I dont understand why they havent invested in ICU and hospitals for the countryside, rather than whatever they have been spending their money on
I was thinking the same thing today. What are they hiding this time.
Put otherwise: divide and rule.
Guy
One example: bullsh&t circuses like the one discussed in this thread:
Guy
So how are things going now in China? If containment of omicron is the goal, then apparently not great.
Guy
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Probably that their Vaccines are ineffective.
I wonder how much Toilet paper they have in stock, must be a hell of a rush on for supplies.
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So things continue to be nice and stable in China. One suspected case: hundreds of flights canceled, over 5 million to be tested.
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The CCPās attempts to control Omicron are on a par, intelligence-wise, with Putinās invasion of Ukraine.
This is why democracy, flawed as it is, is the best we have. An idiot in charge for four years or so is infinitely more preferably than idiots in charge for life.
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Beijing brags (falsely, of course) that it is a true democracy.
If so, letās see if Xiās bungled attempts to handle this situation lead to his removal in November.
Guy
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Chinese get to reevaluate their love for a āstrongā ruler.
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Impossible
Wuttke is one of the really pro China EU representative who have been there for decades. Now the iron fist of the party comes down on the hyper wealthy expats in Shanghai, they finally start getting critical.
Prediction: The party will not take kindly to such a high profile white face throwing his weight around, despite how connected and Powerful he may think he is in China
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A lot of good quotes in there. Here are three of my favorite.
President Xi wants to be confirmed for a third term, so he cannot change his narrative this close to the finish line. The president has maneuvered himself into two dead ends at once: He canāt change his Covid policy, and he canāt change anything about his friendship with Wladimir Putin.
The authorities do not inform that the Omicron variant is milder, they do not inform that other countries have learned to live with the virus. The authorities have spent a year bad-mouthing Western mRNA vaccines, with the result that people in China donāt trust the vaccination. Thatās the problem: The political leadership canāt admit, so close to the Party Congress, that there is another way in dealing with Covid. They canāt admit that people in Europe can fly on vacation again and live largely a normal life. And they canāt admit that it would make sense to use mRNA vaccines in addition to the Chinese vaccines.
Nor do they understand that, from a Western perspective, there is a connection between Ukraine and Taiwan. That connection may not actually exist ā I personally believe, for example, that the party leadership in Beijing probably realizes that an invasion of Taiwan could be much more difficult than they had thought. But the leaders in Beijing donāt realize that Western companies are grappling with the scenario that they would have to leave China ā just as they are now leaving Russia ā if China tried to forcibly integrate Taiwan. And it doesnāt help, of course, that China is adopting Russiaās aggressive rhetoric. The effect is the same as from the Covid policy: Foreign companies are hitting the pause button. New investments are suspended for the moment.
Maybe he doesnāt care. Maybe heās about ready to leave himself. I donāt know too much about the situation, but it seems if he is such an expert, he would realize this danger from his opinion piece.
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Good highlights. The second block of text you quoted was a surprise to me - but it makes sense, given how walled off the Chinese internet now is from the rest of the world.
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He is very high profile and usually writes articles about how good EU relationship is and how good the Chinese system.
He isnāt an expert, he is the leader of the EU trade commission in China, not just a random guy.
He is getting way too big for his britches. Some expats in Shanghai are going to find out things are not what they thought and they arenāt exempt from the iron fist
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Things seem impossible until they are not. Then they were inevitable.
We shall see . . .
Guy
No itās impossible. He changed the constitution himself and there are no rivals to power. Itās 100% certain
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Yeah democracies are inefficient but resilient
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Unlikely, but possible
He changed the constitution for himself to run another term, which he didnt need to do, as in China the party is already above the State. Its 99.9999% certain