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☆ China ousts top rocket scientist from key political body in widening military purge
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has expelled a leading rocket scientist from its top political advisory body, the latest sign of a widening purge in the Chinese military’s missile force and aerospace contractors. Wang, 54, until recently led the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a prestigious state-run institute known as the birthplace of China’s aerospace industry. Wang spent his nearly three-decades-long career designing rockets at the CALT, a subsidiary of the main contractor of the Chinese space program, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In December, three aerospace executives, including the chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation – were stripped of their roles in the CPPCC. In July, the Rocket Force abruptly replaced its two leaders, the commander and the political commissar, with no explanation.

Persons: Wang Xiaojun, Wang, Xi Jinping, Xi, ” Wang, Qian Xuesen Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Political Consultative, Xinhua, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, China Aerospace Science, Technology Corporation, People’s Liberation Army, Rocket Force, Communist Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, “, Hunan

☆ GOP senator asks TikTok's CEO over and over if he's Chinese. He's Singaporean.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

During Wednesday's tense congressional testimony over online safety for children, Sen. Tom Cotton repeatedly asked Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew if he's ever been a part of the Chinese Communist Party. An increasingly agitated Chew, who's no stranger to US politicians' prodding, tried repeatedly to shut down the line of questioning by telling the conservative senator that he's Singaporean. "Senator, I'm Singaporean, no," Chew responded. Chew was joined by four other social media companies' CEOs Wednesday for a combative hearing on protecting children online in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Zaveri put it this way:The rhetoric at times seemed to paint the Chinese people with a broad brush and conflated people of Chinese ancestry with the will of the CCP.

Persons: Sen, Tom Cotton, Shou Zi Chew, he's, Chew, Cotton, Jamie MacEwan, MacEwan, Paayal Zaveri, Zaveri, bungled Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Business, Enders Analysis, Committee, Energy, Commerce, CCP Locations: China, Beijing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid, transportation systems and other critical infrastructure inside the United States, FBI Director Chris Wray will tell House lawmakers on Wednesday in a fresh warning from Washington about Beijing's global ambitions. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray will say. The comments align with assessments from outside cybersecurity firms including Microsoft, which said in May that state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises. The following month, Mandiant said that suspected state-backed Chinese hackers had used a security hole in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally. The Chinese government has lashed out at the committee, demanding that its members “discard their ideological bias and zero-sum Cold War mentality.”

Persons: Chris Wray, Wray, “, ” Wray, Mandiant, they’re, Mike Gallagher of Organizations: WASHINGTON, Chinese Communist Party, Microsoft, U.S, Republican Rep Locations: United States, Washington, China, Asia, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin

☆ Lawmakers rip into tech CEOs at Senate hearing on online child sexual exploitation
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Aaron Mok | Camilo Fonseca | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

US lawmakers grilled CEOs from tech giants on their platform's online safety practices. Senators appeared to be bullish on whether the tech CEOs support their proposed laws. AdvertisementUS lawmakers grilled tech CEOs about their companies' online safety practices during this week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation. During the hearing, which kicked off on Wednesday, US lawmakers were seen interrogating CEOs at tech giants like Meta, TikTok, and X on how they run their platforms and keep them safe. Advertisement"I hope you hear what is being offered to you and are prepared to step up and do better," Butler told the Meta CEO.

Persons: —, Sen, Lindsey Graham, there's, Graham, X's Linda Yaccarino, Snapchat's Evan Spiegel, –, Ted Cruz, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Cruz, – Zuckerberg, Shou Zi Chew, ByteDance, Chew, Cruz didn't, Tom Cotton, Richard Blumenthal, Blumenthal, California Sen, Laphonza Butler, Meta, Butler Organizations: Service, Meta, Chinese Communist Party Locations: China, Connecticut, California

☆ China Is Targeting U.S. Infrastructure and Could ‘Wreak Chaos,’ F.B.I. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christopher A. Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned on Wednesday that China was ramping up an extensive hacking operation geared at taking down the United States’ power grid, oil pipelines and water systems in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Mr. Wray, appearing before a House subcommittee on China, offered an alarming assessment of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts. Its intent is to sow confusion, sap the United States’ will to fight and hamper the American military from deploying resources if the dispute over Taiwan, a major flashpoint between the two superpowers, escalates into a war, he added. Before his testimony, F.B.I. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” said Mr. Wray, who pressed the committee to increase funding for the bureau.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, ” Organizations: Federal Bureau of, Communist, Justice, Volt Typhoon Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, States, Beijing

☆ Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord face growing appetite in Congress for tighter social media regulation
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

(L-R) Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. Tillis and other lawmakers accused the tech executives of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on their respective social media platforms. Growing appetite for regulationTo be sure, both Republican and Democratic senators were united in their conviction that social media firms are failing the American public and directly harming young people. Still, it takes time for bills to get passed, and all of these social media firms are still getting slammed for child-safety related issues, which could keep the topic fresh in the minds of politicians. Watch: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to parents at online child safety Senate hearing.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Linda Yaccarino, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Alex Wong, Sen, Thom Tillis, Tillis, Josh Hawley, Zuckerberg, Tom Cotton, Chew Organizations: Dirksen, Facebook, Republican, Democratic, Meta, New, Apple, Lawmakers, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Washington , DC, Cambridge, China

☆ FBI shuts down China's 'Volt Typhoon' hackers targeting U.S. infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department and FBI identified the attacks and shut down aspects of the Volt Typhoon malware, Wray said. Microsoft in May warned that Volt Typhoon hackers had been active since 2021 and were targeting U.S. cyber infrastructure. The hacks have become increasingly sophisticated, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said at the hearing. She explained that Chinese hackers are able to "live within a computer's operating system" in a way that makes them difficult to identify. In July, Chinese hackers also compromised the email accounts of the U.S. ambassador to China and other officials.

Persons: Christopher Wray, Wray, they're, that's, Shou Zi Chew Organizations: FBI, Justice Department, Microsoft, Infrastructure Security Agency, Communist Party, NBC News, British Locations: China, U.S, London, Taiwan

☆ China's economy is facing a nightmarish Year of the Dragon
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

With the Year of the Dragon less than two weeks away, China's economy wobbled again on Monday. Fragile growthIn late 2022, China's Communist Party finally called time on its harsh zero-COVID measures — but the economy hasn't enjoyed the post-lockdown rebound many forecasters had predicted. DeflationFalling prices are another source of China's economic woes. AdvertisementNone of that speaks to a dedication to the free market — so China will likely keep struggling to attract more foreign investment in 2024. The sell-off reflects investor concern about the economy's overall health, as well as Chinese tech companies falling behind their US rivals in the development of AI.

Persons: wobbled, Linda Chan, Evergrande, Liquidators, hasn't, they'll, Li Qiang, John Kerry, Janet Yellen, Elon Musk, Xi Organizations: Hong, Business, China's Communist Party, World Bank, Tesla, Communist Party, Bain, Co, Big Tech, CSI Locations: Hong Kong, Evergrande, Beijing, China, Japan, Shanghai

BEIJING (AP) — As the U.S. presidential campaign moves closer to a Donald Trump-Joe Biden rematch, China is watching uneasily. While Biden has looked for areas of cooperation with China, Beijing is concerned about his efforts to unite allies in the Indo-Pacific in a coalition against China. “For China, no matter who won the U.S. presidential election, they would be two ‘bowls of poison’,” said Zhao Minghao, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai. When Biden and Trump squared off in 2020, U.S. intelligence agencies reported before the election that China viewed Trump as “unpredictable” and opposed his reelection. “Trump is by nature volatile and cruel and is a person hard to be familiar with,” said Shi Yinhong, international relations professor at Renmin University of China.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, uneasily, Biden, It’s, hasn’t, ”, Zhao Minghao, Sun Chenghao, Trump, Chuan Jianguo, “ Trump, Sun Yun, Sun, Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken, Xi, Miles Yu, China's, ” Yu, Deng Xiaoping, Shi Yinhong, Shi, Wang Yiwei, ” Wang, ” Shi, ___ Tang, Yu Bing, Chen Wanqing, Eric Tucker Organizations: BEIJING, U.S, China, Trump, “, Fudan University, Center for International Security, Tsinghua University, Stimson Center, Hudson Institute, Communist Party, Renmin University of China, White, Institute of International Affairs, Associated Press Locations: China, Beijing, Taiwan, Shanghai, Asia, Pacific, Sun, Washington, Lago, Florida, City, United States, U.S

☆ FBI and Justice Department use court order to try to disrupt Chinese hacking targeting key US infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The court order allows the Justice Department to update vulnerable software used by thousands of devices in the US that are vulnerable to the Chinese hacking, the source said. The Justice Department action is an effort to undercut the Chinese hackers’ ability to communicate with some of the infrastructure used in the hacks. The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment. Rob Joyce, a senior National Security Agency official, has told CNN that the Chinese activity is “unacceptable” because of its potential disruptive effects. “I think the difference here is how brazen it is in scope and scale,” Joyce told CNN last May.

Persons: Rob Joyce, ” Joyce Organizations: CNN, FBI, Justice Department, The, Department, The Justice Department, Reuters, Microsoft, US Marine Corps, National Security Agency, NSA, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Taiwan, Guam, Pacific, China

☆ Lawmakers want U.S. to probe four Chinese firms involved in Ford battery plant — letter
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, announces at a press conference that Ford will be partnering with the world's largest battery company, a China-based company called Contemporary Amperex Technology, to create an electric-vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, on February 13, 2023 in Romulus, Michigan. The chairs of two U.S. House committees asked the Biden administration to investigate four Chinese companies they say are involved in Ford Motor's planned Michigan battery plant, according to a letter seen Monday by Reuters. The previously unreported letter said the four Chinese companies have direct ties to the Chinese military, Chinese Communist Party, North Korean government and alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region. The plant has drawn fire from U.S. lawmakers for its use of technology supplied by Chinese battery maker CATL. The Chinese companies were not named in the letter seen by Reuters because the committees reviewed confidential records turned over by Ford and were not allowed to make their identities public.

Persons: Bill Ford, Biden, Ford, Mike Gallagher, Cathy McMorris Rodgers Organizations: Ford Motor Company, Ford, Technology, Reuters, Chinese Communist Party, North, Energy, Commerce, Commerce Department Locations: China, Marshall , Michigan, Romulus , Michigan, Ford Motor's, Michigan, North Korean, China's Xinjiang, U.S

☆ U.S. and China are working to make the business environment less volatile, Beijing says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Aly Song | ReutersBEIJING — China and the U.S. are working toward creating a more stable and predictable environment for businesses, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said Friday. U.S. and other foreign businesses in China have long complained of challenges to doing business in the Asian country, such as unequal treatment of foreign companies compared to local players. The move was widely seen as an improvement for foreign businesses, but no official policy has yet followed. When asked Friday for an update on data rules, Wang only said the "primary ministry is stepping up efforts to release them." When Raimondo visited China last year, she called for more action to improve predictability for U.S. businesses in China.

Persons: Aly Song, Wang Wentao, Gina Raimondo's, Wang, Raimondo, Biden Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Reuters, Commerce, CNBC, Cyberspace Administration of China, CAC, of Commerce Locations: China, U.S, Yiwu, Zhejiang province, Reuters BEIJING, Washington, France

Kerry and Xie paved the way for progress at international summits that could have otherwise stagnated. The annual U.N. climate summit was being held in Copenhagen later that year, and Kerry was eager to talk about it with Chinese officials. Stern said the deal “ricocheted around the climate world" and convinced countries that “we can actually get this done.”The importance of the deal became evident one month later. It was the relationship with China, Kerry said afterward, that helped “change the paradigm.”——-The warm feelings were short-lived. Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, and he promptly withdrew the U.S. from the Paris agreement after taking office.

Persons: John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Kerry, Xie, Mao Zedong's, Christiana Figueres, ”, Li Shuo, ” —, George W, Bush, Barack Obama's, Obama, Todd Stern, ” Stern, “, Xi Jinping, Stern, Figueres, ” Xie, —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Xi, hadn’t, Trump, Biden, Jonathan Pershing, Nancy Pelosi, John, John Podesta, Podesta, ___ Read, Chris Megerian, Seth Borenstein Organizations: WASHINGTON, United, Communist Party, U.S, Asia Society, Greenpeace, Senate Foreign Relations, International, Trump, William, Flora Hewlett Foundation, Associated Press Locations: United Nations, Dubai, Paris, England, Vietnam, China, Copenhagen, Lima, Glasgow, Sunnylands, Beijing, Christiana, U.S, “, Lima , Peru, South, Taiwan, COVID, Egypt, California, Arab Emirates, AP.org

☆ Taiwan's political disrupter could be kingmaker in a split parliament. Here's why it matters
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je speaks during an interview in New Taipei City on December 12, 2023. He urged his disappointed young supporters, some of them crying, not to give up, and framed himself as a one-man social movement crusading for political change. Since this social movement has not fully materialized, let's keep working hard," the former Taipei City Mayor told supporters in Mandarin. That kind of populist messaging appeals to people who feel like Taiwan's current economic and political system is not benefiting them. Taiwan's young and restlessIn any case, Taiwan's two major parties now face a battle to cater to younger voters that could come at the expense of older votes or a focus on broader strategic interests.

Persons: Ko Wen, Cheng, we'll, Ko, let's, Wei, Ting Yen, Sara Newland, Taiwan's, Newland, Lai Ching, Taiwan People's Party —, —, Yuan, Beijing's, Tsai Ing, Annice Lyn, Xi Jinping, Lily, Hwa CHENG, HWA CHENG, Ho Organizations: Taiwan People's Party, AFP, Getty, TAIPEI, Taipei City Mayor, Democratic Progressive Party, Kuomintang, Franklin, Marshall College, CNBC, Sara Newland Smith, Ko's, Taipei, KMT, Smith College, National Taiwan University, Democratic, Chinese Communist Party, HWA, Afp, Sunflower Movement Locations: Taiwan, New Taipei City, China, Taipei, Xinzhuang, AFP

☆ China says US military makes region more dangerous after Navy ship sails through Taiwan Strait
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —China accused the United States military of “abusing international law” and continuing a pattern of “dangerous provocations” in East Asia Thursday, after a US Navy destroyer made the service’s first transit of the Taiwan Strait of 2024. The USS John Finn (DDG 113) conducts routine operations in the East China Sea, on January 24, 2024. John Finn’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” Greene said. While the John Finn’s transit of the Taiwan Strait was the first of 2024, US warships and warplanes regularly travel through and over the waterway. Aquilino told a defense forum in Hawaii that he expected a show of force from China against Taiwan in the wake of the election result.

Persons: ”, John Finn, Xi Jinping, reunify, Justin Stack, Cmdr, Meagan Greene, John Finn’s, ” Greene, John, Collin Koh, Washington, Wu Qian, “, John Aquilino, Aquilino, ” Aquilino, ” Koh Organizations: South Korea CNN, United, US Navy, Democratic Progressive Party, Party, Taiwan, Taiwan Relations, U.S . Navy US Navy 7th Fleet, Coast Guard, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, China’s Defense Ministry, Xinhua, China -, Defense, Pacific Command, Communist Party, Clinton, CNN, Pacific Locations: Seoul, South Korea, China, United States, East Asia, Taiwan Strait, Taiwan, Beijing, East China, State, States, Singapore, China - U.S, U.S, Hawaii, Honolulu ., Washington

☆ Building Fire in China Kills at Least 39, With Others Trapped
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Vivian Wang | More About Vivian Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A fire in a commercial building in southeastern China killed at least 39 people on Wednesday, as emergency workers raced to rescue people still trapped inside. The fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. local time in Xinyu, a city in Jiangxi Province, in the basement of a building that housed an internet cafe on the ground floor and an educational center upstairs, according to Chinese state media and a local government announcement. A video posted on social media by the Communist Party-affiliated outlet Beijing News showed thick black smoke billowing out of windows. Other videos posted by social media users on Wednesday, of what appeared to be the same building, showed people jumping from upper floors to a mattress on the ground outside, and a boy climbing down a ladder, wearing a backpack.

Organizations: Communist Party -, Beijing Locations: China, Xinyu, Jiangxi Province

County lawyers had urged approval of the settlement in a letter to the board, the station said. In 2020, it won a five-year, $2.9 million contract with LA County for software to track election worker schedules, training, payroll and communications. Yu sued the county, alleging that District Attorney George Gascón had targeted him based on allegations of conspiracy theorists and election deniers. “Plaintiffs alleged Mr. Yu’s arrest and the seizure of Konnech’s property was without probable cause and a violation of Mr. Yu’s civil rights causing damage to Konnech’s business and Mr. Yu’s reputation,” according to the letter by the county lawyers. In legal filings for the lawsuit, Yu noted that Los Angeles County continues to use Konnech's services and is, in fact, its largest customer.

Persons: Eugene Yu of, Konnech, Yu, George Gascón, wasn't, Dean Z, ”, Mr, Gregg Phillips Organizations: ANGELES, Konnech Corp, LA, LA County, Attorney's Office, Associated Press, Attorney's, Chinese Communist Party, New York Times, Attorney’s Locations: Los Angeles County, Eugene Yu of Michigan, East Lansing , Michigan, Michigan, United States, China, Angeles, North America

NEW YORK (AP) — Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist and dissident who believes it his job to be “incorrect,” was hard at work Tuesday night during an appearance at The Town Hall in Manhattan. “I really like to make trouble,” Ai said during a 50-minute conversation-sparring match with author-interviewer Mira Jacob, during which he was as likely to question the question as he was to answer it. The event was presented by PEN America, part of the literary and free expression organization's PEN Out Loud series. Ai was in New York to discuss his new book, the graphic memoir “Zodiac,” structured around the animals of the Chinese zodiac, with additional references to cats. The book was not initiated by him, Ai said, and he was to let others do most of the work.

Persons: — Ai Weiwei, ”, “, ” Ai, Mira Jacob, Ai, Gianluca Costantini, Jacobs Organizations: PEN America, ”, Ten Speed Press, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Manhattan, New York, Portugal, Germany, Britain, China, London, Israel, United States

☆ Shein and Temu use a loophole to ship millions of packages to the US tax-free. Here's why the tax rule faces increased scrutiny.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The other bill, from Sen. Bill Cassidy and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, would ban de minimis shipments from China. The provision is more likely to change — a prospect that both Shein and Temu have said they support. Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins/InsiderShipping consultancy ShipMatrix estimates that Shein and Temu each ship more than a million packages to the US daily. It added that almost 50% of all de minimis shipments to the US come from China. Related stories"Changes to the exemption could create a paradigm shift for retailers like Temu and Shein," Bank of America analysts wrote in the note.

Persons: minimis, Earl Blumenauer, Russia —, Bill Cassidy, Sen, Tammy Baldwin, Cassidy, Baldwin, Jay Sole, It's, Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins, Shein's, Temu, Shein, Donald Tang, SHEIN, de minimis, they've, Steve Story, Sole, Satish Jindel, ShipMatrix, Jindel Organizations: Business, Customs, Rep, Bank of America, US Chamber of Commerce, Express, UBS, Pinduoduo Holdings, Goods, Shipping, Chinese Communist Party, China . Shipping, Wired, Shein, American Apparel and Footwear Association, Apex Logistics International, Walmart Locations: Xinjiang, China, Russia, Sen, Singapore, Boston, minimis, United States, mstone@insider.com

☆ First he was a teacher. Then he was China's top tech titan. Now, meet Jack Ma 3.0 — a high-tech farmer.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewAlibaba cofounder Jack Ma was once the invincible poster boy of Chinese tech. Now, it appears Ma is debuting a refreshed version of himself, in what you just might call Jack Ma 3.0. Jack Ma 1.0: A struggling teacher who wanted in on the tech sceneIt's easy to understand why Ma is so popular in the US and China alike. His first business — China Pages — failed, but he gathered a band of 17 friends in 1999 to set up Alibaba. AdvertisementMa himself cavorted with the biggest names in business, tech, and government globally — from Bill Gates and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son to then president-elect Donald Trump.

Persons: —, Jack Ma, Michael Jackson, Ma, Ma —, Xi Jinping's, he's, Ma Yun, He's, Brian Wong, Wong, Jack, it's, Alibaba.com, behemoth Goldman Sachs, Alibaba, Charlie Rose, cavorted, Bill Gates, Masayoshi Son, Donald Trump, Supakit Chearavanont, Ma hasn't, SCMP Organizations: Service, Business, Communist Party, Hangzhou Teachers Institute, KFC —, Economic, Big Tech, New York Stock Exchange, Financial Times, Tokyo College, Charoen, China Morning Locations: Beijing, China, Hangzhou, Davos, Switzerland, Alibaba, Asia, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, Thailand, Agriculture

☆ China's rapidly dwindling future will shape the world for decades to come
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Everything was getting bigger — its cultural influence, geopolitical ambition, population — and seemed poised to continue until the world was remade in China's image. But now China's economy is withering, and the future Beijing imagined is being cut down to size along with it. What Beijing does — or fails to do — to fight this malaise will determine the course of humanity for decades to come. China's deflation worries started in earnest in the summer. Years of overbuilding — by about double the population, according to some estimates — and slowing population growth caused prices to collapse .

Persons: Minxin Pei, there's, Charlene Chu, Autonomous Research Charlene Chu, Chu, Wei Yao, Générale, I'm, Ben Bernanke, Bernanke, Xi Jinping, Xie Huanchi, Société Générale's Yao, Yao, It's, —, aren't, Logan Wright, Wright, Xi doesn't, Jinping, it's, Xi, Claremont's Pei, magnanimity Organizations: Claremont McKenna College, Autonomous Research, Federal Reserve, Getty Images Japan, Chinese Communist Party, Xi, CCP Locations: China, Beijing, dauphin, Xinhua, Japan, Xi's China, East Asia, Taiwan, Europe

The Red Square mausoleum where his embalmed corpse lies in an open sarcophagus is no longer a near-mandatory pilgrimage but a site of macabre kitsch, open only 15 hours a week. The ideology that Lenin championed and spread over a vast territory is something of a sideshow in modern Russia. “As a result of Bolshevik policy, Soviet Ukraine arose, which even today can with good reason be called ‘Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine.' The Mayakovsky poem that proclaimed Lenin's immortality was “a parting word, or a spell, or a curse,” Rudakov said. At the annual military parade through Red Square, the structure is blocked from view by a tribune where dignitaries watch the festivities.

Persons: soothed, “ Lenin, Lenin, Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vladimir Putin's, Konstantin Morozov, Gennady Zyuganov, ”, Putin, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s, ” Putin, “, VTsIOM, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's, Yuri Annenkov, Josef Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Russian Orthodox Church —, Bolsheviks —, Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin ”, ’, Vladimir Rudakov, ” Rudakov, Jim Heintz Organizations: Moscow Zoo, Communist Party, Russian Academy of Sciences, AP, Union of Russian Architects, Russian Orthodox Church, Bolsheviks, Tass, The Associated Press Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Moscow, St, Petersburg's Finland, United Russia, Ukraine, Soviet Ukraine, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine, Soviet, Russian, Red, USSR, Estonia

☆ Opinion: The real story behind Russia’s new ‘Stalin Centers’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Opinion Jade Mcglynn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Last month, a new ‘Stalin Center’ was opened in Barnaul, Siberia. According to the independent Levada Center, Stalin has taken first place in their ‘who is the greatest figure of all times and all people’ survey since 2012. Students of a military-sponsored school attend the opening of a series of busts of Russian leaders, including Josef Stalin (center), in Moscow, on September 22, 2017. What the West gets wrong about Stalin and PutinMoreover, these comparisons divert attention from important differences between the Stalin and Putin regimes. That is abundantly not the case in Putin’s Russia, where the government instead encourages a ritualistic patriotism and political apathy.

Persons: Jade McGlynn, “, Read, ’, Jade McGlynn Jade McGlynn, Stalin, Vladimir Putin’s, Josef Stalin, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Memorial, Gorbachev, Yury, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Nemenov, demonize ’ Stalin, —, weren’t, Mikhail Bulgakov Organizations: Center for Strategic, International Studies, CNN, Communists, Kremlin Russian Communist Party, Levada Center, YouTube, Communist, Reuters, Kremlin, Putin Locations: Putin’s Russia, Barnaul, Siberia, Russian, Penza, Bor, Communist, Russia, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia, Moscow, Perm, Baltic, Laski, Ukraine, today’s Russia, Kyiv, Putin Russia

☆ Opinion: Germany’s far right is surging. Banning it would backfire
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Opinion Paul Hockenos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But today, Germany is staring at a surging far right – and the country’s mainstream politicians and democratic citizens, still by far the lion’s share of the population, are understandably rattled. Since then it has veered steadily to the far right, where its members tout barely veiled racism and Islamophobia. But studies show that time and again the accommodation of radical right positions benefits the hard right – and not its imitators. Moreover, democrats of all stripes should expose the far right’s populist arguments for what they are: exaggerations, falsehoods and demagoguery. Germany’s ascendent far right shows that all of Europe – and beyond, including the US – could be at a tipping point.

Persons: Paul Hockenos, ”, Paul Hockenos Hayyan, Adolf Hitler’s, Reich, Alice Weidel, –, Ulrich Perrey, Holstein Daniel Günther, Vladimir Putin’s, Austria –, Germany’s Organizations: CNN, Berlin CNN, Parliament, Research, Brandeis University Locations: Berlin, New Berlin, Hungary, Italy, Finland, Germany, Schwerin, Schleswig, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Austria, Europe

☆ The next country to land humans on the moon in the next 10 years 'sets a precedent' for who decides the rules there: US officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Their worries were largely directed at efforts by China to forge its own space dominance and land astronauts on the moon in the next decade. "I don't think Artemis 3, the landing mission, is at all realistically scheduled." "I think that China has a very aggressive plan," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on January 9. Its lead-up to the lunar base involves crewed flights to the moon via its Chang'e missions, which China opened to international collaboration in October 2023.

Persons: —, Frank Lucas, Artemis, Lucas, Neil Armstrong, it's, James Free, Mike Griffin, Griffin, Rich McCormick, Bill Posey, Zoe Lofgren, Bill Nelson, Jing Haipeng, Nelson Organizations: Service, Wednesday, National American Space Agency, Business, Chinese Communist Party, Technology, NASA, Artemis, China, Congressional, GOP, Republican, Democratic, Associated Press Locations: China, Oklahoma, United States, Georgia, Florida, Zoe Lofgren of California, Beijing

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