China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-05-16/17
First posted on Hive.
English news:
China warns it could turn military exercises into invasion of Dongsha, Penghu, and Taiwan
"the Global Times on Wednesday cited "experts" as saying that the Dongsha Islands are in a "strategically important location and that the PLA has the capability of turning "any exercise into action if Taiwan secessionists insist on secession.""
--- But, but, but ... China, the beautiful, is so peaceful, always the victim. How could it possibly attack over just a matter of words?
cf.: PLA drills put Taiwan in crosshairs
also.: Coronavirus: Why Taiwan won't have a seat at the virus talks
Taiwan's success in fighting coronavirus has bolstered its global standing. This has infuriated Beijing
"most observers agree that such posturing is unlikely to be matched by any hostile action against Taiwan"
--- Unlikely.
"while Beijing "cares a great deal about Taiwan," the Chinese government cares "even more about maintaining the economic growth that underpins the (Communist Party's) rule.""
--- Most of all, they care about power.
But the problem is emperor Xi. His goal is to be the leader who brings Taiwan Heim ins Reich. & you know how it goes with dictators.
China builds a mega-fortress on the Horn of Africa
"why is it a modern-day “Fort Apache” walled fortress, featuring battlements similar to medieval castles, shooting ports and corner towers"
--- Not because China is afraid of locals getting angry at Chinese colonialist attitudes, of course. But because China is afraid of being attacked by evil Western forces.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping: are China and US on collision course in a new cold war?
"China overreached and alienated too many people and, in the end, it will backfire on the economy when countries … try to find other places to invest or move their production facilities"
--- Maybe. Time will tell.
cf.: Cold War Now or Hot War Later
Europe should temporarily ban Chinese takeovers: Germany's Weber
"he was in favour of declaring a twelve-month ban for Chinese investors who want to buy European firms"
--- A beginning. But there should be a general ban on takeovers by Chinese state-owned companies.
"The European Union therefore should react in a coordinated way and put an end to the “Chinese shopping tour”"
--- Good luck with that, when eg. Italy & Greece (& Hungary?) are already under China's thumb.
China's factories are producing more but the economy is still very fragile
"The growth detailed on Friday can be attributed to the political pressure that Beijing is putting on factories to resume production"
--- & is of course only the officially accepted number. Who knows what it really was...
Chinese officials refuse to call Australia back as coronavirus trade tensions bubble over
"Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has been seeking to speak with his counterpart"
--- I don't talk to you if you're not nice to me.
Exclusive: Lack of immunity means China is vulnerable to another wave of coronavirus, top adviser warns
"Dr. Zhong Nanshan [...] in an exclusive interview with CNN"
--- Must have been quite some interview. In this article, a journalistic masterpiece, CNN simply parrots the official CCP narrative.
Hong Kong gov’t asks exam body to scrap ‘biased’ China history question as state media lambasts ‘traitors’
"candidates were asked whether they agreed with the statement “Japan did more good than harm to China in the period of 1900-45.”"
--- How dare you make the students think?! They should of course only asked questions praising the CCP, so that the students in their answers can praise the CCP even more.
Video News:
--- China Uncensored: "China's BIG Coronavirus Testing Claim: News or propaganda?"
--- Sky News (AUS): "China admits to intentionally ‘destroying’ COVID-19 virus samples"
--- Sky News (AUS): "China’s communication freeze with Australia sends a ‘worrying message about its intent’"
Not in the news (yet):
Being tortured by HK police, then accused of assault
Some 9m of 47m face masks delivered to the Netherlands substandard
Deutsche Nachrichten:
Deutschlands lähmende Angst, China zu verärgern
"China sperrt sich gegen die demokratisch gewählte DPP, weil sie ihr politisch nicht passt. Und weil sich China sperrt, ist die WHO blockiert. Ohne China kein Mandat."
--- Tja, & Deutschland (wie auch die EU) will natürlich den Gesprächsfaden nicht abreißen lassen. Denn der Dialog mit China in den letzten Jahrzehnten war ja soooo erfolgreich.
Vertrauen und Gegenseitigkeit im Verhältnis zu China
"Da Diplomatie sich am besten auf klare Prinzipien gründet, sollten die Leitworte der EU-China-Beziehungen Vertrauen, Transparenz und Gegenseitigkeit sein."
--- & was, wenn China nicht mitspielt? Dann wird doch wieder gekuscht. Man hat ja mal versucht, darüber zu reden...
Trump will strengere Regeln für Unternehmen aus China
"Wie abschreckend strengere Vorschriften für die Rechnungslegung und Bilanzprüfung am Ende für die Unternehmen sind, lässt sich noch nicht abschätzen."
--- Chinesische Unternehmen haben allzuoft eine recht kreative Buchführung. Dementsprechend dürfte ein gewisser Effekt eintreten. Die schlimmsten Sünder haben es in den USA aber sowieso gar nicht erst versucht, weil auch bisher schon etwas strengere Prüfungen als in China vorgesehen waren.