By , Some fear that window may be closing.On Friday, Zoom said it had suspended accounts of three U.S. and Hong Kong activists at Beijing’s request after they tried to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, but that they had since been reactivated. The U.S. company also said it was developing technology to enable it to remove or block participants based on geography.The Chinese government heavily regulates the internet, in a system widely dubbed the Great Firewall, saying this is needed to maintain social stability. All Chinese social media platforms are required to...…By , Some fear that window may be closing.On Friday, Zoom said it had suspended accounts of three U.S. and Hong Kong activists at Beijing’s request after they tried to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, but that they had since been reactivated. The U.S. company also said it was developing technology to enable it to remove or block participants based on geography.The Chinese government heavily regulates the internet, in a system widely dubbed the Great Firewall, saying this is needed to maintain social stability. All Chinese social media platforms are required to...WW…

By , Nearly 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan, or half the total, were not counted in death tolls because of lapses, state media said on Friday, but Beijing dismissed claims that there had been any kind of cover-up.The central city where the outbreak emerged late last year added 1,290 more fatalities to the 2,579 previously counted as of Thursday, reflecting incorrect reporting, delays and omissions, according to a local government task force in charge of controlling the coronavirus.Reflecting the additional deaths in Wuhan, China revised its national...…By , Nearly 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan, or half the total, were not counted in death tolls because of lapses, state media said on Friday, but Beijing dismissed claims that there had been any kind of cover-up.The central city where the outbreak emerged late last year added 1,290 more fatalities to the 2,579 previously counted as of Thursday, reflecting incorrect reporting, delays and omissions, according to a local government task force in charge of controlling the coronavirus.Reflecting the additional deaths in Wuhan, China revised its national...WW…

By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China vowed on Tuesday to retaliate if the United States persisted with “hostile action” against Chinese journalists who may be forced to leave in coming days if their U.S. visas are not extended.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing that no Chinese journalist in the United States had been granted a visa extension since the United States, on May 11, limited their stay to 90 days, with an option to extend.“The U.S. has been escalating its actions against Chinese journalists,” Wang told reporters. “The U.S. should...…By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China vowed on Tuesday to retaliate if the United States persisted with “hostile action” against Chinese journalists who may be forced to leave in coming days if their U.S. visas are not extended.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing that no Chinese journalist in the United States had been granted a visa extension since the United States, on May 11, limited their stay to 90 days, with an option to extend.“The U.S. has been escalating its actions against Chinese journalists,” Wang told reporters. “The U.S. should...WW…

By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd on Monday booked a 43% drop in half-year profit and trimmed its full-year sales goal, sending its shares down 4%, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to trouble the world’s biggest auto market.Slideshow The results come as China’s overall auto sales slowly recovers from a virus-blighted start to the year. Sales climbed for the fourth consecutive month in July yet are still down 12.7% for the year to date.China’s highest-profile automaker - due to group investments in Volvo Cars and Daimler AG - posted January-June net profit of 2.3...…By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd on Monday booked a 43% drop in half-year profit and trimmed its full-year sales goal, sending its shares down 4%, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to trouble the world’s biggest auto market.Slideshow The results come as China’s overall auto sales slowly recovers from a virus-blighted start to the year. Sales climbed for the fourth consecutive month in July yet are still down 12.7% for the year to date.China’s highest-profile automaker - due to group investments in Volvo Cars and Daimler AG - posted January-June net profit of 2.3...WW…

By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China vowed on Tuesday to retaliate if the United States persisted with “hostile action” against Chinese journalists who may be forced to leave in coming days if their U.S. visas are not extended.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing that no Chinese journalist in the United States had been granted a visa extension since the United States, on May 11, limited their stay to 90 days, with an option to extend.“The U.S. has been escalating its actions against Chinese journalists,” Wang told reporters. “The U.S. should...…By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China vowed on Tuesday to retaliate if the United States persisted with “hostile action” against Chinese journalists who may be forced to leave in coming days if their U.S. visas are not extended.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing that no Chinese journalist in the United States had been granted a visa extension since the United States, on May 11, limited their stay to 90 days, with an option to extend.“The U.S. has been escalating its actions against Chinese journalists,” Wang told reporters. “The U.S. should...WW…

By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Some Chinese students returning to school after lockdown are grappling with familial conflict while others are stressing over how coronavirus disruptions have affected their academic performance, teachers and school counsellors say.The heightened post-lockdown anxiety has become a matter of central government concern as domestic media report a spate of suicides by young people. It has also led to unprecedented measures by schools and local governments to focus on student mental health - a topic that like suicide has often been taboo in Chinese society.“There have...…By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Some Chinese students returning to school after lockdown are grappling with familial conflict while others are stressing over how coronavirus disruptions have affected their academic performance, teachers and school counsellors say.The heightened post-lockdown anxiety has become a matter of central government concern as domestic media report a spate of suicides by young people. It has also led to unprecedented measures by schools and local governments to focus on student mental health - a topic that like suicide has often been taboo in Chinese society.“There have...WW…

By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s health tracking QR codes, which have played a key part in the country’s successful containment of the coronavirus, now look set to play a much broader role in daily life as local authorities dream up new uses for the technology.Embedded in the popular WeChat and Alipay smartphone apps, the codes use self-reported and automatically collected travel and medical data to give people a red, yellow or green rating indicating the likelihood of having the virus.To walk around freely, people in China must have a green rating and since February they have been asked...…By , SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s health tracking QR codes, which have played a key part in the country’s successful containment of the coronavirus, now look set to play a much broader role in daily life as local authorities dream up new uses for the technology.Embedded in the popular WeChat and Alipay smartphone apps, the codes use self-reported and automatically collected travel and medical data to give people a red, yellow or green rating indicating the likelihood of having the virus.To walk around freely, people in China must have a green rating and since February they have been asked...WW…

By , WUHAN, China (Reuters) - Fish and vegetable merchants are reopening stalls at wet markets in China’s central city of Wuhan as it lifts a months-long lockdown against the coronavirus pandemic, but their future looks uncertain with few customers as the virus stigma persists.The virus, which has infected 1.6 million people and killed 106,000 in 214 countries, is believed to have originated late last year among wild animals on sale in a seafood market in Wuhan that has been closed and boarded up since January.That has prompted heavy scrutiny for wet markets, a key facet of China’s daily...…By , WUHAN, China (Reuters) - Fish and vegetable merchants are reopening stalls at wet markets in China’s central city of Wuhan as it lifts a months-long lockdown against the coronavirus pandemic, but their future looks uncertain with few customers as the virus stigma persists.The virus, which has infected 1.6 million people and killed 106,000 in 214 countries, is believed to have originated late last year among wild animals on sale in a seafood market in Wuhan that has been closed and boarded up since January.That has prompted heavy scrutiny for wet markets, a key facet of China’s daily...WW…

By SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Twitter has locked the account of China’s U.S. embassy for a tweet that defended China’s policy towards Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, which the U.S. social media platform said violated its stand against “dehumanizing” people.China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was confused by the move and that it was the embassy’s responsibility to call out disinformation and clarify the truth.The Chinese Embassy account, @ChineseEmbinUS, posted a tweet this month that said that Uighur women had been emancipated and were no longer “baby-making machines”, citing a study...…By SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Twitter has locked the account of China’s U.S. embassy for a tweet that defended China’s policy towards Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, which the U.S. social media platform said violated its stand against “dehumanizing” people.China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was confused by the move and that it was the embassy’s responsibility to call out disinformation and clarify the truth.The Chinese Embassy account, @ChineseEmbinUS, posted a tweet this month that said that Uighur women had been emancipated and were no longer “baby-making machines”, citing a study...WW…

By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - New models will help electric vehicle sales in China zoom this year, after tepid business in a virus-riddled 2020, and analysts predict Tesla’s Model Y pricing will emerge as a major disruptor in the world’s biggest car market.Tesla Inc, which became the world’s most valuable car maker last year, started selling locally made Model Y SUVs in China this month, for almost a tenth less than gasoline-powered luxury cars with similar market positioning.It set the starting price at 339,900 yuan ($52,376), or 10% below official prices of Daimler’s Mercedes GLC,...…By , BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - New models will help electric vehicle sales in China zoom this year, after tepid business in a virus-riddled 2020, and analysts predict Tesla’s Model Y pricing will emerge as a major disruptor in the world’s biggest car market.Tesla Inc, which became the world’s most valuable car maker last year, started selling locally made Model Y SUVs in China this month, for almost a tenth less than gasoline-powered luxury cars with similar market positioning.It set the starting price at 339,900 yuan ($52,376), or 10% below official prices of Daimler’s Mercedes GLC,...WW…