China news roundup / Nachrichten 2021-09-16
--- Loads of ruckus around Aukus:
Aukus: UK, US and Australia launch pact to counter China
"It will let Australia build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time, using technology provided by the US.
The Aukus pact, which will also cover AI and other technologies, is one of the countries' biggest defence partnerships in decades"
--- Congratulations to emperor Xi for building this defence alliance!
At first I thought this wasn't that big a deal, but all the upheaval around it & the Chinese tantrum convinced me otherwise.
"The pact also created a row with France, which has now lost a deal with Australia to build 12 submarines.
"It's really a stab in the back," France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio"
--- That one confused me a bit. Why would you damage your relations to France over this deal? Are US submarines that much better than French ones? Or is it just another example of 'America first' & the US insisted on Australia buying US technology?
"The pact will focus on military capability, separating it from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance which also includes New Zealand and Canada"
--- Less confusing. NZ & Canada are thick into appeasement. Hence it would be doubtful, anyway, if they would join such an alliance.
China Fires Back at New Western Military Alliance With Violent Rhetoric: ‘No Mercy’ for Further Provocations
"Australia has turned itself into an adversary of China"
--- So, it's official now? China considers the US an adversary? & everyone who cooperates with the US militarily is one, too? What about NATO, then?
"If Australia dares to provoke China or even find fault militarily, China will certainly punish it with no mercy.
[...] The nuclear submarine cooperation among the US, the UK & Australia severely undermines regional peace & stability, intensifies arms race and undercuts intl non-proliferation efforts
[...] Australian troops are also most likely to be the first batch of Western soldiers to waste their lives in the South China Sea."
--- Sounds very much like China is already planning war in the South China Sea & is angry about other nations preparing for defence.
& the hypocrisy over non-proliferation is just ridiculous, considering Chinese help in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
Aukus submarines banned from New Zealand as pact exposes divide with western allies
"Asked by reporters if New Zealand had been offered a place, Ardern said, “We weren’t approached, nor would I expect us to be.”"
--- Five Eyes be gone?
"The pact does not include Canada, the other Five Eyes partner, either. In recent years, Canada and New Zealand have had similarities in their orientation toward Beijing – condemning human rights breaches on specific issues in a case-by-case way, but avoiding strong statements on the country more broadly"
--- If Canada had not had that Meng case (& the related Chinese hostage diplomacy), it would be even stronger on appeasement. So, no surprise that neither Canada nor NZ were approached.
China will deride Australia’s nuclear shift saying it is America’s lackey – but Beijing has only itself to blame
"The nationalist party tabloid, the Global Times, reported – given its status, you could say, announced – this week that Chinese fighter jets will soon begin regular flights over Taiwan and the waters between it and the mainland"
--- If they would really fly over Taiwan itself, that would pretty much show that China is looking for war. I doubt that Taiwan would allow that without countermeasures. & it would be only a matter of time until a shooting war starts.
"Some will argue that China’s military build up is just a response to being surrounded by US allies and bases in the region. In other words, that it is purely defensive.
There is an element of truth in this."
--- A tiny element, that is. Only South Korea, Japan & perhaps Taiwan are proper allies of the US. The Philippines & Thailand can not be counted on in case of conflict with China. Even South Korea's role can be doubted. That's hardly what I would call encirclement.
America's deal with UK and Australia leaves France bruised and Europe in the cold on China
"French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described this as a "real stab in the back" from Australia. He also fired a shot at US President Joe Biden, saying that the sudden announcement of this deal without consulting other allies was a "brutal and unilateral decision" that "resembles a lot of what Mr. Trump was doing.""
--- Surprise? Should have been long clear that Biden is not Trump & yet has his own 'America first' policy.
"At best, it was considered a bit rude; at worst, it confirmed that, despite Brussels' global ambitions, it is not taken seriously as a geopolitical player"
--- Surprise? As wobbly & wiggly as the EU acts on the international stage, it's no wonder that the USA doesn't see the need to consult.
"There is no consensus on what European defense means or should look like."
--- Surprise? There is not even much of an EU foreign policy, so how could there be a common defence policy?
Climate experts fear Aukus will dash hopes of China emissions deal
--- Because in the name of fighting climate change we need to forget human rights & ignore genocide.
Cold war echoes as Aukus alliance focuses on China deterrence
Australia's Curtin University wants 'unethical' AI study retracted
"The research, which was co-funded by China, used facial recognition software to identify members of the Uyghur minority group
[...] The study's author, academic Wanquan Liu, has since resigned and moved to a Chinese university. The BBC has emailed him for comment.
Curtin University said that the research was carried out without its consent, and that it had now strengthened its oversight."
--- The dangers of cooperating with China on science.
Japan's defense minister draws red line in island dispute with China
"Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, are unquestionably Japanese territory and would be defended as such, with Tokyo matching any Chinese threat to the islands ship for ship, and beyond if necessary"
--- Japan has definitely woken up now, it seems. A bit late, but still. The EU, meanwhile, remains deep asleep.
"Tokyo isn't just using words to back up its claims. It's also beefing up its military defenses, putting missiles and troops on Yonaguni and planning to do the same to nearby Ishigaki in the near future"
--- Reasonable. & could be very helpful if China attacks Taiwan.
World Bank Cancels Flagship ‘Doing Business’ Report After Investigation
"On Thursday, the bank released the results of that investigation, which concluded that senior bank leaders including Ms. Georgieva were involved in pressuring economists to improve China’s 2018 ranking. At the time, she and others were attempting to persuade China to support a boost in the bank’s funding.
[...] Chinese officials in 2018 were eager to see their ranking improve, and so Mr. Kim and Ms. Georgieva and their staff held a series of meetings to discuss ways that the report’s methodology could be altered to improve China’s rankings"
--- Chinese money makes the World (Bank) go round, the World (Bank) go round, the World (Bank) go round.
UN Rights Chief to Report on China’s Abuses in Xinjiang
"For nearly three years, Chinese authorities have stalled for time on Xinjiang, trying to defer, delay, or deny the UN meaningful access to a region where they are committing crimes against humanity—including torture, mass arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, cultural persecution, and family separations—against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims"
--- & finally, even the UN (human rights chief)'s patience has run out. We may hear something soon. & China probably won't like it.
China faces a potential Lehman moment. Wall Street is unfazed
"The risk is that the collapse of Evergrande, a Chinese real estate company with a staggering $300 billion of debt outstanding, could set off a chain reaction that spreads overseas"
--- Meh, as I said before, the property sector in China may very well be strongly affected, but even the Chinese banking system should be fairly safe, let alone international banking.
Then again, seeing all these Wall Street experts agreeing with me makes me worried that I'm very wrong with my expectations. I don't trust Wall Street at all.
"He said the lack of large-scale real estate development could slow China's economy, though there is debate over how productive that growth was in the first place."
--- Yep.
Earthquake leaves three dead and 60 injured in China's Sichuan
"At least 1,221 houses have collapsed and more than 3,000 have been severely damaged, according to state-run tabloid the Global Times"
--- & some 20 hours later, the death toll is still at only 3.
White House Says Ongoing Discussion With China on Biden, Xi Engagement
How China Exports Authoritarianism
Air Canada crew held in Hong Kong after 'positive' COVID test
--- PBS: "How U.S., UK and Australia plan to counter China’s rise through strategic partnership"
--- CNA: "China slams move by US, UK to help Australia build nuclear submarines"
--- s.a.:
--- Sky News (AUS): AUKUS alliance 'clearly antagonises' China
--- Sky News (AUS): 'Only reason' for AUKUS alliance is to 'push back against China'
--- DW News: "What's behind the collapse of Chinese property development giant Evergrande?"
Neuer Pakt gegen China – Paris erbost
"Mit einer neuen Sicherheitspartnerschaft für den indopazifischen Raum treten die Vereinigten Staaten, Großbritannien und Australien Chinas Machtausweitung in der Region noch stärker entgegen. Das Bündnis soll es unter anderem Australien ermöglichen, erstmals U-Boote mit Nuklearantrieb zu bauen."
--- & China ist erzürnt. Obwohl das Ganze wohl erst durch Kaiser Xis Politik möglich wurde. Die Expansion im Südchinesischen Meer & die aggressive Politik ggü. Australien lassen letzterem wohl kaum eine Wahl.
Im Artikel wird übrigens nicht erwähnt, daß China nicht nur tobt, sondern auch gleich mal Australien droht. Im Falle eines Konflikts würden australische Soldaten die ersten sein, die sterben.
"Ein Geschäft über die Lieferung von zwölf konventionellen U-Booten der Attack-Klasse mit der französischen Naval Group werde dagegen eingestellt
[...] „Das ähnelt sehr der Weise, wie Herr Trump vorging“, sagte Le Drian am Donnerstag im Radiosender France Info. Er sprach von einem „Dolchstoß in den Rücken“. Unter NATO-Verbündeten gehöre sich das nicht."
--- Jeder, der die US-Politik der letzten Monate auch nur am Rande verfolgt hat, sollte wissen, daß auch für Biden gilt: 'America First'. Da spricht mal wieder die Naivität europäischer Politiker. Daß die Australier den U-Boot-Vertrag aufkündigen, ist eine andere Frage, insbesondere deswegen:
"Frankreich wollte seine nukleargetriebenen U-Boote auf australischen Wunsch eigens auf Dieselantrieb umrüsten. Nun heißt es, das amerikanische Angebot sei besser, weil es Nuklearantrieb vorsehe."
--- Etwas seltsam.
"Die amerikanische Entscheidung, einen Verbündeten und europäischen Partner wie Frankreich aus einer strategischen Partnerschaft im Indopazifik auszuschließen, sei bedauerlich."
--- Nur zu verständlich. Denn auf die Europäer, bzw. die EU, ist einfach kein Verlass.
China will das Internet noch schärfer kontrollieren
"Der Cyberspace müsse genutzt werden, um die Errungenschaften der Kommunistischen Partei herauszustellen. Zugleich sollte jungen Menschen geholfen werden, das Internet »richtig« und »sicher« zu nutzen. Das Feindbild dieser neuen Bemühungen ist der »historische Nihilismus«, der als Versuch definiert wird, die führende Rolle der Partei oder die »Unvermeidlichkeit« des chinesischen Sozialismus infrage zu stellen"
--- Nur ein sozialistisches Internet ist ein gesundes Internet. Soweit nicht mehr allzu neu, das Folgende wurde allerdings noch nicht von vielen Nachrichtenportalen vermeldet:
"Die »Financial Times« berichtet unterdessen von einer Strategie, chinesische Bürger vom Abrufen ausländischer Websites abzuhalten. So nutzten staatliche Stellen eine App, die eigentlich Betrug und die Installation von Malware verhindern soll, um die Informationsströme der Anwender zu kontrollieren"
--- Selbst nicht von der Großen Firewall geblockte Webseiten sind jetzt also gefährlich. Besonders Finanzwebseiten machen offenbar verdächtig.
Tote und Verletzte nach Erdbeben in China
"Laut der staatliche [sic!] "Volkszeitung" stürzten insgesamt 737 Häuser ein, über 7000 Gebäude wurden zudem beschädigt"
--- Später wurden über 1000 zerstörte Häuser & 3 Tote vermeldet. Seltsamerweise blieb es auch über 20 Stunden nach der Meldung noch bei diesen 3 Toten. Chinesische Opferzahlen ...
