Australian Senator’s ‘Loyalty Test’ for Chinese Australians Sparks Anger

by John Chan | Oct 20, 2020

A conservative Australian senator provoked outrage among the Chinese community in Australia last week, after he demanded that three Chinese-Australians testifying to a Senate hearing on diaspora communities unconditionally condemn the CCP. The Guardian’s Daniel Hurst reported that Senator Eric Abetz, a member of the Liberal Party, is facing widespread criticism for targeting the three witnesses with what one called a “loyalty test” on the basis of their ethnicity: With the witnesses before a Senate inquiry denouncing the “McCarthyist” tactics, and with the opposition Labor party likening it...

I saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his “new clothes,” but a clown who stripped naked and insisted on continuing being emperor.

- Ren Zhiqiang on Xi Jinping

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Minitrue Diary, February 4, 2020: Entertaining and “False” Content

Oct 20, 2020

CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following directive was released on February 4, 2020. 1. When completing scheduling and inspection work for entertainment programs, strengthen final checks on content aimed at amusement. Decisively replace content and advertisements that are clearly at odds with the overall tone. 2. In response to the recent issue...

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China’s Digital Currency Development Picks Up Speed

Oct 16, 2020

This week, Shenzhen’s government announced the rollout of one of the largest real-world trials of China’s fledgling new digital currency. The announcement came at the same time that Xi Jinping visited Shenzhen, where he laid out the city’s role in upgrading China’s economy. CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal reported on the city’s distribution of 10 million RMB worth of China’s so-far unnamed central bank digital currency, otherwise known as ‘DC/EP’ (‘Digital Currency/Electronic Payment’): Last week, the government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery to give away a total of 10 million yuan (about $1.5...

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New Reports On Family Separation in Xinjiang, Fear Among Uyghur Diaspora

Oct 16, 2020

An atomized diaspora undermined by suspicion of spies in their midst, “double hardship” children—an official Chinese euphemism for those whose parents are both interned in camps—placed in orphanages, a son living in the U.K. denounced on state television by his frail mother: the walls of Xinjiang’s “open-air prison” have been erected globally according to this week’s issue of The Economist. Since 2017, the P.R.C. has interned up to two million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in re-education camps in the Xinjiang region. In February 2020 the leaked “Karakax List” exposed the sophisticated...

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Minitrue Diary, February 4, 2020: Entertaining and “False” Content

Oct 20, 2020

CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following directive was released on February 4, 2020. 1. When completing scheduling and inspection work for entertainment programs, strengthen final checks on content aimed at amusement. Decisively replace content and advertisements that are clearly at odds with the overall tone. 2. In response to the recent issue...

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Australian Senator’s ‘Loyalty Test’ for Chinese Australians Sparks Anger

Oct 20, 2020

A conservative Australian senator provoked outrage among the Chinese community in Australia last week, after he demanded that three Chinese-Australians testifying to a Senate hearing on diaspora communities unconditionally condemn the CCP. The Guardian’s Daniel Hurst reported that Senator Eric Abetz, a member of the Liberal Party, is facing widespread criticism for targeting the three witnesses with what one called a “loyalty test” on the basis of their ethnicity: With the witnesses before a Senate inquiry denouncing the “McCarthyist” tactics, and with the opposition Labor party likening it...

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Weekend of Diplomatic Spats Ends in Cake Fight

Oct 19, 2020

A series of diplomatic spats over the weekend have renewed attention towards Beijing’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. Disputes included threats by the Chinese Foreign Ministry towards the Canadian and U.S. governments over Hong Kong and the prosecution of military-affiliated scholars, as well as a fistfight between Chinese and Taiwanese representatives at a diplomatic reception in Fiji. On Friday, China’s ambassador to Canada was quoted seemingly threatening the Canadian government over its recent move to grant asylum to a Hong Kong couple who were active during the pro-democracy...

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Minitrue Diary, February 4, 2020: Entertaining and “False” Content

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CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following directive was released on February 4, 2020. 1. When completing scheduling and inspection work for entertainment programs, strengthen final checks on content aimed at amusement. Decisively replace content and advertisements that are clearly at odds with the overall tone. 2. In response to the recent issue...

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Q&A: Leta Hong Fincher on China’s Resilient Feminists

Q&A: Leta Hong Fincher on China’s Resilient Feminists

Jun 5, 2019

A former journalist, Leta Hong Fincher was the first American to receive a PhD in Sociology from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her research there led to her first book, “Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China,” which examined rising gender inequalities in China today through the lens of economics, marriage, and the real estate market. Her widely acclaimed second book, “Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China,” examines the rise of a new feminist movement in China and profiles several of the key participants, including the...

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Translation: Enough With Your Eavesdropping, WeChat

Oct 20, 2020

Earlier this month NetEase user @YouyouXishuoDianying wrote an essay expressing concern over personal privacy in the age of big data. The essay outlines an experience with targeted corporate advertisement on WeChat, and joins earlier content translated by CDT representing growing public concern over data surveillance and the erosion of personal privacy. Enough With Your Eavesdropping, WeChat I have something to tell you today that is absolutely infuriating. This post may get harmonized, but I have to get this off my chest.  It begins with a conversation I was having with two friends on...

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Minitrue Diary, February 4, 2020: Entertaining and “False” Content

Oct 20, 2020

CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following directive was released on February 4, 2020. 1. When completing scheduling and inspection work for entertainment programs, strengthen final checks on content aimed at amusement. Decisively replace content and advertisements that are clearly at odds with the overall tone. 2. In response to the recent issue...

More Stories

China’s Digital Currency Development Picks Up Speed

Oct 16, 2020

This week, Shenzhen’s government announced the rollout of one of the largest real-world trials of China’s fledgling new digital currency. The announcement came at the same time that Xi Jinping visited Shenzhen, where he laid out the city’s role in upgrading China’s economy. CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal reported on the city’s distribution of 10 million RMB worth of China’s so-far unnamed central bank digital currency, otherwise known as ‘DC/EP’ (‘Digital Currency/Electronic Payment’): Last week, the government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery to give away a total of 10 million yuan (about $1.5...

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CCTV Airs Disappeared Taiwan Citizens’ Confessions, War Games

Oct 15, 2020

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Minitrue Diary, January 20, 2020: Hospital Attack, Financial Company’s Social Media Banishment, Mercedes in Forbidden City, Coronavirus

Oct 1, 2020

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Politics

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Australian Senator’s ‘Loyalty Test’ for Chinese Australians Sparks Anger

Oct 20, 2020

A conservative Australian senator provoked outrage among the Chinese community in Australia last week, after he demanded that three Chinese-Australians testifying to a Senate hearing on diaspora communities unconditionally condemn the CCP. The Guardian’s Daniel Hurst reported that Senator Eric Abetz, a member of the Liberal Party, is facing widespread criticism for targeting the three witnesses with what one called a “loyalty test” on the basis of their ethnicity: With the witnesses before a Senate inquiry denouncing the “McCarthyist” tactics, and with the opposition Labor party likening it...

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Human Rights

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Pressure Builds for 2022 Olympics Boycott

Oct 7, 2020

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said today that the U.K. government would not rule out the possibility of boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reported on his comments: Appearing in front of the foreign affairs select committee, Raab was asked about the possibility of Britain skipping the event in protest at human rights abuses. “Generally speaking, my instinct is to separate sport from diplomacy and politics, but there comes a point when it is not possible,” said Raab. “Let’s consider in the round what further action we need to take,” he...

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Society

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Minitrue Diary, January 29, 2020: Celebrity Donations, International Aid, Spring Festival

Oct 9, 2020

CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following three directives were released on January 29, 2020. Concerning donations by celebrities and actors, do not hype the amount of the contribution. (January 29, 2020) [Chinese] Regarding the situation of aid donation from International Red Cross and Belarus, temporarily refrain from reporting. (January 29,...

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China & the World

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Minitrue: Do Not Hype Trump’s Coronavirus Diagnosis

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Law

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CCTV Airs Disappeared Taiwan Citizens’ Confessions, War Games

Oct 15, 2020

In a three-part documentary series focused on Taiwanese espionage, CCTV program Focus Talk broadcast the likely forced confessions of four Taiwanese citizens: Lee Meng-chu, Cheng Yu-chin, Tsai Chin-shu, and Shih Cheng-ping. All four had disappeared after visits to the mainland between 2018 and 2019. The airing of Lee, Cheng, Tsai, and Shih’s confessions are part of what Beijing calls operation “Thunder 2020,” a crackdown on a purported Taipei-organized spy ring. Taiwanese leaders have condemned the aired confessions in the strongest terms, calling them “malignant,” “unbecoming of a world...

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Information Revolution

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Twitter Labels Official Accounts, Targeting Chinese State Media

Aug 6, 2020

Twitter announced today that the company will start labeling tweets and accounts from official media, focusing on those from China and Russia. For clarity: we don't let state-affiliated media accounts advertise on Twitter. We’ll also no longer include them or their Tweets in recommendations, as we continue to support a free and independent press. More on this policy and new labels: https://t.co/BY1jTO46Zc (2/2) — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 6, 2020 Owen Churchill of the South China Morning Post reports: The new categorisation covers accounts in the United States,...

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Culture & the Arts

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Pressure Builds for 2022 Olympics Boycott

Oct 7, 2020

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said today that the U.K. government would not rule out the possibility of boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reported on his comments: Appearing in front of the foreign affairs select committee, Raab was asked about the possibility of Britain skipping the event in protest at human rights abuses. “Generally speaking, my instinct is to separate sport from diplomacy and politics, but there comes a point when it is not possible,” said Raab. “Let’s consider in the round what further action we need to take,” he...

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The Great Divide

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Minitrue Diary, January 20, 2020: Hospital Attack, Financial Company’s Social Media Banishment, Mercedes in Forbidden City, Coronavirus

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CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following four directives were released on January 20, 2020. On January 20, a knife incident occurred at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, injuring doctors and a patient. Relevant departments are currently dealing with the situation. If reporting, follow information from authoritative departments, play the story down, do...

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Sci-Tech

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China’s Digital Currency Development Picks Up Speed

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This week, Shenzhen’s government announced the rollout of one of the largest real-world trials of China’s fledgling new digital currency. The announcement came at the same time that Xi Jinping visited Shenzhen, where he laid out the city’s role in upgrading China’s economy. CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal reported on the city’s distribution of 10 million RMB worth of China’s so-far unnamed central bank digital currency, otherwise known as ‘DC/EP’ (‘Digital Currency/Electronic Payment’): Last week, the government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery to give away a total of 10 million yuan (about $1.5...

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Environment

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Xi’s Climate Pledge Stuns World But Barriers Remain

Sep 29, 2020

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Hong Kong

Latest

Weekend of Diplomatic Spats Ends in Cake Fight

Oct 19, 2020

A series of diplomatic spats over the weekend have renewed attention towards Beijing’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. Disputes included threats by the Chinese Foreign Ministry towards the Canadian and U.S. governments over Hong Kong and the prosecution of military-affiliated scholars, as well as a fistfight between Chinese and Taiwanese representatives at a diplomatic reception in Fiji. On Friday, China’s ambassador to Canada was quoted seemingly threatening the Canadian government over its recent move to grant asylum to a Hong Kong couple who were active during the pro-democracy...

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Taiwan

Latest

Weekend of Diplomatic Spats Ends in Cake Fight

Oct 19, 2020

A series of diplomatic spats over the weekend have renewed attention towards Beijing’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. Disputes included threats by the Chinese Foreign Ministry towards the Canadian and U.S. governments over Hong Kong and the prosecution of military-affiliated scholars, as well as a fistfight between Chinese and Taiwanese representatives at a diplomatic reception in Fiji. On Friday, China’s ambassador to Canada was quoted seemingly threatening the Canadian government over its recent move to grant asylum to a Hong Kong couple who were active during the pro-democracy...

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