U.S. FBI director says TikTok poses national security concerns

The U.S. operations of Chinese-owned TikTok raise national security concerns, FBI Director Chris Wray said on Tuesday, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.

Risks include "the possibility that the Chinese government could use [TikTok] to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations," Wray told U.S. lawmakers.

Source：Reuters #Nov15

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-fbi-director-says-tiktok-poses-national-security-concerns-2022-11-15/

#FBI #TikTok #Security #China

Hong Kong Schools Schedule National Security Education Activities, Mainland Exchange Tours

source: In-Media HK #Sep04

#NationalEducation #NationalSecurityLaw #NationalFlagLaw #Education #Mainlandization

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Hong Kong Schools Schedule National Security Education Activities, Mainland Exchange Tours

Following the Education Bureau's (#EDB) push to increase emphasis on "Citizenship and National Security Education", many Hong Kong schools have scheduled numerous activities around patriotic topics.

Read more:
Hong Kong's “National Education Calendar” suggests discussing #ChineseCommunistParty development and watching three "patriotic anti-Japanese" films a year
https://t.me/BeWaterHK/866

According to the "Primary School Profiles 2022" published by the EDB in September, these activities include exchange trips with schools in mainland China and quiz competitions. Out of the 500-plus primary schools in Hong Kong, 59 will be organizing flag-raising teams this year.

HKFEW Wong Cho Bau School, run by the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (#HKFEW), plans to establish exchange tours with sister schools in mainland China. The school aims to "deepen the students' knowledge of the history and culture of the motherland" through poetry reading, studying Chinese music and water painting.

Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong, ranked among the top primary schools in the city, will host a "Life in the Mainland Experience Tour" in primary year 5, "to let students gain a deeper understanding of student life in poorer areas, and to learn to give and be thankful". ELCHK Hung Hom Lutheran Primary School will have "scholarship tours", sending students abroad on exchanges with sister schools in places such as Canada and Beijing, so they could learn more about the world and the motherland. Several schools belonging to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals will also participate in the EDB's mainland exchange program.

Many schools have followed the EDB's suggested calendars and planned events on "important dates". ELCHK Faith Love Lutheran School explains: "Through activities such as Nanjing Massacre memorial day, constitution day, flag-raising ceremonies, and Speeches under the National Flag, students will learn National Security Education, and develop their concept of their country and respect for rule of law."

[editor's note: "Speeches under the National Flag" is a routine part of flag-raising ceremonies in China's schools, featuring speeches by teachers and outstanding students, as well as individuals deemed "model workers" by the Communist Party. The practice is prescribed under China's National Flag Law, so that students from kindergarten onward could "develop a sense of duty to love the country."]

In addition to events on "important dates", many schools are integrating national security education into their regular curriculum. Diocesan Girls' Junior School and SKH Chi Fu Chi Nam Primary School are among the schools who stated this intention.

source: In-Media HK #Sep04

https://bit.ly/3CXtNDM

#NationalEducation #NationalSecurityLaw #NationalFlagLaw #Education #Mainlandization

Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe

Well, that was unexpected. After the cold, cold theatre of Qatar 2022’s opening game, elite sport reimagined as a despot’s light-show, something remarkable happened on Monday afternoon in Doha.

As night fell over the vast, swooping Khalifa International Stadium (all these World Cup structures are vast and swooping; unless specifically told otherwise, assume vast and swooping) England and Iran produced something that felt jarringly real, oddly warm, suspiciously authentic.

Source：The Guardian #Nov21

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/21/irans-brave-and-powerful-gesture-is-a-small-wonder-from-a-world-cup-of-woe?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR37cMHY1Xq_DUAD4Ilad_UwEn9R1CtbEkTdhaArEcFo1q72AfozPPfpqrE&mibextid=Zxz2cZ#Echobox=1669067544

#Iran #WorldCup #Qatar #Doha

China hits back at FBI claim of unauthorized ‘police stations’ in US

China has contested claims it was operating unauthorized “police stations” on US soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was “very concerned” about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing’s influence operations.

Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police “service stations” in large cities around the world, including New York.

Source：The Guardian #Nov18

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwji49X7u7r7AhWQKEQIHbtZDzYQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Famp.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2022%2Fnov%2F18%2Fchina-police-stations-us-fbi-wray&usg=AOvVaw2AnrK9r5rT12Pf9IlmWjxn

#FBI #Police #China #NewYork

Surveillance for All: China Pushes for Permanent Health Code by 2025

Source: Radio Free Asia #Nov10

#CCP #SurveillanceState #WuhanPneumonia #HealthCode #BigData #BigBrother

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Surveillance for All: China Pushes for Permanent Health Code by 2025

Although the #WHO had clearly stated that there had been a drastic 90% decrease in COVID deaths across the world, China had not embraced this optimistic view. Instead, it has declared a goal of making the Health QR Code mandatory for everyone in the country by 2025, enforcing a long-term, real-time surveillance for its citizens.

On Nov 9, The National Health Commission of China announced on its website that by 2025, every Chinese citizen will have a dynamically-managed electronic health file and a fully-functional electronic health code. The announcement is jointly published by the National Health Commission, State Administration of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the announcement, the health code systems currently in use are run by each province separately, and the systems from different provinces do not generally recognize each other's codes. In response, the central government aims to create a basic, inter-connected surveillance platform by 2025, in which each resident will have a dynamically-managed electronic health file and a fully-functional electronic health code.

With such a system in place, the Chinese government will be able to leverage big data to trace the so-called "high-risk individuals", establishing a long-term, real-time surveillance and control of the Chinese populace.

Source: Radio Free Asia #Nov10

https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/code-11102022062758.html

see also:
"Encode us": Health Code, or is it CCP's Social Credit System? (Aug 17, 2020)
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24283

#CCP #SurveillanceState #WuhanPneumonia #HealthCode #BigData #BigBrother

Size of alleged Chinese interference in Canada ‘astonishing’: experts

Shocking reports of alleged Chinese interference in Canada’s 2019 elections, first reported by Global News, have raised questions about whether Ottawa is doing enough to deal with the national security threat. ‘The West Block’ host Mercedes Stephenson speaks with national security expert Akshay Singh, former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney, and Global News investigative reporter Sam Cooper about the bombshell revelations and the Liberal government’s underwhelming response.

Source：GlobalNews #Nov14

https://globalnews.ca/video/9272674/size-of-alleged-chinese-interference-in-canada-astonishing-experts/

#Chinese #Canada

Shanghai protesters, police jostle as anger over China's COVID curbs mounts

Source: Reuters #Nov27

#ChinaProtests #Shanghai #Urumqi #Beijing #Wuhan #A4Revolution

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Shanghai protesters, police jostle as anger over China's COVID curbs mounts

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of demonstrators in Shanghai shouted and jostled with police on Sunday evening as protests over China's stringent COVID restrictions flared for a third day following a deadly apartment fire in the country's far west.

The wave of civil disobedience, which has spread to other cities including Beijing, is unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago and comes amid mounting frustration over his signature zero-COVID policy.

The fire at a residential high-rise building in the city of Urumqi triggered protests after videos of the incident posted on social media led to accusations that lockdown were a factor in the death toll.

Urumqi officials abruptly held a news conference in the early hours of Saturday to deny COVID measures had hampered escape and rescue. Many of Urumqi's 4 million residents have been under some of the country's longest lockdowns, barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days.

On Sunday in Shanghai, police kept a heavy presence on Wulumuqi Road, which is named after Urumqi, and where a candlelight vigil the day before turned into protests.
By evening hundreds of people gathered in the area.

Some jostled with police trying to disperse them. People held up blank sheets of paper as an expression of protest.

One Reuters witness saw at least seven people taken away by police.

URUMQI, BEIJING, WUHAN

On Sunday at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University, dozens of people held a peaceful protest against COVID restrictions during which they sang the national anthem, according to images and videos posted on social media.

One student who saw the Tsinghua protest described to Reuters feeling taken aback by the protest at one China's most elite universities, and Xi's alma mater.

"People there were very passionate, the sight of it was impressive," the student said, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

In the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic began three years ago, hundreds of residents took to the streets on Sunday, smashing through metal barricades, overturning COVID testing tents and demanding an end to lockdowns, according to videos on social media that could not be independently verified.

Thursday's fire that killed 10 people in an apartment block in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region, saw crowds there take to the street on Friday evening, chanting "End the lockdown!" and pumping their fists in the air, according to unverified videos on social media.

Source: Reuters #Nov27

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-hit-by-covid-protests-anger-spreads-across-china-2022-11-27/

#ChinaProtests #Shanghai #Urumqi #Beijing #Wuhan #A4Revolution

"Politically corrected" textbooks in the New Hong Kong Era

Source: InMedia #Sep04

#NationalSecurityLaw #NationalEducation #RewritingHistory

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"Politically corrected" textbooks in the New Hong Kong Era

6 publishing companies amended their #LiberalStudies textbooks after "inquiring" the #EducationBureau for comments in August 2020. Journalists discovered that some contents are removed, including #June4th, #CulturalRevolution, #MongKokCivilUnrest, #LocalConsciousness and #HongKongIndependenceClaims.

In November 2020, then-Secretary of Education, Kevin Yeung, announced to reform the Senior Secondary Liberal Studies (LS) syllabus. Course content was re-organised, and some were removed in order to grow students’ national identity with a mainland visit opportunity.

Less than a year later, the new subject “Citizenship and Social Development” replaced LS in school curricula. However, its textbooks were only approved in June 2022. Journalists discovered that the new books did not only modify a few photos or comics, but completely overthrew statements made in past textbooks. Notable changes include stating that Hong Kong was “not a #colony”, and the #AntiELAB movement was “an illegal incident that is violent and endangers national security”.

In the new era of Hong Kong, are the textbooks becoming "politically correct"? InMedia found #LiberalStudies textbooks published between 2014 and 2020, and compared them to the new #CitizenshipandSocialDevelopment textbooks.

Under the new syllabus, concepts including "#CivilDisobedience", "Separation of Powers", "4 levels of the Rule of Law" and "Multiple identities" are removed. Topics that took their place are #NationalSecurity, #NationalIdentity, and #NationalAchievement. The topic of Rule of Law no longer covered #RestrictionofLaw, #HumanRightProtection without affecting others’ rights, social order and national security.

Additional materials are taken mainly from official government sources, such as Information Service Department and blogs of government officials. Students are no longer required to discuss topics with controversial views. They only need to answer questions such as “Why does the National People's Congress interpreting the law not affect judiciary independence?”

Source: InMedia #Sep04

https://bit.ly/3wUtMww

See also:
Hong Kong Schools Schedule National Security Education Activities, Mainland Exchange Tours
https://t.me/BeWaterHK/1006

#NationalSecurityLaw #NationalEducation #RewritingHistory

Protests has erupted in multiple cities across China, including Urumqi, Shanghai, and Wuhan.

Source: HKReaderXWriter #Nov27

#A4Revolution #ChinaProtests #Shanghai

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Protests has erupted in multiple cities across China, including Urumqi, Shanghai, and Wuhan.

Some protesters even chanted "CCP, step down" and "Xi Jinping, step down". Others recited the slogans from Beijing's lone protester at Sitong Bridge last month:

No lies, we want dignity
No cultural revolution, we want reforms
No dictator, we want the vote
No more being slaves, we are citizens

Videos and photos of the protests are shared by liberal Chinese netizens. Some had hashtagged their posts with "Liberate China, Revolution of Our Times".

Some protesters were seen holding up blank sheets of A4 paper, devoid of any slogans. Some had written messages on theirs: "What's so scary about blank paper?" "I'm a Chinese youth, not foreign powers".

Shanghai police has reportedly begun arresting protesters on the streets. The crowds responded with resistance as they retreated.

On the Clubhouse platform, protesters hosted a live feed to show the situation around them. They urged their audience to share their message, just as Iranian protesters did, so that the world can see their efforts.

Nearly a thousand people watched the live feed, some leaving comments that they should emulate Hong Kong protesters' "#BeWater" tactics to avoid casualties. Others predicted Shanghai will be under a heavy curfew by tomorrow. One commenter shared a Mandarin version of Hong Kong's protest anthem "#GloryToHongKong".

One of the hosts said that the most precious lesson she learned from the Hong Kong protests is "#DoNotSplit". She called on other protesters not to criticize each other, but instead respect each other's decisions.

Source: HKReaderXWriter #Nov27

#A4Revolution #ChinaProtests #Shanghai

Video: Chinese Students Gathered to Mourn Urumqi Fire Victims and Questions Lockdown Policy

Source: Facebook page #Nov28

#China #Xinjiang #Urumqi #RIP #WhitePaperRevolution #A4Revolution

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Video: Chinese Students Gathered to Mourn Urumqi Fire Victims and Questions Lockdown Policy

On the night of 24 November, a fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in Urumqi, China. The fire killed at least 20 people, including several children, the youngest of whom was just three years old.

Online footage of the rescue effort shows workers in white protective clothing breaking down fences and barricades that had been erected around the building due to China's zero-Covid lockdown policy. Many Chinese on social media are questioning whether the lockdown blockade was hindering rescue.

The incident led to an outbreak of mourning and protest activities in many parts of China. At Nanguang College of the Communication University of China, students held up plain A4 paper sheets. They sparked a "white paper revolution" to mourn the fire victims in Urumqi. On 26 November, another online clip showed campus students gathering in mourning, lighting up the night with their mobile phones and chanting "Long live the people, may the dead rest in peace."

Source: Facebook page #Nov28

#China #Xinjiang #Urumqi #RIP #WhitePaperRevolution #A4Revolution

https://fb.watch/h3D-7VNdqZ/?mibextid=OgCMUw