China: Daily Scan, April 7, 2022

Former deputy head of State Administration of Grain indicted for graft: Xinhuanet
April 7, 2022

Xu Ming, former deputy head of the State Administration of Grain, has been indicted on charges of taking bribery and abuse of power, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) said Thursday. Click here to read…

Chinese premier stresses maneuvering monetary policy tools to bolster real economy: Xinhuanet
April 7, 2022

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said that the country will maneuver monetary policy tools when appropriate to effectively support the real economy. Chairing a State Council executive meeting, Li also stressed the need for enterprises in strained industries to postpone the payment of pension insurance, as well as stabilize jobs and strengthen employment training. Click here to read…

China welcomes int’l assessment of documents about U.S. biological military activities: Xinhuanet
April 7, 2022

China on Wednesday welcomed any global initiative within appropriate frameworks to assess the discovered documents related to U.S. biological military activities. Click here to read…

China-Mongolia land port sees robust growth in freight exports: Xinhuanet
April 6, 2022

The land port of Erenhot in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw its freight transport export volume increase 41.4 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, local authorities have said. Click here to read…

China to regulate use of Chinese characters: Xinhuanet
April 6, 2022

The Chinese government has launched a nationwide campaign to regulate the use of Chinese characters in publications and on radio, TV, and the internet. The National Press and Publication Administration and the National Radio and Television Administration jointly launched a notice, asking local authorities to investigate and correct the misuse of Chinese characters in traditional publications such as books and newspapers, online publications, advertisements, radio, TV programs, and online audio and video programs. Click here to read…

China strengthens legal aid for abducted women: Xinhuanet
April 6, 2022

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) on Wednesday announced that a special campaign has been launched to strengthen judicial assistance to women in need, including those who are victims of abduction and human trafficking. Click here to read…

Resilient China-EU cooperation critical for an uncertain world: Quishi
April 6, 2022

In a virtual meeting on Friday, Chinese and European Union (EU) leaders underscored the imperative role of sound and healthy bilateral ties for a world that has arrived at a critical juncture. China and the EU stand as two major forces, big markets and great civilizations on the world stage. It is the common aspiration of the global community for the two sides to uphold peace, promote shared development and add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world fraught with uncertainties induced by such challenges as a lingering COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Click here to read…

Students gain from digital learning: Quishi
April 7, 2022

Online education platform provides smart solution for more flexible study. China has launched a smart learning platform covering all stages of education from primary school to universities to offer free digital learning resources to students. Click here to read…

Chief secretary for administration of HKSAR gov’t tenders resignation: People’s Daily
April 7, 2022

John Lee, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, tendered his resignation on Wednesday, saying he plans to run for the upcoming election of the HKSAR’s sixth-term chief executive. Click here to read…

Chinese police launch campaign to hunt down economic fugitives abroad: People’s Daily
April 7, 2022

Chinese police have launched a new campaign to apprehend economic fugitives who have fled overseas, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday. The public security organ pledged all-out efforts to arrest economic fugitives who have fled abroad in the “Fox Hunt 2022” campaign, and will support discipline inspection and supervision departments in fugitive repatriation and the recovering of criminal assets, the ministry said. Click here to read…

China sends nearly 40,000 medics to Shanghai in tough fight against Omicron: People’s Daily
April 7, 2022

More than 38,000 medics from 15 provincial-level regions have rushed to China’s business hub Shanghai to aid the megacity in its fight against resurging COVID-19. Some 27,000 medics are responsible for sampling and testing work, and another 11,000 work in temporary hospitals, according to the National Health Commission. Click here to read…

In Hangzhou, 2 detained over COVID spread: China Daily
April 6, 2022

Two people were detained for investigation on Tuesday after authorities said they may have caused the spread of COVID-19 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday. The two, a mother and a daughter, traveled from outside the province to Hangzhou on Tuesday morning. The two knowingly concealed the fact that they had been in medium- and high-risk areas, an official statement said. Click here to read…l

Shanghai fights decisive battle against Omicron with swifter actions; nearby cities provide 60,000 beds for quarantine: Global Times
April 7, 2022

The decisive battle against Omicron in Shanghai has entered a crucial stage, with the chief Chinese financial center conducting a second round of citywide nucleic acid testing on Wednesday, as new infections continued to hit a new record, striking the nerves of the whole country in the beginning of April. Click here to read…

China’s State Council stresses support for real economy as outlook dimmed by COVID-19: Global Times
April 6, 2022

With the resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks across China since March weighing on the outlook for economic growth, Chinese officials and experts on Wednesday called for more robust fiscal and monetary support and other measures to help affected businesses and stabilize economic operations. Click here to read…

China unveils draft financial stability law in major push to prevent systemic risks: Global Times
April 6, 2022

China’s central bank on Wednesday night unveiled a draft financial stability legislation, including the creation of a financial stability guarantee fund, laying the legal groundwork for a holistic, sector-spanning and cross-departmental approach to preventing systemic financial risks. Click here to read…

China energy goals a problem as U.N. report calls for deeper coal cuts: Reuters
April 7, 2022

A new U.N. report detailing what the world needs to do to combat climate change has highlighted the need for China – by far the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter – to accelerate its shift towards clean and low-carbon energy. Click here to read…

Shanghai vows to improve food deliveries as discontent grows over COVID curbs: Reuters

Shanghai on Thursday said it was trying its best to improve the distribution of food and essential goods to locked-in residents, responding to growing discontent over such difficulties as COVID curbs stretched into an 11th day. Click here to read…

Hong Kong arrests six activists on accusation of sedition: Reuters
April 6, 2022

Hong Kong police arrested six activists on Wednesday for suspected sedition and contravention of a national security law in connection with what the police called “causing nuisance” at court hearings in December and January. Click here to read…

Hong Kong No. 2 official says he plans to run in leadership election: Reuters
April 6, 2022

Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, John Lee, said on Wednesday he had resigned to run in a leadership election in May, two days after Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she will not seek a second five-year term. read moreClick here to read…

China’s new infection cases top 20,000 despite “zero COVID” policy: Kyodo

April 6, 2022

The number of new infection cases with the novel coronavirus in China hit a record high, exceeding 20,000, the health authorities said Wednesday, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the country’s radical “zero COVID” policy. Across the mainland, 20,472 people, including asymptomatic ones, were confirmed to be infected with the virus on Tuesday, the highest in two years, according to the Chinese government. Click here to read…

Coronavirus: Shanghai adds 19,928 Covid-19 cases, setting a daily record for the sixth day: South China Morning Post
April 7, 2022

Shanghai’s daily Covid-19 infections set a record for the sixth straight day on Thursday, as citywide mass testing identified 19,982 cases in China’s financial and commercial hub.
The number of symptomatic cases ticked up to 322, from 311 a day earlier, while the vast majority of the positively identified infections showed no symptoms of illness, according to the data provided by Shanghai’s health authorities. Click here to read…

US sanctions threat if China aids Russia stirs fear in Beijing about forex assets: South China Morning Post
April 7, 2022

Washington’s financial sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine have raised concern in China over its large exposure to US government bonds, although experts say there is no real alternative for the country to invest its foreign exchange reserves. In recent weeks, former central bank adviser Yu Yongding and former vice-chairman of the Bank of China, Wang Yongli, have issued warnings about the effect that Western sanctions could have on China’s investment in foreign securities, amid US threats of “consequences” if Beijing helps Russia evade sanctions. Click here to read…

Coronavirus: time to ‘lie flat’? Divides emerge on Chinese internet about country’s path out of Covid-19: South China Morning Post
April 7, 2022

The Chinese internet has become a centre of a debate about the efficacy of widespread lockdowns as officials try to maintain a “dynamic zero-Covid” policy amid a worsening Covid-19 pandemic driven by the Omicron variant.To achieve the policies, cities across China have spent the past two years implementing rolling lockdowns, mass testing, rigid quarantine rules and nearly-closed national borders. Click here to read…