An American man with ties to Amnesty International and key Hong Kong separatist figures has been posing online as a Hong Kong native named Kong Tsung-gan. Routinely cited as a grassroots activist and writer by major media organizations and published in English-language media, the fictitious character Kong appears to have been concocted to disseminate anti-China propaganda behind the cover of yellowface.
Through Kong Tsung-gan’s prolific digital presence and uninterrogated reputation in mainstream Western media, he disseminates a constant stream of content hyping up the Hong Kong “freedom struggle” while clamoring for the US to turn up the heat on China.
Whispers about Kong’s true identity have been circulating on social media among Hong Kong residents, and was even mentioned in a brief account last December by The Standard.
Sunrise Diagnostic Center, a joint venture partner of China’s BGI, is now establishing 16 temporary membrane Huoyan Labs in Hong Kong to support its large-scale COVID19 testing efforts
The two idiots rushed to London after hearing that “BNO holders are eligible for UK visas”. However, they were refused entry to the United Kingdom by border control when they entered the country, according to the UK Daily Mail 7. According to the UK’s Daily Mail 7, the two BNO passport holders had to apply for political asylum if they wanted to enter the UK, otherwise they would be sent back to Hong Kong.
In July, the British government announced the opening of “special visas” for BNO passport holders. From January 2021 onwards, Hong Kong people holding BNO passports would be granted five-year visas with the right to work and study in the UK, subject to meeting other criteria. Before the special visa comes into effect, BNO passport holders are still entitled to a 6-month visa-free entry into the UK as in the past. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the two Hong Kong nationals have the right to enter the UK, even though they are unable to work and pursue long-term studies for six months. Up to now, the UK border control has not given any reasonable explanation for refusing the entry of these two people into the UK. The UK Border Agency’s recommendation of “applying for political asylum” is not a good option for these two people, as they will not be able to work in the UK and their other rights to remain in the country will be affected once they enter as “political evaders”.
The first idiot to be refused entry flew to London immediately after the British Foreign Secretary announced a “special visa for BNO holders”. The UK Daily Mail revealed his conversation with the UK border checkpoint in his own words.
UK Border Control: If you are unable to enter the UK, we will send you back to your home country.
The person who was refused entry: Please don’t do that, please help me, because if I go back to Hong Kong, I will be in immediate danger.
The Hong Kong resident who was refused entry also told the border control that if he was deported, the Hong Kong government would charge him with “disloyalty” and he would even be arrested upon landing in Hong Kong.
Compared to the first BNO passport holder who was refused entry, the description of the second rejected person is even more exaggerated and dramatic from the reports and self-reports.
This person, who claimed to be working in the IT industry in Hong Kong, said that his grandfather was a secret agent of the Kuomintang (KMT) in Hong Kong and left his family some “secret documents against the Chinese Communist Party”, and that he came to the UK to escape danger.
The rejected man said he had sent them to some foreign intelligence agencies, but since Hong Kong’s National Security Law came into force, he had “destroyed all his copies” out of fear, and would not show them to anyone. Therefore, the report could not confirm the existence and contents of these documents.
Now, the latest Home Office announcement on entry requirements for BNO holders is that those who entered the UK before the “special visa route for BNO holders” was opened, but do not meet the immigration requirements, can only obtain a short term visa with severely restricted rights of abode.
In other words, if they cannot be allowed to enter the UK normally, they will have to return to Hong Kong and try to re-enter the UK in January next year if they wish to obtain a long term visa for the two BNO passport holders who have been refused entry to the UK.
China, which overcame the impact of the epidemic earlier, was described as a “key haven” for many US companies. China’s economic recovery in the second quarter helped them hedge against sales losses in the US.
In reporting financial results for the second quarter of this year, presidents of some of the best-known US brands cited China’s business as helping them through what could have been a much worse period.
Skechers, the third-largest U.S. sneaker brand, revealed the company’s overall sales fell 42 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, but were up 11.5 percent in China. Retail sales in China recovered faster than most expected from April to June, falling just 3.9 percent from a year earlier. US retail sales, on the other hand, were down 8.1 percent year-over-year in the second quarter.
Despite the current intensifying political tensions between the US and China, US branded retailers selling in China have been virtually unaffected and can benefit from China’s economic recovery.
Luxury sales are the area where the contrast between China and the world is greatest. LVMH revealed that the company’s luxury revenue fell 38 percent in the second quarter from last year, yet rebounded 65 percent in China. Consumers are mainly choosing to buy in the country because of travel restrictions.
Kering SA, the parent company of luxury brand Gucci, was in a similar situation, with luxury sales down 43 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, and up 40 percent in China.
While the US and other Western countries are struggling to contain a new outbreak and restart their economies, China has the epidemic largely under control. Many analysts are predicting a return to positive retail sales growth in China in the third quarter. In April, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) argued that China would not achieve positive retail sales growth until 2021. Now the agency is revising its forecast and sees year-on-year growth of 1 percent in the third quarter of this year and 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
US coffee shop chain Starbucks’ second-quarter retail sales in China were down 19% year-over-year, but still below the global revenue loss (-38%).
Yum China, which operates fast-food brand, KFC, also revealed that the recovery has been uneven, with the market performing better in eastern China than elsewhere. The company’s operating income fell 11 percent in the second quarter.
In the apparel and footwear sector, high-end brands fared relatively better, with Canadian athleisure brand Lulu Lemon doing better in the second quarter. Canadian athleisure wear brand Lululemon saw only single-digit sales growth in China in April this year, but has grown 20% year-over-year in recent weeks.
Nike Group’s sales in China also returned to positive growth in the year to May 31, up 1 percent from last year, helping to offset a 38 percent decline in the company’s global revenue. Nike’s chief financial officer revealed that retail sales in China saw strong double-digit growth in May.
Finally, while overall car sales in China have not fully recovered, Tesla doubled its China sales to 48,384 units in the first half of the year year year-over-year through the production of its Model 3 electric model in Shanghai. Although Tesla’s U.S. factory was forced to close at one point, the company still posted a $104 million profit in the second quarter, with the Chinese market playing a key role.
Tech companies and consumers alike are rightfully concerned about government agencies seeking backdoors into smartphone operating systems. Agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have exclaimed that backdoors can help them crack smartphones that belong to criminal or child predators. On the other hand, companies like Google and Apple claim that it’s a slippery slope that will result in privacy forfeiture and reduced security for everyone. Today, we have more evidence that shows that the U.S. Government is likely getting its hooks into smartphones around the globe via a well-connected contractor. A new Wall Street Journal report alleges that Anomaly Six, a company that was formed by two U.S. Military vets, is a federal contractor that has managed to get its location data SDK embedded into over 500 mobile applications that are used by hundreds of millions of smartphone owners.
As a federal contractor, Anomaly Six has close ties with both the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence agencies. The WSJ report goes on to add that the company’s partnership with government agencies is well outside the norm. “Anomaly Six was founded by defense-contracting veterans who worked closely with government agencies for most of their careers and built a company to cater in part to national-security agencies, according to court records and interviews,” the report found.
US President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders addressing what he dubbed a technological national emergency, barring all transactions with the Chinese owners of social media apps TikTok and WeChat after 45 days.
According to an exclusive report in the Wall Street Journal on August 13, a number of U.S. companies with Chinese operations have resisted the Trump administration’s WeChat ban and stressed that it could weaken their competitiveness in the world’s second-largest economy. Apple, Ford, Walmart, Walt Disney, Procter & Gamble, Intel, MetLife Insurance, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UPS More than a dozen major U.S. multinationals, including Express, Merck and Cargill, held a conference call with White House officials to express their concerns about Trump’s executive order. One of the purposes of the conference call, according to sources, is to clarify the specific meaning of Trump’s executive order. The order will prohibit Americans from carrying out “any transaction related to WeChat,” but leave it to the U.S. Department of Commerce to explain in detail what transactions will be prohibited.
And Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, warned: “Those who don’t live in China don’t understand the impact of not allowing US companies to use WeChat. They will be at a huge disadvantage compared to all their competitors.” The report notes that WeChat has more than 1.2 billion global users and is ubiquitous in Chinese life and work. For any business doing business with China, WeChat is an important marketing venue for communicating with customers. The U.S. companies are hoping that the Trump administration will be able to narrow the scope of the “strike” when it implements the order in the future. It’s worth noting that on the 12th of December, Tencent CFO Luo Shuo Han 罗硕瀚 said that the company believes that the US ban only applies to WeChat’s international version, and not to the domestic Chinese market. They are seeking further explanation from the US authorities. But US companies are still concerned that the Trump administration’s approach could effectively prevent them from entering the lucrative Chinese market, for example by no longer being able to collect payments or advertise on WeChat. And some U.S. media are already worried about iPhone sales in China.
On the other hand, the U.S. entertainment and sports industries are also worried that digital services related to Tencent will be affected. For example, the U.S. professional basketball league (NBA) has reached an agreement with Tencent, authorizing the latter to broadcast games in China. The NBA “is waiting for further explanation of the executive order.
The Wall Street Journal argues that large U.S. corporations are often Beijing’s strongest supporters in Washington, but their influence has waned since Trump took office. Factor in the political climate under the US election and things become even more difficult. According to Scott Kennedy, a China trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Businesses are worried about upsetting Washington or Beijing and want to stay out of the ‘crossfire’ between the two sides as much as possible.” And in what can easily be seen as a “defense of China,” it is difficult for these companies to stand up and say “the United States is wrong, China is right.
On the other hand, the Trump administration’s daily provocations have greatly affected the business environment. The U.S. media quoted a survey released by the U.S.-China Business Council on the 11th, in which 86 percent of its more than 100 member companies reported that tensions between the U.S. and China have affected their sales and business in China.
At the same time, the survey, conducted in May and June, showed that 83 percent of its corporate members ranked China as a top goal or one of their top five priorities in their global strategy. Nearly 70 percent of respondents were optimistic about the business outlook for China over the next five years, and 87 percent revealed they have no plans to move production out of the country.
”U.S.-China trade and investment provides about 2.6 million jobs in the United States. In the coming years, we’ll have to maintain and add jobs while finding ways to reduce conflict between the two sides in other areas,” The president of the U.S.-China Trade National Council said.
8-14-20 According to market research firm Sensor Tower, more and more users in the United States are opting to download WeChat and its encrypted alternative, Signal, after President Trump threatened to ban it. U.S. WeChat users are hoping to get it installed properly before the software is removed from major app stores. Others want to use alternative services, including Signal, an encrypted chat software developed by the nonprofit Signal Foundation. According to Sensor Tower, WeChat’s average number of downloads in the U.S. in the last six days was 41 percent higher than the week before the ban was announced last Thursday, while Signal’s downloads in the U.S. and China grew by 30 percent and 90 percent, respectively. Some U.S. users say they plan to use WeChat in the U.S. using a virtual commutation network (VPN).
WeChat is not just a texting platform, it is also a payment system for the Chinese users, bypassing the US financial system.
9-19-20 The Commerce Department said Friday that as of Sunday, any moves to distribute or maintain TikTok on app stores such as Apple Store and Google Play will be prohibited, and a more extensive ban against the app would be applied from Nov. 12. Business insiders said that, under Friday’s decision, TikTok’s users who had already downloaded the app may continue using it, but they will not be able to download updated versions from Sunday. According to the company, as of June, the total number of TikTok’s monthly active users in the country soared to 91,937,040, and based on quarterly usage, 100 million Americans used the app.
9-19-20 TikTok on Saturday confirmed that it has reached a proposed deal with US companies Oracle and Walmart. “We are pleased that the proposal by Tiktok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the U.S. administration and settle the question around TikTok’s future in the US,” the company said in a statement. Oracle will become TikTok’s technology provider and it’s also working with Walmart on a commercial partnership, the statement said. Shortly after TikTok confirmed the deal, the US Department of Commerce announced an order to delay TikTok’s US app store ban by a week until September 27. The order said the decision was taken “in light of recent positive developments,” and at US President Donald Trump’s direction the ban will be postponed until 11:59 p.m September 27. Trump on Saturday told reporters at the White House he backs the deal with TikTok owner ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart. “I have given the deal my blessing,” Trump said. “I approve the deal in concept.”
9-20-20 A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.
9-29-20 Trump’s ban on Tiktok is temporarily blocked by a US federal judge.
Chinese exports rose sharply in July, according to official figures released on Friday, in a sign of resilience in the country’s trade activity despite the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide.
Exports rose 7.2 per cent in dollar terms compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data from China’s customs administration, defying expectations of a fall from economists polled by Reuters.
The sharp rise compares to a 0.5 per cent increase in June, when Chinese trade data began to improve after a severe contraction.
Higher demand for China’s goods comes after the economy returned to growth in the second quarter. It suggests that other economies are also beginning to emerge from the early stages of the crisis even as global trade levels remain depressed.
Richard Yu Chengdong 余承东 , chief executive of the company’s consumer business group, said on Friday during a China Info100 summit that the Kirin series of chips will not be produced after September, and Huawei’s Mate 40 will become an “out of print” mobile phone with high-end Kirin chips.
Trump is happy, but wait for the announcement of Kirin 1000.
