China Reform Monitor: No. 1076 | American Foreign Policy Council

China Reform Monitor: No. 1076

January 5, 2014 Joshua Eisenman

Related Categories: China

December 13:

For two months the FreeWeibo app allowed readers to view Sina Weibo, China’s most popular social media network, without censorship. The technological workaround evaded censors who had no way to block it – except by pressuring Apple to remove it for them – which happened on November 28. For weeks FreeWeibo successfully fended off censors’ attacks meaning the only other way to block it was to shut down China’s access to the App store. “We felt good about getting around the Chinese censors,” said a FreeWeibo co-founder. “So when Apple pulled it, that was a real downer. It’s the worst kind of censorship we can face, because there’s not much we can do to counteract it.” The app was the group’s latest attempt to provide Chinese people uncensored access to Weibo. FreeWeibo.com, which was quickly blocked in China, continues to monitor and document Weibo’s censored messages, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. This month Apple signed an agreement with state-owned China Mobile that gave the iPhone access to a subscriber base seven times larger than Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. carrier, the Wall Street Journal reports.

December 16:

“Flush with cash and hungry for technology, China has become an important customer for Israeli technology,” The Times of Israel reports. Chinese delegations are common in Tel Aviv and at Israeli tech shows. Israeli companies have set up R&D and sales offices in China, some are partnering with Chinese companies, others are seeking to attract a buyer. This week China’s Han’s Laser purchased Israeli laser metrology company Nextec for “several million” dollars, although the exact terms were not released. Nextec makes lasers that measure the size and structure of parts. In October, China’s Suncore acquired Israel’s ZenithSolar. In May, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical purchased 95 percent of Israel’s Alma Laser for $220 million. In September, China’s Bright Foods was in talks to purchase Israeli dairy producer Tnuva. Chinese investment fund Everbright has partnered with Israel’s Catalyst Equity Management to invest in Israeli companies that have potential in China. The biggest China-Israel M&A to date was China National Agrochemical Corp.’s buyout of Israeli chemical maker Makhteshim Agan in 2011.

December 17:

After a central government urbanization work conference, China has released a statement calling for “the full removal of residency or ‘hukou’ restrictions in towns and small cities, the gradual easing of restrictions in mid-sized cities, and setting reasonable conditions for migrants to settle in big cities,” the official China Daily reports. The statement affirms the household registration system reform plan approved last month by the CPC Central Committee. “Measures are being taken to enable China’s 260 million migrant workers to gain urbanite status and become integrated members of cities,” Vice Minister of Public Security Huang Ming said. Official figures show over 25 million rural residents obtained urban residency permits from 2010 to 2012.

December 22:

After breaking Tel Aviv’s commitment to Washington by transferring sensitive military technology to China, Me’ir Shalit has resigned as head of the department overseeing military technology exports at Israel’s Defense Ministry. The sensitive part “was a miniature cooling system manufactured by Ricor Systems and used in small-scale electro-optical equipment and missile mechanisms,” Ma’ariv reports. It was sold to a European company as a component of other equipment and then passed to China and then “may have leaked from China to Iran.” Last month, U.S. officials asked Israel how the component ended up in China and last week Shalit visited the U.S. to apologize for approving the export. The U.S., Israel’s primary military and diplomatic ally, requires the Jewish state not transfer advanced military technology to China.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is spearheading an effort to open a route to transfer Chinese goods through the Red Sea and Gulf of Elat, along a new railway to Ashdod Port, and on to Europe. The route would be an alternative to the Suez Canal, Ma’ariv reports. Netanyahu said he had discussed the plan with Chinese officials.