Links for Monday, August 15, 2022

Military drills in Southeast Asia
U.S. and China hold separate military drills in south-east Asia / FT (paywall)

More military drills around Taiwan after U.S. congressional delegation visits
China announces new drills as U.S. delegation visits Taiwan / AP
“China announced more military drills around Taiwan as the self-governing island’s president met with members of a new U.S. congressional delegation on Monday, threatening to renew tensions between Beijing and Washington after a similar recent visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered China.”
China announces patrols to protest U.S. senator’s Taiwan visit / Bloomberg (paywall)
Beijing starts more live drills around Taiwan as Tsai Ing-wen meets another U.S. delegation / SCMP (paywall)
China sending fighter jets to Thailand for joint exercises / AP
China ratchets up pressure on Taiwan after U.S. congressional visit / FT (paywall)
U.S. to conduct ‘air and maritime transits’ in Taiwan Strait / Al Jazeera

Back-to-back U.S. visits in Taiwan
More U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan 12 days after Pelosi trip / AP
“A delegation of American lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, just 12 days after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that prompted China to launch days of threatening military drills around the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its control.”
U.S. lawmakers to meet Taiwan president as China tensions simmer / Guardian
U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan as China tensions simmer / Reuters
U.S. lawmakers travel to Taiwan on heels of Pelosi visit / WSJ (paywall)
U.S. lawmakers travel to Taiwan less than two weeks after Nancy Pelosi’s visit / FT (paywall)
U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan after Pelosi trip infuriates China / Bloomberg (paywall)
Five U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan amid tensions with China / NYT (paywall)

China dreams of its perfect Taiwan
Troops, noodles and familial love: China lays out its ideal Taiwan / NYT (paywall)
“Beijing has seized on the tensions over Taiwan, further fanned by a meeting between five U.S. lawmakers and the island’s president, to push a far-reaching vision for unification.”

COVID controls in Tibet and Xinjiang
China removes three Tibet health officials from posts over COVID / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China removed three health officials in Tibet from their posts for failing to prevent the spread of the recent COVID outbreak.”
Xi crackdown foils Shanghai-like COVID Unrest in Xinjiang, Tibet / Bloomberg (paywall)

Chinese gambler will soon be extradited from Thailand
Thai police arrest suspected Chinese gambling kingpin / Reuters
“Thai police have arrested a Chinese fugitive wanted by Beijing for allegedly running illegal online gambling operations and will soon extradite him to China, the police told Reuters on Monday.”

32,200 suspects of sexual assaults arrested by Chinese police
Chinese police vow to prioritize crackdown on sex crimes against underage victims / SCMP (paywall)
“On Sunday the Ministry of Public Security announced that it had started the second phase of a 100-day campaign that began in June as the authorities tightened their control over society ahead of a major leadership reshuffle later this year.”

The ongoing feud between India and Chinese smartphone brands
“They need India more than India needs them”: Chinese brands that pioneered India’s smartphone market are now being hounded by authorities / Rest of World
“As many as 119 bank accounts of Vivo India have been frozen, while Oppo India has been accused of avoiding taxes worth $551 million.”

China Tourism aims for $2.16 billion in Hong Kong listing
China Tourism seeks $2.16 billion in Hong Kong’s biggest listing so far in 2022 / Reuters
“China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp is aiming to raise up to $2.16 billion through a new listing in Hong Kong, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters, in what will be the largest share sale in the city so far this year.”

China’s graduate students aren’t coming to the U.S. anymore
New trend among China’s graduate students / Pekingnology
“The number of U.S. student visas issued to Chinese nationals plunged by more than 50% in the first half of 2022 compared with pre-Covid levels, with the U.S. losing ground as the most-coveted place for Chinese students to pursue higher education abroad.”

Huawei sees first sales increase since 2020 U.S. sanctions
Huawei books first sales rise since U.S. sanctions hit its phones / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Huawei Technologies Co. reported its first quarterly sales rise since the end of 2020, as the Chinese telecom gear giant fights to survive the US blacklisting that sank its smartphone business.”
Huawei’s sales freefall slows as cloud business expands / FT (paywall)
Huawei’s revenue falls another 5.9% in first half, but the decline is slowing amid cloud-computing lift / SCMP (paywall)
Huawei says 2022 ‘most challenging’ time for device business / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

One person dead in Xpeng car accident in Ningbo
Accident involving an Xpeng car leaves one dead in Ningbo / 36kr via TechNode
“A man was killed in an Xpeng vehicle accident on Wednesday after one of the EV maker’s P7 sedans crashed into a broken-down car parked on the highway in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo. The driver stated that a lane-centering control system was activated when the crash happened and he was not paying attention to the road ahead.”

Wuling releases electric car option in Indonesia
Wuling launches an affordable electric car in Indonesia / TechNode
“General Motors’ minicar joint venture in China, SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), has launched Air EV, a fully electric, entry-level car in Indonesia. The automaker hopes to expand its footprint outside China amid strong global demand for electric vehicles.”
Wuling-GM venture speeds into Indonesia with new electric car / Caixin (paywall)

Chinese investment banks prioritize share sales in Switzerland
China firms from pharma to tools join Swiss GDR frenzy, sources say / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese companies are doling out mandates to investment banks for share sales in Switzerland, encouraged by the relative success of firms capitalizing on an expanded link between stock exchanges in Asia and Europe.”

SMIC reports revenue of $1.9 billion in 2022’s second quarter
SMIC generated $1.9 billion in revenue in 2022 Q2 / TechNode
“Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), a leading Chinese semiconductor manufacturer made $1.9 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2022, with 3.3% quarterly growth and 41.6% yearly growth, beating the consensus estimates of $1.89 billion from Bloomberg, according to its second-quarter earnings report released on Thursday.”

Hong Kong’s populace decreases again for second year
Hong Kong population shrinks for 2nd year under virus curbs / AP
“Hong Kong’s government says its population has shrunk for a second year as anti-virus controls hampered the inflow of new workers and births declined, but it made no mention of an exodus of residents following a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement.”

Rediscovering the role of the Terracotta Army’s horses
Horses buried alongside the Terracotta Army demonstrate the animals’ crucial role in ancient Chinese history / SCMP (paywall)
“Researchers analysed 24 horses that were buried in a supplementary tomb believed to represent administrative offices. They found evidence that the mausoleum’s builders ensured the horses were of a specific age and height.”

Shanghai coffee shop inspires people with disabilities
Bear-clawed baristas turn literal hole-in-the-wall cafe in Shanghai into inspiration for China’s millions of people with disabilities / SCMP (paywall)
“On a narrow street full of coffee shops and bars in the central urban area of Shanghai, a hole on a grey wall features a strange sight: a furry bear claw pointing to a QR code, encouraging people to use it to order their caffeine fix for the day. Wearing the bear claw was a deaf barista working at a cafe named Hinichijou, a small business that only hires people with disabilities.”

Chinese snowboarding champion Su Yiming becomes ambassador for Special Olympics
Star snowboarder Su Yiming becomes new Special Olympics ambassador / Sixth Tone
“The Special Olympics Committee has announced that Sū Yìmíng 苏翊鸣, the Chinese snowboarding star who won gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics, will be its new ambassador for East Asia. The Special Olympics is an international sports event for people with intellectual disabilities…”

Scientists in China use fossil to identify lineage of tigers
A mysterious jawbone leads to DNA analysis to identify first known lineage of prehistoric tigers that lived in northeast China and never evolved into modern species / SCMP (paywall)
“A team of scientists in China used DNA analysis of a fossil found in northeast China to identify what they believe is a lineage of tigers that diverged from today’s modern felines approximately 268,000 years ago.”

Shanghai reopens all schools after months of lockdown
Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist / Reuters
“China’s financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures.”