China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-02-10/11

3 months ago

China using families as 'hostages' to quash Uyghur dissent abroad

"The tactics employed by governments to police their diasporas abroad are known as transnational repression.
Research suggests this particular kind - controlling access to family members in the home country through video calls, in exchange for compliance overseas - is commonly used by Chinese police.
In the UK, Dr Tobin surveyed or interviewed 48 Uyghurs, from a population of about 400 people. Of those, two-thirds reported having been contacted directly by Chinese police - and pressured to spy, refrain from advocacy work, or stop speaking to the media.
[...] In Turkey, traditionally a safe haven for Uyghurs where 50,000 live in one of the largest communities outside China, 80% of the 148 of respondents reported similar threats from Chinese authorities."

--- No surprise & long known, although Uighurs & Tibetans are probably targeted more than average. But:

"The officer told her police were arranging visits to all local families with US relatives, in light of the "delicate" relationship between the US and China."

--- ... everyone with relatives & in-laws in China can become a target.

"the Chinese Embassy in London called the allegations of transnational repression "totally groundless". The Chinese government "protects Uyghurs and their communication with overseas relatives in accordance with the law""

cf.: Beijing accused of using spying, threats and blackmail against Tibetan exiles

Bad economy, nosy relatives: Young Chinese put off by Lunar New Year

"Hundreds of young people have taken to popular social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo to say that they will not go home for the festival."

--- Hundreds. Looks like one of those pseudo trends that Western media like to identify in China. Many people won't go home this year, but mostly to save money, I guess.

"After he graduated, he quickly found a job at a private tutoring company and was tasked with managing and training foreign tutors for Chinese students. But in July 2021, the Chinese government banned private, for-profit tutoring in the name of easing the burden on students. This was a death knell for the $120bn (£95bn) tutoring industry.
Yuwen was forced to change careers. He got a job at a big tech company in January 2023.
A regulatory crackdown on big tech since late 2020 had already wiped off more than $1 trillion in its value, according to Reuters. Then the US threatened sanctions against Chinese tech companies over concerns with Beijing's national security legislation. That proved to be the last straw for Yuwen's company, which decided to move its overseas operations outside China.
Yuwen says he has sent out his CV over 1,000 times in the last six months alone. He has not received any job offers"

--- Unlucky.

"The 28-year-old found a job with a foreign trading company as he wanted more job stability. But the pay was only 4,500 yuan a month. This was unsustainable as monthly rent in Shenzhen is at least 1,500 yuan."

--- Bullshit. If you have left 3000 RMB for living, in China, that is more than enough. It's more like: He can't support his previous lifestyle anymore.

What constrains and restrains China on Taiwan?

"Those who are not unduly alarmed by the prospect of invasion this decade see more continuity than change in the PRC’s behaviour. Taiwan has been threatened for 70 years, and Beijing has been committed to a policy of “peaceful unification” for the past two generations. Recent crises are so much froth on the sea, and nothing fundamentally new, according to this line of thinking.
In contrast, those who see the probability of invasion as high this decade point to two variables of discontinuity: China’s growing power and Xi Jinping’s leadership."

--- & emperor Xi is the variable many of those 'not unduly alarmed' tend to ignore.

"Weak constraints and disappearing restraints mean a Chinese invasion is probable – but not inevitable – this decade. The risk of war can be reduced in proportion to the extent key players choose to strengthen constraints, which will require relentless prioritisation, and reinvigorate failing restraints, which will require political wisdom"

--- Considering that Trump might win the next election: We are doomed.