Words…
China Intimidates Europe
April 25, 2020
The Chinese government is engaged in a global battle to shape the narrative about the coronavirus. If the story that dominates the headlines is “China Did It,” that is very dangerous to the legitimacy of the Communist Party, at home and abroad. But if the story that dominates is “China Is Saving The World,” then […]
Hosting a book night with Tiff Roberts discussing China and the virus
April 24, 2020
Here is installment No. 1 of a Zoom session I did with my old Business Week colleague Dexter “Tiff” Roberts discussing his book, “The Myth of Chinese Capitalism.” His core argument is that China’s economic boom has relied on labor provided by 600 to 700 million people in rural areas, who have migrated to where […]
An interview with Martin Lee, Hong Kong’s leading democracy advocate
April 24, 2020
The Chinese government took advantage of the coronavirus lockdown in Hong Kong to arrest Martin Lee, whom I first met 25 years ago in Hong Kong. No protests are possible because groups of more than four people are not allowed in public for health reasons. The Western media’s response to his arrest has been slower […]
Should Americans Learn How To Bow?
April 20, 2020
The Japanese Art of Bowing By Toshio Aritake and William J. Holstein Infectious disease czar Anthony Fauci has suggested that Americans and other Westerners might not want to risk shaking hands with each other once they begin to creep out of their coronavirus isolations and quarantines. What, then, will they do to greet each other? […]
Post-virus, what is “decoupling?”
April 17, 2020
The Wall Street Journal reports that American companies operating in China think that “decoupling” of the U.S. and Chinese economies is increasingly likely. I paste it in below. I continue to think that a real decoupling, as proposed by Peter Navarro, is impossible. The United States and China have effectively merged their economies. American political […]
Young Thais Rebel Against China
April 15, 2020
I’ve been looking for signs about how the world will respond to China post-coronavirus (if there ever is a post.) Will countries turn against Beijing and its One Belt, One Road initiative and its overall attempt to impose its will on others? This Reuters story from Bangkok is a very interesting sign. It’s not specifically […]
