The aftermath of Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan

The China Letter: August 11, 2022

In this week’s review of news you need to know about China: waiting to see how far the reverberations of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to trip will go, what the drills it sparked say about the future of war, a new virus enters the picture as COVID-19 restrictions remain surreal, and robotaxis are ready to start picking people up.

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Fighting words from China

Daily Mail US @DailyMail

China tells U.S. it can't 'treat other countries like George Floyd' and 'bully and strangle them at will'

trib.alChina SANCTIONS Nancy Pelosi over her ‘vicious’ visit to TaiwanChina has decided to sanction U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family in response to her ‘vicious’ and ‘provocative’ actions, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan ended up increasing tensions between the U.S. and China as expected, as the American house speaker was sanctioned by Beijing along with countermeasures that included suspension of cooperation on multiple files. For her part, Pelosi says Xi Jinping is “acting like a scared bully” in the wake of her historic visit.

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New rumblings in the sky

CNN @CNN

"China’s military exercises show Beijing doesn’t need to invade Taiwan to control it," writes Brad Lendon | Analysis

cnn.itChina drills show Beijing is developing the ability to strangle Taiwan, experts say | CNNChina’s military exercises show Beijing doesn’t need to invade Taiwan to control it -- rather it can strangle the self-ruled island, cutting it off from the outside world, Chinese and American analysts say.

The People’s Liberation Army drills are providing a display of how China’s power can be exercised at this time: Taiwan can be cut off by the outside world, and ultimately be taken over through an isolation strategy. Australia’s criticism of air drills was met with Beijing accusing Canberra of violating the UN charter.

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A new virus from China

TMZ @TMZ

China has discovered a new Langya virus within its borders, with 35 people already infected.

tmz.comChina Discovers New Potentially Fatal Langya Virus, 35 Already InfectedChina has discovered a new Langya virus within its borders, with 35 people already infected.

The Langya Henipavirus has primarily infected people who had contact with animals, although there are now serious reports in China of it starting to spread among humans. Langya is primarily transmitted through shrews, and belongs to a virus family that kills in three-quarters of severe cases—although those who initially caught it currently remain alive.

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Plagued by zero-COVID

BBC News (UK) @BBCNews

Covid lockdown strands more than 80,000 tourists on "China's Hawaii"

bbc.inSanya: Covid lockdown strands tourists on ‘China’s Hawaii’Over 80,000 tourists in the resort known as “China’s Hawaii” face new restrictions and cancelled flights.

“China’s Hawaii” attracted tourists who wanted a vacation after the punishing lockdown in Shanghai, only to find themselves under a new wave of restrictions after positive COVID-19 cases spread at the Sanya resort on Hainan island. Meanwhile, the latest reflection of zero-COVID is Chinese women not wanting babies.

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Meet your new robotic ride

TechCrunch @TechCrunch

Baidu to operate fully driverless commercial robotaxi in Wuhan and Chongqing tcrn.ch/3oZp3oP by @RebeccaBellan

tcrn.chBaidu to operate fully driverless commercial robotaxi in Wuhan and Chongqing – TechCrunchBaidu’s wins in Wuhan and Chongqing come a few months after the company scored a permit to provide driverless ride-hailing services to the public on open roads in Beijing.

Wuhan will next be known as one of the cities that pioneered driverless robotaxis now that Baidu secured a permit. Designated areas will have five Apollo fifth-generation autonomous vehicles available for hailing, with a parallel service in Chongqing. The search giant will offer robot rides at half the price of other cabs.