China Tweets #6
Some are unhappy with the direction the Party is going in. Three elderly CCP members issued an open letter against "the party leads everything" and called for a firm boycott of a "personality cult". Apparently, all three are under strict surveillance by the CCP now.
敬请关注:三个中共党员发公开信反对“党领导一切”,呼吁坚决抵制“个人崇拜”
— Gancheng Wang (@GanchengW) August 25, 2022
董洪义、马贵会、田奇庄三个老共产党员不满习近平十年祸国倒行逆施,发公开信呼吁中共修改党章,要求去除“党领导一切”,抵制领导干部的个人崇拜。现在三人均处于中共严密监控之中,随时有人身危险。不过他们已经准备好了一切 pic.twitter.com/hca4OuaFP9
Here is more in detail:
As ruling CCP (CCP) leader Xi Jinping prepares to seek an unprecedented third term in office, three veteran party members have spoken out against the ongoing centralization of power and signs of a personality cult around the general secretary. https://t.co/iucmMMsRSf
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) August 28, 2022
Local officials' belts are being tightened.
I should also add that, while such things can’t be openly reported on in the Chinese media, nearly every local government official I know has experienced a pretty significant salary cut this year, despite pretty significant inflation. You can draw your own interpretations, but…
— Taisu Zhang (@ZhangTaisu) August 27, 2022
Rent-a-crowd or earnest excitement, or both?
China’s state TV pretends that Xi meets a group of park visitors in spontaneity. One thing that gives it away is none of the people carries a mobile phone. In the era of covid health code, no Chinese goes about without their phone https://t.co/6UbtfbrYhz
— 杨涵 Han Yang (@polijunkie_aus) August 27, 2022
Maybe it is rent a crowd...
昨天开始不断有人发如下两张照片(一发必是两张),我开始以为是想让我留意对比习、李与群众的距离。今天读到下面一段话,才明白着眼点不在这儿,而是另有深意——
— 高伐林 (@GaoFalin) August 25, 2022
“真的群众与群众演员的区别:真的群众会拿出手机拍摄发朋友圈,群众演员就很配合地垂手而立。” pic.twitter.com/fiqDthqHcR
Damien Ma looks at the personnel changes in the run up to the 20th Party Congress:
It's been a rocky year for China, but has it materially changed political dynamics at the top? In the summer lull before the most important "election' of the year, we look at the flurry of personnel changes this year to gauge Xi's political strength. https://t.co/LTfTyXM6rs
— Damien Ma (@damienics) August 23, 2022
Willy Lam does the same:
Who will sit with Xi on the PRC's de facto top leadership body- the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC)? Willy Lam examines prospects for current members Li Keqiang and Zhao Leji to stay on, and assess top candidates' chances for promotion. https://t.co/I8QAlfnr1o
— Jamestown China Brief (@ChinaBriefJT) August 25, 2022
Climate change affecting China:
Water level of Jialing River in SW China falls significantly
Shocking pictures from China: World’s third-largest river dries up in drought 👇pic.twitter.com/1rXKa01quq
— Daniel Moser (@_dmoser) August 23, 2022
Poyang lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, shrinking amid China's most severe drought in six decades
Poyang lake in July vs August https://t.co/5VUl1gU22L pic.twitter.com/hevCDLCMAC
— Chenchen Zhang 🤦🏻♀️ (@chenchenzh) August 25, 2022
A thread on China's heatwave:
China’s heatwave/drought is not fully appreciated, esp re: macro and ag implications. Here’s a thread on the latter, taken from analysis by the brilliant @Even_Pay. Hope she doesn’t mind; everyone should follow her.
— andrew polk (@andrewpolk81) August 23, 2022
Bottom line: A big test for China’s food security push 1/17
Hurry up Chǔshǔ (处暑) — it lasts from 23 August until around 7 September.
🎐Today marks #SolARTerms No.14, #Chushu (#EndofHeat), which indicates that the hot summer is ending. The coolness of autumn depicted vividly by Zhang Zhong in his work of hibiscus and mandarin in 1353 is upon us.
— Shanghai Museum (@ShanghaiMuseum) August 23, 2022
🎨芙蓉鸳鸯图轴 元 张中 pic.twitter.com/TnC9l425tk
Chongqing getting it from all angles:
Chongqing is dealing with a lot: the wildfires are burning, the power cuts are leaving parts of the city in the dark, meanwhile the Covid tests are ongoing. (Image on Weibo, it says: mountain fire - power restrictions - nucleic acid) pic.twitter.com/rNxU62iu1A
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) August 25, 2022
Sichuan power outages
Due to the constant heat, #AmazingChina's Sichuan province is still experiencing severe power shortages, with the entire city of Nanchong blacked out yesterday👇
— Donna Wong💛🖤 (@DonnaWongHK) August 21, 2022
More strangely, they started screaming like the Shanghainese in Apr🥶 pic.twitter.com/UaJT7x0fJc
As of 12 midday on 28 August general commercial and industrial electricity has been restored to Sichuan, while, with the exception of high energy-carrying industries, electricity consumption by large industries is gradually being restored.
截至28日中午12点,四川省一般工商业用电已经全部恢复,除高载能行业外,大工业用电正在逐步恢复用电。后续水电来水持续好转后,大工业用电将全部恢复正常用电。 pic.twitter.com/5xsjk3xCDR
— 外汇交易员 (@myfxtrader) August 28, 2022
An explainer on how a lack of hydro-electric power contributed to the shortage:
NEW from me for @LantauGroup: When the Water Runs Out: China's Latest Power Crunch
— David Fishman (@pretentiouswhat) August 24, 2022
Breaking down the new power crisis, looking at how Sichuan got into this mess, how bad it really is, & how they could get out of it.
Download link:https://t.co/F1IHWWOs3E
Summary thread 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/VZ6n7j2Rtl
It looks like nuclear power will come into play to prevent these kinds of events from happening in the long-term:
China will accelerate nuclear power projects amid a wider effort to combat future electricity shortages 🇨🇳 ☢️
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) August 23, 2022
⚡️ Energy agency calls to expand capacity and cross-region grids
🥵 This comes as Sichuan province deals with extreme heat and a power crisishttps://t.co/vseuMzXMvT
The spectre of Covid lives on.
Videos of employees at Tencent's Shenzhen office running away are making the rounds online.
— Christian Petersen-Clausen (@chris__pc) August 25, 2022
A full building lockdown is said to have been announced after a person tested positive for Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/7M718vlGpm
This is very sad. This woman had her certified public accountant exams but her local community district is on lockdown and she is not allowed to leave. She will have to wait until next year to sit the exam.
注册会计师考试在即,但小区封控,出不去。保安在解释,女孩子在哭,辛苦的一年白费,只能等来年了。 pic.twitter.com/Kc7q0t8nf6
— bridgeduan (@bridgeduan) August 27, 2022
On UN's Bachelet and her report on Xinjiang:
Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said her office was trying to release a long-awaited report on Xinjiang before she steps down next week. But she appeared to leave open the possibility that wouldn't happen. Her comments today: pic.twitter.com/V9lhLMsyuB
— Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) August 25, 2022
New: UN human rights chief Bachelet "trying very hard" to have Xinjiang report released before the end of her mandate next week.
— Finbarr Bermingham (@fbermingham) August 25, 2022
Despite China's economic slowdown Citi are telling investors to hold tight.
Citi's global allocation team says it still recommends a long position in Chinese stocks, predicting a +19.6% total return through mid-2023. The thesis rests on 1) more stimulus from Beijing and 2) a positive market reaction to said stimulus pic.twitter.com/poflwHYaTs
— Sofia Horta e Costa (@SofiaHCBBG) August 23, 2022
Here is Sofia's weekly Bloomberg China-roundup:
All of this happened in China this week. A thread. 1/10
— Sofia Horta e Costa (@SofiaHCBBG) August 26, 2022
Pinduoduo — China's answer to Amazon — to enter US market.
Pinduoduo plans US launch this fall 👀 pic.twitter.com/aDAfxIl3fC
— Turner Novak 🍌🧢 (@TurnerNovak) August 22, 2022
Tooze's take on China's economic woes
Chartbook #145 just dropped on China's mounting economic policy dilemmas.https://t.co/M04AKwxslH
— Adam Tooze (@adam_tooze) August 23, 2022
Pettis explains how China increased its share of global exports with supply-side support but that the underlying problem of weak domestic demand remains:
1/10
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) August 22, 2022
Good piece on Chinese trade. For all the talk of decoupling, China's share of global exports has risen by 15-20% from 2018 to 2021, and probably a lot more in 2022. This means that China's share of global manufacturing also rose.https://t.co/mYwcWyjmGI via @WSJ
More on weak domestic demand
1/13
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) August 23, 2022
For years this has seemed counterintuitive to many, but Paul Krugman argues here that China's growing trade surpluses are not symptoms of health but rather indicate just how difficult it has been to boost very weak domestic demand.https://t.co/cXTmFTdFwf
Pettis on the faltering property sector
1/4
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) August 25, 2022
At least two very interesting comments in this article.
One is: "Banks are offloading existing bad debt but are mostly transferring it to large state-run asset managers, such as China Huarong Asset Management and Great Wall Asset Management."https://t.co/8bm3paYmFR
A thread on why the China-US audit deal won't stick:
This US-China audit deal is very unlikely to stick.
— andrew polk (@andrewpolk81) August 26, 2022
Looking at the Chinese and US readouts of the deal it's clear the two sides have very different ideas on what was agreed to here. Classic.
Bottom line: Delisting is still our baseline expectation. 1/16https://t.co/tcQz6GBRrM
"Kung Fu...is the grand struggle of Chinese nationalism in the twentieth century in microcosm."
kung fu hustle is a movie i like a whole lot. it kicks ass. how can i use it to talk about bruce lee, taiwan independence, police story, and maoism? all of these things come up in this article. whether they are relevant or not i leave to your judgement. https://t.co/GUofOGbyWB
— yoshimi battles the xiaofenhong (@nise_yoshimi) August 22, 2022
Disinformation in Western media. Link to orignal article.
good example of how sneaky China disinfo can be - I can verify for all the folks at home that not a single one of Guangzhou's main streets has any propaganda about Xi Jinping's virtues. in fact this picture is very clearly of the inside of a museum pic.twitter.com/VV3Pg9aD17
— yoshimi battles the xiaofenhong (@nise_yoshimi) August 26, 2022
A Tibetan is arrested for the ‘separatist act’ of possessing a picture of the Dalai Lama.
Chinese authorities in Tibet have detained a Tibetan man for possessing a picture of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s foremost Buddhist spiritual leader who has been living in exile since 1959, RFA has learned. https://t.co/qrZBCUQAaX
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) August 26, 2022
On Taiwan
PLA drone over Kinmen islands
The PLA’s decision to a)send a drone and take this photo of ROCAF troops over Kinmen, and b)leak this photo, says a lot about the current mindset of the PLA vis-a-vis ROCAF. It’s unvarnished PSYOPs, and a signal that the PLA has even less respect for the ROCAF than assumed. pic.twitter.com/Wwt2mGETcH
— Lyle Morris (@LyleJMorris) August 24, 2022
On Taiwan's military defense spending
One of my PhD students, Col. Steve Li, wrote his doctoral dissertation on this conundrum: “Why so little?” https://t.co/nolGUhQoRe A short thread of some of his findings: https://t.co/Z0oJa1jgqN
— James Lin (@jamestwotree) August 22, 2022
The People's Daily has devoted endless column inches to Pelosi throughout August
US House Speaker Pelosi has appeared in more than 70 articles in the CCP's flagship newspaper so far in August — stratospheric by historical standards. The latest outpouring of rage from China appears across two pages today. https://t.co/3j6JLOpdSz pic.twitter.com/ADnxRHJCnW
— China Media Project (@cnmediaproject) August 25, 2022
A PLA Major-General explaining the military exercises around Taiwan
"A tight siege was formed around Taiwan for the first time, providing a powerful deterrent to proponents of Taiwanese independence [who'd have no way to flee], as in 'closing the door and beating the dog,'" - National Defense Uni Major-General Professor Meng Xiangqing, on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/cis0gdilCK
— Tuvia Gering 陶文亚 (@GeringTuvia) August 22, 2022
The Lennon wall at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan still shows support for Hong Kongers:
So cool that @nccu1927’s Lennon wall in support of Hong Kong is still going strong 💪 pic.twitter.com/ipaEsqfTSO
— Lev Nachman (@lnachman32) August 24, 2022
On why a portion of people in Taiwan support unification with China:
Polls show there is *a* portion of people in Taiwan who support unification with China. The figures are debated but are big enough that we were curious - even with everything going Beijing threatens - why? https://t.co/CnyOilkXDg
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) August 28, 2022
Listen in to this, fascinating stuff.
The good folks at @adiz_tw were listening in on a very busy morning in the Taiwan Strait, featuring ROCAF, PLAAF, and USN.
— 馮醬 John Feng (@johnsfeng) August 28, 2022
Spoiler: I’m fairly certain PLAAF guy at 1:05 is Wu Jing from Wolf Warrior 1/2. pic.twitter.com/kjacYdZn3g
Xi's nephew is an actor, who knew!?
二十大前夕,皇甥馬元怒炒經紀人!馬元的母親習乾平,今上的同父異母姐姐,他的外公是習仲勛。馬元曾經出演了《血色浪漫》、《雙面膠》等電視劇,《讓子彈飛》等電影。
— Mao (@Maoviews) August 25, 2022
經紀人打著皇甥旗號招搖撞騙,可是政治問題啊! pic.twitter.com/1c86BZQTPi
For those interested in China's data protection framework:
Very pleased to announce my paper on China's emerging data protection framework is now out in the Journal of Cybersecurity. Open access as well so freely available: https://t.co/H6twTMpF0N
— China Digital (@China_Digital) August 26, 2022
A profile of PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi:
phenomenal Wang Yi profile by @JanePerlez via @nytimes
— 李其 Lizzi (@wstv_lizzi) August 22, 2022
The Face of China: A Globetrotting Diplomat Armed With U.S. Admonitionshttps://t.co/BPDileu5og
Richard McGregor on secrecy:
As the 20th Party Congress approaches, @mcgregorrichard reminds us in this superb piece how little we know about CCP decision making processes, and about the life, ideas, and vision of its current leader. https://t.co/ZJnu3TeQaz
— Nadège Rolland (@RollandNadege) August 23, 2022
Dylan digs into the work of neo-Maoist and Professora at the Center for Strategic Studies at Beihang University — Zhang Wenmu
Zhang Wenmu's essay about the strategic imperative of the Northeast's revitalization quotes from Mao Zedong's ode to the Yellow Emperor. It's hard to find in English. I've dug it out of the the fifth volume of Mao's Road to Power: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-1949. pic.twitter.com/2xMf5NCE9D
— Dylan Levi King (@dylanleviking) August 23, 2022
On the 'Indo-Pacific' as a construct and imaginative geography:
I wrote something along similar lines: 1) the US (& the Quad's) geopolitical anxieties & obsessions are reflected in & have driven the 'Indo-Pacific' construct and imaginative geography, which has now informed full-blown strategies for great power rivalry. https://t.co/wzpE1uSfLh https://t.co/mqSkVJu6rR pic.twitter.com/q89gXH8Nus
— Chengxin Pan (@ChengxinPan) August 25, 2022
Writing about the past to serve the present.
For a long time, the inward-looking “闭关锁国” (Seclusion and Lockdown) policy in the Ming and Qing Dynasties has been regarded as one of the main reasons for China’s decline in the 500 years before 1949. However, a new paper tries to challenge that view. pic.twitter.com/ELHepkREdb
— Henry Gao (@henrysgao) August 28, 2022
Realistic photos of the human face:
Noticing more of these makeup videos on Xiaohongshu where instead of using filters for that ultra smooth doll-face look, people are using super high resolution footage to give a realistic close up look of their skin and imperfections. pic.twitter.com/nNENbxl452
— Chaniece Chen 高欣妮 Ⓥ (@thisischaniece) August 27, 2022
Meme/Video of the week
These dogs' aural Mandarin comprehension is at least HSK 4.
when your friends want a photo with you but you dont😂 😍 pic.twitter.com/NtkIKKSwvz
— 🐈standardpuppies🐕 (@standardpuppies) August 26, 2022
No words needed.
《墙内完美规避“文字狱”的内容制作方式》 pic.twitter.com/3mqzM6TmQd
— 顶级智瘫 (@JackyNan0821) August 22, 2022
Compiled by Alex Davey