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Cake day: January 29th, 2025

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  • Yeah, if the multi-polarity comes true, there will likely be several blocks (the EU, Mercosur, others) that will cooperate closely, while trusted partnerships will remain only among trusted countries (such as among democratic countries worldwide). Within these partnerships there could be free trade, between them, however, we’ll likely see some sort of tit-for-tat economy - do trade where it fits and where it has no impact on our core interests regarding economy and security.

    Canada’s “strategic partnership” with China will be one of these tit-for-tat partnerships, but the country’s future lies in collaborations with the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and other democracies.

    [Edit typo.]


  • A similar policy is applied when Chinese students are sent abroad. There is strong evidence across countries that Chinese students, before sending to their universities in their destination countries, are forced to a 'loyalty plea".

    The central commitment is one of absolute allegiance to the Chinese state, as students, according to several reports like this one,

    “shall consciously safeguard the honor of the motherland, (and) obey the guidance and management of embassies (consulates) abroad.” This includes reporting to the Chinese embassy or the nearest Chinese consulate within ten days of their arrival in Germany and maintaining “frequent contact.”

    Human Rights Watch reports that [China’s long reach of repression undermines academic freedom at Australia’s universities](Understand the Fear We Have”):

    Threats to and limitations on academic freedom at Australian universities stem from China-related pressures and documented cases of harassment, intimidation, and censorship of students and academics from China, and faculty members who criticize the government or express support for democracy movements. These corrosive dynamics set in motion considerable self-censorship.

    Students said the fear of fellow students reporting on them to the Chinese consulate or embassy and the potential impact on loved ones in China led to stress, anxiety, and affected their daily activities. Fear that what they did in Australia could result in Chinese authorities punishing or interrogating their parents back home weighed heavily on the minds of every pro-democracy student interviewed. It was a constant concern that had to be evaluated before decisions were made of what to say, what they could attend, and even with whom they were friends. - [Emphasis mine.]

    This year, Harvard’s scandal exposed Chinese students’ loyalty also in the U.S., highlighting that Chinese students act as CCP proxies, monitoring or suppressing dissent on U.S. campuses, as seen in incidents like the disruption of a Uyghur panel at Brandeis or harassment of dissidents.

    Several countries (such as Sweden and Germany, as far as I remember) have already cancelled the cooperation with the the China Scholarship Council (CSC) over these and other practices.

    You’ll find it easy to find more reports across the web.








  • I am not a historian, but I guess we can all say that colonialism and the negative impacts are historical facts. What I am wondering is how this compares to contemporary colonial policies practiced today by large countries that are invading its neighbours, occupy foreign land, try to bully neighbouring countries to re-draw borders, or suppress minorities? How much has humanity learned form history?








  • New home prices went up like crazy in China for years until the government’s hopelessly over-subsidized and over-supported property led to a construction boom in the country that could house 3 billion people, more than twice of China’s population. It has been criticized even by Chinese officials in a rare public critique. Unfortunately the turmoils are far from over, the market is still under severe stress.

    [Edit typo.]


  • randomnametoGlobal News@lemmy.zipChina hawk Takaichi named Japan's first woman PM
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    3 days ago

    I don’t know much about Japan (or China), and I know nothing about Ms. Takaichi, but what qualifies her as a “China hawk” and why is this so important that it’s even featured in the title?

    According to the report, she said “Japan is completely looked down on by China”, and that Tokyo must “address the security threat” posed by Beijing. I mean, yes, that’s probably true, and Japan is not the only country with these issues.