Following the Yuan’s Post

Taiwanese, Chinese or bumpkin? A cable report that aired in Taipei, Taiwan around 11:50, May 21, 2024 talked about the new president Lai Ching-deh's stance towards Taiwan's nationhood, and that a tiny minority of Taiwanese have been polled to see themselves not Chinese, that most don't want to be governed by China. Perhaps the truly significant issue is not how the Taiwanese view their own national identity, but if they are global villagers fit for the 21st century. Or are many of them bumpkins posing as modern-minded citizens of the world? One example is shown in the picture taken at lunch time in a semi-self-serve diner in Taipei. The elderly Taiwanese, akin many of her cohorts, keeps her cash folded in a Taiwanese wallet or plastic bag. There are countless versions of wallets sold online, including ones that feature a push mechanism to pop out credit cards. So-called reporters in Taiwan scavenge news content online to re-air to pose as genuine providers of news without firsthand information. This so-called automotive TV show in Taiwan is shot inside a studio where none of the "experts" have ever touched a socket wrench, nor have ever watched one of the popular car shows from the USA such as Bitchin' Rides where real car technicians carry out restomods. Countless Taiwanese still worship wooden idols fabricated by fast-talking hustlers as gods. Just as many of them won't trust lawyers to settle financial disputes, as is often done in civilized nations, to resort to informal negotiations that often end in violence. I worked with Taiwanese in an ad agency that poses as a provider of economic news, where such news is all translated from Chinese and sometimes recycled as current news, where the so-called reporters are capable of writing only drivel in addition to cutting-and-pasting. Of course don't overlook the long list of seemingly respectable executives who shut down operations to abscond with corporate assets. The major southern city of Kaohsiung on July 31, 2014 saw the biggest propane explosions in Taiwan history that turned many city streets into rubble. All because of poor workmanship to insulate gas lines. Many Taiwanese may carry designer purses, wallets to make the plastic bag wallet shown seem ludicrous, yet being quintessentially the same yokel as the elderly woman. #TaiwaneseChineseOrBumpkin

Simply put, there’s no clear line between the state and society in China in the same way that there is in democracies. The Chinese Communist Party – which is synonymous with the Chinese state – both owns and is the nation. And that goes for private enterprises, too. They operate like joint ventures in which the government is both a partner and the ultimate boss. Both sides know that – even if that relationship isn’t expressly codified and recognizable to outside onlookers.

New Post: India inks ‘watershed’ $100 billion free trade deal with four non-EU nations - https://lnkd.in/g4G6YJjD - The agreement with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein is also expected to create 1 billion jobs in India. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

Beware of anti-China hysteria. Although I do understand the arguments against TikTok, in particular in light of the fact that Beijing bans or blocks all American social, news and communication apps, the plethora of restrictions under consideration at the state level suggests we are slipping into Cold War red scare reactionary policies. Yes we must look out for the best interests of America, but we must not adopt a mentality that any contact with China is suspect. The US and China continue to be the world’s number one and number two economies. Neither is going anywhere. Let’s keep our passions in check and pursue wise policies. Consider this from the WSJ: “Since early 2023, states and the District of Columbia have introduced 624 pieces of legislation related to China, rivaling Congress’s 663, according to information service BillTrack50.com.” #USChinarelations

New Post: India inks ‘watershed’ $100 billion free trade deal with four non-EU nations - https://lnkd.in/gHXxja2F - The agreement with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein is also expected to create 1 billion jobs in India. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

Excerpt, Sangmi Cha, Bloomberg: //Mark Mobius said Hong Kong needs to take better advantage of its strengths to retain its competitive edge, becoming the latest influential figure to weigh in on the city’s future. “If you don’t move with the times, you risk getting left behind,” the co-founder of Mobius Capital Partners LLP wrote in a blog post titled Hong Kong: Far from Over. “In dropping its colonial baggage, Hong Kong must reinvent itself and make better use of the strengths it has cultivated over the years.” The 87-year-old money manager said he was surprised by the pessimism surrounding Hong Kong during a recent visit to the city. He added that it was clear from his trip that “the fundamental spirit” of Hong Kong’s business environment is still “very much alive.” Comparing the city to an undervalued stock, Mobius said from an investment perspective, it’s “never a good idea to write off the potential of any city or country”, and no market is ever “really out of the game.” “The jury is still out on whether China can surpass the US in the ongoing tech race,” said Mobius. “In the meantime, I believe Hong Kong would stand to benefit significantly by embracing technology and AI to align with China’s ambitious plans and to solidify its role as China’s bridge to the world.” Hong Kong seeks to revive its battered image after a national security crackdown and years of isolation during the pandemic, which drew international criticism. Leader John Lee has focused on luring conferences and other global events to draw visitors, while Finance Secretary Paul Chan has been trying to sell the city’s appeal overseas — most recently with a trip to the US.// Credit goes to Chris Cottorone for the additional analysis. Hong Kong's current dilemma stems from the disconnect between #politics and #business, which is predominantly driven by bureaucratic influence. The city previously flourished due to #entrepreneurial #freedoms and administrations that maintained a hands-off approach to business. Additionally, Hong Kong once boasted a strong #civil society capable of holding bureaucrats accountable. However, today, every business decision must align with political correctness and, more significantly, demonstrate allegiance to the Party. Moreover, public silence prevails due to the reluctance to challenge the established boundaries. #geopolitics

China’s Ministry of Commerce demanded, according to Xinhua, that the U.S. “earnestly respect the market economy and the principle of fair competition, and provide an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for enterprises from all countries.”Either irony is dead, or the Chinese Communist Party has a subversive sense of humor. Its entire economic model revolves around selectively flouting principles of the market economy and fair competition, including by systematically discriminating against foreign enterprises. China’s state capitalism has so effectively tilted the international playing field in its own favor that it has forced others, including the U.S., to adopt their own versions of state capitalism. Investment isn’t crafted for maximum return but political expedience. Executives avoid saying anything that might offend people in power. The line between state capitalism and crony capitalism blurs as companies seek to defeat their competitors in the corridors of power rather than the market.

Regrettably, I have to disagree with the call, but not with the hope, as I imagine Mark Mobius wants only the best for the people of Hong Kong as well as the city. The people tried to reinvent themselves, but Beijing had no interest in them moving with the times. Of course, some will argue if the protestors had just kept their mouths shut on their democratic desires, then the city would be still more important than Singapore and an international financial center. However, they saw the writing on the wall and how the way the winds were blowing from the north. Fairly dynamic Chinese entrepreneurs and firms in China itself were already being put in their place by the Chinese Communist Party, and not because they were calling for democracy or because they were arguing they did not "love China," as the party is now demanding everyone in Hong Kong expresses. Hong Kong's strengths increasingly are a threat to Beijing as the party focuses on national security and an economy that keeps the party's power safe rather than cranking out billionaires who may challenge party power some day. In reality, China has few external security threats. Few if any nations - including the U.S. - want to attack the world's largest nation and instead only want China to succeed the way most other nations do: by empowering their people. But as historians such as Stephen Kotkin have well-argued about the problems of communist parties is that have no legitimacy and eventually fear an empowered population demanding more than what the party wants to or can offer. Certainly, as Mobius advises, it is never a good idea to write off the potential of any city or country. The problem is, Beijing has already downgraded Hong Kong's stock and what made it valuable to junk status, simply because the party cannot become its controlling shareholder via a hostile takeover.

Bloomberg [excerpt]: The reaction of Chinese #socialmedia users to a spate of recent violent attacks has exposed widespread discontent about the nation’s downturn, as economic pressures mount. #Shanghai police reported a stabbing Wednesday morning in one of the city’s metro stations, which — like other subway lines in major Chinese cities — has security checks at its entrances. The suspect was detained after injuring three people and the case is under investigation, police said in a statement. ...“The pressure of this economic environment is cascading down to everyone, who may be pushed to the brink by a slight change in circumstances,” one user wrote. “Don’t provoke or bully others; you don’t know where their limits of outbursts are. Don’t let yourself become a victim of the economic climate.” Another user posted: “When the economy is bad, social problems grow, people are becoming more aggressive.” Police didn’t provide details of the culprit’s motive, and it was unclear if the attacks represented a surge in such incidents. But the public reaction underscored growing fears over China’s economic downturn, as a slump deepens in the #property market where the bulk of household #wealth is stored. “It’s possible the attackers were themselves suffering from the economic slowdown and such anxiety,” said Hanzhang Liu, an assistant professor of political studies at Pitzer College in California. “But it’s even more likely that people are projecting their own anxiety when trying to understand why these incidents happen.” #Protests over the economy, especially the housing crash, have become more frequent and made up 80% of publicly recorded dissent last year, according to Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor. Almost a third of office workers saw their salaries fall in that period, according to recruitment platform Zhaopin. The Shanghai incident followed similar reports from across China. Four teachers from a US college were stabbed by a local man in the northeastern city of Jilin last week. The chairperson of a political consultative body in a county in Shanxi was killed at the start of June in a dispute over the cleanup of illegally-occupied state housing. In May, two died in another knife attack in a primary school in the southeastern Jiangxi province. The Jiangxi attack was viewed more than 390,000 times on Weibo, with one user asking for tougher penalties as “the economy slows down, life becomes more torturing, and crazy people become more frequent.” While authorities did not provide details of the motives for the Jiangxi and Shanghai attacks, one of the teachers injured in Jilin told Iowa Public Radio that the attacker was “unemployed and down on his luck,” attributing that information to local police. #news

Another positive signal in China's #consumer sector——   The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee has been convened recently. It was reaffirmed that China will step up efforts to develop a complete domestic demand system, and implement large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in programs, these programs will be supported through more financial investments and policy support. The goal is to provide tangible benefits to businesses and consumers.   As consumer specialist rooted in China market, #GenBridge believes that with government consistent backing, the long-term development of China's consumer sector is poised to unveil numerous structural opportunities, meriting ongoing attention and expectation.