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Zepplin

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I'm not sure how likely this is to become a wider conflict.
The US will of course do their token gesture and say that China are being naughty but if it came down to it, America (and the west) would avoid conflict and go down the sanctions route. Much like Russia and the Ukraine issue that's been going on.

No one will benefit from a war at any scale, people are still angry at Iraq/Afganistan
 

Corzhens

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US official questions China's intentions in South China Sea

Dateline HANOI — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned China's intentions with its massive land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and urged it to follow international laws.

"The United States and Vietnam share an interest in maintaining peace and stability in the region so does China. But its massive land reclamation project in the South China Sea and increasing militarization of these outposts fuel regional tension and raise serious questions about China's intentions."

For details - US official questions China's intentions in South China Sea | World, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com
 

Zepplin

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The responses from them and neighbours are going to be very interesting.
Whatever they say will upset their neighbors as their is no justification in claiming those islands.
Obviously I don't expect them to come out and say they're interested in a military or strategic plans.
 

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5 Chinese coast guard ships spotted in Scarborough shoal

Dateline NFANTA, Pangasinan— A crew member of FB Joenel 3 based here, said he was surprised when they traveled to the shoal last month because the Chinese only had two coast guard vessels during previous encounters but now the Chinese Coast Guard has increased its presence in the West Philippine Sea by deploying five ships to patrol the Scarborough Shoal.

But the Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday said it had yet to receive reports on the presence of five Chinese Coast Guard vessels at Scarborough Shoal.


Read more:5 Chinese coast guard ships spotted in Scarborough shoal | Inquirer Global Nation
 

Khafee

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APRIL 30, 2019
China sentences second Canadian citizen to death ahead of centenary
By Elizabeth Shim

China-sentences-second-Canadian-citizen-to-death-ahead-of-centenary.jpg

Tensions between China and Canada are rising following the arrests of citizens in both countries. File Photo by Fred Dufour/EPA-EFE


April 30 (UPI) -- A second Canadian citizen was sentenced to death in China on Tuesday for manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine.
The decision comes after another Canadian national, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, had a 15-year prison sentence increased to a death sentence, the BBC reported.

The Chinese decision to sentence to death Canadian citizen Fan Wei comes at a time when the two countries are experiencing unprecedented tensions over citizens in custody.

In December, China detained Michael Spavor, head of Paektu Cultural Exchange, at the Chinese border city of Dandong. He was arrested on charges of "harming [Chinese] national security," but details on the reasons for his detention were not provided by Beijing. Ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig is the other Canadian in Chinese custody.

The arrests came after Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei. Meng was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned Schellenberg's death sentence, but the Chinese government refuted the remarks and has said Canada was practicing "double standards."

On Tuesday the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province said Fan Wei was the leader of a drug ring. A defendant of an unknown nationality but identified as Wu Ziping was also conferred the death sentence, according to the BBC.

China takes a tough stance on narcotics that may date back to the 19th century, when the country fought the Opium War against Britain. The Qing dynasty began to sentence Chinese drug traffickers to death as early as 1838, according to historians.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has evoked his country's "humiliation" at the hands of Western powers on previous occasions.

On Tuesday he called on Chinese youth to build community and "take responsibility" in order to "realize the great revival of the Chinese people," according to Chinese network CGTN.

Xi was speaking at an event commemorating the centenary of the May Fourth movement, a student-led mass protest in 1919 that condemned Chinese concessions to Japan at the time.

China sentences second Canadian citizen to death ahead of centenary
 

Khafee

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U.S. lawmakers want to tighten visas for Chinese students, researchers
May 15, 2019


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress introduced legislation on Tuesday intended to prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by the Chinese military from receiving student or research visas to the United States.

The bill would require the U.S. government to create a list of scientific and engineering institutions affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by those institutions from receiving the visas.

The bill was introduced as the United States and China have escalated a trade war following difficult negotiations last week.

It also comes as some U.S. officials have expressed concern about the possibility of the theft of intellectual property or even espionage by Chinese nationals at U.S. universities and other institutions.

Many U.S. and university officials also warn about overreacting, however, arguing it is important to acknowledge the important role Chinese scholars and students play at U.S. institutions while being aware of security risks.

The bill was sponsored by Republicans Senators Chuck Grassley, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Mike Gallagher.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall

 

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Xi Jinping takes China's panda diplomacy to Russia
June 6, 2019
By Elizabeth Shim
View attachment 7596
One of two pandas presented at the Moscow Zoo on Thursday, during an official ceremony where leaders of China and Russia were in attendance. Photo by Alexander Vilf/EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

View attachment 7597
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (2-R) attend an official ceremony to hand over two giant pandas from China to the Moscow Zoo on Thursday. Photo by Alexander Vilf/EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

June 6 (UPI) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin stressed close ties in a summit in Moscow that included the gift of two pandas to a Russian zoo on Thursday.

Ahead of his visit to Moscow's zoo, Xi told reporters after a three-hour summit Russia is China's closest friend and ally, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

"Russia is the country I visit most frequently," the Chinese leader said. "Putin is my closest friend and a good colleague."

The Chinese government said the two countries agreed to cooperate in key sectors, including energy, aerospace, and the sciences, state new agency Xinhua reported Thursday.

The two sides agreed to set up a $1 billion China-Russia Science and Technology Innovation Fund and increase investments, including construction under China's One Belt, One Road Initiative, according to reports.

Xi and Putin are promoting strong ties at a time the Trump administration is warning that it could further raise tariffs as China responds with penalties against China-based U.S. companies.

The presentation of the two pandas, Ru Yi and Ding Ding, comes after two years of negotiations. China agreed to lend the pandas to Russia in 2019, the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Russia has invested about $15 million in building a Chinese section of the zoo that would include an area for the animals. Ru Yi and Ding Ding were flown in from China's Szechuan Province in late April. They will be on loan to Moscow for 15 years.

Putin has publicly expressed gratitude for the pandas, following his summit with Xi.

"I thank President Xi and Chinese colleagues for providing the Moscow zoo with two large pandas," Putin said Thursday. "This is a sign of special respect and trust in Russia."

China has not given pandas to Russia since 1957, the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.


 

Khafee

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Xi Jinping takes China's panda diplomacy to Russia
June 6, 2019
By Elizabeth Shim
View attachment 7596
One of two pandas presented at the Moscow Zoo on Thursday, during an official ceremony where leaders of China and Russia were in attendance. Photo by Alexander Vilf/EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

View attachment 7597
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (2-R) attend an official ceremony to hand over two giant pandas from China to the Moscow Zoo on Thursday. Photo by Alexander Vilf/EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

June 6 (UPI) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin stressed close ties in a summit in Moscow that included the gift of two pandas to a Russian zoo on Thursday.

Ahead of his visit to Moscow's zoo, Xi told reporters after a three-hour summit Russia is China's closest friend and ally, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

"Russia is the country I visit most frequently," the Chinese leader said. "Putin is my closest friend and a good colleague."

The Chinese government said the two countries agreed to cooperate in key sectors, including energy, aerospace, and the sciences, state new agency Xinhua reported Thursday.

The two sides agreed to set up a $1 billion China-Russia Science and Technology Innovation Fund and increase investments, including construction under China's One Belt, One Road Initiative, according to reports.

Xi and Putin are promoting strong ties at a time the Trump administration is warning that it could further raise tariffs as China responds with penalties against China-based U.S. companies.

The presentation of the two pandas, Ru Yi and Ding Ding, comes after two years of negotiations. China agreed to lend the pandas to Russia in 2019, the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Russia has invested about $15 million in building a Chinese section of the zoo that would include an area for the animals. Ru Yi and Ding Ding were flown in from China's Szechuan Province in late April. They will be on loan to Moscow for 15 years.

Putin has publicly expressed gratitude for the pandas, following his summit with Xi.

"I thank President Xi and Chinese colleagues for providing the Moscow zoo with two large pandas," Putin said Thursday. "This is a sign of special respect and trust in Russia."

China has not given pandas to Russia since 1957, the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.


 

Khafee

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Thousands stranded, 5 killed, as heavy rain lashes south China
Reuters
June 11, 2019

View attachment 7834
This aerial photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows a general view of submerged buildings after heavy rain caused flooding in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region. (AFP)

View attachment 7835
This photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows cars driving through floodwater in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region after heavy rainstorm hit the area. (AFP)

View attachment 7836
This aerial photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows streets submerged by floodwater in Guilin in China's southern Guangxi region after heavy rainstorm hit the area. (AFP)

View attachment 7837
Paramilitary officers rescue stranded villagers at a flooded field in Quanzhou county, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China June 9, 2019. (Reuters)

  • Rainfall in Jiangxi reached as much as 688 millimeters (27 inches), according to a notice by China’s meteorological administration

SHANGHAI: Thousands of people have been stranded and at least five killed amid torrential rain throughout central and southern China, with authorities bracing themselves for at least another four days of downpours, state media reported on Tuesday.

The official China Daily said floods had wiped out 10,800 hectares of crops and destroyed hundreds of houses in the Jiangxi province by Monday, with a total of 1.4 million people affected and direct economic losses amounting to 2.65 billion yuan ($382.41 million).

In the region of Guangxi in the southwest, 20,000 households had their power cut and roads, bridges and other infrastructure were severely damaged, the China Daily said.

Rainfall in Jiangxi reached as much as 688 millimeters (27 inches), according to a notice by China’s meteorological administration. It said rain in parts of Jiangxi and Hunan had hit record highs for June.

The administration said rainstorms were expected to spread to Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Taiwan by Thursday. It also warned authorities to be on their guard against severe thunderstorms and the possibility of small rivers bursting their banks in coming days. ($1 = 6.9298 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

Khafee

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Thousands stranded, 5 killed, as heavy rain lashes south China
Reuters
June 11, 2019

View attachment 7834
This aerial photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows a general view of submerged buildings after heavy rain caused flooding in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region. (AFP)

View attachment 7835
This photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows cars driving through floodwater in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region after heavy rainstorm hit the area. (AFP)

View attachment 7836
This aerial photo taken on June 9, 2019 shows streets submerged by floodwater in Guilin in China's southern Guangxi region after heavy rainstorm hit the area. (AFP)

View attachment 7837
Paramilitary officers rescue stranded villagers at a flooded field in Quanzhou county, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China June 9, 2019. (Reuters)

  • Rainfall in Jiangxi reached as much as 688 millimeters (27 inches), according to a notice by China’s meteorological administration

SHANGHAI: Thousands of people have been stranded and at least five killed amid torrential rain throughout central and southern China, with authorities bracing themselves for at least another four days of downpours, state media reported on Tuesday.

The official China Daily said floods had wiped out 10,800 hectares of crops and destroyed hundreds of houses in the Jiangxi province by Monday, with a total of 1.4 million people affected and direct economic losses amounting to 2.65 billion yuan ($382.41 million).

In the region of Guangxi in the southwest, 20,000 households had their power cut and roads, bridges and other infrastructure were severely damaged, the China Daily said.

Rainfall in Jiangxi reached as much as 688 millimeters (27 inches), according to a notice by China’s meteorological administration. It said rain in parts of Jiangxi and Hunan had hit record highs for June.

The administration said rainstorms were expected to spread to Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Taiwan by Thursday. It also warned authorities to be on their guard against severe thunderstorms and the possibility of small rivers bursting their banks in coming days. ($1 = 6.9298 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

Khafee

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Chinese military expels USS Barry from Paracel Islands
April 28, 2020

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The guided-missile destroyer USS Barry, shown here in the Atlantic in 2008, was accused of “intruding intruding into Chinese territory waters” and expelled from the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea on Tuesday. Photo by Troy Miller


April 28 (UPI) -- Chinese authorities say they sortied ships and aircraft to "track, monitor, verify, identify and expel" the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry from the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

The People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command accused the USS Barry of intruding into "waters around the Paracel Islands without permission," the South China Morning Post reported.

Navy officials told USNI News, however, that the Barry had conducted a "freedom of navigation operation" in the island chain off Vietnam.

The vessel had transited the Taiwan Strait twice earlier this month, provoking a similar reaction from China. The Chinese Liaoning Carrier Strike Group also transited the Taiwan Strait April 22, a day after Barry transited the same area.

PLA Southern Theatre Command spokesman Li Huamin said the operation was "incompatible with the current atmosphere as the international community is fighting pandemic."

The United States and China have each accused the other of using the COVID-19 pandemic as a distraction to exercise more military control in the South China Sea.

The Barry has been active in the South China Sea operating with the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and the amphibious assault ship USS America off the coast of Malaysia.
 

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USS Bunker Hill sails through Spratly Islands to contest China's maritime claim
APRIL 29, 2020

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An SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter lifts off from the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in this 2010 photo. Photo by Daniel Barker/U.S. Navy



April 29 (UPI) -- The guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill sailed through the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea Wednesday, according to the the U.S. 7th Fleet.

The transit marks the second U.S. Navy maneuver this week, following the expulsion of the USS Barry from the Paracel Islands by China's military.

According to the Navy, the cruiser transited the region to test "excessive maritime claims" of China, Vietnam and Taiwan -- all of which have overlapping claims in the contested chain of islands.

"Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," said a statement from the 7th Fleet.

The transit was one of a series of recent challenges to what the United States considers "unlawful claims" in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command accused the USS Barry of entering waters around the Paracel Islands without permission and sharply rebuked the move.

The Barry, based in Japan, had transited the Taiwan Strait twice earlier this month, both of which also drew criticism from the Chinese government.

The Barry, the Bunker Hill and the amphibious assault ship USS America had been operating off the coast of Malaysia near an ongoing dispute over mineral exploration near Malaysia and China this month.
 

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China launches new Long March-5B rocket for space station program
06 May 2020
1588771700900.png

China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B blasts off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province, May 5, 2020. China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B made its maiden flight Tuesday, sending the trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule for test into space. (Photo by Tu Haichao/Xinhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, May 5 (Xinhua) -- China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B made its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending the trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule for test into space.

The successful flight inaugurated the "third step" of China's manned space program, which is to construct a space station, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The white large rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of southern China's island province of Hainan at 6 p.m. (Beijing Time).

About 488 seconds later, the experimental manned spacecraft with no crew, together with the test version of the cargo return capsule, separated with the rocket and entered the planned orbit, according to CMSA.

Specially developed for China's manned space program, Long March-5B will be mainly used to launch the modules of the space station.

The Long March-5B carrier rocket will help expand China's aerospace activities, said Wang Xiaojun, head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

Modified on the basis of Long March-5, the new large rocket has a total length of about 53.7 meters, which is as tall as an 18-floor building, and has a 5-meter-diameter core stage and four 3.35-meter-diameter boosters, as well as a 20.5-meter-long and 5.2-meter-diameter fairing.

The rocket uses environment-friendly propellants, including liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and kerosene. It has a takeoff mass of about 849 tonnes and is able to send over 22 tonnes of payloads, equivalent to the weight of more than 10 cars, to low-Earth orbit, which is currently the largest low-Earth orbit carrying capacity among China's rockets.

The successful maiden flight verified the design of the rocket. A series of technological breakthroughs have been achieved such as the separation of the large fairing and the payloads in space and the precise control of the rocket to enter orbit directly with high thrust, laying the foundation for constructing China's space station, CMSA said.

The new manned spacecraft is designed to adapt to multiple tasks including low-Earth orbit missions and deep-space explorations. The spacecraft comprises a service capsule and a return capsule.

The mission will test the key technologies of the new spaceship such as the control of its re-entry into the atmosphere, heat shielding and recovery technology, according to the China Academy of Space Technology under CASC.

Some space science experiments, including space 3D printing, will be conducted on the experimental spacecraft.

The test version of a cargo return capsule, which is flexible and inflatable and developed by the Second Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, was also sent into space on Tuesday.

Before the launch, joint drills of the Long March-5B rocket and the prototype core capsule of the space station had been conducted at the Wenchang Space Launch Center.

All personnel participating in the mission had overcome tremendous difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus epidemic, and the challenges and pressure brought by the recent failures of the Long March-7A and Long March-3B rockets.

In 1992, China started its manned space program with a three-step strategy.

Yang Liwei carried out the first step -- to send an astronaut into space and return safely -- in the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003.

The second step was developing advanced space flight techniques and technologies including extra-vehicular activity and orbital docking. This phase included the launch of Tiangong-1, a transitional platform to test the docking technology and the Tiangong-2 space lab.

So far, a total of 16 major missions of China's manned space program have been accomplished, with a success rate of 100 percent.

China has launched 11 manned spacecraft, one cargo spacecraft, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, sending 11 astronauts into space, completing the first two steps of the manned space program.

The next step is to assemble and operate a permanent manned space station.

Tuesday's launch was the 331st mission of the Long March rocket series.

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USS Montgomery, USNS Cesar Chavez enter South China Sea to support drill ship
May 8, 2020
View attachment 12740
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery conducts routine operations near Panamanian flagged drillship, West Capella. Montgomery is on a rotational deployment to USINDOPACOM, conducting operations, exercises and port visits throughout the region and working hull-to-hull with allied and partner navies to provide maritime security and stability, key pillars of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Photo courtesy USINDOPACOM

May 8 (UPI) -- The USS Montgomery and the USNS Cesar Chavez sailed into the South China Sea this week in support of the West Capella drill ship, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced Friday.

Earlier this week the Air Force and Marines conducted training exercises near China amid increased tensions in the region, which is the site of competing maritime claims.

Thursday's transit, officials said, was a reaction to Chinese harassment of the drill ship in waters the Chinese government has claimed but which the United States considers international waters.

Last week the Chinese military expelled the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry from the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea, saying the United States was intruding into Chinese waters without permission.

The West Capella is owned by Patronas, a Malaysian oil and gas company and is registered in Panama.

Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said U.S. forces would stand with regional friends and partners to resist coercion and oppose unlawful claims to international waters and resources.

"We are committed to a rules-based order in the South China Sea and we will continue to champion freedom of the seas and the rule of law," said Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries. Millions of people in the region depend on those resources for their livelihood."

Both ships were already underway in the region, with Montgomery on a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and Cesar Chavez delivering supplies, fuel, cargo and equipment to warfighters throughout the region.
 

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I agree 100%

Soccer superstar stuns China with call for ouster of Communist Party
Gerry Shih, The Washington Post
Published 7:35 am EDT, Friday, June 5, 2020
Chinese sports stars usually express thanks and offer platitudes about their government - if they address politics and power at all.

Not Hao Haidong.

The retired soccer forward, the Chinese national team's all-time top goal scorer and an idol in the 1990s and early 2000s, stunned his country this week after he called for the downfall of the ruling Communist Party and the formation of a new government.

In a highly unusual YouTube appearance as part of an apparent publicity campaign by the fugitive billionaire Guo Wengui, one of the Chinese government's most reviled opponents, Hao read an 18-point manifesto for a vision of a "New Federal State of China." Sitting for an accompanying hour-long interview alongside his wife, the badminton champion Ye Zhaoying, Hao launched into lengthy criticisms of the government's handling of almost every domestically sensitive subject: Hong Kong, Tibet, the covid-19 pandemic.

"This Communist Party should be kicked out of humanity," Hao declared in the videos released Thursday, on the politically sensitive anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.


Coming from an international athlete, Hao's comments would be fiercely criticized by the Chinese government. Coming from a Chinese soccer legend, they were unthinkable, almost disorienting.

By Thursday afternoon, Hao's videos had caused a sensation in China even though they appeared on YouTube, a blocked platform. They seemed to confound Internet users and authorities alike. Was the entire episode fake? Should it be condemned or ignored?

Titan, a leading state-run sports website, quickly issued a statement that said "Hao Haidong has made speech that subverts the government and harms national sovereignty and uses the coronavirus epidemic to smear the Chinese government and spread falsehoods about Hong Kong . . . we strongly condemn this behavior."
Shortly after, the statement was edited to replace Hao's name, which had become sensitive, with the Roman letter "H." Hours after that, the statement was removed outright as the government opted erase all mention of the incident on the domestic Internet as if it never happened.
Hao's Weibo social media account, which had close to 8 million followers, vanished. Hupu, a leading online hangout for Chinese sports fans, warned users against all discussion of Hao's "harmful remarks."

The warning, too, disappeared.

Within 24 hours, according to the Internet monitor freeweibo.com, Hao's name had become the most heavily censored term on Weibo - topping even "6-4," the perennially censored reference to the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989.

On Friday, the government addressed the videos for the first time, dismissing Hao's video as farce. "I don't have any interest in commenting," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

Hao, who is believed to live in Spain after retiring as China's greatest striker, has been known for sharply criticizing the Chinese soccer authorities but not the ruling party itself. At one point in his videos, he says his disillusionment with the corrupt sports system morphed into a deeper discontent. He also lambasted the prevalence of fraud and a lack of social welfare.

His salvo couldn't be seen as a gauge of popular sentiment toward the party, but Hao is probably the highest-profile Chinese national to speak out so forcefully against the country's political leadership under the rule of President Xi Jinping.

Hao's videos amounted to a minor publicity coup for Guo, the New York-based businessman who has been sought by Chinese authorities on a litany of charges, including fraud, blackmail and bribery.

After fleeing China, Guo, who once worked closely with top Chinese intelligence officials, refashioned himself in 2017 as an anti-government crusader who promised to topple the Communist Party by revealing its secrets on his YouTube channel. Despite dominating Chinese political chatter in 2017, many of Guo's disclosures emerged to be unsubstantiated or fake and his profile waned.

The former real estate developer hired Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and China critic, in 2018 on a multimillion dollar deal to promote him in the United States, according to Axios.

As Guo's YouTube channel aired Hao's videos this week, it also showed Guo and Bannon in a boat in the New York Bay floating in front of the Statue of Liberty, from where Bannon read an English version of a manifesto calling for the creation of the new China.
 
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