Something Completely Different

QuoteThe top legislative body on Friday approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for females in white-collar jobs.

Men will see an increase from 60 to 63.

China's current retirement ages are among the lowest in the world.

QuoteThe US is planning to ban certain hardware and software made in China and Russia from cars, trucks and buses in the US due to security risks.

Officials said they were worried that the technology in question, used for autonomous driving and to connect cars to other networks, could allow enemies to "remotely manipulate cars on American roads".

There is currently minimal use of Chinese or Russia-made software in American cars.

But Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the plans were "targeted, proactive" steps to protect the US.

"Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet," she said in a statement.

"It doesn't take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of US citizens."

Chinese officials said the US was broadening "the concept of national security" to unfairly target Chinese firms.

QuoteThe Chinese Communist Party's obsession with the island of Taiwan is about more than just territory. A journey through 500 years of history reveals why.

QuoteBusiness Insider
Oct 16, 2024

Satellite images and on-board footage show how the race to build and fortify artificial islands in the South China Sea is nudging America and China closer to conflict. It's been ten years since the first large islands first started to appear but now some are fully operational military bases, with 3000-meter runways, weapons systems, and deepwater harbors.

0:00 - Intro
01:15 - China's Island Bases
03:02 - Hotspot: Second Thomas Shoal
05:47 - Reasons For China's Islands
07:49 - Who's Sea Is It Anyway?
09:59 - Vietnam Fights Back
11:53 - China's Secret Navy
13:13 - Environmental Damage
14:08 - Chance Of Conflict
15:42 - Credits

QuoteBloomberg Television
Oct 30, 2024
Despite tariffs, export controls and financial sanctions under different US administrations, China is making steady progress in dominating industries of the future, according to new research by Bloomberg Intelligence and Bloomberg Economics. It shows that 'Made in China 2025,' Beijing's industrial policy blueprint, has largely been a success.

00:00 - Has the US failed to contain China?
01:32 - Progress in 'Made in China 2025' and how China's chip sector is doing
05:14 - How are conflict concerns playing into US-China ties?

Quote
The Economist
Nov 2, 2024


Who might Xi Jinping be quietly rooting for on November 5th? David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, explains whether China is hoping for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump as the next US president

Quote from: QuantumSync on Nov 02, 2024, 07:02 PM

QuotePolice in China say 35 people were killed and another 43 injured when a driver rammed his car into people exercising at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai. The 62-year-old driver was detained, police said Monday.

Later on Tuesday, police said the man was unhappy about a divorce settlement.

Quote from: Buck_Mulligan on Nov 27, 2024, 10:46 PMFT says the plan to turn Shanghai into a Global Finance Center has so far failed. Link appears not to be gated.

https://www.ft.com/content/fee4b7ca-5fee-430c-bccc-f79fd7a697af (https://www.ft.com/content/fee4b7ca-5fee-430c-bccc-f79fd7a697af)

QuoteWION
Nov 27, 2024

#Gravitas Admiral Dong Jun, China's Defense Minister, is under investigation for corruption. He's the third consecutive Chinese Defence Minister to face such charges. All three were reportedly handpicked by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

QuoteChina announced on Tuesday a ban on the export of a number of minerals with military and technology applications to the U.S., one day after the Biden administration further curbed its own exports as part of its crackdown on China's semiconductor industry.

QuoteSomewhere in rural China, there's a replica city that is straight out of the American Wild West – Welcome to Jackson Hole, China!  With a jaw-dropping $170 million invested to recreate that classic cowboy vibe in Wyoming, I knew that I had to see this for myself. Is it really as "American" as they claim? Are people actually living there, or is it a ghost town? 

To help me get to the bottom of it, I teamed up with my friend Rachel, a fellow American who's been living in China for 8 years and speaks conversational Mandarin. Together, we're diving into this strange town to uncover the truth – from cowboy hats to horse riding to sizzling steaks, we're exploring just how wild (and weird) this "Western" town really is.

Quote from: Psy-Fi on Jan 11, 2025, 01:48 PMBounty hunting wild boars in China: The once-protected species is now a growing public menace (https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/10/china/bounty-hunting-wild-boars-in-china-the-once-protected-species-is-now-a-growing-public-menace/index.html)

QuoteShanghaiEye魔都眼
Jan 23, 2025

QuoteAFP: The new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a call yesterday with his Philippines counterpart Enrique Manalo. A State Department spokesperson said that Rubio underscored the United States' ironclad commitments to the Philippines under the countries' mutual defense treaty and that the two also discussed Beijing's "dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea." Does the Foreign Ministry have a reaction to this call?

Mao Ning: China's activities in relevant waters are legitimate, lawful, and fully justified. The US is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to interfere in the maritime issues between China and the Philippines. The military cooperation between the US and the Philippines should not undermine China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, still less should such cooperation support or advance the Philippines' illegal claims. China will continue to take necessary steps to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.

QuoteNOVA PBS Official
Jan 17, 2025

QuoteDW News
Jan 26, 2025

QuoteA deadly accident at a train station in Serbia has put a spotlight on China's outsized role in the Balkans and Hungary, particularly its funding for large rail projects. Europe is now trying to keep up, but is it enough? DW looks at a geopolitical competition centered around rail, trade and the future orientation of a region on the EU's periphery.

QuoteChapters:
00:00   Intro – Anger and ambitions
01:34   Albania – The race to modernize
06:49   North Macedonia – Nation at a juncture
11:49   Serbia – Promise and tragedy
16:56   Hungary – A reliance on China
21:12   End – What we've seen

QuoteThe New York Times
Jun 22, 2022

Quote from: Psy-Fi on Feb 05, 2025, 02:44 PMUSPS temporarily suspends accepting packages from China and Hong Kong (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usps-suspends-packages-china-hong-kong/)

Hopefully, the guitar parts and drone I ordered 10 days ago already made it through the USPS system.

Quote from: Psy-Fi on Feb 19, 2025, 11:53 PM^ Xi looks like he should have a beer and some popcorn while he's watching America decline.

Quote from: QuantumSync on Mar 04, 2025, 05:18 AM

QuoteDW News
Mar 6, 2025

QuoteChina is holding its annual National People's Congress. It's a huge and largely ceremonious gathering of Communist Party officials – a time for the country's leadership to take stock of the current economic situation and signal its plans for the future. DW's China Analyst Clifford Coonan breaks down the latest developments and what the meeting could signal for the country's tech industry.

QuoteBeijing has demanded protections for Chinese students in the U.S. after a congressional panel asked six American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed information on their Chinese students, citing national security concerns

QuoteRyan McBeth

Mar 23, 2025

QuoteIn a nutshell, CRPA chips filter out GPS jamming by focusing on "good" signals and eliminating signals that are not consistent with true signals.

These Chinese designed chips are being found is Russian Shahed drones, allowing them to avoid Ukrainian electronic warfare and jamming.

This is dangerous because it means that China is not afraid of the US responding to these actions, or the US is somehow implicitly allowing these chip deals to be executed.

Bot situations are bad.

QuoteRealLifeLore
Mar 31, 2025

Quote"We may be peasants, but we have the world's best high-speed rail system, the most powerful logistics capabilities, and leading AI, autonomous driving, and drone technologies. Aren't such peasants quite impressive?"

Quote from: DeepMinder on Apr 08, 2025, 09:32 PMlooks like i'll have to break up with my 4 chinese girlfriends

QuoteChinese officials are calling on US President Donald Trump to "completely cancel" his so-callled reciprocal tariffs, as a trade war between the world's two biggest economies grinds on.

This week, Trump announced a 90-day pause for a host of global tariffs he had planned, but increased levies on Chinese imports to 145%.

"We urge the US to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of 'reciprocal tariffs' and return to the right path of mutual respect," China's commerce ministry said in a statement.

The Trump administration offered a concession on Friday by announcing that some technological products - including many produced in China - would be exempted.

QuoteHong Kong CNN  —

Xi Jinping has urged Vietnam to resist "unilateral bullying" and uphold free and open trade, as he begins a high-stakes diplomatic tour of the region's major export-reliant economies in a bid to position his country as a stable partner in contrast to the United States.

QuoteUS President Donald Trump has appeared to soften his recent comments on China and the head of the US Federal Reserve after recent clashes as he pursues his economic agenda.

He said he has "no intention of firing" Jerome Powell after repeatedly criticising the head of the central bank, but he added that he would like Powell to be "a little more active" on cutting interest rates.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump also said he was optimistic about improving trade relations with China.

He said the level of tariffs - or import taxes - that he had imposed Chinese imports would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".

QuoteRyan McBeth
Apr 25, 2025 

QuoteWe'll cover:

The foundations of Marxist-Leninist thought

Why the CCP formed in the shadows of the Nationalist revolution

How Mao's Long March and WWII shaped China's communist future

The disasters of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution

Deng Xiaoping's paradoxical reforms

Xi Jinping's rise and why the PLA is preparing to invade Taiwan by 2027

This is part of my China series—designed for anyone who may find themselves facing the PLA in the coming years.

QuoteChina's latest human spaceflight mission headed for orbit on Thursday morning (April 24).

A Long March 2F rocket topped with the Shenzhou 20 crew spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24 at 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT; 5:17 p.m. Beijing time).

Shenzhou 20 carried commander Chen Dong, on his third trip to space, and rookie astronauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, both of whom were selected for China's third intake of astronauts in 2020.

QuoteHong Kong CNN  —

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has not spoken to US President Donald Trump on the phone recently, Beijing said Monday, reiterating that no talks are taking place between the two countries to resolve their tariff war.

The statement from a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson is an outright rejection of Trump's claim in an interview with Time magazine last week that Xi had called him, as the world's two largest economies remain locked in a dispute over sky-high trade levies.

"As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state," Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference. "I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue."

QuoteTask & Purpose
 
May 6, 2025


As tensions escalate in the Indo-Pacific between the United States and China, particularly over Taiwan, the U.S. military is reviving World War II-era bases in the Western Pacific to counter China's growing military capabilities.

These 80- to 85-year-old bases, from Tinian to Peleliu, are being modernized to support the U.S. Air Force's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy, a cornerstone of its Pacific defense plan.

This episode explores the strategic importance of these bases, the challenges posed by China's Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) strategy, and how revitalized bases, alongside new access to Philippine sites, enhance U.S. deterrence and operational resilience.

Written by: Tony To

Edited by: Savvy

QuoteTaiwan Talks
May 12, 2025

QuotePhilippine Senator Francis Tolentino has presented evidence that the Chinese Embassy in Manila signed a contract with a local firm to provide a cyber army of "keyboard warriors" for pro-China online campaigns.

Quote60 Minutes
May 18, 2025

QuoteChina is intent on using spies to monitor and influence events outside its own borders. 60 Minutes reports on why China's spies are on the rise, and what happens when one gets caught in the U.S.