A Critique of Japan’s Proposed Constitutional Reforms Morphs into...
A Chinese government official’s Weibo post lecturing Japan about the danger of amending its constitution—standard nationalist fare on the microblogging site—turned into a forum for criticizing a 2018...
View ArticleLatvia and Estonia Exit China’s “16+1” Central and Eastern European...
Last Thursday, Latvia and Estonia announced they would cease participation in a cooperation group between China and Central and Eastern European countries, commonly known as “16+1.” The two Baltic...
View ArticleNetizens Mock Accusations of “Technological Hegemony” over U.S. Semiconductor...
At a press conference on September 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning fielded a reporter’s question about the Biden administration’s plans to expand restrictions on semiconductor exports...
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Discussion of Lhasa COVID Outbreak Censored on Weibo
Late last week, censors wiped Weibo clean of posts documenting the chaos of pandemic control measures in Lhasa, Tibet. In mid-August, Tibet began reporting thousands of new cases in the region’s first...
View ArticleSurveys Show Xi’s Hardline Foreign Policy Increasingly Unpopular Among...
A series of recent surveys shows how Chinese diplomacy in the era of Xi Jinping has soured attitudes toward China in many developed countries. At the same time, Chinese officials are doubling down on...
View ArticleChina and G7 Nations Trade Accusations of Economic Coercion, Deepen...
Tensions rose in the wake of the G7 summit last weekend, as China weathered accusations of being an economic and security threat, while countering with its own similar accusations against the West....
View ArticleBlinken’s Beijing Visit Brings Modest Progress on Stabilizing U.S.-China Ties
At long last, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing to meet Chinese leaders and jointly work towards stabilizing bilateral ties. His trip was originally planned for February but...
View ArticleWeibo Users Dub Wagner Group Rebellion a “Real-life Version of ‘Eliminating...
An antiquated Chinese political phrase enjoyed a brief revival when it was dusted off and used by some online commentators to describe the series of events known variously as the “Wagner Group...
View ArticleForeign Minister Qin Gang Disappears into the Black Box of Chinese Politics
It has now been almost a month since Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang made a public appearance. The lack of information given by the Chinese government has ceded the narrative around his absence to a...
View ArticleQin Gang Removed as Foreign Minister Without Explanation
After one month without making a public statement or appearance, Qin Gang was removed from his position as foreign minister on Tuesday. At least for now, he will be replaced by his boss Wang Yi, who...
View ArticleWord(s) of the Week: Ulterior Motives (别有用心 bié yǒu yòng xīn)
Having “ulterior motives” (别有用心, bié yǒu yòng xīn), an accusation often lobbed at critics of the Party-state, is sometimes deployed in tandem with the term “foreign hostile forces” (境外势力, jìngwài...
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Xiaomi’s Patriotic AI Malfunction Censored on Weibo
In July, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s powerful internet regulator, published a new law governing generative artificial intelligence products and mandating that they uphold...
View ArticleChina Sidesteps Israel-Hamas Conflict
The recent escalation of Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza has incited fierce reactions around the world and put Beijing in an uncomfortable position. The latest figures show that at least 1,300 Israelis...
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Quote of the Day: “Rejoicing Over a Disaster Makes Citizens of This Great...
“Rejoicing over a disaster (or mocking or insulting the victims of disaster) in this way makes the citizens of this great nation infinitely less civilized.” – From an essay by WeChat blogger 江湖挑灯看剑...
View ArticleAmid Private Tributes from Citizens, Chinese Media Mostly Silent on Navalny’s...
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s sudden death last Friday in an Arctic prison was scarcely mentioned by Chinese state or commercial media, and what coverage there is has simply echoed Russian...
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