Peng Shuai: Chinese tennis star makes sexual assault claims
"In a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, Ms Peng said former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, had "forced" her to have sexual relations with him.
It is the first time such an allegation has been made against one of China's senior political leaders."
--- Well, the first time. Publicly, probably. But this stuff is very common in China, not only among political leaders. It's almost essential for men in power to have mistresses & affairs. & often enough these affairs are not entirely voluntary on the female side. Just like in this case, though, the women often sooner or later give in.
"Mr Zhang, 75, served as China's Vice Premier between 2013 and 2018 and was a close ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping"
--- Which means there will be no investigation, nor any official information on the case. If he were an ally of Jiang Zemin on the other hand ...
"I have no evidence, and it has been impossible to leave any evidence... You were always afraid that I would bring something like a tape recorder, to record evidence or something... There is no audio record, no video record, only my distorted but very real experience"
--- So, even if there were an investigation, nothing much would come of it. Interesting, though, that this unconfirmed allegation (no one actually knows whether it was really Peng Shuai who wrote it) made it to major Western news outlets so quickly. Particularly the BBC is usually a bit slow & tries to get some more background info first. But, well, it's a 'me-too' case...
China school locks down children after one Covid case
"Dozens of students were held inside a Chinese primary school for hours after it was locked down because a staff member tested positive for Covid-19.
[...] The children were tested and reportedly told to wait in the school overnight until their results came out.
The students are thought to have been between seven and 12 years of age."
--- The well-being of citizens comes first, as always. Well, I have to rephrase that: The sanctity of Beijing comes first. No virus is allowed to taint the centre of CCP control, the seat of demigod emperor Xi.
(Will be really interesting to see what happens if there are some Covid cases during the Winter Olympics. Speaking of which:)
More than 1 million people apply to enter Beijing's Covid-free Olympic bubble
"Since applications opened nearly two years ago, more than 1 million people have applied to work unpaid at the Beijing Games [...] Of that massive pool, nearly 20,000 volunteers were selected -- mostly college students from Beijing and the surrounding Hebei province.
The flood of applicants reflects the excitement sweeping China"
--- Excitement? Perhaps. But also CV requirements. Chinese students are supposed to have several such 'volunteer' jobs in their CV. The bigger & more important the events they 'volunteered' at, the better.
"The training program includes learning service etiquette, emergency care, Covid prevention strategies, and basic psychological and physical health care."
--- Hmm, somehow I suspect it also included strong indoctrination in Xi Jinping Thought & lessons in how to recognise foreign spies & how to resist foreigner temptations of any kind.
China targets 1.8% cut in average coal use at power plants by 2025
"China flagged on Wednesday it is targeting a 1.8% reduction in average coal use for electricity generation at power plants over the next five years, in a bid to lower greenhouse gas emissions"
--- More obfuscating bullshit from China. If you only read the title, some people might think that China is reducing coal use. But:
"By 2025, coal-fired power plants in China must adjust their consumption rate to an average of 300 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour (kWh), NDRC said on Wednesday. That compares to 305.5 grams per kWh in 2020"
--- It's only about efficiency, not actual coal consumption. Which is still growing. Just that energy output is growing a bit faster than coal input.
""The reduction of coal use helped to cut 6.67 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the power sector in 2006-2020, or 36% of total emission reductions in the industry," NDRC said"
--- Bullshit again.
European Parliament delegation visits Taiwan amid tensions with China
"The seven-member group led by French MEP Raphael Glucksmann will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other top officials during the three-day trip"
--- Ouch. That hurts the feelings of all Chinese.
"The Chinese mission in Brussels had warned earlier that a Taiwan visit by MEPs would "damage China's core interest and undermine the healthy development of China-EU relations"."
--- The China-EU relationship is only healthy if the EU appeases & finally submits to China.
Language Learning App Emphasizing Linguistic Diversity Deletes Tibetan and Uyghur Languages
"Talkmate’s Weibo account announced that Tibetan and Uyghur courses were indefinitely removed due to “government policies.” By Monday, the post itself was no longer available. Ironically, Talkmate prides itself on having been “selected by UNESCO to become the only application platform of World Atlas of Languages to promote […] multilingualism and linguistic diversity worldwide.”"
--- Worldwide, but not in China.
"UNESCO, together with Talkmate, is committed to safeguard the world´s diverse linguistic, cultural and documentary heritage."
--- UNESCO. Your turn.
Westminster School pulls out of China after Communist Party insists lessons are approved by Beijing
"The school unveiled its plans in 2017 to set up a sister institution bearing its name in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province.
But on Tuesday, Westminster’s chairman of governors told parents that this project has now been axed following “recent changes in Chinese education policy”."
--- The lure of Chinese money. But sometimes it's not enough.
"The new regulations mean that international schools must now teach the same lessons as China’s state-run public schools from kindergarten to grade nine.
All private schools must now “uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China”"
--- I wonder why anyone would go to an (expensive) 'international', if everything there is the same as in Chinese schools.
"Some of the country’s leading private schools have set up campuses in the Far East over the past decade.
The £42,630-a-year Wellington College has five schools in China and one in Thailand. It set up its first overseas school – Wellington College International Tianjin – a decade ago.
Meanwhile, Harrow School runs 11 schools in China"
--- Obviously, for other schools Chinese money is still tempting enough to go along with Xi Jinping Thought.
China's 'unprecedented' crackdown stunned private enterprise. One year on, it may have to cut business some slack
"There has been some indication that the regulatory push is slowing down."
--- Maybe. Or it may be that they found more effective ways of gaining control of private enterprise:
Chair of TikTok owner ByteDance steps down as Beijing tightens grip
"Zhang Yiming announced in May he would step down as chief executive of the tech company he co-founded and on Wednesday he relinquished his chair title, with ByteDance’s English-language website no longer featuring a page that mentioned his formal board role. Instead, there was a photo of Zhang under the heading of “leadership” with no title underneath."
--- At least he hasn't been erased (yet).
"A number of founders at some of China’s most well-known tech companies have in recent months given up overseeing daily operations amid a government clampdown on the tech sector"
--- All voluntarily, of course. They just needed a change of air.
‘I have no shame in my heart’: Hong Kong activist Tony Chung pleads guilty to secession and money laundering
"The court clerk read out each charge and asked whether the 20-year-old understood and what his plea was. After the clerk read out the secession charge, Chung said “I plead guilty, I have no shame in my heart.”
Chan then interrupted the clerk and told Chung to “not make any political declaration.”"
--- Interesting what counts as a political declaration in Hong Kong nowadays.
"The prosecutor also read out names and amount of donations made to Chung’s PayPal accounts of people who gave more than HK$1,000 to the 20-year-old, as well as messages included in the payments, with content such as “keep it up” and “Hong Kong independence.”"
--- That makes him guilty, of course. (& I wonder about privacy laws in HK. Reading out names? Proper commie stuff, it seems.)
Pentagon warns China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal
Consumers in China pick their 3 favorite electric cars — and only one is Chinese
China alleges COP26 organisers did not provide video link for Xi's address
China’s premier warns of new ‘downward pressures’
FEC lets foreigners finance U.S. ballot fights (Makes the United Front happy, I suppose.)
--- China Uncensored: "China Is a Democracy Now!"
--- WION: "Gravitas: China censors Tennis Star for accusing top leader of sexual assaulttag Peng Shuai"
--- WION: Gravitas: China's explanation for skipping COP26
--- PBS Newshour: China's timeline to ditch coal, adopt green technology may be too slow to help climate
--- VOA: Wife of Canadian Uyghur Imprisoned in China Wants Husband Back
Spain's national police wants to use Chinese drones
--- Morons.
Deutsche Gier verhindert Gegenwehr
"All das ist nicht der Höhepunkt von Xis Machtausübung, sondern nur sein erster Ausläufer. Und der hat auch die deutsche Politik erreicht. Hongkong hat unsere Regierung aufgegeben. Tibets Autonomiebestrebungen unterstützt sie schon lang nicht mehr. Sie verschweigt weitgehend, wie Xis Regierung die Uiguren, eine muslimische Minderheit in der nordwestchinesischen Provinz Xinjiang, massenhaft diskriminiert, assimiliert, überwacht, verfolgt, interniert, umerzieht, trennt, sterilisiert, zu Abtreibungen und zur Arbeit zwingt.
Und das Auswärtige Amt zeigt auf seiner Webseite statt Taiwans Flagge nur ein weißes Rechteck. Dass wir im Angesicht von Xis Gebaren keine Flagge zeigen, hat vor allem einen Grund: unsere Gier."
--- Neben der Angst. Angst, sich auf internationaler Bühne unbeliebt zu machen. Angst, jemanden zu verärgern. Angst, als (Möchtegern-)Großmacht dazustehen.
Wenn der Staat nur noch Nachrichten zulässt, die ihm gefallen
"Im August erst trat auch eine umfassende "Regulierung" der unabhängigen sozialen Finanzanalysemedien in Kraft, kritische Stimmen wurden damit zum Schweigen gebracht. Diese Regulierung untersagt jede "negative Prognose zur chinesischen Wirtschaft" (唱衰中国经济)"
--- Denn der chinesischen Wirtschaft unter Kaiser Xi kann es nur gut gehen. Alles ist gut unter Kaiser Xis Himmel.
"Früher jedoch haben sich Nachrichten von solch großer Tragweite in den chinesischen sozialen Medien rasch verbreitet, bevor die staatliche Zensurmaschine wirkungsvoll eingreifen konnte – aus kleinen Schneebällen von Information wurden bereits Lawinen, bevor die Zensur diese dann zum Verschwinden bringen konnte. Heute aber sind derlei Nachrichten eher wie Tautropfen in der Wüste: Sie lösen sich in Luft auf, noch bevor viele Menschen davon Kenntnis bekommen. Das ist ein offenkundiger Erfolg der schnellen Entwicklung der künstlichen Intelligenz, mit der Social Media in China durchkämmt wird."
--- Ein Grund, warum die KPCh so an KI interessiert ist. Wie man an dem Skandal um die Tennisspielerin sieht, funktioniert das aber noch nicht hundertprozentig.
"Es entbehrt nicht der Ironie, dass China dem Rest der Welt derweil ganz offen mitteilt, was es zu erreichen versucht. Noch schafft die Welt es, die unmissverständlichen Botschaften Chinas weitgehend zu ignorieren. Womöglich gelingt ihr das so lange, bis es irgendwann zu spät sein wird. Dann wird der Schock umso größer sein."
--- Liebe (zum Geld) macht blind.
China ist der größte Klimaheuchler
"Nach offiziellen Daten der Pekinger Regierung wird China seine Kohleförderung im Jahr 2021 um knapp sechs Prozent steigern. Man nähert sich dem Wert von 4 Milliarden Tonnen. China erreiche Förderrekorde, meldet Peking stolz."
--- Aber man braucht pro produzierter Kilowattstunde Strom ein kleines bißchen weniger Kohle. Ist doch toll, oder?
"Für Xi Jinping wächst damit ein globales Imageproblem heran. Seine Regierung betont offiziell gerne die klimapolitische Verantwortung, China inszeniert sich mit allerlei Projekten als grüner Vorreiter in Sachen E-Mobilität. Doch wenn der Strom dieser E-Mobilität aus schmutzigen Kohlekraftwerken kommt, ist die Glaubwürdigkeit seiner Politik ruiniert."
--- Naja, gibt offenbar immer noch genug Dummköpfe, die darauf hereinfallen:
Alles auf Elektro – China zeigt dem Westen, wie es geht
"Oder man sieht sich an, was China macht. In mindestens einem Wirtschaftsbereich hat die Volksrepublik die alten Industrieländer beim Umstieg auf klimafreundliche Technologien bereits abgehängt: in der Automobilindustrie. Dort gilt der Einsatz von Elektroautos als ein wesentlicher Hebel, um die Abhängigkeit von fossilen Energieträgern zu verringern."
--- Klar doch. Vor allem, wenn der Strom zu 80% aus fossilen Energieträgern kommt.
"„Die Chinesen gehen mit hohem Tempo voran“, sagt Dudenhöffer, der regelmäßig vor Konfrontationen mit China warnt."
--- Der Idiot darf in so einem Artikel natürlich nicht fehlen.