Danger in the South China Sea
China pushes for more nukes
And China censors Friends
That and more on this week’s China news headlines
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
This episode is sponsored by PC-Doctor Toolbox.
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Anyway, the South China Sea dispute heats up this week.
On Monday, 16 Chinese warplanes breached Malaysian air space.
Malaysia released these photos of the Chinese planes.
Malaysia scrambled jets to intercept the Chinese aircraft.
And is now summoning a Chinese envoy for a dressing down.
The Chinese embassy denied any wrongdoing. “The planes conducted routine flight training and
‘strictly abided by’ international law without violating airspace of other countries.”
Wait, are they saying they didn’t violate the airspace of other countries...because
Malaysia has been part of China since ancient times?
But it’s not just Malaysia having problems. Indonesia announced it’s
expanding its submarine fleet in response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea.
Indonesia is expanding its sub fleet from 4 to 12,
“in response to the Chinese communist regime’s repeated incursion into the disputed waters”.
It comes shortly after Indonesia’s fifth submarine sank in April.
And the Philippines lodged a formal diplomatic protest to
China’s illegal presence in the South China Sea.
The complaint is over “incessant deployment, prolonged presence,
and illegal activities of Chinese maritime assets and fishing vessels”.
It comes as China stationed its maritime militia ships just off an Island in the Spratlys this
week. The island is occupied by the Philippines. It’s about 300 miles from the Philippine mainland.
On top of that, earlier this year,
China sent hundreds of its maritime militia ships to Whitsun Reef,
which is also part of the Spratlys and within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
But really, why is everyone so afraid of the Chinese Communist Party?
Is it the military aggression? It’s the military aggression, isn’t it?
Well, that’s why Chinese leader Xi Jinping is calling for a more lovable image of China.
Xi told state-run Xinhua, “It is necessary to make friends, unite and win over the majority,
and constantly expand the circle of friends [when it comes to] international public opinion.”
This might look like warm and fuzzy language--China wants to be loveable!
It needs to expand its circle of friends! But it’s not. Because the whole point of Xi’s speech
was that the Chinese regime needed to do better at “public opinion struggle.”
“In such a struggle, there are friends in the form of compliant media and apologists,
and there are enemies in the form of recalcitrant journalists,
academics and politicians who insist on criticism—exactly what this external
push is designed to neutralize.” And nothing says “let's be friends”
quite like a targeted propaganda campaign aimed at silencing criticism!
The Chinese regime will “strengthen propaganda efforts to help foreigners understand the Chinese
Communist Party and the way it ‘strives for the happiness of the Chinese people.’”
Now you might be thinking, China is a country that uses gang rape as a form of torture.
How are they striving for the happiness of the Chinese people?
Well think about it—how much better will the rest of your day
seem compared to the gang rape?! Apocalyptic pollution is nothing compared to that!
Wow, I want to be friends with China already!
But if Xi Jinping really wants to present a lovable image of China, I suggest he start
comparing himself to one of the most lovable characters of all time: Winnie-the-Pooh!
Of course if friendship doesn’t work, my favorite Chinese state-run media,
the Global Times, says China needs more nukes. You know, for threatening the US.
The editorial came out just hours after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese
Vice Premier Liu He held an online meeting. I think the Chinese Communist Party doesn’t
like Tai. Earlier in May, she said in a Congressional hearing, “If China cannot or
will not adapt to international rules and norms, we must be bold and creative in taking steps
to level the playing field and enhance our own capabilities and partnerships.”
Bold and creative. Well, China’s answer to “bold and creative” is more nukes.
But maybe I’m being unfair. It’s possible that the Global Times article had nothing
to do with the trade meeting. Because it also came out after the US started
pushing for more investigations into the origin of the coronavirus outbreak.
But you know, speaking of my favorite Chinese state-run media, the Global Times,
I can’t help but think about the Washington Post.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post was very critical of anyone
pushing the absolutely insane conspiracy theory that the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab.
Here’s a headline from February 2020, Republican Senator Tom Cotton keeps
repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that was already debunked
Well, this week they quietly changed that headline
to Tom Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus fringe theory that scientists have disputed.
How about that?
It comes as the Washington Post has recently been
forced to admit the lab leak theory is actually credible.
You know, journalists should own up to their mistakes. What’s that Shelley? Oh,
it seems I made a mistake. And I’ll own up to it.
I said the original headline was from 2020. I was wrong. It’s from 1984.
But if you love disturbing coverups, stick around after the break.
Welcome back.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for the early days of the coronavirus pandemic,
China is reporting the very first case of a human getting a new bird flu.
Don’t worry, the Chinese government says the risk of large-scale spread is low.
And when have they ever lied?
Speaking of people without a clue, Tesla is setting up a data center in China.
All Chinese user data will be easily accessible by the Chinese government.
And after Tesla did the unethical thing the Chinese Communist Party wanted them to do,
the Party screwed Tesla anyway.
I feel like there’s a lesson here somewhere.
But speaking of crackdowns, Hong Kong.
Today is June 4. It’s the anniversary of when the Chinese Communist Party
sent their army to crush student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
And every year since then, Hong Kongers have held a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park,
to commemorate the thousands of victims.
But now that the Chinese government has passed its Hong Kong National Security Law,
it looks like they won’t be permitting these vigils ever again.
You know, because of health and safety reasons.
This year, it’s because of the coronavirus.
Next year, who knows? Maybe we’ll have a new bird flu?
It’s such a dangerous safety issue,
that anyone who attends can be thrown in prison for up to five years.
And to make sure that no one dangerously gathered in large groups in public,
the Hong Kong police mobilized 7000 officers to patrol the streets.
Looking for people who were wearing black, chanting slogans, or holding candles.
You can always spot a dangerous criminal by the candle they’re holding.
Speaking of dangerous Hong Kong criminals, Grandma Wong.
She’s an elderly Hong Kong democracy protester.
When we were there in 2019, we saw her at all the big protests.
But now, she’s been arrested for commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Obviously, her protest was a health and safety risk.
Even though...she was the only one at her protest.
But look, arresting this elderly woman was for her own good. I would never question my government
if they tell me they have to take away my liberty for everyone else’s safety.
Also for safety issues, two days ago authorities from the “Food
and Environmental Hygiene Department” shut down Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Square museum.
It was for illegally operating a “place of public entertainment.”
You’ve got to protect people’s safety!
And speaking of catastrophic assaults on human dignity—the Friends Reunion.
Apparently that was a big deal to some people.
But if you were watching it in China, you saw something a little different.
Because the cameos by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Korean boy band BTS were all censored.
That’s right, they’re all banned in China, so those bits got cut in the mainland.
But since the Friends Reunion was unwatchable, I’m not sure anyone noticed.
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I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.