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- Exclusive coverage on Asia's business, economies and politics | Cancel anytime. Offer exclusive to the above link. Terms are subject to change. Above discount open to new subscribers only. |  | As 20th Party Congress approaches, China appears trapped by draconian anti-virus policies After midnight on Sept. 18, hundreds of residents of China's southwestern city of Guiyang were dressed in protective hazmat suits and loaded onto multiple buses. They were told they had to be quarantined elsewhere as the facilities within the city were full. The residents had been tested by local authorities for 15 consecutive days, and none of them ever tested positive for COVID-19. Still, the cash-strapped city, which had logged only one death from the virus since the beginning of the pandemic, had pledged to ensure "zero positive cases" by Sept. 19 to "celebrate the successful opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China with concrete actions." Scheduled to begin on Oct. 16, the congress, held every five years to anoint the CPC leadership, is the most important event on the country's political calendar. The "concrete actions" pledged by Guiyang turned out to be extreme: once any individual was identified as having been in contact with a positive COVID-19 case, everyone in the area had to be sent to quarantine centers, which in some cases could be roughly 300 kilometers away. Meanwhile, the incentive to bus quarantinees out of the city was clear -- it got them out of the city and off the municipal government's official tab. In one of the buses, anxious residents kept asking the driver why they had to be quarantined and where they were going. The driver, who was wrapped tightly in protective gear from head to toe, remained silent. Two and a half hours later, the bus crashed, killing 27 and injuring 20 others. Read more. |  | The Vision Fund revolutionized startup investing. So why is Masayoshi Son rethinking his strategy? A high-profile $800 million investment led by SoftBank Group propelled U.K. online payments company Revolut to a $33 billion valuation last year, making it one of the most valuable private fintech companies in the world. Yet barely a year later, Revolut suffered a significant setback. The Japanese government in September hit its local unit with an administrative disciplinary action -- the first targeted at a holder of a money transfer license in eight years. The Ministry of Finance highlighted multiple problems, such as "failing to sufficiently establish an appropriate money laundering and terrorism financing risk management system in accordance with the expansion of business scale." Revolut posted an apology on its website and said it would revamp its internal controls. Read more. |  | Emissaries go abroad to tell 'good story,' win back business and investment With no fanfare, Hong Kong's former leader C.Y. Leung flew to Tokyo in July with an entourage of five prominent executives. They made the rounds of companies and business federations, including the most powerful lobby Keidanren, to discuss commercial projects and investments, according to sources familiar with their itinerary. Then the group known as the Hong Kong Coalition -- founded by Leung and fellow former city leader Tung Chee-hwa -- jetted to South Korea for similar talks. The low-profile but high-level expedition came shortly after Hong Kong's newly sworn-in Chief Executive John Lee emphasized the "important task of telling Hong Kong's positive side," echoing Chinese President Xi Jinping's mantra of "telling China's story well." Read more. | If you no longer wish to receive information like this, unsubscribe here by unchecking "Receive invites, events and offers from Nikkei Asia and the Nikkei Group" on the "Profile & Newsletters" tab. You need a password registered to log in to your account. Go to the log in window and click "Forgot password?" to register a password. 1-3-7, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8066, Japan
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