China News 30 June 2020
International
Sweeping Hong Kong national security law approved by lawmakers in China. China’s Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has passed the controversial Hong Kong national security law according to local media. The draft documents indicate it will ban subversive and secessionist activity, as well as terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The US has threatened to suspend Hong Kong’s special trading status, the UK has announced an easing of British citizenship eligibility requirements. The European Parliament voted last week to take China to the International Court of Justice in The Hague should the law be imposed on Hong Kong. RTKH, FT, SCMP, Bloomberg, Reuters, NPR, The Independent, TIME, Nikkei Asian Review & Asia Times, 30 June
More on Hong Kong:
U.S. halts arms and sensitive tech exports to Hong Kong over security concerns. New York Times & FT, 30 June
More Hongkongers apply to be refugees in Australia as security law passes. The Guardian, 30 June
Hong Kong democracy activist group led by Joshua Wong disbands. Reuters, 30 June
China’s Online Warriors Want More Gates in the Firewall. FP, 29 June
British statement on Hong Kong censored in China. A British Embassy article on inaccurate reporting on the UK and Hong Kong has been censored by Beijing. The article was viewed 350k times in the two hours it remained available to read. British Embassy in Beijing, 29 June
China’s military becomes world’s first to use experimental coronavirus vaccine. SCMP, 29 June
ASEAN pushes back on China’s sea claims. Asia Times, 30 June
Economy/Tech
India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Helo, WeChat. Economic Times, FT, 29 June
Huawei data flows under fire in German court case. A court case filed by one of Huawei's former managers at its European headquarters in Düsseldorf opens questions of the company’s respect of European privacy rules and whether data is at risk of falling into the hands of Chinese state surveillance and intelligence operations. Politico, 29 June
Australia recruits 500 cyber spies as China tensions rise. FT, 30 June
Longer reads & opinion
Dr. Adrian Zenz: Sterilizations, IUDs, and Mandatory Birth Control: The CCP’s Campaign to Suppress Uyghur Birthrates in Xinjiang. Jamestown Foundation, 29 June
Five Critiques of the Trump Administration's China Strategy. War on the Rocks, 29 June
No ‘Beijing Consensus’: Why the U.S. risks a Pyrrhic victory in confronting China. SupChina, 29 June
M Taylor Fravel: China’s Sovereignty Obsession. Foreign Affairs, 26 June