Links for Thursday, August 13, 2020

WHAT WE’RE READING:

More important China news and analysis from around the web:

Censorship at BaBe, an Indonesian app run by ByteDance that appears to be a localized version of its Toutiao news aggregator, continued “until mid-2020,” according to Reuters:

Articles with the keyword “Tiananmen,” a reference to China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, or to Máo Zédōng 毛泽东, the founder of modern China, were among those taken down, one person with direct involvement said.

Another direct source described articles about tensions between Indonesia and China over the South China Sea as being banned on the app, even when they came from the country’s official news agency, Antara.

“Why the West needs to stop its moralizing against China” is the title of a newly published essay by scholar Kerry Brown. Although that sounds like an argument for whataboutism, Brown is not saying that Western countries should ignore bad things that China does. But he points to a contradiction between, for example, Mike Pompeo lecturing the Chinese about Hong Kong postponing its elections, while his boss, Donald Trump, tweets about delaying America’s own elections:

This extraordinary example of a mismatch between word and deed is, however, not an isolated one. It is the culmination of a long, lamentable process in which the Enlightenment powers (multi-party developed democracies like the U.S., countries in Europe, and inclusive of others like Australia and New Zealand) have slowly, but surely, lost their moral stature. One of the many outcomes of this is to have reduced the force of words directed at China to, at best, political rhetoric, much of it performed for domestic constituencies in their home country with no real impact intended or actually achieved on the supposed target.

IN OTHER NEWS:

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• “Yuan internationalization was a good-to-have. It’s now becoming a must-have”
  In China, fears of financial Iron Curtain as U.S. tensions rise / Reuters
• Apple, Disney, Walmart, and others lobby against WeChat ban
  Corporate America worries WeChat ban could be bad for business / WSJ (paywall)
  Related, on The China Project: After TikTok, Trump moves to attack WeChat. What’s next?
• New urgency behind shift to domestic consumption
  China’s Xi speeds up inward economic shift / WSJ (paywall)
  The new state capitalism — Xi Jinping is trying to remake the Chinese economy / Economist (porous paywall)
  China’s new economic strategy to rely on domestic market is not a closed-door policy, Beijing advisers say / SCMP
• Trump: “The Hong Kong markets will go to hell”
  Hong Kong can never succeed under China’s control says Donald Trump / AFP via HKFP
  Fact check: The Hong Kong markets will not go to hell. See The China Project yesterday: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s half-trillion-dollar opportunity.
• Beijing pushes financial sector consolidation to create national champions?
  China pushes First Capital merger in drive to take on Wall Street / Reuters
• India set to announce Huawei decision “in a week or two”
  China’s Huawei, ZTE set to be shut out of India’s 5G trials / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Is the Chinese central bank secretly buying up debt?
  China data mystery prompts talk of stealth PBOC bond buying / Reuters
  Quantitative easing with Chinese characteristics? China’s July bond data hint at central bank’s rare move to buy government debt / Bloomberg via SCMP
• Banking cleanup
  Fifth lender set to join merger in Shanxi’s scandal-hit banking sector / Caixin (paywall)
  Banking regulator says it inspected over 1,800 rural banks, punished shareholder misconduct / Caixin (paywall)
• Mexico looks to benefit from U.S.-China decoupling
  As U.S.-China rift grows, Mexico tries to lure American businesses to move operations closer to home / Washington Post (porous paywall)
• TikTok updates and speculation
  TikTok’s ticking clock in Trump faceoff / Caixin
  ByteDance refocuses on education apps in China amid trouble overseas / Tech in Asia
• Boomtime for vaccine makers
  Vaccine-maker CanSino’s stock jumps nearly 88% in STAR market debut / Caixin
• Tesla’s “data-powered insurance plans”
  Tesla sets up its first overseas insurance brokerage in China / Caixin (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Is the virus really on meat packaging?
  Chinese cities find virus in Brazilian chicken wings, Ecuadorian shrimp packaging / Reuters
  Brazil meatpackers study Chinese concerns of infected chicken products / Reuters
• Traditional Chinese medicine contributes to reindeer poaching in Russia
  Poachers in Russia target world’s largest reindeer herd for their antler velvet / National Geographic
• Caring for the elderly
  Community-centered services cater to the elderly living in Shanghai / Beijing Review
• COVID-19 follows 8-year-old girl from Wuhan to Tennessee
  Young Wuhan evacuee finds no refuge from coronavirus in U.S. / WSJ (paywall)

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• China still wants an Indian Ocean port in Myanmar
  China moves closer to control of deep-water port project at Kyaukphyu, Myanmar / RWR Advisory
• What does Beijing really want to happen in the U.S. in November?
  Top U.S. intel official: China wants Trump defeated, Russia is sabotaging Biden / NBC
  China hopes ‘unpredictable’ Trump will lose election, US counter-intelligence official says / SCMP
  The comments by Bill Evanina, who is leading election security efforts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, contrast with Bloomberg reporting in June. At that time, according to interviews with nine current and former Chinese officials, Beijing appeared to have the “belief that the benefit of the erosion of America’s postwar alliance network would outweigh any damage to China from continued trade disputes and geopolitical instability.”
  Possibly related, in the Washington Post: China network of fake accounts targets Trump with videos.
• Hong Kong updates
  Inside Jimmy Lai’s Apple Daily during Hong Kong’s media crackdown / NYT (porous paywall)
  NYT reporter Austin Ramzy summarizes three ways that Apple Daily is responding: “Dropping bylines. Deleting source names from contact lists. Legal briefings on how to respond to police raids.”
  Jimmy Lai: Arrested Hong Kong tycoon tells protesters to be ‘careful’ / BBC
  Hong Kong media firm ‘is a political group,’ claims adviser to Beijing after Apple Daily raid and owner’s arrest / HKFP
  Hong Kong suspends extradition treaty with Germany, shelves agreement with France in reciprocal move / HKFP
  Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK removes interview with ‘wanted’ activist Nathan Law citing security law / HKFP
• A 10.2% increase in Taiwanese defense spending
  Taiwan to raise defense spending as China details combat drills / Reuters
• Taking Xi adoration to a new level?
  深刻领会习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的精髓要义 / People’s Daily
  Headline translation: Deeply understanding the essence of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
  The scholar Carl Minzner on Twitter: “Extended paen to Xi Jinping on People’s Daily page 3 today. Very flowery language (see below). Note people’s leader (人民领袖) language. Best guess: maneuvering surrounding Party conferences + question of whether to elevate Xi yet closer to Mao’s status.”
• Influence in the Indian Ocean
  India announces $500 million for Maldives project to counter China influence / Reuters
  American nuclear-capable stealth bombers deployed to Indian Ocean airbase / SCMP
• Floods and other geological disasters
  Floods in China: 90 percent of government-ordered evacuees had to find their own place to stay / SCMP
  Despite flood crises, China logs fewer ‘geological disasters’ in 2020 / Caixin (paywall)
• Malaysia says China’s maritime claims have “no basis whatsoever under international law”
  Malaysia issues rare rebuke against China over South China Sea / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Related, on The China Project: U.S. denounces Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, sides with five Southeast Asian countries.
• An attack on a Congo mining camp
  Chinese national killed at Zijin mining camp in Congo, company says / Reuters
• Xinjiang updates
  Uyghurs targeted: Ex-prisoners reveal forced confessions / Deutsche Welle
  Two of three mosques in Xinjiang village razed amid campaign targeting Muslim holy sites / Radio Free Asia

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Scams targeting international students
  I was a Chinese grad student and lost my money in a scam / LA Times
• One billion views for a video-game-centered TV show
  Smash success of Tencent’s drama based on CrossFire game reflects rising popularity of e-sports / SCMP
• Return to normalcy for Wuhanese and Beijing grannie fashionistas
  Life returns to Wuhan — in pictures / Guardian
  Remove masks, celebrate freedom: Fashion grannies return to Beijing street ‘catwalk’ / Reuters
• “Five ancient artifacts that look remarkably modern”
  New old relics / World of Chinese