#中国 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mengjue · 1 year

Text

What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

#孟珏’s china corner #中国 #上海 #习近平 #习近平下台 #共产党下台 #China #Shanghai #China protests #China protests 2022 #Xi Jinping #Xi Jinping step down #CCP step down #Xi Jinping resign #CCP resign #乌鲁木齐 #Urumqi #Urumqi fire #Urumqi apartment fire

1K notes · View notes

thejackrandahotel · 1 year

Text

Hi tumblr.. Please pay some attention to the incident happened in my country China, city Urumqi, Xinjiang. The city was blocked for more than 100 days due to the epidemic, which seriously affected people's life. On November 24, a fire broke out in a community in Urumqi, but the firefighters were unable to put out the fire in time because of the blockade. In the end ten People died, including a 3-year-old child. Last night (11.25) the people of Urumqi finally took to the streets out of despair and anger. They went to the city hall to march and protest, and confronted the police. This was extremely brave but also very dangerous.

Chinese Internet is extremely closed, and all content posted online is subject to examination and control. We are trying our best to convey this message to more people.

I'm very sorry if I disturbed you all, but if possible, please give the people of my country a little international attention and support, thank you😢If you need more content please check this twitter account:

I am really desperate and terribly worried for people of Urumqi right now and I hope this incident could reach to more people around the world. Thank you.

#Xinjiang #Urumqi #China #blockade #中国 #新疆 #乌鲁木齐 #covid 19 #coronavirus #pandemic #protest #march #international news #chinese news

1K notes · View notes

travelsofabrokegirl · 1 year

Photo

Thousand Island Lake, Zhejiang, China 2023

#medium format #Bronica SQ-A #china #1000 island #zhejiang #浙江 #中国 #china travel #film photography #120mm #120mm film #grain is good #istillshootfilm #film camera #Kodak Ektar 100 #6x6format #6x6film

541 notes · View notes

chinesehanfu · 5 months

Text

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Ming Dynasty(1368-1644 AD) Hanfu Based On Ming Dynasty Portrait

【Historical Reference Artifacts】:

• China Ming Dynatsy Couple portrait:The maid in the《父济氏和母赵氏画像/Portrait of father Ji and mother Zhao portrait》

————————

📸Recreation Work &🧚🏻‍ Model :@我是411

👗Hanfu：@公卿传统服饰

🔗 Xiaohongshu App:http://xhslink.com/8xNMOw

————————

#chinese hanfu #Ming Dynasty(1368-1644 AD)#hanfu #hanfu accessories #chinese traditional clothing #hanfu_challenge #chinese #china #hanfu history #hanfu girl #china history #hanfu recreation #historical fashion #historical hairstyle #漢服 #汉服 #中華風 #中国 #mamianqun

143 notes · View notes

shinjihi · 5 months

Quote

「深入りするな。消されるぞ」と忠告され…アメリカ亡命中の研究者が決死の告発「新型コロナは『中国軍の生物兵器』として開発された」かつては根拠薄弱な陰謀論とも言われていた「研究所流出説」。しかし、ここに来て米エネルギー省やFBIが、ウイルスは中国の研究所から流出した可能性が高いと指摘。重要人物がついに口を開いた。隠蔽に躍起になる中国政府世界で約7億人が感染し、約700万人が死亡したパンデミックはなぜ起きたのか―その秘密の扉がいま、静かに開かれようとしている。　「新型コロナウイルスは中国軍の生物兵器として開発され、意図的に武漢にあるウイルスの研究施設から漏洩されたものです。世界はその起源を知るスタートラインに立っています」　誰よりも早く「武漢起源説」を唱えて中国を追われ、現在、アメリカに亡命中の閻麗夢博士は、本誌の取材に対してこう断言する。　いま、アメリカで新型コロナの発生起源に大きな関心が集まっている。今年2月に米エネルギー省が、「武漢のウイルス研究所から流出した可能性が高い」とする報告書をまとめたことをはじめ、米連邦捜査局(FBI)のクリストファー・レイ長官も、2月28日放映のFOXニュースで「研究所の事故である可能性がもっとも高い」と述べるなど、次々と「研究所起源説」を支持する声が上がっているのだ。　その源流を作ったのが、イェン博士である。この4年間、決死の覚悟で「武漢研究所流出説」を訴え続けてきた博士は、世界保健機関(WHO)認定のウイルス研究の権威である香港大学公衆衛生学院の研究員だった。'19年12月、武漢で広がり始めた原因不明の感染症の調査を命じられた彼女は、感染拡大の隠蔽に躍起になる中国政府の姿を目の当たりにする。　「調査を始めた時、すでに武漢はパニックでした。調査を命じられた翌日、最前線で奮戦していた李文亮医師(後に感染して死亡)は、原因不明の肺炎が広がっているとSNSで警鐘を鳴らしたところ、中国政府に処分されました」「深入りするな。消されるぞ」イェン博士は、その後、香港大学の研究所の上司から「武漢の人々がラクーンドッグ(タヌキ)を食べるという情報を集めてほしい」という不可解な指示を受ける。　「同じコロナウイルスで肺炎を引き起こすSARSが'02～'03年に流行した時、まずハクビシンが宿主となって人間に感染したことを突き止めたのは香港大学でした。中国政府は新型コロナでも、中間宿主を動物とするストーリーを描き、それを権威ある香港大学に公表させたかったのでしょう」　しかし、いくら調べても武漢の市場にタヌキは売られておらず、武漢の住民がタヌキを食べるという情報もなかった。　一刻も早く感染拡大の危機を世界に公表しなければならないはずだが、政府や香港大学にその様子は見られない。'20年1月19日、イェン博士はやむなく、アメリカの中国語メディア『路徳社』で武漢の惨状を公表する。　「香港大学の上司から『深入りするな。消されるぞ』と警告されました。背後に中国当局の意向があることは明白でした。私は身の危険を感じ、4月28日にアメリカへ亡命しました」　亡命を果たしたイェン博士は、新型コロナの特徴と中国のプロパガンダ戦を告発する3つの論文、いわゆる「イェン・レポート」を、研究データのオンラインプラットフォーム「Zondo」に発表。'20年9月に公表された第1弾では、新型コロナが人為的に作製されたことを告発している。　「自然発生説によれば、新型コロナウイルスはセンザンコウやハクビシンなどの中間宿主内で変異し、人間への感染確率を高めるとされています。しかし、新型コロナウイルスには人間の細胞と結合しやすいスパイクタンパク質が含まれており、これは自然発生説の中間宿主に関する理論や実験結果と一致しません。そして、これらの部位には、人為的な改変の痕跡がはっきりとあります」 https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/09597c4d0121190fb0934cca43bca947770dca43

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/09597c4d0121190fb0934cca43bca947770dca43

#covid-19 #china #武漢肺炎 #武漢 #新型コロナ #シナ #中共 #中国

99 notes · View notes

giant-bear-cat · 7 months

Text

大家好！

#中国 #animals #熊猫 #chinese #giant panda #china #animal photography #panda

111 notes · View notes

noticiasarquelogicasjaponesas · 14 days

Text

Sean bienvenidos japonistasarqueológicos, una nueva entrega en esta ocasión hablaremos del Tanabata una vez dicho esto pónganse cómodos que empezamos. - ¿Qué es el tanabata?¿Cuándo se celebra?¿Cuál es su origen?El tanabata, surge en China en la dinastía Han que posteriormente llegará a Japón durante el período Nara (710 d.C.- 794 d.C.) a través de la nobleza ,pero no fue hasta el período Edo (1600-1868) que se hizo popular. Esto lo podemos ver en el anime como es el caso de Doraemon (ドラえもん), pero hay montones de animes que tratan esta temática una película que trata estos temas podrían ser: Amor de Gata, Kimi no Nawa, Kimetsu no Yaiba podría hacer una lista que nunca acabaria de la cantidad de anime que hay que trata el Tanabata. ¿Qué es el tanabata? Cuenta la leyenda de Orihime y Hikoboshi que solo se pueden ver la séptima luna del séptimo mes, se crea un puente que les permite cruzar y estar juntos ¿Cuándo se celebra? Se celebra el 7 de julio y lo más característico de esta festividad son los fuegos artificiales y en Tokyo por ejemplo: el templo Zojoji, pero cualquier templo lo podréis apreciar muy bien. tanzaku ¿En qué consiste? Se coloca un trozo de papel con tu deseo y se colocan en árboles de bambú. Para terminar me gustaría mencionar que hay una constelación que representa esta maravillosa historia. - Espero que os haya gustado y nos vemos en próximas publicaciones que pasen una buena semana. - ようこそ、日本の考古学者たちへ。今回は七夕についてお話します。 - 七夕とは何か、いつ祝うのか、その起源は？七夕は中国の漢の時代に始まり、奈良時代に貴族を通じて日本に伝わった。ドラえもんなどのアニメに見られるが、このテーマを扱ったアニメはたくさんある：七夕を扱ったアニメは枚挙にいとまがない。織姫と彦星は七夕の日にしか会えないという伝説がある。いつ祝うの？月7日に行われます。このお祭りの最大の特徴は花火で、東京では増上寺が有名ですが、どこのお寺でもよく鑑賞できます。短冊短冊とはどんなものですか？願い事を書いた紙を竹に貼る。最後に、この素晴らしい物語を象徴する星座があることをお伝えしたい。 - それでは、また次の記事でお会いしましょう。

Welcome to the Japanese archaeologists, this time we are going to talk about Tanabata, so make yourselves comfortable and let's get started. - What is tanabata, when is it celebrated, what is its origin? Tanabata, which originated in China in the Han dynasty, later came to Japan during the Nara period (710 AD - 794 AD) through the nobility, but it was not until the Edo period (1600-1868) that it became popular. This can be seen in anime such as Doraemon (ドラえもん), but there are lots of anime that deal with this theme, a movie that deals with these themes could be: Love of Cat, Kimi no Nawa, Kimetsu no Yaiba I could make a list that would never end of the amount of anime out there that deals with Tanabata. what is tanabata? Legend has it that Orihime and Hikoboshi can only see each other on the seventh moon of the seventh month, a bridge is created that allows them to cross and be together. When is it celebrated? It is celebrated on the 7th of July and the most characteristic of this festivity are the fireworks and in Tokyo for example: the Zojoji temple, but you can appreciate it very well in any temple. tanzaku What does it consist of? You put a piece of paper with your wish on it and place it on bamboo trees. Finally, I would like to mention that there is a constellation that represents this wonderful story. - I hope you liked it and see you in the next posts have a nice week.

32 notes · View notes