International
Hong Kong
Protests buiilding: nearly 100 children among 396 arrested. Those arrested were aged between 12 and 70. SCMP, 29 May
UK opens potential citizenship to over 300,000 HK residents. The UK will extend visa rights and assist in the path to British citizenship for British National (Overseas) passport holders. China’s Foreign Ministry said it would take countermeasures. FT, The Guardian, Newsnight, Twitter, 28 May
China Blocks UN Security Council Hong Kong Meeting. Bloomberg, 28 May
“The decision will also allow the central government's national security organs to set up agencies in Hong Kong when needed.” Xinhua, 28 May
Beijing blasts “gangster logic” of US sanctions. SCMP, 28 May
State media says “weakened” US will suffer if it revokes HK special customs status. Global Times, 28 May
EU Foreign Ministers to meet on HK: unlikely to follow US on sanctions, still pursuing investment deal. Politico, Bloomberg, 28 May
Carl Bildt calls for Balkans-style “Contact Group” of democracies to work together on China. Carnegie Europe, 28 May
How the west should respond - Tom Tugendhat, Conservative Home, 29 May
Joint UK, US, Australia & Canada statement. Guardian, SCMP, 28 May & Text
Pro-Beijing former Chief Executive says people should stop using HSBC, over its failure to speak up in support of the security law. RTHK, 29 May
“China has launched rule by fear in Hong Kong” Economist cover article, 29 May
Dangers to international business people from the new security law. A piece for Reuters by Pete Sweeney warns: “Hong Kong’s financiers should study the lesson Man Group learned during the Chinese stock crash of 2015. Chinese authorities detained bankers and brokers, including the British hedge fund’s China head, as state media blamed foreign forces for sabotaging markets.” In the FT Jamil Anderlini asks: “What happens if an analyst from a US bank writes a critical report on a state-owned Chinese company? How far will the “Great Firewall”, China’s censorship apparatus to control access to the internet, be extended to cover Hong Kong?” Reuters, FT, 28 May
“Attack on Taiwan an option to stop independence, top China general says” Reuters, 29 May
Focus on US as main opponent, says China military strategist. Retired air force major general Qiao Liang said “Arm-wrestling with the US is the least wanted but most urgent business we have to do” and called for China cut to reliance on raw material imports and boost the domestic market. SCMP, 29 May
Inside the pro-China bot network targeting the US, Hong Kong and an exiled tycoon. A BBC investigation has revealed over 1,200 social media accounts that help disseminate Chinese state propaganda online, and targets critics of the Communist Party regime. BBC News, 28 May.
“China Escalates the Pandemic Propaganda War”. The Atlantic, 28 May
Interview with Reinhard Bütikofer MEP. “You Can’t Be Systemic Rivals on Monday and Then Go Back to Partnering for the Rest of the Week” - American Interest, 28 May
Tim Garton Ash: “please stop calling China's National People's Congress a 'parliament’” Twitter, 28 May
US Congress passes Uyghur human rights bill. CNN, 28 May
US senators suggest bill further restricting students from China. Tom Cotton Website
WHO launches inquiry into celebrity ambassador’s role in forced confession. British businessman Peter Humphrey says CCTV filmed him reading a fake confession prepared by Chinese police as he sat locked to a chair inside a metal cage. FT, 28 May
State media links Indian pork ban and border clash. “China is set to ban imports of pigs, wild boar and related products from India in an effort to prevent African swine fever … The ban comes after tensions between the two countries flared up in Galwan Valley region due to India's recent, illegal construction of defense facilities on the border to Chinese territory.” Global Times, 28 May
University of Queensland expels student for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. Twitter, 29 May
Economy/tech
Hong Kong’s tech sector prepares for losses if US ends special trading status. SCMP, 28 May & Will capital flee Hong Kong if US ends trade status? Asia Times, 28 May
China’s electricity subsidies. Industrial electricity prices are down by a quarter since 2015. Although production is more expensive than in the US, prices for users are the same - third cheapest out of 35 countries. State Grid
China pledges largest-ever economic stimulus package. It includes tax exemptions, lower interest rates and waived contributions to social welfare as well as reduced prices for utilities such as electricity. SCMP, 28 May
US belatedly joins G7 AI alliance to counter China’s influence. The Next Web, 28 May
China debt: bond problems could still resurface in 2020. SCMP, 28 May
NPR on chip conflict. "Survival is the keyword for us now," said Huawei’s Chairman. NPR, 29 May
Long reads
Chinese military training facility features replicas of “a huge full-size mockup a portion of downtown Taipei, the capital of the island of Taiwan, including highly elaborate recreations of its Presidential Office Building and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There's also a cloverleaf highway interchange, a mock airfield and, bizarrely, a replica of France's Eiffel Tower”. The Drive, 27 May
”How Xi is using fear of Covid to crush Hong Kong’s autonomy.” Charles Parton from RUSI argues: “We need a new China policy, one which recognises the CCP regime for what it is rather than what we wish it to be.” Spectator, 29 May
“The Pacific Deterrence Initiative: peace through strength in the Indo-Pacific” by US Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and US Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). War on the Rocks, 28 May
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