Links for Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist wins appeal
Hong Kong activist wins appeal against Tiananmen protest charge / Bloomberg (paywall)

China scraps finicky COVID numbers
China reduces COVID-19 case number reporting as virus surges / AP
China stops publishing asymptomatic COVID cases, reports no deaths / Reuters
China abandons COVID case reporting as infections explode / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Beijing withdraws diplomats from U.K.
China removes 6 diplomats from UK after protester assaulted / AP

U.S. cracks down on Chinese tech firms
U.S. to add more than 30 Chinese companies to trade blacklist / Bloomberg (paywall)
Senate bill would bar China’s Huawei from U.S. finance system / Bloomberg (paywall)

Car show motors on
Delayed Guangzhou Auto Show to go on, despite exhibitor pullouts / Caixin (paywall)

Bailed-out property tycoon sits comfy in London
Guangzhou R&F Properties Co.’s Zhang Li on bail in his luxury apartment / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The arrested Chinese property tycoon Zhāng Lì 张力 has a novel way to avoid a London jail — lock himself in his own luxury tower block.”

Can AI predict if a drug will work?
Chinese scientists make ‘impossible’ AI breakthrough in drug research / SCMP (paywall)
“The team says its machine learning model can accurately predict the complex molecular changes that determine a drug’s effectiveness.”

Hong Kong won’t give up hope on its glory days
Hong Kong seeks to prove it can still be ‘Asia’s world city’ / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The beer is flowing again at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse. Music pumps from clubs in the neon-streaked Lan Kwai Fong district. Even the Sevens — the annual rugby extravaganza that’s captured this city’s hyperkinetic lifestyle for decades — is back, finally.”
Hong Kong takes biggest ever fall in global ‘Power City’ rankings / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Hong Kong has logged its biggest fall in a global ranking of cities’ ability to attract people, business and capital, due largely to COVID-19 headwinds and deteriorating economic freedoms.”