Xi on Taiwan and Sci-tech; Google insider allegedly steals AI crown jewels; TikTok's DC problem

Summary of today’s Essential Eight:

1. Xi’s CPPCC breakout session - Last year Xi’s first visit to a CPPCC breakout session was with delegates from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. He specifically mentioned the pressures from the US when he said “the western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to China's development”. This year his first CPPCC breakout meeting was with “political advisors from the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), the sector of science and technology, and the sector of environment and resources”. He did not mention the US or “containment, encirclement, and suppression against us”, but he did reiterate the need to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. I have included a full translation of the CCTV readout of his comments. X…