Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the name “Israel” no longer appears on major Chinese online electronic maps such as Baidu Maps and AMap. Israel does still appear if the user specifically searches for the word “Israel.” All other nations in the region still have their names correctly displayed.

At a press conference of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a reporter asked about the reason behind this change in the apps’ behavior, inquiring whether Beijing had required the apps to remove Israel. The spokesperson of the Ministry responded that “the relevant country is clearly marked on the standard map issued by the Chinese competent authorities.” He also stated that the Chinese position on the Palestinian-Israeli situation is: “China has always condemned and opposed all acts that harm civilians and violated international law, and has always been committed to working with the international community to promote ceasefires, ensure the safety of civilians, improve humanitarian assistance, and prevent serious humanitarian disasters.”

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, October 31, 2023
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20231031-1446946

According to well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES), North Korea has just announced the closure of its Consulate General in Hong Kong. The move follows the closing of North Korean embassies in many African countries such as Angola and Uganda.

It is reported that North Korea plans to close 12 of its embassies and consulates in Spain, Hong Kong and other places, accounting for nearly a quarter of its 53 diplomatic missions around the world. These closures have triggered widespread attention to changes in North Korea’s foreign policy.

North Korea has long implemented a planned economy, and the size of the country’s economy has continued to shrink. According to one estimate, closing an embassy or consulate could save the North Korean government approximately US$500,000 per year. North Korea may also believe that, given the current diplomatic environment, it does not make sense to maintain North Korean diplomatic missions in countries with which the country has less friendly or less important relations.

Although North Korea’s move will affect the relationship between China and North Korea to some extent, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it respects North Korea’s decision. This statement from China likely creates international space for North Korea to further adjust its foreign policy. If China were to strongly oppose or criticizes North Korea, on the other hand, this would inevitably lead to a rebound in North Korean public sentiment and cause unnecessary negative impacts on relations between the two countries.

Source: NetEase, November 1, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/IIFOSRAG05562Z7A.html

During the two months following the start of wastewater discharge by Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Japanese embassy in Beijing has received approximately 1 million harassing phone calls from within China. The Japanese government asked China to address the situation as it was interfering with the embassy’s normal operations, but the problem persists.

The embassy investigated the calls and found that over 40,000 of them were made on August 25th, the day after discharge into the Pacific Ocean began. The volume of harassing phone calls decreased by the end of August. At present, the embassy is still receiving about 10,000-15,000 such calls per day.

Most of the calls involve verbal abuse, silence, or explicit threats against Japan or the Japanese embassy (e.g. threatening to “blow up [the embassy]”). The embassy documented malicious phone numbers and reported them to China’s public security authorities.

At a Japan-China relations forum on October 20th, Ambassador Hideo Tarumi acknowledged the harassing calls and said “rationality” was needed to advance bilateral relations.

Chinese law stipulates that frequent harassing calls interfering with normal life can incur legal liability.

Source: Kyodo News, October 27, 2023
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2023/10/80198c16ac64.html