News Briefing for Thursday, July 7, 2022

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Hong Kong human rights under review: The United Nations today starts its first review of human rights in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020, seeking to crush the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Hacked database was vulnerable for months: The recent breach of a Shanghai police database that leaked the personal information of up to 1 billion Chinese citizens has called the nation’s cybersecurity standards into question, leading to growing calls by Chinese residents for better privacy rights.

FBI and M15 chiefs warn of Chinese espionage: FBI chief Wray and M15 director McCallum reaffirmed their concerns over Chinese spying during a meeting on Wednesday at M15’s London Headquarters, where McCallum described the Chinese government as “the most game-changing challenge we face.”

TikTok has abandoned its foreign livestreaming ecommerce expansion in Europe and the U.S. according to several Chinese media reports, which say that poor business progress in the U.K. and a wave of employee departures prompted the decision. Plans for livestreaming ecommerce in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam are apparently unaffected.

More than 10.01 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) were registered in China as of June, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. The country also hit a new record with more than 2.2 million NEVs registered in the first half of 2022, or 19.9% of total new car sales during this period.

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