Chinese Special Envoy Winds Up Unannounced Myanmar Trip

Advertisement Earlier this week, a Chinese special envoy concluded an unannounced visit to Myanmar that included discussions with the junta leader Sen. Gen. Ming Aung Hlaing on the country’s future political trajectory. Sun Guoxiang, Beijing’s special envoy for Asian affairs, traveled to the crisis-hit country from August 21 to 28, during which time he met Min Aung Hlaing and other senior junta leaders, according to a report by AFP that cited a statement released by the Chinese Embassy on August 31. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a…

Business as Usual: Chinese Investments After the Myanmar Coup

Advertisement Since the coup in Myanmar on February 1, some foreign investors have pulled out, suspended, or scaled down their businesses in the country. Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), however, have seized the opportunity to advance the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing’s flagship diplomatic tool. Among the ongoing and perspective BRI projects in Myanmar, the $1.3 billion Kyaukphyu deep sea port, with investment from CITIC, is the most strategic component, because the port city can offer China’s Yunnan province a shortcut to the Indian Ocean. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s…

Hong Kong Crackdown Continues With Canceled Concerts, Sentenced Activists

Advertisement A popular Hong Kong singer and pro-democracy activist will not be allowed to perform at one of the city’s top theaters later this month, in an indication that a crackdown by authorities on dissent is reaching the entertainment and cultural sphere. The Hong Kong Arts Centre cited a public safety clause in canceling Denise Ho’s venue reservations for her concerts, according to a statement posted Wednesday on Facebook by the singer’s company, Goomusic. Separately, a court sentenced seven pro-democracy activists to between 11 and 16 months in jail for…

China’s Big Tech answers Xi’s call for ‘common prosperity’ as Tencent, Meituan and Pinduoduo launch new initiatives

Wang Xing, chairman and CEO of Meituan Dianping, gestures as he speaks during a panel discussion at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Beijing on November 22, 2019. Wang said this week that Xi’s goal of “common prosperity” is in Meituan’s genes because the company name means “better together”. Photo: Bloomberg South China Morning Post

How China’s Worldview Took Over Hong Kong

Advertisement Hong Kong’s “fake news law,” which would target what authorities consider misinformation, is the latest attempt, after the forced closure of Apple Daily, to keep views that clash with official narratives out of the media. While the details of the legislature are still lacking, views have already changed revolving around what is considered the “truth” versus “fake news” in incidents that define the city, whether in the near or distant past. Take the violent crackdown of the 1989 student-led democratic movement in China, often referred to as the “June…