US Surrounds China With War Machinery While Freaking Out About Balloons

By Caitlin Johnstone / CaitlinJohnstone.com In what Austin journalist Christopher Hooks has called “one of the stupidest news cycles in living memory,” the entire American political/media class is having an existential meltdown over what the Pentagon claims is a Chinese spy balloon detected in U.S. airspace on Thursday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his scheduled diplomatic visit to China after the… Read More US Surrounds China With War Machinery While Freaking Out About Balloons

Hong Kong 47: trial of dozens in pro-democracy movement set to begin under national security laws

Group of legislators, activists and community workers are accused of holding unofficial pre-election primaries that authorities say constitutes subversion One of the most significant national security trials in the Chinese government’s crackdown on Hong Kong will begin on Monday, two years after many of the city’s most prominent government critics were first brought into custody. The case… Read More Hong Kong 47: trial of dozens in pro-democracy movement set to begin under national security laws

Massive protest in Chongqing belies company’s recent labour awards from the official trade union

On 7 January, a massive protest broke out at the Zybio (Zhongyuan Huiji) medical supply factory in Chongqing that produces Covid-19 antigen test kits. About half of the company’s 20,000 workers were set to be terminated after orders for test kits have recently dropped. Workers were still owed some back pay and took to the streets to… Read More Massive protest in Chongqing belies company’s recent labour awards from the official trade union

A tragedy pushed to the shadows: the truth about China’s Cultural Revolution

By Tania Branigan In an age of increased repression, few air their concerns. But as the party congress opened in October, a lonely figure protested in Beijing: among the demands on his banners was “Reform, not the Cultural Revolution”. That call was taken up by others at the remarkable protests against the zero-Covid policy that swept through cities weeks later.… Read More A tragedy pushed to the shadows: the truth about China’s Cultural Revolution

Ai Weiwei on China’s protests

Renowned Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, who currently lives in Portugal with his Chinese wife and their child, sees China‘s reaction to the pandemic over the past three years as the “most stringent constraints on human behavior in Chinese history and in human history,” which are restricting human rights and personal autonomy, he told DW in an email interview.… Read More Ai Weiwei on China’s protests

How a deadly fire ignited dissent over China’s zero-Covid policy

Stunning scenes of dissent and defiance played out across China over the past week, marking the country’s largest protests in decades – and an unprecedented challenge to leader Xi Jinping. Deep public anger after nearly three years of snap lockdowns, border closures and financial hardship brought thousands out onto the streets to demand an end… Read More How a deadly fire ignited dissent over China’s zero-Covid policy

‘Freedom in China is precious’: Tiananmen Square protest veteran salutes new generation

Wilfred Chan Rose Tang was stunned when she saw videos last week of crowds in China chanting in Mandarin, “Give me liberty or give me death.” It was a phrase the Brooklyn resident had last heard more than three decades ago, when she was one of the student leaders at the pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.… Read More ‘Freedom in China is precious’: Tiananmen Square protest veteran salutes new generation