China News - 17 May 2023
International
US lawmakers urge Britain to take a tougher stance on China. A bipartisan group from the U.S. Congress will spend three days in Britain meeting U.K. government ministers, officials and backbench MPs to discuss a common approach to hostile activities by China. The delegation will be led by Mike Gallagher, republican chairman of the US Congress select committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Cristina Gallardo. Politico, 17 May
Truss in Taiwan: ‘it is absolutely clear that President Xi has the ambition to take Taiwan.’ Former prime minister Liz Truss is the most senior British politician to visit Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher in 1996. In a keynote speech in Taipei, Truss called for an ‘economic Nato’ to tackle Beijing’s growing authoritarianism. Helen Davidson. The Guardian, 17 May
Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said Truss’s trip was a ‘dangerous political show which will do nothing but harm to the UK.’ The Independent, 17 May
Massachusetts Man Indicted for Acting as an Illegal Agent of the People’s Republic of China. From 2018 to 2022, Litang Liang allegedly provided information about Chinese individuals and organizations in the Boston area to PRC government officials – including the Ministry of Public Security, and the United Front Work Department. Justice.gov, 15 May
US Department of Justice arrests four people in cases of technology theft for Russia, China, Iran. The cases were the first enforcement actions taken by a new DOJ team - the Disruptive Technology Strike Force - meant to prevent nation-state adversaries from stealing critical U.S. technologies. Jacob Knutson. Axios, 15 May
Ex-Apple engineer indicted in US crackdown on flow of restricted tech to China. Weibao Wang, a software engineer at Apple from 2016 to 2018, was charged with six counts of theft or attempted theft of the company’s self-driving car technology. Sadie Gurman and Dylan Tokar. The Wall Street Journal, 16 May
Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, chooses candidate with cautious stance towards China. Hou Yu-ih, who is currently the mayor of New Taipei City, was selected on Wednesday over Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn. Hou has said that while he opposes Taiwan independence, he also rejects rule by China under ‘one country, two systems’, the model applied to Hong Kong. Kathrin Hille. Financial Times, 17 May
Swedish Government considers foreign investment screening legislation.The proposed law is the latest in a string of similar initiatives by European countries to counter Chinese influence and strengthen national security. An investigation by public broadcaster SVT last month showed about 1,500 Swedish companies, ranging from small IT firms to Volvo Car, have Chinese owners. South China Morning Post, 16 May
South Korean footballer detained in China in bribery probe. Son Jun-ho, who plays in the Chinese Super League, is in police custody in the north-eastern Liaoning province, according to a statement by China's foreign ministry. Reports of Son's detention come amid a concerted crackdown on corruption and match-fixing in Chinese football. Kelly Ng. BBC News, 15 May
Tiananmen Square books removed from Hong Kong libraries in run-up to anniversary. Last month, the government’s audit commission report said the leisure and cultural services department, which manages Hong Kong’s libraries, needed to ‘step up efforts in examining library materials for safeguarding national security and taking follow-up actions’. Helen Davidson. The Guardian, 16 May
Jimmy Lai: editors from around the world call for release of Hong Kong media mogul. More than 100 journalists and editors have signed an open letter calling for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, a British media mogul detained in Hong Kong on national security charges. Amy Hawkins. The Guardian, 16 May
Japan's first Uyghur representative says Uyghurs ‘deserve to thrive’. Arfiya Eri last month became the first Japanese person of Uyghur heritage to be elected to the country's National Diet. Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian. Axios, 16 May
Economy & tech
Founder of Failed Chinese Bike Sharing platform Ofo Sets Up Coffee Chain in US. Dai Wei is the controversial founder of failed Chinese bike-sharing firm Ofo which still owes millions in unrefunded deposits. He has opened a new coffee chain in the United States: About Time Coffee. Zhang Yushuo. Yicai Global, 16 May.
Chinese chip firm seeking to rival ASML considers IPO filing. Dongfang Jingyuan Electron Ltd., a semiconductor software firm currently valued at about 8 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion), is reportedly in the early stages of preparing for a listing. In 2022 ASML Holding NV warned that the Chinese firm was potentially infringing on its intellectual property rights with its software. Dong Cao. Yahoo Finance, 16 May
China shuts down 100,000 fake news social media accounts. The Cyberspace Administration of China has launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate ‘fake news’ and impersonate state-controlled media. Bernard Orr and Eduardo Baptista. Reuters, 17 May
Opinion & long reads
Ukraine: China’s pathway to peace? A new research briefing published by the House of Commons Library. Claire Mills. House of Commons Library, 15 May
The cancelled Quad summit is a win for China and a self-inflicted blow to the US’s Pacific standing. Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of visits to Australia and PNG will reflect poorly on the US amid growing competition for influence in the region. Daniel Hurst. The Guardian, 17 May