Podcasts about Chinese people

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has concluded its military exercises around Taiwan.

"Strait Thunder-2025A", that's the code name of the ongoing military exercises conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait. The PLA Eastern Theater Command made the announcement hours ago on Wednesday, a day after launching joint military exercises around the island on Tuesday. China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Tuesday that the drills are a resolute punishment for Lai Ching-te authorities' blatant "Taiwan independence" provocations. What triggered the latest reactions from Beijing? What has Lai Ching-te said or done since he took office last May? How will the drills impact the situation across the Strait?

Today, we'll talk about the Qing Dynasty's royal ice games which played an important role in military training and cultural celebration, generating lasting influence on China's winter sports heritage.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command has carried out drills around Taiwan in a stern warning to separatist forces (01:03). Chinese rescuers are not giving up on finding earthquake survivors in Myanmar while people in the affected areas cope with a shortage of resources (10:23). And French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she will appeal after a court found her guilty of embezzlement (24:12).

十九世紀中葉 shí jiǔ shì jì zhōng yè - mid-19th century西方列強 xī fāng liè qiáng - Western powers侵略 qīn lüè - invasion, aggression地理大發現 dì lǐ dà fā xiàn - Age of Discovery (Great Geographical Discoveries)船隻 chuán zhī - ships, vessels接觸 jiē chù - contact, interaction工業革命 gōng yè gé mìng - Industrial Revolution迅速 xùn sù - rapid, fast武器 wǔ qì - weapons先進 xiān jìn - advanced, sophisticated淪為 lún wéi - to become (a worse state), to be reduced to半殖民半封建 bàn zhí mín bàn fēng jiàn - semi-colonial and semi-feudal屈辱 qū rǔ - humiliation, disgrace鴉片貿易 yā piàn mào yì - opium trade清朝 qīng cháo - Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)戰敗 zhàn bài - to be defeated in war簽訂 qiān dìng - to sign (a treaty, contract)南京條約 nán jīng tiáo yuē - Treaty of Nanjing開放通商口岸 kāi fàng tōng shāng kǒu àn - opening trade ports割讓香港 gē ràng xiāng gǎng - ceding Hong Kong主權 zhǔ quán - sovereignty喪失 sàng shī - to lose (rights, sovereignty, etc.)實力 shí lì - strength, capability大幅下降 dà fú xià jiàng - to decline sharply八國聯軍 bā guó lián jūn - Eight-Nation Alliance (1900 invasion of China)侵華 qīn huá - invasion of China入侵 rù qīn - to invade以...為由 yǐ ... wéi yóu - using ... as an excuse鎮壓 zhèn yā - to suppress, to crack down義和團 yì hé tuán - Boxer Rebellion (anti-foreign movement in 1899-1901)攻進 gōng jìn - to attack and enter佔領 zhàn lǐng - to occupy紫禁城 zǐ jìn chéng - Forbidden City洗劫 xǐ jié - to loot, to plunder頤和園 yí hé yuán - Summer Palace辛丑條約 xīn chǒu tiáo yuē - Boxer Protocol (1901 treaty)賠款 péi kuǎn - reparations, indemnity白銀 bái yín - silver (currency in historical China)消弱 xiāo ruò - to weaken, to diminish處境 chǔ jìng - situation, plight艱難 jiān nán - difficult, tough偽滿洲國 wèi mǎn zhōu guó - Manchukuo (puppet state in Northeast China, 1932-1945)殖民統治 zhí mín tǒng zhì - colonial rule南京大屠殺 nán jīng dà tú shā - Nanjing Massacre (1937)殺害 shā hài - to kill, to murder不甘心 bù gān xīn - unwilling to accept, resentful打壓 dǎ yā - suppression, crackdown自尊心 zì zūn xīn - self-esteem, sense of dignity損害 sǔn hài - to damage, to harm致力於 zhì lì yú - to commit to, to devote efforts to話語權 huà yǔ quán - discourse power, right to speak in international affairsIf your goal in 2025 is to improve your Chinese, meet more Taiwanese friends, and discuss a variety of topics like politics, culture, war, news, economics, and more! I invite you to book a one-on-one trial lesson with me

Cáel's second vacation with Aya and friends.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Loving your enemy is easy. You know precisely where the two of you standJust in case anyone cares, I do not hate China or the Chinese People. As a Global Power, the PRC is fair game as a great antagonist. Not only do they have, as of 2015, the world's largest economy, largest population and a truly global Diaspora, they also have a rather totalitarian governance system that enables them to devote scary levels of resources to any endeavor they set their minds to.I usually paint all governments to be entities capable of great good (rarely achieved) and great evil (because it makes such enticing fiction). In my stories, it often falls to the people within those institutions to make judgment calls on what is the right thing to do. In my final analysis, there are no 'Evil' governments, just evil people who use the system to get what they want(Right where we left off)"Aya," I spoke to her when she'd finished up by giving Mu a strong dose of a pain killer, "Now go back to the galley and find the nice medic-lady there. She has a bottle filled with some of those kick-ass sedatives. Inject everyone else but me, you, Zhen here and Mu, Mu's had enough drugs for one day.""Okay," she popped up. She turned fearlessly to face her former tormentors and jailors."I had them all swear an oath to Ishara to not kill, harm, or restrain you in any manner, so have fun hunting them down. You've got about thirty minutes.""Is Dot with us right now?" she gave me a bone-tired smile. I nodded. "This is going to be fun," she shouted and off she went.'I'll be by her side', Dot whispered to me. She rose forth from the seat within me and followed Aya out into Seven Pillars Hell. Technically, I believed it was the Diyu of the Fiendish Child. Those malicious bastards suffered every accident, misfortune, and nearly-impossible odds malfunction in the process of being subdued by a 9 year old Amazon.Four of them died in the process of trying to kill her, when stopping her became obviously impossible. Two had their guns blow up when they tried to shoot her, dismembering their hands and wrists. One guy was strangled in his emergency oxygen supply mask. The last guy lunged forward, slipped on a cup and broke his neck when his head was caught in a folded armrest.Twenty-eight nerve wracking minutes later."All done," she gave me an exhausted yet triumphant chirp. "Should I strap Mr. Mu into a chair? He's passed out.""Zhen, buckle your brother into a chair and hurry back. I'll hold us steady until you get back."Remember, I had only the use of my left hand. My right had to stay on the dagger to keep things powered up."Buckle-up after you've gotten Duan Mu secured, Aya. That's his proper name.""I know that. I was trying to keep them irritated so they would act irrationally. You taught me that," Aya bathed me in her sinister ways and means.Finally, it was down to me and Zhen. "Do you think we will succeed, Cáel Wakko Ishara?" "I'm giving it my best shot." "The little girl was right," Zhen groaned. "She told us we'd regret not killing you in New York when we had the chance. I thought she was being an annoying spoiled brat. I was wrong." Pause. "I know you have no reason to answer me truthfully, but when we, the rest of us, die, could you make sure my brother's body is returned to my father so that he can join our ancestors in the family grave?" "Why do you think I would lie to you now that we are alone?" That was a loaded question. I did the majority of my lying when I was alone with a woman. "I, will you give me your Oath, in your Goddess's name?" "Nope. My Goddess has pretty much been exhausted by your boys trying to break their vows to me and Aya. I'll tell you what I will do, " "What?" "Show me your tits and I'll promise to do my best." "What? You want to see me naked?" she grew indignant. "No!" It was her being a vaginal virgin (I knew the type ~ good oral technique and bed play, but no 'go-uppy' the cunt, or ass) and me not being Han Chinese, therefore being a 'Stinky Barbarian'. "Listen, I've never flown a commercial jet before and neither have you. Odds are we are both going to be dead in the next ten minutes. After all the hell you have put me through, can you at least give me some fucking inspiration. No one will ever know. Besides, imagining the perfect swell of your breast and the smooth tautness of your stomach, well, you are so damn perfect it is distracting!" I protested against the World's grand injustice (me not being Han and thus not worthy of seeing her goodies). "Do you really think we are all about to die?" she studied me. "I'm doing my best, but, yes, I believe we are," I stared deep into her dark brown orbs.'You are despicable,' Ishara chortled. 'I promise you, plant your seed and she will bear you a son.' "Very well, hold onto the controls," she said as she released her joystick. She rolled up her padded (high-tech body-weave) shirt carefully. I was a past master of looking while pretending not too look. Still, "Can I look yet?" I hesitantly questioned. Sure, we were about to slam an Airbus-350 into the Pacific Ocean, or a concrete runway, no lights, in a cyclone, but she was 'working it'. For all she knew, this striptease would be her last living memory. "No." A few seconds passed. "Now?" "No." Oh, her top was just cresting her highly aroused nipples, she had tiny, erect nipples. The smallest I had ever seen, but long, almost like tiny awls. Finally she'd played it out as long as possible. "Okay." "No, wait," I begged. "Let me make sure everything is stable. I want to look at you for as long as I can. This will probably be the last happy moment of my life, so I want to make the most of it." That made her happy. I puttered around for five seconds, then pivoted around to take in her full, topless view. I didn't say anything for the longest time. "Aren't you done yet," she grumbled. "We are about to crash." "Oh, sorry," I turned away. She rolled her top down quickly and we returned to trying to keep the people we loved most in life alive. I sensed as sense of disappointment in her nonetheless."Perfect," I whispered. She caught it. "What did you say? Is something wrong?" she worried, studying her crippled command console for any errors she might have missed. "I said 'perfect'. I knew it, your body is perfect," I confessed. Pause. "Oh, " "Now I have something to live for," I declared. "I will never let you see me naked again. This was a one-time thing!" "That's two things I have to live for then," I countered. "Bringing us in alive and seeing me naked once more?" she had to be sure. "I was going to say 'seeing you naked again' and 'living', but I can see that your priorities make more sense," I conceded. "Ah, you are right, that I am right." Pause. "Good luck." "On seeing you naked again, or surviving our landing." "Let's start out by landing the plane. "And then, Duan Zhen?" "We will see, Cáel Ishara."{9 pm, Tuesday, August 16th ~ 23 Days to go}{aka 2 am Wednesday, Aug. 17th ~ 22 Days to go (Havenstone time)}(The following is in Mandarin until I note otherwise)"What are you doing?" I struggled to keep the panic from my voice."Killing all these alarms," Zhen responded. She was grinding her teeth in frustration and fear. "There is nothing we can do to fix those problems.""My, right rudder, its barely responding," I grunted. This was fly-by-wire, not typical manual control, so my concern was entirely mental, not wanting to miss our turn south into the sole runaway on Johnston Atoll. With the steady degradation of the plane's electronics, we wouldn't make the 360 for another pass.Landing from the southern end of the runway would put the cyclone force winds behind us. There would be no way for the plane's two inexperienced pilots to make that miraculous landing happen. No, we had to approach form the north, into the winds and allow nature to slow us down."On it, I'm good," she confirmed that her co-pilot's systems were still doing their job. "Tell me when we are making our final approach." Zhen, my Seven Pillars of Heaven co-pilot (and designated assassin), couldn't see where we were going. Our avionics had perished earlier in this disaster.Goddess Dot Ishara was communicating with Goddess SzélAnya who was frolicking in this maelstrom; the Draconic Storm Divinity was in her element. Dot was 'in' her element as well ~ her last living mortal descendent (me), if you didn't count all those unborn offspring I'd been contributing to in the past few weeks.'Are you thinking about me, Wakko?' she whispered into my mind. I was Wakko Ishara. I was supposed to be Yakko, but that hadn't worked out. As the 'main girl' in the relationship between me, the leader of her Amazon House, and Yakko Ishara ~ my first Ishara ancestor ~ she earned the slot of Dot (see Warner Bros.) Ishara.One of her earliest gifts to me was to make my mind inviolate to ALL supernatural penetration which was the reason she was bothering to ask about my thoughts and intentions.'Yes,' I thought back. 'I'm worried you are expending too much energy on my behalf, Dot.''Opposed to leaving you alone with SzélAnya? I don't trust her around you. She'd make a little Dragon-offspring/avatar with you if I'm not careful.''If you aren't careful? Don't I get a say in all of this?''No. Trust me, she's clingy and you are more active than a whole temple of Babylon's whores. Her mortal avatar would further bond your two legends together and your Legend is already the prop, placed with House Ishara.' Translation: My Goddess was clingy. After all, she'd meant to say my legend was her 'property'."Flaps!" Zhen yelled at me. "Check your flaps. Mine keep shorting out.""On it," I replied. I'd 'zoned out', so she'd screamed at me to get my attention back on task. Altitude, 1200 meters, which meant flaps at, fuck if I knew."What do I set them, Oh Shit!" I realized I'd forgotten something horribly imperiling."What?" Zhen shot me a furious look."Fuel! We've got to start dumping the fuel!" I screamed."Why?""Fireball, Zhen. If we hit hard, this bitch will barbeque us," I spit the words. "Don't you watch any airplane crash movies?" I added."The Airbus 350 has plenty of, safeguards,""You mean like all the other ones that have failed us in the past half hour?""Opening main tanks #1 and #2," she grumbled. "If we are struck by another lightning bolt we could blow up in mid-air.""Won't happen," I feebly jested. "The Storm Goddess loves me.""Does she love my brother and I?""Nah. She wants you and everyone else on this plane dead, but she's humoring me right now.""Flaps," she reminded me. "Why would she care about you?""Having no other useful skills, I am a truly remarkable lover."Zhen spared me a blistering look."You have seized this aircraft from my brother, me and forty of our best Special Operations Strike Warriors. That does not qualify you as 'unskilled'," she lambasted me."Oh no? You should see a 'real' Amazon in action," I teased her. "I'm just an intern who hasn't yet completed his 84 day trial period." I also worked the flaps."Too much," she snapped. "If we drop below 400 kilometers per hour, these winds will slam us into the Pacific."I was adjusting the flaps appropriately as we began our final roll to the left when a cloud-to-cloud bolt of electricity coursed through our craft. We didn't blow up."Thank you, SzélAnya," I whispered."What?" Zhen worried. Fucking up now would be the end of us all.'Your gratitude is overdue, Cáel,' SzélAnya slipped her murmur into the crashing thunder and another lash of raw, natural fury. 'We will talk later.'"I thought you said she loves you.""Umm, did I forget to mention I told her I was going out for pizza and never called her back?""That makes no sense," Zhen glared at me briefly. I was gifted with a visual of our plane in perspective to the runway. Yay, five meter waves were smashing into the atoll. I adjusted our yaw to the right."We are three kilometers out," I advised her."Flaps, spoilers," I went over my limited Alal-knowledge. This stuff worked on a piston driven commercial liner and it was the only flight data I had."Landing gear," Zhen responded. She had to throttle up a little because all that drag was cutting into our speed.'You are being blown too far to the east,' SzélAnya advised. I did the best I could."What are you doing?" Zhen was starting to sweat."Responding to divine intervention.""I, I see it!" Zhen's panic turned to exultation as she could finally make out the pale concrete runway surrounded by the angry sea.Too disasters hit us simultaneously."The left landing gear is not fully deployed," Zhen cautioned me."We are coming in too fast anyway," I dryly noted. The Goddess had brought me in on target, but she knew nothing about aircraft aeronautics.The Airbus came down too hard, too fast and our left landing gear snapped on impact. Sarrat Irkalli's parting gift was decay. Every design weak point gave in. The front fuselage broke apart, my hand on the dagger slipped and the power died. The front 25% of the plane spun off to the west while the remainder shot down the runway and off the southern end of the island.Sadly we went off into the lagoon between the western side and the barrier reef. In a delayed bit of good fortune, our careening section went head to head against a massive storm surge."Go!" I screamed at Zhen.She snatched up her Jian that she had used to pin the undead necromancer Tsu. I was right behind her, though I did stop to retrieve Sarrat Irkalli's dagger and pluck the two bone reliquaries from his neck before following Zhen's tight, athletic buns out of the cockpit and toward Aya. My diminutive better half was still in her seatbelt and clutching the medical bag to her chest.(English) "Cáel, I think we are sinking," she noted with a twinge of concern and more courage than I felt like utilizing. As Zhen was rescuing her brother the enormity of my mistake sunk in. All the Seven Pillars people were unconscious thus unable to save themselves from drowning. Aya's survival came first. I'd worried about my 'would-be executioners' later.I swept up Aya so fast it took me a second to realize she was poking me. She had retrieved the trinkets Felix had given Mu, our phone cards, my Dot-treats and my Amazon blade. I quickly strapped the blade to my arm. The water was rushing in through the severed back section.I turned to see Zhen struggling with her brother. Her look said it all. She expected them both to die. She wouldn't abandon him to save herself and the waves were too rough to make it with him."Get as far as you can," I shouted to her over the typhoon strength winds. "I'll come back for you."Her face expressed how little faith she put in my promise. Zhen had no choice left to her. I cut off two lengths of seat-belt to give Aya a harness to wrap over my shoulder and opposite underarm. I used the second piece to create her harness I linked with my own. {Back to English as the primary language}"He'll come back for you," Aya tried to assure Zhen while I worked."Aya, take a deep breath then expel it," I advised. The second she did I dove into the water. I had never attempted to swim in water this nasty, but I had been dumped into a white water rapids before. That was the best I had.Somehow in the madness, I pointed myself in the right direction. Once more, the storm came to my rescue. Two monster waves picked us up and pushed us toward the edge of the runway.'Go to the north end of the island,' Ishara told me. There is a building there that will shelter you, and Cáel, I must leave now. Don't do it.''I can't not try,' I replied. 'Can you help Aya?' I gave one last appeal. No reply. I twisted southward to locate the next monster wave. My precious cargo pressed tightly to my upper torso, I flipped over so that my feet were facing toward the onrushing runway. I'm not as dumb as I look, or sound.I bent my knees in the same way they instruct you when you go cliff diving. Up we went. I pulled Aya and I as deep into the water as possible, up, up, crest and then down-down-down. My bare right foot hit something jagged and sharp. I'd worry about bleeding later. The momentum of that contact tried to tilt me head-first, but I resisted.My left foot slapped down on a hard, smooth, granular surface, the sea wall. Now I swam backwards with my free arm while I raced to get my right foot back under me. My body ended up surging forward, yet I was in control of my movements once more. I rolled with the impact, taking the brunt to my left shoulder while shielding Aya with my right. Three rolls and I was on my feet again."Aya!" I beseeched my companion."That was fun," she yelled back over the hurricane force winds. "Let's try to do this next year," the rest was lost. I kept staggering forward in about a foot of water that the storm had flooded over the land. I looked behind me.The next wave was unfriendly. The one behind that one appeared to be a lot like what I imagined a Berlin Wall-sized tombstone would look like. I ran. I survived the first wave then gave Aya a cautionary squeeze. I felt her tiny lungs inflate, soak up the salt-water spray and oxygen then flush the air back out.A few more steps then we plunged back sideways into the monster current ~ the wave had already crashed."What did you say?" I shook Aya as we surfaced once more."Next year, much later next year," she grinned up at me."Aya, do you think you can,""Yes. Go find them. You gave her your word," she hugged me."Stay on the runway, head north, Dot says there is a building up there that is still intact. Aya, take this," I handed her the pistol and a spare mag."Do you promise you won't let me die today?" she shouted over the winds. I had to think about that. Aya rammed the pistol and magazine into her medical bag's side pocket. Oaths had their own power and maybe, just maybe, Dot Ishara would help me honor this one."I swear to you, I will not let you die today," I yelled back."Then go and hurry," she hugged me as I cut her loose. "She needs you more than I do. Go!" With that, we separated. Aya slugged forward a few steps, was staggered by another wave then turned and gave me her 'thumbs up'.I turned to the south and the blinding winds and terrible surf. I had to try. Alal kicked in. Jumbo commercial airliners = no help. Shipwrecks = he'd survived a few. I mapped out in my mind the waves, winds and their direction relative to the plane. I could still make out its half-submerged shape.The edge of the runway had a U-shaped seawall which created a peak that channeled the waves. I couldn't see the structure itself due to the high tide, but I could locate the wall by watching the waves break. If I could get to the outside of the eastern peak, I would have an easier time going about this rescue. Also, if Zhen wasn't brought in by the same waves that saved Aya and I, she would be driven to the northwest, parallel to the island.I could intercept them. I'd effective killed everyone else. Maybe, I dove in.'Don't!'“Too late, SzélAnya,” I vaulted off the semi-submerged sea wall, then let the undertow pull me along the broken coral rocks the Navy had put there when they expanded the airfield in the 1960's.I kept my hands on the rocks, rock climbing in reverse. The waves passing overhead tried to pluck me up and return me to the land. I moved as rapidly as I could, until my muscles ached from the water's chill and oxygen starvation. My lungs were on fire. I let the next wave pull me up.Fortune favors the foolish should be my new motto. I broke the surface just after another large wave passed by. I kept my breathing short and steady, despite my burning hunger for air. Gulping air would only earn me a mouthful of salt water. I took the reprieve in the storm's efforts to drown me.The 'foolish' was waiting for me four meters away, slightly behind me and to the East. Zhen was being dragged past the atoll. I kept one eye on her progress and the other on the waves. A monster rolled up, I dove under and thus resurfaced less than two meters away. Zhen had Mu in a classic rescue swim position. He was still likely to suffocate in this downpour.The look in her eyes was, pure confliction. I cut through the last bit of ocean to be at her side. My first action was to point to the next tidal beast heading for us.(Mandarin) "I've got him. Dive beneath the wave," I hollered. Had she resisted, all three of us would have been screwed. She didn't.I took another deep breathe then sort of freaked her out. I clamped my mouth over Mu's and expelled my air into his lungs. My right arm snaked under his left with my hand grabbing the back of his head. I shoved his head tightly against my face, pressing his nose shut, then dove. Zhen was right behind me.After that, we had our routine down. Zhen took Mu every fourth wave. Breathing for both him and me was tough. I'd take him back for the fifth and slowly we made ourselves to the eastern shore. I hit first, fell flat on my face but kept a hold on Mu. I temporarily lost sight of Zhen. One life at a time.I lugged Mu up, staggered his unconscious and my exhausted forms a few feet and then was toppled by yet another wall of water. This time, when I returned to a standing position, I check Mu's breathing. He would make it. I few more steps, another wave. I kept my footing that time. Another, Zhen came careening our way from the North. The waves had swept her passed us.Zhen immediately looped her arm under Mu's right arm. That allowed her, me and our shared burden to slog another meter inland, then the next wave caught up with us. Zhen fell; I stumbled, but righted myself and thus kept Mu from being washed away. Zhen rolled a few feet forward, rebounded up, only to be shoved away when a gust of wind hit us.On her next attempt, she rejoined us. From that point onward, we were far enough away from the land's end so that we were slogging through standing water and could resist the waves that impacted us.(Mandarin) "You came back," she shouted.There were all kinds of romantic, chivalric and very true responses to that. I chose a half-lie. (Mandarin) "I really wanted to see your tits one more time," I yelled. The looks she gave me was priceless. She was convinced I was a lunatic ~ no doubt about it.While she puzzled out her reaction/retort, we chanced upon a Quonset hut. In its lee, we caught a break from the worst of the wind. We also picked up a little Epona who had made the same logical choice (to get out of the wind) as we had. My heart leapt for joy. She was grinning like an impish hellion as she tried to tell me something.I leaned down until her lips were touching my ear."I forgot to pack my swimsuit," she chortled."It's probably sitting at home along with my surfboard," I kissed her on the forehead. "How about we get inside, somewhere?" Aya nodded.(Mandarin) "Let's go," I roared. Zhen nodded briefly. We turned Mu around so we would be dragging him with his back to the winds. The journey to the structure SzélAnya had pointed me at (the J O C building) took over an hour and a half to cover the two kilometers. Along the way, Aya discovered her inner Peter Pan.That was the childish fiction I was going to use to explain what she did when I regaled this episode to her Mother, assuming we made it back. In common parlance, a gust of wind that must have been about 150 kilometers per hour picked her up and off she went. Hell, I'd honored my oath to Zhen. I dropped Mu and raced after my own personal good luck fairy.A freak micro-burst, shot Aya up so high I lost track of her in the rain.'Please'.I saw my tiny human javelin plummeting to earth several meters away. Aya had refused to mitigate her fate by releasing the medical bag. I jumped, caught her and took another hard spill to the ground, Aya on top of me. She said something to me.I made it back to my knees, clutching a standing Aya firmly to my chest."I said 'I've had enough fun for today," she sputtered. "Can we go inside now?"'You now owe me a life, I go,''Thank you'. If she heard me, she didn't acknowledge it. The storm didn't relent its assault, that was for sure.I couldn't risk losing Aya again. I had placed Zhen and Mu on solid ground so she returned to being my top priority. I slogged my way through the typhoon, cyclone, 'what have you', only to find a solid steel door between Aya and safety. I felt volcanic fury building up inside me. Then I remembered I still had a few firearms,The QCW spoke and the door popped opened. I raced around the first interior corner, deposited Aya, ran back to the door, reverse course, raced back to Aya, kissed her cheek then ran back out into the blinding rain and battering winds. Zhen was right where I'd left her. She had relied on me coming back, damn her.(The J S O C Building)Five minutes later, I had the Seven Pillars twins inside and the door wedged shut. We were all temporarily safe. Here and there small puddles of water had formed from leaks above, but otherwise the structure was solid, sound and safe. Zhen and Mu were on the opposite side of the room. After she tended to her brother, she looked my way.I took the medical bag from a wide-eyed and happy Aya."We are down to two of them," she shivered. "Perhaps you should ask her to surrender now, while they still can?" I snorted then chuckled."Do you really think the proud scions of Duan will bow before the Amazons?" I asked her. Aya fatigued mind worked that question over."No, you are right. I don't think they are smart enough to know when they are beat. Cáel, they called me 'Chǒul u de cuüw ', or something like that," Aya kept her eyes on Zhen. "What does that mean?" It took me a second to piece that together. You can tell a great deal about people if you catch them talking about you behind your backs, or when they think you can't understand what they are saying."Ugly Bug," I translated. Aya snorted."That was rude. We can call her 'L s la ninda'," she proclaimed loud enough for Zhen to hear, "and we can call him Amar."I had to applaud her choice of names for our would-be killers.See, L s la ninda roughly translated from Amazon to English as 'cupcake'. Amar was Amazon for 'calf' which was a play on his Mandarin name, 'Mu'."Dumu?" I indicated her. Aya's eyes sparkled. Duma was the diminutive for 'daughter'."Atta," she murmured back. That was 'respectful Father'; a title no Amazon girl had addressed a man with in, well maybe, ever. The term was largely religious and only used in the terms of female divinities referring to divine paternals."Take the gun," I withdrew the QSW-06 from the medical bag. "I'm going to take a look at Mu."I wasn't a surgeon, most of my medical skills were self-taught (I get hurt a great deal), I was personally acquainted with pain and I wasn't easily grossed out. Alal's past granted me beaucoup knowledge to fill in the gaps. Mu was going to be okay.His problems were the bullet hole, blood loss, our mutual damp condition and his complete exhaustion. Zhen knelt close by as I cut open his pants. The bullet was still in him. I was guessing the round had cracked his femur, not broken it. I cleaned out the wound with minimal disturbance to Mu's sleep. The antiseptic came next, followed by the wrapping and finally a syringe of general antibiotic.(Mandarin) "Let's find something to dress ourselves in and then we all need to get out of these wet clothes. If we don't shed these clothes soon, we'll get a chill we don't need," I advised.(Mandarin) "How bad is it?" she asked. She meant her brother's condition.(Mandarin) "He'll be okay. Feel free to try and kill me when you wish. He doesn't need me anymore." That, pretty much confirmed for her what she suspected, I was a lunatic.(Mandarin) "Well, okay. Thank you. I will not kill the child; I have given you my word."(Mandarin) "Are you talking about 'Ugly Bug'?"(Mandarin) "Oh. I thought she didn't know our language either," she blushed then frowned. "She never revealed she understood our words."(Mandarin) "She doesn't. Aya has a phenomenal memory. All Amazons are taught from a very young age to develop a strong eye for detail. This includes remembering words spoken around them, even if they don't know their meaning."That silenced her. The medical kit gifted us with five glow sticks.The women paired up to search the first, second, third and fourth floors; I didn't trust Zhen to find something useful and report it to me. I knew women. She wouldn't kill Aya tonight and Aya would keep her

China's latest commitment to advancing cutting-edge technologies — including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and 6G — will solidify its position as a global leader in innovation, and the strategic push will enable the country to navigate global uncertainties while sustaining its competitive advantage, experts and business executives said.专家和企业高管们表示，中国最近致力于推动包括量子计算、人工智能和6G等前沿技术的发展，这将巩固中国作为全球创新领导者的地位，而这一战略推动将使中国能够在保持竞争优势的同时应对全球的不确定性。Underscoring the importance of securing technological breakthroughs and efficiently commercializing them, they said that China's push for new quality productive forces will create vast opportunities for domestic and international businesses.他们强调了确保技术突破并将其有效商业化的重要性，并表示中国对新的优质生产力的推动将为国内外企业创造大量机会。Their comments follow President Xi Jinping's remark that technological innovation and industrial innovation constitute the fundamental pathways for developing new quality productive forces.习近平主席曾指出，技术创新和产业创新是发展高质量新生产力的根本途径。Xi made the remark when participating in a deliberation in Beijing on March 5 with his fellow deputies from Jiangsu province during the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.3月5日，在中国最高立法机构--第十四届全国人民代表大会第三次会议期间，习近平在北京与江苏省人大代表一起参加审议时说了这番话。China's 2025 Government Work Report also said the nation "will establish a mechanism to increase funding for industries of the future and foster industries such as biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI and 6G technology".中国《2025年政府工作报告》也表示，中国 “将建立未来产业资金投入增长机制，培育生物制造、量子技术、人工智能、6G技术等产业”。Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said, "China's economy has entered a critical period of transitioning between old and new growth drivers."中国国际经济交流中心副理事长王一鸣表示，“中国经济已进入新旧增长动力转换的关键时期”。He said future-oriented technologies are not only at the forefront of innovation, but are also strategic pillars for reshaping industrial competition and boosting productivity."他说，面向未来的技术不仅是创新的前沿，也是重塑产业竞争格局、提升生产力的战略支柱。Their significance lies in both upgrading traditional industries and securing a leading position in emerging sectors," Wang said.它们的意义在于既能提升传统产业，又能确保在新兴产业中的领先地位。Guo Guoping, deputy director of the Key Lab of Quantum Information at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said he was deeply impressed by China's support for quantum technology.中国科学院量子信息重点实验室副主任郭国平说，中国对量子技术的支持给他留下了深刻印象。He compared quantum technology to an aircraft, with quantum computing serving as its "engine", providing exponential computational power for fields such as national defense, biomedicine, energy materials and AI.他把量子技术比作一架飞机，量子计算是飞机的“发动机”，为国防、生物医药、能源材料和人工智能等领域提供指数级计算能力。"Quantum computing is transitioning from the lab to industrialization. China has become the third country in the world capable of delivering quantum computers, after Canada and the United States, positioning China in the global first tier of quantum research. But challenges remain in some areas," Guo said."量子计算正在从实验室向产业化过渡。中国已成为继加拿大和美国之后，世界上第三个能够提供量子计算机的国家，跻身全球量子研究第一梯队。但在某些领域仍存在挑战，"郭说。He stressed the need for increased investment in basic research and advocated leveraging China's unique advantages in mobilizing resources to tackle core technological challenges.他强调了增加基础研究投入的必要性，并主张发挥中国在调动资源应对核心技术挑战方面的独特优势。China's research and development spending climbed to 3.6 trillion yuan ($497 billion) in 2024, an 8 percent year-on-year increase, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Of this total, funding allocated to basic research accounted for 6.91 percent of the R&D budget, underscoring heightened investment in foundational scientific exploration.根据国家统计局的数据，到2024年，中国的研发支出将攀升至3.6万亿元（约合4,970亿美元），同比增长8%。其中，分配给基础研究的资金占研发预算的6.91%，凸显了对基础科学探索的投资力度加大。Meanwhile, more than 570 Chinese industrial companies have made it to the global top 2,500 companies in terms of R&D investment, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.与此同时，根据工业和信息化部的数据，已有超过570家中国工业企业进入全球研发投入前2500强。Xu Lijin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, and chairman of Wuhu Robot Industry Development Group, said that embodied AI, as highlighted in the Government Work Report, refers to AI that is integrated into physical hardware such as robots. It represents a significant leap in intelligent systems capable of interacting with and adapting to their environments.全国政协委员、芜湖机器人产业发展集团董事长徐立金表示，《政府工作报告》中强调的“嵌入式人工智能 ”是指将人工智能集成到机器人等物理硬件中。它代表着能够与环境交互并适应环境的智能系统的重大飞跃。"Robotics and AI are dual engines driving economic and social development in the era of global digital transformation," Xu said"机器人和人工智能是全球数字化转型时代推动经济社会发展的双引擎。"他说Qiao Hong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, "Over the past three years, China has accounted for more than half of the global installation of industrial robots, and its lunar exploration robots have successfully returned lunar soil samples."中国科学院院士乔红说："近三年来，中国工业机器人的安装量已占全球一半以上，中国的探月机器人已成功返回月球土壤样本。However, challenges remain. For instance, high-end sensors like precision lidar, short for light detection and ranging, still rely on imports, and domestic alternatives lag in accuracy and stability, experts added.然而，挑战依然存在。专家补充说，例如，像精密激光雷达（光探测和测距的简称）这样的高端传感器仍然依赖进口，而国产替代品在精度和稳定性方面都比较落后。Zhang Li, president of the China Center for Information Industry Development, said: "Leveraging its robust and comprehensive industrial ecosystem, China creates expansive real-world testing grounds and vast market opportunities for technological innovation. This infrastructure not only accelerates the development of emerging industries, but also provides a resilient foundation for nurturing future-oriented sectors poised to redefine global markets."中国信息产业发展研究中心主任张莉说："中国凭借其强大而全面的产业生态系统，为技术创新创造了广阔的现实世界试验场和巨大的市场机遇。这种基础设施不仅加快了新兴产业的发展，也为培育未来导向型行业奠定了坚实的基础，这些行业将重新定义全球市场。As the world's largest manufacturing country, China ranks first globally in terms of output for more than 40 percent of the world's 500 major industrial products, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.工业和信息化部的数据显示，作为世界上最大的制造业国家，在世界500种主要工业产品中，中国有40%以上的产品产量位居全球第一。Industrial innovation must remain rooted in the real economy, Zhang said, noting that China's economy "has historically relied on the real economy, and it is through this foundation that it will continue to progress".张说，产业创新必须始终植根于实体经济，她指出，中国经济“历来依靠实体经济，正是通过这一基础，中国经济才会不断进步”。Ding Haiyu, deputy head of the China Mobile Research Institute, said that 6G "has entered its tech standardization phase this year, as we aim to commercialize the technology around 2030. AI-powered 6G will unlock significant opportunities".中国移动研究院副院长丁海玉说，6G "今年已进入技术标准化阶段，我们的目标是在2030年左右实现技术商用。人工智能驱动的6G将带来重大机遇"。Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), said, "To cultivate new quality productive forces, a country should prioritize three foundational pillars — advancing fundamental scientific research, bridging the gap between theoretical discoveries and applied technological solutions, and fostering a financial ecosystem capable of sustaining innovation-driven growth."香港中文大学（深圳）公共政策学院院长郑永年说：“一个国家要培育新的优质生产力，应优先考虑三大基础支柱--推进基础科学研究、弥合理论发现与应用技术解决方案之间的差距，以及培育能够维持创新驱动增长的金融生态系统。”"Expanding institutional opening-up is the strategic guarantee for nurturing new quality productive forces," Zheng said."扩大制度性开放是培育新的优质生产力的战略保障。”他说David Poon, president of Infineon Technologies Greater China, said China's focus on green, low-carbon and high-quality development aligns with the German chip maker's strengths and opens new growth opportunities.英飞凌科技大中华区总裁表示，中国注重绿色、低碳和高质量发展，这与这家德国芯片制造商的优势不谋而合，并带来了新的发展机遇。"With our 'In China, For China' strategy, we plan to increase local production of general-purpose semiconductors to address customer needs regarding supply resilience," Poon said.他说：”根据我们的'在中国，为中国'战略，我们计划增加通用半导体的本地化生产，以满足客户对供应弹性的需求。navigatevt.航行于；驾驶，操纵；使通过vi.航行，航空aircraftn. 飞机，航空器quantumn. 量子定量;总量semiconductorn.〈物〉半导体

The meetings last week of China's National People's Congress, or NPC, and the Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC, ended with commitments to maintain economic growth at around 5 percent, keep unemployment at 5.5 percent and increase the fiscal deficit target to 4 percent, the highest in 30 years. However, the annual session of China's two-chambered rubber-stamp legislature, known as the "Two Meetings," did not include any detail, let alone surprises, for how the government might reach these ambitious targets. On Sunday, however, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council, the main governing body of the government, jointly issued a 30-point Special Action Plan to boost consumption. Coming so soon after the Two Meetings, the announcement generated some enthusiasm that the focus on consumer spending demonstrates a renewed dedication to move away from Beijing's focus on export-oriented manufacturing, which has exacerbated tensions with trading partners from the U.S. to Brazil, while fueling excess capacity, price wars and unhealthy competition in China. As an action plan, the document itself is disappointing, because while it contains laudable goals - such as better enforcement of labor rights and increased payouts for the basic pension system - it does not specify how these can be achieved. For instance, who will enforce China's strict but often ignored labor laws now that President Xi Jinping has dismantled labor rights organizations and weakened the trade union? Who will pay for the increased pensions when local governments already struggle to pay the salaries of civil servants? More fundamentally, will the central government finally reform the central-local fiscal relationship so that the local governments tasked with implementation of the plan have the resources to do so? As a policy document, however, the plan is interesting and important, as it reveals how Xi's government envisions the role of consumption in a development model that is still solidly built on manufacturing and investment. As such, the plan is clearly in alignment with Xi's vision for China's economy. It's not that consumption has no role in boosting the economy, but that the role of consumption is subordinate to higher-level goals. Indeed, even the ordering of the plan's seven sections reveal how consumption relates to these goals, such as revitalization of northeastern China through winter tourism and support for key goods, such as automobiles and consumer electronics, which have already been hit hard by external tariffs. The plan to boost consumption resonates with many of Xi's admonitions over the years, including his slogan that the pathway to common prosperity is not through government handouts, but through hard work. In effect, the plan sees the role of the Chinese consumer as intrinsically linked to the more important role of the Chinese worker on the productive side of the economy. Indeed, it is an almost quaintly Leninist depiction of the relationship between China's manufacturing juggernaut and the workers who fuel China's achievements in automotives, robotics, semiconductors and electronics, as well as basic consumer items from Shein apparel to Temu gadgets. It resonates with many of Xi's admonitions over the years, including his famous critique of "welfarism" as encouraging laziness - or "lying flat" - and his slogan that the pathway to common prosperity is not through government handouts, but through hard work. As such, work is paramount to the plan, which both encourages more employment and proposes ways to make employment easier. The first section highlights the need to boost incomes through employment, including support for "reasonable" increases in the minimum wage. The second section sets out recommendations to make work easier, especially for women of childbearing age and students. This section highlights the government's anxieties over two social problems: the lo...

Chinese authorities issued guidelines on Friday requiring labels on all artificial intelligence-generated content circulated online, aiming to combat the misuse of AI and the spread of false information.中国政府周五发布指导方针，要求在网上传播的所有人工智能生成的内容上标注标签，旨在打击滥用人工智能和传播虚假信息的行为。The regulations, jointly issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Radio and Television Administration, will take effect on Sept 1.该规定由中国网络空间管理局、工业和信息化部、公安部、国家广播电视总局联合发布，将于9月1日起施行。A spokesperson for the Cyberspace Administration said the move aims to "put an end to the misuse of AI generative technologies and the spread of false information."网络空间管理局发言人表示，此举旨在“杜绝人工智能生成技术的滥用和虚假信息的传播”。The guidelines stipulate that content generated or synthesized using AI technologies, including texts, images, audios, videos and virtual scenes, must be labeled both visibly and invisibly.该准则规定，利用人工智能技术生成或合成的内容，包括文本、图像、音频、视频和虚拟场景，都必须以显性和隐性方式进行标注。For content generated by deep synthesis technologies that might confuse or mislead the public, explicit labels must be placed in a reasonable position to ensure public awareness.对于深度合成技术生成的可能混淆或误导公众的内容，必须在合理的位置贴上明确标签，以确保公众知晓。Explicit labels are those applied within the generated content or user interface, presented in forms such as text, sound, or graphics that are clearly perceptible to users.显性标签是在生成的内容或用户界面中使用的标签，以用户可清晰感知的文字、声音或图形等形式呈现。Additionally, the guideline requires that implicit labels be added to the metadata of generated content files. These labels should include details about the content's attributes, the service provider's name or code, and content identification numbers.此外，该准则还要求在生成内容文件的元数据中添加隐含标签。这些标签应包括内容属性的详细信息、服务提供商的名称或代码以及内容识别码。Metadata files are descriptive information embedded in the file's header, recording details about the content's source, attributes and purpose.元数据文件是嵌入文件头的描述性信息，记录了有关内容来源、属性和目的的详细信息。Service providers that disseminate content online must verify that the metadata of the content files contain implicit AIGC labels, and that users have declared the content as AI-generated or synthesized. Prominent labels should also be added around the content to inform users.在线传播内容的服务提供商必须核实内容文件的元数据是否包含隐含的AIGC标签，以及用户是否已将内容声明为人工智能生成或合成的内容。还应在内容周围添加醒目的标签，以告知用户。AI generative technology has been used to create seemingly realistic content for publicity stunts or commercial gain. For instance, a news report claiming that one in every 20 individuals born in the 1980s had passed away caused a public uproar last month, only to be revealed as a rumor fabricated by AI.人工智能生成技术已被用于创建看似逼真的内容，以达到宣传噱头或商业利益的目的。例如，上个月一则新闻报道称，每20个上世纪80年代出生的人中就有一个已经去世，这引起了公众的轩然大波，后来才发现这是人工智能编造的谣言。AI generative technology has also been used to clone the voices and faces of many celebrities to produce deepfakes, which constitutes infringement and should be subject to legal accountability.人工智能生成技术还被用来克隆很多明星的声音和脸，制造深度假象，这已经构成侵权，应该受到法律的追究。Earlier this month, 14th National People's Congress deputy and Xiaomi Corp founder Lei Jun, and 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member and actor Jin Dong, both proposed establishing laws and regulations for AI-generated content during the annual sessions of the 14th NPC and 14th CPPCC National Committee.本月初，十四届全国人大代表、小米公司创始人雷军和十四届全国政协委员、演员靳东在十四届全国人大和十四届全国政协的年度会议上，均建议建立人工智能生成内容的法律法规。"Some viewers who like my movies and TV shows have been deceived by deepfake videos that clone my face, which is a very malicious act. I hope relevant rules can be established and enhanced," said Jin Dong during a panel discussion during the two sessions.“一些喜欢我影视作品的观众被克隆我脸的深度伪造视频欺骗，这是一种非常恶意的行为。我希望能够建立和完善相关的规则。"靳东在两会期间的小组讨论中说道。Tu Lingbo, a professor at the Communication University of China, told China Daily in a previous interview that the influx of unlabeled content generated by AI could disrupt the internet ecosystem and pose challenges to internet governance.中国传媒大学教授涂凌波此前在接受《中国日报》采访时表示，人工智能产生的大量无标签内容的涌入，可能会扰乱互联网生态，给互联网治理带来挑战。"Relevant laws and regulations on AI-generated content should be established and improved," Tu said.涂凌波说："应建立健全人工智能生成内容的相关法律法规。”combatvt.与…战斗；反对vi.战斗；搏斗n.战斗；争论guidelinen. 指导方针,准则generativeadj.能生产的,有生产力的maliciousadj.恶意的,恶毒的

Private firms drive China's economy. They represent 90% of all enterprises, 60% of GDP, and over 80% of urban jobs. But with global supply chains in turmoil, how can they keep growing and thriving? Host Tu Yun and co-host Professor Qu Qiang from Minzu University of China join Michael Woo Kim-kong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the Chairman of the Woo Leung Lee Group, for ways to further unleash private sector dynamism in China.

National political advisers have been urged to serve the country's major tasks and work to improve people's livelihoods through high-quality consultation and suggestions, in order to further promote China's modernization drive.Wang Huning, chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, made the remarks while delivering a speech to around 2,100 national political advisers at the closing meeting of its third session in Beijing on Monday.President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other leaders attended the meeting, which was held at the Great Hall of the People.National political advisers should focus on key and difficult issues in deepening reform, promoting high-quality development, ensuring and improving people's livelihoods, and maintaining social stability in carrying out surveys and making suggestions and proposals, Wang said.The CPPCC should strengthen the mechanism for reflecting public opinion, connecting with the people, and serving the people, enhancing the unity of Chinese people at home and abroad, he added.A resolution on the work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, a resolution on a report on how the proposals from political advisers have been handled since the previous annual session, a report on the examination of new proposals, and a political resolution on the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee were approved at the meeting.Samuel Yung Wing-ki, a member of the CPPCC National Committee from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said, "At this meeting, I have gained a deep understanding of the country's major policies and development direction, and I have also felt the country's emphasis on Hong Kong."Hong Kong should leverage its advantages in international exchanges and the "one country, two systems" policy to attract more talent to develop in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said.Jin Hua, a national political adviser from Qinghai province, said that at this year's two sessions she wore the traditional attire of the Mongolian ethnic group that she had got married in, as she considered the meeting to be a major event for the country."I am most proud that I can use my platform to bring the livelihood-related facts of the ethnic group to the national level. Then I can deliver good policies to our ethnic minority areas," she said.Yang Yuni, another national political adviser and a post-1995 member of the Hani ethnic group, said that she will make efforts to combine artificial intelligence with ethnic minority songs and dances to attract more young people to the protection of intangible cultural heritage, thereby assisting in vitalizing rural areas.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee has concluded its annual session, calling for efforts to build a strong socialist country and advance Chinese modernization.

The concept that education determines the future of a nation is a widely acknowledged consensus globally.That could be the reason education was at the forefront of the discussion on Thursday when President Xi Jinping joined the group meeting in Beijing of the country's national political advisers from the China Democratic League, the China Association for Promoting Democracy and the education sector."In every household, education is now a focal point of attention, with numerous hot topics in this field," Xi told the political advisers, who were attending the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. "This not only indicates a strong educational atmosphere, but also reflects a certain gap between our education system and the expectations of the people."Cai Guangjie, deputy director of the Education Department of Sichuan province, presented her research findings to Xi, revealing a significant demographic shift in the country — the decrease in the school-age population.To address these emerging challenges, Cai gave her advice on optimizing resource allocation, including controlling the construction of new schools and facilitating the transfer of students from under-resourced rural schools to better-equipped schools in towns.Cai's remarks evoked Xi's memories of the early days of China's reform and opening-up. At the time, the country provided many children with the opportunity to receive education through initiatives such as raising funds from various sources to establish and operate schools, and through Project Hope, which was launched in 1989 with the goal of ensuring that students in impoverished areas were given greater access to education."Back then, I was quite happy to have raised funds to build a primary school in Liangjiahe village. But the school was later closed," Xi recalled. Liangjiahe was an impoverished village in northwestern China's Shaanxi province.However, the school's closure was actually a positive development, Xi said, because students were relocated to a school in the township area to receive a higher-quality education.Xi also said that new issues have been brought about "by changes occurring amid progress. The process of solving these problems is also a process of development and advancement".China's preschool education is an example. With the increase in the number of people living in urban areas in recent years, many kindergartens have been left unused in some areas, while the number of quality kindergartens is still short of demand.Xi said this situation cannot be changed immediately, as solving these issues requires adjustment of the educational structure."The adjustment might be realized only after the implementation of one or two five-year plans," he said. "There are many factors to consider in the process. But if we don't start planning now, it will be too late by then."Urgent priorityXi said that although education requires sustained efforts over time, it is also an urgent priority.He cited the development of education in the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, saying that tremendous changes have taken place since then.At that time, the country was still very poor, and literacy classes were organized to combat widespread illiteracy. "The matter of importance back then was whether people would have enough to eat. Since the entire nation was experiencing a period of economic hardship, spending on education was very limited," he said.Nowadays, school-age children's access to basic education in China has been significantly expanded, and the conditions and resources necessary for running a school have also greatly improved.Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the country's education spending has exceeded 4 percent of GDP for 12 consecutive years."This fully demonstrates the great importance attached to modern education by the Party," Xi said.However, the challenges keep showing up.Xu Kun, president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told Xi that he considers artificial intelligence as a key variable in building China into a leading country in education, given both the opportunities and the challenges that it brings.Xi noted that with the emergence of AI and the internet of things, the tools and methods for education will change, as will the abilities that students need to obtain."Reforms in such areas must be made in a timely manner," he said.Meanwhile, he stressed that efforts regarding the intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of students, as well as the cultivation of their basic cognitive and problem-solving abilities, must not be neglected."A solid foundation is essential," Xi said.He also highlighted the importance of reading."In the digital age, with the fast pace of society, it is not easy to sit down, calm your mind and patiently read a book," Xi said.He affirmed the proposal by Zheng Jiajian, president of Fujian Normal University, on creating a social environment in which people love to read.Xi said that children should develop the good habit of reading from a young age. "We can combine digital reading with traditional reading to preserve our core values and literacy," he said.He added that as long as young people establish firm ideals and strengthen beliefs and confidence from childhood, they will become reliable successors in carrying forward socialism with Chinese characteristics."Chinese modernization and national rejuvenation will depend on the next generations," Xi said.

President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for strengthening the role of education in supporting China's sci-tech sector and talent development, so that the nation can see its talent flourish, everyone can realize their potential, and every talent is put to the best use. While taking part in a joint group meeting with national political advisers, he called for a deep understanding of the demand for education, science and technology, and talent during the Chinese modernization process. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, met in Beijing with political advisers from the China Democratic League, the China Association for Promoting Democracy and the education sector, who are attending the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He spoke after hearing opinions and suggestions from six political advisers, who contributed insights on issues such as the integrated development of vocational education and regional industries, and optimization of the allocation of basic education resources. In his remarks, Xi highlighted the importance of adhering to the correct orientation in education to build China into a leading country in education, science and technology, and talent. The goal is to nurture a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility and work skills, who will fully develop socialism and carry forward the socialist cause, he said.He pointed out that it is important to forge inner strength and inspire the younger generation with the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Xi emphasized the need to integrate moral education throughout intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor education.He then pointed out that building a high-quality education system and delivering education that meets public expectations require the deepening of comprehensive reform in the education sector. He underscored the importance of establishing a scientific evaluation system to serve as a guiding framework, improving school governance, granting institutions greater autonomy, and enhancing the rule of law and the level of management. In alignment with the nation's modernization drive and shifts in demographic structure, China must coordinate primary, higher and vocational education, and optimize both public and private investment to enable a more reasonable and efficient distribution of education resources, Xi said. The president called for the education sector to play a pioneering and foundational role in achieving a virtuous cycle between technological innovation and homegrown talent development. The nation must work toward breakthroughs in fundamental and interdisciplinary research through targeted initiatives, build innovation platforms between universities, enterprises and local governments, and improve the efficiency of translating scientific breakthroughs into practical applications, he said. He emphasized the need to refine talent development mechanisms to better align with economic and social demand, enhancing the quality of domestically trained professionals. Xi also highlighted the need to carry out a national education digitalization strategy and build a lifelong learning society.According to a draft budget report submitted to the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, which opened on Wednesday, the central government plans to increase its educational spending by 5 percent this year to 174.44 billion yuan ($24 billion). Meanwhile, funding of 80.95 billion yuan, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, will go to scholarships and student aid programs for university and high school students, the report said. In his remarks, Xi also extended festive greetings to women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life ahead of International Women's Day, which falls on Saturday.

China's emphasis on developing new quality productive forces based on local conditions and accelerating the establishment of a modern industrial system will provide strong momentum for long-term economic growth while enhancing the resilience and competitiveness of its industrial and supply chains, national legislators, political advisers and experts said.全国立法委员、政治顾问和专家表示，中国强调因地制宜发展新质生产力，加快建立现代产业体系，为长期经济增长提供强劲动力，同时增强产业链和供应链弹力和竞争力。They called for efforts to boost enterprises' independent innovation capabilities, achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and drive industrial upgrades by integrating cutting-edge digital technologies with the real economy.他们呼吁努力提升企业的自主创新能力，实现关键领域核心技术的突破，并通过前沿数字技术与实体经济的融合带动产业升级。Their comments followed the release of this year' s Government Work Report, which states that China will pursue integrated advancements in technological and industrial innovation, push forward new industrialization, and expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing to foster new growth drivers and upgrade traditional ones.今年的《政府工作报告》指出，中国将统筹推进科技创新和产业创新，推进新型工业化，做大做强先进制造业，培育新的增长动力，改造提升传统产业。“The cultivation of new quality productive forces is a key focus in promoting high-quality economic growth and a strategic choice in the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation,” said Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and chairman and CEO of Chinese home appliance manufacturer Haier Group.第十四届全国人大代表、中国家电制造商海尔集团董事局主席兼首席执行官周云杰表示：“培育新质生产力是推动经济高质量增长的重点，也是新一轮科技革命和产业变革的战略选择。”Zhou said the industrial internet, as a new type of infrastructure, has played a pivotal role in driving the development of new quality productive forces, advancing new industrialization and accelerating the digital transformation and upgrading of enterprises.他表示，工业互联网作为一种新型基础设施，在推动新质生产力发展、推进新型工业化、加快企业数字化转型升级等方面发挥着举足轻重的作用。As China strives to become a manufacturing powerhouse, more efforts are needed to promote the innovative application of the industrial internet and fully unlock the value of massive data resources, Zhou said.中国正努力成为制造强国，需要加大力度推动工业互联网的创新应用，充分释放海量数据资源的价值。He added that Haier will continue to pursue technological innovation and integrate artificial intelligence technology with the manufacturing sector.他还表示，海尔将继续追求技术创新，将人工智能技术与制造业相结合。Cao Peng, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of e-commerce giant JD's technology committee, said, “Scientific and technological innovation is the core element for nurturing new quality productive forces, while digital technologies represented by AI have become an important engine driving their development.”第十四届全国政协委员、电商巨头京东集团技术委员会主席曹鹏说：“科技创新是培育新质生产力的核心要素，而以人工智能为代表的数字技术已成为推动其发展的重要引擎。”He called for accelerating the construction of computing power infrastructure to expand the application of large language models across more fields and lower computing costs for enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized ones.他呼吁加快计算能力基础设施建设，将大语言模型的应用扩展到更多领域，降低企业尤其是中小企业的计算成本。Luo Zhongwei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Industrial Economics, said, “Fostering new growth drivers and upgrading traditional industries by leveraging cutting-edge digital technologies such as AI, 5G and big data have been high on China's development agenda.”中国社会科学院工业经济研究所研究员罗仲伟说：“借助人工智能、5G、大数据等前沿数字技术，培育新的增长动力，改造提升传统产业，一直是中国发展的重要议程。”Luo said China has sent a clear signal that it will further implement an innovation-driven development strategy to shift from old growth drivers to new ones. He emphasized the importance of developing new quality productive forces based on local conditions and avoiding blind investments in specific fields.他提到，中国已发出明确信号，将进一步实施创新驱动发展战略，从旧的增长动力转向新的增长动力。他强调，必须因地制宜发展新质生产力，避免在特定领域盲目投资。China's move to accelerate the building of a modern industrial system will support the intelligent, high-end and green transformation of traditional industries, consolidate economic recovery and bolster the country's ability to navigate external challenges and uncertainties, Luo said.他还表示，中国加快构建现代产业体系，将支持传统产业向智能化、高端化、绿色化转型，巩固经济复苏态势，增强中国应对外部挑战和不确定性的能力。The Government Work Report also said China will promote the integrated and clustered development of strategic emerging industries, establish a mechanism to increase funding for industries of the future and foster sectors such as biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI and 6G technology.《政府工作报告》还指出，中国将推动战略性新兴产业融合集聚发展，建立未来产业资金投入增长机制，培育生物制造、量子技术、人工智能、6G技术等领域。Dong Mingzhu, a deputy to the 14th NPC and chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances, said manufacturing enterprises must strengthen their independent innovation capacities in cutting-edge technologies and continuously improve the quality of products and services to foster new quality productive forces.第十四届全国人大代表、格力电器董事长董明珠表示，制造业企业必须加强前沿技术的自主创新能力，不断提高产品和服务质量，培育新质生产力。Li Dongsheng, a deputy to the 14th NPC and founder and chairman of consumer electronics company TCL Technology Group, said, “Chinese enterprises should play a bigger role in boosting technological innovation.”第十四届全国人大代表、消费电子公司TCL科技集团创始人兼董事长李东生说：“中国企业应在推动技术创新方面发挥更大作用。”He said TCL will strengthen its innovative capabilities in original technologies and increase investment in AI, augmented reality, virtual reality and next-generation display technologies.他表示，TCL将加强原创技术的创新能力，加大对人工智能、增强现实、虚拟现实和下一代显示技术的投入。Advancing new quality productive forces requires further stimulating technological innovation, continuously investing in scientific research and talent development and supporting the intelligent transformation of industries, Li said.他提到，推进新质生产力建设，需要进一步激发科技创新活力，持续加大科研投入和人才培养力度，支持产业智能化转型。Momentumn. [物]动量；势头；动力；要素，契机Legislatorsn.立法委员，议员，立法者( legislator的名词复数)Biomanufacturingn.生物制造Fosterv.促进，鼓励，培养

The third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is set to open at 3 pm on Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and will conclude on the morning of March 10, lasting for six days, a senior official announced on Monday.中国人民政治协商会议第十四届全国委员会第三次会议将于周二下午3时在北京人民大会堂开幕，并于3月10日上午闭幕，会期六天。Liu Jieyi, spokesman for the third session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, the nation's top political advisory body, briefed the media one day ahead of its opening. The main agenda includes listening to and deliberating on a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on the proposals from its members, according to Liu.中国最高政治咨询机构——中国人民政治协商会议第十四届全国委员会第三次会议新闻发言人刘结一在开幕前一天向媒体介绍了会议情况。刘结一介绍，会议主要议程包括听取和审议全国政协常委会工作报告和提案工作情况报告The CPPCC National Committee members will also attend the third session of the 14th National People's Congress to hear and discuss the government work report and other relevant reports, he said.全国政协委员将列席十四届全国人大三次会议，听取并讨论政府工作报告以及其他有关报告During the conference, there will be an opening and closing ceremony, two plenary sessions, and group meetings. Foreign diplomats will be invited to attend the opening and closing ceremonies, he added.他表示，大会期间，将安排开幕会、闭幕会以及2次大会发言和界别小组会议。开幕会、闭幕会邀请外国驻华使节旁听。

The "Two Sessions", considered the most important event on China's political calendar, is coming up. Delegates from across China are gearing-up to attend the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Ethnic unity is always high on the agenda during the "Two Sessions". To understand how ethnic unity is promoted on the ground, CGTN host Liu Xin traveled to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to a city called Shihezi, where its administration has been put under U.S. sanctions for the past four and a half years.

The main agenda proposed for the upcoming third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, was unveiled Saturday.中国最高政治咨询机构——中国人民政治协商会议（简称全国政协）第十四届全国委员会第三次会议的主要议程于3月1日公布。The third session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC will open on March 4 in Beijing, according to a decision made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee on Saturday.据3月1日召开的全国政协常务委员会会议决定，中国人民政治协商会议第十四届全国委员会第三次会议将于3月4日在北京召开。The proposed agenda for the session includes hearing and deliberating a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on how the proposals from political advisors have been handled since the previous session of the CPPCC National Committee.会议议程包括听取和审议中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会常务委员会工作报告和全国政协十四届二次会议以来提案工作情况的报告。Members of the CPPCC National Committee will sit in on the third session of the 14th National People's Congress to hear and discuss documents including the government work report, according to the proposed agenda.全国政协委员将列席中华人民共和国第十四届全国人民代表大会第三次会议，听取并讨论政府工作报告及其他有关报告。agenda [əˈdʒendə] 名词，议程unveil [ʌnˈveɪl] 动词，公布，透露deliberate [dɪˈlɪbəreɪt] 动词，仔细考虑，审议sit in on 短语，列席

How do Chinese people perceive cross-cultural marriages? In this episode, three uncles share their thoughts on the challenges, surprises, and realities of Chinese-foreigner relationships.

President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reiterated the long-term and strategic nature of bilateral ties, pledging that China-Russia relations will not be disrupted by external factors or any third party.The two presidents made the statement on Monday during a telephone conversation, their second interaction within a month following a video meeting on Jan 21.Putin provided an update on the latest interactions between Russia and the United States, as well as Russia's principled stance on the Ukraine crisis. He emphasized Moscow's commitment to addressing the root causes of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and achieving a sustainable and lasting peace.Xi reaffirmed China's position on resolving the Ukraine crisis, saying that the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine crisis, which was established in September by China and Brazil along with some other countries of the Global South, has been fostering an atmosphere and conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.China is glad to see Russia and relevant parties make positive efforts to defuse the Ukraine crisis, he said.Monday marked the third anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.High-level delegations from Russia and the US held talks on the Ukraine crisis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb 18. Both sides agreed to appoint special representatives to continue the talks between the two countries.Speaking at a regular news conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, "Since the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, China has stayed in communication with relevant parties and been committed to building consensus for ending the conflict and paving the way for peace talks."China will always stand firmly on the side of peace, uphold an objective and fair position and continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in advancing political settlement of the crisis, Lin said.On bilateral ties, Xi told Putin that history and reality have shown that China and Russia are good neighbors that cannot be moved away from each other, and true friends who share weal and woe, support each other and pursue common development.The China-Russia relationship enjoys strong internal driving forces and unique strategic value, and it does not target any third party nor would it be influenced by any third party, Xi noted.He emphasized that the development strategies and foreign policies of both countries are long-term.No matter how the international landscape changes, the relationship between China and Russia will move forward at its own pace, contribute to their respective development and revitalization, and inject stability and positive energy into international relations, he added.Putin expressed Russia's high regard for its relationship with China, saying that in the year ahead, his country looks forward to maintaining high-level exchanges with China and deepening practical cooperation.Putin added that Russia is willing to work with China to jointly commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).He pointed out that developing relations with China is a strategic choice made by Russia with a view to the long term. It is not an act of expediency, not affected by any temporary incidents, and not subject to interference by external factors, Putin said.He emphasized that in the current situation, close communication between Russia and China is in keeping with the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era, and will send a positive message that Russia and China play a stabilizing role in international affairs.The phone talks between the two presidents came just four days after the meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.Both foreign ministers also reaffirmed the "unbreakable" friendship between China and Russia, and the countries' commitment to deepening strategic coordination.

Global attention will turn to Beijing next week with the start of the two sessions, China's biggest annual political event, through which the people's voices will be heard by policymakers, while the country's development priorities will be discussed.With the people's well-being in mind, President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has since 2013 leveraged the two sessions to hold discussions with grassroots-level lawmakers and political advisers from across the country, listening to their suggestions on the country's development.Two sessions refer to the annual gatherings in Beijing of the deputies to the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, and the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body.As an embodiment of whole-process people's democracy, the two sessions have become a strong bond linking the Chinese leader and people at the grassroots level.At discussions during the two sessions about the country's development priorities, Xi has touched upon a variety of topics, including efforts to promote high-quality growth, foster new quality productive forces, enhance innovation in science and technology, and strengthen ecological conservation.He has always highlighted the need to make every effort to enable China's 1.4 billion people to lead a better life on the path to Chinese modernization.When he took part in deliberations with NPC deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu province last year, Xi emphasized the need to adhere to the people-centered development philosophy. "We must steadily enhance the level of livelihood security through development, and guide and motivate our people to create a happy life with their own hands," he said.People-centered development has been at the core of Xi's governance philosophy. When he has conducted inspections nationwide, he has always visited rural areas and urban communities to see how people are faring in their lives.Last year, he spent a total of more than 30 days on inspection tours, visiting 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as well as the Macao Special Administrative Region. He visited farmers' homes, orchards and farm fields, as well as urban communities, seaports and high-tech industrial parks."As far as Chinese modernization is concerned, the people's well-being is prioritized," Xi told local residents when visiting a rural community during his inspection tour of Chongqing in April. "All the work of the Party and the government is aimed at ensuring a happier life for the ordinary people," he added.On Jan 22, ahead of Chinese New Year, Xi braved the cold to visit people who had been affected by floods in the village of Zhujiagou in Huludao, Liaoning province. He visited villagers who had moved into their new houses and inquired about the quality of the reconstructed homes and whether their daily necessities were adequate.Wang Lili, Party chief of the village, said that what Xi cares about most is whether the villagers affected by the floods live a good life."President Xi's care brings warmth and happiness to our hearts," she said.According to the Ministry of Finance, 70 percent of government expenditures in 2024 went toward ensuring the people's well-being.In his 2025 New Year message, Xi said: "Of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people. ... We should work together to steadily improve social undertakings and governance, build a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere, and settle real issues, big or small, for our people. We must bring more smiles to our people and greater warmth to their hearts."Regarding the Chinese president's visit in 2018 to Liangjiahe, a village in Shaanxi province, where Xi had stayed for seven years as an "educated youth" in his teens, Faustin-Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic, said that he was impressed by Xi's strong connections with the people."Xi is deeply rooted in the people, always standing with the people and serving the people," Touadera said in an interview with China Global Television Network.Under Xi's leadership, the Party has made it a major task of Chinese modernization to ensure and improve people's livelihood through development.The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which was held in July, adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, with a focus on enhancing people's quality of life, improving the income distribution system, promoting an employment-first policy, strengthening the social security system and deepening reform of the healthcare system.Guo Jianning, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Marxism, said that putting people first underpins the governance philosophy and core values of the Party.Ensuring that the people lead better lives serves as both the starting point and the ultimate goal of the Party to further deepen reform on all fronts, Guo said in an article published by China Education News.While striving to improve the well-being of its own people, China, led by Xi, has also been committed to promoting the world's common development to ensure a better life for people in all countries."On the path toward modernization, no one and no country should be left behind," Xi said at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September, calling on China and Africa to join hands to boost the modernization of the Global South to contribute to peace, security, prosperity and progress around the world.

Have you ever heard that sleeping with your belly button uncovered might make you sick? In China, parents and grandparents always remind kids to cover their belly button while sleeping—but why? Is it just an old superstition, or is there some truth behind it? In this episode, we'll explore this adorable and uniquely Chinese habit, the cultural beliefs behind it, and what Traditional Chinese Medicine has to say. Get comfy (and maybe tuck yourself in!), and let's dive in!Membership preview:From Deep Sleep in Shanxi to Deep Gourmet in Guangdong, every region in China has its own unique habits! Want to know which one matches your lifestyle? Join me in this fun exploration of China's “Deep Culture” on MaoMi Chinese+ on 25th February!Don't miss out! Interested in joining the membership? ⬇️Support MaoMi & Get exclusive   to premium content!https://www.buzzsprout.com/1426696/subscribe ↗️Transcript and translations are available on https://maomichinese.comInterested in any topics? Leave me a message on: https://maomichinese.com or https://www.instagram.com/maomichinese/?hl=en*Please be aware that Spotify does not support the membership program.Text me what you think :)Support the show

U.S. and Republic of Korea forces participate in a memorial ceremony commemorating the Battle of Chipyong-ni at Yangpyeong, South Korea, Feb. 13, 2025. The Battle of Chipyong-ni was a decisive battle of the Korean War that took place Feb. 13-15, 1951, between U.S. and French units of the U.S. 23rd Infantry Regiment and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. (U.S. Air Force video by Senior Airman Sergio Avalos)

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Today, Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, guest hosts Christopher Meyer, a former U.S. official and China expert during the Bush One and Two Administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U.S. Micronesia Council and founded Wide Fountain, a platform for in-depth geopolitical analysis.  In this the second of a two-part episode, Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So, let's get started.  Sam Cooper's The Bureau: https://www.thebureau.news/ Christopher Meyer's Wide Fountain platform: https://widefountain.substack.com/ --- One CA is a product of the civil affairs association a and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on the ground with a partner nation's people and leadership. We aim to inspire anyone interested in working in the "last three feet" of U.S. foreign relations.  To contact the show, email us at CApodcasting@gmail.com  or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www civilaffairsassoc.org --- Great news! Feedspot, the podcast industry ranking system rated One CA Podcast as one of the top 10 shows on foreign policy. Check it out at: https://podcast.feedspot.com/foreign_policy_podcasts/ --- Special thanks to Cozy Ambience for a sample of "February Cafe Jazz - Instrumental Bossa Nova Music for Work, Study and Relax - Background Music" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmq8Ht-sNwQ --- Today, Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, guest hosts Christopher Meyer, a former U.S. official and China expert during the Bush One and Two Administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U.S. Micronesia Council and founded Wide Fountain, a platform for in-depth geopolitical analysis.  In this the first of a two-part episode, Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So, let's get started.  Sam Cooper's The Bureau: https://www.thebureau.news/ Christopher Meyer's Wide Fountain platform: https://widefountain.substack.com/ --- One CA is a product of the civil affairs association a and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on the ground with a partner nation's people and leadership. We aim to inspire anyone interested in working in the "last three feet" of U.S. foreign relations.  To contact the show, email us at CApodcasting@gmail.com  or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www civilaffairsassoc.org --- Special thanks to Cozy Ambience for a sample of "February Cafe Jazz - Instrumental Bossa Nova Music for Work, Study and Relax - Background Music" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmq8Ht-sNwQ --- Transcript 00:00:01    Introduction Welcome to the One CA Podcast. This is your host, Jack Gaines. One CA is a product of the Civil Affairs Association and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on ground with the partner nation's people and leadership. Our goal is to inspire anyone interested in working the last three feet of foreign relations. To contact the show, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www.civilaffairsassoc.org. I'll have those in the show notes. Today we welcome Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, as he interviews Christopher Meyer, a former U.S. 00:00:44    SAM COOPER official and China expert during the Bush I and II administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U.S. Micronesia Council and is the founder of Wide Fountain. a platform for in -depth geopolitical analysis. This is the first of a two -part episode. Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So let's get started. 00:01:07    SAM COOPER Today I'm excited to introduce Chris Myers. Chris is a longtime China expert and former U .S. government diplomatic and economic issues officer, and he explains how military intelligence and influence networks embedded deeply with organized crime are a central feature of the global strategy employed by the families that really are running communist China. And when I say that, we're going to discuss your research on the family of Xi Jinping, the Xi family, and you call it the Yezi clique. But first, tell our viewers your background in getting into China and your career. 00:01:46    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Thank you very much, Sam. I started a keen interest in China when I was 16. And I read the history of the opium wars and I was outraged. And I decided I wanted a career to be involved in business and diplomacy between the U .S. and China. And then as an undergrad student, I did research on the special economic zones. This was in the early 80s and the special economic zones were just announced. And my research led me to see the geopolitical aspects. There were some. across from Macau, across from Hong Kong, and across from Taiwan. So I sort of had an eye to that. And then I did business. I was, for five years, I was with a Fortune 500 company. And I had the opportunity to do some business in Xiaomon. And I saw some things that set off alarm bells in my mind. And I kind of filed that. And I had some experiences that informed my research later. I worked in the government in Bush 1 and Bush 2. I was involved in Indo -Pacific affairs. really helping American companies do business in the region, and then became a consultant to part of the government that administered our territories in the Pacific. So I saw some things there that, again, set off alarm bells in my mind. And in 2016, I happened to cross an old colleague who kind of gave me some more information. And basically from 2016 until 2022, I conducted a lot of independent research. I decided I wanted to know exactly what was going on because proxies in the region seemed emboldened to take on the U .S. And they didn't have a government portfolio, but they acted like they did. And so my research sort of started in Micronesia. I had the great opportunity to come across your book. You totally informed. parts of what I was looking at and kind of put the spotlight on what happened in Canada. And I kind of worked the two sides to the middle and conducted most recently research that kind of takes us from Mao Zedong's death until the 90s. And I believe that there was a click. I call it the yes, she click. There were scores to settle. There were powerful families that were on the cusp of greatness or recognition for all their good work, and they were purged. And it led some individuals to become extremely militant in their conduct of political warfare against the U .S. So that sort of sets the table for what we might be talking about. 00:04:28    SAM COOPER Yeah. So to get into this, let's start with the Ye family. They're mysterious, but for experts, they're very clearly a clan that has tremendous kingmaking power in China. So maybe let's start with who they are and then bridge into how they connect with Xi's father. 00:04:46    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So the patriarch, Lie Jianying, was literally the kingmaker of Mao Zedong. He came from Guangdong province, and he was involved in the very earliest movements of the Communist Party in China. And he fled one of those, I think it was the Guangzhou uprising, with Zhou Enlai, and they escaped to Hong Kong. So Ye Jianying is one of the original revolutionaries in China, and he had the title of Marshal Ye. And when he crossed paths with Mao Zedong, he was actually the aide -de -camp to a very powerful Communist Party operator out of Beijing who had an army of tens of thousands. And he rolled up to Mao and his very small group of long marchers and said, follow us, we're going to Sichuan province. And Mao was like, no, I don't think that's a safe bet. The locals are going to tear you up. And Ye Jianying kind of heard a truth in Mao and he deserted this powerful general and with him brought the code books. So Mao gets Ye Jianying and the code books and he's able to communicate with the Comintern. And lo and behold, that general did get wiped out in Sichuan. He returned to Mao's base. With a few thousand troops from then, Mao became the most powerful leader in the communist ecosystem. So Ye Jianying had a very high regard for Mao. Mao called him the savior of the Communist Party and the Communist Revolution. And so fast forward it right through the revolution. Ye gets a very top position as the party secretary for Guangdong province, the largest and economically most powerful province in the country. And Mao wants to conduct his land reform in Guangdong, just as he does everywhere. And it's a violent thing where landowners are hunted down and put to death. Yeah, because he was a native Cantonese, understood that the landowners in Guangdong were not of the same ilk as those throughout China. They actually worked the lands. They had a very cooperative relationship with labor. And he tried to resist. But Mao forced Lin Biao into Guangdong. And Ye lost his government role. And if he hadn't been in the military, he would have been completely out of power. But because he had a military portfolio, he was able to stay on the peripheries. And he was actually part of the small group that brought down the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution. So Ye Jianying went through the Mao Zedong grinder, but he did it so early in the 50s that he was able to... maintain power and have it going forward. Another Long March hero was Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhong Chun. And his claim to fame in the Communist Party was he maintained security over the area where Mao was camped in Yan 'an. And he was able to provide Mao and his group with enough security that they could camp there through a winter and survive. Not only that, but he negotiated and he conducted diplomacy with the tribesmen in the Northwest, in Qinghai, in Xinjiang, and in Tibet. And he was loved. And he got a lot of rebels and insurgents among these minority populations to join the Communist Party. And Mao gave him great profs for that and referred to him as one of the heroes of the Three Kingdoms period. brilliant statesman who was able to ingratiate with the minorities and make them part of the Chinese nation. Unfortunately, though, Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongchun, he was purged, but he was purged later. He was purged in 1962. And from Xi Jinping's age nine until he was 25, Xi Jinping's father was under arrest. Without trial, it was just the culture revolution. He was under arrest because his office published a book that was deemed not flattering to Mao Zedong. Basically, he was promoting some thought within the Communist Party that Mao didn't like. So Xi's father is in jail from 62 to 78. And because Ye Senior and Xi Zhongchun had a relationship, Ye Jianying kind of became a godfather of sorts for Xi Jinping. Xi was sent to work in the countryside and he escaped and he tried to get back to Beijing and it wasn't safe for him to be reunited with his family. And Ye intervened. And Ye made sure that Xi joined the Communist Party, even though these tragedies were all around him, and made sure that he got the semblance of an education, although he really never did. He was a guide for Xi Jinping throughout his younger years. in place of his father. 00:10:02    Sam Cooper Before we continue how those families dovetail together, can you describe in China's political economy, what is the power of Marshal Ye? 00:10:13    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So in the 50s, he was jettisoned out of the political arena. His main work was in the PLA. He was a marshal and he became minister of defense in China. And he was responsible for procurement. And to sort of give you a sense, when the Korean War started, the United Nations put a blockade on trade with China because they were arming the North Korean army. Marshal Yeh was responsible for making sure that supplies got to North Korea. And that was a big role that he fulfilled. And his sons kind of brought that along. So it's curious because Marshal Yeh was one of the most powerful stars in the communist lineup, but he was also a minority. He was from Guangdong and he was a Haka Chinese. So some people would say that Haka Chinese within China, there's a lid sometimes on their ability to move up. And so perhaps he was never considered for the echelon, but he did arise very high. But in some ways, and his sons adopted this even more so, they had to become very combative. in their political dealings. But no doubt about it, Marshal Yeh had a chance to handle huge volumes of military supplies, and there was an opportunity to skim and generate great wealth, which probably was the case. The way that Marshal Yeh fulfilled the supply chains for the North Korean army was through organized crime. And it just happened that two of The individuals, Henry Falk and Stanley Ho, were also Hakka Chinese. And they became the kingpins of organized crime in Hong Kong and Macau. Both of them are on record as saying they made their fortunes supplying the Korean War. 00:12:15    SAM COOPER Right. So people that read my book are very familiar with Stanley Ho, according to U .S. government intelligence. the absolute king of Chinese international mafia with connectivity to casinos, banking, political influence operations in Canada, triad leadership in Canada. So I think we've set the table for the 90s in Guangdong, Fujian. Xi Jinping is now starting to come on the scene politically there. The Ye family, who were partners essentially of Xi's father. had a little bit of a godfather eye on Xi's movements within the party. We can say that they're the power behind a throne that they want to see continue to rise. So can you take us into the 90s, the sort of Stanley Ho connectivity to Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and how that combines the Hong Kong tycoons slash triad leaders with the communist powers in Fujian? 00:13:21    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yes. Mao passed away in 78. Deng Xiaoping came to power. And Deng was all about economic reform and catching up to the West. So in southern China, Fujian and Guangdong province, Deng looked to Ye Jenying and his sons. His sons were in their 30s now. And he also looked to Xi Zhongshan. Xi Zhongshan became party secretary for Guangdong province. in the early 80s. And Deng kind of put together this group. The Ye's and the Xi's were family friends. They celebrated Chinese holidays together. The Xi's were northern Chinese, but they kind of encamped in Guangdong province after a certain amount of time. And that's where Xi's father retired. But in Guangdong, the son of Ye, his name was Ye Xuanping. Basically, he was mayor of Guangzhou and the governor of Guangdong. And very quickly, he was referred to as the emperor of the south. So in the 80s, he was running Guangdong province. And he became so powerful that the CCP sought to have him step down. And he actually threatened to withhold tax to Beijing from the province of Guangdong unless they negotiated with him. He wanted a vice chair of the CPPCC, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee. And he wants to be a vice governor of the CPPCC. And he wanted to be allowed to maintain his power base in Guangdong. And this is a rare case where the CCP actually deferred to these wishes. Just to get him out of running the most powerful province in China, they said okay. So he goes over the CPPCC. And he takes with him the kingpins of organized crime in Hong Kong and Macau. Stanley Ho never had a position, but Henry Falk and the other top lieutenants in these organized crime entities all wound up on the CPPCC. And to give you a sense of like, what was some of the magic Stanley Ho had when he won the monopoly on gaming in Macau? He devised this VIP room concept where... He owned the casino, but the VIP rooms were run by basically triads and junkets, powerful friends from mainland China and triads. And the triads conducted all kinds of crime that the Vancouver model got in a very big dose. So it was racketeering and prostitution and all kinds of things, but also collections. So Stanley Ho didn't have to work on collections because his muscle did it for him. But the strongest of these triad operators wound up in the CPPCC, as long as they were effective in what they were doing for the government. And 14K is dominated by Hakka Chinese. Most of the most powerful triads have a very strong Hakka element to it. And I don't mean to suggest that this wonderful race of Chinese called Hakkas is all bad. Lee Kuan Yew, the premier of Singapore, was Hakka Chinese. phenomenal Chinese, but there were also some very nefarious and very effective in their criminal activities that were Haka Chinese. So the Ye's were in the middle of this. And Chinese language social media accounts in Hong Kong will talk about the Ye's dominance over these gaming operators in Macau. 00:17:07    SAM COOPER Let's get into that and explore that more. I just want to ask a side question. As I'm aware of a very important figure, in what we call the Hoag Commission in Canada. I'm just going to leave it at that. This is our inquiry into foreign interference that stemmed from my investigative reporting. And there is a politician at the center of that that my sources close to them said went off to a haka conference in China for weeks or something like that, you know, while being an elected politician in Canada. Knowing what you know, and I'm just coming out of the blue with this question, is there anything good for Canada that they could be doing on that trip? 00:17:45    CHRISTOPHER MEYER There could be a lot of normal cultural activity, but I'll say one thing, that the powers that are doing the kinds of things that I'm concerned with are definitely represented in those groups. There might be a wink and a nod and things look very normal on the surface, but there's no free lunch in China. Everybody has to pay the piper, and the piper is the communist party of China. 00:18:11    SAM COOPER So let me ask you this. Viewers of the Bureau know that I've pressed away in journalism in explaining that the United Front Work Department and international money laundering and organized crime are synonymous. They're one and the same. The CIA says the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is really the core unit of the United Front. So what you're getting at... I think the Ye family, these power brokers that are behind Xi and his power in southern China, you're saying they essentially formed this United Front and organized crime compact as sort of a political tool, a smuggling tool, a military tool? 00:18:55    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yes. And I want to say that the United Front was an early Communist Party creation. And the thing about the Communist Party... They infiltrated the Kuomintang. When the Kuomintang had more power and they were the power base in China, the communists used political warfare to infiltrate them and really become their undoing. And the United Front is basically one way to get all parts of society under the control of the CCP. So within the United Front, the CPPCC is sort of the big leagues. And all the other organizations are the feeder groups. So if you get in a small united front group and you deliver in a big way, you can get promoted all the way to this PCC. And Ong Lapsung is an example of that. So the whole idea of the united front is to harness and control all the resources from academia, the private sector. from all aspects of society and to make them work for the Communist Party. And I feel that any united front operation, and there's so many in Canada and the U .S., they should just be called assets of the Chinese government. That's one way for the Chinese to increase their headcount of diplomatic officers within any given country. 00:20:26    Close Thanks for listening. If you get a chance, please like and subscribe and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. Also, if you're interested in coming on the show or hosting an episode, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. I'll have the email and CA Association website in the show notes. And now, most importantly, to those currently out in the field working with a partner nation's people or leadership to forward U.S. relations, thank you all for what you're doing. your host. Stay tuned for more great episodes of One CA Podcast.   Episode 2 00:00:01    Introduction Welcome to the 1CA Podcast. This is your host, Jack Gaines. 1CA is a product of the Civil Affairs Association and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on ground with the partner nation's people and leadership. Our goal is to inspire anyone interested in working the last three feet of foreign relations. To contact the show, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www.civilaffairsassoc.org. I'll have those in the show notes. Today we welcome Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, as he interviews Christopher Meyer, a former U .S. 00:00:44    Introduction official and China expert during the Bush 1 and 2 administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U .S. Micronesia Council and is the founder of Wide Fountain. a platform for in -depth geopolitical analysis. This is the second of a two -part episode. Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So let's get started. 00:01:08    SAM COOPER I feel that any United Front operation, and there's so many in Canada and the U .S., they should just be called assets of the Chinese government. That's one way for the Chinese to increase their headcount of diplomatic officers within any given country. And they should be labeled that way and they should be treated that way. And they're conducting operations for China. So to get back to the Ye family, I just want to say very briefly, so Deng Xiaoping taps the older brother, Ye, and he's in the government and he has a nine, 10 -year run in Guangdong. The younger brother, his name is Ye Xuanning. He's the dangerous one. He's a real interesting cat. So, yeah. was in college during the Cultural Revolution. And just to give you an idea of the thin ice that you could be skating on in China, he graduated from college and he was thrown in jail. And he was thrown in jail because, you know, Mao wanted to send a signal to the Ye family, I'm in control here. You're not in control. He got out of jail and he had a job in a radio factory or something like that. And he must have been so distraught, he lost his arm in an accident. throwing boxes into a crusher and he lost his arm. So he became a calligrapher with his left hand. And if you know Chinese, like every time you write calligraphy, your hand is going across what you're writing. If you're left -handed, I don't know how he did it. I'm left -handed. And he became an accomplished calligrapher with his left hand. So it just gives you a sense of the spirit of this guy. He's not your normal. person. I think he was a genius. I think he was extremely hardworking. And one of his first positions, he was involved in a small United Front operation in Beijing. Then he became secretary for Kang Xian, who was sort of the head of the oil faction in China. And he was a very powerful individual. And then he found himself in Guangdong. And when his brother was appointed head of the province and the city of Guangzhou, He got into Espionade, and he became the spymaster for the PLA, working in the GDP. And he really had it. He sort of hit his stride there, and that's how he ended his career. The spymaster for the PLA. I think any other rival couldn't even hold a candle to him. He was totally gifted. And his brother and he were able to leverage all of their... contacts with organized crime because he used them in operations around the world. And I think he's the one who weaponized it to the point where, number one, organized crime figures were making money for the military, a lot of it. And number two, they were almost pre -trained in operations. They were bold. They would go anywhere and do anything. And Aung La Pseung is a good example of that. 00:04:11    CHRISTOPHER MEYER I was going to say, because not everyone knows these names like you and I do, but Enlap Sang, nominally a real estate developer from Macau. My Files, he's a huge international organized crime figure known for the so -called Clinton Gate or White House visits. He's the guy that got next to the Clinton White House or got inside, you know, maybe five to ten times. He ends up getting done, as they say, in a United Nations corruption case, which of course connects to a very important guy in Australia that successfully sued my colleague, John Garneau, and yet is at the top of Chinese organized crime funding Australian politics. He was involved in that FBI case. So to bring it back, what I've picked up in my book and in my repeated reporting efforts at the Bureau is these international Chinese businessmen in real estate and casinos, tech these days, they go around the world, they get next to our politicians, and that's their job. They're being tasked by whoever the Ye family spymaster of today is, is sending them abroad to do that. At some point, Xi Jinping comes into this and says it's okay. 00:05:30    SAM COOPER okay. And it's still evolving. I mean, I came on to this. When I read your book and I saw your story of Lai Changxin, I said, holy shit, I have to get into this. You see the level of danger that it brings to a country like Canada and North America. But I think that Ye Xuen Ning created the mechanism for the CCP to use and leverage organized crime to, 00:05:51    SAM COOPER mechanism for the CCP to use and leverage organized crime to, number one, fund military operations. and other things, and to extend influence operations. Like the United Front is all about influence operations. But if you introduce organized crime elements into parts of the United Front, you can weaponize it and you can get a lot more bang for your buck using these nefarious creatures that you're managing, you're controlling them. And I want to mention something. How does the CCP have control over organized crimes? So I want to say, In the late 90s, Macau No. 1 was about to be returned from Portuguese administration to Chinese. And 2, the kind of monopoly of the casinos license was coming up in 2002. And what happened was these triad operators were starting to push back against Stanley Ho. Stanley Ho's right -hand man was shot in the face in Victoria Park during this period. And the Portuguese sent an official to try to calm down the situation. And that individual was shot when he arrived. And the Communist Party kind of went in and took control. When the monopoly came up, Stanley Ho and his family, they got the coverage. But that's because he's completely loyal to the CCP. And so the CCP has so much leverage over these entities. Completely, he devised the strategy to integrate organized crime. And then he passed away in 2016. And then the institutional steps took place after that. They had to transfer from sort of a control of one man to the government running it. And you can see examples around 2016 of a lot of large -scale Chinese operations having disruption during this period. One of the reasons they were able to do this for so long was that Ye Xuanning was completely secretive. I mean, he managed these operations in a very keen and brilliant way, and he was never identified. Xi Jinping's role is interesting. Ye Xuanning told his brothers to help Xi Jinping. And you can kind of see like an increase in their efforts when Xi's father... He was in Beijing, and he had a very high role. He pulled a bureau standing committee, and he was sent down because of Tiananmen. He was on the reformer side, and he publicly admitted it. He was a very admirable individual, and he said he was supporting Hua Guofeng. So he faced early retirement in 1993, and the Ye brothers were so upset about this, and probably Xi too. They sort of doubled down on their efforts on behalf of this political warfare. It's almost as if they were pissed off at the Communist Party, but they took it out on North America. It's like they had to become more radical in what they were doing because in order to get power in China, you had to outflank Li Peng and the hardliners. So there's an interesting element there. 00:09:13    CHRISTOPHER MEYER You talk about this combination of military intelligence and organized crime. and political warfare and global influence operations. Trade is obviously involved. Explain what you mean by radicalization of that tool in operations. 00:09:31    SAM COOPER So there were about 10 operations in the 1990s that I believe were masterminded by the Yeshi Clay and primarily Yeshi Ning. The most outrageous, there was one and probably several. smuggling of military -grade machine guns into the U .S. from China. And one of the groups that was set up, helped finance the military, was the Poly Group. And the Poly Group, they were on the bill of lading for these. They were labeled as something else, but they came into the port of Oakland. And the interesting thing was the CEO of Poly Group, who was a princeling himself, was meeting in the White House and had his photo taken with President Clinton. At the time, these machine guns were on the water. That's bold. Yes. And when I ponder this, it's like I know how much the Chinese love photographs. That photo shown by Xi Jinping to all the cronies in Beijing would get him a lot of brownie points. And these machine guns were being distributed to gangs in the area. Street gangs in California. So this kind of thing, right? Right. And so that one was uncovered. But how many others slipped by? And there have been cases similar magnitude in Tennessee and Florida. 00:10:57    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yeah, and this is where it gets into the leaked Sidewinder report that I touched on in the book. But yeah, that report refers to Pauley Group laundering 2 ,000 AK -47s into California. You're saying you believe that not only is Xi Jinping supported by this Ye family intelligence, who I have no problem believing are behind the United Front organized crime nexus. You're saying you think Xi Jinping is a mind involved in this kind of thing as well. 00:11:30    SAM COOPER Originally, as I was doing my research, I thought Xi was the mastermind. But as I did a deep dive to what his contemporaries said of him, The big knock on Xi was that he wasn't educated. Like age nine to age 25, his dad has been persecuted and locked up without trial. And he's forced to work in the countryside and he's not happy about it. I mean, he wasn't educated. And that's the biggest knock on Xi Jinping. And when you look at the history of Xi in Fujian, first of all, he goes to the Ministry of Defense and then doesn't do... anything of note there as a young man. But then he goes into Hebei province and he's working in Hebei province as a middle level provincial official. And he's not doing much. I mean, his big contribution was suggesting that they film a TV show in that province and kind of burned out. He wasn't favored by the Communist Party officials there. You know, he's brought to Fujian. Communist Party officials bounce around provinces and each time they have an increasing role. Well, he stays in Fujian for 17 years. And it's almost like he's being babysat by the Yehs. And I mean, the Yeh family compound was a two and a half hour drive from where she was in Fujian. And so I don't think he was the mastermind, but he was definitely the beneficiary. And I think that it was a long term project. And the Yeh brothers. put the pieces on the table to help promote Xi Jinping. And here's an interesting thing. In 1997, there was a big Central Party conclave, the 15th Central Party plenary meeting. And Ye wasn't even named as an alternate delegate. So you've got hundreds of delegates coming from all over the country. And he's a princeling. And he's been in provincial government for 12 years. And he's not even named. Somebody forced him onto the list of alternate delegates. There were 150. He was the 151st alternate delegate. He didn't receive one vote. He was pushed on. And I think somebody in the realm said, you know what? We're running all these operations and we're doing it so secretively. Nobody knows that this is for Xi Jinping. So they started gradually to kind of promote Xi as. the mastermind of this. And the years were okay with that. But Xi Jinping was on his way to becoming the leader of China by 2002. 00:14:08    CHRISTOPHER MEYER And I was over in Taiwan, invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a year ago with international journalists. And we had kind of a dinner talk where their political intelligence expert was going to talk about some of this Klan details and things like that. And they said, yeah, within the princelings, Xi Jinping was the least likely, the least talented to reach chairman. 00:14:37    CHRISTOPHER MEYER And so, OK, you know, I'm not the expert. If someone from Taiwan is telling me that, you're saying that. So if true, and you're saying the power behind the throne is this Ye family that boosts him. And they're the ones you're saying that are the masterminds of what I'm going to call modern political Chinese communist warfare using proxies, organized crime, dirty tycoons. So this is where we're going. 00:15:06    SAM COOPER Yep, this is where we're going. And let me just touch on a few of the operations in the 1990s, just to give you a sense for what was going on and the fact that the Chinese were never completely called out on the carpet for it. Just let them continue doing it. And one of the themes of my research is it's time to call the Chinese out. And to do that, you have to be very specific. I think there needs to be a large group of countries that has their research done and they call out Xi Jinping for this political warfare that absolutely is hyper -destructive. 00:15:41    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So you're saying this is an intelligence operation? Yeah. For the last 10 minutes or so, In direct relationship to this network you're talking about, the 90s, 2000, aggressive combination of international organized crime, Hong Kong tycoons, Macau tycoons, in Chinese military influence operations, also people smuggling, also drug smuggling, illegal migration and, you know, fentanyl. There is a basis that Chinese triads and Mexican cartels are working together on those things and that Canada is a, you could call it, if this is a company, the controlling minds of a lot of this are in Vancouver and Toronto. Canadian ports are very deeply infiltrated by China, along with some Iranian mafia and intelligence. It's a fact. So where do we go from there? I myself, as a Canadian, the good countries of the world need to get together to combat this approaching, if not already into early stages of the access of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea. We're at loggerheads and they're using Canada, I believe, unfortunately. 00:17:01    SAM COOPER Right. And I do believe that Yeshua Ning is a genius and he looked at North America and he wants to inflict pain on the U .S. When he set up these plans in the early 90s, the Chinese GDP was a fraction of the U .S. So he had a lot of ground to make up. And he chose Vancouver because the resources to combat his efforts were probably deemed to be significantly less than the resources in the U .S. So I feel that the attack on Canada, the Vancouver model. if you will, which spread right across to Toronto and then down into Queens and across to LA and permeates everything. I believe that the US and Canada should try to get on the same page about this and to the extent possible, Mexico as well. And then the UK and Australia haven't been unaffected by this. There should be a big effort to get on the same page with the West because this is a totalitarian regime doing its level best to take us out. 00:18:07    CHRISTOPHER MEYER The controlling mind, I'm saying, of the Mexican cartels, I think it's Chinese triads. That's the real power there. 00:18:15    SAM COOPER I think we're both in agreement. If you want to draw a word picture that says what this is, picture that there's a really bad actor and he's throwing a really illegal party and selling drugs and he's bringing it all in. And the U .S. is going after the people who own the land where all of this took place. You have to go after China. And I believe that China is making 98 % of the precursors for fentanyl, and then they're laundering the money. That's the other piece. They're laundering it. They're operating this massive money laundering operation for the cartels. So I say the gloves do come off, but I would love to see them come off in unison. And all of these, at least in North America, Mexico, Canada, and the U .S., we're all on the same page. And we speak with one voice. And I'll add to this. Xi Jinping has been as painful towards his own population as he has been externally and internationally. So he's inflicted pain on the Chinese and he's about to go down. I mean, he's got his wings clipped in the last few months and he may not be in power very long. There's some serious movement in China. 00:19:30    CHRISTOPHER MEYER You sound like my friend Harry Tsang, the ambassador for Taiwan and Ottawa. He's bearish on Xi Jinping in a big way. 00:19:38    SAM COOPER Yeah. Well, I think it's a good time for the West to approach China and say, look, we got off on the wrong foot. Let's reboot. And by the way, there's some reparations needed here. 70 ,000 people have been dying a year from this, and it's a Chinese operation. You know, the cartels are definitely part of it, but... I think there's good reason for the West to get on the same page. 00:20:02    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Absolutely. So we will end it there for a first great chat. And I think next time we'll get into the juicy story of Lai Cheng Zing, the bigot China's supposed most wanted. Or what was he? So I'll leave it at that and we'll pick it up next time. You have to say, 00:20:21    SAM COOPER have to say, I'm sitting there doing my research. I get your book. And all of a sudden, within 50 pages, the lights are going off because you wrote about Lai Changxin and it just completed some thoughts that I was mulling over. And yeah, we're going to have an interesting conversation about Lai Changxin. 00:20:40    CHRISTOPHER MEYER That touches my heart because I've always been a brother of the United States and I've felt so disheartened that bad people have gotten in between us and we have to stop that. And as you say, we need to get together on this. I've reached some good thinkers in the US and there's now things brewing. So let's keep it going. You got it. 00:21:01    Close Thanks for listening. If you get a chance, please like and subscribe and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. Also, if you're interested in coming on the show or hosting an episode, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. I'll have the email and CA Association website in the show notes. And now, most importantly, to those currently out in the field, working with a partner nation's people or leadership to forward U .S. relations. Thank you all for what you're doing. This is Jack, your host. Stay tuned for more great episodes, One CA Podcast.

Today, Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, guest hosts Christopher Meyer, a former U.S. official and China expert during the Bush One and Two Administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U.S. Micronesia Council and founded Wide Fountain, a platform for in-depth geopolitical analysis.  In this the first of a two-part episode, Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So, let's get started.  Sam Cooper's The Bureau: https://www.thebureau.news/ Christopher Meyer's Wide Fountain platform: https://widefountain.substack.com/ --- One CA is a product of the civil affairs association a and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on the ground with a partner nation's people and leadership. We aim to inspire anyone interested in working in the "last three feet" of U.S. foreign relations.  To contact the show, email us at CApodcasting@gmail.com  or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www civilaffairsassoc.org --- Special thanks to Cozy Ambience for a sample of "February Cafe Jazz - Instrumental Bossa Nova Music for Work, Study and Relax - Background Music" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmq8Ht-sNwQ --- Transcript 00:00:01    Introduction Welcome to the One CA Podcast. This is your host, Jack Gaines. One CA is a product of the Civil Affairs Association and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on ground with the partner nation's people and leadership. Our goal is to inspire anyone interested in working the last three feet of foreign relations. To contact the show, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www.civilaffairsassoc.org. I'll have those in the show notes. Today we welcome Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, as he interviews Christopher Meyer, a former U.S. 00:00:44    SAM COOPER official and China expert during the Bush I and II administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U.S. Micronesia Council and is the founder of Wide Fountain. a platform for in -depth geopolitical analysis. This is the first of a two -part episode. Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So let's get started. 00:01:07    SAM COOPER Today I'm excited to introduce Chris Myers. Chris is a longtime China expert and former U .S. government diplomatic and economic issues officer, and he explains how military intelligence and influence networks embedded deeply with organized crime are a central feature of the global strategy employed by the families that really are running communist China. And when I say that, we're going to discuss your research on the family of Xi Jinping, the Xi family, and you call it the Yezi clique. But first, tell our viewers your background in getting into China and your career. 00:01:46    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Thank you very much, Sam. I started a keen interest in China when I was 16. And I read the history of the opium wars and I was outraged. And I decided I wanted a career to be involved in business and diplomacy between the U .S. and China. And then as an undergrad student, I did research on the special economic zones. This was in the early 80s and the special economic zones were just announced. And my research led me to see the geopolitical aspects. There were some. across from Macau, across from Hong Kong, and across from Taiwan. So I sort of had an eye to that. And then I did business. I was, for five years, I was with a Fortune 500 company. And I had the opportunity to do some business in Xiaomon. And I saw some things that set off alarm bells in my mind. And I kind of filed that. And I had some experiences that informed my research later. I worked in the government in Bush 1 and Bush 2. I was involved in Indo -Pacific affairs. really helping American companies do business in the region, and then became a consultant to part of the government that administered our territories in the Pacific. So I saw some things there that, again, set off alarm bells in my mind. And in 2016, I happened to cross an old colleague who kind of gave me some more information. And basically from 2016 until 2022, I conducted a lot of independent research. I decided I wanted to know exactly what was going on because proxies in the region seemed emboldened to take on the U .S. And they didn't have a government portfolio, but they acted like they did. And so my research sort of started in Micronesia. I had the great opportunity to come across your book. You totally informed. parts of what I was looking at and kind of put the spotlight on what happened in Canada. And I kind of worked the two sides to the middle and conducted most recently research that kind of takes us from Mao Zedong's death until the 90s. And I believe that there was a click. I call it the yes, she click. There were scores to settle. There were powerful families that were on the cusp of greatness or recognition for all their good work, and they were purged. And it led some individuals to become extremely militant in their conduct of political warfare against the U .S. So that sort of sets the table for what we might be talking about. 00:04:28    SAM COOPER Yeah. So to get into this, let's start with the Ye family. They're mysterious, but for experts, they're very clearly a clan that has tremendous kingmaking power in China. So maybe let's start with who they are and then bridge into how they connect with Xi's father. 00:04:46    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So the patriarch, Lie Jianying, was literally the kingmaker of Mao Zedong. He came from Guangdong province, and he was involved in the very earliest movements of the Communist Party in China. And he fled one of those, I think it was the Guangzhou uprising, with Zhou Enlai, and they escaped to Hong Kong. So Ye Jianying is one of the original revolutionaries in China, and he had the title of Marshal Ye. And when he crossed paths with Mao Zedong, he was actually the aide -de -camp to a very powerful Communist Party operator out of Beijing who had an army of tens of thousands. And he rolled up to Mao and his very small group of long marchers and said, follow us, we're going to Sichuan province. And Mao was like, no, I don't think that's a safe bet. The locals are going to tear you up. And Ye Jianying kind of heard a truth in Mao and he deserted this powerful general and with him brought the code books. So Mao gets Ye Jianying and the code books and he's able to communicate with the Comintern. And lo and behold, that general did get wiped out in Sichuan. He returned to Mao's base. With a few thousand troops from then, Mao became the most powerful leader in the communist ecosystem. So Ye Jianying had a very high regard for Mao. Mao called him the savior of the Communist Party and the Communist Revolution. And so fast forward it right through the revolution. Ye gets a very top position as the party secretary for Guangdong province, the largest and economically most powerful province in the country. And Mao wants to conduct his land reform in Guangdong, just as he does everywhere. And it's a violent thing where landowners are hunted down and put to death. Yeah, because he was a native Cantonese, understood that the landowners in Guangdong were not of the same ilk as those throughout China. They actually worked the lands. They had a very cooperative relationship with labor. And he tried to resist. But Mao forced Lin Biao into Guangdong. And Ye lost his government role. And if he hadn't been in the military, he would have been completely out of power. But because he had a military portfolio, he was able to stay on the peripheries. And he was actually part of the small group that brought down the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution. So Ye Jianying went through the Mao Zedong grinder, but he did it so early in the 50s that he was able to... maintain power and have it going forward. Another Long March hero was Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhong Chun. And his claim to fame in the Communist Party was he maintained security over the area where Mao was camped in Yan 'an. And he was able to provide Mao and his group with enough security that they could camp there through a winter and survive. Not only that, but he negotiated and he conducted diplomacy with the tribesmen in the Northwest, in Qinghai, in Xinjiang, and in Tibet. And he was loved. And he got a lot of rebels and insurgents among these minority populations to join the Communist Party. And Mao gave him great profs for that and referred to him as one of the heroes of the Three Kingdoms period. brilliant statesman who was able to ingratiate with the minorities and make them part of the Chinese nation. Unfortunately, though, Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongchun, he was purged, but he was purged later. He was purged in 1962. And from Xi Jinping's age nine until he was 25, Xi Jinping's father was under arrest. Without trial, it was just the culture revolution. He was under arrest because his office published a book that was deemed not flattering to Mao Zedong. Basically, he was promoting some thought within the Communist Party that Mao didn't like. So Xi's father is in jail from 62 to 78. And because Ye Senior and Xi Zhongchun had a relationship, Ye Jianying kind of became a godfather of sorts for Xi Jinping. Xi was sent to work in the countryside and he escaped and he tried to get back to Beijing and it wasn't safe for him to be reunited with his family. And Ye intervened. And Ye made sure that Xi joined the Communist Party, even though these tragedies were all around him, and made sure that he got the semblance of an education, although he really never did. He was a guide for Xi Jinping throughout his younger years. in place of his father. 00:10:02    Sam Cooper Before we continue how those families dovetail together, can you describe in China's political economy, what is the power of Marshal Ye? 00:10:13    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So in the 50s, he was jettisoned out of the political arena. His main work was in the PLA. He was a marshal and he became minister of defense in China. And he was responsible for procurement. And to sort of give you a sense, when the Korean War started, the United Nations put a blockade on trade with China because they were arming the North Korean army. Marshal Yeh was responsible for making sure that supplies got to North Korea. And that was a big role that he fulfilled. And his sons kind of brought that along. So it's curious because Marshal Yeh was one of the most powerful stars in the communist lineup, but he was also a minority. He was from Guangdong and he was a Haka Chinese. So some people would say that Haka Chinese within China, there's a lid sometimes on their ability to move up. And so perhaps he was never considered for the echelon, but he did arise very high. But in some ways, and his sons adopted this even more so, they had to become very combative. in their political dealings. But no doubt about it, Marshal Yeh had a chance to handle huge volumes of military supplies, and there was an opportunity to skim and generate great wealth, which probably was the case. The way that Marshal Yeh fulfilled the supply chains for the North Korean army was through organized crime. And it just happened that two of The individuals, Henry Falk and Stanley Ho, were also Hakka Chinese. And they became the kingpins of organized crime in Hong Kong and Macau. Both of them are on record as saying they made their fortunes supplying the Korean War. 00:12:15    SAM COOPER Right. So people that read my book are very familiar with Stanley Ho, according to U .S. government intelligence. the absolute king of Chinese international mafia with connectivity to casinos, banking, political influence operations in Canada, triad leadership in Canada. So I think we've set the table for the 90s in Guangdong, Fujian. Xi Jinping is now starting to come on the scene politically there. The Ye family, who were partners essentially of Xi's father. had a little bit of a godfather eye on Xi's movements within the party. We can say that they're the power behind a throne that they want to see continue to rise. So can you take us into the 90s, the sort of Stanley Ho connectivity to Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and how that combines the Hong Kong tycoons slash triad leaders with the communist powers in Fujian? 00:13:21    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yes. Mao passed away in 78. Deng Xiaoping came to power. And Deng was all about economic reform and catching up to the West. So in southern China, Fujian and Guangdong province, Deng looked to Ye Jenying and his sons. His sons were in their 30s now. And he also looked to Xi Zhongshan. Xi Zhongshan became party secretary for Guangdong province. in the early 80s. And Deng kind of put together this group. The Ye's and the Xi's were family friends. They celebrated Chinese holidays together. The Xi's were northern Chinese, but they kind of encamped in Guangdong province after a certain amount of time. And that's where Xi's father retired. But in Guangdong, the son of Ye, his name was Ye Xuanping. Basically, he was mayor of Guangzhou and the governor of Guangdong. And very quickly, he was referred to as the emperor of the south. So in the 80s, he was running Guangdong province. And he became so powerful that the CCP sought to have him step down. And he actually threatened to withhold tax to Beijing from the province of Guangdong unless they negotiated with him. He wanted a vice chair of the CPPCC, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee. And he wants to be a vice governor of the CPPCC. And he wanted to be allowed to maintain his power base in Guangdong. And this is a rare case where the CCP actually deferred to these wishes. Just to get him out of running the most powerful province in China, they said okay. So he goes over the CPPCC. And he takes with him the kingpins of organized crime in Hong Kong and Macau. Stanley Ho never had a position, but Henry Falk and the other top lieutenants in these organized crime entities all wound up on the CPPCC. And to give you a sense of like, what was some of the magic Stanley Ho had when he won the monopoly on gaming in Macau? He devised this VIP room concept where... He owned the casino, but the VIP rooms were run by basically triads and junkets, powerful friends from mainland China and triads. And the triads conducted all kinds of crime that the Vancouver model got in a very big dose. So it was racketeering and prostitution and all kinds of things, but also collections. So Stanley Ho didn't have to work on collections because his muscle did it for him. But the strongest of these triad operators wound up in the CPPCC, as long as they were effective in what they were doing for the government. And 14K is dominated by Hakka Chinese. Most of the most powerful triads have a very strong Hakka element to it. And I don't mean to suggest that this wonderful race of Chinese called Hakkas is all bad. Lee Kuan Yew, the premier of Singapore, was Hakka Chinese. phenomenal Chinese, but there were also some very nefarious and very effective in their criminal activities that were Haka Chinese. So the Ye's were in the middle of this. And Chinese language social media accounts in Hong Kong will talk about the Ye's dominance over these gaming operators in Macau. 00:17:07    SAM COOPER Let's get into that and explore that more. I just want to ask a side question. As I'm aware of a very important figure, in what we call the Hoag Commission in Canada. I'm just going to leave it at that. This is our inquiry into foreign interference that stemmed from my investigative reporting. And there is a politician at the center of that that my sources close to them said went off to a haka conference in China for weeks or something like that, you know, while being an elected politician in Canada. Knowing what you know, and I'm just coming out of the blue with this question, is there anything good for Canada that they could be doing on that trip? 00:17:45    CHRISTOPHER MEYER There could be a lot of normal cultural activity, but I'll say one thing, that the powers that are doing the kinds of things that I'm concerned with are definitely represented in those groups. There might be a wink and a nod and things look very normal on the surface, but there's no free lunch in China. Everybody has to pay the piper, and the piper is the communist party of China. 00:18:11    SAM COOPER So let me ask you this. Viewers of the Bureau know that I've pressed away in journalism in explaining that the United Front Work Department and international money laundering and organized crime are synonymous. They're one and the same. The CIA says the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is really the core unit of the United Front. So what you're getting at... I think the Ye family, these power brokers that are behind Xi and his power in southern China, you're saying they essentially formed this United Front and organized crime compact as sort of a political tool, a smuggling tool, a military tool? 00:18:55    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yes. And I want to say that the United Front was an early Communist Party creation. And the thing about the Communist Party... They infiltrated the Kuomintang. When the Kuomintang had more power and they were the power base in China, the communists used political warfare to infiltrate them and really become their undoing. And the United Front is basically one way to get all parts of society under the control of the CCP. So within the United Front, the CPPCC is sort of the big leagues. And all the other organizations are the feeder groups. So if you get in a small united front group and you deliver in a big way, you can get promoted all the way to this PCC. And Ong Lapsung is an example of that. So the whole idea of the united front is to harness and control all the resources from academia, the private sector. from all aspects of society and to make them work for the Communist Party. And I feel that any united front operation, and there's so many in Canada and the U .S., they should just be called assets of the Chinese government. That's one way for the Chinese to increase their headcount of diplomatic officers within any given country. 00:20:26    Close Thanks for listening. If you get a chance, please like and subscribe and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. Also, if you're interested in coming on the show or hosting an episode, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. I'll have the email and CA Association website in the show notes. And now, most importantly, to those currently out in the field working with a partner nation's people or leadership to forward U.S. relations, thank you all for what you're doing. your host. Stay tuned for more great episodes of One CA Podcast.   Episode 2 00:00:01    Introduction Welcome to the 1CA Podcast. This is your host, Jack Gaines. 1CA is a product of the Civil Affairs Association and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on ground with the partner nation's people and leadership. Our goal is to inspire anyone interested in working the last three feet of foreign relations. To contact the show, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www.civilaffairsassoc.org. I'll have those in the show notes. Today we welcome Sam Cooper, founder of the news outlet The Bureau, as he interviews Christopher Meyer, a former U .S. 00:00:44    Introduction official and China expert during the Bush 1 and 2 administrations. Meyer currently serves as the head of the U .S. Micronesia Council and is the founder of Wide Fountain. a platform for in -depth geopolitical analysis. This is the second of a two -part episode. Sam and Christopher discuss PRC strategic corruption and political warfare. So let's get started. 00:01:08    SAM COOPER I feel that any United Front operation, and there's so many in Canada and the U .S., they should just be called assets of the Chinese government. That's one way for the Chinese to increase their headcount of diplomatic officers within any given country. And they should be labeled that way and they should be treated that way. And they're conducting operations for China. So to get back to the Ye family, I just want to say very briefly, so Deng Xiaoping taps the older brother, Ye, and he's in the government and he has a nine, 10 -year run in Guangdong. The younger brother, his name is Ye Xuanning. He's the dangerous one. He's a real interesting cat. So, yeah. was in college during the Cultural Revolution. And just to give you an idea of the thin ice that you could be skating on in China, he graduated from college and he was thrown in jail. And he was thrown in jail because, you know, Mao wanted to send a signal to the Ye family, I'm in control here. You're not in control. He got out of jail and he had a job in a radio factory or something like that. And he must have been so distraught, he lost his arm in an accident. throwing boxes into a crusher and he lost his arm. So he became a calligrapher with his left hand. And if you know Chinese, like every time you write calligraphy, your hand is going across what you're writing. If you're left -handed, I don't know how he did it. I'm left -handed. And he became an accomplished calligrapher with his left hand. So it just gives you a sense of the spirit of this guy. He's not your normal. person. I think he was a genius. I think he was extremely hardworking. And one of his first positions, he was involved in a small United Front operation in Beijing. Then he became secretary for Kang Xian, who was sort of the head of the oil faction in China. And he was a very powerful individual. And then he found himself in Guangdong. And when his brother was appointed head of the province and the city of Guangzhou, He got into Espionade, and he became the spymaster for the PLA, working in the GDP. And he really had it. He sort of hit his stride there, and that's how he ended his career. The spymaster for the PLA. I think any other rival couldn't even hold a candle to him. He was totally gifted. And his brother and he were able to leverage all of their... contacts with organized crime because he used them in operations around the world. And I think he's the one who weaponized it to the point where, number one, organized crime figures were making money for the military, a lot of it. And number two, they were almost pre -trained in operations. They were bold. They would go anywhere and do anything. And Aung La Pseung is a good example of that. 00:04:11    CHRISTOPHER MEYER I was going to say, because not everyone knows these names like you and I do, but Enlap Sang, nominally a real estate developer from Macau. My Files, he's a huge international organized crime figure known for the so -called Clinton Gate or White House visits. He's the guy that got next to the Clinton White House or got inside, you know, maybe five to ten times. He ends up getting done, as they say, in a United Nations corruption case, which of course connects to a very important guy in Australia that successfully sued my colleague, John Garneau, and yet is at the top of Chinese organized crime funding Australian politics. He was involved in that FBI case. So to bring it back, what I've picked up in my book and in my repeated reporting efforts at the Bureau is these international Chinese businessmen in real estate and casinos, tech these days, they go around the world, they get next to our politicians, and that's their job. They're being tasked by whoever the Ye family spymaster of today is, is sending them abroad to do that. At some point, Xi Jinping comes into this and says it's okay. 00:05:30    SAM COOPER okay. And it's still evolving. I mean, I came on to this. When I read your book and I saw your story of Lai Changxin, I said, holy shit, I have to get into this. You see the level of danger that it brings to a country like Canada and North America. But I think that Ye Xuen Ning created the mechanism for the CCP to use and leverage organized crime to, 00:05:51    SAM COOPER mechanism for the CCP to use and leverage organized crime to, number one, fund military operations. and other things, and to extend influence operations. Like the United Front is all about influence operations. But if you introduce organized crime elements into parts of the United Front, you can weaponize it and you can get a lot more bang for your buck using these nefarious creatures that you're managing, you're controlling them. And I want to mention something. How does the CCP have control over organized crimes? So I want to say, In the late 90s, Macau No. 1 was about to be returned from Portuguese administration to Chinese. And 2, the kind of monopoly of the casinos license was coming up in 2002. And what happened was these triad operators were starting to push back against Stanley Ho. Stanley Ho's right -hand man was shot in the face in Victoria Park during this period. And the Portuguese sent an official to try to calm down the situation. And that individual was shot when he arrived. And the Communist Party kind of went in and took control. When the monopoly came up, Stanley Ho and his family, they got the coverage. But that's because he's completely loyal to the CCP. And so the CCP has so much leverage over these entities. Completely, he devised the strategy to integrate organized crime. And then he passed away in 2016. And then the institutional steps took place after that. They had to transfer from sort of a control of one man to the government running it. And you can see examples around 2016 of a lot of large -scale Chinese operations having disruption during this period. One of the reasons they were able to do this for so long was that Ye Xuanning was completely secretive. I mean, he managed these operations in a very keen and brilliant way, and he was never identified. Xi Jinping's role is interesting. Ye Xuanning told his brothers to help Xi Jinping. And you can kind of see like an increase in their efforts when Xi's father... He was in Beijing, and he had a very high role. He pulled a bureau standing committee, and he was sent down because of Tiananmen. He was on the reformer side, and he publicly admitted it. He was a very admirable individual, and he said he was supporting Hua Guofeng. So he faced early retirement in 1993, and the Ye brothers were so upset about this, and probably Xi too. They sort of doubled down on their efforts on behalf of this political warfare. It's almost as if they were pissed off at the Communist Party, but they took it out on North America. It's like they had to become more radical in what they were doing because in order to get power in China, you had to outflank Li Peng and the hardliners. So there's an interesting element there. 00:09:13    CHRISTOPHER MEYER You talk about this combination of military intelligence and organized crime. and political warfare and global influence operations. Trade is obviously involved. Explain what you mean by radicalization of that tool in operations. 00:09:31    SAM COOPER So there were about 10 operations in the 1990s that I believe were masterminded by the Yeshi Clay and primarily Yeshi Ning. The most outrageous, there was one and probably several. smuggling of military -grade machine guns into the U .S. from China. And one of the groups that was set up, helped finance the military, was the Poly Group. And the Poly Group, they were on the bill of lading for these. They were labeled as something else, but they came into the port of Oakland. And the interesting thing was the CEO of Poly Group, who was a princeling himself, was meeting in the White House and had his photo taken with President Clinton. At the time, these machine guns were on the water. That's bold. Yes. And when I ponder this, it's like I know how much the Chinese love photographs. That photo shown by Xi Jinping to all the cronies in Beijing would get him a lot of brownie points. And these machine guns were being distributed to gangs in the area. Street gangs in California. So this kind of thing, right? Right. And so that one was uncovered. But how many others slipped by? And there have been cases similar magnitude in Tennessee and Florida. 00:10:57    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Yeah, and this is where it gets into the leaked Sidewinder report that I touched on in the book. But yeah, that report refers to Pauley Group laundering 2 ,000 AK -47s into California. You're saying you believe that not only is Xi Jinping supported by this Ye family intelligence, who I have no problem believing are behind the United Front organized crime nexus. You're saying you think Xi Jinping is a mind involved in this kind of thing as well. 00:11:30    SAM COOPER Originally, as I was doing my research, I thought Xi was the mastermind. But as I did a deep dive to what his contemporaries said of him, The big knock on Xi was that he wasn't educated. Like age nine to age 25, his dad has been persecuted and locked up without trial. And he's forced to work in the countryside and he's not happy about it. I mean, he wasn't educated. And that's the biggest knock on Xi Jinping. And when you look at the history of Xi in Fujian, first of all, he goes to the Ministry of Defense and then doesn't do... anything of note there as a young man. But then he goes into Hebei province and he's working in Hebei province as a middle level provincial official. And he's not doing much. I mean, his big contribution was suggesting that they film a TV show in that province and kind of burned out. He wasn't favored by the Communist Party officials there. You know, he's brought to Fujian. Communist Party officials bounce around provinces and each time they have an increasing role. Well, he stays in Fujian for 17 years. And it's almost like he's being babysat by the Yehs. And I mean, the Yeh family compound was a two and a half hour drive from where she was in Fujian. And so I don't think he was the mastermind, but he was definitely the beneficiary. And I think that it was a long term project. And the Yeh brothers. put the pieces on the table to help promote Xi Jinping. And here's an interesting thing. In 1997, there was a big Central Party conclave, the 15th Central Party plenary meeting. And Ye wasn't even named as an alternate delegate. So you've got hundreds of delegates coming from all over the country. And he's a princeling. And he's been in provincial government for 12 years. And he's not even named. Somebody forced him onto the list of alternate delegates. There were 150. He was the 151st alternate delegate. He didn't receive one vote. He was pushed on. And I think somebody in the realm said, you know what? We're running all these operations and we're doing it so secretively. Nobody knows that this is for Xi Jinping. So they started gradually to kind of promote Xi as. the mastermind of this. And the years were okay with that. But Xi Jinping was on his way to becoming the leader of China by 2002. 00:14:08    CHRISTOPHER MEYER And I was over in Taiwan, invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a year ago with international journalists. And we had kind of a dinner talk where their political intelligence expert was going to talk about some of this Klan details and things like that. And they said, yeah, within the princelings, Xi Jinping was the least likely, the least talented to reach chairman. 00:14:37    CHRISTOPHER MEYER And so, OK, you know, I'm not the expert. If someone from Taiwan is telling me that, you're saying that. So if true, and you're saying the power behind the throne is this Ye family that boosts him. And they're the ones you're saying that are the masterminds of what I'm going to call modern political Chinese communist warfare using proxies, organized crime, dirty tycoons. So this is where we're going. 00:15:06    SAM COOPER Yep, this is where we're going. And let me just touch on a few of the operations in the 1990s, just to give you a sense for what was going on and the fact that the Chinese were never completely called out on the carpet for it. Just let them continue doing it. And one of the themes of my research is it's time to call the Chinese out. And to do that, you have to be very specific. I think there needs to be a large group of countries that has their research done and they call out Xi Jinping for this political warfare that absolutely is hyper -destructive. 00:15:41    CHRISTOPHER MEYER So you're saying this is an intelligence operation? Yeah. For the last 10 minutes or so, In direct relationship to this network you're talking about, the 90s, 2000, aggressive combination of international organized crime, Hong Kong tycoons, Macau tycoons, in Chinese military influence operations, also people smuggling, also drug smuggling, illegal migration and, you know, fentanyl. There is a basis that Chinese triads and Mexican cartels are working together on those things and that Canada is a, you could call it, if this is a company, the controlling minds of a lot of this are in Vancouver and Toronto. Canadian ports are very deeply infiltrated by China, along with some Iranian mafia and intelligence. It's a fact. So where do we go from there? I myself, as a Canadian, the good countries of the world need to get together to combat this approaching, if not already into early stages of the access of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea. We're at loggerheads and they're using Canada, I believe, unfortunately. 00:17:01    SAM COOPER Right. And I do believe that Yeshua Ning is a genius and he looked at North America and he wants to inflict pain on the U .S. When he set up these plans in the early 90s, the Chinese GDP was a fraction of the U .S. So he had a lot of ground to make up. And he chose Vancouver because the resources to combat his efforts were probably deemed to be significantly less than the resources in the U .S. So I feel that the attack on Canada, the Vancouver model. if you will, which spread right across to Toronto and then down into Queens and across to LA and permeates everything. I believe that the US and Canada should try to get on the same page about this and to the extent possible, Mexico as well. And then the UK and Australia haven't been unaffected by this. There should be a big effort to get on the same page with the West because this is a totalitarian regime doing its level best to take us out. 00:18:07    CHRISTOPHER MEYER The controlling mind, I'm saying, of the Mexican cartels, I think it's Chinese triads. That's the real power there. 00:18:15    SAM COOPER I think we're both in agreement. If you want to draw a word picture that says what this is, picture that there's a really bad actor and he's throwing a really illegal party and selling drugs and he's bringing it all in. And the U .S. is going after the people who own the land where all of this took place. You have to go after China. And I believe that China is making 98 % of the precursors for fentanyl, and then they're laundering the money. That's the other piece. They're laundering it. They're operating this massive money laundering operation for the cartels. So I say the gloves do come off, but I would love to see them come off in unison. And all of these, at least in North America, Mexico, Canada, and the U .S., we're all on the same page. And we speak with one voice. And I'll add to this. Xi Jinping has been as painful towards his own population as he has been externally and internationally. So he's inflicted pain on the Chinese and he's about to go down. I mean, he's got his wings clipped in the last few months and he may not be in power very long. There's some serious movement in China. 00:19:30    CHRISTOPHER MEYER You sound like my friend Harry Tsang, the ambassador for Taiwan and Ottawa. He's bearish on Xi Jinping in a big way. 00:19:38    SAM COOPER Yeah. Well, I think it's a good time for the West to approach China and say, look, we got off on the wrong foot. Let's reboot. And by the way, there's some reparations needed here. 70 ,000 people have been dying a year from this, and it's a Chinese operation. You know, the cartels are definitely part of it, but... I think there's good reason for the West to get on the same page. 00:20:02    CHRISTOPHER MEYER Absolutely. So we will end it there for a first great chat. And I think next time we'll get into the juicy story of Lai Cheng Zing, the bigot China's supposed most wanted. Or what was he? So I'll leave it at that and we'll pick it up next time. You have to say, 00:20:21    SAM COOPER have to say, I'm sitting there doing my research. I get your book. And all of a sudden, within 50 pages, the lights are going off because you wrote about Lai Changxin and it just completed some thoughts that I was mulling over. And yeah, we're going to have an interesting conversation about Lai Changxin. 00:20:40    CHRISTOPHER MEYER That touches my heart because I've always been a brother of the United States and I've felt so disheartened that bad people have gotten in between us and we have to stop that. And as you say, we need to get together on this. I've reached some good thinkers in the US and there's now things brewing. So let's keep it going. You got it. 00:21:01    Close Thanks for listening. If you get a chance, please like and subscribe and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. Also, if you're interested in coming on the show or hosting an episode, email us at capodcasting@gmail.com. I'll have the email and CA Association website in the show notes. And now, most importantly, to those currently out in the field, working with a partner nation's people or leadership to forward U .S. relations. Thank you all for what you're doing. This is Jack, your host. Stay tuned for more great episodes, One CA Podcast.

It's Friday, January 31st, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Chinese pastor sentenced to 2 years for distributing Christian materials The drawn-out saga between the Chinese People's Court of Shunde District in Guandong and the Shengjia House Church seems to be ending, reports International Christian Concern. On January 17, the People's Court sentenced Preacher Deng Yanxiang to two years in prison. He is scheduled to be released in May because he has already served more than 18 months.  He joins four other members of his house church who have been imprisoned for alleged illegal business operations, a charge frequently used against unregistered Chinese house churches by the Communists. The charges were tied to the church's publications, including “Daily Bible Readings and Interpretations,” which were sold and distributed to local believers.  In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. faced contentious committee over HHS nomination President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees continue to be scrutinized by the U.S. Senate.  On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a former Democrat, was vilified by the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee about his interest in becoming President Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services. Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was highly annoyed with his Democratic colleagues. JOHNSON: “Thank you for your decades-long advocacy for a clean environment, for children's health. I can't say as I'm surprised by the hostility on the other side. I'm highly disappointed in it. I don't know if you remember when you called me up and you were contemplating setting your political differences aside, joining forces with President Trump on an area of agreement, [and] addressing chronic illness. “My first response was, ‘Bobby, this is an answer my prayers.' We need to heal and unify this divided nation. I thought, ‘Wow! Here's somebody from the Left, somebody I don't agree with on many issues politically, coming together with President Trump and focusing on an area of agreement, something that the American people desperately want.' What has caused autism? What is causing chronic illness? “I think I know the personal and political price you've paid for this decision. I want to say publicly, I thank you for that. I truly appreciate what you're doing here.” (applause) Kennedy agreed, saying that he wanted to solve chronic disease problems for all Americans. KENNEDY: “When I launched my campaign, it was about uniting Americans -- Democrats and Republicans. There's no issue that should unite us more than this chronic health epidemic. There's no such thing as Republican children or Democratic children. These are our kids. Sixty-six percent of them are damaged. "I didn't know anybody with a food allergy growing up. Why do five of my kids have allergies? Why are we seeing these explosions in diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological diseases, depression? All these things that are related to toxics in the environment. Why can't we just agree with each other to put differences about so many issues, intractable issues, aside as and say we're going to end this?” Kennedy explained why he is uniquely qualified to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. KENNEDY: “I don't think anybody is going to be able to do this like I have, because of my peculiar experience, because I've litigated against these agencies. When you litigate against them, you get a PhD in corporate capture and how to unravel it. I've written six books about these agencies. I know a lot about them, and I know how to fix it. “There's nobody who will fix it the way that I do because I'm not scared of vested interest. I don't care. I'm not here because I want a position or a job. I have a very good life and a happy family. This is something I don't need.” And Kennedy explained why he has endured such hostility from the Democrats who once were his greatest friends. KENNEDY: “All these Democrats are opposed to me for partisan issues. They used to be my friends, agreed with me on all the environmental issues I've been working on for my whole career. Now they're against me because anything that President Trump does, any decision he makes, has to be lampooned, derided, discredited, marginalized, vilified.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr committed to Trump's pro-life policies On abortion, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whom President Trump nominated to lead Health and Human Services, said he agreed with Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy,” adding that “we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year,” reports The Christian Post. Kennedy also said the president told him that he wants to work to oppose late-term abortions, support conscience protections for those opposed to abortion, and end federal funding of abortions. Kennedy noted, “I'm going to support President Trump's policies on Title X. I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies.” Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania thought Wednesday's Senate Finance Committee hearing with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr was contentious and doubted whether Kennedy would even make it out of the 25-member committee, much less get 51 votes in the U.S. Senate, reports TheHill.com. Elon Musk: We need shorter bills that people can understand Tech mogul and presidential adviser Elon Musk had a brainstorm. MUSK: “Any laws need to be short enough that everyone can read them.” Imagine that. If this idea became a reality, it would make it more difficult to hide controversial goals within bills, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Trump is bewildered and angry about the helicopter/plane crash And finally, President Donald Trump reacted to the Wednesday night crash of the American Airlines Eagle plane with the Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River by Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C. On TruthSocial, he wrote, “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT. The lights on the plane were blazing. Why didn't the helicopter go up or down or turn? Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” WTOP reports that there were no survivors and the rescue mission turned to a recovery operation as of 8:00am Thursday morning. At that time, 28 bodies had been recovered. It is the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, January 31st in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

It is Chinese New Year's Eve and people across the country are celebrating as they prepare to usher in the Year of the Snake (01:08). Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now returning to their homes in northern Gaza as a ceasefire holds (15:09). The U.S. has pulled back on its threats of tariffs targeting Colombia after the two countries reached an agreement (23:33).

General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China Central Committee has extended New Year greetings to all Chinese people on the mainland, in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and all over the world.

Political advisers in Shanghai have proposed comprehensive measures to enhance the city's appeal as a gateway destination for inbound tourists, including improved multilingual services and digital public offerings.上海市政协委员提出了多项综合措施，以增强上海作为入境游客门户目的地的吸引力，包括改进多语种服务和提升数字化公共服务。The proposals, aimed at building Shanghai into a high-level open gateway city, were submitted during the annual sessions of the city's legislative and political advisory bodies, which concluded on Saturday.1月18日，上海市立法机构和政治咨询机构年度会议闭幕。会议上提交的这些提案旨在将上海打造成为高水平开放门户城市。Advisers suggested aligning the city's digital public services with international standards and introducing an official multilingual guide app. The app would offer information on Shanghai's urban history, architecture and culture to help international tourists deepen their understanding of the city.政协委员建议，将上海数字公共服务与国际标准接轨，并推出一款官方多语种导览应用。该应用将提供有关上海城市历史、建筑、文化的信息，帮助国际游客加深对这座城市的了解。China's expanded visa-free travel policies, including the recent extension of transit visa-free stays to 240 hours, have opened the door to more international visitors.中国扩大了免签旅游政策，向更多国际游客敞开大门，包括近期将中转免签停留时间延长至240小时。South Korean tourists' growing interest in Shanghai was a highlight of the sessions. Data from travel platform Trip.com showed that between Nov 8 and Dec 28 last year, orders from inbound tourists from South Korea to Shanghai increased more than 180 percent year-on-year.韩国游客对上海日益浓厚的兴趣成为此次会议的一大亮点。旅游平台携程的数据显示，去年11月8日至12月28日期间，入境上海的韩国游客订单同比增长超过180%。In the Shanghai Municipal Government Work Report, Mayor Gong Zheng said the city aims to position itself as the top destination for inbound tourism, with internationally friendly tourism products and convenient services.上海市市长龚正作上海市政府工作报告时表示，上海的目标是打造入境旅游第一站，提供国际友好型旅游产品和便捷服务。Gu Weiling, director of the Shanghai Putuo District Administration of Sport, proposed creating a citywide action plan to optimize bilingual and multilingual services in all tourism-related sectors. The plan would include unified translation standards and consistent foreign language signage in public venues.上海市普陀区体育局局长顾薇玲提议制定全市行动计划，以优化所有旅游相关行业的双语及多语服务。该计划将包括统一翻译标准和公共场所外语标识。"Shanghai must also upgrade its tourism information service centers to benchmark against world-famous tourist cities," Gu said. She emphasized the need for information to be available in at least four languages, both in print and interactive digital formats.顾薇玲说：“上海还必须升级旅游信息服务中心，对标世界著名旅游城市形象。”她强调，必须实现至少四个语种同时展示信息，包括纸质版本和交互数字版本。Gu also recommended special reservation channels for expatriates on scenic spots' online booking systems, allowing passport numbers for registration. Additionally, she proposed offline ticket purchase channels that accept cash and support foreign bank card payments.顾薇玲还建议，在景区在线预订系统中设立外籍人士专门通道，允许使用护照号码进行注册。此外，她还提议设立线下购票通道，接受现金和外国银行卡支付。A collective proposal from some members of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference suggested leveraging artificial intelligence-powered digital guide tools to meet tourists' diverse needs. Such tools are already widely used in cities such as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, they noted.部分上海政协委员联名提案建议，利用人工智能驱动的数字导览工具来满足游客的多样化需求。他们表示，这类工具已在纽约、伦敦、巴黎、东京等城市得到广泛应用。"Currently, the lack of multilingual audio guides or functional QR codes at scenic spots makes it difficult for international tourists to fully experience Shanghai's culture," the proposal said.提案指出：“目前景点缺乏多语种语音导览或功能性二维码，国际游客难以充分体验上海的文化。”"While Shanghai is popular among South Korean tourists, their visits are often limited to traditional attractions, food and shopping. Even those interested in the city's history and aesthetics struggle to find information," it added.“虽然上海在韩国游客中很受欢迎，但他们的游览通常仅限于传统景点、美食和购物。即使那些对上海历史和美学感兴趣的人也很难找到相关信息。”提案补充道。Another proposal called for addressing challenges in inbound tourism, such as registering for local ride-hailing apps, using mobile payment systems, and improving multilingual services. Political adviser Yan Jiehong suggested that the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office take the lead in developing systematic solutions to enhance digital experiences for tourists.另一项提案呼吁解决入境旅游面临的挑战，包括当地网约车应用注册、移动支付系统使用、多语种服务改进。政协委员严洁红建议，由上海市外事办公室牵头，制定系统性解决方案，提升游客的数字化体验。To address immediate needs upon arrival, Shanghai last year launched a one-stop service center at Pudong International Airport, offering Wi-Fi device rentals, SIM card and transportation card sales and foreign currency exchange.去年，上海在浦东国际机场推出了一站式服务中心，提供Wi-Fi设备租赁、SIM卡和交通卡销售、外币兑换服务，以解决外国游客抵沪后的即时需求。concludev.（以…）结束（讲话、会议、文章等）

Orville Schell is an author, a journalist, a China scholar, and the director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Orville's entering China in the 1970s(07:10) Was was China like in the 1970s?(10:09) The palpable fear in China in the 1970s(14:55) The details of Mao Zedong the Cultural Revolution(20:40) What preceded Communism in China?(25:32) Why was Communism appealing to Chinese revolutionaries? (30:11) China in the 1970s and how it reopened to the world(37:10) Why did China not become free after the 1980s?(41:39) 1989 and Tiananmen Square(45:28) China in the next few years(52:19) How might China become free?(55:26) Why China matters

While marking the arrival of 2025, students and teachers in the US state of Washington received a precious gift — a New Year card addressed to them with a message from President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.Lynn Eisenhauer, a music teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, said it is always a special experience to receive a message from President Xi, and they are glad to know that Xi and his wife received their latest greetings of good wishes.In mid-December, Eisenhauer joined students and teachers from local schools, as well as the US-China Youth and Student Exchange Association in Washington state, to send a New Year greeting card to President Xi and his wife, as well as the Chinese people.More than 100 teachers and students signed the card, on which was written in Chinese: "Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the 80th anniversary of (the end of) the World Anti-Fascist War. Embracing the New Year, long live peace, and may China-US friendship last forever."David Chong, president of the US-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, said that "due to limited space, many friends couldn't fit their names on the card".He added that the reason the card mentioned the upcoming 80th anniversary of the victories in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War was because "we want the Chinese friends to know that the American people have not forgotten the history of the two nations fighting side by side".In the response card from the Chinese president, Xi and Peng said that during World War II, China and the United States fought together for peace and justice, and the friendship between the two peoples stood the test of blood and fire and is growing even stronger.Ella Martino, a student at Stadium High School in Tacoma, said: "Signing the greeting card for President Xi was an incredible honor and achievement. I, as an American student, want to express my gratitude for the friendship between America and China. I also wish for the longevity of peace between China and America."Brian Suy, a student at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, said of the World War II era: "I am familiar with this period of history and I believe that it is important for students to learn. I believe that this period of history should serve as a reminder for American and Chinese citizens that their countries can work together well, despite how different their cultures and politics are. I am willing to be a successor to keep the relations of the people of China and America strong and close."William Felagai, a student from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, said he "was very thankful and felt very lucky" to receive such a gift as a token of appreciation, and he also knows a little bit about that period of history."I attended a trip to Washington, DC, and was able to hear about the Sino-US friendship from a Flying Tigers veteran himself. He talked about how US soldiers and pilots found refuge in Chinese villagers who were willing to risk not only themselves and their families' lives but their whole village from destruction by the Japanese military," Felagai said.Maryn Sage, assistant principal of Stadium High School, said that this history and President Xi's reference to the Sino-US friendship being "tested by blood and fire" during World War II refers to the cooperation between China and the US as they fought a common enemy, despite their different political systems. "We believe that friendship is a way to foster mutual understanding and trust, reducing the likelihood of conflicts by promoting dialogue and cooperation," Sage said.In the card, Xi and Peng also extended their New Year wishes and expressed their hope that the young people of both countries will continue to participate in China's initiative of inviting 50,000 young people from the US over the course of five years to visit China for exchange and study programs, strengthen exchanges and interactions, enhance mutual understanding and carry forward the traditional friendship.Xi announced the initiative during his meeting with US President Joe Biden in San Francisco in 2023. Shannon Marshall, principal of Stadium High School, said that she accompanied 10 students to China in July last year, and in September, the school sent 12 students and an assistant principal."We would love to send more students in 2025 and are so thankful for the opportunities," Marshall added. "My group of 10 students who traveled to China in July recently met to reconnect and reminisce. The students spoke about the Chinese students they met and who they are still in contact with via WeChat. This experience has created long-lasting friendships between American students and Chinese students and bonded our American students together because they experienced a new culture together."Martino was among the 12 Stadium students who went to China for a two-week trip last year. She said she will never forget the people she met in China and the incredible impact they had on her life."I was most impressed by the hospitality I felt from the Chinese people I met. I made many Chinese friends. ... If I ever visit China again in the future, I wish to see my friends again and see the places that they care about the most," she said.Eisenhauer accompanied three groups of students from Lincoln High School on trips to China last year, and they were among the first groups to accept the invitation extended by President Xi to study and travel in China.Eisenhauer recalled that during their fall trip, they performed for Peng, and meeting the president's wife was a truly magical moment."I believe in the power of peaceful connections between people and cultures," Eisenhauer said. "Individual acts of kindness and friendship have the power to change the world in small but steady ways. I sincerely hope that the leadership of both our countries continue to encourage our youth to travel the globe and share their personal experiences and cultures with each other."Chong, the US-China Youth and Student Exchange Association president, said he knows of many people who hope for friendship between the two nations and are deeply concerned about the current state of US-China relations."There has never been just one voice in America. Through this, we hope to convey to the Chinese people the American public's desire for friendship between our two nations and their love for peace," Chong said.Ron Chow, co-chairman of the US-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, told China Daily: "We all agree that the US-China relationship is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. The future of our friendship lies in the hands of the younger generation. It is our association's mission to deepen dialogue and exchanges between the youth of the US and China, enabling more American young people to understand the real China, not just the one portrayed in the media."

Frank Gaffney is president of the Institute for the American Future, President & CEO of Save the Persecuted Christians, Vice Chairman for Committee on the Present Danger: China. He is speaker on the Secure Freedom Minute. He also acted as an Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Pentagon. He is author of The Indictment: Prosecuting the Chinese Communist Party & Friends for Crimes Against America, China, and the World; Sharia: The Threat to America Abridged; Guilty Knowledge: What the US Government Knows about the Vulnerability of the Electric Grid, But Refuses to Fix and additional other titles.Israel is fighting a multi-front war against its Islamic neighbors who seek to wipe her off the face of the earth. Iran seeks to obtain nuclear capability. There's the invasion of Ukraine by Russia along with the threat of North Korea and China.All of these threats raise the question: How secure is the United States? Find out as Jim has Frank comment on the following:Are members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army spread throughout the U.S.?Why are drones making overflights across portions of the nation?Joe Biden: a controlled asset of the Chinese Communist Party?China and control of the Panama Canal.The China/Taiwan conundrum.How bad are the economic challenges facing China? As already noted, China isn't the only threat facing our nation. Hear Frank's expert analysis on those as well, and also hear what listeners had to say, when you review this edition of Crosstalk.

Frank Gaffney is president of the Institute for the American Future, President & CEO of Save the Persecuted Christians, Vice Chairman for Committee on the Present Danger: China. He is speaker on the Secure Freedom Minute. He also acted as an Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Pentagon. He is author of The Indictment: Prosecuting the Chinese Communist Party & Friends for Crimes Against America, China, and the World; Sharia: The Threat to America Abridged; Guilty Knowledge: What the US Government Knows about the Vulnerability of the Electric Grid, But Refuses to Fix and additional other titles.Israel is fighting a multi-front war against its Islamic neighbors who seek to wipe her off the face of the earth. Iran seeks to obtain nuclear capability. There's the invasion of Ukraine by Russia along with the threat of North Korea and China.All of these threats raise the question: How secure is the United States? Find out as Jim has Frank comment on the following:Are members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army spread throughout the U.S.?Why are drones making overflights across portions of the nation?Joe Biden: a controlled asset of the Chinese Communist Party?China and control of the Panama Canal.The China/Taiwan conundrum.How bad are the economic challenges facing China? As already noted, China isn't the only threat facing our nation. Hear Frank's expert analysis on those as well, and also hear what listeners had to say, when you review this edition of Crosstalk.

Last time we spoke about the fifth encirclement campaign against the CCP. After surviving four encirclement campaigns by the NRA, the CCP faced an intensified fifth campaign in 1933, as the Japanese invaded Manchuria and North China. Despite growing in numbers, the CCP struggled against the KMT's modernized army, equipped with German weapons and strategies. A combination of blockades, fortified positions, and superior tactics eroded Red Army strength. By 1934, after significant losses, the Red Army retreated, marking the campaign's end and signaling the start of the CCP's eventual Long March. In the battle between the NRA and the Red Army, the NRA employed strategic counterinsurgency techniques to block Red infiltration and gained local support through loyalty and economic pressure. Meanwhile, the Red Army, hampered by internal issues and a shift in leadership towards the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks, struggled with morale and mass recruitment of untrained peasants. As the Red Army attempted aggressive tactics and reforms, they ultimately faced defeat, leading to their strategic retreat in the historic Long March.   #129 The Fujian Rebellion of 1933 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the previous episode, during the fifth encirclement campaign, I briefly mentioned a rebellion that took place in Fujian province. Now this story actually crosses over a few we will be covering, such as the fifth encirclement campaign, already mentioned but also the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1931, part of the Mukden incident. So its a bit tricky for me to cover this one without giving away too much of what we will be speaking about later, but I will try my best to be mysterious.  Now the key player I guess you can say to this story is the 19th Route Army. The 19th Route Army's history can be traced back to the 1st division of the Guangdong Army. In 1926, this division underwent a significant transformation, becoming the 4th Army of the NRA. At that time, Li Jishen was appointed as the commander, with Chen Mingshu serving as the commander of the newly formed 10th Division. Other notable figures included Jiang Guangnai as the deputy commander and Cai Tingkai leading a subordinate regiment. All of these men will be key players in the Rebellion.  During the Northern Expedition, the 4th NRA Army distinguished itself with numerous successful campaigns. The 10th Division was subsequently expanded into the 11th Army. This new formation went on to play a pivotal role in during the Central Plains War of 1930, assisting Chiang Kai-shek in his struggle against warlords' anti-chiang coalition. As a result of this success, the 11th Army was reorganized into the 19th Route Army, with Jiang Guangnai assuming the role of overall commander and Cai Tingkai becoming the army commander. Following these developments, the 19th Route Army then went on to be part of the third encirclement campaign. Now again not to give away too much, but in 1931 the Mukden incident broke out initiating a 15 year war between China and Japan. Most of the action took place in Manchuria, pouring slightly into Northern China and Inner Mongolia, but there was an expedition performed in Shanghai. In many ways it was like a dress rehearsal for what would go down in 1937 during the battle of Shanghai. During the crisis, known then as the September 18th Incident, the 19th Route Army was redeployed to Shanghai.This transition occurred during a tumultuous period when Chiang Kai-shek faced significant political pressure and was forced to resign. The Nanjing National Government, dominated by the Guangdong faction, saw Chen Mingshu appointed as the commander of the garrison responsible for defending Beijing and Shanghai. Now this was a hyper chaotic time for China, and a particularly rough time for Chiang Kai-Shek. Chiang Kai-Shek was dealing with multiple external and internal threats to China and his position as Generalissimo. First off, his encirclement campaigns against the Reds were not going well at all. His men were not accustomed nor trained properly to face guerilla warfare. When they assaulted the Jiangxi Soviet they were entering strange territory and were greeted by the countryfolk as enemies. The Reds, in contrast, felt at home among the villages. For years, they had lived alongside the people and built friendships; forging connections was a key aspect of Communist strategy. Whenever Chiang Kai-Sheks forces came too close for comfort, the guerrillas seamlessly blended into the local population. They established their own Soviets, spread their ideology at will, and disappeared when soldiers approached. They were like a fluid army. Over time, the Chinese public became less concerned about the ongoing presence of the Red Army and more weary of the topic. Those not living in areas affected by Communist infiltration struggled to grasp the urgency of this endless conflict and began to question whether the costs outweighed the benefits. Very little news was reported on the situation, and what was published came primarily from government sources, portraying it as a series of victories for the Nationalists—this battle was a success for the Nationalists, that one ended in a glorious triumph; the KMT troops had the Reds on the run. A few days later, another dispatch would reiterate the same points, as if the earlier battles had never occurred. The front lines never seemed to shift significantly. Chiang Kai-Shek maintained his position as Generalissimo like any other politician, through alliances. One of his key friends was Hu Hanmin. The relationship between Chiang Kai-Shek and Hu Hanmin was never straightforward. Their shared history was marked by significant jealousy, and in February 1931, they faced another separation. During a KMT conference, Hu Hanmin challenged the provisional constitution proposed by Chiang Kai-Shek, arguing that it was prematurely defining various governmental functions. He claimed that Chiang Kai-Shek was consolidating too much power for himself. Chiang Kai-Shek countered that Hu Hanmins concerns were mainly about party authority. This situation echoed their earlier disputes in Canton, where they had debated theories under Dr Sun Yat-sen's influence, but now their conflicts held more weight and didn't end in mere discussion. Hu Hanmin, overwhelmed by his anger, resigned from the presidency of the Legislative Yuan, a significant position at the time. In response, a similarly agitated Chiang Kai-Shek placed him under house arrest, or as the Chinese more delicately termed it, “in soft detainment.” Initially, this fact was not disclosed; Hu Hanmin simply vanished. This was quite an extreme action for someone who advocated democratic processes, leading to a barrage of inquiries from curious Europeans directed at Chiang Kai-Shek. What had happened? Where was Hu? Why had the innocuous Lin Sen been appointed as president of the Legislative Yuan? For a considerable time, the Generalissimo remained silent, but eventually, he reluctantly stated that Hu was fine—indeed, quite fine; it was simply that his personal freedom was temporarily restricted. This was all for his own benefit and that of the KMT. Without this restriction, the misguided individual might attempt to flee to Shanghai, which would only incite dissenting factions and provoke disorder. He was perfectly fine. The incident was added to the ever-growing list of accusations made by Chiang Kai-Sheks opponents, who claimed he was becoming a dictator. They argued that he was squandering the nation's resources to maintain his army while pursuing insignificant Communists, who, if left alone, might actually become good citizens. Rumors circulated that he was nurturing a group of young bullies reminiscent of the Italian "Blue Shirts." Additionally, there were concerns about the shady Chen brothers. Furthermore, it was alleged that Chiang Kai-Shek was in close contact with gangster Tu Yueh-sen in Shanghai, profiting immensely from the opium trade through this connection. In fact, Chiang had recently declared that opium would now be a government monopoly, similar to that of the British in Hong Kong, as he needed the funds. And now, this latest scandal! Criticism of the Generalissimo was rampant, especially among students. April passed, and the uproar over Hu Hanmin faded into discontented whispers, as the People's Congress approached, providing an opportunity for open discussion about the provisional constitution. However, by May 5, people were preoccupied with other concerns. The South was once again causing unrest, led by Wang Jingwei, with Eugene Chen involved as well. It began with the typical manifesto or circular telegram, signed by Wang Jingwei and the Jiangxi generals, who "impeached" Chiang Kai-Shek for his wrongdoings. Another telegram soon followed from the warlord in Canton, accusing the Generalissimo of assuming dictatorial powers. In response, Chiang Kai-Shek convened an urgent meeting of KMT leaders, asserting that the allegations must be openly discussed and investigated. He should have been able to rely on the Party's support during such a crisis, but the situation was unusual due to Hu Hanmin's detention. Some members of his own faction seized the moment to betray him. Sun Fo and Wang Chunghui retreated to Shanghai before moving on to Canton. Shortly after, the Canton warlord declared an alliance between Jiangxi and Guangdong, united in their fight, this was the Chiang-Gui War. On May 25, the southerners issued an ultimatum: Chiang Kai-Shek had to resign within forty-eight hours or face the consequences. A few days later, they established a new national government in Canton. Chiang Kai-Shek announced his intention to suppress the rebels but did not rush into action. Instead, there were discussions—more discussions—in the neutral setting of Shanghai. Throughout June and most of July, these negotiations continued, with Chiang Kai-Shek hoping to prevent a conflict that the nation could ill afford. The southerners persisted with their demands, and their appeal to Japan for support would haunt them for a long time. Their determination ultimately prevailed, and on July 21, it was announced in Canton that a punitive expedition was underway. By mid-August, Bai Chongxi's army was advancing through Hunan on the old route to Nanking. Chiang Kai-Shek prepared for the confrontation, and the capital was on high alert. Meanwhile, in the North, the Mukden Incident broke out. In the South, the generals and their associates held back, anticipating that war could be declared at any moment. However, Chiang Kai-Shek and his advisers understood that he was even less equipped than Zhang Xueliang to initiate an offensive against a powerful foreign nation. There was the League of Nations, established presumably to address crises like this, as well as the Kellogg Pact. Chiang Kai-Shek decided to refer the matter to the League, though his chances of a favorable outcome were slim: America, which might have otherwise been involved, was preoccupied with its own economic depression, and Britain remained indifferent. The more impulsive factions in China believed this response was insufficient, and the dissidents in the South demanded a stronger approach. The students were the most incensed. On September 28, hundreds of students in Shanghai took matters into their own hands. They seized control of a train at the railway station and traveled to Nanking, where they joined forces with fellow students from the capital's university. Together, they marched—five thousand strong—toward the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. They pushed past the guards, stormed the Minister's office, forcibly dragged him outside, and assaulted him. After recovering from his injuries in the hospital, the Minister chose to resign. The students then initiated a sit-in strike, declaring they would remain in Nanking until they received tangible action rather than mere diplomatic efforts. Authorities were unsure how to respond to them, as more pressing issues demanded the government's attention. It was clear that the South and Nanking needed to resolve their differences, as public opinion strongly supported this. Despite the ungracious criticisms emanating from Canton, where Eugene Chen was vocally denouncing Chiang Kai-shek for his diplomatic failures, Nanking sought to negotiate. In October, Chiang Kai-Shek released Hu Hanmin from his mild detention, and he appeared none the worse for the unexpected break. Along with three others, he traveled to Shanghai for a peace conference with the southern leaders. Hu urged the southerners to be reasonable and to cease calls for Chiang Kai-Shek's resignation. Chiang Kai-Shek remarked, “Regardless of the right or wrong of the situation, if desired, all blame can be placed squarely on me.” However, this uplifting scene was short-lived. As the Canton faction continued to insist on Chiang's resignation, Hu abruptly changed his stance and escalated the demands. He suggested that not only should Chiang resign, but he should also be exiled from China entirely. The conference ended in chaos. Various proposals were discussed and quickly dismissed. The South remained resolute; Chiang had to go. The sit-in students, frustrated with just sitting idle, started to escalate their actions. Their numbers had been steadily increasing since the initial demonstration, with boys traveling to Nanking from distant places; by the end of November, there were twelve thousand of them. They marched again to the new government buildings, demanding that Chiang Kai-Shek come out to engage in a discussion. “War on Japan!” they shouted. Chiang Kai-Shek made them wait in the cold winter weather for a full twenty-four hours before he finally appeared. He reprimanded them harshly and ordered them to return to school, leading to a subdued dispersal of the crowd. On December 15th, Chiang Kai-Shek capitulated to public pressure and resigned. Chiang Kai-Shek yet again nonchalantly got up and left heading home into the mountains. This left an extremely uneasy Sun Fo in the presidential chair facing what looked like a full blown Japanese invasion. The Japanese kept reiterating they were merely defending their citizens after the Chinese had attacked the South Manchurian Railway…but yeah they were certainly conquering. Sun Fo desperately looked to any veteran figures for help, but Hu Hanmin fled to Hong Kong, Wang Jingwei, arguably the man responsible for forcing Chiang Kai-Shek yet again to step down was suddenly far too ill to do anything and retired to the Shanghai Hospital. Meanwhile, all of the bankers had lost interest in the Nanjing government since Chiang Kai-Shek had departed, the government literally lost its coffers. The government had no means to properly pay its armies. Now the entire time the government had been tossing offers to Chiang Kai-Shek to come back, but he bided his time. Meanwhile Eugene Chen demanded China break off diplomatic relations with Japan, was told no so he resigned, followed soon after by Sun Fo. Wang Jingwei was tossed into the presidency position, which he must have relished, however it was just then when Shanghai was invaded. Chiang Kai-Shek still held his honorary position as CEC over the special committee so he simply waited and watched. Yet no one could manage the military like the generalissimo nor open the coin purses to fund it. Thus Chiang Kai-Shek was brought back, but not really as Generalissimo, now he had to work collaboratively with others, such as Wang Jingwei.  In 1932, the January 28 Incident unfolded, basically the Japanese performed another false flag operation trying to legitimize an expedition into Shanghai. Japanese marines began to land and on January 28th they were attacking in full force. The 19th Route Army met the enemy in what became a month-long resistance against great odds. Chiang Kai-Shek was being labeled a coward for not doing more against the Japanese, but he was keeping in touch with the commanders of the 19th Rout Army by telegraph. He advised them to guard Liuho, a village just across the Yangtze, believing the Japanese would make other landings to cut them off there. General Tsai neglected to take the advice, and low and behold the Japanese made the landing forcing the 19th Route Army to pull out. The entire situation looked incredibly bad for China. Fingers were pointed at the inept Nanjing government. Yet Chiang Kai-Shek was much more focused on the encirclement campaigns against the Reds. The people angrily accused him of “making war on his own people instead of attending to the real threat, Japan”. To this Chiang Kai-Shek replied “It is useless for China to talk of resisting Japan. When it has not yet stamped out the enemy in its midst. If China ventures to fight the Japanese, the Communists will attack from the rear and chaos will quickly overtake the whole country.” The 19th Route Army were hailed as heroes, receiving a lot of recognition as a prominent anti-Japanese force. Despite Japan's attempts to reinforce its troops, Chiang Kai-shek's return to leadership saw further NRA forces dispatched to join the fight. Eventually, the conflict reached a resolution through diplomatic negotiations, resulting in the withdrawal of the 19th Route Army from Shanghai. With the Japanese threat averted for the time being Chiang Kai-Shek redirected his efforts against the Reds. On May 21, 1932, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 19th Route Army to enter Fujian and forced the army to engage in a civil war against the Communists in Fujian. On December 6 of the same year, Jiang Guangnai took over as the chairman of Fujian Province, and Cai Tingkai was appointed as the director of the Fujian Pacification Office and commander of the 19th Route Army.  At this point the leadership of the 19th Route Army were not at all happy with Chiang Kai-Shek, who to them seemed to have done little to help face the Japanese. They were not friendly to the CCP by any means and were actively suppressing Communist organizations while fighting the Japanese. When they came to Fujian they continued to suppress communists and supported people's anti-Japanese patriotic movements. On August 18, 1932, the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army collectively executed 69 CCP members and suspected individuals outside the East Gate of Quanzhou, and they also carried out mass killings of government workers from the Soviet area during their offensive against it. Despite this the CCP and 19th Route Army did agree on one thing, the Japanese were a problem.  After November 22, 1933, as Japanese imperialism intensified its invasion of China, the people across the nation once again launched a wave of anti-Japanese salvation movements. On January 17 of the same year, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Committee of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army issued a "Joint Anti-Japanese Declaration," proposing three conditions for cooperation with any armed forces to resist Japan: an immediate halt to attacks on the Soviet areas, immediate guarantees of the democratic rights of the people, and the immediate arming of the people to establish armed volunteer forces. However, Chiang Kai-shek's ruling group stubbornly persisted in its anti-Communist and anti-people policies, continuing to intensify attacks on the Red Army, and on May 31, he signed a peace agreement with the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek was met with another wave of opposition across the nation for appeasing the Japanese. The 19th Route Army basically concluded the Generalissimo was not going to help wage a war against their enemy. Thus in a rather insane fashion, the leadership of the 19th Route Army resolved to overthrow the Nanjing government so they could unite the anti-Japanese forces and push for a national resistance. At that time, Chen Mingshu, an early leader of the 19th Route Army who had gone abroad and had previously served as the vice president of the Executive Yuan of the National Government, returned to China in May 1933 and devoted all his efforts to opposing Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing government. In Fuzhou, he secretly discussed three strategies with Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Deng Xizeng: the first was to unite with Guangdong and Guangxi to overthrow Chiang Kai-Shek, supporting Hu Hanmin to organize an independent government; the second was to unite with Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of Guangxi, and Chen Jitang of Guangdong, seizing Guangdong; the last was to unite with the Red Army to resist Chiang Kai-Shek together.  As a result, neither the first nor the second strategies could be realized. Under Chiang Kai-shek's repeated orders to engage in civil war, the 78th Division and the 62nd Division of the 19th Route Army faced severe blows from the Red Army in Fujian between July and September 1933. Thus, the 19th Route Army found itself in a dire situation where not engaging in the "anti-Communist" actions would lead to its annihilation by Chiang Kai-shek, while engaging in "anti-Communist" actions would result in its destruction by the Red Army. In the context of rising national anti-Japanese sentiment, the upper leadership of the 19th Route Army had to swiftly make the choice to unite with the Communists to resist Chiang Kai-Shek and fight against Japan. On September 22, 1933, Chen Mingshu's main aide, Chen Gongpei, who had participated in the Nanchang Uprising and later left the CCP, secretly arrived at the command post of the 3rd Red Army Corps stationed at Wangtai, to express the political stance of the 19th Route Army to leaders of the Red Army, such as Peng Dehuai, Teng Daiyuan, and Yuan Guoping, regarding anti-Chiang resistance and cooperation with the Red Army. In October, Chen Gongpei accompanied Xu Minghong, the plenipotentiary representative of the 19th Route Army and secretary-general of its headquarters, to Ruijin. On the 26th, he signed the "Preliminary Agreement Against Japan and Against Chiang" with Pan Jianxing, a representative of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The main contents included: both sides immediately cease military actions, temporarily define a military demarcation line, restore trade between both parties; the Fujian People's Revolutionary Government and the 19th Route Army agree to the existence and activities of all revolutionary organizations in Fujian, allow freedom of publication, speech, assembly, and strikes, and immediately release political prisoners, among other provisions. The Soviet Provisional Central Government also sent Pan Jianxing as a permanent representative in Fuzhou. Subsequently, Chen Mingshu, Li Jishen, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and others actively prepared to establish a new government and made military preparations against Chiang Kai-Shek. On November 20, 1933, Li Jishen, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and representatives from over 100 cities across the country, along with 100,000 people from various sectors in Fuzhou, convened the National People's Temporary Representative Assembly in Fuzhou. The assembly issued the "Declaration of People's Rights of the Chinese People's Temporary Representative Assembly" and decided to establish the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China. They elected Li Jishen, Chen Mingshu, Chen Youren, Feng Yuxiang , Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Huang Qixiang, Xu Qian, Fang Zhenwu, Li Zhangda, Sa Zhenbing, He Gonggan, and other 12 members to the government, with Li Jishen as the government chairman. On November 22, the People's Revolutionary Government was officially established, with the capital in Fuzhou. The People's Revolutionary Government Committee set up a Military Committee, an Economic Committee, and a Cultural Committee, chaired respectively by Li Jishen, Yu Xinqing, and Chen Mingshu; and established a Ministry of Finance, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Supreme Court, and a Political Security Bureau, led respectively by Jiang Guangnai, Chen Youren, Xu Qian, and Li Zhangda. The People's Revolutionary Government successively issued: The People's Revolutionary Government's Internal Telegram. The People's Revolutionary Government's External Declaration.The People's Political Program - Eighteen Articles of the Minimum Program and other documents, openly announcing anti-Japanese and anti-Chiang, and proposing some domestic and foreign policies with certain progressive significance. The "Internal Telegram of the People's Revolutionary Government" announced the government's future mission: 1) to seek the liberation of the Chinese nation and establish a truly independent and free country; 2) to eliminate the counter-revolutionary Nanjing government and establish a political power of the productive people; 3) to realize the equal rights of all ethnic groups in the country; 4) to guarantee the absolute freedom and equality of all productive people; 5) to eliminate the influence of imperialism in China, overthrow the warlords, eradicate the remnants of the feudal system, develop the national economy, and liberate the working people. The "Declaration of the People's Revolutionary Government to Foreign Countries" sternly pointed out the Nanjing government's traitorous behavior and warned the powers not to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek. The Declaration stated: "We believe that the policies of the pro-American and pro-League of Nations factions are based on dangerous principles... However, it must be recognized that the objective result of the pro-American and pro-League of Nations factions will put China under an international condominium system, which is no less harmful than Chiang Kai-shek's pro-Japanese policies... It is recognized that China's real power must be established on a national basis... We finally declare that overthrowing the Chiang regime is not only necessary for China's independence and national salvation, but also for the military and economic interests of the whole world... In order to enhance international security, we have to warn the powers not to make any loans to the Chiang Kai-shek government in Nanjing, whether it is money, goods, or weapons. We also declare that if any such loans are concluded in the future, the Chinese people and their revolutionary government will completely deny them." The People's Political Program - Eighteen Articles of the Minimum Program declared: "China is a semi-feudal society under the rule of imperialists. The greatest goal of the Chinese revolution is to eliminate the imperialist domination in China; at the same time, to sweep away all feudal forces and establish a government that fully represents the rights of the people..." The 18 articles of the minimum program are: (1) Abolish unequal treaties and renegotiate equal and mutually beneficial treaties with other countries; (2) Foreign-invested or foreign-managed enterprises and cultural undertakings that are harmful to the interests of the Chinese nation may be restricted or confiscated; (3) To sort out new and old foreign debts. All political loans that harm the country should be absolutely denied; others should be repaid conditionally; (4) Implementing foreign trade controls; (5) Strictly implement absolute tariff autonomy; (6) Open up the political system and deny all political rights to counter-revolutionaries who are dependent on imperialism and warlords; (7) All nationalities within China are equal, may freely unite for revolution, and recognize national self-determination; (8) Ensure the people's absolute freedom of body, residence, speech, assembly, association, strike, demonstration and publication; (9) Implement universal suffrage; (10) Abolish all excessive taxes and levies; (11) The principle of "everyone who tills the land owns the land" was established, and land was distributed according to the number of people. Forests, mines, and rivers were completely nationalized. (12) All important banking and transportation enterprises shall be under state control; (13) Use political power and state capital to support the scientific development of agricultural production; (14) Usury is strictly prohibited; (15) Unscrupulous merchants will be eliminated and the people's daily necessities will be sold under the state monopoly; (16) To formulate agricultural and industrial laws, improve the lives of farmers and workers, and ensure the development of agricultural and industrial organizations; (17) Promote universal education; (18) Implement conscription, arm the people, and assist them in their anti-imperialist and economic and political struggles. After the establishment of the People's Revolutionary Government, it caused a great stir domestically and internationally. However, due to Wang Ming's "leftist" closure policy, the local party organization in Fujian initially adopted a hostile strategy toward the People's Revolutionary Government. It wasn't until early December, after the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee received a letter from the Central Committee dated October 30 addressing the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee and all comrades in Fujian, that they began to adopt a proactive cooperative approach toward the People's Revolutionary Government and the 19th Route Army. After December 29, the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee issued a declaration in the name of the "Far East Anti-Imperialist Non-War Anti-Fascist Alliance, Fuzhou Branch," publicly calling for the establishment of an anti-imperialist united front. The People's Revolutionary Government also fully reprinted this declaration in its official newspapers, the "People's Daily" and the "Guoguang Daily." The Fuzhou branch then mobilized people from all walks of life to establish the "Committee to Oppose Kuomintang Air Raids and Support the Soldiers of the 19th Route Army Against the Kuomintang," organizing personnel to visit the stationed troops of the 19th Route Army to comfort the soldiers. The People's Revolutionary Government also adopted a cooperative attitude toward the economic struggles of workers' organizations. On November 18, Chen Mingshu called for an emergency secret meeting of the 19th Route Army and other key figures at Heshui Rock in Gushan. The meeting took place at Longyuan Pavilion, and attendees included Li Jishen, Chen Mingshu, Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Chen Youren, Huang Qixiang, Xu Qian, Li Zhangda, and more than ten other military commanders and the chief of staff of the 19th Route Army. The discussion, which lasted from morning until late at night, revolved around heated debates concerning the timing of the uprising. Cai Tingkai advocated for postponing the uprising by one to two months for several reasons; many generals in the 19th Route Army were still undecided or openly opposed to the rebellion, the troops had yet to be mobilized, defenses were unorganized, various forces had not surrendered, and traitors and spies were still active. Additionally, Guangdong and Guangxi were not providing support, and Chiang Kai-shek was already aware of their plans. Cai Tingkai argued for more time to accelerate preparations without drawing immediate attention from Chiang Kai-Shek. In contrast, Chen Mingshu and others believed this was the last opportunity for an uprising. They pointed out that Chiang Kai-shek's forces were concentrated in North China, and Jinpu and particularly in Jiangxi, where his main troops were engaged in the fifth encirclement campaign against the Soviet area. They estimated that only 20,000 to 30,000 troops could be redirected to Fujian. Overestimating the political instability of Chiang's regime, Chen Mingshu believed that once the 19th Route Army raised the flag of rebellion, support from other regions of China would follow. He also felt confident that one division of the 19th Route Army could resist two or three of Chiang's divisions and that with cooperation from the Red Army, even if Chiang Kai-Shek deployed ten divisions, they would prevail. Chen Mingshu concluded that regardless of the outcome, the effort would be heroic and they should proceed without hesitation. The meeting's opposing viewpoints led to intense discussions. Chen Mingshu, visibly passionate, declared that revolution required sacrifice and that delaying any longer would mean submission to Nanjing. Cai Tingkai, while originally advocating for a delay, conceded that the situation had reached a point of no return. He agreed to lead the 19th Route Army and fully back the new government. The meeting concluded with a decision to convene the National People's Provisional Congress in Fuzhou on November 20 to officially declare the uprising against Chiang Kai-Shek. Other topics discussed included replacing the blue sky, white sun party flag, military and financial logistics, and a declaration drafted by Chen Mingshu's advisors, Wang Lixi and Hu Qiuyuan. On November 20, 1933, the National People's Provisional Congress convened at the South Parade Ground in Fuzhou, with thousands of soldiers, students, merchants, and workers in attendance. A banner reading "China's National People's Provisional Congress" adorned the stage, and the leaders of the rebellion, including Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, and Li Jishen, were present, though Chen Mingshu was absent due to illness. Representatives from 25 provinces and various walks of life gathered for the event. Before the meeting, the 19th Route Army's newly formed air force performed stunts, to the applause of the crowd. At 9:40 AM, the meeting began with Huang Qixiang, who was elected chairman of the presidium, delivering an opening speech and reading the "Declaration of the People's Rights of the Provisional Chinese People's Congress." Several prominent figures spoke, and the meeting concluded with the adoption of proposals to establish the People's Revolutionary Government and a new national flag designed by Ouyang Yuqian. That evening, the presidium decided to form the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China, abolishing the Nanjing government, declaring 1933 as the first year of the Republic, and establishing Fuzhou as the capital. Li Jishen was elected President, and several others, including Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, and Cai Tingkai, were appointed government members. However the Fujian Revolution failed to gain support from other forces within the KMT. The Guangxi clique was dissatisfied with the fact that the 19th Route Army reconciled with the CCP so they did not support it. Chen Jitang tossed his lot in with Chiang Kai-shek and did not support the Fujian Revolution either. At that time, the CCP was undergoing a power struggle. On December 5, the Central Committee of the CCP, headed by Wang Ming, issued a statement stating that the Fujian government was "non-people and still non-revolutionary and that anyone who wants to take a third way between revolution and counter-revolution will inevitably fail." . Thus, Chiang Kai-shek transferred eight divisions of the National Revolutionary Army into Fujian, and coordinated the attack with the air force and navy. The 19th Route Army quickly collapsed. Four out of the five armies defected before the battle even began. Most of them were disarmed by the Central Army that they had fought side by side with during the Shanghai Incident a year ago. On January 15, 1934, Chiang Kai-shek's forces captured Fuzhou. The People's Revolutionary Government and the headquarters of the 19th Route Army retreated to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, respectively. By January 21, both Quanzhou and Zhangzhou had fallen, and the Fujian Rebellion had failed. The People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China collapsed within two months of its establishment. On the 21st, the remaining troops of the 19th Route Army switched over to supporting the central government, and the Fujian Revolution officially came to an end. Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu and Li Jishen fled to Hong Kong . The designation of the 19th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army was cancelled, and the troops were dispersed and integrated. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Yes it was a tad bit of an anti climatic event in the grand scheme of things. Yet the provincial rebellion was notable because the people involved wanted to fight the Japanese and believed their government was not doing enough to challenge the external threat. The reality however was far more complicated, the Japanese were far too formidable, for now. 

Head to https://factormeals.com/50adv and use code 50adv to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping!"If I can't succeed, no one can" - this attitude is taking over China, and it's not good for anyone. GET THE HOLIDAY DEAL NOW! and JOIN TO WATCH THE ROYAL RUMBLE - Support the show here and see the Monday Exclusive show Xiaban Hou! - https://www.patreon.com/advpodcastsChina Fact Chasers - Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/c/ChinaFactChasersCartoon feat. Jüri Pootsmann - I Remember Uhttps://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightsoundsTrack : Cartoon feat. Jüri Pootsmann - I Remember USome sources -https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/12/05/fbi-hacking-warning-change-2-settings-on-your-iphone/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/world/asia/china-minerals-semiconductors.htmlSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Y-20 transport aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force departed Tuesday afternoon for the Republic of Korea (ROK) to repatriate the remains of 43 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs who died during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.This marks the 11th repatriation of CPV martyrs' remains since the signing of a handover agreement between China and the ROK.From 2014 to 2023, the two countries, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully handed over the remains of 938 CPV martyrs, along with related artifacts.About 74 years ago, the CPV crossed the Yalu River and fought alongside the army and civilians of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. After an arduous fight that lasted almost three years, the CPV eventually won the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. More than 197,000 CPV soldiers were confirmed killed in the war.

The remains of 43 fallen soldiers from the Chinese People's Volunteers who died during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea have returned home(05:26). Displaced Lebanese people return home as a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel takes effect(15:21). Chinese self-driving startup Pony AI begins trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange(39:49).

Chinese authorities have shut down several social media accounts for spreading false information about the military, including fabricated stories about Chinese warships sinking foreign vessels and prolonged electronic warfare in the South China Sea, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China. 中央网信办发布通报，近期军地职能部门依法依规处置了一批网上违法违规信息及自媒体账号，包括散布“我舰艇击沉外军军舰”谣言、编造“南海电子战”等虚假内容。In a news release on Monday, the administration disclosed a series of cases in which some personal media accounts "speculated and fabricated false information, and engaged in speculative hype".在28日发布的消息中，中央网信办遴选通报了一些自媒体账号“臆测编造虚假信息，捕风捉影关联炒作”的一系列案例。Personal media accounts refer to non-institutional content publishers on social media platforms such as WeChat, Weibo or video-sharing platform Douyin. They publish news or information even though they are not operated or approved by the government or any other authoritative entities.自媒体账号指微信、微博或视频共享平台抖音等社交媒体平台上的非机构内容发布者。它们发布的新闻或信息，均未由政府或任何其他权威实体运营或批准。According to the news release, the primary violations made by the owners of these self-media accounts include concocting military rumors, distorting military history, tarnishing the image of the armed forces and misinterpreting military policies.根据通报，这些自媒体账号所有者的主要违规行为包括捏造军事谣言、杜撰军事史实、抹黑军队形象和曲解军事政策等。It said that these accounts "seriously misled public perception and affected the image of the armed forces and military personnel".中央网信办称，这些自媒体账号“严重误导公众认知，影响军队军人形象”。The release noted that some social media accounts exploited people's patriotic sentiments by posting fake stories. For instance, two WeChat public accounts spread rumors about Chinese naval vessels sinking four foreign warships, it said.通报指出，一些自媒体账号消费群众爱国情怀、发布虚假故事。例如，两个微信公众号散布“我舰艇击沉四艘外军军舰”等谣言。Some accounts used splicing, editing and other techniques to create sensational military stories, fabricating incidents such as a "12-hour electronic war in the South China Sea" and "border clashes".有的账号通过拼凑、嫁接、剪辑等方式，炮制军事“爽文”、“自嗨”解读，编造“南海电子战12小时”、“边境爆发冲突”等虚假内容。Additionally, the news release pointed out that some accounts, under the pretext of uncovering secrets, engaged in "historical nihilism", distorting facts about the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53).此外，通报还指出，一些账号以解密探秘的名义搞历史虚无主义，歪曲中国人民抗日战争（1931-1945年）和抗美援朝战争（1950-1953年）的军事史实。For example, some accounts on the Quora-like knowledge-sharing platform Zhihu falsely claimed that "only a small portion of Japanese troops were killed by guerrilla warfare in China."例如，类似Quora的知识共享平台知乎上的一些账号编排“在中国战场上被游击战打死的日军只占很小一部分”。The release said that these "erroneous opinions" distorted historical facts and created misperceptions.通报称，这些“错误论调”歪曲史实、误导认知。Meanwhile, it also said that some self-media accounts published content that tarnished the image of the military.同时，通报表示，一些自媒体账号发布的内容抹黑军队形象。A user on video-sharing platform Bilibili "maliciously" posted confidential information such as the names, positions and ID numbers of active-duty military personnel, according to the CAC. 中央网信办称，视频共享平台B站UP主恶意发布现役军人姓名、部职别、身份证号等涉密信息。Two Douyin accounts shared a fake story about how "a son joined the army against his family's wishes, only for his mother to receive his ashes a few years later".两个抖音账号编造“儿子不顾反对去当兵，几年后母亲却见到儿子的骨灰盒”等谣言信息。Other short-video publishers spread false information, claiming that "graduates from the National University of Defense Technology could not find any employer willing to hire them a year after graduation".还有一些短视频发布者散布虚假信息，声称“儿子从国防科大毕业一年了，没有一家愿意录用”。Furthermore, the news release highlighted that some social media accounts distorted and misinterpreted military-related policies, becoming key targets for a crackdown.此外，通报还强调，一些自媒体账号曲解军事政策，成为重点打击对象。Some accounts speculated and spread false information related to the civilian personnel system, and some even cited rumors about "the military's involvement in financial wars". Others incited negative sentiments toward the military among netizens, the release said.一些账号炒作和传播歪曲文职人员制度等不实信息，有些甚至臆测散布“军队参与金融战”等不实信息。通报称，还有一些账号煽动网民对军队的负面情绪。For example, some accounts hyped up rumors that "maintaining an army consumes massive funds", and called for "cutting 200,000 troops to ease fiscal pressure", thereby stirring up conflicts between the military and the public.例如，一些账号炒作“养一支军队耗费海量资金”，鼓噪“裁军20万缓解财政压力”，挑动军地矛盾。It stressed some accounts misled public opinion by making inappropriate comparisons between military and civilian universities during the college entrance examination and recruitment seasons.通报强调，有的账号在高考季、征兵季，对军地高校招生等进行不当对比，从而误导舆论。The release also revealed several cases involving online shopping platforms.通报还揭露了几起涉及网络购物平台的案例。Some Taobao businesses used specific military-related terms and logos to sell counterfeit products, which were labeled "military-exclusive supplies".一些淘宝商家使用军队特定含义字样和图案，兜售假冒伪劣产品，并标注“军队专供”。Certain Taobao merchants used military images without authorization to conduct malicious marketing campaigns.某些淘宝商家未经授权违规使用军事图片，恶意开展营销宣传。Officials from the military and local authorities said they will continue to resolutely crack down on self-media accounts that engage in illegal activities related to the military, and strictly investigate and punish those who publish false information, according to the release.通报称，军地相关部门负责人表示，将持续坚决打击自媒体涉军违法违规行为，从严查处发布和炒作不实信息账号主体。They also welcomed participation and reports from relevant departments and netizens to jointly create a positive online environment regarding military affairs.他们同时欢迎有关部门和网民积极参与举报，共同打造涉军良好网络环境。concoctv. 捏造tarnishv. 玷污；败坏sensationaladj. 耸人听闻的stir up激起；煽动；搅拌

Since 2020 Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has been reporting the number of incursions China makes by sea and air into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone. These incursions now happen on a daily basis and already the tally for this year alone has surpassed the total number of occurrences that took place last year in 2023.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/psychological-defense-and-practices-to-manage-stress-for-the-people-of-taiwan-a-talk-with-dr-hsiao-wen-lo-ep-296/   Recently, on October 14th, just days after President Lai Ching-te's Double Ten Day speech, China's military initiated the "Joint Sword-2024B" drills, a simulated blockade which took place in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan. According to Taiwan's MND, a record number of 153 Chinese military aircraft were detected around Taiwan within a 25-hour period.   We've previously discussed China's gray zone military tactics and civil defense preparedness, on this podcast, but just as important is something called psychological defense.   In July we brought Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, East Coast that was held at West Chester University. I sat down with Dr. Hsiao-Wen Lo (駱筱雯) who spoke at the conference about Psychological Defense for the People of Taiwan.   We also got into a discussion about the related topics of trauma and practices to manage stress and maintain good mental health.   This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·   How Dr. Lo got interested in psychological defense ·   What is psychological defense ·   The importance of the mind-body connection ·   Types of trauma: psychological trauma, generational trauma, collective trauma ·   What is psychological warfare ·   The Chinese People's Liberation Army's psychological warfare tactics ·   The impact of long-term stress ·   Post traumatic growth ·   Fight or Flight states ·   Strategies to deal with stress ·   The erasure of Taiwan by China   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/psychological-defense-and-practices-to-manage-stress-for-the-people-of-taiwan-a-talk-with-dr-hsiao-wen-lo-ep-296/

En Chine, les gens suivent l'élection américaine avec un vif intérêt et une certaine anxiété. Ils craignent ce qui pourrait se passer ensuite, tant au niveau national qu'international, quel que soit le vainqueur de la Maison-Blanche.Traduction: In China, people are following the US election with keen interest and some anxiety. They fear what could happen next at home and abroad, whoever wins the White House. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has organized its troops to conduct drills surrounding the island of Taiwan.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has carried out drills around Taiwan with the Coast Guard patrolling the waters in the region(01:06). Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Pakistan for an SCO meeting and to pay an official visit(09:05). And the United Nations says Israeli tanks have entered its peacekeeping post in Lebanon, as the Israeli military says it was helping evacuate casualties(19:12).

①The Chinese People's Liberation Army has conducted military drills around the Taiwan island. What message does the move send out? (00:45)②China and Vietnam have agreed to properly handle their difference through friendly consultation. We take a closer look at the relationship between the two neighboring countries. (12:23)③China says it will soon introduce new fiscal policies to boost the economy. (24:03)④Sam Hou Fai has been elected as the chief executive designate of China's Macao Special Administrative Region. What will be his key priorities? (34:39)⑤Israeli tanks have forced their way into a position of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. (43:03)

This week, a show taped live at Syracuse University on September 30 with Associate Professor Dimitar Gueorguiev, author of the excellent Retrofitting Leninism: Participation Without Democracy in China. We discuss his book, his recent paper exploring hawkishness in Chinese public opinion, and his thoughts about the upcoming U.S. presidential election.1:59 Syracuse University's MAX 132 class ("the globalization class")4:10 Dimitar's background and how he became interested in China 7:44 How the genre of authoritarian resilience took off 14:26 China's understanding of democracy (whole-process democracy)17:40 Features of Leninism that have allowed the Chinese Communist Party to survive21:21 Why China in the 1980s and '90s admired Singaporea's authoritarian PAP 23:37 The idea of the mass line27:16 China's sentiment analysis through technology, and using bottom-up information as performance evaluation 34:03 The COVID-19 pandemic and the confirmation bias of the regime-type explanation37:37 The National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)40:14 Dimitar's research on hawkishness in China: how he got the data, what drives Chinese hawkishness, and the national security vs. economic lens 51:08 Why those who are dissatisfied with the government lean more hawkish and those who are satisfied with the government lean more dovish 56:30 The upcoming U.S. election: how things may play out under the two different administrations, and understanding Chinese preferences Recommendations:Dimitar: The TV series The Expanse (2015-2022)Kaiser: Anthea Roberts' Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters; and the documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (2024)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Li-Meng Yan w/ The Voice of Dr. Yan – According to the CCP's propaganda, during his first secret visit to Communist China in July 1971, “driven by the tide of the times,” Kissinger” wielded the first pickaxe to break the ice between China and the US.” The CCP defines Kissinger as the third batch of “Old Friends of the Chinese People.” Thus, Kissinger becomes synonymous with "China expert" and "bridge" in Sino-US relations...

Joshua Steinman, former military officer who served as Deputy Assistant to President Trump and Senior Director for Cyber (2017-2021), now co-founder of Galvanick, joins Erik Torenberg and AI scout Nathan Labenz for a discussion on the AI arms race. They focus on US-China relations, the rate of AI development, and the global implications of a technological arms race.  Should the US and China work together to prevent a future of AI-powered warfare, or is a conflict inevitable? --

At the height of China's zero-covid restrictions, a Chinese character that sounds like the English word “run” became a coded way of talking about emigration. Since then many Chinese people have left their country for better opportunities abroad.In the first episode of a three-part series on the “run” phenomenon, we travel to Japan and meet educated, urban Chinese who have made the decision to move. Alice Su, The Economist's senior China correspondent and David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, ask: what does their choice say about the country they've left behind?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.