Links for Monday, September 14, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Does Ant Group share facial recognition data with its business partners? Caixin reports on a “slip of the tongue” by famous tech investor Kai-Fu Lee (李开复 Lǐ Kāifù):

In the speech delivered at a tech forum in Beijing on Saturday, Lee — chairman and chief executive of Sinovation Ventures — shared his experience of how he managed to facilitate the development of a facial recognition startup called Megvii Technology Ltd. in which Sinovation is an investor.

Lee said his company had played a role in helping Megvii to seek early-stage partners including Ant Group Co. Ltd. and selfie app operator Meitu Inc., and that Megvii had collected facial data from these partners for industry analysis…

Following Lee’s comment, Ant Group put out a statement the same day saying the company had never been in touch with Lee and had never passed Ant Group’s users’ facial data to Megvii. Meitu released a similar response, while Megvii also said it wouldn’t request user data from business partners.

Lee released a statement later apologizing to the three companies, saying he had made “a slip of the tongue.”

Ant Group is set to soon go public in Hong Kong and Shanghai, in what could be one of the largest IPOs ever. For more, see:

• Will Jack Ma’s Ant Group have the biggest IPO ever? / The China Project
• Ant Financial: The biggest IPO…ever? / Tech Buzz China podcast on The China Project

Will Guō Wénguì 郭文贵 be accused of fraud? The Washington Post is the latest outlet to look into the connections between the exiled Chinese billionaire and former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who himself was arrested on Guo’s yacht last month for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Per the Washington Post:

…there are now signs that federal investigators are scrutinizing Guo’s financial activities in the United States and GTV Media Group, a social media company that Guo said raised $300 million from investors, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Some of those investors now say they think they were defrauded by the company and have been interviewed repeatedly by the FBI in recent months, according to three people with knowledge of the case. The Wall Street Journal first reported the existence of the inquiry.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Stricter capital requirements for finance companies starting November 1
  China’s new financial rules to cover Jack Ma’s Ant Group / WSJ (paywall)
  “The People’s Bank of China on Sunday said firms that operate two or more financial businesses in the country will be classified as financial-holding companies. The regulations take effect on Nov. 1 and are aimed at large state-owned and private conglomerates, as well as internet companies, that control financial businesses which could pose systemic risks.
  “Financial-holding companies would need to have registered and paid-up capital of least 5 billion yuan, equivalent to $731 million, the central bank said. The rules would also apply to large businesses whose financial assets, such as loans, comprise 85% or more of their total assets.”
• Will Beijing sign off on Nvidia-SoftBank tie-up?
  Nvidia buys SoftBank’s Arm in record $40 billion chip deal / Caixin (paywall)
  “Regulatory approvals may well prove challenging. The companies said sign-offs are needed from China, U.K., European Union and U.S. authorities and may take as long as 18 months. China’s approval may be particularly difficult given rising tensions with the U.S.”
  Nvidia acquisition of Arm throws company into tech spat between U.S. and China / Reuters
• Japanese firms anxious about Hong Kong
  Tokyo-based SBI Group may leave Hong Kong due to business environment / Caixin (paywall)
  “More than 80% of some 300 Japanese firms operating in the city were concerned about the effects of the security law, according to a July survey (link in Japanese).”
• ‘Mulan’ has poor opening weekend at Chinese box office
  ‘Mulan’ scores $23.2 million during lackluster opening weekend in China / CNBC
  Disney’s ‘Mulan’ disappoints at China box office / NYT (porous paywall)
  Disney admits Mulan controversy pileup has created a “lot of issues for us” / Vanity Fair
  U.S. lawmakers quiz Disney CEO over Xinjiang connection to ‘Mulan’ / Reuters
  On The China Project last week: Why Chinese viewers hate Disney’s ‘Mulan.’
• Ban on German pork
  China bans German pork imports after African swine fever case / Reuters
  China’s German pork ban to cement U.S. as top overseas supplier / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China bans pork imports from Germany / FT (paywall)
  “Analysts say move is more about politics than genuine concern over disease outbreak.”
• Canadian telecoms warn of cost of removing Huawei equipment
  Telecoms companies and Canadian government argue over compensation if Huawei banned from 5G network / Caixin
  Canada looks set for a fight over C$1 billion compensation for Huawei gear / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• More than 3,000 brucellosis cases after biopharmaceutical accident
  A year on, a quieter outbreak still sickens thousands in northwest China / Caixin (paywall)
  On Caixin in December 2019: Brucellosis outbreak reported in northwest China veterinary institute.
• The arrests of wildlife activists in Ningxia
  Activists cry foul at suspicious arrest of wildlife campaigners / Caixin (paywall)
  “People who know the three said the scant details of their alleged offenses, combined with perceived attempts at entrapment by local officials and businesses, raise concerns that local authorities are targeting them for their conservation work.”
  Context on Sixth Tone: Ningxia conservationists detained for ‘picking quarrels.’

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Czech Republic: EU member state given cold shoulder
  China issues travel advisory for Czech Republic / Prague Morning
  China warns against travel to Czech Republic as tensions rise over Taiwan / SCMP
• India-China border standoff
  India says China laying cables to bolster communications at border flashpoint / Reuters
  China returns five missing Indian nationals / BBC
  Uneasy calm on Ladakh front as India and China prepare for military talks / Economic Times of India
  Tibet war games test PLA forces at altitude despite pledge to disengage / SCMP
  Surveys see China-India estrangement / Global Times
  Op-ed: India and China are edging toward a more serious conflict / FT (paywall)
  By Devesh Kapur, director of Asia programs at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
• New Chinese ambassador to Pakistan
  China appoints trade expert as new ambassador to Pakistan to help drive infrastructure development plan / SCMP
  Or as India’s Hindustan Times puts it: China sends hardcore ambassadors to South Asia to push BRI and undermine India.
• U.N. “continues to engage” on Xinjiang
  U.N. rights chief discussing visit to Xinjiang with China / Reuters
  U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has been attempting to negotiate a visit to Xinjiang for nearly two years now. See Reuters in December 2018: U.N. seeking access to China’s re-education camps in Xinjiang: Bachelet.
  Two related pieces in Brookings: China’s influence on the global human rights system and China’s expanding influence at the United Nations — and how the United States should react.
• New U.S. sanctions targeted at Xinjiang
  DHS cracks down on goods produced by China’s state-sponsored forced labor / Department of Homeland Security
• Hong Kong activists arrested at sea, detained
  Families of Hong Kong activists arrested at sea plead for access to lawyers / NYT (porous paywall)
  China calls Hong Kong people arrested at sea ‘separatists’ / Reuters
  U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ about Hong Kong activists held in China: Pompeo / Reuters
• German company makes rare human rights criticism
  Siemens’ CEO criticizes Beijing’s Hong Kong, Xinjiang policies, but firm ‘still committed’ to China / SCMP
  Compare with Volkswagen: VW boss ‘not aware’ of China’s detention camps.
• KMT backs out of Straits Forum
  Even China’s friends in Taiwan are angry after TV anchor’s gaffe / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “The Kuomintang will not send a delegation to the annual Straits Forum in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen this weekend…It marks the first time since the inaugural forum in 2009 that the KMT will not send an official delegation.”
  KMT pulls out of cross-strait forum over Chinese TV comment / Focus Taiwan
  “On September 10, two days after the KMT announced that former Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平 Wáng Jīnpíng) would lead the party’s delegation to the forum, CCTV ran a headline that read ‘With the strait on the brink of war, this man is coming to the mainland to plead for peace.’”
• PLA responds to Pentagon report on China’s growing military power
  Chinese military calls U.S. biggest threat to world peace / AP
  Read on The China Project: Pentagon says China’s building more nuclear missiles, navy is world’s biggest.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• 195 million K-12 students back to in-person classes
  How China brought nearly 200 million students back to school / NYT (porous paywall)
  “While the Communist Party has adopted many of the same sanitation and distancing procedures used elsewhere, it has rolled them out with a characteristic all-out, command-and-control approach that brooks no dissent. It has mobilized battalions of local officials and party cadres to inspect classrooms, deployed apps and other technology to monitor students and staff, and restricted their movements. It has even told parents to stay away for fear of spreading germs.”
• Chinese-American violinist accused of “racist comments against the Chinese people”
  A violinist lost his seat and his job. He blames China. / NYT (porous paywall)
  Yi-Wen Jiang (蔣逸文 Jiǎng Yìwén) has been a U.S. citizen for over two decades, and held an artist-in-residence position at Montclair State University in New Jersey until earlier this year, when a WeChat message he sent was construed in China as calling Chinese people pigs.
• Palace Museum exhibit through November 15
  Gallery: Forbidden City turns 600 / Caixin
• Confrontation with city management official in Chongqing
  Attack on Chongqing ‘Chengguan’ was self-defense, police say / Sixth Tone