When Bai Yansong responded to students' questions about their future and employment pressure during a speech at a university, he rhetorically listed hypothetical scenarios such as low housing prices and being able to find a job easily. The remarks triggered widespread mockery among netizens online the following spring.
A U.S. security research institute found that Huawei is developing a facial recognition system for Uyghurs that can automatically report to the authorities, drawing international attention; French football star Griezmann subsequently announced the termination of his endorsement deal with Huawei.
Wang Ning has stepped down from his post as Commander of the People's Armed Police due to age, and subsequently serves as Vice Chairman of the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress.
Guizhou Province announced that its last 9 impoverished counties have all been removed from the list of impoverished counties; with this, all 832 impoverished counties nationwide have been cleared.
On November 23, 2020, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced its approval in principle of Baoshang Bank entering bankruptcy proceedings, and the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court announced a ruling the same day accepting the application for bankruptcy liquidation of Baoshang Bank.
On November 20, 2020, Guizhou Province held a meeting of leading cadres to announce the central government's decision that Shen Yiqin would serve as Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, and Sun Zhigang would no longer hold the post. Shen Yiqin became the only female provincial party secretary in the country at that time.
As Ant Group was preparing for its IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong, its complex multi-layered equity structure and the hidden shareholdings of red-aristocracy bloodlines, such as the families of Jiang Zemin and Jia Qinglin, were exposed, leading to the suspension of its listing plan.
On November 3, 2020, following Jack Ma's Bund speech criticizing financial regulation, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced the suspension of Ant Group's A-share listing just two days before it was scheduled to go public. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange followed suit immediately, halting the world's largest IPO.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange suddenly announced the suspension of Ant Group's listing process on the STAR Market, even though the project had already entered its final stage.
On November 2, 2020, Jack Ma and executives of Ant Group were jointly summoned by four regulatory authorities. The following day, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced the suspension of Ant Group's listing.
On October 24, 2020, Jack Ma criticized the “pawnshop mentality” of Chinese financial regulators and banks at the Shanghai Bund Financial Summit — the last time he appeared on China’s public stage in an offensive posture.
In retaliation for Tsai Ing-wen's hardline stance, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the “Thunderbolt 2020” special operation, claiming to have solved over a hundred Taiwan spy theft cases.
Between 2008 and 2016, 15 JPMorgan traders systematically spoofed the precious metals markets, resulting in $920 million in fines from U.S. regulators and criminal charges against three traders.
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Ren Zhiqiang to 18 years in prison and fined him 4.2 million yuan on charges of embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and abuse of power by personnel of state-owned companies.
Ren Zhiqiang, who was once active in Alashan SEE and published articles criticizing the supreme leader, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in September 2020 on charges including corruption and bribery.
Ren Zhiqiang was sentenced to 18 years in prison for remarks criticizing epidemic prevention policies and other statements, sending shockwaves through China's entrepreneurial community.
Two US aircraft carriers are returning from the Middle East theater to East Asia, one of which is the USS Abraham Lincoln, and the other is the USS Tripoli. The return route passes through the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, with plans to deploy in the South China Sea and near the First Island Chain close to Japan and South Korea, respectively. Previously, the US typically maintained a long-term deployment of one aircraft carrier in East Asia, while the Middle East remains a theater of war requiring protection in the Strait of Hormuz; therefore, the simultaneous return of two carriers is viewed as an unusual military movement.
After Pan Shiyi arrived in New York in September 2020, a friend who interacted closely with him on Weibo was arrested for mailing a letter containing sensitive information to eleven people, leaving Pan Shiyi unable to return to China to this day.
Former Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Lee Dong-hyun has officially settled in Xiamen, Fujian, and is building his career in mainland China.
In September 2020, Meng Wanzhou signed a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. prosecutors and a four-page statement of facts; on December 2 of the same year, the court formally dropped the personal charges against her, and she was no longer a defendant.
On August 20, 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the People's Bank of China held a symposium for key real estate enterprises, proposing the "three red lines" to restrict the growth of interest-bearing liabilities of real estate companies based on the asset-liability ratio excluding advance receipts, the net gearing ratio, and the cash-to-short-term debt ratio.
The New York Times reported that Li Qianxin, Xi Jinping's sister Qi Qiaoqiao, and Wang Yang's daughter Wang Xisha purchased luxury homes in Hong Kong for a total price exceeding 51 million HKD.
Hong Kong police conducted their first large-scale raid on the headquarters of Next Digital, paving the way for the subsequent closure of Apple Daily.
On August 6, 2020, Trump signed an executive order banning U.S. companies and individuals from engaging in WeChat-related transactions with Tencent 45 days later.
While working at CCTV, Cheng Lei was secretly taken away by Chinese state security authorities for disclosing some economic figures from the government work report to foreign media, and was detained on suspicion of illegally providing state secrets to parties outside China.
On July 28, 2020, Wang Xiangming succeeded Fu Yuning as Chairman of China Resources Group.
Ren Zhiqiang's expulsion from the Chinese Communist Party was announced.
The Chinese Communist Party issued a notice on disciplinary action against Ren Zhiqiang, listing as a problem his publication of articles publicly opposing the Four Cardinal Principles.
On the evening of July 15, 2020, Alibaba executives held a dinner to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Gao Xiaosong joining Alibaba. Gao Xiaosong posted the group photo online, publicly revealing his Alibaba employee ID and rank.
The British government has officially announced a total ban on Huawei 5G equipment and demanded the complete removal of existing equipment by 2027.
A bamboo toy went viral for mimicking the "wow" sounds from the audience as Yu Chengdong unveiled the AITO M9; related videos were hit by concentrated complaints from Huawei's consumer business and some works were taken down, after which sales of the bamboo cicada toy rose.
On June 30, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It was gazetted and implemented in Hong Kong at 11:00 PM that night. Subsequently, many countries suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong, and the United States revoked Hong Kong's special status.
The CCP's forceful implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong marks the end of "One Country, Two Systems".
On the evening of June 28, 2020, Gao Xiaosong took part in a "Celebrities Read Great Books" charity livestream launched by People's Daily New Media and others. After he appeared, the live chat was flooded with comments such as "get out," "public intellectual," and "American," the livestream was cut off, and the picture never returned.
Xi Jinping inspected a wine estate at the foot of Helan Mountain and left the imperial inscription "Given time, it will astonish the world," turning it into a political totem that local officials scramble to imitate.
The High Court of Hong Kong delivered its verdict in the case where Choi Yat-fung sued Huang Youlong to recover over 100 million Hong Kong dollars in agency fees and interest. Choi Yat-fung lost the lawsuit, which inadvertently exposed a capital flight network of the elite.
On May 28, 2020, at the closing press conference of the Two Sessions, Li Keqiang said that China's per capita annual income is 30,000 yuan, but 600 million people earn only 1,000 yuan a month.
On May 18, 2020, after Australia called for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced anti-dumping and countervailing duties totaling 80.5% on Australian barley, and subsequently restricted imports of Australian beef, wine, coal and other products.
On April 29, 2020, Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee, formally announcing for the first time that decisive results had been achieved in the defense of Wuhan and the defense of Hubei, and that major strategic results had been won in the nationwide fight to prevent and control the epidemic.
In order to reveal the truth about the virus to the world, Li-Meng Yan successfully escaped Hong Kong and arrived in the United States at the end of April 2020, after which she was interviewed multiple times by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and deemed credible.
As a virologist who experienced the 2019 turmoil in Hong Kong, Dr. Yan chose to flee to the U.S. and acted as a whistleblower to expose to the world the truth that the coronavirus originated from a Wuhan laboratory.
In April 2020, Dr. Yan was forced to flee due to certain statements she made, and she once went to the White House to report what she knew as a virologist.
In April 2020, the “Believe in the Future” charity concert initiative was launched with Gao Xiaosong as its public initiator, featuring artists such as Faye Wong, Na Ying and Pu Shu. The first show aired on May 4, with four shows in total, accumulating 440 million views. CCTV participated in the broadcasts, and People’s Daily Overseas Edition ran a full-page report.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that Sun Lijun, Vice Minister of Public Security who once oversaw Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan affairs as well as cross-border law enforcement, is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation for suspected severe violations of discipline and law.
According to a report dated April 12, 2020 republished on the Yueyang County government website, Huaihua Hongling Qingcheng Real Estate Co., Ltd., the construction unit of the Yuelu Qingcheng project, was entered into the serious misconduct record for refusing to implement relevant rectification or work suspension notices.
From April to June 2020, GTV and other companies under Guo Wengui sold unregistered stocks and Gcoins to more than 5,000 investors, raising approximately $487 million; in September 2021, three companies agreed to pay $539 million to settle.
Driven by the market collapse triggered by the epidemic, the VIX hit a record single-day closing high of 82.69, the highest since its inception in 1990.
During an internal New York State virtual meeting held to discuss the pandemic and hate crimes, Linda Sun was accused of using her phone to allow officials from the Chinese Consulate to listen in, while reminding them to remain silent.
Ren Zhiqiang was taken away by special personnel from the Beijing municipal discipline inspection commission; his eldest son and long-time secretary were arrested the same day.
Ren Zhiqiang disappeared from public view after an article criticizing Xi Jinping.