A friendly meeting with Vladimir Putin

The China Letter: September 13, 2022

What you need to know about China this week includes President Xi Jinping leaving his country for strategic reasons, the latest layer of civil rights abuse in Xinjiang, new books about Beijing’s surveillance state and monitoring of movies, and a true-life tale of five speech therapists being convicted of sedition over a story involving wolves and sheep.

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President Xi’s exit strategy

Reuters @Reuters

In his first overseas visit in more than two years, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to go to Kazakhstan this week, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin reut.rs/3d3SgfW

The sidelines of a summit in Uzbekistan is where Vladimir Putin will meet Xi Jinping in the latter’s first trip outside of his home country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, it’s seen as part of the strategy by China and Russia to ramp up their rivalry with the West, foreshadowing what to worry about once Xi’s third five-year term begins on October 16.

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A clampdown in Xinjiang

World Uyghur Congress @UyghurCongress

Various cities in East Turkistan have come under extremely tight #Covid_19 restrictions, sometimes for weeks. Desperate #Uyghurs have taken to social media to appeal for help, as they are running out of essential items such as food and medicine.

bbc.comChina Covid lockdowns leave residents short of food and essential itemsPeople are appealing for help on social media as food and medicine supplies dwindle.

A week after the United Nations highlighted it as the scene of Beijing’s crimes against humanity, Xinjiang is now making news as the latest part of China experiencing shortages due to lockdowns under the zero-COVID policy. Residents have also faced censorship of their own social media posts complaining about shortages of food and medicine.

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Watching watchers watch

Axios @axios

Beijing is creating a digital surveillance-based governance model

trib.alBeijing is creating a digital surveillance-based governance modelThe country’s domestic surveillance architecture could have ramifications far beyond its borders.

Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control is a new book by two reporters from the Wall Street Journal, who have detailed the extent to which Beijing is using technology to monitor every move. But compared to lower-tech authoritarian countries, China’s tactics are destined to also influence the ways of the West.

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Screening out the movies

The New Yorker @NewYorker

The journalist Erich Schwartzel’s new book “Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy” reads like a cautionary tale for American corporations seduced by the lure of the Chinese market.

nyer.cmWhen Hollywood Met ChinaErich Schwartzel’s “Red Carpet” details the hazardous courtship of American entertainment companies and the Chinese government.

A review of Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy says it can serve as a cautionary tale for all American companies seduced into doing business with Beijing. The most recent example of strong-arm tactics was a statement telling moviemakers they’ll be banned if their storylines disrespect Chinese culture.

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The wolves enact revenge

CNN International @cnni

Five speech therapists in Hong Kong were found guilty of a conspiracy to publish seditious children's books -- telling the stories of a village of sheep resisting a pack of wolves invading their home.

cnn.itFive Hong Kong speech therapists convicted of sedition over children’s books about wolves and sheepFive speech therapists in Hong Kong were found guilty of a conspiracy to publish seditious children’s books on Wednesday, in a case that rights defenders say marks a major blow to free speech amid a tightening of civil liberties in the Chinese territory.

The depiction of sheep trying to hold back wolves from their village led five Hong Kong speech therapists to be convicted of sedition based on books for children. Police accused the contents of “sugarcoating protesters’ unlawful acts” and “glorifying fugitives fleeing,” although the therapists argued the stories were simply promoting universal values.