<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f5f5f5; text-align:center; overflow:hidden"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><div><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Merriweather:wght@900&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; background-color:#fff;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5%; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; color: #c80000;">CHINA</span><span style="font-family: 'Merriweather', serif; font-size: 15.5px; color: #001544;">Debate</span></td><td style="padding:3.5%; text-align:right; font-weight:normal; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;color: #001544; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5%; text-align:center;"><a style="border-bottom: none;text-decoration: none;color: #001544;" href="https://www.chinadebate.com/china-macro-reporter/archive" target="_blank"><img style="width:70px; border-radius:3%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);" src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a3e922cf6b9a40001bc2d6b/5e3dbbf161e6c357b022bea5_China%20Macro%20Reporter%20.png" alt="China_Macro_Reporter"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center; font-size: 27px; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#001544; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1;">China Macro Reporter</td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center; line-height:1.5; padding-bottom:35px; padding-top:10px; font-size: 13px; color:#001544; font-family:'gordita', sans-serif;">By Malcolm Riddell<span style="margin:0 6px">·</span>August 12, 2020</td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center; line-height:1.5; display:block; max-width:480px; margin:0 auto; padding:7px 0; font-size: 1.175em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color:#c80000; font-weight:normal; letter-spacing: -0.5px; border-bottom:2px solid #c80000;">Opening Statement</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5S0OUC?track_p_id=1X8TzJyI_VTE5%40yOssGOp1l" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/4x73lYAycA6tlG4fEtV_j0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5S0OUC?track_p_id=dZYEEvYkoVsshw8TzJyI_gk" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">TikTok/WeChat | Jimmy Lai's Arrest | Sec Azar's Taiwan Visit</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5S0OUC?track_p_id=5vRDgS8TzJyI_jqQ3oNNfat" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/yFphxEfwPePmOC_d_T40YEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5S0OUC?track_p_id=6i2SC%40V8TzJyI_PVu%40FbXsO" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">TikTok/WeChat | Jimmy Lai's Arrest | Sec Azar's Taiwan Visit</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h1 style="display: inline-block;font-size: 1.35em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;line-height: 1.35em;font-weight: normal;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;color: #001544;letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Greetings!</strong></h1><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">It’s August,</strong></em></span><span style="color: #d0021b"><em style="font-style: italic"> and from now until Labor Day, the China Macro Reporter will publish less often and have fewer posts.</em></span></p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But if some big things happen,</strong></em></span><span style="color: #d0021b"><em style="font-style: italic"> we’ll bring you the analyses you need to understand those events.</em></span></li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Three big things</strong> to follow:</p><ol style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">President’s moves</strong> to ban TikTok and WeChat</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The arrest of Jimmy Lai</strong> in Hong Kong</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Secretary Azar’s</strong> visit to Taiwan.</li></ol><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">President Trump’s moves</strong> to ban TikTok and WeChat in the U.S. – big deals in themselves - appear to be part of a broader strategy, or strategies. The FT quotes Bonnie Glaser:</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“While Trump and his campaign team</strong> are using China to boost his re-election chances, senior administration officials have other goals,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ “They appear to want to lock in</strong> strategic, system rivalry with China so that if Biden is elected it can’t be reversed.” ’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Which raises</strong> the questions:</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To win, will Mr. Trump,</strong> egged on by the China Hawks who have their own agenda, escalate his punitive actions against China before the election?</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">If he is re-elected</strong> will he ease off the throttle or just keep going? And if he just keeps going, how will that impact Asian regional security, international finance, and global markets?</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Finally,</strong> can this flurry of moves really bind a Biden administration? In the current bipartisan China-bashing mood a President Biden could have a tough time going against the status quo left by the Trump administration.</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The arrest of Jimmy Lai,</strong> the highest-profile so far, leaves no doubt about how China intends to implement the National Security Law in Hong Kong.</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">As some have noted,</strong> Xi Jinping didn’t need tanks to cow Hong Kong’s citizens; he just needed a platform for ‘white terror,’ and he has that now.</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Among the many reasons</strong> the arrest of Jimmy Lai is different from the rest of the increasingly intense crackdown is that he not only known as a fearless pro-democracy advocate in Hong Kong, but he has also met with officials in Washington, including Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi, to discuss Hong Kong’s plight.</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">In the same way</strong> that George Floyd became the symbol of Black Lives Matter, Mr. Lai – especially if he is tried in China, not Hong Kong, and is, as expected, given a harsh sentence up to life imprisonment – Mr. Lai could become a symbol and rallying point in Hong Kong and in the world against China’s repressive regime.</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Ultimately,</strong> the meaning of Jimmy Lai’s arrest is that, as the FT Editorial Board puts it:</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Freedom of the press</strong> appears to have ended in Hong Kong.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The instinct of many multinational businesses</strong> based in Hong Kong will be to keep their heads down and hope that they can continue to prosper — if they steer clear of politics.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That strategy</strong> may work in the short term. But it will still be fraught with risk.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Will analysts at a Hong Kong financial institution</strong> dare a critical assessment of key topics — such as the sustainability of the peg between the Hong Kong dollar and US dollar; or question the business interests of key members of the Chinese governing elite?’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Hong Kong brand</strong> has always been bound up with the rule of law and freedom of expression.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Without those freedoms,</strong> Hong Kong will be a sadly diminished place.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Finally,</strong> Secretary Azar’s official visit to Taiwan, the highest-level U.S. official to visit in decades, and his strong message of support from President Trump could signal a new – and much needed – rethinking of U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its defense.</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Or it could</strong> just be a campaign move.</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Either way</strong> China is not happy.</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">But not as unhappy</strong> as it would have been if a senior national security official had made the visit.</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Baby steps.</strong> Baby steps.</li></ul><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Go deeper into these issues - Browse the posts below.</strong></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">To read the original article, click the title.</strong></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Let me know what you think. </strong>And please forward the <strong style="font-weight: bold">China Macro Reporter</strong> to your friends and colleagues.</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">All the best,</strong></p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Malcolm</strong></p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:40px auto 0 auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align:center; display:block; padding:10px; background-color:#c80000; font-size: 1.375em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#ffffff; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height:1.35em; border-bottom:0px solid #f5f5f5;">1. From China Rhetoric to Action</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6PHZGS?track_p_id=74moYP3W5At1EU_LD%40c5Ga1" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/9LSioKgMjYvc5O-fygiKS0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6PHZGS?track_p_id=cUPPz5tb3S5eZ5At1EU_sWl" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Trump's swift, sweeping China offensive'</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><div></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6PHZGS?track_p_id=1o5At1EU_y1Vw424jQRdQeQ" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/tLa94SAZCog0pXbPJZVrxUi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6PHZGS?track_p_id=3lWE5At1EU_P4IGGHaagDFu" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Trump's swift, sweeping China offensive</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Axios</strong></h3><h3 style="display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">David Lawler </strong>| Axios</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The bottom line: It feels as though we’ve seen a decades’-worth of hawkish policies proposed or executed just in the past few weeks.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘President Trump's rhetoric on China</strong> has tended to run hotter than his actions — until now.’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Why it matters: </strong>Even at the height of Trump's trade war, his administration never hit China as hard, as fast, and on as many fronts as it is right now.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Thursday night</strong>, Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-china-tiktok-wechat-c6902d5d-649d-476d-8dec-a84e29ee06b6.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">escalated his campaign</a> to claw apart the Chinese and American tech worlds with executive orders that threaten to ban both TikTok and massive global messaging app WeChat.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘On Friday</strong>, the Treasury Department <a href="https://www.axios.com/us-sanctions-carrie-lam-hong-kong-china-0884330d-5755-4d91-bc17-358e5b1470c9.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">sanctioned Carrie Lam</a>, Hong Kong's Beijing-backed leader for "implementing Beijing's policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes." ’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That move follows</strong> <a href="https://www.axios.com/us-sanctions-china-paramilitary-xinjiang-xpcc-41e29c92-9649-4e47-9e91-a7f78330d4d8.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sendto_newslettertest&stream=top" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">sanctions</strong></a> on the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a powerful paramilitary organization, for its role in the mass detention of ethnic minorities.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The U.S. has</strong> <a href="https://www.axios.com/us-china-consulate-closures-espionage-spying-ad9c5e77-eb1d-4ccf-8315-6906cf981ebc.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">closed China’s consulate</strong></a> in Houston, stepped up its efforts to keep Chinese telecom giant Huawei out of allies' 5G networks, and even <a href="https://www.axios.com/bill-barr-us-companies-china-8532218d-b20b-4dd3-86e1-c481c1744178.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">warned blue chip American companies</a> that they could face legal penalties for doing Beijing's bidding.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Health Secretary Alex Azar</strong> <strong style="font-weight: bold">will</strong> <strong style="font-weight: bold">soon</strong> become the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in four decades, in a pointed signal of support for the self-governing island that <a href="https://www.axios.com/azar-taiwan-visit-us-high-level-trip-first-7d285127-2dda-40d2-a025-8cc4e4b28e34.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">has infuriated Beijing</a>.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Between the lines: </strong>In some cases, Trump has been responding to China's actions — most notably, the draconian security law for Hong Kong. But there may be more to the sudden offensive.’</p><ol style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Politics:</strong>Trump is betting a tough-on-China push will resonate with voters in an election year, and his advisers — including trade adviser Peter Navarro, <a href="https://www.axios.com/peter-navarro-tiktok-19ba01a8-8368-4c25-bb2f-13fc09e71d13.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">on our Pro Rata podcast</a> — often <a href="https://www.axios.com/china-coronavirus-poll-cbbc0dc4-7c3a-4cc7-8b83-cb1c7dcacc89.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">cite polling</a> suggesting he’s right to do so.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Trade:</strong>Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-uighur-muslims-sanctions-d4dc86fc-17f4-42bd-bdbd-c30f4d2ffa21.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">has admitted</a> his desire to secure a trade deal with China caused him to pull punches in the past, including over the mass detentions in Xinjiang. Trade talks <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-trump/trump-says-he-is-not-interested-in-trade-talks-with-china-idUSKCN24F2Q4"
rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">are now on ice</a>, perhaps permanently.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Markets</strong>: Thanks to the $2 trillion CARES Act and the Federal Reserve's promise to do "whatever it takes" to support markets, investors have largely ignored trade war headlines and continued to bid stock prices higher.’</li></ol><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The bottom line:</strong> It feels as though we’ve seen a decades’-worth of hawkish policies proposed or executed just in the past few weeks, notes Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahmian.’ </p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:40px auto 0 auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align:center; display:block; padding:10px; background-color:#c80000; font-size: 1.375em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#ffffff; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height:1.35em; border-bottom:0px solid #f5f5f5;">2. Banning TikTok & WeChat</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8WZ2vI?track_p_id=8tJP6uw4G5OjEsA_lWjRZts" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/fT8DySfKfRttY-U-TpJFkEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8WZ2vI?track_p_id=1W5OjEsA_VAJoXpsEJdGVPa" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Why is the Trump administration banning TikTok and WeChat?</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8WZ2vI?track_p_id=aMukdIwcd5A5OjEsA_gan3s" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/LSLWKBI6HgWWsgSz40ANz0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/8WZ2vI?track_p_id=1w5OjEsA_G3sjYlaMu1ZXII" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Why is the Trump administration banning TikTok and WeChat?</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Brookings</strong></h3><h3 style="display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jeffrey Gertz |</strong> Brookings</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We appear to be headed toward a world where the internet applications available to citizens differ based on where they live—and the geopolitical commitments of their home country governments.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Late Wednesday night,</strong> President Trump issued <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">executive</a> <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-wechat/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">orders</a> that will effectively ban two major Chinese apps from the U.S. market.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The orders state</strong> that, 45 days from now, Americans will be prohibited from carrying out any transactions with the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat—meaning U.S. companies and individuals couldn’t advertise with the platforms, offer them for download via app stores, or enter into licensing agreements with them.’ </li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">TikTok. ‘For TikTok,</strong> the most immediate question is how this will influence a possible acquisition by Microsoft.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Microsoft </strong>had previously publicly announced its interest in acquiring TikTok and was in advanced talks with both the U.S. government and ByteDance to work out the details of such a transaction subject to any CFIUS concerns.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But in the last few days,</strong> President Trump has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53633315" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">declared that he expected any such deal to also include a substantial payment to the U.S. Treasury</a>—a request without any clear founding in CFIUS statutes, and which may have raised some red flags for Microsoft.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The new IEEPA ruling </strong>now means any sale of TikTok would need to be complete within 45 days, and also seemingly would prevent any ongoing commercial relationships between TikTok U.S. assets owned by Microsoft and TikTok operations still owned by ByteDance operating in other countries.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This would appear</strong> to make it impossible for certain star TikTok performers to have licensing deals integrated across TikTok platforms, for instance, or for any joint branding.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Wednesday’s declaration </strong>thus likely lowers the value of TikTok U.S. to Microsoft (or any other potential acquirer).’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If this ultimately quashes </strong>a deal and leads TikTok to entirely pull out of the U.S. market, the Trump administration may face political ramifications from 100 million disappointed users of the app in the U.S.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">WeChat. ‘With respect to WeChat,</strong> meanwhile, the biggest immediate question is how well the app will be able to continue functioning after the ban goes into effect.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The ban</strong> would seemingly block new downloads or updates of WeChat from any app stores within the U.S., but would not cut off access overnight.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Continued functionality of WeChat</strong> is an important concern for the Chinese diaspora in the U.S.; in part because access to many American social network apps is blocked in China, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/business/trump-china-wechat-tiktok.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">WeChat is a primary communication tool for students and immigrants to keep in touch with friends and family in China</a>.’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Impact. ‘The executive orders </strong>also underline what’s at stake in the potential “decoupling” of the U.S. and Chinese economies, and raise the prospect of a splintered global internet.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘We appear to be headed toward</strong> a world where the internet applications available to citizens differ based on where they live—and the geopolitical commitments of their home country governments.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Of course,</strong> this has long been the case in China, where the Chinese Communist Party’s ”<a href="https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3089836/story-chinas-great-firewall-worlds-most-sophisticated" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">Great Firewall</a>” has significantly limited how the internet is experienced in China in line with its own political objectives.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But</strong> if this move signals the U.S. government is going to follow a similar path, then a broader rupturing of the global internet may be at hand.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:40px auto 0 auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align:center; display:block; padding:10px; background-color:#c80000; font-size: 1.375em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#ffffff; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height:1.35em; border-bottom:0px solid #f5f5f5;">3. The Vise Tightens in Hong Kong</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6atyCm?track_p_id=5WNVq66sbF0Q_gaphr3C5VR" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/5UuPvEoCc6pbXv9dMT1crki__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6atyCm?track_p_id=2XU6sbF0Q_UqqHArWaT4%40Ns" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Hong Kong media entrepreneur and activist Jimmy Lai arrested' [from the German]</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;"><tbody><tr><td><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/e73wRLDj6t5OydijPZo9wDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6atyCm?track_p_id=7oRX4DQA6sbF0Q_3zOUkqQg" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/qbRpfEh5B3MX_AVTZBNvK0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6atyCm?track_p_id=amrh631ZB2u6sbF0Q_HgjSu" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Hong Kong media entrepreneur and activist Jimmy Lai arrested [Hongkong: Medienunternehmer und Aktivist Jimmy Lai festgenommen] </a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Der Spiegel</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Jimmy Lai is self-confident, loud - and has been a figure of hatred for Beijing's propaganda for years. The police have now arrested the publisher who is critical of China. He faces imprisonment, possibly for life.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"> <strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The Chinese censors</strong> no longer bothered to suppress the first international comments.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While the screen</strong> almost always goes black when Western news channels report from <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/thema/hongkong/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">Hong Kong</a>, this message initially went uncensored on Monday morning in China:' </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'</strong><a href="https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/hongkonger-medienunternehmer-und-aktivist-jimmy-lai-festgenommen-a-0fe869d7-3511-41f0-aba6-d10f42f944b0" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jimmy Lai arrested</strong></a>- Hong Kong's pro-democratic media tycoon, a "bitter government critic," as the BBC aptly called him.’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "Icy"</strong> is the atmosphere that is now spreading in the city five weeks after <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/hongkong-neue-details-zu-chinas-sicherheitsgesetz-a-3ec238b0-aa97-4399-bec3-e7abee8f9aca" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">the new State Security Act was</a> imposed.'</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is the most massive attack</strong> by the authorities on Hong Kong's media to date - and Jimmy Lai the most prominent representative of the democratic camp, who was arrested for violating the new so-called security law.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He is suspected</strong> of "colluding with foreign powers".’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Should he be convicted,</strong> he faces three to ten years, if his case is classified as "serious", even life imprisonment.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Jimmy Lai</strong> has been arrested several times for minor offenses such as participating in unauthorized demonstrations.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘So far he has always</strong> been released on bail.’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘That is not to be expected</strong> under the new State Security Act.' </li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is even possible</strong> that he will be tried not in Hong Kong but in mainland China.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "Lai will most likely face</strong> a heavy sentence," announced the Beijing Global Times.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In addition to violating the new security law,</strong> the authorities are apparently preparing a fraud charge against Lai.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing</strong> seems to want to make sure that Hong Kong's judiciary does not release him on bail again.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ "Hong Kong's police</strong> couldn't do much against you," commented a user on the Chinese short message service Weibo.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">"The security law can."</strong></li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:40px; font-size:0; background-color:#f6f6f6;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/90mAsq?track_p_id=ccNTE4xt5nhzV8wgjS2_HBv" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/K9fKxwrt-0GqvuYSovNp30i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/90mAsq?track_p_id=2EO8wgjS2_3sAuOwxSh%40F3l" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Who Is Jimmy Lai and Why Was the Apple Daily Publisher Arrested in Hong Kong?</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/90mAsq?track_p_id=4U5nA8wgjS2_MxGTURC1a2l" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/47C-7DT_qXLeochltz93d0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/90mAsq?track_p_id=8CimNR%40Gu8wgjS2_ACyQDbs" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Who Is Jimmy Lai and Why Was the Apple Daily Publisher Arrested in Hong Kong?</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left:
0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Wall Street Journal</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But his arrest was no surprise. When China introduced the National Security Law on June 30, many commentators and pro-Beijing groups said Mr. Lai would be a top target.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">'Q: Who is Jimmy Lai?'</strong></span></p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai,</strong> founder of the popular Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested Monday morning at his residence on allegations of foreign collusion under China’s national-security law.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘His two sons and four employees</strong> from his media company were also arrested, and about 200 police officers raided the newspaper’s newsroom.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Here’s what we know</strong> about the media magnate and his newspaper.’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The media mogul</strong> is the founder of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/HK/XHKG/282" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">Next Digital</a>, which publishes Apple Daily as its flagship newspaper and regularly criticizes China’s leaders as well as supporting last year’s protest movement.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He has been a longtime critic </strong>of China’s ruling Communist Party and in recent weeks has taken to doing a weekly Q&A with viewers on his <a href="https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/TWTR" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">Twitter</a> He financially supported the city’s pro-democracy politicians.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Q: Why was he arrested?'</strong></span></p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Police have said</strong> only that Mr. Lai was arrested with other Next employees on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to interfere with China’s national security in Hong Kong, without providing specifics.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But his arrest</strong> was no surprise.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘When China introduced the National Security Law</strong> on June 30, many commentators and pro-Beijing groups said Mr. Lai would be a top target.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘State media have accused Mr. Lai</strong> of colluding with foreign forces to promote the partly autonomous city’s secession from Beijing.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Lai met U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo</strong> in the White House in July last year to discuss Hong Kong’s political situation as residents of the city staged mass protests against a since-withdrawn bill that would have enabled criminal suspects to be sent from the city to mainland China for trial.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Lai also met Vice President Mike Pence</strong> on the trip, which drew condemnation from top Chinese officials.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘However,</strong> China’s national-security law, enacted on June 30, isn’t retroactive.’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #d0021b"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Q: What is Apple Daily known for?’</strong></span></p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Apple Daily</strong> has become one of Hong Kong’s most-read newspapers, increasingly known as a pro-democracy activist publication.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It has printed protest posters</strong> both in the paper and separately for use at big demonstrations, such as the July 1 handover anniversary.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong</strong> see buying a subscription and buying the company’s stock as ways to contribute to the protest movement.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:40px; font-size:0; background-color:#f6f6f6;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6uCR4C?track_p_id=cyveQt3Y%40aNOl8KgxSg_14X" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/Fo7ntZ9ZrZNKfYOiaIEwBEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6uCR4C?track_p_id=1H8KgxSg_5A2W1j%40CZwFBpU" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Watch the Jimmy Lai Case</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;"><tbody><tr><td><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/dcRB_kWH5UQ6-pveSdL1nDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6uCR4C?track_p_id=2dq8KgxSg_NCzeEkrCqOerK" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/K3QnfSaJPzkG44VHcoZ_r0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6uCR4C?track_p_id=2md8KgxSg_pmI%40YAde4gxdJ" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Watch the Jimmy Lai Case</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jerry’s Blog</strong></h3><h3 style="display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Jerome A. Cohen</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Over the next few months, it will be very important to try to observe the procedures in these new types of Hong Kong criminal cases.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The recent </strong><a href="https://jeromecohen.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75ccbf179b52f85e76067015c&id=af8b6e7ad1&e=387aa8fa4b" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">arrest of Jimmy Lai</strong></a> for “alleged foreign collusion” ’ raises questions.</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Over the next few months,</strong> it will be very important to try to observe the procedures in these new types of Hong Kong criminal cases.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To what extent</strong> will court procedures be open for public observation?’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Will prosecutors</strong> be obligated to reveal in open court the bases for the arrests?’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Will defense counsel</strong> be allowed to inform the public about the details of the proceedings?’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Many questions </strong>have already arisen.’ </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For example,</strong> regarding the six overseas activists abroad recently placed on the Wanted for Arrest list (one is a US citizen), has the PRC implemented the Interpol notification process?’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If so,</strong> with what responses from various countries thus far?’ </li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For Lai’s case,</strong> will there now be a move to transfer him and his co-defendants to the Mainland for investigation and trial?’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘By what procedures?</strong> Secret or public? With any possible resort to HK courts?’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In a case</strong> that arose a few days earlier, are the four arrested suspects who are 21 and younger to be charged for their Internet messages alone or for other conduct?’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘How will their cases</strong> be processed?’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If HK’s Director of Public Prosecutions</strong> has just resigned because of the refusal of his bosses in the Department of Justice and higher in the HK Government to allow him to know about NSL prosecutions, how much will the HK Bar, the media and the public be allowed to know about such matters?’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘I hope the courageous Jimmy Lai’s</strong> confidence in his prison future is not misplaced.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In an interview with AFP,</strong> he said that “he is prepared for prison. If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven’t read.” ’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘He has said</strong> he will not leave Hong Kong.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘But can he</strong> be sure?’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If transferred for detention</strong>, interrogation and trial on the Mainland under the NSL, he will leave HK against his will.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Moreover,</strong> is he correct in assuming that, if imprisoned, he will catch up on his reading?’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mainland jails and prisons</strong> are not as lenient as some Hong Kong counterparts.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ask the two Canadian Michaels</strong> what books they have been reading, even though the lights may still be kept on in their cells 24/7!’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ask human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang</strong> what he read during his five years of torture.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ask artist Ai Weiwei</strong> what he read during his months of “residential surveillance” at a designated location, even though he had to be released before prosecution because of political pressures.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If Lai’s paper, Apple Daily,</strong> manages to continue to publish, I hope it can report on what has been too largely ignored to date— the underlying reasons why the HK Director of Public Prosecutions (HKDPP) resigned.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘What does this foretell for Jimmy Lai </strong>and many others that the HKDPP is not only not allowed to decide who gets prosecuted under the NSL, but he is not even allowed to know what is going on in the decision-making process!' </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Good luck, Jimmy!!’</strong></li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:40px auto 0 auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align:center; display:block; padding:10px; background-color:#c80000; font-size: 1.375em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#ffffff; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height:1.35em; border-bottom:0px solid #f5f5f5;">4. Ramping Up U.S.-Taiwan Relations</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6iVZ56?track_p_id=8SaYPnK3d8xOSEA_madXgKs" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/3QKIJ28TXRxlm_PNLipujEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6iVZ56?track_p_id=1H8xOSEA_HPAZKwfcPkP%40OH" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'As U.S.-China Ties Deteriorate, Taiwan’s Importance Grows '</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;"><tbody><tr><td><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/AN3CPrjvY4PzKyMOg-YqnDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6iVZ56?track_p_id=aoaZd3ZB%40bb8xOSEA_NkO%40F" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/uU7qmWyQOJg8fmmGA7lp70i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6iVZ56?track_p_id=cPIqgVepSyAwo8xOSEA_5o2" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">As U.S.-China Ties Deteriorate, Taiwan’s Importance Grows </a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The New York Times</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Azar’s trip, the highest-level visit to Taiwan by an American official since Washington severed official ties with the island in 1979, pointed to the increasingly important role Taiwan will play in a brewing ideological battle between the two superpowers.’</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The United States’ top health official</strong> lauded Taiwan’s democracy and its response to the coronavirus. Taiwan’s president <a href="https://english.president.gov.tw/News/6026" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">hailed the island’s growing economic and public health ties</a> with the United States.’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Yet just offstage</strong> from this show of bonhomie on Monday between Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, and President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan was the looming force of China.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beijing claims Taiwan</strong> as its territory and underlined its opposition to official exchanges like Mr. Azar’s visit by sending two fighter jets toward the island, briefly crossing the median line in the strait separating mainland China and Taiwan, just before the talks.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Mr. Azar’s trip,</strong> the highest-level visit to Taiwan by an American official since Washington severed official ties with the island in 1979, pointed to the
increasingly important role Taiwan will play in a brewing ideological battle between the two superpowers.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Taiwan and the United States</strong> have frequently framed their alliance as one based on “shared democratic values,” and China’s reaction was a reminder of the risks the island faces as it seeks a stronger relationship with Washington.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To Taiwan,</strong> the trip is a diplomatic coup and an opportunity to showcase its widely praised response to the virus, which it achieved despite efforts by China to diplomatically isolate the island.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Ms. Tsai,</strong> in remarks welcoming Mr. Azar, said his visit showed that relations between the two sides “have never been better.” ’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To Beijing,</strong> the visit is considered yet another provocation from the United States at the most volatile time in the bilateral relationship in decades.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The ruling Communist Party</strong> sees the interactions between Taiwan and Washington as a challenge to its sovereignty and in defiance of its threats to unify the island with the mainland by force.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To the Trump administration,</strong> Mr. Azar’s visit is a chance to take a jab at China, which has sought to spin the coronavirus crisis as a testament to the strength of its authoritarian system.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘It is a way for Washington</strong> to show that it backs Taiwan in the face of increasing efforts by China to keep the island off the international stage.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “It is a true honor</strong> to be here to convey a message of strong support and friendship from President Trump to Taiwan,” Mr. Azar said in remarks at the Taiwanese presidential office before heading into a meeting with Ms. Tsai.' </p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “Taiwan’s response</strong> to Covid-19 has been among the most successful in the world, and that is a tribute to the open, transparent, democratic nature of Taiwan’s society and culture.” '</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:40px; font-size:0; background-color:#f6f6f6;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Gb7dA?track_p_id=06nGzGg_ev1tygwTnaRRzVX" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/p8Mr_cZOFApn0lBA1EmOyEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Gb7dA?track_p_id=1h6nGzGg_YeqojC2Lq6Kap5" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Edging Towards China's Redline on Taiwan</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Gb7dA?track_p_id=diuVAP4%40GbGHKL6nGzGg_BU" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/bA4eXEEp5LdJVB-5uvFxk0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/5Gb7dA?track_p_id=2UG6nGzGg_U2rwWlJWiIWyu" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Edging Towards China's Redline on Taiwan</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">France24</strong></h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><em style="font-style: italic"><strong style="font-weight: bold">“The fact that they didn’t choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China’s red line but don’t want to cross it.”</strong></em></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Throughout the 1990s</strong> the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Douglas Paal,</strong> a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China’s red line—that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The difference this time,</strong> he said, is the context, with Azar traveling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “Sending him to Taiwan</strong> shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China’s eye at the same time,” Paal said.'</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">' “The fact that they didn’t choose</strong> to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China’s red line but don’t want to cross it.” '</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:40px auto 0 auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align:center; display:block; padding:10px; background-color:#c80000; font-size: 1.375em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color:#ffffff; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height:1.35em; border-bottom:0px solid #f5f5f5;">5. China E-commerce</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4nRAGG?track_p_id=9RtBuYXSZk5WSX7O_lx6234" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/ogPnTthZroUUftnKTlBoGEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4nRAGG?track_p_id=4vgQS5WSX7O_cd3DZHCZzYa" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">China's Major E-commerce Platforms</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; padding-bottom:0px;"><tbody><tr><td><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/jZndVWuARIoT65lP0WbTpDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><h1 style="text-align: left;display: inline-block;font-size: 1.35em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;line-height: 1.35em;font-weight: normal;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;color: #001544;letter-spacing: -0.1px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Cheng Li</strong></h1></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l8gHQ?track_p_id=ck3k5uMgChGvW6UmZJ8_eqP" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/-UodRTBu_jvItnQ302lnC0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l8gHQ?track_p_id=7URNbM5E6UmZJ8_YI35kvLJ" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">Will China’s E-commerce Reshape a Reopening World? –</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Cairo Review of Global Affairs</strong></h3><h3 style="display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Cheng Li & Ryan McElveen</strong> | Brookings</h3><h2 style="text-align: center;display: block;font-size: 1.15em;margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #c80000;border-top: 0px solid #ddd;padding: 0.5em 3.5% 0.5em 3.0%;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;background-color: #f5f5f5;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If not for the pandemic, China’s tech giants would not have innovated so quickly.’</strong></h2><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘In the early months of 2020,</strong> there was an unassailable advancement of China’s e-commerce platforms while many other sectors of the Chinese economy lay dormant.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘While online sales</strong> dropped 0.8 percent overall when comparing the first quarters of 2019 and 2020, a broader comparison between those first quarters shows impressive year-on-year increases in several categories.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘For example</strong>, sales grew in physical commodities overall (by 5.9 percent); agriculture products (by 31 percent); fresh food (by 70 percent); and household necessities, including kitchenware and fitness equipment (by 40 percent).’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘The growth</strong> in these categories was made possible by the creative innovations of e-commerce platforms as well as their ability to keep consumers and employees safe.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘If not for the pandemic,</strong> China’s tech giants would not have innovated so quickly.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Similarly,</strong> the government would not have moved so quickly to support their advancements, nor would their innovations have been as widely adopted by society.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Their adaptation and success</strong> during the pandemic have been helped by the fact that they:’</p><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘1) prioritized the health</strong> of their customers and employees by employing subsidies and price freezes on products and implementing safe delivery processes:’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘To deliver items</strong> to harder-to-reach places, firms ramped up the use of drones and self-driving vehicles.’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘JD.com also employed its smart vehicles</strong> by sending them to the locked-down Wuhan border, where they were remotely operated from Beijing to make urgent deliveries.’ </li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘2) allowed easier access to medical services</strong> by promoting telemedicine and creating COVID-19 test booking platforms:’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Beginning in 2019,</strong> the government removed its ban on online sales of prescription drugs, and, during the coronavirus outbreak, allowed telemedicine services to both diagnose and treat patients.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘3) connected and networked communities</strong> by increasing the adoption of online education and livestreaming platforms:’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Growth in online education</strong> has vastly outpaced expectations because of the pandemic, and the sector is expected to grow 12.3 percent to $61.5 billion this year.’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Perhaps most significant for China’s economy,</strong> livestreaming has generated new sales channels for small merchants, enabling live interaction through which sellers can showcase their products—like clothes, food, and cosmetics—and personally respond to audience questions.’ </li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Not all of China’s e-commerce advancements</strong> have been positive from the perspective of civil liberties and privacy protection.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘They have laid bare</strong> the precarious nature of the close relationship between the government and tech companies.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Perhaps most disconcertingly,</strong> data privacy is becoming an even greater concern given reports that, during the outbreak, Alibaba’s Ant Financial and Tencent <a href="https://qz.com/1860453/chinese-city-will-use-health-scores-for-citizens-even-after-covid-19/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;">developed</a> an app utilizing digital barcodes to help the government control the movement of people.’</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘This feature</strong> will continue to live on in the Alipay and WeChat platforms as COVID-19 recedes and the country reopens.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="height:40px; font-size:0; background-color:#f6f6f6;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; border-top:solid 1px #ccc;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:3.5% 3% 3% 3%"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:block; padding-top:10px;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l8gHQ?track_p_id=06UmZJ8_XXC65Fu%40FYYKRVG" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/ogPnTthZroUUftnKTlBoGEi__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/6l8gHQ?track_p_id=6SQhIru6UmZJ8_sVRWf1w6X" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">'Will China’s E-commerce Reshape a Reopening World?' </a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="max-width:600px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;"><tbody><tr><td><img width="100%" src="https://img.scoop.it/smqDPl8ZmnHw6lVF_ot7_zl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBXdhNIf0Yl8YfRAVzhohB7e"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width:600px; width:100%; margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:#fff"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50px" style="display:none;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4nRAGG?track_p_id=05WSX7O_n4N5x5NPkra2FG6" target="_blank" title="SourceLogo" style="color: #001544;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 2px solid #008dc8;"><img height="50px" width="auto" alt="SourceLogo" src="https://img.scoop.it/-UodRTBu_jvItnQ302lnC0i__cjguAuwrRM5-qsdIhQ=" style="display:block; overflow:hidden; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius:10%; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 2px 6px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19); width:auto;"></a></td><td width="100%" style="display:none; padding-left:5%;"><a href="http://sco.lt/4nRAGG?track_p_id=avTz1TN5rUG5WSX7O_lu1UI" style="color:#001544; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none; border-bottom:none;" target="_blank">China's Major E-commerce Platforms</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="height:0px; font-size:0"> </td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 3.5%; font-size: 1em; font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif; color: #001544; line-height: 1.5em; letter-spacing:-0.1px;"><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p><h3 style="text-align: right;display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">The Cairo Review of Global Affairs</strong></h3><h3 style="display: block;font-size: 0.85em;margin-top: 0em;margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-weight: normal;font-family: Georgia, serif;color: #5d5d5d;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">Cheng Li & Ryan McElveen</strong> | Brookings</h3><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;">‘<strong style="font-weight: bold">The major e-commerce platforms</strong> in China today have expanded to include:</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0.5;"><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight:
bold">‘Suning </strong>(1990), which has 1,600 brick-and-mortar stores around the country and sells physical merchandise, ranging from home appliances to baby care products;’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘JD.com or Jingdong </strong>(1998), which is a business-to-consumer marketplace that purchases inventory from brands and operates its own logistics chain;’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Tencent </strong>(1998), which developed the social media app WeChat and the WeChat mobile payment system and has financial stakes in JD.com, Meituan, and Pinduoduo;’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Alibaba </strong>(1999), which developed the Alipay (Ant Financial) mobile payment system and has two major online retailers: Taobao and Tmall. Taobao was modeled on eBay as a consumer-to-consumer marketplace, whereas Alibaba’s Tmall was established as a business-to-consumer marketplace hosting local and international businesses;’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘ByteDance </strong>(2012), which is one of the newest entrants to e-commerce and plans to sell products through its internationally-renowned apps, Toutiao and Douyin (Tiktok). Tiktok, which allows users to share short videos and has become particularly popular during the global lockdown, has more than eight hundred million users;’ </li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Meituan-Dianping </strong>(2015),which is a merger of Groupon-like voucher sellers Meituan and Dianping and combines food delivery; restaurant, entertainment, and travel booking; and customer reviews into one universal online-to-offline platform; and’</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold">‘Pinduoduo </strong>(2015), which has become widely used in rural areas for its combination of bargain shopping, gaming, and social media, is the largest interactive e-commerce platform in the world and has overtaken JD.com to become the second largest e-commerce site in China behind Taobao.’</li></ul><p style="display: block;margin-top: 0.5em;margin-bottom: 0.5em;margin-left: 0;margin-right: 0;font-size: 1em;font-weight: normal;letter-spacing: -0.1px;line-height: 1.5em;color: #001544;font-family: gorditamedium, sans-serif;"></p></td></tr><tr><td style="height:10px; font-size:0; border-bottom:10px solid #fff;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table>
