China targets climate activist Grerta Thunberg

And the US describes China using the G-word.

That and more on this week's China news headlines

Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

This episode is sponsored by Daily Pnut.

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That's why Daily Pnut gives you a daily dose of news in equal parts humor and substance.

Speaking of entertaining and substantial news...

Tensions between China and Australia are at an all time high.

The Chinese Communist Party launched a trade war with Australia a year ago, after Prime

Minister Scott Morrison called for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus.

Why would the world need an investigation anyway?

Everyone knows the coronavirus didn't come from China.

It's clear that the virus came from the US army...

Making frozen food…

Out of auto parts packaging.

See?

Case closed.

But a year after Australia's call for an investigation, the Chinese Communist Party

has still refused.

And they're still mad about it.

This week, my favorite Chinese state-run newspaper, the Global Times said China should be ready

to launch a devastating missile strike on Australia.

In this op-ed,

Global Times Chief Editor Hu Xijin writes, China should be ready to make “long-range

strikes on the military facilities and relevant key facilities on Australian soil.”

That could happen, should Australia do anything foolish like send troops to defend Taiwan

from a Chinese invasion.

Last month, a top Australian security official warned of China beating the drums of war.

He didn't specifically say China, but it was clear enough.

Which is ridiculous.

As the Global Times says, “China loves peace.”

Especially the pieces of Australia left after a Chinese missile strike!

China also just suspended its economic dialogue with Australia.

But keep in mind, you can't think of Hu Xijinas some rogue newspaper editor.

Among Chinese state-run media, the Global Times is the most hawkish, over-the-top mouthpiece

of the Chinese Communist Party.

But it's still a mouthpiece.

This is part of the Party's year-long attempt to terrorize Australia into submission.

Make it seem like a fight would be so bloody, there's no point in even having the fight.

The truth is, when you stand up to a bully, they tend to back down pretty quick.

But the Global Times is on a roll this week.

They're also targeting Greta Thunberg.

You see, according to this new report from the Rhodium Group, China produces more greenhouse

gases than the rest of the developed world combined.

And climate activist Greta Thunberg finally had some harsh words for China.

She said China is “ruining future and present living conditions.”

Enter the Global Times to say Thunberg isn't knowledgeable enough to understand climate

change.

She's also a puppet of Western politicians.

It also describes her as “the Swedish teenager who skipped school for so-called climate protests”.

This is not the first time Thunberg has run afoul of the Global Times.

Last year it was for her support of Hong Kong protesters.

The Global Times said she was “ignorant”

“Despicable”

and “nothing but a clown.”

I wonder why powerful men are so scared of Grerta Thunberg?

Wait, I get it.

I'm scared of her, too.

And after the break, Chinese state-run media makes up lies all the time—but this one's

hilarious.

Welcome back.

It's not just the Global Times that had a week of winning it.

State-run China Daily posted this video to Twitter to promote China tourism.

Wow, beautiful.

Except the video is not from China.

It's from the Swiss Alps.

And you might think, ok so they misidentified the country.

People make mistakes.

But it gets worse.

“The Chinese communist propaganda version of the video was slightly edited, including

flipping the image horizontally, making colour corrections, and seemingly doctoring a stick

into the dog's mouth.”

Wow, they did a good job with the stick.

( Not a good job with the propaganda.

And state-run Xinhua has registered as a foreign agent in the US.

It only took less than three years for them to get around to it.

They had been ordered to back in 2018.

Xinhua joins two other Chinese state-run media—CGTN and China Daily—as being registered foreign

agents.

That means they're required to disclose their annual budget and expenditures to the

US government.

Let's hope that Xinhua's budget disclosures are more accurate than China's other statistics.

The National Bureau of Statistics finally released their 10-year census data.

Earlier Western media reports said that China's population fell for the first time in 50 years.

But now, after weeks of delay, the official statistics show that China's population

actually rose.

Imagine that.

Some China analysts have noticed something...funny...about China's latest statistics.

A sudden unusual bump in the population growth rate in 2020.

All of this is to push back against the idea that China is facing a demographic crisis,

which it is.

I talked about that crisis in an episode last week.

More developments in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has flagged nearly 300 incursions by Chinese militia boats.

The government of the Philippines says it has logged what it calls "illegal incursions"

into its waters by 287 boats with Chinese militia aboard.

The country's task force on the South China sea said in a statement that the incident

may prompt possible diplomatic actions.

Yes, diplomatic action like...being reluctant to confront China.

Meanwhile, Taiwan is denouncing China's shameless lies.

Specifically about refusing Taiwan access to the World Health Organization.

China prevents Taiwan from having access to the WHO, because, as China's foreign ministry

said, “Nobody cared more for Taiwan's people than the Chinese government.”

Taiwan's Foreing Minister Joseph Wu responded by saying “After what Beijing has done to

Xinjiang, Tibet & Hong Kong, no sane person would believe it could take care of Taiwan's

health needs or otherwise.

Thank God we aren't under China's control!

Please help us keep it at a distance.”

Now that's one form of social distancing I can get behind!

That and social distancing because of my crippling anxiety around people in general.

And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided to make the Chinese Communist Party

very unhappy this week.

He said, “There is no reasonable justification for Taiwan's continued exclusion from [The

World Health Organization].”

And he demanded the WHO allow Taiwan to attend an upcoming WHO meeting, the World Health

Assembly.

You know, being that Taiwan is part of the world.

But Blinken didn't stop there.

He also announced the State Department is sanctioning a Chinese official involved in

the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual group.

China broadly criminalizes religious expression and continues to commit crimes against humanity

and genocide against Muslim Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.

Today, I'm announcing the designation of Yu Hui, former office director of the so-called

Central Leading Group Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions, of Chengdu, for

his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely, the arbitrary detention of

Falun Gong practitioners.

Blinken made the announcement as part of the release of the State Department's 2020 International

Religious Freedom Report.

And Blinken also specifically used the word “genocide” to talk about the persecution

of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

It shouldn't actually be a big deal to use the word genocide to describe China's genocide—which

meets every definition of genocide under the UN Convention on Genocide.

But sadly, the US is still one of the few countries to officially use the G-word.

So props to Blinken for having the B-word.

And after the break, Hong Kong is going after journalists.

With a bat!

Welcome back.

Nearly a year ago, Beijing passed the Hong Kong National Security Law.

It aims to take away as much freedom of speech and press as possible, while still pretending

that Hong Kong has its own autonomous government.

But when laws aren't enough to stop the free press, sometimes a more direct approach

is needed.

This is The Epoch Times.

It's one of the last independent Chinese-language media in Hong Kong.

Last week, a Hong Kong reporter for the The Epoch Times was attacked by a man with a bat.

“The assailant hit her with the bat more than 10 times before fleeing in a car.”

Takes a big man to beat a defenseless woman with a bat.

The Epoch Times is a newspaper critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

Last month, its Hong Kong printing press was attacked by men with sledge hammers.

And the US State Department, along with other US lawmakers, have condemned the assault.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong chief Executive Carrie Lam is pushing for laws to stop so-called

“fake news.”

Those will likely be aimed at stopping pro-democracy media like the Epoch Times and Apple Daily

from criticizing the Chinese Communist Party.

On Monday, we'll have a longer episode about Hong Kong's crackdown on the media.

And also we'll have the Epoch Times reporter who was attacked join us on our weekly podcast,

China Unscripted.

Yes, we also do a podcast every week.

In more Hong Kong news, Hong Kong legislators have officially passed a patriotic oath law.

Certain high level lawmakers and public servants have to swear an oath of loyalty to China—and

now the law adds district councillors to that list.

But that's not all.

The law also includes ways that people could be disqualified for breaching their oath.

“Including by refusing to recognise China's sovereignty over Hong Kong, supporting independence,

seeking foreign interference, 'insulting' a flag, as well as 'endangering national

security.'”

Insulting a flag, huh?

Hey flag.

You look funny.

Well, guess I'm never going to be a Hong Kong local district councillor.

The Biden Administration is reversing a Trump era blacklist of Chinese phone company Xiaomi.

The Trump Administration had put it on a trade black list because of links between Xiaomi

and the Chinese military.

Seven other Chinese companies were put on the same blacklist.

But Xiaomi sued, and won in a US court.

“Soon after the victory, Reuters reported that other Chinese companies placed on the

same blacklist were considering similar lawsuits.”

A fantastic development.

See, by law, all Chinese companies have to work with the Chinese military.

They call it civil military fusion.

And now, Chinese military-linked companies like Xiaomi will be able to sell their hardware

devices in the US again—to unsuspecting consumers.

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I'm Chris Chappell, thanks for watching.