Article 23, Xi in Hunan; Action plan to encourage foreigners to "invest in China"; 400B RMB spent on stock market rescue?; AI dialogue
Summary of today’s top items:
Article 23 goes into effect this weekend - Hong Kong’s LegCo has passed the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance 維護國家安全條例, aka Article 23, much faster than anyone expected. The South China Morning Post explained that the “swift enactment of the bill was a calculated strategy to catch foreign powers off guard and thereby minimise the potential impact and duration of any punitive actions or smear campaigns against the city”. How much more of an impact this new ordinance will have in addition to the existing National Security Law remains uncertain, and local officials need to remove as much uncertainty as they can quickly as possible.
Xi makes an inspection tour in Hunan - The full propaganda package has not yet been released. In Changsha he inspected a University with deep Party history as well as a battery JV between Germany’s BASF and a local firm. Xinhua said he “learned about the school's utilization of red resources, adherence to moral education, an…