The China Thread

[Jacob]

Apparently Xi's newest initiative involves re-valuating the requirements for the all-important university entrance exams.

Math, science, etc are all being devalued a bit while the importance of political science is valued more.

That sounds like code for (even) more essays about the wonders of Communist Party leader and the brilliance of Xi Thought.

Yeah that's my understanding. Can't let people get access to the prestigious educational opportunities if they don't  pay proper respect to the party... 

[Josquius]

Yes. Sadly means this in practice. But it's the right idea overall. They do place way too much focus on a handful of subjects.
In China English is on the shortlist right?

[Syt]

A story that was in the paper a while ago.

German police picked up a Romanian thief stealing baby formula from a supermarket. Nothing too unusual, but the guy slipped up and hinted that he was not working alone.

This started a larger investigation. It turned out that there was a network of thieves who were stealing small quantities of baby formula from supermarkets all over Germany. Individual quantities for each market were so small that the chains had no incentive to investigate.

The police were puzzled. Why would someone steal all this formula? Drug cartels? Nope. Turns out, the Romanian leader of the crime ring delivered to Chinese buyers who smuggled the baby formula into China where they sold it at a tidy profit. The Romanian guy alone made millions of Euros over the past years.

It seems this is still fallout from the baby formula scandal in China a few years ago, and the German product was considered the "gold standard".

[Monoriu]

A story that was in the paper a while ago.

German police picked up a Romanian thief stealing baby formula from a supermarket. Nothing too unusual, but the guy slipped up and hinted that he was not working alone.

This started a larger investigation. It turned out that there was a network of thieves who were stealing small quantities of baby formula from supermarkets all over Germany. Individual quantities for each market were so small that the chains had no incentive to investigate.

The police were puzzled. Why would someone steal all this formula? Drug cartels? Nope. Turns out, the Romanian leader of the crime ring delivered to Chinese buyers who smuggled the baby formula into China where they sold it at a tidy profit. The Romanian guy alone made millions of Euros over the past years.

It seems this is still fallout from the baby formula scandal in China a few years ago, and the German product was considered the "gold standard".

I don't think German baby formula is the gold standard.  Rather, any baby formula from the western world and Japan is trustworthy, whereas anything produced in China is untrustworthy. 

[Duque de Bragança]

A story that was in the paper a while ago.

German police picked up a Romanian thief stealing baby formula from a supermarket. Nothing too unusual, but the guy slipped up and hinted that he was not working alone.

This started a larger investigation. It turned out that there was a network of thieves who were stealing small quantities of baby formula from supermarkets all over Germany. Individual quantities for each market were so small that the chains had no incentive to investigate.

The "Romanian" thief was probably not a very skilled Gypsy. 

[grumbler]

The "Romanian" thief was probably not a very skilled Gypsy. 

Not very skilled?

The Romanian guy alone made millions of Euros over the past years.

How much would a skilled Gypsy have made? 

[Syt]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/opinion/victor-mallet-china-press-freedom.html

China's Media Crackdown Spreads to Hong Kong

Beijing expels Victor Mallet of The Financial Times in a move intended to freeze out independent voices.

Hong Kong's expulsion of a British journalist after he led a foreign correspondents' meeting with a pro-independence activist is, first and foremost, an attempt by Beijing to tamp down any dissent in the former British colony.

Hong Kong officials have not given a reason for rejecting a journalist visa for Victor Mallet, the Asia news editor for The Financial Times. China's only comment has been that Hong Kong authorities are within their right to do so. But that's the typical legalistic evasiveness of authoritarian regimes when they do something they know is hard and embarrassing to defend.

The authorities have never criticized Mr. Mallet's reporting. But he was the main spokesman for the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club in August when it hosted a talk by Andy Chan, head of a political party that called for Hong Kong's independence from China. Hong Kong and Beijing officials blasted the event in advance and subsequently banned the party.

Beijing took back control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997 after nearly a century of colonial rule, and agitation toward independence has never pleased China's leadership. Hong Kong as an "inalienable" part of China is written into the territory's Basic Law.

But Mr. Mallet did not advocate independence or endorse Mr. Chan; he moderated a talk on a critical political issue, which is what correspondents' associations do. And the bigger issue at hand is that Beijing and its supporters in the Hong Kong administration are clamping down on the freedoms granted the territory under the "one country, two systems" formula that have made it an island of prosperity and openness off the authoritarian mainland.

Expelling a foreign reporter is sadly normal on the mainland. The New York Times is among news organizations whose applications for journalist visas have been blocked, in The Times's case over reports in 2012 on the wealth accumulated by the families of Chinese leaders. But in Hong Kong, a large and lively cadre of foreign journalists has enjoyed freedom of expression, and human rights groups could not recall any expulsions.

The ouster of Mr. Mallet thus represents a serious and worrisome escalation in Beijing's campaign to crack down on any dissonant voices in Hong Kong, especially in the wake of the "Occupy Central" movement for universal suffrage that locked down parts of the city four years ago. President Xi Jinping, whose growing authoritarianism has been watched with trepidation in Hong Kong, warned on a visit to the territory last year that challenges to Beijing's authority would not be tolerated.

To the many international businesses that operate out of Hong Kong, the treatment of Mr. Mallet is in effect a threat to Hong Kong's identity and role. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong warned in a statement on Monday that curtailing press freedoms in Hong Kong could damage its "competitiveness as a leading financial and trading center." The United States, Britain and the European Union have likewise sounded alarms. These should continue, loudly and clearly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/world/asia/hong-kong-lau-siu-lai-democracy.html

Hong Kong Bars Another Democracy Supporter From Running for Office

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government on Friday disqualified a democracy advocate from running for a seat on the local legislature, the latest in a series of moves that have undermined the political power of the opposition camp in the semiautonomous Chinese city.

A local government officer told the democracy advocate, Lau Siu-lai, a community college lecturer and member of the city's Labour Party, late Friday that she was ineligible to run in a November special election.

Ms. Lau had previously been elected to the seat in 2016. But the government stripped her of the post after only a few days, disqualifying her for reading her oath of office very slowly in an act of protest. Six legislators lost their seats over protests related to their oaths, a serious blow to the democratic camp.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, has its own local government. While half of its legislature is directly elected, efforts to expand democracy beyond that have met with little success.

The democratic camp has protested the barring of candidates and removal of elected lawmakers who have questioned Hong Kong's future as a part of China. They accuse the authorities of relying on technicalities to remove lawmakers who have won popular support.

The government has said that it must ensure legislators are sincere in their belief that Hong Kong is an "inalienable part" of China. Many of the legislators ousted after the 2016 election, including Ms. Lau, were part of a wave of young activists who took to electoral politics after the 2014 protests known as the Umbrella Movement, which sought more open local elections.

Hong Kong officials said Ms. Lau was disqualified because of a previous statement that Hong Kong residents should be allowed to choose the territory's political future, including the possibility of independence.

"The candidate cannot possibly comply with the requirements of the relevant electoral laws, since advocating or promoting 'self-determination,' or promoting independence" contradicts the declaration of fealty that candidates are required to make, the government said in a statement.

Ms. Lau, seeking to distance herself from her 2016 stances, has said she does not support Hong Kong's independence from China.

She and her party said in a statement on Friday that they "condemned the government's coarse interference in an election, ignoring a candidate's right to run for office and the voters' aspirations." They accused the government of "again and again using political methods to suppress dissent," while clearing the way for establishment politicians.

Fearing the possibility of a late disqualification after the nomination period closed, the Labour Party nominated a second candidate for the seat. Lee Cheuk-yan, a former legislator, filed on Friday as a backup candidate for Ms. Lau.

The Hong Kong government prohibited at least three pro-democracy candidates from running in a March election, including Agnes Chow, a prominent student leader during the 2014 protests. In that election the pro-democracy camp lost two seats, further weakening its declining clout in the local legislature.

[Syt]

In the Hong Kong/Blizzard fallout, Reddit mods seem partially busy taking "controversial" stuff off the general front pages.

Anyways, one of the ones that were "buried" is a thread that linked to a story called "Internal Memo: ESPN Forbids Discussion Of Chinese Politics When Discussing Daryl Morey's Tweet About Chinese Politics" (story: https://deadspin.com/internal-memo-espn-forbids-discussion-of-chinese-polit-1838881032)

Anyways, the thread has a list of examples how companies accommodate China for that sweet, sweet dosh.

Thread: https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/dfc6qi/disneyowned_espn_forbids_discussion_of_chinese/
(links to the various news items are in the post at the link)

Activision Blizzard: banned player for supporting Hong Kong democracy protest. Confiscated all his winnings. Fired the 2 casters who interviewed him.

Apple: censors Taiwan flag emoji in iOS in Hong Kong

Apple (partial entry): censored Hong Kong protest map from App Store. Relented after it turned into a PR mess, now letting the app into App Store.

Vans: censors pro-HK democracy design in its shoe design competition

NBA (partial entry): rebuked Rockets manager for his pro-HK tweet, saying NBA was "extremely disappointed with Morey's inappropriate comment." Backpedalled after this turned into PR nightmare, now saying they support Morey's freedom of speech.

Disney / ESPN: forbids any mention of Chinese politics when discussing Rockets manager's pro-HK tweet. ESPN hosts castigated Morey & speculated about his sincerity, but they will not talk about what caused the tweet: China's encroachment on HK

Viacom / Paramount: censors Taiwan flag from the jacket worn by Tom Cruise in the new "Top Gun" movie

Disney / Marvel: censored Tibetan monk from "Doctor Strange" and turned him into a white woman. Per the movie's screenwriter: "if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he's Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that's bullshit".

ASICS, Calvin Klein, Coach, Fresh, Givenchy, Pocari Sweat, Valentino, Versace, Swarovski: details here

Marriott: apologized to China & changed "Taiwan" to "Taiwan, China" after China threw a hissy fit

Nike: removed all Houston Rockets products from their China webstore

Activision Blizzard: cut livestream when American University team held up pro-HK sign.

Apple: handed over iCloud data & encryption keys to China

Riot Games: censors the words "Hong Kong", forcing casters to refer to team "Hong Kong Attitude" as "HKA".

Cathay Pacific: fired employees for FB posts supporting HK protests.

Apple: minimized the seriousness of iOS exploits that enabled China to track Uyghurs, when 1M+ of them are rounded up by China in concentration camps

Google: censored pro-HK game "The Revolution of Our Times" from Google Play because it was about a "sensitive event".

Gap: apologized to China for selling T-shirts IN CANADA that didn't include Taiwan as part of China

Tiffany: removed tweet showing model covering 1 eye after China accused it of supporting HK

Marriott: fired employee who liked tweet from Tibetan group

Mercedes: apologized for quoting Dalai Lama on Instagram

American, Delta, United: deleted mention of Taiwan as a country from websites

Audi: apologized for using "incorrect map" of China that left off Taiwan

Muji: destroyed store catalogs that contain "incorrect" map of China

Zara: apologized for listing Taiwan as country

Medtronic: apologized for publishing "illegal content" that listed "Republic of China (Taiwan)" as country

Ray-Ban: changed "Taiwan" & "Hongkong" to "China Taiwan" & "China Hongkong"

Qantas, Air France, Air Canada, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA: changed "Taiwan" to "Taiwan China" on websites

TikTok: censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, Falun Gong

Sheraton: banned Taiwan National Day event. China called event "illegal & a crime against international law"

Disney: shrank/removed non-white characters from Chinese poster of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Philadelphia Sixers: ejected fans for supporting HK

Princeton: doesn't talk about the 3 Ts: Tibet, Tiananmen, Taiwan

Leica: released ad on Tiananmen protest. Apologized & distanced itself from ad

Reddit: took $150M from Tencent. Removed threads like this

Rockhampton, Queensland: censored Taiwan flag in student art project

Cisco: helped build the Great Firewall including module to persecute Falun Gong

MGM: changed Red Dawn's villain from China to N Korea to placate China

Global Blue: fired staff for calling Taiwan a country

[Zoupa]

Congrats Syt. Mono's pants are now a dairy factory.

[The Minsky Moment]

One Country, One System, Double Talk

[Valmy]

Most of these are either non-issues, like China being racist about its own internal advertising...I mean fuck China but hey it is their country, or marginally annoying like raising a fuss about Taiwan being a country. But it seems like they are trying to get social media companies and online communities like Blizzard and Reddit to start attacking the speech of other country's citizens and their opinions. That is unacceptable. They are certainly not alone in this.

[Habbaku]

If American companies want to do business in China, I encourage them to do so. But once they start espousing Chinese values--covertly or overtly--I am not about to purchase anything from them again. I'm happy to help them lose their American market to gain the Chinese.

[Sheilbh]

Apparently Xi's newest initiative involves re-valuating the requirements for the all-important university entrance exams.

Math, science, etc are all being devalued a bit while the importance of political science is valued more.

That sounds like code for (even) more essays about the wonders of Communist Party leader and the brilliance of Xi Thought.

Yeah that's my understanding. Can't let people get access to the prestigious educational opportunities if they don't  pay proper respect to the party... 

I don't think this is directly linked. But I've read a few interesting pieces about how the Party is starting to get a little concerned about Marxist study groups in universities.

To begin with they were like: great, the youth are engaging with ideology. Then the youth noticed that Marxist ideals don't look a great deal like Communist China and have started trying to help workers organise, support independent strikes etc.

Now the state is clamping down on the Marxist study groups

[Oexmelin]

If American companies want to do business in China, I encourage them to do so. But once they start espousing Chinese values--covertly or overtly--I am not about to purchase anything from them again. I'm happy to help them lose their American market to gain the Chinese.

I understand and applaud the commitment, but that will not change anything.

[Admiral Yi]

If American companies want to do business in China, I encourage them to do so. But once they start espousing Chinese values--covertly or overtly--I am not about to purchase anything from them again. I'm happy to help them lose their American market to gain the Chinese.

You're bluffing.  My guess is every US airline that flies across the Pacific does some variation of that China Taiwan thing.