Links for Monday, September 12, 2022
Notable China news from around the world.
Five speech therapists sentenced in Hong Kong
Hong Kong sentences 5 to 19 months for children’s books deemed ‘seditious’ / NYT (paywall)
Hong Kong speech therapists jailed over children’s books ruled seditious / WSJ (paywall)
Hong Kong speech therapists sentenced to 19 months for books / AP
Bilibili growth slumps
Bilibili revenue growth continues to slow as monthly active users hit 300 million / TechNode
“Chinese video platform Bilibili reported on Thursday revenue of 4.9 billion [yuan] ($732.9 million), a 9% yearly increase for the second quarter of 2022, continuing its trend of slowing growth.”
China’s “little giants” are growing in numbers
Beijing vows greater support for China’s selected “little giants” tech firms / TechNode
“China’s top industry regulator said on Thursday that it has nurtured nearly 9,000 ‘little giants’ companies, a term coined in reference to promising startups developing strategically important technologies such as chips and robotics, with the number expected to grow to 10,000 by 2025.”
The pay gap is getting worse in Hong Kong
Workplace disparity widens: women holding top jobs in Hong Kong paid nearly fifth less than men / SCMP (paywall)
“Women holding top jobs in Hong Kong were not only paid considerably less than their male counterparts over the past five years, but the gap also widened, according to official data.”
Shell company scam with China links busted in India
India says it uncovers fraudulent shell companies with Chinese links / Reuters
“Indian authorities on Sunday said they had arrested a man who had masterminded the creation of many shell companies linked to China and appointed dummy directors to run the fraudulent businesses.”
Chinese firms fear kidnappings in the Philippines
Chinese business community in the Philippines terrorized by brutal kidnappings / China Global South Project (paywall)
“The president of the Chinese chamber of commerce in the Philippines is pleading for authorities to do more to protect the local Chinese community following a spate of recent kidnappings.”
IOC rolls out rules on human rights, but is it too little, too late?
IOC publishes rights strategy months after Beijing Olympics / AP
“The IOC approved its human rights strategy on Friday, completing a years-long process months after the Beijing Olympics brought scrutiny on how sports engage with a host nation’s record on discrimination and civil liberties.”
It’s getting riskier to be a telecom scammer in China
China’s war on rampant telecom scams / Caixin (paywall)
“In just 15 months through July 2022, China solved 594,000 cases of telecom and internet fraud, according to the Ministry of Public Security. In 2021, authorities stopped 1.5 million people from transferring 329.1 billion yuan ($47.5 billion) to scammers, authorities said.”
Is China the new source of funds for countries in debt?
China emerges as IMF competitor with emergency loans to at-risk nations / FT (paywall)
“China has doled out tens of billions of dollars in secretive ‘emergency loans’ to countries at risk of financial crises in recent years, turning Beijing into a formidable competitor of the western-led IMF.”
Young people are draining out of Hong Kong
Losing them young: Hongkongers in their early 20s are biggest emigrating group in worrying trend for aging society / SCMP (paywall)
“Young people in their early 20s have emerged as the main group of Hongkongers who have left the city over the past five years, according to official figures.”
Stories of resilience after the earthquake in Sichuan
Courage, camaraderie, and criticism: The 2022 Sichuan earthquake on Chinese social media / What’s on Weibo
“Hashtags and online stories shared on Chinese social media in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in China’s Sichuan.”
