Day: November 24, 2021

Do Sports Still Need China?

Chin@Strategy

Ultimately, the affair showed how even the most conscientious organizations could find their plans undermined by Chinese politics, how any business could unwillingly become a vessel for an international spat. “If you’re angering both sides, it means there is no middle ground, which I think was significant,” said Dreyer, the Beijing-based sports analyst. Like other observers, Dreyer suggested the WTA’s stance was potentially game-changing. But he noted, too, that it was possibly easier for the WTA to defy China than it had been for, say, the N.B.A., for two reasons.…

China seeks to spin Peng Shuai’s #MeToo allegation into an ideological dispute

Chin@Strategy

Despite endless speculation from international press in recent weeks, there has been barely a mention of tennis star Peng Shuai’s bombshell allegation against Zhang Gaoli, the country’s former vice-premier, in domestic news coverage. Outside the country, the event was initially referred to by the editor of the official nationalist tabloid Global Times, Hu Xijin, only as “the thing people talked about”. “For some years now, China has responded to negative global attention either by giving an unconvincing explanation, or by stoically pretending the criticism isn’t there,” Zhang Ming, a retired…

India to ban private cryptocurrencies and launch official digital currency

Chin@Strategy

The Indian government is preparing to ban private cryptocurrencies and allow the country’s central bank to launch an official digital currency. The proposed legislation follows a crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China, where financial regulators and the central bank have made all digital currency transactions illegal. The Indian proposals were flagged in a parliamentary bulletin listing upcoming legislation which included one paragraph on “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021”. The accompanying description of the bill appeared to leave some room for using cryptocurrencies, however. “To create a…

Jamie Dimon Says He Regrets His Remarks About China

Chin@Strategy

JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, expressed remorse on Wednesday for saying the bank would outlast China’s Communist Party. “I regret and should not have made that comment,” Mr. Dimon said in a statement. “I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company.” At a Boston College event on Tuesday, Mr. Dimon relayed a recent joke he had made comparing the longevity of the multibillion-dollar bank and China’s ruling party. “I made a joke the other day that the Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year,” he…

Where Is the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Headed Next?

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has been one of the most striking comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnerships of the 21st century. Since its formation in 2000, FOCAC has proven to be an effective blueprint for interregional cooperation between China and all African nation-states except Eswatini, which continues to recognize Taiwan. FOCAC represents one of the earliest forum mechanisms for China’s regional multilateralism in the developing world. The triennial summit has become a major event in global politics since its inauguration, as it sets the tone for Sino-African relations…

Hong Kong’s Pillar of Shame Is More Than a Statue

Chin@Strategy

For nearly a quarter of a century, the Pillar of Shame has stood on the campus of Hong Kong University — a 26-foot-tall commemoration of the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Last month, the university ordered the pillar’s removal. The order is a striking blow in the government’s ongoing campaign to erase the memory of the 1989 atrocity: First, it banned the candlelight vigil held annually on June 4, arrested the vigil’s key organizers and raided a museum that documents the history of the massacre. But this is about…

China accuses US of ‘mistake’ after Biden invites Taiwan to democracy summit

Chin@Strategy

China’s government has accused Joe Biden of “a mistake” in inviting Taiwan to participate in a democracy summit alongside 109 other democratic governments. Taiwan was included in a list of participants for next month’s Summit for Democracy, published by the state department on Tuesday. Taiwan is a democracy and self-governing, but Beijing claims it is a province of China and has accused its government of separatism. The inaugural gathering is considered a test of Biden’s pledge that he would return the US to a position asserting global leadership to challenge…