Threatening Taiwan and challenging the US

Plus, you won't believe  what's censored on Chinese TV

That and more on this week's China news headlines.

Welcome to China Uncensored. I'm Chris Chappell.

The war for Taiwan is getting closer. 

But first, you can help us continue to  uncensor China by joining what I call the  

China Uncensored 50 Cent Army. All it takes is  as little as a dollar per episode on the crowd  

funding website Patreon. Check out all the cool  perks you get on Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored.
 

So last week, I told you Chinese  

jets performed a pincer maneuver,  surrounding Taiwan on three sides.

This week, things are getting worse.

On Monday, China said an aircraft carrier  group was conducting exercises close to the  

island. Taiwan's defense ministry said 15  Chinese aircraft, including 12 fighters,  

entered its air defense identification zone. 

The Chinese aircraft carrier was the Liaoning.  

It's China's first functional aircraft  carrier. This was a major escalation.  

The Chinese forces conducted exercises to  the east and west of the island of Taiwan.

China claimed it was just a  routine training exercise.

Which is true. Training to  invade Taiwan is now routine. 

But Taiwan's Foreign Minister responded to  the “exercises” with some pretty strong words.

“Our defense ministry is very  determined in defending ourselves.  

We are willing to defend ourselves and (it) is  without any question. And we will fight the war  

if we need to fight a war. And if we need  

to defend ourselves to the very last day, we  will defend ourselves to the very last day.”

How did China respond?

“China sent more fighter jets into  Taiwan's air defense zone on Wednesday.”

The US military is warning there's a  rising risk China will invade Taiwan.

Now what ever would lead them to that conclusion?

But the US and Australia are  working together on contingencies  

around a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.  Here's Michael Goldman, the charge d'affaires  

at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, on The Australian  National University's National Security Podcast.

“I think we're committed as allies to working  together, not only in making our militaries  

interoperable and functioning well together  but also in strategic planning. And when  

you look at strategic planning, it covers the  range of contingencies that you've mentioned,  

of which Taiwan is obviously  an important component.”

But the Chinese Communist Party is also  preparing. Here's a great idea from Hu Xijin  

the editor in Chief of my favorite  state run media, the Global Times.  

This was in response to a Chinese netizen  on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

“I will catch you [the young male netizen]  and send you to bomb the bunkers on [Taiwan]  

as a member of the commando. If you dare  to run away, I will shoot you from behind.”

So it sounds like the Chinese people are  all on board for an invasion of Taiwan.  

Whether they want to be on board or not.

The genocide of Uyghurs in China is turning into a  real PR disaster for the Chinese Communist Party.  

Who knew people would be  so touchy about genocide?!

Some people are suggesting a  boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics  

could put pressure on the regime. Here's  US State Department Spokesman Ned Price  

answering a question about the  US and allies joining a boycott.

“It is something that we certainly wish to  discuss. A coordinated approach will be not only  

in our interest but also in the interest of our  allies and partners. So, this is one of the issues  

that is on the agenda, both now and going forward,  

and when we have something to  announce, we will be sure to do that.”

And now the State Department  has something to announce!

They aren't going to do it.

The White House also says a  boycott is not on the table.

China is certainly warning it will not  tolerate a boycott of its Olympics. 

But there are still growing calls for at  least a partial boycott of the Olympics.  

Like the idea from New York  Times columnist Nicholas Kristof  

that athletes could participate, but  government officials and companies shouldn't.

That's funny. He thinks the Olympics are  about athletics and not corporations. 

But there is one kind of boycott  the Chinese regime encourages:  

a boycott of Western brands that refuse to  use cotton made with Uyghur slave labor.

More after the break.

Welcome back. The Chinese regime is going hard  against some Western companies, like H&M and Nike.  

They're facing an official  boycott in China, because  

they refuse to use slave  labor cotton from Xinjiang.

The problem is, these are popular brands in China.  

Sometimes people even show up on  television wearing these clothes.

Not to worry, the Chinese regime  has figured out a surefire way to  

completely erase them from the public memory.  By making TV shows blur out their logos.

Wait, unless the guys were actually naked.

Even large groups of people had  their clothing logos blurred out.

Yes Anti-China forces must be blurred to  protect the feelings of the Chinese people.

Wait, what's going on?! 

The Chinese Communist Party is  very proud of its Covid vaccines.  

They even require foreigners to take a  Chinese vaccine to get into the country.

But it turns out, Chinese officials  

might be a little less enthusiastic  about the Chinese vaccines.  

Leaked documents show Chinese  officials trying to dodge vaccinations.

For example, “In a town called Xintai, only three  out of 66 officials have gotten vaccinated, with  

another two on the registration list—showing a  dismal willingness rate of less than 10 percent.”

Meanwhile, Chinese health officials said they  plan to vaccinate 70-80 percent of the population.  

“In some cases, overzealous officials have gone  

door to door to vaccinate residents and even  threatened to blacklist the uncooperative.”

I guess the other 20-30 percent that won't be  vaccinated are the officials and their families.

You know, in other countries,  like Canada, vaccine corruption  

means the rich and powerful trying to get the  coronavirus vaccine before they're eligible.

In China, vaccine corruption means  the rich and powerful trying to  

avoid getting Chinese vaccines whenever possible. 

Yet another Chinese official  has been sacked for corruption.  

This time for owning nearly  3000 real estate properties.

“Xu Changyuan, a former high-ranking CCP official,  

was involved in mafia-linked assets  worth more than $1.52 billion.”

And Xu's family sure used mafia tactics.

“The Xu family employed  violence in collecting debts.  

An investigation showed they cut some debtors'  Achilles tendons, forced some into cutting off  

one of their fingers as a punishment or  subjected others to illegal detention.”

Now this may surprise you,  but according to local reports  

Xu was also very active in the genocide  against Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong is a spiritual group the communist  regime has been persecuting for 20 years—killing  

them and selling their organs  in state-run hospitals.  

I mean, you're not a good communist regime  if you can't make a little profit, right?

And now it's time for me to read a question or  comment from a member of the China Uncensored 50  

Cent Army. Those are fans who support the show on  Patreon by pledging a dollar or more per episode.

Steve M says, “I understand the desire to  boycott the Beijing Olympics. I think it  

would be more effective to go to the Olympics  and then have all the non-Chinese participants  

carry flags for Taiwan, Tibet, Xijiang, etc  and see how China tries to censor that.”

Well, Steve, that's an interesting idea.  If there were an entire stadium filled with  

people holding flags for those places,  it would certainly make a huge impact.

But it probably wouldn't get that far.

If you're talking about the Olympic athletes  carrying flags for Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang,  

they would get in trouble.  They could possibly even  

get disqualified from participating in the Games. 

That's according to a new rule from  the International Olympic Committee.

“Athletes are barred from conducting protests  or demonstrations on the field of play,  

in the Olympic Village, during medal ceremonies,  

or during the opening or closing  ceremonies of the games.”

And if you're talking about ordinary audience  members holding flags for those places,  

well that would still be hard to pull off. 

China has an incredible surveillance system.  From the moment you land at the airport,  

to inside your hotel lobby, to  the train to the Olympic events,  

to the security measures at the venue—Chinese  authorities can track your every move.

If you're carrying a Tibetan  flag, they'll know about it.  

And if you try to organize a mass protest  like this—even while you're in the US—they'll  

know ahead of time. Try creating a Facebook  group! You think just because Facebook is  

banned in China, Chinese police don't  use it to monitor people overseas? 

The one thing Chinese authorities can't do,  is force people to come to the Olympics.  

Well, they can't force non-Chinese people  to come. So a boycott is one of the few  

effective things people in the West can do,  without getting detained in China for it.

And if politicians and companies in the West  refused to support the 2022 Olympics, it would  

be a big embarrassment for the CCP. That's why  just the serious threat of a boycott might be  

enough to get them to make concessions—like  letting independent inspectors into Xinjiang.

Thanks for your comment, Steve.

And if you'd like me to read your question or  comment, join the China Uncensored 50 cent army.  

Pledge as little as a dollar per episode. Visit  pateron.com/ChinaUncensored to learn more.

Thanks for watching. I'm Chris  Chappell, see you next time.