Weekend Update (without Kevin Nealon, sorry)

US can’t get data from China.  That might not be a bad thing, though since Scientists can’t confirm the validity of the Chinese numbers.

This is a good piece, but I doubt that there has been much negative change on the ground to Xi’s power. Probably the most problematic long-term result of the Covid-19 is that nothing will really happen. Yes, there will be decoupling, but that was already begun. Yes, the Chinese economy will slow down, but that too had already started. I know from personally speaking with investment bankers and funds managers in the US that they are “still bullish” on China in the long run and will not pull investments. Neither XJ, nor Tibet, nor Covid-19 seems to be enough to dissuade individual retirement plans.

More and more I'm thinking about this--how to work in and/or invest in China and still be socially responsible. Clearly, the models of the past 40 years are not what should be followed moving forward.

From (another) article about Chinese dystopia:

China seems confident that it will soon rule the world, given its huge population, massive trade surpluses, vast cash reserves, and industries that produce so many of the world’s electronic devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.

For a year, the Chinese government has battled massive street demonstrations for democracy in Hong Kong. Beijing cynically assumes that Western nations don’t care. They are expected to drop their characteristic human-rights advocacy because of how profitable their investments inside China have proven.

Beijing was right. Few Western companies complain that Chinese society is surveilled, regulated, and controlled in a nightmarish fashion that George Orwell once predicted in his dystopian novel, 1984.

All of these recent scandals should remind the world that China got rich by warping trade and stealing technology in much the same way that it deals with epidemics and dissidents. That is, by simply ignoring legitimate criticism and crushing anyone in its way.

If the Chinese Communist Borg is willing to put millions of its own citizens at risk of infection and death, why would it care about foreigners’ complaints that China is getting rich and powerful by breaking international trade rules?

Chinese govt and their tech response to Covid-19 is both fascinating and horrifying. From on increase in robot food delivery to assigning everyone in some cities a QR code based on a health declaration form. Those without “green” codes cannot go out in public, regardless if they have been infected or not. And now the news that Chinese tech companies have figured out how to complete facial recognition even when people are wearing face masks.

A couple of my personal takeaways from news and podcasts are:

1. The massive on the ground human forces that it has taken to quarantine hundreds of millions of people. The CCPs local cadre and also many private security companies and housing project managers have done yeoman’s work in responding to this outbreak (certainly with mixed results).

2. The importance of last year’s HK protests should now be clear to everyone, especially (hopefully) people in the mainland. Responsible government isn’t just a distraction from making money, but it really does affect the daily lives of the entirety of humanity.

3. The depth of the inhumanity of the CCP. I believe that they truly do want to stop the virus, and sincerely to save people’s lives. But that is not all, nor maybe even their primary motivation. Stability (meaning no challenge to the govt) and regime continuity are paramount; for the CCP there is literally an acceptable number of deaths in managing this crisis as long as the “core” and Party are not questioned.

Never let a crisis go to waste—not sure where this dictum came from originally, but Xi certainly has taken it to heat, using Covid-19 outbreak to consolidate power in Hubei and Wuhan. A replacement by Xi’s cronies has also been made in HK and Macao. There may be questions about Xi’s popularity, but there likely aren’t any doubts about his level of control.

And just in case you think that you’re too removed from China to be infected, read this piece. 

I’m seeing tweets about Massive Demonstrations against both the govt and China today in Seoul. And increasing concerns that with the spread there and in Japan (and lack of quarantine for the Diamond Cruise passengers) is raising concerns about the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in July.

China as a source of black swans. (I’ve not read this one yet, but it looks good.)

Free plane tix to China—Honest! Of course, you have to fly to Yiwu (Zhejiang, near Hubei) and you must land before the end of this month. But, if you wanted to film your own post-apocalypse movie, this might just be your chance!

Great little thread on how to understand Chinese politics/governance.

This is really sad—people without Covid-19 are not getting the necessary care/treatment in China. I’ve mentioned this before to people thinking about going to China. Unless you’re willing to pay extra (bribes), you’re not going to get the services you need—and even then it will not be the quality of service that you’re likely used to from the West. NOTE: The reporter ends the video with “I’ll be here for a while because it’s not clear when the government will allow anyone in this city to leave.” She was expelled from China earlier this week.

Here is a good 30,000’ view of what Covid-19 might mean for the world.

Bonus! My China Podcast list:

I pick and choose topics and pods that are of interest to whatever I’m working on at the moment (my dissertation on Chinese corporate culture in Thailand); usually, I get in 2-3 podcasts a day during my exercise (I listen on 1.5 speed).

• NHK News in Mandarin
• MSG
• Asia In-Depth
• Sinica Podcast
• The Little Red Podcast
• Merics
• Caixin-Sinica Business Podcast
• Inside China
• Middle Earth
• China Power
• China Tech Talk
• The China History Podcast
• Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
• Analyse Asia
• NCUSCR Interviews
• Shorenstein Center
• Rules Based Audio
• UPenn Center for the Study of Contemporary China