A big Safeguard Defenders report on how CGTN TV operates. Includes behind-the scenes accounts of staged confessions, and working conditions in the ‘big pants’ building…
Three quarters of the rundown is all Xi Jinping news…
A paper by Professor William Hurst on China’s ghost cities. He divides them into four categories: actual ghost cities like Ordos; ‘formalist facades’ like the Beichuan post-earthquake reconstruction; speculative resort-type developments; and factory redevelopment in rust-belt regions. The first two are state-driven; the latter two private-sector. Each poses distinct economic and social problems and different prospects for long-term recovery.
Another academic paper – on how political attitudes of Chinese students are affected by studying in China versus overseas. (Long story short: those studying abroad tend to be more liberal and less nationalistic. Partly they were that way to begin with; partly China’s zero-Covid regime disillusioned them.)
Australian series You Can’t Ask That interviews blind people. They are funnier than most stand-ups.
A request
My landlady isn’t renewing the lease here at Perpetual Opulence Mansions, so I’m moving to a new apartment next month. Does anyone know of someone I can pay to take away all my unwanted things in one go? Items include: large wardrobes/cabinets; smaller furniture; a few appliances (inc. a fridge); tatty old clothes; potted plants; kitchenware; books; unwanted freebies like a teddy bear, other crap that’s too big/heavy/potentially reusable to throw out with the trash. Some are in good shape and could be sold/donated, some could be salvaged/recycled, and some sent to landfill. (There are various green social enterprises that will accept certain types of stuff, but I just want a one-stop operation.)
Any tips in the comments will be welcome.
