Bloomberg video: Yes, very racist. Covid is everywhere, but only the germs coming from China are dangerous. The US is up to it’s old tricks again. We have plenty of variants here and around the world, but they’re suddenly concerned about China because China is opening up to the world? 彭博視頻：是的，非常種族主義。 Covid無處不在，但只有來自中國的病菌才是危險的。 美國又故技重施了。 我們在這里和世界各地有很多變體，但他們突然擔心中國是因為中國正在向世界開放？
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6X0ap1Jksk 👈
There are some astonishing statements by US Gov’t mouthpiece media, the NYT 美國政府的喉舌媒體《紐約時報》發表了一些令人震驚的聲明 on Dec 24 2022 such as:
As elsewhere in the developing world, the West has seemingly lost hearts and minds here. President Biden’s framework for this era — the battle between democracy and rising autocracy — comes across as too binary for a time of complex challenges. Despite the war in Ukraine, even because of it, Central Africans are intensely skeptical of lessons on Western “values.”
Tired of Western hypocrisy and empty promises, stung by the shrug that war in Africa elicits in Western capitals as compared with war in Ukraine, many people I met were inclined to support Mr. Putin over their former colonizers in Paris.
China spreads its influence through huge investments, construction and loans. Mr. Biden convened the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit “to build on our shared values” and announced $15 billion in new business deals, as the West scrambles to play catch-up and overcome a legacy of colonialism.
These paragraphs appear early in the article, the rest mostly talked about Russian brutality and domination of this country but it also observed that Russian’s killings, while brutal, brought peace and stability.
與發展中世界的其他地方一樣，西方在這裡似乎已經失去了人心。 拜登總統為這個時代製定的框架 – 民主與崛起的專制之間的鬥爭 – 對於一個充滿複雜挑戰的時代來說過於二元化。 儘管烏克蘭發生了戰爭，甚至正因為如此，中非人仍對西方“價值觀”的課程持強烈懷疑態度。
厭倦了西方的虛偽和空洞的承諾，與烏克蘭的戰爭相比，非洲的戰爭在西方國家的首都引起的聳聳肩讓我感到震驚，我遇到的許多人都傾向於支持普京先生而不是他們在巴黎的前殖民者。
中國通過巨額投資、建設和貸款擴大影響力。 拜登先生召開了美非領導人峰會，“以建立我們共同的價值觀”，並宣布了 150 億美元的新商業交易，因為西方國家正在努力追趕並克服殖民主義的遺留問題。
這些段落出現在文章的開頭，其餘部分主要談論俄羅斯的野蠻行徑和對該國的統治，但也指出俄羅斯的殺戮雖然殘酷，卻帶來了和平與穩定。
Tired of racist America! Hong Kong is looking for 35,000 the best of the best next 3 years at Asia’s Financial Center & fast track to huge China market 厭倦美國種族主義? 香港正在尋找35,000尖子到亞洲金融中心工作也是通往中國巨大商機的快速通道
Samsung is dying from US Chip sanctions – US is sacrificing her ally again – But it can’t be mentioned by S Korean Gov’t – when you have a friend like US – who need an enemy 三星正在死於美國的芯片製裁 – 美國再次犧牲她的盟友 – 但韓國政府不能提及它 – 當你有像美國這樣的朋友時 – 需要敵人 – by SF Bay Area China Group 12-28-23
Samsung is SK’s flagship multinational conglomerate. Samsung electronics is the flagship Samsung coporation.
SK is sometimes called the Republic of Samsung. If Samsung fails, SK is not too far behind.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2022/12/419_342560.html
The top executives of Samsung Group’s affiliates held an emergency meeting earlier this week to discuss potential risks in the conglomerate’s flagship semiconductor business and brace for the looming global economic recession, according to industry officials, Wednesday…
Last week, Goldman Sachs said Samsung Electronics’ fourth-quarter operating profit is expected to decline 58.3 percent year-on-year to 5.8 trillion won ($4.6 billion). The U.S. investment bank anticipated in particular that the Korean firm’s operating profit from its semiconductor business would fall 83 percent year-on-year to 1.5 trillion won.
Domestic securities firms, which have rarely published negative reports on Samsung Electronics, also expect its semiconductor business to suffer an operating loss from the first quarter of 2023, for the first time in 14 years.
“Starting from a fourth-quarter operating loss at the NAND flash business, the company is expected to suffer an operating loss at the semiconductor business during the first quarter of next year,” Daishin Securities analyst Wi Min-bok said.
BNK Securities analyst Lee Min-hee also said Samsung Electronics will lose money from its semiconductor business during the first quarter of next year, because of the worsening profitability of both the memory and non-memory chip sectors….
The tech firm’s device experience (DX) division asked employees to halve the cost of office supplies, including printer paper.
Video: HK – Asia’s World City – lives it, love it, Day 4 12-28-22 – beautiful weather, seeks out local eateries for set breakfast lunch & dinner costs US$4-14/person 香港 – 亞洲的世界城市 – 熱愛它，第 4 天 12-28-22 – 天氣晴朗，尋找當地平民餐館的早午晚套餐，費用為每人$4-14 美元
https://youtu.be/HH6elGosC8E
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=864146858141974&id=100036400039778&mibextid=qC1gEa
SCMP: Coronavirus – Hong Kong drops on-arrival PCR tests and vaccine pass 12-28-2022
Hong Kong has taken the most dramatic steps yet to drop almost all Covid-19 measures from Thursday, including axing mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 tests for inbound travellers, the vaccine pass scheme and quarantine requirements for close contacts following similar action by mainland China.
The mask mandate, however, will stay in place, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Wednesday.
“About 2.5 million people have been infected and [when the vaccination rate reaches] 94 per cent, the pandemic risks are controllable,” he said. “We will not return to the old road [of tightening pandemic control].”
Those arriving into Hong Kong will now need to just present negative results from PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) conducted within 48 or 24 hours respectively.
The current 12-person ban on public gatherings would be scrapped.
Lee revealed the latest measures on Wednesday afternoon, at a press conference attended also by health secretary Lo Chung-mau and Centre for Health Protection controller Edwin Tsui Lok-kin.
“The Hong Kong SAR government will keep relaxing pandemic restrictions but will not give up its anti-epidemic work,” Lo vowed.
Infected individuals will still be required to undergo a five-day isolation and can only be released after showing negative results on rapid antigen tests (RAT) on the fourth and fifth days.
Beijing earlier announced it would scrap mandatory quarantine and reopen borders from next month, with its National Immigration Administration set to start issuing tourist and business visas to allow Chinese nationals to enter Hong Kong.
From January 8, all incoming travellers to mainland China are only required to present a negative PCR test within 48 hours, without undergoing any quarantine or post-arrival test.
Close contacts are currently required to undergo five days of home quarantine and daily RAT. They can only be released after testing negative on the fifth day.
Incoming travellers have to undergo a PCR test on the first and third day of arrival, and are recommended to conduct daily RATs until the fifth day, with their first day in the city considered Day 0.
The vaccine pass scheme came into effect on February 24, and has been tightened over the year, requiring residents as young as five to be triple-jabbed to enter premises citywide.
In November, authorities dropped mandatory vaccine pass checks at certain venues, including theme parks and museums.
‘Beware of fake news’
Responding to whether “white lungs” and new variants had appeared among Covid-19 patients on the mainland, Lo urged the public to beware of the unverified information and speculation online, as well as to verify sources.
He said Omicron subvariants were still the prevalent strain on the mainland and there were no new virus variants.
Edwin Tsui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said the authorities had sufficient stock of paracetamol, with enough for the six months ahead.
He called on residents to stop being picky about the brands when buying pain-relief and fever medicine, as many generic drugs contained paracetamol.
Risk-based planning key to success
John Lee attributed the success of anti-pandemic efforts to the government’s comprehensive and risk-based planning.
“We were able to hold a lot of large-scale events using a targeted approach,” Lee said. “Professor Lo has been very successful in doing risk assessment and implementing precise strategies, that’s how we have come to this stage, when we are able to relax the measures in an orderly manner.”
He stressed: “Everything is planned.”
School rules to be adjusted
John Lee said anti-pandemic rules for schools would also be adjusted and the Education Bureau would make the announcement in due course.
He added that students remained a high-risk group as the vaccination rate among children was relatively lower and they spent a large amount of time together at schools, which might increase the risk of exposure and clusters.
Masks here to stay
The chief executive said the mask mandate was here to stay as the city was now in the middle of a winter flu surge.
He said the city also had to remain vigilant against the emergence of new mutant strains, and mask-wearing could effectively protect people against them.
Hongkongers to have priority healthcare access
Hong Kong residents will have priority access to the city’s healthcare system, while non-residents will be charged HK$1,230 for emergency ward services in public hospitals. Non-residents will have to consult private clinics for services and oral medicines such as Paxlovid. Those who visit public hospitals must pay at least HK$6,000 for each treatment. Hong Kong residents will have access to Covid-19 medication free of charge.
“We have to protect medical services and resources to ensure that the public is being protected,” Lo noted.
He said the Hospital Authority had been strengthening its capacity and ability to deal with emergencies, adding that it would continue its collaboration with the private sector.
The city’s healthcare system had sufficient supply of medicine containing paracetamol, he added, saying that doctors would prescribe drugs precisely to ensure stocks remained sufficient.
Travel curbs dropped
Lee said there would be no more PCR tests for all arrivals, including those from mainland China, Taiwan and Macau. Inbound travellers only need to conduct a daily RAT for five consecutive days.
No more social distancing
Lee said all rules but the mask mandate would be cancelled. This means the quarantine order for close contacts, use of vaccine pass, dining restrictions such as a distance of 1.5 metres between two tables, and any limits on capacity of restaurants as well as other targeted premises will be lifted.
People are still required to wear masks in public places and on public transport.
Bye bye, vaccine pass
The vaccine pass scheme will be dropped from Thursday, with Lo saying the city had built a strong immunity barrier and achieved an ideal vaccination rate at 94 per cent, an important basis for the resumption of socio-economic activities.
“From now, we will focus on lifting the vaccination rate of the elderly and children for greater protection,” Lo said.
China Covid Surge Update Dec 27th – guest appearance on CGTN Dialogue by MARIO CAVOLO, DEC 27 2022
Its been awhile since my last post but as I believe most of you know, pretty much everyone we know including ourselves here in Shenyang caught Covid around two weeks ago. We’re all recovering fine and appreciate your best wishes. At the bottom of this article you will find the two links to the CGTN Dialogue shows on December 25th and 26th we just recorded and I encourage you to watch for an on the ground up date on the Covid surge happening in China right now.
On CGTN Dialogue, two shows on December 25th and 26th, I had the genuine pleasure to join fellow CCG researchers to update our international audience, for whom I have the utmost respect for, Senior Fellow Andy Mok and Senior Fellow Zoon Ahmed Khan, for an important up to the minute on the ground discussion of what’s happening right now here in China.
I encourage you to watch both of these shows.
CGTN Dialogue with host Xu Qinduo – December 25th
CGTN Dialogue with host Xu Qinduo – December 25th
https://www.cgtn.com/tv/replay?id=BAIaGcA
Most importantly is to understand that I can fully confirm that Shenyang, Beijing and a few other cities were the first to get hit and peak, that as of now, everyone was sick, is recovered and is back to work. The primary longer term symptom seems to be a lingering cough with some congestion, slowly but surely going away. I am now on day 14 and my cough is almost completely gone.
Second main point, there is no panic at all happening in China and why would there be? There is one main problem for China right now and as usual it is being improperly distorted and misrepresented in the vast majority of western voices, including some whom are genuinely evil, dark, wicked and vile, acting with malice.
I encourage you as always to accept the truthful, rational explanations I offer on China so that you realistically, accurately understand China.
These wicked actors are a truly weird, strange bunch with nothing but malicious intent, I suppose the majority are also pot smokers, drug users, drinkers, etc, so self-obsessed that they self obsessively take credit for every breath I take including my recent decision to stop being active on Twitter, which I had already been concluding for several months was 1) not worth the energy I was putting into it and 2) continues degrading into a more & more toxic gross place like most western social media platforms.
The recent “Elon Musk Twitter files” related melodrama is the most self-serving pointless waste of time I have recently witnessed, a pointless vacuous self-serving circus of social media toxicity that is consuming western society in a very bad way.
I had recently read some articles from a couple years earlier when the focus of this problem was Facebook, Congress interviewing Zuckerberg and all that political circus, and was reminded that in general, social media platforms in the west are very much part of the neoliberal cancerous poisoning of society there, the obvious and relentless decline of the society is all the proof we need. Derogatory uncivil speech is allowed and this serves to destabilize, divide degrade and even make dangerous the society. I have come to believe as many other voices have said, that this is intentional.
This 2021 NIH report on Facebook is disturbing as hell and as far as I can tell, now all of its concerns equally apply to Twitter. Here’s some of it. Sit down before you read it.
“Facebook’s ethical failures are not accidental; they are part of the business model. Facebook’s stated mission is “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” But a deeper look at their business model suggests that it is far more profitable to drive us apart. By creating “filter bubbles”—social media algorithms designed to increase engagement and, consequently, create echo chambers where the most inflammatory content achieves the greatest visibility—Facebook profits from the proliferation of extremism, bullying, hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy theory, and rhetorical violence. Facebook’s problem is not a technology problem. It is a business model problem. This is why solutions based in technology have failed to stem the tide of problematic content. If Facebook employed a business model focused on efficiently providing accurate information and diverse views, rather than addicting users to highly engaging content within an echo chamber, the algorithmic outcomes would be very different.
Facebook’s failure to check political extremism, willful disinformation, and conspiracy theory has been well-publicized, especially as these unseemly elements have penetrated mainstream politics and manifested as deadly, real-world violence.”
Like I said, this is what they have allowed American society to become infiltrated with and its all the same for Twitter now as far as I can see. Here’s the link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8179701/
Lastly, let me note to you that I may decide to engage to counter the voices of malice. They are funded and have an army of scumbags so its not easy. They deserve to be destroyed and stopped, I’m just not clear yet how that fits into the priorities of my time & energy & spirit. Life is too precious perhaps to spend any moment of it pondering what the piece of shit scumbags of the world like serpentza, who is the main ringleader of the malice, do with their time? Ultimately, we all sow what we reap but the second rule is to pick our battles wisely because our time and our life is precious.
I’m so glad I live in China which is far more safe & stable. I am so glad the Chinese government has the wisdom to keep this neoliberal cancerous agenda OUT of China.
Our family has been so blessed this many years and 2022, despite the overall chaotic tone, has been another terrific year for us. So I just focus on doing exactly what I’ve said all along, my work and views are for people who are interested in my work, not to argue with those who aren’t. Do authors write books for the people who want to read their books or for people who don’t want to read their books? Silly question.
So the main problem now in China is the sheer #s of millions of cases and the fact that the vast majority of people outside of or not familiar with China cannot comprehend what is happening in this regard and so are so easily misled, especially by the collective voices acting with malice.
For example, in a typical western city, if there is a huge viral outbreak, that city might have a population of one million and 100 deaths. That’s a low, common death rate for a flu outbreak. However, in China, dozens of cities have massive populations more in the range of 10 million, so you have to accept that the # of deaths is also going to be 10X higher, that’s 1000 deaths. No city in the world has funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoriums prepared to handle that excess capacity in the short term. And so even though the death rate as a % is low and even though there is no panic, and yes, even though it is tragic and sad, the western media portray it as a disaster, focusing on showing you busy crematoriums which then somehow translates into a giant evil conspiracy by the Chinese government. That these western voices use tragedy for their politics is abominable, truly disgraceful and pathetic.
Next. The US and Europe had already both STOPPED COUNTING CASES. So why is it a big deal if China now does the same? It is obvious that that on December 7th, China announced that they STOPPED broad testing and STOPPED required health QR codes. So obviously they stopped tracking cases, how do you expect them after formally announcing that they stopped tracking cases to then track cases? Its a ridiculous argument and just another false excuse to demonize China. Endless…
On CGTN Dialogue, two shows on December 25th and 26th, I had the genuine pleasure to join fellow CCG researchers whom I have the utmost respect for, Andy Mok and Zoon Ahmed Khan, for an important up to the minute discussion of what’s happening on the ground right now and encourage you to watch both of these shows.
CGTN Dialogue with host Xu Qinduo – December 25th
https://www.cgtn.com/tv/replay?id=BAICccA
CGTN Dialogue with host Xu Qinduo – December 25th
https://www.cgtn.com/tv/replay?id=BAIaGcA
That’s all for now, thanks friends, Mario
Oh no, one more thing. Don’t forget it.
Today is December 27th China is the now the largest safe stable successful capable civil & peaceful country on the planet.
Americans got brainwashed by Politicians & US Gov’t mouthpiece medias everyday 美國人每天都被政客和美國政府的喉舌媒體洗腦
Video: HK – Asia’s World City – lives it, love it, Day 3 12-27-22 – HKG mandatory free COVID19 testing, beautiful weather. Highlights of the day was met with UH alumni, former UBS China President at Royal HK Yacht Club to exchange international affairs ideas – HK have received favorable treatment by China since 1997, Asian hate in US allowed HK & China to hire top Chinese scientists not able to do before, top China students are seeking higher education in HK instead of US, HK people left after US supported riots in 2019 are replaced by Chinese from mainland China willing to work much harder than those who left made HK even more competitive, HKSE will start trading stocks in HK$ & RMB in 2023… 香港 – 亞洲的世界城市 – 熱愛它，第3天 12-27-22 香港政府強制免費新冠病毒測試，美麗的天氣. 今天的亮點是與三年沒有見面, 美國夏威夷大學校友，前瑞銀中國區總裁在皇家香港遊艇俱樂部會面，交流國際事務思想, 香港自1997年以來一直受到中國的優惠待遇，香港是中國的天之驕子, 美國對亞洲人的仇恨讓香港和中國聘請了以前無法做到: 在美國的中國頂尖科學家，現在許多中國頂尖學生在香港而不是美國尋求高等教育，那些香港人在 2019 年美國支持的騷亂後離開香港被中國大陸的中國人取代, 他們比離開的人更願意努力工作使香港更具競爭力, 港交所將於2023年開始以港元及人民幣交易股票…
https://youtu.be/kS9y_6u2M98
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=863759864847340&id=100036400039778&mibextid=qC1gEa
On December 26, 2022, Ambassador Qin Gang published an opinion article entitled “How China Sees the World” on The National Interest. The full text is as follows:
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in October. The CPC has thus started on a new journey, and so has China’s development. The thinking of Chinese Communists, as stated at this Party Congress, not only determines China’s direction but also has a sure impact on the world’s future.
Just as people’s worldviews fundamentally shape the ways they choose to engage with the world, the same holds true for countries and political parties. It has been reaffirmed at the Party Congress that China is committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and it remains dedicated to building a community with a shared future for mankind. Such an official, open declaration of the CPC’s worldview sheds light on the way it engages with the world.
Looking at the world as a community with a shared future naturally leads to a path of reform, opening up, and win-win cooperation. In the past decade, China has established twenty-one pilot free trade zones and increased the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) it has signed from ten to nineteen, which include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the biggest FTA in the world. Pre-establishment national treatment has been given to foreign investors across the board, and the items on the negative list for their investment have been curtailed to thirty-one from the original ninety-three. China’s market entities have soared to over 160 million. According to the World Bank, China ranks thirty-first globally in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking, up by sixty-five spots in ten years. Given this record, people should think twice about the veracity and true intentions when they hear grumblings about China “moving backwards” in reform and opening up, or “having lost America.”
Looking at the world as a community with a shared future naturally leads to the path of peaceful development. China’s development means a stronger force for peace, not a growing power poised to “break the status quo,” as some call it. The tension across the Taiwan Strait was not created by the Chinese mainland breaking the status quo, but by “Taiwan independence” separatists and external forces continually challenging the status quo of “one China.” In the case of the East China Sea, it was Japan who attempted to “nationalize” Diaoyu Dao ten years ago, altering the “status quo” between China and Japan of agreeing to put aside differences. In the South China Sea, the status quo is that regional countries are consulting on a code of conduct that will lead to meaningful and effective rules for the region. As to the border issues between China and India, the status quo is that both sides are willing to ease the situation and jointly protect peace along their borders.
China is highly concerned about the situation in Ukraine. Though deeply saddening, what has been happening there reveals some important lessons: conflicts and wars produce no winner; there is no simple solution to a complex issue; confrontation between major countries must be avoided. The most urgent task for the moment is to promote peace talks between Russia and Ukraine as well as dialogue between the United States, the EU, NATO, and Russia. In the long term, people must realize that grounding one’s own security on other countries’ insecurity won’t work; it is necessary to establish a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework. There is no choice other than this.
Mankind went through multiple crossroads in the twentieth century. Now we have come to the first crossroads of the twenty-first century: the pandemic has not been over after three years; global economic, financial, and energy crises emerge one after another; an economic recession is looming large; and more conflicts seem impending. At such a juncture, will the world continue to embrace a brave new century, or will it succumb to the beaten path of the last century? This depends on the choice of people of all countries, including the American people.
If people choose to see the world from a “democracy vs. authoritarianism” perspective, they will very likely usher in a world of division, competition, and conflict; but if they view the world as a community with a shared future, then openness, cooperation, and win-win outcomes will be the fruits of their choice. As President Xi Jinping stressed in his meeting with President Joe Biden in Bali last month, the world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together. China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes the other or thrives at the expense of the other. China and the United States now share more common interests, not less. This is how the notion of a community with a shared future for mankind mirrors in China-U.S. relations.
The differences between China and the United States—in history, culture, social system, and development path—will most probably remain in 100 years. But as residents of the same world, we should and can listen to each other, narrow our gap in perceptions of the world, and explore a way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.
The Chinese people are looking to the American people to make the right choice.
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