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☆ A Nazi Villa So Tainted Berlin Can’t Give It Away
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Sarah Maslin Nir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Behind thickets of beech trees, overgrown with nettles and beside a blue lake an hour north of Berlin, a villa that once belonged to a Nazi mastermind quietly rots. No one knows what to do with the estate beside the Bogensee lake in Brandenburg. It was built for Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, by his grateful country just before the start of World War II. Too burdensome for the state to continue carrying, prohibitively expensive for most real estate prospectors and tainted by history, Berlin has given up on selling or developing it. Instead, it has offered to give the Nazi mansion away, free.

Persons: nettles, Joseph Goebbels, expensively Organizations: Nazi, State of, Communist Party Locations: Berlin, Brandenburg, State of Berlin

☆ Flags banned, signs ripped up: Why you can’t mention Taiwan at the Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

At Paris 2024, Taiwan’s red and blue flag is banned, as is the name “Taiwan” and its anthem. Security staff confiscated a "Taiwan" towel from a fan during the men's doubles badminton semi-final last week. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy that competes as “Chinese Taipei,” an attempt to participate in the Olympics without angering mainland China. That included the women’s team table tennis quarterfinal between Chinese Taipei and China that NBC News attended Wednesday. “Taiwan Independence, go to die.”“Motherland will retake Taiwan tomorrow, okay?” said another, referring to China.

Persons: Taiwan’s Lee Yang, Wang Chi, Liang Weikeng, Wang Chang, “ Let’s, Arun Sankar, Taiwan ”, Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen, India’s Lakshya Sen, ”, Ann Wang, “, Xi Jinping, Aytac Unal, Mark Adams, Mao Zedong’s, China’s Wang Manyu, Chien Tung, chuan, Wang Zhao, Chiang, Yu Tsing Lin, Chen Szu, Lee Yang Organizations: PARIS, Security, Getty, Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Olympics, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Games, Olympic, Chinese Communist Party, International Olympic Committee, NBC News, IOC, Anadolu, Nationalist, Mao Zedong’s Communists, Taiwan, Paris Games, Taipei women’s, Weibo, Taipei House Locations: Taiwan, Beijing, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Tokyo, Paris, China, Taipei, U.S, Republic of China, Formosa, AFP, London, Taiwan Independence

☆ China’s Great Wall of Villages
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Muyi Xiao | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

China’s Great Wall of Villages China has moved thousands of people to new settlements on its frontiers. Mr. Akester and Mr. Barnett, who have studied Tibet’s border villages for years, reviewed The Times’s findings. In neighboring Xinjiang and Yunnan, The Times identified six new and 59 expanded border villages. (China says there are hundreds of villages like them, but few details are available and many appear to be mere upgrades of existing villages.) A Times investigation found 12 villages in disputed areas Disputed areas Villages in disputed areas Other villages CHINA CHINA TIBET Arunachal Pradesh Controlled by India Claimed by China BHUTAN INDIA MYANMAR 50 miles CHINA CHINA TIBET Arunachal Pradesh Controlled by India Claimed by China BHUTAN MYANMAR INDIA 75 miles Source: RAIC Labs and The Times analysis of Planet Labs satellite imageryChina makes clear that the villages are there for security.

Persons: ”, Xi Jinping, Bhutan Gyalaphug, Tian Shan Wang, Matthew Akester, Robert Barnett, Akester, Barnett, India Demchok, ” Mr, Xi’s, Brahma Chellaney, Mr, Chellaney, Liu Pengyu, Brian Hart, India Migyitun, Jing Qian, Tenzin, “ Organizations: Daily, New York Times, RAIC Labs, Planet Labs, The Times, SOAS University of London, India, China United Front News Network, Times, ”, Embassy, Local, Planet Labs India, China Power, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Maxar, Center for, Asia Society, Communist Party, Human Rights Watch Locations: China, India, Beijing, Arunachal Pradesh, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Tajikistan Fumin, Aimin, Vietnam, Luozha county, Shannan, Tibet Autonomous, Fumin, Xinjiang, Yunnan, China’s, CHINA CHINA TIBET Arunachal Pradesh, China BHUTAN INDIA MYANMAR, China BHUTAN MYANMAR INDIA, New Delhi, South China, Washington, ” India, Ladakh, Times, ”, Center for China, Central Asians, Dokha

☆ How China Built Tech Prowess: Chemistry Classes and Research Labs
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s domination of electric cars, which is threatening to start a trade war, was born decades ago in university laboratories in Texas, when researchers discovered how to make batteries with minerals that were abundant and cheap. Companies from China have recently built on those early discoveries, figuring out how to make the batteries hold a powerful charge and endure more than a decade of daily recharges. They are inexpensively and reliably manufacturing vast numbers of these batteries, producing most of the world’s electric cars and many other clean energy systems. Batteries are just one example of how China is catching up with — or passing — advanced industrial democracies in its technological and manufacturing sophistication. It is achieving many breakthroughs in a long list of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to drones to high-efficiency solar panels.

Organizations: Companies, Communist Party Locations: Texas, China, United States

Hong Kong CNN —Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate has a decades-long connection with China. “I remember waking up and seeing the news on June 4 that the unthinkable had happened,” Walz told Voice of America in an interview in 2014. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon taking students on two-week tours in China for sightseeing and classes on culture, education and history. In Chinese nationalist circles, which have an outsized voice on policy debates in China, there are no rosy illusions about Walz. The hashtag “Harris’ VP pick once taught in China” racked up 15 million views on microblogging site Weibo.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Kamala Harris ’, Tim Walz, Walz, ”, Dalai Lama, Joshua Wong, Shen Dingli, ” Shen, ’ Walz, “, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, ” Walz, Gwen, Cara Roemhildt, ” Roemhildt, Jeff Widener, ’ ”, Liu Dongshu, Liu Xiaobo, Lobsang Sangay, ” Tim Walz, X, Hong Kong’s, Wong, ” Jeffrey Ngo, “ Walz, ” Ngo, ” Shen Yi, “ We’re, ” Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley Asia, Harris, Eric Fish, Hong Kong's, Joshua Wang, George H, Bush, Bush’s, there’s, Liu, “ Harris, China ”, –, Xi Jinping, “ Heh, I’ve, they’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Democratic, United States ’, Republican, Communist Party, Star, Herald, CNN, Harvard University, Paramount, America, “, of, People, Associated, Congressional, Commission, City University of Hong, Hong, Hong Kong Human Rights, Democracy, White Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Minnesota, Tiananmen, Nebraska, Shanghai, Foshan, Guangdong, America, Congress, City University of Hong Kong, Tibet, Dalai, Washington, “, South China, Weibo

☆ One of China’s Most Talkative Nationalists Suddenly Goes Silent
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Chris Buckley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of China’s most influential, and garrulous, nationalist voices on social media has suddenly gone quiet, and the country’s internet is wondering why. But in late July, Mr. Hu stopped updating his page, baffling readers and gratifying some of his critics. Mr. Hu has not explained his silence; nor have China’s internet authorities. But many in China think he has been censored, pointing to signs that party officials may have been irked — paradoxically — because Mr. Hu lauded them in the wrong way. In Mr. Hu’s view, the party used phrasing in its plan for the economy that suggested that China would reduce the status of state-owned companies, giving private companies a big boost.

Persons: Hu Xijin, Hu, Mr, Hu’s Organizations: Global Times, Communist Party, Sina Weibo, Weibo Locations: China

☆ Taiwan is making a TV show about a Chinese invasion. And it’s hitting close to home
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Nectar Gan | Eric Cheung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The 17-minute trailer hit close to home in Taiwan, making headlines in local media and garnering more than a million views on YouTube. But Hsin-mei Cheng, the showrunner of “Zero Day,” worried that her fellow Taiwan citizens have grown “too numb” to the danger of an impending conflict. Hsin-mei Cheng, the showrunner of "Zero Day," says she hopes the show can serve as a wakeup call to the people of Taiwan. Cheng also assembled a team of 10 directors, each responsible for an episode in “Zero Day” that tells an independent story. In “Zero Day,” Chinese infiltration and cognitive warfare takes on many forms – from the lure of money and power to the threat of violence.

Persons: ”, China’s, Xi Jinping, Cheng, “, Mei Cheng, Nancy Pelosi’s, Robert Tsao, Lo Ging, Howard Yu, ” Cheng, Lo, Chapman, Hong Kong’s, –, livestreaming, influencers, Beijing’s, Howard Yu Su Tzu, yun, Lee Yen, China – Organizations: Taipei CNN, China’s People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Communist Party, YouTube, CNN, Presidential, Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, Netflix, Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Kuomintang Locations: Hong Kong, Taipei, Taiwan, dramatize, China, Ukraine, Beijing, Kinmen

☆ Vietnam’s president is confirmed as the new Communist Party chief — the country’s most powerful role
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Vietnamese President To Lam was confirmed Saturday as the new chief of the Communist Party after his predecessor died July 19. Lam will be the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country’s most powerful political role, state media said. The previous general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, dominated Vietnamese politics since he became party chief in 2011. He was elected to a third term as general secretary in 2021. Giang said the party will vote for the general secretary again in 2026, and Lam’s performance will be a factor.

Persons: Lam, Nguyen Phu Trong, ” Lam, Trong, Nguyen Khac Giang, – Yusof, Giang, ” Organizations: Communist Party, Communist Party of Vietnam, Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam Studies Locations: PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

☆ China securities official expected to lead Shenzhen stock exchange, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A woman walks by the gate of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Aug. 20, 2020 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. VCG | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesChina is expected to appoint a senior securities official to head its second-largest bourse, four sources said, filling a role that has been vacant for the unusually long period of seven months as the securities regulator reshuffled its leadership. Li Jizun, a civil servant who is now director of the general office at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), is set to become general manager of the 27-trillion-yuan ($3.73-trillion) Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the sources said. The CSRC and the Shenzhen exchange did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Sha had worked at the securities regulator for more than two decades before taking over at the Shenzhen exchange in mid-2020, after her predecessor Wang Jianjun was promoted to the party chief role before returning to the regulator as a vice chairman.

Persons: Li Jizun, Li, Sha Yan, Sha, Wang Jianjun Organizations: Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Visual China, Getty, bourse, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Council, Shanghai's Nasdaq, Communist Party Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China, China, Beijing, U.S

☆ To Lam Confirmed as Vietnam’s Top Leader Until at Least 2026
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President To Lam of Vietnam, best known for implementing a sweeping anticorruption drive, will become the country’s next Communist Party general secretary, the government’s Politburo announced on Saturday. General secretary is the top job in Vietnam’s political system of collective leadership, and Mr. Lam was named to the post temporarily in July, after the death of Nguyen Phu Trong, who had been general secretary since 2011. The appointment gives Mr. Lam the chance to consolidate his position within the party before it holds its congress in 2026 to select the country’s top leaders for the following five years. “He might be the starting horse in the race for 2026, but he has to go through a particular process,” said Carl Thayer, a Vietnam expert and emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia. He added: “There is a lot of space in there for people to oppose him.”

Persons: Lam, Nguyen Phu Trong, “, ”, Carl Thayer Organizations: Communist Party, government’s, University of New Locations: Vietnam, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia

☆ China's Communist Party expels former CNPC chairman, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's ruling Communist Party has expelled Wang Yilin, former chairman and party secretary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp, for discipline violations, state media said on Wednesday. China's ruling Communist Party has expelled Wang Yilin, former chairman and party secretary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp, for discipline violations, state media said on Wednesday. He also accepted travel arranged by private entrepreneurs on multiple occasions, the report said. Wang's case will be transferred to prosecutors for investigation in accordance with the law, state media said. CNPC said in a statement late on Wednesday that it "firmly supports" the decision, adding that the ruling shows the Party's "zero-tolerance" stance on corruption.

Persons: China's, Wang Yilin, Wang, CNPC Organizations: Communist Party, China National Petroleum Corp, Reuters

☆ China’s LGBTQ+ community celebrates rare scenes from Paris Olympics but internet is divided
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

These are among the images that France, the organizer of the Paris 2024 Olympics, presented to the world during the opening ceremony last week. The clampdown has made it all the more striking when scenes of gay men and drag queens from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony made it onto Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. On social media site Weibo, the “#Paris opening ceremony is really cool# hashtag has generated more than 600 million views over the past four days. “Those who didn’t stay up late to watch the Olympic opening ceremony tonight missed out big time. #Paris opening ceremony is really cool#The ceremony remained the top trending topic on Weibo for more than 15 hours starting Saturday.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Ken Huang, ”, Jeremy Goupille, Natacha, Leonardo da Vinci’s, Christian, French, Suen, Aritists, Athena de Martel, ” Suen, Netizens Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Paris, Weibo, Pride House, Paris Olympics, Communist Party, Chinese University of Hong, House, ” Locations: China, Hong Kong, France, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Weibo

☆ Xi wants the world to know China's military is totally loyal despite the purges
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's military is loyal and will faithfully execute the policies set down by the Communist Party. In June, Chinese Leader Xi Jinping reminded the Central Military Commission — the country's top political-military body — that the military reports to the Communist Party. "Xi stressed that political work is always the lifeline of the country's military. "Xi stresses PLA's political loyalty at crucial meeting held in old revolutionary base," read the Global Times headline. Beyond military corruption, Xi also is concerned about what he sees as decadence in Chinese society — especially among young people — which is undermining Chinese military power.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi, Mei, he'd, he's, Stalin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Communist Party, Central Military Commission, Global Times, Business, Party, Times, People's Liberation Army, PLA, RAND Corp, Taiwan, PLA Rocket Force, CMC, Soviet Union, Political, Red Army, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: China, US, China —, Germany, Soviet Union, Forbes

☆ What a Professor’s Firing Shows About Sexual Harassment in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Tiffany May | Zixu Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the video, the Chinese graduate student stared straight into the camera as she spoke. Then she issued an explosive accusation: A prominent professor at a top Chinese university had been sexually harassing her for two years. The next day, Renmin University fired Mr. Wang, saying that officials had investigated the student’s allegations and found that they were true. The swift response by the university reflected the growing pressure that Chinese academic institutions have come under to curb sexual harassment on campus. In recent years, several schools have been accused of not doing enough to protect their students from tutors and professors who preyed on them.

Persons: Wang Guiyuan, Wang Organizations: Communist Party, Renmin University’s School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University Locations: Beijing

☆ China wants to raise its retirement age. People aren't happy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

China is planning to raise its retirement age, but the move has sparked an online backlash. Upping the retirement age in China has been floated for years, but is not popular. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementChina's Communist Party has resurfaced plans to add years to the country's retirement age, in a move that has caused considerable backlash online. The party plans to raise the retirement age for urban workers from the current figure of 60 years for men, and between 50-55 years for women.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Communist Party, Business Locations: China, Weibo

☆ China’s leaders have floated the idea of raising the retirement age. It hasn’t gone down well
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The retirement age for female urban workers is 50 or 55 depending on their occupation. “In accordance with the principles of voluntariness and flexibility, [we] will steadily and orderly advance the reform of progressively delaying the statutory retirement age,” China’s ruling Communist Party said on Sunday. Tingshu Wang/ReutersStruggling with declining birth rate and an ageing population, China’s policymakers have been talking about increasing the retirement age for over a decade. On Weibo, the hashtag “advancing the reform of delaying retirement age” has been a top trending topic since Sunday. On Xiaohongshu, China’s equivalent of Instagram, the hashtag “retirement age” has also attracted about 100 million views by Tuesday morning.

Persons: ” China’s, Ma Qiuhua, Tingshu Wang, ”, “, ’ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Reuters, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Communist Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Weibo, Communist China, India

☆ China slashes interest rates in a surprise move to boost its slumping economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Kelly Cloonan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

China cut key interest rates after its leaders met at a Communist Party plenum last week. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe world's second-largest economy cut several short- and long-term interest rates on Monday to prop up its sluggish, debt-burdened economy. The People's Bank of China cut its seven-day reverse repo rate by 10 basis points, from 1.8% to 1.7%, and its standing lending facility — given to commercial banks to supply temporary cash — by the same margin. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: China's, — Organizations: Communist, Service, People's Bank of China, Business Locations: China

☆ China’s summer of devastating floods shows steep challenge as it grapples with extreme weather
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Joyce Jiang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Villagers clean rubbish after torrential rains caused flooding in Meizhou, Guangdong province of China on June 19. John Ricky/Anadolu/Getty ImagesA man drives through a muddy street in the aftermath of flooding from heavy storms in Meizhou, Guangdong province last month. “All my hard work for a year has come to nothing.”A road is flooded following heavy rainfall in Jiangxi province on July 4. China’s government has mounted a top-down effort to revamp how the country responds to extreme weather in recent years after 2021 floods in Henan’s Zhengzhou killed more than 300 people. But there have been past issues of misappropriation of state recovery funds, for example following the deadly 2021 floods in Zhengzhou.

Persons: John Ricky, –, Xi Jinping, it’s, “, Tingshu Wang, ”, Hongzhang Xu, Typhoon Doksuri, Li Zhao Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Getty, Communist Party, AFP, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, Agricultural Television, Retailers, Workers, CNN Weather, ” Observers, Australian National University, Reuters, Greenpeace East, “ Locations: China, Hong Kong, sweltering Henan, Nanyang, speedboats, Meizhou, Guangdong province, Guangdong, AFP, Guangzhou province, Henan, Hunan, Lake, Henan’s Nanyang, Jiangxi province, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan province's Changsha, Chongqing, Hainan, Zhengzhou, breadbasket, Jiangxi, Munich, Greenpeace East Asia, Beijing, –

☆ Oil prices rise as investors look for signs U.S. rate cuts to begin
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An aerial view of Phillips 66 oil refinery is seen in Linden, New Jersey, United States. Oil prices rose in early trade on Monday as investors keep a lookout for signs of a rate-cut cycle expected to begin as soon as September. "Since the June FOMC meeting, inflation and labor market data have signaled that disinflation and labor market rebalancing are in place, which we expect will allow the Fed to begin its interest rate cutting cycle in September," ANZ Research said in a note. Slower-than-expected economic growth of 4.7% for China in the second quarter sparked concerns last week over the country's demand for oil and continues to weigh on prices. The 60-point document's publication follows last week's closed-door meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee that takes place roughly every five years.

Persons: Phillips, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Republican Donald Trump Organizations: Brent, U.S . West Texas, Fed, ANZ Research, U.S . Federal Reserve, Market, Republican, Communist Party's Central Committee Locations: Linden , New Jersey, United States, U.S, China

☆ China Shows Few Signs of Tilting Economy Toward Consumers in New Plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Keith Bradsher | Chris Buckley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China engaged in a monthslong drumbeat of anticipation that a Communist Party leaders’ meeting would show the way to a new era of growth for the slowing economy. The outcome was a plan released on Sunday offering more than 300 steps on everything from taxes to religion. Many economists had called for a comprehensive effort to rebalance the Chinese economy away from investment and toward consumer spending. The party promised to “promote the development of strategic industries” in eight sectors, from renewable energy to aerospace. Those were essentially the same industries as in the country’s decade-old Made in China 2025 plan to replace imports of high-tech goods with locally produced products, as part of a national push for self-reliance.

Persons: ’, — Organizations: Communist Party, Communist Party’s Central Committee Locations: China

☆ In a Taiwan war, the US could find itself fighting China without its top allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The study excluded nations that already faced a risk of direct conflict with China, the US and their respective allies. On the other hand, America's top allies don't share American fears that a massive Chinese military buildup and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's avowed determination to "reunify" Taiwan with China are steps toward war, but rather may be nationalistic posturing. AdvertisementYet if Japan, Australia, Britain and Canada are reluctant to confront China, there are actions they can take to help Taiwan. In addition, the four middle powers could play a role in mediators to prevent a Taiwan war from happening. "To build credibility with both great powers, the four middle powers need to rebuild and bolster their strategic autonomy, material power, and commitment to the Asia-Pacific region."

Persons: Rafiq Dossani, isn't, Xi Jinping's, China's, Dossani, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, America's, RAND Corp, RAND, Business, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canada, Chinese Communist Party, NATO, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, American, South Korea, India, Beijing, Asia, South China, Pacific, Okinawa, East China, Britain, Europe, Forbes

☆ Death of Vietnam’s Top Leader Raises Questions of Succession
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Richard C. Paddock | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With the death Friday of Vietnam’s long-serving Communist Party general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, the country’s top leadership role has been left at least temporarily to President To Lam, who is best known for implementing a sweeping anticorruption drive. Mr. Lam, 67, was named Thursday to take over the general secretary’s duties at the Politburo, the Party Central Committee and the Secretariat for an unspecified period. He will also continue as president, a largely ceremonial post for which he was chosen just two months ago. Whether he will retain the duties of general secretary on a more permanent basis depends on the Politburo, which is expected to decide whether to confirm his new role. “This has probably set the stage for To Lam to become the next general secretary,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research organization in Singapore.

Persons: Nguyen Phu Trong, Lam, ”, Nguyen Khac Giang, won’t Organizations: Communist Party, Party Central Committee, Secretariat, Yusof, Institute Locations: Singapore

☆ Nguyen Phu Trong, Powerful Vietnamese Leader, Is Dead at 80
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Sui-Lee Wee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nguyen Phu Trong, the hard-line general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party who presided over his country’s economic and geopolitical transformation, and reshaped its leadership with his “blazing furnace” anticorruption campaign, died on Friday at a hospital in Hanoi. His death was announced by the official Nhan Dan newspaper, which said that Mr. Trong had died of “old age” and an unspecified serious illness. Speculation had swirled in January about Mr. Trong’s health after he skipped meetings with several foreign leaders. For 12 years, Mr. Trong sat at the apex of power in Vietnam’s Communist hierarchy. He consolidated power in one of the world’s few remaining Communist dictatorships, significantly weakening the collective form of leadership that previously characterized the country’s Communist Party.

Persons: Phu Trong, Trong, Lam Organizations: Communist Party, Nhan Dan, Mr, Communist Locations: Hanoi

☆ In the face of trade tensions, China says it will focus on its own economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Top Chinese officials on Friday emphasized the country would focus on its own affairs in the face of rising trade tensions. He listed three areas of focus: the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, accelerated development of "emerging and future industries" and expanding domestic demand, "especially consumption." Han was responding to a question about how China would support growth in the face of increased trade tensions. He used a phrase attributed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who in recent years has called for the country to "do your own thing well" and focus on its own affairs. The press conference followed the end of a high-level meeting policy called the Third Plenum that ended Thursday.

Persons: Han Wenxiu, Han, Xi Jinping Organizations: BEIJING, Top, Communist, CNBC Locations: China

☆ China's cooking oil scandal prompts residents to buy oil presses amid food safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

They are turning to making their own oil by buying household oil press machines. a post on social media platform Xiaohongshu, captioning a video of a bottle of cooking oil, showcased locals' worries. China's authorities have launched an investigation into food safety concerns after domestic media revealed that a major state-owned company, Sinograin, had been using tankers that carry fuel to transport cooking oil. Be careful of 'Made in China' food products," Rein told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." "Illegal enterprises and relevant responsible persons will be severely punished in accordance with the law and will not be tolerated," China's Commission on Food Safety of the State Council said.

Persons: It's, Shaun Rein, Rein, CNBC's Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Beijing, Private, Hopefull, Oil Group, Beijing News, China Market Research, Times Finance, Food, State Locations: China, China's Guangxi, Australia, Europe, Hong Kong

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