Let's talk about China

[Yossarian]

Five years in prison on "subversion" charges for a #MeToo activist

The legal action against Ms. Huang and Mr. Wang, which experts said was harsh even by China’s standards, signals the shrinking space for independent discussion of social issues.

“We are seeing an almost zero-tolerance approach to even the mildest forms of civil society activism in China,” said Thomas Kellogg, the executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law. “This case is an example of that.”

A former independent journalist, Ms. Huang, 35, became a prominent voice in China’s #MeToo movement who helped women report cases of sexual harassment. Later, she traveled to Hong Kong and wrote essays about antigovernment protests there. Mr. Wang, 40, was a longtime activist on behalf of workers and people with disabilities. He also helped #MeToo victims to speak out.

https://archive.ph/Vagck

Huang was arrested in 2021, the day before she was due to leave China to study in Britain

 

[Cid]

Don't seem to have this anywhere else, Epoch Times CFO has been charged by the US DoJ with $67m in money laundering (via, predictably, crypto) with both said CFO and the organisation being the beneficiaries.

The Epoch Times CFO charged with $67m money laundering scheme

CFO Bill Guan allegedly led a team at the news outlet that was behind a global money laundering scheme.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Yossarian]

China threatens to execute those who seek formal independence for the free and independent nation of Taiwan

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council denounced Beijing’s move, urging its people not to be threatened by China.

“The Beijing authorities have absolutely no jurisdiction over Taiwan, and the Chinese communists’ so-called laws and norms have no binding force on our people,” it said in a statement on Friday. “The government appeals to our country’s people to feel at ease and not to be threatened or intimidated by the Chinese Communist party.”

China threatens death penalty for Taiwan independence ‘diehards’

Beijing ramps up pressure over ‘crime of secession’ while Taipei says China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan and urges its people not to be intimidated

www.theguardian.com

 

[Don Baumgarten]

This is frightening:

 

[gosub]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-central-bank-cuts-short-term-policy-rate-2024-07-22/

China Unexpectedly Cuts Interest Rate as World Markets Sag

The central bank lowered a key rate in its latest effort to steady China’s economy, as Asian stock markets followed Wall Street down.

www.nytimes.com

"The central bank surprised markets because it normally reviews the one-year loan rate only on the 15th of each month. It kept the rate steady on July 15, and also left it unchanged on Monday when it adjusted other rates.

The People’s Bank of China said in a statement only that Thursday’s rate cut was intended to “maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity in the banking system at the end of the month.” "

 

[yield]

Uber strikes EV deal with Chinese Tesla rival BYD
BBC. 1 August 2024

Uber has announced a deal which aims to bring 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) made by China's BYD to the ride-hailing giant's global fleet of cars.

The two companies say they will offer Uber drivers incentives to switch to electric cars, including discounts on maintenance, charging, financing and leasing.

The multi-year agreement will be rolled out first in Europe and Latin America, before being made available in the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The announcement comes as EV sales around the world have slowed and Chinese car makers face higher import charges in places like the US and the European Union.

"The companies aim to bring down the total cost of EV ownership for Uber drivers, accelerating the uptake of EVs on the Uber platform globally, and introducing millions of riders to greener rides," the two firms said in a statement.

 

[yield]

China Goes to New Extremes in Crackdown on Bond-Market Frenzy
August 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/lSzJl

Chinese authorities are going to extraordinary lengths to tighten their grip on the world’s third-largest government bond market.

In a highly unusual move on Friday, regulators told rural banks in China’s Jiangxi province not to settle recent purchases of government bonds, an order to effectively renege on their market obligations. It was the latest in a string of interventions designed to cool a market rally that sent yields to record lows and stoked official concerns that banks have become too exposed to interest-rate risk.

For now, the interventions appear to be having the desired effect: after touching an all-time low of about 2.12% earlier this month amid mounting signs of an economic slowdown in China, the benchmark 10-year yield has steadily increased to around 2.25%.

But the risk is that meddling by authorities detaches the market from its economic fundamentals and undermines long-term investor confidence. The government’s attempts to intervene in shares and currency trading in recent years — with sometimes chaotic consequences — have deterred international money managers.

In one sign of how deep pessimism toward the country’s assets remains, data last week showed that foreigners pulled a record amount of money from China in the second quarter.

 

[gosub]

Shanghai: Three dead and 15 injured supermarket stabbing

Police arrested a 37-year-old man at the scene, and said further investigations were continuing.

www.bbc.com

Happening more often apparently

 

[gosub]

China stock rally fizzles as stimulus update disappoints investors

Shares fell back after a news conference by economic planners gave little in the way of details.

www.bbc.com

 

[bluescreen]

From the FT a couple of days ago:​

China tells schoolteachers to hand in their passports​

Authorities make travelling abroad difficult for growing number of public sector employees

snip

Chinese authorities are demanding that a growing number of schoolteachers and other public sector employees hand in their passports as President Xi Jinping tightens his grip on society.The passport collection drive, carried out under what is known as “personal travel abroad management”, allows local government officials to control and monitor who can travel abroad, how often and to where.

https://archive.ph/EWuCk

 

[ghost boy]

Thing is when you meet the Chinese out in the world wide wild, they are almost always a (excuse the quote) a great bunch of lads.

But yeah been pulling this nonsense for a while now it seems: