Day: July 19, 2022

Shanghai Covid lockdown: The struggle of blind massage therapists

Chin@Strategy

In early June, Shanghai emerged from a strict two-month citywide lockdown, in a country that has been pursuing a hard zero-Covid policy. Though authorities claim life is back to normal, residents are adapting to a ‘new normal’ of frequent mass testing, contact tracing and small-scale community lockdowns to try to stamp out any Covid cases. Many businesses are struggling and workers are feeling the effects. For those who are blind or partially sighted, the massage industry is a vital employment lifeline. But workers say the effects of lockdown and a…

A new subvariant is the latest challenge to China’s zero-covid policy

Chin@Strategy

In early July Steven Ho, a lawmaker in Hong Kong, tested positive for covid-19. That is hardly news in a city reporting some 3,000 new cases a day. But two days earlier Mr Ho had stood just metres away from Xi Jinping, China’s president. Mr Ho would have been tested and made to quarantine before getting close to Mr Xi. Still, the virus (which is not detectable right away) probably entered the room with Mr Ho. Apart from a gap in his schedule, there was nothing to suggest that Mr…

China-Serbia Relations Enter a New Phase

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement The announcement of the signing of a free trade agreement between Serbia and China, the arrival of a Hainan Airlines flight from Belgrade to Beijing, and an increased level of interaction between Serbian and Chinese diplomats on a bilateral level are the most recent developments contributing to Serbia and China’s so-called “steel friendship.” Increased diplomatic activities and new aspects of economic cooperation could mark the start of a new phase in Belgrade-Beijing relations. The Hainan Airlines airplane that landed at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport on July 16 was greeted…

Jackie Chan-produced action movie films in devastated Syrian city

Chin@Strategy

A Chinese action film executive-produced by Jackie Chan has triggered outrage after shooting scenes in al-Hajar al-Aswad, a Syrian town destroyed in the civil war. Home Operation, directed by Song Yinxi, is inspired by China’s evacuation of hundreds of its nationals from Yemen in 2015 during the civil conflict there, and is the first joint venture between Chinese and Emirati producers. AFP reported that Song said the film was intended to glorify the Chinese Communist party (CCP): “It takes the perspective of diplomats who are Communist party members, who braved…

Mortgage strikes threaten China’s economic and political stability

Chin@Strategy

The alarm bells are ringing louder. Last week, hundreds of depositors gathered in front of the Zhengzhou branch of the People’s Bank of China in the provincial capital of Henan, demanding their frozen life savings held in rural banks. A day later, tens of thousands of homeowners threatened to stop paying mortgages on scores of unfinished housing projects they had purchased. All of this happened in a week where the officials reported lacklustre second-quarter economic performance. China’s economy is facing a dangerous cocktail of stalling growth, high unemployment, spreading mortgage…