China

278 readers
60 users here now

Genuine news and discussion about China

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
1
 
 

The Philippine Coast Guard condemned "dangerous" manoeuvres by a Chinese Navy helicopter Tuesday as it flew within three metres (10 feet) of a surveillance flight carrying a group of journalists over the contested Scarborough Shoal.

An AFP photographer on the flight described seeing the helicopter tail the plane before drawing near the left wing, close enough to see personnel aboard filming them.

The helicopter had been "as close as three metres" to the fisheries bureau aircraft, the coast guard said in a statement. The plane had been flying about 213 metres above the water on a mission to observe Chinese vessels in the area.

"Around 0839 hours, a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-Navy) helicopter ... performed dangerous flight maneuvers towards the BFAR aircraft. This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers during the MDA flight," the coast guard statement said.

The Scarborough Shoal -- a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea -- has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.

...

In December, the Philippines said the Chinese coast guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government fisheries department vessel.

Manila released a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship firing a torrent of water at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya.

Other footage apparently taken from the Philippine ship showed its crew shouting "Collision! Collision!" as the much larger Chinese vessel nears its right-hand side before crashing into it.

...

2
 
 

The Chinese government has increasingly imposed arbitrary restrictions on people’s internationally protected right to leave the country, Human Rights Watch said today.

Chinese authorities are requiring citizens from locales they broadly consider to be high risks for online fraud or “unlawful” emigration to submit additional paperwork and obtain approval from multiple government offices during passport application processes. Those not meeting these cumbersome requirements are often denied passports. The government has long restricted people’s access to passports in areas where Tibetans and Uyghurs predominantly live.

“While many Chinese citizens enjoy international travel, the right to leave China appears to be restricted for growing categories of people throughout the country,” said Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities are going beyond existing restrictions on Tibetans and Uyghurs to limit the travel of people throughout China under the guise of anti-crime campaigns.”

All Chinese citizens can apply for “ordinary passports” (因私普通护照) with an identity card. However, in recent years, police agencies responsible for issuing passports have increasingly subjected applicants from dozens of locales to a more cumbersome process. This conclusion is based on official complaints filed by those affected as well as social media posts by residents, travel agents, and overseas employment agencies in those locales.

[...]

3
 
 

Archived

Here is the study The Silent Withdrawal (pdf).

In The Silent Withdrawal, Dian Zhong - research fellow at the Hoover History Lab specializing in the comparative political economy of development with a focus on gender dynamics - reveals a striking reversal in China’s once-celebrated gender equality, as women increasingly withdraw from the workforce despite higher education levels. Highlighting the policy missteps and the unintended consequences of pro-natalist measures, alongside the transformation of feminism from state collaboration to a force of resistance, Zhong calls for bold reforms to reconcile women’s economic empowerment with demographic challenges, steering China toward a more inclusive future.

Key takeaways:

  • A Quiet Crisis in China’s Workforce: Despite education gains, Chinese women are retreating from the workforce, facing widening wage gaps, underrepresentation in leadership, and mounting family pressures—a stark contrast to global gender equality trends.
  • Policy Missteps Deepen Inequality: Government efforts to encourage fertility have inadvertently marginalized women economically, worsening labor discrimination and gender disparities.
  • Feminism Evolves Under Pressure: Once a partner in state-driven agendas, feminist activism in China now stands at the crossroads of domestic demands and global scrutiny. Facing mounting pressures, it has transformed from collaboration with the state to a force of active resistance.
  • Balancing Demographics with Inclusion: Inclusive policies are urgently needed to align women’s economic roles with the nation’s demographic challenges. Without such reforms, China risks losing the valuable contributions of female human capital while facing an impending demographic crisis.
4
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29657247

Tesla is victorious in almost every court case thanks to a justice system that acts as the long arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

...

Tesla has sued more than a dozen journalists and even its own customers, weaponizing a legal system that operates as an extended arm of the Communist Party regime.

In every case where a ruling has ensued, Tesla won its lawsuit. One of the few open cases remains—related to Zhang Yazhou, more on that below—and that is only because she is appealing the verdict handed down against her.

Moreover, of the 81 civil judgements in which Tesla owners sued the company over safety and quality issues or contract disputes, only nine were victorious.

...

[Tesla owner Elon] Musk can count on a powerful ally. China’s second-highest ranking official behind president Xi Jinping is none other than the man that helped Elon Musk build his massive Chinese vehicle factory: state premier and former Shanghai party boss Li Qiang.

...

5
 
 

Just over a year ago, Chloe Cheung was sitting her A-levels. Now she's on a Chinese government list of wanted dissidents.

The choir girl-turned-democracy activist woke up to news in December that police in Hong Kong had issued a $HK1 million ($100,000; £105,000) reward for information leading to her capture abroad.

"I actually just wanted to take a gap year after school," Chloe, 19, who lives in London, told the BBC. "But I've ended up with a bounty!"

Chloe is the youngest of 19 activists accused of breaching a national security law introduced by Beijing in response to huge pro-democracy protests in the former British colony five years ago.

In 2021, she and her family moved to the UK under a special visa scheme for Hong Kongers. She can probably never return to her home city and says she has to be careful about where she travels.

Her protest work has made her a fugitive of the Chinese state, a detail not lost on me as we meet one icy morning in the café in the crypt of Westminster Abbey. In medieval England, churches provided sanctuary from arrest.

Hong Kong police issued the arrest warrant on Christmas Eve, using the only photo they appear to have on file for her – in which she is aged 11.

"It freaked me out at first," she says, but then she fired back a public response.

"I didn't want the government to think I was scared. Because if Hong Kongers in Hong Kong can't speak out for themselves any more, then we outside of the city - who can speak freely without fear- we have to speak up for them."

[...]

China's Bounty targets

  • July 2023: Eight high profile activists are named including: Nathan Law, Anna Kwok and Finn Lau, former politicians Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar Kevin Yam, unionist Mung Siu-tat, and online commentator Yuan Gong-yi.
  • December 2023: Simon Cheng, Frances Hui, Joey Siu, Johnny Fok and Tony Choi
  • December 2024: Tony Chung, Carmen Lau, Chung Kim-wah, Chloe Cheung, Victor Ho Leung-mau
6
 
 

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/1973426

Archived

China has on Feb 13 sought to reject a Swiss government report suggesting that it has been cracking down on Tibetans and Uyghurs living in Switzerland under the globally condemned campaign of transnational repression. It has sought to castigate the report’s findings as “false information”.

China routinely rejects offhandedly any report criticizing its human rights record, especially when it concerns Tibetans and Uyghurs, claiming it inherently amounts to interfering in its internal affairs.

The Swiss government report published on Feb 12 expressed “suspicion” that China was inciting Tibetans and Uyghurs living in Switzerland to spy on and exert pressure on members of their own communities, while also engaging in other forms of “transnational repression”, such as cyber-attacks and surveillance.

The report was based on the results of a University of Basel study commissioned by the Federal Office of Justice and the State Secretariat for Migration. The investigation was carried out In response to a parliamentary postulate.

[...]

In its report, the Swiss government recommended examining a series of measures concerning prevention, coordination and awareness-raising. It also wanted to raise awareness among all federal, cantonal and communal services likely to be involved in transnational repression.

China is accused of carrying out a campaign of genocide in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), the homeland of the Uyghur, in the name of combatting religious extremism, and the obliteration of Tibetan culture and identity in the name of Sinicization in Tibet. It is also routinely criticized at the UN Human Rights Council both for its systemic violations and poor response to calls for accountability by its expert investigators.

7
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29611732

Archived

Several private Chinese companies have begun operations in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, supplying essential equipment and helping rebuild destroyed factories, reports the Ukrainian media outlet NV, suggesting that these business activities likely have the backing of the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese entrepreneurs from varying sectors such as energy, agriculture, and light industry are traveling to these regions to form joint Chinese-Russian companies and are actively seeking local workers.

"Currently, Russians lack the financial resources to develop the captured Ukrainian territories, prompting the Kremlin to seek Chinese investment," stated Pavlo Lysianskyi, Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Security.

Since the spring of 2023, companies from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk have appeared at China's "Canton Fair" in Guangzhou. For instance, Artom Zhykharyev, "advisor to the general director" of the "state company 'Nadra'" from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, visited industrial equipment plants in Beijing, Zhengzhou, Jinan, and Taiyuan. By 2024, the Chinese company Liming Heavy Industry Science & Technology is expected to supply various industrial equipment, including stationary crushers and vibrating feeders.

...

The media reports that the Chinese are aiding Russians not only in rebuilding the devastated industries of Donbas but also by supplying equipment to mines occupied by Russia in Torez, Snizhne, and Khrestivka. Moreover, Russia is seeking to connect the highway "Rostov-on-Don — Mariupol — Melitopol — Simferopol," which it is actively constructing, to an international transportation corridor "Europe — Western China."

...

8
 
 

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29556998

UK-based lawyers have spoken out about being targeted by the Chinese state and its supporters in a campaign of intimidation including surveillance, hacking of bank accounts and rape threats.

The barristers, from Doughty Street Chambers in London, say there has been a coordinated and concerted campaign against them since they began acting for the jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul, Jimmy Lai, three years ago.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC said she had received threats via email and social media of dismemberment, rape and death, which have extended to her family in recent months.

“I had a threat to rape one of my children because of my work,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s just an individual or if that’s someone who’s state-linked. What I do know is that if you have a campaign which is led by state authorities to say this lawyer is not to be trusted and they’re undermining the Chinese state by engaging in legal work with the United Nations, it sends a green light to [its supporters] to send material like that.”

As the leader of Lai’s international legal team, Gallagher has been targeted the most, including “hundreds” of attempts to hack her bank account. There has also been so-called “privilege phishing” – attempts to seek to persuade those who are targeted to divulge sensitive information, which the Bar Council has also warned about. Sometimes it is through emails created to appear to have been sent by Gallagher, or her contacts or colleagues.

9
 
 

China’s media frequently use remarks by Taiwanese commentators in Douyin (抖音) — the Chinese version of TikTok — posts to propagate negative images of Taiwan, a Taiwan Information Environment Research Center report says.

In October and November last year, the months before and after the US presidential election, the 20 most cited Taiwanese figures were Alex Tsai (蔡正元), Li Cheng-chieh (栗正傑), Julian Kuo (郭正亮), Herman Shuai (帥化民), Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), Hsieh Han-ping (謝寒冰), Lai Yueh-chien (賴岳謙), Dale Jieh (介文汲), Chang Yen-ting (張延廷), Yuan Chu-cheng (苑舉正), Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), Ho Han-ting (侯漢廷), Eric Chu (朱立倫), Lee Sheng-feng (李勝峰), Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), Tang Hsiang-lung (唐湘龍), Tung Chih-sen (董智森), Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) and Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), the report said.

...

Commentators specializing in military affairs such as Li, a retired major general, Shuai, a former KMT legislator, Lu, a former navy lieutenant commander, and Chang, a retired air force lieutenant general, made the top 10, marking a sharp rise from the same period in 2023, the report said.

The most covered topics were Chinese military power or cross-strait warfare (51.69 percent), “US skepticism theory” (24.83 percent) and “cross-strait familyhood” (13.77 percent), it said, adding th

...at war-related quotes made up the majority.

10
 
 

China is nervous.

Beijing has recently started a barrage of fire against the Dalai Lama; it has not happened for years on this scale. The attack seems to target the ‘foreign’ audience, as it was mainly posted in English by CGTN through a series of several articles and two videos (featuring a well-known Indian Communist).

But what is CGTN, or China Central Television (CCTV)? It is an English-language news channel under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This explains many things.

On February 1, four articles appeared denouncing the Tibetan religious leader: “Unmasking the Dalai Lama: The root of darkness in old Xizang”.

Of course, it was also an occasion to ‘sell’ Tibet’s new name, Xizang. Beijing’s ‘friends’, like Pakistan and Nepal, have already started reporting about ‘Xizang’ and no more about Tibet or the Land of Snows.

...

Why [China's] renewed aggressiveness now?

The first reason could be the forthcoming 90th birthday of the Tibetan leader. In 2011, in a long statement speaking about his succession and the return of the 15th Dalai Lama, he had announced that he would give details about his ‘return’ when he turns 90 years old.

...

Another reason for Beijing’s frustration and anger is that the attack on India in May 2020 in Eastern Ladakh has shown Beijing’s military limits, while at the same time triggering a never-seen-before development of India’s northern borders (ie, the construction of new roads, providing better communications with telecom towers in remote areas, the adoption of the Vibrant Village Scheme for border settlements, and a general revitalisation of local faith, in particular Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalaya).

The last is taking place at a time when China is pushing for the ‘sinization’ of the same Buddhism (which is the opposite of the Buddha’s profound teachings). All these factors probably concur to make Beijing nervous; an insecure China can be an aggressive China. India needs to be watchful.

11
 
 

Archived

In the beginning of February 2020, Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan heard rumours that an unidentified disease was killing citizens in the city of Wuhan. Despite the risk of contagion, she travelled 850 km to cover the situation on the ground, working in the epicentre of what turned out to be one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history. For this, she was sentenced to four years in prison as the Chinese regime tried to cover up news about the outbreak and their responsibility for the spread of the disease.

Five years later — after completing her first, unjust prison sentence — Zhang Zhan is in detention once again, arrested just a few weeks after sharing information about the harassment of human rights activists on social media. She has now been behind bars since August 2024 and recently started a hunger strike in protest of her mistreatment by the regime. According to RSF information, Zhang Zhan — who was already very weak prior herpast six months of detention — is being force-fed by prison authorities.

...

Throughout her imprisonment, RSF campaigned for her release and warned about the mistreatment she was subjected to in prison. During her early months of detention, Zhang Zhan — laureate of the 2021 RSF Press Freedom Award — nearly died after going on a total hunger strike to protest her mistreatment. Prison officials forcibly fed her through a nasal tube and sometimes left her handcuffed for days.

China, the world’s biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 124 media workers currently behind bars, is ranked 172nd out of 180 countries in the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

12
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29488879

Ahead of the highly anticipated visit from China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is due to visit Britain today (Thursday 13 February) to hold talks with his British counterpart David Lammy in what is being seen as a sign that relations between the countries are ‘normalising’, said Felix Jakens, Amnesty’s UK Head of Campaigns.

“David Lammy should be drawing serious red lines, rather than rolling out the red carpet when Wang Yi visits this week," Jakens adds.

“We need to hear a public and strong condemnation of the brutal suppression of human rights activists, which is not only limited to mainland China or Hong Kong but has also spread to the UK through the transnational targeting of students and activists who speak out here. Hong Kong’s recent issuing of ‘Wild West’-style bounties on activists’ heads in the UK indicates the authorities believe they can intimidate and silence their critics overseas with impunity. It is completely unacceptable to see this sort of international witch hunt on UK soil and the most high-level visit in years must be a time to publicly vocalise UK Government outrage."

[...]

13
 
 

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/32684736

Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father's panicked voice: The brakes don't work! Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into an SUV and a sedan and crashing into a large concrete barrier.

Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the car's brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than $23,000 in damages and publicly apologize to the $1.1 trillion company.

14
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29450615

Australia's defence ministry said it "expressed concerns" to its Chinese counterparts over the "unsafe and unprofessional interaction".

No one was injured and there was no damage to Australia's P-8A surveillance jet after Tuesday's incident, the ministry said.

But China said the Australian aircraft "intentionally intruded" into its airspace and that the Chinese fighter jet responded in a "legitimate, lawful, professional, and restrained" manner.

This is the latest in a string of encounters between the two countries' militaries in the region, where China's vast claims over islands and outcrops overlap with those of its neighbours.

...

In May last year, Australia accused a Chinese fighter plane of dropping flares close to an Australian navy helicopter that was part of a UN Security Council mission on the Yellow Sea.

In November 2023, Canberra accused Beijing's navy of using sonar pulses in international waters off Japan, resulting in Australian divers suffering injuries.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Canberra said it was monitoring three Chinese navy vessels operating to the north-east of Australia.

These vessels had travelled through South East Asia before entering Australia's maritime approaches, with one of the vessels transiting into waters in the country's north, the defence department said.

"Australia respects the rights of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, just as we expect others to respect Australia's right to do the same," it said.

15
 
 

Here is the link to the study.

A quarter of the world’s countries have engaged in transnational repression – targeting political exiles abroad to silence dissent – in the past decade, new research reveals.

The Washington DC-based non-profit organisation Freedom House has documented 1,219 incidents carried out by 48 governments across 103 countries, from 2014 to 2024.

However, a smaller number of countries account for the vast majority of all documented physical attacks on dissidents, with China the most frequent offender, responsible for 272 incidents, or 22% of recorded cases. Russia, Turkey and Egypt also rank among the worst perpetrators.

High-profile incidents of transnational repression include the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a hit squad at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has targeted his foes in the UK, including the 2006 radiation poisoning of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. This was followed by a string of more than a dozen other suspicious deaths of Russians on British soil that are also suspected of being tied to the Kremlin.

...

16
 
 

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/1935086

China is helping Russia's military drone production by becoming a hub for the smuggling of critical Western components for Moscow's armed forces, Estonia's foreign intelligence said in its annual national security report published on Wednesday.

Some 80% of such components reaching Russia now come from China, it said. Previous Ukrainian reports have suggested that roughly 60% of foreign parts found in Russian weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine have come via China.

China is Russia's "primary hub" for importing high-tech and dual-use goods, evading Western sanctions, according to the report.

"Chinese interests here lie in preventing Russia from losing the war in Ukraine as such an outcome would represent a victory for the United States, which is the main rival for China," Kaupo Rosin, director general of the service, told reporters in a video call.

...

NATO member Estonia closely tracks Russian military capabilities as it regards Moscow as the major threat to its security, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

...

Russia is "in principle willing" to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine but only "to catch breath" because President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his "imperial ambitions", Rosin said.

...

17
 
 

Archived

China last year began construction on projects with the greatest combined coal power capacity since 2015, jeopardising the country’s goal to peak carbon emissions by 2030, according to a report [...] from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) in the United States, China began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power projects in 2024 — 93 percent of the global total.

Although the country also added a record 356 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity — 4.5 times the European Union’s additions — the uptick in coal power risks solidifying its role in China’s energy mix, the report said.

“China’s rapid expansion of renewable energy has the potential to reshape its power system, but this opportunity is being undermined by the simultaneous large-scale expansion of coal power,” said Qi Qin, lead author of the report and China analyst at CREA.

The rise comes despite a pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2021 to “strictly control” coal power projects and increases in coal consumption before “phasing it down” between 2026 and 2030.

...

Coal prioritised

New permits for coal power projects fell 83 percent in the first half of 2024, prompting optimism that China’s clean energy transition was gathering pace.

...

But coal power surged in the latter months of 2024, despite the country adding enough power from clean energy sources to cover its growth in electricity demand.

That suggested coal power was being prioritised over renewable sources in some regions, the report said.

“Chinese coal power and mining companies are sponsoring and building new coal plants beyond what is needed,” said Christine Shearer, research analyst at GEM.

“The continued pursuit of coal is crowding out the country’s use of lower-cost clean energy.”

...

18
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29380375

Archived

On Wednesday, 12 February, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, will meet British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London when the two co-chair the China-UK Strategic Dialogue, the first such strategy dialogue between the two countries since 2018. The London meeting follows British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ January mission to China to resume the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, stalled since 2019. The concluding policy paper made only two weak references to human rights. The resumption of such strategic dialogues between the UK and China sends a concerning message, in particular at a time of deteriorating human rights in China and mounting transnational repression in the UK. ARTICLE 19 reiterates calls for the UK to prioritise human rights in its engagement with China.

[...]

Demand an immediate end to the arbitrary detention of British citizens

First detained under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law in August 2020, media magnate and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, 77, who is a British citizen, has remained in solitary confinement for over 1,400 days. He faces trial for serious charges under the NSL, which carry a potential maximum life sentence, yet Hong Kong has denied him consular support.

In 2015 British citizen Lee Bo vanished along with several Hong Kong bookseller colleagues in a coordinated attack for selling titles critical of Chinese Communist Party elites. He was ‘involuntarily removed to the mainland without any due process’ in December of that year in a ‘serious breach’ of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as stated by the UK government at the time. In late February 2016, he on Chinese state-owned Phoenix Television claiming to have returned to China of his own accord and renouncing his British citizenship. It has all the hallmarks of a forced confession. Throughout the ordeal, Lee Bo was also denied consular access. reappeared on Chinese state-owned Phoenix Television claiming to have returned to China of his own accord and renouncing his British citizenship. The appearance had all the hallmarks of a forced confession. Throughout the ordeal, Lee Bo was also denied consular access.

In meeting with Wang Yi, the UK should call for the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai and other British citizens and dual nationals arbitrarily detained in China and Hong Kong. Recognising the right under international law, David Lammy should furthermore demand full consular access for Jimmy Lai and other detained British citizens.

Transnational repression in the UK must end

David Lammy has an obligation to speak for the estimated 150,000 Hong Kongers and other minority and Chinese groups living in the UK, many of whom increasingly live in fear of transnational repression.

For example, on 16 October 2022 when a group of Hong Kongers gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manchester to protest China’s human rights abuses, the demonstration quickly turned violent as consulate officials attacked the protesters. Bob Chan, one of the protesters and a British National Overseas (BNO) passport holder, was violently dragged by masked men into the consulate grounds and beaten up. He was pulled out to safety by British police. Chan was later treated at a hospital for his injuries.

China’s Consul General in Manchester, Zheng Xiyuan, the second highest diplomat in the UK, later admitted to participating in the attack, telling Sky News that Chan ‘was abusing my country, my leader, I think it’s my duty’. There is no record of Wang Yi having expressed disapproval of these actions.

Bob Chan is one of several hundred thousand British National Overseas passport holders. The BNO was created as part of the 1997 British handover of Hong Kong, but applications surged following the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020. In January 2021 China and Hong Kong announced they were refusing to recognise BNO passports, which prevents BNO passport holders residing in the UK from accessing their retirement savings in Hong Kong.

Perhaps starkest of China’s transnational repression against Hong Kongers residing in the UK has been the Hong Kong National Security Police issuing international arrest warrants and $1 million HKD ($128,361 USD) bounties on nine Hong Kongers in the UK in July and December 2023 and December 2024.

This transnational repression of dissidents abroad has been compounded by the harassment and targeting of their family members still in China, such as London-based member of Hong Kong Democracy Council Carmen Lau.

[...]

19
 
 

Public anger in China over concerns raised by doctors that generic drugs used in public hospitals are increasingly ineffective has led to a rare response from the government.

Doctors say they believe the country's drug procurement system, which incentivises the use of cheap generic drugs over original brand-name pharmaceuticals, has led to costs being cut at the expense of people's safety.

But officials, quoted by multiple state media outlets on Sunday, say the issue is one of perception rather than reality.

One report said different people simply had different reactions to medicines and that claims about them being ineffective had "mostly come from people's anecdotes and subjective feelings".

The official response has done little to allay public fears over the reputation of drugs in public hospitals and pharmacies. It is the latest challenge to a healthcare system that is already under enormous strain because of a rapidly ageing population.

...

20
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29379966

Archived

In the background of the EU’s potential mood shift toward China, President of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association Ola Kallenius made a suggestion last month. Speaking to the Financial Times, he said the tariffs the EU imposed on China’s electric vehicles, or EVs, last October could be replaced by encouraging Chinese carmakers to open more plants inside the EU.

For anyone concerned about climate change, that might seem like good news, given the EU’s current stance nakedly prioritizes economic competitiveness over the fast rollout of vehicles that can reduce catastrophic carbon emissions.

But even if the idea came to fruition, there’s a catch. Around 85% of China’s total lithium reserves, which power both the batteries and the entertainment systems in the EVs, are thought to sit in Tibet. And even Chinese factories located in Europe would source their lithium from there — as BYD (比亞迪) and non-Chinese Tesla currently do.

[...]

Mining lithium involves salt-rich brine being pumped to the Earth’s surface and allowed to evaporate. This process consumes large amounts of water, can make water undrinkable and can destroy traditional farmlands and nature reserves. In 2016, the Liqi River was contaminated, destroying the local water supply and killing livestock and fish. The process can also pollute sacred grasslands.

“Tibetans actually don’t benefit from the mining. They experience negative effects of mining including environmental degradation, loss of land and displacement,” renowned Tibet researcher Gabriel Lafitte told a recent Institute for Security and Development Policy online event.

“Mining is often very bad for local water resources,” Martin Mills, chair in anthropology and director of the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research at the University of Aberdeen explained. “Mines involve the release of and use of a wide variety of very nasty chemicals that … often render areas infertile and create high cancer rates, poisoning rates. Animals can’t live there so that’s a local problem [too.]”

[...]

The effects are not only localized, though. The Tibetan Plateau (sometimes known as the Earth’s “Third Pole”) is home to permafrost which stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Alongside existing climate change and increased solar radiation, which are the dominant factors, mining of the mountains around the permafrost, and damming of the Tibetan rivers, exacerbate the thawing of permafrost.

[...]

“The world seems to have opted for the rather simplistic assumption that anything and everything that reduces our carbon emissions is the magical solution,” Gabriel Lafitte said.

“[A] lot of environmentalists actually argue that China is the key and maybe now that we have a President Trump they may even more strongly embrace China as the world’s great hope for a simplistic tech solution to the climate crisis … and so [they believe] if Tibet is to be sacrificed well you know that’s very unfortunate but it may be necessary.”

[...]

Treating places like Tibet as places to grab resources and ignore the consequences.

“We’re moving into a political domain in which people understand you need to grab resources — food resources, mineral resources — and you need to create a hinterland and you need to control those hinterlands and Tibet is part of that,” Mills explained.

[...]

The truth of the matter is the shift to green technologies is going to damage the environment just as much as fossil fuels will do because the question is not what technology we’re using, it’s how much energy and resource we are consuming across the board,” Mills summarized.

[...]

21
 
 

Archived

As China aggressively expands its economic footprint across the globe, the recent scandal at BYD's Brazilian factory construction site has exposed the darker side of Chinese overseas investment. The discovery of 163 Chinese workers living in "slavery-like conditions" in Camaçari, Brazil, reveals how China's corporations are exporting not just their products and services, but also their oppressive labor practices beyond their borders. The details that emerged from the Brazilian labor inspector's investigation paint a disturbing picture of systematic exploitation. Workers building BYD's electric vehicle factory were forced to surrender their passports, which is a classic indicator of forced labor and submit to contracts laden with draconian conditions. These included an $890 deposit that could only be retrieved after six months of work, effectively trapping workers in their positions, and arbitrary fines for infractions as minor as walking shirtless or engaging in arguments.

[...]

More revealing still are the discussions that emerged on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where some users noted that the conditions found in Brazil mirror those faced by construction workers within China itself. This acknowledgment hints at how China's domestic labor practices, characterized by the notorious "996" work culture (9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week), are being internationalized through its corporate expansion. The BYD Brazil scandal serves as a warning about the hidden costs of Chinese investment. While countries like Brazil eagerly court Chinese capital as part of their industrialization strategies, they must be vigilant about the potential for labor exploitation. The incident has already prompted Brazilian authorities to suspend temporary work visas for BYD, but more systematic safeguards are needed.

[...]

This case also highlights the tension between economic development and worker rights. The BYD factory, built on the site of a former Ford plant, was supposed to symbolize Brazil's reindustrialization. Instead, it has become a symbol of how Chinese investment can undermine rather than enhance labor standards.

[...]

22
23
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29334076

Archived

The political landscape in Serbia was upended on January 28, when Prime Minister Miloš Vučević announced his resignation, bringing an abrupt end to his government’s term. The resignation came nearly three months after student-led protests erupted across the country, demanding accountability for a disaster that claimed 15 lives – the collapse of the newly renovated railway station rooftop in Novi Sad.

The station’s modernization was a key component of a high-profile infrastructure project aimed at upgrading the railway link between Belgrade and Budapest, which has itself become a symbol of Serbia’s growing cooperation with China. Completed in the summer of 2024, the $1.5 billion project – funded through a loan agreement between the Serbian government, China’s Exim Bank, and the Russian government under the China-CEEC cooperation framework – was hailed as a milestone in regional connectivity.

It is thus not surprising that the collapse sent shockwaves through Serbian society.

[...]

At the heart of the matter was the way the project was handled from the start. Critics argue that the collapse was not merely an accident but the consequence of a deeply flawed process in which public transparency was sidelined, international agreements were leveraged to bypass national regulations, and political interests were prioritized over safety. What’s more, in order to showcase progress, officials allegedly inaugurated the station before reconstruction work was complete.

The crisis has also provided an unprecedented look into the inner workings of Serbia’s infrastructure deals with China. From high-level government-to-government agreements to contracts between Chinese firms and local subcontractors, the controversy has exposed largely opaque processes. Thanks to relentless pressure from student protesters, key documents were finally made public, offering a rare opportunity for citizens to scrutinize a partnership that has long operated behind closed doors.

[...]

International agreements signed between the Serbian government and China’s Exim Bank in May 2017 and April 2019 revealed that the modernization of two key railway sections was awarded to a Chinese consortium consisting of China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company. These agreements, adopted by the Serbian parliament, were publicly available. What remained inaccessible, however, were the commercial contracts between Serbian authorities – including the Ministry of Construction and Serbian Railways – and the Chinese consortium. One such agreement, covering the section that included the Novi Sad railway station, was signed in July 2018, revealing a critical detail: the selection of Chinese firms for the project was predetermined before the loan agreements were finalized.

[...]

Facilitating Disaster: The Role of Chinese Companies

Chinese companies played a critical role in the modernization project, yet they have largely escaped the level of scrutiny faced by domestic actors. Public outrage over the Novi Sad station collapse was overwhelmingly directed at the Serbian government and its officials. Many saw domestic actors as the primary culprits, accusing them of implementing a project riddled with secrecy and mismanagement. Protesters demanded the publication of all project-related documents, accountability for those responsible, and a transparent investigation – especially after government officials issued conflicting statements, even attempting to downplay the incident by claiming that no work had been done on the station’s rooftop. But as public pressure intensified, nearly 800 documents were released, shedding new light on the project’s many layers.

[...]

For years, Serbian leaders have championed cooperation with China as a pillar of the country’s economic and infrastructure development. The partnership has often been framed as “no-strings-attached” – a model where Chinese investment flows without the pressures of regulatory oversight or strict compliance with international standards. But the tragedy in Novi Sad underscores a dangerous flaw in this approach. When accountability is absent and safeguards are ignored, the consequences can be catastrophic, putting human lives at stake.

To prevent further disasters, Serbia must rethink its approach to foreign-backed projects. Transparency, legality, and accountability must become non-negotiable principles, regardless of the partner involved. This means ensuring that all agreements – whether with China or any other foreign investor – are subject to public scrutiny, adhere to the highest safety and labor standards, and uphold the rule of law. Only through such reforms can Serbia rebuild public trust and prevent similar tragedies in the future.

24
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29331548

Archived

[The article shows very good examples I can't paraphrase here, but they are very illuminating.]

Is Taiwan an independent country? When pointing out DeepSeek’s propaganda problems, journalists and China watchers have tended to prompt the LLM with questions like these about the “Three T’s” (Tiananmen, Taiwan, and Tibet) — obvious political red lines that are bound to meet a stony wall of hedging and silence. “Let’s talk about something else,” DeepSeek tends to respond. Alternatively, questions of safety regarding DeepSeek tend to focus on whether data will be sent to China.

Experts say this is all easily fixable. Kevin Xu has pointed out that the earlier V3 version, released in December, will discuss topics such as Tiananmen and Xi Jinping when it is hosted on local computers — beyond the grasp of DeepSeek’s cloud software and servers.

[...]

But do coders and Silicon Valley denizens know what they should be looking for? As we have written at CMP, Chinese state propaganda is not about censorship per se, but about what the Party terms “guiding public opinion” (舆论导向). “Guidance,” which emerged in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, is a more comprehensive approach to narrative control that goes beyond simple censorship. While outright removal of unwanted information is one tactic, “guidance” involves a wide spectrum of methods to shape public discourse in the Party’s favor. These can include restricting journalists’ access to events, ordering media to emphasize certain facts and interpretations, deploying directed narrative campaigns, and drowning out unfavorable information with preferred content.

Those testing DeepSeek for propaganda shouldn’t simply be prompting the LLM to cross simple red lines or say things regarded as “sensitive.” They should be mindful of the full range of possible tactics to achieve “guidance.”

[...]

We tested DeepSeek R1 in three environments: locally on our computers — using “uncensored” versions downloaded from Hugging Face — on servers hosted by Hugging Face, and on the interface most people are using DeepSeek through: the app connected to Chinese servers. The DeepSeek models were not the same (R1 was too big to test locally, so we used a smaller version), but across all three categories, we identified tactics frequently used in Chinese public opinion guidance.

[...]

The “uncensored” version of DeepSeek’s software [...] puts official messaging first, treating the government as the sole source of accurate information on anything related to China. When we asked it in Chinese for the Wenchuan earthquake death toll and other politically sensitive data, the model searched exclusively for “official data” (官方统计数据) to obtain “accurate information.” As such, it could not find “accurate” statistics for Taiwanese identity — something that is regularly and extensively polled by a variety of institutions in Taiwan. All we got is boilerplate: Taiwan “has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times” and any move toward independent nationhood is illegal.

[...]

Tailored Propaganda?

DeepSeek R1 seems to modify its answers depending on what language is used and the location of the user’s device. DeepSeek R1 acted like a completely different model in English. It provided sources based in Western countries for facts about the Wenchuan earthquake and Taiwanese identity and addressed criticisms of the Chinese government.

Chinese academics are aware that AI has this potential. In a journal under the CCP’s Propaganda Department last month, a journalism professor at China’s prestigious Fudan University made the case that China “needs to think about how the generative artificial intelligence that is sweeping the world can provide an alternative narrative that is different from ‘Western-centrism’” — namely, by providing answers tailored to different foreign audiences.

[...]

DeepSeek’s answers have been subtly adapted to different languages and trained to reflect [Chinese] state-approved views.

[...]

25
 
 

Archived version

China seems to be gearing up to further ensnare Sri Lanka in its debt trap. This became evident when Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake undertook a four-day visit to China in mid-January this year. During the visit, China sealed several agreements with Sri Lanka, including a $3.7 billion deal for setting up an oil refinery in Hambantota with Sinopec [China Petrochemical Corporation].

Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing agreed to invest in Sri Lanka’s infrastructure development. However, this comes despite the fact [several projects built under China’s initiative] have already proven to be white elephants, contributing to Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in 2022 and 2023.

Chinese loans have piled up for Sri Lanka, accounting for 52% of the island nation’s total foreign debt of $46.9 billion. Between 2000 and 2020 alone, China extended close to $12 billion in loans to Sri Lanka, funding major infrastructure projects. The interest rates on these [Chinese] loans were significantly higher compared to those from the IMF, the World Bank, Japan, and other countries.

China provided loans at a 4% interest rate, with a shorter repayment period of around 10 years, compared to 24 to 28 years for loans from Japan and other Western countries. The interest rate on commercial borrowings from Chinese banks was even more staggering: Sri Lanka took loans from Chinese banks at an exorbitant 6% interest rate.

Moreover, when crisis-hit Sri Lanka was moving from pillar to post in 2022 to restructure its debt with China and secure loans from the IMF to overcome the shortage of foreign exchange that left Colombo unable to finance even essential imports like food and fuel, Beijing simply dithered.

In April 2023, China did not join talks held by Sri Lanka’s other major creditors to restructure the island nation’s debt. Only after constant appeals from the IMF and other countries did Beijing, the largest creditor of Colombo, agree to restructure its loans.

Following this, the IMF provided the first tranche of $330 million out of a $3 billion rescue package approved for crisis-stricken Sri Lanka in 2023. However, for the subsequent tranche of loans from the IMF, China once again delayed the restructuring of its loans. In November 2023, Sri Lanka reached an agreement with China to restructure $4.2 billion of debt. These developments, however, left a deep mark on Sri Lankans’ psyche, as China appeared to be a partner who reluctantly came forward to relieve the island nation of its economic pains.

Despite this, when Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently visited China, he was overwhelmed by President Xi Jinping’s warmth and the red-carpet welcome. In his opening remarks, as per the Associated Press, President Xi said: “I am willing to work with you, Mr. President, to chart a new vision for the development of bilateral relations and promote new and greater achievements in China-Sri Lanka friendly cooperation.”

These sugar-coated words from the Chinese President, coupled with Beijing’s intent to deepen its influence in Sri Lanka, a strategically important nation in the Indian Ocean Region, led to the creation of pro-Colombo atmospherics. This ultimately resulted in the two countries signing a series of agreements, including advancing BRI projects such as Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port [both in Sri Lanka].

[...]

More concerning is the question raised by some strategists and foreign experts: whether Sri Lanka, already submerged in huge external debt, will be able to afford further investments under the BRI. They fear that any future financial meltdown in Sri Lanka could allow China to take control of the island nation’s assets, as seen in the case of the Hambantota Port.

[...]

view more: next ›