![]() In recent weeks, the powerful Texas Senate Committee on Finance has focused much of its conversation on "border security." The anti-immigrant rhetoric has meant some Austin-based organizations are gearing up to play defense and push a handful of bills they see as useful to solving a humanitarian issue this session. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, during a committee hearing (screenshot via the Texas Senate) But it also doesn’t justify the apparent belief in some western quarters that this is a regime that knows what it’s doing and is good at achieving its goals.State Sen. That’s not about to happen as Beijing maintains its belief in repression as standard practice. In a democratic country it would be a record likely to bring about a swift replacement for a stumbling government. Far from backing off as Beijing would like, Washington has publicly re-enforced its backing for Taiwan. Its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is not a good look, faces international condemnation, and ties it riskily to the fortunes of Moscow’s stumbling forces. Military ambitions remain high, with spending set to increase 7.2 per cent, but once again Beijing faces growing challenges. After decades of limiting children to one per family, the government is now rolling out projects encouraging women to save the country via procreation. A Fudan University report indicates interest is shifting to safer investment locations like Singapore or Saudi Arabia, outside the belt of developing countries Beijing hoped to lure into its orbit.Īmid such gloomy tidings, China’s population fell last year for the first time in 60 years, while the birth rate hit a record low, presaging a demographic crisis with stark implications for the economy. Funding fell more than 50 per cent last year in sub-Saharan Africa, previously a key focus of Beijing’s activities. Thousands of cracks in a multi-billion-dollar Ecuadorian hydro dam a catastrophic port project in Sri Lanka a road-to-nowhere scandal riddled with corruption in Montenegro violent attacks on Chinese projects in Pakistan a fast-decaying social housing project in Angola construction defects in a mammoth power project on the Nile river debt crises tied to Chinese financing persistent corruption allegations … the trillion-dollar program has hit so many potholes Beijing is undertaking a major overhaul. Most telling, perhaps, Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative has racked up a growing collection of global stumbles. The bank later reported Bao was “cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People’s Republic of China,” though it still appeared in the dark as to what the investigation was about or where he might be. Bao Fan, the billionaire boss of a top investment bank, disappeared suddenly in February, with fellow executives proclaiming no idea where he’d gone. ![]() In reality, COVID is only one of several tremors shaking what had been the world’s most vibrant economy. It only relented after unprecedented street protests rattled authorities and it remained determined to rely on domestically-produced vaccines even as others proved far more effective. For far too long it sought to contain it by essentially locking hundreds of millions of people in their homes. Communist leaders continue to reject evidence the virus originated in China. The poor figures could be blamed on COVID, but reflect the government’s mishandling of the crisis as much as the virus itself. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That began eroding slowly after the 1997 handover, accelerating briskly to a brutal crushing once President Xi Jinping became China’s top autocrat. What made it special was the protection it enjoyed from the dead hand of communist authorities in the next-door People’s Republic. Hong Kong has long been fully integrated with the outside world. That could be the whole problem, though Lee and his colleagues on the Beijing-appointed legislature are unlikely to acknowledge it. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is probably the world’s biggest welcome ever,” he burbled as the offer was unveiled, adding “Hong Kong is now seamlessly connected to the mainland of China and the whole international world.” ![]() John Lee, China’s chief factotum in the territory it regained 26 years ago, put on a cheerful face as he lauded the plan to hand out 500,000 free tickets to foreign tourists. Last year the figure fell to just over 600,000 arrivals. In 2018, before the onset of the COVID pandemic, the former British colony welcomed more than 65 million visitors - about nine times its population.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |