Crescent shadows in Mexico City

“When real estate is excluded, private
investment rose by almost ten percent in 2023… Moreover, the number of family businesses expanded.” foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…

This is one of the dumbest yet stickiest tropes about foreign media in the Chinese propagandasphere. I’m sure many of the clowns that promote it know better.

Nurses spotted protecting newborn babies during yesterday's earthquake. Incredible.

'When it comes to the economy, the vibes are at war with the facts, and the vibes are winning.' Very interesting piece. (Though might the venerable author be underplaying the role of the right-wing media/social media ecosystem in fanning flames?) wsj.com/economy/consum…

Aftershocks...

Tsunami due to hit Okinawa around 10:10 AM. All quiet here on the East coast.

Biggest earthquake I've experienced yet in Taipei. Everything on my table has fallen off and shattered.

And who can forget the ‘disinfecting’ of empty streets and outside areas…

That time, two years ago, when #Shanghai went nuts. And noone knew when the madness was going to end. #ZeroCovid

Hong Kong's education secretary leads a group of history teachers to Yan'an, where Mao consolidated power after the Long March, as part of a 'study tour'. They learned about the 'Long March Spirit' and the 'Yan'an Spirit'... info.gov.hk/gia/general/20…

A must listen: In China, a man has been playing the piano outdoors, often in places of great sadness—the epicenter of an earthquake, a dam that submerged villages, a street emptied during a COVID lockdown.

He plays just one song, by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

npr.org/2024/03/31/119…

Free cigarette lighter vending machine, Hefei

Wine and liquor vending machine, Chengdu

Balloons in the parking lot at Trump rallies soon then? npr.org/2024/03/23/124…

The “Fanhua phenonmenon” makes it to NPR, courtesy of John Ruwitch and Aowen Cao. Can Netflix be far behind? npr.org/2024/03/19/123…

Got fiber internet recently, which is great. There is a downside, though: it makes the web in China feel like dial-up.

'Inciting members of the Chinese armed forces to mutiny' is an interesting and quite specific national security concern in the new Article 23 law. I wonder if it stems from slogans or actions near the PLA barracks in Central in 2019...or something else?

早安北京