China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-11-11
English news:
Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign after China ruling
"the legislature was already stacked in favour of the pro-Beijing camp"
--- Exactly. Hence, the resignation is largely symbolic. Having opposition in parliament doesn't really make much of a difference in HK, anyway.
"lawmakers should be disqualified if they support Hong Kong independence, refuse to acknowledge China's sovereignty, ask foreign forces to interfere in the city's affairs or in other ways threaten national security"
--- Which essentially means that the HK administration could just accuse anyone of threatening national security & remove them. There is no recourse.
"she "welcomes diverse opinions in the Legislative Council" these had to be expressed "in a responsible manner""
--- Meaning: "Shut up if you disagree!"
"the courts can be bypassed under the new rules and, now that the Hong Kong government has said that the concept of the separation of powers has never actually applied in the city"
--- Welcome to China.
cf.: All Hong Kong democrats to quit after gov’t ousts 4 lawmakers, leaving legislature with no effective opposition
$250 billion wiped off Chinese tech stocks as Beijing signals crackdown
"the draft regulations provide more evidence of a new restrictive environment for China's biggest tech companies, long promoted by Chinese officials as national champions"
--- When they are national champions, the CCP doesn't really care that much. As long as they can easily control the companies...
""The China government is concerned about actual or possible monopolistic behavior, and the sheer size of the incumbents, either leading to unfair competition or squeezing out new players and reducing competition," said Jeffrey Halley"
--- Naive. It's all about control. Monopolies are OK, if it actually is a national champion which then can dominate in international business. Inside China, it only matters that they submit completely to the CCP. & esp. after Ma's recent criticism, the commies want to make clear who's the boss.
Chinese Authorities Punish Citizens for Using Foreign Social Media
"she said police in Beijing still had her son fired from his job in June just to punish her.
[...]
The police also warned her friends not to contact her, saying she "is not a journalist, but an enemy" and threatening them with arrest if they visit her"
--- Ah, China, a state of law & order, where only true criminals are punished.
Blackpink: Why a K-pop girl band's panda cuddle has angered Chinese
"Others said the girls wore too much make-up and touched the panda's mother without wearing masks and gloves."
--- Funny, how that goes. When Yao Ming some years ago actually touched panda cubs without any protective measures (unlike Blackpink, as you can see in the photos), there was no 'Chinese' anger. It's probably only ugly foreign fingers which are dangerous for pandas.
Noodle diplomacy at Yaoji Chaogan: Diners flock to popular Beijing restaurant Biden visited in 2011
"Shortly after Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 US presidential election, the eatery attracted lineups of curious Chinese diners hoping to sample what the president-elect ate nine years ago"
--- But why? I never understand this celebrity worship.
"Following his meal, the "Biden Set" -- featuring the items he sampled -- was added to the menu in his honor"
--- Yeah, right. Absolutely not to make money of these celebrity stalkers.
China breaks national record for Mariana Trench manned-dive amid race for deep sea resources
"China's goals for the dive aren't just scientific investigation. Ye Cong, the chief designer of the submersible, told Chinese state-run media that the seabed was abundant with resources"
--- That. & of course national pride. (& perhaps the usual: "We were there & now it's ours.")
Sichuan peppercorn: A spice so hot it cools
"The waiter chuckled at my glistening forehead and handed me a handkerchief; it was clear who at the table was the foreigner not yet acclimated to local flavours."
--- Nonsense. Many Chinese (most of my Chinese friends actually) don't like hot food or/& have 'problems' eating it. & the Sichuan food I sampled when I visited Chongqing was actually not that hot.
"[Machine-sorting of Sichuan peppercorn] leaves a lot of seeds, but that’s what most people will export
[...] Sichuan peppercorn must be hand-sorted in order to leave only the husks"
--- Yeah, right. Last time I was in China I bought some Sichuan pepper in a local supermarket. Had to notice that it also was poor quality, though there were not many seeds. It just doesn't spice up anything. So much for 'the bad stuff only gets exported'.
Hong Kong's dying news stands tell a story of change
"The National Security Law, which took effect on June 30, was the final blow. "Political books were no longer published and publishers even took back the remaining copies from news stands,""
--- Yeah, but the national security law only affects very few people. We can see that.
Video News:
--- China Uncensored: "Is China STEALING India’s Water?"
--- DW News: "All of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers resign"
--- CNBC: "Alibaba's Singles Day overshadowed by China's new antitrust proposal"
Deutsche Nachrichten:
Wenn China das Internet abdreht
"Als Experte aus Shanghai zugeschaltet war Jörg Wuttke
[...] als er sagt „Und nun zur Menschenrechtsproblematik …“, wird er prompt vom Internet abgeschnitten"
--- Ist doch logisch. In China gibt es keine Menschenrechtsproblematik. Dann braucht man auch nicht darüber zu reden.
"dass Chinas Regime nun auch im Europapaparlament sein wahres Gesicht so offen präsentiert, entbehrt nicht einer gewissen Ironie"
--- Naja, die Ironie entgeht mir. Ist eher ein Zeichen, daß die Arroganz & der Größenwahn in China zunehmen.
Prodemokratische Abgeordnete treten zurück
"Die demokratische Opposition verliert dadurch weiter an Einfluss"
--- Nicht wirklich. Echten Einfluss haben sie schon eine ganze Weile nicht mehr. Das sowieso schon kleine Pflänzchen der Demokratie in HK ist tot.
"wonach Hongkonger Abgeordneten ihre Sitze ohne Gerichtsbeschluss entzogen werden können, wenn sie die Unabhängigkeit Hongkongs befürworten, sich an Handlungen beteiligen, die die nationale Sicherheit gefährden"
--- Was so ziemlich alles sein kann, was sich die Kommis ausdenken.
vgl.: Hongkongs Opposition verlässt Parlament
Industrie klagt über Chinas neue Reiseregeln
"Die Testergebnisse müssen vor dem Abflug zusätzlich von einer chinesischen Botschaft oder einem Konsulat verifiziert werden. Und wird ein Zwischenstopp in einem anderen Land eingelegt, können Reisende nicht einfach umsteigen, sondern müssen das Prozedere dort wiederholen"
--- Gut, daß ich nicht mehr nach China fliege. Hatte höchst selten mal einen Direktflug.