China

US Congress Agrees to Stricter Due Diligence on Chinese Firms

3Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

US Congress Agrees to Stricter Due Diligence on Chinese Firms

Chinese companies listed in the United States, such as Baidu and Alibaba, may lose that listing if US regulators are denied access to accounting. After the Senate, the House of Representatives has also agreed to tighten the rules. President Donald Trump has yet to sign the bill. The legislation provides for an adjustment period. Penalties are only imposed if the rules are not complied with for three years. With the law, Washington is intensifying its investigation into ties that Chinese companies have with Beijing. Senator John Kennedy emphasized while discussing the proposal that it is dangerous that Chinese companies are allowed to ignore the rules that American companies must comply with. In addition to the obligation to have the books checked, the US also wants to know whet...

China Condemns Massive Departure From Hong Kong Opposition

12Nov

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, Hong Kong, News

China Condemns Massive Departure From Hong Kong Opposition

China has condemned the decision of the Hong Kong opposition to leave parliament en masse. "We want to warn these opposition members. They are making a mistake if they want to use this to encourage radical resistance and then ask foreign forces for help to bring Hong Kong back into chaos," said the Hong Kong office representing the Chinese government. Prodemocratic opposition members in Hong Kong announced this week that they are giving up their parliamentary seats. They are protesting against the decision to take away their seats from four colleagues. Beijing had empowered the Hong Kong authorities to impeach parliamentarians who support independence or who are 'dangerous to the state' without judicial intervention. The opposition took action in the parliament of the metropoli...

Muscular Language at the Celebration of Chinese Aid North Korea

23Oct

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, News, North Korea

Muscular Language at the Celebration of Chinese Aid North Korea

China will never let its sovereignty, security or development interests undermine. Chinese President Xi Jinping said this in a speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. Xi spoke at the 70th anniversary of the deployment of Chinese troops to the Korean Peninsula during the war in 1950-1953. Beijing helped North Korea fight South Korea, backed by the US and the UN. "Let the world know that the Chinese people are now organized and not to be trifled with," Xi quoted the founder of the People's Republic, Mao. In October 1950, Chinese troops crossed the Green River that forms the border with North Korea. The Chinese soldiers received close air support from Russian aircraft. In all, Beijing sent 2 million soldiers to the peninsula. The war ended in a truce in 1953 w...

Beijing Receives First International Flight in Five Months

3Sep

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, News

Beijing Receives First International Flight in Five Months

An international passenger flight landed in Beijing on Thursday for the first time in more than five months. Airport workers in protective suits greeted passengers who had left the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on an Air China plane. The international airport of the Chinese capital was closed since March 23 due to the corona pandemic. Flights were diverted to other cities. With strict security measures, passengers from Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Greece, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Canada are now welcome again. According to the Chinese authorities, the virus is sufficiently under control in these countries. During a trial period, up to five hundred passengers are allowed to travel on direct international flights to Beijing daily, according to state television. Anyone boardin...

Tensions Between the US and China Over Tech Companies Caused Reticence Among Investors

7Aug

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, China, News, US

Tensions Between the US and China Over Tech Companies Caused Reticence Among Investors

The mounting tensions between the United States and China over Chinese tech companies caused some reticence among investors. Tech investor Prosus was therefore under pressure on the Damrak. Better-than-expected export figures from China and Germany kept losses limited. The essential American jobs report, which will be released later today, was also awaited. The AEX index on Beursplein 5 recorded 0.3 percent in the negative at 556.63 points around noon. The MidKap lost 0.7 percent to 782.10 points. The stock exchanges in Frankfurt and London fell to 0.4 percent. Paris fell 0.7 percent. Prosus (minus 4.8 percent) was the most significant drop in the AEX. US President Donald Trump has signed a presidential decree banning US companies' transactions with ByteDance, the Chinese compa...

Australian Police Warn of False Kidnapping of Chinese Students

27Jul

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Australia, China, News

Australian Police Warn of False Kidnapping of Chinese Students

The Australian police warn of a strange form of fraud with mainly Chinese students as targets. These students are forced to pretend they have been kidnapped to get money off their family in China. At least eight such false kidnappings have already been reported this year, New South Wales police said on SBS. The fraud is as follows. A Chinese student receives a call from someone claiming to be from the Chinese government. The student is told that he risks being arrested in China. To avoid this, the student must transfer money or stage his kidnapping and ask money from his family in China. That family must then pay a certain sum for the student's release. The police estimate that the people behind the kidnapping fraud have extorted 3.2 million Australian dollars. One family paid ...

China Orders Closure of US Consulate in Chengdu

24Jul

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, News, US

China Orders Closure of US Consulate in Chengdu

The Chinese government has ordered the closure of the US Consulate in Chengdu. It is, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, "a legal and necessary response to unjustified US action," The South China Morning Post reported. Beijing responds to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. Washington decided to do this because hackers, with support from the People's Republic, would gather confidential information from companies in the US, among others. The countermeasure, according to Beijing, is "following international law, customs in international relations and diplomatic practice". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated the allegations in a speech Thursday, saying the Houston consulate is a hub of espionage and "theft of intellectual property." The consulate is du...

China Has Called Pre-Election By the Pro-Democratic Opposition Parties in Hong Kong

14Jul

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, Hong Kong, News

China Has Called Pre-Election By the Pro-Democratic Opposition Parties in Hong Kong

China has called the pre-election by the pro-democratic opposition parties in Hong Kong a "serious provocation". Some of the campaigns therein may have violated the new national security law introduced for Hong Kong. "This is a serious provocation against the current electoral system," said the Hong Kong office that the Chinese government represented Monday evening. More than 600,000 voters participated in a pre-election of the opposition in Hong Kong. They chose candidates for the upcoming elections despite warnings from government officials that the pre-election may conflict with the new legislation. However, that did not seem to deter voters. The initiative aims to select the candidates of the pro-democracy opposition to participate in the parliamentary elections in Septembe...

TikTok is Withdrawing From Hong Kong the US Wants to Ban the App

7Jul

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, Hong Kong, News

TikTok is Withdrawing From Hong Kong the US Wants to Ban the App

China continues to give TikTok headaches. The originally Chinese video app is now withdrawing from Hong Kong, fearing that under the new security law it would have to share activist data with Beijing. The US Secretary of State is not at all reassured that TikTok could actually keep those data out of Beijing's hands. "In light of the events, we have decided to discontinue operations in Hong Kong," a TikTok spokesperson told Reuters news agency. The decision followed after a controversial new security law passed in Hong Kong criminalizing "secession, subversion and foreign interference". With this measure, TikTok wants to make clear to the world that it has nothing to do with the Chinese government, which has tightened its grip on Hong Kong. The new security law may oblige techn...

Number of Corona Infections in Beijing Continues to Rising

19Jun

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

China, News

Number of Corona Infections in Beijing Continues to Rising

After the new outbreak of the coronavirus in Beijing, the number of infected people has further increased. According to the authorities, 25 more infections were found on Friday. Since the new outbreak on a wholesale market in the Chinese capital became known, the number of infected people has risen to 183. In response to the new outbreak that started last week on the Xinfadi wholesale market in the city, authorities announced the second-highest level of security on Tuesday, partially shutting down Beijing. The flights to and from the capital have been drastically reduced. Bus traffic to other provinces was also stopped. People are no longer allowed to leave the city. If travel is necessary, a negative corona test should be available. Nationally, China reported a total of 32 ne...