China: 138 satellites, Cultural Regulation, Defense Diplomacy, Privacy, Infrastructure Expansion

00:00 Cover
00:04 From the Editor: China's Assert Global Influence
02:22 News Summary and Introduction
04:42 1. Beijing's comedy crackdown is hitting its music scene
06:35 2. Li Shangfu: War with the US would be an unbearable disaster, says China's defense minister
09:01 3. ByteDance denies tracking users' personal data for China - Global Times
09:12 4. China sends a record 41 satellites to join Jilin-1 hi-res constellation
12:56 5. Blinken offers a blend of U.S. policy on China

https://assuredinformation.blogspot.com/2023/07/china-in-focus-cultural-regulation.html

A recent joke by a Chinese stand-up comedian, seen as mocking the military, has triggered a crackdown on the country's burgeoning comedy and music scenes. The stringent controls come as the live entertainment industry rebounds from years of Covid restrictions. Despite the careful monitoring of cultural events by the Communist Party, the underground music scene in Beijing has remained vibrant and innovative. However, this independent spirit has come under threat as the government seeks to impose stricter control.

China's Defense Minister, General Li Shangfu, has stated that war between China and the U.S. would be a global disaster in his first major address since assuming his position. Speaking at a security summit, General Li accused some countries of escalating an arms race in Asia but also affirmed that the world is large enough for both China and the U.S., urging the two superpowers to seek common ground.

ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, has vehemently opposed allegations accusing it of assisting the Chinese mainland government in tracking radical protesters in Hong Kong. The allegations stem from a court filing by Yintao Roger Yu, ByteDance's former head of engineering in the U.S., who claimed that a special committee from the Chinese government was installed at ByteDance's Beijing offices to monitor all data, including U.S. users' information.

China has successfully launched a Long March rocket carrying 41 satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, setting a national record for the number of satellites launched in one operation. These satellites have joined the Jilin-1 satellite constellation, the world's largest satellite for high-resolution Earth observations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserts that the primary aim of American policy toward China is to achieve peaceful coexistence. In a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations, Blinken acknowledged the long-term competition between the two nations but emphasized that neither country is going away, thus necessitating peaceful coexistence as the foundation.