China Articles - January 16, 2022
Friends,
Below is this week’s newsletter of articles and reports on the malign activities of the Chinese Communist Party.
It starts with a CBS 60 Minutes interview of Badiucao, the cartoonist and critic of the CCP, who has fled the PRC to be able to continue his art.
In November, he held his first exhibition in Italy. The PRC Government put significant pressure on Italian authorities to cancel the show, but the municipal museum of Brescia went ahead with it (NYTs article from November 12, 2021, The Show Goes On, Even After China Tried to Shut it Down ).
Here are two indicative pieces of Badiucao’s art:
Image from: https://imgur.com/gallery/veUkN09
Image from: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/badiucao-italian-exhibition-chinese-embassy/index.html
Thanks for reading!
Matt
MUST READ
1. VIDEO – Badiucao: The 60 Minutes Interview
CBS 60 Minutes, December 27, 2021
CBS correspondent Jon Wertheim interviews Badiucao, cartoonist and critic of the Chinese Communist Party.
2. From economic miracle to mirage – will China’s GDP ever overtake the US?
George Magnus, The Guardian, December 28, 2021
Despite continuous repetition of the Chinese Communist Party’s mantra, “the east is rising, the west is declining,” the People’s Republic of China faces significant headwinds. George Magnus argues that far from inevitable; the Party looks increasingly likely to fail to displace the United States as the world’s dominant economic and technological power as the PRC falls victim to the middle-income trap.
3. MI5 names Chinese ‘agent’ with links to Labour MP
Fiona Hamilton, Oliver Wright and George Grylls, Times of London, January 13, 2022
The UK domestic intelligence agency issued a warning that a solicitor whose firm has donated tens of thousands of pounds to the UK Labour MP Barry Gardiner is likely to “be involved in political interference activities” in the United Kingdom. The Times of London reports that sources within the UK Government suspect that this individual has attempted to influence both Conservative and Labour Members of Parliament to support the Chinese Communist Party.
4. AUDIO – Wang Huning: The World's Most Dangerous Thinker?
David Ownby, Matt Johnson, and Michael Auslin, The Pacific Century Podcast, December 13, 2021
Host Misha Auslin interviews Professor David Ownby and Matt Johnson about their work examining the “republic of letters” that exists within the PRC. They comment on the “highly intellectual illiberalism” that characterizes theoretical and political writing under the Chinese Communist Party.
5. VIDEO – Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare
David L. Sloss, Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, January 11, 2021
Professor David L. Sloss previews his new book “Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare.” He argues that the United States is in a cold war with the PRC and Russia and that the information domain will be the main area of competition. He also points out that the United States is essentially subsidizing Chinese and Russian information warfare activities against ourselves and other democracies by giving them access to the channels and mediums to conduct their information warfare campaign against us.
6. The UK must abandon “democratic defeatism” if it’s to stand up to China
Tom Tugendhat, The New Statesman, January 11, 2022
UK MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the House of Commons, Tom Tugendhat calls his fellow citizens to end their pessimism about the decline of democracy and focus on standing up for a liberal international system that protects the interests of democracies. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to build an illiberal international order which would be harmful to British citizens.
7. How Brigham Health helped create a Chinese hospital for elites — and almost nobody came
Deirdre Fernandes, Rebecca Ostriker, Liz Kowalczyk and Patricia Wen, Boston Globe, December 26, 2021
The partnership between Harvard’s teaching hospital and the Chinese developer Evergrande has been a disaster. This cutting-edge, 647-bed hospital typically has only 10 patients nearly four years after it opened. China Watcher, Bill Bishop has called for a Harvard Business School case study to fully illustrate the mistakes of Brigham Health in its quest to expand in the PRC… but it is likely far too embarrassing for Harvard to shine a light on what happened. Luckily, the Boston Globe’s investigative team spent months piecing this story together.
AUTHORITARIANISM
8. A Digital Manhunt: How Chinese Police Track Critics on Twitter and Facebook
Muyi Xiao and Paul Mozur, December 31, 2021
9. Farewell Letters: A Tribute to The Civil Society Groups, Bloggers, And Media Outlets We Lost In 2021
China Digital Times, January 10, 2022
10. From China Digital Times: Top Ten Memes Of 2021
China Digital Times, January 3, 2022
11. Trial Looms After Seaside Gathering of Chinese Activists
Chris Buckley, New York Times, January 8, 2022
12. Five Mao fanatics jailed over articles ‘smearing former Chinese leaders’
Guo Rui and William Zheng, South China Morning Post, January 11, 2022
13. Police jail dozens for resisting, complaining about Xi'an lockdown
Xiaoshan Huang and Qiao Long, Radio Free Asia, January 7, 2022
14. Harsh Covid lockdown in Chinese city Xi’an triggers online anger
Saphora Smith, NBC News, January 7, 2022
15. China Names Former Xinjiang Commander to Lead Troops in Hong Kong
Dan Strumpf and Wenxin Fan, Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2022
16. Iran foreign minister to discuss strategic agreement with China
Reuters, January 10, 2022
17. More Visibility for Xi Jinping’s Point Man on Ideology: Jiang Jinquan
Jesse Turland, The Diplomat, December 29, 2021
18. China crushes Hong Kong’s independent news outlets
The Economist, January 8, 2022
19. Hong Kong’s Brain Drain Worsens as Expats, Locals Flee City
Isabella Steger, Denise Wee, Kiuyan Wong, and Yasufumi Saito, Bloomberg, January 10, 2022
20. 'Colonial wine from new, authoritarian bottles': Hong Kong re-tools sedition law
Greg Torode and James Pomfret, Reuters, January 11, 2022
21. The Army of Millions Who Enforce China’s Zero-Covid Policy, at All Costs
Li Yuan, New York Times, January 12, 2022
22. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows to bring in new security laws
Helen Davidson, The Guardian, January 12, 2022
ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS
23. China Gorges on Cheap, Sanctioned Oil from Iran, Venezuela
Bloomberg, January 10, 2022
24. China Renewables: the Stretched Ethics of Solar Panels from Xinjiang
Mike Schacter, Financial Times, January 10, 2022
25. China fires up giant coal power plant in face of calls for cuts
Reuters, December 28, 2021
26. Brazilian megaport threatens water sources and local fishers
Victor Uchoa, Dialogo Chino, December 22, 2021
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND COERCION
27. Personal Brands for Party Agendas
Kevin Schoenmakers, China Media Project, January 7, 2022
28. Xi’s Way or The Highway: How and Why China Brings Global Businesses To Heel
Josh Cole, Nouse, January 10, 2022
29. Hong Kong government denounces 'biased reporting' by the Economist
Anne Marie Roantree and Jessie Pang, Reuters, January 12, 2022
30. Taiwan’s Clear-eyed Moves to Counter Disinformation and Deepfakes
Matthew F. Ferraro, National Security Institute, January 5, 2022
Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph, January 11, 2022
32. Misinformation and Chinese interference in Canada’s affairs
Sze-Fung Lee and Benjamin Fung, Policy Options, January 4, 2022
33. Canada’s spy agency warns MPs to beware of influence operations from China
Robert Fife, The Globe and Mail, January 11, 2022
34. Intel Erases Reference to China’s Xinjiang After Social-Media Backlash
Liza Lin, Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2022
35. Revealed: Huawei’s Oxbridge millions
The Spectator, December 30, 2021
Jake Ryan, The Daily Mail, January 8, 2022
37. HK media say Taiwanese contravened security law
Yang Yuan-ting and Kayleigh Madjar, Taipei Times, January 10, 2022
38. Risch Votes “No” on Gutmann, Cites Growing Chinese Malign Influence in Higher Ed
Senator Jim Risch, January 12, 2022
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
39. Chinese Authorities’ ‘Inhumane Cruelty’ Again on Display
Yaqiu Wang, Human Rights Watch, January 10, 2022
40. Olympic athletes to wear kit manufactured in 'slave labour' region of Xinjiang
Sophia Yan, The Telegraph, January 12, 2022
China has forced hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other minorities to hand-pick crops in the region, a key source of the world’s cotton
41. U.S. lawmakers ask IOC for assurances uniforms not made through forced labour
Reuters, January 22, 2022
42. Chairs Ask IOC President to Justify Contracts with Chinese Companies Using Forced Labor
Congressional-Executive Commission on China, January 12, 2022
Letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee:
Dear President Bach:
We write to request further information on contracts for the production of uniforms that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has entered into with Anta Sports and Hengyuanxiang Group (HYX Group). We are particularly concerned about Anta’s and HYX Group’s continued use of cotton produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
The U.S. Congress and Administration strongly oppose forced labor. In December 2021, President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (Public Law 117-78) into law, creating a “rebuttable presumption” that goods sourced in the XUAR are made with forced labor and are thus prohibited from entering the United States.
Cotton produced in the XUAR is synonymous with forced labor and the systematic repression that takes place there. The Chinese Communist Party and government have created a system of mass surveillance and internment, forbidden the observance of key tenets of Islam and otherwise restricted individuals’ ability to peacefully practice their religion, forcibly sterilized women and forced them to undergo abortions, and separated children from their families. Forced labor plays an integral role in the genocide taking place against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the region. Furthermore, forced labor was an important factor in the crimes against humanity determination by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a factor in the crimes against humanity determination by the U.S. State Department which happened alongside a determination that genocide is taking place in the XUAR.
Chinese sportswear company Anta Sports continues to use cotton produced in the XUAR despite such concerns. A March 2021 South China Morning Post article reported that Anta is the “official sportswear uniform supplier” of the IOC through the end of 2022. Anta will supply the IOC with apparel, shoes, and accessories. In March 2021, Anta reportedly quit the social compliance group Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), and further voiced its support for continued use of cotton produced in the XUAR.
Similarly, HYX Group advertises its use of cotton produced in the XUAR. In an April 2021 article, Axios found that the IOC contracted HYX Group to supply the uniforms of IOC members and staff for the 2022 Olympic Games. Despite the ongoing genocide in the XUAR and its link to the use of forced labor (including in cotton production), HYX Group has a factory in the XUAR and openly advertises products that contain cotton produced in the XUAR. In response to inquiries from Axios, the IOC stated that HYX Group gave a “certificate of origin” that indicated the cotton used in the IOC uniforms did not originate in China. According to Axios, the IOC did not provide a copy of the certificate upon request.
Because Anta and HYX Group both continue to use cotton produced in the XUAR, there is a worrisome possibility that IOC personnel or others attending the 2022 Olympic Games will be wearing clothing contaminated by forced labor. In light of these forced labor concerns, we request that the IOC take the following action.
Make public a copy of the “certificate of origin” given to the IOC by HYX Group that reportedly confirmed that no forced labor was used in the production of HYX Group products. Social compliance organizations and Canadian, U.K, and U.S. government agencies have warned against relying on audits in the XUAR. What assurances, if any, did the IOC receive that the certificate provided by HYX Group was reliable?
Explain publicly the assurances Anta Sports gave the IOC that the products Anta Sports supplied to the IOC were not produced in whole or in part by forced labor. Make any such assurances publicly accessible, and state why the IOC believed such assurances were reliable in a context where social compliance organizations and government agencies have warned against relying on audits.
As a starting point to fulfilling its commitment to uphold and respect human rights, and in line with the preservation of human dignity enshrined in the Olympic Charter, the IOC must uphold and respect the human rights of those who made the uniforms on their backs.
43. Restrictions on Religious Activities Continue in Tibet
Tsering Dolma, Bitter Winter, January 5, 2022
44. ‘HSBC holding shares in Chinese company linked to Uighur atrocities’
Gabriel Pogrund and Jack Hazlewood, Times of London, January 9, 2022
45. Senior Tory calls for UK to mull HSBC sanctions over links to Uyghur oppression
Stefan Boscia, City A.M., January 11, 2022
46. China’s Public Security: To Protect Economy, Crack Down on Illegal Religion
Zeng Guanyu, Bitter Winter, January 12, 2022
47. UK hints at banning Chinese imports with forced labor links
Emilio Casalicchio, Politico, December 20, 2021
48. Successfully Reeducated? Tennis Star Peng Shuai and Professor Gulnar Obul
Kok Bayraq, Bitter Winter, January 13, 2021
49. US pairs skater Timothy LeDuc calls human rights abuses in China 'horrifying'
Tom Schad, USA Today, January 9, 2022
50. Chen Yu: 7 Year Sentence for Selling Christian Books Confirmed on Appeal
Zhong Jingguo, Bitter Winter, January 11, 2022
51. Imminent Deportation of Uyghur Detainees: Two Men Face Forced Return to Persecution in China
Human Rights Watch, January 10, 2022
Saudi authorities are apparently preparing to deport two Muslim Uyghurs back to China, where they are at serious risk of arbitrary detention and torture, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities have held the men arbitrarily since November 2020 without charge or trial.
An informed source told Human Rights Watch that on January 3, 2022, a Saudi official told one of the detainees, Nurmemet Rozi (Nuermaimaiti on his Chinese passport), 46, that he “should be mentally prepared to be deported to China in a few days.” The Turkey-based daughter of the other man, Hemdullah Abduweli (Aimidoula Waili on his Chinese passport), 54, a religious scholar, posted a video on social media in Arabic stating that her father and Rozi are at imminent risk of deportation, appealing for Saudi Arabia to allow them to return to Turkey where they were residents. The two men are currently held in al-Dhahban Mabahith (intelligence) prison north of Jeddah.
“If Saudi Arabia deports these two Uyghur men, it will be sending a clear message that it stands arm-in-arm with the Chinese government and its crimes against humanity targeting Turkic Muslims,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Deporting people to places where they would face arbitrary detention, torture, or worse, risks further tarnishing Saudi Arabia’s global human rights image.”
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES AND ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE
52. Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Economic Espionage Conspiracy
U.S. Department of Justice, January 6, 2022
Xiang Haitao, 44, a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit economic espionage.
According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from Monsanto, an international company based in St. Louis, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People’s Republic of China.
“Despite Xiang’s agreements to protect Monsanto’s intellectual property and repeated training on his obligations to do so, Xiang has now admitted that he stole a trade secret from Monsanto, transferred it to a memory card and attempted to take it to the People’s Republic of China for the benefit of Chinese government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “With his guilty plea, Xiang is now being held accountable for this unlawful conduct.”
“Mr. Xiang used his insider status at a major international company to steal valuable trade secrets for use in his native China,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “We cannot allow U.S. citizens or foreign nationals to hand sensitive business information over to competitors in other countries, and we will continue our vigorous criminal enforcement of economic espionage and trade secret laws. These crimes present a danger to the U.S. economy and jeopardize our nation’s leadership in innovation and our national security.”
“The American worker suffers when adversaries, like the Government of China, steal technology to grow their economies,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “It’s not just military technology developed in secret labs that adversaries want; in this case, it was agricultural technology used by American farmers to improve crop yields. The FBI will continue investigating the theft of technology from American companies because economic security is national security.”
According to court documents, Xiang was employed by Monsanto and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, from 2008 to 2017, where he worked as an imaging scientist. Monsanto and The Climate Corporation developed a digital, online farming software platform that was used by farmers to collect, store and visualize critical agricultural field data and increase and improve agricultural productivity for farmers. A critical component to the platform was a proprietary predictive algorithm referred to as the Nutrient Optimizer. Monsanto and The Climate Corporation considered the Nutrient Optimizer a valuable trade secret and their intellectual property.
In June 2017, the day after leaving employment with Monsanto and The Climate Corporation, Xiang attempted to travel to China on a one-way airplane ticket. While he was waiting to board his flight, Federal officials conducted a search of Xiang’s person and baggage. Investigators later determined that one of Xiang’s electronic devices contained copies of the Nutrient Optimizer. Xiang continued on to China where he worked for the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Soil Science. Xiang was arrested when he returned to the United States.
Xiang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a potential fine of $5 million and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
53. Harvard University Professor Convicted of Making False Statements and Tax Offenses
U.S. Department of Justice, December 21, 2021
Dr. Charles Lieber Found Guilty of Concealing His Affiliation with the Wuhan University of Technology and His Participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program
The former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was convicted by a federal jury today in connection with lying to federal authorities about his affiliation with the People’s Republic of China’s Thousand Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in Wuhan, China, as well as failing to report income he received from WUT.
Dr. Charles Lieber, 62, was convicted following a six-day jury trial of two counts of making false statements to federal authorities, two counts of making and subscribing a false income tax return and two counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel will sentence Lieber at a later date that has not yet been scheduled. Lieber was indicted in June 2020 and was subsequently charged in a superseding indictment in July 2020.
Lieber served as the Principal Investigator of the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University, which received more than $15 million in federal research grants between 2008 and 2019. Unbeknownst to his employer, Harvard University, Lieber became a “Strategic Scientist” at WUT and, later, a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents Plan from at least 2012 through 2015. China’s Thousand Talents Plan is one of the most prominent talent recruitment plans designed to attract, recruit and cultivate high-level scientific talent in furtherance of China’s scientific development, economic prosperity and national security.
Under the terms of Lieber’s three-year Thousand Talents contract, WUT paid Lieber a salary of up to $50,000 per month, living expenses of up to $150,000 and awarded him more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT. In 2018 and 2019, Lieber lied to federal authorities about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and his affiliation with WUT.
In tax years 2013 and 2014, Lieber earned income from WUT in the form of salary and other payments made to him pursuant to the Strategic Scientist and Thousand Talents Contracts, which he did not disclose to the IRS on his federal income tax returns. Lieber, together with WUT officials, opened a bank account at a Chinese bank during a trip to Wuhan in 2012. Thereafter, between at least 2013 and 2015, WUT periodically deposited portions of Lieber’s salary into that account. U.S. taxpayers are required to report the existence of any foreign bank account that holds more than $10,000 at any time during a given year by the filing an FBAR with the IRS. Lieber failed to file FBARs for the years 2014 and 2015.
The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. The charge of failing to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
54. Two Chinese Startups Tried to Catch Up to Makers of Advanced Computer Chips—and Failed
Yoko Kubota, Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2022
55. For Chinese, Rising Rent Isn’t Just a Financial Problem
Xiang Jun, Sixth Tone, January 10, 2022
56. China Covid-19 Lockdowns Hit Factories, Ports in Latest Knock to Supply Chains
Stella Yifan Xie, Yang Jie and Dan Strumpf, Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2022
57. VIDEO – What a National Strategic-Industry Policy Should Look Like
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, January 11, 2022
58. UK government extends powers to intervene in foreign takeovers
Rob Davies, The Guardian, January 3, 2022
59. New Oriental laid off 60,000 staff after China's education crackdown, founder says
Reuters, January 10, 2022
60. Rare Earths: Fighting for the Fuel of the Future
Brendan P. Dziama, Juan Manuel Chomon Perez and Andreas Ganser, The Diplomat, January 8, 2022
CYBER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
61. Semiconductor manufacturing: What China really wants
Radomir Tylecote, Council on Geostrategy, January 11, 2022
Recorded Future, September 21, 2021
63. VIDEO – China’s Digital Currency and Authoritarianism
Center for a New American Security, January 12, 2022
64. U.S. lawmakers raise concerns about Airbnb business in Xinjiang
David Shepardson, Reuters, January 7, 2022
MILITARY AND SECURITY THREATS
65. Study on the People’s Republic of China’s South China Sea Maritime Claims
U.S. Department of State, January 12, 2022
66. India-China tensions flare up again over border issues and Tibet
Ananth Krishnan, SupChina, January 10, 2022
67. Taiwan Tensions and Deepening Transatlantic Cooperation
Mareike Ohlberg, German Marshall Fund, January 10, 2022
68. Meeting China’s Military Challenge: Collective Responses of U.S. Allies and Partners
Bates Gill, National Bureau of Asian Research, January 6, 2022
69. China steps up construction along disputed Bhutan border, satellite images show
Devjyot Ghoshal and Anand Katakam, Reuters, January 12, 2022
ONE BELT, ONE ROAD STRATEGY
70. China’s New Year Ambitions for Latin America and the Caribbean
R. Evan Ellis and Leland Lazarus, The Diplomat, January 12, 2022
71. What’s Happening on the China-Vietnam Border?
72. Bill Hayton, 9 Dash Line, January 10, 2022
73. Sri Lanka's president asks China to restructure debt repayments
Uditha Jayasinghe, Reuters, January 10, 2022
OPINION PIECES
74. What the Thucydides Trap gets wrong about China
Lawrence Freedman, The New Statesman, January 12, 2022
The theory goes that war is inevitable when an emerging power threatens to displace an old one. But when it comes to the Sino-US rivalry, the logic fails.
75. With The Beijing Olympics Approaching, Coke Needs to Confront China’s Human Rights Abuses
Michael Posner, Forbes, January 12, 2022
76. Did China target a Conservative MP in Canada’s last federal election?
The Global and Mail, January 8, 2022
77. India’s Offensive Against China Should Be in the Grey Zone
Sandeep Dhawan, Chanakya Forum, January 7, 2022
78. China Takes Lithuania as an Economic Hostage
Elisabeth Braw, Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2022
79. Australia’s Strategic Offensive: A pact with Japan is the latest move to resist China’s coercion
Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2022