More than ever, what happens in China affects everyone, everywhere. Far from the monolith that China is often perceived as in the West — it is a vast country of 34 provinces & autonomous regions comprising 1.4 billion people. Politically, China may have a one-party system, but its domestic politics are more complicated than meet the eye. You can’t understand the world without understanding China.
From books to online posts, the Hong Kong government is cracking down on any information perceived to threaten national security after a new law was imposed by Beijing. Police are claiming powers to decrypt and censor online messages, and technology companies, including Facebook and Twitter, are refusing to comply.
Tsinghua University law professor Xu Zhangrun, one of the most prominent critics within China of the leadership of Xi Jinping, has been detained in Beijing. Two other critics, Peking University legal scholar Xu Zhiyong and property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, have been missing for months.
The U.S. blocked a shipment of hair extensions and accessories from China on the grounds that the products may have been made using forced labor in an internment camp in Xinjiang.
The government of Hong Kong has essentially banned a protest slogan because it carries “secessionist intent,” which is a crime under the new national security law forced on the city by Beijing.
On the first day of Beijing’s new national security law in Hong Kong, 10 protesters were arrested on charges related to the law, and a chill swept over the city. Meanwhile, the U.K. and Taiwan made plans to welcome fleeing Hongkongers.
At around midnight Hong Kong time last night, China’s central government released the text of the new national security law. The law has already intimidated several Hong Kong civil society actors to publicly withdraw from their roles as opposition forces.
The latest depressing report about the plight of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang comes from the Associated Press, which reports on a “widespread and systematic” campaign of forced birth control. Some experts are calling the campaign “demographic genocide."
Beijing struggles to reopen, but fine-tuned quarantine systems and contact tracing allow for rapid government response.
Beijing has brought its recent COVID-19 outbreak “under control,” China’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, said at a regular news conference on June 18. A day before the press briefing, the Chinese capital confirmed 21 new infections, which brought the total number of cases discovered during the latest outbreak to 158.
Children in the Chinese capital were supposed to return to school today, but after a handful of COVID-19 cases were found on June 11 and 12, those plans were canceled. SupChina reported last week on all the ways the city went back into lockdown after nearly two coronavirus-free months, as soon as just three people were diagnosed with COVID-19.