Links for Wednesday, March 31, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• What does the creator of TikTok think?
  张一鸣内部演讲全文：随便All-in，有时候是一种偷懒 / 36Kr
  In ByteDance’s ninth annual corporate celebration, 38-year-old billionaire CEO Zhāng Yīmíng 张一鸣 gave a speech that did not mention U.S. government actions against ByteDance subsidiary TikTok but counseled his colleagues to “stay calm, be patient.”
• Huawei sales slump amid U.S. sanctions
  Huawei releases its 2020 Annual Report / Huawei
  The Chinese telecommunications giant reported global sales of $136.7 billion in 2020, which was 3.8% more than 2019, the slowest annual increase in the past decade. Huawei has been expanding into AI and cloud services, which could lead to high-growth areas such as smart cars.
• Australian wine stuck at customs
  China-Australia relations: More than 11,000 litres of wine detained in Shenzhen as ban continues / SCMP (porous paywall)
  In an escalation of China-Australia tensions, 9,000 liters of Australian red wine are being detained in southern China “for poor labeling and excessive use of additives.”
• The latest on H&M and the Xinjiang cotton boycott
  H&M, under attack in China, sticks to stance that angered Beijing / WSJ (paywall)
  Chinese netizens reject H&M olive branch in Xinjiang cotton feud Nikkei (porous paywall)
  H&M responds to a firestorm in China over Xinjiang cotton. / NYT (porous paywall)
  H&M says ‘dedicated to regaining trust’ in China after boycott / Reuters via Yahoo
• The second disappointing fintech IPO this year: Bairong
  Chinese fintech firm falls as much as 13% in Hong Kong debut / Bloomberg via Caixin

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• COVID outbreak and vaccine efforts in Yunnan Province
  Chinese border city reports new COVID-19 outbreak / Caixin (paywall)
  “Ruili discloses nine cases, four of whom are Myanmar nationals, six months after city’s last surge.”
  China to launch COVID-19 vaccination in four border cities and counties in Yunnan province: Xinhua / Reuters
• Voluntary vaccine sign-ups…for now?
  China state media outlet warns against ‘crude’ efforts to get people vaccinated / Reuters
  Dan Wang on Twitter: “I asked [the neighborhood committee representative] if most people are willing to take a shot. She said yes and that everything is voluntary in this phase. That made [me] ask what the next phase entailed…she chuckled and said not sure (2/2)”
• Carbon trading
  China’s national carbon trading market eyes June debut in Shanghai / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Exchange anticipated to have up to 10,000 participants by 2025.”
• Astronomy
  China’s FAST telescope identifies over 300 pulsars / Xinhua (in Chinese here)

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Foreign journalists leaving China
  BBC China correspondent John Sudworth moves to Taiwan after threats / BBC
  “The BBC’s Beijing correspondent John Sudworth has left China and moved to Taiwan following pressure and threats from the Chinese authorities…Sudworth, who has won awards for his reporting on the treatment of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang region, left Beijing with his family,” including his wife, Yvonne Murray, who “reports on China for the Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.”
  Chinese Embassy in Ireland on Twitter: “She ‘took the decision to leave,’ according to her own words. Leave or come back?—-it’s up to her. Nobody has forced or will force her. Sensationalist presentation sells paper but won’t for too long.”
  Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China on Twitter: “1/Statement on Journalist Departures: The FCCC is concerned and saddened to learn that John Sudworth, the BBC’s award-winning China correspondent for the last nine years, left mainland China at short notice on March 23rd amid concerns for his safety and that of his family.”
• U.S. reaction to Hong Kong’s diminishing autonomy
  Biden administration maintains Trump policy on Hong Kong / FT (paywall)
  “The U.S. determination on Hong Kong marks the latest in a number of examples that show the Biden administration is taking a much harsher approach to China than many foreign policy experts had expected.”
  2021 Hong Kong Policy Act Report / U.S. Department of State
  2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices / U.S. Department of State
  U.S. condemns China moves to further reduce Hong Kong political participation / Reuters
  Beijing and Hong Kong authorities hit back at U.S. State Department report accusing China of ‘dismantling’ city’s freedoms / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Yesterday on The China Project: Beijing approves laws to require ‘patriotism’ of Hong Kong legislators.
• Xinjiang and Uyghurs
  The cost of speaking up against China / BBC
  “Women who made allegations last month of rape and sexual abuse in Chinese detention camps have been harassed and smeared in the weeks since. Rights groups say the attacks are typical of an aggressive campaign by China to silence those who speak up.”
  Exclusive: Investors press companies on human rights in Xinjiang / Reuters
  “The group of more than 50 investors, backed by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, said it is in the process of contacting more than 40 companies, including H&M, VF Corp, Hugo Boss and Zara-owner Inditex, requesting more information about their supply chains and urging them to quit situations that could lead to human rights abuses.”
• Taiwan
  Taiwan to buy new U.S. air defense missiles to guard against China / Reuters
  U.S. trade war pushing China to steal tech, talent, Taiwan says / Reuters
• South Korea-China diplomatic meetings on April 2–3
  South Korean foreign minister going to China for first time in three years / Reuters
• Taiwanese-American trolled and harassed in U.S. after leaving China during COVID
  A U.S. diplomat’s wife was a social media star — until Chinese trolls, aided by state media, came after her / WSJ (paywall)
  “Tzu-i Chuang was referred to as the ‘most famous diplomatic wife’ before she became the target of a vicious, monthslong attack on social media.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Hotpot rage in Chengdu
  Woman attacked with hot soup in a hotpot restaurant in China after asking man to stop smoking inside / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Controversy over alleged machine translation of Latin American novel
  How a Uruguayan novel broke China’s go-to review site / Sixth Tone
  “The Chinese version of Mario Benedetti’s ‘La Tregua’ has become an unexpected punching bag following a negative online review of its translation.”
• The surreal digital art of Kefan Wang
  Reshaping reality / Neocha