News that caught our eye / May 28-June 3
May 28-June 3
China Unveils ‘Mothership’ to Launch Drone Swarms / MAY 31, 2022
Each week 316NOW compiles news about China that caught our attention. Tap here to see those archives.
China has launched a 290 foot semi-autonomous “mothership” to launch swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles for maritime reconnaissance, for surveillance operations, and for launching unmanned weapons. “The intelligent, unmanned ship … will bring revolutionary changes for ocean observation,” Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory director Chen Dake said.
China to US: Stop trade talks with Taiwan / June 2, 2022
China claims the US is jeopardizing peace by negotiating additional trade talks with Taiwan. Those talks started on Wednesday, June 1. The talks show U.S. support for Taiwan amid menacing behavior by Beijing, which threatens to invade. Trade dialogues “disrupt peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. He called on Washington to “stop negotiating agreements with Taiwan that have sovereign connotations and official nature.”
China prohibits many of Russia’s commercial planes to land / June 2, 2022
China is prohibiting many of Russia’s commercial airlines to land in China. After starting the war in Ukraine, President Putin allowed Russian aviation companies to steal aircraft they had leased from European companies. He had the planes re-register in Russia. Those European companies have lost an estimated $10 billion in airplanes.
Is it arrogance or inferiority to engage in ‘critical dialogue’ with China? / June 2, 2022
An editorial in China’s Global Times notes that Western sources are calling for “dialogue” with China. However, the editorial charges that the West is seeking to engage with China in “critical dialogue” as a way to lecture China about its perceived national shortcomings.
4 dead, 14 injured after earthquake hits China's Sichuan / June 1, 2022
An earthquake struck Baoxing County of Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province on June 1. Four people have been confirmed dead and 14 others are injured. The four people who died were hit by falling rocks. It was a 6.1-magnitude quake.
Bai lan is a Chinese phrase that describes the approach some young Chinese adults are taking toward severe competition in the job market and outsized social expectations that they must be financially successful. Literally, bai lan means “let it rot.” Frustrated by the mounting uncertainties and lack of economic opportunities, some twenty-somethings have given up on trying. They are choosing to let their dreams — and the dreams their parents and culture have for them — rot rather than pursue what they judge is unattainable.
Chinese Space Station rivals US International Space Station / May 29, 2022
China released new details about the final stages of work on its Tiangong space station. This orbiter is currently under-construction. Work began after the US barred Beijing from participating in the International Space Station.
Shanghai lockdown ends / May 31, 2022
Shanghai, China’s commercial and financial capital, is set to relax a two-month-long citywide lockdown on Wednesday, June 1. The city will do so in a phased manner, with the goal of returning to normal by the end of June. More than 90% of Shanghai’s 25 million inhabitants will be able to leave their residential compounds. Public transport will be resumed fully.
U.N. Human Rights visit to China criticized / May 29, 2022
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet ended her visit to China with cautious criticism of the country’s crackdown in the Xinjiang region. She balanced her criticism with praise for Chinese authorities. Rights advocates have complained that she did not decry the treatment of Uyghurs. China maintains it does not violate human rights.
Pacific island turndown China / May 29, 2022
10 Pacific island nations failed to endorse a proposed security cooperation deal with China after a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Fiji. China is offering to radically ramp up its activities in the South Pacific, directly challenging the influence of the United States and its allies in the strategically vital region.
Better communication required / May 29, 2022
Poor communication channels between the U.S. and China poise the danger of unintended war. Mark Magnier of the South China Morning Press suggests that communication and crisis management are faltering between the two nations. He warns that, with the two nuclear powers increasingly framing their relationship as a contest between democracy and authoritarianism, communication is made all the harder.
Covid tests for the dead / May 28, 2022
Ever cautious about the spread of Covid, China health officials in Shenzhen have ordered nucleic acid tests to detect Covid in the dead before they are cremated, “if the deceased is from closed-off management areas, restrictive control areas, and prevention areas.” In case a nucleic acid test report of the deceased is not available, a “close-contact” relative’s test report would also do. On social media, some have mocked the rule. Others called for understanding the cautious nature of the rule.
Press decries China’s foreign minister's visit to the Solomon Islands / May 26, 2022
The Media Association of Solomon Islands is calling on its members to boycott a news conference with China’s foreign minister. The reason: only selected media were invited to the event, and the schedule allowed for just a single question to be asked of Wang by China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV. Association president Georgina Kekea wrote on Twitter, “Our protest is for our govt to see our disappointment. They have failed us & they failed to protect #democracy.”
US is wrong in dismissing the one-China principle / May 27, 2022
Attempts by the United States to marginalize the one-China principle and use the Taiwan question to contain China are nothing but pipe dreams, a spokesman for the Chinese military said. Senior Colonel Wu Qian said, “The US has been continuously marginalizing and diminishing the one-China principle [The one-China principle maintains that Taiwan is part of China]. It wants to use the 'salami-slicing tactic' to play the 'Taiwan card' to contain China and that is a complete illusion…. The People's Liberation Army is ready to take all necessary measures to crush any form of 'Taiwan independence' moves and to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity."