Links for Tuesday, November 24, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign is viewed positively by a vast majority of Chinese people, according to new surveys, the Guardian reports:

The report from Transparency International was based on surveys of almost 20,000 people across 17 Asian countries, asking about their perceptions of, and experiences with, corruption in the past 12 months…

[Xi’s campaign] has had little effect on China’s place in Transparency International’s global corruption index – the country ranked 80th in 2020, and consistently scores around 40/100. However, it appears to have encouraged the general population, 84% of whom told Transparency International the government was doing well in tackling corruption.

The perception of lessening corruption in China is a trend shared in Cambodia and the Philippines, but most of Southeast Asia is increasingly worried about corruption, the surveys showed.

Of course, any survey in China about sensitive government topics needs to be interpreted with several large caveats. Read more on The China Project: Do Chinese people support their government? Here’s why it’s hard to tell.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Daniel Zhang cleans up after Jack Ma’s provocation of regulators
  Alibaba CEO strikes conciliatory tone on China’s plans for tougher tech regulation / CNN
  After Jack Ma’s tirade, Alibaba’s grateful Zhang soothes market watchdogs / Caixin (paywall)
• Pop Mart files for Hong Kong IPO
  Covid-19 no barrier to top toy retailer going public this year / Caixin (paywall)
  “The country’s fastest growing toy company, which had an 8.5% share of the fragmented $3.15 billion retail toy market last year according to Frost & Sullivan research, is aiming to list on the Hong Kong bourse before mid-December, sources told Caixin.”
• Britain proposes fines for Huawei 5G ban violations
  U.K. law may fine carriers 10% of sales for breaching Huawei ban / Bloomberg via Caixin (paywall)
• Truck services startup raises $1.7 billion
  Chinese startup Full Truck valued at nearly $12 billion after SoftBank-led round: sources / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• WHO-led investigation into COVID origins
  China gives pledge on access for COVID origins probe: WHO / Reuters
  “But the United States, and to a lesser extent some European delegations, have raised questions about the delay and sought a timeline of the international experts’ visit.”
• Hong Kong’s new wave of COVID
  Hong Kong shuts down nightlife as it fights new Covid-19 surge / Caixin (paywall)
  “The city reported 73 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, 50 of which were linked to dance club patrons in 21 locations and taking to 132 cases the total number of infections attributed to this group activity.”
  Hong Kong’s bars, clubs, karaoke lounges will be forced to close again, as city faces 83 new cases of Covid-19 / SCMP
  Coronavirus: mainland China-based vlogger goes viral for video slamming Hong Kong’s ‘meaningless’ quarantine measures / SCMP
  “The internet personality, who goes by ‘Hong Kong’s Little Miss Tsang’, lambasted the city for what she said were loopholes in its anti-pandemic measures.”
• Moon mission launch success
  China calls launch a success as robotic spacecraft heads to moon / Reuters
  China launches moon mission to bring back lunar rocks / NYT (porous paywall)
• One more COVID case in Shanghai and Tianjin each
  The Latest: China reports results of mass testing / AP
  “In Shanghai, the mass testing of 17,719 workers at the city’s Pudong aiport found one infection, a Fedex employee. Everyone else tested negative.”
  Coronavirus: hundreds of flights cancelled at busy Shanghai airport as China tackles local outbreak / SCMP

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India bans even more Chinese apps as border standoff continues
  India bans 43 more mobile apps, including many from China / AP
  LAC standoff: India, China military talks deadlocked / The Tribune India
  India stymies investment from Hong Kong amid China border row / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  See coverage of earlier app bans:
  June: India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps / The China Project
  August: India widens China app ban to Baidu and Weibo / TechNode
  September: India bans more than 100 Chinese apps after latest border escalation / The China Project
• Is China building in disputed Bhutan border area?
  Satellite images hint at renewed China threat in Doklam / NDTV
  Satellite images appear to show China developing area along disputed border with India and Bhutan / CNN
  “New satellite images appear to show China has built up an area in the Himalayas along a disputed border with India and Bhutan that was the site of a months-long standoff in 2017.”
• Pope vaguely alludes to Uyghur repression as first bishop ordained under new deal
  Pope, for first time, says China’s Uyghurs are ‘persecuted’ / Reuters
  “I think often of persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uyghurs, the Yazidi,” Pope Francis wrote in a passage in his new book.
  China says pope’s remarks about “persecuted” Uyghurs are groundless / Reuters
  China ordains first bishop since renewing pact with Vatican / WSJ (paywall)
• Ethiopia civil war prompts “some 600 Chinese citizens” to evacuate
  Chinese flee northern Ethiopia as civil conflict hits region / SCMP
• Japan-China diplomacy
  Japan and China agree to restart business travel, coordinate on East China Sea / Reuters
• Taiwan plans domestically developed submarines
  Taiwan to protect sovereignty with new submarines amid China tensions / Reuters
• German and Portuguese foreign ministers look forward to Biden administration
  Europe hopes for reset, end to ‘damage control’ under Biden / AP
  “The result, because the West wasn’t working together any more, was that in many issues a vacuum arose that was used by China or Russia,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
• Canada politics around Meng Wanzhou and detained Canadians in China
  Canadian MPs join campaign to release Meng Wanzhou, citing Sinophobia and plunging relations with China / SCMP
  Meng Wanzhou case remains political despite Canada’s attempts to cover up facts: FM spokesperson / Xinhua
  Irresponsible ‘tough talk’ with China is useless, says Canada foreign minister / Reuters  
• New Zealand’s changing attitudes to China
  New Zealand’s top diplomat vows to speak truth to China / FT (paywall)
• Hong Kong updates
  China tells Britain to curb double standards on six-monthly Hong Kong reports / Reuters
  Foreign minister says UK is considering whether to withdraw British judges from Hong Kong’s top court / HKFP
  Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam says she’s very willing to meet the public, calls legislature without opposition ‘more rational’ / HKFP

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Scarcity of service dogs
  China has 8 million blind people, but only 200 guide dogs / CNN
• Underwhelming TV adaptation of popular martial arts novel
  Viewers Say New Kung Fu Series Lacks Kick / Sixth Tone
  “‘Lu Ding Ji,’ or ‘The Deer and the Cauldron,’ has disappointed audiences in seemingly every way, most notably with the performance of its lead actor, Zhang Yishan.”