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As the power to make decisions over COVID-19 restrictions had been delegated to local leaders, Beijing can distance itself from public frustration about harsh COVID-19 policies, says a China observer.China was wracked with unprecedented anti-zero-COVID protests in late November. They started with a fire in Urumqi city, Xinjiang. At least 10 people perished after not being allowed to leave the building due to COVID-19 restrictions. Local street demonstrations followed this tragedy. The next day, local authorities declared that the city had been rid of COVID-19 at the community level and issued a number of tone-deaf statements about the need for...

More and more apartment compounds in Beijing on Friday forbade residents from leaving for at least a few days. "You constantly hear of someone going into lockdown and you have this constant feeling that you're going to be next," Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, said Friday. It was not clear how many people were affected at a city level, and to what degree stay-in-place measures were being enforced. This morning most of our 30+ staff reported their communities went into a 7-day lockdown," James Zimmerman, partner in the Beijing office of Perkins Coie, said...

On Wednesday, White House spokesman John Kirby claimed that he had no information as to whether or not Hunter Biden is still co-owner of an investment firm that he shared with the Chinese government, even though Hunter’s lawyer has claimed that he has divested the entirety of his ownership stake. The New York Post asked Kirby, the top spokesman for the National Security Council, if Joe Biden’s son still owns 10 percent of BHR Partners, a private equity company backed by the state. “On China, this is a very simple question, but it’s an enduring point of uncertainty: Does the...

The Chinese capital Beijing appears to have backed off a plan to launch a vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents. While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm. They also said vaccinations would continue on the principle of "informed, voluntary consent." An unidentified official in the pandemic control office said residents of the city could enter any sort of public venue with...

Cai Qi, the Chinese Communist Party secretary of Beijing, told state media Monday that the city would adhere to its “zero-Covid” policy of lockdowns and quarantines for the next five years.State media rapidly deleted his comment — and Chinese censors relentlessly scrubbed it from websites — after a burst of shock and outrage on social media.The original quote from Cai, as published by the state-run Beijing Daily, read as follows: “In the next five years, Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalization of epidemic prevention and control.”The rest of the article made it clear that Cai was talking about the harsh...

Taiwanese Legislative Speaker You Si-kun warned China on Sunday that Taiwan possesses supersonic missiles capable of reaching the Chinese capital city of Beijing. In a speech on Taiwan Overseas Network, which was translated by Taiwan News, You warned China against invading Taiwan and offered the “strategic clarity” of letting China know that a war would also be costly for the mainland. You, who previously served as the Premiere of Taiwan’s executive branch (a role separate from that of the Taiwanese President) from 2002 to 2005, said that when he was premiere he was made aware of Taiwan’s Yun Feng supersonic...

You Si Kun, President of Taiwan’s Legislative Assembly, or Yuan, gave a speech on Taiwan Overseas Network where he declared that the country’s domestically produced Yun Feng supersonic cruise missile is capable of reaching Beijing. The message follows ominous warnings made by Chinese military officials directly to their U.S. counterparts to avoid the Taiwan Strait, claiming it is not international waters. However, the United States, along with the vast majority of the international community, does not accept China’s claims in this regard. This also comes as U.S. President Joe Biden recently vowed to defend Taiwan amid a crisis, although the...

Beijing will "not hesitate to start a war" if Taiwan declares independence, China's defence minister warned his US counterpart on Friday (Jun 10), the latest salvo between the superpowers over the island. The warning came as Wei Fenghe held his first face-to-face meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. US-China tensions have been soaring over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan, which lives under constant threat of invasion by China. Beijing views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Beijing has sacked its top health official, state media reported on Wednesday (May 25), as the Chinese capital battles a surge in COVID-19 infections despite the country's strict zero-tolerance policy. The city has reported hundreds of cases in recent weeks in an Omicron-variant-fuelled outbreak - its largest since the start of the pandemic. Millions have been ordered to work from home with the vast majority of bus and subway services suspended, while thousands of people were relocated to quarantine hotels after a handful of infections were detected in their residential compounds.

BEIJING—For weeks, Beijing has teetered on the edge of a hard, Covid-induced lockdown. For the most part, citizens are unruffled, confident that the restrictions that have paralyzed Shanghai for six weeks are simply unthinkable in the capital.

This week, supermarkets in Beijing were hit with panic buying after only a few dozen confirmed cases stoked fears a lockdown was imminent. Apartment complexes have been locked up and barricaded due to infections inside. Not only are the lockdowns expensive, but investors are also wary of China's aggressive strategy, with the share market performing poorly this year and the local currency, the yuan, hitting a 17-month low. So, why are China's rulers still determined to use lockdowns in the pursuit of COVID zero? "It's the only playbook they have," Chang Chuan Chan, a health policy expert at Taiwan National...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stood by her government’s relationship with Beijing, saying that there was still a need to “work together” in areas of mutual interest, despite its “growing assertiveness” in the region. “China is a very important trading partner for us, but it’s also a mature relationship for us,” Ardern told the BBC. “Where there are areas we can work together, we will—but there will always be areas in which we will not necessarily agree and when those areas arise, we are very forthright and clear on our position.” Ardern questioned the need for the Solomon Islands...

The Chinese government has greatly “accelerated” its nuclear weapons program due to a revised threat assessment of risk posed by the United States, according to a new in-depth Wall Street Journal report that cites both Chinese and US officials. It follows a Pentagon assessment from last year which laid out Beijing’s drive to “modernize, diversify and expand” its nuclear arsenal. The fresh WSJ investigative report appears to confirm the prior US military assessment that China seeks to expanding “land, sea and air-based nuclear delivery platforms” while establishing more necessary infrastructure to support it. While its nuclear goals predate Russia’s invasion...

Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine – justified by Moscow as a response to its neighbour’s tilt to the West and Nato – has many pondering whether Beijing would follow suit in Taiwan. Beijing has long felt that Washington is using the self-ruled island as part of a strategy to undermine and contain its rival – accusing the US of disrespecting its sovereignty by backing the Taiwanese pro-independence camp. Beijing regards the island as part of its territory, which it intends to recover by force if necessary, and “Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan” quickly emerged as a Taiwanese catchphrase after the Russian...

The 2022 Winter Olympics that wrapped up in China over the weekend have been a ratings disaster for NBC, leaving the major network questioning its $7.75 billion investment that gave it exclusive US media rights to the Games through 2032. The New York Times called the Olympic Games "a joyless spectacle," while other media adjectives include "the low bar of avoiding total disaster." According to the Associated Press, through Tuesday, an average of 12.2 million watched the Olympics in primetime on NBC, cable, or its Peacock streaming service, a 42-percent dip from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea....

Political writer Peter Schweizer’s latest book reportedly accuses 20 current and former GOP members of having essentially sold out to China. Released late last month, “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” has attracted attention thus far mainly for its bombshells about President Joe Biden and his extremely wealthy family. But also contained within the book is a treasure trove of bombshells about elected Republicans, ranging from current Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell to former President George H.W. Bush. Regarding McConnell, Schweizer reportedly writes that the Senate leader and his wife both “enjoy some of the deepest and...

The habits of tyranny are hard to break. China expected that the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing would once again impress the world with China’s ability to build shiny new venues and organize vast and impressive mass ceremonies. But, instead, what are becoming known as the “Genocide Games” is exposing the autocratic authoritarianism of its governing officials and the downright shabby nature of its treatment for foreign athletes, some of whom dare to complain in public. Unlike Chinese citizens, they don’t have to worry about the social credit scores once they leave the Middle Kingdom. From Yahoo Sports: A Finnish...

Gu’s Instagram page is a collection of motivational and inspirational slogans, a scrapbook designed to present a specific, curated image of her to the world. One user commented on an otherwise innocuous post: “Why can you use Instagram and millions of Chinese people from mainland cannot, why you got such special treatment as a Chinese citizen. That’s not fair, can you speak up for those millions of Chinese who don’t have internet freedom,” user “cilla chan” wrote. “Anyone can download a vpn,” Gu replied, “it’s literally free on the App Store”. The website Protocol noted that multiple users fired back...

"In this Olympic spirit of peace, I appeal to all political authorities across the world — observe your commitment to this Olympic truth. Give peace a chance," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said. Despite International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach's calls for peace at the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the reality seems disjointed, including official delegation boycotts, all-time low viewership, and Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing to doze off during the Ukrainian team's entrance during the opening ceremony. "In this Olympic spirit of peace, I appeal to all political authorities across the world — observe...

How convenient when a bureaucratic body has the power to switch COVID standards at the drop of a hat in order to allow it to continue moving forward and not shut down as the rest of us have been forced to do. COVID Standards around testing and quarantine rules are going from asinine and impossible to achieve to almost gone in the blink of an eye. Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week he was doing away with all COVID precautions from vaccine mandates to mask wearing, and instead, would rely on the judgement of its citizens to protect...