Lithuania Advises Throwing Away Chinese Phones

 

Lithuania found Xiaomi phones have censorship capabilities

Lithuania has an adverse reaction to Chinese phones, so much so it could erupt into a diplomatic row after its defence ministry has advised residents to avoid buying Chinese phones or even throwing away the ones they have now after a government report found the devices have built-in censorship capabilities.

Xiaomi phones have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", according to Lithuania's state-run cybersecurity body on Tuesday.

Abukevicius advised throwing out Chinese phones

While the capability of Xiaomi's Mi 10T 5G phone software has been turned off for the "European Union region", it can be turned on remotely at anytime, the defence ministry's National Cyber Security Centre said in the report.

"Our recommendation is not to buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible," said Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius when introducing the report.

Xiaomi did not respond to Lithuania's allegations.

The report said the list of terms which could be censored by the Xiaomi phone's system apps, including the default internet browser, currently includes 449 terms in Chinese and is continuously updated. 

"This is important not only to Lithuania, but to all countries which use Xiaomi equipment," the centre said in the report.

The report warns against using any Xiaomi gadgets

Relations soured between Lithuania and China recently after Taiwan announced its mission in Lithuania would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office, causing China to demand Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing, and said it would recall its envoy to Vilnius.

Usually Taiwanese missions in Europe and the United States use the name of the city Taipei to avoid referencing the island itself, which China regards is its own.

Following Lithuania's report, how many other countries will take heed to its warnings regarding Xiaomi phones?

It will be interesting to find out...

The Violence and Confrontations Continue

A big turnout for an illegal gathering at Tsim Sha Tsui this afternoon

Today has been another day of protests that started off peacefully in Tsim Sha Tsui with an estimated 350,000 people that soon escalated with tear gas and water cannons.

There was lots of criticism aimed at the police after they fired water mixed with blue dye and pepper spray at the steps of Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui when there were only a few people, none of them protesters on the sidewalk.

A water cannon fired blue dye at Kowloon Mosque

Earlier protesters were at pains to tell people not to attack the mosque, as a few days earlier Civil Human Rights Front convenor Jimmy Sham Tze-kit had been ambushed by South Asian men who are still at large.

But this time it was the police who created a mess, and some protesters along with some Muslims quickly went to work to clean off as much of the blue dye as possible, while others had to be treated for the effects of pepper spray on their faces and bodies.

There was a torrent of criticism against the police on social media, and several hours later, a group of police representatives, led by Yam Tsim District Commander Ho Yun-sing, went to Kowloon Mosque and had a 45-minute meeting with several Muslim community leaders.

Afterwards, the police group, that included Senior Superintendent Yolanda Yu Hoi-kwan from the Police Public Relations Branch, does not answer any questions from reporters on whether they had apologized for the incident.

Soon after protesters cleaned up the entrance to the mosque

One would hope that they did...

In the meantime tonight more shops have been vandalized or set on fire, including China Merchant's Bank, Tong Ren Tang, Xiaomi, Uniso, Best Mart 360, BEA, and Yoshinoya, and some MTR stations. The vandalism is hardly productive, and even attacking places like BEA that have no mainland Chinese links is ridiculous, while Best Mart 360 has strenuously denied any relationship with China but the protesters have ignored the company's statements.

Vandalizing these businesses is not doing anyone any good and is negatively affecting the anti-government movement. If anything shops and restaurants have to shut down because they are broken into, leading to people losing jobs in this already precarious economic environment we are in now.

A Xiaomi store was set on fire in Kowloon

Chefs who are also restaurateurs have told me how their business has plunged because of the protests. People have lost interest in going out for a nice meal (and spending the money to go with it), and would rather just eat in a neighbourhood restaurant to fill their stomachs. Others have to shut down their restaurants because they are located in shopping malls that close early.

One chef told us the restaurant staff have to leave early to be able to have enough time to get home on the MTR. For example, if they are riding the MTR just before it closes at 10pm, that does not mean they can arrive home in Yuen Long within an hour -- the station shuts down all the exits at 10pm and the passengers have to find another way home, which is bizarre.

Last night I managed to catch the MTR home from Wan Chai at 12 minutes to 10pm. We got out of the MTR train at 10.01pm and only one exit was open and all passengers had to get out this way, while the other ones had rolling shutters down. One lone person was manning the open exit to make sure no one tried to come in.

A Best Mart 360 was vandalized... but not looted

In this way the MTR is not being very helpful or flexible for people catching the last trains back home. Some people finish work late and they live far from their work place. This is just another way to put further pressure on Hong Kong's already fragile economy.

This is not the Lion Rock spirit. Or is this the government's way of killing Hong Kong?

We sincerely hope not. None of us want to see the city like this!

Xiaomi Caught in the Middle

Xiaomi's founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun poses with the gong on July 9

Xiaomi, the world's fourth-largest smartphone maker, has had a heck of a time on the Hong Kong stock exchange after it launched its initial public offering on July 9.

While the stock price fell after opening day, there was belief it would be buoyed by hopes that investors on the mainland would be able to buy the Xiaomi stock through a program called Stock Connect that was supposed to start for the stock on July 23.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited expected this program would be a routine formality to start on time.

HKEX head Charles Li has rushed to Beijing

It assumed wrong.

On July 14, the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses announced Xiaomi's stock would not be included in the Stock Connect pool, potentially preventing billions of yuan from being invested in the company, thus denying Chinese investors the chance in investing in a company's stock that is projected to rise significantly.

The announcement was not only a big setback for HKEX, but also Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who had thought Stock Connect was a done deal. It's also a question of her how good her guanxi is with Beijing.

She and Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po hastily met with HKEX officials after learning about the announcement and on Monday night, Charles Li Xiaojia, head of HKEX flew to Beijing to see if he could smooth things over...

Carrie Lam was caught off guard by the announcement

As a result of Saturday's statement, Xiaomi's stock fell almost 10 percent in trading but managed to climb back up to close the day with a 1 percent loss. This just shows how much politics is still meddling in China's and Hong Kong's stock markets.

China's stock markets are in bear territory, falling 23 percent in Shanghai, 22 percent in Shenzhen since January. And so the opportunity for mainlanders to invest in Xiaomi would have potentially led to major capital flight, which the government is anxiously trying to stem the flow.

Stock Connect has been around since 2014, to allow international and mainland investors to trade securities in each other's markets. More than 2,000 equities in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are now included in the scheme.

Turnover for Hong Kong stocks in the program have been growing steadily, accounting for around 7 percent of the Hong Kong market's total turnover. Last year, it was around 6 percent, up 3 percent from 2016.

In the meantime the chances of clearing this impasse seems slim, as the mainland bourses seem keen on dragging Hong Kong's stocks -- and the HKEX's reputation -- down with them.

Xi's Internet Vision

Xi Jinping gives the keynote address calling for a system of cybersecurity

The World Internet Conference has started in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, and it seems there are double standards when it comes to foreign reporters and local ones covering the event.

Turns out all overseas guests and tech tycoons were given a Mi Note LTE by Xiaomi, for not only making calls but also using wifi.

All these smartphones were pre-installed with an app offering helpful information about the conference agenda, and was theirs to keep after the conference.

The coveted Xiaomi phone to jump the firewall

Also -- the guests reported being given special access to websites that are usually blocked on the mainland, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google.

One Hong Kong reporter was put in a hotel near the conference site and was given an individual account and password for his in-room wifi.

There he was able to access the normally blocked sites. But if he switched off the account and tried to use the regular internet, he was unable to access the same sites.

Local media not only did not get the Xiaomi phone, nor special access to the blocked sites. Even worse, they had to stay in hotels further away from the conference venue.

Meanwhile Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a 30-minute speech, spelling out his vision for a new system of cybersecurity governance to prevent cyberterrorism, and that each country had its right to set its own rules.

"There should be no internet hegemony. No interference in another country's internal affairs. No engagement in tolerating or supporting internet activities that damage another country's national security," Xi said. "We should respect other countries' rights to peaceful involvement in international cyberspace governance, including their choices of internet development, regulation and public policies."

Not having access to the internet is counterproductive

Ah, that favourite word -- hegemony. Only China uses it liberally to jab at countries like the United States for its supposed control over the world.

But really, no one "owns" the internet. While it is understandable that it needs to be regulated for things like violent pornography, racism, holocaust deniers and so on, the internet should be accessible to everyone who wants access to information.

We are living in an age where being able to access this information is so crucial to one's education, job and well-being that to deny it to people by claiming the need to regulate for "national security" is not the way to help a country develop its citizens and economy.

It seems like the Chinese government wants its people to remain in the dark -- one of the last few ways it can control its citizens through the information they receive.

It's quite ironic China is hosting this internet conference and trying to persuade others of its case for each country controlling its own internet and not to interfere in other countries' affairs.

Sound familiar?

Quote of the Day: Are You OK?

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun with Mitu, the company's politically correct mascot

Lei Jun is the charismatic CEO of Xiaomi, really cheap android smartphones that seem to want to be the Chinese version of an iPhone, others think not.

Nevertheless, one cannot criticize Lei for trying to innovate ways in developing the smartphone business. His company's philosophy is to listen to consumers and try to follow up on their complaints or suggestions, while tweaks are constantly added to the newest Xiaomi phones that are shipped once a week.

While some believe Xiaomi's phones are improving very quickly, others still dismiss Lei as a "counterfeit Steve Jobs", from introducing items like the MiPad, MiCloud, and MiTV, and trying to dress similarly to the Apple co-founder with jeans and dark shirts, and having presentations that look very similar.

Nonetheless, one can't fault Lei for having the guts to stand in front of an enthusiastic audience in India and speak in English when it's not his forte.

He was in New Delhi last Thursday to launch Xiaomi's first product for the international market, and he came on stage dressed in a blazer, shirt, jeans and runners.

"Hello, how are you?" Lei asked the Indian audience. "India Mi fans, I'm very happy to be in China," he said. Then quickly realizing his mistake he corrected himself and said, "to be in India."

The crowd laughed, but ultimately clapped and cheered him on.

Then he announced that everyone in the audience would get a free gift -- a Xiaomi smart wristband. Thinking he had to get them enthused, Lei said, "Are you OK? Are you OK?"

Mitu and his various incarnations with Xiaomi products

The audience was already excited by the prospect of free stuff, but Lei seemed unable to gage the response and said, "You like? You like?"

Or maybe he meant to say something else?

At this point one can't help but squirm in his seat listening to the bad English, but at the same time admire him for having the chutzpah to say it anyway.

The video of his short presentation was uploaded onto Youku on Monday and garnered 440,000 views within 24 hours.

While Alibaba's Jack Ma was an English teacher in his former life, Lei, like most nerds focused on computer science; the same goes for Lenovo's Yuan Yangqing, who learnt English as an adult after the company acquired IBM's PC business 10 years ago.

Lei has been upbeat about the attention over his English, taking it in stride.

"In China's education system, we actually studied English from middle school all the way through college," he told the Wall Street Journal. "My English test scores were all very good, but it turns out it was only very good in tests."

He later posted on Weibo: "I never imagined the video would go viral in China and the whole nation would be laughing." Some commented by jokingly asking, "Are you OK?"

Lei then updated his post. "Now there are more and more international Xiaomi fans. Indeed, I should learn English well and not let you down! Cheers!"

Now that's the spirit!