Is Barbie secretly a communist? Elon Musk’s mother models for a
Chinese tech company. And Hong Kong places
a bounty on 8 people overseas. That and more on this week’s China news headlines.
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
This episode is sponsored by Surfshark. Whenever you go online, you should be using a VPN like
Surfshark to cover your tracks and protect your identity. I’ll tell you more at the end.
Is Barbie a Communist?! After all, pink is only a shade away from red.
And believe me, that won’t be the stupidest thing you hear today.
Because the Barbie movie has been banned in Vietnam
It’s because of this map.
You see those dotted lines next to Asia.
Apparently the Vietnamese government thought that was showing China’s 9-dash line,
China’s absurd claim to basically everything inside, including the waters around Vietnam.
So yes, the Vietnam government saw this, and thought it was
clearly making a political statement. By the way, the Barbie only has 8 dash.
They couldn’t even do their research right.
But speaking of movies and China, the Pentagon is cracking down on
Hollywood studios that try to appease China. According to new rules, “The DOD ‘will not provide
production assistance if a production complies with a demand from China, especially censorship.
Now if you’re like me, you’re wondering what work the Department of Defense does
with Hollywood anyway. Besides possibly making the next live action GI Joe film, that is.
I mean, there’s apparently a Barbie movie, so…
What’s that, Shelley? They already have a GI Joe film…franchise?
We officially live in the weirdest timeline.
Anyway, according to Politico, “The Pentagon has allowed filmmakers to shoot their projects on
military bases, Navy ships, or other locations, and weighs in on filmmaking processes. The
military benefits from positive portrayals of service members, and moviemakers benefit from
authentic settings and technical expertise.” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in China.
Right before she left, she talked on the phone with China’s ambassador to the US, Xie Feng.
The US called it a “frank and productive discussion”
about “issues of concern” for the US. And there are plenty of concerns. The call
came just as China imposed export restrictions on 2 metals used in semiconductors and solar panels.
China didn’t say why it imposed the restrictions.
But many see it as retaliation for the US putting restrictions on microchips being sold to China.
While we don’t know if they discussed the metal restrictions, the timing makes it seem likely.
And after the break, is China using Elon Musk’s mom to gain influence?
Welcome back. Is China trying to buy more Musk influence?
That’s the question floating around after it was revealed his mother, Maye Musk, who’s a model,
signed a contract with Chinese tech company Oppo to be the brand ambassador
for its Find X6 Pro smartphone. The South China Morning Post got
leaked videos and photos showing Maye Musk promoting the smartphone.
In the video, she shares photos of her three kids, and says this
“I hope it takes them to space and beyond.” As of this recording, Oppo hasn’t officially
released the commercial or any of the photos associated with the leak.
But the Musks certainly are making a good deal off the China market.
Hong Kong has put a bounty on the heads of eight Hong Kong democracy activists.
Hong Kong police announced on Monday a bounty of $1 million
Hong Kong dollars, which is about $120,000 US dollars, per person.
The activists were accused of violating Hong Kong’s vague National Security Law,
which was imposed by Beijing in 2020. The crazy thing about that law is it
applies to everyone anywhere in the world no matter where they are.
“The eight people…currently reside across Australia, the U.K., and the U.S.,
which have each condemned Hong Kong’s efforts to silence dissidents.”
I doubt those countries will extradite them.
However, they do have to be careful when they travel to
other countries in case those countries have extradition treaties with China.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee said the 8 activists would be "pursued for life".
And speaking of John Lee, there’s a bit of a conflict over Lee traveling to the US.
Lee has been sanctioned by the US since 2020 for his role as Hong Kong Secretary of Security.
But there’s an APEC meeting in San Francisco in November,
And China has made it clear it wants Lee to go to it, despite the sanctions.
There was some confusion after the State Department told Congress he *would* be invited.
It later walked that back, but remained ambiguous about whether it would invite him in the future.
Several US lawmakers and activist groups have asked the State
Department to make sure he doesn’t come. I say the US should strike a deal with him.
He can come to APEC if Hong Kong drops all its National Security Law charges. That would mean
about 260 people arrested in Hong Kong, as well as all those wanted outside Hong Kong,
would have their charges dropped. That way, the US will be standing up
for democracy, and Lee will get his symbolic visit to the US. Win-win.
Now this will shock you, but apparently big banks are kind of scummy.
US and UK lawmakers are accusing the bank HSBC of preventing people fleeing
Hong Kong from getting their money. HSBC has said it’s just complying with
local laws. You know, the kind of laws that say democracy activists will be pursued for life.
And after the break, the EU is cutting trade ties with China.
Welcome back
The US is concerned over China’s influence in UNESCO.
So much so the US has decided to rejoin.
The US got approved last Friday after a majority of members voted in favor of
letting the US back in. And now that it’s back,
China is warning the US against “confrontation and divisions”.
The US pulled out of UNESCO under the Trump administration in 2018. It cited
problems with members not paying, bias against Israel, and the need for reform.
The EU may be finally wising up on China.
They’ve agreed in principle to a de-risking strategy on China.
Leaders from the 27-country bloc were united around the concept,
but the details still have to be hammered out. After how Europe got burnedbecause it was
dependent on energy from Russia last year, Europe is trying to avoid a similar situation with China.
Especially since China continually threatens to invade Taiwan and start World War III.
And this episode has been sponsored by Surfshark.
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.