Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix VII
懼
‘It will need the whole of Europe to keep those gentlemen within bounds.’
— Frederick the Great on the Russians
quoted in Norman Davies
Europe: A History, 1997, p.649
In response to a visit to Babyn Yar (Ru.: … Read
Journal
Other People’s Thoughts, XXIX
Other People’s Thoughts is a section in the Journal of the China Heritage site. It is inspired by a compilation of quotations put together by Simon Leys (Pierre Ryckmans), one of our Ancestors, during his reading life.… Read
A storied Handshake, an excised Interpreter & a muted Anthem
Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix V
見
The arrival in Beijing of Richard Nixon on the morning of 21 February 1972 was the lead story on the ABC evening news in Sydney, Australia.… Read
Dissing Dissent
Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix V
迥
The GOP in the United States of America and the CCP in the People’s Republic of China have long demonstrated eerily similar traits: an obsession with distorted historical narratives coupled to delusional nostalgia; the heroic defense of patriotic education; destructive sectarian political behaviour; intolerance of dissent and enmity towards civil society; a proclivity for rule by secretive cabals of power-brokers; a crippled vision of individual rights and collective responsibilities; a worldview based on what in recent years has become known as ‘fake news’; a fixation on conspiracy theories and systemic paranoia; the promotion of hate and resentment; self-affirmation provided by a claque of toadies, ambitious politicians and unprincipled media figures; an admiration for and the cultivation of oligarchs both at home and abroad; an obsession with race and ideological rectitude shored up by glib sophistry; the targeting of minorities for political advantage; the drumbeat of militarism; an apocalyptic view of the world; and, a penchant for rhetorical warfare, among many others.… Read
Eileen Gu — Hu Xijin on Skis
Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix VI
直
Until being detained in early 2020, the lawyer Chen Qiushi (陳秋實, 1985-) was a popular citizen-journalist known both for his short videos and on-the-ground reports first from Hong Kong during the 2019 Uprising and later in Wuhan during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic where he attempted to report on the ‘Wuhan Flu’ 武汉肺炎 (武肺) — later known as ‘Corona Virus’ 新冠病毒 or Covid-19 — in February 2020.… Read
The President & The Chairman in Retrospect
Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix V
鞭
It is one of the paradoxes of official life in the People’s Republic of China that the most fraught moment in a person’s career often comes after they are dead.… Read