Why are strange seeds being sent from China?

The China Letter: August 7, 2020

Aug 07, 2020

Planted with suspicions

Americans have been warned not to plant mystery seeds sent to them from China, but that naturally didn’t stop some from doing exactly that: a man in Arkansas found what was in a package marked “studded earrings” grew a squash-like plant with white fruit and orange flowers. Authorities believe those seeds could be an invasive plant species.

TikTok’s massive sell-off

Senator Hawley Press Office @SenHawleyPress

Before @Microsoft acquires @tiktok_us, Sen. Hawley wants to know how they will ensure the app is not covertly sending user data to #China, how they plan to use user data & the identity of any other stakeholders in the deal Congress will conduct oversight

nationalreview.comHawley Demands TikTok Cut Ties With Chinese Communist Party in Microsoft Acquisition | National Review“Any resolution of the TikTok investigation that fails to sever all links between TikTok and potential proxies for the Chinese Communist Party… is unacceptable.”

Donald Trump expects ByteDance to sell its popular TikTok video app to an American company, and thinks the U.S. should get part of the proceeds. Before that happens, Missouri senator Josh Hawley wants all of its corporate ties to China be cut. The likely buyer is Microsoft, which would enrich the owners of TikTok with the purchase price:

Business Insider @businessinsider

Buying TikTok's US operations could reportedly cost Microsoft anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billion

businessinsider.comBuying TikTok’s US operations could reportedly cost Microsoft anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billionMicrosoft has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire TikTok’s US operations as ByteDance struggles to ensure the app isn’t banned in the US.

The sale of TikTok would be one step in a movement to remove Chinese apps from access in America. A purge of digital services capable of collecting data for Beijing has already happened in India, which sets a precedent for the U.S. to follow suit:

The Associated Press @AP

BREAKING: President Trump broadly prohibits unspecified "transactions" with Chinese owners of TikTok and WeChat via executive order.

apne.wsTrump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChatNEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he...

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A different modelling job

BBC News (World) @BBCWorld

China Uighurs: A model's video gives a rare glimpse inside internment

bbc.inUighur model sends rare video from Chinese detentionSeven months ago Merdan Ghappar disappeared in Xinjiang. Then his family started getting messages.

China’s denial of how it treats Muslim Uighurs was refuted by the BBC’s circulation of a video that shows how 31-year-old fashion model Merdan Ghappar is currently living: handcuffed in an internment camp. The images have vindicated the American decision to ramp up sanctions in response to these campaigns against ethnic minorities:

Washington Examiner @dcexaminer

US sanctions Chinese Communist Party in Uighur region for human rights abuses

washex.amUS sanctions Chinese Communist Party in Uighur region for human rights abusesThe Trump administration has announced further sanctions cracking down on Chinese Communist Party officials whom the United States believes have been involved in carrying out human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in western China.

The first drafts of history

The Atlantic @TheAtlantic

The South China Morning Post is arguably the world’s most important newspaper for what it tells us about media freedoms as China’s power grows. @TMclaughlin3 looks inside a newsroom at the edge of autocracy:

on.theatln.tcA Newsroom at the Edge of AutocracyThe South China Morning Post is arguably the world’s most important newspaper—for what it tells us about media freedoms as China’s power grows.

Coverage of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement became a focus for the South China Morning Post, whose readership is surging at a time when journalist freedoms are being curbed under the new security law. Media tycoon Jimmy Lai also plans to keep funding the Apple Daily newspaper, even as staff has faced increasing intimidation.

The last words, for now

Two giant pandas are currently stuck in Canada with a dwindling supply of bamboo food because they can’t get the permits to return to China. And while the population of the bears rose to 1,864 in the decades since they became an icon for environmental optimism, a new study calculates which other animals have been dying in their midst:

CNN @CNN

China has spent years working to save its iconic giant panda and has celebrated real success in recent years, but those efforts have failed to protect leopards and other large carnivores that share their habitats.

cnn.itChina’s focus on panda conservation has come at the cost of other species: studyChina has spent decades working to save its iconic giant panda and has celebrated real success in recent years, but those efforts have failed to protect leopards and other large carnivores that share its habitats.