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China Restricts What Apps Can be Installed on Mobile Devices

On July 21, 2023, a Chinese government website published a “Notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the Filing of Mobile Internet Applications,” stating that Chinese companies are now required to register their mobile Internet Applications (hereinafter referred to as “apps”) with the Chinese government. Unregistered apps will not be supported by Chinese network access providers and content platforms.

Here are some key excerpts from the notice:

II. Task Specification

(1) Any app owners engaged in Internet information services in China should follow the “People’s Republic of China Anti-Telecommunications Network Fraud Law” and “Internet Information Service Management Measures” (State Council Decree No. 292) and other provisions to file their apps for the record. Those who have not filed shall not participate in app services.

(2) The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will supervise and guide the national task of registering apps. The Communications Bureaus of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities are responsible for management of the implementation and supervision of app registration.

…

(9) Network access service providers, content platforms, and smart terminal manufacturers shall not provide network access, distribution, and pre-configuration services for apps that have not been registered.

Source: Chinese Government website, July 21, 2023
https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202308/content_6897341.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology

NYC Bans All Government Devices from Using TikTok

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that New York City has joined the many U.S. states and jurisdictions that have banned the use of the video-sharing app TikTok on government devices.

The report stated that, on August 16th, New York City’s Network Department asked that TikTok be removed from government equipment within 30 days, citing so-called “security concerns.” According to Sohu, this is the latest move of the U.S. government that unreasonably suppressed Chinese companies and technology applications. This series of “prohibitions” by the United States violate the principle of fair competition.

A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in the statement that government personnel will be unable to access the app and its website on city devices as well as city networks. According to the article, many government departments in New York City have TikTok accounts, including Mayor Adams, who has 11,600 followers. The NYC Department of Health also has nearly 50,000 followers on TikTok. After the ban was issued, these city-operated accounts all announced that they would end operation by the end of August. The Politico website stated that more than 30 states across the United States have banned employees from using TikTok on government equipment.

Source: Sohu, August 17, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/712608913_121332532

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

LinkedIn, the Last Western Social Media Company in China, Pulls Out

LinkedIn, Microsoft’s social media platform for the workplace, withdrew from Chinese markets on August 9, officially closing the Chinese version of the LinkedIn application.

LinkedIn’s 2014 debut in China came on the heels of Google’s withdrawal from the country in 2010. Google withdrew following the company’s refusal to comply with the Chinese communist regime’s demands that Google censor the content available in China.

LinkedIn took the opposite approach of Google, opting for cooperation with the Chinese regime, implementing censorship mechanisms for the platform. LinkedIn users saw some postings on the platform (e.g. mentioning 1989 the Tiananmen Massacre) deleted by LinkedIn.

The communist regime’s control of the platform gradually became tighter and tighter. In March 2021, the New York Times reported that Chinese regulators had criticized LinkedIn’s executives for failing to control content when they discovered “sensitive” posts during China’s National People’s Congress. As punishment, China required LinkedIn to conduct a “self-assessment” and submit a report to China’s Central Internet Information Office.

LinkedIn’s latest Transparency Report, released in 2023, showed that the Chinese government made 43 requests to LinkedIn to remove content in 2021. LinkedIn complied with all of these requests except one. The number of removal requests was similar in 2020, following relatively lower numbers of requests in 2018 and 2019.

LinkedIn announced in October 2021 that it would remove several features from the Chinese version of its website, including the ability to make posts and interact with user-generated content. Without these social functions, LinkedIn became merely a resume-hosting website and saw its user base decline.

Source: Voice of America, August 8, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/linkedin-becomes-the-last-western-social-platform-to-officially-leave-china-20230808/7216109.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Information/Technology

China Holds New Media Forum on “Telling the Chinese Story”

On July 12, 2023, China held the International Communication Forum for New Media in Changsha. The forum focused on the theme of “Telling the Chinese Story and Shaping China’s Image.” Prominent media figures, experts, scholars, and representatives of overseas brands attended the conference.

Du Zhanyuan, Director of the China Foreign Language Publishing and Distribution Administration, made the following suggestions at the forum: One, emphasize the importance of showcasing China’s modernization journey and effectively narrating the stories of China’s development. Two, establish comprehensive and authoritative foreign-language online platforms, covering websites, mobile platforms, and overseas social media networks. Three, adopt new technologies such as mobile, social, and visual communication, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence.

The General Editor of Xinhua Net, Qian Tong, highlighted the increasing participation of Chinese media and companies doing business overseas in international communication, saying that more voices contribute to a more splendid chorus of global communication.

Deputy Chief Editor of China Daily, Wang Hao, suggested strengthening the application of technology to make China’s image more visible and tangible, and using the mouths of media celebrities of other countries to make China’s image more lovely and trustworthy.

Xu Rong, Deputy General of Hunan Broadcasting and Television Group, shared about the Group’s success in distributing a significant number of films and TV series overseas, including the popular series “The Rational Life,” which gained international recognition on Netflix. Xu also shared that the Group organized performances domestically and overseas, using popular art forms to open doors to mainstream overseas markets.

Source: Guangming Daily, July 13, 2023
https://topics.gmw.cn/2023-07/13/content_36694283.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Chinese Media More Effective on Facebook Than on Twitter

According to a research report titled “Global Mainstream Media Network Communication Power Research (2023)” released by Fudan University on July 21, Chinese media’s overall communication effectiveness on Facebook surpasses that on Twitter.

The survey, completed by Fudan University’s Global Communication and All-Media Research Institute, included 222 mainstream media from 33 countries, analyzing content published by these media on their certified accounts on Twitter and Facebook last year.

The study designed a set of influence evaluation indicators to analyze media’s communication effectiveness in terms of exposure, interactions, dissemination, and recognition.

The report shows that Chinese media’s overall communication effectiveness on Facebook is higher than on Twitter. China Global Television Network (CGTN), People’s Daily, China Daily, Global Times, and Xinhua News Agency are among the top ranks of the 222 media, with CGTN ranked within the top 10 on the comprehensive list.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 22, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307220121.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

People’s Daily: China Is Leading Quantum Technology Development Worldwide

People’s Daily published an article claiming that China has made significant strides in quantum technology and become a leading country at the forefront of quantum technology research globally.

The article praised Chinese scientist Pan Jianwei and his research team at the University of Science and Technology of China for spearheading the research.

According to the article, China launched the “Micius” satellite in 2016, which was the world’s first space quantum science experimental satellite. It established a global quantum communication experiment platform, significantly advancing space-based quantum communication technology. By distributing quantum keys between the satellite and ground stations, it achieved secure communication at 10kbps, far surpassing ground-based quantum communication levels. Quantum computing is considered a key technology for the next information revolution. In 2020, China successfully constructed quantum a computing prototype “Jiuzhang” computer with 76 photons, 100,000 times faster than the fastest supercomputer at that time. China later constructed a “Jiuzhang II” computer with 113 photons, outperforming the world’s fastest supercomputers by a factor of 10 billion. “Jiuzhang II” can solve a problem in 1 millisecond that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 100 days to finish.

Source: People’s Daily, July 25, 2023
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0725/c1004-40042581.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

UDN: Shanghai’s “City Code” to replace “Covid Health Code”

According to a recent report by United Daily News (UDN), one of Taiwan’s primary news groups, local governments across China adopted “Health Codes” to control travel during the three-year period of China’s Zero-Covid control. Although that the Chinese government’s Zero-Covid controls have now been largely lifted, the Health Code platform remains in place. Shanghai now intends to transform its city Health Code to a “City Code,” which will be integrated with public life in all aspects and become one of the region’s “social governance” tools. This move has been widely viewed by the public as strengthening the means of monitoring and controlling the flow of people.

The new City Code is critical in creating a comprehensive urban service and governance system that envisions “One person, one code,” “One company, one code,” and “One object, one code.” In Shanghai’s plan for individuals, the tracking includes monitoring of offline government services like medical treatments, rides on public transportation, visits to public tourist spots, public library visits, etc. For companies, the City Code serves will factor into scenarios such as company information disclosure, production safety, government service recommendations, government policy delivery and comprehensive supervision, etc. The City Code will combined geographic information as well as block-chain technology.

Social affairs analysts expressed the view that Shanghai’s City Code is a major expansion of the Health Code for Covid prevention, and that it is undoubtedly the authorities’ intention to strengthen the control over all aspects of people’s life. Some netizens worry that the City Code could be abused by criminals. In addition to the infringement of citizens’ privacy, people may also suffer economic losses.

Source: UDN, July 11, 2023
https://udn.com/news/story/7332/7292645

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology

Two Chinese Tech Giants Hit with Heavy Fines

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that Chinese regulators on Friday slapped hefty fines on Alipay and Tenpay, owned by digital giants Ant Financial Services Group and Tencent. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced that it would fine Ant Group and its subsidiaries RMB 7.123 billion yuan (around US$986.4 million), and fine its competitor Tenpay nearly RMB 3 billion yuan (around US$415 million). The two private groups dominate China’s payment system and have significant weight in the Chinese financial system. They are not subject to banking supervision and have thus long been thorns in the eyes of the authorities. China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, declaring in a statement following the action that the financial business rectification of large platform companies has now been completed.

The government’s crackdown on tech has cost the dynamic industry billions of dollars in market value over more than two years. Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that owns Ant Financial, became the first company targeted by authorities in late 2020 following public comments by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma that angered the Chinese leadership. Ant Financial Services’ IPO, which was originally regarded as the largest fundraising in history (US$34 billion), was called off at the last minute. Later, the Chinese government started a tough crackdown on digital platforms across the industry including Tencent, Didi (aka Chinese Uber) and all private online education companies, particularly on issues such as personal data collection and protection, anti-competitive behavior, and raising funds abroad.

Source: RFI, July 8, 2023
https://rfi.my/9iAQ

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology