Remember “no blood for oil”? Decades ago, the slogan emblematized opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Its logic subsequently shifted as the United States experienced a gas and oil revolution thanks to fracking.
It has cycled back into relevance following the Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela and the seizure of its oil, which, despite its carnivalesque tone, left at least 80 people dead. The Iran war has now ...
Category: Media
How Chinese Experts are Reacting to the American-Israeli Strikes on Iran
By Andrea Ghiselli More than a hundred children at a girls’ primary school in Minab, in southern Iran, are reported dead. Missiles and drones are striking targets across Israel as well as the Gulf, from Kuwait to Oman, with the barrage ...
The Iran War Looks Very Different From China
The United States and Israel have launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering a full-scale war in the Middle East. As the region descends into conflict, a fascinating debate has emerged about what this means for China: ...
Chinese Nationalist Voices Dismissed Online After Iran Strike Defies Predictions
The Chinese internet is currently fact-checking the many experts whose failed predictions about the U.S.-Iran situation were heavily clouded by nationalism. The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has upended their narrative that the U.S. and Israel would never dare to strike. ...
Social Media Commentators Are Misreading the China Angle in the U.S.–Israeli War With Iran
By William Figuerora, Assistant Professor at Groningen University There are a lot of spurious claims that China will be badly damaged by the U.S and Israeli war against Iran, going as far as to suggest that China might be the real ...
China Critic Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail After Landmark Hong Kong Trial
By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's most vocal China critic, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail, ending the city's biggest national security case thathas fueled global concerns about Beijing's clampdown ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Claims U.S. Pressured Kenya to Halt Trade Deal With China Proven False, Says Fact Checking Group
There is no evidence to support the social media meme that falsely claimed the United States pressured the Kenyan government to halt trade talks with China, according to the reputable fact-checking website Africa Check. Africa Check traced the origins of the ...
Photo Essay: How TikTok Turned Jakarta’s Traders and Buskers Into a New Working Class
“Darling, the mahogany denim is on display number six, my love. Please check it out, darling,” Nova shouts energetically. She is a TikTok Live host in central Jakarta's Tanah Abang Block A, standing confidently in front of two smartphones. Dressed in ...
China’s Rhetoric Is Clear on Venezuela. Latin America’s Response Is Not.
While the dust from the U.S. military operation in Caracas to oust Nicolás Maduro has yet to settle, early Chinese reactions already offer useful food for thought. The views expressed across Latin America, largely absent from both Chinese and Western commentary, also help contextualize how China’s relationship ...
U.S. Strike in Venezuela Intensifies Chinese Media Debate Over Taiwan
Washington’s intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro have sent shockwaves across Chinese social media, triggering surprise, anger, and unease. Beyond that, a more intriguing conversation emerged - Taiwan. U.S. forces carried out the lightning strike on Caracas ...
Chinese Social Media Mocks India’s ‘Semiconductor’ Stock Mania
Chinese social media has been buzzing with disbelief and humor over India’s latest stock market frenzy, RRP Semiconductor Ltd., a company whose skyrocketing stock is almost entirely divorced from its real operations. The share price of RRP Semiconductor has surged by an eye-popping 55,000 percent over ...
Jane Perlez on the New Era of U.S.-China Competition and Rivalry
The increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China relationship is the defining trend of this era, upending global politics, economics, and security, especially across the Global South. Countries that have worked hard to avoid having to pick sides in this new competition may no longer ...
Kidnapping of Chinese Influencer in South Africa Sparks Alarm Over “High-Profile Travel”
A kidnapping in South Africa has sent shockwaves through China’s internet, not only because a Chinese traveler was violently targeted, but because the scheme appears to have been orchestrated with help from a Chinese national. The victim, a top travel influencer with more than 26 million ...