Google is accused of treason.
Protests erupt in a Hong Kong mall.
And US companies are leaving China
That and more on this week’s China news headlines.
This is China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
This week’s China news headlines.
Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder and billionaire tech investor,
has questioned Google’s “seemingly treasonous decision”
of working with China on artificial intelligence.
Thiel made those comments at the National Conservatism Conference.
He also went on Fox News.
“The weird fact, that's indisputable,
is that Google is working with Communist China,
but not the US military on its breakthrough AI technology.”
“But why is that?”
“Well that's the question.”
Now Google has denied working with China’s military.
However, their work in China is still benefiting China’s military.
For example, scientists from Google,
along with other US tech giants,
have been working with Chinese universities,
researching and developing what’s called “dual use” technology.
That’s technology that has both civilian and military use.
Like these touch screens that can also be used for jet fighters.
Another example of dual use technology?
Artificial intelligence.
So I agree:
This is a serious problem.
And even President Trump said his administration will “take a look.”
Now Peter Thiel is not a disinterested third party.
He’s a founding board member of Facebook,
which just happens to be one of Google’s main competitors.
But just because he’d be happy to see Google go down,
doesn’t mean he’s wrong about what Google’s doing in China.
Let’s just also keep an eye on what Facebook
and other US tech companies are doing in China.
But Google may be trying to win some good karma.
Or at least one Google security employee is.
Google has warned Hong Kong protest champion Joshua Wong
that he needs to watch out for government backed hackers.
Wong posted the warning on his Twitter account.
Now Google didn’t say which government to watch out for.
I’ll give you one guess.
Hong Kong has been engulfed in protests over the past month.
People there are afraid the Chinese Communist Party
is trying to destroy their freedoms.
But there’s one serious flaw with these protests.
It’s really hot and humid in Hong Kong.
Which is why after we ate dinner at New Town Plaza,
a mall in Sha Tin a few weeks ago,
Shelley had the brilliant idea they should start holding protests inside,
because of the delightful air conditioning.
Well, someone must have been paying attention.
This is from July 14.
In that very same mall.
Ok, so the protesters didn’t want to go to the mall.
Or at least that’s what they told their parents.
Earlier in the day, there was a protest march to Sha Tin,
a very residential area of Hong Kong.
And then riot police showed up and chased the protesters into this high-end mall.
Probably because they wanted everyone to enjoy
the cool, refreshing air conditioning inside.
Definitely nothing bad is about to happen...
Organizers say there were more than 100,000 people at the protest on Sunday.
Police say there were only 28,000.
I don’t know what’s accurate, but either way,
that’s a lot of people to fit in that shopping mall.
Which turned into a pitched battle between police and protesters,
after police trapped protesters in the mall and wouldn’t let them leave.
Umbrellas were flying.
So was pepper spray.
The amazing part is, there was no looting.
And can I just say how rare it is for a protest inside a mall
not to involve looting?
Police say they arrested 37 protesters and 11 policemen were injured.
In this footage from Hong Kong Free Press,
you can see what appears to be a journalist intervening in protesters
beating up a plain clothes policeman.
And then dozens more journalists mob the guy for pictures.
The Hong Kong government has of course condemned the violence.
But the important thing to remember is,
at least there was air conditioning.
One of the protesters’ demands is for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam
to step down.
Well, according to the Financial Times, she tried.
Several times.
But “Beijing has refused to let her stand down.”
The Financial Times says it’s because Beijing considers
the situation in Hong Kong to be her fault,
and that no one else would want to step into her shoes.
Yes, that does make sense.
But I think the real reason is that the Chinese Communist Party
doesn’t want to set a precedent that protesting can get a leader to step down.
Not that anyone would ask that of Xi Jinping.
Everyone loves him.
It’s required.
And just days after the mall protest,
thousands of older Hongkongers marched through the streets
in what was called a “silver haired” protest against the extradition bill.
Just look at these rioters.
Judging by the protests over the past month,
so far the Hong Kong government has alienated young people,
old people, lawyers, mothers, and even mall shoppers.
Is there anyone left?
Remember former National Security Adviser Susan Rice?
Well, she’s condemning a Chinese diplomat as a “racist disgrace” for his tweets.
The tweets, which have since been deleted, had to do with Xinjiang.
Last week, 22 countries signed a letter condemning
the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
But then, “Ambassadors representing 37 countries praised China
for its ‘remarkable achievements in the field of human rights.’”
Among those 37 countries were stellar human rights upholders
like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Syria.
Countries where they have a right to violate your humanity.
Anyway, the Chinese diplomat Lijian Zhao
went on Twitter to call that letter of support for China
a “big slap on the face of the US and its western cohorts.”
And in a classic tactic of changing the conversation,
Zhao went on to talk about how in Washington DC,
you know “the white” don’t go to certain areas
because of the “black and Latin”.
Now you might be thinking that’s racist.
But I’m just wondering why a top Chinese diplomat
would have a Twitter account.
Doesn’t he know Twitter is banned in China?
Bad news if your dream job is working at Huawei:
You have terrible judgment.
Also, Huawei is planning extensive layoffs in the US.
It is kind of hard to operate in a country
where you company has effectively been banned.
The Trump administration banned Huawei over national security concerns.
It’s now considering maybe lifting part of the ban,
in certain cases,
where there’s no security threat.
But it’s still basically a ban.
American and European companies are fleeing China.
According to a survey,
80% of American companies in China are planning to leave,
while 67% of European Union companies are.
And the Chinese economy is taking a hit.
According to Business Insider,
China’s growth is at a 27-year low.
But the Chinese regime knows how to tackle its problems head on.
By detaining another Canadian citizen,
plus 12 Taiwanese citizens.
The China-Canada relationship has been a bit frosty
since Canada detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou last December.
She’s accused of violating US sanctions on Iran.
According to Globe and Mail,
China has detained at least 13 Canadians since then.
As for the Taiwanese citizens, well,
the Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan a part of China,
so maybe in their view,
they’re just detaining Chinese citizens.
Which to be fair, the Communist Party is very good at.
Speaking of Taiwan being considered a part of China,
Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu will be running in the 2020
Taiwanese presidential election against current president Tsai Ing-wen.
Han supports closer ties with Beijing.
According to the New York Times,
“Han has promoted the view that Taiwan
and China belong to the same country,
and had argued that closer ties with China would lift Taiwan’s economy.”
And he also travelled to China earlier this year,
“where he met with top Communist Party officials
in the former British colony of Hong Kong.”
Beijing has always promoted the one country two systems model
they have in Hong Kong as a way of potentially governing Taiwan under Chinese rule.
And you can see how well it’s working in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-Wen was in New York last week.
And outside her hotel, a group of pro Beijing protesters,
waving the American and Chinese flags,
started attacking a group of Taiwanese supporters.
They jumping him!
That kind of behavior should be flagged.
So, keep your eye on the upcoming election in Taiwan.
It’s going to be interesting.
And now it’s time for me to answer a question from one of you—
a fan who support China Uncensored with a dollar or more per episode,
by contributing through Patreon.
CaptDantastic asks,
“Wasn't the extradition law Hong Kong was trying to pass
comparable to Canada's agreement with the US concerning the Huawei exec?
Basically bringing a person to justice to another country
where the law in the delivering country wasn't broken?
How come no one has spoken of the obvious hypocrisy of this?
Good question.
So there’s actually a pretty big difference
between the extradition agreements most countries have,
and the extradition bill that was being attempted in Hong Kong.
Extradition agreements are usually between two countries
that have similar legal systems.
That way, a suspect can get a fair trial after being extradited.
Or, I suppose, if both countries have really bad legal systems,
the suspect can get a totally unfair trial.
In the case of Hong Kong versus China,
Hong Kong has a British-style legal system that protects the rights of the accused.
Mainland China does not.
Its courts have a 99.9% conviction rate,
which means that wrongly accused people
almost never get a successful defense.
Hong Kongers don’t want to be subject to that system.
And it’s not just dissidents in Hong Kong that are nervous.
Many businesspeople are freaked out,
since operating in China typically requires bribes.
So a lot of influential people in Hong Kong
could be at risk of being sent to a Chinese court
if the extradition bill gets passed.
And the Communist Party uses the law as a tool
to go after people for political reasons.
So the Hong Kong extradition bill
was not like the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou,
where she’ll have access to a fair legal system
after being extradited from Canada to the US.
Because at the end of the day,
even Meng would much rather be in a Canadian or American court
than in a Chinese court.
Thanks for your question.
And thanks to everyone watching!
We could not make this show without your support.
Whether it’s supporting us through Patreon
or just watching and sharing the show with your friends and family.
So thank you from me and everyone on the China Uncensored team.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell,
see you next time.