Where is Peng Shuai?

Tennis player Peng has not been heard from since November 2

A growing chorus of people are asking, "Where is Peng Shuai?"

However, no one has personally or publicly heard from the Chinese tennis player, who, according to videos issued by state media, apparently had dinner with people on Saturday, and showed up at a junior tennis tournament today.

She apparently appeared at a tennis event today

No one in the West believes these videos for a second, pointing out it is strange that Hu Xijin, the chief editor of The Global Times would some how obtain these videos without explaining how, and adding that she would show up in public soon enough.

She did, at this junior tennis tournament, but somehow the live feed to the event got cut off...

Meanwhile people around the world are asking on social media #whereispengshuai, including former World No 1 Chris Evert, who wrote on her Twitter: "Yes, these accusations are very disturbing. I've known Peng since she was 14; we should all be concerned; this is serious; where is she? Is she safe?"

Even the Women's Tennis Association chairman and CEO Steve Simon has taken a very strong stand against China, threatening to pull the WTA's events out of China, which means almost a dozen next year, including the WTA final.

WTA's Simon threatening to pull out of China

"There's too many times in our world today when you get into issues like this that we let business, politics, money dictate what's write and what's wrong," Simon said in an interview with CNN.

"And we're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it because... this is bigger than the business."

If the WTA really did pull out of China, that would be a major loss of face for Beijing, and Simon knows it.

What is also interesting to note is that Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympics Committee has been silent on this issue the whole time. And the Beijing Winter Olympics will be starting on February 4.

Everyday on Twitter people continue to ask where Peng is, while state media tries (but fails) to convince that she is "fine" and doesn't want to see anybody, that she is just "resting".

An unverified photo of Peng with her cat

Those were the same words used when the Hong Kong booksellers were missing in 2015.

In an explosive post Peng wrote on November 2 on her Weibo that was quickly deleted, she alleged that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into having sex.

About three years ago, after Zhang had retired, the post alleges Peng was invited him to play tennis in Beijing.

Afterwards, she wrote, Zhang and his wife brought Peng to their home, where Peng claimed she was pressured into having sex with Zhang.

Senior official Zhang Gaoli

"That afternoon I did not agree at first and was crying all the time," Peng wrote. After dinner with Zhang and his wife, and following much persuading by Zhang, she relented, according to the post.

To be sure, the West will continue to put pressure on China to answer to their concerns and allow Peng to answer freely.

The longer she is not allowed to speak of her own accord, the more skeptical the world becomes.

RTHK Becoming State Media

Lam (centre) at launch of CMG's 100th anniversary programs

 

Radio Television Hong Kong has been pretty much gutted into a shell (of its former self) in renovation speak -- ready to be remade into the form of a news outlet that is approved by Beijing. In other words, state-controlled media.

Earlier this week Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that RTHK will build a long-term alliance with state-owned China Media Group and air more television content produced on the mainland in a bid to boost patriotism in the city.

Xi awarded medals to war veterans on July 1

China Media Group includes China Central Television (CCTV),  China National Radio, and China Radio International. CMG is controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

The local broadcaster on channel TV31 will be running more dramas and documentaries produced by CCTV. 

She said the programs "offer a crucial opportunity to let Hong Kong people have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the struggle and development of the Communist Party of China and nurture a stronger sense of patriotism".

Lam praised the quality of the programing, even adding: "I am also a fan of CCTV."

Where can people sign up to join the CCTV fan club?

So far TV31 has run programs like Awarding Ceremony of July 1 Medals, when President Xi Jinping bestowed honours on outstanding party members and war veterans. There's another called The Great Journey, documenting major moments in the history of the party. And there are other documentaries, like Masters of the Forbidden City and Asia-Pacific War Crimes Trials.

Masters of the Forbidden City

Riveting viewing.

In the future, Lam said, RTHK will make more programs aimed at promoting national security, Greater Bay Area development, and the country's 14th five-year plan "in order to help Hong Kong citizens understand Chinese culture and the country's latest developments".

In the last several years television has become irrelevant with people streaming shows online and watching them on their laptops and mobile phones.

It'll be interesting to see if it is difficult to find staff to produce this kind of content, and also what audience numbers are like when these state-produced shows are airing full time...

HK Govt Continues the Spin

Lam, in jacket matching orchids, explains electoral changes

The Hong Kong government continues its verbal gymnastics to explain the changes to the city's electoral system that makes one wonder if it is a parallel universe or completely illogical.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor gave an interview with state media broadcaster CGTN, where she said pro-democracy politicians will see their chances of winning office increase after these electoral reforms -- as long as they prove themselves to be "patriots".

"Hong Kong is a very free and diverse society, we welcome people with different political positions and different views about the best system to serve Hong Kong... there is absolutely no intention to undermine the system of Hong Kong and dilute this diversity and freedoms in Hong Kong," she said.

Xi (centre) casts his vote on HK electoral reform

"If we have the same number of so-called pro-democratic persons in Hong Kong, as long as all these people are able to meet the standards of a patriot, then they now have more opportunities to take part in [an] election and win an election."

She really did say that. Are we talking about the same place, Hong Kong, where the Election Committee has increased to 1,500 members, and it will arbitrarily decide who is patriotic enough to run for the Legislative Council elections.

And while she said there is no intention to dilute diversity in Hong Kong, then why did the National People's Congress agree to add another 20 pro-establishment lawmakers in Legco?

Besides, most of the pan-democrats are either charged with subversion under the national security law, currently in prison serving for other convictions, or have fled Hong Kong.

Who is left to even dare to try to run?

Tsang says being a patriot is like family

Meanwhile Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said maybe the analogy of family could help the public understand the requirement of being a patriot.

"If you love your family, you will sincerely accept, endorse and respect them. You may criticize them when they are not doing good. But you won't ask outsiders to confront them... It's not something difficult to achieve," he told a radio program.

Perhaps Tsang doesn't understand that not everyone loves their family, and sometimes you do need outsiders to intervene because the situation is untenable.

And there are some families where no criticism is allowed whatsoever; if you do then you have to get out.

So the spinning continues and not many are convinced. 

It also explains why the take up rate for vaccinations is poor, perhaps because the government lost its integrity ages ago?

Xi Supports Lam, but How to End the Crisis?

Lam looks relieved, Xi gives an awkward smile... what does it mean?

A few days ago the media were led up the wrong tree, that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would not meet Chinese President Xi Jinping until Wednesday, but in fact she already saw him on Monday evening in Shanghai on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo.

There's a picture of Lam (with coiffed hair and Ferragamo heels) looking relieved perhaps because she would not be axed from her job yet, though it's interesting Xi bared his teeth while smiling, as he hardly ever shows his pearly whites.

What does that smile mean?

Lam met with Xi at 10pm following a dinner

This was the first meeting between the two since the anti-government protests broke out in early June.

"Xi expressed his hope that people from all walks of life in Hong Kong fully and faithfully implement the principle of 'one country, two systems', Xinhua reported.

While he demanded "unswerving efforts to stop and punish violent activities" in accordance with the law, the Chinese president also called for more dialogue with different sectors of society.

Lam said it was natural for Xi to be concerned about what is happening in Hong Kong. "I can feel his support over the work that the government has done to curb violence," she said.

The authorities' way of dealing with the protests doesn't work

What does "I can feel his support" mean? Did he not explicitly say he supported her? It sounds very vague... which makes you wonder what did they talk about then?

Another intriguing aspect of this meeting is that it was "spontaneous". Lam said the meeting was not originally on her schedule, and a source said it wasn't on Xi's itinerary either. She was only notified about it just before the expo's dinner banquet that he would meet her later at 10pm.

Wonder if she managed to eat anything during the dinner...

In any event now that Beijing has supposedly quashed rumours that Lam will be fired anytime soon, she still has to clean up the mess she created. But how? Following Beijing's approach of stopping the violence first before dialogue can begin hasn't been effective at all.

The protests are still going on into their fifth month

Pan-democrats worry Xi's vote of confidence will bolster Lam's belief that she is doing the right thing and give the police even more leeway in being tougher with the protesters. While over 3,000 people have been arrested, only a tiny fraction have been convicted, which shows the heavy handedness of the authorities in arresting people -- protesting or not -- willy nilly.

They are only wasting administrative time and effort, which we, the taxpayers are paying for, along with the tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, pepper spray...

More Shooting Outrage in Hong Kong

Tsang Chi-kin lies on the ground right after he was shot yesterday

Tsang Chi-kin, the 18-year-old student who was shot in the chest yesterday by a police officer will pull through thankfully, and thousands of people demonstrated their anger about the shooting with an impromptu march through Central at lunchtime.

Office workers in the area took over the streets to march from Chater Garden to Sheung Wan, raising their hands with fingers outstretched to show they want all five demands met, and chanted slogans. They literally stopped traffic as they marched, giving a very good indication of how much outrage there is towards the police.

Thousands marched around Central protesting the shooting

Meanwhile, Chinese state media claimed what the police officer did was completely legal, that he was within his rights to defend himself.

"Rioters attacked police officers on a great scale at Tsuen Wan," Xinhua said in a commentary early Wednesday morning. "The life of the officer at the scene was under serious threat and he was forced to shoot at the assailant to protect his own life as well as his colleagues. [His] action was totally legal, legitimate and appropriate," it said.

However, critics have said the officer should have de-escalated the situation rather than use live rounds. In fact yesterday six live rounds were fired around the city. Why so many yesterday? Were they given instructions to use live rounds? They were only further escalating the already tense situation.

And to further aggravate the frustration, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying wrote a letter to the the Tsuen Wan school Tsang attends, and told the principal to expel the 18-year-old and that the principal should resign immediately.

This evening in Tsuen Wan more people protested

What kind of nonsense is that? How is it the principal's fault his student was out protesting, and how does expelling the boy do any good? Elitists are revealing their true colours...

As if this afternoon's march was not enough support for the student, thousands more gathered tonight in Tsuen Wan. People held signs that read, "Don't shoot our kids". It looks like more and more people are angry at the police and want justice for Tsang...

Speaking of shootings, there was an Indonesian reporter, Veby Indah, who was shot in the eye on Sunday in Wan Chai, and it has now been reported she has permanently lost sight in that eye.

Indonesian journalist Veby Idah right after she was shot

Her legal representative, Michael Vidler wrote in a statement: "the injury she received as a result of being shot by the police, will result in permanent blindness in her right eye. She was informed that the pupil of her eye was ruptured by the force of the impact. The exact percentage of permanent impairment can only be assessed after surgery.

"We can also confirm that we have received evidence from a third party, which indicates that the projectile that blinded Ms Veby was a rubber bullet and not a beanbag round as originally thought."

With lawyers already on the case, Indah will most probably sue the police, while Tsang's family can also exercise that legal option.

On Sunday Indah, like other reporters, was wearing a bright yellow vest and standing on the overpass that links the Wan Chai MTR station with Immigration Tower. She said heard other journalists saying to the police, "Don't shoot, we are journalists." But Indah said the police shot and the next thing she knew, she was down on the ground. 

Doctors say she has permanently lost sight in her right eye

An 18-year-old shot in the chest and is lucky to be alive, and a reporter has become blind in one eye because of the police. Is this the kind of image the Hong Kong police want to project? Or their integrity is already evaporated so it doesn't matter anymore?

Meanwhile the rest of us are wondering when and how this will all end...

Police Brutality Knows No Bounds

A couple begging the police not to hit them anymore in the MTR carriage

This weekend has been too depressing news-wise. I cannot erase the horrific images in my mind of the young couple in the MTR carriage at Prince Edward who were mercilessly beaten by riot police. The couple was cowering in fear and afterwards were clutching each other so hard, in shock at what had just happened to them.

Will the police ever apologize for how they have terrorized them?

Riot police indiscriminately attacked people in MTR stations

And the rest of us for that matter? For that it has made a number of Hongkongers hate the police even more.

How can they just randomly beat people with batons on a wild rampage?

Just as shocking was the police not allowing first aiders to help those who were injured in the various stations. There's a heartbreaking video of a young first aider who is begging the police to allow him in, even saying they can beat him up, that he only wants to treat people.

When his pleas fall on deaf ears he sinks down on the ground and wails. There isn't much anyone can do to comfort him. In another station, three first aiders were forced to stand with their face to the wall and not help anyone. It's shocking and outrageous.

Moments before the police attacked the young couple

As far as I know there are no rallies planned this week, but perhaps someone will organize one to condemn such insane police brutality. July 21 we saw white-shirted men attacking people in Yuen Long MTR station and not a police officer in sight. And now on August 31 scores of riot police on a mission to hit anyone in their way, even slamming a young woman into the wall at Kowloon Bay MTR station.

It seems the MTR is now the new battleground ever since the public transportation network was criticized by Chinese state media for aiding and abetting protesters. This is hardly true. They are providing transportation for everyone.

But now that so much violence has happened in the MTR, will people be terrified to take it?

Tonight after the MTR shut down the line at Tung Chung (because protesters had vandalized it), they were were forced to walk from the airport to Tsing Yi, a four-hour walk, that some journalists had to do as well as they followed them.

Thousands make the long march from the airport to Tsing Yi

Along the way some people with cars handed out food and water to the protesters and some offered rides. At Tsing Yi scores of people with cars came out and gave some of them rides to where they needed to go.

There is one month to go before Xi Jinping's big 70th anniversary bash for the People's Republic of China, but protesters are far from ready to give up their fight...

Alleged Trumped-up Charges

Simon Cheng has been charged with soliciting prostitution. True or false?

Today is the 15th day of Simon Cheng Man-kit's administrative detention in Shenzhen and unfortunately the nightmare for the 28-year-old isn't over yet. This afternoon Chinese state media outlet Global Times claimed the missing British consulate employee was charged with soliciting a prostitute during his visit to the mainland.

In the editorial, the state-run media outlet said police in Luohu district, which is the area right by the border with Hong Kong, told Global Times that Cheng was being detained for violating article 66 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security which includes soliciting prostitutes.

Global Times claims to have an exclusive on Cheng's case

"It is disgraceful to be caught for soliciting prostitutes. Those who are arrested usually wish to hide the truth," the editorial says, and claims Cheng requested to Shenzhen police not to inform his family about his charge.

"In other words, if the British foreign ministry and Western media did not hype it, Cheng could have quietly returned to Hong Kong after being detained for 15 days... However, thanks to the British foreign ministry and media which have been hyping it, the case is now fully exposed."

Cheng's family would not comment on the matter, only to say people can judge for themselves.

First of all -- why would Cheng go during the day to visit a prostitute on a weekday when the consulate said he was there for a business conference. Second of all, if he was soliciting a prostitute, why wasn't he arrested at the scene of the crime and not at the mainland jurisdiction of the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus?

Cheng worked at the British consulate in Hong Kong

Thirdly, what does hyping Cheng's case have to do with the consulate and Western media? Isn't China supposed to follow rule of law regardless? Trying to put the blame on the British consulate and the media on his detention doesn't make any sense at all.

And fourthly, it's state media that has exposed the alleged charge of soliciting prostitution, not the consulate or the media. It has now sullied Cheng's reputation in the court of public opinion.

If China wants to show that it is a responsible power then it should be more transparent about the whole case to demonstrate it does follow rule of law.

However it refused to divulge the whereabouts of Cheng for almost two weeks and now he seems to be arrested on trumped-up charges.

Apparently Cheng is being held by Luohu police in Shenzhen

This only frightens people even more about going to the mainland. Their phones may be checked and now they could be detained and then arrested on any charge.

This is what Hongkongers were terrified about with the now suspended extradition bill, and these concerns are fast becoming a reality -- without the bill being passed.

And yet China wants young Hongkongers to embrace the Motherland and go there to develop their careers? Cheng's case is hardly reassuring.

The Struggle Continues

Two protesters apologize about what happened last night with eye patches

Today protesters apologized for their horrific behaviour in Hong Kong International Airport.

The heartfelt apologies don't forgive what they did, but at least they admit their mistakes and are willing to do some self-reflection unlike a person we all know.

The airport had to be shut down due to overcrowding

Last night was shocking and hard to understand and accept. After a three-day peaceful protest at the airport on the weekend, it escalated to another occupation on Monday after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor continued to condemn the protesters, while reporters were frustrated she had nothing new to say, or would she directly answer questions.

The entire airport was covered in people wearing black and the sheer numbers of people overwhelmed the Airport Authority who shut down the airport for the rest of the afternoon. Reporters said the chanting was non-stop and loud. They were very angry.

Another occupation of the airport was decided for Tuesday from 1pm onwards, but for some reason the protesters would not allow people to enter the departures area. They physically blocked them, restrained them, and shouted at them.

Travelers were desperate to make it to the departure gate

Going to the airport is stressful enough and yet the added layer of protesters made many travelers desperate and freaked out which is understandable. People had to force their way to the departure area or even beg protesters to let them through. It was shocking and embarrassing. Why were protesters doing this?

And then it escalated into paranoia when they saw two men who were mainlanders in their crowd and assaulted the first one, thinking he was an undercover Chinese police officer, when in fact he was there to see his friends off at the airport.

He fell unconscious and the protesters even prevented emergency services from collecting him. What is going on?

The second one apparently smirked and said he supported the Hong Kong police and dared protesters to beat him. Again he was roughly treated and even hog tied with plastic ties. It turns out he was a Global Times reporter and Editor-in-chief Hu Xijin confirmed the young man worked at the paper.

This young man turned out to be a Global Times reporter

This was the perfect storm for state media to pounce on these two incidents, claiming that the protesters had terrorized these two men, the latter one already declared a hero only an hour after the incident ended.

But that's not all.

There were tensions between the riot police and protesters. At one point a woman was just tear gassed in the face and crouched down when a riot police officer literally pounced on her about to beat her with a baton. Others rushed to her defense and the scuffle resulted in one young man grabbing the policeman's baton, that left the police officer terrified and reached for his pistol and point it at the crowd.

Thank God he did not shoot. He slumped to the ground, probably relieved.

In self-defense a police officer brandished his pistol

Eventually the Airport Authority got a court injunction to legally remove the protesters out of the airport.

Today all of us were trying to make sense of what had happened and why.

The protesters themselves are doing some massive soul searching too. They were probably paranoid that police may have been undercover around them, but cooler heads must prevail from now on. This cannot continue.

At the airport, some protesters held handmade signs profusely apologizing for what they did and said they were desperate after having exhausted all means to get through to the Hong Kong government.

But the must continue the fight.

An acquaintance posted a quote from Frederick Douglass, an African-American former slave who became a social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. Douglass championed equal rights for people of colour -- including Chinese immigrants, as well as for women.

Abolitionist, social reformer, and orator Frederick Douglass

He said this on August 3, 1857:

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.

"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."

Thank you for the reminder that the struggle must continue.

Review: Putin's Witnesses

Vladimir Putin receives a warm welcome from his school teacher to her home

On New Year's Eve, 1999, then Russian President Boris Yeltsin made a surprise announcement on a television address. He said was resigning and that then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would become acting president, and in three months there would be an election.

For filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, he was only too eager to document this moment, asking his wife and daughters what they thought of this change in power.

 

His wife dreaded the news, and his oldest daughter equated Putin with Mao Zedong. Then he accosted his youngest daughter in the bath, who held her breath under water, refusing to comment. Did he know a year later their opinions were spot on?

Filmmaker Vitaly Mansky who now lives in Latvia

Instead of running a typical campaign with television ads and rallies, Putin hired Mansky to make a television documentary, following him as he went about his business in office. He was shown on International Women's Day visiting a textile factory mostly manned by women but he didn't speak to a single female worker. He also visits his school teacher in her home and gives her a big bouquet of roses, and kissing her like he would his own mother.


Mansky narrates the 107-minute film, explaining he did make the documentary that was shown on state television. But now looking at the footage again almost 20 years later, it seems to reveal more things that Mansky didn't see at first, which is why the film is called Putin's Witnesses.

Meanwhile the soundtrack is a haunting piano tune we hear over and over, a sense of foreboding that is very eerie.

Probably the most telling moment in Putin's Witnesses is on election day in 2000, when Mansky is at Putin's election headquarters. With narration, he introduces each person in the room and what role they played in Putin's campaign.

Many people in Putin's election team didn't stay long after

But then he adds this person or that person months later joined the opposition, or this person was later shot dead, or that person died at a young age... he includes Putin's wife and adds that years later he divorced her... it's all very shocking. No one stuck to him except for Dmitri Medvedev, who would later switch places with Putin so that he could become president again.

One of the first things Putin does in power as president is reinstate the melody of the Soviet national anthem that Yeltsin had scrapped, but now it had new lyrics, and a performance of the anthem is televised in an Easter television broadcast.

He also vetoed a motion in the lower house of parliament of removing the hammer and sickle on the "Victory Banner", the flag that Soviet troops raised over Berlin's Reichstag building on May 1, 1945 that came to symbolize the victory over Nazi Germany.

These small details show Putin's admiration or enthusiasm to return to Russia's Soviet past.

Another scene is a long conversation Mansky has with Putin in the back of a car. Putin tries to convince the filmmaker that after he finishes his term in office he will go back to living a normal life, away from the public eye and have the freedom to do whatever he wants.

The only time Putin wants Mansky to stop shooting video is after he does a length of the pool in the butterfly stroke, he gets out of the swimming pool and puts his hand over the camera lens.

Vitaly films Yeltsin at home watching election results

Mansky also follows Yeltsin at home on election night. His daughter is thrilled by the results because she has had a hand in getting Putin elected and calls for champagne to be opened. Yeltsin is pleased, but the smile turns into a frown when they wait for hours for Putin to call to thank him for giving him the opportunity to become the leader of Russia. Yeltsin would realize he was left in the dust.

After the screening of Putin's Witnesses, Mansky himself was at the screening at City Hall to big applause from the audience. He fielded questions from the audience, explaining that he and his family now lived in Latvia and that he was still able to go to Russia.

He says in 1999 no one really knew who Putin was (within a year his popularity rating went from zero to almost 50 percent), and Mansky used the opportunity to make the documentary about him to learn more about the incoming president. But in the film he admits he was not just a witness, but complicit in helping Putin become who he is.

Putin's Witnesses
Directed by Vitaly Mansky
107 minutes

Travel Warning to China

Yesterday Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to death in his appeal

This morning the Canadian Consulate in Beijing issued a warning to Canadians in China, saying it had revised its Travel Advice and Advisory for the country.

It says: "Exercise a high degree of caution in China due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws", without mentioning by name the recent case of Robert Schellenberg, 36, who was sentenced to death for trafficking methamphetamine from China to Australia.

Foreign media in China say the Chinese government took great lengths to allow foreign reporters to cover the verdict, meaning it was keen on giving the impression that it follows rule of law. Meanwhile, Chinese state media earlier insinuated his case is directly linked with Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, warning Canada would suffer severe consequences if she was not released her back to China.

Meng Wanzhou is under house arrest in Vancouver

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-run Global Times uploaded a video in which he warned that, "if Canada extradites Meng to the United States, China's revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian."

Hours after the Canadian travel advisory was issued, China put out a travel warning to its citizens about going to Canada.

A notice by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Chinese citizens should be aware of the risks of being "arbitrarily detained at the request of a third nation" in Canada, and urged caution when making travel plans."

Tensions are certainly escalating between China and Canada. Both have sufficient cause to want to resolve the situation, though China definitely ratcheted things up several notches yesterday when it sentenced Schellenberg to death.

And it is still detaining two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor.

On top of that China is now warning its citizens about traveling to Canada...

Which side should be more worried?

258 Cheaters Discovered in Shenzhen Half Marathon

The Shenzhen Half Marathon was held last Sunday

More Chinese are getting fit by running and as a result there are a number of races including marathons that are organised around the country.

According to the Chinese Athletics Association, 1,072 marathon and road running races have been held this year. This compares to only 22 races held seven years ago.

But not all the participants are competing fairly.

Some runners cheated by crossing to the other lane

Last Sunday was the Shenzhen Half Marathon, but officials have since discovered 258 runners cheated.

There were 18 with fake bib numbers, three imposters and 237 others of whom a number of them took short cuts along the route.

A video shot by a traffic camera at one section of the course showed some runners crossing from one side of the road to the other instead of running another kilometre before making a U-turn.

That means they cut off two to three kilometres from the total 21 kilometres they should have run.

In another case, a local photographer took pictures of two people with identical bib numbers.

"We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event. Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself," said the announcement by the organizing committee.

Organizers found 258 people cheated during the race

Obviously there were not enough volunteers to keep watch along the route, though paying other people to run the race for you is absolutely outrageous.

Runners with fake bib numbers and those who hired people to run for them will be banned for two years, according to the announcement.

Even People's Daily wrote an editorial about the incident, saying, "Please respect the Marathon, and respect sporting spirit!"

Meanwhile on Weibo, one user lamented, "There are too many marathons in China nowadays, and too many so-called runners, but runners who really love running are still in short supply."

Running a race is for one's personal achievement. So if you really want to do a half or full marathon, you would be determined to run every kilometre. But then again in China, should we be surprised people would cheat the race?

Jack's a Party Member

Jack Ma is a card-carrying member of the Chinese Communist Party

Well what do you know! Jack Ma Yun is a Communist Party member!

He was outed yesterday in the People's Daily as one of 100 Chinese people who have made extraordinary contributions to the country's development in the past 40 years.

Ma along with Tencent Holdings CEO Pony Ma, Baidu CEO Robin Li, basketball star Yao Ming and volleyball coach Lang Ping were on the list.

Pony Ma of Tencent is on the 100 list, but not a Party member

It is unclear when Ma joined the party and how much money in dues he pays each year.

Interestingly this made huge headlines today, but one should expect that someone as successful as Ma is to have some kind of affiliation with the Party. How else could he succeed?

But he has said before that it's not a good idea to be too close to the Party. In media interviews he would say, "Fall in love with the government, but don't get married."

However, with President Xi Jinping wanting to have greater control over everything, everyone else has to comply, and Ma seems to be one of them.

"We're seeing an increasingly close relationship between China's leading internet companies and government because government sees them as one of the most effective ways to realize its policy initiatives," says Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting.

Xi Jinping visits the cave in Yan'an he spent during his teens

"Being a party member is essentially tipping your hat to the legitimacy of the party and it doesn't necessarily denote any particularly high level of political activity."

Nevertheless, some entrepreneurs are going a step further to demonstrate their loyalty to the Party.

In 2015 Jack Ma visited Yan'an, the city often considered the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Pony Ma -- who is not a Party member -- also went to Yan'an this year and even wore a Red Army uniform. Yan'an is also where President Xi spent much of his teenage years.

Ah the symbolism! And the song and dance people need to do to keep in the government's good books...

Fan Bingbing's Big Fine

Actress Fan Bingbing must pay a hefty fine for tax evasion

The big news today is that finally after months of no word from actress Fan Bingbing, it has now been revealed that she has been fined nearly 884 million yuan (US$129 million) for tax evasion.

In the office we were speculating if she could even pay that amount.

According to Forbes she made 300 million yuan from July 2016-July 2017, and 1.4 billion yuan between 2003 and 2016. But surely she spent a chunk of that money. She will probably be cleaned out after paying the fine and will have to lay low for a while before re-starting her career again.

She was an ambassador for Louis Vuitton

It's unfortunate she was singled out as an example of what happens if you evade paying your taxes.

It was found that she had two contracts, one at a lower amount to pay less taxes, and another that was her actual income. Her production companies were also fined 117 million yuan for also omitting income and not paying tax on it.

Apparently Fan will escape criminal charges if she pays the hefty bill by December 31.

While she was invited by several luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, De Beers, Montblanc, and Guerlain to be an ambassador, probably no money or not much changed hands, but now it'll make fashion, jewellery and cosmetic brands think twice about using Chinese artists as brand ambassadors.

It puts these companies in a tough position because they want to target mainland Chinese consumers, but don't want to be caught using the wrong celebrity for promotional purposes.

The whole fiasco started in May, when outspoken state television presenter, Cui Yongyuan posted pictures on Weibo of two contracts that appeared to be for Fan's upcoming film. One showed a salary of US$1.6 million to be reported to the tax authorities, and another with US$7.8 million.

This is a common practice called yin-yang contracts. It is also not unusual for companies to have two books, one for the tax department to look at, the other containing actual figures.

Fan also promoted De Beers

After there was public outcry about his whistle-blowing, Cui later apologized to Fan and in June he withdrew his claims altogether. But that didn't stop the State Administration of Taxation from launching an investigation, which led to her disappearance the same month.

Fan was held under "residential surveillance at a designated location", where the police can detain anyone suspected of endangering state security, terrorism, or significant corruption at an undisclosed location for up to six months. It is a practice widely condemned by human rights groups.

Today Fan released a letter apologizing to fans and the Communist Party for her transgressions, saying she would "overcome all difficulties" to pay what she owed.

"One could say that every bit of the achievement I have made cannot be separated from the support of the state and the people," she wrote. "Without the good policies of the Communist Party and the state, without the people's love and care, there would be no Fan Bingbing."

Who knows what she went through when she was in detention for several months. Regardless of what people think of her, we can only hope she will get through this terrible period and eventually move on.

Even More Chinese Investment in Africa

Xi announces another US$60 billion for African countries

At the start of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged another US$60 billion to African countries to build major infrastructure projects, such as roads, railways, ports, pipelines and other links.

It's a whopping large amount adding to Africa's indebtedness to the Middle Kingdom, and Xi doesn't mind -- he's even willing to write off previous debts to get access to the African countries' natural resources.

From 2000 to 2014, China loaned US$86 billion. What's another US$60 billion?

The China-Africa Cooperation forum is on now in Beijing

With governments weak without much capital, this heavy investment from China is a godsend, but at what price politically, economically and socially? The Chinese are flooding African countries with cheap Chinese made goods, bringing in thousands of mainlanders looking to make money, but also giving Beijing much more political clout.

A decade ago the Chinese were proud of being able to "help" Africa, but now critics at home aren't so sure giving away US$60 billion to the continent is the best use of the money.

"You should first raise your own children," one online commenter wrote. "My God, there have been so many natural and man-made casualties recently, can you please take a look at our low-income people?"

Another exclaimed, "US$60 billion is money that we earned! Tell me who is causing the suffering of China's everyday people?"

Sounds like first-world complaints are already sprouting in China.

Infrastructure projects like highways have been built in Africa

State media were quick to defend the investment, saying how the money benefited both China and Africa, that Africa had large amounts of natural resources such as crude oil, manganese and copper. China is also Africa's largest trading partner, surprise surprise.

The People's Daily insisted China's aid did not have any political preconditions, and that many African countries have consistently reciprocated by helping China.

If you were given billions of dollars, the least you could do is give the donor what they wanted... which is why some accuse China of "neo-colonialism", or "cheque-book diplomacy".

In any event, with the on-going trade war with the United States, and the Chinese economy slowing down, Beijing-based economics professor Hu Xingdou thinks the generous loan should have been more carefully considered.

"Trade numbers and industrial revenues are going down, and most Chinese still cannot afford proper medical care or education," he said. "There are many critically ill Chinese who cannot do anything but wait for death, so skepticism online is quite natural... Aid to Africa is necessary but needs to be done within China's capabilities."