Rugged indoorsman | Humble scrivener @ChinaFile @EsquireUK @ForeignPolicy @PRI @Slate @TheChinaProj @Telegraph @TheAtlantic @VICE etc
Beijing, Brighton, Baja
Joined March 2014
- Tweets5.1K
- Following214
- Followers2.1K
- Likes3.2K
don't know about the current administration but when a Tory delegation came to Beijing in 2013, they were an omnishambles of ignorance and expectation, much to the embassy staff's embarrassment. One pointed to the massive picture of Mao in Tiananmen and asked "who's that?"
Excl: Britain is dangerously exposed to interference from Beijing, a cross-party China audit from @ipacglobal warns:
• Senior officials dealing with China lack Mandarin and first-hand experience of the country;
• Experienced China specialists are being lost or redeployed amid budget cuts;
• Whitehall departments pursue contradictory policies towards Beijing;
• Councils lack training to spot malign activity linked to town-twinning;
• Disruption to Chinese supplies could halt offshore wind development within months and delay renewable projects by up to 18 months.
The government rejected the claims about expertise, saying extensive knowledge existed at senior levels. A spokesman said ministers were “clear-eyed about the threats China poses, and national security is the first duty of government. We will cooperate with China where we can while meeting any challenges head on”.
thetimes.com/article/602d70f…
It’s autumn, which means pumpkin spice, falling leaves, and dodgy rumors about XJP’s health ahead of this week’s summit
This time, the clout-chasers misinterpreted a comment by Modi (“is it OK?”) as pertaining to Xi’s ever-fragile health rather than a technical glitch
Anyone dismissing the recent China rumours as “just rumours” needs a master class in Chinese history. For 3000 years, rumours have always been instruments of political mobilisation and change: Chen Sheng’s prophecy concealed in a fish’s belly; Liu Bang’s tale of killing the white snake; the CCP’s denunciations of the “four big families” as symbols of Nationalist corruption; and the alleged secret order attributed to Chiang Kai-shek not to resist Japan.
In Chinese history, rumours are rarely just rumours. In the right hands, they can become political weapons—testing public sentiment, delegitimising rivals, shaping collective memory, and preparing the ground for change.
65
reason CCP can’t get a handle on food safety, imo, is they don’t have skin in the game. Thanks to tegong (特供) system, lingdao have a private food supply, including Wagyu beef and luxury Maotai. If Xi Jinping was eating 東坡肉 from Jingkelong, the problem would vanish overnight
This quoted post is unavailable.
4
220
When netizens talk about US “kill line” — that you’re one stroke of misfortune from wipeout — aren’t they also discussing China, where even billionaires can disappear, house values tank overnight, and employees fear being fired at 30? “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”
Old Hu Jintao, browsing classic holiday snaps of Deng: “Oh, Comrades… we used to be a real party” #Beidaihe
ALT Supreme Leader Deng Xiaopeng (m) hits the surf at Party Central with friends, family, board buddies in Beidaihe BBQ Beach, July 1986
ALT Deng (m) enjoys first prize at the Hebei-Beijing Municipality Buddha Belly Contest held at Beidaihe Party Central, August 1984
102
A shiny sixpence to anyone who can spot the difference between my cat (L) and current FBI Director Kash Patel (R)
1
65
For context, China’s previous Minister of Justice, Fu Zhenghua, a Xi protege who led several high-profile campaigns against vice and graft, was jailed in 2022 for accepting $14.7 million in bribes. So at least the cost of corruption is going down
Liu Zhiqiang, a former vice minister of justice in China, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking bribes of over 42.45 million yuan ($5.92 million), according to a ruling made by the Wuhu Intermediate People's Court.
93
sending billions in aid while refusing your own citizens a social safety net is bound to enrage them. Xi criticized “welfarism”and vowed to improve public services in 2021, then wasted a trillion on Zero Covid camps instead of social infrastructure. Lot of resentment out there
It appears the announcement of this largesse has not stoked much domestic approval and pride in China. Quite the contrary.
8
157
what does retirement for a disgraced ex-official (and Xi protégé) look like? It has its perks but Qin can’t simply open a coffee shop in Dali. Rui Chengguan was rumored to go work in Hong Kong real estate. Lei Zhengfu (“brother 12 seconds”) was last seen on holiday in Hainan…
China's Third Plenum concludes:
1. Ex-Defense Minister Li Shang-fu is heading to the dog house. He's fired from CC.
2. Ex-Foreign Minister Qin Gang gets a milder punishment. He's allowed to "#resign" from CC -- being closer to Xi has its perks.
Some thoughts... /1🧵
2
223
since the 90s, most “thugs for hire” in China were/are recruited from drifter (流动人口) or “hooligan” classes (流氓), while post-USSR cartels were largely ex-KGB/military types. these mafiosi ran amok under Yeltsin, a lawless era unleashed again by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Russian government commonly refers to the 90s in form of "we need stability and strong regime so there it won't be like in the 90s". Eventually however this "stability" and "strong regime" brings the same violence as then, but multiplied.
2
2
200
Volkov’s “violent entrepreneurs” (below) are now replaced by disorganized, one-man crime waves: violent recidivists, conscripted onto the front lines, then sent home after six months with fat paychecks to terrorize Russian villages, former victims etc web.stanford.edu/group/Russi…
55
“Comrade Trump” (建国同志) and
MAGA for China has long been a thing (here’s a migrant delivery driver and ardent El Don supporter I met in Beijing, 2016). At least one reason is US politics is more interesting than eg the CCP Third Plenum, which doesn’t even have a #
1
90
I’d forgotten this: for reference, six townships in Hunan went to full-blown war with cannons in 1993 over a 60yo blood feud, and it took 100s of armed police to eventually de-escalate the situation en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sept…
there’s been a lot of stabbing going on in a single district of Shenyang in just the last couple of months
another particularly grisly ‘incident’ in Shandong (2 dead, reportedly) teapawt.net/dxdwx999/status/181107…
178
one of the biggest fears for lawful PRC nationals is getting targeted by their own legal system: why these scams are so widespread and effective, both home and abroad, is because China lacks real rule of law, so it’s not uncommon to view cops as indistinguishable from crooks
This Post is from an account that no longer exists. Learn more