Tesla’s China honeymoon is over.
The US and China agree on climate cooperation
Plus, Australia cancels a suspicious deal with China.
That and more on this week’s China news headlines
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
This week’s China news headlines
Things aren’t going so well for Elon Musk and Tesla in China.
I tried to warn you, Elon.
I tried.
This week was the Shanghai Auto Show.
A perfect opportunity to show off the new Tesla.
Except they got upstaged by protests.
Protests, in China?
It’s a little sus, and I’ll get to that in a minute.
This video from the protests went viral.
This woman climbed on top of a Tesla and started saying some not very nice things.
Her t-shirt says “The Brakes Don’t Work” and “Invisible Killer.”
Invisible Killer?
You mean Elon Musks has an invisible car?!
How does he not lose it?
The woman was later dragged off by security guards.
But, “The incident overshadowed an announcement [Tesla] made the same day...the automaker
would start developing some of its vehicles in China from scratch—with new models that
would incorporate ‘many Chinese elements.’”
Ohh, many Chinese elements?
Like ethnic slave labor?
Anyway, the Tesla protest, “hit a nerve in China, sending complaints about the company
ricocheting across the Chinese internet.”
That’s interesting, considering how tightly the Chinese Communist Party controls the Internet.
Things don’t go viral for very long unless the internet censors allow it.
Maybe it was the fact most of these social media comments came to the conclusion they
should just buy Chinese cars instead of Teslas.
Interesting.
This story was so big, even state-run media covered it.
I know, Chinese state-run media covering a protest in China.
Interesting.
Not only that, “The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, a high-level Communist
Party body...accused Tesla of arrogance and of endangering Chinese consumers by selling
defective products.”
Interesting.
It’s almost as if the Communist Party itself has taken issue with Tesla.
Tesla has now apologized for how the protester was handled.
And it was totally inappropriate.
That’s not how you treat protesters in China.
You’re not supposed to let them criticize you in public!
You're supposed to drag them outside and beat them *before* they do any protesting.
It’s unclear to me what the quality of Tesla’s China-made cars are.
In February, Chinese regulators summoned Tesla for a rare public rebuke over its quality
record.
Then they banned military and state employees from using Tesla.
The Chinese regime accused Tesla of gathering data on Chinese drivers.
Which, of course they do.
That’s how Tesla’s automated driving system works.
It collects user data.
But now the Chinese regime has arbitrarily labeled it a national security risk, so they
can have leverage over Tesla.
Elon Musk may be a smart man, but when it comes to China, he’s been making the same
stupid mistake Western businessmen have been making for decades.
Elon Musk went into China with big dreams.
But Chinese competitors stole his technology, with government support.
Now the Chinese government is using legal warfare to squeeze Tesla out of the China
market, and promote home-grown companies.
This always happens!
Why are smart people so stupid?
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has some pretty harsh words for...no country in particular
At the annual Boao Forum for Asia Xi criticized efforts by some countries to “build barriers”
and “decouple.”
He said “The world wants justice, not hegemony.”
Yeah, Xi didn’t say which country in particular was building barriers and decoupling.
But I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess he was talking about...Palau.
And you know who’s going to stand up for the world against global hegemons like...Palau?
The Chinese Communist Party.
Don’t worry, world.
Xi Jinping says that “China will never seek hegemony, expansion, or a sphere of influence
no matter how strong it may grow.”
Sure.
That’s like when I tell myself I’m not going to eat Cheez-its while my hand is literally
in the Cheez-it box.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is gearing up for its 100th birthday.
And like most 100 year olds, it's decrepit and falling apart.
But that’s not the message they’re going with.
They want people to follow the Party forever.
The Party is pushing “Patriotic films.
History lessons.
Mass weddings.”
Just like Mao intended.
The anniversary is July 1.
And to get everyone in the spirit, the Party is cracking down on anyone who makes illegal
comments on history.
And that might even include former top ranking Communist Party members.
Like Former Premier Wen Jiabao . He wrote a touching memorial to his recently deceased
mother.
It got censored.
Why?
Well, in the article he, in a rather roundabout way, called for more fairness, justice, humanity,
and liberty in China.
Yeah, that’s not gonna fly.
Premier Wen Jiabao also wrote that his time as the second highest ranking official in
the Communist Party was quote “like walking on thin ice.”
Being a Communist Party member is tough.
Just look at what it did to the number one guy at the time, Hu Jintao.
This is him as a young man.
And this is him as the head of the Party.
His nickname was woodface.
It’s been a great 100 years for the Party.
War, famine, cultural destruction, and lots and lots of labor camps.
So much to celebrate.
And the Biden administration is celebrating by making a new agreement with China.
More after the break.
Welcome back.
The Biden Administration and the Chinese Communist Party have made an agreement to cooperate
on climate issues.
The agreement came days before Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit of world leaders to
discuss climate change.
Just what our planet needs—politicians spewing hot air.
Of course, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
China burns more coal than the rest of the world combined.
And that’s why the US has to work with China.
Climate change is a global issue.
And we can only solve it if we work together...with regimes that break their promises.
Why does no one ever listen.
But at least China is doing one thing to combat climate change.
After stealing US technology, China now makes most of the world’s solar panels.
And they’re much cheaper now.
Because they use ethnic slave labor.
Fighting climate change, protecting human rights—who says you can’t do neither.
This week, Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga.
It was his first in person meeting with a world leader.
And the point was to project unity against China’s assertiveness.
And to make sure America can get more of this...
And less of this...
We did a full episode covering the meeting on our other channel, America Uncovered.
Check it out, the link is in the description below.
Chinese hackers are compromising dozens of government agencies, and defense contractors.
Hackers were able to exploit a VPN called Pulse Secure that many US government agencies,
and just normal companies, were using so their employees could work remotely.
And good news, the hacking is still going on.
But in some actual good news, Australia has canceled a major Belt and Road deal with China.
Which of course angered China.
This is the state of Victoria.
It’s biggest city is Melbourne.
It’s the San Francisco of Australia.
You may remember it for having one of the longest and harshest Covid lockdowns in the
world.
Years ago, Victoria’s leadership made several high profile deals with China as part of the
Belt and Road initiative.
That’s China’s global investment and infrastructure plan that gets up to some pretty shady stuff.
But those deals have now been scrapped.
That’s under a new Australian law that gives Australia’s federal government the power
to stop deals that Australia’s states have made with foreign governments.
And get this.
“Two other deals between Victoria and the governments of Iran and Syria have also been
scrapped.”
Making deals with China, Iran, and Syria?
What was the state of Victoria getting up to?!
I say, not enough.
If Premier Daniel Andrews really wants to bring his state a brighter future, it’s
time to buy nukes from Kim Jung-un.
Although Victoria seems a little eager to make deals with authoritarian regimes, it’s
not alone in potentially having its deals with China cancelled.
“The law may still allow the federal government to review and overturn memorandums of understanding
between Beijing and the state governments of Western Australia, South Australia and
Tasmania.”
That last deal was a real whirlwind.
Like I said, the Chinese regime is not happy.
Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of my favorite Chinese state-run media, the Global Times,
tweeted: “A formal agreement has been cancelled so
easily.
Australians, is your country a uncivilized rogue that deserves stern admonition and punishment?”
Oh Hu.
Were you trying to insult Australia or compliment it?
Because Australia’s entire brand is “uncivilized rogue.”
It’s what makes them so charming.
And now time to answer a question from a member of the China Uncensored 50 Cent Army, fans
who support the show on Patreon.
brazzjazz asks “Mova Globes all seem to depict Taiwan as part of China, I have checked
several globes on their website.
Why would you accept such a company as your sponsor??”
Excellent question Brazzjazz!
We actually did a whole episode on it, called How China Is Secretly Changing Everyone’s
Maps.
The link is in the Description.
But here’s the gist.
MOVA Globes, like many Western companies, had their products made in factories in China.
But then the Chinese government required that all their maps sold in China, or printed in
China but sold abroad, had to have China’s official version of the world map.
That meant some MOVA Globes were being printed with China’s 9 Dash Line and Taiwan labeled
as part of China.
But the good news is that MOVA pulled its manufacturing out of China a couple years
ago.
And MOVA was open and honest with us about what happened, and helped us expose what the
CCP is doing.
They’re not printing China’s version of the map anymore.
Like if you order this 6” Black and Silver model, it no longer has it.
But some of the other sizes and models still do—at least until their stock runs out.
So if you want to make sure the one you order doesn’t have the Nine-Dash Line, contact
MOVA’s Customer Care.
Thanks for your question brazzjazz.
And thank you for watching.
If you’d like me to answer one of your questions on the show, head over to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored
and join the China Uncensored50 Cent Army!
Once again I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.