China Articles - December 5, 2021
Friends,
The first piece this week from Josh Chin at the Wall Street Journal details the extensive involvement by Xi Jinping in the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Thanks for reading!
Matt
MUST READ
1. Leaked Documents Detail Xi Jinping’s Extensive Role in Xinjiang Crackdown
Josh Chin, Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2021
Documents released this week cast new light on the direct role played by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the genocide his government is perpetrating against religious minorities in the Xinjiang province. In sensitive internal speeches, Xi and other party officials extolled the virtues of “population proportion” while warning of religious deviance and productivity problems in Xinjiang. Published by the Uyghur Tribunal advocacy group, the cache of documents highlights the previously masked, intimate involvement of President Xi and his closest allies in the planning of these ongoing crimes against humanity.
2. The Most Powerful Data Broker in the World Is Winning the War Against the U.S.
Matt Pottinger and David Feith, New York Times, November 30, 2021
Data “is the oil of the 21st century” and Beijing has caught the United States and its allies on their back foot in the struggle to secure this precious commodity. From health records to supply chain patterns, big data and the insights it yields will be crucial to economic development and social progress. Washington must follow through on commitments to safeguard American data from the grasp of the CCP, while creating secure avenues for democracies to share information between each other, argue Matt Pottinger and David Feith in a timely and forward-thinking call to action in the New York Times.
3. Do Sports Still Need China?
Andrew Keh, New York Times, November 24, 2021
For years, international sports leagues have walked a tightrope with Beijing, weighing the ideals of their home countries against the lucrative opportunity to operate in the Chinese market—often favoring the latter side of this quandary. As Beijing continues to adopt an increasingly authoritarian global posture, sports organizations are beginning to question whether the tradeoff is truly worth it, writes Andrew Keh. The “disappearance” of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has only underscored the immense risks—human and financial—leagues face if they remain active in China.
4. Steve Simon announces WTA’s decision to suspend tournaments in China
Steve Simon, Women’s Tennis Association, December 1, 2021
The Women’s Tennis Association announced this week that it will suspend all tournaments in China, effective immediately. Chinese “leaders have left the WTA with no choice” writes Steve Simon, Chairman and CEO of the organization. Until Beijing permits an uncensored, independent investigation into sexual assault accusations levied by player Peng Shuai against a former CCP official, the Association cannot compromise its values by remaining in the country, he argues. Moreover, Simon remains clear-eyed about the risks Ms. Peng continues to face, calling for proof that she is being permitted to speak freely.
5. Even on U.S. Campuses, China Cracks Down on Students Who Speak Out
Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, November 30, 2021
In a striking exposé published by ProPublica, Sebastian Rotella uncovers the long reach of Chinese security services and their penetration of university campuses across the United States. Chinese international students who speak out against Beijing find themselves isolated and demonized by peers loyal to the CCP while their families are visited and intimidated by officials from the Ministry of State Security. Many of these incidents fall across a legal and geographic grey area, leaving American officials with limited response options. Moreover, many of the institutions responsible for protecting students and promoting free speech have shirked from these duties—worried about losing tuition money and alienating Chinese donors
AUTHORITARIANISM
6. Peng Shuai’s Accusation Pierced the Privileged Citadel of Chinese Politics
Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, November 25, 2021
7. Why wiping out Hong Kong's opposition may have cost China a whole generation in Taiwan
Eric Cheung, CNN, November 27, 2021
8. The Chinese Communist Who Understands America
Habi Zhang, Law and Liberty, November 15, 2021
9. Peng Shuai and the High Stakes of Business in China
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, November 23, 2021
10. China’s Move to Greater Self Reliance
Adam Segal, China Leadership Monitor, December 1, 2021
11. Chinese youth: Westernised but not pro-democracy
Wei Shan and Juan Chen, The China Story, November 30, 2021
12. Chinese state-run companies restrict employees’ use of WeChat
Matthew Silberman, SupChina, November 30, 2021
13. China tightens its grip on Hong Kong universities
Dennis Normile, Science, November 30, 2021
14. The Resolution on CCP History: What It Is All About
Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter, November 25, 2021
15. All Elections in Hong Kong Are Now Meaningless
Edward Chin, Bitter Winter, November 27, 2021
16. Supply-Chain Crisis Only Getting Worse with China's 7-Week Port Quarantine
K Oanh Ha and Jack Wittels, Bloomberg, November 24, 2021
17. 90,000 from Hong Kong apply to British visa scheme
Didi Tang, Sunday Times, November 26, 2021
18. What Peng Shuai reveals about one-party rule
The Economist, November 24, 2021
19. Jamie Dimon apologises twice after saying JPMorgan will outlast China’s Communist party
Tabby Kinder and Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times, November 24, 2021
20. Global banks have bet on ‘big bang’ in China but will it pay off?
Tabby Kinder, Financial Times, November 24, 2021
21. China seeks to spin Peng Shuai’s #MeToo allegation into an ideological dispute
Vincent Ni, The Guardian, November 25, 2021
22. China not inviting Western politicians who threaten boycott of Beijing Winter Games, media says
Reuters, November 29, 2021
23. Over 50 groups gone in 11 months – how Hong Kong’s pro-democracy forces crumbled
Rhoda Kwan, Hong Kong Free Press, November 28, 2021
24. Hong Kong to deploy over 10,000 police to ensure ‘patriots-only’ legislative polls run smoothly
Kelly Ho, Hong Kong Free Press, November 29, 2021
ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS
25. China’s Rising Ultra-Nationalism Complicates Xi’s Climate Ambitions
Bloomberg, November 29, 2021
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND COERCION
26. How Beijing’s billions are buying up the Commonwealth
Gordon Rayner and Sophia Yan, The Telegraph, November 26, 2021
27. Taiwanese tycoon ‘opposes independence’ after China fines firm US$74 million
South China Morning Post, November 30, 2021
28. Protests Rock Solomon Islands: Here’s What’s Behind the Unrest
Yan Zhuang, New York Times, November 25, 2021
29. Lithuania, in spat with China, urges Europe to brace for ‘coercion’ from Beijing
Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters, November 25, 2021
30. Watching China in Europe: From CAI to Koalitionsvertrag
Noah Barkin, German Marshall Fund of the United States, December 1, 2021
31. The growing rift between Europe and China
Harry Seavey, SupChina, November 30, 2021
Safeguard Defenders, November 30, 2021
33. Disney+ Drops ‘Simpsons’ Episode in Hong Kong Because of Tiananmen Square Joke
Patrick Brzeski, Hollywood Reporter, November 28, 2021
34. China blocked from funding nuclear power stations by Boris Johnson
Oliver Wright, Sunday Times, November 25, 2021
35. Philippines rejects China’s demand to remove wreck from South China Sea reef
Richard Lloyd Parry, Sunday Times, November 25, 2021
36. China blowback looms for Schumer’s Innovation and Competition Act
Phelim Kine and Gavin Bade, Politico, November 28, 2021
37. After 4 years as pawn in US-China game, Seattle man is home
Erika Kinetz, Associated Press, November 23, 2021
38. Bosnian Serb leader: Putin and China will help if west imposes sanctions
Daniel Boffey, The Guardian, November 29, 2021
39. Beijing targets Taiwanese companies with operations in China
Eleanor Olcott and Erin Hale, Financial Times, November 29, 2021
40. UK seeks to counter China’s influence with new development investment arm
Laura Hughes and Sebastian Payne, Financial Times, November 24, 2021
41. China Warns Olaf Scholz’s Incoming German Coalition Over Taiwan
Bloomberg, November 25, 2021
42. China Is Closing Another Major Bridge to Taiwan
Tim Culpan, Bloomberg, November 25, 2021
43. U.S. blacklists dozens of Chinese tech firms citing national security concerns
Amanda Macias, CNBC, November 24, 2021
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
44. AUDIO — An investigation into Airbnb rentals in China
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Erica Pandey, Axios, November 30, 2021
45. Chinese Official Accused of Sexual Assault Played Key Role in Setting Up Beijing 2022 Olympics
Keith Zhai, Rachel Bachman, and Joshua Robinson, Wall Street Journal, November 24, 2021
46. Australia considers an unofficial boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
Anthony Galloway and Eryk Bagshaw, Sydney Morning Herald, November 24, 2021
47. EU to renew sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged Xinjiang abuses
Finbarr Bermingham, South China Morning Post, November 24, 2021
48. China’s Disappeared: How Beijing Silences Critics
Jerome A. Cohen, Council on Foreign Relations, November 23, 2021
49. House of Lords Tells UK Government It Should Act Now Against China
Ruth Ingram, Bitter Winter, November 30, 2021
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES AND ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE
50. In China, Tesla Is a Catfish, and Turns Auto Companies into Sharks
Li Yuan, New York Times, November 30, 2021
51. ‘Battery arms race’: how China has monopolised the electric vehicle industry
Febriana Firdaus, The Guardian, November 25, 2021
52. US-China tech war: Beijing plans major tech system reform
Xinmei Shen, South China Morning Post, November 25, 2021
53. US commission calls for tighter controls on flows to Chinese markets
Sandra Heistruvers, Financial Times, November 26, 2021
CYBER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
54. Chinese province targets journalists, foreign students with planned new surveillance system
Reuters, November 29, 2021
55. Israeli snub pushed Chinese firm to sell telecom shares
Lahav Harkov, The Jerusalem Post, November 27, 2021
Conor Healy and Donald Maye, IPVM, November 29, 2021
57. China set to further restrict cross-border data flow
Mayank Sharma, TechRadar, November 30, 2021
58. The real reason China is pushing “digital sovereignty” in Africa
Yinka Adegoke, Rest of World, December 1, 2021
59. Chinese CCTV monitoring Britons identified at five Uighur camps
Jake Ryan, Daily Mail, November 28, 2021
60. Hostile states will be ‘greatest risk’ to 5G network
John Mooney, Sunday Times, November 24, 2021
MILITARY AND SECURITY THREATS
61. China military watch
Malcolm Davis, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, November 26, 2021
62. The Chinese Dream: China’s Challenge to Global Britain
David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith, Cieo, November 24, 2021
63. In the Russian Arctic, China treads on thinning ice
Lukas Wahden, London School of Economics, November 24, 2021
64. Taiwan scrambles to see off Chinese air force as Xi meets top brass
Ben Blanchard, Reuters, November 28, 2021
65. MI6 boss warns of China 'debt traps and data traps'
George Bowden, BBC, November 30, 2021
66. MI6 chief warns of security threat from China ‘miscalculation’
Helen Warrell, Financial Times, November 30, 2021
ONE BELT, ONE ROAD STRATEGY
67. Uganda Asks China to Fix Airport-Loan Clauses, Monitor Says
Fred Ojambo, Bloomberg, November 27, 2021
68. Chinese Engagement in Guyana: An Update
R. Evan Ellis, Global Americans, November 30, 2021
69. Sri Lanka awards port project to China after dropping Japan, India
Ryosuke Hanada, Nikkei Asia, November 25, 2021
70. China cuts finance pledge to Africa amid growing debt concerns
David Pilling and Kathrin Hille, Financial Times, November 30, 2021
71. Kenya returns to colonial rail after Beijing hits buffers
Jane Flanagan, Sunday Times, November 29, 2021
72. EU makes late bid to rival China on the Silk Road
Stuart Lau, Paola Tamma, and Joshua Posaner, Politico, November 30, 2021
73. The Times view on Barbados cutting ties with the monarchy: Colonial Caribbean
Sunday Times, November 29, 2021
74. China makes billion-dose coronavirus vaccine pledge to Africa
Jevans Nyabiage, South China Morning Post, November 29, 2021
OPINION PIECES
75. Hong Kong Says Vote—or Else
The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, November 29, 2021
76. China’s population is shrinking, fast
Jamie Powell, Financial Times, November 29, 2021
77. Why China’s elite tread a perilous path
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, November 29, 2021
78. The US and China are already at war. But which kind?
Gillian Tett, Financial Times, November 24, 2021
79. The West is now losing the modern space race
Con Coughlin, The Telegraph, November 25, 2021
80. Does the West dare give China’s Xi Jinping an Olympic-sized snub?
Oliver Shah, Sunday Times, November 28, 2021
81. The South China Sea should be of concern to Europe
Jonas Parello-Plesner, EU Observer, November 25, 2021