BEIJING — China’s mounting Covid-19 restrictions are creating further disruptions to global supply chains for consumer electronics, car parts and other goods. A growing number of Chinese cities are requiring truck drivers to take daily Covid P.C.R. tests before allowing them to cross municipal borders or are quarantining drivers deemed to be at risk of infection. The measures have limited how quickly drivers can move components among factories and goods from plants to ports. Shanghai and other major Chinese cities have imposed lengthy, stringent lockdowns to try to control Covid…
Month: April 2022
China’s Choice for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Reveals Its Own Insecurity
Advertisement John Lee, chief secretary of Hong Kong and its second-highest ranking official, resigned on April 6 to prepare to stand for the chief executive election in the territory. Lee, a career police officer and former deputy police commissioner, only began his civilian government service in 2012, when he was appointed the undersecretary for security. He became the secretary for security in 2017, in the cabinet of the current Chief Executive Carrie Lam. When he was promoted to the chief secretary role last year, it was the highest government position…
Desperation amid food shortages in Shanghai as Covid lockdown bites
Stories of desperation are emerging in Shanghai as the city enters its third day of strict lockdown, with increasingly widespread reports of residents being unable to access food, medicine and other essentials. The city’s Covid lockdown was extended indefinitely earlier this week after staggered restrictions failed to contain infections. City officials had promised the staggered lockdown would end on 5 April, leaving many residents of the Chinese megacity unprepared to be indefinitely housebound. Despite the severe measures, Shanghai’s cases continue to rise as mandatory testing continues. The city reported 20,398…
Globalization Is Over. The Global Culture Wars Have Begun.
Next, I’m describing a world in which divergence turns into conflict, especially as great powers compete for resources and dominance. China and Russia clearly want to establish regional zones that they dominate. Some of this is the kind of conflict that historically exists between opposing political systems, similar to what we saw during the Cold War. This is the global struggle between the forces of authoritarianism and the forces of democratization. Illiberal regimes are building closer alliances with one another. They are investing more in one another’s economies. At the…
John Lee: the hardline security official leading race to become Hong Kong chief
John Lee, a career police officer turned hardline security official, is running unopposed to take over the top job in Hong Kong’s elections next month. As the sole candidate with Beijing’s blessing, he is all but guaranteed to become the next chief executive, according to local media reports. Lee announced his intention to run after stepping down on Wednesday from his post as chief secretary, the city’s second-highest post, less than a year after he was promoted to the position from top security official. Carrie Lam, who currently holds the…
Your Friday Briefing: Russia’s Growing Isolation
Good morning. We’re covering Russia’s departure from the U.N. human rights council, a political blow to Pakistan’s Imran Khan and Shanghai’s growing frustration with Covid restrictions. Diplomacy: Prospects for successful peace talks have dimmed: Russia’s foreign minister said Ukraine had proposed a new draft deal that deviated from previous versions, and President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus demanded that his country be included in the negotiations. State of the war: Khan in jeopardy after court ruling Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to dissolve Parliament on Thursday, setting…
Caroline Kennedy praises Australia’s bipartisan foreign policy despite PM’s claims on Labor and China
Caroline Kennedy, the nominee for US ambassador to Australia, has said the Aukus security deal will provide “a lot of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific even before the nuclear-powered submarines are ready. With Australia set to enter a federal election campaign within days, Kennedy praised the country for standing firm with “a bipartisan foreign policy” in the face of “Chinese economic coercion”. But she also said the prospect of a security agreement between China and Solomon Islands showed the US needed to be “more visible” in the Pacific. Kennedy said the…
Shanghai’s Covid Lockdown Poses Test to China’s Leadership
Parents have organized petitions, imploring the government not to separate children infected with the coronavirus from their families. Patients have demanded to speak with higher-ups about shoddy conditions at isolation facilities. Residents have confronted officials over containment policies that they see as unfair or inhumane, then shared recordings of those arguments online. As the coronavirus races through Shanghai, in the city’s worst outbreak since the pandemic began, the authorities have deployed their usual hard-nosed playbook to try and stamp out transmission, no matter the cost. What has been different is…
Shanghai: Residents ‘running out of food’ in Covid lockdown
Day 17 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown and food remains the priority As usual, I woke up at 6am to try ordering deliveries I have 10 apps that I cycle through repeatedly from various stores/platforms for several hours trying to find anything No success by this method again today — Jared T Nelson (@Jaredtnelson) April 4, 2022BBC
How to stop China and the US going to war | Kevin Rudd
As images of destruction and death emerge from Ukraine, and refugees flee the country in their millions, the world’s attention is rightly focused on the horror of what many once thought an impossibility in the 21st century: a large-scale modern war in Europe. In this grim moment, however, it is all the more important to think through and coldly reassess the dangers presented by other potential conflicts that could be sparked by growing geopolitical tensions. The most significant among these is the risk of a war between the United States…