Month: March, 2021
An article by Chinese President Xi Jinping on learning the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will be published Thursday.
worker | March 31, 2021 | 8:04 pm | China, Communist Party of China | Comments closed

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-31/Xi-stresses-learning-CPC-history-in-article-to-be-published-tomorrow-Z5fLepalAQ/index.html

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Chinese President Xi Jinping stresses learning CPC history in article to be published tomorrow
CGTN

An article by Chinese President Xi Jinping on learning the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will be published Thursday.

The article by Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be published in the seventh issue of the Qiushi Journal, the CPC Central Committee’s flagship magazine.

The article highlights the importance of learning CPC history given the fact that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.

It hopes all Party members will learn from the history, so the Party can better serve the people and lead the country to fully build a modern socialist country.

According to the article, the year 2021 is at the critical juncture when the first centenary goal of completely building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is finished, while a new journey to fully building a modern socialist country begins.

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Xi Jinping stresses Party history learning as CPC gears up for centenary

It calls for enhancement on the education of Party history as the learning will help ensure the CPC remain true to its original aspiration and the process of carrying forward the historic cause of national rejuvenation.

The article raised requirements on Party history education by urging members to enhance their political consciousness with innovative theories, deepening their awareness to the Party’s principles to ensure the Party maintains its original characteristics, summarizing the historical experience to improve their anti-risk capabilities, and strengthening unification.

The article also calls for pursuing substantial results in education.

China Aces Western Hypocrisy
worker | March 31, 2021 | 8:01 pm | China | Comments closed

https://sputniknews.com/columnists/202103301082490155-china-aces-western-hypocrisy/

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There’s a new dawn evident: China is not putting up with what it sees as hypocritical Western interference in its sovereign affairs. Sanctions are being met with rapid counter-sanctions, and Chinese officials are vociferously pointing out Western double standards.

There was a time when the United States and its allies could browbeat others with condemnations. Not any more. China’s colossal global economic power and growing international influence has been a game-changer in the old Western practice of imperialist arrogance.

The shock came at the Alaska summit earlier this month between US top diplomat Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterparts. Blinken was expecting to lecture China over alleged human rights violations. Then Yang Jiechi, Beijing’s foreign policy chief, took Blinken to task over a range of past and current human rights issues afflicting the United States. Washington was left reeling from the lashes.

Western habits die hard though. Following the fiasco in Alaska, the United States, Canada, Britain and the European Union coordinated sanctions on Chinese officials over provocative allegations of genocide against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. Australia and New Zealand, which are part of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, also supported the raft of sanctions.

Again China caused shock when it quickly hit back with its own counter-sanctions against each of these Western states. The Americans and their allies were aghast that anyone would have the temerity to stand up to them.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau bemoaned: “China’s sanctions are an attack on transparency and freedom of expression – values at the heart of our democracy.”

Let’s unpack the contentions a bit. First of all, Western claims about genocide in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang are dubious and smack of political grandstanding in order to give Washington and its allies a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

The latest Western sanctions are based on a report by a shady Washington-based think-tank Newlines Institute of Strategic Policy. Its report claiming “genocide” against the Uyghur muslim ethnic minority in Xinjiang has the hallmarks of a propaganda screed, not remotely the work of independent scholarly research. Both China and independent journalists at the respected US-based Grayzone have dismissed the claims as fabrication and distortion.

For the United States and other Western governments to level sanctions against China citing the above “report” is highly provocative. It also betrays the real objective, which is to undermine Beijing. This is a top geopolitical priority for Washington. Under the Biden administration, Washington has relearnt the value of “diplomacy” – that is the advantage of corralling allies into a hostile front, rather than Trump’s America First go-it-alone policy.

Granted, China does have problems with its Xinjiang region. As Australia’s premier think-tank Lowy Institute noted: “Ethnic unrest  and terrorism in Xinjiang has been an ongoing concern for Chinese authorities for decades.”

Due to the two-decade-old US-led war in Afghanistan there has been a serious problem for the Chinese authorities from radicalization of the Uyghur population. Thousands of fighters from Xinjiang have trained with the Taliban in Afghanistan and have taken their “global jihad” to Syria and other Central Asian countries. It is their stated objective to return to Xinjiang and liberate it as a caliphate of East Turkestan separate from China.

Indeed, the American government has acknowledged previously that several Uyghur militants were detained at its notorious Guantanamo detention center.

The United States and its NATO and other allies Australia and New Zealand have all created the disaster that is Afghanistan. The war has scarred generations of Afghans and radicalized terrorist networks across the Middle East and Central Asia, which are a major concern for China’s security.

Beijing’s counterinsurgency policies have succeeded in tamping down extremism among its Uyghur people. The population has grown to around 12 million, nearly half the region’s total. This and general economic advances are cited by Beijing as evidence refuting Western claims of “genocide”. China says it runs vocational training centers and not “concentration camps”, as Western governments maintain. Beijing has reportedly agreed to an open visit by United Nations officials to verify conditions.

Western hypocrisy towards China is astounding. Its claims about China committing genocide and forced labor are projections of its own past and current violations against indigenous people and ethnic minorities. The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia have vile histories stained from colonialist extermination and slavery.

But specifically with regard to the Uyghur, the Western duplicity is awesome. The mass killing, torture and destruction meted out in Afghanistan by Western troops have fueled the radicalization in China’s Xinjiang, which borders Afghanistan. The Americans, British and Australians in particular have huge blood on their hands.

An official report into unlawful killings by Australian special forces found that dozens of Afghan civilians, including children, were murdered in cold blood. When China’s foreign ministry highlighted the killings, the Australian premier Scott Morrison recoiled to decry Beijing’s remarks as “offensive” and “repugnant”. Morrison demanded China issue an apology for daring to point out the war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian troops.

It is absurd and ironic that Western states which destroyed Afghanistan with war crimes and crimes against humanity have the brass neck to censure China over non-existent crimes in its own region of Xinjiang. And especially regarding China’s internal affairs with its Uyghur people, some of whom have been radicalized by terrorism stemming from Western mass-murder in Afghanistan.

China is, however, not letting this Western hypocrisy pass. Beijing is hitting back to point out who the real culprits are. Its vast global economic power and increasing trade partnerships with over 100 nations through the Belt and Road Initiative all combine to give China’s words a tour de force that the Western states cannot handle. Hence, they are falling over in shock when China hits back.

The United States thinks it can line up a coalition of nations against China.

But Europe, Britain, Canada and Australia – all of whom depend on China’s growth and goodwill – can expect to pay a heavy price for being Uncle Sam’s lapdogs.

The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

Settling with Our Past
worker | March 30, 2021 | 7:38 pm | struggle against anti-communism | Comments closed

Settling with Our Past

– from Greg Godels is available at:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

We must move beyond Cold War myths, restore the missing chapters of race and labor militancy, and reject hysterical anti-Communism, if we are not to be participants in the death throes of a racist, exploitative empire... To read more, please go to: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/2021/03/settling-with-our-past.html

Wall Street banks ditch $19 billion of stocks in ‘unprecedented’ block trade selloff – media
worker | March 28, 2021 | 8:09 pm | Economy, Political Pandemonium | Comments closed

https://www.rt.com/business/519419-wall-street-banks-block-trades/

Wall Street banks ditch $19 billion of stocks in ‘unprecedented’ block trade selloff – media

Wall Street banks ditch $19 billion of stocks in ‘unprecedented’ block trade selloff – media
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have reportedly sold $19 billion worth of shares in Chinese tech and US media companies. Traders are now wondering what caused the unusually massive move and whether it will continue next week.

Goldman Sachs alone liquidated $10.5 billion worth of stocks in block trades on Friday, Bloomberg reported citing the investment bank’s email to clients. The first batch, that included $6.6 billion worth of shares of Baidu, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Vipshop Holdings, was sold before the market opened on Friday. Later that day, the bank reportedly managed the sale of $3.9 billion worth of shares in American media conglomerates ViacomCBS and Discovery, as well some other companies, such as Farfetch, iQiyi and GSX Techedu.

ALSO ON RT.COMPandemic profiteer: Morgan Stanley makes a killing during coronavirus crisisAnother US investment bank involved in the block trades, which are believed to have wiped $35 billion off affected firms’ valuations in just one day, was Morgan Stanley. The investment bank offered two batches of shares worth $4 billion each on Friday, according to the Financial Times.

While block trades, when sellers are looking for buyers for large volumes of securities at a price sometimes negotiated privately between the two parties, are a common thing, the scale of Friday’s moves raised eyebrows.

“I’ve never seen something of this magnitude in my 25-year career,” portfolio manager at Swiss-based Bellevue Asset Management AG, Michel Keusch, told Bloomberg.

Senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, Oliver Pursche, called the move “highly unusual,” adding that the market participants are now wondering if another wave of block trades could hit the market on Monday and Tuesday, causing wild price swings in the affected stocks.

Another issue is the unclear nature of those trades. Goldman Sachs explained the sales with “forced deleveraging,” the Financial Times wrote citing people with knowledge of the matter. The outlet also said that the move could indicate that a big hedge fund or family office faced some serious problems.

Meanwhile, CNBC reported the selling pressure in some US media and Chinese stocks was linked to the forced liquidation of positions held by family investment office Archegos Capital Management. The lack of details about the move makes the situation worrisome, Pursche said, as investors don’t know “whether this was the liquidation of just one fund or more than a fund, or whether it was a fund liquidation to begin with and the reason behind it.”

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

China reiterated on Friday that China doesn’t intend to surpass the U.S., instead, it only wants to surpass itself and become a better China, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.
worker | March 28, 2021 | 8:06 pm | China | Comments closed

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-26/China-responds-to-Biden-Only-intends-to-surpass-itself-not-U-S–YWKb75j4HK/index.html

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China responds to Biden: Only intends to surpass itself, not U.S.
CGTN

China reiterated on Friday that China doesn’t intend to surpass the U.S., instead, it only wants to surpass itself and become a better China, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.

U.S. President Joe Biden held his first formal press briefing at the White House on Thursday, where he said the U.S. seeks “stiff competition with China” and stressed that he is not going to let China become the leading country.

Read more: Biden says Xi is a ‘smart guy’ and sees stiff competition with China 

Stating that China’s policy towards the U.S. is as consistent and clear as always been, Hua said China is willing to implement the consensuses reached by the leaders of the two countries in their phone call to pursue a sound and stable development of the bilateral ties.

China wishes the U.S. can meet China halfway under the principle of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation, and work jointly to promote the bilateral ties, noted Hua.

The spokesperson said it is not strange to see competition between the two countries given the deep integration of interests, but the key, according to Hua, is to seek a healthy competition instead of a zero-sum game.

Hua called on all countries in the world, including the U.S., to seek cooperation under the principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Regarding Biden’s comments of requiring China to follow the international rule, Hua refuted the statement by underlining that the world only has one system and one set of rules, namely the UN-centered international system and the basic norms of international relations based on the UN Charter.

China is widely recognized as a model in following the rule while the U.S., on the other hand, is famous for its frequent breach of rules, said Hua.

In response to Biden’s comments on democracy and autocracy, the spokesperson defended China’s political system by stressing that the key standard to evaluate a political system lies in whether the system is in accordance with the national context, whether the system can facilitate political stability, social progress and livelihood, and gain people’s support.

The spokesperson listed China’s achievements in poverty eradication, since the country reached its goal 10 years earlier, and the establishment of the world’s biggest social security system.

Compared with the U.S. that let half a million people die from the pandemic and other 40,000 from gun violence annually, China has full confidence and pride in the development path it chose, said Hua, adding that the country will continue on that path with firm determination.

Record deaths from Covid-19 are ‘worst genocide’ in Brazil’s history, and President Bolsonaro is to blame – ex-leader Lula
worker | March 28, 2021 | 8:03 pm | Brazil | Comments closed

https://www.rt.com/news/519262-lula-bolsonaro-brazil-genocide/

Record deaths from Covid-19 are ‘worst genocide’ in Brazil’s history, and President Bolsonaro is to blame – ex-leader Lula

Record deaths from Covid-19 are ‘worst genocide’ in Brazil’s history, and President Bolsonaro is to blame – ex-leader Lula
The former president of Brazil says his incumbent successor is responsible for the “worst genocide in our history” due to a neglectful response to the epidemic. Brazil this week passed an overall tally of 300,000 Covid-19 deaths.

The scorching critique of President Jair Bolsonaro comes from Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, widely known simply as ‘Lula,’ on the pages of the German weekly Der Spiegel. The popular leftist politician said Bolsonaro has failed to take the pandemic seriously, and this has led to the deaths of over 300,000 people. The grim benchmark was passed by the Latin American nation on Wednesday, while, on the next day, its Ministry of Health recorded more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day.

“If he had a bit of dignity, he would have apologized to the families of the 300,000 Covid dead and millions of infected people. He is responsible for that,” said Lula. “Brazil can’t stand it any longer if this man continues to govern like this.”

The former president added that what was going on with Covid-19 in Brazil was the “worst genocide” in country’s history. He used the same term about a year ago, when he explained his concerns with the Bolsonaro government’s approach to the epidemic. The death toll stood at 14,000 at the time.

ALSO ON RT.COMNot ‘forced’ but ‘compulsory’? Brazil’s Supreme Court paves way for SANCTIONS for refusing Covid-19 jabBrazil has the world’s second-worst outbreak of Covid-19 after the US in terms of absolute numbers of cases and deaths. Critics of the incumbent president accuse him of botching the national response for the sake of his laissez-faire, right-wing ideology. Bolsonaro refused to impose restrictive measures to curb the spread of the virus, like harsh lockdowns and mask mandates, arguing that it would lead to economic damage and violate people’s rights.

At the moment the Brazilian government is being accused of failing to procure enough vaccines against Covid-19 for a speedy inoculation program. Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo is taking much of the blame. As the record-breaking disease statistics arrived this week, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco blasted Araujo’s performance in office as “far below what’s desired.” Seven senators called for the resignation of the minister, who is a close ally of Bolsonaro.

ALSO ON RT.COMBrazil Supreme Court ruling annuls ex-president Lula’s convictions, making him eligible to run in 2022 electionLula was the leader of Brazil between 2003 and 2011, before eventually making the way for his protégé, Dilma Rousseff. After Rousseff was ousted from power in what her supporters describe as a parliamentary coup, Lula was prosecuted and sentenced on corruption charges. A criminal record prevented him from running against Bolsonaro in 2018. The sentences were annulled by a Brazilian Supreme Court judge this month, which potentially allows Lula and Bolsonaro to have a face-off for the presidential office next year.

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US-China confrontation may only get worse under Biden as Beijing switches into ‘war mode’ in face of western criticism & sanctions
worker | March 28, 2021 | 8:00 pm | China, Joe Biden | Comments closed

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/519260-us-china-biden-beijing/

US-China confrontation may only get worse under Biden as Beijing switches into ‘war mode’ in face of western criticism & sanctions

Tom Fowdy
Tom Fowdy

is a British writer and analyst of politics and international relations with a primary focus on East Asia.

US-China confrontation may only get worse under Biden as Beijing switches into ‘war mode’ in face of western criticism & sanctions
Joe Biden’s policy on China might not be as inflammatory as Trump’s, but the principle remains the same and the US will continue its attempts to contain China’s rise as a perceived challenge to the international order.

During his first press conference as the US President, Joe Biden opted for what he described as the “foreign policy priorities” of both China and North Korea. Stating that he knew Chinese premier Xi Jinping well from his days as Vice President, he called him a “smart guy” but added that he “doesn’t have a democratic bone in his body.” 

He then spoke about “stiff competition,” vowing to “build alliances” that challenge Beijing and push back against China on a number of fronts. “They have an overall goal…to become the leading, wealthiest and most powerful country in the world,” Biden said, adding that he’s not going to let it happen on his watch. The president framed the situation as a 21st century battle of autocracies vs. democracies, vowing to “never back down from speaking  out on what’s happening” with the  Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong.

The comments are not surprising yet hardly reassuring, after a controversial week regarding China and territorial issues, which has seen a backlash over sanctions concerning the Xinjiang region, ultimately leading to angry boycotts over western fashion brands H&M, Nike and more.

Although Biden has specifically rested on the term “competition” and not “confrontation” when talking of China, how easy is it to distinguish such claims from what is actually really happening? And how truly different is Biden’s policy from Trump’s? It’s not as inflammatory or recklessly callous, but the principle remains the same: attempting to contain China’s rise and development which is perceived as a challenge to the international order, just with a different aesthetic.

American foreign policy has changed, the world has changed. If the Trump administration set out to strategically reorientate the US focus in a different direction, then on all counts they have succeeded, no matter how much contempt we may have for that. The “era of openness” that started with Richard Nixon’s meeting with Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1972, and commenced a newly found cooperation between America and China, is never coming back.

The new US presidency has so far not been fond of opting for the inflammatory “cold war” position that Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had advocated, whereby he called out “The Communist Party” on a daily basis, yet the fundamental doctrine of “great power competition” at the center of America’s outlook is unwavering and bipartisan. America’s quest for unchallengeable hegemony remains a constant of their political system, irrespective of who sits in the Oval Office.

What has changed is the manner, more so than the substance. Whereas the Trump administration advocated a strategy of unilateralism, aiming to browbeat allies into following on China and focusing on physical power, Biden has chosen a multilateral method whereby he strives to coordinate groups of countries against Beijing, united on common values and objectives. This may seem more daunting for China, but it is of course not without its pitfalls, as it potentially dilutes the strength of the given actions, even if it opts for unity as opposed to taking huge risks. The sanctions imposed this month by the US, UK, EU and Canada on China over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang – which Beijing strongly denies – is a sign of things to come on this front. Although, as I’ve pointed out, it’s more style than substance, but this is Biden’s grand vision.

ALSO ON RT.COMThe ideological basis of the new Cold War is clear, and this time the Western powers look set to be on the losing sideHowever, this does not mean the policy will be any more of a force for stability than Trump’s approach. In fact, it may, paradoxically, be worse because it involves the much more linear division of the world into de-facto blocs as opposed to the former administration’s largely “go it alone” approach.

China’s viewpoint can hardly be more secure when it is made to feel like the United States is attempting to wage a multi-pronged containment effort against it, especially on issues of sensitivity and territorial matters, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang et al.

The boycott that H&M, Nike and others are facing now over Xinjiang cotton “concerns” shows that China is prepared to hit back hard, whip up fury and, wherever possible, impose costs on those willing to take this path. The response over Xinjiang increasingly seems like China is switching into “war mode” towards western criticism and sanctions. Therefore, Biden’s self-proclaimed unwillingness to back down produces the very thing he vows to also avoid – confrontation.

In this case, the end of the Trump years can only be seen as a game changer in visuals, but not in terms of the fundamental new normal in China’s relations with America and, to an extent, the whole West. The manner in which Trump exited the presidency and the damage he has dealt to the US reputation has also compounded this problem by giving Biden “something to prove,” a feeling that America is weak, disorientated or lacking and, therefore, is obligated to hit back as hard as possible, opting for hawkish responses on every single front, be it China, Russia or North Korea. In essence, Biden presents himself as a stable pair of hands, yet the inherent instability his predecessor has inflicted on US foreign policy persists.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.