Thread: The View, from China

Well done. It has to start somewhere.

China's youth unemployment rate climbed to 17.1% in July

BEIJING: The jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds in China, excluding students, rose to 17.1 per cent in July from 13.2 per cent in the prior month, the country's statistics bureau said on Friday (Aug 16), as employers in the lacklustre US$19 trillion economy held off on hiring.


A string of dismal indicators for July has analysts betting on the world's number two economy entering a period of prolonged sluggishness going into the second half of the year and beyond, as it grapples with one crisis after another, from a trade warto a prolonged property crisis and cautious consumer confidence.


Around 12 million students graduated this summer, but with even roles in remote rural areas attracting young Chinese with diplomas from top universities, aspiring professionals face the toughest job market in years.


Youth unemployment hit a record high of 21.3 per cent in June last year, prompting China to halt publication of the closely watched benchmark, saying students still enrolled should be excluded.

The July figure was the highest in records since December 2023, when officials changed the methodology.


The rate last month for 25 to 29-year-olds was 6.5 per cent, excluding college students, and 3.9 per cent for people between 30 and 59 years of age.


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An official factory managers' survey for July suggested the production powerhouse's manufacturing sector remained reluctant to take on new staff, with its employment gauge last expanding in February 2023 and pointing to a somnolent domestic economy.


In contrast, employment in the services sector rose at its fastest pace in 11 months in July, a Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers' index survey showed, offering some cause for optimism to officials who are anxious that a job crisis among the young could test the economic leadership of the ruling Communist Party.

China's youth unemployment rate climbed to 17.1% in July - CNA

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Well done. It has to start somewhere.

Originally Posted by misskit

China's youth unemployment rate climbed to 17.1%

Unemployed, angry young folks is what got Mao to power.

Over 1 million Chinese restaurants close amid economic downturn

As more than a million restaurants closed their doors in recent months, diners in China are ordering takeout instead, amid skyrocketing numbers of food delivery riders.


Amid a flagging economy, glitzy shopping malls, noodle shops and eateries have been shutting down across the country, according to local media reports.


More than a million food and beverage outlets, including 30,000 noodle shops, shut down in the first half of this year, close to the total for the whole of last year, catering industry news service Canguanju reported.


The report came as Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung, which currently has 30 stores in China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, said it would shutter 14 of its stores in northern China, citing the economic downturn.

Economic commentator Si Ling told RFA Mandarin that Din Tai Fung’s move is representative of the state of luxury or high-end dining in China, and a bellwether of economic buoyancy.


“Din Tai Fung was once very successful in China, off the back of booming economic growth,” Si said. “This shows how China’s middle class is shrinking at a faster and faster rate.”


“This huge consumer group is voting with its feet – there’s no faking that,” he said, in an apparent reference to the Chinese government’s insistence on positive economic news.


Fan Shih-ping, professor of politics at National Taiwan Normal University, said there are also political overtones to the disappearance of Din Tai Fung stores.


“Xiaolongbao [dumplings] were actually brought to Taiwan from mainland China after 1949, flourished in Taiwan, and then returned to mainland China, so it carries the meaning of United Front Work,” Fan said, in a reference to the Chinese Communist Party’s outreach and influence operations.


“It has a very obvious political meaning, because the motherland once opened its arms to a returning xiaolongbao restaurant, and now Din Tai Fung is leaving the family again,” he said. “I think that’s how the Chinese feel about it.”


State salary cuts


U.S.-based current affairs commentator Chen Pokong said restaurants have been particularly hard hit by the lack of money in local government coffers since the three years of zero-COVID restrictions, which ended following nationwide protests in December 2022.


“Most of the customers in high-end noodle shops and other eateries are civil servants,” Chen said. “[Local] leaders would entertain guests or do business deals, even bribery and corruption went on, in high-end restaurants.”


“Now, there’s a power struggle that targets people in the name of anti-corruption, so a lot of officials are wary.”

Many state employees have had their salaries and bonuses cut, or have not been paid at all amid the economic downturn.


“Officials aren’t eating out or spending money any more, which is a major blow to China’s high-end restaurants,” Chen said.


Instead, many in China are opting to have food delivered at home, leading to a recent spike in the number of delivery riders lately, according to the Beijing municipal government’s statistics bureau.


While overall earnings in the catering sector fell by 2.9% in the first half of 2024, year-on-year, profits plummeted by 88.8% over the same period, figures showed.

Meanwhile, the number of employees in the delivery and takeout sector rose by 49.7%, indicating that people have continued to prefer to eat in despite the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.


A Beijing resident who gave only the surname Guo said many of the new delivery workforce are former high-level corporate employees who can't find white-collar jobs any more, and are struggling to make ends meet.


“It used to be just recent graduates or non-local residents who worked as delivery riders,” Guo said. “It used to be a job that locals were unwilling to do, but now locals are starting to compete for these jobs too.”

Access Denied

Well this is rather comical.

China will "gradually raise" its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s, as the country confronts an ageing population and a dwindling pension budget.

The top legislative body on Friday approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for females in white-collar jobs.

Men will see an increase from 60 to 63.

China's current retirement ages are among the lowest in the world.

According to the plan passed on Friday, the change will set in from 1 January 2025, with the respective retirement ages raised every few months over the next 15 years, said Chinese state media.

Retiring before the statutory age will not be allowed, state news agency Xinhua reported, although people can delay their retirement by no more than three years.

China to raise retirement age for first time since 1950s

I expect the ol' chinkies will be publicising this nationwide so no other violent criminals commit the heinous offence of.... wearing a T shirt.

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to 14 months in jail after pleading guilty to sedition for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan on it.
The jail term is the first handed down by the city's court under a new local national security law that was passed in March.
The law, also called Article 23, expands on the national security law that was imposed by Beijing in 2020.
Critics feared the law could further erode civil liberties in the city, while Beijing and Hong Kong defended it, saying it was necessary for stability.


Chu Kai-pong, 27, was arrested at a subway station in June wearing a T-shirt sporting the phrase "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times". He was also wearing a mask that read "FDNOL" - initials for another slogan, "Five demands, not one less".

Hong Kong man jailed for '''seditious''' T-shirt

Oh dear, it appears the chinky press missed this one.

China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank pierside in the spring and the Chinese Navy tried to conceal the loss, according to two US defense officials.
The attack submarine was the first of its new Zhou-class line of vessels, the official said, under construction at a shipyard near the city of Wuhan. The Zhou-class submarines have a distinctive X-shaped stern, designed to improve maneuverability underwater.
A satellite image from March 10, taken by Maxar Technologies, shows the Zhou-class sub, with its signature x-shape tail, docked at the port. Additional Maxar imagery reviewed by CNN from later in June shows that the sub did not return to the pier.
“It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside,” said the senior US defense official.

China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank earlier this year, US official says | CNN Politics

Well if you wanted proof that the chinkies run the show in Cambodia...

Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist who has reported extensively on human trafficking and corruption, has been arrested and charged with incitement.

Dara, who has reported for the BBC, has been charged over five social media posts which could "incite social unrest", a court spokesperson said. He faces up to two years in jail.

Last year US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken honoured him for his work exposing online scam operations based in Cambodia.

Rights groups have spoken out over his arrest, while the US Embassy in Cambodia said it was "deeply troubled" by the news.

Dara was detained after being stopped at a highway toll booth on the border of Koh Kong and Sihanouk province in south-west Cambodia on Monday.

A relative in the car with Dara told the BBC that they were waiting to go through the booth when one military police car, accompanied by five other cars, pulled up alongside them.

"We got him," one said while they were detaining Dara, his relative recounted, adding that Dara told his family not to worry as he was being taken away.

Local rights group Licadho reported that Dara messaged them, explaining that he had been arrested, before his phone was taken away.

His whereabouts were then not known for almost 24 hours, when he appeared in court in the capital Phnom Penh and was charged with incitement to commit a felony. He was sent to pre-trial detention and faces between six months and two years in jail if found guilty.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Y Rin told the BBC that the charges were related to five social media posts made in September, but did not elaborate.

In a statement, the court said the Facebook posts showed "edited pictures" of a "tourist attraction" which it said were "fake".

Is said the posts were "full of ill-intention - inciting, causing anger among the public that was intended to make people think bad of the government".

The vague charge of incitement is often used in Cambodia against government critics.

One of Dara's relatives, who also works as a journalist but requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said Dara had been denied access to a lawyer and they were "so concerned" about his safety.

"The authorities didn't show us any official arrest warrant or court papers. I've lost hope, I’m so concerned about practising journalism in Cambodia now," the relative said.

One of Cambodia's most prominent journalists, Mech Dara has been at the forefront of investigating the country's cyberscam compounds, which are staffed mostly by trafficked workers.

Often victims are lured by adverts promising easy work and extravagant perks. Once they arrive in the country, they are held prisoner and forced to work in online scam centres. Those who do not comply face threats to their safety. Many have been subject to torture and inhuman treatment.

Last year, Mr Blinken awarded Dara the US State Department’s human trafficking Hero Award for his work.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports of his arrest and was "following developments closely with great concern".

The US Embassy in Phnom Penh said it was "deeply troubled" by Dara's arrest and called for his release, calling him a "leading voice against human trafficking and online scams".

Last month, the US sanctioned powerful Cambodian tycoon and ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat - nicknamed the "king of Koh Kong" after his influence over his home province - over alleged connections to the cyberscam industry.

The Cambodian government said the sanctions were politically motivated.

Rights groups have voiced concern over Mech Dara's arrest.

Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said “Mech Dara is a respected journalist who has reported on important topics in the public interest such as online scam centres. Yet Cambodian authorities appear to have wrongfully arrested him yesterday.

"They should immediately release him.”

Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA), called Dara's arrest "outrageous and unacceptable" and "is emblematic of the Cambodian government's repressive, over the top reaction to any sort of criticism from the media".

Cambodia's independent media landscape has been hit hard in recent years, with publications including the Cambodia Daily and Voice of Democracy - both of which Dara worked for - closed down by authorities.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjez9219n7o

Spike in arrests leaves Chinese detention centers overflowing

Detention centers in China are overflowing amid a sharp rise in the number of arrests in the first half of this year, according to defense lawyers and recent government figures.


In the six months to June 30, prosecutors approved the formal arrest of 367,000 suspects, up 18.5% from the same period in 2023.


They also prosecuted 761,000 people nationwide, a rise of 6.8% year-on-year, according to an article on the official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate dated July 29.


The formal arrest figures don't include people being held under criminal detention pending investigation by police, "residential surveillance at a designated location," or administrative detention.


The spike in criminal proceedings has led to overcrowded detention centers, prompting the authorities to build new facilities to hold the newly arrested, criminal defense attorney Wang Rui said in video footage uploaded to social media.


"Detention centers are already overcrowded, with plans for expansion in a lot of places this year," Wang said. "A few days ago, I met with a client who said there were more than 20 people in a cell that was designed to hold 12. Some people had to sleep on the floor."


"It was hot weather, but not only was there no air-conditioning; they didn't even have an electric fan," he said.

A second lawyer from the central province of Henan who gave only the surname Sun for fear of reprisals confirmed Wang's claim. "Usually you would have 12 or 14 people in a cell, but now that number has risen to more than 20," he said.


According to January figures from the Ministry of Public Security, China has more than 2,300 detention centers, which are generally used to house people awaiting investigation, trial or appeal, while prisons are used to house those serving out their time.


Minor rule-breaking


Lawyers said that the likely reason for the sudden rise in the number of arrests was a nationwide clampdown on minor rule-breaking like irregularities in the accounts of small business owners, as well as on ordinary people lodging formal complaints about official wrongdoing.


"Some people are being intercepted for petitioning, and may be charged with obstructing a public official in the performance of their duties, or picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Sun said. "They are finding reasons to arrest people even if no crime has been committed -- that really is the situation right now."

Another lawyer, Wang Kui, had a similar story, saying officials seem to have zero tolerance for any kind of rule-breaking these days.


"In the past, they would turn a blind eye to a lot of stuff, but that's longer possible now," he said in a video uploaded to his social media account. "For example, if you run a small business and don't complete the right paperwork, you could be accused of illegal business operations."


"If you have poor turnover and default on some payments, you could be charged with fraud or breach of contract," Wang Kui said. "It's becoming clearer and clearer that heavy sentences are being handed down for minor crimes."


The current economic downturn is stepping up pressure on people who are heavily indebted due to their mortgages, car loans, kids' education or who have black or gray-market income streams, the lawyers said.


Pyramid schemes, fraud and money laundering are also rampant, due to falling corporate revenues, they said.


Salaries down


Meanwhile, cash-strapped local governments are slashing public servants' salaries and imposing fees and fines in every area of people's lives, including new highway tolls and roadside parking fees on quiet residential streets.


Guo Min, a former deputy police station chief at the Zhuzhou city police department in the central province of Hunan, said the authorities have been steadily building new detention centers and prisons in his home province for a few years now.


"The expansion of detention centers, jails and prisons began several years ago, probably under the guidance of the central government," Guo told RFA Mandarin. "Take Zhuzhou for example. They started building jails and detention centers several years ago, and they have been coming into use over the past couple of years."


"It appears that the government has long anticipated the current situation and made arrangements accordingly," he said.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate article, law enforcement agencies are currently targeting "Taiwan independence diehards" accused of "splitting the country and inciting others to secession," although no figures were supplied.


China warned earlier this year that nationals of democratic Taiwan could be tried in absentia and even sentenced to death for supporting formal independence for the country, but Taipei said Beijing has no jurisdiction over acts and speech on its territory.


Meanwhile, the authorities are also vowing to get tough on organized crime, prosecuting 28,000 people for gang-related offenses in the first half of the year, and on drugs-related offenses, which yielded 26,000 prosecutions over the same period, the article said.


It said "more than 85% of criminal suspects confessed and pleaded guilty during the prosecution stage."

Access DeniedW

Perhaps they'll save monay and send the top dealer/scammers to graze overseas?

Looks like they’ve already done that.

Originally Posted by misskit

Looks like they’ve already done that.

Oh yes. They're like a plague.

Chinese nationals living in Payathonzu, located 150 miles (241 km) south of the Karen State capital Hpa-An, are paying above market prices for goods and services, according to residents. This has caused prices to skyrocket beyond the means of most locals.
The Chinese are reported to be working at casinos and online scam centers run by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA). They are also opening businesses and renting houses in Payathonzu, which is on the border next to the Three Pagodas Pass into Thailand.
The military regime in Naypyidaw does not control the town, as it is administered by a coalition of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), including the DKBA. The Karen National Union (KNU), the KNU/KNLA Peace Council (KPC), the Karen Border Guard Force/Karen National Army (BGF/KNA), and the New Mon State Party (NMSP) also operate in Payathonzu.
The DKBA signed the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the Myanmar military but have not allied itself to the regime, which has taken control of Naypyidaw since the 2021 coup. However the DKBA has met with the regime several times over the last three years to discuss the NCA.
Most of the Chinese nationals who are moving to Payathonzu used to operate casinos and online scam centers in Myawaddy Township, 100 miles (160 km) north along the Thai border. But, many have been forced to leave due to fighting which erupted last April between the military and KNU-led resistance forces.
The BGF/KNA also ordered all foreigners working in cyber scam centers to leave the area it controls in Myawaddy, including the Shwe Kokko New City project, by Oct. 31. Since May, at least 3,000 Chinese nationals have moved to Payathonzu and its surrounding areas controlled by the DKBA.
A casino on a plot of land about 20 miles (32 km) outside of Payathonzu is currently under construction. Automotive dealerships and restaurants have recently opened in the town catering to the new arrivals, according to residents.
“Currently, there are at least five restaurants opened by the Chinese, along with several car showrooms,” a resident told BNI. “They are constructing a large casino hall resembling those seen in Shwe Kokko town, along with a proper restaurant next to that large structure.”
Payathonzu residents are concerned that the Chinese will dominate the local economy and drive prices out of the reach of local people. Chinese are willing to pay above market rates for goods and services, such as house rental fees and laborers’ wages.
“They are known to pay significantly higher rents, leading landlords to eagerly lease to them. For instance, they rent houses for 15,000 [Thai baht] per month, compared to the typical rate of around 4,000 [baht], which has resulted in rising rents. While this isn’t an issue for them, it creates considerable stress for lower-income residents [who cannot afford the new higher rents],” said a taxi driver living and working in Payathonzu.
All Chinese nationals living in the town are reportedly ordered to pay the DKBA 10,000 baht per month to be allowed to stay in town. This means that they likely don’t have proper visas or documentation allowing them to stay legally in the country.
According to locals this money is split between the DKBA, the military regime troops stationed in Payathonzu, and other ethnic armed groups based nearby. Payathonzu’s administration officials have even started translating all of its announcements into Chinese for the benefit of the town’s new arrivals. BNI

No wonder the chinkies are always looking so wistfully at those weed shops. Ten days in the nick.

A senior executive for Volkswagen in China has been deported for allegedly using cocaine and marijuana while on vacation in Thailand, according to Chinese authorities and German media reports.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that a Volkswagen employee had been deported after being detained for 10 days. A Beijing police report said an investigation had determined that the 56-year-old man, which it identified only by the initial J, had used both drugs on Oct. 5 and that he had been sentenced to detention from Oct. 10-20 as an administrative penalty.

Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper and other media outlets reported his name as Jochen Sengpiehl, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as Volkswagen’s chief marketing officer in China. Bild reported he tested positive for drug use after returning from a holiday in Thailand.

Volkswagen might cause this gent more grief than the CCP. I hope he's in a position to retire.

It seems that the view of some in China is that Halloween is not to be celebrated:

A heavy police response has stifled Halloween celebrations in Shanghai, in what many have viewed as an attempt by authorities to crack down on large public gatherings and freedom of expression.

Witnesses have told the BBC they saw police dispersing crowds of costumed revellers on the streets of Shanghai, while photos of apparent arrests have spread on social media.

Authorities have yet to comment. While there has been no official notice prohibiting Halloween celebrations, rumours of a possible crackdown began circulating online earlier this month.

It comes a year after Halloween revellers in Shanghai went viral for donning costumes poking fun at the Chinese government and its policies.

Pictures from last year's Halloween event showed people dressing up as a giant surveillance camera, Covid testers, and a censored Weibo post.

This year, footage posted to social media showed people dressed in seemingly uncontroversial costumes, including those of comic book characters such as Batman and Deadpool, being escorted into the back of police vans. Some party-goers said online they were forced to remove make-up at a police station.

But it remains unclear what - if any - types of costumes police were targeting, as many other revellers were left alone.

China: Police target Halloween revellers in Shanghai

Chinese censors delete fried rice gags linked to death of Mao’s son

Chinese internet censors have deleted a social media post about egg fried rice that could have been read as a reference to the death of late supreme leader Mao Zedong’s son in the 1950-1953 Korean War, the anniversary of which is jokingly referred to as “China’s Thanksgiving.”


Fried rice in China is often seen as a reference to an apocryphal story told in China that Mao Anying, a Korean War military officer, was trying to cook egg fried rice instead of taking shelter when he was killed by U.S. bombers on Nov. 25, 1950.


Mao Anying supposedly died after his location was discovered by the U.S. military because he broke blackout rules by kindling a cooking fire to make the dish.


Censors removed a Weibo post from the official account of MTR Shenzhen, a subsidiary of Hong Kong people-mover MTR Corp that runs Line 4 of the Shenzhen Metro, that read: “Which would you pick — curry fried rice or egg fried rice?”


The account typically focuses on developments on its trains and stations and local culture, food and drink, and the post was ostensibly intended to highlight some of the food options available in and around Guanlan Metro Station.


“Today’s a good day for egg fried rice,” commented a Weibo user from the southeastern province of Fujian.


“You must use firewood, otherwise there won’t be enough smoke,” quipped another from the southern province of Guangdong, in comments posted by the X citizen journalist account “Mr Li is not your teacher.”

MTR Shenzhen wasn’t the only account to reference the popular dish, with food blogger Wang Gang being slammed by nationalists as a “traitor” after a recent post.


Wang eventually issued a public apology, pledging: “I won’t make any more egg fried rice posts from now on.”


Accusations


Wang’s fried rice posts have become a regular feature of social media over the past five years, sparking accusations that he insulted the memory of Mao Zedong’s son with his online video tutorials.


Wang, who has several million followers, released similar videos in late November of 2023, 2018 and 2020, sparking a backlash on social media.


The anniversary of Mao Anying’s death, falling as it does in late November, has been jokingly referred to in China as “China’s Thanksgiving.”


The joke runs that the death of Mao’s son saved China from following a hereditary leadership model similar to the Kim dynasty in North Korea, something for which all Chinese nationals should remain thankful to this day.

In 2021, Chinese internet censors shut down the social media account of a branch of the telecommunications giant China Unicom after it posted a recipe for egg fried rice to mark the Oct. 24 birthday of Mao Anying.


The official Weibo account of the Jiangsu division of China Unicom was shut down after complaints that it had “insulted the People’s Volunteers” who fought on the side of the North Korean communists against the United States.


“Little Pink” supporters of the ruling Chinese Communist Party called on each other to file complaints with the ministry of industry and information technology over the matter.


Earlier in the same month, authorities in the eastern province of Jiangxi have detained a man for allegedly “impeaching the reputation of heroes and martyrs” after he made comments about the Chinese Communist Party-backed Korean War propaganda blockbuster “The Battle of Changjin Lake.”


The man, who was identified only his surname Zuo, was jailed for a 10-day administrative sentence by police in Nanchang city after he posted an irreverent comment on the Sina Weibo social media platform under the username @yuediyouyou.


“That fried rice was the best thing to come out of the whole Korean War,” the user quipped in a post dated Oct. 8, 2021.

Access Denied

China's safety inspection tour prompts widespread store closures

A nationwide inspection tour by ruling Communist Party officials threatening fines of up to 50,000 yuan, or nearly US$7,000. for safety violations has prompted a wave of business closures in at least two southern Chinese cities, according to social media reports.


Inspectors from China’s State Council have been touring the country in recent weeks in a bid to bring the nation’s lagging fire and workplace safety standards up to scratch, carrying spot checks and under-cover investigations that could land business owners with a big fine.


But store owners and food stall-holders are fighting back by shutting up shop, in an apparent bid to evade an inspection that could wind up costing them dearly in fines.


Photos of shuttered stores in two cities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong were circulating on social media over the weekend.


Some showed humorous notices that read: “Off today due to fear of ghosts.”


“The boss is in a bad mood,” read another, while one notice suggested life was getting too tough for business owners: “The fish are drowning in water.”


Business owners also took to social media to explain the closures.


“These closures have been forced on us; they’re not voluntary,” one business owner commented. “Nobody wants to take the risk of running afoul of the inspection team.”


Reports emerged from Guangdong’s Chaozhou and Shantou cities that night markets, barbecue stalls and street hawkers were shutting up shop ahead of the inspections, for fear of getting hit with a hefty fine.


The “New Hunan” news service reported that stalls that cook on an open flame had been ordered to shut down from Nov. 22-28 by authorities at Shantou’s Longyan South nightmarket.


Social media users from Chaozhou commented: “Never seen so many stores closed,” drawing parallels with the three years of lockdowns under the zero-COVID policy, which ended in December 2022 following nationwide protests.


A social media user from the area city described it as “a ghost town that is especially eerie at night.”


Another comment said the closures were understandable.


“If you close, you only lose a few hundred yuan, whereas you could lose tens of thousands if you open,” read one comment. “If you close, your turnover will be zero, but if you open, it could be negative.”


Official denials


Chaozhao officials responded to the online speculation, which saw the topic trending on Weibo on Saturday, by denying claims that the businesses were closing to avoid inspection, and saying that it was business as usual in the city, local media reported.


But local residents ridiculed the response.


“I would have believed this if I didn’t live locally,” commented one, while another added: “The whole street was shut down.”


Local authorities later issued warnings to businesses that closing down could result in their being targeted for more stringent inspections in future, according to a copy of an official notice sent to the X citizen media account “Mr Li is not your teacher.”

A business owner from Guangdong who gave only the surname Liu for fear of reprisals said it was rare to see widespread store closures.


“It’s rare in our area to see such large-scale store closures,” he said. “It’s not a good idea to make it so that people are afraid to open for business.”


He said it was the sudden and nationwide nature of the inspections that had made many business owners particularly wary.


The Chaozhou government later issued a notice calling on businesses not to “intentionally close their doors to inspections without justifiable reason.”


A legal professional from Guangdong who gave only the surname Chen for fear of reprisal said many see safety inspections as the government trying to boost revenues when local coffers are empty.


“It’s another way for them to raise money,” Chen said. “Yes, they want to eliminate safety hazards and maintain stability, but they also want to help local governments raise revenues.”

Access Denied

Chinese women buy up sanitary products in Hong Kong amid safety fears

Mainland Chinese shoppers are once more converging on stores in Hong Kong, but this time, they’re not in search of infant formula, clean cooking oil or Yakult probiotic drinks.


They’re buying up large quantities of sanitary towels and other feminine care items, spurred by reports of contaminated and discolored cotton filling in similar products made just across the border in mainland China and sold in Chinese stores.


“The quality’s more acceptable,” a resident of neighboring Guangzhou city shopping for sanitary products at one store in Hong Kong told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview. “I’m not so worried about using them because there are guaranteed standards.”


“I wish Chinese state-owned enterprises and regulatory authorities would follow up on safety issues around Chinese sanitary towels,” said the woman, who gave only the surname Zhang for fear of reprisals.


“I don’t buy them there anymore,” a woman who gave only the pseudonym Chen told RFA. “I only buy them here.”

More than 340 million women aged 15 to 49 use sanitary napkins in China, with sales of such products worth around 98 billion yuan, or US$13.4 billion.


Yet many mainland Chinese women don’t trust feminine care products that are made in China.


Chinese companies have been embroiled in a string of public health scandals affecting foodstuffs in recent years, including other incidents involving Sudan Red in foods, melamine-tainted milk, used “gutter” cooking oil and cadmium-tainted rice.


Skimping on quality


Women have been taking to social media in recent weeks to report quality issues in sanitary products made in mainland China, including reports of substandard cotton filling that has been recycled from questionable sources, is discolored or contaminated.


A social media video last month showed one raw material supplier telling a blogger that the recycled material being sold as filling for sanitary towel manufacturers “came from diapers.”


Another blogger cut open a Sanwu brand product on camera, finding “inexplicable black blobs and foreign objects” in the filling, including a human hair.


Chinese manufacturers have also been accused of skimping on quality, including supplying sanitary towels that are several centimeters shorter than their advertised length.


“It’s a hot topic on Douyin right now that some sanitary towels just aren’t long enough,” a Shenzhen resident who gave only the surname Shen for fear of reprisals told RFA in a recent interview. “Some have been said to be unhygienic, with filling that looks black when you shine a light on it.”


Following social media complaints on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, government-backed media The Paper tested 24 different brands, finding that 88% of them were at least a centimeter (0.4 inches) shorter than advertised.


Chinese industry standards allow a discrepancy of up to 4%, which would equate to about 10-15 millimeters, suggesting that the discrepancies may not be illegal.


A worrying situation


More worryingly, social media users carried out their own private laboratory tests on Chinese-made feminine care products, finding that many products currently on the market have excessive levels of bacteria, harmful chemicals or the wrong pH, and could be harmful to women, leading to health problems, including bacterial vaginitis and pelvic inflammatory disease.


The reports prompted many women to take to social media in the hope of locating “safe” brands of sanitary products, spawning a wave of sellers on the social media platform claiming to have goods made in Hong Kong and Japan.


Sanitary products sold in personal products stores like Hong Kong’s Watson’s are often made in Hong Kong or Japan, to far more stringent safety standards.


In one social media video, a customer service representative of feminine products manufacturer ABC told a customer who complained: “If you don’t think this is acceptable, you don’t have to buy them.”


The company’s products were later removed from the shelves of its Tmall flagship store following a social media outcry.


A number of Chinese companies have made public apologies, while ABC has said that it is “deeply sorry” for its “inappropriate” customer service response, according to multiple media reports.

Access Denied

The view from China, that is from Xi, there being only one view allowed, is that President of Taiwan, William Lai, has been very naughty visiting American territory in the Pacific.
Lai is due to return to Taiwan tomorrow. Get ready for China to start chucking its toys out of the pram with some kind of show of force beyond the daily BS. Fighters, bombers, submarines all over the place.
Some sources suggest that the Russians might turn up too, one of their submarines has been lurking in the general area.
Let's just hope no one presses the wrong button.

I'm just worried that a ban on antimony will have a detrimental effect on Witchcraft stocks.

Oh dear, looks like the high heeled war criminal has fallen out with Mr. Shithole.

Russia Hits China With Trade Tariffs


Russia has imposed a new tariff on a category of imports from China, an ally that has been a crucial lifeline for Moscow since President Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.


Customs officials in Vladivostok recently reclassified sliding rail parts used in Chinese furniture, categorizing them alongside furniture parts with bearings, meaning they are now subject to a 55.65 percent duty, the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia announced in a November 28 statement.


The association warned of "serious consequences," saying "such a strong increase in duties could lead to the bankruptcy of many importers of furniture components and an inevitable rise in the price of domestic furniture by at least 15 percent," according to a statement on its website.


The Far Eastern port city handles about 90 percent of shipments of Chinese furniture fittings into Russia. Industry insiders questioned why China, Russia's "no-limits" partner, faces harsher duties than European suppliers.


Russia Hits China With Trade Tariffs - Newsweek

China Expands Trade-in Scheme to Boost Economy with Discounts on Home Appliances and Vehicles

To stimulate China’s struggling economy, the government has broadened the list of items that individuals can trade in for a discount of up to 20 per cent on newly manufactured items.


Several appliances have been added, such as rice cookers, water purifiers, microwave ovens, and dishwashers.


The state supports trade-in programs for electronic devices such as televisions, phones, tablets, smartwatches, and hybrid and electric automobiles.


The world’s second-largest economy has been experiencing several difficulties, such as a decline in consumer demand and a worsening crisis in the real estate market.


Officials announced on Wednesday that 81 billion yuan, equivalent to $8.9 billion or $11 billion, had been set aside for the consumer goods trade-in program this year.


“According to China’s top economic planning agency, e”visible effects” have already been achieved, even though the schemes were introduced in March.

It has been reported by the Ministry of Commerce of the country that the measures have increased sales of high-priced commodities such as automobiles and household appliances.


However, some economists have questioned whether the plans will sufficiently raise consumer spending considerably.


The economist Dan Wang, who is located in China, stated that “the measure is far from being enough to boost consumption.”


According to Harry Murphy Cruise, the head of China economics at Moody’s Analytics, “Although it has supported sales of some listed goods, such as automobiles and home appliances, it has not driven an overall uptick in spending.”


China has taken further steps to strengthen its domestic economy in the past several months. This is in response to the mounting difficulties that the country’s exporters are experiencing.


A significant meeting of China’s leaders in December emphasised the necessity of “vigorous” attempts to increase consumer spending.


The announcement came at the same time as President-elect Donald Trump, who is scheduled to return to the White House this month, threatened to slap a sixty per cent tariff on products manufactured in China.


China is scheduled to release its economic growth estimates in 2024 the following week. Beijing anticipates these results to be around 5%.

China Expands Trade-in Scheme To Boost Economy With Discounts On Home Appliances And Vehicles