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Two European chip deals have run into trouble over their links with China, a sign of concern spreading in the West over potential Chinese control of critical infrastructure.

After his citizenship ceremony at Memorial Auditorium in 2015, YK Chalamcherla stepped out into downtown Sacramento, picked up a small American flag handed out by children and took a “fresh breath.” ...

China and the US are the two countries that are investing heavily in this race for achieving supremacy in the field of AI.

Ruling DPP puts Beijing at centre of campaign while rival KMT steers clear, in first vote since tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated
On Sunday afternoon 150,000 people gathered in front of the Taipei city hall. Harley motorcycles, giant floats, balloons and mascots led the parade to a soundtrack of . It looked like a concert, but on this day the main act was a politician.
The crowds were there to support Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung, a former minister of health with the governing Democratic Progressive party (DPP).

Protests are rising as China enacts more lockdowns and quarantines, with no end in sight. The defiance is a test of Xi Jinping’s authoritarian leadership.

Plus Malaysia’s new prime minister and the week in culture.

The number of American companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong has dropped below mainland Chinese firms for the first time in at least 31 years.

Country reports 31,444 new locally transmitted cases, the highest daily figure since pandemic began
China has imposed a fresh series of Covid lockdowns, including in a city where workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory clashed with police this week, as a record daily high in coronavirus cases tests its commitment to follow the rest of the world in easing pandemic restrictions.
The national health commission reported 31,444 new locally transmitted Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since the coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late in 2019.

Mark Harper to end but RMT general secretary says union will not move to end strikes until ‘’. This live blog is now closed
Neil O’Brien, the health minister, told MPs that 90% of the bids to provide PPE for the government during the pandemic that were processed through the so-called VIP lane (because they were referrals via ministers) were unsuccessful. Referring to the process during the urgent question earlier, he said:
Over the course of the programme, due diligence was done on over 19,000 companies, and over 2,600 companies made it through that initial due diligence.
With huge demand for PPE, all across the world, and with many countries introducing export bans, our risk appetite had to change.
Around 9,000 people came forward, and all ministers will have experienced endless people directly ringing them up to try and help with the huge need that there was at the time.
It did not give you any kind of successful guarantee of a contract. Indeed, 90% of the bids that went through it were not successful.
I want a sustainable, thriving rail network, but with 20% of passengers not having returned following the Covid pandemic, reform is vital. I would urge all trade union leaders to get back around the table with employers to hammer out the detail of that reform.
The government will work to facilitate this and to that end I will be meeting with trade union leaders in the coming days.
We’re expecting a positive meeting. We’re [hoping for a] constructive approach. And we’ll see what he says.

UK government blocked new Chinese ownership on security grounds, but Nexperia bosses had ‘planned to build two new plants’
The clean room in Newport, south Wales, is the size of a football field, but in the industry they call it a ballroom. Workers in full bodysuits move silicon wafers from one end to another in a series of careful steps. The 20cm slices of silicon are rigorously cleaned in chemical baths before light is used to draw precise patterns that are then etched out. It all takes place in an orange gloom to prevent light-sensitive chemicals from reacting.
After robots and people test for defects, the owner Nexperia ships thousands of wafers every week to its other plants in Asia to be cut into hundreds or even thousands of pieces. Those in turn will be shipped all over the world for use in circuit boards controlling the power flow to devices from vacuum cleaners to Jaguar Land Rover cars.

Footage shows security and police officers in China clashing with staff protesting over working conditions and pay at the world's biggest factory for iPhones, in Zhengzhou, China. Footage shows police beating protestors with poles amid riots. The Foxconn factory has been placed under strict lockdown restrictions, forcing factory staff to live and work on-site.
Frustration had been mounting over recent months at the plant over conditions, pay and the handling of positive Covid cases