International
Hong Kong
China says it will not recognise UK overseas passports, might not let people leave. China will not recognise the British national (overseas) passport as a legal travel document, raising the prospect that the 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for the passport will be banned from leaving Hong Kong by the Chinese government. The warning was made at a press conference by the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming. Guardian, 30 July
Hong Kong elections: mass disqualification of opposition hopefuls sparks political storm. SCMP, 30 July & Foreign Office Statement
Teenagers arrested by special police under national security law. Four young people, aged 16-21, have been arrested for breaching the new National Security Law. Tony Chung, one of the former convenors of Studentlocalism seems to have been one of those arrested. SCMP, HKFP, HK Police Twitter, 29 July
EU expresses “grave concern” over security law, Beijing says EU should stop “interference” in internal affairs.EU statement, Xinhua, 29 July
Pro democracy professors fired at two universities. HKFP, 30 July & NY Times, 28 July
September election may be postponed? HKFP, 28 July
Human rights / Xinjiang
Comedian John Oliver blasts Uighur human rights abuses. Axios, 28 July
Bishop of Leeds and Bishop of Rochester condemn Uighur human rights abuses. Bishop James Langstaff urged Magnitsky sanctions against those most responsible.Church of England, 30 July, Twitter, 23 July
Uighur women speak out on forced abortions.Daily Mail, 25 July
China fires warning shot to UK. Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador in London, said disagreements over Beijing’s imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong, as well as the UK’s ban on using Huawei in its 5G mobile networks, had “seriously poisoned the atmosphere” in Sino-British relations. “We make no threats. We threatened nobody. We just let you know the consequences”, he said. “If you do not want to be our partners and our friends, if you want to treat China as a hostile country, you will pay the price.” FT, 30 July
Beijing puts squeeze on HSBC, claims it gave “misleading evidence” leading to arrest of Meng Wanzhou. “In the U.S. government’s political pursuit of Huawei, HSBC was the one who ‘handed the knife’”, said a statement published by the State Council Information Office. SCMP, Reuters, 28 July & CGTN 29 July
China hacks Vatican ahead of talks, using fake letter of condolence. NY Times, 28 July
Japan had to scramble jets to meet air incursions from China 974 times last year. CNN, 28 July
The University of Hamburg is reportedly severing its ties with the Confucius Institute. It cited risks involving “political influence and information leak” Times Higher Education, Taiwan News, 28 July
Xi discusses drone warfare during university visit. Xinhua, 23 July
Economy / tech
Arm China asks Beijing to intervene in row with U.K. parent company, so it can help China in strategic chip competition. 200 Arm China employees have signed a statement saying it “is a Chinese-controlled joint venture that should abide by the Chinese laws and fulfil the social responsibility in China. We plead with the government to pay attention to the turbulence Arm China is facing now, and intervene to protect this strategic asset.” The statement goes on to say that “Arm China is devoted to empowering the foundation of China’s semiconductor industry,” the statement continues, “this joint venture plays a strategic role in China’s chip industry in the past two years amid the dynamics of the international chip competition landscape.” Nikkei Asian Review, Newstempus, 29 July
U.S. Treasury to make recommendation on TikTok to Trump this week. Japan is also mulling TikTok limits over security concerns. Reuters, 29 July & Nikkei Asian Review, 29 July
Facebook casts itself as champion of democratic values in antitrust tech hearing. Bloomberg, 29 July
In tech hearings Google’s Pichai says it was hacked by China in 2009, while Zuckerberg says China IP theft is “well documented”. Pichai, Zuckerberg
US presses Brazil over Huawei. SCMP, 30 July
Chinese banks urged to switch away from SWIFT as U.S. sanctions loom. Reuters, 29 July
China Push Sees Coal-Fired Power Generation Rise to Record in Pakistan. Bloomberg, 30 July
Apple and Nike urged to cut China Uighur ties by anti-slavery campaigners. BBC, 23 July
Longer reads and comment
Chinese AI Is Creating an Axis of Autocracy - Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, September 2020
Coaches at NBA’s China academies complained of player abuse. “The NBA ran into myriad problems by opening one of the academies in Xinjiang… A former league employee compared the atmosphere when he worked in Xinjiang to "World War II Germany." ESPN, 30 July, NY Times, 29 July
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