It hasn’t been a slow news month in China

The China Letter: August 19, 2022

This week in our recap of news worth knowing from and about China: Taiwan takes to the skies to show some might, a Canadian journalist gets a threat via Hong Kong, algorithms have been handed to authorities as a tech giant takes a financial hit, the economic wreckage of a heat wave, and a young woman busted by police for dressing Japanese.

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Flying against intimidation

Reuters @Reuters

Taiwan's air force flexes muscles in face of Chinese war games reut.rs/3Cej7jE

Military exercises by Taiwan are its way of showing that they’re ready to defend democracy and resist political control by Beijing. While the reactionary tactics accelerated after the recent trip by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a group of Canadian parliamentarians are planning a fall trip.

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Hong Kong is watching him

Global BC @GlobalBC

The former editor of Canada's largest Chinese-Canadian newspaper and Hong Kong democracy activist has been put on a Chinese wanted list. As @emadagahi reports, that has other activists calling on the federal government to speak up in his support. More: trib.al/JHrEbao

Victor Ho is the former editor of Sing Tao Daily, the largest Chinese community newspaper in Canada, whose placement on a “wanted list” in Hong Kong raised concern at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Calls are growing for the federal government to condemn this long-distance invocation of the security law.

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Tech is bending to Beijing

BBC News (UK) @BBCNews

Chinese internet giants hand algorithm data to government

bbc.inChinese internet giants hand algorithm data to governmentAlibaba and Tiktok-owner ByteDance are among firms that have shared information with regulators.

Details of internet giant algorithms are being shared for the first time with the Chinese government—even though it appears that the information doesn’t dig into how these systems work. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is also being monitored by Oracle in the U.S. due to data-manipulation concerns.

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The signals on social media

CNBC @CNBC

Tencent, the $370 billion Chinese tech giant, posts first ever revenue decline

cnb.cxTencent, the $370 billion Chinese tech giant, posts first ever revenue declineTencent posted its first ever quarterly year-on-year revenue decline as stricter regulations around gaming in China and a resurgence of Covid hit the tech giant.

The first year-over-year revenue decline for Tencent is seen as a reflection of Chinese economic woes, although the results were also impacted by increased regulation of the video games furnished by the tech company. The owner of WeChat has cut more than 5,000 staff as the economic downturn collides with Beijing’s controlling technology policies.

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China’s new power struggle

AP Climate @AP_Climate

Factories in China’s southwest have shut down and a city imposed rolling blackouts after reservoirs to generate hydropower ran low in a worsening drought, adding to economic strains at a time when President Xi Jinping is trying to extend his hold on power.

apne.wsChina cuts power to factories, homes as reservoirs fallBEIJING (AP) — Factories in China’s southwest have shut down and a city imposed rolling blackouts after reservoirs to generate hydropower ran low in a worsening drought, adding to economic strains at a time when President Xi Jinping is trying to extend his hold on power.

Sichuan province companies closed or reduced production after they were told to ration power for up to five days as blackouts rolled through China’s southwest, after reservoirs were running too low to generate hydropower. Authorities are now trying to induce rainfall amid two months of severe drought and record-breaking heatwaves.

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Cops confronting a kimono

CNN International @cnni

A Chinese anime fan says she was detained and interrogated by police after she wore traditional Japanese dress to pose for photos in the eastern city of Suzhou

cnn.itChinese anime fan claims police interrogated her for wearing a kimonoA Chinese anime fan says she was detained and interrogated by police after she wore traditional Japanese dress to pose for photos in the eastern city of Suzhou, sparking heated debate on China’s social media over what some see as over-the-top nationalism.

“Is Shadow Not Self” posted to the Weibo social network about her encounter with police, during which she appears to have been harassed for dressing in tribute to a manga cartoon character. “You are wearing a kimono, as a Chinese! You are Chinese!” said an officer in what turned into a viral display of growing anti-Japanese sentiment across China.