China announces blanket ban on 'non-essential' overseas travel, citing pandemic
"According to the requirements of the meeting ... it will be necessary to strictly implement entry and exit policies, strictly restrict non-essential departures of Chinese citizens, and strictly approve and issue exit and entry documents"
--- Oh well, the signs were there. The question is: Will emperor Xi open up again?
"video clips also showed municipal workers mowing grass and planting flowers on the streets, prompting speculation that a high-ranking official would soon arrive in [Shanghai] to announce victory over the virus"
--- Because life is so colourful & happy in Shanghai.
(You wonder how long that victory will last. In a few months there will probably be the next lockdown.)
"Infection numbers have plummeted in the past couple of days due to political factors, after military orders were issued to every district"
--- Oh, so the Wuhan virus followed orders, after all?
"Meanwhile, People's Daily journalist Li Hongbing hit out at video of officials forcibly entering people's homes for "disinfection" purposes.
"Home is a very private place, and I can understand this feeling [of resistance," Li told a Shanghai broadcaster."
--- Ouch. A People's Daily journalist dares to speak his mind. Either a victim of the lockdown himself, or there is some underlying Xi-critical current in the CCP.
There are rumours that opposition to emperor Xi is growing. I doubt that anything would come of it (if true), but we'll have to wait & see: Rumors swirl that China’s Xi Jinping will step down amid harsh COVID lockdowns
Three major universities quit international rankings
"three prestigious universities, Renmin University of China, Nanjing University and Lanzhou University have withdrawn from “all international university rankings” according to Chinese official media this week, with official sources pointing to a focus on “educational autonomy” and “education with Chinese characteristics”"
--- Who is decoupling? The evil West, obviously.
"if China’s top three universities – Tsinghua University and Peking University, which feature in the top 20 of the QS world rankings, and Shanghai’s Fudan University, which is among the top 50 – were to also pull out of rankings, “that would be an earthquake”"
--- Meh. Anyway, most probably just a matter of time, because it doesn't seem to be their own decision:
"In his highly publicised speech on 26 April at the university, Xi pointed to China’s “unique history, distinctive culture and special national context”.
“We cannot blindly follow others or simply copy foreign standards and models when we build world-class universities of our own. Instead, we must proceed from our country’s realities and blaze a new path to developing world-class universities based on Chinese conditions and with Chinese characteristics,” and which served “the party and the people”Xi also spoke of constructing an “independent knowledge system” with China as a reference and to solve China’s problems."
--- Did I mention North Korea 2.0 somewhere?
Foreign Investors Consider Ditching China After Exports Slump
"Auto factories and other manufacturers that tried to keep operating by having staff live at their facilities were forced to reduce production because of supply chain disturbances and logistics issues."
--- Particularly hard hit seems to be German businesses in China:
German Chamber Flash-Survey: Companies’ Production Resumption Hampered & COVID-Strategy Prompts Foreign Employees to Leave China
"73% of the respondents’ business operations are in areas under full or partial lockdown, especially in Shanghai (98%), Jiangsu (69%) and Beijing (59%).
19% of the surveyed German companies have permits to produce under adverse conditions."
--- That 'opening-up' doesn't seem to help business. But, well, my empathy is very limited. If you want to do business in a dictatorship, you have to expect a dictatorial environment.
‘Localised’ recessions? China’s economy teeters amid lockdowns
"The takeaway of what we’re seeing in China right now is hands down the worst set of numbers that we have seen in terms of economic performance since the initial downturn that took place in 2020"
--- Don't you worry! Emperor Xi's magical powers will make it possible to reach 5.5% GDP growth anyway.
China won’t have a ‘normal’ economy without tackling Covid first, senior Chinese official says
"Getting the pandemic under control is a prerequisite for a “normal” functioning economy, a senior Chinese official said Thursday.
The official’s comments reflect Beijing’s emphasis on its zero-Covid control policy"
--- So, emperor Xi's magical powers will definitely be needed to save the growth targets.
Authorities warn Uyghurs not to talk about ‘re-education’ with UN team
"The Chinese government has issued a new directive that forbids Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region from discussing the network of internment camps or accepting calls from international phone numbers ahead of an expected visit by the United Nations human rights chief, a police office in the region told RFA.
The officer, who works in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) and declined to give his name, told RFA that police received special government notices on how to prepare for the visit this month by Michelle Bachelet, the U.N.’s high commissioner for human rights."
--- Looks like the CCP is trying to turn all of Xinjiang into a Potemkin village. Doesn't bode well for Bachelet's visit.
Chinese views of the world at the time of the Russia-Ukraine war
"Of the 25 countries respondents were asked about, Russia was the most positively perceived country, while the US was the most negatively perceived
[...] Other very positively perceived countries among Chinese respondents were Pakistan, Singapore, North Korea, and Germany"
--- Makes you almost feel ashamed for being German:
US Navy chief defends plan to scrap troubled warships even though some are less than 3 years old
"Despite the Navy's plans to scrap the warships, Congress has the final say on the military budget and has balked at previous requests to decommission ships. Reducing the number of warships may be even more difficult as lawmakers focus on the growing size of China's navy and the gap between the US and Chinese fleets."
--- What does it help if you have the numbers, but not the quality?
""The LCS was essentially counted to solve every single one of the Navy's problems all at once and everything will be wonderful," Salisbury told CNN with a note of irony. The missions for the ships included surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare, based on a modular design that was supposed to allow the Navy to customize the ship for the role.
"It was basically this magical design that would solve everything," Salisbury said. "So that was the problem -- that, because it had all of these options, it never did any of them very well.""
--- Obviously not a really good idea to have a jack of all trades ship.
Sucked Our Marrow: Tibetan Language and Education Rights under Xi Jinping, a report released
Passenger plane catches fire during takeoff in southwestern China
--- WION: "China dumps Sri Lanka, Pakistan amid financial trouble"
--- ABC News (AUS): Can China become the next soccer superpower?
--- Hindustan Times: On Cam: Tibetan Airlines plane catches fire at China airport; Terrified passengers run to safety
If your life is in the way of disinfection, it gets thrown out
Chinese kids get trained to love the world
Stadtbürger in der Lockdown-Falle
"Es wurden bereits zahlreiche U-Bahnstationen und Busstrecken stillgelegt, der Großteil im Diplomatenviertel Chaoyang, dem Zentrum des Ausbruchs."
--- Na, ich weiß nicht. Das Diplomatenviertel ist in Chaoyang, aber deswegen diesen riesigen Bezirk gleich zum Diplomatenviertel selber zu erklären, erscheint mir übertrieben.
"In diese Lage gebracht hat China nicht das Coronavirus, sondern Parteichef Xi Jinping selbst."
--- Blasphemie!
"Wie Xi und seine Entourage vorerst aus dieser Lage herauskommen wollen, wissen sie wahrscheinlich selbst nicht."
--- Es gibt nur einen Weg: den des Kaisers Xi. Also weiter so.
"es zeigt sich immer mehr, dass Chinas KP-Kader auf Politiktechniken aus den Zeiten Lenins und Maos zurückgreifen. Denn die Massen-Lockdowns waren und sind nichts anderes als gigantische Parteikampagnen, solche, wie es sie auch unter Mao Zedong gab, so wie dessen "Großer Sprung nach vorn"."
--- So sieht es aus. Allerdings: Ein besserer Vergleich wäre vielleicht die Ausrottung der 4 Übel.
"KP-Kader sind gemeinhin erst mal Marxisten-Leninisten, denen es nicht um eine freie Wirtschaft geht. Und sie haben auch keine großen Probleme damit, die Bevölkerung einzusperren, um so die Kontrolle zu behalten."
--- & das mit dem Einsperren nimmt man immer wörtlicher. Pässe werden eingezogen oder ungültig gemacht. Inzwischen dürfen nur noch Chinesen das Land verlassen, die ein 'essentielles' Interesse daran haben. Nordkorea 2.0.
Warum Deutschland und China einander brauchen
"Problematisch an den deutschen Direktinvestitionen ist, dass sie China dabei helfen, Know-how in Hochtechnologiebereichen aufzubauen. Dort hat das Land Nachholbedarf und strebt langfristig eine Unabhängigkeit an, wie etwa das Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel 2021 hervorhob. Mit zu vielen Investitionen in High-Tech-Projekte könnten deutsche Unternehmen sich also überflüssig machen."
--- Aber der Profit! Der kurzfristige Profit! Der ist doch viel wichtiger! Gelle?
"Hinzu kommt, dass deutsche Unternehmen in China durch ihre Investitionen möglicherweise schon jetzt zu stark eingebunden sind, um sich schnell zurückziehen zu können"
--- Dann sollte man wenigstens so schnell wie möglich beginnen, sich nach Alternativen umzusehen. Selbst dem naivsten Manager sollte langsam klar sein, daß Kaiser Xi nicht wirklich an langfristigen, stabilen Bindungen interessiert ist.
Flugzeug kommt in China von Startbahn ab und fängt Feuer
So teuer ist es in China ein Kind großzuziehen (Hatten wir das nicht letztens schonmal?)
