Cardinal Zen’s arrest in May sparked a wave of international outrage, in contrast to the Vatican’s relative discretion on the matter. This ‘prudence,’ which could be viewed as excessive, provides the morally murky atmosphere necessary for the Vatican to renew the agreement with communist China.
Hélène de Lauzun —
The attempt to intimidate comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is travelling to visit Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Hélène de Lauzun —
All pretense of neutrality was dropped when Biden was asked whether U.S. forces would defend the democratically governed Taiwan, to which he replied: “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
For all their apparent unity, Russia’s contribution to our present chaotic moment is increasingly ruffling Beijing’s feathers. It is much bothered by the continued forestallment of the Ukrainian war’s end.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
The number of troops on the ground is much lower than in the previous 2018 exercise. But the symbolic significance of this event is quite different. It is an explicit display of the Sino-Russian alliance on the international stage.
Hélène de Lauzun —
The U.S. accounted for 39% of all major arms exports from 2017 to 2021, more than twice Russia’s 19% and greater than the 32% U.S. share from 2012 to 2016.
Bridget Ryder —
Arguing for its replacement, Lithuania’s minister of foreign affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted that “China’s 17+1 format was already redundant and divisive long before Lithuania quit.”
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
Analysts fear Pelosi’s bold move could spark a real crisis between the U.S. and China, as the latter has vowed to encircle Taiwan with military exercises.
David Boos, Tristan Vanheuckelom —
While Sri Lankans had hoped that the removal of Rajapaksa from office would be a first step to turn around the collapsed economy, negotiations with the World Bank and IMF haven’t yet been successful. Instead, protesters are being persecuted.
David Boos —
“It’s not particularly about COVID, but about recognizing the patterns we are creating. I think that is the main topic in the film: people need to start seeing the patterns and recognize how they are being copied with every new global threat.”—Marijn Poels
David Boos —
The Japanese are famously split over the issue, which conjures up fears of an ultra-nationalist (if not imperialist) element rearing its head again—and gaining entrance to real power.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
Pope Francis, in his attempt at perfecting the art of the deal, might soon learn that endless compromise with Beijing will guarantee Catholicism’s demise.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
With Russia and China increasingly adopting Western ideological talking points and using them against us, it is time for us to question our commitment to a rhetoric that emulates the effectiveness of socialist countries.
David Boos —
While the struggle to gain independence of Russian gas is causing European environmentalists to compromise their transformation process to renewable energies, China just launched its first dual-fuel hybrid tanker.
David Boos —
In a fact sheet, the commission summed up its goal: by 2030 “all textile products placed on the EU market are durable, repairable, and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances, produced respecting social rights.”
Bridget Ryder —
Introducing the Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement (RLA), which is aimed squarely at supplanting the dollar.
Sven R. Larson —
Chinese researchers have patented a ‘mind-reading’ helmet that responds to brainwaves triggered by pornographic material. While this sounds like the next step in China’s dystopia, practical questions about its usefulness remain unanswered.
David Boos —
While I agree with the aims and even admire the methods of the protesters of 2019 to 2020, it is likely that when China does assume full control of the Hong Kong territory, they will have made things worse.
Roger Watson —
Cardinal Joseph Zen, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong since 2009, was arrested on May 11th by the Chinese authorities, along with other pro-democracy activists on suspicion of undermining national security and colluding with foreign countries. The cardinal and his companions were released on bail the same day. The cardinal was subsequently required to appear in […]
Hélène de Lauzun —
“I think conspiracy theories are proliferating because we can all feel the ground shifting under our feet but have no easy way to understand and make sense of that feeling of chaos.”—N.S. Lyons
Jonathon Van Maren —
The U.S. president’s remarks could be interpreted as a change of strategy, and a clarification from the White House was needed. This is the third time in recent months that Biden has insisted on U.S. armed support for Taiwan, claims only to be denied by the White House.
Hélène de Lauzun —
by Douglas Murray
London: HarperCollins, 2022
Harrison Pitt —
After Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China, Australia and the United States expressed concerns over regional security.
David Boos —
Chinese scientists have developed a robotic ‘nanny’ to care for an artificial womb. They assert that this robotic method will be more efficient than natural pregnancy, and sociologists hope that it will also solve the problem of plummeting birth rates in China.
David Boos —
Slowly, but surely, the first social credit score systems are being introduced in Europe. But rather than being met with outrage, there seems to be a remarkable indifference among many Europeans. Did the rules of social media condition us to embrace such systems?
David Boos —
China has refused to condemn the Russian war in Ukraine, but some Chinese tech companies have still opted to withdraw their products from the Russian market. The reason for these withdrawals could be pressure by U.S. suppliers.
David Boos —
The arrests were made under the security law enacted by the Chinese government in June 2020. A wave of international protests followed the announcement.
Hélène de Lauzun —
The near-total elimination of independent media has emboldened the pro-Beijing press to be even more aggressive in hounding the regime’s critics. Next week, on May 3rd, we will mark World Press Freedom Day. Let’s ensure it means something.
Benedict Rogers —
In a first visit to Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover last August, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke about economic cooperation between the two countries, and renewed his call to the U.S. to end sanctions.
David Boos —
The ages-old concept of the balance of power is supposedly understood by every international relations student. However, preoccupied with the ideas of globalism, American and European leaders often forget to take it into account when forming their policies.
Daria Fedotova —
Proponents of unity based on imperial and religious ties must remind their opponents of the tremendous pluralism that existed within that imperial administration under which much of their continent was once united.
Carlos Perona Calvete —
It looks like the Chinese are beginning to suffer the consequences of their own central economic planning model.
Sven R. Larson —
Understanding international law as a field of competition between great powers, China is moving to “upgrade its legal toolkit” in order to oppose foreign sanctions and interface, and strengthen its global position.
Carlos Perona Calvete —
From questions concerning intellectual property restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, to the spread of jihadi militias and the growing Chinese presence in Africa, the current EU-AU summit is fraught with pressing issues.
Carlos Perona Calvete —
Many other countries decided to boycott the Beijing Olympics, Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and attended opening ceremonies.
Bridget Ryder —
After a Dutch journalist was forced off-camera by security guard, the incident quickly gained international traction and pointed a floodlight on China’s draconian approach to journalists.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
The state-affiliated newspaper Ta Kung Pao accused Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen of inciting student riots in 2019. A crackdown on religious liberties by the CCP might be on the horizon.
David Boos —
For the first time in two years, the presidents of China and Russia met in person and used the occasion to reaffirm their shared vision of the future in a joint statement covering multilateralism, restriction of NATO expansion, and moving away from the U.S. dollar.
David Boos —
Christian leaders asked authorities to drop the charges against Jimmy Lai. “We plead with you to have compassion on his life and well-being and to correct this injustice. We will continue to hope and pray for his eventual release as well as for the well-being and prosperity of Hong Kong and all the peoples of the whole Chinese nation,” the letter said.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
According to the study, the Chinese regime has used its membership in the WTO “to legitimize its model in the face of a global economy dependent on its market and handcuffed by its commercial strategy.” The study firmly repudiates the WTO for having contributed “to legitimizing a profoundly authoritarian economic and political model.”
Bridget Ryder —
The CCP is little more than an international crime syndicate with political affectations. Knowing what is going on in China is dependent on sifting through their official lies, deflections, and ‘dezinformatsiya.’ The fact is, we just don’t know what unleashed monster they’re running from in Xi’an. All we know is that the CCP is lying about it.
Benjamin Harnwell —
I promised myself that I would ignore the global panic that has taken the world over (one might say it has ‘gone viral’) and substituted itself for every other known psycho-pathology. But the U-turn by the international commentariat was too much of a gift to satire to be missed.
James Bogle —
Central banks are recognizing that their own sustained monetary expansion has now awoken the sleeping giant of inflation. The goal now is to avoid trapping us in the same protracted inflation period we experienced 40 years ago.
Sven R. Larson —
Vice Admiral Schonbach said the deployment is “like a teaser;” a signal of German commitment to increased engagement in Asia. “We’re here for the first time after 19 years to check the battlefield,” he said. “The next step, I hope that we can come on a regular basis.”
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
“A new model of cooperation has been formed between our countries, based, among other things, on such principles as non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each other’s interests,” Putin reportedly told Xi during their meeting.
Bridget Ryder —
More of a mission statement by each world leader than an actual in-depth discussion of the topic, some of the core themes at the summit addressed the strengthening of their own democracies, safeguarding rights and freedoms, and promoting egalitarianism wherever possible. Threats posed by ‘authoritarianism,’ ‘populism,’ and ‘fake news’ were common throughout.
Tristan Vanheuckelom —
China has punished Lithuania after the country allowed Taiwan to open a diplomatic office in the capital of Vilnius. It is “bad international precedent,” according to the Chinese government.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out, the WHO amazed many by brazenly prioritizing the Chinese Communist Party’s political interests over the health of the world’s population.
Benjamin Harnwell —
The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka complained on Sunday against the use of an “ugly” photograph of a Chinese Olympic weightlifter by Reuters news service. But the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted a complaint: “Don’t put politics and ideologies above sports, and call yourself an unbiased media organization. Shameless. Respect the spirit of #Olympics.” […]
