Jake Sullivan to Beijing, China reaffirms ties with Russia, and China hits back at EU tariffs
Jake Sullivan to Beijing, China reaffirms ties with Russia, and China hits back at EU tariffs
+ China's first AAA game Black Myth: Wukong draws praise and controversy
Welcome to another edition of What’s Happening in China, your weekly roundup of the latest news and developments from the country.
I hope you've been savoring these final weeks of summer. Time flies—carpe diem.
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THROUGH THE LENS
IN FOCUS
“I wrote it for Chinese people to read.”
On the western outskirts of Las Vegas, far from the casinos, tourists, and strip malls, the Spring Mountains rise from the scorching valley, an ethereal vision of red-striped sandstone. When the heat allows, Gao Ertai, who is eighty-eight, ventures onto his back porch to observe the mountains and sometimes lets his mind wander to another desert: the wastelands of China’s Gansu Province, where he was exiled for two decades and witnessed some of the worst crimes of the Mao era.
Gao’s descriptions of these events have made him one of China’s most admired essayists. His most famous work is “In Search of My Homeland,” a series of autobiographical sketches written in a spare, philosophical style. In China, censors left out some particularly sensitive material, but the work is still largely intact and available to buy, perhaps because the pieces are cool and detached, even as they faithfully record famine, torture, and betrayal. The Berlin-based writer Liao Yiwu told me that the collection “could serve as a kind of history book.” But, he added, “I read it over and over again for the language.”
Until recently, Gao’s readers were mostly older people who had some personal connection to the events he describes. But, in the past few years, Gao’s works have begun to circulate on Chinese social media. Some see in his critique of the Mao era parallels to the current situation in China: the arbitrary rule of an aging leader, harsh treatment of dissent, and government programs that encourage people to inform on one another. Then, there is Gao’s frankness: he discusses his weaknesses, and the Schadenfreude he feels when his tormentors fall afoul of factional politics and become persecuted themselves. In one case, he turns on a bully and beats him mercilessly. “There is a lot of authenticity in the writing,” the novelist Ha Jin told me. “He’s honest about himself.”
Read: A Chinese Memoirist’s Exile in Las Vegas
XINJIANG
Lawmakers raise concerns about US drug companies conducting trials in Xinjiang
Semafor
A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers are raising concerns about what they say is evidence of US biopharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials in partnership with Chinese hospitals located in Xinjiang, where the US has accused Beijing of committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims.
The lawmakers warned the Food and Drug Administration in a letter that US companies “could be unintentionally profiting from the data derived from clinical trials during which the CCP forced victim patients to participate,” referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
The group, led by House China select committee leaders Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., asked the FDA to investigate.
POLITICS & SOCIETY
Honour reformer Deng Xiaoping by realising China’s revival, Xi Jinping urges nation
SCMP
The best way to commemorate Communist Party patriarch Deng Xiaoping is to persevere to realise the mission of national rejuvenation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, the 120th anniversary of the late leader’s birth.
Paying tribute to Deng’s political legacy while also identifying with it, Xi called on the country to rally behind his own policies on establishing a modern economic system, promoting hi-tech self-reliance, and safeguarding national sovereignty and development interests.
“The enduring tribute to Comrade Deng Xiaoping is to continue pushing forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics he initiated,” Xi told top government and party officials as well as Deng’s relatives and former staff at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Xi delivered the address at a commemorative event held every decade around August 22 – a tradition that allows the party’s leaders to reconnect with its founding fathers and announce a path forward.
Xi Touts Deng’s Security Legacy in Rare Nod to 1989 Crackdown
Bloomberg
Chinese President Xi Jinping praised former leader Deng Xiaoping for defending the Communist Party’s rule in 1989, when the government violently cracked down on student protesters, underscoring officials’ concerns about social stability as China’s economy struggles.
“Comrade Deng Xiaoping led the party and the people to take a clear-cut stand against political turmoil and resolutely defend the socialist state regime, allowing the party and the state to withstand tests of dangerous winds and waves,” Xi said Thursday in a speech commemorating the 120th anniversary of Deng’s birthday.
The rare reference to Beijing’s bloody response against the student-led democracy movement was in line with the government’s official view, but it’s unusual for Chinese leaders to publicly mention the events that took place in Tiananmen Square and other parts of the country. News and social media posts about the crackdown are typically censored across China.
Xi, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, added that Deng emphasized strengthening political indoctrination and helped ensure “the stability of red rivers and mountains,” referring to the party’s rule. “China will surely walk down its own socialist path. No one can crush us,” Xi said, citing Deng.
China’s military focuses on beating ‘strong enemies’ in Deng Xiaoping commemorations
SCMP
The Chinese military has pledged to stay alert to potential risks and is focused on making sure it can “win against strong enemies”, during the commemorations to mark Deng Xiaoping’s 120th anniversary.
At one such event on Thursday, President Xi Jinping told the military to improve its “strategic ability to defend national sovereignty, security and development interests”.
Xi said Deng had highlighted the need to build the People’s Liberation Army into a strong, modernised and well-organised force, and to have fewer but better troops.
Deng had started advocating for this approach in 1975, while Mao Zedong was still alive, and once in power he cut the PLA’s numbers by one million.
At a PLA commemoration on Monday, Miao Hua, a member of the Central Military Commission, the military’s top decision-making body, said: “In the new journey, we should … focus on strengthening capabilities to defeat strong enemies and opponents.”
On Wednesday an article in the official PLA Daily said Deng had made the strategic judgment that “world wars can be postponed or avoided” in the 1980s, but China now faced “great changes unseen in a century”.
China Launches Its Most Sophisticated Submarine to Date
Naval News
A Chinese shipyard in Wuhan has launched a submarine which is likely to be the country's most advanced non-nuclear type. The new boat is larger than existing ones and is the first in the country to feature X-form rudders. There are indications that it may have a vertical launch system (VLS).
Xi Takes Another Crack at Raising China’s Retirement Age
WPR
Retirement age changes, when voluntary and gradual, are likely to lead to people in lucrative and less physically demanding jobs electing to stay in them longer. They will also retire with the most generous pensions. By contrast, those in difficult or strenuous jobs will need to work longer, only to enjoy less generous pensions.
Without changes to these differences across China’s pension systems, those in the most difficult situations—including migrant workers, informally employed urban workers and rural residents—will face old age with meager pensions that will not provide enough for basic subsistence and medical care. A change to the official retirement age is likely to mean nothing for these groups, who will continue to work far into old age, as they do now.
Finally, changes to the retirement age will also exacerbate generational tensions. If older workers with good jobs and salaries are now able to stay in those positions longer, younger workers will bear the brunt of increased unemployment, at a time when youth unemployment is already at unprecedented levels. Some also worry that delayed retirement will put pressure on China’s culture of family child care, with grandparents often taking a major role in the raising of their grandchildren, especially in the absence of good and affordable daycare for infants and toddlers.
China's flood-control situation remains complex, serious: vice minister
Xinhua
China continues to face a complex and severe flood-control situation, with heavy rainfall still posing risks of secondary disasters in different regions, Vice Minister of Water Resources Wang Bao'en said Monday.
At a press briefing, Wang said the country remains in the main flood season despite the end of a critical flood-control period from mid-July to mid-August.
Currently, the Wusuli River is witnessing an ongoing surge, exceeding safety levels, while the risks of secondary disasters caused by heavy rain remain, and the impact of looming typhoons still persists, Wang said.
In a Monday alert, the Ministry of Emergency Management said that heavy rainstorms are anticipated in Guangdong's eastern coast and southwestern Liaoning from Monday to Tuesday, and that an emergency response has been activated for the two provinces.
China goes ape over culture-boosting 'Black Myth: Wukong' video game
Reuters
Chinese state media threw its back behind China's most successful single-player video game to date, saying its adaptation of the Ming dynasty epic "Journey to the West" would force Western players to learn more about the country's culture.
"Black Myth: Wukong", based on a mythical monkey king from a Chinese literary classic who can shape-shift into humans, animals and inanimate objects, was being played on Wednesday by 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, a major online gaming platform, a day after its release.
"Chinese players in the past have gone through this process of cross-cultural understanding, now it is the turn of overseas players to learn... and understand Chinese traditional culture," China Central Television wrote in a blog.
Drawing heavily on the story of the beloved magical monkey, Sun Wukong, who acquires supernatural powers by practicing Taoism, "Black Myth: Wukong" can only be enjoyed if players are familiar with the plot of the 16th century classic, the national broadcaster said.
The PC/console-based game was launched on Tuesday by Game Science, a Tencent-backed startup, to much fanfare on Chinese social media. Hashtags on the video game accumulated 1.7 billion views on China's X-like microblog Weibo.
"This release marks a bold foray by Chinese game developers into a market long dominated by Western triple-A titles," the official Xinhua news agency wrote in an editorial on Wednesday.
Can China Curb the Online Harrassment of Women?
Sixth Tone
While efforts have been made by legal institutions to address online violence, regulations and legislation alone are not going to fix this phenomenon. This is especially true because social media platforms often enable, induce, and amplify gender-based violence against women and girls. Despite the real identity registration system imposed on Chinese digital platforms, social media users still enjoy a certain level of anonymity online, which allows them to post harmful content or comments safe from retribution. The easy access to functions like reposting, tagging, and private messaging also add to the toolbox of gender-based violence. And fundamentally, social media platforms’ addiction to traffic and user activity makes them prioritize and promote controversial and sensational content, which includes gender-based violence.
Meanwhile, due to the long and complex procedures involved in defamation or privacy violation lawsuits, online violence victims are often unwilling or unable to spend the time and energy needed to get justice. But there are reasons for optimism. More young Chinese women are fighting back against misogynist attacks online: Of the victims discussed in this article, most have spoken out against offenders or brought lawsuits. Hopefully efforts will encourage other women to report and address online gender-based violence — a necessary step in making the internet a safer place for all.
Universities in China change course to meet government’s need for hi-tech workforce
SCMP
More than a dozen Chinese universities are overhauling their engineering and technology majors in favour of hi-tech areas such as AI and big data to answer a government call for more talent.
By July 31, a total of 19 universities had suspended or completely removed 99 majors, news portal The Paper reported on Thursday, citing its own tally.
For example, Sichuan University was considering removing 31 majors, including animation, acting and applied physics, and setting up a new major in biomass science and engineering, the report said.
The university said the major would replace “light chemical engineering” amid hopes it would not only support traditional industries such as tanning and papermaking, but would adapt to future needs of the emerging biomass industry.
This move follows requests from the Ministry of Education to “adjust structures of university majors and talent-training schemes to better serve China’s modernisation”.
China high-speed rail operator forced to hike fares as debt balloons
Nikkei Asia
China's state-owned railway company has raised prices on major high-speed routes and introduced premium seats to chip away at the $859 billion in debt it has racked up amid its aggressive network expansion.
This summer, China Railway reworked fares for four major high-speed routes. The complex new system first raises the base fare by about 20% and then sets different discount rates for each train.
For example, on the route connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, a top-level business class seat previously cost a flat 219.5 yuan ($31), a first-class seat 117 yuan and a second-class seat 73 yuan. From mid-June, the base fares climbed to 306 yuan for business class, 140 yuan for first class and 87 yuan for second class.
However, China Railway said in its announcement of the revision that actual prices would be discounted up to 45%, taking into account factors like season, date and time of day. This painted the change as an optimization of fares based on demand, rather than a simple hike.
Such dynamic pricing has become popular in the airline and hotel industries.
China’s sex workers find opportunities with tech but big data sparks fear
ThinkChina
Lianhe Zaobao Shenzhen correspondent Daryl Lim speaks with academics and insiders about how technological advancements have changed the way the sex industry operates in China, as the use of big data and its regulations have made it more difficult for sex workers to stay under the radar.
Weibo Cracks Down on Posts About Weibo Crackdowns
China Digital Times
Microblogging platform Weibo is cracking down on speech about crackdowns on speech. In a weekly “safety” digest published to an official Weibo administrators’ account, the platform announced that it had suspended over 10 accounts for “hyping the censorship of other accounts.” The owners of the accounts were issued suspensions (禁言, jìnyán) for posting about, or “hyping,” suspensions imposed on other accounts. Such suspensions are often imposed for violating Weibo platform rules and regulations, or transgressing Weibo’s numerous but unwritten political taboos.
It seems that this round of censorship was targeted at accounts that noted the suspension of Lao Dongyan‘s Weibo account. Lao is an outspoken Tsinghua law professor who recently criticized the Chinese government’s draft proposal to create a national internet ID program. In a post that was later taken down by censors, Lao argued that the new program is aimed at “controlling people’s behavior on the Internet.” Her Weibo account was subsequently suspended for 90 days.
‘Monument to history’ battle between US and China over future of Mao’s secretary’s diary
The Guardian
For several years before his death, Li’s daughter Li Nanyang, who lives in the US, had been scanning, transcribing and cataloguing her father’s papers, and ultimately transferred them to the Hoover Institution, the leading archive for CCP history in the US. Li Nanyang and Stanford claim that this was in line with Li’s wishes. On 30 January 2017, for example, he recorded a meeting with his wife, Zhang Yuzhen, to talk about “the issue of my diaries”. Zhang “agreed with my decision … having Hoover retain the diaries”, he wrote.
But on 21 March 2019, a lawyer for Li’s widow wrote to Stanford, asserting her ownership of the diaries and seeking their return. The 89-year-old soon filed a lawsuit in Beijing, arguing that she was the rightful heir to Li’s estate. In May that year, Stanford filed a countersuit in California to eliminate Zhang’s claims to the materials. And so began a legal battle between one of the world’s top universities and an ageing widow – who, Stanford argues, is a front for the Chinese government.
Why would Zhang, who is now well into her 90s, spend several years and millions of dollars fighting over a collection of diaries?
Where the River Reaches Home
China Books Review
Three recent books narrate family histories that flow over time and space. But when identities evolve across borders, language holds the memory that carries us back to where we came from.
Other Rivers by Peter Hessler review – spotlight on Generation Xi
The Guardian
Other Rivers implicitly makes the case against both countries turning inwards. When Hessler and his wife, the writer Leslie Chang, arrived in Chengdu, they enrolled their nine-year-old twin daughters in a local Chinese school, despite them barely speaking a word of Mandarin. He documents with an anthropologist’s eye the idiosyncrasies of the Chinese education system, which, despite the hyper-competitive atmosphere, is kept going by teachers whose dedication and compassion holds lessons for western classrooms. And he is full of warmth about the pupils, parents and teachers who, at a time of rising suspicion of foreigners, welcomed his family into their curious, often misunderstood world.
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