Month: June 2021

Advertisement On the eve of its centennial, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that its greatest achievement, the one that justifies its legitimacy above all others, is the miracle of economic development. The party takes credit for having brought wealth to hundreds of millions of Chinese people. There is no dispute that the majority of Chinese now enjoy a level of prosperity unthinkable 30 years ago. The heavy lifting that built that success, however, has been done by the Chinese people themselves, not by the CCP, despite its attempts to…

Advertisement As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday on July 1, Beijing’s propaganda and information-control apparatus is out in full force to ensure that the party – and “core leader” Xi Jinping – receive uniform praise for being “great, glorious, and correct.” Many of its initiatives illustrate the extent to which the CCP has managed to repurpose key features of capitalism – social media, e-commerce, and tourism, for example – with an ideological spin that serves the Leninist regime’s political interests. Despite the bombast and…

Advertisement The relationship between the Chinese government and its private tech sector can appear mystifying. Beijing seems to be asserting more control over Chinese tech giants, for example, by cracking down on Alibaba and Tencent for growing too powerful. At the same time, the Chinese leadership recognizes that it must also allow some degree of independence for firms to be efficient and profitable. To China’s leaders, this position is not paradoxical. As Xi Jinping recently remarked, “We encourage the development of private businesses. When they encounter difficulties [and] confusion arises,”…

Jun 26th 2021 WHEN CONFRONTED with uncomfortable facts, China’s usual response comes in two parts. First it tries denial and obfuscation. Should that not work, officials attack the motives of foreign critics. Arguments over Xinjiang, a far-western region that China runs with an iron fist, have reached this dangerous stage. Listen to this story Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen on the go Get The Economist app and play articles, wherever you are Play in appPlay in app In recent months America, Britain, Canada and European Union…

Advertisement The Taiwanese edition of Apple Daily said Thursday it will continue operations despite the shuttering of its sister paper in Hong Kong. Taiwan’s government condemned the Hong Kong government’s move to freeze Apple Daily’s assets, using the draconian national security law enacted by Beijing to justify its closure of the pro-democracy newspaper. Apple Daily printed its last newspaper in Hong Kong on Thursday. The company ceased publication of its print newspaper in Taiwan in May, but parent company Next Digital said its online operations will be “unaffected.” Jimmy Lai,…

Advertisement As China’s Communist Party celebrates turning 100 next week, it is facing unprecedented challenges, largely of its own making. It is also facing tremendous international scrutiny and backlash on a wide array of fronts, from forced internment of Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities in China’s northwest Xinjiang region, to aggressive posturing in the South China Sea, and to the origins and spread of the novel coronavirus that has sickened and killed so many around the world. One would think, though, that at 100, the CCP would at least know…

Advertisement Last month, Hu Xijin, the editor of the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper, made a startling threat on his Twitter account: “I believe once Australian troops come to Taiwan Strait to combat against the PLA, there is a high probability that Chinese missiles will fly toward military bases and key relevant facilities on Australian soil in retaliation.” This followed an earlier editorial he authored in his own newspaper, titled “China needs to make a plan to deter extreme forces of Australia.” This appears to be the first public (and…

Advertisement China on Friday promoted Hong Kong’s top security official to the territory’s No. 2 spot as Beijing looks to the administration of the Asian financial hub to clamp down on free speech and political opposition. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Secretary for Security John Lee would replace Matthew Cheung as the city’s chief secretary, while police chief Chris Tang would take over Lee’s role. Raymond Siu Chak-yee, Tang’s deputy, will take over as head of the police force. Hong Kong’s government has long been lauded for its professionalism and…

Jun 25th 2021 ON JULY 1ST the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate its 100th birthday. The occasion has prompted a surge of interest in “red tourism”, involving visits to sites associated with the revolution that brought the Communists to power in 1949, and with the lives of Communist leaders. One of the best-known destinations is Jinggangshan in the southern province of Jiangxi. It is where Mao Zedong created the first rural base for the revolution in 1927. Another is Zunyi in the south-western province of Guizhou, where a crucial meeting…

Advertisement On June 23, China held a virtual conference on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formally titled the “Asia and Pacific High-level Conference on Belt and Road Cooperation.” The meeting was hosted by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with President Xi sending a written address. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the conference was attended by “more than 30 parties, including foreign ministers or economic ministers of relevant countries in Asia-Pacific and representatives of the United Nations and other international organizations.” The countries in attendance, according to a Foreign Ministry…