Month: August 2021

Did this 2015 blog post from Didi contain Chinese state secrets? – TLD by MW

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We know that Didi, China’s ride hailing giant that went on US IPO on 30 June, is now under pressure from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). We do not know exactly what type of information is considered risky by the CAC, but a blog post Didi did in July 2015 probably offered a glimpse of what it could be. The entire government  The post, jointly developed by Xinhua News Agency and Didi Research Institute, contained information about travel patterns of key government ministries and agencies in Beijing over two…

Xi’s China, the Handiwork of an Autocratic Roué | by Xu Zhangrun | The New York Review of Books

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Li Xueren/Xinhua via Getty Images Chinese President Xi Jinping arriving on a visit to Tibet, July 21, 2021 Translator’s Note: Xu Zhangrun was, until last year, a professor of jurisprudence at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious colleges. A celebrated lecturer and author of numerous works on the law, he was a noted essayist, and also the editor of a major series of books on legal reform. In July 2018, Xu published “Imminent Fears, Immediate Hopes,” a point-by-point critique of the policies of Xi Jinping’s government. Since then,…

China’s Vaccine Diplomacy in Latin America

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Advertisement As millions tuned in last month to watch Lionel Messi secure his first international trophy with Argentina in the Copa America final, flashy football was not the only thing illuminating the pitch. In stark capital letters, the word “SINOVAC” blazed across the perimeter advertising screens. The Chinese vaccine giant’s presence at South America’s biggest football tournament reflects the reality that China is taking a more active role in helping the region, while the United States stands on the sidelines. Chinese vaccine diplomacy in Latin America has skyrocketed in recent…

Alibaba Fires Manager Over Suspected Sexual Assault

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Advertisement China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, said Monday it fired a manager accused of sexual assault and pledged to strengthen its anti-sexual harassment policy, after a female employee accused the company of suppressing her report of the assault. The unidentified female employee went public Saturday with an internal post detailing the alleged sexual assault by her manager and a client during a business trip, according to local media reports. She said she was forced to drink alcohol, that her manager sexually assaulted her in a hotel room while she was…

Why the next major war is likely to start in Taiwan

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If the United States and China get into a shooting war, there is a good chance it would start in Taiwan, which the Chinese communists view as a renegade province. It’s no secret that China has long wanted to conquer the island nation, where nationalist forces retreated in 1949 after losing to the communists in China’s civil war. The U.S government provides Taiwan with military equipment, much to China’s chagrin. After the State Department announced on Aug. 4 that the U.S. government is selling Taiwan $750 million worth of weapons,…

China And America: A New Game In A New Era – Analysis

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By William H. Overholt* China and the United States are in a different game than the rising power/established power conflicts of the past. Most analyses of such rivalries are based on pre–World War II history and fail to notice that the game changed radically after World War II. Sometimes when alterations are made in the rules or implements of a game, the risks and the optimal strategies change. Leading scholars and strategists tend to misread the lessons of the past for Sino-American conflict because they fail to recognize that these…

China’s efforts to lift Xinjiang’s economy may smother it

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Aug 7th 2021 AKTO CHINESE OFFICIALS used to insist that social harmony in Xinjiang could be achieved only by developing the far-western region’s economy. But in 2014 the government began to argue that for economic development to occur, stability was needed first. This small shift in wording heralded the fiercest storm. Listen to this story Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Authorities had long been troubled by occasional violence involving Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic group that makes up…

Europe Faces the Tricky Task of Policing Chinese Investments

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Advertisement With just over 400 employees, Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) is an inconspicuous business located on the southeastern coast of Wales. It is also the U.K.’s largest chip manufacturer, producing wafers of semiconductors coveted by carmakers and tech companies amid the global chip shortage. And so it was that when Nexpeira, a Chinese firm, announced in early July it would fully acquire NWF, fear of a Chinese tech takeover engulfed the Parliament. The British government was split over how to handle the deal. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, initially declined…

Why Did China Crack Down on Its Ed-Tech Industry?

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The Chinese regulatory authorities have been keeping investors on the edge of their seats this year. Domestic fintech firms were among the first targeted by Beijing. Next came ride-hailing and food delivery. Now ed-tech giants have rounded out the lineup. To understand the latest development, it is crucial to unpack the chronic love-hate relationship between Chinese parents and China’s private tutoring industry, says Zak Dychtwald, founder of the advisory firm Young China Group. “There’s enormous pressure on parents and children to give their kids a head start and to get them into…