Barron’s (January 26)
“A chilling effect has spread throughout the Communist Party ranks as President Xi Jinping intensifies his crackdown on corruption. Those fears are beginning to extend into China’s business world” where the private sector is increasingly “nervous because of the size and scope of Xi’s campaign to rid insubordination or perceived enemies throughout the government and public sector.” In 2024, the campaign’s scope expanded by roughly 46%, with authorities disciplining 889,000 people, “the highest annual total since the party began releasing such data nearly 20 years ago.”
Tags: Authorities, Chilling, China, Communist party, Corruption, Crackdown, Disciplining, Enemies, Fears, Government, Insubordination, Nervous, Private-sector, Xi
The Economist (June 15)
The majority of Hong Kong’s courageous protestors were “young—too young to be nostalgic about British rule. Their unhappiness at Beijing’s heavy hand was entirely their own…. The Communist Party has been making clear that it will tolerate no more insubordination—and yet three days later demonstrators braved rubber bullets, tear gas and legal retribution to make their point. All these things are evidence that, as many Hong Kongers see it, nothing less than the future of their city is at stake.”
Tags: Beijing, British, Bullets, Communist party, Courageous, Future, Heavy hand, Hong Kong, Insubordination, Nostalgic, Protestors, Tear gas, Young