Meet up with China
1. A batch of paperwork mistakenly unsealed by a Pennsylvania court docket reveals the origin story of TikTok’s guardian firm, ByteDance. Who knew it began out as an actual property enterprise? (New York Occasions $)
2. Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s richest man, mentioned he would transfer a few of his copper smelting factories to China to cut back the impression of Western sanctions, which block Russian corporations from utilizing worldwide fee programs. (Monetary Occasions $)
3. Chinese language universities have discovered a option to circumvent the US export ban on high-end Nvidia chips: by shopping for resold server merchandise made by Dell, Tremendous Micro Pc, and Taiwan’s Gigabyte Know-how. (Reuters $)
4. TikTok is testing “TikTok Notes,” a rival product to Instagram, in Australia and Canada. (The Verge)
5. Since there’s no route for private chapter in China, those that are unable to pay their money owed are being penalized in novel methods: they’ll’t take high-speed trains, fly on planes, keep in good lodges, or purchase costly insurance coverage insurance policies. (Wall Avenue Journal $)
6. The hunt for the origins of covid-19 has stalled in China, as Chinese language politicians fear about being blamed for the findings. (Related Press)
7. Due to stress from the US authorities, Mexico is not going to hand out tax cuts and different incentives to Chinese language EV corporations. (Reuters $)
Misplaced in translation
Till final yr, it was regular for Chinese language lodges to require facial recognition to verify company in, however the metropolis of Shanghai is now turning in opposition to the apply, based on the Chinese language publication twenty first Century Enterprise Herald. The police bureau of Shanghai not too long ago revealed a discover that claims “scanning faces” is required provided that company don’t have any id paperwork. In any other case, they’ve the precise to refuse it. Most resort chains in Shanghai, and a few in different cities, have up to date their insurance policies in response.
China has a nationwide facial recognition database tied to the federal government ID system, and companies resembling lodges can entry it to confirm prospects’ identities. Nevertheless, Chinese language individuals are more and more pushing again on the need of facial recognition in eventualities like this, and questioning whether or not lodges are dealing with such delicate biometric knowledge correctly.
Yet one more factor
The newest queer icon in Asia is Nymphia Wind, the drag persona of a 28-year-old Taiwanese-American named Leo Tsao, who simply received the newest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Absolutely embracing the colour yellow as a part of her id, Nymphia Wind can be known as the “Banana Buddha” by her followers. She’s internet hosting exhibits in Taoist temples in Taiwan, attracting audiences young and old.