Day: April 4, 2022

Your Tuesday Briefing: The Fallout from Bucha

Chin@Strategy

Good morning. We’re covering the fallout from Russian atrocities in Bucha, the end of Carrie Lam’s tenure as Hong Kong’s leader and Pakistan’s political crisis. Rising calls to punish Russia President Biden called the indiscriminate civilian deaths in Bucha a “war crime” and said the U.S. would impose additional sanctions on Russia. Some European leaders also demanded tougher sanctions, including a total ban on Russian fuel imports. Here are the latest updates. Moscow has denied that its soldiers had anything to do with the atrocities, which have come to light…

The Great Translation Movement Shines a Spotlight on China’s Propaganda

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China has been actively promoting an alternative reality that pushes pro-Russia and pro-Putin messages. On heavily censored social media platforms in China, a significant group of internet users started to share their support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, with messages advocating for Russia to use nuclear weapons. Documented by the New York Times, online opinion in China is mostly pro-Russia, pro-war, and pro-Putin. Those radical ideas and opinions certainly do not represent the views of all Chinese residents, but individuals…

Carrie Lam Confirms She Won’t Seek Another Term as Hong Kong Chief Executive

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she wouldn’t seek a second term after a rocky five years marked by huge protests calling for her resignation, a security crackdown that has quashed dissent, and most recently a COVID-19 wave that overwhelmed the health system. Her successor will be picked in May, with the city’s hard-line security chief during the 2019 protests seen as a likely choice. “I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on the 30th of June this year, and I will also call an end…

China’s New Focus on US Cyber Activities

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement In the last few years, Chinese companies have released several reports accusing U.S. agencies of cyberattacks on Chinese infrastructure. Although China has long released data on the numbers of U.S. hacking attempts, detailed reports were not a common occurrence. Recent reports indicate that Beijing is intensifying its efforts at narrative-building by focusing on malicious cyber activities of the United States. Over the years, various institutes and state-affiliated bodies in the U.S. have exposed China’s cyber espionage activities in the U.S. and in other countries. For example, Mandiant, a U.S.-based…

China’s Wealth Management Products Still Going Strong – For Better or Worse

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Chinese wealth management products (WMPs) remain popular for better or worse, despite exhibiting high levels of volatility, particularly in the early years of their development. Now that WMPs have been regulated extensively, with the most recent big regulation governing cash wealth management products, these assets have become a regular part of China’s financial system. However, such short-term products often remain off balance sheet and may be based on illiquid underlying assets, creating a potential for maturity mismatches and systemic risk. As a result, these highly demanded products are not…

Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia

Chin@Strategy

While Russian troops have battered Ukraine, officials in China have been meeting behind closed doors to study a Communist Party-produced documentary that extols President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a hero. The humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the video says, was the result of efforts by the United States to destroy its legitimacy. With swelling music and sunny scenes of present-day Moscow, the documentary praises Mr. Putin for restoring Stalin’s standing as a great wartime leader and for renewing patriotic pride in Russia’s past. To the world, China…

Drone footage shows deserted Shanghai as city remains in lockdown – video

Chin@Strategy

Covid-19 cases in China’s most populous city of Shanghai have risen again as millions remain isolated at home under a sweeping lockdown. Drone footage shows the usually bustling city empty of people and traffic. Almost all 26 million residents are under some form of lockdown. Those who test positive are taken to large quarantine centres. Jane Polubotko, a 30-year-old who works for a local music tech company, was taken to the Shanghai New International Expo Center after testing positive. ‘We get food three times a day, the food is OK,’ she…