00:00The US and China are holding serious nuclear talks.
00:03Communist propaganda is coming to a country near you.
00:06And China purges two former defense ministers.
00:09That and more on this week's China news headlines.
00:14Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.
00:16This episode is sponsored by Chuck Norris!
00:19The man who creates tornadoes just by punching the wind.
00:23Need I say more?
00:25Yes?
00:26Okay, I'll tell you at the end.
00:28Heavy rains have caused severe flooding and landslides in southern China,
00:33leaving th-
00:36Hey Shelley, is this the right script?
00:38This isn't from last month?
00:40Uh-huh.
00:42Again? Oh, okay, I see.
00:44Once again, severe weather is tearing through China,
00:47causing deadly flooding and landslides.
00:50One missing family of six was found dead by rescuers after a landslide in eastern China.
00:56They had entered a temple seeking higher ground to escape the floods,
00:59only for the building to be toppled by a landslide.
01:02The Chinese government is giving cities over $316 million in emergency relief
01:07as rescue and evacuation efforts are underway, with even more severe weather incoming.
01:11Fortunately, China's economy is doing great,
01:14and its infrastructure is known for its quality, so this is no cause for alarm at all.
01:19And speaking of China's amazing economy,
01:21China's foreign direct investment fell for the 12th straight month in a row.
01:26According to official data released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce,
01:30China attracted a mere $56.81 billion in FDI from January to May,
01:37a 28.2% decrease compared to the same period last year.
01:41And since this is official communist data,
01:44we know the situation is actually much, much worse.
01:47Continuing decline comes amidst trade tensions with the West,
01:50with the EU and China set to hold talks on the EU's planned electric vehicle tariffs,
01:56and China launching a tit-for-tat anti-dumping investigation into European pork imports.
02:01China's been trying everything it can to think of a way to attract foreign direct
02:04investment to the country after the pandemic,
02:06short of actually creating an environment that welcomes businesses.
02:10But for some reason, it isn't working. Go figure.
02:14Well, nothing that a little propaganda won't fix.
02:16Cities and provinces in China are working together with the CCP
02:20to push their propaganda globally.
02:23In other news, the sun rose in the east, and my beard remains glorious as ever.
02:28An independent research group called the China Media Project has documented at least
02:3223 foreign propaganda centers at China's city and provincial levels.
02:37These are centers devoted to telling the best and most convincing lies to foreigners.
02:43Gary Ronsley, a professor of public diplomacy at the University of Lincoln,
02:47said this is proof Beijing is realizing that it can't use the same propaganda on all foreigners.
02:52When we look at the activities of some of these centers,
02:55they are very much oriented towards the needs and interests of people in neighboring countries.
03:01For example, some centers focus on soccer when tailoring propaganda to Brazil or Argentina,
03:07while culinary shows are tailored towards Italy and Southeast Asia.
03:10What, is their Canadian propaganda going to focus on hockey pucks covered in maple syrup?
03:16Of course, so far these propaganda centers have met with limited success in terms of
03:19changing people's perceptions of China.
03:22Still, CCP propaganda has had some successes. For example,
03:25China managed to convince France to work with them on a satellite,
03:28which they launched last Saturday in an attempt to explore the universe.
03:33Engineers from both countries work together to develop the Space Variable Objects Monitor,
03:38which will seek out gamma ray bursts, the light from which has traveled
03:42billions of light-years to reach Earth.
03:44Wait, China's looking for gamma rays?
03:46Oh no, is their latest weapon going to be a Red Hulk?
03:50This partnership is despite Washington's 2011 ban on collaboration between NASA and Beijing,
03:56which was also supposed to dissuade US allies from working too closely in space with the CCP.
04:01I guess France just didn't want to surrender.
04:05Two former defense ministers have been purged.
04:08Lei Fenghe and Li Xiangfu have been expelled for—you guessed it—corruption.
04:13According to state-run Xinhua, the offenses were extremely serious,
04:17the impact was extremely egregious, and the damage was particularly immense.
04:22We've known this was coming for a while now.
04:24Li Xiangfu went missing in late August.
04:27And was officially fired two months later.
04:29Now he's officially been kicked out of the Party.
04:31This came just days after Xi Jinping held a high-level military conference,
04:35where he complained about graft and a lack of loyalty in the military.
04:40Well, I'm sure everyone will be really very loyal now, Mr. Xi.
04:45And after the break, diplomacy and more diplomacy.
04:51Welcome back.
04:52The US and the CCP have held their first informal nuclear talks in half a decade.
04:57What do informal nuclear talks look like, you ask?
05:01Why like this, of course.
05:02As opposed to formal nuclear talks.
05:05Reuters reports the talks occurred back in March.
05:08These types of informal talks are known as Track 2 talks.
05:12They involve former government officials or academics,
05:14who can mostly speak with authority on their government's position,
05:17even if not directly involved in setting it.
05:20Track 1 talks are government-to-government.
05:23The US and China had some of those in November, but they've since stalled.
05:27With one top US official publicly expressing frustration at China's responsiveness.
05:32China, let me give you some advice.
05:33It takes two to work on a relationship.
05:36You've got to talk through your feelings.
05:39American delegates present at the recent Track 2 talks said that
05:42Chinese representatives said they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan.
05:47Gee, I wonder why that sounds familiar.
05:50You are who you hang out with, China.
05:53David Santoro, a scholar and organizer of these Track 2 talks,
05:56said the Chinese told the US side that they were absolutely convinced
06:00that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan
06:04without using nuclear weapons.
06:06Which isn't very reassuring.
06:09Meanwhile, commemorating half a century of diplomatic ties,
06:12it looks like Malaysia and China are getting even closer.
06:15The Malaysian Prime Minister called China a true friend last Tuesday,
06:19and said the country wasn't to be feared as Premier Li Qiang ended a visit.
06:23Marking one of the very few times in this show's history
06:26that I've said true and China in the same sentence.
06:30The two countries signed a series of deals,
06:32such as a renewal of a five-year trade and economic cooperation pact.
06:36But China and Malaysia did discuss some issues with the relationship,
06:39mainly overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
06:42What else is new?
06:43But the Malaysian leader stressed the discussions were held as
06:46equal partners and trusted friends.
06:49Because who hasn't had a trusted friend
06:51randomly decide to invade and claim your swimming pool as their own?
06:55Oh, that's just Greg. He's so silly.
06:59But that doesn't mean everything is rosy for Beijing and the region,
07:01especially with India and Bangladesh boosting their defense ties,
07:05which seems to be a way to counterbalance China.
07:08Last Saturday, India and Bangladesh signed agreements to
07:10expand cooperation in maritime security cooperation,
07:14ocean economy, and space and telecommunications sectors,
07:17as India presents itself as a regional power and counterweight to China.
07:22Gee, I wonder why they put so much emphasis on maritime security. How random.
07:26But Bangladesh also has close relations with the CCP.
07:29It's heavily dependent on Beijing for raw materials.
07:32Bangladesh has tried hard to balance these close relationships over the years,
07:36as well as its good relations with the US.
07:39International politics is a messy love triangle.
07:42And Taiwan's defense ministry reported that between June 20 and June 22—just
07:48two days—China sends 66 warplanes into Taiwan airspace.
07:52You can tell how seriously China takes trying to cut down its carbon emissions
07:55by the amount of jet fuel it burns, which would even make Taylor Swift go,
07:59that's just downright irresponsible.
08:01According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense,
08:03some of the aircraft flew within 31 nautical miles of the island.
08:07These maneuvers and violations coincide with the CCP enacting
08:11death penalty laws for those it labels supporters of Taiwanese separatism,
08:16which is a totally reasonable and not at all unfathomably unhinged reaction
08:22to people calling a country a country.
08:25We did an episode on that, link below.
08:27But China has been doing this for a very long time.
08:30And it's only gotten worse since Taiwan's new president came into power.
08:34Which means I'll probably be reporting on more such violations in the very near future.
08:40And hey, have you ever wondered what the legendary Chuck Norris is up to these days?
08:45Well, at age 84, he can still kick butt,
08:49even while standing with both feet on the ground.
08:52Chuck Norris can beat the sun in a staring contest.
08:56Chuck Norris can charge his cell phone just by rubbing it against his beard.
09:01Seriously, how is Chuck Norris still so awesome in his 80s?
09:04He did this by making one change.
09:07Drinking Morning Kick.
09:10Just slam it into your glass.
09:12Stir it around.
09:12Boom.
09:13Morning Kick.
09:14Want something tasty and tangy?
09:16Morning Kick.
09:17Want more energy throughout the day?
09:19Morning Kick.
09:20To learn more, check out mymorningkick.com slash uncensored.
09:25The link is below.
09:27And in my ongoing effort to talk about things too controversial for YouTube by
09:31hiding them in gaming content, click here to check out the latest episode of my new show
09:35Deep Thoughts While Gaming. This one is about the new Elden Ring Shadow of the Erd Tree.
09:40Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.
Comments