Neican News: 20 February 2020
Hi everyone, welcome to the first issue of Neican News, a weekly summary of top international China news. Unlike Neican Brief, it will not be adulterated by our analysis. But like Neican Brief, it will still be subject to our selection bias.
- Yun and Adam
At the Munich Security Conference, US warnings to Europe about China fell on deaf ears due to diverging perceptions and interests.
China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters, ostensibly as a punishment for a recent opinion piece that the media organisation published.
The US designated China’s five foremost news agencies — Xinhua, CGTN, China Radio, China Daily and The People’s Daily — as foreign government operatives, subject to similar rules as diplomats.
More Xinjiang leak shows reasons for the detention of Uyghurs include growing a beard, fasting, or applying for a passport.
Vatican and China hold the highest diplomatic meeting in decades, another step in the direction of establishing full relations.
The tweet by an NBA executive in support of HK’s protestors is expected to cost the NBA hundreds of millions.
Hubei party chief Jiang Chaoliang 蒋超良 replaced by Xi’s ally, Shanghai mayor, Ying Yong 应勇 for botched virus response.
Xia Baolong 夏宝龙, who led a crackdown on Christian churches, named head of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
Chinese scholar Xu Zhangrun 许章润, who published a public critique of Xi over COVID-19, was placed under house arrest and cut off from web.
China is increasingly importing food from Brazil, with environmental and social effects for the Amazon.