北韓怎樣向人民介紹中國？

 Recently Simon Shen (沈旭暉) posted the following article on Patreon:

【Borderlines｜EP9｜研究導讀】 北韓怎樣向人民介紹中國？

Simon Shen沈旭暉 ( https://www.patreon.com/simonshen/posts/borderlines-ep9-167680906)

Yesterday 27 Aug 2026

🇰🇵🇨🇳 訪問脫北者朴智賢，她提到一個很有趣的細節。她第一次逃離北韓以前，一直以為中國比北韓貧窮。後來查閱1990年代初的經濟數據，才發現這個印象並非完全來自北韓洗腦，至少按照部分當時的人均GDP估算，1990年代初北韓的確仍然可能比中國富裕。

這引伸出另一個問題：北韓政府平日究竟怎樣向自己的人民介紹中國？

直覺上，我們很容易以為中國既然是北韓最重要的盟友，北韓宣傳自然會把中國描寫成「偉大友邦」。但實際情況微妙得多。北韓官方當然經常使用「傳統友誼」、「鮮血凝成的友誼」之類說法，中國在「抗美援朝」出兵，亦是兩國官方歷史敘事的重要部分。不過北韓從來不喜歡把自己描寫成中國的小兄弟，更不願意讓人民覺得自己的制度需要向中國學習。之間的差別，非常重要。

有一篇很適合回答這個問題的學術研究。徐玉蘭、金永鎮2021年在《Pacific Focus》發表〈Ups and Downs: An Analysis of Chinese Image in North Korean Media Based on China-related Reports in Rodong Sinmun from 2009–2020〉，直接分析北韓《勞動新聞》 在2009-2020年這十一年間，如何報道中國。研究發現，中國在北韓媒體中的形象並不固定，而是隨兩國政治關係升降，由「親密」走向「冷淡」，後來又重新被包裝成「傳統友好、真誠的國家」。換句話說，《勞動新聞》報道的，不是「中國是甚麼」，而是平壤在某一刻希望北韓人民怎樣理解中國。

其中一個值得深思的發現，是北韓對中國的報道以政治內容為主，但經濟、科技和教育方面的報道，隨著中國國力增強，反而持續減少。中國改革開放之後最令人矚目的成就，正正就是經濟增長、城市現代化、科技發展和人民生活水平改善，但如果北韓媒體大量展示上海、深圳、高鐵、電子支付、私人企業和中國中產階級生活，自然會引伸出一個尷尬問題：同樣是社會主義國家，為甚麼中國人的生活可以變成這樣？所以，北韓可以強調中國是重要鄰國和戰略伙伴，卻沒有必要把中國塑造成一個值得北韓人民羨慕的現代化模範。

中國也不是永遠得到北韓官媒的正面報道。另一項研究分析2009至2017年的《勞動新聞》，發現隨中朝關係惡化，涉及中國的報道曾愈來愈集中於負面面向，「友誼」、「親密」一類詞彙亦減少。另一篇比較北韓官方媒體報道的研究更發現，2013年以後，北韓對中國的報道顯著減少，2014年中以後，甚至一度幾乎沒有正面報道。這正值中國支持聯合國制裁、北京與平壤因核問題關係惡化的時期。換句話說，北韓人民並不是永遠只會收到「中國是最好朋友」這一種訊息；當平壤不滿北京，官方媒體同樣會讓中國從版面消失，甚至讓負面訊息增加。

但中國與美國、日本、南韓之間，仍然有一個根本差別。即使兩國關係最差，北韓仍然保留「傳統友誼」這套歷史語言。徐玉蘭和金永鎮的研究發現，每次中朝關係出現危機，北韓仍會透過這種「傳統」框架，去保留雙方關係。這很符合北韓外交的需要：北京可能令平壤不滿，但中國始終是重要貿易伙伴、外交屏障和地緣政治後盾，所以北韓可以冷落中國，可以批評中國，卻很少有誘因把中國永久塑造成一個像美國一樣的文明敵人。

這種若即若離，不是金正恩年代才開始的。歷史學者沈志華研究毛澤東與金日成時代的中朝關係，就把兩國「親如兄弟」的傳統形象，形容為一種被誇大的歷史神話。兩國官方媒體長期使用「唇齒相依」、「兄弟情誼」、「鮮血凝成的友誼」等語言，但實際政治關係一直充滿利益衝突、互相猜疑和權力角力。金日成尤其重視北韓的自主性，在中蘇分裂期間，亦不願完全依附北京或莫斯科。

金正恩本人也曾經用相當尖銳的方式暗批中國。2016年第七次黨代表大會期間，他批評鄰近地區吹來資產階級自由化以及「改革」、「開放」的骯髒之風。北韓沒有直接點名中國，但所指對象並不難理解。到了2021年第八次黨代表大會，對中國的語調卻又明顯友善得多，反映兩國關係重新調整。這正好說明北韓對中國的宣傳不是固定意識形態，而是隨外交需要可以隨時調節。

如果問一個普通北韓人從官方媒體認識的中國是甚麼，大概是這樣的：中國是重要鄰國，是有共同革命歷史的「傳統朋友」，但不是北韓的老師；中國可以成功，但不會成功到令人質疑北韓；中國可以親密，但不能親密到令人覺得北韓依附北京；中國可以在某些時候做錯事，但又不會像美國一樣成為敵人。這也令朴智賢當年以為中國比北韓貧窮變得容易理解。

References:

Xu Yulan & Jin Yongzhen (2021), “Ups and Downs: An Analysis of Chinese Image in North Korean Media Based on China-related Reports in Rodong Sinmun from 2009–2020” — Pacific Focus, 36(2), 229–251。

Xu Yulan & Lee Sang-man (2018), “An Analysis of China’s Images in DPRK Media: from Close to Distant” — Korean-Chinese Social Science Studies, 16(4), 169–185。

Chen/Debin Zhan (2016), “Analysis of Changes in North Korea’s Cognition of China through Its Media Coverage” — The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 28(2), 199–221。

Park Dong-hoon (2020), “Changes in North Korea's Cognition to China and Policy Adjustment during Kim Jong Un's Period” — Unification Policy Studies, 29(1), 115–140。

(Source: https://www.patreon.com/simonshen/posts/borderlines-ep9-167680906)

So, Simon Shen shows us how North Korea's media portrays China in the past few decades in three aspects:

1. Strategic, shifting portrayal: Coverage is not fixed but fluctuates with political relations, changing from intimate to cold based on Pyongyang’s diplomatic needs.

2. Limited economic focus: Media avoids showing China’s modern economic and technological success to prevent citizens from questioning North Korea's own system.

3. Calculated boundary: China is framed as a traditional ally, never a teacher or master, ensuring North Korean autonomy while maintaining a vital geopolitical buffer. (ChatGPT)

Note:

1. Simon Shen (沈旭暉) is a Hong Kong born international relations scholar, political commentator, and public intellectual. He is particularly known for his work and commentary on China's foreign policy, U.S.–China relations, nationalism, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and international politics. He studied at Yale University and subsequently obtained a doctorate in politics/international relations from the University of Oxford. He has held academic and research positions at universities and institutions in Hong Kong and overseas. (ChatGPT)

Meta同意支付180億美元，以和解美國關於兒童社交媒體成癮的訴訟（2/2）

Recently Reuter reported the following:

Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle US lawsuits over children's social media addiction (2/2)

Reuter - By Diana Novak Jones, Jonathan Stempel and Greg Bensinger

August 26, 20268:20 AM PDT. Updated 9 hours ago

(continue)

Wednesday's settlements also call for Meta to pay $459 million to resolve states' privacy claims related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a British consulting firm collected personal ‌data of millions of ⁠Facebook users without authorization.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved the main settlement late Wednesday. She had overseen the trial that began on August 18.

At a hearing, she called the settlement "a good step forward," and told lawyers for Meta and the states: "I am quite happy to not have to finish up this trial."

Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying before the settlement was announced, and Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify.

Mosseri told representatives of the states last month that Meta would appeal any verdict it lost but would make constructive changes if a settlement could be worked out, people familiar with the matter said.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Social media companies still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities claiming they knowingly sought to addict children and caused a mental health crisis including harms such as anxiety, depression and suicide. Gonzalez Rogers oversees many of these cases.

The Meta trial included claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New ⁠Jersey that the company's conduct violated state consumer protection laws.

It also included claims by 29 states that Meta violated the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by knowingly collecting personal data from children without parental consent, and using the data to train generative AI.

Meta had long argued that it could not have misled consumers because "social media addiction" was not a recognized psychiatric condition.

Before the trial began, Meta said California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties.

Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and implement youth safety measures, in addition to $375 million a jury ordered Meta to pay in the same case in March for ⁠misleading users about its platforms' safety.

Also in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Alphabet's Google negligent in designing their platforms, and ordered them to pay $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.

Meta and Google have said they will appeal those verdicts.

Last month, the European Commission threatened to fine Meta unless it changed some product features, after preliminarily finding that the company breached a 2022 European Union regulation governing the removal of harmful content by large online platforms. A spokesperson said the commission remains in dialogue with Meta on possible changes.

New Mexico was not ⁠part of Wednesday's settlements.

Raul Torrez, the New Mexico attorney general, said the resolution missed some changes his case spurred in his state, including safeguards against adults targeting children and banning sexualized AI chatbot interactions with children, yet "represents real progress and adds momentum to finish the job of protecting kids online."

Florida also did not settle and plans to keep litigating.

"The payouts to the states are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features have inflicted on our children," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. "We’ll see them at trial."

Translation

Meta同意支付180億美元，以和解美國關於兒童社交媒體成癮的訴訟（2/2）

（繼續）

週三達成的和解協議還要求 Meta 支付4.59億美元，以解決各州就有關 Cambridge Analytica 公司的隱私索賠。該醜聞涉及一家英國顧問公司未經授權收集了數百萬個Facebook用戶的個人資料。

美國地區法官 Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers 於週三晚些時候批准了主要和解協議。她曾主持了這個由8月18日開始的審判。

在一次聽證會上，她稱該和解協議是“向前邁出的重要一步”，並告訴 Meta 和各州的律師：“我很高興不必完成這場審判了。”

在和解協議宣佈之前，Instagram 執行長 Adam Mosseri 就已經開始作證，而 Meta 執行長 Mark Zuckerberg 也預計會出庭作證。

知情人士透露，Mosseri 上個月告訴各州代表，Meta 將對任何敗訴的判決會提出上訴，但如果能夠達成和解，該公司將做出建設性的改變。

心理健康危機

社交媒體公司們在聯邦和州法院仍面臨數千起訴訟，原告包括個人、學區、市政當局和其他政府機構，他們聲稱這些公司明知故犯地試圖讓兒童沉迷其中，並造成了包括焦慮、憂鬱和自殺等在內的心理健康危機。Gonzalez Rogers 律師事務所負責處理其中許多案件。

Meta 案的審判包括加州、科羅拉多州、肯塔基州和新澤西州提出的指控，稱該公司的行為違反了各州的消費者保護法。

此外，還有 29 個州指控 Meta 違反了聯邦《兒童線上隱私權保護法》(COPPA)，在未經父母同意的情況下故意收集兒童的個人數據，並使用這些數據來訓練生成式人工智能(generative AI)。

Meta一直辯稱，它不可能誤導消費者，因為「社交媒體成癮」並非一種公認的精神疾病。

在審判開始前，Meta 表示，加州、科羅拉多州、肯塔基州和新澤西州正在尋求高達1.4兆美元的罰款。

本月初，新墨西哥州的一名法官判決 Meta 支付5.67億美元，並實施青少年安全措施。此前，陪審團已於3月在同一案件中判令 Meta 支付3.75億美元，原因是該公司誤導用戶去稱其平台安全可靠。

同樣在3月份，洛杉磯的一個陪審團認定Meta以及Alphabet旗下的谷歌在平台設計方面存在疏忽，並判令它們向一名20歲的女性支付600萬美元的賠償金。該名女性稱，她從小就沉迷於Instagram 和 YouTube。

Meta 以及谷歌均表示將對這些判決提出上訴。

上個月，歐盟委員會初步認定 Meta 違反了歐盟2022年關於大型線上平台移除有害內容的法規，並威脅稱，除非Meta更改其部分產品功能，否則將對其處以罰款。一位發言人表示，委員會仍在與Meta就可能的改進方案進行對話。

新墨西哥州並未參與週三達成的和解協議。

新墨西哥州總檢察長 Raul Torrez 表示，該和解協議未能促成他在該州提起訴訟所推動的一些變革，例如保護措施以防止成年人針對兒童 ，及禁止性化的AI聊天機器人與兒童互動。但他同時表示，“協議代表著真正的進步，並為完成保護兒童網上安全的工作注入了動力。”

佛羅裡達州也未達成和解，並計劃繼續進行訴訟。

佛羅裡達州總檢察長 James Uthmeier 在一份聲明中表示：“相比與 Meta 以盈利為目的的成癮功能帶給我們孩子造成的深遠傷害，其支付給各州的賠償金簡直微不足道。我們將在法庭上見分曉。”

              So, Meta Platforms will pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all U.S. states. While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a renew effort to define how it serves young users. Probably, the present settlement could provide a template for resolving thousands of other lawsuits against social media companies in the US and Europe.

Meta同意支付180億美元，以和解美國關於兒童社交媒體成癮的訴訟（1/2）

Recently Reuter reported the following:

Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle US lawsuits over children's social media addiction (1/2)

Reuter - By Diana Novak Jones, Jonathan Stempel and Greg Bensinger

August 26, 20268:20 AM PDT. Updated 9 hours ago

(Summary:

Meta tightens safeguards for children, limits usage, denies wrongdoing.

Accord wins court approval, could be a template for other social media companies.

States were expected to seek close to $200 billion in penalties.)

OAKLAND, California, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) will pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all U.S. states to resolve claims it designed those social media platforms to addict children.

The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial over allegations Meta's products harmed children and the company misled the public about their safety. Four of the states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — were expected to seek close to $200 billion in civil ‌penalties.

While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how it serves young users.

It could provide a template for resolving thousands of other lawsuits against social media companies. Governments around the world are trying to curb children's access to harmful online content, including a ban in Australia on social media for children under 16.

“The focus of this case was to protect our kids," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. "The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order."

Meta agreed over the next decade to restrict teenagers' use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day and block all usage from midnight to 6 a.m., absent parental consent.

These limits could be tightened if the social media platforms Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar terms. Meta will also disable most push notifications to teenage users during school hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content.

The settlement does not require Meta to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. It also does not ⁠address some content Meta researchers found particularly problematic, including posts that made Instagram users uncomfortable with their body image.

Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The total payout represents about three to four months of profit and about one month of revenue for Meta.

"Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta," the Menlo Park, California-based company said in a blog post. "We want to get this right for parents and teens."

Meta shares rose as much as 4.1%, and closed up 1.1%.

CHANGING THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE

Meta agreed to make maximum payments of about $16.7 billion to 47 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

California could receive a $2.2 billion payout, while New York could receive $1.1 billion. Texas reached a separate settlement worth more than $1 billion.

Some states will deposit funds in general accounts, while others will earmark portions to address children's mental health.

"This is a big deal," said James Speta, a Northwestern University law professor who specializes in telecommunications and internet policy.

"Meta and other companies were facing pressure to change business practices whether or not they lost the lawsuits, from the public and from Congress and state legislatures," he continued. "These restrictions will change the experience on Instagram and Facebook, and they are designed to reduce engagement."

The settlement includes guaranteed payments of about $12.7 billion, with another $5 billion contingent on whether Snap Inc's (SNAP.N), opens new tab Snapchat, ByteDance's TikTok and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab YouTube impose similar protections for children.

Those companies were not immediately available for comment. Meta plans to publish a letter on Thursday in national newspapers to push TikTok and YouTube to improve protections for children. A Meta spokesperson said the company was "hopeful" Snap would make similar changes.

(to be continued)

Translation

Meta同意支付180億美元，以和解美國關於兒童社交媒體成癮的訴訟（1/2）

（摘要：Meta會加強對兒童的安全保障，限制其使用，否認過去有不當行為;

和解協議獲法院批准，或將成為其他社交媒體公司的模式;

各州預計將尋求近2,000億美元的罰款）

 加州奧克蘭，8月26日（路透社）—Meta Platforms（META.O）將在未來十年支付高達180億美元，並嚴格限制青少年使用Facebook和Instagram的方式。這是該公司與幾乎所有美國州達成的一項協議，旨在解決其設計這些社交媒體平台旨在使兒童上癮的指控。

週三宣佈的和解協議結束了一項聯邦審判，該審判指控Meta的產品傷害了兒童，及該公司就兒童安全問題誤導了公眾。預計加州、科羅拉多州、肯塔基州和新澤西州這四個州將尋求近2,000億美元的民事罰款。

雖然Meta不會進行根本性的改革，但這些協議代表著一項旨在明確其服務年輕用戶方式的全面努力。

這可能為解決針對社交媒體公司的數千件其他訴訟提供範本。世界各國政府都在努力限制兒童接觸有害的網絡內容，例如澳洲禁止16歲以下兒童使用社交媒體。

科羅拉多州總檢察長Phil Weiser在一份聲明中表示：“本案的重點是保護我們的孩子。我們在這項和解協議中獲得的補償意義重大，遠遠超出任何法院已經或可能作出的裁決。”

Meta 同意在未來十年內將青少年使用 Facebook和Instagram 的時間限制在每天兩小時以內，並在午夜至凌晨6點之間禁止所有未經家長同意的使用。

如果社交媒體平台 Snapchat、TikTok 和 YouTube 也採用類似的條款，這些限制可能會進一步收緊。 Meta 還將在上午 8 點至下午 3 點的上課時間禁用向青少年用戶推送的大部分通知，並加強措施防止兒童訪問受年齡限制的內容。

和解協議並未要求Meta放棄個人化推薦或定向廣告。它也沒有解決Meta研究人員發現的一些特別有問題的內容，包括一些讓 Instagram 用戶對自己體形感到不滿的貼文。

Meta在同意和解時否認有不當行為。和解金額相當於 Meta 大約三到四個月的利潤或一個月的收入。

這家總部位於加州 Menlo Park 的公司在一篇部落格文章中表示：“確保青少年在我們平台上擁有安全且有益的體驗是 Meta 的絕對要務。我們希望為家長和青少年提供最佳體驗。”

Meta 股價一度上漲4.1%，最終收漲1.1%。

改變上網的體驗

 Meta 同意向美國 47 個州、華盛頓特區、波多黎各、美屬薩摩亞和北馬里亞納群島支付最高約 167 億美元的賠償金。

加州可能獲得 22 億美元的賠償，紐約州可能獲得 11 億美元。德州達成了一項價值超過 10 億美元的單獨和解協議。

有些州會將資金存入一般帳戶，而有些州則會指定部分資金用於解決兒童心理健康問題。

西北大學專門研究電信和網絡政策的法學教授 James Speta 說:「這是意義重大」。

他說:「無論 Meta 和其他公司是否敗訴，他們都面臨來自公眾、國會和州議會的壓力，要求他們改變商業行為」; 他繼續說: 「這些限制將改變 Instagram 和 Facebook 的用戶體驗，其目的在於降低用戶參與度」。

和解協議包括約127億美元的擔保付款，另有50億美元取決於 Snap Inc.（SNAP.N）旗下的 Snapchat、字節跳動旗下的 TikTok，以及 Alphabet (GOOGL.O) 旗下的 YouTube，是否也會實施類似的兒童保護措施。

這些公司暫未對此置評。 Meta 計劃於週四在全國性報紙上刊登一封公開信，敦促TikTok和YouTube加強對兒童的保護。 Meta發言人表示，該公司「希望」Snap 也能做出類似的改變。

（待續）

香港天安門紀念活動多年前黯然落幕。如今，其組織者已被定罪 (2/2)

Recently CNN news on-line reported the following:

(Source CNN)

Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil fell dark years ago. Now its organizers have been convicted (2/2)

CNN - By Chris Lau

UPDATED AUG 21, 2026

(continue)

Free speech vs prohibited speech

Security was ramped up outside the courthouse on Friday with police checking the identities of many of those lining up to attend, and searching their bags.

Tang Ngok-kwan, a former member of the alliance that organized the vigils, told reporters that police barred him from entering the court building because he refused to give up copies of past news reports about the crackdown.

Another supporter, Margaret Chan, called the case “absurd.”

“Patriotism is in the alliance’s name. We all love our nation. What does it incite people for? To love their country?” she said.

During the trial itself prosecutors said the trio’s alliance incited subversion by calling for an end to “one-party dictatorship.” They argued the calls were aimed at unlawfully trying to topple China’s fundamental system and central political bodies.

By continuing to advocate for the ousting of the Chinese Communist Party after the national security law came into effect, prosecutors said, the alliance’s act amounted to subversion, adding that the group was also behind a host of events that fostered public hatred toward Beijing, including the annual vigil.

The defense denied the suggestion they meant to topple the party, and argued their campaign was about moving toward democracy and urging the party not to enforce a “dictatorship.” They also argued the alliance had not asked people to adopt any illegal means and promoted peaceful protest.

Chow, a trial lawyer by trade, led her own defense during the court case which – like all of Hong Kong’s national security cases – was heard by a panel of three judges selected to oversee such proceedings and not a jury.

“Speaking the truth has become inciting hatred, seeking justice has become exploiting suffering, limiting power has become violating the constitution, and returning power to the people has become subverting the state,” she said during the trial, the Associated Press reported.

The judges ruled that the alliance’s leaders had been actively “advocating and performing activities” that intended to “overthrow” and “undermine” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Their agenda breached the Chinese constitution and was “unlawful” despite the absence of any use or threat of violence, they wrote in the judgment.

The leaders “had all along been hostile towards the CCP and the central government under its leadership,” they added.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee - a former security chief - welcomed the conviction. “Their conspiracy was abundantly clear, which must be brought to justice,” he said on Friday.

After the guilty verdict was handed down, Chow blew supporters in the public gallery a kiss, while Lee formed a heart with his arms.

A city transformed

Both Lee and Chow have been kept in pre-trial custody since their arrest in late 2021, a practice that has become commonplace for national security arrests, where bail is harder to achieve.

Chow, Lee and Ho were prominent figures within Hong Kong’s now-defunct democracy movement, which has seen most of its leaders either jailed, fled overseas or fallen silent.

Chow, now 41, studied science at Cambridge University in Britain, before returning to Hong Kong to advocate for labor rights and later joined the alliance Ho and Lee were involved in founding.

She also sought a second career as a barrister after being inspired by some mainland Chinese workers she was commissioned to help, according to a past interview with Reuters.

Lee was a veteran unionist spending his career fighting to improve workers’ conditions while Ho, a lawyer by profession, was a founding member of the city’s biggest opposition Democratic Party, which was disbanded in late 2025.

Eric Lai, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law and an expert on Hong Kong’s legal system, said the judgment was significant.

“Every actor in Hong Kong’s civil society who assumed that renouncing violence and working with the law would keep them on the right side of the line has to revise that assumption,” he said.

Zhou Fengsuo, a former student leader at the Tiananmen Square protests who now has US citizenship, told CNN the verdict showed “how profoundly Hong Kong has changed.”

“Authorities can extinguish the candles in Victoria Park, but they cannot extinguish the memory of June 4,” he added.

Translation

香港天安門紀念活動多年前黯然落幕。如今，其組織者已被定罪 (2/2)

（繼續）

言論自由與禁止言論

週五，法院外加強了安保，警方檢查了許多排隊等候參加的人的身份，並搜查了他們的包包。

曾是組織燭光守夜活動的聯盟成員的Tang Ngok-kwan告訴記者，警方阻止他進入法院大樓，因為他拒絕交出過去有關鎮壓的新聞報道副本。

另一位支持者Margaret Chan則稱此案「荒謬」。

她說:「愛國主義就寫在聯盟的名字裡。我們都熱愛我們的國家。這煽動人們去做什麼？去愛自己的國家吧？」。

在審判過程中，檢控方稱這三人組成的聯盟呼籲結束“一黨專政”，煽動顛覆活動。檢控方認為，這些呼籲旨在非法推翻中國的基本制度和中央政治機構。

檢控方指出，該聯盟在國安法生效後仍繼續鼓吹推翻中國共產黨，其行為構成顛覆活動。檢控方還補充說，該組織策劃了一系列煽動公眾仇恨​​北京的活動，包括一年一度的守夜活動。

辯方否認他們意圖推翻中共，並辯稱他們的活動是為了推動民主進程，敦促中共不要實行「獨裁」。辯方也辯稱，聯盟並未要求民眾採取任何非法手段，並提倡和平抗議。

鄒女士是一名職業訴訟律師，她在審判中親自為自己辯護。與所有香港國安案件一樣，本案由三名專門負責審理此類案件的法官組成的合議庭審理，而非陪審團。

據美聯社報道，她在庭審中表示：“說真話變成了煽動仇恨，尋求正義變成了利用苦難，限制權力變成了違反憲法，把權力還給人民變成了顛覆國家政權。”

法官裁定，該聯盟的領導人積極「倡導和實施」旨在「推翻」和「破壞」中國共產黨(CCP) 的活動。

判決書寫道，儘管沒有使用或威脅使用暴力，但他們的議程違反了中國憲法，屬於「非法」行為。

判決書還補充說，這些領導人「一直以來都對中國共產黨及其領導下的中央政府抱持敵意」。

香港特首李家超－亦是前保安局局長－對判決表示歡迎。他週五表示：“他們的陰謀昭然若揭，必須繩之以法。”

宣判有罪後，周向旁聽席上的支持者飛吻，而李則用雙臂比出一個心形。

發生了翻天覆地變化的一座城市

李和鄒自2021年底被捕以來，一直被羈押候審。這種做法在以國家安全為由進行的逮捕中已司空見慣，因為保釋更加困難。

鄒、李和何曾是香港民主運動的領導人物，這場運動如今已走向終結。該運動的大多數領導人要么被監禁，要么流亡海外，要么保持沉默。

現年41歲的鄒曾在英國劍橋大學學習科學，之後回到香港，投身勞工權益運動，後來加入了何和李共同創立的勞工聯盟。

根據路透社先前的採訪報道，鄒是在受委託幫助一些內地勞工後，受到啟發，尋求第二職業，成為律師。

李是資深工會成員，畢生致力於改善工人的待遇；何則是律師，也是香港最大的反對黨民主黨的創始成員之一，該黨已於2025年底解散。

喬治城大學亞洲法律中心資深研究員、香港法律制度專家Eric Lai表示，這項判決意義重大。

他說：“所有香港公民社會參與者認為放棄暴力、遵守法律就能確保自身合法權益的人，都必須重新審視這種想法。”

曾參與天安門廣場抗議活動的學生領袖、現已入籍美國的Zhou Fengsuo告訴CNN，這項判決顯示「香港已經發生了多麼深刻的變化」。

他補充說：“當局可以熄滅維多利亞公園的蠟燭，但他們無法抹去六四事件的記憶。”

              So, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, two key organizers behind what used to be the only large-scale public commemoration for the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China have been found guilty of inciting subversion by a court in Hong Kong. They face a jail term of up to 10 years under a national security law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020. Actors in Hong Kong’s civil society who assume that renouncing violence and working with the law would keep them on the right side of the line have to abandon that assumption. Apparently, the line on free-speech vs prohibited speech has been shifted.

香港天安門紀念活動多年前黯然落幕。如今，其組織者被判有罪（1/2）

Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

(Source: CNN)

Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil fell dark years ago. Now its organizers have been convicted (1/2)

CNN - By Chris Lau

UPDATED AUG 21, 2026

Hong Kong — Two key organizers behind what used to be the only large-scale public commemoration for the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil have been found guilty of inciting subversion by a court in Hong Kong.

The verdict is the latest chapter in a years-long crackdown by Hong Kong authorities against publicly marking the moment in 1989 when the ruling Chinese Communist Party sent tanks in to violently quell peaceful, student-led democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Chow Hang-tung, a prominent young human rights lawyer who conducted her own defense, and former opposition lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan were found guilty of inciting subversion at West Kowloon Court on Friday. They face a jail term of up to 10 years under a national security law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020.

A third activist, veteran pro-democracy lawmaker Albert Ho, had previously pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later.

Hong Kong’s position as a once-outspoken corner of China has been upended in recent years by a national security crackdown following huge and often violent democracy protests that convulsed the city in 2019.

The erasure of the city’s annual candle-light Tiananmen vigil, which used to draw huge crowds calling for full democracy for Hong Kong and an end to one-party rule in China, is one of the most visible examples of that transformation.

Beijing and the Hong Kong government say the national security laws were needed to return the city to order and stability.

Critics, human rights groups and multiple Western nations – including the United States – say the crackdown has quashed dissent and ended Hong Kong’s unique freedoms.

“The HKSAR Government strongly condemns any biased remarks and smears against the HKSAR’s effort for safeguarding national security,” its spokesperson said in response to CNN’s inquiry ahead of the verdict, using Hong Kong’s official title, adding rights and freedoms are protected under the national security law.

Those convicted on Friday were key leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the group responsible for organizing the annual remembrance until 2019.

It came just days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping praised the decision to clamp down on the Tiananmen protests, in a speech that made a rare mention of the tumultuous period.

Chinese troops cracked down on pro-democracy protesters around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. No official death toll has ever been released, but estimates range from several hundred to thousands, with many more injured. The subject remains widely censored inside China.

Following the events of 1989, mourners would converge on the same day every year in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district, to attend a vigil that filled multiple soccer pitches in the neighborhood’s Victoria Park with candlelight.

It was a tradition that continued after Hong Kong’s 1997 handover by Britain to China, alongside frequent street protests and a political system that allowed pro-democracy lawmakers to stand.

That tradition came to an end with the imposition of a series of new national security offenses following the 2019 protests.

(to be continued)

Translation

香港天安門紀念活動多年前黯然落幕。如今，其組織者被判有罪（1/2）

香港－兩名曾組織大規模公眾紀念1989年天安門事件（中國境內唯一此類活動）的關鍵人物，被香港法院判處煽動顛覆國家政權罪名成立。

這項判決是香港當局多年來鎮壓民眾紀念1989年天安門事件的最新進展。當時，執政的中國共產黨派遣坦克鎮壓了北京天安門廣場上由學生領導的和平民主抗議活動。

為自己辯護的著名年輕人權律師鄒幸彤和前反對派立法會議員李卓人於週五在西九龍法院被判煽動顛覆國家政權罪名成立。根據北京於2020年在香港實施的國安法，他們面臨最高10年的監禁。

第三名活動人士，資深民主派立法會議員何俊仁先前已認罪，稍後將判刑。

近年來，香港作為中國曾經是可暢所欲言的角落的地位發生了翻天覆地的變化。 2019 年，大規模且往往伴隨暴力衝突的民主抗議活動席捲全城，隨後政府採取了國家安全鎮壓措施。

香港一年一度的「天安門燭光晚會」的消失，是這種轉變最顯著的例證之一。該活動曾吸引大批民眾參與，呼籲香港實現全面民主，並結束中國的一黨專政。

北京和香港特區政府表示，國安法是恢復香港秩序和穩定的必要手段。

批評者、人權組織以及包括美國在內的多個西方國家則認為，鎮壓扼殺了異議，終結了香港獨特的自由。

香港特區政府發言人在宣判前回應CNN的詢問時表示：「香港特區政府強烈譴責任何針對香港維護國家安全努力的偏頗言論和抹黑」。發言人使用香港的官方名稱，並補充說，香港的各項權利和自由均受國家安全法保護。

週五被判有罪的人士是香港愛國民主運動支援聯盟（HKSAMC）的主要領導人，該組織負責組織每年一度的紀念活動，直至2019年。

就在判罪幾天前，中國國家主席習近平在一次演講中罕見地提及了天安門事件，並讚揚了鎮壓天安門抗議活動的決定。

1989年6月4日，中國軍隊在北京天安門廣場鎮壓了支持民主的抗議者。官方從未公佈死亡人數，但估計死亡人數從數百人到數千人不等，另有更多人受傷。在中國，這項議題至今仍受到嚴格審查。

1989年事件發生後，每年同一天，哀悼者都會聚集在香港銅鑼灣，參加燭光守夜活動。維多利亞公園的多個足球場都擺滿了燭光。

1997年香港回歸中國後，這項傳統得以延續，同時，香港也經常爆發街頭抗議，當時的政治體制允許民主派議員參選。

然而，隨著2019年抗議活動後一系列新的國家安全罪名的出台，這項傳統也隨之終結。

（待續）

中國希望科技領導企業在國內籌集資金（2/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

China Wants Its Tech Champions to Raise Money at Home (2/2)

Blockbuster market debuts by two technology companies show how Beijing is turning to local investors to finance its A.I. ambitions and reduce reliance on Wall Street.

By Steve Lohr and Xinyun Wu - Steve Lohr reported from Seoul and Xinyun Wu from Taipei, Taiwan. Meaghan Tobin contributed reporting from New York.

 Published Aug. 18, 2026

Updated Aug. 19, 2026, 4:02 p.m. ET

(continue)

Last year, Beijing set up a “national venture capital guidance fund” to work with Chinese investors and eventually deploy as much as $145 billion in investment in companies pursuing high-tech fields like A.I. and quantum computing.

The Shanghai stock market has long been known for speculative volatility and for a listing process burdened by red tape. In June, the Shanghai Exchange issued guidelines to streamline the process for Chinese A.I. software companies whose chatbots compete with those from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

The Chinese start-ups developing these so-called large language models, the exchange said, “urgently need the supporting role of the capital market.”

The first Chinese A.I. model makers to go public early this year — Z.ai and MiniMax — listed first on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a market many investors regard as more established and less volatile than Shanghai.

But the government is encouraging all Chinese A.I. model developers to establish secondary listings in Shanghai, which Z.ai and MiniMax have said they plan to do.

Beijing is not only steering companies toward domestic markets. It is also willing to step in to support those markets when they come under pressure.

In July, as fears of excessive A.I. spending triggered a global stock sell-off, the Shanghai market fell. Two state-owned investment funds, China Reform Holdings and China Chengtong Holdings, responded by announcing purchases of $9 billion in Chinese shares and expressing confidence in the market.

That increasingly state-guided system contrasts sharply with an earlier era, when American investment funds and venture firms rushed into China, lured by its growth and encouraged by policymakers in Washington. In the 2010s, American investors were early backers of Alibaba, the e-commerce giant; ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company; and Didi, once hailed as China’s answer to Uber.

Now, as Beijing encourages domestic investors to put money into homegrown technology companies, it is making foreign capital a less welcome part of the equation.

Geopolitics has contributed to the retreat. American firms have grown wary of being caught in the crossfire of U.S.-Chinese trade and technology disputes. Foreign venture investment in China has fallen sharply, and many firms have scaled back or left altogether.

Sequoia Capital, for example, spun off its China business two years ago. The resulting firm, HSG — its Chinese name, Hongshan, means “redwood” — backed Unitree and owns a 7 percent stake in the company, now worth about $3.5 billion.

For Chinese companies, “raising money overseas is actively discouraged,” said Kevin Xu, founder of Interconnected Capital, a hedge fund that invests in A.I. technologies. “The Manus saga is the clearest example.”

Manus, an A.I. company started by three engineers in Wuhan, China, developed an A.I. agent that caught Meta’s attention. By the end of last year, Meta had agreed to buy Manus for $2 billion. But in April, the Chinese government intervened and demanded that the deal be unwound.

Manus had moved its headquarters to Singapore, but Beijing still considered it a Chinese company subject to its authority. This month, the unwinding was completed, and Manus announced it had resumed operating as an independent company.

Translation

中國希望科技領導企業在國內籌集資金（2/2）

兩家科技公司在市場上的驚人亮相表明，北京正轉向本土投資者，為其人工智能雄心壯志提供資金，並減少對華爾街的依賴

（繼續）

去年，北京設立了“國家創投引導基金”，旨在與中國投資者合作，最終向從事人工智能和量子運算等高科技領域的公司投資高達1,450億美元。

上海股市長期以來以投機波動和繁瑣的上市程序而聞名。今年6月，上海證券交易所發佈了指導方針簡化中國人工智能軟件開發公司上市流程。這些軟件公司開發的聊天機器人與OpenAI、Anthropic和Google等公司的同類產品競爭。

交易所表示，開發這些所謂「大型語言模型」的中國新創公司「迫切需要資本市場的支持」。

今年年初，首批上市的中國人工智能模型開發商 - Z.ai和MiniMax - 首先在香港聯交所上市。許多投資人認為，香港市場比上海市場更成熟，波動性也更低。

但政府鼓勵所有中國人工智能模型開發商在上海進行二次上市，Z.ai和MiniMax都表示計劃這樣做。

北京不僅引導企業向國內市場發展，也願意在這些市場面臨壓力時出手支持。

7月，由於對人工智能領域過度支出的擔憂引發全球股市拋售，上海股市也隨之下跌。兩家國有投資基金 - 中國改革控股和中國誠通控股 - 隨即宣佈斥資90億美元購買中國股票，並表達了對市場的信心。

這種日益國家主導的體系與先前美國投資基金和創投公司蜂擁而至的時代形成了鮮明對比。在2010年代，去早期支持電商巨頭阿里巴巴、TikTok母公司字節跳動以及一度被譽為中國版Uber的滴滴出行是美國投資者。

如今，隨著北京鼓勵國內投資人投資本土科技公司，外國資本在投資格局中成為不太受歡迎的一部分

地緣政治因素也促成了這個趨勢。美國企業越來越擔心被捲入中美貿易和技術爭端的漩渦。外國創投在華大幅下降，許多公司縮減了投資規模或徹底撤離。

例如，Sequoia Capital兩年前就剝離了其中國業務。結果成立了 HSG (HongShan Capital Group) （其中文名稱「紅杉」意為「紅杉」）為 Unitree 提供了支持，並持有該公司 7% 的股份，該公司目前市值約 35 億美元。

投資人工智能技術的對沖基金Interconnected Capital創始人Kevin Xu表示對中國企業而言，“海外融資受到積極阻礙”，“Manus 事件就是最明顯的例子。”

Manus 是一家由三位工程師在中國武漢創立的人工智能公司，其開發出来的人工智能代理引起了 Meta 公司的注意。去年年底，Meta 同意以 20 億美元收購 Manus。但今年 4 月，中國政府介入並要求取消該交易。

Manus在這之前 已將總部遷至新加坡，但北京方面仍將其視為受其管轄的中國公司。本月，取消收購程序完成，Manus 宣佈恢復作為獨立公司運作。

So, two stock market debuts (CXMT and Unitree Robotics) in Shanghai in recent weeks have underscored a pair of China’s intertwined ambitions: harnessing investor enthusiasm for homegrown companies and reducing dependence on American technology and finance. Beijing is not only steering companies toward domestic markets; it is also willing to step in to support those markets when they come under pressure. Apparently, the government’s role is becoming more like a referee and champion of Chinese capital markets, and it may get involved directly on occasion, acting like a venture capitalist.

Note:

1. HSG (HongShan Capital Group, 红杉中国) is directly descended from Sequoia Capital’s China operation, but since 2023 it is no longer the same company as the U.S./European Sequoia Capital. (ChatGPT)

中國希望本土科技龍頭企業在國內融資（1/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

China Wants Its Tech Champions to Raise Money at Home (1/2)

Blockbuster market debuts by two technology companies show how Beijing is turning to local investors to finance its A.I. ambitions and reduce reliance on Wall Street.

The NYT - By Steve Lohr and Xinyun Wu - Steve Lohr reported from Seoul and Xinyun Wu from Taipei, Taiwan. Meaghan Tobin contributed reporting from New York.

Published Aug. 18, 2026

Updated Aug. 19, 2026, 4:02 p.m. ET

Two explosive stock market debuts in Shanghai in recent weeks have underscored a pair of China’s intertwined ambitions: harnessing investor enthusiasm for homegrown companies riding the artificial intelligence boom and reducing dependence on American technology and finance.

The companies — CXMT, China’s leading memory chip maker, and Unitree Robotics, a Chinese maker of humanoid robots — both chose Shanghai to list their shares. Their offerings were encouraged by government policies aimed at steering promising tech companies toward domestic financial markets rather than relying on state subsidies or foreign capital.

They were departures from years past, when the path for successful Chinese tech start-ups so often ran through Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

“The flow of global tech capital was essentially a one-way street looking westward,” the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times said in an editorial last week, citing the CXMT and Unitree initial public offerings in Shanghai as signals of a change. “Today, however, the world is shifting its gaze from West to East.”

Under Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, Beijing has pursued self-reliance across industries, including critical materials, food and many others, seeking to reduce the leverage that countries can wield over it. Nowhere is that national strategy more evident than in technology, where developing A.I. and advanced semiconductors requires staggering amounts of capital.

Increasingly, the government wants that capital to come from China. The extraordinary reception for CXMT and Unitree suggests that Chinese investors are willing to provide it.

First came CXMT, short for ChangXin Memory Technologies. Late last month, its shares soared 470 percent on the first day of trading and have climbed further since, giving the chipmaker a market value of around $545 billion and pushing it past Tencent as China’s most valuable publicly traded company.

CXMT has benefited from A.I. technology’s insatiable demand for high-speed memory chips, which are essential for storing and moving vast quantities of data. Its main domestic rival, Yangtze Memory Technologies Company, is also preparing to go public.

Then came Unitree. Its shares began trading on Wednesday in Shanghai, and surged 460 percent on its debut. At one point, the stock was up 629 percent before pulling back.

Unitree occupies a more speculative frontier of the A.I. boom. There are still doubts about how quickly a large commercial market will develop for machines that look and move like humans. But videos showcasing the feats of Unitree’s humanoid robots have attracted millions of views online: performing kung fu routines, scaling walls, doing backflips, running races and boxing. In China, the company has become a symbol of the country’s high-tech ambitions.

The blockbuster offerings point to China’s push for technological and financial self-reliance in tandem.

The Global Times, which often espouses nationalist views, argued that stronger domestic capital markets could provide Chinese technology companies with an alternative to American financing. “As technological autonomy becomes a reality,” it stated, “the domestic capital market gains a basis for reasonably valuing these companies, no longer needing to rely on ‘validation’ from overseas exchanges.”

China experts say the growing emphasis on local capital markets is an evolution in the country’s industrial policy. Beijing is seeking to rely less heavily on state subsidies, which have often proved costly and inefficient, instead leaning more on investors to decide which companies deserve capital.

Subsidies can work well in established industries, where the product is understood and the technological path relatively clear. For cutting-edge technologies, they can be less effective.

“They work badly at the frontier, where nobody knows which approach wins and they tend to prop up firms that should fail,” said Gerard DiPippo, a director at the Eurasia Group, a research group in Washington.

Domestic capital markets and investors, Mr. DiPippo said, will increasingly be relied on as “a better way to discipline growing tech firms.”

The government’s role is becoming more like a referee and champion of Chinese capital markets. But it still gets involved directly on occasion, acting like a venture capitalist.

(to be continued)

Translation

中國希望本土科技龍頭企業在國內融資（1/2）

兩家科技公司在股市的驚人亮相表明，北京正轉向本土投資者，為其人工智能雄心壯志提供資金，並減少對華爾街的依賴。

近幾週，上海兩家公司在股市的爆炸性上市凸顯了中國兩項相互交織的雄心：一方面，利用投資者對本土人工智能公司蓬勃發展的熱情；另一方面，減少對美國技術和金融的依賴。

這兩家公司 - 分別是中國領先的記憶體晶片製造商長信儲存 (CXMT) 和中國人形機器人製造商宇樹科技（Unitree Robotics）- 都選擇在上海上市。政府政策鼓勵它們的上市旨在使科技公司向國內金融市場融資，而不是依賴國家補貼或外資。

這與過去幾年截然不同，過去中國科技新創企業的成功之路往往要經過矽谷和華爾街。

中共控制的《環球時報》上週在一篇社論中指出:「全球科技資本的流動基本上是一條單行道，流向西方」; 「然而，今天世界正將目光從西方轉向東方」。並現以上海CXMT和Unitree的首次公開募股為例，認為這是轉變的信號。

在中國最高領導人習近平的領導下，北京在包括關鍵材料、食品等在內的各行業推行自力更生，力求減少其他國家對中國的影響力。這項國家策略在科技領域體現得尤為明顯，人工智能和先進半導體的研發需要龐大資金。

政府越來越希望這些資金來自中國。長信儲存 (CXMT) 和宇樹科技 (Unitree) 的上市反應異常熱烈，顯示中國投資者願意為其提供資金支持。

首先是長信儲存，全名為長信儲存技術有限公司。上月底，該公司股票在上市首日飆升 470%，此後股價持續攀升，使其市值達到約 5,450 億美元，超越騰訊，成為中國市值最高的上市公司。

長信儲存受益於人工智能技術對高速儲存晶片的巨大需求，這些晶片對於儲存和傳輸大量資料至關重要。其主要國內競爭對手長江儲存技術有限公司 也正準備上市。

隨後是宇樹科技。該公司股票於週三在上海上市，首日股價飆漲 460%。股價一度上漲 629%，之後又有所回落。

宇樹科技在人工智能熱潮中佔據了更具投機性的前端地位。人們仍然懷疑外形和動作都與人類相似的機器能否迅速發展出龐大的商業市場。但展示宇樹科技人形機器人精彩表演的影片已在網絡上吸引了數百萬的點擊量：它們表演功夫、攀爬牆壁、後空翻、賽跑和拳擊。在中國，該公司已成為國家高科技野心的象徵。

這些轟動一時的產品表明，中國正致力於同時實現技術和金融的自力更生。

經常發表民族主義觀點的《環球時報》認為，更強大的國內資本市場可以為中國科技公司提供美國融資以外的另一種選擇。該報指出：“隨著技術自主成為現實，國內資本市場將擁有合理評估這些公司價值的基礎，不再需要依賴海外交易所的‘認可’。”

中國問題專家表示，對本土資本市場的日益重視是中國產業政策演變的體現。北京正尋求減少對國家補貼的依賴，因為補貼往往成本高且效率低下，現在轉而更依賴投資者來決定哪些公司值得獲得資金。

補貼在成熟產業中可能效果顯著，因為這些產業的產品已被充分理解，技術發展路徑也相對清晰。但對於開創技術而言，補貼的效果可能較差。。

華盛頓研究機構歐亞集團 的董事 Gerard DiPippo 表示:「在開創技術領域，補貼的作用很差，因為沒有人知道哪種方法最終會勝出，而且補貼往往會扶持那些本應失敗的公司」。

DiPippo先生指出，國內資本市場和投資者將日益成為「去規範發展中科技公司的更有效途徑」。

政府的角色正變得越來越像中國資本市場的裁判和領導者。但它仍然會不時直接介入，扮演創投家的角色。

 （待續）