cynthia

😮Mandelson’s lobbying firm linked to Chinese military. Mandelson was a strong influence over the development of current @GOVUK China “policy”. Everything he has touched in govt should be considered tainted and urgently reviewed. #Mandelsonaudit theguardian.com/politics/2025/…

She now avoids crowded spaces, fearful of another attack. Sadly, such incidents are not rare. In 2023–24, the UK recorded 140,000+ hate crimes; ~70% were race-related. Asians are often targeted.

V just graduated with a master’s and had secured a new job. Yet, only five minutes from home, she suffered a racially motivated assault. The bus driver and passengers did nothing.

A Taiwanese girl, V, was brutally assaulted by four white girls near King’s Cross, London. Hate crimes in the UK are alarming. 😔 Yesterday, I met V. A quiet, pretty girl, still in shock. “I don’t understand why this happened,” she said.

Say No to China’s Mega Embassy Parade in London! For months, protesters have taken to the streets—respect their determination and persistence.

Profit, Control, and the Illusion of Openness (translated and repost w a title added) China’s propaganda machine portrays the country as a champion of globalization and a defender of free trade. But that’s not the reality. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) account for over 60% of China’s total GDP by annual revenue. As of the end of 2023, China’s SOEs held total assets of 371.9 trillion yuan. State-owned financial institutions held assets worth 445.1 trillion yuan, while administrative and institutional state assets totaled 64.2 trillion yuan. According to the 2024 report on China’s Top 500 Private Enterprises, these firms collectively hold only 49.85 trillion yuan in total assets—less than the assets of China’s administrative institutions alone. Private and foreign enterprises are responsible for over 80% of employment in China and carry out the vast majority of exports, earning the country its foreign exchange. In contrast, SOEs are mainly responsible for imports—especially bulk commodities. In other words, SOEs are primarily responsible for spending money. See the division of labor now? All of this comes from publicly available data. The data speaks for itself—what’s needed is someone who can interpret it correctly. Moreover, China enforces strict capital controls, imposing tight restrictions on outbound investments by residents and businesses. But capital controls are the enemy of free trade. If capital can’t move freely, how can there be free trade? China also imposes heavy censorship on news, film and television, and the internet. Major Western media, publishers, streaming platforms, and tech companies are effectively shut out of the Chinese market. China is a regulatory state. What it defends is not “free trade,” but “trade surpluses.” Let me say that again: China is not defending free trade—it’s defending trade surpluses, which represent the government’s ability to earn U.S. dollars. Only with a dollar surplus can SOEs and the government have money to spend. And yet, SOEs and the government are highly inefficient spenders. But this is baked into the system—it’s an extractive system. That’s also why China will never carry out meaningful reforms to wealth distribution. Do you think the government is stupid enough to make itself poor? Chinese people must remain poor. They can only remain poor. That’s how the distribution system works. It distorts wealth distribution, and even more so the industrial structure and job market. That’s why the Chinese end up in a constant state of “involution.” In a system designed for “profits flowing through a single channel,” how could there not be involution? Understand China’s land system, its household registration (hukou) system, and its distribution system—understand the Legalist thinker Guan Zhong’s idea of “profits through one channel”—and you’ll understand why involution is so pervasive in China. China must encourage and expand exports while restricting and reducing imports. That’s why even in first-tier cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai, where per capita GDP exceeds $20,000—approaching the level of a moderately developed country—the statutory minimum wage is still only a little over 2,000 yuan. Back in the 1960s, Premier Zhou Enlai famously said: “Everything for foreign trade.” Even when ordinary Chinese were struggling to survive, China continued to export massive amounts of grain, cotton, meat, and cooking oil. “Everything for foreign trade” remains national policy today. To put it plainly: everything is for the surplus, everything is for U.S. dollars. If Chinese people became wealthy, “Made in China” goods would no longer be affordable to foreigners. And if Chinese consumers had money, they’d spend it abroad—on shopping, real estate, even immigration. China’s current account surplus would disappear, and the government would become poor. (Continue)

Look at Japan: its government is broke. Japan’s current account surplus comes from returns on overseas investments by the private sector. The government is in debt, while the private sector is rich—the wealth is hidden among the people, among private enterprises. Japan has the world’s highest public debt—more than 200% of its GDP—and is nearly bankrupt. Yet the Japanese don’t worry, and neither do Chinese. Many wealthy Chinese are eager to move to Japan, and send their children there to study or immigrate. Japan’s system is relatively free. The government operates transparently. There are no capital controls. Social welfare is strong. Quality of life is high. Jobs are plentiful. And with the yen depreciating, Japan has become even more cost-effective as a migration destination for Chinese. Only a free country can support true free trade.

A Chinese operation to absorb Taiwan would likely begin not with tanks and missiles but with covert attempts to undermine civilian morale and public confidence in the Taiwanese government, write @dbyman and @SethGJones. fam.ag/3XRJHZN

my first piece of 2025—an enlightening interview with @anneapplebaum .

A powerful interview.

#BREAKING: 🇨🇿 Chamber of Deputies adopts motion rejecting 🇨🇳's distortion of 🇹🇼's status. Led by 🇨🇿 Co-Chair @eva_decroix, supported by members @HayatoOkamura @H_Langsadlova, this is the 6th parliament to pass a motion as part of IPAC’s #Initiative2758 following 🇦🇺🇳🇱🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧.

#BREAKING Tower Hamlets Council votes to REJECT Chinese Embassy application. Now to local enquiry in February, before @AngelaRayner final decision. If the Government overrides local residents AND the Council to approve this, it’ll be a clear sign that Xi gets what he wants.

The criminalization of democracy in Hong Kong recalls the dark days of Taiwan’s Martial Law era. It is also a reminder that we cannot take freedom for granted. Defending our democracy and our freedom to think, to speak, to vote, & to live, is a duty.

China's exports to Russia have grown so massively, their rise more than offsets the entire fall in Western exports to Russia. Russia's war economy wouldn't be able to keep going without China. It really is that simple. China is Putin's biggest enabler...

幹！我笑不活了🤣

台灣人是否做好應對中共軍事侵略的準備？瑞典防務專家表示：台灣沒有做好準備。瑞典專家最不理解的是有的台灣主要政黨領導人宣揚敵對方（中共）觀點：備戰就是挑釁。這等於向侵略者開綠燈。其他民主國家的言論自由不包括出賣主權，而台灣的民主沒有底線。

Taiwan's female boxing representative started boxing as a young kid to protect her mother from domestic violence (this is a clip on Youtube from a decade ago), she's always chosen a less feminine appearance. We know you care for your own contestants' safety but no slandering, plz

Imagine how it feels to win Olympic gold against opponents from the authoritarian country that wants to take your sovereignty - and when you receive your medal, your country's name, flag, and anthem are completely erased. How much longer will this indignity be forced on Taiwan?