China News - 5 July 2022
International
Hacker claims to have obtained data on 1 billion Chinese citizens. An anonymous hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database, in what would amount to one of the biggest data breaches in history if found to be true. Some data is verified, but analysts expect that the claims may be exaggerated: the Wall Street Journal verified several of the records in the leak by calling people whose numbers were listed; several numbers that the WSJ tried were invalid or no longer in service. The Guardian, WSJ, 4 July
Xiao Jianhua: Canadian officials barred from tycoon's China trial. Canadian officials say they have been barred from the trial of billionaire Xiao Jianhua by Chinese authorities. The Chinese-Canadian tycoon's trial was said to have started on Monday, five years after he disappeared from a luxury Hong Kong hotel. The Chinese authorities have not released details of the charges BBC, SCMP, NYT, 5 July
MPs call for UK ban on two Chinese CCTV firms. The letter, calling for a ban on ethical grounds, was co-ordinated by Big Brother Watch. Signatories include Steve Baker, David Davis and Ed Davey. FT, BBC, 4 July
Peng Shuai demonstrators at Wimbledon allege harassment by security staff. A group of four activists from the Free Tibet campaign claim they were confronted by Wimbledon security staff who warned them against approaching spectators and political messaging at SW19. The Guardian, 4 July
New Hong Kong leader John Lee spent $1.1m on election campaign in which he was sole candidate. The donations came from 59 pro-Beijing business and community groups, according to local media reports. The Guardian, 5 July
Select committee latest:
BEIS evidence session. Starting at 10:15am, CEOs and managers from Newport Wafer Fab, Nexperia, Imagination Technologies and Arm will all be giving evidence on the UK’s semiconductor industry. Details here.
Call for evidence: The International Trade Committee is currently accepting evidence until 2nd September on the UK’s accession to the CPTPP. Details here.
Economy & tech
Sequoia Capital China targets $9bn fundraising haul despite Beijing’s tech crackdown. The fundraising haul, which two people familiar with the matter put at between $8bn to $9bn for four separate funds. Sequoia China plans to close the round this week, one of the people said, adding it was 50 per cent oversubscribed. FT, 5 July
Exclusive: China plans $75 billion infrastructure fund to revive economy. China will set up a state infrastructure investment as part of a raft of economic support measures. Reuters, 5 July
TikTok abandons ecommerce expansion in Europe and US. Its efforts in the UK struggled to gain traction with consumers. FT, 4 July
China is doubling down on Linux in a bid to leave Windows behind. TechRadar, 5 July
Long reads & opinion
The west looks like a political risk to Asian allies. In conversations with senior Asian officials, they keep raising one overarching concern: can we count on the UK, Europe and the US to stay engaged when they are facing so many problems at home. Ben Bland. FT, 4 July