A virtual protest has taken place on China’s heavily monitored social media platforms, where netizens took turns to keep a censored video called the Voice of April alive and overwhelm censors. The six-minute short documentary is a collage of audio snippets of government official announcements, as well as residents’ descriptions of their sufferings during Shanghai’s strict lockdowns in the last three weeks. The video showed the city’s skyline presented without commentary and was mostly in black and white. The ending card of the video read: “Get better soon, Shanghai.” <gu-island…
Month: April 2022
Shanghai Eases COVID-19 Restrictions, Hong Kong Ends Entry Ban
Advertisement Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while Hong Kong’s government announced the end of a 2-year-old ban on non-residents flying into the city as its outbreak fades. Streets in Shanghai were largely empty despite an easing of restrictions that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes. Many residents still were barred from leaving their neighborhoods. A deputy mayor, Zhang Wei, promised “every effort” to resolve problems that prompted complaints about lack of food…
Amid Low Birth Rate Worries, China Increases Pressure on Women
Advertisement During its annual work report in March 2022, the Chinese government made commitments to combat workplace discrimination based on gender and advocated for equal opportunities for all. However, it took approximately one month for two Chinese government-controlled media outlets to contradict the words written in the government report. On April 12, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League published a controversial post on its social media account. The Communist Party youth wing accused some female social media users of being “radical feminists” for challenging its propaganda picture…
Clean at Home and Polluting Abroad: The Trouble With China’s Energy Finance
Advertisement Energy investments across the globe are gradually shifting toward renewables as part of commitments to curb global warming. In this trend, China is seen as both a climate hero and a climate villain – the country is simultaneously by far the largest investor in both renewables and coal power. As China is increasing its role in the world, energy investments have an increasing impact outside its borders. However, the proportions of fossil fuels and renewables differ from domestic to overseas. While China invests in both renewables and fossil power…
Shanghai further tightens Covid restrictions after weeks of strict lockdown
Authorities in Shanghai have further tightened restrictions on the movement of residents in some districts and warned its 25 million inhabitants that strict measures would continue until Covid-19 was eradicated, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. After three weeks of stringent lockdown that has fuelled discontent in China’s largest metropolis, some districts were told that restrictions would be tightened even when they met the criteria for people to be allowed to leave their homes. “Our goal is to achieve community zero-Covid as soon as possible,” the government said, referring to a target to…
CCP Regulations and Xi Jinping’s Bid for a Third Term
Advertisement While the war in Ukraine is naturally dominating world politics at the moment, for China the major event of 2022 is the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The consensus view is that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s third term is assured. However, for Xi to get his third term, some institutional adjustments and explanations will be needed. First, Article 6 of the 2006 “Regulations on the Selection of Leading Party and Government Cadres” stipulates that reappointments to positions in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can be made…
Ukraine war: senior US official sharpens threat of sanctions if China helps Russia
“They have seen what we have done in terms of sanctions, export controls, designations vis-a-vis Russia, so it should give them some idea of the menu from which we could choose,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in Brussels on Thursday. Photo: Reuters South China Morning Post
Factcheck: the Coalition says Labor always ‘takes China’s side’, but are the parties’ positions so different?
As the Coalition campaign seeks to revive the talking point that Labor always “takes China’s side”, Scott Morrison implored reporters to “just look at the record”. So we did just that and found the claims by the prime minister and his senior ministers are either factually inaccurate, misleading, or lack context. Claim What I don’t understand is that when something of this significance takes place, why would you take China’s side? – Scott Morrison in response to Labor criticism over the security agreement between China and Solomon Islands, leaders’ debate,…
China’s harsh and elitist covid rules
Apr 21st 2022 IN TIMES OF disease, revolution or famine, Beijing’s city gates offered China’s imperial rulers more than mere security. These hulking towers of grey brick and stone were symbols of a system that strove to keep death itself far from the seat of supreme power. When smallpox swept the arid plains and mountains of north-east China, the sick were quarantined miles outside Beijing and even imperial family members banished, if they lacked immunity from a previous infection. During some bubonic plagues, burials were banned in Beijing and detailed…
China says imports are causing outbreaks of covid-19
Apr 21st 2022 BEIJING IT STARTED WITH Norwegian salmon. Chinese officials blamed the frozen fish for a surge of covid-19 cases in Beijing in 2020. Later they claimed to have found the virus on crabs from Chile and shrimp from Ecuador. A smorgasbord of other delicacies, from pork knuckles to bananas, have also been labelled as hosts by China. So have South Korean clothing and packages arriving from abroad. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen…