Month: January 2022

Britain’s Security Agency MI5 Warns Lawmakers of China’s Political Interference

Chin@Strategy

LONDON — Britain’s domestic security agency, MI5, sent an unusual alert on Thursday to lawmakers warning that an agent of the Chinese government was actively working to subvert the political processes of Parliament. The existence of the alert, revealed by lawmakers in Britain’s House of Commons, led some outspoken critics of the Chinese government to demand a response from Britain’s Conservative government on its plans to combat political interference. This is the sort of interference “we now anticipate and expect from China,” said Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative lawmaker. “But the…

Omicron Tests China’s ‘Zero-Tolerance’ COVID Approach Weeks Ahead of Beijing Olympics

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Advertisement Most access to a major city adjacent to Beijing was suspended Thursday as China tried to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which poses a test to its “zero-tolerance” COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics. Tianjin, a port and manufacturing center with 14 million people, is one of a half-dozen cities where the government is imposing lockdowns and other restrictions as part of a policy that aims to track down every virus case. But the outbreak in a city so close…

MI5 accuses lawyer of trying to influence politicians on behalf of China

Chin@Strategy

A security warning from MI5 has been circulated to MPs and peers accusing the lawyer Christine Lee of seeking to improperly influence parliamentarians on behalf of China’s ruling Communist party. The “interference alert” from the security service names and pictures Christine Ching Kui Lee as an individual who has allegedly “knowingly engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist party”. The notice added that the UFWD “is seeking to covertly interfere in UK politics through establishing links with established and aspiring…

Xi Jinping’s job is safe but China’s leadership is being shaken up

Chin@Strategy

Jan 13th 2022 ELITE CHINESE politics take place in a fog of obscurity. But one forecast is commonly accepted: Xi Jinping will still be China’s ruler next year and beyond. Having completed a decade in power, he is likely to defy convention and remain in office. But throughout the rest of the hierarchy, huge changes are under way. They will reach a climax late this year with a sweeping shuffle at the top. Mr Xi may be a rule-breaker, but he has not altered the underlying political rhythm. A five-yearly…

Increased repression and violence a sign of weakness, says Human Rights Watch

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Increasingly repressive and violent acts against civilian protests by autocratic leaders and military regimes around the world are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power, Human Rights Watch says in its annual assessment of human rights across the globe. In its world report 2022, the human rights organisation said autocratic leaders faced a significant backlash in 2021, with millions of people risking their lives to take to the streets to challenge regimes’ authority and demand democracy. Human Rights Watch also said the emergence of opposition parties willing to…

Badiucao Explains How China Exports Its Propaganda and Censorship to the West

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Advertisement On New Year’s Eve Badiucao, a famous Chinese dissident artist, was landing in Melbourne on his way back from Italy, where the Chinese government had severely pressuerd his exhibition in Brescia. Currently, the so-called Chinese Banksy, is in self-exile in Australia. In this interview Badiucao explains the role of his art, linked to a past of family persecutions since the Mao era. How did this former law student become a dissident artist under the wing of Ai Weiwei, through artistic projects that mix human rights awareness and new technologies?…

Woman’s diary goes viral as lockdown in China forces her to stay with blind date

Chin@Strategy

A Chinese woman has become an overnight sensation after she posted video diaries documenting her life after being stuck at a blind date’s house. Wang went for dinner on Sunday at her blind date’s residence in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, where a recent outbreak of Covid cases sent thousands into quarantine in parts of the city. As she was finishing her meal, the area was put under lockdown. She was unable to leave her date’s house as result, she told the Shanghai-based news outlet the Paper this week,…

The Army of Millions Who Enforce China’s Zero-Covid Policy

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China’s “zero Covid” policy has a dedicated following: the millions of people who work diligently toward that goal, no matter the human costs. In the northwestern city of Xi’an, hospital employees refused to admit a man suffering from chest pains because he lived in a medium-risk district. He died of a heart attack. They informed a woman who was eight months pregnant and bleeding that her Covid test wasn’t valid. She lost her baby. Two community security guards told a young man they didn’t care that he had nothing to…

For the Climate, Biden Must Be More Aggressive in Ending New Truck and Bus Emissions

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At a gathering on the White House lawn last August, President Biden spoke of a future in which electric cars and trucks will be the only vehicles on the road. “The question,” he said, “is whether we’ll lead or fall behind” in the global race to achieve that vision. Mr. Biden has been vigorous in pushing for the end of the internal combustion engine for cars and light trucks. In August he signed an executive order that called on the federal government to do all it can to ensure that…

Fauci Says Senator Rand Paul Is Fueling Threats Against Him

Chin@Strategy

A Senate hearing on the federal government’s Covid response briefly turned into a fierce back-and-forth between Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday, the latest in a series of heated exchanges between the two men stretching back to the early days of the pandemic. Mr. Paul accused Dr. Fauci of plotting with colleagues to undermine scientists with opposing views on the virus, something Dr. Fauci denied doing. The senator cited an email exchange between Dr. Fauci and Francis Collins, a former director of the National Institutes…