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☆ China's Tencent posts smaller than expected revenue growth; gaming falls short
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The world's largest video game company and operator of the WeChat messaging platform said revenue reached 149.20 billion yuan ($20.45 billion) for the three months ended June 30. That compared with the 151.73 billion yuan average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. Domestic gaming revenue stayed mostly flat at 31.8 billion yuan, while international gaming revenue rose 12% to 12.7 billion yuan, excluding the impact of currency movements. It grew 34% to 25 billion yuan as its TikTok-like short video service Video Accounts experienced increased demand. Revenue from fintech and business services grew 15% to 48.6 billion yuan which the company said reflected expansion in both offline and online payment activities.

Persons: David Kirton, HONG KONG, Tencent, Shawn Yang, Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Tencent Holdings, HK, Refinitiv, Blue Lotus Capital Advisors, Inc, Thomson Locations: Nanshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, HONG, fintech

☆ China's Tencent misses expectations despite fastest profit rise since late 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tencent on Wednesday reported a weaker-than-expected surge in profit for the second quarter, as cost-cutting measures began to pay off and sales rose across the company's various businesses. Here's how Tencent did in the second quarter, versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:Revenue: 149.21 billion Chinese yuan ($20.46 billion) vs. 151.73 billion yuan expected, representing a rise of 11% year-on-year. Profit attributable to equity holders of the company: 26.17 billion Chinese yuan vs 33.42 billion yuan. "This transition, combined with careful cost discipline developed in the previous year, resulted in profit growth exceeding revenue growth." Tencent has now reported three straight quarters of revenue growth, as the Chinese technology giant recovers from the headwinds of a tough 2022.

Persons: Tencent

☆ Taiwan will not back down to threats, Taiwan VP says on US trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Taiwan's Vice President William Lai speaks during a luncheon in New York City, New York, U.S., in this handout picture released on August 14, 2023. Lai told a supporters lunch in New York on Sunday that "if Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the world is peaceful", according to Taiwan's presidential office. China considers Taiwan its most important diplomatic issue, and is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington, which is the island's most important international backer and arms supplier. Lai's speech was attended by Ingrid Larson, managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, a U.S. government-run non-profit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan. China carried out war games around Taiwan in April after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from California where she met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while also on a transit on her way back from Central America.

Persons: William Lai, Lai, Ingrid Larson, Tsai Ing, Kevin McCarthy, Ben Blanchard, Lincoln Organizations: Taiwan Presidential, REUTERS, American Institute, U.S, Eastern Theatre Command, Liberation Army, Taiwan, Central America, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Taiwan, REUTERS TAIPEI, Beijing, China, United States, Paraguay, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Republic of China, People's Republic of China, Taipei, California, Central

☆ China condemns visit of 'troublemaker' Taiwan VP to US
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly denounced Lai's trip, which includes another stopover in San Francisco on Wednesday on his way back to Taipei. In a statement issued shortly after Lai landed in New York on a scheduled flight from Taipei, China's foreign ministry said it opposed any form of visit by "Taiwan independence separatists" to the United States. "Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is a troublemaker through and through," the ministry said. China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan over the past three years, seeking to force the island into accepting Beijing's sovereignty. In April, China staged war games around Taiwan in an angry response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meeting U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on a stopover on the way back to Taipei following her visit to Central America.

Persons: William Lai, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Lai, Lai's, Washington's, Laura Rosenberger, Wang Yi, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Tsai Ing, Kevin McCarthy, Ryan Woo, Yimou Lee, Ben Blanchard, William Mallard, Jamie Freed Organizations: Taoyuan International Airport, REUTERS, Carlos Garcia Rawlins BEIJING, Taiwan, U.S, American Institute, Eastern Theatre Command, Liberation Army, Chinese Foreign, Central America, Thomson Locations: Taoyuan, United States, New York, Paraguay, Taiwan, U.S, Beijing, China, San Francisco, Taipei, Taiwan Strait, Washington, California, Central

CNN —China’s civilian spy agency has exposed a Chinese national for allegedly providing sensitive military information to the CIA, the latest in a string of highly public espionage accusations between Washington and Beijing. Zeng was allegedly offered “a huge amount” of money and immigration to the US for his family, in exchange for sensitive information about the Chinese military, the statement said. China’s announcement about the alleged CIA spy came a week after two US Navy sailors in California were arrested for allegedly providing sensitive US military information to Chinese intelligence officers. China’s Ministry of State Security is a civilian agency that oversees intelligence and counterintelligence both within China and overseas. China’s military also has its own intelligence agency.

Persons: CNN —, Zeng, ”, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, CIA, China’s Ministry of State Security, US, FBI, China’s Communist Party, The New York Times Locations: Washington, Beijing, Italy, China, California, United States, Russia

☆ Exclusive: China's Nanfang to open major copper smelter ahead of expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Julian Luk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The 400,000 metric ton-per-year smelter, located in Chongzuo city of Guangxi prefecture, will start processing copper concentrates within three months - compared with market expectations for the first half of 2024. "It came as a surprise," one major copper concentrates supplier said, adding that Nanfang had been buying more raw copper materials on the spot market over the past two weeks. Purchasing copper concentrates requires access to liquidity and cash, particularly given relatively high copper prices around $8,400 a metric ton. "It is easier to finance copper projects, credit lines are sufficient to kick-start the second smelting line. Rising domestic copper smelting capacity in China will mean growing demand for copper concentrates and less appetite for buying refined copper from foreign companies.

Persons: Nanfang Nonferrous, Nanfang, COVID, Tongling, Julian Luk, Pratima Desai, Veronica Brown, David Evans Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, Chongzuo, Guangxi prefecture

☆ X is ‘close to breakeven’ says CEO Linda Yaccarino
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —X CEO Linda Yaccarino, leader of the platform formerly known as Twitter, said the company is keeping an eye on new competitor Threads, despite the sharply slowing growth of the rival app from Meta. Musk, who is now the company’s chief technology officer, has also been preparing for a cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Yaccarino joined the company after months of turmoil caused by Musk’s takeover, including mass layoffs, controversial policy decisions and various legal battles. Yaccarino, a former marketing executive with NBCUniversal, was brought on to Twitter in part to help revive its advertising business. And she said on Thursday that the company is “close to breakeven.”“Coca Cola, Visa, State Farm is a huge partner, they’re coming back — the last bunch of weeks, continued revenue growth,” Yaccarino said.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, it’s, ” Yaccarino, they’ll, ”, Yaccarino, we’re, Staving, Elon Musk, WeChat, Mark Zuckerberg, “, Musk, they’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Meta, CNBC, Fidelity, Visa Locations: New York, breakeven, Coca Cola

Feeling the pinch of rising housing costs and a slowing economy, the jobless graduates are forfeiting cities that have traditionally provided a stepping stone to middle-class wealth. The numbers varied by region, with 59% of graduates in the well-developed east heading home. To keep costs down as they stay longer in hope of finding a job, some young mega-city drifters even share their beds with strangers. One such post was looking for a roommate to share one bed in a room "with a huge balcony" in Beijing. ($1 = 7.2004 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer CHINA, Joyce Zhang, I've, Zhang, China's, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Conor Humphries Organizations: Central China Normal University, REUTERS, China News Service, China's, Xinhua, Reuters, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Wuhan, Hubei province, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Inner Mongolia, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

Conservative Party Leadership candidate Michael Chong, addresses crowd at the Conservative Party of Canada's final televised debate in Toronto, Ontario, April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill/File PhotoAug 9 (Reuters) - Canada said on Wednesday that an opposition Canadian legislator with family in Hong Kong had been targeted in an online disinformation operation and said China most likely played a role. In a statement, the Canadian foreign ministry said the target was Michael Chong, a member of the opposition Conservative party, a frequent critic of China who has drawn Beijing's ire. "While China's role in the information operation is highly probable, unequivocal proof that China ordered and directed the operation is not possible to determine," the statement said. The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing an intelligence report, said in May that China sought information about Chong and his family in China in a likely effort to "make an example" of him.

Persons: Michael Chong, Fred Thornhill, Chong, Kanishka Singh, David Ljunggren, Mark Porter, Matthew Lewis, Andy Sullivan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Conservative, Conservative Party, REUTERS, Ottawa, Beijing, Globe, Mail, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Canada's, Beijing, Washington, Ottawa

☆ Philippines says China blocked, water-cannoned boat in S. China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China's coast guard countered that it had implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law to deter Philippine ships, which it accused of trespassing and carrying illegal building materials. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, an assertion rejected internationally, while Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines have various claims to certain areas. China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu responded that China has "indisputable" sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard said the Chinese actions violated laws including two international conventions and a ruling from a global tribunal. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded in 2016 that Beijing's expansive claim to the South China Sea was groundless.

Persons: Carlos Dominguez, Gao Hucheng, Damir Sagolj, China's, Thomas, Gan Yu, Gan, Jay Tarriela, Enrico Dela Cruz, Ryan Woo, William Mallard Organizations: Philippine, China's, REUTERS, Armed Forces, China Coast Guard, Central Military Commission, Philippine Coast Guard, U.S . State Department, Washington, Coast Guard, Philippines Mutual Defense, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Philippine, MANILA, Philippines, South China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, Manila, Ayungin, Spratly, The Hague, South, United States

☆ China's embassy to Russia criticises treatment of citizens at border
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Pool/File PhotoAug 5 (Reuters) - China's embassy in Russia criticised the treatment of five Chinese citizens who were refused entry into Russia, calling the treatment inconsistent with the overall friendly relations between the two countries. The five, attempting to drive into Russia from Kazakhstan late last month, were refused entry after four hours of examination and had their visas cancelled, the embassy said on its WeChat social media account on Friday. The embassy met with Russia's foreign ministry and border agencies, "clearly pointing out that the brutal and excessive law enforcement by Russia in this incident seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens," the post said. The embassy cited statements by Russian officials that Russia welcomes and does not have discriminatory policies against Chinese citizens, as well as that the destination on their visa application of the five Chinese did not match their actual destination. Reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mikhail Mishustin, Thomas Peter /, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Kirton, William Mallard Organizations: Russian, of, REUTERS, Russia, Saudi, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moscow, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Kyiv, Shenzhen

☆ Elon Musk has a plan to create a hub on X for users to trade stocks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's X app is looking to build a stock-trading hub within the platform, according to Semafor. But Musk said on X: "No work is being done on this to the best of my knowledge." Still, considerations for how to turn X into a trading hub would not be far off prior ideas for the platform. In April, Twitter also entered into a partnership with eToro to allow users to trade stocks and other assets, by giving them access to eToro's platform. Musk has had plans to create a go-to app for a variety of services, and in October, he tweeted, "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."

Persons: Elon, Musk, Semafor, Tencent's Organizations: X, Service, Privacy, Twitter, eToro, PayPal Locations: Wall, Silicon, China

☆ China wants to limit teens to no more than two hours a day on their phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Children under eight would be able to use their phones for only 40 minutes a day, while those between eight and 16 would get an hour of screen time. “On the other hand, it’s easier for us parents to control our kids screen time,” she said. China has one of the world’s largest internet user bases, with roughly 1.07 billion people in the country of 1.4 billion having access to the web, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. The regulation could be useful to “help parents to supervise the children” and limit screen time. Impact on tech firmsThe new measures could present challenges for tech companies, which are typically held responsible for enforcing regulations.

Persons: ”, “, Kuaishou Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Cyberspace Administration, ”, Mobile, CNN, China Internet Network Information, Apple, Huawei Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, China’s Zhejiang, China’s Zhuhai, Weibo, lockstep

☆ X social media looking to build a trading hub inside app, Semafor reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File PhotoAug 3 (Reuters) - X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, is seeking a financial data giant to build a trading hub inside the app, Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter and plan requests. In a post on the X platform, its owner Elon Musk said he was not aware of any work being done in this area. loadingLast year, Musk said he bought Twitter as an "accelerant to creating X", which he described as an "everything app" and likened it to China's super-app WeChat. Musk last month rebranded the social media site and changed Twitter's widely recognised blue bird to "X".

Persons: Carlos Barria, Elon Musk, Musk, Chavi Mehta, Tanya Jain, Yuvraj Malik, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ China's Tencent says it is expanding testing of 'Hunyuan' AI model
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly SongHONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - China's Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) said on Thursday that it has started internal testing of its self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is now being integrated with a number of internal services and products. In a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday, Tencent said its foundation AI model named "Hunyuan" has been integrated with a range of products such as Tencent Cloud, Tencent Meeting and Tencent Docs. "The Tencent Hunyuan large model, completely developed by ourselves from scratch, has now entered the application testing phase within the company," the company said. Reuters first reported the company's effort to develop the Hunyuan model in February. On Thursday, Tencent also listed Tencent Games, Tencent Advertising, QQ Browser, WeChat Search and Tencent Fintech as lines of business that have been testing the Hunyuan model recently.

Persons: Aly, HONG KONG, Tencent, Josh Ye, Jason Neely, Kim Coghill Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Tencent Holdings, HK, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Shenzhen

People sort items outside a supermarket, after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Beijing, China August 2, 2023. Zhuozhou borders Beijing, which was inundated with the most rainfall in 140 years between Saturday and early Wednesday, official data showed. Residents forced to leave their homes were temporarily resettled in high-rise buildings, but lacked access to electricity and water, local media reported. Many Zhuozhou residents took to social media to complain about how long rescue and recovery efforts were taking. Nearly 100 employees were trapped without food and water, and a toxic gas leaking from a neighbouring tape factory complicated rescue efforts, local media reported.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Liz Lee, Ryan Woo, Ella Cao, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Weibo, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Zhuozhou, Paris, Hebei province, Hebei, Weibo, Yongding River, Shanghai

☆ Elon Musk needs to be ruthless if he's going to transform X into a killer app. Here's what he should do, according to a Fortune 500 project management expert.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Dr. Te Wu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Dr. Te Wu is the CEO and CPO of PMO Advisory, a project management training and consulting firm. From a project management perspective, here are the top five actions I would undertake to make this latest transformation successful. Business transformation is more of an art than a science, and building new product features can be extraordinarily difficult. Dr. Te Wu is CEO and CPO of PMO Advisory, a project management training and consulting firm for companies, including Global 500 and nonprofit organizations. He is an associate professor at Montclair State University and chair of the Project Management Institute's Portfolio Management Standard Committee.

Persons: Te Wu, Wu, It's, Elon Musk, I've, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, WeChat, Meta, OpenAI's, Slack Organizations: PMO, Twitter, Morning, SpaceX, Fortune, Swiss Army, China Europe International Business School, Elon, New York's Transit Authority, Facebook, Microsoft, Montclair State University, Project Management Institute's Locations: New, China

☆ China looks to limit children to two hours a day on their phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Youngsters check mobile phones during a dinner time at a cafeteria in Shanghai, China September 3, 2021. Users aged 16 to 18 would be allowed two hours a day, children aged eight to 16 would get one hour while children under eight would be allowed just eight minutes. But the CAC said service providers should allow parents to opt out of the time limits for their youngsters. Xia Hailong, a lawyer at the Shanghai Shenlun law firm, said the rules would be a headache for the internet companies. The proposed rules come after signals from Beijing that a years-long regulatory crackdown on its technology industry has ended.

Persons: Aly, Hong Kong, Xia Hailong, ByteDance's, Josh Ye, Liz Lee, Jacqueline Wong, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Cyberspace Administration of China, CAC, HK, Tencent Holdings, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Hong, Hong Kong, Beijing

☆ China spy agency’s social media debut calls for ‘all members of society’ to combat espionage
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Ministry of State Security oversees intelligence and counterintelligence both within China and overseas. Titled “Countering espionage requires the mobilization of all members of society,” the ministry said national security bodies should keep reporting channels, such as hotlines and online platforms, open to handle reports of suspected espionage within China in a timely manner. But those efforts have gathered pace under Xi Jinping, China’s most assertive and authoritarian leader in a generation who has made state security his top priority. Previous anti-spying driveThere have been multiple previous calls by China for the public to look for potential spies. In June last year, China announced “material rewards” of up to and above 100,000 yuan ($15,000) for tip-offs about people who endanger national security.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ”, Xi Jinping, Greg Baker, Xiao Li, Li –, David Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, of State Security, CIA, FBI, Group, Bain & Company, Astellas Pharma, Getty Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, American, Shanghai, Japan, AFP

☆ From banking giants to lending up-and-comers — here are the world's top 200 fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Statista identified 40 firms as top digital payments companies. While digital payments is often the area that draws most investor buzz, lending generates more money in financial services. Statista identified 25 fintech companies that fall into the category of top alternate lending firms. They include American small business lending firm Biz2Credit, Irish e-commerce lending company Wayflyer, and Latvian loan refinancing startup Mintos. Digital business solutions

Persons: Monzo, there's, Statista, Afterpay, It's, Binance, eToro, Equity crowdfunding, hasn't, Peter Hazlehurst Organizations: JPMorgan —, Orange, Digital, U.S, SEC, European, Education, Equity, Republic, Tech, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, CNBC, Solaris Locations: fintech, Europe, Nigeria, Orange, Africa, Terra, U.S, Cayman Islands, American, Latvian, U.K

Visitor numbers at Hangzhou Zoo have gone up by 30 percent to around 20,000 a day since a video of the Malayan bear, named Angela, became a trending topic on Chinese social media over the weekend, Zhejiang province-based Chao News reported. It was when Angela was standing up that some netizens said she looked like someone wearing a bear suit. The zoo has sought to refute the rumour in posts on its official WeChat account and in interviews with local media, saying that Angela is "definitely not a human". "Our zoo is government-run, so that kind of situation would not happen," a member of staff said, according to local media. Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; Additional reporting by Jiawei Wang; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Angela, Chao, Qian Ming, netizens, Martin Quin Pollard, Jiawei Wang, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Hangzhou Zoo, Chao News, Hangzhou TV, Weibo, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China's Zhejiang, Zhejiang province, Suzhou, Hangzhou

☆ Australian lawmakers recommend potential WeChat ban on govt devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A senate committee investigating how foreign powers use social media to interfere in Australia has recommended a swathe of rules and restrictions for social media platforms, including potentially banning Chinese messaging service WeChat on government devices. Tuesday's report contains 17 recommendations including new transparency rules enforceable by fines, expanding an existing TikTok ban on government devices to contractors and investigating a ban on WeChat on government devices. "Platforms like TikTok and WeChat that are subject to the control of authoritarian regimes illustrate the broader cyber security risk to sensitive government information," he said in a statement. The committee also recommended that Australia helps developing countries in the Indo-Pacific resist "malicious information operations" by authoritarian states. While many recommendations singled out Chinese social media platforms, a set of 11 transparency rules would require all large social media platforms to label state affiliated media accounts, and disclose when governments direct content moderation and actions against accounts of elected officials.

Persons: WeChat, Paterson, James Paterson, Lewis Jackson, Ed Osmond Organizations: SYDNEY, HK, Liberal, Labor, Home Affairs, Thomson Locations: Australia, China

☆ Amazon employees leak secret info that marketplace sellers can buy on Telegram
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For a fee of $200 to $400, sellers can pay for services like "Amazon Magic," as one broker on encrypted messaging service Telegram calls it. The Telegram group has over 13,000 members, and it's far from the only one. A public Facebook page identified by CNBC offers an internal screenshot service with "valuable insight into your seller account, allowing you to see how Amazon employees view your account and its performance." Account annotations, internal notes from an Amazon staffer on a seller's account, were among the confidential data being exchanged between the defendants and employees. The Amazon Magic group on Telegram is public, with users advertising black hat services almost daily.

Persons: Johnny Milano, Christy Distefano, Remi Vaughn Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Telegram, Facebook Groups, Walmart, CNBC, Facebook, Amazon ., LinkedIn, Amazon, Street Journal, Department of Justice, FBI Locations: Melville , New York, China, India, Costa Rica, Ukraine

☆ China wants to mobilise entire nation in counter-espionage
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China should encourage its citizens to join counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity as well as commending and rewarding them, the state security ministry said on Tuesday. Australian journalist Cheng Lei, accused by China for providing state secrets to another country, has been detained since September 2020. China's declaration that it is under threat from spies comes as Western nations, most prominently the United States, accuse China of espionage and cyberattacks, a charge that Beijing has rejected. The United States itself is the "empire of hacking," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has said. In protecting itself from espionage, China would need the participation of its people in building a defence line, the state security ministry wrote in its WeChat post.

Persons: State Security Chen Yixin, Chen, Cheng Lei, Ryan Woo, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: of State Security, State Security, Communist Party of China, Astellas Pharma, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, United States, Beijing

☆ If Elon Musk understood anything about China, he'd know his attempt to make X a super app like WeChat is doomed to fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk thinks turning X into an everything app like WeChat could make the company profitable. Elon Musk may be going all in with his plan to turn X into an everything app in the vein of China's WeChat. In fact, Musk gave us all some insight into what X might one day look like when he expressed his admiration for China's everything app, WeChat, last summer. We don't have anything like that outside of China," Musk continued. Even foreigners would be hard pressed to make their way around China without using the WeChat app to make simple purchases.

Persons: Elon, Musk, WeChat, HECTOR RETAMAL, he's, —, Feng Kaihua, Tencent, China's Didi Chuxing, doesn't Organizations: Morning, PayPal, Twitter, Getty Images, Facebook, Getty, Netflix, YouTube Locations: China, AFP, Xinhua

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