China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-11-17
English news:
It's Been Exactly One Year Since the First Case of COVID Was Found in China
"the first known case of COVID-19 can be traced back to November 17, 2019—possibly a 55-year-old individual from Hubei province, although "patient zero" has yet to be confirmed"
--- Well, if you let China control the investigation into the pandemic, it will never be confirmed.
"It is unlikely that all three members of a family caught the same disease at the same time unless it is an infectious disease"
--- So, by December 28 the latest, it was clear that human-to-human transmission was highly probable. But for more than 2 weeks longer, the Chinese insisted there was no evidence of such transmission.
"Just two days later, with thousands of new cases confirmed in China, the WHO declared a "public health emergency of international concern""
--- Just two days? The WHO wanted to declare that emergency much earlier, but didn't do it because of Chinese pressure.
Chinese War Drama Taken Offline Over Fancy Home, Fancy Hairstyles
"he protagonists’ picture-perfect hairdos are held firmly in place with product. The Communist soldiers — the Eighth Route Army — have commandeered a luxurious villa to be their base of operations, and hospital nurses are seen wearing dresses and patent-leather shoes. One of the main characters, a military division level commander, drinks coffee and smokes cigars"
--- Blasphemy! As we all know, the commie soldiers were heroic Spartans of the highest order & of unblemished morals. Living in caves, feeding on raw leaves & killing Japanese devils with their bare hands.
'We Are Shipping To The U.S.': Inside China's Online Synthetic Drug Networks
""The customer has the responsibility to guarantee the compound is legal where the receiving address is," the salesperson said"
--- Nothing to do with us. We're just selling stuff that may or may not be illegal in China. Why would we care about legality abroad?
"He pointed to the Chinese social media platform WeChat as particularly problematic.
[...] "The Chinese have great intelligence. They know we can't get into this stuff. That's why they utilize those methods of communication to be able to ship drugs. They know law enforcement doesn't have the means or the know-how or the resources to infiltrate.""
--- Funny, that. Because the Chinese authorities have virtually complete access to anything that happens on WeChat, which can be seen from the fact that people have been arrested for what they said in private chats. But, hey, it's much harder to go after actual criminals instead of dissidents.
China's Tsinghua Unigroup defaults on $198 million bond: sources
"a major government-backed player in China’s technology race, has defaulted on a 1.3-billion-yuan ($197.96 million) bond
[...] Tsinghua Unigroup’s default follows other state borrowers, including coal miner Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group and automaker Huachen Automotive Group"
--- Hmm, either the CCP doesn't care about investors or some SOE's are in such deep trouble, that they are not worth any help.
Just like a bank taken over by the state last year: China's Baoshang Bank to take $1 billion write down on bond
How popular is China in Africa? New survey sheds light on what ordinary people think
"Data from 18 countries – gathered face-to-face from a randomly selected sample of people in the language of the respondent’s choice – was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic"
--- Hence not really representative of the current situation.
"The Afrobarometer survey revealed that less than half (48%) of African citizens are aware of Chinese loans or financial assistance to their country"
--- Anyway, it seems that the information flow in Africa needs to be improved.
China county to review decision to ban public dog walking
"A circular said anyone caught doing so three times would have their pets confiscated and killed."
--- Will dog meat become cheaper?
"Officials said it was to protect residents, as there had been incidents where unleashed pets had bitten people"
--- Well, the real danger is for hygiene. Dog poo lying around everywhere is far from good for public health.
Video News:
--- Arte: "China: New Silk Roads" (French with English subtitles)
--- SCMP: "Hong Kong protests – China's Rebel City: Part 1"
--- Sky News: "British diplomat saves student from drowning in China"
Not in the news (yet):
Help cry by forced labourer found in North Face shoe in Russia?
Deutsche Nachrichten:
China plant weitere Gesetzesänderungen
"Die Reform ziele darauf ab, „falsche Aktivitäten“ zu korrigieren und Lücken zu schließen. Eine „Perfektionierung“ des Rechtssystems würde die Unabhängigkeit der Justiz nicht untergraben"
--- Übersetzung: Wir brauchen keine Richter, die nach Recht & Gesetz richten, sondern solche, die den Kommis auf's Wort gehorchen, so daß wir auch in HK 99-prozentige Verurteilungsquoten bekommen.
China: Arbeitsboom in Zeiten von Corona
--- Video. Angeblich gibt es jetzt übrigens fast 10 mio. mehr Arbeitnehmer als letztes Jahr. Höchst zweifelhaft, da millionen von Wanderarbeitern, die zu Lockdownzeiten ihre Arbeit verloren, immer noch nicht versorgt sind. Die werden einfach nicht mitgezählt bei den Arbeitslosenzahlen.