Hong Kong’s iconic bamboo scaffolding is being phased out - "There are plenty of things that make people think of Hong Kong: dim sum, red taxis, triad movies, and towering buildings clad in bamboo frames. The list goes on, but unfortunately, it looks like the last item might be going the way of the dodo, as the Hong Kong government announced plans to replace the ancient practice of bamboo scaffolding with metal. Citing safety concerns, the Development Bureau announced on Monday, March 17, that they will “drive a wider adoption of metal scaffolds in public building works”, replacing bamboo with a sturdier material. A bureau official further laid out in a memo that bamboo is liable to deteriorate over time and is combustible. According to quoted official figures, 23 people have died from bamboo scaffold-related accidents since 2018. However, bamboo has long been the favoured material for framing constructions and building repairs, dating as far back as the Great Wall of China. In our city, this particular wood is preferred for being lightweight, easy to transport and store, as well as faster to set up and take down, even in tight spaces. It is estimated that almost 80 percent of building scaffolds in Hong Kong are made of bamboo. Officials have now decided that at least half of the city’s new government constructions will utilise metal scaffolds instead. The Development Bureau’s memo further stated that using metal is already the industry norm in mainland China and other advanced economies. On Tuesday, March 18, the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims announced their support of this government decision, urging private projects to follow suit in decreasing the use of bamboo scaffolding. As one of the most iconic sights in Hong Kong, the art of bamboo scaffolding has already been listed as part of the city’s intangible cultural heritage. There is almost nowhere else in the world – apart from our neighbouring Macau – that still utilises this craft. Much of our world-famous cityline owes its construction to this pliable, fast-growing wood."
Chung Ching Kwong 鄺頌晴 on X - "I don’t quite understand where does this “bamboo scaffolding led to the fire” come from. The bamboos scaffolding after the fire is still mainly intact. It’s the netting that’s flammable, not the bamboo scaffolding. It started with the netting, as multiple videos show."
Luke de Pulford on X - "Note to western journalists: don’t suck up PRC propaganda. Bamboo scaffolding is widely regarded as safe - a craft in Hong Kong of which they’re rightly proud. Early indications are that the netting was the cause of this tragedy."
Kevin Yam 任建峰 on X - "If anyone is wondering why the PRC is interested in pushing anti-bamboo scaffolding propaganda (which the Hong Kong Government is now also pushing - for those who can read Chinese, see graphic): scaffolding works is one of the last bastions of construction work in which Chinese State-Owned construction companies/ property developers and their preferred building contractors have not yet managed to get a foothold in Hong Kong, because bamboo scaffolding is not the standard in the PRC."
Hong Kong fire: Arrest over petition stirs public debate - "When university student Miles Kwan launched a petition demanding answers from Hong Kong authorities after one of the city's deadliest fires last week, he was arrested. The ferocious blaze had ravaged a densely populated housing estate in the northern Tai Po district, killing at least 159 people and displacing thousands. As public anger grew, the pro-Beijing authorities warned, repeatedly, against attempts to "exploit" the fire to "endanger national security". Kwan was reportedly arrested by Hong Kong national security police on suspicion of sedition. He is now on bail... There was also a strong public reaction to the arrest. To some, the decision to arrest him was "baffling". To others, it was simply Beijing's playbook, replicated... "It's baffling how Miles was [arrested] for asking basic questions on behalf of many residents, which the government went on to address anyway," said Samuel Chu, a pro-democracy activist who reposted Kwan's petition on a separate platform. "This is not a political campaign. It's a human response to the tragedy," he said... China's national security office in Hong Kong swung into action swiftly after last week's disaster, warning that it would take action against anyone trying to instigate "black terror" - a phrase Beijing had used to describe the 2019 protests. In a more strongly-worded statement this week, it vowed to punish "hostile foreign forces... no matter how far away" they may be. Lee, Hong Kong's chief executive, said he would "ensure justice is [served]" to anyone who tries to "sabotage" relief efforts. Former district councillor Kenneth Cheung, who was among those arrested reportedly by national security police, says authorities took issue with content he re-shared on Facebook following the fire. "The Tai Po fire is a tragedy that concerns everyone in Hong Kong. Many, regardless of their political loyalties, want the culprits to be held accountable," says the 50-year-old, who is out on bail but has had his passport impounded. "Not everything is about politics," Cheung says. Hong Kong authorities are dealing with this disaster using Beijing's playbook, which focuses on social control and regime security, alleges Kenneth Chan, a politics professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He notes how authorities have over the weekend displaced community-led relief initiatives with groups backed by the government. "Officials will not embrace the spontaneity of these grassroots efforts because they want control," he alleges. He notes how authorities have over the weekend displaced community-led relief initiatives with groups backed by the government. "Officials will not embrace the spontaneity of these grassroots efforts because they want control," he alleges. Asked at a news conference earlier this week why he deserves to keep his job following the fire, John Lee sidestepped the question and instead pledged to take to task "anybody who dares to sabotage" relief efforts... Some residents have also criticised the decision to proceed with a Legislative Council election, at a time when the city is in mourning. Only pro-Beijing "patriots" are allowed to contest in the poll which will be held on Sunday... Some Legislative Council members made a request for an emergency debate to discuss the fire and post disaster relief work, but this was refused, with the government saying it would keep its focus on the issue of the fire itself."
How Hong Kong Is Stamping Out Discontent Over Fire - "Volunteers providing aid to survivors have also been reportedly asked to leave sites near the fire. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said on Nov. 29 that “we understand everyone's good intentions to help” but advised that volunteers and aid groups coordinate with the city government. A volunteer told Sky News that “past incidents” have made authorities anxious about crowds forming: “They may liken this to previous events—the essence looks similar.” The Hong Kong government appears to be wary of fomenting discontent that could snowball into mass demonstrations like in 2019, when widespread anti-establishment protests consumed the city. With reports of official negligence possibly contributing to the fire, Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, tells TIME that the government has since “abused” national security legislation in a bid to try and put things under control—“to escalate this domestic crisis management to a matter of regime security.”"
Did China Break an ASML Lithography Machine While Trying to Reverse-Engineer It? - "Interestingly, a source reports that in recent months, the Chinese have been caught trying to reverse-engineer the ASML DUV lithography machine. That’s not because the Chinese want to know how to mass produce these older machines. It’s because Chinese technicians are trying to learn the intricacies of the machines in order to indigenously replicate them—and then, more importantly, to develop more advanced indigenous lithography devices that the Chinese can then use to produce the newer, more advanced chips that the Americans have denied them access to. But in the process of disassembling one of their older ASML systems, the Chinese apparently damaged it, prompting them to call ASML to send assistance to repair the broken device. Once ASML technicians arrived in China, they soon discovered that the machine had not simply broken down, but had broken because the Chinese attempted to disassemble and reassemble it. This is an indicator of just how damaging the US chip bans have been for China. But it also shows that the Americans cannot simply rest on the chip bans to keep the Chinese behind the United States."
Dutch prepare to back down in Nexperia row with China - "the Dutch were prepared to reverse a previous decision to seize control of Nexperia as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg. Vincent Karremans, the Dutch minister for economic affairs, said he expected the impasse to be resolved shortly. The two sides have been locked in talks since last month when the Netherlands government used Cold War-era powers to essentially take control of Chinese-owned, but Dutch-headquartered, Nexperia. The company is a major producer of chips that are ubiquitous in everything from cars to medical devices and defence platforms. Dutch officials said they intervened for security reasons amid local media reports that Chinese executives were preparing to shut down the company’s European operations. In response to the move, Beijing imposed strict export controls that stopped chips made by the Chinese division of Nexperia – which finishes and packages the products – being sent to the rest of the world. It created a major crisis that prompted manufacturers to warn they were running down stockpiles and were days away from production line stoppages. However, the Dutch government appeared to capitulate late on Thursday, as it was reported that officials were willing to walk back the seizure of Nexperia."
Why Western executives who visit China are coming back terrified - "“It’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ford’s chief executive about his recent trip to China. After visiting a string of factories, Jim Farley was left astonished by the technical innovations being packed into Chinese cars – from self-driving software to facial recognition. “Their cost and the quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West,” Farley warned in July. “We are in a global competition with China, and it’s not just EVs. And if we lose this, we do not have a future at Ford.” The car industry boss is not the only Western executive to have returned shaken following a visit to the Far East. Andrew Forrest, the Australian billionaire behind mining giant Fortescue – which is investing massively in green energy – says his trips to China convinced him to abandon his company’s attempts to manufacture electric vehicle powertrains in-house... Other executives describe vast, “dark factories” where robots do so much of the work alone that there is no need to even leave the lights on for humans... It now boasts 567 robots for every 10,000 manufacturing workers, compared to 449 for Germany, 307 for the US and 104 in the UK. More automation is seen by many as good for productivity, the all-important measure of how much an economy gets out of what it puts in. Many analysts also note that China’s growing share of worldwide manufacturing gives it increasing leverage over global supply chains – and would make it a formidable opponent in a war. But alongside Beijing’s stated desire to dominate industries of the future, Rian Whitton, an expert at Bismarck Analysis, says increased automation is also an attempt to mitigate the impact of the country’s ageing population... unlike the “tragic” cars once mocked by Jeremy Clarkson and his colleagues on Top Gear, BYD’s recent efforts have been praised for both their low prices and their well-appointed interiors. “The most striking thing about their automotive industry is the pace and the speed with which it operates,” says Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). “They can develop and execute models in probably half of the time most European car makers can.”... The risk, however, is that “we don’t create the new, or we trap workers in the old instead of trying to leap forward,” Tordoir warns, pointing to the tendency of politicians to prevent ageing steel and car factories from closing instead of encouraging the creation of newer, high-tech jobs for workers to move to... “But I see the Government throwing billions of pounds each year at completely speculative rubbish like green hydrogen or to fulfil renewable [energy] obligations contracts and I just think, ‘Well, why not five billion a year in grants for capital equipment? “That would arguably get a bigger bang for our buck than a lot of the energy-related industrial policies we pursue.” Counter-intuitively, Whitton says countries which had more automation during the first “China shock” of the 2000s – which flooded the world with cheap goods – managed to hold on to a greater share of industrial jobs. “People talk a lot about how automation will lead to job losses,” he adds. “But actually, the job losses are going to be disproportionately in the countries that don’t automate.” In other words, failing to modernise will almost certainly lead to more dark factories in the West. But the kind where no work at all is happening."
Time to 'tax the 'rich'' and pursue net zero
US seizes items thought to be made from hair of Muslims in Chinese labor camps - "US federal authorities have seized a shipment of products made from human hair believed to have been taken from Muslims in labor camps in China’s western Xinjiang province."
Jesse Peltan on X - "China's electricity is now 30% more than Europe's — PER CAPITA. More than double in total."
Time for Europe to double down on renewables
Meme - "China's double standard"
Appropriate
"Know the work rules"
Mao: *Kills 50+ million Chinese*
China: "Aww, you're sweet"
Inappropriate
Japan: *Kills 50+ million Chinese*
China: "HELLO, HUMAN RESOURCES?"
The West can still win the electric car war with China - "The danger for China is that it is sinking eye-watering sums into technologies that are no longer cutting-edge and is wasting resources on vast overcapacity that will never find a market... Communist Party planners seemed to have learned little from their conquest of the global ship-building market, a strategy backed by subsidies, give-away energy, and opaque help of all kinds that has ended in a revenue bloodbath for loss-making behemoths. China’s share of global ship sales is currently in freefall. The momentary dominance is slipping through their fingers. George Magnus from Oxford University’s China Centre said this industrial policy has been gobbling up some 7 to 8pc of GDP. The market discipline of Schumpeterian clearance has been blocked, allowing industrial deformation to fester. China’s leaders may also find that their ruthless, state-driven, decade-long drive to control global supplies of the minerals and materials needed for EV production is less useful than they thought, and in some cases completely useless. These metals are not all so critical after all. China’s weaponisation of rare earths and its curbs on battery technology – not just in retaliation against Trump, but against the whole democratic world – has alerted everybody to its wolf warrior intentions. You cannot replace the mask once you have ripped it off. American and European companies will guard their technological secrets more closely this time."
Zeba Zoariah on X - "I’m from the Northeast - so when I say this, I mean it with heart and history. Prema Thongdok (originally from Rupa, West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh) was en route from London to Japan, transiting via Shanghai, when she was held 18 hours by Chinese authorities simply because her Indian passport listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace. They told her: “Arunachal Pradesh is part of China - your passport is invalid.” They even mocked her: “You should get a Chinese passport.” Here’s the deal:
•Arunachal Pradesh is undeniably Indian territory and Indian citizens born there have full right to Indian passports
•And it undermines the very “normalcy” Beijing claims to want at LAC.
•Chinese interference in civilian transit and identity is not diplomacy - it’s intimidation.
•India lodged a strong demarche in Beijing & Delhi - reminding China that this detention was baseless and breached the Chicago Convention & Montreal Convention on civil aviation.
When a citizen from our Northeast is singled out just for their birthplace - that’s not foreign policy. That’s erasure. Northeast Indians are not bargaining chips, transit tokens or second-class travellers. We are India - in identity, in territory, in dignity."
The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动 on X - "Today in history: On November 25th, 1950, Mao Zedong's son Mao Anying was killed in action by an air strike during Korean war. His position was revealed due to the smoke from cooking egg fried rice. Posting egg fried rice on 25th Nov becomes a popular anti-CCP meme on Chinese social media."
日深( 히미 )🇯🇵🇳🇫 on X - "It turns out that most of the accounts calling for Ryukyu (Okinawa) independence in Japanese are actually run by Chinese spies."
Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo on X - "Many thanks for your heart-warming message. Indeed, Japan is earnetsly waiting for tourists with good manner and genuine interest as its renowned cleanness and refined serenity increase due to the recent measure by our continental neighbor 👍"
Melissa Chen on X - "This 🇯🇵 Ambassador is taking a lot of heat for implying that Chinese tourists lack good manners but it’s weird because Chinese officials actually agree with him The CCP established a Civilization Office (part of the Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress) and part of their mandate is to deal with problematic tourists. They draw up rules, blacklist individuals, and also provide classes to educate tourists on how to behave abroad. All of the outrage is nothing more than kabuki theater."
Melissa Chen on X - "It isn’t just Japan: There’s a growing wave of anti-Chinese sentiment and protests in South Korea 🇰🇷, which has intensified since it first began over a visa exemption for Chinese tourists in September. Demonstrations have grown in Seoul, featuring calls for expulsion and unverified claims of election interference by China. Similar tropes about poor tourist behavior and infiltration into Korean politics and institutions abound. In October, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (a leftist) proposed a bill that imposes up to five years in prison for defaming China with the intended purpose of suppressing anti-Chinese rallies and “hate speech,” framing them as harmful to national interests and signaling a domestic push to foster a more welcoming environment for Beijing's influence. This is very much like the UK government expanding hate speech laws to include anti-immigrant rhetoric and Islamophobia. Hate speech laws prevent legitimate criticism. The goal in South Korea is to make it illegal to express valid concerns about Beijing's influence on Korean sovereignty and politics. In the UK it functions as a way to chill debate about mass immigration and social problems due to lack of integration among some cultures. By the way, Charlie Kirk actually spoke out about this when he visited South Korea back in September, just weeks before he was killed."
China’s defence industry is in trouble - "Last year, China’s defence industry shrank by 10 per cent according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Over the last 10 years, dozens of individuals have been purged as part of the Chinese leader’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign, including those in his inner circle."
South China Sea crash underscores China’s unprofessional military culture - "Nations across the globe have urged China to respect international law to prevent collisions at sea, but Beijing has repeatedly ignored such warnings, disregarding laws and norms and fostering an unprofessional culture of aggression among its mariners. In August 2025, a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship chased a Philippine patrol vessel in the South China Sea before crossing paths with a People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyer. The resulting crash crumpled the CCG ship’s bow and left the vessel unseaworthy, according to Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela. Beijing did not immediately acknowledge the collision, although a CCG spokesperson claimed China’s actions were “professional and legitimate,” according to The New York Times newspaper. Meanwhile, observers questioned why China sent a destroyer to the area, escalating tensions and violating a 2012 agreement not to deploy naval vessels to a disputed atoll... The crash is the latest in a yearslong series of South China Sea confrontations between Beijing and Manila. China claims almost all of the sea, its rich fisheries and key global shipping lanes, including waters in the Philippines’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Disregarding an international tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claims in 2016, China continues deploying coast guard, naval and maritime militia ships to block, ram and harass Philippine civilian, law enforcement and military vessels operating lawfully in Manila’s EEZ."
Jonathon P Sine on X - "Working paper. Runs ~500k Chinese graduate dissertations through plagiarism-detection software, then links them to 60k successful civil-service recruits (and controls). Individuals with high plagiarism scores substantially more likely to enter government + advance faster."
Canada is climbing out of Trump’s frying pan and into Xi’s fire - "The final report of the Hogue Inquiry stated plainly in January of this year that “the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.” And it “poses the most sophisticated and active cyber threat to Canada …increasingly using social media and the Internet for disinformation campaigns involving elections.” One such disinformation campaign, against former MP Kenny Chiu, was documented extensively by The New York Times in an article entitled Canadian Politicians Who Criticize China Become Its Targets. For those keeping score, this means our newest so-called partner has recently undermined our democracy and kidnapped our citizens. What of China’s human rights record? In the midst of Canada’s announcements that the flame was rekindled, The Economist detailed how China is rounding up Christian leaders, using late-night arrest tactics that sound a great deal like scenes from Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago... Stephen Harper’s former deputy chief of staff, Howard Anglin, offered a 2021 assessment that bears repeating: “When we engage with the Chinese government, we deal with an outlaw regime that holds us in even lower contempt than the rule of law. And when we do business under their laws, we should do so with the expectation that those laws mean nothing, or rather will mean whatever the regime says they mean in its sole interest.” As the formerly detained Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig said in a recent interview, “If you create dependency on China, it will weaponize it for political purposes and to silence Canada and constrain our foreign policy.”"
Blindly hating Trump means denouncing him as authoritarian and fascist, then going all in on a country with real concentration camps
Singaporean journalist expelled from China after writing report about Xi Jinping's cousin - "A Singaporean journalist working for the Wall Street Journal in China has been effectively expelled from the mainland a month after he co-wrote a report that detailed how a close relative of President Xi Jinping's was involved in a money laundering probe and high-stakes gambling in Australia. Mr Wong Chun Han's press credentials expired on Friday (Aug 30) and would not be renewed... The WSJ story had pointed out that there were no signs Mr Xi was personally implicated or that he had known about his cousin's activities in Australia. The Chinese Foreign Ministry rubbished the report, calling it "groundless accusations based on some rumours". Mr Philip Wen, the other Beijing-based WSJ reporter and an Australian, had recently received a three-month visa, which is far shorter than the one year permit typically granted to foreign journalists operating in China. The private wealth of the families of China's political elite is one of the most sensitive topics in the country, and exposes have resulted in visa bans or delays for news outlets and reporters."
Clearly, Xi Jinping cares deeply about corruption and we know that he lost his visa because he was reporting fake news designed to undermine China and discredit Xi Dada's anti-corruption drive and anyone who disagrees is just biased against China and not worth engaging with
