New podcast #45 and this week's China news brief
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Podcast
The first of many episodes covering the build up, events, and aftermath of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which took place in China from 1966 to 1976. In this episode we discuss what the Cultural Revolution was supposed to be, recap its principal causes, discuss the events that led to the declaration of the CR, and cover the formation and expansion of the Red Guards, Mao's children of the Revolution.
I recorded this episode very late at night (new baby = no time) and so found myself mispronouncing things (as well as mumbling a lot). The main ones that I noticed were that I mispronounced LUO Ruiqing as LIU Ruiqing, and HAI Rui as HA Rui a few times. My bad, Luo and Hai are the correct terms!
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News
Bloomberg China Moves Xinjiang Police Boss to Top PLA Role in Hong Kong: Following its pattern of installing officials with a history of carrying out crackdowns in official positions in Hong Kong, the CCP has made Major General Peng Jingtang commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison.
Nikkei Asia Murata's Thailand move heralds Japan tech shift from China: Japanese tech manufacturing firms are seeking to lessen their dependence on China, as their worsening relationship with the US calls into question the security of supply chains the in future.
SCMP Chinese foreign minister condemns Kazakh unrest, vows to help fight ‘three evil forces’: China pledges to help the Kazakh government fight “terrorism, separatism and religious extremism”, using language similar to that used to characterise unrest in the Xinjiang region. China is not only worried that the violence could spill over into Xinjiang, but there is concern over the integrity of the Belt and Road projects China is carrying out in the neighbouring country.
Sixth Tone Without Apps or Algorithms, a Rural Matchmaker Thrives: A heartwarming story of the trials and tribulations of a traditional matchmaker in rural China.
Sixth Tone For Chinese Workers in Indonesia, No Pay, No Passports, No Way Home: Chinese migrant workers in Indonesia find themselves with irregular pay, poor living conditions, and no human rights, despite the projects they’re working on being joint ventures with Chinese firms. Unable to get back home or seek legal redress, many of them try to escape back to China, with few succeeding.
SupChina Where to invest in China’s ‘common prosperity’ age: This article not only outlines the sectors the Chinese government wants to focus on in the future, but highlights the country’s pull away from virtual spaces to focus on traditional sectors such as manufacturing and farming.
WSJ Two Chinese Startups Tried to Catch Up to Makers of Advanced Computer Chips—and Failed [read without a paywall here]: Plans to catch up with the likes of Samsung are thwarted by US sanctions and supply chain issues, as China seeks to become self-sufficient in semi-conductor production.
Another great podcast Edi. Thank you. Will you be uploading it to Youtube?