Hong Kong: more than a million march against extradition bill

Dear Access member,

Peter Hessler fans: a quick plug for the latest podcast from ChinaEconTalk: From Beijing to Cairo: Peter Hessler and the craft of foreign correspondence.

Wu’er Kaixi reflects on the movement 30 years after Tiananmen: On the Sinica Podcast this week, Kaiser is joined by Nury Turkel of the Uyghur Human Rights Project in an in-depth conversation with Wu’er Kaixi (Örkesh Dölet), best known as one of the student leaders in the Tiananmen protests that rocked Beijing 30 years ago. Listen by plugging this RSS feed directly into your podcast app. Early access for Access members only!

On June 19, we’ll be hosting another The China Project Direct conference call. Our guest this time: Stephen Roach, former head of Morgan Stanley Asia and currently a professor at Yale University. It’s free for all Access members — please click here to sign up.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief

1. Hong Kong: More than a million march against extradition bill

On June 9, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents from all walks of life — including, attendees noted, many who had previously avoided participating in marches in the city — came together to protest an extradition bill that they fear would give China’s Communist Party–controlled legal organs the power to arrest anyone in Hong Kong and send them to mainland China to face an opaque and arbitrary justice system.  

William Yang reports for The China Project:

• “The protests might well have been the largest Hong Kong has seen since the 1997 handover — organizers say 1.03 million people took part, while police estimate 240,000 at its peak.”

• Two small rounds of changes to the extradition bill have been made since it was introduced in February. However, “many still view the concessions as merely cosmetic, and call the government’s claim that the bill is aimed at closing legal loopholes a ‘complete lie.’”

• “Many cited distrust of the Chinese government as the primary reason for attending Sunday’s protest,” and some called the extradition bill merely “the latest step in Beijng’s plan to turn Hong Kong into just another Chinese city.”

• The protests “will rejuvenate and reignite Hong Kong people’s hopes, something that was kind of lost after the Umbrella Movement in 2014,” commented Avery Ng, a longtime activist and chairman of Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats.

• Eight hours after the protest started, “riot police surrounded Hong Kong’s legislative council and clashed with protesters who stayed at the scene… Batons and pepper spray were used on protesters, who responded by hurling bottles and metal barricades at the police. An hour after the initial clash, stragglers were removed from the scene without much resistance.”

• More protests will surely accompany the next reading of the extradition bill, scheduled this Wednesday, June 12. The SCMP reports that “about 100 businesses” in the city have pledged to “close doors to allow workers to join” protests on that day.

The China Project’s Anthony Tao was on the ground in Hong Kong, and took video and photos. He comments that the police estimate of fewer than 300,000 protestors is “laughably low,” and notes that “the two-mile march was clean and orderly.” Afterward, the protest route had “not a speck of trash in sight, which is almost as amazing as the turnout itself.”

The Hong Kong government, and Beijing, were defiant following the protests. “As responsible officials standing here, we are duty-bound” to fix legal loopholes, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam 林鄭月娥 said, continuing the same argument as before for the extradition bill in a statement to the press, the Hong Kong Free Press reports.

• The two earlier amendments “have effectively allayed most of those earlier worries,” a Hong Kong government spokesperson said earlier, Xinhua reported. (Over 70 NGOs and 15 prominent judges and lawyers recently emphasized that their worries have not been allayed.)

• “Some foreign forces are seizing the opportunity to advance their own strategy to hurt China by trying to create havoc in Hong Kong,” the state-run China Daily asserted in an editorial.

• Beijing “will continue to support the Hong Kong government to pass an extradition law,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said today, Reuters reports.

In Hong Kong’s newspapers, and in English-language newspapers around the world, photos of the protests filled the front page today.

• In mainland China, however, state television carried no live coverage of the protests and instead broadcast a story on road repairs in Kyrgyzstan (no, really).

• On WeChat, “censorship has become more subtle,” BBC reporter Zhaoyin Feng wrote, as posts about the protest sent to group chats can only be seen by users based in Hong Kong, but not in mainland China.

• On Weibo, some Hong Kong–related searches came up with zero results, journalist Shen Lu added.

• “Ordinarily well informed friends in China have told me they had no idea of the events last night in Hong Kong,” veteran journalist Howard French commented.

—Lucas Niewenhuis

2. Beijing News publisher accused of corruption

Dài Zìgèng 戴自更, former publisher and co-founder of popular daily newspaper The Beijing News, has been accused of “serious violations of discipline and law,” usually a prelude to being done in on corruption charges. “The discipline inspection commission of the Party’s Beijing branch announced” the charges today, June 10, reports the South China Morning Post.

Launched in 2003, The Beijing News brought a new sophistication to newspapers in the capital in design and tone. More importantly, over the years, the newspaper broke several notable stories, sometimes shining a light on some dark places in Beijing and beyond.  

Sometimes the dark places fight back.

3. Plugging up a few last holes in the Great Firewall

Who knows why they weren’t already blocked, but the websites of the Guardian, Huffington Post, and Washington Post as well as Australia’s The Age and News.com.au are all now blocked in China.

Are there any credible English-language news or current affairs websites still accessible without a VPN from behind the Great Firewall?  

—Jeremy Goldkorn

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Huawei
  Trump budget chief wants delay in Huawei restrictions / Reuters via the Guardian
  “The Trump administration’s acting budget chief has asked for a delay in restrictions against Huawei products.”
  Huawei strengthens foothold in Africa to offset US ban / SCMP
  China warns foreign tech firms about complying with US Huawei ban / TechNode
  Latin America resists US pressure to exclude Huawei / FT (paywall)

• Trade war, day 340
  China, US too intertwined to ‘break up’ despite trade war, Xi Jinping says in Russia / SCMP
  Trump: If President Xi does not attend G-20, more China tariffs will go into effect immediately / CNBC
  Trump levels new tariff threat against China, defends Mexico showdown / The Washington Post
  China’s May rare earth export falls as supply tapers off amid a worsening trade war with the biggest buyer of the elements / SCMP
  Vietnam to crack down on Chinese goods relabeled to beat U.S. tariffs / Reuters

• WeBank — a Tencent company to watch
  Tencent-backed WeBank has no listing plans, despite being approached for IPO / Caixin (paywall)
  “WeBank, the online-only bank backed by internet giant Tencent, has yet to see any uptick in its bad loan ratio despite China’s slowing economy, but is prepared to let the amount rise as much as four times its recent level as it continues its rapid expansion, its chief information officer told Caixin.”

• Swine fever effects: Inflation, and more meat imports
  Frost, fever and worms sow inflation in China’s Supermarkets / Caixin (paywall)
  “Food prices rose 6.1 percent year-on-year on average in April, up from a 4.1 percent rise in the previous month, driving up overall consumer inflation to a six-month high. African swine fever is a major culprit behind the spiking prices.”
  China may allow more meat imports to fill gap left by pig fever / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China may lift restrictions on buffalo meat imports from India as well as live cows and sheep from Mongolia and pork from Russia… China is also looking to expedite the resumption of U.K. beef imports to this year after agreeing to lift a ban in 2018.”

• A white knight for ‘troubled British tourism group’
  Thomas Cook surges after confirming talks with China’s Fosun / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Hong Kong-listed Fosun, already Thomas Cook’s biggest shareholder with a stake of about 18 percent, has submitted a preliminary approach and talks are underway, the U.K. company said in a statement on Monday.”

• Bad times in the furniture business
  Trade war, property slowdown hammer China’s furniture stocks / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Major listed manufacturers such as Jason Furniture Hangzhou Co. and Yihua Lifestyle Technology Co. have seen an average of about 40 percent decline in their stock prices over the past year.”

• Gold and FX
  China’s foreign reserves rebound in May while gold holdings also rise / SCMP
  “China’s foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly rose $6.1 billion in May to $3.101 trillion, reversing the previous month’s decline.
  The rise also came as China increased its gold reserves by 1.88 percent to $79.8 billion last month, according to central bank data released on Monday.”

• Tencent still has gaming mojo
  Tencent’s ‘PUBG Mobile’ becomes top-earning global game / FT (paywall)
  “Tencent’s battle-royale game PUBG Mobile has become the world’s top grossing mobile title, according to analysts, raking in $146m last month to overtake the Chinese internet group’s previous hit Honor of Kings.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Gene research rules
  China to tighten rules on foreigners using genetic material / Reuters

Last year, the government said human genetic material was an “important strategic resource.” Now come the regulations to manage it:

China said on Monday it will tighten regulations on human genetic material, putting checks on the passing of it abroad and insisting that any foreign companies or institutes wanting to use it in their work do so with a Chinese partner.

• Forest fire in Sichuan
  Hundreds battling forest fire in southwest China / Xinhua
  “About 600 people including villagers and firefighters are battling a wildfire” in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province.

• Lunar exploration
  China’s lunar rover travels over 212 meters on moon’s far side / Xinhua
  “China’s lunar rover Yutu-2 has driven 212.99 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct scientific exploration on the virgin territory.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• What does China want from the Arctic?
  Why is China pouring money into the Arctic? / OilPrice.com
  China wants two main things, according to this article:

  • The Northern Sea Route, a new shipping route from East Asia to Europe.

  • Extraction of both natural and living resources — fish, oil, liquified natural gas, etc.

• Xi in Central Asia
  Xi’s upcoming Central Asia tour eyes further progress in bilateral ties, regional cooperation / Xinhua
  “President 习近平 Xí Jìnpíng’s upcoming tour to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will guide China’s relations with the two countries to a new stage…”

  Xi congratulates Tokayev on election as Kazakh president / Xinhua

• Corruption as farce in South Africa train deal
  Chinese rail deal under scrutiny in South Africa corruption scandal / SCMP

  “Among other excesses, South Africa ended up ordering — though not from a Chinese firm, in this case — locomotives that were physically too large to run on South Africa’s electric rail network.”

• Feeling uneasy after Shangri-La Dialogue
  Dialogue, yes. Shangri-la it was not / Australian Financial Review
  “Power politics is back in the Indo-Pacific. For all the talk about rules and a free and open region, it’s the deteriorating strategic order Australia and its like-minded friends should be really worrying about — and taking more action to influence before it’s too late.”

• Military tech
  Chinese military develops its first robot patient as it seeks to prepare medics for battlefield role / SCMP
  “The Chinese army has created a lifelike robot mannequin, complete with a pulse and beating heart, to help train its medics to treat battlefield injuries, according to the PLA Daily.”

• The warships and the baby milk

  Chinese warships load up Australian baby formula / News.com.au

  “Chinese military personnel were spotted unloading boxes of highly sought after Australian baby formula onto their warship the day before leaving Sydney Harbour.”

• Taiwan fears of Beijing influence
  Seven Taiwanese researchers lured by China: science ministry / Focus Taiwan
  “Seven Taiwanese scientists and technology researchers have been participating in China’s Thousand Talents Plan — an initiative launched by Beijing to lure top academics and scientists from abroad… It is not clear whether the Taiwanese researchers have already transferred the results of their studies to China.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Political cartoons — Badiucao
  Chinese cartoonist Badiucao unmasks after Beijing threats / Taipei Times
  “A Chinese cartoonist whose anonymous political satire earned him comparisons with Banksy — and the wrath of Beijing — has outed himself as a former law school student who became politicized after watching a Tiananmen Square documentary in a dorm room.”
  China’s “artful dissident” Badiucao’s cartoons show anger, tenderness, hope / Quartz
  “‘I had to face this choice: disappear, hide in fear, or step out and see my fear face-to-face,’ said Badiucao, who will continue to keep his real name and other personal details under wraps. The courage he saw in other dissidents, especially Ai, ‘made me want to show my face to the world.’”

• Changing attitudes to work and security
  Skinny quitting: young Chinese embrace the ‘naked resignation’ / Sixth Tone
  Zeng Yuli writes:

Young Chinese are increasingly embracing the so-called naked resignation [裸辞 luǒ cí], in which a worker resigns from their job without a backup plan or even worrying about what comes next. The practice is often framed as symbolic of a generational shift in values, with young people less interested in centering their lives around work, but I wonder if it isn’t also indicative of a shift in material conditions. With so many stuck in dead-end jobs and unable to afford sky-high down payments — the traditional buy-in to the middle class — it’s no wonder they’re rethinking their attitudes toward work.

• Cinema
  Cannes winner Qiu Yang on the outsize impact of small-town stories / Radii China
  Josh Feola writes:

“Fucking amazing!” was filmmaker 邱阳 Qiū Yáng’s two-word acceptance speech upon becoming the first Chinese director to win the top Palme d’Or prize at Cannes Film Festival in May 2017. With his new short She Runs, Qiu has just scored his second Cannes win in three years, taking home the Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film  last month in France.

• Libtards in China
  “Libtard” in the Chinese style / Popula  
  Brian Hioe writes:

“Báizuǒ” (白左) — literally “White Left” — is one of the stranger insults arising on the Chinese internet over the last two years. Equivalent to something like “libtard,” “leftard,” or maybe even “Social Justice Warrior” in English, it scoffs at those who are too concerned with the environment, rights for ethnic minorities, immigrants, or the LGBTQ community.

See also on The China Project:

• Kuora: The origin of ‘baizuo’ (白左) — the Chinese libtard, or ‘white left’

• Jordan Peterson and China’s white left

• China’s intellectual dark web and its most active fanatic

• Genealogy
  Chinese Americans study their roots / Voices of NY
  “Amy Chin didn’t encounter many fellow Asians when she began attending genealogy workshops in 2007. When she started looking into her family’s history, there were no roadmaps to help her navigate the intricacies of uncovering her family’s route from China to America.”

FEATURED ON SUPCHINA

Click Here

Scenes from Hong Kong’s anti-extradition protest

“No extradition to China, oppose evil law” — 返送中, 抗恶法 — so went the refrain on Sunday in Hong Kong during one of the largest protests in the city’s history, in which hundreds of thousands walked west from Victoria Park to the city’s Legislative Council Complex in Admiralty in opposition to a proposed extradition bill. Here’s what it looked like.

Hong Kong ‘not ready to give up’: Historic protest against extradition bill

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday in Hong Kong to demonstrate against a controversial proposed extradition bill. Demonstrators chanted “No China extradition” and “Oppose evil law” while marching from Victoria Park to the city’s legislative council offices about two miles west. At the center of the conflict is a set of amendments to Hong Kong’s Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, first proposed by the Hong Kong government in February, which critics say could leave any Hong Kong resident or foreign visitor passing through vulnerable to extradition to mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the Communist Party.

Kuora: Revisiting the ‘Taiping Civil War’

The outcome of the Taiping Civil War — as Stephen Platt, the author of the excellent book Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, calls it — could easily have been different. Platt argues quite convincingly that the major foreign power of the day, the British, was close to being persuaded either not to intercede on behalf of the Qing dynasty or to actively support the Taiping.

China enters Women’s World Cup with high expectations but brutal draw

China has reached the quarterfinals in six of the last seven FIFA Women’s World Cups, with 2011 the sole exception as the team failed to qualify. A run to the quarterfinals this year, though, could be extremely tough. Despite having one of the best players in the world in Wang Shuang 王霜 — the reigning Asian Women’s Footballer of the Year — China’s Group B draw is brutal, with No. 2 Germany, No. 13 Spain, and No. 49 South Africa.

Friday Song: ‘Song of Joy,’ a Jiangnan sizhu classic

Jiangnan sizhu — 江南丝竹 (jiāngnán sīzhú), literally meaning “Jiangnan,” an area south of the Yangtze River, and “silk and bamboo” — is a genre of chamber music played indoors in refined, small ensembles. This particular recording of “Song of Joy” features an all-star lineup of musicians: Lu Chunling 陆春龄 on the dizi 笛子, Zhou Hui 周惠 on the yangqin 扬琴, Ma Shenglong 马圣龙 on the pipa 琵琶, and Zhou Hao 周皓 on the erhu 二胡.

SINICA PODCAST NETWORK

Sinica Early Access: A student leader 30 years after Tiananmen: Wu’er Kaixi reflects on the movement

This week, Kaiser is joined by Nury Turkel of the Uyghur Human Rights Project in an in-depth conversation with Wu’er Kaixi (Örkesh Dölet), best known as one of the student leaders in the Tiananmen protests that rocked Beijing 30 years ago. He talks about the heady intellectual freedom of the 1980s, the movement’s goals in 1989, the frustrations of exile, and his growing involvement in the Uyghur diaspora’s efforts to draw attention to Beijing’s draconian detentions of Uyghurs and other Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region.

• Sinica Early Access is an ad-free, full-length preview of this week’s Sinica Podcast, exclusively for The China Project Access members. Listen by plugging this RSS feed directly into your podcast app.