China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-05-05
First posted on Hive.
English news:
US couple’s nightmare: Held in China, away from daughter
"He has not been convicted of any crime in China, yet he was detained there for six months in solitary confinement under conditions that could qualify as torture under international conventions
[...] in order to convince his father, Xu Weiming, to come back from the U.S. and face charges he embezzled 447,874 yuan"
--- Don't deal with the mafia, is a good general rule, but the problem is that the mafia doesn't care. So, if someone you know has trouble with the mafia, they might see you as a valuable asset. In such a case, you should not go to China.
"American citizens are too often being detained as de facto hostages in business disputes or to coerce family members to return to China"
After its racism to Africans goes global, a Chinese province is taking anti-discrimination measures
"Any organization or individual shall not restrict or refuse providing hotel accommodation and renting houses to any specific group of people because of their nationality, race, gender or skin color."
--- Joke of the day. It's the authorities who eg. tell certain hotels not to take in foreigners (black or not).
"it is unclear what kind of sanctions violators of the new measures would face"
--- Because there won't be any. It's just an effort in saving face.
"Given the culture of local Chinese officials to closely follow guidance by their superiors, this change of emphasis to prevent racial discrimination will likely be enforced to some extent"
--- To some extent. Yeah.
Human Rights Watch is not quite as naive as Quartz:
China: Covid-19 Discrimination Against Africans
"In early April 2020, Chinese authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, which has China’s largest African community, began a campaign to forcibly test Africans for the coronavirus"
--- Yep, it was not simply some individual cases of discrimination by citizens. It was a campaign started by authorities & some citizens jumped willingly on the bandwaggon.
Intel shared among US allies indicates virus outbreak more likely came from market, not a Chinese lab
"A third source, also from a Five Eyes nation, told CNN that the level of certainty being expressed by Pompeo and Trump is way out in front of where the current Five Eyes assessment is. This source acknowledged that there is still a possibility that the virus originated from a laboratory, but cautioned there is nothing to make that a legitimate theory yet."
--- A bit different from what the title suggests. Some journalists seem to be more interested in debunking Trumpisms than anything else. Just because this moron said it, doesn't make it automatically wrong.
"without greater cooperation and transparency from the Chinese it's impossible to say with total certainty"
--- That's the major point. The PRC doesn't want any independent investigation. That's what the media should focus on instead of trying to prove Trump wrong.
Coronavirus: Chinese state media take aim at US 'lab theory'
"Global Times newspaper said Mr Pompeo was "degenerate""
--- Yeah, that will show him.
Hong Kong bookseller jailed in China releases smuggled-out poems
"The themes of the poems, which are printed in Chinese and Swedish, span from a longing for Swedish forests to his imprisonment, with one stanza reading “It would be embarrassing To stop writing poems Because the poetry has been caged”"
--- Just a reminder.
‘Too costly’: Chinese military strategist warns now is not the time to take back Taiwan by force
"China’s ultimate goal is not the reunification of Taiwan, but to achieve the dream of national rejuvenation"
--- Blasphemy! Taiwan is a core interest of China & hence sacred.
This ex-general must be punished severely.
"[the virus crisis] just creates a short tactical window [for China] which is not big enough to solve the strategic dilemma it will face in the future – unless it’s almost certain that Covid-19 will lead to the collapse of the United States,”"
--- So, if the US collapses, it's OK to invade Taiwan. Oh, well, maybe he's not that bad of a heretic, then.
We will see how emperor Xi reacts.
Europe and China were on course for a reset. Coronavirus changed all that
"pulling China closer to European values on human rights, climate change and multilateralism is the sort of thing leaders' legacies are made of"
--- & that's pretty delusional. Luckily not everyone in Brussels is like that:
"the EU's Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, said in an interview with France's Le Journal du Dimanche that Europe had been "naïve" in its dealings with China"
--- But, then again, there are still idiots who think they can change the CCP's dislike for human rights:
""China's influence is rising, but it's not one-sided. Obviously, China also needs Europe." This, Brussels officials hope, means it can pressure China on things like its position on human rights."
--- Idiots.
Coronavirus: France's first known case 'was in December'
"it could mean spread of the disease was going unchecked in Europe while all eyes were on the East in Wuhan"
--- Could be, but then the question is why there were so few cases until February.
Video News:
--- America Uncovered: "US Wants China to Pay for Coronavirus"
--- Sky News (AUS): "America's rhetoric on China is becoming 'counterproductive'"
--- PBS Newshour: "Blame and counter-charges: the U.S.-China rhetorical war over COVID-19"
--- Other video news:
--- CNBC: Chinese intel report: Global anti-China sentiment hits highest level since 1989
--- Sky News (AUS): Chinese testing kit companies 'linked to serious human rights abuses' in China
Not in the news (yet):
Humen Bridge is swinging (one bridge to avoid, if you can)
Deutsche Nachrichten:
Fällt Hongkong, wird Chinas Appetit auf Taiwan grösser
"Zwar hat China bindende Verträge unterzeichnet, in denen es verspricht, bis zum Jahr 2047 die Eigenständigkeit der Stadt nicht anzutasten. Interessiert hat das die Nomenklatura aber nur wenig."
--- Währenddessen in der EU: "Wir müssen nur nett zur VRC sein, dann werden die schon verstehen, wie wichtig Vertragstreue & Menschenrechte sind."
"Xi Jinping['s...] Verhalten in Hongkong und Taiwan, aber auch in Tibet und der von muslimischen Uiguren bewohnten Provinz Xinjiang lässt keinen Zweifel daran, dass er von einer Dominanz der Han-Ethnie träumt, die damit einhergeht, dass andere Kulturen ausgemerzt werden."
--- Nur logisch, denn die Han-Kultur ist natürlich die zivilisierteste & fortschrittlichste von allen.
China muss Untersuchung zulassen
"Dabei könnte [die KPCh] selbst ein Interesse daran haben, selbst wenn dabei Mängel, Manipulationen und die Intransparenz des kommunistischen Systems ans Licht kämen."
--- Guter Witz. Das führt zu Gesichtsverlust & sowas geht in China gar nicht.
China fördert E-Autos aus eigener Produktion
"Gefördert werden nur E-Autos, die umgerechnet maximal rund 39.000 Euro kosten und nur solche, die in China produziert werden."
--- EU-Antwort: "Wir müssen fair sein, & alle gleichermaßen fördern, auch die armen Chinesen."
Mit Hightech und Ehrgeiz ins All
""Langer Marsch 5B" kann mehr als 20 Tonnen Gewicht in eine Erdumlaufbahn bringen. Damit zählt sie zu den tragfähigsten Raketen der Welt und wird mit der amerikanischen "Delta IV Heavy" oder "Falcon", der europäischen "Ariane 5" oder der russischen "Proton-M" verglichen."
--- Eigentlich erstaunlich, daß man dafür solange gebraucht hat. Man kann wohl nicht mehr so einfach auf russische Technologie zurückgreifen.