Month: October 2022

Can the Social Media and Poster Campaign Against Xi Jinping Make a Difference?

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement On October 13, just three days before the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), two hand-written protest banners appeared on Sitong Bridge, located in Beijing. In simple language, the sole protester called on the government to stop its zero-COVID strategy and continue to conduct economic reforms, and advocated for democracy and the removal of “dictator” Xi Jinping. In 2018, the authoritarian leader repealed constitutional term limits and created a path for him to stay as China’s top leader indefinitely. At the 20th Party…

Tesla Cuts Prices in China in Sign of Slowing Demand

Chin@Strategy

Tesla on Monday cut prices for its cars in China, a sign of intensifying competition in the world’s largest car market that provoked a slump in the company’s shares. Tesla’s Chinese website was offering the Model 3 sedan on Monday for a starting price of 265,900 renminbi, or $36,600, including government subsidies, a 5 percent reduction. The Model Y sport utility vehicle was advertised at 288,900 renminbi, a 9 percent cut. Tesla shares fell more than 6 percent before recovering a little as the price cuts reinforced fears among investors…

Pro-democracy Publisher Jimmy Lai Found Guilty on Fraud Charges

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Pro-democracy Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai was found guilty Tuesday on two fraud charges related to lease violations, the latest in a series of prosecutions apparently aimed at punishing him for his past activism. Lai was arrested during a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement following widespread protests in 2019 and under the city’s sweeping Beijing-imposed National Security Law. He is already serving a 20-month sentence for his role in unauthorized assemblies. His media company, Next Digital, published the now-shuttered Apple Daily, Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy newspaper. Lai also faces…

A Lonely Protest in Beijing Inspires Young Chinese to Find Their Voice

Chin@Strategy

“I thought to myself that there are many Chinese who also want freedom and democracy,” she said. “But where are you? Where can I find you? If we meet on the street, how can we recognize each other?” At about 4 the next morning, she went downstairs from her dorm room to print some posters. She was nervous about running into other Chinese students, most of whom she would describe as “little pinks,” or pro-Beijing youths. She wore a mask to avoid cameras, even though she had seldom worn one…

China economy grows faster than expected, but falls short of targets as risks loom

Chin@Strategy

China’s economy expanded faster than economists expected in the September quarter but the poor performance of the nation’s property market and weak retail and import data underscored the nation’s ongoing growth challenges. China, the world’s second-largest economy, posted a 3.9% increase in gross domestic product in the July-September period from a year earlier, the national bureau of statistics said. The GDP figures, delayed a week to avoid clashing with the key Communist party Congress that granted Xi Jinping an unprecedented third term as leader, beat forecasts of about 3.2-3.3% growth.…

China G.D.P. Data Is Unexpectedly Released After Delay

Chin@Strategy

China’s economy began to show faint signs of recovery in the last three months after stalling earlier this year, according to data released on Monday after a six-day delay during the Communist Party’s national congress. The country’s economic output was 3.9 percent higher from July through September than during the same months last year. The modest rebound in activity exceeded the expectations of Western economists, who had estimated growth of a little over 3 percent. The composition of the growth, however, was not entirely what China’s leaders have sought. While…

Who is Li Qiang, the man poised to become China’s next premier?

Chin@Strategy

Before the start of the 20th party congress this week, few people outside China had heard of Li Qiang, let alone that he was about to become China’s second most powerful leader. It was not until Sunday, when the Communist party chief of Shanghai followed Xi Jinping on to the stage at the Great Hall of the People, that it became obvious that the 63-year-old has been anointed as the second-ranking Politburo Standing Committee member. He is also poised to become China’s next premier at the annual legislative session in…

Xi Jinping Now Holds Near-Absolute Power in China, Creating Risks

Chin@Strategy

When China’s leader, Xi Jinping, led six dark-suited men onto a bright red stage on Sunday, the scale of his victory became clear as one by one he introduced the country’s new ruling inner circle. Each was an acolyte of Mr. Xi, making his grip over China’s future tighter than ever. Mr. Xi’s groundbreaking third term as leader, following a weeklong Communist Party congress, was entirely expected. But even seasoned observers who thought that they had taken the full measure of Mr. Xi have been astonished by how thoroughly he…