TikTok has said that Oracle will store all the data from its US users, in a bid to allay fears about its safety in the hands of a platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The move comes as a report from BuzzFeed news, citing leaked audio from TikTok in-house meetings, said ByteDance employees in China have repeatedly accessed private information about US TikTok users. The popular video snippet sharing service has fended off concerns about the ability of engineers in China to access information about US users that isn’t…
Day: June 17, 2022
Thaw or cold war: will Labor succeed in unfreezing Australia-China relations?
After the end of a two-year diplomatic freeze between China and Australia, the new Albanese government is embarking on a grand experiment: is a different tone enough to get the relationship on a better footing? Gone are Peter Dutton’s blunt declarations that Beijing wants to turn countries like Australia into tributary states, as is the prediction Australia would almost certainly join any US-led military action to defend Taiwan against invasion. Anthony Albanese’s government has reverted to Australia’s long-standing bipartisan position against any unilateral changes to the status quo. At the…
China Launches Third Aircraft Carrier in Major Milestone for Xi Jinping
China launched its third and most advanced aircraft carrier on Friday, bringing the country one step closer to a modern navy capable of competing with the United States’ military naval power. The ship, named Fujian after the Chinese province that sits across from Taiwan, is the navy’s most modern and resembles the latest American carrier, the Gerald R. Ford. Though the launch was widely expected, it comes amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea and days after China’s defense minister, Gen. Wei Fenghe, warned it would not back down…
Heaven Supermarket: the Beijing bar at centre of Covid outbreak
Heaven Supermarket’s ability to attract young Chinese customers and foreigners has always been viewed with envy by its competitor bars in the Chinese capital. Located in one of the busiest nightlife districts in Beijing, the bar is modelled as a large self-service liquor store with chairs, sofas and tables. It is not the fanciest in its presentation, but on Chinese review websites, patrons highlight its affordability and down-to-earth attitude. Bono Lee, a Hong Kong culture critic who lived in the area between 2008 and 2012, once wrote of Heaven Supermarket:…