the latest British healthtech investment for Tencent, having also acquired a big stake in Oxford Nanopore, a gene-sequencing group, during the summer. Sky, 9 November
U.S. vs. China in 5G: the battle isn’t even close. China’s top-down approach means that it is leading the way in the size and consistency of its 5G network. WSJ, 10 November
China clampdown on big tech puts more billionaires on notice, after Beijing unveiled a new set of regulations on Tuesday which seek to root out monopolistic practices. Tencent, the gaming to payments giant co-founded by Pony Ma, sank 4.4% on Tuesday. Bloomberg, 10 November
Only four of China’s hundreds of online microlenders meet new draft regulation requirements of 5 billion yuan ($758.3 million) in registered capital. Caixin, 9 November
UK firms sign deals worth £430m at China International Import Expo last week, amid launch of a new UK-China business matching platform. Shine, 9 November
Longer reads & opinion
European think tank sets out what are ‘safe’ research links with China. A new report by the Leiden Asia Centre compares European guidelines on universities with Australia and the UK’s more comprehensive guidelines. University World News, 28 October
As Hong Kong law goes after ‘black sheep,’ fear clouds universities. New York Times, 10 November
Xi Jinping is fighting a new enemy—Genghis Khan. In Inner Mongolia, stone tablets on the great emperor have been painted over or destroyed in Hulun Buir, and his portraits removed from schools. Bitter Winter, 7 November
Podcast: Do Intellectuals Matter in Xi's China? CSIS, 9 November