Hong Kong journalists go on trial for ‘seditious’ articles about pro-democracy activists

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

Two top editors of Stand News, the now-defunct online media outlet in Hong Kong, began their 20-day trial and face up to two years in prison for publishing “seditious” articles that promoted pro-democracy activists and attacked the government, prosecutors alleged, following a police raid of their newsroom and their arrests in December last year.

Zhengzhou, China’s “iPhone City,” has gone under a weeklong lockdown to stop the spread of COVID, fueling concerns over the health of the city’s Foxconn factory after reports earlier this week that workers were fleeing the site out of COVID fears.

Silly lithium money: In the first three quarters of the year, the net profits of nine listed lithium mining companies more than doubled, including market leaders Tianqi Lithium with 15.98 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) and Ganfeng Lithium with 14.79 billion yuan ($2.02 billion). On October 28, the price of lithium carbonate was 559,000 yuan ($76,668) per ton. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Auto and EV sales are down slightly in October.
• Steel profits are down, but so are emissions.

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