things are great in Hong Kong

Trump challenges the World Bank on China

And good news, book burning is back!

That and more on this week's China Uncensored.

This is China Uncensored.

I'm Chris Chappell.

This week's China news headlines!

The Chinese Communist Party has lost Hong Kong.

I know, it's a shock.

Who knew massively oppressing people

would make them hate you?

Apparently, this was news to Hong Kong

Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

According to the Epoch Times,

Carrie Lam thought pro-Beijing politicians

would “definitely win” the recent

local election in Hong Kong.

They did not.

But even though the pro-Democracy side won big,

that has not stopped the protests.

This was Hong Kong this past Sunday.

“A sea of black as vast crowds of protesters

took to the streets of Hong Kong's financial district on Sunday

in the biggest rallies since local elections last month.

It was the first time since August that the Civil Human Rights Front -

organizer of million-strong marches earlier in the year

that paralyzed the Asian finance center -

had received authorities' permission for a rally.

It estimated turnout of 800,000.”

Wow, 800,000 people.

But Carrie Lam was quick to respond

with hurricane-force spin.

The massive protests, she says,

are a sign that everything is fine.

“This reflects the freedoms that Hong Kong people are enjoying.

So I hope that this phenomenon will go also to abroad,

to show that Hong Kong is upholding

all the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people.

So all those accusations from various quarters

that we are eroding people's freedoms are unsubstantiated.”

Right?

Right?

Six months of continuous protests show

there's absolutely nothing wrong in Hong Kong.

Here's another bad sign.

One of the protesters' five demands

is an independent investigation into police brutality.

The Hong Kong government refused.

They said, we don't need

an independent investigation into the police.

We already have an organization to watch the police:

the Independent Police Complaints Council,

or IPCC.

See?

It says independent,

right there in the name!

The only problem is that it can't do its job.

It can't call witnesses.

It can't make the police give up evidence.

In fact, it can't even take complaints against the police.

People have to submit complaints against the police

*to the police,*

who then definitely pass those complaints on to the IPCC.

A group of foreign experts was recruited to make sure

the IPCC's police investigation was objective.

Well, they just resigned.

“You can see that the expert panel,

the members of international expert panel

all resigned from IPCC,

before the publication of interim report.

This is a very crucial act and you can see that it's like

a vote of non-confidence to this report.”

But the fact that people can freely criticize the report

is a sign that freedoms are doing fine in Hong Kong...

right?

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Police have been going on a PR binge.

Accusing people of spreading fake news.

Photographing hard-working riot police eating in full gear on the street.

And duct taping a tear gas canister to the wall

just like that banana art installation.

They really need to fire their new PR guy.

A Hong Kong democracy protester says

he was ambushed by masked Chinese men in Australia.

If only Australia had the kind of freedoms Hong Kong does!

Meanwhile, Taiwan's top diplomat said Taiwan will help

if the Chinese military cracks down in Hong Kong.

Sadly he did not mean Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen

would go full Rambo.

He meant that if people start fleeing from Hong Kong,

“Taiwan is going to work with the international community

to provide necessary assistance to those

who are displaced by the violence there.”

Wow, I can see why he's the top diplomat.

That was very...diplomatic.

And boring.

Especially considering the new claims that

the Chinese Communist Party is meddling

in Taiwan's election—

the presidential election

coming up on January 11, 2020.

A Chinese defector said two Hong Kong executives

with close ties to the Chinese military

were involved in manipulating Taiwan's elections.

That manipulation included “a multipronged effort

to finance pro-Beijing candidates,

buy off voters and sow disinformation

on television channels and on the internet.”

Sorry, Putin, you're no longer

the world's best election meddler.

The World Bank is an organization

that lends money at low interest rates

to help developing countries.

Apparently, that somehow also includes China.

Yes, China,

the world's 2nd biggest economy,

the country that has so much cash to spare

that it lends hundreds of billions of dollars to other countries

through its Belt and Road Initiative.

Well, President Donald Trump has called out

the World Bank for lending to China.

This was after the World Bank said it would lend China

1 to 1.5 billion dollars in low interest loans

through June 2025.

The US government had objected to that plan,

but the World Bank went through with it anyway.

But get this—

this is actually a decrease in lending to China.

In 2017, the World Bank

lent China 2.4 billion dollars.

Maybe they wouldn't need so many loans

if they used more money to help people in China

instead of propping up dictators around the world,

but what do I know?

And when I said use more money to help people in China,

I did not mean finance more human rights violations.

Just wanted to clear that up,

because China apparently tried to get the World Bank

to fund surveillance in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang is the region where China has locked up

more than a million ethnic Uighurs

and other minorities in concentration camps.

Look, I get it.

The Chinese Communist Party needs the cash.

Ethnic cleansing isn't cheap.

Meanwhile, China's Foreign Minister says

China is big, but nonthreatening,

like a panda.

I actually agree.

They are just like a panda.

This panda.

The foreign minister added that

“paranoia toward China is a highly dangerous disease.”

Don't worry.

The Communist Party has a treatment center

where they can cure your disease.

Recently I did an episode about how China is planning

to weaponize rare earth metals to fight the US.

Well, now the US Army is going to develop

their own rare earth plant.

“The move would mark the first financial investment

by the U.S. military

into commercial-scale rare earths production

since World War Two's Manhattan Project

built the first atomic bomb.”

I really don't think that's the result China was going for.

Democrats and Republicans once again agree!

This time—on a new defense bill that would ban

Chinese made buses and railcars.

The idea is instead of giving that money

to Chinese state-owned corporations,

give that money to American companies

to build America's buses and subways.

Also, American companies are probably a bit less likely

to build a subway car that will spy on us.

It's been a year since two Canadian citizens

were put in Chinese jail.

Their crime?

Being citizens of a country that arrested

a rich Chinese person for breaking the law.

Justice—with Chinese characteristics.

Well, after a year in jail,

there's some really good news for the two men.

They might actually get a trial!

Nothing like being jailed for a year without trial.

Did I mention they haven't been allowed

to speak to a lawyer or to their families?

Something to think about the next time you visit China.

On the bright side,

the Candians haven't been alone.

A new report by the Committee to protect Journalists

says China just beat out Turkey

as the top jailer of journalists.

Man, Xi Jinping is really winning all the awards.

Library officials in China's Gansu province

have started burning books

that are not politically correct.

That happened back in October

after the Ministry of Education ordered libraries

to get rid of inappropriate books.

Burning books.

Yes, the Chinese Communist Party

is really getting back to its roots.

Although honestly,

this new campaign really needs to step it up.

They did it so much more efficiently in Mao Zedong's time.

But this story took a weird twist

when the book burning librarians got in trouble.

That's because this story went viral

on Chinese social media this week.

And sparked a huge backlash.

Yeah!

Burn the books, but not in public, geez.

For years, Big tech companies like Microsoft,

Google, and Apple have been desperately trying

to get into the China market—

even going so far as doing research

with Chinese military Universities.

Well, too bad for them,

because China is banning foreign tech

in government and public offices.

Gosh, I really feel bad for these tech companies.

More debt trap diplomacy.

These are the Faroe Islands.

They're pretty much autonomous,

but they are part of Denmark.

The Chinese Commumunist Party has made it clear,

if the Faroe Islands wants a trade deal,

they had better accept Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Now the United States has been encouraging everyone

to avoid Huawei since it's closely linked to the Chinese military

and is a huge national security concern.

But for places like the Faroe Islands,

Chinese money is a heck of a lot more appealing

than no money.

And Chinese money comes with Chinese

state-backed companies like Huawei.

And finally, 11 Chinese migrants tried to

smuggle themselves into the US

by hiding inside furniture and appliances.

That's right,

to sneak into America,

people are doing this…

And this.

America:

So great,

it's worth hiding in a washing machine.

And that does it for this week's China News headlines.

What do you think?

Leave your comments below.

And as I've mentioned before,

YouTube demonetizes episodes like this,

because they're too controversial a subject for advertisers.

We would have been run out of business years ago,

if it weren't for fan support

through the crowd funding website Patreon.

So as a thank you to these fans,

I answer their questions

at the end of some of my episodes.

This question comes from...

Joe King.

“Will "Joker" face tattoos gain popularity

as this technology becomes more widespread?

Will China Uncensored offer

semi-permanent versions in the merch shop?