Technology

Public anger over the wrongful 251-days detention of Huawei ex-employee Li Hongyuan may be subsiding, but Huawei’s damaged reputation may not be easily salvaged in the short term. Yu Zeyuan cautions on the delicate relationship between public opinion and enterprise reputation in the internet age.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei is facing a tide of public anger from within China, following its handling of an incident involving a former employee who was wrongly jailed for 251 days. Lim Zhan Ting explores how Huawei landed itself in this position and what it can do to recover its image.

On the first anniversary of her arrest in Vancouver, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou pens an open letter about her days under house arrest. In an emotive account, she says the strength she draws from warm words and gestures will light her way forward. This is the English translation of her full letter in Chinese. The original Chinese version of her letter is included at the end.

Social movements of today are no longer campaigns by the downtrodden poor but avenues for the well-educated middle class to air their anti-establishment discontent. Aided by social media, these groups appropriate concepts without understanding their true meanings, and look set to stay due to structural imbalance in the world caused by globalisation, technological progress and social divide. Zheng Yongnian opines that states badly need institutional reforms if they are to engage the social movements of today.

In a record listing of 2019, Alibaba’s stock price in Hong Kong rose by 6.6% during its first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Doing so in the midst of uncertainty in Hong Kong seems risky, but Alibaba’s gambit to reach investors in Asia may just pay off in the long run.

With 5G becoming a reality in China as we speak, Yin Ruizhi weighs up the challenges and immense opportunities this technology brings for the telecommunications industry.

Some survive by possessing core technologies, some survive by promoting an exciting concept, some by self-transformation, others by buying out and inheriting superb small companies. Prof Chen Xi shares the various tactics for enterprises to survive and benefit from smart city market restructuring. Where will the new battleground of smart city projects be and how can Singapore play a role?

Implementing digital transformation initiatives in Chinese tech companies where the retirement age was a mere 40 years old, and extensions were granted as exceptions to good performers, Singaporean Kwek So Cheer learnt more about the Chinese psyche than he did any other practical knowledge.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing spoke on the digital economy, China's connectivity, and the role of China and Singapore in this moment in history, at the Singapore-China Forum which was held in Shanghai on 6 November 2019. The forum was organised by Lianhe Zaobao and The Paper, a Shanghai media. The forum is one of the events held during the China International Import Expo (CIIE). ThinkChina presents Mr Chan's speech.