The outgoing UN human rights commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, has said that China had committed “serious human rights violations” against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province which may amount to crimes against humanity. Bachelet’s damning report was published with only 11 minutes to go before her term came to an end at midnight Geneva time. Publication was delayed by the eleventh-hour delivery of an official Chinese response that contained names and pictures of individuals that had to be blacked out by the UN commissioner’s office for privacy and safety reasons. The Chinese…
Day: August 31, 2022
2 Major Traps on China’s Path to Global Leadership
Advertisement Chinese authorities are anything but humble when they set out their long-term vision: making their country a leading economic and technological power by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the creation of the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese don’t just want to be a superpower – they believe that they deserve to be one, that it’s their destiny to lead the world. Chinese leaders are convinced that we’re witnessing the end of the post-Cold War Pax Americana and the transition to a new world order, which will ultimately find…
How China’s Coal Commitment Went up in Smoke
Advertisement In April 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a Leader’s Summit on Climate that “China will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period [2021-2025] and phase it down in the 15th Five-Year Plan period [2026-2030].” This year, Xi is eating those words. Five-year plans are the foundational guidelines that map out economic goals, development policies, and overall reforms for China for every five-year period. They have determined the direction of China’s development since 1953. However, in…
Xi Jinping poised to further consolidate power at party congress
The announcement of a Communist party meeting that is expected to cement Xi Jinping’s agenda for the coming years shows the strength of Xi’s “ultimate authority”, analysts have said. The CCP’s twice-a-decade meeting will begin on 16 October and is likely to run for several days. Xi, considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, is expected to further consolidate his political power, which he has wielded with increasing authoritarianism since taking charge of the party in late 2012. Recent domestic and global challenges had prompted some doubts among…
China’s record-breaking 2022 heatwave and drought – a visual explainer
Affected areas Since July, provinces and cities in southern China, including Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing and Sichuan, were affected by drought. Low water levels in the Yangtze River increased pressure on hydroelectric power plants, affecting water supply and electricity production for millions of people and many companies, forcing the temporary closure of factories in some provinces. SichuanHydropower generates around 80 per cent of Sichuan province’s electricity. The drought cut Sichuan’s power generation capacity by 50 per cent year on year in August ChongqingThe Jialing River, a tributary of the…