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AndyinPA
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China

#1

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... hong-kong/
China’s Two Sessions: What to watch on Hong Kong, child policy and tech competition

China’s lawmakers and government advisers are streaming into Beijing’s Great Hall of the People this week for some of the most important meetings on China’s political calendar. Traffic near Tiananmen Square gets rerouted, security agents blanket streets and subway stations in central Beijing, and wall-to-wall coverage floods the news.

Draped in pomp and ceremony, the meetings are just that: a largely ceremonial showcase. Most of the heavy lifting in Chinese policymaking is done by Communist Party committees in advance and participants offer limited, but mostly token, disagreement. Laws pass with overwhelming majorities. News conferences are choreographed for the rolling cameras.

Still, the “Two Sessions,” as the gatherings that begin Thursday are known, offer a valuable glimpse into what the leadership in Beijing sees, and hopes to communicate, as its priorities. This year, issues such as the country’s next five-year economic blueprint and contentious population and retirement policies are expected to dominate. Protracted tensions with the United States and the West could hang over proceedings, according to analysts and state media, who suggest that Chinese leaders could use the conferences to accelerate their push for technological self-sufficiency and tighten their grip on Hong Kong.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#2

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... htens-grip
China’s top lawmaking body has formally unveiled plans to ensure that only “patriots” can govern Hong Kong, as Beijing tightens its grip on the city with electoral changes including a vetting process for all parliamentary candidates.

In an annual “work report” delivered on Friday to Beijing’s most important political meeting, Premier Li Keqiang swore to “resolutely guard against and deter” interference by external forces, amid growing international alarm at Beijing’s attacks on pro-democracy voices.

Li also pledged to “resolutely deter any separatist activity” in Taiwan, and revealed significant economic and population goals for China’s future, including GDP growth above 6%.

Li delivered his speech to 3,000 delegates of the National People’s Congress on the first day of the rubber-stamping legislative body’s annual week-long meeting, which along with a parallel meeting is part of what is known as the “two sessions”.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#3

Post by SlimSloSlider »

AndyinPA wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:49 pm https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... hong-kong/
China’s lawmakers and government advisers are streaming into Beijing’s Great Hall of the People this week for some of the most important meetings on China’s political calendar. Traffic near Tiananmen Square gets rerouted, security agents blanket streets and subway stations in central Beijing, and wall-to-wall coverage floods the news.

Draped in pomp and ceremony, the meetings are just that: a largely ceremonial showcase. Most of the heavy lifting in Chinese policymaking is done by Communist Party committees in advance and participants offer limited, but mostly token, disagreement. Laws pass with overwhelming majorities. News conferences are choreographed for the rolling cameras.
We were living in Beijing 2 years ago when the equivalent meetings happened.
What was most remarkable was how much better air quality became - coal-fired power stations stopped for those weeks.
As “zaiguoren” - foreigners, we were not subject to any further security checks downtown but the hoi polloi most certainly were.
And there was an obvious show of force.
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Re: China

#4

Post by jcolvin2 »

Zaiguoren? I assume you mean waiguoren
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Re: China

#5

Post by SlimSloSlider »

jcolvin2 wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:34 am Zaiguoren? I assume you mean waiguoren
Yep, too late to think clearly.
TY
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Re: China

#6

Post by AndyinPA »

https://news.yahoo.com/annual-political ... 11013.html
In smugly celebratory tones, China wrapped up political meetings Thursday at which officials praised the country's repressive political system, hailed its ongoing recovery from the pandemic, flexed Beijing's power over Hong Kong and laid out plans to compete with the U.S. abroad, saying that "the best is still ahead of us."

Delegates to the annual political gatherings known as the "Two Sessions" gave their rubber-stamp approval to the Communist regime's plans to wield greater power over Hong Kong's government, indoctrinate ethnic minorities through political and Mandarin-language instruction, and surpass the U.S. in technology. Government officials and state media repeatedly emphasized how China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated its superior political system and prefaced an inevitable rise above Western powers.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#7

Post by Uninformed »

“the best is still ahead of us”

Very poor plagiarising of “the best is yet to come” tmKimberley Guilfoyle.
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Re: China

#8

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... de-vaccine
China is resuming visa processing for foreigners from dozens of countries, but only if they have been inoculated against Covid-19 with a Chinese-made vaccine.

The move has raised questions about the motivations behind the demand, given China’s vaccines are not approved in many of the countries to which it has opened travel and that it will not accept foreign vaccines made elsewhere, including those approved by the World Health Organization.

Beijing had largely banned non-essential travel into China during the pandemic. Resumption of travel is a key driver for economic recovery and many countries are discussing carefully negotiated bubbles, or mutually recognised vaccination passports, as they implement domestic vaccine rollouts.
Why home-produced Covid vaccine hasn't helped India, Russia and China rollouts
Read more

The announcements made by Chinese embassies in about 20 countries this week vary slightly for each country but mostly pledge a return to pre-pandemic visa processing for some groups, so as to resume “people-to-people exchanges in an orderly manner”.

So far it is open to foreigners from places including Hong Kong, the US, the UK, India, Australia, Iraq, Thailand, Croatia, Israel, Pakistan and the Philippines. Any prospective entrants must have taken either the full two-dose course of a vaccine, or a single dose vaccine at least 14 days before travelling, but the vaccine must be one of China’s domestically produced shots. Negative Covid tests and quarantine rules still apply.

China is resuming visa processing for foreigners from dozens of countries, but only if they have been inoculated against Covid-19 with a Chinese-made vaccine.

The move has raised questions about the motivations behind the demand, given China’s vaccines are not approved in many of the countries to which it has opened travel and that it will not accept foreign vaccines made elsewhere, including those approved by the World Health Organization.

:snippity:

So far it is open to foreigners from places including Hong Kong, the US, the UK, India, Australia, Iraq, Thailand, Croatia, Israel, Pakistan and the Philippines. Any prospective entrants must have taken either the full two-dose course of a vaccine, or a single dose vaccine at least 14 days before travelling, but the vaccine must be one of China’s domestically produced shots. Negative Covid tests and quarantine rules still apply.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#9

Post by Chilidog »

The first high-level gathering of U.S. and Chinese officials under President Joe Biden kicked off with an exchange of insults at a pre-meeting press event Thursday, according to NBC News.
The two-day talks are set to conclude Friday.
A planned four-minute photo session for the officials to address reporters ended up lasting one hour and 15 minutes due to a frothy exchange, according to NBC News
Somehow, I find this refreshing after Trump's relentless ass kissing.
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Re: China

#10

Post by Kendra »



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Re: China

#11

Post by Volkonski »


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
·
2m
👀 State Dept says US and allies will be discussing whether to boycott the 2022 Beijing olympics
Quote Tweet
Conor Sen
@conorsen
· 6m
So it’s the State Department weighing an Olympics boycott:
Why bother? Such boycotts never accomplish anything except hurt our athletes. Jimmy Carter had the US boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Russia eventually left Afghanistan but not because of the boycott.

Now we're the ones in Afghanistan. :?

Perhaps the world needs a permanent Olympic venue not under the control of one nation.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: China

#12

Post by Volkonski »



Isaac Stone Fish
@isaacstonefish
Breaking: China's military just flew 25 warplanes into Taiwan's airspace, the largest incursion since Taiwan's defense ministry started making the flight info public.

https://t.co/mSEOIv2OIl?amp=1
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: China

#13

Post by Volkonski »

China behind another hack as U.S. cybersecurity issues mount
Cybersecurity company Mandiant said Pulse Secure, a program that businesses often use to let workers remotely connect to their offices, had been compromised.


https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/c ... d_nn_tw_ma
The hack works by breaking into Pulse Secure, a program that businesses often use to let workers remotely connect to their offices. The company announced Tuesday how users can check to see if they were affected but said the software update to prevent the risk to users won’t go out until May.

The campaign is the third distinct and severe cyberespionage operation against the U.S. made public in recent months, stressing an already strained cybersecurity workforce. The U.S. government accused Russia in January of hacking nine government agencies via SolarWinds, a Texas software company widely used by American businesses and government agencies. In March, Microsoft blamed China for starting a free-for-all where scores of different hackers broke into organizations around the world through the Microsoft Exchange email program.

In all three campaigns, the hackers first used those programs to hack into victims' computer networks, then created backdoors to spy on them for months, if not longer.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, said in a warning Tuesday evening the latest hacking campaign is currently "affecting U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and other private sector organizations."
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: China

#14

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as ... story.html
China on Monday said it would allow all married couples to have three children, up from the existing limit of two, as it further loosened decades of population controls that have left the country in a demographic crisis.

The policy, announced at a Politburo meeting chaired by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was aimed at “maintaining national security and social stability” and keeping “our country’s advantages in human resource endowments,” the powerful decision-making body said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Among demographers, central bank officials, entrepreneurs and more, calls for China to fully lift family-planning rules have gained momentum over the past year, as new data exposed the vulnerabilities in China’s growth model.

In May, the results of a once-in-a-decade census showed China’s population growth over the past decade was its slowest since the 1950s. China’s population was 1.41 billion in 2020, with average annual population growth over the past decade at just 0.53 percent. China’s fertility rate is one of the world’s lowest, at 1.3 births per woman.

Experts say that a quickly aging population and a shrinking labor force could derail economic growth in the world’s most populous country. Yet by expanding the limit on children to three, experts said, China’s leaders had stopped short of completely lifting deeply unpopular family-planning restrictions in place since 1980, which were often brutally enforced through forced abortions, sterilizations and steep fines.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#15

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57327177
China's president has said he wants the country to "expand its circle of friends" by revamping its image. Xi Jinping told senior Communist Party officials it was important to present an image of a "credible, loveable and respectable China", according to a report by state-run news agency Xinhua. It marks a possible shift in China's diplomatic approach, which analysts say has become increasingly antagonistic.

The comments came amid deteriorating relations with key global powers. China has faced criticism over human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority group and the crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners, among other issues. It recently denounced US efforts to further investigate whether Covid-19 came from a Chinese lab, accusing the Americans of "political manipulation and blame shifting".

Mr Xi told officials on Monday it was important for China to tell its story in a positive way. "It is necessary to make friends, unite and win over the majority, and constantly expand the circle of friends [when it comes to] international public opinion," he was quoted by Xinhua as saying. He said the country should be "open and confident, but also modest and humble" in its communication with the world. Mr Xi also said the party's propaganda organisations must make it clear that Beijing wanted "nothing but the Chinese people's happiness and good fortune". The country's diplomats have become increasingly vocal in recent years, deploying sarcasm and aggression against those who challenge its positions. The strategy has been dubbed "Wolf Warrior" diplomacy - named after patriotic blockbuster movies in which elite Chinese special forces take on American-led mercenaries.
Ask the people in Hong Kong about that.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#16

Post by Lani »

Exclusive: US assessing reported leak at Chinese nuclear power facility
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/14/politics ... index.html
(CNN)The US government has spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant, after a French company that part owns and helps operate it warned of an "imminent radiological threat," according to US officials and documents reviewed by CNN.

The warning included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province in order to avoid having to shut it down, according to a letter from the French company to the US Department of Energy obtained by CNN.

Despite the alarming notification from Framatome, the French company, the Biden administration believes the facility is not yet at a "crisis level," one of the sources said.

While US officials have deemed the situation does not currently pose a severe safety threat to workers at the plant or Chinese public, it is unusual that a foreign company would unilaterally reach out to the American government for help when its Chinese state-owned partner is yet to acknowledge a problem exists. The scenario could put the US in a complicated situation should the leak continue or become more severe without being fixed.
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Re: China

#17

Post by Uninformed »

Re. Hong Kong. Despite all the fine words coming out of the UK since 1997, the exit agreement (joint declaration and the “Basic Law) left the future of the ex-colony utterly at the mercies of China due to the overarching “security” provision. This has echos in the current Brexit farce around Ireland / Northern Ireland border issues with the UK government effectively claiming “we didn’t mean that” after signing the exit agreement. World’s greatest empire becomes small island off the coast of Europe.
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Re: China

#18

Post by filly »

Lani wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:53 am Exclusive: US assessing reported leak at Chinese nuclear power facility
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/14/politics ... index.html
(CNN)The US government has spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant, after a French company that part owns and helps operate it warned of an "imminent radiological threat," according to US officials and documents reviewed by CNN.

The warning included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province in order to avoid having to shut it down, according to a letter from the French company to the US Department of Energy obtained by CNN.

Despite the alarming notification from Framatome, the French company, the Biden administration believes the facility is not yet at a "crisis level," one of the sources said.

While US officials have deemed the situation does not currently pose a severe safety threat to workers at the plant or Chinese public, it is unusual that a foreign company would unilaterally reach out to the American government for help when its Chinese state-owned partner is yet to acknowledge a problem exists. The scenario could put the US in a complicated situation should the leak continue or become more severe without being fixed.
This is most alarming. I woke up to this story today. I am considering turning off my push notifications but I resist ignoring reality, perhaps to my detriment.
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Re: China

#19

Post by RTH10260 »

Chinese astronauts reach new space station for three-month mission
Shenzhou-12 carrying three astronauts docks with Tiangong space station after seven-hour flight

Helen Davidson in Taipei
Thu 17 Jun 2021 11.52 BST

Astronauts on board China’s first crewed spacecraft in nearly five years have reached the new Tiangong space station after blasting off from the Gobi desert.

A Long March-2F rocket launched the three astronauts in the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, which docked with Tianhe – the main section of the Tiangong station – just over seven hours later.

The astronauts, Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, had earlier been honoured in a modest ceremony at the Jiuquan satellite launch centre. It is China’s first human mission to space since 2016, and the longest ever scheduled, with the team expected to be on Tiangong for three months. Previous Chinese missions have been a month at most.

Construction of Tiangong – meaning Heavenly Palace – began in April with the launch of its first module, Tianhe. The crew will live on the cylinder-shaped module measuring 16.6 metres by 4.2 metres while carrying out further construction work.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... n-tiangong
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Re: China

#20

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#21

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... es-society
On the second floor of a nondescript concrete building in north-east Beijing, the Youyou internet cafe is less than half full. Quiet and dark, the cafe’s customers are all adults, sitting in brown sofas in front of screens set up for hours of comfortable online gaming.

Minors aren’t allowed in, and a poster on the glass entrance reads: “The whole society together cares about the healthy growth of underage teens.” Under new regulations from the Chinese government, minors are limited to just a few hours of gaming a week, with tech platforms ordered to enforce it. The intervention is just one of a recent rush of directives from Beijing aimed at reshaping society.

The slew of regulatory overhauls has been swift and dizzying. In recent months, Chinese authorities have come for e-commerce, social media, the $100bn private education industry, artists, celebrities and reality television, affecting individuals from Alibaba boss Jack Ma to actor Vicki Zhao.

At every step, regulators justified their move as one for the greater social good. In recent weeks the focus has been on celebrity and fan culture, but other sectors haven’t been forgotten: China’s internet regulator says it has shut down and banned 1,793 so-called self-media accounts since 27 August.
Maybe this is where Abbott and some of his bedfellows get their ideas.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: China

#22

Post by Uninformed »

“China applies to join Asian trade deal abandoned by Trump”
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/ ... d-by-trump

“China has submitted its formal application letter to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
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Re: China

#23

Post by RTH10260 »

China Evergrande default fears haunt investors as Beijing stands back, for now
By Clare Jim and Anshuman Daga

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Default fears continued to stalk China Evergrande Group on Tuesday despite efforts by its chairman to lift confidence in the embattled firm, as markets looked for possible intervention by Beijing to stem any domino effects across the global economy.

Analysts played down the threat of Evergrande's troubles becoming the country's "Lehman moment," though concerns about the spillover risks of a messy collapse of what was once China's top-selling property developer have roiled markets.

In an effort to revive battered confidence in the firm, Evergrande (3333.HK) Chairman Hui Ka Yuan said in a letter to staff the company is confident it will "walk out of its darkest moment" and deliver property projects as pledged.

In the letter, coinciding with China's mid-autumn festival, the chairman of the debt-laden property developer, also said Evergrande will fulfil responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions.

"I firmly believe that with your concerted effort and hard work, Evergrande will walk out of its darkest moment, resume full-scale constructions as soon as possible," said Hui, without elaborating how the company could achieve these objectives.

Investors in Evergrande, however, remained on edge.

Its shares were sold-off again on Tuesday, falling as much as 7%, having tumbled 10% in the previous day on fears its $305 billion in debt could trigger widespread losses in China's financial system in the event of a collapse.



https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 021-09-21/
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Re: China

#24

Post by Uninformed »

“Huawei's Meng Wanzhou 'to be freed' in US deal”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58682998

“A Chinese technology executive held in Canada on US fraud charges could be freed as early as Friday after the US government dropped an extradition request against her.”
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Re: China

#25

Post by RTH10260 »

China video game crackdown bans gay relationships and attacks on ‘barbarians’

Didi Tang, Beijing
Friday October 01 2021, 12.15pm BST, The Times

China has said it will ban video games that promote “effeminate males” and gay relationships, involve the conquest of “barbarians” or seek to alter the history of the Nazis and imperial Japan.

According to a leaked memo, Beijing no longer sees gaming as “entertainment” but as a form of art that must serve the party by promoting “correct values” and “accurate understanding” of history and culture. In August, China limited children to three hours a week of online gaming in what it called an effort to curb addiction.

The instructions, reported by the South China Morning Post as advice for game creators, said that characters must have a “clear gender” and plots cannot “have blurred moral boundaries”, adding: “If regulators can’t tell the character’s gender ....



paywall https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chin ... -7snmpqmdl
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