CX Daily: Four Chinese Laws That Can Help People Protect Their Personal Information
China plans to tighten legislation around the digital yuan to protect user privacy and combat illegal activities
Garbage bins equipped with face recognition technology are installed in a Beijing neighborhood in 2020. The lids of the bins opens only when residents are identified. Photo: VCG
Privacy /
Caixin Explains: Four Chinese laws that can help people protect their personal information
When authorities fined ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. last week for cyber and data security breaches — including illegal collection of facial information — they sent an 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) signal to the Chinese public that regulators are taking user data infringements seriously.
As China ramps up its legal protection of personal data, large-scale personal information collection and processing may violate the law if done without users’ informed consent. The country’s top prosecutor reported 2,000 public interest cases (link in Chinese) regarding personal information in 2021, a nearly threefold increase from the previous year.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
An e-CNY display in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, on Jan. 3. Photo: VCG
Digital currency /
Central bank to beef up digital yuan rules to address privacy issues
China plans to tighten legislation around the digital yuan to protect user privacy and combat illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing, said Mu Changchun, the head of the central bank’s digital currency research institute.
There have been “misunderstandings” that using the digital currency infringes on people’s privacy and turns everyone into “a little ant with GPS installed,” Mu said Sunday in a speech at the 5th Digital China Summit, a government-backed conference in Fuzhou, Fujian province. There is a “controlled anonymity” applied to the currency, which means authorities access users’ personal information only when they suspect illegal transactions have taken place, he said.
Insurers /
Finance veteran Zhao Peng set to become president of China Life’s publicly traded unit
Zhao Peng, a finance industry veteran who worked for China Life Insurance (Group) Co. for more than two decades, is returning to the state-owned insurance giant to head its publicly traded subsidiary China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Caixin learned from sources with knowledge of the matter.
Zhao will be named president and Communist Party secretary of the group’s Shanghai- and Hong Kong-listed unit, succeeding 59-year-old Su Hengxuan, who is stepping down as president but will remain as a vice president of the group, the sources said.
BUSINESS & TECH
Unigroup was once at the forefront of China’s drive to develop the domestic semiconductor industry.
Chips /
Former Unigroup chief falls under investigation
A former chairman and major shareholder of China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Co. Ltd. was placed under investigation as the debt-laden semiconductor conglomerate wraps up a bankruptcy reorganization to reboot its businesses.
Zhao Weiguo, 55, was taken away from his home in Beijing by authorities in mid-July and has since been out of contact, several people with knowledge of the matter told Caixin.
NEVs /
China’s electric-car exports surge to Western Europe and Southeast Asia
Western Europe and Southeast Asia became the main destinations for China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) exports, accounting for nearly half of all cars sold overseas during the first six months this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
China exported 362,200 NEVs in the first half, more than double from the previous year, Cui Songshu, secretary general of the CPCA, said over the weekend citing customs data. Exports to Western European countries reached 122,700 autos, accounting 34% of total exports, while sales to Southeast Asia came to 58,400 units, or 16% of the total, Cui said.
Quick hits /
China approves first homegrown Covid pill
Apple prepares rare iPhone discount for China buyers
Alibaba seeks primary Hong Kong listing to woo Chinese investors
Tech Insider /
Tougher ride-hail data rules, former Unigroup chairman investigated
Long Read /
The Chinese economy’s uncertain path to recovery
GALLERY
Torch Festival lights up Southwest China
