I would blow Dane Cook posted:

What is the status of women in China? Is it better or worse than the west?

Malkina_ posted:

It’s better thanks to Mao and the communists ending this bullshit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

Waterfall Watcher posted:

Dear lord that looks painful. This is taking a foot fetish to another level.
But yeah china with the one child policy and a lot of families preference for male heirs caused a lot of girls born to be abandoned or to simply not exist in any record

Mozi posted:

early in the CCP's life gender equality was a thing (男女半天) but nowadays older cultural norms have come back

Blistex posted:

Can you C&P the article please?

quote:

Huawei Canada maintains a dossier of people it calls “key opinion leaders” in this country who it believes could help the Chinese telecom equipment maker in its campaign to stop extradition proceedings against top executive Meng Wanzhou and avoid being banned from 5G mobile networks in Canada.

The list of the key influencers, obtained by The Globe and Mail, has been sent to the headquarters of parent company Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen, which has shared it with the Chinese government, according to a source. The Globe is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to discuss internal Huawei matters.

Huawei Canada’s public affairs and communication department prepared the dossier, and it lists and provides profiles of 30 former politicians, university professors, lawyers and business people who the documents say “have made relatively positive comments or provided valuable information on Huawei’s brand image, Huawei products, and the controversial affairs involving Huawei.”

Not all of these figures have offered explicitly pro-Huawei commentary, but the company appears to value their contribution to the debate.

Included on the Huawei list is Pascale Massot, a University of Ottawa professor who is on leave to serve as a senior adviser on Asia Pacific matters to Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Prof. Massot is among those who say there is an overriding need to stay engaged with China rather than confronting it or breaking ties. “The current dominant narrative depicting China as a threat to the global order creates a hunkering down mentality,” she wrote in a paper last year.

Among the high-profile opinion leaders identified as helpful to Huawei are former Quebec premier Jean Charest, former Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day, and Eddie Goldenberg, who was a top aide to prime minister Jean Chrétien, as well as academic Wesley Wark, who served on Canada’s Advisory Council on National Security from 2005-09.

Mr. Goldenberg has urged the Canadian government to free Ms. Meng in exchange for the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who China locked up in apparent retaliation after the Huawei executive was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on an extradition request from the United States. Mr. Charest was hired as a consultant to Huawei in the Meng extradition case and the tech giant’s efforts to sell its equipment to Canadian telecommunications companies for their 5G wireless networks.

The dossier ranks the opinion leaders by how helpful their commentary is for Huawei, as well as the degree of their “media exposure.” The documents also show the company assigns staff to cultivate relations with politicians, business leaders, academics and journalists.

Prof. Wark, along with University of British Columbia professor Paul Evans, and Wenran Jiang, formerly a senior fellow at UBC’s Institute of Asian Research, are ranked high on the list of opinion leaders.

Alykhan Velshi, vice-president of corporate affairs for Huawei Canada, would not discuss the internal documents, but said the Chinese telecom is acting no differently than Western companies.

“Like every major corporation and many not-profits, Huawei routinely monitors pertinent issues and prominent voices that hold the potential to influence its operations and its future. This is common practice and common sense across the business world,” he said. “Like other major corporations, we don’t publicly discuss these details.”

Mr. Jiang, who is also a consultant, delivered six hours of lectures last week to Huawei Canada executives and staff on the history of the rise of China and its treatment and mistreatment by foreign powers, as well as the impact of the Meng arrest on relations between the Chinese and Canadians. “They could not colonize China. … They could not convert China. … They could not beat China,” one slide from his lecture says. “Facing a rising China, which will soon become the largest economy, there is a call to contain China, to make sure China will not be a dominant power and that China’s ‘one-party dictatorship’ must not be a threat to Western democracy and way of life.”

Mr. Jiang noted in his lecture that the Canadian government is “taking a more cautious approach” to China since Ms. Meng’s arrest, but predicted things would change should the Conservative Party replace the Liberals in Ottawa, given its more hawkish leaning.

Mr. Jiang said he was not aware Huawei had ranked him as a key opinion leader, and said he was not paid to make the presentation last week. While Huawei has paid him in the past for advice, he said that “was a long time ago” and has no influence on his commentary about Ms. Meng, Huawei and China.

"I have been making a lot of comments on a range of issues nowadays and before; I don’t think that should be related to any of my consulting work,” he said.

Prof. Evans, Mr. Jiang and Prof. Wark toured the company’s Ottawa-area research and development centre in the spring of 2019, Huawei documents say. Afterward Prof. Wark wrote an e-mail to one executive offering strategic advice on how the company could better “tell its story” to Canadians and respond to national security concerns expressed publicly in Canada about Huawei.

Mr. Jiang and Prof. Evans also journeyed to Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters to meet company founder Ren Zhengfei, the father of Ms. Meng, in the spring of 2019.

Prof. Wark suggested in his recommendations that Huawei highlight its research partnerships with universities, its past work with Canadian telecommunications companies such as BCE Inc. and Telus Communications Inc. and explain how it can deliver security for 5G networks.

“My feeling is that Huawei Canada will ultimately succeed or fail in terms of winning Canadian hearts and minds to the extent it develops a distinctive Canadian identity, demonstrates that it behaves as a Canadian company in terms of the laws and regulations, and shows that it is good for the Canadian economy and Canadian economic security,” he advised Huawei in the e-mail.

Prof. Wark told The Globe on Monday that he found it “extremely surprising” that he was on the list of key opinion leaders when all he has done is urge the company to be more open with Canadians about the “charges being levelled against them by various quarters about their role in espionage particularly."

“I have no relationship with Huawei, have never done any commissioned work for them ... and have never lobbied formally or informally on their behalf," he said. “I am always happy to provide people with advice and I am always happy to talk to the media about my views about Huawei and it doesn’t really go beyond that.”

Canada is the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance that has not taken action to ban Huawei from its 5G networks or curtail its participation. The United States, Britain and Australia have blocked Huawei from 5G networks, and New Zealand rejected one proposal to build a 5G network with Huawei gear.

The U.S. and Australian governments say Huawei answers to China’s ruling Communist Party and could be compelled to help Beijing spy on or sabotage Western networks. Article 7 of China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law says Chinese companies must “support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work” when asked.

U.S. authorities accuse Ms. Meng and other Huawei executives of lying to banks so that they would clear transactions with Iran through the United States despite U.S. sanctions.

Another person listed as a key opinion leader in Huawei’s dossier is Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland. Internal Huawei Canada e-mails obtained by The Globe indicate the company highly values the comments he has made in interviews and television commentary that appear to indicate he believes flaws in arrest process will cause the case against her to fail.

One company executive wrote in 2019 to Huawei colleagues that he believed Mr. Kurland is “100 per cent on board” with helping the company.

“He wants to do as much media as possible on Meng as a legal [key opinion leader],” the executive said.

Mr. Kurland said he was expressing his own legal views and has not received any financial benefit from Huawei. He disputed that he agrees 100 per cent with Huawei’s legal arguments in the Meng case.

“I am not a shill. Certainly not,” Mr. Kurland said. “As soon as I heard about the arrest and as soon as I heard what unfolded in the arrest and [the Canada Border Service Agency] examination [of Ms. Meng], my views crystallized ... and whomever wants to listen to me, the door is open.”

Internal company documents also reveal a detailed public engagement campaign that includes assigning Huawei Canada executives and staff to build relationships with Canadian business people, academics, political figures and journalists.

The documents indicate that, for instance, Huawei senior public affairs director Chris Pereira was assigned to deal with Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, and Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty. Huawei Canada vice-president of public affairs and communications Steve Liu was given Mr. Day, who until recently sat on the board of Telus and advocated against a 5G ban on Huawei.

The documents show that detailed records are also kept on company contacts with Canadian journalists, including names and whether the meeting included drinks or dinner. The tracking includes the subjects discussed in what are described internally as off-the-record conversations on Ms. Meng’s extradition trial and 5G developments.

Fojar38 posted:

Grand Fromage posted:

Yeah, modern China is regressing on its treatment of women. Still, one of the very few good things the party did was enforce gender equality, and even with the regression it's still quite notable compared to its neighbors. I was floored at how much women are allowed to participate in society in China compared to South Korea when I first moved there.

Compared to the west I wouldn't say China is better, but compared to its East Asian neighbors it definitely is. No contest.

pentyne posted:

Yeah but Korea is like a special kind of hell for treatment of women.

Like Victorian era men visiting the country were aghast, "Holy gently caress you can't treat women like this it is barbaric" and so on.

I'll always remember the special knife women were supposed to carry to kill themselves if they were about to be raped. Not to actually defend against it, but to make sure their pure body was spoiled before death.

Dont Touch ME posted:

poe's this

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/689501187191734283/754122714289012806/1599862662747.webm

ArmZ posted:

att, verizon, etc. do the same thing. this is not news.

Fojar38 posted:

ATT and Verizon aren't arms of an authoritarian regime, what's more the people in the article were writing articles and giving consultations RE Huawei without disclosing their relationship to Huawei.

Rabelais D posted:

It becomes unethical the moment the company gives you money either directly or indirectly (paying for your flights, lavish hotels, etc.), and you subsequently write about said company while pretending to be impartial.

Modern journalistic and academic ethics forbid any such behaviour although I'm sure it happens everywhere

ArmZ posted:

yes they are

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center

and do you know what lobbying is

ArmZ posted:

yes they are

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center

and do you know what lobbying is

Fojar38 posted:

ArmZ posted:

lmao do you know how much corruption is in the American pharma cabal

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

What is the status of women in China? Is it better or worse than the west?

Flannelette posted:

According to the ones I talked to who left: Oh it's fine as long as you are 45-50kg 160cm+ with pale skin and a certain facial structure or rich.

Weka posted:

Data collection isn't per se authoritarian. I'm posting this from New Zealand where my government has a computers probably reading this.

Tupperwarez posted:

What's the 'leftover woman' age threshold nowadays?

bob dobbs is dead posted:

25 is standard

Vegetable posted:

i think the “leftover women” threshold is more flexible these days. i have plenty of female coworkers in big chinese cities who are single well past that age.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

What is the status of women in China? Is it better or worse than the west?

NYT posted:

Her Husband Abused Her. But Getting a Divorce Was an Ordeal.
A graphic video of a husband beating his wife has shocked China, shedding light on the prevalence of domestic violence and the difficulties of obtaining a divorce.

Surveillance footage showed Liu Zengyan being assaulted by her husband at the time in Shangqiu, China, in August 2019.
Sui-Lee Wee
By Sui-Lee Wee
Sept. 16, 2020

The husband and wife were alone in her boutique, but the security cameras captured it all: him pushing her down, punching her, slapping her and dragging her by the hair across the floor.

In footage from last year that recently circulated online, he can be seen hauling her into another room. Minutes later, the woman — her hair flailing — plummets from the second floor onto the street below in the central Chinese city of Shangqiu. The woman, Liu Zengyan, said later it was the only way she could escape.

As she lay in the hospital after the assault, with fractures in her waist, chest and eye socket and her lower limbs temporarily paralyzed, Ms. Liu said, she was determined to leave her husband for good.

But a court said no.

Ms. Liu’s case has set off a nationwide debate about two of the biggest issues facing women in China: the prevalence of domestic violence and the difficulties of getting justice in a legal system stacked against them.

A survey conducted by the All-China Women’s Federation in 2011 showed that about one in four women had suffered physical or verbal abuse, or had their freedoms restricted by their partners. But activists, citing interviews with abused women, estimate the numbers are far higher, especially after millions were placed under lockdown during the pandemic.

Though China introduced an anti-domestic violence law in 2016, penalties are minimal. Marital rape is still legal, and women say restraining orders are rarely enforced.

Even divorce is becoming harder, with the government imposing a 30-day “cooling off period” on couples seeking to separate starting next year. Legislators alarmed by China’s rising divorce rate argue the new law will prevent couples from splitting up rashly, but women’s rights advocates say it will keep people trapped in abusive marriages for a longer time.

The problems for Ms. Liu, 24, started about a year after her marriage in 2017 to her high school sweetheart, Dou Jiahao, 23, in Shangqiu, a city of more than seven million. During their courtship he treated her very well, Ms. Liu said in an interview. Then in April 2018, Mr. Dou lost more than $7,200 gambling and beat her when he came home, according to Ms. Liu.

“That first time, I did not call the police because I did not classify the behavior as domestic violence,” she said. “At that time, the phrase ‘domestic violence’ had not been imprinted on people’s minds.”

She left Mr. Dou for over a month but, according to Ms. Liu, he apologized and begged her to take him back. Ms. Liu said she decided to stay with him because their son, who is now almost 3, was still a baby.

In July 2019, Ms. Liu said, she complained to her mother-in-law that Mr. Dou had stayed out all night playing cards. The elder woman lectured her son, who flew into a rage and slapped and punched Ms. Liu, she said.

After that incident, Ms. Liu said, she went on Zhihu, a website that allows users to ask and answer questions, and searched: “What are the traits of domestic abusers?”


Image Ms. Liu in the hospital a day after the assault. She said she had to jump from a second-floor window to escape.

On the list, Ms. Liu recalled, was choking their partners during arguments, saying they wanted their partners to die, or threatening their partners’ family members. Her husband had done all of those things, Ms. Liu said.

Though she didn’t feel she had enough evidence to go to the police, Ms. Liu decided it was time to end her marriage.

But before she could do that, according to Ms. Liu, the third beating happened.

In August 2019, Mr. Dou was enraged after his mother scolded him in front of his friends as he was gambling. Ms. Liu said his mother, alarmed at how angry he was, sent her a message: “Lock the door and quickly escape.”

Ms. Liu went to stay with her mother that night. But six days later, Ms. Liu returned to her boutique, thinking that her husband was out of town. Instead he stormed into the shop, pushed Ms. Liu to the ground, slapped her, snatched her mobile phone away and said he was going to kill her, she recalled.

The only way to stop the beating, Ms. Liu said, was to jump out the window, landing hard on her bare feet. Video footage from security cameras showed Mr. Dou sauntering out and looking quizzically at the window upstairs as shocked passers-by tried to help Ms. Liu.

“You can see that he’s almost become a psychopath,” said Ms. Liu, who is using a wheelchair while she recovers. “He was beating me to fulfill a desire for violence.”

Mr. Dou, who is in police custody now, could not be reached for comment. Ms. Liu said his parents had changed their mobile numbers and there was no way she could reach them. Her lawyer said he did not have contact details for Mr. Dou’s lawyer.

It was only in recent years that domestic violence came to be seen as a significant problem in China, where laws are largely made and enforced by men, and families are discouraged from airing their problems in public. Several high-profile cases have drawn attention to the issue, and one city in eastern China recently began allowing people to check if their partners have a history of abuse before marrying them.

But victims often meet resistance in the legal system, which can discourage them from seeking help. Though China’s marriage law specifies that domestic violence is sufficient grounds for divorce, many courts encourage couples to try reconciling in the name of social and family harmony.

Similarly, the domestic violence law made it easier to obtain restraining orders, but judges often ask for evidence of physical violence, discounting verbal and emotional abuse. From March 2016, when the law took effect, to December 2018, Chinese courts received only 5,860 applications for restraining orders and approved fewer than two-thirds of them, according to Equality, a women’s rights organization in Beijing.

At the root of the problem, according to activists, is a notion among police officers and the courts that divorce is bad and that marriage is the bedrock of society.

“Divorce is regarded as a personal failure, rather than as a remedy for one’s life,” said Feng Yuan, who runs Equality.

After the third beating, Ms. Liu’s in-laws tried to persuade her to stay in the marriage with promises of a car and an apartment, she said. She refused, and they have stopped paying her medical expenses since March.


Image
Ms. Liu on the street after jumping from a window. Domestic violence has only recently come to be seen as a significant problem in China.

Ms. Liu also found little sympathy when she reported her husband to the police. Officers blamed the fall for her injuries, she said, and a forensic board found that Mr. Dou was responsible only for fracturing her left eye socket, describing it as a “slight injury,” according to a copy of the report viewed by The New York Times. Multiple calls to the police for comment went unanswered.

A second appraisal in November 2019 concluded that Mr. Dou had caused Ms. Liu a “minor injury of grade one,” elevating it to a criminal case. He was detained in March and charged with intentionally causing harm.

In June, Ms. Liu filed for divorce in the Zhecheng County court in Henan Province, showing the video of the boutique beating as evidence. The court denied her request, saying Mr. Dou had not agreed to the divorce and that they should seek mediation. Ms. Liu was also told she could not get a divorce while the criminal case against her husband was still pending.

“It had never occurred to me that the courts could not directly grant me a divorce at the first hearing,” Ms. Liu said.

In a bid to pressure the court, Ms. Liu uploaded the video of her beating to WeChat, China’s dominant social media platform. Thousands of Chinese internet users rallied to her defense, and a hashtag about her case was viewed more than a billion times on the microblogging site Weibo. News media interviews soon followed.

Before long, a judge called Ms. Liu to say there was no need for mediation and the court would issue a verdict soon. On July 28, three weeks after she released the video, she was granted the divorce.

“I am so happy,” said Ms. Liu, who is preparing to reopen her boutique after renovating it. “I finally got what I wanted.”

Liu Yi contributed research.

Vegetable posted:

i think the “leftover women” threshold is more flexible these days. i have plenty of female coworkers in big chinese cities who are single well past that age.

Malkina_ posted:

It’s better thanks to Mao and the communists ending this bullshit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

Vegetable posted:

i think the “leftover women” threshold is more flexible these days. i have plenty of female coworkers in big chinese cities who are single well past that age.