China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-07-25
English news:
Chinese consulate in Houston closed following US order
"US federal agents and local law enforcement entered the Chinese consulate compound in Houston earlier Friday in a series of black SUVs, trucks, two white vans and a locksmith's van"
--- Hmm, a bit strange. Acc. to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations from 1963, article 27, that's not allowed. I wonder what the reasoning behind this is. Then again, China is not alien to infringing on the Vienna convention, either:
"The idea to close the Houston consulate emerged this spring after Chinese authorities refused to let the US officials leave Wuhan with the pouches, saying they had to search them before leaving"
--- Which makes it a bit ironic when: China accuses US of improper entry into consulate
South China Sea dispute: Australia says Beijing's claims have no legal basis
"Australia rejects China's claim to 'historic rights' or 'maritime rights and interests' as established in the 'long course of historical practice' in the South China Sea."
--- Ridiculous! Of course a Chinese fisherman who sailed through an area 500 years ago makes it eternally Chinese. That's only logical under the Mandate of Heaven.
"it did not accept Beijing's assertion that its sovereignty over the Paracels and the Spratlys was "widely recognised by the international community""
--- Totally irrelevant! Recognised or not, is not important. What counts is emperor Xi's will.
More: Australia declares 'there is no legal basis' to Beijing’s claims in South China Sea
Australian farmers call for separation between foreign relations and trade ties with China
"the sector was keen on strengthening relationships with Chinese businesses “to purely focus on trade ... almost like a separation of powers” from the diplomatic hostilities"
--- Obviously, Australian businessmen are as naive as their European fellows, if not more so. Or perhaps they are just idiots who haven't noticed that it's exactly the Chinese regime which uses economic measures to punish other countries for not being submissive enough.
"for the state of foreign relations with China not to impact trade, it would ultimately require Beijing to agree not to pull trade levers"
--- Good luck with that.
EU-China ties hinge on Germany’s political future as reign of Beijing ally Angela Merkel nears its end
"we will act using all the tools at our disposal to persuade our Chinese friends that the best route is to make an agreement"
--- The tools being: talk, talk, talk.
"Peter Altmaier, told POLITICO: “I have always been convinced, and I still believe, that change can be achieved through trade”"
--- Idiocy.
Chinese separatists backed by Steve Bannon push new coalition in Australia
"The pair inaugurated the movement in June by flying a fleet of propeller planes with flags draped between them over the Statue of Liberty in New York before Guo shed blood on a declaration that vowed to overthrow the Communist Party."
--- Rife in symbolism, but lacking in strategy & influence?
& if they gain influence, I suspect that half the members will be from Chinese state security. (Just like the East German Stasi was inside the GDR opposition movement.)
Google is wading into a market that China really wants to own
"A cheap, entry-level smartphone from Jio and Google (GOOGL) could be bad news for Chinese smartphone makers trying to break through with first-time Indian internet users"
--- Maybe. But more likely, the market will simply grow & all will share in it. More dangerous for Chinese phone makers is nationalist anti-China sentiment in India.
Zoom is backing away from China — and doubling down on India
"The company also has a sizable workforce in China, including its R&D department of over 700 employees"
--- As long as they have R&D & servers in China, they are under the thumb of the CCP & cannot be trusted. No matter how much they invest in India.
Falling rents in China a sign of economic uncertainty
"Average rents across China’s midsize to large cities fell more than 2 percent last month year-over year
[...] the third-straight month of year-over-year declines"
--- Not much, but a continuing trend. Then again:
"While there’s shrinking demand for rentals, there continues to be feverish demand for property among homebuyers"
--- Not sure about that. May be panic-buying from people who are afraid about the economic situation, or pseudo-sales by real estate developers who want to show that their situation is fine. Or both.
Video News:
--- China Uncensored: "China Floods: Dam Collapse"
--- DW News: "US and China in consulate tit-for-tat over spying allegations"
Deutsche Nachrichten:
Peking wehrt sich gegen amerikanisches Vorgehen
"In dem Pekinger Statement heißt es, das Konsulat sei Eigentum Chinas und amerikanische Beamte hätten diplomatischen Verträgen zufolge kein Recht, es zu betreten"
--- Womit sie offenbar ausnahmsweise mal recht haben. Andererseits natürlich schon witzig, daß ausgerechnet China sich über Protokollverletzungen anderer mokiert.
Was den/einen Grund für die Konsulatsschließung angeht: Chinesische Forscherin in Amerika verhaftet
Maas droht China direkt mit Konsequenzen
"Außenminister Heiko Maas hat China direkt mit Konsequenzen wegen des sogenannten Sicherheitsgesetzes für Hongkong gedroht."
--- Na, dann jetzt mal Butter bei die Fische, nachdem die EU erwartungsgemäß versagt hat, wie ist es mit der Aussetzung des Auslieferungsabkommens?
Oder doch alles nur leere Worte?
Ein Rechteck erregt Anstoß
"soweit sich dies technisch rekonstruieren lässt", sei die in Taiwan benutzte Flagge nie auf der Webseite des Auswärtigen Amtes verwendet worden"
--- Na, wenn das so ist, alles gar kein Problem. Hat also rein gar nichts mit einem Kotau vor China zu tun. Ganz bestimmt.
"Diese zusätzliche Distanzierung ist weder bei Hongkong ergänzt, der chinesischen Sonderverwaltungszone, noch bei umstrittenen Regionen wie den Palästinischen Gebieten. In beiden Fällen werden auch die Flaggen der Regionen gezeigt."
--- Tja, Herr Maas, immer noch auf dem Boden? Ist auch schwer, wieder hochzukommen, wenn man kein Rückgrat hat.
IT-Sicherheit: FBI warnt vor Hintertür in chinesischer Steuersoftware
"Das FBI vermeidet es zwar, direkt mit dem Finger auf die chinesische Regierung zu zeigen. Es konstatiert aber, dass Baiwang und Aisino ihre Steuersoftware unter der Aufsicht des National Information Security Engineering Center (NISEC) betrieben."
--- Sicher nur reiner Zufall.
Ex-Bayern-Star Sandro Wagner bestätigt Vertragsauflösung in China: "Angst, zu reisen"
"Aufgrund der noch immer vorherrschenden Corona-Krise wolle er seine Familie nicht allein in Deutschland lassen."
--- Einfach mitnehmen. Wo ist das Problem?
"Für Spieler gilt eine strikte Ausgangsperre. Treffen mit der Familie sind tabu"
--- Oh...
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