'Good riddance,' China says to German envoy making UN pitch to release 2 Michaels - "Germany's UN envoy, during his last scheduled UN Security Council meeting, appealed to China to free two detained Canadians for Christmas, prompting China's deputy UN envoy to respond: "Out of the bottom of my heart: Good riddance."... China's deputy UN ambassador, Geng Shuang, accused Heusgen of abusing the Security Council to launch "malicious" attacks on other members "in an attempt to poison the working atmosphere.""
Chinese newspaper says Australia becoming ‘poor white trash of Asia’ - "A mouthpiece for Beijing has taken a furious jab at Canberra calling Australians “poor white trash” and darkly warning there will be “consequences” if we don’t play nice with China... Despite the insults and threats, the editorials claim China is being reasonable and it is Australia that is out of line.Yet, not one of the stories addressed the issue of an Australian news reader who, it has emerged, has been detained by police in China since mid-August... There has been concern about the influence China is bringing to bear on the institutions it funds. Last week, it emerged textbooks which showed Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic – despite the fact it is an independent nation – were being used in Victorian schools... an Australian journalist for China’s state run television has been detained. So far, the Global Times has avoided commenting on this obvious issue of concern.Cheng Lei was s a prominent anchor on English news channel China Global Television Network (CGTN). No charges appear to have been laid... On Twitter, Ms Cheng – anchor of the CGTN business show – describes herself as a “passionate orator of the China story”.She last tweeted on August 12. Her profile page on the CGTN website has disappeared.Last week, China’s Deputy Head of Mission to Australia Wang Xining told the National Press Club in Canberra that: “We are not trying to turn Australia into the People’s Republic of China”.“We are not trying to replace your system with a presidential system. We’re asking Hungry Jacks to sell Chinese dumplings.”... Mr Wang said the PM’s decision to back an inquiry in the origins of the virus had “hurt the feelings” of the Chinese people."
China's Antarctic bases within Australia's claim are going unchecked
Chinese soccer superstar Hao Haidong calls for ouster of Communist Party, stunning nation - The Washington Post - "Chinese sports stars usually express thanks and offer platitudes about their government — if they address politics and power at all.Not Hao Haidong... Within 24 hours, according to the Internet monitor freeweibo.com, Hao’s name had become the most heavily censored term on Weibo — topping even “6-4,” the perennially censored reference to the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989."
Ren Zhiqiang: Chinese tycoon who criticized Xi Jinping's handling of coronavirus jailed for 18 years - "Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real-estate tycoon with close ties to senior Chinese officials, disappeared in March after he allegedly penned a scathing essay that month criticizing Xi's response to the coronavirus epidemic. He was later charged with corruption-related offenses... China's court system has a conviction rate of around 99%, according to legal observers, and corruption charges are often used to go after Communist Party insiders who fall afoul of the leadership. Ren's conviction and heavy sentence appears designed to send a message to other members of the Chinese elite that any public criticism or defiance of Xi will not be tolerated"
Hollywood action clips spotted in China air force video - "A high-octane PR video for China's air force crash-landed on social media after users questioned why the world's second-largest military power spliced clips from Hollywood blockbusters "Transformers" and "The Rock" into its own propaganda material."
Why CSIS believes Canada is a ‘permissive target’ for China’s interference - "Canada is an “attractive and permissive target” for Chinese interference that endangers the “foundations of our fundamental institutions, including our system of democracy itself,” according to a recent national security review.The reason, experts suggest, is because China’s Communist Party has won the support of some influential Canadians by using economic carrots and sticks, while public attention on Beijing’s broad campaign is “almost non-existent.”The national security review says “for years Canadian Security Intelligence Service has investigated and reported on the threat” of foreign interference. But unlike Canada’s Western intelligence allies, Ottawa hasn’t responded with strong countermeasures... The committee’s report named two countries — Russia and China — among those conducting “sophisticated and pervasive foreign interference activities against Canada.”But intelligence officials and former diplomats, including Canada’s former ambassador to China, believe China is the greater threat, in large part because the country has been successful in “elite capture.” “China is the No. 1 threat to Canada and has been for some time,” David Mulroney, former ambassador to China, said in an interview. China has used its economic leverage to secure “the voices” of political and business leaders in Canada with “sweetheart business deals” and “various inducements,” including lucrative board positions or honours in China, he said. And as a result, Mulroney said he often hears people reciting Beijing’s line on issues such as the extradition case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou or are silent in the face of China’s mass detention of Uyghurs and incursions on democracy in Hong Kong... Canadians should see Hong Kong as a case study... “Canada is kind of a sleepy and unaware target,” he said. “We don’t have the same kind of vigilance that you now see in places like Australia and New Zealand. That had better change.” China uses a vast network of political, business and media operatives directed from Beijing, known as the United Front, in attempts to co-opt Chinese-Canadian communities and leaders... people should look at China’s patient campaign to control Hong Kong, where China has used front groups to co-opt political leaders, tycoons and institutions since the 1990s... Fung said she believes China has successfully influenced “many elected officials."... Tensions reached a new level in August 2019, Fung said, when Hong Kong Canadians were targeted in anti-democracy counter-protests in a number of Canadian cities.Fung pointed to a Hong Kong democracy counter-rally at Toronto’s Old City Hall on Aug. 17, where she says her group was surrounded by students and middle-aged leaders, who Fung associated with Toronto United Front groups... “United Front work is Beijing’s strategy to influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments and other actors … mainly through economic or financial inducement,” the commission’s chair Robin Cleveland and vice-chair Carolyn Bartholomew told Global News in a statement. “The CCP considers ethnic Chinese everywhere to ultimately be Chinese subjects, regardless of their citizenship, and seeks to treat them as resources to assist in ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ whether they like it or not.”... Most experts interviewed by Global News said Australia’s legislative reforms should be a model for other countries combating China’s interference campaigns.In an interview, McGuinty, the intelligence committee chair, said the report underlined how Australia has taken concrete measures since 2018, including adding new offences to its Criminal Code."
Racism!
Barbados's moves to drop the Queen as Head of State 'are being driven by Chinese interference'
Facebook - "This is a glimpse of how China is able to shape how and what students in a foreign country can learn. Do you think the buck stops here? Or do you think the goal is the extension of the borders of its totalitarian control?Professor Rory Truex of Princeton will have students for his Chinese politics class use code names to ensure they aren’t connected to discussions or opinions that the Chinese government could find objectionable.The HK National Security Law allows rebellious acts, including secession and working with foreign governments, to be reported to the Chinese government. The national security law also extends to those who aren’t inside Hong Kong.After returning home to Wuhan, China, a student from the University of Minnesota was sentenced to six months in jail after posting tweets that allegedly made fun of China’s leaders.Associate professor Meg Rithmire of Harvard Business School is requiring graduate students to read journals of Uighur Muslims being detained in camps in Xinjiang, China. Her course also plans to touch upon other sensitive topics, including Hong Kong.Harvard Business School is planning to grant students an exemption if they are concerned about the consequences of discussing delicate topics."
China Delays Entry of WHO Team Investigating COVID-19 Origins - "The World Health Organization expressed disappointment with China for delaying the travel of experts to the Asian country to investigate the origin of the virus, in a rare instance of public criticism from the international organization."
From early January 2021
You'd think that after over a year they had more than enough time to destroy evidence
Which Nations Are Democracies? Some Citizens Might Disagree - Bloomberg - "Overall, 78% of people believe that democracy is important; around the world, that number ranges from 92% in Greece (the “cradle of democracy”) to 50% in Iran (a “theocratic republic,” according to the Central Intelligence Agency).However, even 40% of those living in bona fide democracies (those countries classified as “free” by Freedom House) believe that their country is not, in fact, democratic... The disparity between those who believe in democracy and those who think they live in a democracy is the “perceived democratic deficit”... Interestingly, every one of the 53 countries surveyed in both 2020 and 2019 had some form of deficit, indicating that even in the freest of societies, democracy remains a work in progress or even an unattainable goal... 73% of Chinese consider China to be democratic, whereas only 49% of Americans believe the same about the U.S."
When national delusion from state brainwashing meets national delusion from a self-loathing elite
How China’s vast and aggressive fishing fleet is kept afloat by Beijing | South China Morning Post - "With anywhere from 200,000 to 800,000 boats, some as far afield as Argentina, China is unmatched in the size and reach of its fishing armada. Fuelled primarily by government subsidies, its growth and activities have largely gone unchecked, in part because China itself has historically had few rules governing fishing operations. The dominance and global ubiquity of this fleet raise broader questions about how, why and at what cost China has put so many boats on the water.The why has long been clear: geopolitical power and food security for China’s 1.4 billion people. As the United States Navy has pulled back from the waters of West Africa and the Middle East, China has bolstered its fishing and naval presence. And in places such as the South China Seaand the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route, China has laid claim to prized shipping lanes as well as sub-sea oil and gas deposits.“The scale and aggression of its fleet puts China in control,” says Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Washington-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies, adding that few foreign countries have been willing to push back when China’s fishing boats make incursions into their national waters... The Chinese government says it has roughly 2,600 distant-water fishing vessels, which, according to a recent report by the Stimson Centre, a security research group, makes it three times larger than the fleets of the next top four territories – Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Spain – combined. “Without its massive subsidy schemes, China’s distant-water fishing fleet would be a fraction of its current size,” says Poling, “and most of its South China Sea fleet wouldn’t exist at all.”... Chinese fishermen further benefit from government-led fishing intelligence that helps them find the richest waters... As long as such fleets receive financial assistance to overfish, experts say sustainable fishing is impossible. Already, 90 per cent of commercial fish stocks tracked by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization have been overfished or fully fished – meaning they are past their capacity to replenish themselves – including the world’s 10 most important commercial species.“To put it bluntly,” says Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, “this is akin to paying burglars to rob your neighbour’s house.”... China ranks as the world’s worst offender when it comes to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing... One of the reasons China’s fleet is so bloated is that some of its fishing ships serve purposes other than merely fishing. Part of a so-called civilian militia, Poling says, these fishing vessels are dispatched to conflict zones at sea to surveil the waters and occasionally to intimidate and ram fishing or law enforcement boats from other countries... “The only reason that smaller [Chinese] fishermen go out to the Spratlys is because they’re paid to do so,” says Poling. The presence of these vessels has sped the decline of fish around the islands, led to clashes with fishing boats from other countries, and given China cover to build military installations on some of the reefs. Partly because they travel in groups and sometimes with armed security, Chinese fishing ships are often aggressive towards competitors or perceived threats"
Covid-19, funding concerns hit China’s belt and road projects | South China Morning Post - "the study found projects which had been blocked on national security grounds or for geopolitical considerations in countries experiencing tense relations with China. These included Australia, India, Romania and Vietnam"
Western gamers up in arms after mega-hit Genshin Impact censors words like ‘Taiwan’ and ‘Hong Kong’ in chat feeds | South China Morning Post - "“Due to Genshin Impact censoring the words Taiwan and Hong Kong in the in-game chat, I will no longer be posting about the game,” Hashimoto, who is based in Germany, wrote on his Twitter account.“Yeah … I can’t play it in good conscience,” Hashimoto told the Post when contacted directly. “I’ve raised money for pro-democracy organisations in Hong Kong before, and my best friend is from there, so it wouldn’t be right. And I’m not losing anything by not playing.” Last year, Hashimoto decided to quit playing games created by Activision Blizzard after the company moved to punish a Hong Kong e-sports player for chanting a Hong Kong protest slogan in a post-game interview."
Ghost of Tsushima’s Mongol invaders spark nationalist debate over PlayStation 4 game in China | South China Morning Post - "In Ghost of Tsushima, the Mongols are the bad guys.That may seem like a harmless premise for an action game set in the 13th century, but it has kicked off a lively online debate that pitches Chinese nationalists against supporters of Sony’s new PlayStation 4 title.Taking place during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, the game portrays Japanese warriors as heroes defending their home, the island of Tsushima, against ruthless foreign invaders... Today, some argue that the Mongols who occupied China should also be considered Chinese people. Japan, on the other hand, is considered an enemy because of the country’s invasion of China before World War II.“I stand with the Mongols, [Japanese people] can crawl,” one user commented on the video streaming site Bilibili, referring to Japanese people with a racial slur.“At the end of the day, this is a game where Japanese people are killing Chinese people,” another person wrote on the Quora-like Chinese site Zhihu. “The Mongols are one of the nomadic peoples of northern China. Just like the Han Chinese, they are Chinese people.”The commenter added, “Foreign players can play if they like, but Chinese people shouldn’t join in the fun.”But these nationalist comments quickly came under a torrent of ridicule... “A bunch of Chinese people trying to find national pride in a Japanese game made in the US, how inferior is that…”... A few people bemoaned the lack of global blockbusters made in China, suggesting that games could help shape the country’s image around the world.“To put it bluntly, if you can’t make a good game that’s popular around the world, you’re losing another voice in cultural diplomacy,” one said on Bilibili."
Of course, we know that China has never invaded a foreign country!
Then again, some clueless China shill claimed that China invading Vietnam because Vietnam defended itself against Kampuchea (while imagining Cambodia was different from Kampuchea) was self-defence
Unlike Chinese people, Western audiences don't condone politically motivated in-game chat censorship