China’s Political Correctness: One Country, No Arguments - The New York Times - "“As soon as the Communist Party pushes the patriotism button, Chinese will rise up like zombies to unite against the foreign forces, be it Japan or N.B.A.,” said Mr. Yang, the singer-songwriter. “They don’t always know why they’re against those things. In fact, many Chinese like Japan and the N.B.A.”... Their comments reflect a narrative that China’s top-down education system delivers from a young age. A united China, a country with a common purpose, can stand strong against outsiders, according to this narrative. A divided China could slip backward, losing decades of progress and plunging the country back into chaos. Any Chinese person who has gone to elementary school or watched television news can explain the tale of China's 100 years of humiliation. Starting with the Opium Wars in the 19th century, foreign powers bullied a weak and backward China into turning Hong Kong and Macau into European colonies. Students must memorize the unequal treaties the Qing dynasty signed during that period. There’s even a name for it: “national humiliation education.” This narrative glosses over a lot of history, including the cruelty of Mao’s revolution, the starving of millions during Mao’s Great Leap Forward and the madness of his decade-long Cultural Revolution. When it does include the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square, the protest and its aftermath is mentioned in one sentence and portrayed vaguely as a political incident. These lessons and propaganda sound crude, but they work. For years, I regarded Chris Patten, the last Hong Kong governor under the British rule, as “a sinner condemned by history.” That’s what state media called him, especially after he approved spending heavily to build Hong Kong’s new airport, leading to accusations of waste. Today, I regularly use that airport, a marvel of modern transportation, as do millions of others... The rise of the internet and China’s opening were supposed to widen views there. Instead, the party is narrowing them more. Education officials over the past two years have been increasingly enforcing a widely ignored 2004 effort to make education even more Chinese focused. In some middle school history books, the Cultural Revolution is described as “a detour in the Communist Party’s expedition,” rather than as a mistake. Some universities have replaced textbooks by Western academics such as Milton Friedman and N. Gregory Mankiw with books written under a program called “Marxist theory research and building project.” Textbook publishers have cut back on essays by Lu Xun, a writer known for his acerbic criticism of the nationalist government in the 1920s and 1930s. They were once a mainstay of school texts, but some Chinese people have used his articles to criticize current events. One, about how Chinese people should welcome criticism from foreigners, was posted on the social media platform Weibo this past week after the N.B.A. debacle, then was pulled down... For China, the big danger is that it will become even more intolerant of criticism and different opinions. A Chinese blogger wrote this week that a renovation project at a top Beijing middle school was causing widespread health issues, giving students bloody noses several times a day. The reaction was strong, and strongly against him. Many students told him there was nothing wrong with their school and even if there was, it was none of his business. “He should have shut his mouth just like N.B.A.’s Morey,” wrote one commenter."
Coronavirus: Inside the pro-China network targeting the US, Hong Kong and an exiled tycoon - "Even before most of its accounts were taken down, the network struggled to gain much traction outside of its bubble. Most engagements - shares, likes, retweets, comments, views and mentions - come from inside the network, rather than from genuine users. "In this case, it looks like the network is trying to generate a high volume of pro-Chinese government content, and then to hide it by surrounding it with spammy content," says Ben Nimmo, the director of investigations at Graphika. The intention is to attract the attention of genuine users to the messaging, Mr Nimmo says, "but it's being done in an unsophisticated and relatively amateurish way". He says the purpose of networks like this is to create the impression that a lot of social media users support a particular narrative or group; in this case, the Chinese government. "The problem is that this sort of large-scale frontal assault is too crude to convince many people. It is art imitating reality, but badly." The set of accounts uncovered by the BBC appears to be a larger part of the "Spamouflage Dragon" network exposed by Graphika"
BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent Podcast, China and Africans : A Pandemic of Prejudice - "China is on the rise. And the authorities’ advice to African countries is to turn away from the model of old colonial powers and to follow its own path of development. But China's rise has been an experiment in capitalism without the systems and values shared by the international community. The injustices and racism faced by Africans in China is a byproduct of authoritarian rule. An authoritarian rule which often tramples on the rights of China's own citizens in the name of stability."
China wields coronavirus to nationalize American-owned carmaker - "China enticed an American entrepreneur with the opportunity of helping build a cutting-edge automobile company in the world’s largest car market, then used the uncertainty cast by COVID-19 to steal his intellectual property... the city sent six police cars with sirens blaring and vans full of private security forces to raid Jiangsu Saleen’s manufacturing facility and offices. The forces ordered employees to leave and shut off the water and electricity when some refused to do so. Executives, who were Chinese nationals were forced to resign or face consequences from Rugao's government, Saleen told FOX Business. The remaining employees were terminated. Two employees, Frank Sterzer, a German national who was vice president of manufacturing, and Grace Yin Xu, a Chinese national in charge of corporate affairs, were detained.While Sterzer was released after six hours when he contacted the German Embassy with a cellphone that wasn’t confiscated, Yin Xu was held for a month after she refused to corroborate the local government’s claims that Wang tried to embezzle money.Rugao authorities also claimed Saleen’s technology was worthless and false information was given to secure a higher valuation... Without Saleen’s knowledge, officials had previously filed 510 patents for the intellectual properties he developed – 120 of which were already awarded, including his signature supercharger. Many of the filings didn’t even list Saleen as the inventor.The shareholder who represented the city’s one-third stake held an illegal board meeting and removed Saleen and Wang as directors of the firm, leaving the foreign shareholders without representation, he said. Under Chinese corporate law, a board meeting cannot be held without a quorum of 51 percent of shareholders... The irony is that as Saleen's company was being taken over, the U.S. and China were putting the finishing touches on a phase one trade deal for which President Trump had been pushing since taking office.The initial agreement included promises from Beijing to halt intellectual property theft, and a second phase -- now in limbo as tensions between the two countries mount -- was supposed to hone in on those commitments... He says Chinese firms that infringe on intellectual property should be blocked from U.S. capital markets, asset valuations by Chinese companies that operate in the U.S. should be prohibited and that entities and individuals should be held accountable for any intellectual property infringement with both civil and criminal liability.He also believes Chinese cars should be blocked from the U.S. market unless they are part of a joint venture with an American company. Saleen, who worries it is “too late” for him and his partners, thinks his experience serves as a warning for anyone who is thinking about doing business in China"
Yao Ming and Kris Wu not Chinese? Online witch hunt of Chinese celebrities with foreign passports - "With nationalism at an all-time high in China amid the global coronavirus pandemic, a frenzy to catch out stars for having foreign nationality has gripped the entertainment industry. In the face of accusations that they are foreign nationals, numerous stars have come out to dispel the rumours and proclaim they are Chinese nationals... When asked by a Variety reporter what Mulan’s maxim of being loyal, brave and genuine means to her, she said: “To my family and my real self, I am loyal, brave and genuine. I am very proud to be an Asian. Once we know what we want, we try our best to be our best selves.”Mainland netizens instantly pounced on the word “Asian”, ticking her off for not saying she is Chinese... Entertainment news blogger Yi Dao wrote on his blog the new rules ban unsavoury stars with overseas, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwanese nationality.“All the interpretations omit the word “unsavoury” in the original government document listing the rules,” he wrote. “The rules do not aim to ban stars like Kris Wu and Liu Yifei. It aims to sanction overseas Chinese who made speech unfavourable to China. The rules are not a public appeal to take exception to stars with overseas nationality. They are a restriction on those overseas Chinese with dubious morals.”"
Unsavoury = disagrees with the CCP
China confirms arrest of citizen journalist who covered Wuhan coronavirus outbreak - "Zhang Zhan was confirmed to have been arrested in Shanghai for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge that is often used to crack down on dissidents... Three other citizen journalists are known to have disappeared in Wuhan. Li Zehua, also known as Kcriss Li, re-emerged on social media in late April after he had been missing for nearly two months. Li has since said that he was held at a quarantine center in the city and then sent to an isolation facility in his hometown.Chen Qiushi, a former human rights lawyer turned video journalist, traveled to Wuhan in late January to report on the worsening situation. His whereabouts remain unknown, along with another high-profile vlogger, Fang Bin... “There is no official recognition and no law one could use to defend them,” Zhan said. “They are also seen as social outcasts with nothing better to do in the eyes of the public – hardly anyone today will link these cases to issues such as free speech."
Now our China illusion is ending, can the West revive its love of freedom? - "Those who praise modern China tend to argue as follows: China was the world’s greatest economic power until the British Industrial Revolution roughly 200 years ago, a wonderful civilisation. Unlike the Western powers, it was not imperialist. It was the victim of Western imperialism. Also unlike the West, it followed a “harmonious” approach (note the use of that word on Jesus’s website), whereas the West preferred “conflict”. China favours the common good over individualism. It sees the world as a “community of common destiny” (a phrase it insists on writing into all UN human rights documents). A new order of international institutions needs to be constructed round that community, instead of serving Western interests. In such a view, the CCP advances this common destiny. Yes, the Chairman Mao period was a bit of an aberration. The Great Leap Forward (more than 30 million dead) and Cultural Revolution (perhaps a mere two million) were definitely mistakes. But, nowadays, all is pretty good. As Kishore Mahbubani, the Singaporean guru of the decline of the West and the rise of the East, puts it, China’s modern achievement is “the most glorious ever in its 3,000-year history”, and Xi Jinping is “exceptionally honest and competent”. Some of these claims are questionable, to put it very mildly indeed. Take that anti-imperial point. Surely the Chinese rulers were called “Emperors” for a reason. If you Google “The Chinese Empire”, a clever map flashes different images across the surface of the Far East, representing the different areas China has ruled at different times. In some eras, the space is twice the size of others – pictures, in other words, of empire-building and -breaking. Supposedly peace-loving China has fought numerous wars, even in the latter half of the 20th century, invading South Korea, Tibet, India, the Soviet Union and Vietnam (where 150,000 people died)... In his latest work, Has the West Lost it?, Mahbubani says that “we may be on the verge of utopia”. It is striking that, so far as I can see, the word “freedom” does not occur in his book. That unfreedom is central to the CCP’s Eastern promise to the world. It seems worth resisting."
China's Xi Jinping facing widespread opposition in his own party, insider claims - "A former professor at China’s elite Central Party School has issued an unprecedented rebuke of the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, accusing him of “killing a country” and claiming that many more want out of the ruling Chinese Communist party.Cai Xia, a prominent professor who taught at the school, a higher education institution for top officials, was expelled from the party on Monday after an audio recording of remarks she made that were critical of Xi was leaked online in June. She is no longer in China. The school said in a notice that Cai, a professor at the party school since 1992, had made comments that “damaged the country’s reputation” and were full of “serious political problems”.In her first interview with English-language media since her expulsion, Cai told the Guardian she was “happy to be expelled”. “Under the regime of Xi, the Chinese Communist party is not a force for progress for China. In fact, it is an obstacle to China’s progress,” she said. “I believe I am not the only one who wants to leave this party. More people would like to withdraw or quit this party,” she said. “I had intended to quit the party years ago when there was no more room to speak and my voice was completely blocked.”The comments from someone once firmly part of the establishment – several of China’s leaders such as Mao Zedong and Hu Jintao, as well as Xi were head of the Central Party School – are remarkable and potentially dangerous for the Chinese leadership. Cai is the latest prominent public intellectual to be punished for criticising Xi... she went further in her denunciation of Xi, blaming him for making China “an enemy” of the world... She said there was widespread opposition within the party but few dared to speak out, afraid of political retaliation in the form of internal party discipline and corruption charges. In this environment, Xi’s “unchecked power” and hold on all major decision-making had led to inevitable mistakes such as in the handling of the Covid-19 outbreak... Beijing has blamed the suppression of information about the outbreak in Wuhan on local officials. Chinese health officials said on 20 January that the virus was contagious, weeks after it had emerged in December. But a speech published by the party magazine Qiushi showed that Xi met the politburo and gave instructions on the needed virus response on 7 January, almost two weeks before the public was warned... Cai, who said she had wanted to leave the party since 2016 as the space for discussion within the party shrank dramatically, also blamed the country’s international problems on Xi.“When no one can oppose him, that means that his power is unlimited,” she said. “He has made the world an enemy. At home, all these big issues are left to him to decide. In other words, whether it is a domestic or international issue, it is very difficult for others to restrict him. It is inevitable that his judgment and decisions will be mistaken.“It is a vicious cycle. After a wrong decision is made, the result is not good. But those below are too afraid to tell him and wrong decisions continue to be made until the situation is out of control. In this vicious cycle, there is no way to stop the country from sliding towards disaster.”Cai said she believed that discontent within the party was widespread, especially among her generation as well as among middle and higher-level officials who came up through the party during China’s reform era under Deng Xiaoping, and later as China fully integrated into the global economy following its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001... “Many of my good friends who saw the news of me being expelled are cheering. They think this is a good thing.”"
She was a communist party insider in China. Then she denounced Xi - "After Mr Xi abolished a term limit on the Chinese presidency in 2018, in effect opening the way for an extended stay in power, Dr Cai told a party school official that such a move would hurt China’s international image, she said.“I said, ‘You are forcing Western countries into a showdown with us,’” she recalled.Dr Cai was raised in a family steeped in Communist values in eastern China. For a decade, she was one of the most well-known scholars at the Central Party School... Dr Cai faces daunting uncertainties in her new home in the United States. The party school cut off her pension and other retirement benefits, and she said she would probably be detained if she returned to China. But she said she felt relieved that now she could fully speak her mind.“In my own mind, I’ve long wanted to resign from the party,” she said. “Now that they’ve expelled me, I’m really happy, because at last I’ve regained my freedom.”"
China shills will just claim she's jealous, or a CIA agent
China Issues Guidelines on How to Develop Local Sci-Fi Films - "Entitled “Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Science Fiction Films,” the document highlights how the sci-fi genre fits into the ruling Communist Party’s broader ideological and technological goals... To make strong movies, the document claims, the number one priority is to “thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought.” Based on the Chinese president’s past pronouncements on film work, filmmakers should follow the “correct direction” for the development of sci-fi movies. This includes creating films that “highlight Chinese values, inherit Chinese culture and aesthetics, cultivate contemporary Chinese innovation” as well as “disseminate scientific thought” and “raise the spirit of scientists.” Chinese sci-fi films should thus portray China in a positive light as a technologically advanced nation... China’s lack of strong sci-fi is primarily due to a lack of innovative ideas and scripts"
Facebook - "Matthew J. Peterson writes:"The fact that corporations like Disney are fine with doing business in China but will boycott doing business in America with states like Georgia on account of abortion laws tells you everything about how serious and how deep the divide in this nation is at present. Powerful figures like Senator Feinstein and Michael Bloomberg will eagerly and publicly defend China while disparaging their fellow Americans. Google is willing to start an A.I. lab with China while pulling out of an A.I. contract with the U.S. government. Meanwhile, we are supposed to fear secret Russian “collusion” in U.S. politics. Russia has a lower GDP than Canada and Brazil while the American ruling class is increasingly enmeshed and dependent on Chinese money. Half of the revenue from movies from corporations like Disney now comes from China. Many of Bloomberg’s billions are intertwined with China. Feinstein’s husband has untold wealth but we aren’t allowed to know where it’s from—we do know she had embedded Chinese spies in her entourage for years. China has open and public “institutes” at 65 U.S. university campuses. And it’s not a secret who China supports in this election.But the telling point is the divide: many powerful entities in America are more comfortable working with (and profiting from) the Chinese than they are with their fellow citizens.""
