China makes demands on the US
Advertisers flee a pro-Beijing TV station
And a surprise star in the live action Mulan
That and more on this week’s China news headlines.
This is China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
This week’s China news headlines.
The Chinese Communist Party likes to think of itself
as the world’s next superpower.
And as a superpower,
China should have the right to make demands of other countries.
After all, that’s what’s made America so beloved.
The most recent demand?
The US must cancel a 2 billion dollar weapons sale to Taiwan.
Yes, I’m sure Trump will take that under advisement.
This is the first major sale of US arms to Taiwan in decades.
It includes American anti-aircraft missiles and battle tanks.
Which unfortunately, is not as good as Japan’s battleship girls.
Enemy planes targeted.
Loading type 3 shells
All main guns blow them away
Yes, those girls are also battleships.
Japan is a special place.
One where they shipped those characters.
Literally.
But the Chinese demands don’t stop at battleship girls.
I mean weapons sales to Taiwan.
China is also demanding an end to US tariffs.
True, the Chinese Communist Party hasn’t actually agreed to
the reforms the US has demanded in return for ending tariffs.
But there’s a long history of the Party not doing what the US demands,
so why shouldn’t they keep getting away with it?
It’s tradition.
Anyway, Chinese diplomats are warning of disastrous consequences
if the US treats China as an enemy.
But according to President Trump, trade talks are doing very well.
Which is also what he said at the end of May.
And in mid-February.
And in early January.
And the beginning of December.
Trump is clearly a “glass half full” kind of guy.
But the tariffs may also be affecting demand...for Bibles.
Apparently, “millions of Bibles—
some estimates put it at 150 million or more—
are printed in China each year.”
But proposed 25% tariffs on Chinese goods
also includes tariffs on all books printed in China.
And that could mean the Good Book
could get a good deal more expensive.
According to Geof Morin, president and CEO of Biblica,
the International Bible Society,
the tariff would “dramatically affect the number of Bibles
we are able to print and give away,
impacting the religious freedom of individuals in countries
where Bible access is limited and often nonexistent.”
Now, I’m all for printing Bibles.
But here’s the thing:
It’s not a Bible tariff.
It’s a book tariff that affects all books.
And it just so happens that the two largest Bible publishers in the United States
are owned by the multi-billion dollar publishing conglomerate HarperCollins.
And HarperCollins might be hoping to keep making those big profits
on the best-selling book in America—
and on all their other books that are printed in China, too.
But really, should the US government go soft on a regime that’s closing churches,
jailing pastors, and even rewriting scripture?
I wonder what the Bible would have to say about that.
But back to China’s demands.
As you may have heard,
Hong Kong has erupted in protests over Beijing’s growing influence in the city.
The One Country, Two Systems model,
where Beijing lets Hong Kong keep its freedoms,
hasn’t exactly been going well.
But when Hong Kong pop star and activist Denise Ho
brought that up at a recent UN meeting,
the Chinese representative demanded she be quiet.
“The One Country, Two Systems is nearing its death,
protests are still on going…”
“There is a point of order.
I give the floor to China.”
In fact, the Chinese representative interrupted her twice.
Which was pretty impressive since her speech was only 90 seconds long.
Apparently, the Chinese side was upset at her
for “‘baselessly’ attacking the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement.”
Meanwhile, more Hong Kong protesters have been arrested.
The protests mostly center around a proposed extradition bill
that could allow authorities to send people from Hong Kong to Mainland China for trial.
And Chinese courts have a 99.9% conviction rate.
However, in what Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam
clearly hopes will finally appease protesters,
she’s trying to lay the bill to rest.
The bill is dead.
Dead, yes.
But she has repeatedly refused to say the bill has been withdrawn,
which is the phrase everyone wants to hear.
Why?
“‘The bill is dead is a political description and it is not legislative language,’
Civic Party lawmaker Alvin Yeung told the BBC,
adding that the bill was technically still in the process of a second reading.”
So it’s dead, but still alive.
Which means...the bill is a zombie!
In other Hong Kong news, advertisers are fleeing from TVB,
the main Hong Kong cable broadcaster.
That’s because TVB is believed to have an increasingly pro-Beijing bias.
One of the bigger sAnd one of the advertisers to bail is Pocari Sweat.
Pocari Sweat is like Japan’s answer to gatorade.
I drank plenty of it when I was in Hong Kong.
Even though the name makes it sound like the bottled sweat of a cute little Pokemon.
But to prove that TVB doesn’t have a pro-Beijing bias,
a TVB spokesman told my favorite Chinese state-run media, the Global Times,
“Pocari Sweat’s comments are designed to please protesters,
which equals to bowing to violence.”
Yup, no pro-Beijing bias there.
The Global Times went on to say,
“The Japanese company would likely face tough sanctions on the mainland
for adopting a wrong stance.”
What’s that, Shelley?
TVB has denied they issued that statement to the Global Times?
Are you saying that the Global Times might...be lying?
I don’t believe it.
Meanwhile, some Chinese netizens are accusing Pocari Sweat
of supporting Hong Kong independence and calling for a boycott.
Yes, today is the day that Hong Kongers will be led to independence
by...a sports drink.
And GZN48, a Chinese girl group with...61 members...
is cutting ties with Pocari Sweat.
China is also a special place.
After the brouhaha,
Pocari Sweat’s parent company issued a vaguely worded apology,
but seemed to still be pulling their ads from TVB.
And Pocari Sweat’s sales have surged in Hong Kong.
“Many residents posted on social media that they bought the drink,
and some supermarkets and convenience stores were sold out Wednesday.”
Gotta drink ’em all!
But it’s the people of Xinjiang who really might
no longer be able to enjoy sugary beverages.
Apparently, white sugar can land you in an internment camp.
The Chinese Communist Party has been cracking down on
what it calls “terrorism” in Xinjiang.
That involves putting more than a million of Xinjiang’s mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs
in internment camps.
And also building the world’s most intrusive surveillance state there.
And everyone knows the most dangerous tool in any terrorist’s arsenal...
is white sugar.
It’s now a controlled substance in Xinjiang.
Why?
Because apparently it can be used as explosive material.
And here I just thought it caused people’s waistlines to explode.
Xinjiang residents need to present their new government ID cards
in order to buy sugar.
“Only a kilogram of white sugar can be purchased with one ID card,
according to the new regulations.”
I’m sure it’s just part of a new state-led fitness trend.
Which is why Chinese leader Xi Jinping is telling officials to stop being lazy
and spending the whole day eating.
There’s a reason Chinese officials might seem to be lazy.
More than a million officials have been punished
in Xi Jinping’s so-called anti-corruption campaign.
So Communist Party officials aren’t being lazy.
They’re just afraid to do anything without direct orders.
So they sit around all day and stress eat.
I totally get it.
Xi Jinping went on to tell them,
“Be brave to handle heavy burdens,
crack hard nuts and handle hot potatoes.”
Look, Xi.
If you’re going to tell people to stop eating,
you really should avoid food metaphors.
Speaking of protruding guts, the Beijing bikini.
Found across China, not just Beijing,
it’s a proud and noble tradition to help men cool off in the summer heat.
Unfortunately, it’s being banned in some parts of China.
Maybe this ban will be the final straw that makes Chinese people
demand an end to the Communist Party’s authoritarian rule.
In China, you’re not allowed to bring a live chicken on the subway.
At least in the city of Chongqing.
I mean, makes sense.
Bird flu is sort of a problem there.
But when one woman recently was told
she couldn’t bring her live chicken on the train,
she did what any reasonable person would do.
She killed it on the spot.
Technically, that chicken now counts as food.
And finally, the trailer for the live action version of Disney’s Mulan is out!
And the first thing I noticed was—man,
the father sure looks like Xi Jinping!
Maybe he’s looking for another career for after the Chinese Commuinst Party falls.
Anyway, I’m still disappointed I wasn’t asked to play the lead role of Mulan.
I can do Kung Fu.
And what better way to prove that in the 21st century,
race and gender don’t matter?
Wait, what’s that Shelley?
Yes, yes, you’re right.
I should be Mushu.
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.
Robert W Eischen asks,
“Where does one go to ask questions for the show?
I'm trying to figure out why Hong Kong hasn't backed off the treaty yet.
Are the communists involved in forcing it through?”
For the first part of your question:
Patreon supporters like you can leave your questions right where you did,
as replies to any of the videos we post on Patreon.
As for your next question,
I’m going to assume the treaty you’re talking about is the Extradition Bill.
If passed,
it would be like a treaty that allows Hong Kong authorities
to send criminal suspects to mainland China for trial.
Why won’t the Hong Kong government back down?
It might be because Beijing doesn’t want to look like
it’s giving in to the demands of protesters.
Imagine what kind of precedent that would set for the rest of China,
if word ever got out that protests can actually
force the Communist Party to change its policies!
Thanks for your questions, Robert.
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.