China News - 4 December 2020
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International
China the 'greatest threat to democracy and freedom', US spy chief warns. The top US intelligence official has stepped up Donald Trump’s attacks on Beijing, labeling China the biggest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since the second world war and saying it was bent on global domination. “The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically,” John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, said in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal. China has rejected the article as a “concoction of lies”. WSJ op-ed, The Guardian, 3 December
Some Sino-U.S. relations damage 'beyond repair', China state media warn. Reuters, 4 December
UK grants five passports a minute to Hongkongers as China tightens grip. In October alone, the office issued 59,798 Hongkongers with BNOs, or 52% higher than in the same period last year. Some 216,398 Hong Kong residents received British National (Overseas) passports during the first 10 months of the year. Bloomberg, 4 December
Uighur exiles in Turkey blackmailed into spying for the Chinese. Officials offered the exiles money or the chance to make contact with family members who have been rounded up and taken to prison camps in China, in return for information about fellow Uighurs in Turkey. The Times, 3 December.
Inside a Xinjiang detention camp. New architectural analysis and interviews provide insight into life in an internment camp. Buzzfeed, 3 December
Meng Wanzhou in talks with U.S. Justice Department to allow her to return to China. The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly in discussions on a plea agreement with lawyers for Meng Wanzhou that would allow her to return to China, and which could open the door for the release of two imprisoned Canadians. Globe and Mail, 4 December
Wife of Irish businessman detained in China for 15 months appeals for release. Irish Times, 4 December
China helps fuel Australian economic recovery despite trade feud. New economic data shows Australia emerging from recession in the September quarter. Iron ore exports soared, partly thanks to China’s industrial-led recovery which has seen prices rise to a seven-year high. Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg, 4 December
Taiwan’s economy returns to being one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The Economist, 2 December
China watch
Xi Jinping outlines challenges lying ahead of China's war on poverty as he officially declares successful meeting of poverty alleviation target. CGTN, Bloomberg, 3 December
China's internet regulator takes aim at forced data collection as country begins drafting data protection laws. Yahoo, 3 December
China drafts new law on grains reserves amid food security concerns.Reuters, 3 December
Early Covid-19 testing blunders in China stemmed from secret deals with firms. China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention gave test kit designs and distribution rights exclusively to three then-obscure Shanghai companies with which officials had personal ties. AP, 3 December
Economy & tech
How China is buying up the West’s high-tech sector. At the Cambridge Science Park, the United Kingdom’s first private 5G network in partnership with Huawei is about to be launched. Foreign Policy, 3 December
Chinese app WeChat censors Australian PM Scott Morrison’s post. Tencent-owned company says premier’s conciliatory message ‘contrary to objective facts’. Twitter refused a request by Canberra to take down the tweet by Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. FT, 3 December
Brussels’ subtle role reining in Huawei. Cyber security ‘toolbox’ of analytical and procedural steps to make 5G systems secure. FT, 3 December
Quantum tech: Chinese researchers claim they have developed prototype that processes 10 billion times faster than Google’s. The Telegraph, 4 December
Surge in China’s steel production helps to fuel record-high CO2 emissions. Carbon Brief, 3 December
Longer reads & opinion
Chaguan: How China’s bullying could backfire. “There will be no binary moment when the West switches from engagement to decoupling. However, China is teaching the West to be more defensive.” The Economist, 3 December
A new law would unshackle China’s coastguard, far from its coast in the South and East China Seas. The Economist, 3 December
Leader: The Times view on British judges in Hong Kong: Denial of Justice. The Times, 3 December
'China is a hard rock. It won't be beaten by virus'. Beijing correspondent Robin Brant looks at the economic recovery. BBC, 3 December
Speech: Building a cohesive Indo-Pacific by Australia’s foreign minister, Marisa Payne. DFAT, 4 December