Party's Party; People's Leader Xi; China-Russia; War on crypto just starting
Today’s Essential Eight items:
Party Centenary events
People’s Leader Xi
Politburo study session on using “red resources” to carry on the “red blood”
Xi-Putin meeting
Hong Kong
Vaccine diplomacy
Virus origin struggle
War on crypto just getting started
Vacation Notice: There will be no newsletter Wednesday or Thursday this week. I plan to publish as normal July 5th, even though it is a holiday here in the US.
Thanks for reading.
The Essential Eight
1. Party Centenary events
China holds art performance to celebrate CPC centenary - Xinhua
Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan joined about 20,000 people to watch the performance, titled "The Great Journey," at the National Stadium.
At around 7:57 p.m., Xi and other Chinese leaders walked onto the rostrum, waving to the people amid applause and cheers.
With fireworks rocketing into the sky, displaying the number 100 over the stadium, the performance unveiled its curtain.
The epic show, divided into four parts, depicted how the Chinese people, under the leadership of the CPC, have carried out revolution, construction and reform over the past 100 years.
It extolled the fact that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and China is embarking on a new journey of fully building a modern socialist country.
After the performance, all the audience rose to chorus the song "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China."
Party’s Centenary Performance Pushed Forward to Monday - Caixin
A major artistic performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party has been rescheduled to take place on Monday in Beijing, a day earlier than originally planned, according to an announcement released by local police.
Comment: Because rain is in the forecast for Tuesday
庆祝中国共产党成立100周年文艺演出《伟大征程》在京盛大举行--时政--人民网
readout of the celebration Monday night. Among the list of VIPs attending were retired senior leaders like Zeng Qinghong, Li Ruihuan, but there was no mention of Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao
Outstanding members of CPC to get July 1 Medal - China Daily
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will present the July 1 Medal, the highest honor of the Party, to outstanding CPC members at a ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday.
Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver an important speech at the event, to be held at the Great Hall of the People two days ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.
It will be the first time that the CPC Central Committee has conferred the honor. The medal was created this year to commend distinguished Party members, workers on Party affairs and grassroots Party organizations nationwide.
2. People’s Leader Xi
"The state is the people and the people are the state - Overview of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important people-centered discourse 江山就是人民 人民就是江山——习近平总书记关于以人民为中心重要论述综述” is a very long page 1 Monday People's Daily piece - nearly 19,000 characters - that after a brief introduction, excerpted here, is yet another compilation of quotes by Xi over the years, a format we have seen with the lead essay in the last three issues of Qiushi.
I am translating 江山 as "state". Others have translated it as "power" but I think it works better in English as state or country, and is linked to the imperial concept of “江山社稷”。 Regardless of the exact translation, I think the idea being pushed is that the CCP is all about being "people-centered" and serving the people, and that to best achieve that there needs to be a "People's leader" whose name is Xi Jinping.
The excerpt of the introduction includes two references to Xi as the "People's Leader".
"This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. It is not easy for our party to grow and develop, seize political power and build a new China. The common people sincerely support the Chinese Communist Party because the Chinese Communist Party has always served the people wholeheartedly and sought happiness for all ethnic groups. " In June this year, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Qinghai, he pointed out.
The incisive exposition of the General Secretary is a profound summary of the party's hundred-year history, a vivid interpretation of the party's nature and purpose, and a high summary of the party's initial mission.
Our party is rooted in the people and its blood is rooted in the people. The party's 100-year history is a history of practicing the party's initial mission, and a history in which the party and the people share the same heart, breath and destiny.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has put forward the people-centered development thought, insisted on doing everything for the people and relying on the people, always put the people in the highest position in the heart, and made the people's longing for a better life as the goal, so as to promote the reform and development achievements to benefit all the people more fairly, make more obvious substantive progress in promoting common prosperity, and condense more than 1.4 billion Chinese people into a majestic force to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping is the People's Leader who has emerged from the people and has deep feelings and a strong sense of responsibility for the people. Whether he works at the grassroots level, at the local level or at the central government, he always keeps the people in mind. General Secretary Xi Jinping always cares for the people and loves the people, whether it is to win the battle against poverty, or to win the battle against epidemic prevention and control, whether it is to promote the construction of a healthy China, a safe China and a beautiful China, or to solve the most direct and realistic interests that the people are most concerned about.
"In such a big country, the responsibility is very heavy and the work is very arduous. I would like to be selfless and determined to devote myself to serving the Chinese people and China's development. I am willing to achieve a state of' no self' and contribute myself to China's development. "
"The people are the state, and the Communist Party fights for the state and protects the state, keeping the hearts of the people, in order to let the people live a good life. The history of our party's hundred-year struggle is a history of seeking happiness for the people. "
The general secretary's affectionate words are full of the sincere feelings of the People's Leader toward the people, reflecting the pure heart of the big party towards the people in the past century!
“今年是中国共产党成立一百周年，我们党发展壮大起来不容易，夺取政权不容易，建设新中国不容易。老百姓衷心拥护中国共产党，就是因为中国共产党始终全心全意为人民服务、为各民族谋幸福。”今年6月，习近平总书记在青海考察时指出。
总书记这一精辟论述，是对党的百年历史的深刻总结，是对党的性质宗旨的生动诠释，是对党的初心使命的高度概括。
我们党根基在人民、血脉在人民。党的百年历史，就是一部践行党的初心使命的历史，就是一部党与人民心连心、同呼吸、共命运的历史。
党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出以人民为中心的发展思想，坚持一切为了人民、一切依靠人民，始终把人民放在心中最高位置、把人民对美好生活的向往作为奋斗目标，推动改革发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，推动共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展，把14亿多中国人民凝聚成推动中华民族伟大复兴的磅礴力量。
习近平总书记是从人民中走出来的、对人民怀有深厚感情和强烈责任感的人民领袖，无论是在基层、地方工作，还是在中央工作，都始终把人民挂在心头、念在心里。无论是打赢脱贫攻坚战，还是打赢疫情防控阻击战，无论是推进健康中国、平安中国、美丽中国建设，还是解决人民最关心最直接最现实的利益问题，习近平总书记始终心系百姓、情系人民。
“这么大一个国家，责任非常重、工作非常艰巨。我将无我，不负人民。我愿意做到一个‘无我’的状态，为中国的发展奉献自己。”
“人民就是江山，共产党打江山、守江山，守的是人民的心，为的是让人民过上好日子。我们党的百年奋斗史就是为人民谋幸福的历史。”
总书记深情的话语，饱含着人民领袖对人民的真挚情怀，映照出百年大党对人民的赤子之心！
“今年是中国共产党成立一百周年，我们党发展壮大起来不容易，夺取政权不容易，建设新中国不容易。老百姓衷心拥护中国共产党，就是因为中国共产党始终全心全意为人民服务、为各民族谋幸福。”今年6月，习近平总书记在青海考察时指出。
总书记这一精辟论述，是对党的百年历史的深刻总结，是对党的性质宗旨的生动诠释，是对党的初心使命的高度概括。
我们党根基在人民、血脉在人民。党的百年历史，就是一部践行党的初心使命的历史，就是一部党与人民心连心、同呼吸、共命运的历史。
党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出以人民为中心的发展思想，坚持一切为了人民、一切依靠人民，始终把人民放在心中最高位置、把人民对美好生活的向往作为奋斗目标，推动改革发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，推动共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展，把14亿多中国人民凝聚成推动中华民族伟大复兴的磅礴力量。
习近平总书记是从人民中走出来的、对人民怀有深厚感情和强烈责任感的人民领袖，无论是在基层、地方工作，还是在中央工作，都始终把人民挂在心头、念在心里。无论是打赢脱贫攻坚战，还是打赢疫情防控阻击战，无论是推进健康中国、平安中国、美丽中国建设，还是解决人民最关心最直接最现实的利益问题，习近平总书记始终心系百姓、情系人民。
“这么大一个国家，责任非常重、工作非常艰巨。我将无我，不负人民。我愿意做到一个‘无我’的状态，为中国的发展奉献自己。”
“人民就是江山，共产党打江山、守江山，守的是人民的心，为的是让人民过上好日子。我们党的百年奋斗史就是为人民谋幸福的历史。”
总书记深情的话语，饱含着人民领袖对人民的真挚情怀，映照出百年大党对人民的赤子之心！
Weekly Report 4|32 6.19.2021-6.25.2021 - Center for Advanced China Research
Ren Lixuan: Stand Firm on the Basic Position of “Power is the People, the People are Power 站稳“江山就是人民，人民就是江山”的根本立场 任理轩 ” - People’s Daily
6.23 Ren Lixuan (任理轩), a pen name for the People’s Daily’s propaganda and theory department, published an commentary on the importance of creating benefits for and relying on people for the CCP’s continued success. It quoted Xi Jinping as saying “history provides ample proof that power is the people, and the people are power: whether popular opinion supports or opposes [the CCP] is related to its life or death.” It went on to define what “the power is the people, and the people are power” means, and how to “stand firm…in this basic position.” First, the commentary defined “power is the people” as “the people are the country’s masters,” whereas “the people are power” refers to the people being the CCP’s “greatest confidence to hold power.” It then stated that history shows that reliance on the people is the key reason why socialism with Chinese characteristics can “advance and expand.” Next, the article laid out what is demanded and required to “stand firm in the basic position” of equating people with power, and vice versa. First, it “demands persisting in respecting the rules of social development and the people’s historical main position; struggling for majestic ideals and seeking benefits for the largest majority of people; and finishing all of the [CCP’s] work and realizing benefits for the people.” Second, “to stand firm” demands elevating the people to the highest level and realizing their desires for a better life, which involves allowing the people to have the final say on the CCP’s work, placing people and their needs “above all else,” and promoting equitable development outcomes for all people. Finally, “to stand firm” requires “vowing to practice the original intent and mission” and “maintaining the basic essence of being a double vanguard force (两个先锋队) [for the both the Chinese people and working class].”
The May 20 Sinocism on my bit of obsession about Xi getting the “People’s Leader” title.
3. Politburo study session on using “red resources” to carry on the “red blood”
Xi stresses creating new achievements ahead of CPC centenary - Xinhua
Xi made the remarks on Friday when addressing a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
Xi said that sites and heritage related to the history of the CPC are the most precious spiritual wealth.
The CPC's revolutionary heritage is the source of spiritual strength for Chinese Communists in the new era, he said.
Xi urged efforts to safeguard the country established by the revolutionary martyrs and develop it well, calling for new achievements that can live up to the expectations of the revolutionary forefathers, stand the test of time and are worthy of the people.
On Friday afternoon, Xi led members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on a visit to the "Red Building," once the main campus of Peking University, and learned about the history of preparation and founding of the CPC at an exhibition.
Xi also led the Political Bureau members to a former residence of Mao Zedong, where he worked and lived for 17 years from 1949.
After the visits, Xi chaired the group study...
Xi said since the 18th CPC National Congress, he has visited basically all major sacred revolutionary sites and memorials related to revolutionary history during his inspection tours.
Each visit meant spiritual enlightenment, Xi said...
The Party must maintain its courage of fearing no enemies or risks and daring to fight and win, Xi stressed.
Xi also demanded the Party to stick to self-reform, which provides a strong support for the Party's governance capacity.
He ordered efforts to advance the full and strict governance over the Party.
Xi also demanded sound protection, management and utilization of sites and heritage related to the CPC's history.
Historical nihilism should be opposed and resisted, he said.
CCTV Evening News on the study session - 习近平在中共中央政治局第三十一次集体学习时强调 用好红色资源赓续红色血脉 努力创造无愧于历史和人民的新业绩_CCTV
On the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee conducted the 31st collective study on the afternoon of June 25th. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized that red resources are the testimony of our party's arduous and brilliant struggle and the most precious spiritual wealth. The red blood is the concentrated embodiment of the political nature of the Communist Party of China and the source of spiritual strength of the Chinese Communists in the new era. Looking back at the past and looking ahead, we must always carry on the red blood, inspire the fighting spirit and guide the direction with the party's struggle and great achievements, strengthen our faith and unite our strength with the party's glorious tradition and fine style, and use the party's historical experience and practice to create enlightening wisdom, embarrassing character, carrying forward the past and forging ahead, guarding and building the red mountains and rivers laid by the revolutionary martyrs' bloodshed and sacrifice, and striving to create a life that is worthy of the new achievements of history and the people …
在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年之际，中共中央政治局6月25日下午就用好红色资源、赓续红色血脉进行第三十一次集体学习。中共中央总书记习近平在主持学习时强调，红色资源是我们党艰辛而辉煌奋斗历程的见证，是最宝贵的精神财富。红色血脉是中国共产党政治本色的集中体现，是新时代中国共产党人的精神力量源泉。回望过往历程，眺望前方征途，我们必须始终赓续红色血脉，用党的奋斗历程和伟大成就鼓舞斗志、指引方向，用党的光荣传统和优良作风坚定信念、凝聚力量，用党的历史经验和实践创造启迪智慧、砥砺品格，继往开来，开拓前进，把革命先烈流血牺牲打下的红色江山守护好、建设好，努力创造不负革命先辈期望、无愧于历史和人民的新业绩…
Fengze Yuan, the former residence of Comrade Mao Zedong, is the place where Comrade Mao Zedong worked and lived for 17 years starting from September 21, 1949. Comrade Mao Zedong planned a series of major political strategies for the establishment and construction of new China here. Xi Jinping led the comrades of the Central Political Bureau to visit this place to see the exhibits in the hall of Yi Nian Hall, watch the short video of Comrade Mao's life and work in Feng Ze Yuan, review the important meetings held, major decisions made and important foreign guests met by Comrade Mao here, visit Comrade Mao's office, conference room and library, and carefully examine the important documents that Comrade Mao corrected, the books he read, the clothes he wore and the books he used. The important documents that Comrade Mao Zedong commented on, the books he read, the clothes he wore, the daily necessities he used and the letters, manuscripts, photos, etc. recall Comrade Mao Zedong's outstanding merits and noble demeanor. Xi Jinping stressed that the Red Building of Peking University and Fengze Yuan are iconic in the history of the Party, vividly interpreting how the Chinese Communist Party came to be and how the People's Republic of China came to be, giving us a vivid and lively lesson in Party history…
丰泽园毛泽东同志故居，是毛泽东同志从1949年9月21日开始工作和生活了17年的地方。毛泽东同志在这里筹划了新中国建立和建设的一系列大政方略。习近平带领中央政治局同志来到这里参观瞻仰，察看颐年堂大厅现场展陈，观看毛泽东同志在丰泽园工作生活的影像短片，回顾毛泽东同志在这里主持召开的重要会议、作出的重大决策、会见的重要外宾，参观毛泽东同志办公区、会议室和藏书室，仔细察看毛泽东同志批改过的重要文件、阅读过的书籍、穿过的衣物、使用过的日常用品和书信、手稿、照片等，追忆毛泽东同志的卓越功勋和崇高风范。习近平强调，北大红楼和丰泽园在党的历史上都具有标志性意义，生动诠释了中国共产党是怎么来的、中华人民共和国是怎么来的，给我们上了一堂鲜活而又生动的党史课。
4. Xi-Putin meeting
Xi, Putin announce extension of China-Russia friendly cooperation treaty - Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement Monday, officially deciding to extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.
The announcement came during talks between the two heads of state via video link.
Hailing the upcoming 20th anniversary of the signing of the treaty, Xi said in Beijing that the treaty has established the idea of enduring friendship, which conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries as well as the themes of the times of peace and development.
The treaty is a vivid example of fostering a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.
Xi referred to the current China-Russia ties as "mature, stable and solid," able to "withstand the test of any change in the international situation."
The two sides firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and have carried out effective strategic coordination, strongly safeguarding the common interests of the two countries, he said...
Noting their close coordination in international affairs, Xi said the two countries have jointly safeguarded real multilateralism as well as international fairness and justice.
"China and Russia have injected positive energy into the international community and set an example of a new type of international relations through their close cooperation, as the world is entering a period of turbulence and change and human development is confronted with multiple crises," Xi said.
Putin congratulated the CPC on its centenary and said that Russia has valued exchanges with the CPC in history and hoped to enhance inter-party exchanges with the CPC. He also expressed hope that under the CPC leadership, China will make new achievements in social development and play more important role in international affairs.
The latest meeting was the second interaction between the two top leaders within six weeks after they witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony of a bilateral nuclear energy cooperation project on May 19.
CCTV Evening News on the Xi-Putin meeting - 习近平同俄罗斯总统举行视频会晤 两国元首宣布《中俄睦邻友好合作条约》延期
The two sides emphasized that they are jointly opposed to stigmatizing and politicizing the epidemic situation and virus traceability.
The two sides agreed to maintain close high-level exchanges, strengthen vaccine cooperation, continue to expand bilateral trade, expand cooperation in low-carbon energy, digital economy, agriculture and other fields, and promote the docking of the "the belt and road initiative" initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union. Both sides will jointly oppose the politicization of sports, and Russia supports the successful hosting of Beijing Winter Olympics.
Both sides believe that under the current situation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is facing new opportunities and challenges, and should comprehensively plan and promote its development.
The two sides also expressed concern about the recent acceleration of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by the United States and NATO, and the more complicated and severe security situation in Afghanistan, and emphasized the joint maintenance of regional peace, security and stability.
双方强调，共同反对利用疫情和病毒溯源搞污名化、政治化。
双方同意，继续保持密切高层交往，加强疫苗合作，继续扩大双边贸易规模，拓展低碳能源、数字经济、农业等领域合作，推进“一带一路”倡议同欧亚经济联盟对接。双方将共同反对将体育政治化，俄方支持成功举办北京冬奥会。
双方认为，当前形势下，上海合作组织面临新的机遇和挑战，应全面谋划和推进该组织发展。
双方还对近期美国、北约加速从阿富汗撤军、阿富汗安全形势更加复杂严峻表示关注，强调共同维护地区和平、安全和稳定。
Xi-Putin video meeting unleashes strong positive energy: Global Times editorial - Global Times
Western media outlets often describe China-Russia relations as a "quasi-alliance." But neither China nor Russia has ever officially accepted such a description. They define their ties as partnership, rather than alliance. They both reiterate that their relations are at the best in history and are a model for intergovernmental relations in the 21th century.
The joint statement issued by the two heads of state on Monday included a handful of new content. It says that Russia needs a prosperous and stable China; China needs a strong and successful Russia; and the two countries see each other as a prioritized partner, and they will further deepen collaboration and cooperation in fields of politics, security, military, economic and trade.
The joint statement expressed a common stance on arms control and mentioned many related issues, such as criticizing the US withdrawing from a series of related key international treaties and deploying anti-missile systems in the world. The statement also advocates countries to pledge not to be the first to deploy weapons in outer space...
The world is more secure in peace and stability because of China and Russia's comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. Now hegemony is counterbalanced, while fairness and justice have strong support.
专访时殷弘｜台海若有战事 俄罗斯恐怕不会参与｜多维新闻｜全球
Shi Yinhong of Renmin University is very jaded about the China-Russia relations. In an interview with Duowei, Shi said it would be very difficult for the two to trust others, and they are essentially strange bedfellows 同床异梦. He said the China-Russia relations are as transactional as the China-DPRK relations. He said Chinese people have not forgotten the unpleasant things Russia did to China in history; and Russia has made it even more difficult for China to do reverse engineering on the jet engines, since it now sells only the whole jet to China, instead of just the engines. He added that these ties with Russia has impose a huge financial burden on China, and even though China has participated in Russia’s military drill in the Baltics, it would be impossible for Moscow to join China’s exercise near Taiwan.
The Law, the Rights and the Rules — Russia in Global Affairs - Lavrov
Clearheaded politicians in Europe and America realise that this uncompromising policy leads nowhere, and are beginning to think pragmatically, albeit out of public view, recognising that the world has more than just one civilisation. They are beginning to recognise that Russia, China and other major powers have a history that dates back a thousand years, and have their own traditions, values and way of life. Attempts to decide whose values are better, and whose are worse, seem pointless. Instead, the West must simply recognise that there are other ways to govern that may be different from the Western approaches, and accept and respect this as a given. No country is immune to human rights issues, so why all this high-browed hubris? Why do the Western countries assume that they can deal with these issues on their own, since they are democracies, while others have yet to reach this level, and are in need of assistance that the West will generously provide.
Lavrov slams West, deriding EU as Biden’s ‘choir’ – POLITICO
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday denounced the EU and the U.S. for trying to dictate a world order according to their whims, and to force Russia and China to bend to the West’s will.
Lavrov’s comments — in a lengthy manifesto, published in Russian in the daily newspaper Kommersant, and in English in the journal Russia in Global Affairs — came just days after a high-stakes summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva had raised hope of new cooperation and, perhaps, an end to years of badly deteriorated relations between Moscow and the West.
But he seemed to allow little possibility for this new reality. “Without any false modesty, Washington and Brussels called themselves ‘an anchor for democracy, peace and security,’ as opposed to ‘authoritarianism in all its forms,'” he wrote. “In particular, they proclaimed their intent to use sanctions to ‘support democracy across the globe.'”
5. Hong Kong
Hong Kong police arrest former Apple Daily journalist at airport - media | Reuters
Police, who typically do not name arrested people, said in a statement that a 57-year-old man had been arrested at the airport for "conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security". They added that he had been detained and investigations were continuing.
Hong Kong media identified him as Fung Wai-kong, an editor and columnist at the now-closed paper. If confirmed, he would be the seventh staffer at the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper to be arrested on national security grounds in recent weeks.
Fear Grips Other Hong Kong Media After China Crushes Apple Daily - Bloomberg
The Stand News on Sunday announced the resignations of its directors -- including former pro-democracy politician Margaret Ng and singer-activist Denise Ho. Separately, the publication said it would take down some blog posts, commentaries, reader submissions and even stop taking reader donations. The changes would help “protect all supporters, authors and editors, and to reduce the risks of all parties,” according to its website.
Police may have list of journalists to arrest: HKJA - RTHK
In a statement on Monday, the HKJA condemned the police for targeting journalists once again, saying recent events have almost spelt the death of Hong Kong's press freedom.
The association's chairman, Ronson Chan, told RTHK it is worrying that Apple Daily closing down failed to stop further arrests, on top of those of made earlier this month.
"They hoped to protect more staff, to protect their safety, since we supposed that if Apple Daily was still running, more staff would be arrested. But we can still see many well-known journalists or commentary writers being arrested," he said.
"We are afraid that they have a list and still many journalists or commentary writers will be targeted by the police. So I'm afraid that the arrests will continue."
Pro-democracy digital news outlet Stand News has announced it will remove opinion articles and columns it published before May and stop accepting donations in order to reduce risks under the national security law. The move comes following a report of anonymous threats to some media outlets.
New Hong Kong police chief calls for fake news law, blames media for mistrust in officers | AFP
"I understand that there are residents who are still hostile against us. In this regard, I told my colleagues that many of these torn relationships and hostility against the police are due to fake news," Police chief Raymond Siu said...
“There is no legal definition of fake news at the moment, but if there is any legislation that could help us bring these people to justice, as law enforcers, we absolutely welcome it,” he added.
Police enforcing Hong Kong’s national security law have a watch list of residents under investigation for allegedly violating the Beijing-imposed legislation to be intercepted and arrested if they attempt to flee the city, sources have told the Post.
The list includes more than 50 people released on bail after being arrested under the national security law, most of them having surrendered their travel documents as surety..
A law enforcement insider speaking on condition of anonymity said police could also ask for anyone suspected of a criminal offence, including national security violations, to be added to a separate watch list managed by the Immigration Department to prevent their escape from the city.
Behind China’s Takeover of Hong Kong - The New York Times
Hong Kong’s march toward an authoritarian future began with a single phrase in a dry policy paper. Beijing, the document declared, would wield “comprehensive jurisdiction” over the territory.
The paper, published in June 2014, signaled the Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s determination to tame political defiance in the former British colony, which had kept its own laws and freedoms. But the words were dismissed by many as intimidating swagger that the city’s robust legal system and democratic opposition could face down.
Hong Kong now knows Mr. Xi’s ambitions with a stunned clarity. The paper marked the opening of a contest for control in the city, culminating in the sweeping national security law that few saw coming...
The clearest sign of how Beijing would respond came in October 2019. State television showed hundreds of top officials at a closed-door meeting, raising their hands to endorse a move to tighten law and order across China. The plan, published days later, proposed a “legal system and enforcement mechanism for national security” in Hong Kong.
Freedom cannot stand against rule of law - People's Daily Zhong Sheng
The collapse of Apple Daily is a response to the call of justice, common aspiration, and market demand.
Since the Hong Kong-based tabloid repeatedly violated law and morality, its operator and employees were punished by laws. Besides, its poor management also contributed a key reason for its closure.
However, some politicians from a few Western countries are unwilling to accept the failure of the anti-China organization they have supported. Under the disguise of the slogan "freedom of press," they called defiance to justice and law as a "basic freedom," trying to set roadblocks for Hong Kong's rule of law...
Hong Kong is a law-based society where anti-China forces are never tolerated. The rhetoric slogan "freedoms of press and speech" used by some politicians from a few Western countries is never a shield that absolves them from their wrongful practices of encouraging people to undermine economic and social order and national security
Jimmy Lai often told us, “No free press, no free market.” Those in the international business community who believe the closure of Apple Daily will have no impact on them are about to learn this lesson the hard way.
Police ban July 1 march, cite grave threats to public - RTHK
The League of Social Democrats, Tin Shui Wai Connection and Save Lantau Alliance wanted to march from Victoria Park to the government’s headquarters in Admiralty.
But the police have refused permission for the handover anniversary protest, saying public assemblies and marches are high-risk activities.
6. Vaccine diplomacy
AP Exclusive: Diplomats say China puts squeeze on Ukraine
China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing its support for a call for more scrutiny of human rights in China’s western region of Xinjiang by threatening to withhold Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines destined for Ukraine unless it did so, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday.
Ukraine briefly joined a statement by over 40 countries, presented by Canada at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, urging China to allow immediate access for independent observers to Xinjiang. Some human rights groups have alleged Chinese mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs and others in the region.
On Thursday, Ukraine pulled its name off the list of supporting states after Chinese authorities warned Kyiv that they would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine unless it did so, said diplomats from two Western countries.
The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine told the Global Times on Sunday that China never coerced Ukraine to pull out of the anti-China joint statement by threatening the cancelation of COVID-19 vaccine shipments, and the embassy slammed such rumors made up by the Western media as a complete distortion of the facts with the aim of inciting dissension.
China says no strings attached to vaccine shipments overseas -AP
A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed Ukraine’s decision to take its name off the statement at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding “we haven’t heard that Ukraine has encountered any difficulty in importing vaccines from China.”
The spokesperson said that, at the UNHRC session, more than 90 countries voiced their appeal for justice, and supported and echoed China in various ways. The attempt of a few Western countries to smear China on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet ended in failure again...
"China welcomes the decision of the Ukrainian side which reflects its spirit of independence and respect for facts and conforms to the purposes of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations," said the spokesperson.
Wang Yi Speaks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on the Phone
Noting that China and Egypt have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, Wang Yi said, China appreciates Egypt's participation in a joint statement supporting China at the 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The two sides have also maintained close coordination on international and regional issues to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
Wang Yi noted, facing the COVID-19 pandemic, China has always given priority to Egypt's needs and tried its best to provide vaccine support to Egypt. Sinovac will soon launch its production line of COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt, the first time for China to work with an African country in vaccine production. Wang Yi hopes the cooperation could proceed smoothly.
7. Virus origin struggle
Suspect No.1: Why Fort Detrick lab should be investigated for global COVID-19 origins tracing
It is worth noting that many media outlets in the US-led Western world, which hyped the lab-leak theory, are only willing to focus on the Chinese labs though they have been thoroughly investigated by the World Health Organization (WHO), while turning a blind eye to the more suspicious American biological research institutions, such as the infamous US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland...
Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Global Times that laboratory leak is easy to identify, as infections are bound to show signs, whether it is an operational problem or an infection of a lab staff...
Zeng said the US is afraid of WHO's inspection in the same way it was done in China, Zeng said.
Wuhan Lab's Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist Speaks Out on Covid Origins Debate - Bloomberg
Danielle Anderson was working in what has become the world’s most notorious laboratory just weeks before the first known cases of Covid-19 emerged in central China. Yet, the Australian virologist still wonders what she missed.
An expert in bat-borne viruses, Anderson is the only foreign scientist to have undertaken research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL-4 lab, the first in mainland China equipped to handle the planet’s deadliest pathogens. Her most recent stint ended in November 2019..
Half-truths and distorted information have obscured an accurate accounting of the lab's functions and activities, which were more routine than how they’ve been portrayed in the media, she said.
“It’s not that it was boring, but it was a regular lab that worked in the same way as any other high-containment lab,” Anderson said. “What people are saying is just not how it is.”..
Anderson said no one she knew at the Wuhan institute was ill toward the end of 2019...
If presented with evidence that such an accident spawned Covid-19, Anderson “could foresee how things could maybe happen,” she said. “I’m not naive enough to say I absolutely write this off.”
And yet, she still believes it most likely came from a natural source
There were curious characteristics about the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 1977-78, which emerged from northeastern Asia and killed an estimated 700,000 people around the world. For one, it almost exclusively affected people in their mid-20s or younger. Scientists discovered another oddity that could explain the first: It was virtually identical to a strain that circulated in the 1950s. People born before that had immunity that protected them, and younger people didn’t...
It was only in 2004 that a prominent virologist, Peter Palese, wrote that Chi-Ming Chu, a respected virologist and a former member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told him that “the introduction of this 1977 H1N1 virus” was indeed thought to be due to vaccine trials involving “the challenge of several thousand military recruits with live H1N1 virus.”
For the first time, science itself seemed to have caused a pandemic while trying to prepare for it...
In a 2018 blog post that was later removed, Dr. Shi said that the job was “not as dangerous” as everyone thought. “The chance of directly infecting humans is very small,” she wrote. “In most cases only ordinary protection will be taken,” unless a bat was known to carry a virus that might infect humans. She repeated something similar in a 2018 TED Talk-style video, according to The Washington Post, noting that “simpler protection” — illustrated with slides of unmasked or surgically masked colleagues with bare hands — was appropriate because it was believed that bat pathogens usually required an intermediate host.
Biden Administration Warns Covid-19 Origins Review May Not Be Definitive - WSJ
Biden administration officials are cautioning that a 90-day review into the origins of the Covid-19 virus may not produce a definitive explanation as intelligence agencies take on the challenge of unraveling the global pandemic.
Spy agencies conducting the review have yet to find conclusive evidence that would settle the debate over whether the virus came from human contact with an infected animal or was leaked from a Chinese government virology lab, a person familiar with the efforts said.
Wuhan lab's scientist: What people are saying is just not how it is - CGTN
The Wuhan Institute of Virology's (WIV) functions and activities have been obscured by half-truths and distorted information, said Danielle Anderson, the only foreign scientist employed with the institute's BSL-4 lab in 2019.
"What people are saying is just not how it is," Anderson told Bloomberg on Sunday. The lab is a regular one that "worked in the same way as any other high-containment lab."
The observation comes hot on the heels of controversial claims that the novel coronavirus escaped from the WIV. The scientist stated that SARS-CoV-2 likely originated from nature and thought it's normal that scientists haven't found the "smoking gun" bat responsible for the pandemic
The US' politicizing of the COVID-19 origins tracing is neither ethical nor popular, and will end in failure, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Monday's media briefing.
He urged the US to immediately stop its political manipulation, withdraw its "black hands" from the science community, and invite World Health Organization (WHO) experts to carry out COVID-19 origins research in the US in a transparent manner, and provide a responsible explanation of the real situation at Fort Detrick and the more than 200 biological laboratories the US has established around the world.
A source close to the WHO-China joint team on the virus origins study told the Global Times that he has been threatened by far-right extremists in the US via email and phone calls after he publically denied the lab-leak conspiracy.
8. War on crypto just getting started
Caixin Editorial: It’s Time to Declare War on Cryptocurrency
The current measures didn’t just appear out of thin air. They are the result of policymakers’ ever-growing understanding of the emerging risks associated with cryptocurrencies, as well as the country’s needs to better manage financial risks and to transition to a low-carbon economy...
The State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee held a meeting on May 21 that emphasized “cracking down on Bitcoin mining and trading and preventing the transmission of individual-level risks to systemic risk that affects the economy.”
This is an unmistakable signal that more rigid policies are yet to come...
the Chinese government is serious this time. Domestic speculators are advised to give up their illusions or risk going broke.
The original - 社论｜治理虚拟货币乱象
Comment: Caixin knows what the regulators are thinking. To those who still think the China crypto crackdown is a passing storm, I will borrow from Mao to warn you to “cast away illusions and prepare for struggle”.
Crypto mining machine prices plunge amid mine closures - Global Times
"We can accept any price as long as the machines can be sold," a seller was quoted by China Securities Journal as saying.
The market is full of panicked sellers, depressing prices. For example, the S19jPRO-100T machine, which used to be sold at more than 70,000 yuan ($10,842), is now sold at around 30,000 yuan.
Business, Economy and Trade
China Asks Citic Group to Examine Huarong’s Finances - Bloomberg Citic Group, whose businesses span everything from banking to securities and mining, recently dispatched a team to Huarong to pore over the embattled distressed-debt manager’s books, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. It couldn’t immediately be determined what, if anything, might result from Citic Group’s involvement. In 2019 the conglomerate and China Everbright Group were asked to examine the books of troubled regional lender Baoshang Bank Co., one of the people said, but the lender was ultimately taken over by Chinese regulators.
China coal futures tumble as senior official signals rise in supply | Financial Times $$ The price of Zhengzhou-traded coal futures for delivery in September fell 7 per cent to Rmb790 per tonne on Monday. The slide came a day after state-run news service Xinhua quoted an unnamed official at China’s top economic planning agency as saying that higher production, increased imports and greater use of solar and hydropower would lead prices to “drop significantly” from July.
China c.bank says will make prudent monetary policy flexible, targeted, appropriate | Reuters The People’s Bank of China will step up international economic policy coordination and fend off external shocks to consolidate the current economic recovery, it said in a statement, after the conclusion of its quarterly meeting of the monetary policy committee.
央行：增强人民币汇率弹性，加强预期管理 —澎湃新闻In a meeting last week, China’s central bank said it would strengthen rmb’s “elasticity” and deepen the exchange rate reforms. “The expectations of rmb exchange rates have stabilized, and the elasticity of bi-directional flotations has strengthened. This has played a stabilizing role in the broader macroeconomy.” 人民币汇率预期平稳，双向浮动弹性增强，发挥了宏观经济稳定器功能
央行：推动实际贷款利率进一步降低 —新浪财经 Facing “complex and grim internal and external environments,” China says it looks to further lower borrowing costs. At a quarterly meeting by the central bank, it said it would press ahead with interest rate reforms in a bid to reduce “real interest rates” as part of a broader monetary tool to support the economy. 推动实际贷款利率进一步降低。
多地银行暂停新房、二手房房贷业务“接单” —中新网 Mortgage rules are tightening further in China. A number of second-tier cities including Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Chongqing have made it harder for buyers to secure home loans, with some banks in those cities suspending second-home loans.
年内公司债发行1.65万亿元 下半年或维持区域分化态势 —证券日报 After a lull, the issuance of company bonds picked up in June as firms tapped into green bonds and others related to top government priorities. Analysts say the decline in bonds issuing earlier was promoted by fears about company defaults and tighter regulatory rules. Moving forward, the pace of company bonds in the later half of the year is likely to increase as the economy recovers, says analysts.
我国首个自营深水大气田“深海一号”建成投产 海洋油气开发进入“超深水时代” —新华通讯社《经济参考报》官方网站China’s first home-developed deep-water drilling rig, with a total cost of 23.6 billion rmb, came into operation last week. It’s expected to provide gas to Guangdong and Hainan. The rig, says the general manager of the operation, has a life span of 150 years and is built to withstand strong hurricanes. 设计疲劳寿命达150年，可抵御百年一遇的超强台风
《破产法》修订在即 专家热议破产重整如何遏制逃废债 —财新 China is expected to amend its bankruptcy law in a move analysts say will help ensure investors’ interest and prevent indebted companies from avoiding payments.
Tesla recalls 285,000 cars in China over issue with cruise control - CGTN U.S. Electric car giant Tesla is to update the software on more than 285,000 cars in China following an investigation that found issues with its assisted-driving technology that could cause road collisions, the Chinese government regulator has announced. According to a notice from the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), customers who are affected would be contacted by the car firm before upgrading their vehicle's software remotely for free.
PBOC Issues Order for Further Reductions in Chinese Payments Fees, Forecasts over $3.7B in Savings for General Public - China Banking News The Chinese central bank estimates that the measures will reduce payments processing fees for the general public by around 24 billion yuan (approx. USD$3.72 billion), including over 16 billion yuan in reductions for micro and small enterprises and individual industrial and commercial benefits. According to PBOC this will “help to reduce fund circulation costs, further optimise the business environment, expedite expansions and quality improvements to consumption, and play a positive role in driving high quality growth of the economy.”
Nike chief executive says brand is ‘of China and for China’ | Financial Times $$ Nike chief executive John Donahoe gave an impassioned defence of his company’s business in China, months after the world’s largest sportswear brand became ensnared in a consumer backlash over its past statements on Xinjiang. “Nike is a brand that is of China and for China,” Donahoe said on Thursday in response to a question from an analyst regarding the competition Nike faced from other brands in the region.
Yicai - China’s Envision to Build USD2.4 Billion EV Battery Factory in France Envision Automotive Energy Supply Corporation will construct a EUR2 billion (USD2.4 billion) plant in northern France that will supply Groupe Renault with electric car batteries. It will be the Chinese battery maker’s first such plant in Europe, and France’s first ever.
China Signals Electricity Price Hike for Households - Caixin In the statement, the NDRC said that the system should be reformed so that household electricity prices better reflect the actual cost of producing power and to reduce the subsidy that industrial and business users are paying.
Special Report: How Beijing humbled Britain's mighty HSBC | Reuters The decision by Baowu to blackball HSBC is part of a clampdown on the global London-based bank by many of China’s gargantuan state-owned enterprises - a campaign described to Reuters in interviews with HSBC bankers, and employees at state companies who have first-hand knowledge of their operations. Controlled by China’s ruling Communist Party, these companies manage the nation’s largest industrial projects and are responsible for $9.8 trillion of revenue annually...It feels, said one senior HSBC banker, “like we are getting tested for our professional loyalty every day.” // Comment: Because you are
The Communist party at 100: is Xi Jinping’s China on the right track? | Financial Times $$ “Nothing bad will happen to Jack Ma,” says one senior Chinese government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He has made good contributions to the economy and is still very much respected. He has done a great service to the people and the country. The lesson is just don’t be so high-profile in China.”
AI, semiconductors get quasi-military commanders as ‘supply chain chiefs’ to boost self-sufficiency | South China Morning Post Local governments across China are rushing to appoint their own “supply chain chiefs”, a new title emerging as part of a quasi-military command system for corporate governance in an effort to add some muscle to local support of Beijing’s self-sufficiency drive amid a protracted trade rivalry with the US. Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, is the latest to adopt the supply chain chief system, which appoints top city officials as “general chiefs” for specific industries, while also naming leaders of key businesses as “supply chain owners”. Guangzhou’s policy has appointed chiefs of 21 industries, including new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and semiconductors – all singled out by Beijing for government support.
Zhou Chengjun Opinion: Why China Can’t, and Shouldn’t, Control the Yuan Exchange Rate (Part 2) - Caixin Global If we take internationalization of the RMB as a strategic goal, then we must also get a very clear understanding of the principles of exchange rate formation and role of RMB price signals, then formulate a top-level design accordingly. At the same time, we must offer Chinese enterprises support for allocating resources, arranging production and labor at the global scale. Indeed, we have no choice but to acknowledge that in the context of RMB internationalization, we can’t control its exchange rate, and the PBOC would ultimately relinquish any hopes of determining its exchange rate. The RMB exchange rate can only be decided by preferences, expectations and the transactions of market entities all around the world.
Singapore’s Biggest Bank Closer to Deal to Take Strategic Stake in Chinese Lender - Caixin The last such foreign investment in a small or midsize Chinese bank was the purchase of an 18% stake of Bank of Jilin Co. Ltd. by South Korea’s KEB Hana Bank in 2010. The DBS investment in SZRCB is expected to give it a greater presence in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Politics and Law
中国共产党一百年大事记（1921年7月－2021年6月）-新华网 The CCP published a long summary of the “major events” in the CCP history. Interesting that only Mao and Xi are described as core of the party: 毛泽东为核心的第一代中央领导集体...以习近平同志为核心的党中央
建党100周年丨中共发布百年大事记 习名字出现次数远超毛邓江胡｜多维新闻｜中国 The Xi era occupies about one third of the article. The mentions of leaders also changed a lot compared with the 2011 version of summary, according to Duowei. The 2021 version Mao (138), Deng(75), Jiang(40), Hu(32), Xi (184). The 2011 version: Mao (150), Deng(83), Jiang(57), Hu(60).
Xi's discourses on Party self-governance published - Xinhua A new version of the compilation of discourses of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on full and strict governance over the Party has been published by the Central Party Literature Press. Divided into 12 subjects, the book brings together 788 sections from more than 220 sources, including reports, speeches, articles and instructions by Xi between Nov. 15, 2012 and April 27, 2021. Some discourses were made public for the first time. // 《习近平关于全面从严治党论述摘编（2021年版）》出版发行-新华网
White paper: China's political party system unique creation - CGTN China's political party system is a unique political creation with distinctive characteristics and strengths, according to a white paper titled "China's Political Party System: Cooperation and Consultation" released by the State Council Information Office on Friday..."It sprouted from Chinese soil and evolved over time based on China's historical heritage, cultural traditions, and economic and social development," read the white paper.
Full Text: China's Political Party System: Cooperation & Consultation - CGTN
认真总结党成功应对风险挑战的历史经验（庆祝中国共产党成立100周年专论） Ouyang Song, former director of the CCP central party history studies office, wrote on People’s Daily Monday that the reason the party was able to navigate through all these crisis such as the collapse of USSR, SRAS, global financial crisis and covid, is because the party was always able to think ahead and plan for the worst, and that it should continue to do so. // 历史车轮滚滚向前。今天的世界，百年未有之大变局正加速演进；今天的中国，中国特色社会主义正全面向前推进。实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦，我们面临难得机遇，具备坚实基础，拥有无比信心。同时，必须清醒看到，前进道路从来不会是一片坦途，必然会面对重大挑战、重大风险、重大阻力、重大矛盾，必然要进行具有许多新的历史特点的伟大斗争。增强忧患意识，做到居安思危，是我们党治国理政的一个重大原则。在一个更加不稳定不确定的世界中谋求我国发展，必须坚持底线思维，从最坏处着眼，做最充分的准备，把困难估计得更充分一些，把解决问题的措施想得更周到一些，把各项工作做得更扎实一些，争取最好的结果。要做到这些，就应当从党的百年历史中汲取智慧和力量。党的历史可以给我们以豪气、志气和底气。
公安部党委副书记王小洪：从党史中汲取奋进力量 在新征程上展现新作为|中国共产党_新浪财经_新浪网 “Wang Xiaohong, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security: Drawing on the strength of forging ahead from the party history and showing new achievements on the new journey” // Wang is preparing for the worst
“老公安”调任公安部两年后，出任副部长_腾讯新闻 Chen Siyuan is now a vice minister of public security. He spent most of his career in the Beijing PSB.
十三届全国人大常委会原委员于志刚严重违纪违法被开除党籍和公职 Yu Zhigang, former standing committee member of the National People’s Congress and former vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, is expelled from the party for taking bribes.
Caixin - 人事观察｜“70后”崔永辉升任福建省委常委、秘书长_政经频道_财新网 Cui Yonghui becomes new secretary-general of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee. He is only 50 years old. He is one of the 12 provincial CCP standing committee members across China who are 50 years-old or younger, per the table embedded in this story
中央纪委副书记肖培：“十八大”后查处392名高官_政经频道_财新网 Xiao Pei, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and deputy director of the State Supervision Commission, disclosed that from the end of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to May this year, the discipline inspection and supervision organs filed a total of 392 leading cadres at or above the provincial and ministerial levels, 22,000 at the bureau level, and 170,000 at the county level. There are more than 616,000 people at the township level
Commentary: Revelations of China's political party system - Xinhua On Friday, China released a white paper, titled "China's Political Party System: Cooperation and Consultation," which comprehensively reviews the development of the country's unique political party system, and introduces the system's distinctive characteristics and strengths. The system provides one fundamental revelation: the political party system of one country should be decided by its historical traditions and present national conditions...Another key revelation is that when various political parties of a country enjoy a relationship model that features cooperation, unity and harmony, they can better serve the fundamental interests of the great majority of their people.
Primary School in China's Shandong Calls on Parents to Search Out Foreign Books — Radio Free Asia The Chengde primary school in Qingyun county in the eastern province of Shandong recently wrote to parents calling them to check that their children didn't possess any banned books. "Please conduct a thorough search for religious books, reactionary books, homegrown reprints or photocopies of books published overseas, and for any books or audio and video content not officially printed and distributed by Xinhua Bookstore," the school said in a recent circular letter to parents, according to screenshots posted to social media.
China to boost protection of grassroots monuments for revolutionary martyrs - Xinhua Jointly issued by China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the statement underscored the efforts by veterans affairs and procuratorate authorities to conduct a thorough examination of the commemorative facilities for revolutionary martyrs at the county level or below, and improve the protection and management of them to fully unleash their potential in historical education for the public.
China enhances support for revolutionary martyrs' families - Xinhua China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs has urged further enhancing the support for revolutionary martyrs' families to ensure they receive the benefits they deserve and foster a society where heroes are respected. Local authorities should give priority to family members of revolutionary martyrs when formulating relevant support policies and strengthen registration and data collection in order to keep abreast of their situations, the ministry said in a statement.
中共中央印发《中国共产党党徽党旗条例》_新华网 The CCP central published a new regulation on how and when to use the CCP flag, emblem and pins in a proper way.
China’s top spy agency honours veteran communists on ‘hidden front lines’ | South China Morning Post China’s top spy agency has honoured some of its veteran intelligence officers for their contributions to the Communist Party cause on “hidden front lines”, in some cases dating back to the war against Japan. In a rare public statement, the Ministry of State Security said it awarded medals on Thursday to party members who had served for over 50 years. “They have done great things that shocked heaven and earth but lived nameless lives,” the ministry said. // 国家安全部举行“光荣在党50年”纪念章颁发仪式 -泉州网|泉州晚报社 泉州新闻门户网站
Millions of court rulings removed from official Chinese database | South China Morning Post Millions of documents have been removed from China Judgments Online, an official database of rulings run by the Supreme People’s Court, which a public notice said was due to a “migration” process. The notice posted on the website said that process would be completed within days. About three months ago, there were more than 117 million judgments from courts across China published on the website. As of Friday, about 11 million had been taken offline...“I am very concerned about this,” said Wang Fei, a Beijing-based lawyer. “Making the judgments available online was the best reform achievement of the Chinese judiciary in recent years and this is very important for safeguarding justice.”
Ethnic Discrimination and Authoritarian Rule: An Analysis of Criminal Sentencing in China by Yue Hou, Rory Truex :: SSRN This paper presents the first analysis of ethnic discrimination in sentencing patterns in the People's Republic of China, focusing on drug cases in Yunnan province. We posit the ``problem minority" hypothesis, which holds that discrimination in an authoritarian system emerges when an ethnic group becomes associated with behavior that generates social instability. On average, minority defendants in Yunnan have sentences that are about 1.5 to 7.5 months longer than Han defendants that have committed similar drug crimes. Further analysis of data from all provinces reveals that this bias is largest for groups heavily involved in the drug trade, and in provinces with significant minority populations and drugs.
Ex-Chair of State-Run Interbank Clearing Platform Expelled From Communist Party for Graft - Caixin Xu Zhen, the former chairman and party chief of the Shanghai Clearing House (SCH), violated the party’s discipline, formed cliques and factions, undermined the political environment of the SCH and resisted investigation, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country’s top graft baster, and its local counterpart in Shanghai said in a statement
Foreign and Defense Affairs
India Shifts 50,000 Troops to China Border in Historic Defense Move - Bloomberg All in all, India now has roughly 200,000 troops focused on the border, two of them said, which is an increase of more than 40% from last year...Whereas previously India’s military presence was aimed at blocking Chinese moves, the redeployment will allow Indian commanders more options to attack and seize territory in China if necessary in a strategy known as “offensive defense,” one of the people said...While it’s unclear how many troops China has on the border, India detected that the People’s Liberation Army recently moved additional forces from Tibet to the Xinjiang Military Command, which is responsible for patrolling disputed areas along the Himalayas.
China urges India to make a move to ease border tensions | South China Morning Post Long Xingchun, a South Asian affairs expert and president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, said China’s ability to project power was far greater than India’s and Beijing would not be concerned too much by the developments on the Indian side. “I don’t think the 50,000 troops will change the power balance in the border area. They did that because their infrastructure and military mobility are both poor, so they need more troops on the front line,” Long said. “But with good infrastructure and long-distance power projection ability, Beijing can dispatch troops to the front line immediately when needed.”
France and U.S. Agree on the Perils of a Rising China, Blinken Says - The New York Times Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, speaking in an interview after a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France, said the United States and France were “on the same page” in their determination to resist the possibility of a Chinese-led world order that would be “profoundly illiberal in nature.”
Italy says its relations with U.S. far more important than with China | Reuters "We are a strong trade partner with China, we have a historic relationship, but it is absolutely not comparable, and it does not interfere with, the alliance of values we have with the United States," Di Maio said at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Senior Nato officer warns of China’s ‘shocking’ military advances | Financial Times $$ The comments from air chief marshal Sir Stuart Peach highlight the broad array of security challenges posed by China as members of the alliance struggle to progress beyond a diagnosis of the threat to an agreed plan of action. “It is quite shocking how quickly China has built ships, how much China has modernised its air force, how much it has invested in cyber and other forms of information management, not least facial recognition,” said Peach — who is stepping down on Friday after three years as head of Nato’s military committee — in an interview with the Financial Times before his departure.
Indonesia and US to build maritime center at mouth of Malacca - Reuters Indonesia and the United States have broken ground on a new $3.5 million maritime training center in the strategic area of Batam, in the Riau Islands, Indonesia's maritime security agency said. Attending the ceremony virtually on Friday, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Kim, said the maritime center would be part of ongoing efforts between the two countries to bolster security in the region...The training center, located at the strategic meeting point of the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, will be run by Bakamla and houses classrooms, barracks and a launch pad, the agency said.
Tanzania to revive $10bn Indian Ocean port project with China - Nikkei Asia "Regarding the Bagamoyo Port project, let me give you the good news that we have started talks to revive the whole project," she said at a gathering of the Tanzania National Business Council. "We are going to start talks with the investors that came for the project with the aim of opening it for the benefit of our nation," she said, according to local newspaper The Citizen. China's Xinhua News Agency also carried the president's words. Hassan's comments come five days after speaking with Xi by phone.
China's Diplomacy in the New Era website launched - - Xinhua The website was jointly created by the China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) under the China International Publishing Group and the China Institute of International Studies (Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center) with guidance from the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. The website serves as an official platform to introduce and popularize Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy...Other language versions are planned, and the website can now be reached at this address: http://www.chinadiplomacy.org.cn
习近平外交思想和新时代中国外交 The Chinese title means "Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and China's Diplomacy in the New Era", but the English version is just "China's Diplomacy in the New Era"
A New Journey Ahead after Fifty Extraordinary Years - Keynote Address by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi At the Lanting Forum on China and the UN: Cooperation in 50 Years and Beyond Chairman Mao Zedong once said, it was our fellow developing countries that "carried" the People's Republic of China into the United Nations. The word "carry" aptly captures the profound friendship between China and other developing countries. This is something that we in China will never forget. In the five decades since, China has acted in the same spirit by firmly upholding the legitimate rights and interests of fellow developing countries and speaking up for the developing world. Past, present and in the future, China always stands together with developing countries. China's vote in the United Nations is always for the well-being of developing countries and for justice in the world. Keeping to the spirit of "carry", we will continue to strive for the collective rise of developing countries and make it a defining trend of the 21st century...Tomorrow is the UN Charter Day. With the international landscape undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, how can we, the countries in the world, avoid division, reject confrontation, maintain solidarity, and advance cooperation? There is only one right answer: upholding the international system with the UN at its core and safeguarding the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. This is because that is the only system jointly built by all, and that is the only set of norms universally endorsed by all. Building international consensus on the UN platform to meet global challenges together is the biggest common ground of all countries. It is also the right choice consistent with the trend of the times.
Chinese diplomat criticizes crimes of genocide by U.S., other Western countries - Xinhua A senior Chinese diplomat on Monday criticized the crimes of genocide by the United States and other Western countries, urging the international community to carry out comprehensive, impartial and in-depth investigations into all crimes of genocide and to eradicate racism, racial discrimination and other legacies of genocide. Speaking at the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said that genocide is a universally acknowledged severe international crime and the devastating impacts of genocide is still felt today.
Brutality against indigenous people embedded in Anglo-Saxons' DNA - Global Times Native people have been subjected to more than 1,500 wars, attacks, and raids authorized by the US government, the most of any country in the world against its indigenous people. Such brutality against indigenous people is embedded in the genes of the Anglo-Saxons.
Hundreds of unmarked graves unveil tip of Canada's genocidal history - People's Daily Online Though touting itself a "model for human rights," Canada was confronting its ugly history of encroaching upon the human rights of the indigenous people, as hundreds of unmarked graves were discovered at former indigenous residential schools. Less than a month after the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children at a former residential school in western Canada, both Canada and the international community were again shocked by the new discovery of 751 more unmarked graves at a cemetery near another former indigenous residential school in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
Malvinas Islands: Chinese envoy calls for end to colonialism - CGTN The question of the Malvinas Islands, also known as the Falklands, is essentially a legacy of colonialism, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN)...China's position on the question of the Malvinas Islands has been consistent. It firmly supports Argentina's sovereignty claim on the Malvinas Islands, he said.
Wang Xiangwei - From Mao and Xi to the Snows, does their legacy in Yan’an continue to define China’s future? | South China Morning Post This month, I joined a group of international journalists on a government-organised tour of the key holy sites in the city, where I also attended a forum to discuss the legacy of the American journalist Edgar Snow and his wife Helen Foster Snow...One moderator hit the nail on the head. Citing a Pew Research Centre report from October last year that showed unfavourable views of China soaring to historic heights in many developed countries, he suggested that in today’s climate, the Snows would not have been published in the West.
China eyes new generation of tech-driven helicopters - Global Times After having established a family of helicopter types that has several dozen models, including advanced fourth-generation choppers like the Z-20, China aims to go beyond and design more advanced new choppers. These models would include heavy transport helicopters, next-generation high-speed helicopters and new concept helicopters that would integrate the latest technologies - including artificial intelligence (AI) - into their designs, top Chinese helicopter experts said last week.
China once again raises pension and subsidy standards for veterans - China Military The notice clearly stated that from August 1, 2021, the disability pension for disabled personnel (including disabled military and police members, officials in state organs, militias and migrant laborers), regular pension for three kinds of families (namely family members of martyrs, military members died on duty or of illness ), as well as the subsistence allowance to the Red Army Veterans, will increase by 10% on average as scheduled. And the subsistence allowance for demobilized soldiers in the countryside will have an increase of 200 yuan per capita per month on the current basis.
New survey telescope in NW China's Qinghai will help detect space debris in medium and high orbits - Global Times The multi-application survey telescope array, MASTA, developed by the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is planned to be built in the astronomical observation base in the town of Lenghu, in the Gobi Desert, Qinghai Province, with an average altitude of 3,800 meters above sea level, according to the Chinese media outlet, The Paper.
CPC maintains regular contacts with over 560 political parties, organizations around the world: official - People's Daily Online The Communist Party of China (CPC) has maintained regular contacts with more than 560 political parties and political organizations from over 160 countries and regions around the world, according to a CPC official. Guo Yezhou, deputy head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, cited the statistics at a press conference held to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC on Monday in Beijing. "The CPC has made friends all over the world," said Guo.
UNDERSTAND CHINA: Through the Lens of 'Mutually Assured Prosperity' - People's Daily Online In this episode, the first person we spoke to was Stephen A. Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations. Mr. Orlins was among the earliest observers to witness the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States in January 1979. During that period, he served in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State and was a member of the American legal team that supported the two countries in their transition to full diplomatic relations. We then sat down with Zhang Weiwei, who served as a senior English interpreter for former Chinese leader, and the architect of China's reform and opening-up, Deng Xiaoping. Mr. Zhang is now the director of the China Institute of Fudan University. In a conversation in his office, Zhang shared his views on the rise of China and the reasons behind some of the ideological biases towards China that have since become prevalent in many Western countries.
Navy Museum opens for CPC’s centennial, showcases historical achievements - Global Times To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Communist Party of China (CPC), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy opened its new museum in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province, on Saturday, showcasing the historical achievements of the PLA Navy has made under the leadership of the CPC...The PLA Navy Museum was rebuilt from a previous Naval Museum, covering an area of more than 10,000 square meters.
China’s cyber power at least a decade behind the US, new study finds | Financial Times $$ China’s strengths as a cyber power are being undermined by poor security and weak intelligence analysis, according to new research that predicts Beijing will be unable to match US cyber capabilities for at least a decade. The study, published on Monday by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, comes as a series of hacking campaigns have highlighted the growing threat of online espionage by hostile states. // Cyber Capabilities and National Power: A Net Assessment - IISS
YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative | Reuters Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights' channel has published nearly 11,000 videos on YouTube totaling over 120 million views since 2017, thousands of which feature people speaking to camera about relatives they say have disappeared without a trace in China's Xinjiang region, where UN experts and rights groups estimate over a million people have been detained in recent years. On June 15, the channel was blocked for violating YouTube's guidelines, according to a screenshot seen by Reuters, after twelve of its videos had been reported for breaching its 'cyberbullying and harassment' policy.
China-Iran Relations: A Limited but Enduring Strategic Partnership | U.S.- CHINA | ECONOMIC and SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION The report examines China’s deepening ties with Iran and the geopolitical constraints on the relationship. It analyzes increased Sino-Iranian economic coordination—China as Iran’s top import and export market and a critical investor in energy and transportation infrastructure—and how that coordination undermines the effectiveness of U.S. policies, like sanctions. The report also assesses China’s proliferation of technology supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program and the threat the two countries’ intelligence sharing and military partnerships pose to U.S. security.
China surveillance firm Hikvision hires former lawmakers Moffett, Vitter and Boxer as lobbyists - The Washington Post Former U.S. representative Anthony “Toby” Moffett (D-Conn.), who served eight years in the House until 1983 and now works at the prominent Washington firm Mercury Public Affairs, will lobby for Hikvision’s U.S. subsidiary...Moffett will join former senator David Vitter (R-La.) in lobbying for a company racing to defend itself in Washington amid questions over its links to Chinese government surveillance and oppression. Another former senator, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), registered to lobby for the company, but withdrew from that representation in January amid public criticism.
China-Australia ties plumb new depths over subs, trade and coral - Nikkei Asia Australia's leading scientific research institution scrapped a joint program with China that studies climatic conditions in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The cancellation by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) followed comments by Mike Burgess, Australia's director-general of security and leader of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, implying the project might help China wage submarine warfare.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong to ban all travellers from Britain, as it puts country back on ‘extremely high-risk’ list | South China Morning Post Hong Kong will put Britain back on its list of “extremely high-risk” countries and ban incoming travellers from July 1 in a bid to keep out Covid-19 variants, officials said on Monday. Health authorities confirmed an earlier Post report on the decision to suspend all passenger flights from Britain, which comes days after the city toughened quarantine rules for visitors.
Taiwan
US-Taiwan talks to focus on supply chains and digital trade | Financial Times $$ Taiwan and the US will discuss supply chain security and digital trade in their first trade talks in five years, as the countries seek to deepen economic ties in the face of growing tension with China. The negotiations are due to start on Wednesday...The new talks follow an internal debate in Washington that included calls from the state department to add an economic component to efforts to strengthen ties with Taipei. Katherine Tai, US trade representative, had been less enthusiastic, but Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, urged her office to initiate the talks, according to four people familiar with the situation.
Tech and Media
China’s Chip Investment Moves Ahead Full Throttle - Caixin Some 164 Chinese firms received 40 billion yuan ($6.19 billion) in combined funding during the first five months of 2021, according to a report published last week by U.S.-based law firm Katten and Chinese chip-industry monitor Ijiwei.com. While that was slightly off the pace from 2020, when Chinese companies raised 140 billion yuan for the entire year, it was roughly the same as what they raised during all of 2019.
Huawei's HiSilicon moving into advanced 5G chip production - Asia Times Digitimes reports that Huawei will build its first wafer fabrication manufacturing company in Wuhan, Hubei Province. According to the report, the company is expected to start production in stages from next year. Sources reveal that this factory initially used to produce optical communication Kirin chips and modules to gain self-sufficiency and keep a good quantity of required chipsets
TikTok insiders say Chinese parent Bytedance in control - CNBC This recruiter, along with four other former employees, told CNBC they’re concerned about the popular social media app’s Chinese parent company, which they say has access to American user data and is actively involved in the Los Angeles company’s decision-making and product development. These people asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from the company.
TikTok creator ByteDance hits $425bn valuation on gray market - Nikkei Asia Information published by 36Kr shows three listings of stakes for sale in ByteDance. The new high in ByteDance's valuation was revealed by one investor whose shares are estimated at between $50 million and $100 million.
Import AI 255: The NSA simulates itself; China uses PatentNet to learn global commerce; are parameters the most important measure of AI? PatentNet has been built out of data submitted to the Guangdong Intellectual Property Protection Center of China from 2007 to 2020. "In PatentNet, all the information is checked and corrected by patent examiner of the China Intellectual Property Administrator. In this sense, the dataset labeling will be highly accurate," the researchers write. Why this matters - economies of insight: PatentNet is an example of a curious phenomenon in AI development that I'd call 'economies of insight' - the more diverse and large-scale data you have, the greater your ability to generate previously unseen insights out of it. Systems like PatentNet will unlock insights about products and also the meta-data of products that others don't have
Arakawa Hiroshi’s "Raiden 18" short story was directly criticized by Chinese netizens for insulting China ten years ago, causing flames | 4Gamers - Archyde A short manga drawn ten years ago was not discovered by Chinese netizens until now in 2021 that it was “humiliating China”. This happened in the latest booklet “Raiden 18” (Raiden 18) by the well-known Japanese manga artist Hiroshi Arakawa
Chen Rui, Chairman and CEO of Bilibili, Delivers 12th Anniversary Speech - Pandaily In the past year, the five fastest-growing content categories in Bilibili were social sciences and humanities, psychology, animal, food and science. Among them, popular science content hit the highest growth rate in terms of view counts, reaching 1994%. Even still,Chen emphasized that “ACG content is still the strongest among all categories in Bilibili”. In Q1 of this year, the view counts of the Chinese animation and drama registered a 30% year-on-year growth, and the main creative content by ACG uploader increased by 43% year-on-year. According to the latest data, the average MAU in Bilibili reached 223 million, more than 86% of whom are aged 35 and below, and nearly half of the Chinese youth use Bilibili
Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History
Early hours fire kills 18, mostly children, at central China MMA school | South China Morning Post Eyewitness says they were screaming for their lives but rescuers were driven back by the fierce flames The young victims, aged between seven and 16, were asleep upstairs when the fire broke out at 3am
Beijing Subway Adopts Anti-Sexual Harassment Ads to Educate Public - SixthTone The Beijing branch of the state-run All-Women’s China Federation is using audio-visual mediums at mass transit hubs in the capital to increase public awareness about sexual harassment. Currently, the organization is targeting the city’s subway stations — with an average of 13 million daily commuters — to educate the masses on what constitutes sexual harassment and how to prevent it from occurring.
Murder of Chinese Woman by Foreigner in Ningbo Continues to Receive Public Attention | What's on Weibo Global Times reported that the suspect had confessed to the crime, stating he had murdered the woman over “a relationship dispute.”..Global Times editor Hu Xijin condemned the murder in a Weibo post, in which he also argued that public opinion should avoid focusing on the nationality and race of the suspect. Nevertheless, speculation on the suspect keeps circulating on social media, where people claim the suspect allegedly is an African American male teacher at the Ningbo Institute of Engineering – the same school where the victim was a student. The case has sparked a wave of anti-foreigner and racist comments on Weibo.
Case of Chinese beaten by three foreigners in Chengdu triggers fresh online discussions - Global Times The Chinese man, surnamed Yin, 22, reported to police on early Friday that they had a quarrel with three foreigners at a restaurant in Chengdu and they were beaten by them, according to a statement released by police of Jinjiang district of Chengdu on Sunday. The police did not reveal which country the foreign nationals were from. Chinese social media has been circulating different versions of the quarrels. The reason for the incident is still unclear.
At This Instagram Hot Spot, All the World’s a Stage (and the Buffalo’s a Prop) - The New York Times The unexpected appeal of Xiapu, in Fujian Province, arises from a set of factors specific to this moment in China. The country has a growing number of retirees, who are living longer and with more money than ever before. The government is encouraging rural tourism in the name of poverty alleviation. And everywhere, there is nostalgia for a disappearing way of life, in a country modernizing at mind-boggling speed.
Discovery of ‘Dragon Man’ Skull in China May Add Species to Human Family Tree - The New York Times Other experts thought the similarity between the Tibetan jaw, with the Denisovan-like proteins, and the skull from Harbin pointed to Dragon Man’s real identity. “When I first saw the picture of the fossil I thought, now we finally know what Denisovans looked like,” said Philipp Gunz, a paleoanthropologist at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Karen Baab, a paleoanthropologist at Midwestern University in Arizona, agreed: “Harbin is better understood as a Denisovan.”
Economist Who Helped Map Out China’s Reforms Dies at 92 - Caixin Gao Shangquan, one of the minds behind China’s post-1970s economic reforms, died Sunday at a Beijing hospital. He was 92...In 1982, Gao joined the new State Commission for Restructuring the Economic System established to help coordinate and guide the reforms that had begun a few years earlier.
张维迎：高老走了，他去天堂搞改革_爱思想 Zhang Weiying on Gao Shangquan
Energy, Environment, Science and Health
Update: Guangzhou clears all medium, high-COVID-19 risks areas, to build international health station in preventing the Delta variant - Global Times On Saturday, areas of medium and high COVID-19 risk were cleared in Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province, after a month-long fight against the flare-up...Guangzhou, which receives nearly 90 percent of international passengers to the country, plans to build an international health station with 5,000 independent rooms to quarantine international arrivals in order to prevent COVID-19 imported cases amidst threats posed by the Delta variant.
Delta Variant Forces Guangdong to Expand Who Counts as a ‘Close Contact,’ Official Says - Caixin Guangdong, China’s most populous province, has had to tighten up how it defines “close contacts” in response to the spread of the new highly transmissible delta variant, top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said...“Now, close contacts refer to those who stayed in the same space, same unit or same building with patients in the four days before they show symptoms,” Zhong, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said of the rapid transmission and high viral loads spread by the delta variant.
Antibodies triggered by Chinese COVID-19 shots less effective on Delta variant - researcher | Reuters Antibodies triggered by two Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant compared with other strains but the shots still offer protection, a Chinese disease control researcher told state media...In an interview aired by China Central Television late on Thursday, Feng Zijian, researcher and former deputy director at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, did not provide further details.
China’s Carbon Market Set to Miss Target for Start of Trading - Bloomberg Trading won’t now happen until after July 1 because of a lack of organization, according to a person familiar with its development. It’s unclear how long the start will be delayed, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
China’s National Carbon Trading Market to Include Cement, Aluminum Next Year, Expert Predicts - Caixin China’s national carbon trading market will likely expand to cover industries such as cement and aluminum next year, Tsinghua University climate expert Zhang Xiliang said at a forum Thursday. The market will be up and running by the end of June and will move beyond simply the power sector to include other industries as soon as possible, Zhang said at an event on China’s policies to achieve carbon neutrality.
World's most famous medical journal is accused of doing China's dirty work | Daily Mail Online Earlier this year, the prominent German psychiatrist Thomas Schulze sent a proposal to Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of world-renowned medical journal The Lancet, suggesting they start a debate over the complicity of Chinese scientists in the persecution of Uighurs...But he was staggered by the response from Horton who said he did not 'wish to do anything that might imperil' his editor in China. 'Publishing a call for a boycott might well make her situation untenable,' he wrote.
China's largest marine research and training vessel delivered - CGTN China's largest-ever oceanographic research and training vessel, named "Sun Yat-sen University" after its developer, was delivered in Shanghai on Saturday. The vessel has a displacement of 6,880 tonnes, 114.3 meters in length and 19.4 meters in width.
Chinese scientists make remarkable achievement in long-haul fiber quantum network - Xinhua Chinese scientists have achieved twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) through a 511-km optical fiber linking two distant metropolitan areas, proving the technical feasibility in a practical environment and paving the way towards a long-haul fiber quantum network. Led by Pan Jianwei from the University of Science and Technology of China, the field test was conducted through a channel between Qingdao and Jinan in east China's Shandong Province. The experiment results have been published in Nature Photonics, a peer-reviewed scientific journal under the Nature Publishing Group.
Story of China's first taikonaut's one day in space lights up internet, highlights country's space advancements - Global Times As the "space fever" continues to grip Chinese netizens after China has achieved successive breakthroughs in the aerospace sector, culminating in the recent launch of three taikonauts to China's space station, an article written by China's first taikonaut Yang Liwei describing his one day in space triggered heated discussions on social media platforms, with many saluting Yang's heroic spirit and marveling at the country's significant advancement in space technology. // 惊心动魄！杨利伟的《太空一日》火了|杨利伟|太空一日|神州十二号_新浪科技_新浪网
Scientific literacy to flourish nationwide - State Council The State Council issued an outline of a national campaign for scientific literacy on June 25, laying out tasks from 2021 to 2035 based on the notable achievements made in this field, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress. According to the guideline, scientifically literate citizens made up 10.56 percent of the population in 2020, with improving scientific education and training systems, and international exchanges in scientific literacy seeing new breakthroughs. To build a great modern socialist country with strength in science and technology, scientific literacy should play a big part in serving economic and social developmen
Xi congratulates on operation of Baihetan hydropower station - Xinhua As a major project in China's west-east power transmission program, the hydropower station is the largest and most technically difficult hydropower project under construction in the current world, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. The generating units each with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, the largest single-unit capacity in the world, mark a major breakthrough in China's high-end equipment manufacturing, he said.
Education
US-China tech war: mainland universities rush to expand semiconductor programmes in drive for self-sufficiency | South China Morning Post Universities across mainland China are rushing to set up new schools and departments focused on semiconductors, in a push to develop more skilled talent to support Beijing’s strategic goal of chips self-sufficiency amid the country’s intense hi-tech rivalry with the United States.
China adds 37 new college majors, one third in AI, information technology - Global Times About one-third of these newly approved majors are related to electronic information and AI. These majors include intelligent mining, intelligent transportation, the energy internet, flexible electronics, and intelligent vehicle technology.
Fields Medal Winner Caucher Birkar Joins China’s Tsinghua University - Caixin A ceremony for the conferment of professorship was held in Friday Beijing. Birkar will teach at Tsinghua’s Qiuzhen College, an institution formed in March to cultivate mathematics talent. Birkar is the second Fields Medal winner to join Tsinghua, following Shing-Tung Yau, a Chinese American mathematician. The Fields Medal is known as the Nobel Prize in mathematics as the top award in the field.
Rural and Agricultural Issues
Yicai - China to Boost Pork Reserves to Shore Up Prices China’s macro-economic planning agency is calling on the central and local governments to start stockpiling pork and halt an alarming slump in prices, after the average hog-to-grain price ratio fell under five last week, well below the level needed for farmers to break even. The ratio between live pigs and grain prices was 4.9:1 between June 21 and June 25, the National Development and Reform Commission's Department of Price said today. This caused the commission to issue a Level-One warning, the first time that such a warning has been given On June 16, a Level-3 warning was given when the ratio fell below 6:1.
“… Xi said the two countries have jointly safeguarded real multilateralism as well as international fairness and justice.”
I find it interesting how China regards the G7, with a combined GDP larger than that of Russia and China put together and far more powerful military, as a “small group,” while when the two of them get together it’s, “real multilateralism.”
I’m sure many of us are feeling a bit of Covid-article fatigue; however, I strongly encourage taking the time to read Dr. Tufekci’s piece from the NYT that Bill has posted. Fair and authoritative.