Chinese police are cracking down on “extreme feminism” online | South China Morning Post - "After China’s official firefighting school announcedits recruitment plans for 2019, some people pointed out that it largely favors men over women. One commenterstarted aggressively attacking deceased male firefighters. The Communist Youth League of China chimed in with an articlecriticizing the aggressive comments, and Shenzhen internet police said that they arrested a usercalled out by the firefighting department.This has led some people to worry that the police are using “extremism” as an excuse to target more people.“Some of them are truly annoying,” one Weibo user said, referring to radical feminists. “But when an official internet police account wants to arrest you at will in the name of extremism, I think that’s the most terrifying thing.”"
China censors Thomas Piketty’s book that touches on nation’s growing inequality | South China Morning Post - "When French economist Thomas Piketty published his acclaimed Capital in the 21st Century in 2013, an in-depth critique of modern capitalism and inequality, it was an immediate hit upon release in China, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.The near 700-page book even won praise from President Xi Jinping, who in a 2015 speech used its meticulously researched findings on surging inequality in the United States and Europe to claim that Marxist political economy was as relevant as ever.But Piketty’s new book Capital and Ideology, which expands on the theme of inequality, looks increasingly unlikely to have the same success after falling foul of China’s censors.Published outside China last year, it has yet to be launched in the mainland due to demands from Piketty’s Chinese publisher, Citic Press Group, that all parts of the book related to inequality in China be cut... While Piketty’s new book by no means targets China, it spends several pages talking about the party’s tolerance for rising inequality, the opacity of official data on income and wealth distribution, and the paradox between a socialist political system and a highly unequal society... In 2006, Beijing ordered “high-income taxpayers” to declare annual incomes above 120,000 yuan (US$17, 400). But publication of the data ended in 2011.Piketty describes the paradox of a communist party-led country, which upholds “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” that does not have an inheritance tax and data of any sort on the transfer of wealth between generations... Premier Li Keqiang said in May that there were 600 million Chinese living on incomes of 1,000 yuan (US$145) or less a month, triggering extensive debate over whether China is a rich or poor nation.The figure, which was later confirmed by China’s statistics bureau, followed a report by the central bank in which it found that the bottom 20 per cent of urban households held only 2.6 per cent of the nation’s wealth, while the top 10 per cent owned 47.5 per cent.The society envisaged by Karl Marx based on the principle “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” is still a remote prospect in China.
So much for those who praise Xi for saying he improved Chinese people's lives. Of course if you only talk to the rich you'll get this idea
Zoom closes account of US-based Chinese dissidents after Tiananmen conference | South China Morning Post - "“I’m very angry of course, that even in this country, in the United States … we have to be prepared for this kind of censorship,” he said.The episode was not the first time Zhou’s online activism appeared to fall foul of a Western internet company’s deference to China’s domestic regulations.Last year, the professional networking site LinkedIn hid his page from users within China, citing the company’s obligations to adhere to the “requirements of the Chinese government”. Following media reports on the company’s censorship of Zhou, LinkedIn reversed course, claiming that the page had been “blocked in error”. Zoom’s moves against Zhou may exacerbate concerns over security and user privacy on the platform, usage of which has surged during the coronavirus pandemic as more employees work remotely.In April, the company – already facing backlash over vulnerabilities that allowed sessions to be hacked in a process now known as “Zoom bombing” – admitted that some calls between users in North America had been mistakenly routed through servers located in China, along with the encryption keys used to protect the data of those calls. Beginning in April, the company froze feature upgrades for 90 days, instead focusing all of its engineering resources on addressing privacy issues."
Hey Siri, What is irony: China slams United States for Big Tech censorship - "Communist China's state-run Global Times on Tuesday denounced Big Tech's censorship of President Donald Trump as an exercise of "US digital hegemony," demanding tech giants such as Twitter, Google, Apple, and Amazon to recognize the "sovereignty" of other nations in the cyberspace... The editorial offers an example of how Chinese propagandists scrutinize American journalism, commentary, and social media, constantly seeking angles that can be exploited for Beijing's political gain... "[T]o these elites, the Capitol riot seems like much more harmful than the deadly and uncontrolled epidemic situation.""This has shown that the power center of the US that empowers all establishment force, politicians, media, social media networks and firms is still Wall Street, and there is nothing that can compete the power of capital," the author quoted Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing research fellow Lü Xiang."
Analysis: Photo in Xi's office holds secret to COVID probe resistance - Nikkei Asia - "On a bookshelf to his left-hand side, as he read out his 2021 New Year's address on Dec. 31, was a photo showing Xi surrounded by boys and girls from the Wa ethnic minority in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Clad in red traditional clothing, the children sing a song and wave the leader goodbye in Tengchong on Jan. 19, 2020. The city was one of the stops during Xi's inspection tour of the province.At first glance, it looks like any other heartwarming photo of Xi conducting a local inspection tour. But the key is the date, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi on this day was in Yunnan Province, nearly 3,000 km from Beijing.At 6 p.m. the following day, Xi, from Yunnan, issued his first important order to Chinese officials to deal with the spread of a novel coronavirus.It was also on Jan. 20 that an authoritative Chinese medical expert who had played a key role in the fight against the outbreak of SARS in the early 2000s for the first time admitted that the new virus was spreading "human to human." While the virus that causes COVID-19 was spreading at a breakneck speed in and around Wuhan and beginning to reach beyond the country, Xi was not in Beijing... Until that first order from Xi on Jan. 20, the Chinese government had not acknowledged the likelihood of human-to-human transmission."
Rethink China: It’s time to realise Beijing is the new imperialist power in Asia - "“Chindia” was always a construct, or illusion, of the Indian political and intellectual elite – Beijing never subscribed to any of it. While China single-mindedly pursued economic growth and welcomed foreign investments, India continued to labour under its colonial hangover and remained suspicious of cooperation with the West for many decades. Today, it’s China that’s proving itself to be the expansionist power in Asia by pursuing extravagant territorial claims and demanding subservience from all its neighbours. Besides, today’s Party dominated China has little to do with classical China, which looked inwards rather than outwards. The Chinese Communist Party is the new East India Company."
Myanmar calls out China for arming terror groups, asks world to help - "The Myanmarese ethnic rebel groups operating along the Chinese border mostly use Chinese weapons, prompting suspicions about Beijing’s role as part of an effort to keep Myanmar under control... Xi’s suggestion was seen in Myanmar as part of an elaborate exercise by China to keep its smaller neighbour “unstable”. There has been a view in Naypyitaw that China was using its influence with the terror groups as a bargaining chip for smooth implementation of Belt and Road Initiative projects. Officials say Beijing has been desperate to push the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor that seeks to give China a strategic opening on to the Bay of Bengal and eastern part of Indian Ocean Region. There has also been some concern around the Chinese loans extended to execute these projects that led to worries that Myanmar shouldn’t land in China’s debt trap."
China removes popular historical dramas from streaming services - "Last year, following a scathing editorial published by the Beijing Daily, in which the state-run newspaper called out period dramas, especially Story of Yanxi Palace and Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, for their “negative influence on society,” the two shows were suddenly taken off air and never made a return on television channels. In the article, the publication took specific aims at the dramas’ palace intrigues and scheming, saying that they were “at odds with the core values of socialism.”"
China reports Australia to UN body over 'violated' human rights - "China has said it is “deeply concerned” by what it described as the Australian government’s operation of offshore detention centres, and has called for the sites to be closed immediately... China itself has long faced accusations that it operates detention centres, with UN experts and rights groups estimating it has detained more than a million people in its Xinjiang region, mostly Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, in a vast system of camps."
China's power supply is struggling as winter temperatures plunge. Is the ban on Australian coal to blame? - "Chinese social media has seen tens of thousands of posts complaining about the new electricity restrictions in the country's central and eastern provinces of Hunan and Zhejiang, which have been viewed more than 150 million times on the platform Weibo.News of the restrictions comes amid a burgeoning trade spat between Australia and China, in which Australian coal appears to have effectively been barred from Chinese ports... Mr Mao said he believed the power shortages had "some connection" to China's ban on Australian thermal coal"
Mass blackouts after China cuts Australian coal imports | World | The Times - "In the southern province of Hunan an energy official said that coal reserves had fallen 18.5 per cent and that generators may not be able to run at full capacity. Zhang Xiaojun, an assistant general manager of the State Grid Hunan Electric Power Company, told state media that electricity generated from wind and solar power would not make up the shortfall.“When the coal reserve is inadequate, you immediately see the drop in the power generated,” an unnamed electric engineer told state media.“We would be lying if we say this has nothing to do with the China-Australia tensions,” a former electricity official said. Last week the State Grid Hunan Electric Power Company asked large companies to reduce electricity use during the peak hours of between 10am and noon and between 5pm and 8pm. It said that it would prioritise electricity use for households by restricting night-time lighting of major buildings and decorations that need light. The power company predicts a shortage of between 3 million and 4 million kilowatts this winter.The provincial capital of Changsha has urged its residents not to use electric ovens or toasters and not to turn their thermostats at home above 20C. Southern provinces such as Hunan do not provide central heating, and families rely on individual heaters to get through the winter months. The city of Yiyang, also in Hunan, said that it would turn off all decorative lighting between 5pm and 8pm and only keep half the street lights on.In the eastern province of Zhejiang, the provincial government ordered all of its offices not to turn on heating unless the room temperature dropped below 3C. Factories in the province have been ordered to suspend production on certain days, with one plant, according to state media, asked to switch off from December 15 to December 31.""In the eastern province of Zhejiang, the provincial government ordered all of its offices not to turn on heating unless the room temperature dropped below 3C."
China strategically dehydrated Laos, buried it under loans and now controls its national electric grid - "Laos will cede majority control of its electric grid to a Chinese company as the country struggles to avoid a default on Chinese debt. For the uninitiated, the modus operandi of China is to influx smaller, less resource-rich countries with truckloads of Chinese money under the garb of Belt and Road Initiative with punishing repayment terms would allow China to occupy strategic assets of the defaulting country... Despite Laos emerging as Xi Jinping’s all-weather ally as it was the first country to endorse Xi’s political message of “building of community of common destiny”, China has attempted to dehydrate Laos.Laos is a landlocked country of 7 million people and heavily depends on the Mekong River to quench the thirst of its population. Laos along with Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand fall in the Lower Mekong Basin which recently suffered a severe drought as the water levels in the river receded to a 50-year low.According to a US-based research company, the damaging droughts can be largely attributed to the Chinese dams that have been holding backwaters... Laos is now on the fast track of becoming a pseudo-province of China, a recent study putting Laos’ debt to China at a whopping 45% of GDP with Chinese investment in the country is already totalling over $10 billion."
China is home to a growing market for dubious “emotion recognition” technology - "the dubious tech, while not yet widespread, is being promoted by dozens of Chinese corporations and academic researchers for a wide range of applications, including border screening and prison surveillance as well as assessing student behavior and performance. Emotion recognition technology is based upon a fundamentally flawed idea: that an algorithm can analyze a person’s facial expressions and accurately infer their inner state or mood. In reality, when a person experiences emotions like joy, worry, or disgust, studies have found that they don’t necessarily respond by reacting in consistent, universal ways. While many people may frown if they feel sad, that reaction is also dependent on factors such as culture and the situation and moment. A 2019 meta-analysis that looked at over 1,000 studies on emotion recognition found that it’s “not possible to confidently infer happiness from a smile, anger from a scowl, or sadness from a frown, as much of current technology tries to do when applying what are mistakenly believed to be the scientific facts.” In other words, using facial expressions to determine someone’s attention level, motivation, or trustworthiness — all things emotion recognition companies purport to do — simply isn’t achievable.These findings haven’t stopped tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google from offering emotion recognition to their customers (though Amazon and Microsoft note their tools can’t make “a determination of the person’s internal emotional state” and that “facial expressions alone may not necessarily represent the internal states of people.”) Other startups have tried applying emotion recognition to sensitive tasks including screening job applicants. Overall, the global emotion recognition market for the tech will be worth more than $33 billion by 2023, according to one estimate. “New technologies proliferate in societies not necessarily because they work or have demonstrated impact,” said Vidushi Marda, senior program officer at Article 19 and a co-author of the report, “but because the actors and institutions that build, sell, and use these technologies claim that it works.”In China, according to the report, some firms describe emotion recognition as an evolution of facial recognition, even though the technologies have disparate functions... The authors of the Article 19 report recommend that China and other countries prohibit the sale and use of emotion recognition technology, and not only because it’s often based on junk science. They worry the tech has the potential to erode privacy and human rights, especially for minorities and other vulnerable populations. Shazeda Ahmed, a co-author of the report and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley said many of the methods tech companies are using “reproduce racist, culturally biased assumptions about how humans express emotions.”... “In the competitive Chinese educational environment, it’s easy for companies to pander to parents’ anxieties about their children’s success,” said Ahmed. School administrators may also see the technology as a way to attract state funding and produce educational improvements overnight. In places like the United States and India, facial and emotion recognition tools have been used in schools for safety and to boost attendance... Not everyone in China is in favor of using emotion recognition in schools. In an infamous 2018 incident, Hangzhou No. 11 Middle School, in southeastern Zhejiang Province, implemented a system developed by surveillance giant Hikvision that scanned students’ faces every 30 seconds to identify seven types of emotions and six types of behavior. It attracted local and international media attention, and after backlash from students and parents, the program was reportedly quickly paused.But the Article 19 report found that positive media coverage of emotional recognition still prevails in China over accounts documenting the downsides of using it in schools. Ahmed said she wanted to believe the Hangzhou incident would deter other companies, “but many of the additional examples we found were launched after that trial.” One of the overarching problems with emotion recognition is that it’s often unclear how educators should respond to the data. If the algorithm indicates students look more unhappy than usual, there are no obvious indications for how a teacher should adjust their lesson plan"
China claims half of Tajikistan: After South China Sea and Himalayas, Chinese expansionism hits Central Asia - "China’s salami-slicing tactic has a new victim- Tajikistan, the smallest Central Asian country. As per the recent reports, China has claimed the Pamir region of Tajikistan that accounts for 45 per cent of Tajik territory. In line with its modus operandi to stake a claim on foreign territories, Beijing has started with historical revisionism"
We knew it wouldn't stop at the South China Sea
He Tried To Organize Workers In China's Gig Economy. Now He Faces 5 Years In Jail - "Zipping along Beijing's streets on an electric scooter with sometimes death-defying speed, Chen Guojiang delivered hundreds of take-out food orders a day. Along the way, he filmed short videos that documented the viciously competitive conditions for China's estimated 3 million workers who use digital platforms for delivery jobs. More than once, he has called for collective action against powerful e-commerce companies, demanding better pay. That effectively made 31-year-old Chen — or Mengzhu, as he is more widely known — one of China's few remaining labor organizers. Then in February, he disappeared. News emerged the next month that he was in detention. His arrest dealt a blow to nascent efforts to promote labor rights that have begun to gain mainstream traction during the coronavirus pandemic. It also reflects the political risks of agitating on behalf of delivery work in a country whose ruling Communist Party has shut down labor organizing and is betting on consumerism and the service industry to buoy economic growth. "Anything that coheres collective power for workers is seen as a threat to state power," says Eli Friedman, a professor at Cornell University who studies Chinese labor activism. "[The authorities] cannot accept an independent trade union or anything that looks a little bit like an independent trade union. That is a red line for the Chinese government." In March, nearly one month after his disappearance, authorities confirmed police had detained Mengzhu for picking quarrels and provoking trouble — a catch-all charge commonly used to detain both petty criminals and political activists. However, Mengzhu's case is being handled with an unusual degree of secrecy. Shortly after police confirmed Mengzhu would be tried on criminal charges, friends and supporters began collecting donations to cover his lawyer fees. Within days, they had raised about $20,000 — and the attention of China's state security forces. Security agents contacted each of the donation campaign organizers, warning them not to help Mengzhu, according to two people close to the organizers. They requested anonymity when talking to NPR because they feared state intimidation as well... His father, Chen Wanhua, says the two police officers demanded he sign the notice. The copy he was allowed to keep had three lines conspicuously smudged out, and he was instructed to deliver the original in a sealed envelope to the local police station... Despite its socialist roots, the Chinese state is extremely wary of collective action. Its Communist Party-governed system operates a state-run union, but authorities have detained dozens of labor organizers in the past for trying to set up independent shops."
The tankies will be especially upset at this, since they pretend to care about workers' rights. But they hate the West more than they love workers, so
China’s internet was hailed as a path to democracy but the Communist Party reshaped it in its own image | South China Morning Post - "In 2000, then US president Bill Clinton famously said in a speech that he was confident the rise of the internet would push China towards democracy. “There’s no question China has been trying to crack down on the internet,” he said. “Good luck. That’s sort of like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.”... Since the 1990s, the Chinese government has built and used the so-called Great Firewall , a sophisticated system that prevents people from accessing unwanted foreign websites and social media, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and most mainstream Western news outlets. The South China Morning Post website is also blocked on the mainland... Under Xi’s watch, the Great Firewall has been fortified and other surveillance tools added to toughen internet censorship. These include the Great Cannon , which was launched in 2015 to alter and replace online content, according to a report by researchers led by Bill Marczak of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. In addition, China passed laws to tighten control over the internet... The party has mobilised a large number of officials and cadres to censor online content and write comments. It has been frequently reported that the government paid people to censor or steer public opinion. This widespread belief led to the coining of the expression wumao or “50 cent trolls” but many of the online army’s latest recruits are young, passionate, patriotic, vocal and, they insist, unpaid"
Chinese Dams Unleash Mekong Waters on Laos During ‘Dry’ Season - "Chinese dams on the Mekong River have begun releasing water during the river’s normal dry season, causing trouble for wildlife, farmers and fishermen in Laos"
China notifies Mekong River neighbours it is holding back waters - "China has notified downstream neighbours it is holding back the Mekong River flow at a hydropower dam on the waterway’s upper reaches for 20 days, as part of a new data-sharing pact, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and Thailand said on Wednesday. The statements came a day after a new U.S.-backed monitoring system said China had failed to notify downstream countries of water restrictions that started on Dec. 31. China agreed last October to share water data with the MRC, an advisory body to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam that had long sought the information for planning... The new Mekong Dam Monitor on its Facebook page on Tuesday said China had not notified neighbors when the Jinghong dam starting restricting waters on Dec. 31, “causing a sudden 1 metre drop in river level” downstream that could devastate the fish population. The monitor uses cloud-piercing satellites to track levels at 11 upstream dams in China and those in other countries. Partly-funded by the U.S. State Department, it started operations last month, adding to the China-U.S. superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia. Chinese authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. Beijing has rejected suggestions its Mekong dams harm downstream countries."
