Taiwan - Deutsche Außenministerin in Peking

Click Here !
Ein Bericht der Pekinger Volkszeitung zum Besuch
der Deutschen Außenministerin Baerbock in Peking

Taiwan - Symbols of Conflict

In the frame of PR China's encirclement of Taiwan, the air forces of both countries recently met at close distance.

On the occasion, Taiwanese pilots operating their home-made JingGuo fighters wore badges on their uniform that are showing the symbols of the conflict: A Taiwanese black bear holding the flag of the Republic of China in his left hand, and Winnie the Pooh's honey pot expressing five stars that symbolize PR China's flag. The word "Scramble (= emergency lift-off)" is written in English below.

It should be added that Winnie the Pooh has become the inofficial symbol of Communist China's leader Xi JinPing.

DDR Nostalgie - Die "Fünfte Kolonne" und ihre Denkweise

To read the related article, you need to click to the above picture.

Wie kann man die Denkweise einer Gruppe beschreiben ohne eine unübersichtliche Sammlung von persönlichen Aussagen aufzulisten ? Das Filtern einzelner Aussagen ist dabei mühselig und wird von der persönlichen Einschätzung des Auswerters beeinflusst, seiner Lebenserfahrung und seinen persönlichen Werten, aber auch von Vorgaben eines möglichen Auftraggebers.

Warum nicht stattdessen die psychologische Disposition dieser Gruppe auf der Grundlage ihrer konkreten Situation beschreiben ? Eine solche elementare Disposition ließe sich in erster Näherung nach dem von Karl Marx vorgestellten materialistischen Prinzip ermitteln, das wir mit der Aussage 'Das Sein bestimmt das Bewusstsein' verbinden. Wichtig ist dabei zunächst nur die gründliche Kenntnis von Fakten zu den einheitlichen Lebensumständen dieses Personenkreises.

In Verbindung mit weiteren Fakten, die den Rahmen für die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines ganz bestimmten Handelns festlegen, läßt sich dann mit deutlich weniger Aufwand bereits eine verläßliche Aussage über eine etwa vorhandene kollektive Einstellung formulieren.

Wem das jetzt zu hoch ist, der möge sich diese Vorgehensweise ungefähr so vorstellen, dass hier eine Abschätzung von Denk- und Verhaltensweisen erfolgt, die zwar nicht wissenschaftlich exakt, aber trotzdem insoweit aussagekräftig ist, als sie in den meisten Fällen zutreffen wird. Man muss sich nur darüber im klaren sein, wo die Grenzen dieser Methode liegen.

Wie so etwas aussehen kann, habe ich mit meiner Betrachtung DDR Nostalgie - Die "Fünfte Kolonne" und ihre Denkweise einmal auf unterhalsame Art zusammengestellt. Sie könnte auch bei der Lösung aktueller gesellschaftlicher Probleme hilfreich sein .....

BRD Nostalgie Товарищи и друзья Genossen und Freunde

Link to another related blogspot: Happy Birthday - Graf Baltar !

Sisters of Evil - How Truth Fell Victim to Evil Lies

But they are not alone ....

A recent evaluation published by The Intercept, a US journal, says that George W. Bush's Iraq War Lies had already created a blueprint for Donald Trump. The author James Risen comes to the conclusion that the officially sanctioned conspiracy theory, hinting at Saddam Hussein for being behind the 9/11 set of attacks, was a dangerous precedent of what followed under Donald Trump.

Nobody would have imagined that just some years later a brandnew Republican President of the United States could beat all standards. It's almost unbelievable but the Washington Post fact check can prove that Donald Trump’s false or misleading claims total 30,573 over 4 years in office.

As to Vladimir Putin things are not really better. After having silenced Russia's once pluralistic press, he is now in control of the media and keen to promote there his own crude nationalist stance derived from the times of Stalinism while running amuck in Ukraine.

As a result of such development in Russia and the USA, the collection of authentic news has become more difficult for the honest type of a journalist. The invasion of junk news that we recognize as a giant fake news attack meanwhile even swapped into Europe targeting people of low as well as of high education, thus sowing uncertainty on all levels of society.

Nothing Lasts but a Beautiful Mind

Germany and USA - Still No Trust in China

Recent news from Germany came along with a decision of German authorities to check older handy chips and functional devices from China that have already been in use for some time. As to brandnew chips from China that check and security survey already came into force. New regulations are intended to shield the German 5G network from possible Chinese government access by means of feared government pressure on China based manufacturers. This latest decision has caused some official irritation in China.

As to the recent visit of US President Biden in Central Asia, China fears an increase of US influence due to US mistrust in China's activities in the area. What looks specially suspicious to the Biden administration are two railway connections between China and Iran.

Click Here ! USA and China in mutual mistrust in Central Asian activities.

China and Russia – Competition or Cooperation ?

Recent news on Belarus are raising US suspicion of a planned cooperation between Belarus, China and Russia to achieve the strategic goal of an 'Eurasian Integration' that would leave Western Europe apart and weaken the global position of the United States.

Click here ! Quotations from Chinese media on the subject.

A Chinese Evaluation of Russia - A Glimpse of the Truth

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war, here is a rare evaluation of Russia in the view of a Chinese commentator working for a majority state-owned Chinese medium.

Click here ! Excerpts from the Original Article

Other Chinese sources dealing with the Russian-Ukrainian war:

Related information on Russia 03-02-2023:
Chinese view on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russian general on satellite TV: After Ukraine,
Poland will be next, rest of Europe will follow.
Chinese info on Russian intentions 07-02-2023

The Iranian-Afghan-Chinese Alliance State of the Art in 2023

Update on latest development
included on 7 January 2023.

One year ago, on 28 January 2022, some Chinese comment discussed the feasability of a joint Iranian-Afghan-Chinese oil pipeline project intended to connect Iranian oil fields with China's western province of Xinjiang via northern Afghanistan.

In March 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Tehran and signed a 25-year joint comprehensive political, economic and cultural cooperation agreement with Iran. In January this year [i.e. 2022], the foreign minister of the new Iranian government paid a return visit to China, and the 25-year cooperation agreement was officially implemented. In other words, the Lehi government, which came to power in August 2021, continued the Rouhani government's China policy, and even went a little further. Energy issues are particularly prominent within the framework of cooperation. In the context of the withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan and the Taliban being on friendly terms with China, and under the premise of Afghan society being stabilized, the connection of Iran’s Persian Gulf (outlet to the sea) to China’s Xinjiang oil pipelines running through Afghanistan would greatly reduce the possibility of China’s energy source being blocked. The agreement solves the problem of Iran's energy guarantee to China. At the same time, taking into account the long-term nature of Afghanistan's construction, the time is set at 25 years, giving China sufficient time for construction.

Today now, on 6 January 2023, German National Radio 'Deutschlandfunk' quoted an external source on China having signed a contract with the Taliban government in Afghanistan for the exploitation of an oil field.

Hours later, some Chinese source confirmed the fact of negotiations on exploitation rights between China and the Taliban. The location of a certain oil field in question was specially mentioned. It should be lying in the Amudarya region where crude oil and natural gas reserves had already been known to exist, at the time US military engaged in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 'September 11 incidents' of 2001.

However, up to now the security problem is still an issue in Afghanistan, even though Taliban authorities are doing their best to please their friendly Chinese partners. The prove is a recent attack of terrorists on a Kabul hotel that is being regularly frequented by Chinese visitors to Afghanistan.

Around 2:30 pm on 12 December 2022, local time, several terrorists suddenly broke into a hotel in the center of Kabul. According to foreign media, this is a "hotel very popular with Chinese people". Taliban security forces rushed in immediately and killed three armed men on the spot.

Looking at the picture, there are Chinese characters written on the outer wall of the hotel: Kabul Guiyuan Hotel.

Days before, Chinese diplomats had allegedly contacted the deputy minister for security of the Taliban to ensure enforcement of security for the Chinese embassy.

The day after the incident some Chinese source reported:

阿富汗传来一个坏消息 与我们中国人有关
Title: Bad news from Afghanistan are related to our Chinese.

谁干的？
正与塔利班进行交战的“伊斯兰国”。就在北京时间13日早晨，看到最新的一条消息，“伊斯兰国”已宣布对桂园饭店袭击负责。
很多人认为塔利班极端，但真正极端的其实是“伊斯兰国”。

Who did it ?
"Islamic State" fighting the Taliban. Just on the morning of the 13th [December] Beijing time, I saw the latest news that the "Islamic State" had declared responsibility for the attack on the Guiyuan Hotel.
Many people think that the Taliban is extreme, but the real extreme is actually the "Islamic State".

After news about an Afghan-Chinese oil deal recently spread on the internet, latest Chinese publications stressed the humanitarian character of China's cooperation with the Taliban, even mentioning the goal of promoting woman rights in Afghanistan. One report made it clear that about 3.000 Afghan workers could be employed in the frame of the Chinese oil exploitation program. However, China doesn't seem to be fully satisfied with support provided by the Taliban.

Above: What looks like the signing of a contract, should be
the delivery of aid materials to the Taliban authorities.

....................

On the contrary, things between China and Iran are running rather smoothly since 2022.

Above: Iran's Chabahar port soon open to Chinese ships [04-01-2023].

Above: Chinese article on the history of Iranian-Chinese relations [05-01-2023].

Japan Reacts on Foreign Military Threats

Today, the Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida is going to officially launch a major change in Japan's military strategy, thus switching from a mere defensive attitude of its military to the enforcement of its first responder abilities including the means of a direct attack on foreign missile launch sites. The reasons of that change of policy are recent North Korean missile tests that were harming Japan's zone of military defense, leaving Japan only minutes to react in times of war. According to recent news, this goes side by side with an alleged intrusion of Chinese and Russian war planes into Japan's zone of military defense and China's policy in the South China Sea and towards Taiwan.

For the purpose of shaking-up its military abilities, Japan is expected to up its security spending to two percent of GDP by 2027, reshape its military command, and acquire new missiles that can strike far-flung enemy launch sites.

China's news center CHINA.COM 中华网 immediately answered to Japan's decision to promote an essential change in its military strategy in order to respond to an increasing danger from China. They are saying that China's policy of opening up to its neighbours has triggered an increase of Chinese tourists visiting Japan, thus promoting Japanese earnings from tourism. Furthermore, China's splendid economic development offers a chance for Japanese business as well of investing in China.

North Korea - Corona Outbreak - Latest News

（平壤17日综合电）朝鲜冠病疫情延烧，朝中社周三报道，当地过去一天新增23万2800宗发烧个案，再多6人死亡，累计个案增至超过171万宗，62人死亡，仍约69万人正接受治疗。 ..... 官方报道又指，近3000名军人进驻平壤数百间药房，启动24小时报务，协助寿措医疗物资和供应。近500个机动防疫组和治疗组，亦在全国展开诊断和治疗工作。

On [May] 17, a comprehensive report from Pyongyang informed that North Korea's coronavirus epidemic continues to spread. On Wednesday [May 18], the North Korean Central News Agency reported 232,800 new cases of 'fever' having emerged the day before. Six more people died, bringing the total to more than 1.71 million cases [of infections], with 62 deaths and about 690,000 people still receiving treatment.
.....
Official reports also stated that nearly 3,000 soldiers are stationed in hundreds of pharmacies in Pyongyang, reporting every 24-hours, in order to assist life saving measures with medical supplies and [direct] response. Nearly 500 mobile epidemic prevention teams and treatment teams are carrying out diagnosis and treatment work as well across the country.

[星洲网 A Chinese language news center from Malaysia on May 18]

Easter Bonfire in Times of War

This year the Easter Bonfire is no longer a sign of revival but a reminder of destruction.

Chinese Obituary for a Russian Battleship

Here is an unusual obituary for battleship 'Moscow', flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Even though modernized, it should have served the Russian navy during the last 40 years. Now it sank due to an 'explosion of ammunition', probably incited by Ukrainian forces using cutting edge anti-ship missiles.

As to the destruction of the Ukrainian Antonov AN-225, the biggest aircraft ever built, here is a video footage showing the damage inflicted by Russian military and which is mentioned in the above 'obituary':

Evacuation of Russia's Flagship in the Black Sea

UPDATE on April 15, 2020:
Russia's flagship 'Moscow' sank within hours after
having suffered from a detonation of ammunition.

China's Global Journal - Global Network 环球时报环球网, quoted by other media from Mainland China, reported the following news:

乌克兰敖德萨军政管理局负责人13日表示，乌军使用“海王星”导弹重创了俄黑海舰队旗舰“莫斯科号”导弹巡洋舰。乌克兰总统办公室主任顾问阿列斯托维奇也对乌克兰媒体表示“莫斯科号”导弹巡洋舰中弹起火。

[An official Ukrainian source stated on April 13:] The Ukrainian army used the 'Neptun' missile to seriously damage missile cruiser 'Moscow', the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The R-360 Neptun missile system is the latest Ukrainian version of a Russian system. It was pre-produced in small series in 2021 and planned to enter military service by 2022.

Poland - Russia Behind Polish Leader's Plane Crash ?

Yesterday, April 11, the news agency American Press AP quoted the Polish Press Agency PAP as follows:

The latest of the commission’s reports, released Monday, alleges that an intentional detonation of planted explosives caused the April 10, 2010 crash of Soviet-made Tu-154M plane that killed [Poland's president Lech] Kaczynski, the first lady and 94 other government and armed forces figures as well as many prominent Poles.

Their deaths were the result of an “act of unlawful interference by the Russian side,” the commission's head Antoni Macierewicz told a news conference.

"The main and indisputable proof of the interference was an explosion in the left wing ... followed by an explosion in the plane's center," said Macierewicz, who in 2015-2018 served as defense minister in Poland's right-wing government.

He denied that any mistakes were made by the Polish pilots or crew members, despite bad weather at the time of the crash. [The crash took place on a military airfield near Smolensk, Russia.]

Editor's Note:
The above quoted Polish sub-committee report has an official status, and PAP is a government financed press agency. However, political development in EU member state Poland has become complicated in recent years. As American Press AP put it: The latest report once again drums up hostility toward Russia among some Poles, chiefly supporters of the nationalist government, in what seems to be an effort to consolidate the voter base of the Law and Justice party, which was founded by the Kaczynski twins in 2001.

Ukraine - Beijing Blaming the West

Important UPDATE
added on April 8

Yesterday, April 6, semi-official People's Network published a statement given by the spokesman for the Chinese Mission to the European Union. That statement rejects EU accusations of China spreading unacceptable Russian conspiracy theories on the issue of the Ukrainian war, blaming the United States and NATO.

The Chinese statement indirectly hints at America's foreign policy under former US presidents like George W. Bush and which had led to the destabilization of Afghanistan and Iraq, yet without directly naming anybody. Published by China's semi-official online voice, that statement revives the idea of what the Chinese people got to know as 'US imperialism', allegedly representing a hegemonial attitude based on wrong accusations and tactical lies and which doesn't even refrain from the use of military force.

The statement, however, doesn't show any shift of position on the Chinese side. It only reiterates what is already known about China's verbal intention to recognize basic norms of international relations while acting in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and its commitment to promote peace talks and efforts to cool down the situation.

发言人重申，中方在乌克兰问题上的立场是一贯的、明确的，也是客观的、公允的。有关文章刻意歪曲中国立场主张，中方对此表示强烈不满、坚决反对。我们提醒有关人士不要选择性失明。这几十年来，是谁散布虚假信息发动战争侵犯别国的主权和领土完整？是谁不断扩大地域领域影响扰乱了地区稳定？是谁挑起冲突造成了大规模人道主义灾难？这样的责任，还需要“归咎”吗？双重标准欺骗不了世人的眼睛，旧冷战时代的盟友阵营绝不能代表公平正义。

The spokesperson [for the Chinese Mission to the European Union] reiterated that China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent, clear, objective and fair. The relevant article deliberately distorts China's position and proposition. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this. We remind those concerned not to be selectively blind. In the past few decades, who has spread false information and launched wars to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries? Who is constantly expanding regional influence and disrupting regional stability? Who provoked the conflict and caused the massive humanitarian disaster? Does such responsibility still need to be "blamed"? Double standards cannot deceive the eyes of the world, and the alliance of the old Cold War era can never represent fairness and justice.

AFP [on a regular press conference]: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell said that Chinese officials were reluctant to talk about Ukraine during the China-EU leaders' meeting last week. How do you respond to this?

Zhao Lijian [spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs]: A few days ago, the leaders of China and the EU held a very successful meeting. The remarks of the relevant European officials you just mentioned are not in line with the facts. What the relevant EU officials should do is to advance the bilateral relations between China and the EU in accordance with the consensus and spirit reached at the China-EU leaders' meeting, instead of making irresponsible remarks.

Only one day after the official statement was made by China's EU Mission, immediately confirmed by a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a more popular and less diplomatic version of China's stance appeared as 'personal view' in China's Defense Journal.

Ukraine - Why China Won't Openly Oppose Russia

Last Update: April 05, 2022

China's Policy of "Saying One Thing, Doing Another"

Eurasianet, a news center specialized on the Caucasus region and Central Asia, came to the following conclusion:

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has said all the right things in support of Russia, its professed strategic partner. Chinese officials have faithfully repeated Russian propaganda, refusing to describe the unprovoked attack on Ukraine as a “war” or “invasion,” while echoing the Kremlin claim that NATO’s expansionist desires are the root cause of the conflict.

But Beijing’s actions are telling a different story, underscored by the March 9 Foreign Ministry announcement that the Chinese Red Cross is supplying almost $800,000 in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The amount is small, but the gesture is significant in the current context: Chinese leaders are hedging their geopolitical bets.

It was just over a month ago that Russian leader Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The two issued a joint statement describing bilateral relations as “superior to political and military alliances of the Cold War era,” and cooperation as having “no limits.”

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, however, China’s behavior toward Russia has been circumspect and restrained, its officials proclaiming solidarity with Russia without following up in substance. Before Russian troops attacked, Chinese officials spoke against Western sanctions. But once the United States and European Union started imposing sanctions and disconnecting Russian banks from the SWIFT financial network, leading Chinese financial institutions began quietly adhering to the restrictions, according to Bloomberg news service.

Related Article: Chinese fleeing Ukraine - Official Support


Strategic Benefits for China

A personal view published in the Chinese Financial Times Network put it that way:

There is now a popular view at home and abroad that China will be an important beneficiary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The reason is that the Russia-Ukraine conflict highlights the contradiction between Russia and the West, especially the United States, and leads the United States' strategic focus from Asia to Europe, which will reduce the international pressure on China. In other words, China will be the winner of this geopolitical conflict. To demonstrate this point, the claim often cites the US war in Afghanistan as an example. After President George W. Bush took office in 2001, he planned to exert more pressure on China, but the "9·11" terrorist attack in 2001 completely changed this situation. In the following 20 years, the United States has devoted itself to combating international terrorism, thus easing the pressure on China. China has therefore won 20 years of golden development opportunities and made great strides in economic construction. Now, at a time when the United States regained focus on deploying a geopolitical strategy of "back to Asia" and treating China as a strategic competitor, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out again, which prompted the United States to reconsider its global strategy and allocate more power to Europe.

It is therefore that China will not be inclined to join ranks with a global majority of nations to oppose Putin's war on Ukraine. China's priority would rather be a silent reconstruction of global alliances and delivery chains to compensate for the damage inflicted by Putin's war on China's 'One Road One Belt' strategy in Central Asia.

Furthermore, showing public disagreement with Putin's macciavellian strategy for eastern Europe could reshift the focus of international criticism to China's own domestic and global strategies.


China Still Follows its Global Economic Strategy
On April 2, the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong published an article titled "Why the War in Ukraine Won't Derail China's "One Belt, One Road" Initiative's ambitious goals". The author is Hong Kong - APEC Trade David Dodwell, executive director of the Policy Research Group.

欧亚铁路是个惊人的成功。去年，大约有150万个集装箱往来于中国与23个欧洲国家的130个城市之间，在疫情扰乱了海运和空运之际，占中欧贸易的5%至8%。

俄乌冲突无疑扰乱了运输，但长期来看，认为这将产生重大影响是不准确的。

对北京而言，欧亚铁路只是中国争取世界贸易市场准入多样化、减少对马六甲海峡和苏伊士运河的依赖、确保能够长期获得国内长期供应不足的大宗商品渠道的众多项目之一。根据路孚特公司“一带一路”倡议数据库统计，它已包括全球2631个项目，总价值达3.7万亿美元。

从这个角度看，“一带一路”为一个不稳定的世界提供了极其重要的防御。欧亚铁路短期损失部分集装运输业务，不会让中国人夜不能寐。

The Eurasian Railway was an astonishing success. About 1.5 million containers travelled between China and 130 cities in 23 European countries last year, accounting for 5-8% of trade between China and Europe at a time when the pandemic has disrupted sea and air freight.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has undoubtedly disrupted transportation, but it would be inaccurate to think that this will have a significant impact in the long run.

For Beijing, the Eurasian railway is just one of many projects China is seeking to diversify market access to world trade, reduce its reliance on the Straits of Malacca and the Suez Canal, and ensure long-term access to commodities that are chronically undersupplied at home. According to Refinitiv's Belt and Road Initiative database, it already includes 2,631 projects around the world with a total value of US$3.7 trillion.

From this perspective, the Belt and Road Initiative provides an extremely important defense against an unstable world. The Eurasian Railway will lose some container transportation business in the short term, which will not keep the Chinese up at night.


Related Article: Putin's War - China's Perception