thelucky8

Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17893195

China is now a country where a high-school handyman has a master's degree in physics; a cleaner is qualified in environmental planning; a delivery driver studied philosophy, and a PhD graduate from the prestigious Tsinghua University ends up applying to work as an auxiliary police officer.

These are real cases in a struggling economy - and it is not hard to find more like them.

[...]

China is churning out millions of university graduates every year but, in some fields, there just aren't enough jobs for them.

The economy has been struggling and stalling in major sectors, including real estate and manufacturing.

Youth unemployment had been nudging 20% before the way of measuring the figures was altered to make the situation look better. In August 2024, it was still 18.8%. The latest figure for November has come down to 16.1%.

Many university graduates who've found it hard to get work in their area of selected study are now doing jobs well below what they're qualified for, leading to criticism from family and friends.

[...]

Chinese graduates are being forced to change their perceptions regarding what might be considered "a good position", Professor Zhang Jun from the City University of Hong Kong says.

In what might be seen as "a warning sign" for young people, "many companies in China, including many tech companies, have laid off quite a lot of staff", she adds.

She also says that significant areas of the economy, which had once been big employers of graduates, are offering sub-standard conditions, and decent opportunities in these fields are disappearing altogether.

[...]

But many fear they'll never land a decent job and may have to settle for a role unlike what they had imagined.

The lack of confidence in the trajectory of the Chinese economy means young people often don't know what the future will hold for them.

[...]

[Edit title for clarity.]

China is now a country where a high-school handyman has a master's degree in physics; a cleaner is qualified in environmental planning; a delivery driver studied philosophy, and a PhD graduate from the prestigious Tsinghua University ends up applying to work as an auxiliary police officer.

These are real cases in a struggling economy - and it is not hard to find more like them.

[...]

China is churning out millions of university graduates every year but, in some fields, there just aren't enough jobs for them.

The economy has been struggling and stalling in major sectors, including real estate and manufacturing.

Youth unemployment had been nudging 20% before the way of measuring the figures was altered to make the situation look better. In August 2024, it was still 18.8%. The latest figure for November has come down to 16.1%.

Many university graduates who've found it hard to get work in their area of selected study are now doing jobs well below what they're qualified for, leading to criticism from family and friends.

[...]

Chinese graduates are being forced to change their perceptions regarding what might be considered "a good position", Professor Zhang Jun from the City University of Hong Kong says.

In what might be seen as "a warning sign" for young people, "many companies in China, including many tech companies, have laid off quite a lot of staff", she adds.

She also says that significant areas of the economy, which had once been big employers of graduates, are offering sub-standard conditions, and decent opportunities in these fields are disappearing altogether.

[...]

But many fear they'll never land a decent job and may have to settle for a role unlike what they had imagined.

The lack of confidence in the trajectory of the Chinese economy means young people often don't know what the future will hold for them.

[...]

[Edit title for clarity.]

Archived link

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called on the Israeli government today to allow its teams to enter Gaza following reports of newborn babies freezing to death.

“Recent UN reports of babies dying from hypothermia in Gaza underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there,” said federation secretary-general Jagan Chapagain.

[...]

Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, a paediatric doctor working in Gaza, [said] that the terrible conditions are killing children.

“I’m watching children die in every possible way, whether it’s violence, cold, hunger, disease, all directly as a consequence of a carefully orchestrated Israeli military campaign that has been enabled by the United States and other countries that are turning a deaf ear and blind eye,” she said.

[...]

Archived version

Ukraine’s National Resistance Center has reported that the Russians have taken 119 Ukrainian high-school students from the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol to Russia’s Saint Petersburg for so-called "re-education", according to Ukraine’s National Resistance Center (NRC).

"Another batch of students from temporarily occupied Mariupol has been taken to Russia by the Kremlin’s henchmen. This time it is 119 Ukrainian high-school students who will be 're-educated' during propaganda meetings with Russian propagandists," the NRC says.

The NRC noted that these systematic relocations of Ukrainian children are aimed at assimilating young Ukrainians into a Russian identity. "Young people are being forced to belong to Russia and the Russian world and to be intolerant of Ukraine and everything Ukrainian."

The NRC added that there were instances where children have been unable to return home after such "school excursions" during holidays.

Details: The NRC added that there were instances where children have been unable to return home after such "school excursions" during holidays.

As the NRC reports, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin recently "opened" a branch of the Nakhimov Naval School in temporarily occupied Mariupol via video call.

Previously, Putin "opened" a school in Mariupol, where a child was brought in to "thank the dictator for 'taking care' of the city.'"

Archived version

An unexpected development has taken place in the seven-decades-long dispute between the Tibetan exile leadership and China’s government. In early July, for the first time since 2010, Chinese authorities reportedly held direct talks with the exile Tibetan political leadership, based in Dharamsala, India. The meeting in July followed a year or more of back-channel contacts of some kind.

These talks are at only a very preliminary stage and may not last. Beijing has not confirmed that it has had contact with the exiles, and the exile leaders have downplayed any prospect of substantive outcomes, professing interest only in long-term developments. But behind these reports are signs of a larger and more intriguing shift. This is indicated, according to the exile leadership, by the fact that it was China that initiated the resumption of talks. They “are reaching out to us, it’s not us reaching out to them,” as the exiles’ Sikyong, or political leader, Penpa Tsering, has put it. Beijing, the exiles argue, now finds itself under pressure to reach a deal with the exiled Tibetan religious leader, the 89-year-old Dalai Lama, before his health declines further. If so, this would be a 180-degree reversal from the previous dynamics of the dispute, when it was the exiles who were urgently, even desperately, seeking a settlement before time runs out.

[...]

From Human Rights to Sovereignty

Since the late 1970s, the main approach pursued by the Dalai Lama, his political counterparts in Dharamsala, and his supporters around the world has been the promotion of Western-led criticisms of China’s human rights record in Tibet. These criticisms have been intended to persuade China to give Tibetans some degree of meaningful autonomy. This has not worked. Despite Western pressure and major concessions by the exiles, Beijing stonewalled previous talks with the Tibetans, cut off formal contact for some 14 years, embarked on policies in Tibet and other ethnic areas that are all but indistinguishable from forced assimilation, and now says that it will not discuss enhanced autonomy for Tibet. Given the rise of China as a global power and the increasing failure of Western governments regarding their own claimed values, the prospects of success for a values-based, Western-led approach to diplomacy with Beijing are vanishingly small.

[Edit typo.]

Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday published its analysis of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) disinformation tactics last year, showing that disinformation doubled compared with 2023.

CCP disinformation seeks to undermine confidence in Taiwan’s military, US support for Taiwan and President William Lai (賴清德), the NSB said.

NSB data showed that 2.159 million cases of controversial information were reported last year, nearly double 2023’s mark of 1.329 million.

Facebook remained the platform most susceptible to disinformation, with a 40 percent increase compared with 2023, although disinformation also increased on video platforms (151 percent), forums (664 percent) and X, formerly known as Twitter (244 percent), the NSB said.

The bureau also found 28,216 questionable accounts, 11,661 more than in 2023.

[...]

Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17891412

Archived link

One of the UK’s major microchip firms, Imagination Technologies, is on the market. Its Chinese-backed owners are trying to sell it amid serious allegations about sensitive tech being passed to Beijing.

They’ve brought in Lazard, their long-time adviser, to help find a buyer. This comes after claims that the company shared key technology with two firms linked to the Chinese military.

It’s been a rough ride for Imagination since Canyon Bridge, a private equity firm funded by a Chinese investment group, took it off the London Stock Exchange back in 2017. The UK government even had to step in to block a takeover attempt by China Reform in 2020, which was seen as a bit of a coup.

Recently, an employment tribunal ruled that the company unfairly fired its CEO, Ron Black, for raising concerns about moving operations to China. A report even suggested that the Chinese Communist Party was stripping assets from the company.

[...]

Archived link

One of the UK’s major microchip firms, Imagination Technologies, is on the market. Its Chinese-backed owners are trying to sell it amid serious allegations about sensitive tech being passed to Beijing.

They’ve brought in Lazard, their long-time adviser, to help find a buyer. This comes after claims that the company shared key technology with two firms linked to the Chinese military.

It’s been a rough ride for Imagination since Canyon Bridge, a private equity firm funded by a Chinese investment group, took it off the London Stock Exchange back in 2017. The UK government even had to step in to block a takeover attempt by China Reform in 2020, which was seen as a bit of a coup.

Recently, an employment tribunal ruled that the company unfairly fired its CEO, Ron Black, for raising concerns about moving operations to China. A report even suggested that the Chinese Communist Party was stripping assets from the company.

[...]

Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17890858

Archived

Here is the analyses the article refers to.

Eddie Cross, former advisor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has voiced concerns over the growing presence of Chinese nationals and their influence on Zimbabwe’s economy and natural resources.

Writing recently, Cross revealed that there are now over 85,000 Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe, a figure he initially questioned but was assured is accurate.

[...]

According to Cross, Zimbabwe has become a resource hub for China, likening the country to “the new Australia” for its abundant raw materials. He highlighted vast reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone, chrome, lithium, and gold as key targets for Chinese exploitation, driven by the demands of their industrial complex.

“China needs to move steel production away from home to avoid U.S. and European trade restrictions and shift polluting industries to Africa’s blue skies,” Cross argued. He also pointed out that Zimbabwe’s chrome deposits, valued at a conservative $100 trillion, and its lithium reserves are being exported with little understanding of their full worth.

[...]

Cross noted the significant environmental damage caused by Chinese operations, including open-cast mining and unregulated activities that leave landscapes resembling “a World War I battlefield.”

[...]

“The people of Marange [a region in Zimbabwe] still wallow in poverty, and the diamond fields lack basic infrastructure like tarred roads. Meanwhile, Chinese firms have amassed wealth, building headquarters in Mozambique and flying private jets,” he wrote.

Cross accused the Chinese of monopolising operations by excluding Zimbabwean workers, making it difficult to monitor production. “In 2012, I had to rely on U.S. satellite images to estimate Chinese diamond output as they employed no local staff,” he revealed.

[...]

Cross urged the Zimbabwean government to renegotiate its relationship with China to ensure mutual benefits. “Unlike Australia, where raw materials are sold at market prices, Zimbabwe’s resources are being exploited with minimal returns,” he said.

[...]

[Edit typo.]

Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17890819

Archived

Here is the analyses the article refers to.

Eddie Cross, former advisor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has voiced concerns over the growing presence of Chinese nationals and their influence on Zimbabwe’s economy and natural resources.

Writing recently, Cross revealed that there are now over 85,000 Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe, a figure he initially questioned but was assured is accurate.

[...]

According to Cross, Zimbabwe has become a resource hub for China, likening the country to “the new Australia” for its abundant raw materials. He highlighted vast reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone, chrome, lithium, and gold as key targets for Chinese exploitation, driven by the demands of their industrial complex.

“China needs to move steel production away from home to avoid U.S. and European trade restrictions and shift polluting industries to Africa’s blue skies,” Cross argued. He also pointed out that Zimbabwe’s chrome deposits, valued at a conservative $100 trillion, and its lithium reserves are being exported with little understanding of their full worth.

[...]

Cross noted the significant environmental damage caused by Chinese operations, including open-cast mining and unregulated activities that leave landscapes resembling “a World War I battlefield.”

[...]

“The people of Marange [a region in Zimbabwe] still wallow in poverty, and the diamond fields lack basic infrastructure like tarred roads. Meanwhile, Chinese firms have amassed wealth, building headquarters in Mozambique and flying private jets,” he wrote.

Cross accused the Chinese of monopolising operations by excluding Zimbabwean workers, making it difficult to monitor production. “In 2012, I had to rely on U.S. satellite images to estimate Chinese diamond output as they employed no local staff,” he revealed.

[...]

Cross urged the Zimbabwean government to renegotiate its relationship with China to ensure mutual benefits. “Unlike Australia, where raw materials are sold at market prices, Zimbabwe’s resources are being exploited with minimal returns,” he said.

[...]

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17878638

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17878510

Archived link

As the world watches China’s increasingly aggressive moves at sea, its quiet expansion across land borders in the Himalayas serves as a reminder that its ambitions extend far beyond the South China Sea or Taiwan. China is methodically expanding its reach, targeting small, vulnerable neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan.

Across from Nepal’s Humla District, a small, seemingly insignificant border marker near the village of Hilsa has become a powerful symbol of the region’s shifting geopolitical tides. This remote area, nestled high in the Himalayas, is now a quiet battleground where China is advancing its territorial claims in incremental, persistent ways. Fortifications have sprung up, guarded by high-tech surveillance and armed patrols, forming a stark divide between the barren Nepali side and newly robust Chinese infrastructure just across the border.

Glass-walled buildings, flood-lit roads, and modern facilities contrast sharply with Nepal’s underdeveloped and rugged terrain, signaling China’s increasing dominance in this remote region.

A 2021 fact-finding mission led by Nepali officials revealed the extent of China’s incursion, yet the report was buried—kept from public view and even high-ranking Nepali politicians.

The stark infrastructure imbalance underscores not only the widening gap between the two nations but also China’s deeper motives: to cement its hold on disputed territories and slowly push its influence beyond its borders.

For decades, Nepal provided a haven for Tibetans fleeing Chinese repression. Today, however, the stream of refugees has nearly dried up, with China’s expansion in Tibet and Xinjiang cutting off traditional escape routes and leaving Tibetans more isolated and controlled than ever. The network of surveillance and barriers erected across Tibet serves as a wall, both literally and figuratively, against those seeking refuge in Nepal. This shift is part of a broader trend under Xi Jinping, where hard-line policies in border areas seek to secure and extend China’s reach and control.

While Nepal contends with creeping encroachment, the stakes are even higher for Bhutan. In recent years, China has constructed 22 villages within Bhutan’s traditional borders, claiming about 2% of the small country’s territory. These settlements come complete with roads, military posts, and administrative centers, essentially creating new facts on the ground that are difficult to reverse.

For Bhutan, this encroachment has presented a grim dilemma: either concede these strategic lands or face the risk of escalating tensions.

**Bhutan’s situation mirrors China's gray-zone occupation strategy in the South China Sea, where it has transformed reefs and islands into fortified bases, altering the status quo and asserting control without risking direct conflict. **

[...]

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17878510

Archived link

As the world watches China’s increasingly aggressive moves at sea, its quiet expansion across land borders in the Himalayas serves as a reminder that its ambitions extend far beyond the South China Sea or Taiwan. China is methodically expanding its reach, targeting small, vulnerable neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan.

Across from Nepal’s Humla District, a small, seemingly insignificant border marker near the village of Hilsa has become a powerful symbol of the region’s shifting geopolitical tides. This remote area, nestled high in the Himalayas, is now a quiet battleground where China is advancing its territorial claims in incremental, persistent ways. Fortifications have sprung up, guarded by high-tech surveillance and armed patrols, forming a stark divide between the barren Nepali side and newly robust Chinese infrastructure just across the border.

Glass-walled buildings, flood-lit roads, and modern facilities contrast sharply with Nepal’s underdeveloped and rugged terrain, signaling China’s increasing dominance in this remote region.

A 2021 fact-finding mission led by Nepali officials revealed the extent of China’s incursion, yet the report was buried—kept from public view and even high-ranking Nepali politicians.

The stark infrastructure imbalance underscores not only the widening gap between the two nations but also China’s deeper motives: to cement its hold on disputed territories and slowly push its influence beyond its borders.

For decades, Nepal provided a haven for Tibetans fleeing Chinese repression. Today, however, the stream of refugees has nearly dried up, with China’s expansion in Tibet and Xinjiang cutting off traditional escape routes and leaving Tibetans more isolated and controlled than ever. The network of surveillance and barriers erected across Tibet serves as a wall, both literally and figuratively, against those seeking refuge in Nepal. This shift is part of a broader trend under Xi Jinping, where hard-line policies in border areas seek to secure and extend China’s reach and control.

While Nepal contends with creeping encroachment, the stakes are even higher for Bhutan. In recent years, China has constructed 22 villages within Bhutan’s traditional borders, claiming about 2% of the small country’s territory. These settlements come complete with roads, military posts, and administrative centers, essentially creating new facts on the ground that are difficult to reverse.

For Bhutan, this encroachment has presented a grim dilemma: either concede these strategic lands or face the risk of escalating tensions.

**Bhutan’s situation mirrors China's gray-zone occupation strategy in the South China Sea, where it has transformed reefs and islands into fortified bases, altering the status quo and asserting control without risking direct conflict. **

[...]