Washington’s long-running campaign to cripple China’s technological ambitions through sanctions has not only failed, it has spectacularly backfired. The latest evidence comes from two ends of the semiconductor world: a stunning 14-fold revenue surge for Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies, and a quiet retreat from China’s booming server market by American memory giant Micron. It’s a tale of two fortunes that perfectly illustrates the unintended consequences of mixing politics with market logic.
“You’ve gotten old!” This isn’t a phrase you hear often in social settings; but for young people, it’s definitely what they most often want to say from the bottom of their hearts to certain elders they disapprove of, especially politicians or officials. “You’ve gotten old!” means you’re useless now! It’s time to step down.
Legislative Council President Andrew Leung, having served two terms and now 74 years old, announced he would not seek re-election. His words were barely out when a group of legislators aged 70 or even approaching 70 successively declared they would step down to make way for capable successors. For a time, legislators and officials nearing 70 all felt a sense of impending doom – had their time limit arrived?
Does being old mean one is incompetent? The situation in American politics seems to be the exact opposite. Ronald Reagan became US President just a month shy of his 70th birthday; but this record was soon broken by the 70-year-old Donald Trump. Four years later, Trump’s record was broken by Joe Biden, who assumed the presidency at 78; when Trump was elected again, he became the oldest successor to the US presidency. Some joke, asking if this is the reason for America’s decline? I wouldn’t dare say; but many are asking, in such a large, vast country, is it really impossible to find a young and promising person to enter politics?
To be fair, what qualities should a good political figure have? The answer, presumably, is a clear mind, broad vision capable of distinguishing right from wrong, and the determination to hold fast to ideals. Are these qualities more easily found in young people or in those with more experience? We all know the answer in our hearts.
But seeking talent cannot rely solely on data. There are high-quality young political novices, and there are also overbearing older politicians. Perhaps the deciding factor should be who rather than age. A good system should be one that widely incorporates capable individuals, not a rigid one. A system that changes personnel just for the sake of changing them is merely a rigid set of shackles that fails to achieve the desired outcome.
Nevertheless, from an institutional perspective, it is important to give young people more opportunities to realize their potential. On one hand, we must put an end to the culture of officials clinging to power, and on the other hand, we must have a mechanism that allows the capable to fully utilize their talents. Distinguishing between the two is a crucial skill.
SCMP: Microsoft and Adobe discontinued usage in public and private sectors in China, formal decoupling with US. 南華早報:微軟和Adobe不再在中國被公和私營機構使用,中國正式和以上美國軟件脫鉤
China’s expansion of its rare earth export controls appeared to mark another escalation in the US-China trade war last week. But the announcements were also significant in another way: unusually, the documents could not be opened using American word processing software, only through WPS Office – China’s answer to Microsoft Office – as Beijing continues its tech self-reliance drive. Sending a message: Beijing issues documents without Word format amid US tensions 上週,中國擴大稀土出口管制,似乎標誌著中美貿易戰再次升級。但這些聲明在另一個方面也意義非凡:不同尋常的是,這些文件無法使用美國文字處理軟體打開,只能透過WPS Office(中國版微軟Office)打開,因為北京方面仍在繼續推動技術自主化。傳遞的訊息:在美中關係緊張之際,北京發布非Word格式的文件 https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3328782/sending-message-beijing-issues-documents-without-word-format-amid-us-tensions?