International
Cambridge professor whose role was ‘funded by China’ cautioned against Uyghur debate. In a transcript of a private meeting obtained by openDemocracy and shared with the Sunday Times, Cambridge professor Peter Nolan, who took a role allegedly funded by the family of former premier Wen Jibao, has cautioned students against holding debates on Uyghur human rights abuses, warning that they would not help “mutual understanding”. OpenDemocracy, The Sunday Times, 5 June
Hungarians protest against planned Chinese university campus. Thousands of Hungarians protested on Saturday against their government’s decision to allow Fudan University to open a campus in Budapest. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government is now prepared to hold a referendum on the building of the campus - which will cost more than US$1.5billion to build, will employ mainly Chinese contractors, and will be financed by Chinese banks - to appease voters. Reuters, SCMP, BBC, Bloomberg, 5 June
China policies could cut millions of Uyghur births in Xinjiang. A Reuters exclusive has revealed that Chinese birth control policies could cut between 2.6 to 4.5 million births of the Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in southern Xinjiang within 20 years, up to a third of the region’s projected minority population. Reuters, 7 June
London-based people’s tribunal investigates whether China’s alleged persecution of its Uyghur minority amounts to genocide. Over the weekend, dozens of witnesses gave their accounts of rape and torture at Xinjiang ‘re-education’ camps. The nine United Kingdom-based jurors of the tribunal, including lawyers and human rights experts, intend to publish a report in December on whether China is guilty of genocide. Al Jazeera, BBC, Sky News, The Telegraph, 4 June
Politicians push Beijing Winter Olympics ‘diplomatic boycott’ across 11 Western countries. A group of politicians across Europe and North America launched coordinated legislative actions on Monday, calling for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. SCMP, 7 June
Mario Draghi sets tone in cooling EU-China relations. Only two years ago, Italy became the first G7 nation to sign up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Now, Italian politicians claim that “The shift towards China belongs to the past.” FT, 6 June
US senators to visit Taiwan. Three US Senators travelled to the island on Sunday and will meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen to discuss security and other issues in a move likely to irk Beijing. The US will also donate 750,000 vaccine doses to Taiwan after Beijing allegedly blocked its efforts to secure jabs directly. Reuters, ABC, FT, 5 June
Trump demands 'reparations' from China over Covid. At a speech to a Republican convention in North Carolina, the former US President called upon the Asian superpower to pay at least US$10million for the damage done by Covid-19. The Independent, The Guardian, CNN, Reuters, 6 June
China hosts Southeast Asian ministers as it competes with US. China is hosting foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations this week amid heightened competition for regional influence between Washington and Beijing. AP, CGTN, 7 June
G7 coverage
Annual G7 summit set to begin in Cornwall, China on the agenda. Ahead of arriving in Europe, US President Joe Biden says he will reinforce the message that “market democracies, not China or anyone else, write the 21st-century rules around trade and technology”. Washington Post, The Guardian, 5 June
China's bid for digital-yuan sphere raises red flags at G7. Financial chiefs from the Group of Seven major economies will discuss rules for digital currencies issued by central banks, hoping to bring China’s digital yuan into an international regulatory framework. Nikkei Asia, 5 June
The G7 reflects democratic values - it is right that China is excluded. Roger Bootle. The Telegraph, 6 June
China focus
Chinese Internet Regulators Investigate Startup After Tiananmen Square Anniversary Post. Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like start-up back by e-commerce giants Alibaba and Tencent, had its domestic social media account shut down after writing a post on June 4th: “Tell me loudly, what is the date today?”. WSJ, Reuters, BBC, 6 June
Xi calls for unprecedented efforts to improve global environmental governance. Celebrating World Environment Day, China’s President stressed that the international community should work together to strive for a fair and reasonable system of global environmental governance. Xinhua, 5 June
China’s tech hub Shenzhen restricts travel and tests millions to stem Covid-19 after one case confirmed. SCMP, 7 June
Economy & tech
‘Do We Need to Be in Hong Kong?’ Global companies are eyeing the exits. Buffeted by political upheaval, an authoritarian crackdown by mainland China and the pandemic, global companies and professionals are heading to rival business cities such as Singapore, and Shanghai, the Chinese commercial hub some see as a better place to profit from the nation’s vast economy. WSJ, 6 June
China has triggered a bitcoin mining exodus. China has long been the world’s epicentre of bitcoin mining, but Chinese miners are now on tenterhooks following a top government official’s announcement that Beijing would start to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading. Wired, The Guardian, Reuters, 4 June
China debt: has it changed in 2021 and how big is it now? SCMP, 5 June
Longer reads & opinion
Bush family nonprofit's deal with China influence group. The Bush Foundation for US-China Relations accepted US$5 million from a Chinese Community Party-linked policy organization known for its efforts to make U.S. policy discussions more Beijing-friendly. Lachlan Markay and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian. Axios, 5 June
Will Europe sign up to Joe Biden’s plan to counter China? As the US President arrives in Europe, he will have to deal with an awkward reality: while the EU has become more hawkish on China, it has different economic and strategic priorities from the US and there is a constant risk of those divisions breaking into the open. FT, 7 June
Xi’s change of heart is too late to stop China’s collision with the west. An apparently conciliatory speech last week by Xi Jinping will not carry much water unless Beijing’s aggressive policies change. Simon Tisdall. The Guardian, 6 June
China’s Tech Clampdown Is Spreading. What started out as a government crackdown on anticompetitive practices among Chinese internet giants has grown into a broader effort to clean up how the country’s fast-growing—and, until recently, freewheeling—tech sector operates. Stephanie Yang. WSJ, 6 June
China once declared the UK its 'best friend in the West'. But Hong Kong and the treatment of Uyghurs changed everything. Roscoe Whalan. ABC, 6 June
The underground zines that kept self-expression alive in Mao’s China. Thomas S. Mullaney. Boston Globe, 6 June