This feels self-inflicted to me. People forget that, during the Cold War, the Sino-Soviet split was very much a thing. People also forget that post-war Russia wanted nothing more than to integrate into the broader Western (European) economy, that the US’ recognition of Taiwan as the government of China only ended in the 1970s, that the US was single-handedly responsible for propping up the KMT junta for decades, that China’s interests have never left their immediate neighborhood, or that in fact Taiwan-China relations were normalizing under Ma.
It would not be remiss for me to mention that the big Western powers are currently complaining about Georgia’s foreign agent law that would require organizations which receives significant foreign funding to register themselves… And that foreign ministers of European countries are marching in Tbilisi in protest of the law.
Foreign influence, whether that be direct (through funding) or indirect (through ideology, propaganda) is the foundation of many large social movements. That needs to be acknowledged, and it’s perfectly fine. The notion that nations are meant to be entirely independent is one not based in reality: nobody is pretending Canada could align with Russia without getting nuked to high orbit. The world is built on realpolitik, not on lines drawn on a map.
That’s not the worry. The worry is that China is accumulating all of this industrial capacity (like the US pre-WW2) and that car factories really aren’t that different from APC/tank factories.
UN expert calls to remove sanctions against China citing 'illegality' (news.cgtn.com)
Three Spanish tourists killed by gunmen in central Afghanistan (www.bbc.com)
Dead Florida dolphin was infected with highly pathogenic bird flu (www.wfla.com)
See chaotic brawl in Taiwan Parliament over chamber reforms (www.cnn.com)
French Tiktok ban makes VPN usage soar in New Caledonia (www.techradar.com)
Aid arriving in Gaza via US-made pier but distribution blocked, says US aid chief (www.theguardian.com)
Intelligence chief warns Canadians that China can use TikTok to spy on them (www.cbc.ca)
China is burning all its bridges with Israel (asia.nikkei.com)
Hezbollah downs Israeli "spy" balloon over Lebanese village (english.news.cn)
Putin and Xi pledge a new era and condemn the United States (www.reuters.com)
Germany: Court says far-right AfD is suspected of extremism (www.bbc.com)
More than 30% of world’s electricity now comes from renewables, report reveals (www.euronews.com)
Biden administration is sending $1 billion more in weapons, ammo to Israel, congressional aides say (apnews.com)
Biden Is Trying to Buy EVs Time With New Tariffs on China. It Might Not Work (www.wired.com)
Malaysia rebuffs US on Iran oil sales, says it recognises only UN sanctions (www.straitstimes.com)
Russian firms buy $4 billion worth of India-made arms, pay in Indian rupee (www.firstpost.com)
Philippines’ Marcos ‘horrified’ by Xi-Duterte ‘gentleman’s agreement’ for status quo in disputed waters (www.scmp.com)
Israeli ambassador Erdan shreds UN charter in protest of General Assembly vote to boost status of Palestinian mission (www.timesofisrael.com)
Suffering worst drought in decades, Costa Rica orders electricity rationing (www.reuters.com)
Record-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere (www.theguardian.com)