Month: November 2022

Proud, Scared and Conflicted. What the China Protesters Told Me.

Chin@Strategy

They went to their first demonstrations. They chanted their first protest slogans. They had their first encounters with the police. Then they went home, shivering in disbelief at how they had challenged the most powerful authoritarian government in the world and the most iron-fisted leader China has seen in decades. Young Chinese are protesting the country’s harsh “zero-Covid” policy and even urging its top leader, Xi Jinping, to step down. It’s something China hasn’t seen since 1989, when the ruling Communist Party brutally cracked down on the pro-democracy demonstrators, mostly…

Culture secretary says revised online safety bill would still block content of kind seen by Molly Russell – UK politics live

Chin@Strategy

From 2h ago Donelan says revised online safety bill would still block harmful content of kind seen by Molly Russell Here are some more lines from the Michelle Donelan interviews this morning on the changes being made to the online safety bill. Donelan, the culture secretary, said she was removing the “legal but harmful” provisions from the bill (see 9.26am) because they created a “quasi-legal category”. She told Sky News: It had [a] very, very concerning impact, potentially, on free speech. There were unintended consequences associated with it. It was…

Cross-Strait Relations After the 2022 Midterm Election in Taiwan

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Taiwan held local elections for mayor/county magistrates and city council members on November 26. As many had predicted, the ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), did not fare well. The number of DPP-controlled cities and counties narrowed further, from six to five, and its vote share drooped by around 5 percent compared to the party’s performance in the last midterm election in 2018. The DPP’s performance is alarming, considering that Tsai Ing-wen will step down after serving two terms as president in 2024, and preparations for the presidential…

Elon Musk Takes on Apple and Its App Store

Chin@Strategy

Leon Black is accused of raping a woman at Jeffrey Epstein’s home in 2002. Cheri Pierson sued Black, the former Apollo Global Management C.E.O., becoming the second woman to publicly accuse him of sexual assault. A lawyer for Mr. Black denied Pierson’s claims and called them an extortion attempt. Bob Iger commits to reining in expenses at Disney. At his first companywide meeting on Monday, the recently rehired Disney C.E.O. said that he would keep a hiring freeze in place and that Disney+ would focus on turning a profit over…

China Says It Will Do More to Vaccinate Older People Against Covid

Chin@Strategy

Faced with growing social unrest over its tough pandemic measures, China said on Tuesday it would ramp up vaccination of its oldest citizens, a move that experts have argued is crucial if the world’s second largest economy is to ease Covid measures and reopen its economy. Authorities will bring vaccines to people in nursing homes, go door-to-door, use mobile vaccination stations and press those who are reluctant to give a reason, according to a statement from the National Health Commission. About 90 percent of China’s total population is fully vaccinated,…

China Regroups to Snuff Out a Wave of Covid Protests

Chin@Strategy

After China experienced its boldest and most widespread protests in decades, defying Xi Jinping, a Communist Party leader who prizes his reputation for ironclad authority, his security apparatus is scrambling to reassert control. Public security personnel and vehicles have blanketed potential protest sites. Police officers are searching some residents’ phones for prohibited apps. Officials are going to the homes of would-be protesters to warn them against illegal activities and are taking some away for questioning. Censors are scrubbing protest symbols and slogans from social media. On Monday, the demonstrations were…

Sagaing region prison court sentences 9 PDF medics to 12 years each

Chin@Strategy

A junta court in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region has sentenced nine People’s Defense Force (PDF) medics to 12 years each in prison. The women were charged under the military regime’s Counter-Terrorism Law and sentenced at Kale Prison Court in October according to sources close to the prison and PDF officials. The information took a month to come out because the authorities did not tell their families. The women from Kale township, all in their 20s, were arrested when junta troops raided a PDF camp in Kale township on Nov. 16,…

Canada won’t compromise values in relations with China, says foreign minister

Chin@Strategy

Canada will work with China when needed – but challenge it when necessary, the country’s foreign minister said, as the two nations prepare to co-host a major environmental summit despite years of diplomatic tensions. Speaking to the Guardian after her government released its long-awaited “Indo-Pacific Strategy”, Mélanie Joly said that Canada will “promote and defend” its national interests in a region where nations are jockeying for influence and power. “We’re a Pacific nation and what happens there matters for Canada. The future of the Indo-Pacific is linked to ours,” she…

China targets older people in Covid-19 vaccination drive

Chin@Strategy

Chinese health officials have announced a drive to accelerate vaccinations of older people against Covid-19, as police patrolled major cities to stamp out protests against the country’s strict zero-Covid policy. The low vaccination rate among older people is one of the major hurdles to easing the zero-Covid policy, which has eroded economic growth, disrupted the lives of millions, and sparked three days of unprecedented protests. At a regular press conference on Tuesday, officials said just 76.6% of people over 80 had received two vaccine doses, compared with more than 90%…

Australia Lowers National Terrorism Threat Level, Shifts Focus on Foreign Interference and Espionage

Chin@Strategy

Sydney —  Australia has five official levels under its national terrorism threat classification system, ranging from “certain” to “not expected.” The alert level has been in the middle range at “probable” since 2014, after the emergence of the Islamic State militant group in the Middle East. It has now been lowered to “possible.” This means the authorities believe that while Australia remains a potential target for terrorist attacks, there are fewer extremists intending to carry out an attack. The de-escalation in the terror threat level was announced Monday by the…