Beijing had a birthday bash for a big number
The China Letter: July 8, 2021
A century of communist rule is accompanied by a clue of what China’s military is now working on, regulators crack down on the country’s hottest digital unicorn, students in Australia say they’re being watched, Canada is rebuked by Beijing, and strange new layers to the gender debate. Dig deeper into it all with this week’s dispatch.
Xi brought the party
The full text of Xi Jinping’s speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party was translated by state media, with the main takeaway being his words that Beijing won’t be bullied. The anniversary was followed by satellite imagery showing China expanding missile silos for what sounds like a new threat to America.
An emergency break
China’s cyberspace regulator said illegal collection of customer data was behind its decision to suspend downloads of Didi, the ride-hailing app that was put on notice days after it filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. It also follows a trend of regulatory crackdowns becoming common amongst expanding tech firms.
Student body surveillance
Human Rights Watch’s report titled “They Don’t Understand the Fear We Have” criticized Australian universities for failing to protect students from China who speak out against the government in their country of origin. Young people from Australia itself have also revealed intimidation and threats.
The finger-pointing era
Canadian senators concurring with parliamentarians who refused to label the treatment of Uyghurs a genocide drew praise from China, which has also found a new retaliation angle in the unmarked graves discovered on the sites of former Indian residential schools. One senate leader said Canada should be careful about criticism.
The last words, for now
Gender issues have increasingly factored into the discourse in China, through stories like a 17-year-old schoolgirl mechanic who became a celebrity after she beat her male classmates in a car repair test. Conversely, a posting in which a father asked what to do after his son’s skirt was pulled up in school generated generally supportive comments:
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