Since January 1, China's citizens have had the legal right to freely choose their names. Thanks to digitalization, they provide the world's largest surveillance apparatus with big data. The police are thrilled.
By Antje Sirleschtov
Double standards in dealing with China: The US talks about values, but it means geopolitical influence. The Europeans also talk about values, but they mean economic interests. Meanwhile, sanctions help no one, certainly not the people of Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Instead of verbal armament and the military show of force of times past, the West should seek dialogue with Beijing. After all, everyone knows that the world's problems can only be solved with China, not against it.
By Redaktion Table
At the EU level, discussions are underway on a supply chain law that could surpass in severity the one planned by the grand coalition in Germany. There is goodwill behind such legislation, but the possible negative consequences for poorer countries are being overlooked. It would make much more sense to directly sanction companies with inadequate social and environmental standards through an EU negative list.
By Redaktion Table
Not only in China do people know that some are more equal than others. Among the ritualized privileges of Beijing's rulers is the privilege of using Chinese characters for numbers in their writings. One who rebelled against this was the Marxist polymath and science councilor Yu Guangyuan, one of the theorists who developed the concept of the "socialist market economy".
By Redaktion Table
The narrative of China's inevitable rise is nurtured in both West and East. China seems to be rushing from victory to victory. Economic and political challenges such as overcapacity, bubbles, and the "demographic bomb" often fall by the wayside. Yet China's rise as a high-income country is anything but certain.
By Redaktion Table
Central concepts of international relations, such as freedom, democracy, or multilateralism, can be found equally in European and Chinese discourses. Yet the same words often conceal very different concepts in liberal democracies and China.
By Redaktion Table
The meeting between the US and China in Alaska did not deliver much substance. The approaches of the two interlocutors were too contrasting. China's goal is to ensure that its political model gets a permanent and uncontested seat at a table dominated by liberal democracies. Possible sanctions do not phase Beijing.
By Redaktion Table
How free, full of hope, and carefree the 80s were in China. That's how many Chinese in their fifties and sixties think. The film "Hi, Mom" has triggered a wave of nostalgia. It is a box office hit – and also an image of the times that reflects the nationalistic present, which is overrun by propaganda and performance drills.
By Redaktion Table
Joe Biden should roll back the tariffs Donald Trump imposed on China. They are hurting US workers and companies and have failed to bring down the overall US trade deficit. However, Biden should persuade China to do something in return, for example, in the climate sector.
By Redaktion Table
Writing contextlessly in a children's book that COVID-19 comes from China is dangerous. Because children don't think geopolitically. Children of Asian descent will distance themselves from their roots in order not to become victims of bullying. And German-born children will blame Asian-born children for the pandemic. Such dehumanizations continue into adulthood and reinforce the feeling of exclusion among the Asian population in Germany.
By Redaktion Table
