This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Urban unemployment rates in China rise to 5.9% despite lower numbers of daily coronavirus cases in the country...
Here’s what you need to know today:
Today is
- Trump administration move puts 370,000 Chinese student visas at risk
- Hong Kong police escalate crackdown, claim new powers for internet censorship
- Beijing detains one of Xi Jinping’s most prominent critics
- A fragile détente between India and China after border standoff
- Chinese trans woman wins sex discrimination lawsuit against employer in landmark victory
Featured articles
A fresh look at the 1930s Jewish refuge, in ‘The Last Kings of Shanghai’
Jonathan Kaufman’s latest book provides an engaging, colorful history of Shanghai’s past that fully explores, but does not romanticize, the cosmopolitanism and colonialism of that era.
China’s two Palace Museums and their battle over legitimacy
China's two Palace Museums — one in Beijing, one in Taipei — both claim theirs is the real, legitimate museum. It's a story steeped in history and the cross-strait rivalry.
The imprisonment of the ‘model villagers’: Two Uyghur sisters on what it means to lose their family and way of life
For the family of sisters Nursiman and Nur’iman, a local work brigade placed a small red plaque with five stars on it to the front gate of their house. The stars stood for “patriotism, honesty, education, hygiene, and harmony.” But in the end, that didn't stop the sisters' parents and brother from being sent to jail for reasons that remain murky to this day.
‘New infrastructure’ — China’s race for 5G and networked everything has a new catchphrase
China’s government is hyping the concept of “new infrastructure” — the massive deployment of 5G, industrial internet, and networked everything. What exactly are Beijing’s plans, and will U.S. sanctions on Huawei and other Chinese firms put the kibosh on them?
SupChina Video
All the international brands that have apologized to China
The definitive list of international companies that have issued apologies to maintain their market access in China in recent years. Plus, a record of the even more widespread phenomenon of self-censorship for the Chinese market.
Society & Culture Spotlight
The gaokao: The grueling test that makes (or breaks) Chinese youth
China’s college entrance exam can propel young people to prosperity — or dismantle their dreams — and it faces mounting criticism and pressure to reform.
China’s first database to let couples check domestic abuse history before marriage
The eastern city of Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, has become the first Chinese city to roll out a program that allows soon-to-be married couples to check, before tying the knot, if their partners have a history of domestic violence.
China’s favorite spicy sauce brand did not actually cheat Tencent
China’s favorite hot sauce company was accused of not paying a $2.3 million advertising bill to internet giant Tencent. Now it turns out the company is innocent: Three people pretending to be marketing executives of the Guizhou Lao Gan Ma Company have been arrested for an elaborate scam.
Chinese trans woman wins sex discrimination lawsuit against employer in landmark victory
More than a year after she first began her legal fight, a transgender woman in Beijing has won her case against Chinese ecommerce platform Dangdang after the company fired her when she took a leave of absence for her gender confirmation surgery.
End of an era? A history of Chinese students in America
The Trump administration’s aggressive rhetoric against Chinese students is not unprecedented. But history tells us the U.S. will suffer for it.
Latest Columns
Viya, China’s most popular (and hardest-working) livestreamer
Chinese Lives is a weekly series that looks at notable figures from all eras of Chinese history. This week: Viya, the face of China's “ecommerce livestreaming” boom.
Badminton legend Lin Dan retires, HK Sevens canceled
In this week's China Sports Column: One of China's most decorated world champions hangs up his boots, Wu Lei is still mulling a transfer to the English Premier League, and COVID-19 has put a premature end to this year's World Rugby Sevens Series.
China’s two Palace Museums and their battle over legitimacy
China's two Palace Museums — one in Beijing, one in Taipei — both claim theirs is the real, legitimate museum. It's a story steeped in history and the cross-strait rivalry.
The imprisonment of the ‘model villagers’: Two Uyghur sisters on what it means to lose their family and way of life
For the family of sisters Nursiman and Nur’iman, a local work brigade placed a small red plaque with five stars on it to the front gate of their house. The stars stood for “patriotism, honesty, education, hygiene, and harmony.” But in the end, that didn't stop the sisters' parents and brother from being sent to jail for reasons that remain murky to this day.