China’s launch of a nuclear-capable missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle also included the unprecedented launch of a separate missile from that vehicle, according to multiple reports. The test showed China’s development of its strategic, nuclear-capable weapons as more advanced than any had thought, surprising Pentagon officials, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported. The test, thought to have taken place in July, made global headlines when it emerged last month that the vehicle had flown into space and completed a partial orbit of the Earth. Now, the test…
Day: November 22, 2021
China bans Namewee’s viral pop song Fragile
A viral pop song that pokes fun at Beijing and its supporters has been banned in mainland China. Fragile mocks so-called “little pinks” – a term which refers to young nationalists who rush to the defence of the Chinese government on the internet. The lyrics contain words like “re-education camp”, “cotton”, “inseparable relationship”, taking a dig at sensitive issues ranging from Xinjiang to Taiwan sovereignty. The video has gone viral in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, despite the ban in mainland China. The BBC talks to the song’s creator,…
West weighs up costs of boycotting China’s Winter Olympics
Boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics in February may seem a simple, symbolic diplomatic gesture – when put alongside the allegations of labour camps in Xinjiang province and the apparent sexual exploitation of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai – but such is the contemporary economic power of China that the step will only be taken after much agonising. The threats and economic boycotts that Australia, Canada and more recently Lithuania have suffered at the hands of the Chinese for challenging Beijing’s authority in one way or another are not experiences…
How Peng Shuai Went From ‘Chinese Princess’ to Silenced #MeToo Accuser
When Peng Shuai was a young tennis player in China’s national sports system, she battled officials for control over her own professional career — and she won. When she took on one of China’s most powerful men three weeks ago, accusing him of sexual assault, she found her voice silenced, erased from China’s heavily controlled cyberspace and smiling in awkward public appearances most likely intended to defuse what has become an international scandal. At 35, Ms. Peng is one of her country’s most recognized athletes, a doubles champion at Wimbledon…
The Quiet China-Africa Revolution: Chinese Investment
Advertisement The Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a gathering of Chinese and African officials that has been held seven times (including three leaders’ summits) since its inauguration in 2000, has always been known – and occasionally chastised – for being highly government-focused. At the same time, however, a quiet transformation has been taking place: Investors have begun to dominate China-Africa finance. Since 2003, the earliest date official data is available, annual flows of Chinese foreign direct investment to Africa has risen significantly – from a mere $74.8 million in…