tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68584798879717500002024-03-13T18:05:44.929+08:00SchediumGlobal perspectives Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.comBlogger446125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-33304046576011164322024-02-26T19:58:00.000+08:002024-02-26T19:58:03.930+08:00Germany's Far Right Party AfD and Its Rhetoric of Radicalisation<br />“Millions of migrants from other cultures challenge the foundations of our community, the unwritten rules of coexistence, and thus national identity itself,” wrote the German politician Alice Weidel in her 2019 book “Counter-arguments. Thoughts about Germany” (German: “Widerworte. Gedanken über Deutschland”). <br /><br />Weidel is the co-chairwoman of the far right party Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) and the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's federal legislature.<br /><br />In recent years, the <a href="https://www.bpb.de/themen/parteien/parteien-in-deutschland/afd/273130/etappen-der-parteigeschichte-der-afd/">AfD</a> has gained significant support and influence in German politics. The party was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro movement, but later shifted increasingly towards right-wing extremism.<div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="320" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6532d0ad-df38-44a7-816f-e36ffaac59c4_1000x1024.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="313" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: left;">Alice Weidel in 2019. </span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sandro_Halank" style="text-align: left;">Sandro Halank</a><span style="text-align: left;">, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The AfD <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2024/01/on-people-who-dont-care-about-democracy.html">surged</a> to 24% in a January 2024 YouGov poll, trailing only the Christian Democrats (29%), and ahead of the Social Democrats (15%) and the Greens (12%).<br /><br />On January 10, 2024, the investigative outlet Correctiv published a report revealing that high-ranking AfD politicians, neo-Nazis, and sympathetic business figures had attended a secret meeting in November 2023 to discuss the mass deportation of migrants, asylum seekers, and German citizens of foreign origin deemed to have failed to integrate. <br /><br />The meeting, which took place in a hotel near the city of Potsdam, focused on a so-called "remigration" plan, i.e. the forced removal of people with non-German ethnic backgrounds, even if they are citizens of Germany. The report sparked widespread outrage, leading to large protests across Germany. <br /><br />Ever since its emergence on the political scene over a decade ago, the AfD has conducted a campaign of radicalisation. Exploiting economic and social crises as well as racism, islamophobia and cultural conservatism, the AfD has crafted a new nationalistic narrative the likes of which the country had not seen since 1945. <br /><br />In this article, I will first discuss the meaning of the concept of radicalisation, and then I will examine a few excerpts from Weidel’s book to demonstrate how the AfD is implementing its strategy. <br /><br /><b>If you are interested in this and other topics I write about, consider following me on <a href="https://mastodon.online/@aristeon89" target="_blank">Mastodon</a>, buying me a <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">coffee</a> ☕ and checking out some of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aris-Teon/author/B0BT7V1V8P?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1708830394&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true" target="_blank">books</a> 📚 This really helps me out. Thanks! </b><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">•Defining radicalisation </h2><br /><br />I define radicalisation as a non-linear process by which polarisation and the breakdown of compromise, tolerance and dialogue cause individuals or groups to resort to conflict and violence to accomplish political goals (my definition is based on Feddes et al. 2020, chapter 2). <br /><br />Radicalisation can lead to the use of non-violent pressure and coercion, or to various forms of political violence, including terrorism and mass murder.<br /><br />The process of radicalisation involves an ideological transformation, a move away from mainstream beliefs towards a “dichotomous worldview” and the delegitimisation of the existing political system (ibid.).<br /><br />There are various types of groups whose ideologies can be susceptible to radicalisation. The most important are: <br /><br /><br /><br />1-nationalist/separatist<br /><br />2-far right <br /><br />3-far left<br /><br />4-single-issue groups<br /><br />5-religious fundamentalist<br /><br /><br /><br />These groups may overlap. For example, a political movement can combine nationalist, far right and religious fundamentalist ideas. <br /><br />Radicalisation is based on three processes: <br /><br /><br /><br />•categorisation<br /><br />•“us versus them”<br /><br />•in-group superiority<br /><br /><br /><br />Humans are social animals who seek companionship. Being part of a group can offer increased safety, better material outcomes (e.g. through division of labour), as well as enjoyment and recreation. <br /><br />Humans have a natural tendency to categorise others in order to more easily process and retain complex social information. Categorisation allows people to manage and store information, and to predict certain traits or behaviours in others. As a result, many individuals rely on categorisation to comprehend and attribute meaning to the world around them.<br /><br />People categorise not only others, but also themselves. They create a distinction between their own group (“us”, or the in-group) and other groups (“them”, or the out-groups) (ibid., chapter 6). <br /><br />Categorisation is not neutral. In most cases, positive and negative traits are associated with different groups. People are inclined to think positively about themselves and their in-group. They may also consider themselves and their in-group superior to others. The feeling of in-group superiority may in turn reflect back on the individual, giving them a high sense of self-esteem (ibid.). <br /><br />Individuals fulfil their needs for belonging, association, and membership by joining various types of groups, such as those based on family, tribes, friendships, interests, recreation, education etc. <br /><br />While being part of multiple groups enhances a sense of belonging and affiliation, no single group is entirely essential to the individual self. The family may be the most notable exception to this rule, but in most cases, individuals can transition between social groups with minimal psychological discomfort. This multifaceted affiliation allows individuals to avoid relying solely on any one group for their identity (Braddock 2020, pp. 17-18).<br /><br />Categorisation, us versus them, and perceived in-group superiority are common phenomena found in most groups. However, under certain circumstances they may lead to radicalisation. <br /><br />Radical groups make clear distinctions between people, drawing rigid boundaries between the in-group and out-group members. They view out-groups as inferior and possibly as a threat (Feddes 2020, Chapter 6).<br /><br />This dynamic is also common to cults. I would argue that radical groups and cults have overlapping characteristics, the main difference being that cults usually revolve around a charismatic leader. In a previous article about the <a href="https://china-journal.org/2024/01/12/mao-zedongs-personality-cult-in-present-day-china-from-deng-xiaoping-to-xi-jinping/">personality cult in China's political system</a>, I have explained that cults use the following strategies of thought control: <br /><br /><br /><br />1 milieu control<br /><br />2 mystical manipulation<br /><br />3 demand for purity<br /><br />4 confession<br /><br />5 sacred science<br /><br />6 loading the language<br /><br />7 doctrine over person<br /><br />8 dispensing of existence<br /><br /><br /><br />In radical groups as well as in cults, people have a strong identification with the in-group, are expected to believe in an ideology, strictly adhere to it, and attach more value to their own group than to the out-groups. This can lead to the justification of violent acts and even mass murder against members of out-groups (“dispensing of existence”) (see Feddes 2020, Chapter 6). <br /><br />Braddock calls this process “self-deindividuation” and ”other-deindividuation”: <br /><br />“While individuals undergo self-deindividuation, they can also experience a parallel process where they deindividuate people who do not belong to their group. As an individual comes to believe that their social conditions are affected by external groups (a common tenet of extremist ideologies), they may also come to perceive those groups as a uniform collection of enemies. When this occurs, the individual develops beliefs that treat all members of enemy groups as homogeneous. This is a critical step in the context of political violence, as people tend to demonstrate greater aggression against those they do not see as distinct entities” (Braddock 2020, p. 18). <br /><br />The next step is the dehumanisation of out-groups, which paves the way for the justification of violent acts: <br /><br />“[I]ndividuals begin … to consider out-group enemies as subhuman, referring to them as animals, pests, vermin, demons, or monsters. By perpetuating the idea that the members of enemy groups are part of a deindividuated, subhuman collective, extremist groups rationalize violence against those perceived enemies. [O]nce violence against out-group enemies has been justified and performed, radicalized individuals may also engage in ‘demonization’ whereby they become convinced that their enemies are the manifestation of a ‘cosmic evil’” (ibid., p. 19).<br /><br />Pressure to conform to group ideology and replace the individual self with the group self is very strong in radical groups (including in cults). Failure to conform leads to ostracism, in being tossed out of the in-group, thus becoming a member of the out-group, with all the negative psychological and possibly material repercussions this entails. <br /><br />Simultaneously, radical groups emphasise the need for a clearly defined out-group to highlight the contrast between their own perceived superiority and the inferiority of others. This results in a deliberate search for an out-group that is regarded as inferior, allowing them to clearly define the boundaries between the two. The in-group not only sees itself as a coherent homogeneous community, but it also reduces the out-group to an indistinct homogeneous mass without individuality (Feddes et al. 2020, Chapter 6). <br /><br />Having briefly examined the concept and process of radicalisation, I will now look at some examples from Alice Weidel's book. <br /><br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">•The Language of Radicalisation</h2><br /><br />In chapter 3 of “Counter-arguments. Thoughts about Germany,” Alice Weidel defends the idea of the nation-state (the following excerpts are my translations): <br /><br />“The notion that the nation-state (Nationalstaat) is a ‘relic of the 19th century’ that must be overcome in the name of progress is also a common refrain in political standard declarations. The longing to dissolve German statehood in supranational associations, whether in a European Union that would be transformed into a European superstate, into ‘United States of Europe’, or even in a UN world republic, to which national statehoods would have to submit without complaint, connects the political generation of Helmut Kohl with the Merkel generation.<br /><br />“The democratic nation-state is a model for the future. It remains the predominant principle of order and the basic building block of global political architecture even in the 21st century. ‘The human race has not yet developed a better form of organisation than the nation,’ rightly observes the Swiss Thomas Hürlimann. Without the framework of the nation-state, neither a democratic order nor a functional welfare state is conceivable” (Weidel 2019, chapter 3).<br /><br />Alice Weidel is using common themes of nationalist rhetoric that have been a part of public discourse in countries around the world at least since the 19th century. But they have been competing with universalist ideas, for instance the concept of universal human rights. <br /><br />Weidel seeks to reassert nationalism as a viable political ideology in Germany, and frames the nation as the in-group shaping people's identity, allegiance, sense of self, as well as political action. <br /><br />However, she also introduces a new concept that has become popular with the far right in recent decades. She portrays the nation as the precondition for and the very essence of democracy. According to Weidel, democracy is not a set of universal rules and values, but the political embodiment of a nation. This logic turns democracy from a set of universal values to a nation-specific political ideology. Her argument becomes clearer in the following passage: <br /><br />“Democracy means people's rule (Volksherrschaft). The ‘dēmos,’ the politically organised people, is, in other terminology, the nation. The sovereign of every democracy is the national people (Staatsvolk, lit. ‘state people’), according to classical international law doctrine, together with a clearly defined territory and the state authority over it, a constitutive element of the political entity ‘state’...” (ibid.).<br /><br />The German word “Volk” (cognate of the English word “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folk">folk</a>”) does not have the exact same meaning as the word “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/people">people</a>” (which comes from Anglo-French pople, peple, peuple, ultimately from Latin populus). <br /><br />The German dictionary <a href="https://www.duden.de/">Duden</a> provides five meanings, the first two being: 1) “a large community of people connected by a shared culture and history [and language]” (durch gemeinsame Kultur und Geschichte [und Sprache] verbundene große Gemeinschaft von Menschen); 2) “the mass of members of a society, the population of a country, a state's territory” (Masse der Angehörigen einer Gesellschaft, der Bevölkerung eines Landes, eines Staatsgebiets). <br /><br />The word Volk is therefore quite ambivalent. But Weidel clarifies that, in her view, “Staatsvolk” is not just a legal term: <br /><br />“The term ‘Staatsvolk’ is more than just a population that happens to be present in a specific territory. A minimum level of commonality (Ein Mindestmaß an Gemeinsamkeiten) is required to form a nation out of a group of individuals. This includes shared historical experiences, language, and culture …” (ibid.).<br /><br />The state is therefore not based on universal values, but requires a national community. It is noteworthy that Weidel uses the phrase “a minimum level of commonality”. This is an arbitrary, subjective and vague criterion. It does not hold up to any serious scrutiny. For instance, a person who grew up in Munich (former West Germany) and a person who grew up in Dresden (former East Germany) in the 1950s or 1960s do not have “shared historical experiences” and may have no “minimum level of commonality”. There is no objective criterion for establishing a minimum level of commonality between the citizens of a state. <br /><br />Weidel's definition is flexible enough for politicians to change it, move the goalpost, exclude or include entire groups of people. But it also signals that at least the people who can trace their ancestry back to a few generations, and who agree with the AfD’s views, will be “protected” and considered the “real” people, accentuating the in-group feeling of AfD supporters and potential supporters.<br /><br />Furthermore, Weidel uses the Greek word “demos,” while in fact what she is describing is an “ethnos.” According to Michael Mann, the dēmos is “a simple political definition of the people of a country,” while ethnos is the “construction of those people … as a nation with a common culture and heritage and ‘distinct from others’” (quoted in: Fenton 2010, p. 159).<br /><br />Although her concept of Staatsvolk is ambiguous, she is very straightforward in her condemnation of Islam. That is the primary out-group against which she defines the in-group. <br /><br />Since she believes that democracy is not about universal values, but about national homogeneity, she further condemns “multiculturalism” and migration as anti-democratic. She writes:<br /><br />"‘Multicultural democracy’ is a contradiction in terms because it lacks the democratic sovereign (der demokratische Souverän). The partial or complete replacement (Auswechselung) of this sovereign through large-scale, unregulated, and unmanaged migration from other cultural areas (Migration aus anderen Kulturkreisen) is an attack on democracy itself, just like the attempt to melt down and dissolve the democratic nation-state in a supranational union, a ‘superstate’” (Weidel 2019, chapter 3).<br /><br />We see here how Weidel twists the meaning of democracy. Democracy (as I explained in a previous <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2022/11/is-united-states-democracy-or-republic.html">article</a>) refers to a political system, and as such it can exist in the US, Canada, South Korea, France, Taiwan and anywhere else. Similarly, autocracy can exist anywhere.<br /><br />But Weidel shifts the focus away from laws and institutions towards the national identity of the “sovereign,” which allows her to appropriate the word democracy for her own nationalist agenda. Unlike the far right before World War II, the contemporary far right reinterprets democracy as a form of superior culture inherent to specific nations. She is also articulating the far right theory of ethnic replacement, calling migration an attack on democracy. <br /><br />Whether Weidel's ideas are popular is a separate topic. It is possible that they appeal to a large segment of society. Interestingly enough, there do not seem to be publicly available surveys on the issue of national identity, race and ethnicity in Germany.<br /><br />I will simply point out that her arguments do not reflect a democratic, but an ethno-nationalist viewpoint which is based on categorisation, “us versus them”, and in-group superiority. <br /><br />This becomes obvious in chapter 4 of her book, titled “Freedom or Islamisation” (Freiheit oder Islamisierung). Note the either/or framing of the issue, a hallmark of in-group versus out-group rhetoric. Weidel writes: <br /><br />“The most shocking consequence of the government's loss of control in public spaces is the significant increase in sexual violence against women and girls, both in terms of the number of cases and the geographical spread. This includes obscene insults, groping, sexual harassment, assault, attempted and completed rapes. The sense of security of many women and girls has been destroyed. <br /><br />“These incidents can occur during the day or at night, while walking, jogging, or cycling, in parks, on public paths, or in busy areas, in urban centres, villages, or small towns, in swimming pools or public transportation. Within families, among friends and classmates, it has become a topic of discussion regarding where and how one can go without the protection of someone else.<br /><br />The overwhelming majority of the perpetrators are young men from the North African and Middle Eastern, in short, from the Muslim cultural sphere” (ibid., chapter 4).<br /><br />There is a lot to discuss in this passage. <br /><br />The first thing to note is that the issue of crime, and specifically sexual offences such as rape, is extremely sensitive and arouses strong emotional reactions. It is one of those topics that can easily kindle passionate responses. This is inevitable and also understandable. <br /><br />Weidel has chosen this exact topic in order to frame the issue of “Islamisation.” It is a good way to make sure that a debate on immigration cannot be conducted reasonably and dispassionately. <br /><br />According to <a href="https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1587/umfrage/vergewaltigung-und-sexuelle-noetigung/">Statista</a>, in 2012 Germany registered 9.2 cases of rape and sexual assault per 100,000 inhabitants. The number remained quite stable for a few years, but it rose to 13.7 in 2017, plateaued at around 11 until 2022, when it surged sharply to 14.1. The website Mediendienst Integration <a href="https://mediendienst-integration.de/desintegration/kriminalitaet.html">states</a>:<br /><br />“In 2021, 86.4% of immigrants suspected of being involved in a criminal act were male, and 57.7% were younger than 30 years old. The majority of the immigrants came from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. However, their proportion among the suspected immigrants is below average, meaning that individuals from the main countries of origin are less frequently involved in criminal activities. On the other hand, suspects from countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, and Georgia are overrepresented.”<br /><br />As criminologist Christian Walburg <a href="https://www.bpb.de/themen/innere-sicherheit/dossier-innere-sicherheit/301624/migration-und-kriminalitaet-erfahrungen-und-neuere-entwicklungen/#%E2%80%9E03%E2%80%9C">explained</a>:<br /><br />“In all societies and at all times, the highest crime rates are observed among men transitioning from youth to adulthood. This fact is particularly significant in assessing the frequency of registration of asylum seekers who have arrived in recent years, among whom a significantly higher number of men were in a ‘criminologically relevant’ age group than in the general population.”<br /><br />Socio-economic factors, age, and gender play a significant <a href="https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/afd-einzelfallticker-100.html">role</a> in assessing crime. The percentage of young men among asylum seekers is notably higher than in the general population, a demographic that exhibits a higher crime rate irrespective of their origin. <br /><br />Moreover, crime statistics in Germany do not always include nationality or distinguish between migrants and visitors from abroad, making an assessment even more complicated. <br /><br />But having a rational discussion about crime is difficult because it is such an emotionally charged issue. Anybody who tries to do so may appear to downplay or be indifferent to the plight of victims. <br /><br />The demonisation of minority out-groups has a long history. Similar tropes have been used to denounce immigration, particularly the equation of immigrants with criminals. In 1856, the American nativist Thomas R. Whitney denounced European immigration into the US. He <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a>:<br /><br />"To believe that a mass so crude and incongruous, so remote from the spirit, the ideas, and the customs of America, can be made to harmonize readily with the new element into which it is cast, is, to say the least, unnatural … A single savage may be readily civilized; a whole tribe never … European immigration is unquestionably the 'Grecian horse' of the American Republic … Probably the most accurate data on which an opinion can be based is the enormous disproportion of European criminals in the United States, as compared with those of American birth.”<br /><br />We see how Whitney deindividuated and dehumanised European immigrants, describing them as a “mass” that was “crude” and “incongruous,” claiming that their existence among people of American birth was “unnatural,” and depicting them as criminals. His arguments demonstrate the arbitrariness of in-group/out-group definitions. <br /><br />The trope of the out-group “other” as a sexual predator has a long history, too. For example, “sexual antisemitism” was a component of anti-Jewish discourse for hundreds of years. <br /><br />In 1917, the nationalist writer and politician Artur Dinter (1876-1948) published the sexual anti-semitic bestseller "The Sin Against the Blood" (Die Sünde wider das Blut), which quickly reached a circulation of a quarter million. The novel depicted "the Jew" as fixated on conquering the "blonde woman."<br /><br />Dinter portrayed the supposedly negative consequences for "mixed-race children" from relationships with Jewish men, as well as the societal ramifications of biological decay and disintegration.<br /><br />During the Nazi era, the implementation of the legal concept of "racial defilement" (Rassenschande) led to over 2,000 convictions between 1935 and 1943. While the racialised sexualisation of Jews had historical roots in Christian perceptions of circumcision as an evil practice, it was under the Nazi regime that the notion of the Jew as a sexual rival was linked to the image of the defiler of the “Aryan race” (Bühl 2020, chapter 3).</div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="247" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e93d41-8908-47be-90c2-4449975e4038_532x410.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Anti-semitic drawing from the Nazi children's book “Trust No Fox on his Green Heath and No Jew on his Oath! A Picture Book for Old and Young” (German: Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud auf seinem Eid! ein Bilderbuch für Gross und Klein). The book, written and illustrated by Elvira Bauer, was published in 1936. Source: USHMM</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As Michael Berkowitz (2007) has shown, Jews were also associated with criminality in general. Several anti-Jewish tropes proliferated in majority Christian societies due to religious rivalry. Jews were identified with Judas, whose betrayal of Jesus was supposed to represent the Jewish people's treacherous and criminal character. Furthermore, the myth of the <a href="https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/judaist-peter-schaefer-wir-werden-antisemitismus-nie-100.html">Jews</a> as the murderers of Jesus (“deicide”) was widespread. <br /><br />Apart from stereotypes based on Christian narratives, Jews were accused of being involved in prostitution, usury, and robbery. The idea of Jews as members, and sometimes leaders, of mixed bands of Jewish and Christian robbers found its way into German writer Friedrich Schiller's famous play “Die Räuber” (The Robbers, published in 1781) (ibid.). <br /><br />The stereotype of the Jews as inherently criminal was exploited by the Nazis to portray them as a threat, justifying violence against them. The anti-semitic Nazi propaganda film “Der ewige Jude” (1940) depicted the Jews as a small minority that was responsible for a disproportionately high percentage of crime:<br /><br />"The parasitic Jewish people constitute a large part of international criminality. In 1932, the proportion of Jews, who make up only 1% of the world's population, in the global drug trade was 34%, in pickpocketing 47% [...], in international theft gangs 82%, in trafficking of girls 98%” (quoted in: ibid.). <br /><br />Another example of the sexualisation and criminalisation of out-groups are stereotypes associated with African-Americans:<br /><br />“By the turn of the twentieth century, an entire set of ideas about the negative and even disastrous consequences of sexual relations between whites and blacks gained ascendancy … [B]y the end of the nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century, there was a belief among whites that miscegenation would result in the degeneration or decline of the white race.<br /><br />“In effect, many people of European descent sought to maintain the purity of the white race against the threat of black sexuality. This was especially true of black male sexuality. Many white men felt that they were protecting white womanhood and sexual purity; others had anxieties about their own sexuality and feared the prowess of black men. Dubious or questionable accusations of the rape of a white woman by a black man could result in violence. Even lesser accusations along the same lines could have a similar outcome. This often resulted in lynching or murder, which was all too common in the sixty years following the Civil War” (Jaynes 2005, p. 547).<br /><br />Any criminal act committed by members of the out-group can lead to strong emotional reactions that reinforce stereotypes against the entire group. Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, it is not easy to have a reasonable debate about single criminal acts and the socio-economic causes of crime. <br /><br />As we have seen before, categorisation and in-group identity are normal processes. But they can serve as fertile ground for radicalising rhetoric and extremist ideologies.<br /><br />Especially in times of rapid social, economic and demographic change, some people may struggle to understand the world around them and to adjust to it. Moreover, their loss of status, as well as the loss of status of their in-group, may lead to resentment.<br /><br />Under such circumstances, categorisation, “us versus them” rhetoric, and in-group superiority can be used by political and cult leaders to mobilise and radicalise a segment of society. <br /><br />Alice Weidel's rhetoric is just an updated rendering of old stereotypes, tropes and techniques, which still seem to be effective today, as they were a century or more ago. <br /><br />According to German sociologist Andreas Kemper, anti-democratic movements do not use <a href="https://andreaskemper.org/2020/10/20/die-reaktionaere-diskurskoalition/">language</a> to craft arguments for the purpose of solving specific problems. Rather, their “political language is particularly used as a declaration of political affiliation (politisches Zugehörigkeitsbekenntnis)”. <br /><br />From this perspective, I would argue that Weidel's book is primarily a declaration of political affiliation, a means to construct an in- and out-group dynamic, and to “recruit followers” by stoking fear, anger, a sense of belonging to the in-group, as well as a feeling of superiority towards the out-group. <br /><br />Although <a href="https://www.swp.de/panorama/personen/alice-weidel-lebenslauf-afd-65089931.html">Weidel</a> is openly lesbian and lives with her partner, the Sri Lanka-born Swiss film producer Sarah Bossard, and their two children in Switzerland, she nevertheless propagates the AfD’s ethno-nationalist, anti-LGBTQ+ and reactionary ideology. <br /><br />This contrast seems contradictory, but it is not unprecedented. There are examples of members of minority groups supporting political organisations that are ideologically hostile to their group, a topic I might explore in another article. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">• • •</div><br /><b>If you are interested in the topics I write about and want to support my work, consider buying me a <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">coffee</a> ☕ or taking a look at some of my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#" target="_blank">books</a> 📚 Your support really helps me out and makes my writing possible! Thank you! </b><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Referenced books (Bookshop affiliate links)</span></h3><br /><br />•Braddock, K. (2020). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9781108474528">Weaponized Words: The Strategic Role of Persuasion in Violent Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization</a>.<br /><br />•Bühl, A. (2020). Antisemitismus: Geschichte und Strukturen von 1848 bis heute. <br /><br />•Feddes, A. et al. (2020). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9781138897564">Psychological Perspectives on Radicalization</a>. <br /><br />•Fenton, S. (2010). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9780745642659">Ethnicity</a>. <br /><br />•Jaynes, G. D. (2005). Encyclopedia of African American Society. <br /><br />•Weidel, A. (2019). Widerworte. Gedanken über Deutschland.</div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-86095202658208347022024-02-13T01:38:00.003+08:002024-02-14T18:30:17.736+08:00Japan: A Model for an Alt-Right Ethno-State?<span style="font-size: medium;">On February 3, 2024, writer and journalist Steven Beschloss <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a> on Substack about his plans to travel to Japan:</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />“I asked last year where in the world you might want to visit, but I’m thinking about it again now. I’m happy to say that this week I get the opportunity to briefly visit the place I have dreamed about for a long time. That’s Japan, including a quick visit to Kyoto and its bamboo forest by way of Tokyo and the bullet train.<br /><br />"As I described last year, I’m drawn to the physical beauty of Japanese gardens and ancient temples. I’m intrigued by the bustling contemporary art scene and the people—and both the hustle and quiet of everyday life. ‘I’m determined to visit.’”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRm0chBC2i5P9pi0vMRQC1NWu3TRYyHxZ8Sr00K6xekvvsT1FlTOx4NXonNuwZXgEBzjxnfqhhlHMhb8ZFa4ELUtmeYYZiwnW7JdGBeePep1f8EE7SJFrRtKwK-m_jDmpDGR91SRfHOBYIQueYPUzvcEdxQCuYbfVyZFKTl1eKnMo43fBLZF0EmLafprS/s1024/_5c4ad911-3fdb-432f-953a-51ddd3cdb575.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRm0chBC2i5P9pi0vMRQC1NWu3TRYyHxZ8Sr00K6xekvvsT1FlTOx4NXonNuwZXgEBzjxnfqhhlHMhb8ZFa4ELUtmeYYZiwnW7JdGBeePep1f8EE7SJFrRtKwK-m_jDmpDGR91SRfHOBYIQueYPUzvcEdxQCuYbfVyZFKTl1eKnMo43fBLZF0EmLafprS/s320/_5c4ad911-3fdb-432f-953a-51ddd3cdb575.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />When I read Beschloss’s piece, I thought: “How nice! He gets to travel to Japan, and he seems so enthusiastic about it!”<br /><br />But that's not your reaction if you're a far right ethno-nationalist spreading your ideology at every opportunity.<br /><br />The Substack account Yuri Bezmenov quote-posted Beschloss’s article to his followers, adding the following <a href="https://substack.com/@yuribezmenov/note/c-48753143?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=217nmj">comment</a>:<br /><br />“Japan is not a good place for your Progressive liberal values. It has almost no diversity, immigration, or crime. I recommend visiting vibrant Democrat strongholds like Baltimore, West Philadelphia, and South Chicago. In New York, the best places to stay are the Roosevelt Hotel and Randall's Island.”<br /><br />Condensed in these three sentences are three tropes popular with the far right: the association of immigration and diversity with crime; the attack on diverse urban centres; and Japan as a model of a safe, ethnically pure, successful country that rejects “progressive liberal values”.<br /><br />Side note on this account. I don't know who is the author behind it, but it uses the name of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Yuri Bezmenov</a> (1939 – 1993), a Soviet journalist and a former KGB informant who defected to Canada in 1970.<br /><br />The real Bezmenov claimed to have knowledge of a Soviet plan to subvert and demoralise the United States through ideological and psychological warfare. He gave several lectures and interviews in the 1980s, warning about the dangers of Communism and Soviet influence on Western media and culture.<br /><br />In recent years, Bezmenov has become an icon of the far right. His idea of a secret Soviet plot to brainwash the youth, turning them into US-hating far left extremists, appeals to people who see human rights, diversity and liberalism as the outcome of sinister machinations.<br /><br />Here is one example of how Bezmenov is used in far right political discourse. In October 2021, Rebekah Koffler <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a> on “Fox News” that “President Biden and his coterie of socialists” wanted to transform the US into a Soviet-style system, and, of course, she quoted Bezmenov in order to provide her propaganda with some semblance of authoritativeness:<br /><br />“Soviet defector and KGB-trained covert-influence expert Yuri Bezmenov warned Americans in the 1980s about a secret Soviet program. This ‘master plan’ was designed to transform the United States, over 30-plus years, from a capitalist to a communist-socialist country through ideological subversion.”<br /><br />So, when you see an account on Substack calling itself Yuri Bezmenov, you know what to expect: far right tropes, liberalism-bashing, conspiracy theories, ethno-nationalism, and so forth. One of those tropes is Japan as a model ethno-state. As a matter of fact, the Alt-Right (here I use the term as a synonym of far right) has had a long-standing fascination with Japan.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are interested in this topic and other topics I write about, consider following me on <a href="https://mastodon.online/@aristeon89">Mastodon</a> and <a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html?m=1">supporting me</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">•The Alt-Right and Japanese Ethno-Nationalism </span></h3><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />In 2003, 15-year-old Christopher Poole <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">launched</a> 4chan, an anonymous imageboard inspired by Futaba Channel, a Japanese website that emerged two years earlier from a forum called 2channel.<br /><br />Like its Japanese predecessors, 4chan too offered a space for so-called “online antagonistic communities”, i.e. reactionary online communities that engage in exclusionary, antagonistic behaviour, which includes trolling, offensive language and imagery, and hate speech. 4chan’s antagonistic communities overlapped with online far right discourse and became conduits for radicalisation.<br /><br />In October 2011, the “politically incorrect” subforum 4chan.org/pol/ was created. It quickly became a hotbed for the Alt-Right, influencing the development of its distinctive style and tactics, such as memes, juvenile humour, online pranks, trolling, media manipulation and harassment campaigns (see Hermansson 2020, Chapter 15).<br /><br />One of the Alt-Right’s common tropes is the “fetishisation” of Japan, which is regarded as a model for the type of ethno-state that they would like to engineer in the US and Europe.<br /><br />In August 2017, a writer using the pseudonym “Makoto Fujiwara” published a post on the misogynist manosphere blog “Return of Kings”. The article, titled “3 Ways Japan is Naturally Alt-Right”, praised Japan for its anti-refugee policy, ethnic homogeneity, low crime rate – which he considered a result of ethnic homogeneity – and its ability to covertly pursue its own national interest while outwardly paying lip service to the “globalist” agenda (ibid.).<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Jared Taylor</a>, a white supremacist intellectual and founder of the New Century Foundation, lived in Japan and reportedly speaks fluent Japanese. In 2016, he described <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Japan</a> as an “ethnostate” that is “deeply nationalist” and has “resisted the pressure to admit refugees”.<br /><br />Another interesting aspect of the Alt-Right's fascination with Japan is the fetishisation of Japanese women, and more broadly of Asian women. The reason for this quite counterintuitive attraction towards women who, according to Alt-Right ideology, are supposedly incompatible with white ethnic homogeneity, comes from the fact that Asian women are perceived as embodying traditional gender roles and standards of femininity, such as the stereotype of their supposed submissiveness (ibid.).<br /><br />Tropes about Japan as an ethno-state are common online and are sometimes propagated by accounts purporting to be Japanese. For example, I have often seen such tropes in the comment section of YouTube videos. Here are some examples: </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqRqLrQa0u_NrISwa2X7p6Vp-pMP0Cv0qFerfNvN2IvISMS60gR0sW1_CDbDoVGvpGk9MO0s8JxmdUWRG4N22zzao-9-z3L2lKVh3uUW13EWzdwJ6oeOzhqYUi2G6IMAReZKwdF4B10DlXuaMXUh990hCR7MFe_0MXLLbE0xTMfUuKciNYMJnu_ZOvspB/s1080/Screenshot_20240211_193252_YouTube.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1080" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqRqLrQa0u_NrISwa2X7p6Vp-pMP0Cv0qFerfNvN2IvISMS60gR0sW1_CDbDoVGvpGk9MO0s8JxmdUWRG4N22zzao-9-z3L2lKVh3uUW13EWzdwJ6oeOzhqYUi2G6IMAReZKwdF4B10DlXuaMXUh990hCR7MFe_0MXLLbE0xTMfUuKciNYMJnu_ZOvspB/s320/Screenshot_20240211_193252_YouTube.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwbTrTDpnJQ_z3T7W52-CTIMxVafgzkuHO-CueCImqilmFnxS5FkHIZpGXJ6_Sy1lZTJUxpzaiM6BUIODOdAqJWSL6_2m5E7crbJv7_zP6nRfkpEEpCyHMs412u-VDqEqQWDQV2gsk4fgXh4X5-qpjhk3sECnkJyiZle_7pCUpW0jU90P5ZFqSmeqANa5/s1074/Screenshot_20240211_193157_YouTube.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1074" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwbTrTDpnJQ_z3T7W52-CTIMxVafgzkuHO-CueCImqilmFnxS5FkHIZpGXJ6_Sy1lZTJUxpzaiM6BUIODOdAqJWSL6_2m5E7crbJv7_zP6nRfkpEEpCyHMs412u-VDqEqQWDQV2gsk4fgXh4X5-qpjhk3sECnkJyiZle_7pCUpW0jU90P5ZFqSmeqANa5/s320/Screenshot_20240211_193157_YouTube.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_q4c6qpTKQzHjtC8MxuPE9KdlpoouF4MhwwLnyEEWRcRiKzpE_NMYKmZG8JxU7-fRDZI4-rpYeBb5JDQQ99Ao0ScakkWEE0M7RPLVQGNnDp6x1f7gnuD92Ku7GXRxNfPiBODEHpiwEhbQ_lRGn_dH1GZVtce9F59WEwpzDFTYt0eLxZwvpBFodL4ZnXY/s1502/Screenshot_20240211_193732_YouTube.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_q4c6qpTKQzHjtC8MxuPE9KdlpoouF4MhwwLnyEEWRcRiKzpE_NMYKmZG8JxU7-fRDZI4-rpYeBb5JDQQ99Ao0ScakkWEE0M7RPLVQGNnDp6x1f7gnuD92Ku7GXRxNfPiBODEHpiwEhbQ_lRGn_dH1GZVtce9F59WEwpzDFTYt0eLxZwvpBFodL4ZnXY/s320/Screenshot_20240211_193732_YouTube.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MxxAMZegyGCCv4wb-Di2UnVjSWUGrVk_BaVb8A2oucM_S3Z1qqshX_lsh82T5lYsnHbqkXzYjFegGRPmvnKIiRCDgB6riLSqMGL9_ie_UF0vi2Y47uytgMpdIW_aprya0-BEl5iiJ5FnwTtuESpjHD849AXdmh-VC7H_qnm5Y8-_ov7HwPz_Dm6kRXzb/s1598/Screenshot_20240211_193534_YouTube.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1598" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MxxAMZegyGCCv4wb-Di2UnVjSWUGrVk_BaVb8A2oucM_S3Z1qqshX_lsh82T5lYsnHbqkXzYjFegGRPmvnKIiRCDgB6riLSqMGL9_ie_UF0vi2Y47uytgMpdIW_aprya0-BEl5iiJ5FnwTtuESpjHD849AXdmh-VC7H_qnm5Y8-_ov7HwPz_Dm6kRXzb/s320/Screenshot_20240211_193534_YouTube.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Japan has indeed not experienced the same kind of large-scale immigration as other economically developed countries. According to an <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">article</a> published on the website of Tokyo University, in 2021 the number of immigrants in Japan was estimated to be around 1.5 million-2.5 million people, around 1.2 to 2 percent of the population. However, anti-immigration discourse has been rising nonetheless. As the article noted:<br /><br />“On the internet, as fears of large-scale immigration spread, some people, though small in numbers, have amplified xenophobic sentiments by repeating discriminatory remarks against people of foreign nationalities.”<br /><br />Kikuko Nagayoshi, associate professor at the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, explained that:<br /><br />“Japanese people regard non-Japanese as ‘guests’ who should be accepted as such and nothing more. That kind of sentiment, if stretched to the extreme, would end up in language such as ‘All foreign residents should be excluded from welfare benefits’ and ‘Get out of the country.’ But I feel the source of the sentiment is supported by people who don’t voice extreme thoughts.”<br /><br />In a 2017 survey conducted by Nagayoshi and fellow researchers, over 60 percent of the 3,880 respondents said that a rise in the number of immigrants would “lead to a spike in crime rates” and “jeopardize security and order.”<br /><br />The debate around identity and nativism in Japan is similar to that in the US or European countries. The fundamental issue is the identification of the national community with a distinct majority ethnic group that claims political and cultural primacy. One example of this is the recent controversy surrounding the Miss Japan contest.<br /><br />On January 22, 2024, the crown of Miss Nihon (i.e. Miss Japan) was <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">awarded</a> to Karolina Shiino, a 26-year-old model who was born in Ukraine but moved to Japan at the age of five and grew up in Nagoya.<br /><br />“There are many people like me who are worried about the gap between their appearance and (who they are),” Shiino <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">told</a> CNN. “I kept being told that I’m not Japanese, but I am absolutely Japanese, so I entered Miss Japan genuinely believing in myself. I was really happy to be recognized like this.”<br /><br />Her victory sparked a debate online. As the BBC <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">reported</a>, some people in Japan did not view her as a legitimate representative of Japanese beauty:<br /><br />“This person who was chosen as Miss Japan is not even a mix with Japanese but 100% pure Ukrainian. Understand she is beautiful, but this is 'Miss Japan'. Where is the Japaneseness?” said a post on X.<br /><br />“If she was half [Japanese], sure no problem. But she's ethnically 0% Japanese and wasn't even born in Japan,” said another comment.<br /><br />“I think that Japanese people naturally (would) get the wrong message when a European looking person is called the most beautiful Japanese,” another post argued.<br /><br />Some people alleged that she was chosen for political reasons.<br /><br />“If she were born Russian, she wouldn't have won. Not a chance. Obviously the criteria is now a political decision. What a sad day for Japan,” one person wrote.<br /><br />Two weeks after winning the title, Karolina Shiino was caught up in a personal scandal and renounced her title. As Business Insider <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a>:<br /><br />“The foreign-born Miss Japan winner, who shook up the country's sense of self, has given up her title following a newspaper report detailing her alleged affair with a married man.”<br /><br />The wording of the piece implies that Japan's “sense of self” is based on ethnic origin rather than citizenship.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">•Japanese National Identity</span></h3><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br />According to Oguma Eiji (2021), Japan's identity has undergone major changes since the Meiji Restoration of 1868.<br /><br />Japan has 47 prefectures created by the merger of 266 feudal domains. A 1966 survey showed that 90.9 percent of men and 92.6 percent of women had married partners from their own native prefecture. Until at least the mid-2010s, the majority of Japan's population (about 77 percent) outside of the three large metropolitan areas lived in the municipalities where they were born (Oguma 2021).<br /><br />Japan has an indigenous population, the Ainu, numbering about 30,000. There are also 1.3 million Okinawans, who had a separate kingdom until 1879, and about 600,000 ethnic Koreans. Furthermore, the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Burakumin</a> (Japanese: “hamlet people”) are a minority group occupying the lowest level of the traditional Japanese social system. They were once believed to be of “foreign” origins, but the scholarly consensus is now that the Burakumin were impoverished people who lived as beggars or performed occupations considered taboo in orthodox Shintō and Buddhism, such as leather making. According to Encyclopedia Britannica:<br /><br />“During the Tokugawa (Edo) period, beginning in 1603, feudal laws cast the burakumin officially into segregated communities and occupations and, by the early 18th century, had forced on them certain badges of status—the wearing of special clothing and hair styles, the avoidance of other households, the observance of curfews, and prostration before their betters.”<br /><br />The Burakumin were legally freed in 1871 but have continued to face discrimination. The aforementioned scholar Kikuko Nagayoshi became interested in issues of discrimination because she lived close to a Burakumin area.<br /><br />Oguma argues that different parts of Japan were not culturally homogeneous before the 1860s. The culture and even the language of the feudal domains were different. Chinese characters played an important role in allowing people to communicate with each other. The process of cultural homogenisation began with the Meiji Restoration and accelerated with the economic boom of the post-World War II era.<br /><br />Japanese politicians and intellectuals developed the notion of a Japanese race in the 19th century in response to Western aggression, a concept that anthropologist Takezawa Yasuko called “Race as Resistance”.<br /><br />Writing in 1897, the intellectual Fukuzawa Yukichi argued that the “most urgent thing is internalizing the idea of nation” in the minds of the whole Japanese people. In 1885, however, he still lamented that the Japanese “know only old clans and do not understand the new Japan” as a nation (quoted in: ibid.).<br /><br />The constitutional scholar Hozumi Yatsuka asserted that “the Japanese Empire consists of a great nation of one race that shares the same history and the same pure blood” and that “the ancestor of the Emperor is the earliest ancestor of all Japanese” (quoted in: ibid.). We see here the emergence of a discourse modelled after the Western concepts of race and nation, but with the imperial dynasty as a mythical and exclusively Japanese foundation.<br /><br />Hozumi claimed that “given the state of things in the world today [meaning Western imperialism], it is clear that now is not the time to criticize patriotism as narrow-minded intolerance, not to weaken our power of solidarity”.<br /><br />This kind of “nation-building” rhetoric was popular in the 19th and early 20th century in various countries ranging from China to Italy and Germany. I might write about it in a future post, so please let me know if you are interested.<br /><br />In the Meiji era, Japan underwent a process of rapid industrialisation, enabling it to challenge Western imperialism and then become an imperialist state itself. Japan defeated China in the war of 1894-95, and Russia in the war of 1904-05. It annexed Taiwan in 1895 and Korea in 1910.<br /><br />Japan's identity continued to be negotiated and adapted during this period. Some Japanese argued for racial separatism between the Japanese and the conquered peoples. Others advocated multiculturalism, or assimilation into the Japanese nation.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Izawa Shūji</a>, who served as Chief of the Education Bureau in Taiwan, stated in a 1897 lecture:<br /><br />“According to the old nativist scholars, the populace of Japan consists of nothing but the so-called Yamato (old name of Japan) [nation]. However, this interpretation is totally mistaken. The … benevolence of our Imperial Family is not limited to such a small range.... Since ancient times, the number of naturalized foreigners has never been small” (quoted in: Oguma 2021).<br /><br />When Japan annexed Korea, there was broad consensus that the Koreans could be easily assimilated thanks to the similarity of race, language and customs between the two peoples. Kita Sadakichi, historical geographer and ideologue of Japan's colonial assimilation policy, claimed that the Koreans could be assimilated like the Ainu, who had become “almost indistinguishable” from Yamato Japanese (Caprio 2011, p. 83).<br /><br />In 1921, lawmaker Nakano Seigō claimed that the Koreans should be integrated into Japan, comparing them to the status of the Welsh in Great Britain. “[T]he British Prime Minister, Lloyd-George, is Welsh. Wales is Celtic, not English; and both their language and their tradition are different. They are the Koreans of Britain, so to speak”, Nakano stated (Oguma 2021).<br /><br />A 1929 article in the right-wing magazine “Japan and the Japanese” claimed that:<br /><br />“Few nations are a mixture of as many different peoples as the Japanese Minzoku [nation]. In fact, from ancient times, Japan has accepted and embraced a large number of aliens. Some came from the South Seas, some from China, some from Mongolia, some from Manchuria, some from Korea, and some from Siberia. Japan has witnessed the migration of many aliens. In this sense, Japan is just like the USA. However, unlike America, the Japanese Minzoku has never discriminated against or rejected any of these migrants, nor has there ever been the sort of tenacious anti-immigrant movement seen in America” (ibid.).<br /><br />Multiethnicist, assimilationist reasoning aimed at incorporating conquered peoples into the Empire, and at the same time countering white supremacy in Western countries. In particular, the Japanese had been outraged by the US’ restrictions on <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Japanese</a> immigration that came into effect with the Immigration Act of 1924.<br /><br />Another colonial government official, Yoshino Hidekimi, argued that it was “possible to assimilate Koreans and Chinese, who are the same race as the Japanese, into the Japanese” (ibid.).<br /><br />Despite the rhetoric of assimilation, Japan treated its colonial subjects as second-class citizens or inferior beings. As Peattie (1984) pointed out:<br /><br />“[T]he actual environment of Japanese colonialism was hostile to any true merger of the Japanese with their dependent peoples on the basis of familiarity or mutual respect. Largely subordinate in position and treatment under separate colonial law, the indigenous populations had no representation in the Japanese Diet, nor any effective legislative bodies of their own. Japanese occupied the overwhelming portion of influential positions in government. Active Japanese discouragement of racial intermarriage and the isolation of colonial Japanese in their tight and exclusive urban communities hardly contributed to easy intercourse between the races. Above all, the attitudes of resident Japanese in the colonies, not dissimilar to those of most colonial elites, undercut the possibilities of real assimilation. Their feelings of superiority, their jealous grip on privilege and position, were insurmountable barriers to mutually responsive communications between colonizers and colonized, and their obvious fear of being swamped culturally and politically by native majorities mocked Japanese assertions of the historic capacity of their race to assimilate foreign peoples” (Peattie 1984, p. 98).<br /><br />Nevertheless, assimilation achieved some degree of success, particularly in Taiwan. The family of Taiwanese politician Peng Ming-min belonged to Taiwan’s elite during Japanese colonial rule.<br /><br />When Japan surrendered in 1945 and Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China, Peng Ming-min was ashamed of the Chinese’ backwardness, corruption and inefficiency, contrasting them with the Japanese. He <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a>:<br /><br />“In the nineteenth century, Formosa [=Taiwan] had been controlled by a disorderly garrison government, notorious even in China for its corruption and inefficiency, but after a half-century of strict Japanese administration we had learned the value of the rule of law. People made contracts and kept them. It was generally assumed that one’s neighbor was an honest man. In the shops a fixed price system had made it possible for every merchant to know where he stood. We had learned that modern communications, scientific agriculture, and efficient industries must operate within a system of honest measurement, honored contracts, and dependable timing. All these standards were ignored by our new masters [the Chinese regime].”<br /><br />In 2007, former <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Taiwanese</a> President Lee Teng-hui (in office from 1988 to 2000) visited Japan's Yasukuni shrine, which honours 2.5 million fallen soldiers, including colonial subjects who fought for Japan, as well as 14 top war criminals from World War II. Lee's elder brother served in the Japanese navy and was killed in 1945.<br /><br />Japanese ethnic nationalism began to grow in popularity among intellectuals after World War I. Yanagita Kunio, the founder of folklore studies in Japan, believed that the country had had a common distinctive culture in ancient times, prior to the introduction of foreign cultural elements such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Western influence. He argued that the gap between the Westernised urban middle class and the local cultures of the rural communities should be closed by promoting a common Japanese culture.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><iframe id='kofiframe' src='https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89/?hidefeed=true&widget=true&embed=true&preview=true' style='border:none;width:100%;padding:4px;background:#f9f9f9;' height='712' title='aristeon89'></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />According to the philosopher Watsuji Tetsurō, Japan's climate had created a unique national character, and the principle of the divinity of the Emperor had “emerged from the foundations of the Japanese national community.” He was therefore opposed to the assimilation of peoples in the Empire into the Japanese nation (Oguma 2021).<br /><br />During the era of military expansion, Japanese imperialists developed the idea of Pan-Asianism, which promoted Japan's leadership in Asia and opposition to Western colonialism. During WWII, Pan-Asianism was the basis for the “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere</a>”, the concept of a unified and self-sufficient bloc in the Asia-Pacific region under Japanese control.<br /><br />Japanese imperialism was highly contradictory. On the one hand, it promised equality and assimilation of the peoples of East Asia. On the other hand, it was a project of Japanese supremacy and domination. As Szpilman (2007) put it:<br /><br />“Japanese Pan-Asianism was a contradictory doctrine. It aimed to bring eternal peace to Asia, yet was discredited by its war-time association with Japanese militarism and aggression. It was anti-Western, but was partly inspired by Western writings. Though it proclaimed egalitarian Asian brotherhood, it insisted on Japanese superiority. Initially, such contradictions remained hidden from sight, but domestic and international developments brought them into the clear. Over time, they proved impossible to reconcile; Japanese nationalism prevailed and proclamations of Asian brotherhood and Asian liberation were turned into slogans to legitimize aggression in Asia. The thought and behavior of most pan-Asianists reflected these contradictions” (Szpilman 2007).<br /><br />This is not the place for an in-depth discussion of Japanese imperialism and its atrocities. The point I am trying to make is that, for several decades, there was a debate in Japan regarding assimilation and multiethnicity in the context of empire, which shows how flexible the notion of identity was in a society where ethnic and cultural homogeneity is today presumed to be an obvious fact.<br /><br />The narrative of homogeneity gained momentum after WWII, when Japan was confined to its pre-1895 territory.<br /><br />In 1948, Watsuji Tetsurō argued in the book “The Symbol of National Unity” that “Nations are cultural communities which share the same language, customs, history, and beliefs” (Oguma 2021).<br /><br />The notion of Japan as a homogeneous nation was initially limited to elite discourse, but it started to gain popularity in the 1950s. The economic boom in the 1960s, marked by the widespread adoption of home appliances and increased diffusion of the standard Japanese language through increased television ownership, led to a homogenisation of culture.<br /><br />For example, the introduction of refrigerators allowed the popularisation of sushi, which had previously been a local dish in coastal areas. What we consider a symbol of Japanese cuisine today, used to be regional. The mass media, mostly based in Tokyo, also contributed to the construction of a homogeneous Japanese culture.<br /><br />The discourse around Japanese national identity was further fueled by influential intellectuals such as the writer Mishima Yukio and the historian Masuda Yoshiro, and the proliferation of Nihonjinron literature.<br /><br />Nihonjinron (日本人論, “theories of Japaneseness”) is a genre that emphasises the unique character and homogeneity of the Japanese people. The popularity of Nihonjinron books in the 1970s and 1980s solidified the view of the Japanese as a homogeneous group, ascribing the country's stability and efficiency to this homogeneity (Oguma 2021).<br /><br />The influential writer <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Mishima Yukio</a>, a homosexual whose first novel dealt with the need to hide one's sexuality from society, was drawn to extreme nationalism and militarism, which he saw as superior to consumerism and Western influence. He embraced Western culture in his personal life, but despised Japan’s emulation of it. He wanted to abolish the post-WWII Constitution, restore the divinity of the Emperor (which Emperor Hirohito had renounced in 1945), and he admired samurai ideals.<br /><br />He devoted himself to the traditional Japanese martial arts of karate and kendo. In 1968, he created a private militia of about 80 young students, the Tate no Kai (Shield Society), to shield the Emperor from any leftist or Communist threat. He was fascinated by the ritual suicide of a Japanese soldier during a violent mutiny by Emperor-loyal junior officers in February 1936. He wrote the story “Patriotism” about this episode (see Huffman 2013).<br /><br />In the political manifesto titled “Geki” (Outrage), Mishima claimed:<br /><br />“We have seen that the postwar Japanese have opportunistically welcomed economic prosperity, forgetting the principles of the nation, losing their native spirit, pursuing the trivial without correcting the essential, indulging in momentary convenience and hypocrisy, and leading themselves into spiritual emptiness. Politics has been solely devoted to the covering up of contradictions, the protecting of the self, the desire for power and hypocritical ideals, while we have stood by like helpless bystanders, biting our teeth hard, passively witnessing the sell-off of our national politics over the last 100 years, deceiving ourselves about the humiliation of defeat in the war rather than confronting it - the Japanese themselves have assaulted their own history and tradition” (quoted in: Iida 2013, Chapter 1).<br /><br />On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four Shield Society followers stormed the headquarters of the Army Self-Defence Forces and took a general hostage.<br /><br />Mishima gave a 10-minute speech from a balcony to about a thousand assembled soldiers, urging them to overthrow the Constitution. When they heckled him, he called them “American mercenaries”, and withdrew into the general's office. Mishima then committed ritual suicide. He disembowelled himself with his sword and was beheaded by one of his followers (Huffman 2013).<br /><br />Mishima's views were extreme and did not enjoy much support at the time. But some of those views were extreme versions of mainstream ideas.<br /><br />Race played an important role in the Nihonjinron genre. As Yoshino (2005) pointed out:<br /><br />“The mode of thinking as manifested in the nihonjinron of the 1970s and the 1980s may be characterised not only as that of culturalism but also as what may be called 'race thinking'. At the base of the nihonjinron is an assumption concerning the 'racial' nature of Japanese identity. Built on this assumption is belief in the uniqueness of Japanese culture, the aspects of which have already been discussed. Let us now enquire into the 'racial' assumption in Japanese perceptions of their uniqueness” (Yoshino 2005).<br /><br />In September 1986, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">said</a> in a speech that the level of education and intellect in the United States was low because of its large black and Hispanic populations.<br /><br />John Burgess, writing for the Washington Post, remarked at the time that: “In the view of many Japanese, Nakasone was simply talking common sense, saying that ethnic diversity creates confusion and discord and that societies function best when people look, think and act alike, as they do in Japan.”<br /><br />Nakasone’s comments caused controversy both in the US and in <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Japan</a>, where some members of the Ainu minority protested. But mainstream newspaper Asahi Shimbun defended the PM’s assertions.<br /><br />Today's far right in the US and Europe would certainly agree with Nakasone's attack on the multiethnic society.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">•Is Japan Really a Model of an Alt-Right Ethno-State?</span></h3><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />The answer to this question is not straightforward. In some aspects, Japan could be considered close to the Alt-Right’s ideals of an ethno-state. It has low immigration and is culturally conservative. As we have seen, there is no lack of ethno-nationalist rhetoric throughout Japan's post-1868 history.<br /><br />However, Japan is also a liberal democracy, at least as of the time of writing. The peculiar element of the Alt-Right’s agenda in the US and Europe is its strong illiberal, authoritarian ideology, its destructive tendency. Therefore, I would argue that:<br /><br />1 –Japan is a liberal democracy, the Alt-Right is authoritarian;<br /><br /><br />2 –Strict immigration is different from using state power to engineer an ethno-state;<br /><br /><br />3 –In the contemporary world, no liberal democracy can be homogeneous;<br /><br /><br />4 –Ethno-nationalist views on economic success and crime do not hold up to scrutiny.<br /><br /><br />I will now briefly discuss these points.<br /><br /><br />1 –Fundamentally, Japan is a liberal democracy with socially conservative traits. By contrast, the Alt-Right tends to be authoritarian, glorify violence and harassment, restrict civil rights and liberties. This can be clearly seen by comparing Japan and Hungary.<br /><br />In 2023, Freedom House ranked <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Japan</a> as “free”, with a score of 96/100. “Japan is a multiparty parliamentary democracy,” Freedom House’s report explained. “The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has governed almost continuously since 1955, with stints in opposition from 1993 to 1994 and 2009 to 2012. Political rights and civil liberties are generally well respected.” However, the report also noted that there are “outstanding challenges”, which include “ethnic and gender-based discrimination and claims of improperly close relations between government and the business sector.”<br /><br />In 2023, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Hungary</a> was ranked by Freedom House as “partly free”, with a score of 66/100. Freedom House's report states: “Since taking power in the 2010 elections, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Alliance of Young Democrats–Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz) party pushed through constitutional and legal changes that have allowed it to consolidate control over the country’s independent institutions, including the judiciary. The Fidesz government has since passed antimigrant and anti-LGBT+ policies, as well as laws that hamper the operations of opposition groups, journalists, universities, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are critical of the ruling party or whose perspectives Fidesz otherwise finds unfavorable.”<br /><br />Orban's government in Hungary is a darling of the far right. In January 2024, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Donald Trump</a> praised Orban, saying:<br /><br />“There is a great man, a great leader in Europe — Viktor Orban. He is the Prime Minister of Hungary. He is a very great leader, a very strong man. Some people don't like him because he's too strong.”<br /><br />In 2023, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">held</a> in Hungary. Orban gave a speech attacking liberalism, “woke culture”, migration, transgender and LGBTQ+ rights. CPAC will <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">take place</a> again in the country in 2024.<br /><br />The Japanese model is culturally conservative and strict on immigration. But the Alt-Right has gone way beyond that and pursues an authoritarian project.<br /><br /><br />2 –There is no question that Japan’s state discourages immigration. But I would argue that this is not an Alt-Right political position per se. In the US and other countries, there tends to be polarisation between those who want to stop immigration and those who want open borders. These are two diametrically opposed, maximalist views on the issue. But there is also a middle ground position which allows immigration under a strict legal framework.<br /><br />I think that a debate on the level of immigration is a legitimate part of the political process. But once again, the Alt-Right goes beyond that. It wants to diminish the rights and freedoms of citizens, it targets the free media, promotes discrimination, and even resorts to violence, as was the case on January 6, 2021, in the US.<br /><br />There is a fundamental difference between regulating immigration and using the power of the government to engineer an ethno-state.<br /><br /><br />3 –No liberal democracy can really be homogeneous. Even if a government keeps immigration low, there are always going to be immigrants, and there are always going to be citizens intermarrying with people from other countries. A government can change the pace of this process, but it cannot stop it.<br /><br />Creating an ethno-state is only possible if the state uses authoritarian methods, such as laws that restrict the freedoms of citizens, or outright ethnic cleansing. Or if a state is isolated. In the era of affordable long-distance travel, intermixing between peoples from different regions of the globe is simply going to be ever more common.<br /><br />As we have seen, there exists in Japan ethno-nationalist thinking and anti-immigrant sentiment. Immigration poses questions of national identity. From this viewpoint, people in the Alt-Right sphere may feel affinity for the conservative mindset of some Japanese, and for Japan's approach to immigration.<br /><br />But the peculiarity of the Western Alt-Right is that its hatred against immigrants has led it to abandon liberal democratic values, that it wants to oppress people on a domestic level, and impose some form of authoritarianism. They are extreme nationalists and reactionaries, rather than traditionalists or conservatives.<br /><br /><br />4 –On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Macworld conference and expo in San Francisco and announced that he had "three revolutionary products" to introduce. He then proceeded to unveil the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">iPhone</a>, a device that combined a phone, an iPod, and a web browser in one sleek package. The iPhone was indeed a revolutionary product that changed the world. Sometimes, I struggle to explain to people born before the iPhone, or too young to remember its launch, how life was like before there were smartphones.<br /><br />Steve Jobs' biological father, Abdul Fattah Jandali, was an <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">immigrant</a> from Syria. The story of Steve Jobs is just one of the countless examples of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds thriving in open democratic societies.<br /><br />In 1856, the American nativist Thomas R. Whitney denounced European immigration into the US. He <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">wrote</a>:<br /><br />"To believe that a mass so crude and incongruous, so remote from the spirit, the ideas, and the customs of America, can be made to harmonize readily with the new element into which it is cast, is, to say the least, unnatural … A single savage may be readily civilized; a whole tribe never … European immigration is unquestionably the 'Grecian horse' of the American Republic … Probably the most accurate data on which an opinion can be based is the enormous disproportion of European criminals in the United States, as compared with those of American birth.”<br /><br />The same arguments have been repeated decade after decade since the 19th century by opponents of immigration with the same arbitrary demonisation of individuals on the basis of prejudice. Nowadays, some descendants of those Europeans who were accused of being uncivilised criminals are agitating for the creation of an authoritarian ethno-state. <br /><br />Japan is an interesting case study that does not fit neatly into present-day left vs right discourse in the West. Japan is a liberal democracy, but it strictly regulates immigration. It has a mainstream traditionalist and ethno-nationalist discourse, yet so far its society has not channelled these ideas into a destructive, authoritarian political movement. It is a country where I would like to live, while I would certainly not want to spend much time in far right strongholds like Hungary or Russia.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">• • •</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><b>If you want to support me, consider buying me a <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">coffee</a> ☕ or taking a look at some of my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">books</a> 📚 </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">• • •</span></div><br /><i>Referenced books (affiliate links)</i><br /><br /><br />•Caprio, M. (2011). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, 1910-1945</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Hermansson, P. et al. (2020). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">The International Alt-Right</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Huffman, J. L. (2013). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Modern Japan. An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Iida, Y. (2013). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Rethinking Identity in Modern Japan: Nationalism as Aesthetics</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Oguma, E. (2021). Racial and Ethnic Identities in Japan. In: Weiner, M. (Ed.). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Routledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Asia</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Peattie, M. R. (1984). Japanese Attitudes Toward Colonialism, 1895-1945. In: Myers, R. H., Peattie, M. R. (Eds.). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Szpilman, C. W. A. (2007). Between Pan-Asianism and Nationalism. Mitsukawa Kametarō and His Campaign to Reform Japan and Liberate Asia. In: Saaler, S., Koschmann, V. (Eds.). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Pan-Asianism in Modern Japanese History</a>.<br /><br /><br />•Yoshino, K. (2005). <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/8609520265820834702#">Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary Japan</a>.</span><br /></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-82274265067746658372024-02-01T07:36:00.003+08:002024-02-01T07:37:55.425+08:00Four German Foundations Have Left X/Twitter, Calling It a “Threat to Social Cohesion and Our Democratic Order”<span style="font-family: times;">The Mercator Foundation, along with three other German foundations, has announced its decision to leave X/Twitter, calling the platform “a threat to social cohesion and our democratic order.” </span><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapRHYEn1AuzHzms4Q8iL-x-3S7sCP_UgE8g9LQIbR9QpcVf8KeqiQ6yVldmaN5RnapRm_ImzFDOz3BFH25VCecnDOq09v4QvNBiGJfxZPRtBUucSo_DKn1Y-durMj3UWhQ3yf7Gw0WobD2Lb55CE9dpOJx-4qp2Uc9eIGi0SrXTS_Ab08othYPvvb290T/s2560/Twitter_Offices_in_San_Francisco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapRHYEn1AuzHzms4Q8iL-x-3S7sCP_UgE8g9LQIbR9QpcVf8KeqiQ6yVldmaN5RnapRm_ImzFDOz3BFH25VCecnDOq09v4QvNBiGJfxZPRtBUucSo_DKn1Y-durMj3UWhQ3yf7Gw0WobD2Lb55CE9dpOJx-4qp2Uc9eIGi0SrXTS_Ab08othYPvvb290T/w320-h214/Twitter_Offices_in_San_Francisco.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Exterior of the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on January 19, 2023, by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Frank_Schulenburg">Frank Schulenburg</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br />In a <a href="https://www.stiftung-mercator.de/de/pressemitteilungen/bundesverband-deutscher-stiftungen-zieht-sich-gemeinsam-mit-grossen-mitgliedsstiftungen-von-x-twitter-zurueck/">statement</a> released on January 31, the Mercator Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and the Zeit Foundation Bucerius denounced the spread of hate speech and disinformation on X/Twitter since Elon Musk took over the company in 2022:<br /><br />“We stand for an open, democratic society, for personal freedom and human dignity, for fact-based information and constructive dialogue,” the press release reads. “Since the takeover by Elon Musk, this value system has collapsed in our view on X/Twitter. We cannot tolerate hate speech and misinformation, the spread of extremist propaganda and the incitement against minorities. Critical voices are arbitrarily suppressed or flooded with threats by troll and bot networks. <br /><br />“The spread of anti-Semitic statements by Elon Musk and the opening of a procedure by the EU Commission against Twitter/X for the dissemination of illegal content have strengthened us in our decision. With our concerted action, we invite other foundations to follow our example. We consider X/Twitter to be a threat to social cohesion and our democratic order.”<br /><br />The <a href="https://www.stiftung-mercator.de/de/wer-wir-sind/leitbild/">Mercator Foundation</a> (German: Stiftung Mercator) is a private non-profit organisation established by the retail entrepreneur Karl Schmidt from Duisburg in the late 1990s and is named after the cartographer and humanist Gerhard Mercator. It promotes comprehensive education and equal opportunities, understanding and exchange between people of different cultures, the idea of a unified Europe, the peaceful coexistence of people from different backgrounds, beliefs, and social conditions, and environmental protection. <br /><br /></span><br /></div></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-4858605181029702652024-01-31T06:18:00.002+08:002024-02-02T01:44:30.520+08:00Who Voted for the Nazis? - The Nazi Electorate and the Collapse of Weimar Germany's Parliamentary System <span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />In the elections of May 20, 1928, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP) led by Adolf Hitler received 2.6 percent of the vote, obtaining 12 seats in Germany's parliament. The NSDAP appeared to be nothing but a tiny fringe party with an extremist ideology and very little prospect of playing a major role in German politics. <br /><br />But only four years later, in the elections of 31 July, 1932, the NSDAP received a staggering 37.4 percent of the vote, becoming by far the largest party in parliament with 230 seats. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRObGiGSolRatOK9WGqj5XQ26dg7gTiv1Q0cM79ozs-_qXp68juuJhLmgZWHNiRY7sPN_jIXV6jg9uHz42DXPBCDmpSE_rdzfEHwZ7AcYRzQOhZWk-6J8rD-iiCWG-svTsEPB6SgMDAnJKPu1VErzyTPAxypvg9_mhBBWGm5fVpo9j2g6KiQtZf6ZKpXcN/s548/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-10541,_Weimar,_Aufmarsch_der_Nationalsozialisten.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="548" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRObGiGSolRatOK9WGqj5XQ26dg7gTiv1Q0cM79ozs-_qXp68juuJhLmgZWHNiRY7sPN_jIXV6jg9uHz42DXPBCDmpSE_rdzfEHwZ7AcYRzQOhZWk-6J8rD-iiCWG-svTsEPB6SgMDAnJKPu1VErzyTPAxypvg9_mhBBWGm5fVpo9j2g6KiQtZf6ZKpXcN/s320/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-10541,_Weimar,_Aufmarsch_der_Nationalsozialisten.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Hitler saluting stormtroopers at a parade in Weimar, 1930. Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-10541 / Georg Pahl / CC-BY-SA 3.0</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />Who were the people who turned their back on the German Republic and voted for a party that campaigned on the promise of doing away with democracy altogether? Why did the NSDAP manage to do what other parties could not: build a broad coalition that included different segments of the upper, middle and working classes? And how did the parties in post-war West Germany succeed in building broad, pro-democracy electoral coalitions? <br /><br />These are the questions that I am going to explore in this series about the fall and rise of German democracy from 1928 to the 1980s. <br /><br />If you are interested in this topic and other topics I write about, consider following me on <a href="https://mastodon.online/@aristeon89">Mastodon</a> and <a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html?m=1">supporting me</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">•The Electoral Rise of the NSDAP and the Collapse of Germany's Pro-Democracy Coalition </span></h2><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />In 1928, the German Republic (official name: Deutsches Reich; commonly known as the Weimar Republic) seemed to have regained some stability after the turmoil of the immediate post-World War I period. <br /><br />In the <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-20-mai-1928.html">elections</a> held on May 20 of that year, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) won 29.8 percent of the vote and 153 seats, retaining its status as the largest party in the German parliament (Reichstag). <br /><br />Under the Republic's proportional electoral system, several parties succeeded in gaining seats in parliament. The most important of them were:<br /><br />•<b>the Centre Party (Zentrumspartei)</b> with 12.1 percent of the vote;<br /><br />•<b>the German Democratic Party (Deutsche Demokratische Partei, DDP)</b> with 4.9 percent; <br /><br />•<b>the German People's Party (Deutsche Volkspartei, DVP)</b> with 8.7 percent;<br /><br />•<b>the Bavarian People's Party (Bayerische Volkspartei, BVP)</b> with 3.1 percent;<br /><br />•<b>the German National People's Party (Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP)</b> with 24.2 percent;<br /><br />•<b>the Communist Party of Germany (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD)</b> with 10.6 percent;<br /><br />•<b>the National Socialist German Workers’ Party</b> with 2.6 percent.<br /><br />After the election, the SPD formed a grand coalition with the Centre Party, the DDP, the DVP, and the BVP. These parties constituted Weimar Germany's pro-democracy bloc. However, they were an uneasy and unstable alliance with quite diverging ideologies and constituencies. <br /><br />Despite the apparent stabilisation of the political system, there were signs of growing dissatisfaction with the existing order. This was manifested in the rise of several minor parties that focused on specific issues, such as the German Farmers’ Party (Deutsche Bauernpartei, DBP) and the Economic Party (Wirtschaftspartei, WP). These parties collectively garnered 14.7 percent of the vote.<br /><br />The list of names and abbreviations may sound confusing. Indeed, the large number of parties shows how the fledgeling German Republic was unable to develop a stable parliamentary system. In particular, no single party managed to build a broad coalition representative of the interests of a cross-section of German society. <br /><br />Paradoxically, this role would be played by the theretofore insignificant fringe party led by Adolf Hitler. In 1928, the NSDAP still appeared to be just one of a myriad of small extremist groups that made a lot of noise but had no chance of ever coming to power. But it would soon rise to become the largest party in the country.<br /><br />In 1929-1930, <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/industrie-und-wirtschaft/weltwirtschaftskrise.html">Germany</a> was hit hard by the economic crisis caused by the Wall Street Crash and the subsequent worldwide depression. When the US recalled its loans, on which Germany was heavily reliant, the economy collapsed. From 1929 to 1932, Germany's exports fell from 13.5 to 5.7 billion Reichsmark, and its industrial production plummeted by about 40 percent. Unemployment rose to three million in 1930 and continued to increase, reaching six million by the winter of 1932.<br /><br />On 27 March 1930, the grand coalition of SPD, DPP, DVP, and Centre Party broke up after it failed to reach an agreement on the increase of unemployment benefits. Chancellor Hermann Müller of the SPD resigned, thus creating a power vacuum that the authoritarian right was eager to exploit (see Emmerich et al. 2016, p. 223; Lee 2013, Chapter 10).<br /><br />According to Kolb (2012), it was at this juncture that the German Republic shifted from a parliamentary system to a presidential system. He argued that this process had been set in motion even before the failure of the grand coalition. The instigators of the autocratic turn were President Paul von Hindenburg and his inner circle, as well as General Kurt von Schleicher.<br /><br />Their purpose was to shift the country to the right, shut out the SPD from the government, and institute some form of authoritarian system. They enjoyed the support of the right-wing parties, influential corporations and various economic interest groups (Kolb 2012, pp. 187-188). <br /><br />The fact that parliament was no longer capable of forming a majority gave authoritarian groups the opportunity and the justification to deprive parliament of its powers. President von Hindenburg had extensive prerogatives under the <a href="https://www.verfassungen.de/de19-33/verf19-i.htm">Constitution</a>: he could appoint and dismiss the Chancellor, dissolve parliament, declare a state of emergency and enact emergency decrees in case of a threat to public order and security (ibid. pp. 188-189). The President's powers were so broadly defined that they could be easily abused. <br /><br />Between 1930 and 1933, the Republic was governed by “<a href="https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/history/parliamentarism/weimar">presidential cabinets</a>”, executives appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg without the support of a parliamentary majority. They relied on the President's power to issue emergency decrees and dissolve the parliament.<br /><br />The first presidential cabinet was the <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/heinrich-bruening">Brüning Cabinet</a> (30 March 1930 - 30 May 1932). Led by Heinrich Brüning of the Centre Party, it tried to cope with the economic crisis and the burden of World War I reparations by implementing austerity measures and seeking international negotiations.<br /><br />Brüning’s priority was to free Germany from the crushing weight of the reparations imposed by the victorious allies after World War I. To achieve this, he pursued a deflationary policy, i.e. a policy of austerity. He wanted to slash government expenses and increase taxes, while continuing to service the debt. By showing Germany's fiscal responsibility and pointing at the economic downturn, he believed that he could convince its creditors to cancel Germany's war debt. <br /><br />Brüning's ultimate aim, as he claimed in his memoirs published in 1970, was not only to get rid of the reparations, but also to restore the monarchy that had been overthrown by the Weimar Republic. He intended to carry out a radical constitutional reform, and once the economy had improved, hand over the government to a cabinet of right-wing parties. Whether Brüning truly had such a clear plan from the onset, or crafted a coherent narrative retrospectively, has been a matter of debate for decades (Kolb 2012, pp. 195-196).<br /><br />Brüning faced immediate opposition from parliament, which defeated his proposal to increase taxes on high incomes and cut salaries for the civil service. The Chancellor then circumvented parliament and enacted his bill as an emergency decree under Article 48 with the cooperation of President von Hindenburg, who also dissolved parliament on July 18.<br /><br />In the <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-14-september-1930.html">elections</a> held on 14 September 1930, the NSDAP won 18.3 percent of the vote, while the KPD rose to 13.1 percent. Both were anti-democratic parties whose aim was to overthrow the Republic in order to establish an authoritarian regime. <br /><br />The SPD decreased its share to 24.5 percent, and the Centre to 11.8 percent. Both the DDP and the DVP lost votes (3.8 and 4.7 percent respectively). The far right DNVP collapsed from 24.2 percent to just 5.9 percent.<br /><br />As unemployment increased and tax revenues shrank, public spending on unemployment benefits began to soar. In 1930-32, Brüning passed a series of decrees that reduced wages, prices, rents, pensions, and social services, while raising taxes and introducing new ones. His policies did not solve the economic crisis, which continued to exacerbate, leading to unemployment, poverty, and widespread public resentment. <br /><br />Brüning found an unlikely ally in the SPD, which adopted a policy of “toleration” (Tolerierung) towards Brüning's cabinet. This meant that the SPD opposed motions to repeal the emergency decrees filed by NSDAP, DNVP and KPD, thus enabling the Chancellor to govern even though he did not command a majority in parliament.<br /><br />The tactical reason for the SPD to do so was that its leaders did not want to endanger their alliance with Brüning's Centre Party. After the electoral debacles of 1930-32, one of the last bastions of the SPD’s power was the federal state of Prussia, where they governed alongside the Centre Party. Brüning’s policies also reflected the economic orthodoxy at the time, and a wing of the SPD agreed with them (Childers 2020, Chapter IV; Emmerich 2016, pp. 223-224).<br /><br />By tolerating the Brüning cabinet, the SPD sought to preserve some order and stave off the tide of extremism, but in the process they took part of the blame for the enduring economic depression.<br /><br />The complete breakdown of the Weimar system became evident in the <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-31-juli-1932.html">elections</a> of July 31, 1932, when the NSDAP received 37.4 percent of the vote, becoming by far the largest party. The KPD won 14.6 percent. <br /><br />The SPD’s support continued to shrink, slipping to 21.6 percent. The Centre Party grew slightly to 12.5 percent. The DNVP remained stable at 5.9 percent. On the other hand, the DDP and the DVP plummeted to about 1 percent of the vote each. The smaller interest parties also dwindled, dropping to 5.4 percent. The old pro-democracy alliance of the 1920s was therefore crushed.<br /><br />It was a triumph for the NSDAP, which reached its highest share of the vote in a free election. The NSDAP’s best ever result would be in March 1933 with 43.9 percent of the <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/ns-regime/etablierung-der-ns-herrschaft/reichstagswahl-1933.html">vote</a>, but by that time the Nazis were already in control of the government and had initiated a campaign of terror and suppression against political opponents, particularly the SPD and the KPD. <br /><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">•The NSDAP Constituency</span></h2><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The NSDAP managed to appeal to voters from a variety of social and ideological groups. Thus, it became a “Volkspartei” (lit. people's party), i.e. a party that comprised a broad coalition. <br /><br />This may seem counterintuitive. The NSDAP is known for its radical and antisemitic policies. How could an extremist organisation appeal to such a broad spectrum of the electorate?<br /><br />Thomas Childers (2010) analyses five different segments of the German electorate:<br /><br />•<b>The old middle class</b>: a segment of the middle class that consisted of handicrafts and commercial small businesses, such as artisans, shopkeepers and independent farmers (ibid., Chapter I).<br /><br />•<b>The “Rentnermittelstand”</b>: a segment of the middle class that consisted of pensioners or retirees, veterans and small investors who relied on fixed incomes. The term comes from the German words “Rentner” (“pensioner” or “retiree”) and “Mittelstand” (middle class) (ibid., Chapter II).<br /><br />•<b>The new middle class</b>: white-collar salaried employees as well as the professional civil service (Berufsbeantentum). The new middle class grew from roughly 500,000 in 1881, to over 2 million in 1907, and to over 5 million in 1925. This group comprised 17 percent of the German workforce in the Weimar Republic. Over a quarter of the white-collar labour force were women.<br /><br />The professional civil service was an important subgroup of the new middle class. Its members continued to enjoy the prestige traditionally attached to civil servants in pre-war imperial Germany. Their salaries, while not very high, were competitive with the private sector, and after 1907, they were supplemented by additional benefits.<br /><br />Civil servants were granted a secure pension plan, paid vacations, sick pay, and other special privileges of office (Amtsrechte). Yet, the most coveted perk was the promise of job security. Unlike all other professional categories, civil servants were guaranteed lifetime tenure, an envied rarity in the volatile world of white-collar employment (ibid., Chapter I, II).<br /><br />•<b>The working class</b>: blue collar workers, including both the industrial workers in modern factories, as well as manufacturers in small businesses and rural areas. <br /><br />•<b>Religion</b>: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Religion">Germany</a> was divided between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, a legacy of the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther in 1517. <br /><br />The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 established the principle that the inhabitants of each German state should follow the religion of their ruler. In the southern and western states, Roman Catholicism prevailed, while the northern and eastern states became mostly Protestant.<br /><br />Religious affiliation was politically relevant in the Weimar Republic, as it was a predictor of voting behaviour. For example, Roman Catholics overwhelmingly identified with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Centre-Party-political-party-Germany">Centre Party</a>.<br /><br />The NSDAP managed to make inroads into all of these segments of the electorate, while other parties tended to have a much narrower constituency. <br /><br />What were the reasons for the growing support of these groups for the NSDAP?<br /><br />Childers argues that Nazi supporters came from different backgrounds and social statuses, that many of them felt the threat of the economic crisis and were ideologically hostile to the Marxist left. However, poverty alone was not a decisive factor in determining their electoral choices. Indeed, the industrial working class and the unemployed largely voted for the SPD and the KPD.<br /><br />What Nazi voters had in common was their deep distrust of modernity and of industrial society, and a corporatist, exclusivist view of their social status. That is why the NSDAP was popular among civil servants who felt that their privileges were under attack; small shopkeepers, independent farmers, and other small businesses that feared big corporations and cheap agricultural imports; pensioners and veterans whose incomes were being cut; people who had a conservative and traditional worldview. We shall now take a closer look at these groups. <br /><br />•<b>Old middle class</b>: As retail trade plummeted and bankruptcies skyrocketed by 20 percent between 1930 and 1931, the old middle class became increasingly radicalised.<br /><br />An example of this process is the experience of a middle-aged shopkeeper who after years of apprenticeship had opened his own store in 1927, but was forced to shut it down in 1929 due to the economic depression. He was unemployed for almost two years, found a job as a municipal gardener but was dismissed in 1931. He later explained:<br /><br />"As the misery in Germany... grew worse and my wife had to earn our living while I, the real breadwinner of the family, sat idly at home … Because of everything I had experienced … I became sympathetic to the [National Socialist] movement and voted for the NSDAP” (quoted in: Childers 2010, Chapter IV). <br /><br />It is noteworthy that part of the humiliation this NSDAP voter felt stemmed from his failure to live up to the traditional gender role of the man as “the real breadwinner”, which suggests that the loss of his perceived social status and the elevation of his wife's were decisive factors in his radicalisation.<br /><br />The NSDAP vigorously campaigned to gain the votes of the old middle class. They denounced the “traitorous bourgeois parties” that had “forgotten the rights of their middle-class constituents and delivered the handicrafts and retail commerce... to the liberals and Marxists,” who had ”destroyed the German economy.”<br /><br />The Nazis blamed “the system and the parties” which had “brought the ruin of the Mittelstand.... the department stores and chains, creations of... Jewish international finance capital, had ruined thousands of retail merchants and.. condemned even more retail employees to joblessness” (quoted in: ibid.).<br /><br />In rural areas, too, discontent mounted as agricultural income shrank, while indebtedness and foreclosures soared. This presented a huge opportunity for the NSDAP to expand its appeal to the rural electorate. <br /><br />The man tasked with this endeavour was Richard-Walther Darré (1895–1953), the ideologist who promoted the concept of “blood and soil” (Blut und Boden), which linked racial purity with farming and rural life.<br /><br />Darré published books such as “The Peasantry as the Life Source of the Nordic Race” (Das Bauerntum als Lebensquell der nordischen Rasse, 1928), and the “New Nobility from Blood and Soil” (Neuadel aus Blut und Boden, 1930). He believed that the countryside was the true source of the “Nordic race” and of European civilisation as opposed to the “nomadic” Jewish race. He denounced modern industrial society, and advocated for the creation of a new corporatist state (Ständestaat) ruled by a “Germanic aristocracy of the soil” (see Wistrich 2013).<br /><br />As the head of the “Agricultural Political Apparatus” (agrarpolitischer Apparat, aA),<br /><br />Darré sought to win the support of German farmers, as well as infiltrate and dominate influential agricultural interest organisations.<br /><br />Darré instructed local branches to avoid talking about the details of the NSDAP's policy proposals. Instead, they were to focus on denouncing liberalism, Marxism, the corruption of the parliamentary system, and the Jews who were portrayed as the real force behind the Republic. <br /><br />The Nazis attacked both US-style “big capitalism” (Hochkapitalismus) and Marxist socialism. The first, they argued, “enslaves human beings under the slogan of progress, technology, rationalization, standardization, etc.,” while “recognizing only profits and dividends...and placing the machine above man.” The latter, on the other hand, "recognizes only one class, the proletariat, while institutionalizing the controlled economy [Zwangswirtschaft]. It creates the domination of the tractor, bureaucratizes farm work, destroys the family, faith, morality, and the sacred traditions of a people.”<br /><br />The NSDAP made broad promises, such as reducing agricultural imports and directing funds to farmers “for soil improvement, creation of excellent seed-corn, the purchase of necessary machinery, and the payment of better wages” (Childers 2010, Chapter IV). <br /><br />The NSDAP's propaganda efforts paid off. Support for the party was much greater in rural areas than in the large urban centres.<br /><br />•<b>The Rentnermittelstand</b>: This segment of the middle class had generally been hostile to the Weimar Republic from the very beginning. The origin of this group's disaffection with the state dated back to the <a href="https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/geschichte/100-jahre-weimar/hyperinflation-970722">hyperinflation</a> crisis of the early 1920s.<br /><br />During World War I, the German government had financed its expenses by issuing bonds and running deficits. The authorities assumed that Germany would win the war, impose reparations on the enemy, and thus meet their financial obligations. But the exact opposite happened. Germany lost, found itself indebted and additionally burdened with war reparations. <br /><br />After the monarchy collapsed and the Republic was established in November 1918, the new government continued to print money to fund its expenses, such as the demobilisation of the army and payments to veterans.<br /><br />This situation was compounded by the occupation of Germany's Ruhr region by French and Belgian troops in January 1923. The German government called for “passive resistance”, which resulted in a large-scale strike. The government promised to pay the salaries of striking workers, which it could only do by printing more money. Inflation spiralled out of control, turning into hyperinflation. Here are some <a href="https://www.planet-wissen.de/geschichte/deutsche_geschichte/weimarer_republik/pwiediehyperinflationvon100.html">examples</a> of price increases:<br /><br />On June 9, 1923, in Berlin: <br /><br />•1 egg cost 800 marks <br /><br />•1 litre of milk 1440 marks <br /><br />•1 kilo of potatoes 5000 marks <br /><br />•1 tram ride 600 marks <br /><br />•1 dollar was equivalent to 100,000 marks.<br /><br /><br />On December 2, 1923: <br /><br />•1 egg cost 320 billion marks <br /><br />•1 litre of milk 360 billion marks <br /><br />•1 kilo of potatoes 90 billion marks <br /><br />•1 tram ride 50 billion marks <br /><br />•1 dollar was equivalent to 4.21 trillion marks.<br /><br /><br />Hyperinflation wiped out the savings of the middle and upper classes, as well as the incomes of workers, war veterans and retirees. The Rentnermittelstand therefore associated the Weimar Republic with their economic ruin.<br /><br />The trauma of hyperinflation was still fresh in people's minds when the 1929 depression hit. As the economy plunged, so did the Rentnermittelstand’s stocks, rents, and dividends. By 1932, nearly one in six of them had lost their taxable income, and their savings had shrunk by almost a quarter. The threat of bank collapses, especially in 1931, added to their anxiety. To make matters worse, the austerity policies of Brüning and Papen cut their pensions and benefits.<br /><br />These voters were a prime target for the Nazis. The party courted them with promises of restoring their wealth and protecting them from economic turmoil. <br /><br />The strategy worked. The Rentnermittelstand had originally backed the DNVP, but they began to shift to the NSDAP in 1928 and had become their most reliable supporters by July 1932 (Childers 2010, Chapter IV). <br /><br /><br />•<b>The new middle class</b>: In 1932, as Germany faced economic and political turmoil, the NSDAP made a concerted effort to win over the civil service, a traditional social elite that had seen its status and income eroded by the Weimar Republic. The Nazis promised to restore the dignity and security of the Berufsbeamtentum, the professional civil service.<br /><br />Like the Rentnermittelstand, the civil service had been hostile to the new Republic early on. As I mentioned earlier, a job in the civil service was attractive because of its lifetime tenure. Whoever succeeded in entering the civil service could be certain to have a stable and safe livelihood. That was a particularly important advantage during the turmoil of World War I and its aftermath.<br /><br />But the sense of security of the civil service was shaken in October 1924, when the government issued the “Decree for the Reduction of Personnel Expenses of the Reich” (Verordnung zur Herabminderung der Personalausgaben des Reichs, abbr. Personal-Abbau-Verordnung).<br /><br />The Decree aimed at reducing the size of the civil service personnel by 25 percent in order to save money. About half a million civil servants and other junior office workers, particularly women, were dismissed. <br /><br />Among the civil servants who lost their jobs were young war veterans who had begun their career shortly before the conflict broke out and were drafted into the army. <br /><br />Those who were dismissed felt betrayed and denied a right that the government had guaranteed them. Even senior civil servants who kept their posts could be transferred to lower status jobs, causing further resentment. <br /><br />Moreover, hyperinflation ate away at civil servants’ savings and incomes. As the mathematician and writer Emil Julius Gumbel commented, the civil servants, who should have been one of the pillars of the Republican order, instead “became enemies of the Reich” (see Hachtmann 2023, pp. 192-200).<br /><br />After 1929, the civil service suffered greatly under the austerity measures of the Brüning and von Papen governments, which cut their pay by about 20 percent in less than three years and increased their taxes. They also faced the risk of layoffs as the government's finances worsened. The Nazis exploited this discontent, attacking the government's deflationary policy and the “system parties” that supported it. They vowed to protect the civil service from further cuts and to uphold its traditional rights and privileges. Civil servants were receptive to the NSDAP's message and became one of its core constituencies. <br /><br />By contrast, white-collar employees in the private sector were much less likely to vote for the NSDAP. The party was more successful in appealing to the disgruntled elitist civil service than to the socially heterogeneous and lower middle class white-collar labour. Moreover, the NSDAP's ultraconservative stance on the social role of women alienated female employees, who comprised one quarter of the white-collar workforce (Childers 2010, Chapter IV). <br /><br /><br />•<b>The working class: </b>The Great Depression favoured the rise of anti-democratic extremism, but it did not lead to a break-through of the NSDAP among the urban industrial working class and the unemployed. Both of these groups mostly voted either for the SPD or the KPD. The percentage of the vote for the two left-wing parties remained stable throughout the crisis years, hovering between 36 and 38 percent.<br /><br />The NSDAP, however, appealed to a segment of the blue-collar workforce that was attracted by the party's rhetoric against “big capitalism” and Marxism.<br /><br />These workers were employed in traditional handicrafts jobs, such as carpenters, plumbers, gardeners and locksmiths, as well as workers from rural areas. <br /><br />By contrast, National Socialists in modern industrial and unionised labour were few and far between. One Nazi industrial worker stated that when his fellow workers found out about his political views, “their hate knew no bounds”. One electrician employed in a municipal utility remarked that “the tremendous resistance from the employers as well as from the workers, ninety percent of whom were infected with Marxism, ... made it extremely difficult for the small group of National Socialists to achieve success” (see Childers 2010, Chapter IV). <br /><br /><br />•<b>Religion</b>: In terms of confession, the NSDAP performed far better in Protestant communities than in Catholic ones. <br /><br />Catholic voters largely remained loyal to the Centre Party and the BVP. The Centre Party benefited from the fact that the Catholic Church was a well-established social and ideological organisation that the NSDAP struggled to displace or infiltrate. The Catholic community therefore seemed to remain more sceptical of the Nazis than Protestant voters.<br /><br />The Centre Party’s warnings not to vote for either the Nazis or the Communists, who were depicted as enemies of religion, had the desired effect. Indeed, the two Catholic parties maintained about the same share of the vote throughout this period (ibid., Chapter III). <br /><br />The Nazis’ electoral success was mostly concentrated in Protestant districts. In those districts where votes were tabulated by sex, the share of female voters for the first time outnumbered men in 1932 (ibid., Chapter IV). <br /><br /><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">•Why Was There No Anti-NSDAP Front?</span></h2><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br />In July 1932 the NSDAP only gained 37.4 percent of the vote. The two major leftist parties, the SPD and the KPD, received a combined 36.2 percent of the vote, while the Centre Party gained 12.5 percent. However, they and other parties failed to form a united front against Hitler.<br /><br />The Centre Party had supported the democratic system, but already in 1928 it began to move further to the right (Wirsching 2008, p. 31). In the 1930s, it participated in the right-wing plot to abolish the parliamentary system, and two of its prominent members, Brüning and von Papen, formed presidential cabinets which initiated Germany's transition into an authoritarian state even before Hitler came to power. In January 1933, the Centre Party formed a coalition with the NSDAP, and in March it <a href="https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/history/parliamentarism/third_reich/third_reich-200358">voted</a> for the <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-enabling-act">Enabling Act</a>, which gave the NSDAP government the power to pass laws without consulting parliament.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the SPD and the KPD were so bitterly opposed to each other that they were unwilling to build anti-fascist alliance. The origin of their enmity went back to the early years of the Republic. <br /><br />The SPD had ceased to be a revolutionary party by the autumn of 1918. While still using Marxist language, it re-evaluated concepts like class struggle and revolution, focusing on the gradual, non-violent transformation of the existing system. The party aimed for parliamentary democracy, improved working conditions, and an expanded welfare state.<br /><br />The SPD's shift away from revolutionary ideals was evident in its support for a parliamentary system of government and its emphasis on evolutionary development rather than radical change. The party's focus on democratic transformation and social reforms reflected a departure from orthodox Marxism and a move towards a more moderate and pragmatic approach to governance (Wirsching 2008, p. 31).<br /><br />The day after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 10, 1918, SPD leader and German Chancellor Friedrich Ebert reached an agreement with Wilhelm Groener, who was Quartermaster General – the Army's second-highest rank below the Chief of Staff. In a telephone conversation, Groener pledged loyalty to the new government and assured military support against left-wing revolutionaries, while Ebert guaranteed that the sole command of the troops would remain with the senior officers (the so-called <a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/revolution-191819/ebert-groener-pakt.html">Ebert-Groener pact</a>).<br /><br />Both the SPD and the army wanted to maintain stability and prevent a Bolshevik-inspired revolution. When the far left Spartacus League launched an uprising on January 5, 1919, the SPD-led government deployed the military. During the crackdown, the Communist revolutionaries Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered. <br /><br />On April 7, a Soviet Republic was proclaimed in the federal state of Bavaria. Once again, the authorities sent the army to suppress the revolt (Emmerich 2016, pp. 208-209).<br /><br />The SPD's alliance with the old military elites and its staunch opposition to the Bolshevik model alienated a segment of its base, some of whom turned to the radical KPD.<br /><br />The SPD rejected violent revolution and Soviet policies, while the KPD rejected the Weimar Republic and promoted the creation of “<a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/kpd">Soviet Germany</a>” (Sowjetdeutschland).<br /><br />At the 12th National Congress of the KPD in Berlin-Wedding in June 1929, the party vowed to fight what it called the “social fascism” of the SPD.<br /><br />The Communists continued to pursue their anti-SPD strategy during the Great Depression. KPD chairman Ernst Thälmann argued that his party should appeal to working-class SPD supporters and win them over to the Communist cause. He stated:<br /><br />“As long as they are not emancipated from the influence of the social-fascist leaders, these millions of workers are lost to the antifascist struggle. The isolation of the SPD and ADGB [the General German Trade Union Federation] leaders within the working class, remains our most important strategic objective … The battle against the chief enemy, the bourgeoisie, the Papen government, and its National Socialist lackeys cannot be waged successfully without... the primary offensive against Social Democracy” (quoted in: Childers 2010, Chapter IV).<br /><br />On July 20, 1932, President von Hindenburg issued a decree to dismiss the SPD government of the state of Prussia and nominated Chancellor von Papen as its “commissar”. This coup, known as the “<a href="https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/preussenschlag-1932.html">Prussian coup</a>” (Preußenschlag), deprived the SPD of its last power base.<br /><br />The SPD leadership refused to mobilise pro-democracy paramilitary units such as the Reichsbanner and Iron Front. Instead, it placed its trust in the ballot box and the legal system. The party condemned the KPD’s radicalism for providing fuel for the NSDAP and the Papen government. The SPD newspaper Vorwärts noted that it was easier to lure voters “with tempting calls for the Third Reich or a soviet Germany” rather than to engage in difficult, constructive legislative work (ibid.). <br /><br />Thus, the Nazis could easily conquer their divided political opponents. On January 30, 1933, President von Hindenburg <a href="https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/history/parliamentarism/third_reich/third_reich-200358">appointed Hitler Chancellor of the Reich</a>.<br /><br />On February 27, the NSDAP cracked down on the KPD, arresting thousands of its members, including high-ranking functionaries and lawmakers. On March 3rd, KPD chairman Ernst Thälmann was also arrested. He spent the entire Nazi era in captivity, until he was executed in 1944 in the Buchenwald concentration camp (Galkin et al. 2013, p. 102).<br /><br />On June 22, the SPD was officially <a href="https://www.spd.de/160-jahre/matrix/1933-verbot-der-spd">outlawed</a>. Around 3,000 Social Democrats were arrested and taken to concentration camps in the following months. Others went into exile. <br /><br />All other remaining <a href="https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/499298/dcb37a9b8024e8ce692c1b8864d662ef/1933---das-ende-der-parteien-data.pdf">parties</a> were forced to disband through terror, intimidation and decrees. The last party to do so was the Centre Party, which after the arrest of some of its members and Goebbels's warnings that it was time to “close down the shop”, decided to disband on July 5.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div><br />In the next article, I will discuss the development of the parliamentary and the party system in West Germany after World War II.<br /><br /><b>If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting me on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi</a> or taking a look at some of my books:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/1361788014984381159#">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/1361788014984381159#">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/1361788014984381159#">Craven A and other Stories</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/1361788014984381159#">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/1361788014984381159#">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a><br /></b><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">Referenced books (affiliate links)</span></h3><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Childers, T. (2010). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9780807841471">The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany, 1919-1933</a>. <br /><br />Galkin, A. et al. (Eds.). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9783110300987">Deutschland, Russland, Komintern. Überblicke, Analysen, Diskussionen</a>.<br /><br />Emmerich, A. et al. (2016). <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Duden-Allgemeinbildung-Deutsche-Geschichte/dp/3411740132?crid=WPXXKNDYRW5F&keywords=Alexander+Emmerich+duden&qid=1706627921&sprefix=alexander+emmerich+duden%2Caps%2C468&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=f8b1243f3f837307a4480246c11e6e05&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Deutsche Geschichte. Menschen. Ereignisse. Epochen</a>.<br /><br />Hachtmann, R. (2023). <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wilhelminismus-Staatlichkeit-Nationalsozialismus-Reichsarbeitsministerium-Reichsarbeitsministeriums-ebook/dp/B0BXMM4MYV?keywords=Vom+Wilhelminismus+zur+Neuen+Staatlichkeit+des+Nationalsozialismus&qid=1706628001&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=3a18ad0b8cd1b9c386686a943c07bcb3&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Vom Wilhelminismus zur Neuen Staatlichkeit des Nationalsozialismus</a>. <br /><br />Kolb, E. (2012). <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deutschland-1918-1933-German-Eberhard-Kolb/dp/3486597604?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1706628139&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=f05d0793ae34871239dd3e4778481312&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Deutschland 1918-1933</a>.<br /><br />Lee, S. (2013). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9780415473224">The Weimar Republic</a>.<br /><br />Wirsching, A. (2008). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9783486587364">Die Weimarer Republik</a>.<br /><br />Wistrich, R. (2013). <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/100779/9780415260381">Who’s Who in Nazi Germany</a>.<br /></span><br />Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-13617880149843811592024-01-20T05:53:00.002+08:002024-01-20T07:00:59.521+08:00On People Who Don't Seem to Care About Democracy<p>Several years ago I met an elderly British man in Hong Kong who had recently travelled to North Korea as a tourist. When I heard that, I became curious. It doesn't happen very often to bump into someone who has visited the secluded Kim dictatorship.<br /><br />To my surprise, he started to rant about how “biased” Western media were. I don't recall his exact words, but the gist of it was that North Korea was very clean, there was no graffiti, no crime, the buildings were modern, in short, the country was not at all how Western media always portrayed it. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1e1l-fsT_Z5tJUPMKp1m21-dNpWmrGJzu2Ku2m-O7kxuZ44m9GzKj1QkGRm1z8aZG48-GHX4Ma3iB3WYydLMhMM7GnoM4_pNzOHfsGf1JZ40flbsxtDkm73AFKLeWIq2kI4TzVrKZqtILthEh1qvR_BxiVVY8q1YwGjyhWMewLJ_oMrT1N7FLapBB7qoa/s1984/SAM_5515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="1984" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1e1l-fsT_Z5tJUPMKp1m21-dNpWmrGJzu2Ku2m-O7kxuZ44m9GzKj1QkGRm1z8aZG48-GHX4Ma3iB3WYydLMhMM7GnoM4_pNzOHfsGf1JZ40flbsxtDkm73AFKLeWIq2kI4TzVrKZqtILthEh1qvR_BxiVVY8q1YwGjyhWMewLJ_oMrT1N7FLapBB7qoa/s320/SAM_5515.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRkW4CV1wrP7TP5KbdtEOpsnnVwSg_Oyv5FgUJ4Hz1UkEqZm_MBUzTBNLpf5fGkWGvc-0Xi0OpUYGzrOJPMHXckrX3kolZ400-PYCBfmVQJrWzl59r70c3LDRWES_94-7IO06GFOsy0n_sow5vUyEOPRyF6m6i9pmfKw1MrSedOXq2uPrlx0-AO1OeHpU/s1600/SAM_5671.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRkW4CV1wrP7TP5KbdtEOpsnnVwSg_Oyv5FgUJ4Hz1UkEqZm_MBUzTBNLpf5fGkWGvc-0Xi0OpUYGzrOJPMHXckrX3kolZ400-PYCBfmVQJrWzl59r70c3LDRWES_94-7IO06GFOsy0n_sow5vUyEOPRyF6m6i9pmfKw1MrSedOXq2uPrlx0-AO1OeHpU/s320/SAM_5671.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">I took these pictures during the 2014 pro-democracy <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2014/12/goodbye-occupy-central-hongkong.html?m=1" target="_blank">Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong</a></span> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br />I was quite startled. But in retrospect, I shouldn't have been. Throughout the years, I came across a lot of people who voiced sympathy for authoritarian regimes.<br /><br />I grew up in Italy. Even though fascism was defeated militarily in 1943-1945, and it seemed (for a time) to be a taboo subject to better be avoided in public, there are still people who believe in fascism and admire Mussolini.<br /><br />One of my roommates told me that her brother frequented a club where a portrait of Mussolini hung on a wall. When I was 18 years old, I talked with an elderly man – a wealthy professional – who praised fascism, made the first antisemitic remarks I'd ever heard in person, and called Fancisco Franco's regime in Spain the “intelligent dictatorship” (la dittatura intelligente). Some of my fellow students were also quite pro-fascist and made all kinds of faux arguments about the regime's economic and social achievements. I could go on.<br /><br />I studied in Berlin for over three years and mostly lived in the eastern part of the city. I can't remember how many conversations I had with disgruntled citizens who told me that life in the former Communist dictatorship was better than in democratic Germany.<br /><br />This is not only anecdotal evidence. The sentiment was so widespread that the Germans coined a new word for it: “<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ostalgie/a-16196893">Ostalgie</a>”, a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia). It was nostalgia for the former East Germany.<br /><br />When I was a student in Berlin, I made a lot of friends from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Several of them were Communist Party members or came from families with ties to the Communist Party.<br /><br />Most of them were critical of the PRC government in one way or another. Some were outright liberals, others accepted authoritarianism, a few praised it as superior to democracy. <br /><br />Later on, I encountered “Westerners” (controversial term; you can suggest an alternative) who lived in the PRC or travelled there frequently on business. Some of them were apologists for the Communist regime. They argued that the PRC was really not that different from the West, one just had to avoid some sensitive topics, who cares about politics anyway, the CCP government is actually more efficient than those in democratic countries, etc.<br /><br />In Hong Kong, my Filipino neighbours were staunchly pro-Duterte and … pro-Trump. I actually had heated debates with them on the topic. I was quite surprised by the fact that they defended Trump, and told me not to trust the mainstream media. Those conversations were a very fascinating, as well as revealing, experience.<br /><br />I could go on and on with examples, but I think you get what I'm trying to say. <br /><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br /><br />As a kid in the 1990s I was exposed through the media and the school system to what appeared to be a firm and unquestionable common belief that the US and its closest allies were stable democracies, where the vast majority of the people agreed on the same principles of human rights, civil rights and liberties, free and fair elections.<br /><br />I carried that belief with me until about a decade ago. It has now become abundantly clear that neither the US, nor European countries, are inherently democratic, that democracy is extremely fragile, and that it is not true that we collectively have “learnt the lessons” from history. It is also not true that people will naturally embrace democracy as soon as they get rid of tyrants, as was implied by pro-democracy triumphalist rhetoric. It was perhaps only an illusion, or a Cold War myth which was so successfully propagated that many people started to believe it.<br /><br />A lot of countries seem to have a certain percentage of the population that tends to be authoritarian. Moreover, there is a general sense of discontent with democracy.<br /><br />A December 2023 Gallup poll shows that only 28% of US adults were satisfied with the way <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/548120/record-low-satisfied-democracy-working.aspx">democracy</a> is working – the lowest figure ever. <br /><br />In 1984, 61% of US respondents were satisfied with democracy, and 60% in 1991. Only one year later, however, the number plummeted to 36% due to “an economic recession and congressional scandals”.<br /><br />Although satisfaction with democracy grew again during the Clinton years, it topped at merely 52% in 1998. There were clear signs of deterioration in the “democracy consensus”.<br /><br />The recent Gallup poll shows some degree of partisan divide, but the numbers are overall very low regardless of party affiliation. The least likely to say they are satisfied with the state of democracy are Republicans (17%), followed by independents (27%) and Democrats (38%).<br /><br />A poll from The Economist/YouGov released in November 2023 shows that only about half of young Americans say that <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4370114-about-half-young-americans-democracy-best-form-government/">democracy</a> is the greatest form of government:<br /><br />“[S]upport for democracy is strongest among older Americans, but it declines in every subsequent younger age bracket — with the weakest levels of support among adults younger than 45 … Only 54 percent of U.S. adults ages 18-29 agree with the statement, ‘Democracy is the greatest form of government.’”<br /><br />Obviously, these figures need to be interpreted. Dissatisfaction with the state of democracy doesn't necessarily mean rejection of democracy itself. But there are illiberal tendencies in some segments of society both in the US and abroad. <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule">The crisis of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism</a> over the past several years are well-documented phenomena.<br /><br />It is still astounding to me that people who grew up in a democratic society can embrace authoritarianism. Don't they understand the benefits of democracy? Obviously, not everyone does.<br /><br />Democracy is under assault by various groups. The most powerful of them are on the far right. But there is also a growing number of people on the far left who are turning to illiberal models, although they have not taken over the leadership of major parties as of right now. Let's look at some examples.<br /><br />Wealthy and powerful individuals who think that democracy runs counter to their interests. An example is billionaire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/23/americas-billionaire-class-is-funding-anti-democratic-forces">Peter Thiel</a>, who once wrote that he no longer believed that <a href="https://boingboing.net/2022/07/24/revealing-essay-on-peter-thiel-spoiler-alert-hes-a-fascist.html">freedom and democracy</a> were compatible, and that the <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/peter-thiel-women-democracy_n_5747079be4b03ede4413f6f5">extension of the franchise</a> to women and welfare beneficiaries had made "capitalist democracy" an oxymoron. <br /><br />Thiel funded a lawsuit against Gawker, a media company that had outed him as gay, which led to the outlet’s eventual shutdown for bankruptcy in 2016. He has supported far right politicians like Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Blake Masters. He has also praised authoritarian leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2019/04/singapore-as-pioneer-of-capitalist.html?m=1">Singapore</a>. <br /><br />Corporations that put profit above human rights. Many companies are more than happy to do business in authoritarian countries like the PRC. Western businesses have even <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2013/11/bloomberg-news-and-the-tradition-of-self-censorship.html?m=1">self-censored</a> in order to avoid the wrath of authoritarian governments. If Western companies are so comfortable working within the confines of authoritarian regimes, I see no reason why they wouldn't accommodate themselves to dictators in their own countries (as long as their taxes aren't high). <br /><br />Anti-immigration religious and ethnonationalist groups. They are principally motivated and mobilised by their hatred towards immigrants, and their belief in the nation as a racially and culturally homogeneous community.<br /><br />They would rather support an authoritarian government than accept immigration, as demonstrated by former Fox host Tucker Carlson's admiration for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/hungarian-pm-viktor-orban-donald-trump-ukraine-victory-over-russia-lie/">Viktor Orban</a>, the ethnonationalist authoritarian leader of Hungary, the same guy who in 2022 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hungary-migration-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-5f3a91a3697209955c9404310591733c">said</a> that “we do not want to become peoples of mixed-race,” adding that countries “where European and non-European peoples live together … are no longer nations.”<br /><br />The far right is apt at whipping up its base’s anti-immigration sentiment. For instance, a recent article on the far right media outlet <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/01/18/donald-trump-border-deal-must-shut-down-bidens-invasion/#disqus_thread">Breitbart</a> stated: <br /><br />“President Joe Biden’s border deputies have carefully allowed roughly five million economic migrants across the southern border and into the United States … Democratic legislators do not want the penniless migrants to be housed in city-funded shelters. So GOP negotiators reportedly agreed to let the migrants quickly get work permits so they could be hired by companies in place of better-paid Americans … A … bloc of GOP Senators prefer to protect Americans’ communities and pocketbooks from Biden’s cheap-labor migration. This bloc includes Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).”<br /><br />This kind of rhetoric targets the core far right base of non-college white voters, 65% of whom voted for <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/">Trump</a> in 2020. Note the insistence on the trope of the immigrant as “cheap labour”, the same type of rhetoric used to justify racist legislation like the <a href="https://china-journal.org/2017/02/10/1882-chinese-exclusion-act-racial-discrimination-united-states/">Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882</a>.<br /><br />But there are also people on the left who are apologists for authoritarian regimes, or do not think that democracy works. <br /><br />Leftist intellectuals like British author Martin Jacques and US academic Jeffrey Sachs, who are known for supporting the <a href="https://china-journal.org/?s=United+front+">Chinese Communist government</a>. <br /><br />Some citizens of liberal democratic states have been recruited by Beijing to <a href="https://china-journal.org/2023/12/02/how-chinas-government-uses-foreign-influencers-to-spread-propaganda/">work as influencers on social media</a>. <br /><br />Within the US, some leftist groups are trying to discredit liberal democracy, crafting a narrative of moral equivalence between the two major parties. In December 2023, progressive activist Bree Newsome <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-dictator-worse-trump-progressive-activist-1856108">tweeted</a>: <br /><br />"Biden is already a dictator, folks. Fascism is already here under Biden. Please pay attention to how popular will is being completely ignored because Biden doesn't give af what the public thinks if he can maintain his grip on power.”<br /><br />Apart from the people who are actively engaged in politics, there are also those who are indifferent, apathetic, or believe that democracy doesn't do anything for them, anyway. I am not going to discuss all of these groups now. I might write about them in a separate post. <br /><br />I must confess that I just don't understand people who think it's fine to be ruled by the whims of unaccountable dictators. Even when some groups of people believe that a certain individual represents their interests, granting absolute power to a single person or an oligarchy usually leads to some form of abuse, corruption, mismanagement, and even political violence. <br /><br />But the reality is, autocracy has been the norm for most of human history. Democracy, as it is practiced today, is a <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2022/11/is-united-states-democracy-or-republic.html?m=1">quite recent phenomenon</a>. Billions of people still live in autocratic states.<br /><br />The political events of the previous decade have sent a mixed message. There have been grassroots pro-democracy movements like in <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/country/belarus/freedom-world/2022">Belarus</a> and <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/03/05/the-rise-and-decline-of-hong-kong-from-the-british-colonial-era-to-the-chinese-communist-takeover/">Hong Kong</a>. The United States and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polands-donald-tusk-says-he-will-push-wests-help-ukraine-2023-12-12/">Poland</a> voted out far right governments. Italy elected as PM the leader of a party with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-24/is-italian-prime-minister-giorgia-meloni-a-fascist/101999292">neofascist roots</a>, and Turkey re-elected its authoritarian leader <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/28/europe/turkey-president-runoff-polls-erdogan-intl/index.html">Erdogan</a>. <br /><br />In Germany, the far right party <a href="https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/yougov-umfrage-afd-kommt-in-sonntagsfrage-auf-24-prozent/100006065.html">AfD</a> (Alternative for Germany) has reached 24% according to a recent YouGov poll, making it the second largest party in the country. The Greens, who were the second strongest party in 2021 with 14.8%, have lost support and are now at 12%. The CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union) remains the largest party with 29%. The SPD (Social Democratic Party) is at 15%, the FDP (Free Democratic Party) at 6%, and the Left at 5%.<br /><br />A <a href="https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/neue-rechte/2024/01/10/geheimplan-remigration-vertreibung-afd-rechtsextreme-november-treffen/">report</a> published on January 10, 2024, by the investigative outlet Correctiv revealed that several members of the AfD party had attended a secret meeting with neo-Nazis and other extremists to discuss the mass deportation of migrants, asylum seekers and German citizens of foreign origin deemed to have failed to integrate. The meeting took place in a hotel near Potsdam in November 2023. <br /><br />According to the report, the participants discussed the details of a so-called "remigration" plan, a term used by the far right to refer to the forced removal of people with non-German ethnic backgrounds, even if they are citizens of Germany. The revelation of the meeting sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from the public, the media, and other political parties. Thousands of people took to the streets of German cities to protest against the far right. <br /><br />And yet, over 20% of the electorate sympathise with the AfD. In my own time in Germany, I heard plenty of xenophobic remarks from friends, acquaintances and random strangers I struck up conversations with. It almost surprises me that it took so long for an ethnonationalist party to find electoral success. <br /><br />I still remember vividly when in 2010 the former banker and Social Democratic politician <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/central-banker-sets-off-a-storm-with-controversial-book-release/a-5955963">Thilo Sarazzin</a> published a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-germany-must-take-a-close-look-at-racism-in-the-country/a-5962610">book</a> titled “Deutschland schafft sich ab” (Germany Abolishes Itself), which argued that Muslim immigrants are a threat to German culture, economy, and society. Sarrazin made several <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11131937">racist remarks</a>, claiming that Muslims have lower intelligence and higher fertility than native Germans, and that they are unwilling or unable to integrate into German society.<br /><br />He suggested that Germany should restrict immigration from Muslim countries and encourage the assimilation of existing Muslim immigrants by imposing sanctions and incentives. He further stated that "all Jews share a particular gene" that distinguishes them from other people.<br /><br />Sarrazin was widely criticised and condemned by the media and political parties. However, his book sold over 1.5 million copies, becoming a huge best seller.<br /><br />He not only denied that his remarks were racist, but also claimed that he was a victim of political correctness and censorship, and that he was raising important issues that needed to be discussed openly.<br /><br />The root of the AfD’s rise lies in the fact that there are many people who hold similar views, which have circulated for decades in private discussions. When Sarrazin opened the lid, the media and the large parties put it back on. As society is increasingly beset by economic and social turmoil, the media, the liberal intelligentsia and the traditional parties have been losing the credibility that they would need to do it again. <br /><br />This year, there will be <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-4-billion-people-are-eligible-to-vote-in-an-election-in-2024-is-this-democracys-biggest-test-220837">elections</a> in over 40 countries in the world, with 4 billion people going to the polls. Nowadays, elections often feel like existential contests where democracy, civil rights and human rights are on the ballot.<br /><br />Will the democratic consensus hold? Or will apathy, hate, indifference, and factional interests prevail? <br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Buy me a coffee on</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ko-fi</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> ☕</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Check out my books 📚</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Craven A and other Stories</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/6348930114045878600#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</span></a></p></li></ul><br />Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-63489301140458786002024-01-19T22:47:00.008+08:002024-01-19T22:47:42.996+08:00Supreme Court Poised to Shatter the Administrative State in Historic Rulings<p>Former Trump White House Chief Strategist <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/politics/stephen-bannon-cpac-speech.html">Steve Bannon</a> once vowed to "deconstruct the administrative state", and he may get his way thanks to the Supreme Court's far right majority.</p>The SCOTUS cases <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/loper-bright-enterprises-v-raimondo/">Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo</a> and <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/relentless-inc-v-department-of-commerce/">Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce</a> could have a huge impact on the power of federal agencies to make and enforce regulations. <div><br /></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1EjENa8utqj_QzT-Oi4iD7wJeL04Z6_9Apq4EiDCELzLBvEPIyVD4IZw-E_nwUUNnh-Hs7asUTDFQzRS2mVpGunVhqvvutdAEHvQ6VJ4ElLBMOBRwWBG8A8oavk_qzsA0_exI3R-WpCXjZPDk4uxBnn8k_ebNVigZZNtMi7qwMrKgTj1wCCacZM2yIKP6/s1991/US_Supreme_Court.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="1991" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1EjENa8utqj_QzT-Oi4iD7wJeL04Z6_9Apq4EiDCELzLBvEPIyVD4IZw-E_nwUUNnh-Hs7asUTDFQzRS2mVpGunVhqvvutdAEHvQ6VJ4ElLBMOBRwWBG8A8oavk_qzsA0_exI3R-WpCXjZPDk4uxBnn8k_ebNVigZZNtMi7qwMrKgTj1wCCacZM2yIKP6/s320/US_Supreme_Court.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Mr. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kjetil_r">Kjetil Ree</a>. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0</a></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /><br />The cases challenge a legal doctrine established in the 1984 Supreme Court’s decision in <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/467/837/">Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council</a>, which requires courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous laws, unless they are unreasonable.<br /><br />The so-called “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/chevron_deference">Chevron deference</a>” doctrine has enabled agencies to address complex administrative issues without having to wait for Congress to act. <br /><br />However, some conservative judges and critics of the Chevron deference claim that it gives too much power to unelected bureaucrats and violates the separation of powers. Note that "conservatives" have no problem with unelected, unaccountable, appointed-for-life Supreme Court judges making momentous decisions - as long as they align with their ideology. <br /><br />Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett may play a decisive role in the outcome of the case, as they have expressed some support for Chevron deference in the past, but also some concerns about its limits and scope.<br /><br />As Ian Millhiser at Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/2024/1/10/24025127/supreme-court-chevron-deference-loper-bright-relentless-raimondo">pointed out</a>:<br /><br />“[T]he Court appears to be barreling toward the conclusion that judges, and not federal agencies staffed by experts on topics like wastewater management or the economics of telecommunications, should have the final word on these and countless other difficult policy questions.”<br /><br />The case could either reaffirm, weaken, or overrule the Chevron deference doctrine, gutting the ability of Federal agencies to function as they have since the New Deal era, and shifting power from the executive branch of government to the judiciary.</div><div> </div><div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">• • •</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Buy me a coffee on </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ko-fi</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> ☕</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Check out my books:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Craven A and other Stories</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6858479887971750000/4676070881085911238#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</span></a></p></li></ul><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-46760708810859112382024-01-17T09:34:00.005+08:002024-01-19T20:54:41.479+08:00China's Regime Deserves to Be Shunned for Bullying Taiwan<br />“The use of force is an option that mainland China has always maintained (使用武力是中国大陆始终保持的一个选项),” wrote in a recent <a href="https://m.weibo.cn/status/NBOvt2XHx?jumpfrom=weibocom">op-ed</a> Hu Xijin (胡锡进) about Beijing's plans to annex Taiwan.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/16/editor-of-chinese-state-tabloid-global-times-retires">Hu Xijin</a> is the former editor-in-chief of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Times">Global Times</a>, a nationalistic tabloid owned by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).<div><br /></div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht822ZNnWaGOIzPVdVIX1mRuFBOeW0bTIAvbq-0CpvYOhyw-v5HhmoZ_OVAOMG0PIXOX5hCZkIbbzchjIVUJUL_D08q9ciYUqmO0y1-mSae0t4fUKeB9QhbcVR9JMjJAw09rLe2HzcindBl7Phmg_lNaas3YBoBWRk5a95wUpXRLA72-y5PmX5ElSrZhnb/s4484/Taipei_Skyline_2022.06.29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2989" data-original-width="4484" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht822ZNnWaGOIzPVdVIX1mRuFBOeW0bTIAvbq-0CpvYOhyw-v5HhmoZ_OVAOMG0PIXOX5hCZkIbbzchjIVUJUL_D08q9ciYUqmO0y1-mSae0t4fUKeB9QhbcVR9JMjJAw09rLe2HzcindBl7Phmg_lNaas3YBoBWRk5a95wUpXRLA72-y5PmX5ElSrZhnb/s320/Taipei_Skyline_2022.06.29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">"<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120063783">Taipei Skyline 2022.06.29</a>" by 毛貓大少爺 is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><br />Hu wrote that the use of force is “the fundamental pillar for the advancement of the peaceful reunification route,” calling it “the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces” (使用武力是中国大陆始终保持的一个选项,它也是和平统一路线得以推进的根本支撑,是悬在“台独”势力头顶的达摩克利斯之剑).<br /><br /><br />“Let us support the People's Liberation Army,” he continued, “and various preparations for the military struggle in the Taiwan Strait, while maintaining a stable and calm collective attitude and continuously enhancing cohesion around major national decisions. Taiwan cannot escape, and reunification will eventually be achieved. The Sword of Damocles, the sword of force, not only hangs there, but is definitely not just for show” (我们支持解放军和针对台海军事斗争的各种准备,同时保持稳健、从容的集体态度,不断增强围绕国家重大决策的凝聚力。台湾跑不了,统一终将实现,武力这把达摩克利斯之剑不仅高悬在那里,而且绝非摆设). <br /><br /><br />The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims Taiwan as part of its territory, a doctrine it calls the “<a href="https://www.schedium.net/2024/01/taiwan-loses-diplomatic-ally-nauru-china.html?m=1">One-China principle</a>”, which states that: “There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.”<br /><br />Hu Xijin is considered the founder of “commercial <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/16/editor-of-chinese-state-tabloid-global-times-retires">nationalism</a>” in the PRC, a tabloid style that is both in line with the regime's ideology, and profitable. Hu claims that he participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, but later became a staunch supporter of the CCP.<br /><br />The “Sword of Damocles” Hu is talking about is just another word for blackmail. The PRC has engaged for decades in blackmail, in threats and harassment, in order to bring under its control 23 million Taiwanese people who have never been ruled by the CCP’s authoritarian regime, and do not want to be ruled by it. <br /><br />According to a poll released in November 2023, 44.3 percent of <a href="https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2023/11/28/2003809814">Taiwanese</a> supported “forever maintaining the status quo,” and 35.8 percent of respondents supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward independence.”<br /><br />Only 0.7 percent of respondents supported “unification as soon as possible”, and 11.5 percent supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward unification”. <br /><br />The “status quo” means that Taiwan is de facto an independent sovereign state. Holding an independence referendum would be just a formality.<br /><br />The international community pretends that the PRC is just a state like any other. On January 16, for instance, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-premier-li-address-davos-its-economy-struggles-2024-01-16/">PRC Premier Li Qiang</a> (李强) was given a platform at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. He gave a keynote speech, saying that the PRC economy was open for business. He highlighted the country's potential for foreign investment, and stressed that the world needs to pull down barriers to competition and trade to tackle global challenges. Quite ironic, considering the <a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/10/15/chinas-economy-unfair-trade-and-the-role-of-government/">PRC's notorious unfair trade practices</a>.<br /><br />In the US, some business tycoons and left-wing figures alike are willing to <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/04/30/the-chinese-governments-united-front-and-the-threat-to-liberal-democracies/">support Beijing</a>, to become apologists and sycophants for the regime.<br /><br />The PRC’s behaviour should not be normalised. Its leadership pursues a policy of hegemony couched in anti-US, anti-imperialist rhetoric. It is not a coincidence that <a href="https://theweek.com/news/world-news/china/955728/all-countries-china-territory-disputes">Beijing has territorial disputes with nearly all of its neighbours</a>.<br /><br />The PRC claims virtually the entire South China Sea, where it has built artificial islands and military bases, and faces opposition from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The green lines on the map below show the extent of Beijing's maritime claims:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKFcSanWi1OHlk1isFtwhSt5Ccpfkk8c5RWLNwuhrv9WfwrkQHTXl7uMUzvk9qPGdMZ5peIUABYJQAOLMN5aV03WAb6SJLEBzfaNpe65xdLg__EtOo-aMAUlM-OFX-QIy7PgCgs3QvAyRVH_k6d5VV8C7DHOY1ueQ_-fzwvqvK01yj3XabxxU74oWpVrC/s985/800px-9_dotted_line.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKFcSanWi1OHlk1isFtwhSt5Ccpfkk8c5RWLNwuhrv9WfwrkQHTXl7uMUzvk9qPGdMZ5peIUABYJQAOLMN5aV03WAb6SJLEBzfaNpe65xdLg__EtOo-aMAUlM-OFX-QIy7PgCgs3QvAyRVH_k6d5VV8C7DHOY1ueQ_-fzwvqvK01yj3XabxxU74oWpVrC/s320/800px-9_dotted_line.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">The PRC's maritime claims (the so-called "9 dash line"). Public domain via Wikimedia Commons </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br />When the PRC released a new official map in 2023, several countries protested. For example, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/china-map-borders-territory-dispute-claims-1823439">stated</a>: "Malaysia does not recognize China's 2023 standard map, which outlines portions of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak as belonging to China. Malaysia is not bound to China's 2023 standard map in any way.”<br /><br />The PRC also has disputes with Japan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, South Korea, and Russia.<br /><br />In 2023, <a href="https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/12/rising-tensions-between-china-and-philippines-south-china-sea">the PRC and the Philippines</a> engaged in a series of tense incidents over <a href="https://www.jurist.org/features/2023/12/28/explainer-the-philippines-china-maritime-dispute-and-international-law/">disputed</a> islands, reefs, and shoals. <br /><br />The conflict escalated when the PRC intensified its pressure on the Philippines' presence in the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef where a small contingent of Philippine marines has been stationed since 1999 on a rusting World War II-era ship. <br /><br />Beijing has repeatedly tried to block and harass the Philippine resupply vessels, using its coast guard and maritime militia forces to assert its control over the area. In December 2023, a PRC coast guard ship sprayed water cannons at a Philippine boat, causing damage and injuries to the crew. A few days later, a PRC and a Philippine vessel collided near the shoal, sparking a diplomatic protest from Manila.<br /><br />The Second Thomas Shoal is not the only hotspot in the South China Sea. In March, the Philippines detected hundreds of PRC fishing boats, believed to be part of the maritime militia, near the Julian Felipe Reef (also known as Whitsun Reef), a coral reef within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). <br /><br />The Philippines accused the PRC of violating its sovereignty and demanded the withdrawal of the boats, but Beijing refused, claiming that the reef is part of its territory and that the boats were merely sheltering from bad weather. The standoff lasted for weeks, drawing international condemnation and support for the Philippines from the United States, Japan, Australia, and other countries.<br /><br />These examples show that the CCP regime is not a constructive and peaceful member of the international community. Would a government interested in cooperation and stability have territorial and trade disputes with so many countries? <br /><br />The case of Taiwan is particularly egregious. Here is a people that has overcome decades of dictatorial rule, built a successful democracy, and plays a positive role in the international community. But the one-party dictatorship in Beijing cannot let them be. It has to threaten them with annexation on the basis of its ultranationalist, imperialist ideology.<br /><br />We have seen what happens when the CCP takes over a new territory. In 1997, the United Kingdom handed over Hong Kong to the PRC. In June 2020, Beijing <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/03/05/the-rise-and-decline-of-hong-kong-from-the-british-colonial-era-to-the-chinese-communist-takeover/">imposed on Hong Kong the National Security Law</a>, destroying the city's civil rights and liberties. <br /><br />There is no doubt that the PRC would do to Taiwan what it did to Hong Kong, forcing its authoritarian conformity on the people, empowering its puppets and <a href="https://china-journal.org/2023/12/04/hong-kong-activist-agnes-chow-ting-has-fled-hong-kong-and-is-now-in-self-exile-in-canada/">silencing its opponents</a>. <br /><br />The international community should not normalise such behaviour. There really is no grey area or no complexity to this situation. Taiwan has never been part of the PRC. It is a democracy. The vast majority of its people don't want to be subjects of some CCP overlords in Beijing. </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Buy me a coffee on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a> ☕</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>My books:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul></div><br /><br /></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-82645056425641917462024-01-15T19:15:00.002+08:002024-01-15T19:15:29.713+08:00Taiwan Loses Another Diplomatic Ally After Nauru Switches Ties to China<br /><br />The government of Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC) has severed diplomatic relations with the Republic of Nauru following the Pacific island’s announcement on Monday that it would switch diplomatic ties to the People's Republic of China (PRC).<div><br /></div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiu0X2LPwhAJ2xZJlCIk0_k3sfFqq_f98KFHgmI8ePR5mbh_tROjLhW7eNvQZbxrcVPHpPAEe1sYOLpk6O8Z9BgG232OgIw1R2MSnQ1y3VQJmWiJGL6iPNd5-LZcBRjZCTl4yh8S2DVzIJ4PXnKt-bG_JWwdLjCaqkSHR_zVCSX3KM4Mc994GjdtTInT1h/s2000/11.15_%E7%B8%BD%E7%B5%B1%E8%88%87%E8%AB%BE%E9%AD%AF%E5%85%B1%E5%92%8C%E5%9C%8B%E7%B8%BD%E7%B5%B1%E6%98%86%E6%B4%9B%E6%96%AF%E9%9B%99%E9%82%8A%E6%9C%83%E6%99%A4_-_52501210539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1660" data-original-width="2000" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiu0X2LPwhAJ2xZJlCIk0_k3sfFqq_f98KFHgmI8ePR5mbh_tROjLhW7eNvQZbxrcVPHpPAEe1sYOLpk6O8Z9BgG232OgIw1R2MSnQ1y3VQJmWiJGL6iPNd5-LZcBRjZCTl4yh8S2DVzIJ4PXnKt-bG_JWwdLjCaqkSHR_zVCSX3KM4Mc994GjdtTInT1h/w300-h250/11.15_%E7%B8%BD%E7%B5%B1%E8%88%87%E8%AB%BE%E9%AD%AF%E5%85%B1%E5%92%8C%E5%9C%8B%E7%B8%BD%E7%B5%B1%E6%98%86%E6%B4%9B%E6%96%AF%E9%9B%99%E9%82%8A%E6%9C%83%E6%99%A4_-_52501210539.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Nauru President Russ Kun meeting Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in November 2022. Official Photo by Makoto Lin / Office of the President</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><br />Nauru's decision came just two days after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-china-election-cbf44565b771cddfb60c2a26d2014b0c">Taiwan's democratic elections</a> which saw the victory of Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Ch’ing-te (賴清德) as President. The PRC claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to “reunify” with it, even by force.<br /><br /><br />Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the following <a href="https://www.threads.net/@mofa_taiwan/post/C2HO9ALSDqH/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==">statement</a>:<br /><br /><br />“Our government has learned that the government of our Pacific friend, the Republic of Nauru, will sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on the grounds of United Nations Resolution 2758 and the ‘One-China Principle’. <br /><br /><br />“In order to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, we have decided to terminate [diplomatic ties] with immediate effect, to completely suspend diplomatic relations and bilateral cooperation with the Republic of Nauru, to withdraw our embassy and technical delegation and other relevant personnel. Nauru has been asked to close its embassy in Taiwan.<br /><br /><br />“Over the years, our government has been promoting cooperation projects in Nauru that benefit its national economy and people's livelihood and assist her overall national development. However, Nauru still fails to understand how China uses financial gain as a lure. It has disregarded our country's long-term assistance and friendship, and entered into negotiations to establish diplomatic relations with China …<br /><br /><br />“While many democratic countries around the world congratulated Taiwan on its smooth election and democratic victory, the Beijing authorities chose to use this method to suppress Taiwan and impact the order and stability of the international community. This is a retaliation against democratic values and a blatant challenge to the international order. Of course, Beijing should bear the responsibility. We also call on the Beijing authorities to give up confrontation, return to the path of international order, and seek mutually beneficial and win-win joint efforts with Taiwan and all parties in the region.”<br /><br /><br />Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the PRC has intensified its pressure campaign against Taiwan, using a mix of economic incentives, political coercion, and military threats to isolate the country from the international community.<br /><br /><br />One of Beijing's strategies is to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6bdb7947-1457-42c0-9504-b6650b6b76cd">poach Taiwan's diplomatic allies</a> in an attempt to weaken its legitimacy and sovereignty. Currently, <a href="https://en.mofa.gov.tw/AlliesIndex.aspx?n=1294&sms=1007">Taiwan</a> is left with only 12 diplomatic allies: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Eswatini, and the Vatican City. <br /><br /><br />By reducing Taiwan's diplomatic space, the PRC hopes to force Taiwan to accept its "one country, two systems" formula, which would grant Taiwan a degree of autonomy under Beijing's sovereignty. However, this proposal has been widely rejected by the Taiwanese people, especially after witnessing the <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/03/05/the-rise-and-decline-of-hong-kong-from-the-british-colonial-era-to-the-chinese-communist-takeover/">erosion of freedoms and rights in Hong Kong</a>, which operates under the same framework.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/192054">Resolution 2758</a> is a resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on October 25, 1971, that recognized the PRC as the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations, and expelled the ROC, which had been representing China since 1945. <br /><br /><br />The “<a href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202208/t20220802_10732293.html">one China principle</a>” (一个中国原则) is a diplomatic doctrine of the PRC which states that “There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.” <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Buy me a coffee on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a> ☕</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>My books:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul></div></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-20118979870434282552023-08-03T21:09:00.000+08:002023-08-03T21:09:45.932+08:00Russian Anti-War Activist Dmitry Skurikhin Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for "Discrediting" the Military<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Russian anti-war activist and entrepreneur Dmitry Skurikhin (Дмитрий Скурихин) has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for "discrediting" the Russian military after he displayed a poster with the words "Sorry, Ukraine" ("Прости, Украина").</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A court in Lomonosov, an inner-city municipality within St. Petersburg, found him guilty of "repeatedly discrediting the army." The poster was ordered to be burned. The prosecution had demanded that Skurikhin be sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Russian authorities opened two separate criminal cases against Skurikhin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhHeqx27vr_X-1BVkkjN1iifOJKoyrWx1Xm9Qix27-xFRhPlwQMexxSa-9mGN1ltC7b3vJi5hS2Z1078REiWwuy7i2CgtSZwRcXHV9auMHemoMxXFszWvb8vYOi5m98mSrKORpD3V1ue2Q2wwP7chloFi0Hhg7YxQ6AyepImZ6j93ByyA3lt99EdGPsKp/s2385/XRecorder_Edited_03082023_141033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2385" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhHeqx27vr_X-1BVkkjN1iifOJKoyrWx1Xm9Qix27-xFRhPlwQMexxSa-9mGN1ltC7b3vJi5hS2Z1078REiWwuy7i2CgtSZwRcXHV9auMHemoMxXFszWvb8vYOi5m98mSrKORpD3V1ue2Q2wwP7chloFi0Hhg7YxQ6AyepImZ6j93ByyA3lt99EdGPsKp/w400-h323/XRecorder_Edited_03082023_141033.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Skurikhin and his wife in front of the Lomonosov District Court on July 28. Screenshot from Sotavision YouTube channel</span> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The first case dates back to 2022, after the enterpreneur painted the façade of his store with anti-war slogans and the names of Ukrainian cities that were attacked by the Russian army. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Investigators searched his house for 11 hours: they broke the door, smashed a window, seized phones and computers, including those belonging to his children. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3OUJLidl-6Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="3OUJLidl-6Q"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A second case against Skurikhin was filed in February this year after he knelt down holding a poster "Sorry, Ukraine" on the anniversary of the Russian invasion. Photos of his protest went viral on social media in Russia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On February 24 he was arrested. In April, he was released and placed under house arrest. In May, a District Court in St. Petersburg fined him 45,000 rubles in an administrative case for "discrediting" the army because of an anti-war video he posted on Telegram.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Skurikhin's anti-war activism began as far back as 2014. After Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed the region of Crimea, he wrote on his store front in huge letters: "Peace to Ukraine, freedom to Russia" ("Мир Украине, свободу России").</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In June 2023, the anti-war slogans on the façade of his store were painted over by unknown persons. Footage from his surveillance camera showed eight people arriving at the building at night: five painted over the façade, while the other three filmed what was happening.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In 2022 the Russian government introduced legislation against "discrediting" the military. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Article 280.3 states that "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation" are punishable by fines and prison terms of up to five years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Article 207.3 states that "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation" is punishable by fines and prison sentences of up to 15 years</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">•••</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>If you found this article interesting, you may like some of my books</i>: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Alternatively, consider supporting me at <a href="http://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi.com/aristeon89</a></i></span></div></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c4n5v92k30no</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/02/26/russian-activist-arrested-charged-with-discrediting-the-army-after-a-one-man-anti-war-protest</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-russia-is-applying-new-laws-stifle-dissent-ukraine-2022-08-26/</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">https://youtu.be/ZhPinrEPSZM</span></p>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-57354601061164233002023-07-31T19:34:00.005+08:002023-07-31T19:34:54.964+08:00How the German Constitution Deals with Nazis<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">One of the paradoxes of democracy is that it creates freedoms which can be exploited by extremist groups to win enough votes to form a government and then destroy democracy itself from within. The most striking example of such a process is the rise to power of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or NSDAP) in 1932-33.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SW5BDbwigf05cg7dzQWds8qHsL3xOZfBCdZUED1LfnY4D2aBw5e7wY32KPlz42x5QgfrZfwF5nfArxd7J4PZAjV2ktQHVGY28yZlMniz9G5MQlnbSQGzTmngRyPXMcXb31IXZySm8BYBTFF3Y6ula3LbuKliF3zHvuCBedWtNI1Tqo4O4mBxrcjv3YMo/s1920/Berlin_panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1920" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SW5BDbwigf05cg7dzQWds8qHsL3xOZfBCdZUED1LfnY4D2aBw5e7wY32KPlz42x5QgfrZfwF5nfArxd7J4PZAjV2ktQHVGY28yZlMniz9G5MQlnbSQGzTmngRyPXMcXb31IXZySm8BYBTFF3Y6ula3LbuKliF3zHvuCBedWtNI1Tqo4O4mBxrcjv3YMo/s320/Berlin_panorama.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">©Anja Pietsch via Wikimedia Commons</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On November 9, 1918, the German Emperor William II abdicated after the country's defeat in World War I. The Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the founding of a German Republic from the balcony of the parliament (Reichstag) building.¹</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The German Republic is commonly known as the Weimar Republic, because the assembly that wrote its constitution met in the city of Weimar. However, its official name was "German Empire" (Deutsches Reich). As a matter of fact, Germany retained the same official name from 1871 up until 1945 despite the three political upheavals that took place within that period.²</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Although the Weimar Republic was beset by a number of domestic and foreign challenges, its democratic form of government managed to endure for a decade. The National Socialists initially remained a fringe party which did not seem to have any prospect of gaining power. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In the parliamentary elections of 20 May 1928, the NSDAP only received 2.6 percent of the vote. The largest parties were the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, abbr. SPD) with 29.8 percent, the Centre party (Zentrum) with 12.1 percent, and the Communist Party of Germany (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, abbr. KPD) with 10.6 percent. There were numerous smaller parties in the German parliament, but I will only focus on the larger ones.³</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In 1929, the onset of the Great Depression caused a disastrous economic crisis in Germany. Soon afterwards, voters increasingly turned to the two major extremist, anti-democratic parties: the NSDAP and the KPD. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In the elections of 14 September 1930, the NSDAP got 18.3 percent of the vote and became the second-largest party behind the SPD, which stood at 24.5 percent. The KPD received 13.1 percent and the Zentrum 11.8 percent of the vote.⁴</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">But two years later, in the elections of 31 July 1932, the NSDAP won in a landslide, garnering 37.3 percent of the vote, by far the largest party in parliament. The SPD got 21.6 percent, the KPD 14.3 percent, and the Zentrum 12.5 percent. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The NSDAP and the KPD held more than half of all seats. The anti-democratic parties thus controlled the parliament.⁵ </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In the next election on 9 November 1932, the NSDAP fell to 33.1 percent of the vote. The SPD gained 20.4 percent, the KPD 16.9 percent, and the Zentrum 11.9 percent.⁶</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Even though the NSDAP was slightly weakened by the electoral result, on 30 January 1933 the ultraconservative German President Paul von Hindenburg invited Hitler to form a government, and he was appointed Chancellor.⁷</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On February 1, Hindenburg dissolved parliament. After the KPD called for a general strike, on February 4 he signed Hitler's emergency decree "for the protection of the German people", which gave the government the power to ban assemblies and publications. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On the evening of February 27, the Reichstag building burnt down. The police arrested a Dutch man named Marinus van der Lubbe, who admitted to the crime but insisted that he had acted alone. The National Socialists, however, claimed - without evidence - that the fire was the beginning of a Communist uprising.⁸ ⁹</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The Hitler government quickly issued an emergency decree "for the protection of the people and the state" ("zum Schutze von Volk und Staat") which suspended the right to assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and other constitutional protections. It further allowed the regime to arrest and imprison political opponents without charge, to dissolve political organizations, to confiscate private property, to overrule state and local laws, and to replace state and local governments. The decree remained in effect until May 1945.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Officials, members of parliament and members of the KPD and SPD were taken into "protective custody". The first concentration camps were set up. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The national elections of 5 March 1933 were no longer free. The arrest of leading Social Democratic and Communist politicians, the restrictions on speech, press and assembly, as well as outright violence marred the election campaign. Despite their persecution of political opponents and their total control over the state and the press, the Nazis won only 43.9 percent of the vote, failing to gain an absolute majority. Nevertheless, they proceeded to dismantle what remained of the democratic system. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On 23 March 1933 the Hitler government introduced to parliament the so-called "Enabling Act", officially called "Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich" ("Law for the Remedy of the Distress of the People and the Reich").</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It empowered the government to enact laws without the approval of parliament and without the signature of the President. Conservative lawmakers bowed to pressure from the Nazis. Parliament voted in favour of the "Enabling Act", and by doing so the democratically elected legislature abolished itself. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">All 81 lawmakers from the KPD and 26 lawmakers from the SPD could not take part in the vote because they had been arrested or had fled the country. The remaining SPD members voted against the Enabling Act - the only parliamentary group to oppose Hitler's power grab. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The emergency decrees and the Enabling Act formed the "legal" basis for the Nazi dictatorship. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The absolute rule of the Nazi regime ended only with Germany's defeat in World War II. As the Soviet Red Army conquered the capital Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in the afternoon of 30 April 1945. His designated successor was Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">With the country destroyed and occupied by Allied forces, the Nazi authorities signed the unconditional surrender in two separate ceremonies before Allied commanders on May 7 and 8, 1945.¹⁰</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The four victorious powers took over Germany and divided it into four zones of occupation (Besatzungszonen). But soon a rift opened between the western Allies and the Soviet Union, which would lead to the Cold War. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">From February 23 to June 2, 1948, representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) met at the so-called "Six-Power Conference" in London. The participants decided to form a West German state within the anti-Soviet western alliance.¹¹ ¹²</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On July 1, 1948, the Allied military governors presented the "Frankfurt Documents" to the prime ministers of Germany's western zones. They were tasked with convening a constituent assembly that should draw up a constitution for a federal democratic state.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On September 1, 1948, invited guests gathered at the Koenig Zoological Museum in the city of Bonn. It was one of the few buildings in Bonn that had not been destroyed in World War II. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">After the opening ceremony, the Parliamentary Council met at the Pedagogical Academy in Bonn. The members elected as their President the future Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On May 23, 1949, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was signed and promulgated in a plenary session of the Parliamentary Council.¹⁴</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The framers of the Basic Law were fully aware of the challenge that stood before them. They had witnessed the rise of the NSDAP and the demise of the Weimar Republic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Konrad Adenauer himself had been a supporter of the Weimar Republic and an opponent of the Nazis. He had been elected mayor of the city of Cologne back in 1917. But on March 13, 1933, Nazi squads marched on Cologne's City Hall and deposed him. Faced with threats and smear campaigns from the Nazis, he left the city. He was later expelled from the civil service and his pension was cut. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On June 30, 1934, the day of the Röhm Putsch, Adenauer was arrested in Neubabelsberg, but released shortly thereafter. For the following years he lived a secluded life with his family in the village of Rhöndorf, subjected to occasional Nazi harassment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On July 20, 1944, a group of military officers attempted to assassinate Hitler by planting a bomb in his headquarters. The plan failed and the regime arrested and executed the participants. Though Adenauer had not been involved in the plot, he was detained by the Gestapo. After he managed to escape, his wife Gussie was imprisoned in Cologne-Brauweiler. Under pressure and fearing for her children, she revealed her husband's whereabouts. She then attempted to commit suicide. Adenauer was caught and spent two months in prison. He was again freed in November 1944.¹⁵ ¹⁶</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ironically, when he was mayor of Cologne, Adenauer had treated both the Nazis and the Communists with tolerance, just like any other legal political organisation. For example, he had refused to comply with a decree by the Prussian Interior Minister Carl Severing of December 27, 1930, according to which municipal sports fields and gymnasiums should not be rented to anti-state organisations such as the NSDAP or the KPD. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The conundrum for the framers of West Germany's Basic Law was exactly how to deal with political organisations whose purpose was to seize power and destroy democracy. Their answer was to establish the principle that democratic freedoms to participate in politics could only be extended to those who uphold the democratic principles enshrined in the Basic Law. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Article 21 of the Basic Law declares: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"(1) Parties are involved in the formation of the political will of the people. Freedom to found parties is guaranteed. Their internal order must follow democratic principles. They must publicly account for the origin and use of their funds and their assets.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(2) Parties which, based on their goals or the behavior of their supporters, seek to impair or eliminate the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany, are unconstitutional.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(3) Parties which, based on their goals or the behavior of their supporters, aim to impair or eliminate the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany are excluded from state funding. If their exclusion is determined, tax relief and financial contributions for these parties will no longer apply.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(4) The Federal Constitutional Court decides on the question of unconstitutionality according to paragraph 2 and on the exclusion of state funding according to paragraph 3.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(5) Federal laws regulate the details."¹⁷</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The German Criminal Code</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(§ 86) prohibits the "dissemination of propaganda materials of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations", including those of the National Socialist Workers' Party and its successors.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">According to Criminal Code § 86a, disseminating or using publicly any "flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting" of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations is punishable by 3 years in prison or a fine.¹⁸</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The country's Supreme Court has banned extremist parties on the basis of Article 21 in the past. For example, in October 1952 it ruled that the "Socialist Imperial Party" (Sozialistische Reichspartei) was a "successor organisation" of the National Socialist Party and therefore unconstitutional. In its opinion the Supreme Court stated:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"The constitutional legislature ... guarantees the free formation and activity of political parties. But it has denied these freedoms to parties that do not recognize the fundamental principles of democracy and want to misuse the formal means of democracy to abolish the free-democratic basic order. In order to avert the danger of abuse of a party ban, [the constitutional legislature] did not place the decision on the question of the constitutionality of parties in the hands of the executive or the legislative bodies, but transferred it to the Federal Constitutional Court and outlined the factual prerequisites for such a determination.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"The formulation of Art. 21 of the Basic Law has drawn the lesson from the bitter experiences of the recent past. The process of undermining and finally eliminating democracy by the National Socialists should not be repeated in this or any similar form, and the arbitrary suppression of other parties by the executive, as practiced by the National Socialist regime, should be excluded in the same way. The verdict of the Federal Constitutional Court is of particular importance because it involves a party founded by incorrigible National Socialists and exposes the SRP as a successor organisation to the NSDAP."¹⁹</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The rise of the far right in recent years poses a new challenge to Germany's constitutional framework. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which espouses an ethnonationalist, islamophobic, pro-Putin ideology,²⁰ ²¹ has reached its highest popularity in the polls over the past few months. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In July 2023, the AfD polled at 20 percent, just behind the Christian Democrats at 28 percent. The AfD would become the second-largest party in parliament if this scenario materialised. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats have fallen to 18 percent, the Greens to 14 percent, and the Free Democrats remain at 7 percent.²²</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution keeps the AfD under surveillance due to its alleged anti-constitutional principles. German courts have upheld the agency's decision to treat the AfD as a possible far right extremist organisation.²³</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, told the German Press Agency on July 30 that "individuals who have attracted attention in the past with positions that are not compatible with our free democratic basic order will belong to the AfD delegation in the coming European Parliament."²⁴</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Even though the German Constitution puts the power to determine the constitutionality of parties and organisations in the hands of the judiciary, it would be misleading to think that this process can be apolitical. It is an open question if the courts would be able to hold to account a party that enjoys the support of 20 percent of the population. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In June 2023 Ronen Steinke, a jurist and editor of the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, wrote in an op-ed that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution should not keep the AfD under surveillance, and that the agency should be abolished altogether. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">"This secret service - even if it bears the beautiful name of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution - does not protect liberal democracy. It weakens it. It would be better to give it up," Steinke argued, comparing the agency to what happens in dictatorships.²⁵</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Which takes us back to the paradox of democracy. Although the German Constitution was designed to protect democracy from assaults by extremist groups whose ideology is opposed to democracy and human rights, it remains to be seen whether it can be an effective bulwark against extremism. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">If a large number of citizens hate the status quo, if they neither understand nor want constitutional safeguards against authoritarianism, how can a democratic constitution prevail against its enemies</span>? </p><p style="text-align: center;">•••</p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>If you found this article interesting, you may like some of my books</i>: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Alternatively, consider supporting me at <a href="http://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi.com/aristeon89</a></i></span></div></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Notes:</p><p>¹ https://www.britannica.com/place/Weimar-Republic</p><p>² https://www.bige.bayern.de/infos_zu_extremismus/aktuelle_meldungen/im-fokus-die-ideologie-der-reichsbuerger-und-selbstverwalter/</p><p>³ https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-20-mai-1928.html</p><p>⁴ https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-14-september-1930.html</p><p>⁵ https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-31-juli-1932.html</p><p>⁶ https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-6-november-1932.html</p><p>⁷ https://www.bundestag.de/besuche/ausstellungen/verfassung/tafel22/tafel22-199844#</p><p>⁸ https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-reichstag-fire</p><p>⁹ https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/reichstagsbrand-1933-forschung-100.html</p><p>¹⁰ https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/der-zweite-weltkrieg/kriegsverlauf/kriegsende-1945.html</p><p>¹¹ https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/deutsche-einheit/geteiltes-deutschland</p><p>¹² https://hlz.hessen.de/themen/detailansicht/23-februar-1948-75-jahrestag-des-beginns-der-londoner-sechsmaechtekonferenz/</p><p>¹³ https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/1948-parlamentarischer-rat-nimmt-arbeit-auf-1527924</p><p>¹⁴ https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/grundgesetz/aktueller-begriff-70-jahre-gg-643586</p><p>¹⁵ https://www.kas.de/en/web/geschichte-der-cdu/calendar-detail/-/content/absetzung-konrad-adenauers-als-koelner-oberbuergermeister-durch-die-nationalsozialisten</p><p>¹⁶ https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-july-20-1944-plot-to-assassinate-adolf-hitler</p><p>¹⁷ https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_21.html</p><p>¹⁸ https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__86.html</p><p>¹⁹ https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/1952/bvg52-059.html</p><p>²⁰ https://www.schedium.net/2019/05/twitter-withdraws-ban-on-mohammed-post.html</p><p>²¹ https://www.schedium.net/2019/04/european-far-right-leaders-gather-in.html</p><p>²² https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/deutschlandtrend/deutschlandtrend-3372.html</p><p>²³ https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/taegliche-dosis-politik/505958/afd-als-verdachtsfall-eingestuft/</p><p>²⁴ https://m.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/verfassungsschutz-ueber-afd-rechtsextremistische-verschwoerungstheorien-19070126.html</p><p>²⁵ https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/kommentar-verfassungsschutz-afd-steinke-100.html</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-59616669643379414842023-07-06T21:50:00.001+08:002023-07-06T21:50:27.747+08:00Celebs and Politicians Join Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter Clone Threads - Why Didn't They Join the Fediverse Instead?<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">When the news that Elon Musk had acquired a controlling stake in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-discloses-92-stake-twitter-2022-04-04/">Twitter</a> broke in April 2022, I immediately left the platform. <br /><br /><br />I had joined the birdsite ten years earlier and I really enjoyed it until 2016, when political events and the newly introduced engagement algorithm turned it into what — in my personal opinion some will disagree with — was a cesspool of anger, outrage, disinformation, shallow takes and tribalism.</span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqRT-_gqJQrmxLXSS2RoXsKNx-vKNFouAMtrX161Bgo-PSTVbgVnXvlysU9G4D9phhuBMyeZoBSXTYlC8X1r6e8wR1ReyAyKNi4DshhOGrVdFs3fNiXGLXDEoVzZYorGDdarQKCcm79G-Gjcbg-bwxdtkjyy5Z46lpnvP4qzzJJTo4JvKeS0tQTkyATmip/s1080/Logopit_1688650210323.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqRT-_gqJQrmxLXSS2RoXsKNx-vKNFouAMtrX161Bgo-PSTVbgVnXvlysU9G4D9phhuBMyeZoBSXTYlC8X1r6e8wR1ReyAyKNi4DshhOGrVdFs3fNiXGLXDEoVzZYorGDdarQKCcm79G-Gjcbg-bwxdtkjyy5Z46lpnvP4qzzJJTo4JvKeS0tQTkyATmip/s320/Logopit_1688650210323.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cccccc;">Threads. Google Play Store screenshot</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><br /><br />Nuanced and constructive debate became nearly impossible. Ideologically homogeneous microtribes hostile to any form of disagreement, engaging in online feuds and dunking contests, proliferated. By 2021 I had grown tired of it all, spending less and less time on the platform. <br /><br /><br />However, Musk's purchase of Twitter was the last straw. I quit it altogether and moved to Wikitribune Social and to the fediverse. <br /><br /><br />I became a big fan of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse">fediverse</a> (a portmanteau of "federation" and "universe"), which is an ensemble of interconnected (federated) servers independently hosted but able to communicate with each other. <br /><br /><br />The concept behind the fediverse is that it is decentralised. Each server is run independently, therefore no single corporation can control it. Servers usually run on a non-profit basis, funded by donations. <br /><br /><br />I thought that Musk's takeover of Twitter might perhaps awaken people to the danger of the internet being controlled by oligarchs with dubious motives and authoritarian political views. I hoped that pro-democracy politicians, the White House, influential people like Barack Obama, Robert Reich, Ruth Ben-Ghiat and celebrities would join the fediverse and tell their millions of followers to do the same. If that had happened, Twitter would have imploded and been relegated to the status of yet another far right echochamber like Parler. <br /><br /><br />However, that did not happen. The big accounts mostly remained loyal to Twitter. It turns out that they had invested so much time in the platform and amassed such a huge following that they had become addicted to and/or dependent on it. They could have broken the shackles of corporate control. But the shackles were too strong. <br /><br /><br />Then, on July 5, 2023, <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/07/05/meta-launches-instagram-threads-messaging-app-challenging-twitter.html">Meta launched its Twitter clone Threads</a>. <br /><br /><br />Within the first seven hours it gained over <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/celebrities-threads-accounts-app-kim-kardashian-oprah-b1092576.html">10 million users</a>, according to a post by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Plenty of celebrities jumped onboard the new platform. Among them are:<br /><br /><br />•Ellen DeGeneres, 75.4 million Twitter followers. Her first post on the new app was: "Welcome to Gay Twitter!"<br /><br />•Bill Gates, 62.9 million Twitter followers.<br /><br />•Shakira, 53.8 million Twitter followers.<br /><br />•Jennifer Lopez, 44.9 million Twitter followers.<br /><br />•Oprah Winfrey, 42.2 million Twitter followers. <br /><br /><br />The most puzzling one to me was Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has 13.3 million followers on Twitter. Her first Threads post was:<br /><br />"Alright, let's do this thing! May this platform have good vibes, strong community, excellent humor, and less harassment."<br /><br /><br />For months, there was a non-profit alternative to Twitter. To my knowledge, only very few big Twitter accounts, like George Takei, moved to the fediverse (I'm not counting mirror accounts that automatically reposted their Twitter content on the fediverse). <br /><br /><br />Considering AOC's very left-wing opinions (far to the left of me), I find it baffling that she waited for another billionaire oligarch to offer her an alternative to motivate her to jump ship. <br /><br /><br />I marvel at why a non-profit solution did not manage to go mainstream, to grow into the public town square that is not owned by any single corporate entity. Perhaps it will at some point. Yet thus far Threads seems to be catching on much more quickly. <br /><br /><br />Having said that, I am not an absolutist. I am active on various corporate platforms. I welcome more competition, which is essential. I don't like oligopolies. The fediverse is far from perfect and I had to take breaks from it. However, it remains a huge opportunity that so many influential people ignored or chose not to seize. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">———</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>If you found this article interesting, you may like some of my books</i>: </span></div><div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Alternatively, consider supporting me at <a href="http://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi.com/aristeon89</a></i></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-50564270498196791552023-07-05T22:26:00.000+08:002023-07-05T22:26:05.471+08:00Hong Kong Photographer Convicted of Insulting China's National Anthem<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A Hong Kong photographer has been <a href="https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/article/20230705/s00001/1688542228805/%E6%B6%89%E5%B0%87%E5%BC%B5%E5%AE%B6%E6%9C%97%E5%A5%AA%E9%87%91%E7%89%87%E9%85%8D%E3%80%8A%E9%A1%98%E6%A6%AE%E5%85%89%E3%80%8B-27%E6%AD%B2%E7%94%B7%E4%BE%AE%E8%BE%B1%E5%9C%8B%E6%AD%8C%E7%BD%AA%E6%88%90">convicted</a> of insulting the national anthem of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and faces up to three years in prison.<br /><br />The 27-year-old Cheng Wing-chun (鄭榮進) appeared before Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai Man at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday (July 5). He was found guilty of insulting the PRC national anthem "March of the Volunteers" after he replaced it with the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" in a video he uploaded online.</span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9ktQ_75uq8TUInvBlBrf5DMP2qmLfPD3Q0s7fN4o4ifTcyR73jWXjFQbOGbL-hvXKqRYT6F96z3-e8GbufMdqq0yasbc7XJ1A783y3BPvaBi_hxdOtXEX4Wo_SqE4nDmJmqJYKlmAKxtb88aHjH04hkn099Z8MynWhv5vp86ogxEIw8xJIelgzxDHO5e/s1600/Eastern_Law_Courts_Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9ktQ_75uq8TUInvBlBrf5DMP2qmLfPD3Q0s7fN4o4ifTcyR73jWXjFQbOGbL-hvXKqRYT6F96z3-e8GbufMdqq0yasbc7XJ1A783y3BPvaBi_hxdOtXEX4Wo_SqE4nDmJmqJYKlmAKxtb88aHjH04hkn099Z8MynWhv5vp86ogxEIw8xJIelgzxDHO5e/s320/Eastern_Law_Courts_Building.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: #cccccc;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Baycrest">Baycrest</a> - Wikipedia user - CC-BY-SA-2.5</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />He is the first person to be convicted under the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-anthem-explainer/explainer-hong-kongs-china-national-anthem-bill-aims-to-enforce-respect-idUSKBN23B0I2">National Anthem Ordinance</a>. Enacted in June 2020, the law makes “insulting” or “misusing” the PRC national anthem punishable by a fine of up to HK$50,000 (US$6,400) and a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.<br /><br />Cheng was prosecuted after he allegedly created and uploaded a video of Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, with the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" playing instead of the PRC anthem. Cheng was <a href="https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/news/20230705/mobile/bkn-20230705154222562-0705_00822_001.html">charged</a> with "insulting the national anthem" and "desecrating the national flag".<br /><br />"The defendant replaced the national anthem played during the solemn ceremony with ‘Glory’ and edited the footage in a way that made it seem people applauded after it was played," Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai Man said, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.<br /><br />"This behaviour clearly undermines the dignity of the national anthem as a symbol and sign of the People’s Republic of China," she added.<br /><br />The song "<a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/03/Hong-Kong-federation-sports-government-national-anthem-glory-to-hongkong-google.html?m=1">Glory to Hong Kong</a>" became popular during the 2019 protests as the unofficial anthem of the pro-democracy movement. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">____</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html?m=1"></a><a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html?m=1"><b>Support</b></a></div></span></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-35867409181653248812023-06-29T20:22:00.004+08:002023-06-29T21:28:31.116+08:0025 Percent of 40-Year-Olds in the United States Have Never Been Married, A Record High<p>A record high share of 40-year-olds in the United States have never been married, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.</p><p>As of 2021, 25% of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married, a significant increase from 20% in 2010. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKHKN9GADQUgSgheOoiGUWqhGd5YH2n-PaJn3z1UNGVe3UOx2m5IkoJcBpUAH-GR6DvCfmtWZi4yn8lx7nKfwKSR1CLa7O968lRFhUVCQGEINYb8e8jfWg1newZ92888d9s-9wlN5H9RbznTu6osFqD9zcPUh3kzDCf0eX1wTR_OeNxeKrkzG_Va0hdEy/s1024/863283291_5715939d4f_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKHKN9GADQUgSgheOoiGUWqhGd5YH2n-PaJn3z1UNGVe3UOx2m5IkoJcBpUAH-GR6DvCfmtWZi4yn8lx7nKfwKSR1CLa7O968lRFhUVCQGEINYb8e8jfWg1newZ92888d9s-9wlN5H9RbznTu6osFqD9zcPUh3kzDCf0eX1wTR_OeNxeKrkzG_Va0hdEy/s320/863283291_5715939d4f_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">"</span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60634076@N00/863283291" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">New York Style</a><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">" by </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60634076@N00" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">Adrian Be</a><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"> is licensed under </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">———</p><p>In 1900, about 15% of 40-year-olds in the US had never been married. The number dropped steadily from 1900 to 1980, when it reached a low of 6%. </p><p>However, the share of never-married 40-year-olds has climbed back up ever since, rising to its highest ever recorded level of 25% in 2021. </p><p>The percentage of never-married people varies widely by race, ethnicity and education level. </p><p>Men (28%) are more likely than women (22%) to have never been married by their fourtieth year of age. There is also a significant difference among ethnic groups: White (20%), Black (46%), Hispanic (27%), Asian (17%). </p><p>Education plays a decisive role, too, with 33% of individuals without a college degree being most likely to never have been married, compared to 18% of people with at least a Bachelor's degree.</p><p><br /><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/28/a-record-high-share-of-40-year-olds-in-the-us-have-never-been-married/sr_2023-06-28_never-married_2/"><img src="https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SR_2023.06.28_never-married_2.png?w=515" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html?m=1">SUPPORT</a></p>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-57437352638130473422023-06-29T05:03:00.002+08:002023-06-29T05:31:01.372+08:00"We Want Our Country Back" — Greek Far Right Party "Spartiates" Enters Parliament<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />On June 25, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece">Greece</a>’s centre-right party New Democracy (ND) won the country's legislative elections in a landslide, propelling incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to a second term. <br /><br /><br />ND garnered over 40% of the vote and 158 seats in parliament, while the major opposition party, left-wing Syriza, only received 17% of the vote and 48 seats. <br /><br /><br />The third and fourth largest parties were, respectively, the centre-left Pasok and the far left Communist Party. <br /><br /><br />But what surprised observers was the performance of three far right parties, which received about 12% of the popular vote combined. The largest of them was the "<a href="https://spartiates.gr/">Spartiates</a>" (Spartans), which received 4.63% of the vote and 12 seats, followed by the anti-vax, Orthodox Christian nationalist Party "Niki" (Victory), and the far right Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution).</span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizaSGJeTdsCnP1PdiVsFTeAlXujTyfp3-4ftTmQiE_Ld5amyVZbI3WYvN0K2IsfMGlwBCe9AjYCSyS3xuZJTSnMO7N7jPHS2mp06AQdZeXgQUqNPlv2k-MemBrehYYNkNhBJKGHzh5YeLqtstEYHOwYA5pqa-aT745JVkA1WnjYPAv7kgUkANHuR2nmt-/s291/Logo_of_the_Spartans_(Greek_political_party).png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="291" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizaSGJeTdsCnP1PdiVsFTeAlXujTyfp3-4ftTmQiE_Ld5amyVZbI3WYvN0K2IsfMGlwBCe9AjYCSyS3xuZJTSnMO7N7jPHS2mp06AQdZeXgQUqNPlv2k-MemBrehYYNkNhBJKGHzh5YeLqtstEYHOwYA5pqa-aT745JVkA1WnjYPAv7kgUkANHuR2nmt-/s1600/Logo_of_the_Spartans_(Greek_political_party).png" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">Spartiates logo, via Wikimedia Commons</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br />The <a href="https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1214003/far-right-spartiates-makes-it-into-parliament/amp/">Spartiates</a> are a far right, ethnonationalist party backed by the neo-fascist politician Ilias Kasidiaris, who is currently serving a 13-year prison term. He was <a href="https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/politics/2023/6/26/23774334/greek-elections-new-democracy-spartans">convicted</a> for his leadership role in the now-disbanded <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/7/greek-court-golden-dawn?_gl=1*k9xorj*_ga*MHZsdG9mc0VWcGJfdmpPVzByZWJaWGZLbS1tWmFhbm93UkVVcVdmTjdES21Penc0TzF1S2otTTFjR2txWERCcg..">Golden Dawn</a> party, whose founder Nikos Michaloliakos and other senior members were found guilty of running a criminal organisation in 2020.<br /><br /><br />Golden Dawn engaged in racist and xenophobic rhetoric, carried out violent attacks on migrants and left-wing political figures. Its prosecution by the authorities was sparked by the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by Golden Dawn supporter Giorgos Roupakias in 2013. <br /><br /><br />Kasidiaris tried to run for the 2023 parliamentary elections, but was banned from doing so by Greece's Supreme Court.<br /><br /><br />On its website, the Spartiates party articulates its programme by using the typical themes of far right organisations. <br /><br /><br />"We want our country back" ("Θέλουμε την πατρίδα μας πίσω") reads one of its <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230625175011/https://spartiates.gr/ekloges-25-iouniou-2023">election slogans</a>. The party platform <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230626155416/https://spartiates.gr/poioi-eimaste">states</a>:<br /><br /><br />"We are Greek men and women, 'Spartans' in soul and body! Those who want and claim to be worthy of the 300 of Leonidas guarding 'Thermopylae' again [and to] protect the 'same blood, same language, same religion, and the same way of life'” ("όμαιμον, το ομόγλωσσον, το ομόθρησκον, το ομότροπον"). <br /><br /><br />The last sentence paraphrases a passage from the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (Herodotus, Book 8, 144), in which the <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/herodotus-persian_wars/1920/pb_LCL120.153.xml">Athenians reassure the Spartans</a> that they would not make an agreement with the Persian invaders, and they would defend Greece because of<br /><br /><br />"the Hellenic bond of same blood and same language, and the common shrines of gods and the sacrifices, and the same way of life" (τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν ἐὸν ὅμαιμόν τε καὶ ὁμόγλωσσον καὶ θεῶν ἱδρύματά τε κοινὰ καὶ θυσίαι ἤθεά τε ὁμότροπα). <br /><br /><br />Although ancient Greece as described in Herodotus' work was not a unified state, but a group of independent city-states, and the Greek religion was polytheistic and not Christianity, this sentence has become <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.athensvoice.gr/archive/3445/omaimon-omoglosson-omotropon/amp/">popular among Greek far right circles</a> since about 2010 amid a <a href="https://www.tovima.gr/2012/11/13/society/ste-antisyntagmatikos-o-nomos-ragkoysi-gia-tin-ithageneia/">debate</a> over a draft bill designed to make it easier for immigrants to obtain Greek citizenship and vote in local elections. <br /><br /><br />Ancient Spartan tropes, and particularly the famous tale of the 300 soldiers fighting against the Persians at Thermopylae, "pervade far-right, neo-Nazi websites" around the globe, including in the United States. Golden Dawn used to hold rallies at Thermopylae, and the US far right group of the Oath Keepers planned to initiate a "Spartan" training programme (Niklasson 2023, p. 93). <br /><br /><br />As the Daily Beast <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/molon-labe-is-the-gun-loving-rights-favorite-greek-taunt">reported</a> in 2021, admiration of Sparta as a moral and political model "has gained ground on the American right and Thermopylae has taken on new relevance, especially after the 2006 film 300, an adaptation of a graphic novel by Frank Miller." <br /><br /><br />The Greek phrase "molon labe" ("come and take them") —attributed to King Leonidas of Sparta in reply to Persian demands that he lay down his arms—, was featured in "emblems displayed at the Jan. 6 insurrection." The slogan can be found on items such as "T-shirts, decals, epaulets, bumper stickers, tattoo templates, and, oddly enough, noise-canceling headphones" as a distinctive symbol of the far right. <br /><br /><br />The Spartiates' ideology echoes many of the themes of ultranationalist movements which seek to engineer a racially, culturally and religiously homogeneous national community. <br /><br /><br />With regard to the issue of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230626121407/https://spartiates.gr/metanasteftiko">immigration</a>, the Spartiates describe people "from Asia, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the other underdeveloped countries and Africa" as "the third world within the rich and civilized states" ("ο τρίτος κόσμος ανάμεσα στα εύφορα και πολιτισμένα κράτη"). <br /><br /><br />They accuse immigrants of trying "in every way and by every means to impose their own culture on Greece and the countries of Europe, stubbornly refusing to integrate into the European way of life," and of trying to "change our own European culture." They also blame immigrants for "phenomena of delinquency and criminality."<br /><br /><br />The Spartiates <a href="https://spartiates.gr/idrytiki-diakiryxi">advocate</a> for the "preservation of our national identity and ideology" (διαφύλαξη της εθνικής μας ταυτότητας και ιδεολογίας). They oppose both the "cosmopolitan internationalist left" (κοσμοπολίτικη Διεθνιστική Αριστερά) and the "globalized centre-right" ("παγκοσμιοποιημένη Κεντροδεξιά"). <br /><br /><br />Although 12% of the vote for the far right may seem like a small number, it must not be forgotten that several parties of the far right started as fringe organisations. For example, the far right Italian party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) <a href="https://st.ilsole24ore.com/speciali/2013/elezioni/risultati/politiche/static/italia.shtml">won</a> only 1.95% of the vote in 2013. But in 2022, the party <a href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/09/25/europe/italy-election-results-intl/index.html">received</a> 26% of the vote, becoming the country's largest party, and its leader Giorgia Meloni is now Italy's Prime Minister. <br /><br /><br />Particularly interesting is the fact that the Spartiates seem to be growing in popularity among young people. According to an <a href="https://www.kathimerini.gr/society/562493446/spartiates-kathe-klik-sto-tiktok-toys-eferne-olo-kai-pio-konta-sti-voyli/">article</a> by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, the far right message is enjoying success on TikTok, where videos containing the keywords "Spartiates" and "Kasidiaris" have garnered about 60 million views. <br /><br /><br />Many videos have over 20,000 views each and hundreds of comments. Among the comments mentioned in the piece are those portraying Kasidiaris as a hero. "[Ilias], we need you!", one user wrote. "He's in jail because they're afraid of him. As soon as he gets out, they won't know what hit them," another one said.<br /><br /><br />The Hollywood blockbuster 300 is also a common theme in the videos, as is racist, nationalist and islamophobic content, Kathimerini reports.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">———</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>If you found this article interesting, you may like some of my books</i>: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Alternatively, consider supporting me at <a href="http://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi.com/aristeon89</a></i></span></div></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br /><br />•Niklasson, E. (Ed.) (2023). Polarized Pasts: Heritage and Belonging in Times of Political Polarization.</span><br /></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-56958239120442077662023-06-25T05:35:00.002+08:002023-06-25T05:35:46.909+08:00Is Substack Promoting Far Right Propaganda?<div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I joined Substack only recently, around the time when the platform launched its <a href="https://mashable.com/article/substack-notes-feature">Twitter-style feature called Notes</a></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />Just as I was starting to warm up to it, I saw on my timeline the following Note from Substack promoting a podcast by the company's co-founder Hamish McKenzie:<br /><br /><br />"In this week’s episode of The Active Voice podcast, @Hamish McKenzie talks to @Richard Hanania about the origins of wokeness, the long reach of civil rights law, and the future of the culture wars."</span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lGCRmZUNhHutfFWVsAf6DvSU55tuNFROM6_sK-THRSlETWbSb5KS7OMilB_Y3oTkZ4OlkCPM1NXfsuqUxI8VTnQssGSNl3IEF3PJz7y7oKllKAPbfNt9Qzb4BXuX1d3zjaqX1lxpD6SXaBga4SIEfub0VcDpop-nJM3fMxym7E2AggdfcbZ6nD-8jsWN/s851/Screenshot_20230624-171445_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lGCRmZUNhHutfFWVsAf6DvSU55tuNFROM6_sK-THRSlETWbSb5KS7OMilB_Y3oTkZ4OlkCPM1NXfsuqUxI8VTnQssGSNl3IEF3PJz7y7oKllKAPbfNt9Qzb4BXuX1d3zjaqX1lxpD6SXaBga4SIEfub0VcDpop-nJM3fMxym7E2AggdfcbZ6nD-8jsWN/s320/Screenshot_20230624-171445_Chrome.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Who is Richard Hanania, you might ask? That's how <a href="https://read.substack.com/p/the-active-voice-richard-hanania#details">The Active Voice introduces him</a>: <br /><br /><br />"[A]s the pandemic intensified online tribalism, [Richard Hanania] emerged with a provocative analysis that carried the headline “Why Is Everything Liberal?” The piece, which explores why almost every major institution in the U.S. leans left, did the rounds on Twitter, announcing Richard’s arrival as a distinctive new voice in American politics discourse. <br /><br /><br />"Soon enough, he followed it up with a series of other pithily headlined posts that demonstrated a streak of contrarianism that variously managed to win fans and challenge readers from across the political spectrum: “Liberals Read, Conservatives Watch TV,” “Why Do I Hate Pronouns More Than Genocide?”, and “Conservatives Win All the Time,” to name a few."<br /><br /><br />So, the "distinctive new voice" is basically the same old <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/01/conservative-icon-william-buckley-civil-rights-multiculturalism-immigration.html?m=1">far right propaganda</a> we have seen thousands of times in a myriad of iterations since the 1950s. Not surprisingly, Hanania describes himself as "anti-woke" - a highly "original" take amid the current <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2022/11/its-culture-wars-stupid-uses-religious-ethnic-identity-mobilize-voters.html?m=1">culture war</a>. <br /><br /><br />One of Hanania's masterpieces is titled "How Woke Caused Cultural Decadence". He <a href="https://www.richardhanania.com/p/how-woke-caused-cultural-decadence">writes</a>: <br /><br /><br />"Art reflects and speaks to human nature. When cultural and intellectual elites don’t like human nature and want to change it, they are less able to produce compelling works of fiction.<br /><br /><br />"I’m not just talking about Summer of Floyd level of woke being poisonous to art. Even quite well accepted ideas about gender and sexuality, if taken to their logical conclusion, can wreak havoc.<br /><br /><br />"Morality and ideals are inherently gendered. Men and women are so psychologically different that you should expect different kinds of stories to appeal to each sex. We also expect characters to behave in ways consistent with what are now called “sexual stereotypes.” One template of a male story is a hero goes out in the world and, through bravery and strength, tries to overcome some obstacle or challenge. At the end, through this process he finally saves or wins over the girl of his dreams … The female template is more passive. A girl wants to be pretty, and win over the hero."<br /><br /><br />I think you get the gist of it from these excerpts. His ideas are nothing but biological determinism through which power structures are justified by people who claim to be the interpreters of a "natural order", thus denying that social hierarchies are to a great degree human-made, political and transitory. <br /><br /><br />In May 2023, Hanania tweeted:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6m4o6BiajizoO8w_0gOHBqVuUi-83OE9mQZ40C0UiwS16k3dnvQdQ19GqFmvR3unUUUxaqxcmspH72P3pQ2m5SH1r3XbOdHbGsFjxAG8-_ZX7Ym66rjKXk0g6_Q83sgKsjiMobufb180At2j2G_cToDfOUm6qq6RNvmFOdRxGy2tf8r1XLZgjC-PZ6mt/s993/Screenshot_20230624-174355_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6m4o6BiajizoO8w_0gOHBqVuUi-83OE9mQZ40C0UiwS16k3dnvQdQ19GqFmvR3unUUUxaqxcmspH72P3pQ2m5SH1r3XbOdHbGsFjxAG8-_ZX7Ym66rjKXk0g6_Q83sgKsjiMobufb180At2j2G_cToDfOUm6qq6RNvmFOdRxGy2tf8r1XLZgjC-PZ6mt/s320/Screenshot_20230624-174355_Chrome.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />It doesn't get much clearer than this. Anybody can see that this guy is just another right-winger saying the same things in different ways while pretending to be more nuanced or original than some other hardcore extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene. <br /><br /><br />As The Racket <a href="https://theracket.news/p/anatomy-of-a-troll">reported</a>, Hanania's Twitter account was briefly banned in 2022 but was later restored by - of course - Elon Musk. Shortly after his reinstatement, Hanania posted tweets accusing African-Americans of having violently chased white residents out of American cities, describing it as "quasi-ethnic cleansing."<br /><br /><br />In another tweet he wrote: <br /><br /><br />"If I owned Twitter, I wouldn’t let feminists, trans activists, or socialists post. Why should I? They’re wrong about everything and bad for society." <br /><br /><br />The question is: why did Hamish McKenzie use the influence he wields as a Substack co-founder to promote this guy, of all the thousands of creators on the platform? <br /><br /><br />I have noticed that far right accounts routinely appear on my timeline, although I don't follow them. Is an algorithm involved in promoting this type of content? <br /><br /><br />On his own website, <a href="https://hamishmckenzie.com/">Hamish McKenzie</a> says that he is the author of "Insane Mode: How Elon Musk’s Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil." I haven't read the book, but it sounds pretty much like a hagiography of Musk. McKenzie has also worked as the lead writer for Tesla. If he's an admirer of Musk, does he also share some of his political views? And does he also want to use his platform to promote them?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />In April, Substack CEO and co-founder Chris Best gave a quite embarrassing interview on Nilay Patel's podcast Decoder. Asked about whether Substack would allow racist statements on the platform, Best fumbled. Give a listen to the short excerpt below:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzbgBfbOZ7moDTc1OtxFtKFfs-u9O9GPeukXTV1Uxo9dV7jNv9lpDpaKaPy6oKwQMmTqGy33EH1CLSSebIztg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><br />A lot of great writers whose work I enjoy — such as Ruth Ben-Ghiat —, are on Substack. And with the demise of Twitter, it seems like a good platform for creators to publish their articles and essays. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">But maybe it's time for people to ask themselves if Substack has an agenda, and if that agenda is the promotion of far right propaganda. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">______</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my posts, you may like some of my books</i>: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></a></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Alternatively, consider supporting me at <a href="http://ko-fi.com/aristeon89">ko-fi.com/aristeon89</a></i></span></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-30189051848253609082023-06-23T22:46:00.004+08:002023-06-25T19:55:54.274+08:00 Is Xi Jinping a Dictator? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVawWAWbLqwCAOARyaHnK8sjGzsFS3x8lYGl2rWNUNWxQTTeeXMRA13wlAtUkDq_XnzgwjvYwEq2SaVFxb9eDuB1OAvPuctjjCe1TG3J98zynhVQ46YCJ-snUChpbu6FXxDLUF2HG-ETZr8WE1n7vtFfOp69e7O7VNAx9LwXJeZH5qMZA0-zTQAaxd5XJW/s510/e1c3efdc-e5e6-4f0e-afca-f8c37c6e5627_512x512.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="510" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVawWAWbLqwCAOARyaHnK8sjGzsFS3x8lYGl2rWNUNWxQTTeeXMRA13wlAtUkDq_XnzgwjvYwEq2SaVFxb9eDuB1OAvPuctjjCe1TG3J98zynhVQ46YCJ-snUChpbu6FXxDLUF2HG-ETZr8WE1n7vtFfOp69e7O7VNAx9LwXJeZH5qMZA0-zTQAaxd5XJW/s320/e1c3efdc-e5e6-4f0e-afca-f8c37c6e5627_512x512.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xi Jinping (AI-generated image)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;">______</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On June 20, US President </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna90304" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joe Biden called People's Republic of China (PRC) leader Xi Jinping a “dictator”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> during a speech at a fundraiser in California. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Referring to the PRC </span><a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/live-updates/chinas-spy-balloon-unidentified-objects-shot-down-what-we-know-so-far/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">spy balloon</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> shot down on February 4 of this year, Biden said that Xi Jinping "got very upset" because "he didn’t know it was there", adding that it is "a great embarrassment for dictators" when they don't know that something as important as this has happened. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">PRC foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning </span><a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/23/china-reportedly-rebukes-us-ambassador-after-biden-called-xi-a-dictator" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">said</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> that Biden’s comments were "extremely absurd" and a "political provocation" which "seriously violated China’s political dignity". The US ambassador to the PRC was reportedly reprimanded over the comments.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Several media organisations immediately rushed to give voice to Beijing's complaints about that characterisation. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"Biden calling Xi a dictator is his latest ad-lib to anger a foreign capital," wrote the </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/21/biden-xi-dictator-china-diplomacy/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Washington Post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"Fierce backlash in Beijing to Biden likening Xi to a dictator comes as he hopes for a thaw," read a </span><a href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/06/21/politics/biden-xi-china-dictators-fundraiser/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">CNN</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> headline. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The real question is: how have we got to the point where calling the PRC dictator a dictator is controversial, and where some imply that Biden should not tell the truth so as not to anger Beijing? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to its own </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230614141810/http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/constitution2019/201911/1f65146fb6104dd3a2793875d19b5b29.shtml" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Constitution</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, the PRC defines itself as a "people's democratic dictatorship":</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"We the Chinese people of all ethnic groups will continue, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, to uphold the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">people’s democratic dictatorship</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">" (my emphasis). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I am going to discuss in another post what the term means, but to sum it up, it's the Leninist idea of a </span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/vanguard-of-the-proletariat" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Communist vanguard</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> leading the masses, i.e. it's a dictatorial, top-down approach. I have explained in a </span><a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/05/03/freedom-or-despotism-autocratic-governance-and-laissez-faire-in-imperial-china/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">previous post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> how Chinese Communist authoritarianism differs from the authoritarianism of imperial times. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the era of Deng Xiaoping and his successor Jiang Zemin, the PRC had moved away from </span><a href="https://china-journal.org/?s=Personality+cult" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mao Zedong's personality cult</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> towards what became known as "collective leadership", a more institutionalised and decentralised system of governance (Economy 2019, Introduction). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Since taking power in 2012, Xi Jinping and his associates have reverted back to a centralised autocratic model. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"Over the course of Xi Jinping’s tenure as CCP general secretary and president, he has accrued progressively more institutional and personal power. Unlike his immediate predecessors, he has assumed control of all the most important leading committees and commissions that oversee government policy; demanded pledges of personal loyalty from military and party leaders; eliminated political rivals through a sweeping anticorruption campaign; and adopted the moniker of 'core' leader, which signifies his ultimate authority within a traditionally collective leadership. By many accounts, Xi is the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong" (ibid.).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One example of Xi Jinping's impact on society is his </span><a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/02/20/the-deterioration-of-chinas-media-freedom-in-the-xi-jinping-era/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">crackdown on freedom of speech</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, which undid the albeit modest progress of the previous decades. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why is anyone shocked because Joe Biden called Xi Jinping a dictator? Is it ignorance? Or is it simply our current Zeitgeist of "both-sidesism" and moral equivalence? Xi Jinping simply is a dictator, and if the PRC is bothered by the truth, it's not the US President's job to lie on their behalf. </span><b style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i>If you enjoyed this article, consider <a href="https://www.schedium.net/p/support.html">supporting my work</a>. Thank you! </i></b></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;">———</div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Economy, E. (2019). The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br />Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-27756576471840638042023-06-03T23:42:00.002+08:002023-06-03T23:44:55.168+08:00Ex-Pilots of Germany's Air Force Officers Involved in Training China's Military, Reports Says<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPwdmbw8dlUKY_AH4fkIWR4erqYy3vuZmWN3Lgg028iZ15RTQg0xQDt2M_imhHfA6zwj-S_rFVpXwcZTEV4uD08krBU3DShCzjh00GNATtNhYhCKsuWFlMztzMGCcwaOZhzW_gdptQJv7tCmEUZH9LKBx0unsc9tYIBiJE4MuWp4ixm988SR62Izb2w/s1109/Screenshot_20230603-164624_Chrome.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1109" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPwdmbw8dlUKY_AH4fkIWR4erqYy3vuZmWN3Lgg028iZ15RTQg0xQDt2M_imhHfA6zwj-S_rFVpXwcZTEV4uD08krBU3DShCzjh00GNATtNhYhCKsuWFlMztzMGCcwaOZhzW_gdptQJv7tCmEUZH9LKBx0unsc9tYIBiJE4MuWp4ixm988SR62Izb2w/s320/Screenshot_20230603-164624_Chrome.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius meets with his PRC counterpart General Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 3rd 2023. Photo by Germany's Defence Ministry via Twitter</span>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">______</div><p></p><p>Former officers of Germany's armed forces (Bundeswehr) have been working for years as trainers for the <a href="https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/china-bundeswehr-piloten-kampfflieger-ausbildung-100.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">air force of the People's Republic of China</a> (PRC), according to a joint media report by German public-service broadcaster ZDF and the magazine Der Spiegel. </p><p>Several former German air force officers are allegedly employed as trainers for the PRC military. These include two Eurofighter instructors and a Tornado pilot, only identified as Peter S., Alexander H., and Dirk J. All three know NATO's secret deployment tactics, the report states.</p><p>The Intelligence Services Oversight Committee of the German Parliament (PKGr) has been monitoring the possible employment of former German military officers in the PRC army with alarm. </p><p>“We are concerned that after being employed by the German state, servicewomen and men may end up in employment circumstances where they could reveal state secrets,” Konstantin von Notz, a Green party lawmaker and chairman of the PKGr, told ZDF. </p><p>The German Ministry of Defense declined to comment on specific cases, but confirmed that the PRC is trying to recruit former NATO pilots as trainers through external agencies, adding that this could lead to "relevant tactics, techniques and procedures" being revealed to the PRC military. </p><p>The three men mentioned in the report founded consulting firms in the Seychelles after leaving the Bundeswehr. German air force fighter pilots usually end their career at the age of 41 due to loss of eyesight and slowing reflexes. They only receive 50 percent of their salary as pension. For this reason, many ex-pilots work at private aviation schools to supplement their income. </p><p>Peter S., Alexander H. and Dirk J. were recruited as "aviation consultant contractors" by a Beijing-based company named Lode Technology Ltd, according to an email dated March 8, 2016. </p><p>One of the shareholders of Lode Technology Ltd. is Su Bin, a PRC citizen who was indicted by the United States Department of Justice in 2014 on charges of taking part in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chinese-national-pleads-guilty-conspiring-hack-us-defense-contractors-systems-steal-sensitive" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">criminal conspiracy</a> to “steal military technical data, including data relating to the C-17 strategic transport aircraft and certain fighter jets produced for the US military.” </p><p>Su Bin was arrested in Canada in July 2014 on a warrant. He waived extradition and consented to be conveyed to the US in February 2016. On March 23 of the same year he pleaded guilty to participating in a years-long conspiracy to hack into the computer networks of major US defence contractors, steal sensitive military and export-controlled data and send the stolen data to the PRC. </p><p>On June 3rd, <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mopo.de/news/politik-wirtschaft/ex-bundeswehrpiloten-sollen-in-china-ausbilden-pistorius-fordert-stopp/%3famp=1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius met with his PRC counterpart General Li Shangfu</a> at the <a href="https://www.iiss.org/events/shangri-la-dialogue/shangri-la-dialogue-2023/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Shangri-La Dialogue</a>, an international defence summit, in <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2019/04/singapore-as-pioneer-of-capitalist.html?m=1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Singapore</a>. </p><p>“I made it clear that I expect this practice [of hiring former Bundeswehr officers] to end immediately and made it clear to him that he would certainly not be amused if I tried to do the same myself,” Pistorius told the press after the meeting. He added that Li "didn't deny it, but downplayed its significance from his perspective.”</p><p>The chairwoman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, urged the German government to implement stricter rules. </p><p>“Those who receive their training and pursue their career in the Bundeswehr may well share their knowledge within the NATO alliance, but certainly not with countries like China,” she <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/china-piloten-bundeswehr-kampfflieger-pistorius-strack-zimmermann-100.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">told</a> ZDF. </p><p>Roderich Kiesewetter of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) stated that the PRC is “spying on the tactics and defence strategies of NATO countries” by employing former military officers.</p><p>“We have to be aware that China is using the know-how of ex-pilots from Great Britain, Germany and other NATO countries to purposely acquire NATO air attack and defence techniques, and that China is no longer concealing its intentions to attack Taiwan with such measures,” he said.</p><p>In April 2023, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-military-taiwan-us-7549c646a377f1f199d2cda983573279" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">PRC military</a> completed three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island, and declared that it is “ready to fight”. <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/08/17/china-threatens-to-wipe-out-us-troops-and-liberate-taiwan-over-false-tweet-by-senator-john-cornyn/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Beijing claims Taiwan</a> as part of its territory and has vowed to use force to annex it. </p><p style="text-align: center;">______</p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>If you have enjoyed this article, please consider supporting my work with a <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">donation on Ko-fi</a>. Alternatively, you can take a look at some of my books and translations:</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></b></a></li></ul></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-26567564750026285952023-05-21T22:58:00.034+08:002023-05-22T17:34:45.938+08:00"Squandermania": The Anti-Waste League, Lord Rothermere, and the Conservative Backlash Against Taxes and Government Spending in 1920s BritainShortly after the First World War, a British media tycoon launched a campaign to pressure the UK government to end what he described as an "orgy of spending" and "appalling taxation." He urged drastic cuts in public spending, the privatisation of state-owned shipyards and factories, the abolition of regulations, and lower taxes.<br /><br />The press magnate was Lord Rothermere. He and his brother, Lord Northcliffe, owned some of the most popular British newspapers of the time, such as the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Pictorial, the Sunday Mail, The Times and the Daily Mail (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 50-51; Olmsted 2022, p. 21).<br /><br />They used their media empires to shape public opinion in order to reinforce conservative values, oppose the rise of the Labour Party, and lambaste the Liberal-Conservative government's brief post-war support for investments in housing, education and welfare. But they also tapped into an emerging middle class resentment towards progressive policies and rapid social and economic change.<br /><br />Angered by the government's agenda, Lord Rothermere published several articles against what he called "squandermania". Although he would benefit financially from lower taxes, he framed his political activism as being in the national interest. "For more than two years I have waged a rather lonely fight against Squandermania," he wrote in 1921. "I have done so in the national interest, and my only object is to serve my countrymen" (Olmsted 2022, p. 21).<br /><br />In this article, I will discuss the UK government's post-war policy of increased welfare spending and regulation, the backlash it generated, the press barons' propaganda campaign, and the subsequent restoration of conservative economic and social policies.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5lsIL3wQVls01U8Ap-6sUXHLucWHKR9jhuS2VE7ryxoM85U-LLueTb5bBsqerNVinGlLfo8k7-1MxckhdSKnUwaFhJFlF-F5PpcikvkkSGeZEMk6FeFghX1GSE0d0sDJwrC9hduIuKSSKkyCmwruUiJ5upBnEb6Cq4mIKsoRBpBGIvrXJ4_F0cQUEg/s1280/1280px-Collier's_1921_Vol_7_Frontispiece_--_Parliament_Buildings,_London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1280" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5lsIL3wQVls01U8Ap-6sUXHLucWHKR9jhuS2VE7ryxoM85U-LLueTb5bBsqerNVinGlLfo8k7-1MxckhdSKnUwaFhJFlF-F5PpcikvkkSGeZEMk6FeFghX1GSE0d0sDJwrC9hduIuKSSKkyCmwruUiJ5upBnEb6Cq4mIKsoRBpBGIvrXJ4_F0cQUEg/s320/1280px-Collier's_1921_Vol_7_Frontispiece_--_Parliament_Buildings,_London.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palace of Westminster 1921. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /><div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Election of 1918 and the Liberal-Conservative Coalition</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />On 6 December 1916, while the First World War was raging, <a href="https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/david-lloyd-george/the-life-and-work-of-david-lloyd-george/david-lloyd-george-the-prime-minister" target="_blank">David Lloyd George</a> was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding H. H. Asquith. Lloyd George formed a <b>wartime coalition government</b>, which included the Liberal Party, the Conservative and Unionist Party (colloquially known as the Tories), and the Labour Party.<br /><br />In late 1917, political leaders began to plan for the end of the war and for the upcoming General Election. The last election had been held in December 1910. After the UK entered the war, Parliament passed annual bills to suspend elections while the conflict was ongoing.<br /><br />The Conservatives were preoccupied with various challenges at home and abroad. First and foremost, <b>the Bolshevik coup in Russia and the rise of the Labour Party in the UK coalesced into a fear that a left-wing government could pave the way for a radical upheaval</b>.<br /><br /><b>The war had strengthened the Labour Party</b>, which in its new 1918 constitution, drafted by Sidney Webb and Arthur Henderson, committed itself to a socialist agenda. Meanwhile, trade union membership rose from four million in 1914 to seven million in 1918.<br /><br />Second, in 1918 Parliament passed the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-study-the-right-to-vote/the-right-to-vote/birmingham-and-the-equal-franchise/1918-representation-of-the-people-act/" target="_blank">Representation of the People Act</a>. The new law <b>extended the franchise to all men over twenty-one</b> (over nineteen if they served in the army), and to <b>women over thirty who met a property qualification</b>. 8.5 million women were eligible to vote, about two-thirds of the total female population. <b>The electorate grew from eight million to twenty-one million</b>. The addition of such a large number of voters, and particularly of working class and female ones, created uncertainty among Conservatives.<br /><br />But at the election of December 1918, <b>the Conservative-Liberal coalition won 53.7 percent of the vote</b>, gaining 526 seats. The Labour Party won 20.8 percent of the vote, gaining only 57 seats. <br /><br />Strong <b>support for the Conservatives came from business groups and from the middle class</b>. The middle class, especially the low middle class, had been bolstered by the war economy. By 1918 the number of people who paid income tax had risen threefold. As a result, there emerged over 200 "safe" conservative middle class seats representing <b>voters opposed to ideas such as government interference with property, public spending and progressive reforms</b>.<br /><br />By constructing the image of a <b>mythical class enemy as a threat to social order</b>, and by presenting themselves as the <b>bulwark against socialism and trade unionism</b>, the Conservatives managed to gain solid support among upper middle class and middle class segments of society, and even among some working class groups (see Ball 1996, pp. 61-64; Cracknell et al. 2023, pp. 16-17; Smith 1997, pp. 67-69). <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: large;">Progressive Policies and Right-wing Backlash</b></div><br /><br />Initially, <b>the Liberal-Conservative coalition was willing to implement bold economic plans</b>. Although the government sought to defend the existing social order and retain the support of its middle class base, it also wanted to appeal to industrial labour and its working class voters by <b>improving people's living standards </b>(Ball 1996, p. 65; Smith 1997, p. 70). <br /><br />The impetus for this ambitious programme derived from the <b>wartime economy</b>. The need for strengthening national defence during the conflict had led to an unprecedented <b>enlargement of the function of the state, a greater amount of state intervention</b> in the economy which was dubbed by the Manchester Guardian "<b>War Socialism</b>" (Fraser 2017, chapter 9).<br /><br />Lloyd George's rise to Prime Minister was partly due to his willingness to embrace a state-controlled economy to win the war, which his predecessor, H. H. Asquith, had been reluctant to accept.<br /><br />In order to mobilise the forces of the nation, the Lloyd George <b>government took over the management of key sectors of the economy</b>: the railways, shipping, the munition industry (it funded state enterprises to compete with private ones), energy, housing and food. <br /><br /><b>Coal, rents and food prices were controlled, agricultural production was stimulated</b> by the state. <b>Food subsidies and rationing</b> of essential items such as meat, sugar and butter were introduced. <b>Public expenditure increased tenfold</b>, with the national debt rising from £650 million to nearly £7,500 million. To fund government spending, <b>taxes were increased</b>. The wartime state of crisis created the political will to expand the role of government to an extent that would have been unthinkable before (ibid.).<br /><br />Lloyd George was convinced that the use of <b>state power during the war could be continued in peacetime to solve economic and social issues</b>. In 1917 he established the <b>Ministry of Reconstruction</b>, headed by Christopher Addison. The War Cabinet stated that reconstruction was "not so much a question of rebuilding society as it was before the war, but of moulding a better world out of the social and economic conditions which have come into being during the war".<br /><br />Lloyd George was aware that shortly after Britain's military victory the public was in the "exalted mood" for doing "big things", but that the opportunity had to be "seized immediately", or else that mood would evaporate (ibid.).<br /><br />The priorities for the Lloyd George government were the <b>demobilisation of soldiers, health, housing, education and unemployment insurance</b>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8p1verJmBfYLzPHDt1093_6Mhw2iw9yzmEcmQjFJu0AmM8Mmm05M8j5XMZY_8xTYIkgxOun5CByW_7qf_IILHePLcBX7AumtF6r5WNjkxVGbOUst9H5YXblKC_QEPjHNKk8wuplnZDyc3M724p_BKPwfBmv1a9_2wrFMcjKULgG3YNWqrHbZXOoSrWg/s2606/2000px-David_Lloyd_George.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2606" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8p1verJmBfYLzPHDt1093_6Mhw2iw9yzmEcmQjFJu0AmM8Mmm05M8j5XMZY_8xTYIkgxOun5CByW_7qf_IILHePLcBX7AumtF6r5WNjkxVGbOUst9H5YXblKC_QEPjHNKk8wuplnZDyc3M724p_BKPwfBmv1a9_2wrFMcjKULgG3YNWqrHbZXOoSrWg/s320/2000px-David_Lloyd_George.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Lloyd George, via Wikimedia Commons </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><br />One of Addison's first tasks in the new Ministry was housing. It was estimated that a shortage of around 600,000 houses had been created by the suspension of housing construction during the war. Lloyd George promised that the <b>government would build "homes fit for heroes"</b> for the soldiers returning from the battlefields.<br /><br />The government believed that in order to avoid a Bolshevik-style uprising, they had to deliver better social conditions. Speaking of the housing plan, Lloyd George told his Cabinet in 1919: "Even if it costs a hundred million pounds, what was that compared to the stability of the state?" (ibid.).<br /><br />In 1919, the <b>Housing and Town Planning Act</b> was passed, which assigned to local authorities the <b>duty to supply housing</b>, and provided Treasury <b>subsidies to local councils and private builders</b> (ibid.). <br /><br />The coalition continued the<b> "inflationary regime" of the wartime economy</b> in order to maintain <b>high levels of employment and rising wages, job security for workers and greater bargaining power for trade unions</b>.<br /><br />The <b>high level of taxation</b> of the war years was retained in order to fund government expenditure. In 1918, <b>income tax stood at 6s (shillings) in the pound</b> (equal to 30 percent), compared to 1s in the pound in 1914.<br /><br />New <b>ministries for health and transportation were established</b>, the latter with the expectation that it would be in charge of the railway system as soon as it was nationalised. New trade boards were created to <b>set minimum wages</b> in various sectors of the economy such as agriculture and engineering. In 1921, <b>a 33.5 percent tariff on imported goods was introduced</b> (Smith 1997, pp. 70-71).<br /><br />H. A. L. Fisher, President of the Board of Education in David Lloyd George's government, drew up a law that passed as the <b><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1914-39/" target="_blank">Education Act</a> of 1918</b>. It <b>raised the school leaving age from 12 to 14</b> and instituted a programme of <b>school-building and evening classes for those aged 14-18</b>. It <b>abolished all fees</b> in state elementary schools, and transferred about 60 percent of school funding from local authorities to the central government.<br /><br />In 1921, a Committee under Lord Burnham addressed the thorny issue of <b>teachers' salaries, raising them to more than twice their pre-war level</b>, though <b>women were not granted equal salaries</b> with their male colleagues (Pugh 1988, p. 139). <br /><br /><b>Social welfare schemes were expanded</b>. The <b>old-age pension</b> was raised from £26 5s a year to £47 5s. Unemployed benefits, due to expire in mid-1919, were extended to March 1920. The same year the <b>Unemployment Insurance Act </b>was passed, which not only extended a previous 1911 scheme, but also added about 12 million more workers, although it excluded farm labourers and domestic servants (Pugh 1988, p. 139).<br /><br />However, the bonanza of the immediate post-war years began to <b>draw criticism</b> from two of the Conservative Party's key constituencies: segments of the <b>middle class and the business community</b>. The press barons would soon use their influence to give voice to conservative resentment. <br /><br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Press Barons</span></b></div><br /><br />The era between 1890 and 1920 saw a <b>rapid expansion and consolidation of the British media industry</b>. A leading role in this process was played by the Harmsworth family. <br /><br />By 1921, <b>Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere</b>, controlled the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Pictorial, the Daily Record, the Glasgow Evening News, and the Sunday Mail.<br /><br />His brother, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, controlled The Times, the Daily Mail, The Observer, the Weekly Dispatch (later renamed Sunday Dispatch), and the London Evening News.<br /><br />Jointly they owned the large magazine group Amalgamated Press. Their brother, Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, had a chain of newspapers in the southwest of England. <b>Their press empire had a circulation of over 6 million</b>, one of the largest media groups in the Western world at the time.<br /><br />The ideology of Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere can be described as a mix of <b>"capitalism" and "nationalism"</b>. They believed in <b>private enterprise, individual effort, and national strength</b>. Both were <b>hostile to high taxation, high levels of government spending and intervention in the economy</b>, an attitude that was <b>reflected in their newspapers</b> (Cowling 1971, pp. 45-47; Curran et al. 1991, pp. 50-51). <br /><br />Today, Lord Rothermere's great-grandson, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere" target="_blank">Jonathan Harold Esmond Vere Harmsworth</a>, 4th Viscount Rothermere, is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns various media outlets, including the Daily Mail, Metro and MailOnline.<br /><br />Other major newspaper publishers of the time were Lord Camrose and Lord Kemsley (the "Berry Brothers"), and Lord Beaverbrook, the owner of the Daily Express, a sensationalist tabloid newspaper that targeted <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27672020" target="_blank">conservative, patriotic-minded working class readers</a>.<br /><br />In the interwar period there was an increase in the sales of national newspapers, which overtook for the first time local ones. The combined circulation of daily national papers rose from 5.4 million in 1920 to 10.6 million in 1939. <br /><br />In the 1920s, Beaverbrook, Rothermere, Camrose and Kemsley established a <b>dominant position in the market, owning nearly half of all national and local papers</b>, and nearly one-third of all Sunday papers, with a combined circulation of 13 million (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 51-52).<br /><br /><b>Press barons used their newspapers to advance their political ideology</b>, though they did so to varying degrees depending on how much control they chose to exercise on each paper.<br /><br />Beaverbrook later told the first Royal Commission on the Press (1947–49) that he ran the Daily Express "merely for the purpose of making propaganda and with no other motive" (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 52-53, 56).<br /><br />The main impact of the press barons on society "lay in the way in which their papers provided <b>cumulative support for conservative values and reinforced opposition</b>, particularly among the middle class, <b>to progressive change</b>. The papers controlled by the press barons conjured up imaginary folk devils that served to strengthen commitment to dominant political norms and to <b>unite the centre and the right against a common enemy</b>" (Curran et al. 1991, p. 61, my emphasis). <br /><br />One example of how the press barons could influence politics, ally themselves with conservative forces, and bring about a shift in public opinion, was <b>Lord Rothermere's "Anti-Waste" campaign</b>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo1_9SLtkbZUU11skgAGbgIKn5RwWrvmlcyoJwGb7dxfBcY2CwO0zc115CszM9ul7fbDACuiHvmha6hjwAZiYhaiF223-GpssAcRk42K8VEwFYWGvvh7u0wdTkVDPHWZ8AWLxodijr7SWg_2l5v-QJulDXLIariuib0P17rU2O-_i79x3EfHlnGfAow/s2743/Harold_Sidney_Harmsworth,_1st_Viscount_Rothermere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2743" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo1_9SLtkbZUU11skgAGbgIKn5RwWrvmlcyoJwGb7dxfBcY2CwO0zc115CszM9ul7fbDACuiHvmha6hjwAZiYhaiF223-GpssAcRk42K8VEwFYWGvvh7u0wdTkVDPHWZ8AWLxodijr7SWg_2l5v-QJulDXLIariuib0P17rU2O-_i79x3EfHlnGfAow/s320/Harold_Sidney_Harmsworth,_1st_Viscount_Rothermere.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1930). Painting by Philip de László. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"Squandermania" and Austerity Politics</span></b></div><br /><br />Between 1919 and 1922, <b>Lord Rothermere launched a virulent campaign against government spending, coining the term "squandermania"</b>. He urged <b>cuts in public spending, the sale of publicly owned enterprises, lower taxes and the abolition of wartime-style economic planning</b> (Curran et al. 1991, p. 59).<br /><br />He wrote a series of articles, which he published in the Sunday Pictorial and then released in 1921 as a book with the title "Solvency or Downfall? Squandermania and Its Story". In the foreword, he denounced "bureaucratic Squandermania", stating:<br /><br />"The <b>lavish expenditure</b> necessitated by the Great War, coupled with the swift de- preciation in the value of money, set in motion <b>extravagant tendencies</b> which for a time were shared by the entire nation. If after the Armistice the Government began to spend upon a scale which suggested that we had found great wealth instead of having lost much that we possessed, they were pursuing illusions which also misled the business world and the bulk of the general public. The <b>orgy of spending</b> was not confined to this country. It was visible in all countries" (Rothermere 1921, p. viii, my emphasis). <br /><br />He warned that Britain faced the possibility of starvation, and that the government was demanding of the people money which was not there. He further claimed that if "Labour realised the appalling dangers which are imminent, the word 'strike' would be erased from its vocabulary" (ibid., p. ix). One of the central themes of the book was taxation: <br /><br />"I find myself still imbued with my original belief that the first step necessary for our economic salvation is a root-and-branch <b>reduction of Government expenditure</b>. If that is done, the rest may follow. Without it, we are lost indeed. <b>More nations have been destroyed by excessive taxation than from any other cause</b>. There is no modern parallel for the <b>appalling taxation</b> under which the British nation is now being steadily crushed out of existence ... Except for a comparatively few people, this country cannot continue to sustain a standard income tax of six shillings in addition to the heavy Customs, Excise, and other dues, and to the huge rise in local rates. It is absolutely certain that even a people so docile as our own will only accept during the menace of war, a menace which has now receded, a Government demand that they shall work for nearly half of every day in order to meet the cost of a <b>criminally wasteful public administration</b> … When the <b>income tax is excessive</b>, it implies a rate of public expenditure which in one form or another imposes <b>excessive burdens on the whole population</b>. High taxation leads directly to unemployment …" (ibid., pp. ix-x, my emphasis).<br /><br />He praised the pre-war era as a mythical past that should be restored:<br /><br />"I wish we could get back to the old Whig <b>tradition of frugality</b> with the nation's purse. I read the other day that Mr. Gladstone was so passionate an advocate of national economy that he grudged the money spent on a few flowers for the garden at the back of 10 Downing Street. At this juncture <b>Government squandering is a form of sabotage</b>. It devours the financial resources necessary to restore trade, and it is just as effectual in stopping economic recovery as the smashing of machinery and the tearing up of railway lines" (ibid., p. 7, my emphasis).<br /><br />Lord Rothermere went on to <b>attack social programmes such as the housing scheme and investments in education</b>, even arguing that 14-year-old kids should go to work instead of attending school: <br /><br />"I must again call attention to the monetary side of the Housing Act, which appears to be a striking example of muddled finance … I regard <b>the Housing Act in its present form as destined to fail</b> …<br /><br />"Again, I view with disquietude the trend of our <b>expensive educational policy</b>. I am well aware that in quarters which cultivate pedantry my views on this subject may be regarded with scorn, but I say emphatically that <b>there is no special sanctity in educational schemes</b>, and that they must be examined in the light of common sense. As things stand, <b>it is a mistake to keep back the bulk of our youths and girls too long from the paramount task of learning to earn their own living</b>. The knowledge they require to fit themselves for the battle of life is not gained in schools and colleges alone. For the majority of the community there is such a thing as <b>being too long at school</b> … <b>Aptitude for business or industry is best acquired in the teens</b>, and the plunge should not be too long delayed" (ibid., p.11, my emphasis). <br /><br />As we can see, Lord Rothermere claimed that there was no money to fund government spending, although in reality he was saying that he did not want to pay taxes to fund spending. He also argued that educating and housing the people were not a priority, or even desirable, thus creating a narrative in which harsh competition and poverty had to be accepted as simple facts of human existence. Most of his articles follow the same line of reasoning.<br /><br />So fierce was his opposition to government spending that he decided to <b>get involved in politics</b>. In January 1921, he threw his support behind a candidate <b>challenging the Conservatives on an "anti-waste" platform</b>: Sir Thomas Polson, a Director of the British Motor Trade Corporation whom Rothermere had met while Director-General of the Army Clothing Department. At the Dover by-election, <b>Polson managed to unseat the Conservative incumbent</b>.<br /><br />Following the Dover victory, Lord Rothermere announced in the Sunday Pictorial the founding of a new party: the "<b>Anti-Waste League</b>". He made himself president of the League, while Polson served as treasurer. The sole purpose of the party was to <b>advocate for a reduction of government spending and taxation</b>. The strategy was to <b>attack the Conservatives from the right</b>.<br /><br /><b>The Anti-Waste League went on to win two by-elections</b> at St George's and at Hertford in June 1921. In the Westminster (Abbey) by-election in August, the official Conservative candidate held on to his seat only because he ran as a "Constitutional and Anti-Waste" candidate. Conservative MP Esmond Harmsworth (Lord Rothermere's son) became leader of the League's Parliamentary group and its chairman, though he retained the Conservative whip (Boothroyd 2001, p. 15; Cowling 1971, p. 56; Pugh 1988, p. 141; Taylor 1996, p. 244).<br /><br />Using a contemporary term, <b>the Anti-Waste League could be described as a "protest party"</b> that attacked the governing establishment and the bureaucratic apparatus in order to defend the interests of certain sections of society. In this case, the business community and segments of the middle class were united in their growing dislike of the government, because they felt that its policies were harming them. <br /><br />The financial instability caused by the overheating economy had led to losses in the value of stocks and shares, owned by upper and middle class voters. <b>They resented high taxes, especially the income tax</b>. Various groups, such as the Middle Class Union, founded in 1919, local taxpayers' associations and conservative constituents began to <b>agitate against the government, demanding cuts in public spending and taxes, and a return to pre-war financial orthodoxy</b>. In the party conferences of 1920 and 1921, the grassroots openly revolted against the Conservative leadership, compelling many party candidates to declare that they would run as independents in the next election.<br /><br />At the same time, <b>the Treasury, the Bank of England and financial interests within the City of London were also calling for reduced spending and taxation</b> in order to protect Britain's financial status in the world economy. At the beginning, the business community and the middle class had been supportive of Lloyd George, because he was viewed as a bulwark against socialism and the Labour Party. But they turned against him due to the high level of spending and taxation, and his inability to rein in labour movements. <br /><br /><b>Criticism of projects such as the costly housing scheme was growing</b>. Lloyd George's government, instead of opposing the left, appeared itself revolutionary, appeasing labour demands and creating a new type of state-led economy (see Smith 1997, pp. 72-73). <br /><br /><b>Welfare spending was under assault</b>. For example, <b>it was argued that workers refused to take jobs because they received unemployment benefits</b> (the 'dole'). The <b>image of the lazy dole recipient was created and spread by the right-wing press</b>. As a Daily Mail correspondent wrote: "It is almost impossible to get a domestic servant in this town, and it is certainly high time this dole business ceased. The streets are full of girls … who, frankly, say that as long as they are paid to do nothing they will continue just as they are" (quoted in: Lethbridge 2013, p. 152). <br /><br />There was also a <b>cultural and moral component to criticism of the government</b>. As Smith (1997) explained:<br /><br />"Much of the Conservative passion for retrenchment by 1920-1 sprang from a <b>desire to rekindle traditional, and seemingly lost, values</b>. High government expenditure and <b>excessive welfare provision destroyed personal responsibility</b> and reverence for the family. Boom conditions, by encouraging militancy and wage demands, sapped <b>respect for established authority and the rule of traditional educated élites</b>. An interventionist government also undermined the balance of the constitution by advancing the power and influence of trade unions, and interfered in precincts of society that were the traditional role and function of the Church, landlords and local representatives … Part of the moral backlash was <b>nostalgia for the prewar era</b>, a desire to return to 'certainties and convention at a time of rapid change and instability'" (Smith 1997, pp. 73-74, my emphasis). <br /><br />Backlash against the government began to <b>push the Conservatives further to the right</b>. In April 1920, less than three months after the beginning of Lord Rothermere's anti-waste campaign, Austen Chamberlain, the Chancellor, <b>raised the bank rate</b>. This led to a "<b>deflationary regime</b>" that ended the economic boom. <b>Unemployment rose from 2 to 18 percent</b>. The bargaining power of trade unions was thus diminished. <b>Manufacturing collapsed to three-quarters of its 1913 level and GDP to four-fifths of its 1913 level</b>. The long-term goal was to <b>restore the gold standard</b>, a tenet of pre-war financial orthodoxy. This would be achieved in 1925.<br /><br />In March 1921, Lord Addison was replaced by the more conservative Sir Alfred Mond, who immediately <b>scaled back the housing scheme</b>. In August 1921, the government appointed a committee under Sir Eric Geddes to examine spending reduction. His report recommended a cut of £175 million from the government's budget, hitting particularly hard the areas of housing, education and unemployment. Although resistance from some members of the government managed to limit spending cuts to one-third of the initial proposed sum, it signalled the winding down of the post-war drive to use the state to achieve social improvements. <b>The 1922 budget cut not only spending, but also taxes</b>, thus implementing most demands of the "anti-waste" campaign (Pugh 1988, pp. 141-143; Smith 1997, p. 75).<br /><br />The next election proved that the Conservatives had a coalition capable of winning without having to compromise with the left. <b>In 1922, the Conservative Party won 344 seats, with just 38.5 percent of the vote</b>. Labour received 29.7 percent, gaining 142 seats. The Liberals led by H. H. Asquith collapsed, winning only 18.9 percent of the vote and 62 seats. Lloyd George ran as a National Liberal, and his party garnered 9.9 percent of the vote and 53 seats. The division between Asquith and Lloyd George liberals greatly benefited the Conservatives. Labour, though it gained more votes than in the previous election, proved to be a useful <b>bogeyman for right-wing propaganda</b>, consolidating the support of upper and middle class electorate for the Tories. <br /><br />Faced with attacks from the anti-waste movement, the Conservatives had shifted to the right, co-opted Lord Rothermere's agenda, and in the process become the dominant party in Parliament. They propagated a <b>traditional, financially prudent, small-state ideology, regaining the support of the middle class</b>. In cultural terms, they <b>appealed to tradition, patriotism, imperial grandeur, stability</b>, and to the mythical image of a tranquil, rural, religious country (Smith 1997, p. 79).<br /><br />Since the Conservatives adopted an agenda of austerity and financial orthodoxy, anti-waste activism soon subsided. But Lord Rothermere continued his political engagement. He and Lord Beaverbrook found a new cause: solving Britain's economic problems by turning the Empire into a free trade area protected by high tariffs. They backed the United Empire Party (UEP), and endorsed its by-election candidate in 1930, who won the Tory seat of Paddington, an upset compounded by another defeat at East Islington, where the Conservative candidate arrived in third, after Labour and UEP. The Conservatives once again ceded ground and implemented some imperial preference policies (Curran et al. 1991, p. 60).<br /><br />In the following years, <b>Lord Rothermere shifted further and further to the right</b>. <b>He became an admirer of fascism</b>, and used his newspapers and personal influence to spread far right propaganda. <br /><br />In July 1933, following Hitler's rise to power, <b>Rothermere wrote an editorial in the Daily Mail titled "Youth Triumphant", praising the Nazi regime</b>:<br /><br />"Something far more significant than a new Government has arisen among the Germans. There has been a sudden expansion of their national spirit … Youth has taken command."<br /><br />He dismissed reports of Nazi violence as exaggerations, and he made anti-Semitic <b>statements justifying Nazi ideology</b>:<br /><br />"In the last days of the pre-Hitler regime there were twenty times as many Jewish Government officials in Germany as had existed before the war. Israelites of international attachments were insinuating themselves into key positions in the German administrative machine." Hitler, he concluded, had "saved his country" (quoted in: Olmsted 2022, p. 29). <br /><br />The Nazis used Rothermere's "Youth Triumphant" article for their propaganda. <b>Hitler praised Rothermere as "one of the very greatest of all Englishmen"</b> and stated that the Daily Mail was "doing an immense amount of good" (ibid.).<br /><br />In 1934, Rothermere endorsed the British Union of Fascists (BUF), helping the small and obscure organisation gain more members thanks to his newpapers' coverage (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 60-61).<br /><br />Although he withdrew his endorsement after about five months, he continued to support the Nazi regime. Already in 1933 <b>he had reached out to Hitler</b> through Stephanie zu Hohenlohe, an Austrian aristocrat. He also cultivated ties with the German ambassador to Britain Joachim von Ribbentrop.<br /><br />In December 1934, <b>Rothermere travelled to Berlin and Munich</b>. There <b>he met with Hitler and other leading Nazis, including Göring and Goebbels</b>. A banquet was thrown in his honour at the Reich Chancellery. Afterwards, Rothermere and Hitler would occasionally exchange letters (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 60-61; Görtemaker 2022, p. 151).<br /><br />Rothermere was one of the most influential voices in favour of appeasement and cooperation with the Nazis. <br /><br />"<b>Our two great Nordic countries should pursue resolutely a policy of appeasement</b> for, whatever anyone may say, <b>our two great countries should be the leaders of the world</b>", he told Joachim von Ribbentrop on 7 July 1939 (quoted in: Norton-Taylor 2020, chapter 6, my emphasis)<br /><br />Ten days later, <b>Rothermere wrote a letter to Hitler</b>: <br /><br />"My Dear Führer, I have watched with understanding and interest <b>the progress of your great and superhuman work in regenerating your country</b> … The British people, now like Germany strongly rearmed, regard the German people with admiration as valorous adversaries in the past, but I am sure that there is no problem between our two countries which cannot be settled by consultation and negotiation" (ibid., my emphasis). <br /><br />On September 1, 1939, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Invasion-of-Poland" target="_blank">German troops invaded Poland</a>. At 11.15 a.m. on September 3, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/september/war-announced/" target="_blank">announced</a> that the UK was "at war with Germany".<br /><br />In 1945, the Labour Party under the leadership of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/clement-attlee" target="_blank">Clement Attlee</a> won the General Election. The Labour government implemented a programme of reform and welfare unprecedented in UK history. In 1946 it created the National Health Service, which made healthcare free on the basis of citizenship. It introduced social security. It nationalised one-fifth of the economy, including the coal industry, electricity utilities, railways and long-distance haulage. Between 1945 and 1951, it oversaw the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/25/falling-supply-and-rising-demand-the-story-of-social-housing-timeline" target="_blank">construction</a> of more than 1 million homes, 80 percent of which were social housing.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>If you have enjoyed this article, please consider supporting my work with a <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">donation on Ko-fi</a>. Alternatively, you can take a look at some of my books and translations:</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rags-Riches-Hong-Kong-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C3FH82RC/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B0C3FH82RC" target="_blank">Rags or Riches: A Hong Kong Novel</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_3?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B074PDXNRM" target="_blank">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_1?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B01MYH1OBF" target="_blank">Craven A and other Stories</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_2?pd_rd_w=8fSfu&content-id=amzn1.sym.07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_p=07081e2a-c82a-4414-ba67-d1ea4791ec44&pf_rd_r=J1FVJ4BWRSMM5607JNMW&pd_rd_wg=2AIN1&pd_rd_r=b1d67f48-a5cd-4e93-9d8b-90665a157156&pd_rd_i=B00SXJRC3S" target="_blank">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></i></b></li><li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NLWRLQWYYQW2&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1684679898&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b><i>The Adventure of Urashima Taro</i></b></a></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Bibliography</span></b></div><br /><br />Ball, Stuart (1996). <a href="https://books.google.it/books/about/The_Conservative_Party_and_British_Polit.html?id=9ESIAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">The Conservative Party and British Politics, 1902-1951</a>.<br /><br /><br />Boothroyd, D. (2001). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/Politico_s_Guide_to_the_History_of_Briti/kgSJAAAAMAAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">The History of British Political Parties</a>.<br /><br /><br />Cowling, M. (1971). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Impact_of_Labour_1920_1924/8caNifdMoh0C?hl=en" target="_blank">The Impact of Labour, 1920-1924</a>.<br /><br /><br />Cracknell, R., Uberoi, E., Burton, M. (2023). <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7529/" target="_blank">UK Election Statistics: 1918- 2022, A Long Century of Elections</a>.<br /><br /><br />Curran, J., Seaton, J. (1991). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/Power_Without_Responsibility/KO_4g0so5gQC?hl=en" target="_blank">Power Without Responsibility. The Press and Broadcasting in Britain</a>.<br /><br /><br />Fraser, D. (2017). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Evolution_of_the_British_Welfare_Sta/3iGIPwAACAAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">The Evolution of the British Welfare State</a>.<br /><br /><br />Görtemaker, H. (2022). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/Hitler_s_Court/pFNPEAAAQBAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">Hitler’s Court</a>.<br /><br /><br />Lethbridge, L. (2013). <a href="https://books.google.it/books?id=5ZsKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&dq=Servants:+A+Downstairs+History+of+Britain+from+the+Nineteenth+Century+to+Modern+Times&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&ov2=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiM6YHA1Ib_AhUrSvEDHW2LDHIQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=Servants%3A%20A%20Downstairs%20History%20of%20Britain%20from%20the%20Nineteenth%20Century%20to%20Modern%20Times&f=false" target="_blank">Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times</a>.<br /><br /><br />Norton-Taylor, R. (2020). <a href="https://books.google.it/books?id=LEPJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT219&dq=Norton+Taylor+state+of+secrecy&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&ov2=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwih-OLb1Ib_AhU1S_EDHWZMCJcQ6AF6BAgBEAM#v=onepage&q=Norton%20Taylor%20state%20of%20secrecy&f=false" target="_blank">The State of Secrecy</a>.<br /><br /><br />Olmsted, K. S. (2022). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Newspaper_Axis/stVdEAAAQBAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">The Newspaper Axis. Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler</a>.<br /><br /><br />Pugh, M. (1988). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/Lloyd_George/BKasAgAAQBAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">Lloyd George</a>.<br /><br /><br />Smith, J. (1997). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Taming_of_Democracy/cIyIAAAAMAAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">The Taming of Democracy. The Conservative Party, 1880-1924</a>.<br /><br /><br />Taylor, S. J. (1996). <a href="https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Great_Outsiders/vNOaQgAACAAJ?hl=en" target="_blank">The Great Outsiders. Northcliffe, Rothermere and the Daily Mail</a>. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span><!--more--></span></div></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-73077991025096550032023-03-18T00:18:00.003+08:002023-03-18T00:20:38.057+08:00David Rothkopf Sides With Chinese Communist Party, Says Taiwan Will Become Part of China<p>In an interview with the Lincoln Project published on January 13, political commentator David Rothkopf said: "I think, at some point, Taiwan will become part of China again" (see video clip below).</p><p>Rothkopf endorsed the policy of territorial expansionism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and misled the public by repeating some of its talking points. </p><p>For example, Rothkopf falsely stated that Taiwan has been part of China for a long time. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B3UwUu_HU08" width="320" youtube-src-id="B3UwUu_HU08"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In fact, the People's Republic of China (PRC), which was founded in 1949, <a href="https://china-journal.org/2017/03/26/china-taiwan-tensions-and-the-guomindangs-existential-crisis/" target="_blank">never ruled Taiwan</a>. Claiming that Taiwan was part of the PRC is as absurd as claiming that Ukraine was part of the Russian Federation, or that South Korea was part of North Korea. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">David Rothkopf echoed the CCP's <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2017/03/in-recent-interview-wang-zaixi-says-China-might-invade-Taiwan-if-peaceful-reunification-takes-too-long.html?m=1" target="_blank">ethnonationalist agenda</a>, which denies Taiwan's statehood on the basis of the arbitrary dogma of national identity and territorial irredentism defined by the Politburo and radical nationalists. Again, it's reminiscent of Putin's denial of Ukrainian statehood. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The CCP arbitrarily defines itself as the sole representative of China and custodian of national identity. Accepting the CCP's agenda means aiding a dictatorial regime's political ideology. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In recent weeks, Rothkopf has been busy defending the CCP and downplaying its threat. In an NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/1162511198/columnist-explains-what-u-s-national-security-is-getting-wrong-about-china" target="_blank">interview</a> on March 10, Rothkopf said:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"[W]hen we view [China] as a threat, then we put ourselves into a kind of confrontational position, which can actually damage our interests and make things more dangerous ...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"[T]he risks of going too far are that we heighten tensions and we create situations that accidentally escalate. You can look at, for example, the situation with Taiwan last year when Nancy Pelosi went there. The Chinese felt they had to respond. We felt we had to respond to the Chinese. You could imagine an accident or, you know, some other kind of event that would trigger conflict. We need to be careful of that." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Rothkopf not only downplays, but covers up for the CCP's aggressive policy, and blames the US for standing up for a free society that does not wish to be incorporated into Beijing's autocratic empire. He blames Pelosi. But he doesn't blame the CCP for threatening to invade Taiwan. He refers to the CCP as "the Chinese." Conflating an unelected one-party regime with an entire country is as if, in a post-coup Trump-controlled US, people referred to the Trump autocracy as "the Americans."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">On March 9, Rothkopf published an op-ed titled "What Washington Is Getting Wrong About Dealing With China". It's another piece promoting a pro-CCP message. Not surprisingly, Rothkopf's article was praised by people such as Chen Weihua, the EU Bureau Chief and columnist for the PRC's state media China Daily. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qMtvSyrcm-sPErc4SujKCUomngp-4pDzaywFRiW-fYeTmZonzX5Avn2KwBKGzObT9vTQfKnVtWhXksw51HCsZCxNbdsCzm_SbMS-4sq8EblJqWVp3ZGgEiFxQu_0peEynpZH2prkuqSjwXAs_dVL5MwlQFrXejLaskl5RtSL4jMxnVOwRIzCYt1lKg/s993/Screenshot_20230317-134113_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="720" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qMtvSyrcm-sPErc4SujKCUomngp-4pDzaywFRiW-fYeTmZonzX5Avn2KwBKGzObT9vTQfKnVtWhXksw51HCsZCxNbdsCzm_SbMS-4sq8EblJqWVp3ZGgEiFxQu_0peEynpZH2prkuqSjwXAs_dVL5MwlQFrXejLaskl5RtSL4jMxnVOwRIzCYt1lKg/w257-h355/Screenshot_20230317-134113_Chrome.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The interesting thing is that Rothkopf <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/david-rothkopf-writes-weve-done-lots-for-ukraine-but-winning-will-take-much-more" target="_blank">supports</a> Ukraine against Putin's invasion. A baffling case of cognitive dissonance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">_____</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>If you want to support me, you can make a donation on my <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">ko-fi profile</a>, or take a look at some of my books on Amazon. Thanks!</i></b> </p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-2404848279030375562023-03-16T06:24:00.000+08:002023-03-16T06:24:12.221+08:00Pro-Trump Chinese Businessman Miles Guo Arrested in the US Over Alleged US$1 Billion Fraud Conspiracy<p>Miles Guo, a Chinese businessman and internet media personality with close ties to former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, has been arrested on various charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Guo+Wengui&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="2000" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ardN_PTh7CaNoNHmoiYGShaUMfeTDwEJ1cy5sXhYYXfRLxd1PRhvBtPDRCjhngpDdd-p-V3pTpQWyCilCK9ct7rFyeCB7A_Wua8UGEmS7j7Nsq2aiJR_EK-7L1emlmZJa9560Hu8ezSnM-gVrbgb7hOY5ePSUu9gziuQuGPq0fZjIRojueuakkpUJA/s320/Guo_Wengui.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>According to a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ho-wan-kwok-aka-miles-guo-arrested-orchestrating-over-1-billion-dollar-fraud-conspiracy" target="_blank">statement</a> released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, Miles Guo was arrested in the morning of March 15 for allegedly orchestrating an over US$1 billion fraud conspiracy. Over US$630 million of alleged fraud proceeds were seized by the U.S. Government. </p><p>Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a twelve-count Indictment charging Guo as well as his financier Kin Ming Je with various wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering charges. </p><p>The defendants allegedly solicited "investments in various entities and programs through false statements and representations to hundreds of thousands of Guo’s online followers," and "misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained funds during the course of their conspiracy."</p><p>Guo was arrested on Wednesday (March 15) morning in New York, while Kin Ming Je remains at large. </p><p>Guo Wengui (Chinese: 郭文贵) is known by various aliases, listed in the Indictment as "Ho Wan Kwok," "Miles Kwok," "Brother Seven," and "The Principal." </p><p><a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/02/09/steve-bannon-guo-wengui-warn-that-china-might-attack-taiwan-urge-the-west-to-unite-against-beijing/" target="_blank">Guo Wengui</a> was a well-known business tycoon in the People's Republic of China (PRC), with ties to powerful government officials. In 2014 he was the 74th richest person in the country with a net worth of $2.6 billion. His most high-profile property development project was the Pangu Plaza, a torch-shaped building close to many of the 2008 Beijing Olympic venues.</p><p>Guo fell out of favour with the regime in 2014. The following year Li You, one of his business partners, was arrested by police on corruption charges. Ma Jian, a former state security vice minister who was reportedly close to Guo, was detained in 2016 on charges of bribery and abuse of power and subsequently sentenced to life in prison.</p><p>Guo Wengui <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.9news.com.au/article/34d149dc-09bd-4157-96bf-857e7e3e0742" target="_blank">fled the PRC</a> in 2014 to avoid corruption charges. PRC authorities accused him of paying 60 million RMB in bribes to Ma Jian. </p><p>Guo settled in the United States and became an outspoken opponent of the Chinese Communist regime with a substantial internet presence. He claimed to have ample evidence of corruption against PRC leader Xi Jinping and his allies. </p><p>Guo reportedly first met Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon in 2017, and the two became close associates, often appearing together on Guo's internet channel. </p><p>In June of 2020, Bannon and Gui livestreamed a press conference on a boat in New York Harbor in which they announced the creation of an <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/20/1130184401/the-inscrutable-aims-of-steve-bannons-enigmatic-chinese-benefactor" target="_blank">alternative Chinese government, called the New Federal State of China</a>. "The news conference ended with Guo enthusiastically chanting a slogan condemning the Chinese Communist Party and planting a kiss on Bannon's cheek," NPR reported. </p><p>In August 2020, Steve Bannon was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1237511" target="_blank">arrested</a> by federal agents on a yacht owned by Guo Wengui off Westbrook, Connecticut, on fraud charges. </p><p>Regarding Guo's indictment, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated: "As alleged, Ho Wan Kwok, known to many as 'Miles Guo,' led a complex conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers out of over $1 billion dollars. Kwok is charged with lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari, and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_3sIJm0oLtYvgNZw1FiMYQ5zgTxW3e9006d7BGPH8_n3NyhOg7vDMn_x8JuOKCbE20qHAvf7PXh_oaO4gr5m4Dn8hODwkGiW_8t0Gl7IXeiQE9K3MZlhlsUJIoMy3gT2o4_cQmTMXjVbbmjpoxY1se8oaBPc1OApuqvmOX0g0ZgZaSoqqimJYLo4OQ/s307/house_front.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="307" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_3sIJm0oLtYvgNZw1FiMYQ5zgTxW3e9006d7BGPH8_n3NyhOg7vDMn_x8JuOKCbE20qHAvf7PXh_oaO4gr5m4Dn8hODwkGiW_8t0Gl7IXeiQE9K3MZlhlsUJIoMy3gT2o4_cQmTMXjVbbmjpoxY1se8oaBPc1OApuqvmOX0g0ZgZaSoqqimJYLo4OQ/s1600/house_front.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Guo Wengui's 50,000 square foot New Jersey mansion, via US Department of Justice</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p>"As alleged, Kwok lied to his victims and promised them outsized returns if they invested, or provided money to, GTV, his so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance, G|CLUBS, and the Himalaya Exchange. </p><p>"Kwok is further charged with laundering hundreds of millions of stolen funds to conceal the conspiracy’s illegal activities and continue the fraud’s operations."</p><p>Guo founded two nonprofit organizations, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Society, and "used them to amass followers who were aligned with his purported policy objectives in China and who were also inclined to believe his statements regarding investment and money-making opportunities," the Indictment says.</p><p>One of the schemes involved Guo's GTV Media Group, Inc. In April 2020, he posted a video on social media announcing the unregistered offering of GTV Media Group, Inc. common stock via a private placement. Guo touted GTV as a wide-ranging media company. He described "the investment terms for the GTV Private Placement, and directed people to contact him, via a mobile messaging application, with any questions about the GTV Private Placement. The video and GTV Private Placement materials included a written 'Confidential Information Memorandum' (the 'PPM'). The PPM stated on the cover 'Everything Is Just the Beginning!,' provided information about GTV, and contained false representations regarding how the money raised from the GTV Private Placement would be used."</p><p>The Indictment further states: </p><p>"Between on or about April 20, 2020 and on or about June 2, 2020, approximately $452 million worth of GTV common stock was purportedly sold to more than 5,500 investors. Investors participated in the GTV Private Placement based, in part, on the belief that their money would be invested into GTV to develop and grow that business, as the PPM promised. In early June 2020, just days after the GTV Private Placement closed, [Guo] and JE directed that $100 million of funds raised from the GTV Private Placement be invested in a high-risk hedge fund for the benefit of GTV’s parent company and its ultimate beneficial owner who was a close family relative of [Guo]."</p><p>Guo Wengui was charged with the following eleven counts: </p><p>•1 Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud, Securities Fraud and Money Laundering (maximum penalty: 5 years in prison).</p><p>•2 Wire Fraud (GTV Private Placement) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•3 Securities Fraud (GTV Private Placement) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•4 Wire Fraud (Farm Loan Program) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•5 Securities Fraud (Farm Loan Program) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•6 Wire Fraud (G|CLUBS) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•7 Securities Fraud (G|CLUBS) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•8 Wire Fraud (Himalaya Exchange) (20 years in prison).</p><p>•9 International Promotional Money Laundering (20 years in prison). </p><p>•10 International Concealment Money Laundering (20 years in prison).</p><p>•11 Unlawful Monetary Transactions (10 years in prison).</p><p style="text-align: center;">______</p><p><b><i>If you want to support me, visit my <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">ko-fi profile</a>, or take a look at some of my books on Amazon</i></b> </p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-4004357503752026192023-03-07T17:35:00.002+08:002023-03-07T17:35:49.217+08:00Jamie Dimon Loves Florida <p>Jamie Dimon, the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, loves Florida. </p><p>In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Dimon was asked about the political situation in Florida and its impact on business. The billionaire businessman brushed all concerns aside. </p><p>"We love Florida, we’re growing in Florida left and right," he said. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LmtdZTC-c9c" width="320" youtube-src-id="LmtdZTC-c9c"></iframe></div><br /><p>Under its far right Republican leadership, Florida's government has launched an <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/01/florida-war-on-woke-is-war-on-freedom.html" target="_blank">assault on "leftist ideology"</a>. It has stripped Disney of its self-governing district in retaliation for the company's criticism of the "Don't say gay" bill. Instead of fighting back, the mighty corporation has surrendered to the state authorities' bullying tactics. </p><p>Recently, Florida's Republican Senator Jason Brodeur introduced a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-blogger-registration-media-republican-florida-07f3fa45848f351a0b2696455d0c4372#:~:text=A%20Republican%20lawmaker,would%20require%20bloggers" target="_blank">bill</a> that would require bloggers to register with the state government and file periodic reports with the state if they are paid to write posts about the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet members or legislative officials. Brodeur is also sponsoring a separate bill that would make it easier to sue media for defamation.</p><p>Never mind the fact that the far right has launched a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/florida-republican-bill-trans-kids-b2294855.html" target="_blank">war of discrimination and erasure of the transgender community</a>. Or that the Republican Party has not disavowed Donald Trump's attack on democracy, but is <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/03/Far-right-congressman-scott-perry-says-leftists-marxists-cpac-interview.html" target="_blank">doubling down on it</a>. </p><p>Never mind all that. Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase "love Florida". And they also <a href="https://www.jpmorgan.com/SG/en/about-us" target="_blank">love</a> <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2019/04/singapore-as-pioneer-of-capitalist.html" target="_blank">Singapore</a>. And they also <a href="https://www.jpmorgan.com/HK/en/about-us" target="_blank">love</a> <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/03/05/the-rise-and-decline-of-hong-kong-from-the-british-colonial-era-to-the-chinese-communist-takeover/" target="_blank">Hong Kong</a>. They seem to be fine with autocratic regimes.What they don't seem to love, however, are democracy and human rights.</p><p>I get it. It's business. Politics is sensitive, the country is deeply divided. But do they really need to go out of their way to say they "love" it? Do they need to use their money and influence to aid the far right, instead of trying to do what they can to support democracy, even in a discreet way? </p><p>And do they really think that it's in their best interest to subjugate themselves to unaccountable tyrants? Maybe they're as delusional as Chinese business people like Jack Ma, who in 2014 characterized his relationship with the Communist regime thus: "As always, be in love with them, but don’t marry them." A few years later, the Chinese government <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/Jack-Ma-flees-tech-crackdown-to-Tokyo-in-twilight-of-neoliberalism" target="_blank">cracked down on his company and sidelined him</a>, so now he lives in Tokyo. Even his love wasn't enough to shield him from the whims of the one-party dictatorship he had made a devil's bargain with.</p><p>Or business tycoon <a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/02/09/steve-bannon-guo-wengui-warn-that-china-might-attack-taiwan-urge-the-west-to-unite-against-beijing/" target="_blank">Miles Guo</a>, who amassed a fortune in the real estate sector, only to fall out of favour with the Chinese authorities in 2014 and flee to the United States, where he attached himself to Steve Bannon's and Donald Trump's authoritarian movement. Because, obviously, he has learnt nothing from his first experience with autocratic rule. </p><p>Perhaps, American oligarchs think they can navigate the rough waters of authoritarian capitalism and technofeudalism, in the hope that the monster they are feeding today won't, sooner or later, devour them. </p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p><b><i>If you want to support me, visit my <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">ko-fi profile</a>, or take a look at some of my books on Amazon</i></b> </p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-91398847346738854462023-03-06T20:50:00.001+08:002023-03-16T04:25:15.066+08:00The Strange Alliance Between the American Far Right and Chinese Anti-Communists <p>In my previous post I wrote about <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/03/victim-mao-cultural-revolution-xi-van-fleet-sides-far-right-war-critical-race-theory.html" target="_blank">far right activist Xi Van Fleet</a> (弗里特), whose crusade against critical race theory has been covered by media outlets such as the Washington Examiner and "Fox News". Born in the People's Republic of China (PRC), she experienced Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution and fled to the United States at the age of 26.</p><p>In the summer of 2021, Fox reported on Xi Van Fleet's tirade against critical race theory at a Loudoun County School Board meeting. </p><p>"I’ve been very alarmed by what’s going on in our schools," she said. "You are now teaching, training our children to be social justice warriors and to loathe our country and our history ... The Communist regime used the same critical theory to divide people ... The only difference is they used class instead of race ... This is indeed the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution ... The critical race theory has its roots in cultural Marxism. It should have no place in our school."</p><p>Xi Van Fleet's political activism highlights a peculiar phenomenon that has emerged in recent years, namely the support for the American far right among segments of the Chinese-American community as well as mainland Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_iFzvtUIDlX_KJ0iWbbboufG9RaUNX4xGM_WzTAgvlanj-7bCPupgt5wKFG8z2oZZIph1mASv4iC8FJ0GDx4lMGDOQQWBU0lmRjx3iv_SzylfOgG7RkWcKLn_n6hgLe_SFNZ70Byl073k-4HNjOA2WXkZp19o5Cx7SQbA2J_mo6iDM2wqG04D4Azlw/s1431/Mike_Pence_and_Jimmy_Lai_in_the_VP_Office_of_White_House.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1431" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_iFzvtUIDlX_KJ0iWbbboufG9RaUNX4xGM_WzTAgvlanj-7bCPupgt5wKFG8z2oZZIph1mASv4iC8FJ0GDx4lMGDOQQWBU0lmRjx3iv_SzylfOgG7RkWcKLn_n6hgLe_SFNZ70Byl073k-4HNjOA2WXkZp19o5Cx7SQbA2J_mo6iDM2wqG04D4Azlw/s320/Mike_Pence_and_Jimmy_Lai_in_the_VP_Office_of_White_House.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hong Kong media tycoon and critic of the Chinese Communist regime Jimmy Lai meets then-VP Mike Pence at the White House, 8 July 2019. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">_____</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Although about <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-americans-voted-biden-63-31-reality-more-complex-n1247171" target="_blank">60 percent of Asian Americans voted for Joe Biden</a> in 2020, when broken down by ethnicity, the lowest levels of support for the Democratic Party come from Vietnamese (23%) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-all-asian-americans-vote-democratic-and-the-political-leanings-of-different-asian-ethnic-groups-vary-192158" target="_blank">Chinese</a> (42%).</p><p>Donald Trump enjoyed popularity among segments of the Chinese-American community, Chinese dissidents, Hongkongers and Taiwanese. Let us look at a few examples.</p><p>Solomon Yue (Chinese: 俞怀松, born in 1959), an American Republican Party activist and businessperson, vice chairman and CEO of the lobbying group Republicans Overseas, and the national committeeman of the Republican Party of Oregon, has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. </p><p>On his LinkedIn profile, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230306111234/https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=gf&trkInfo=AQEfMKHZBRfj3QAAAYa2n4jQw_fnhmkUK0aMh5UzrVfBNvvPGLTjpgvCk0IDsq-a5UNBmiDQ6jUsWYccJ8nr8WBTe7FKHi---ApiSqHQtYEKx7Wdqc827VDxINhUP8s3IqHQWP8=&original_referer=&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fsolomon-yue-97b97b8b" target="_blank">Yue</a> calls himself "an entrepreneur, a business leader, an immigrant, a U.S. citizen and a national political leader" who "lived through and escaped China's Cultural Revolution ... For the past 15 years, he has been regarded as one of the driving forces bringing change to the Republican National Committee (RNC)."</p><p>Yue has spread various conspiracy theories and has likened the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests to Mao's Cultural Revolution, a common trope in far right circles. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ90nuoowHD2biM9WlJy-7CZi-PccxiqZv_XwQWPt_FIA7sSf_djvfRjBIon-bEdJmJJs247YJhNe-gGmLjMQZ0esKAIDbBaHDIl4088kblqUpqOO0bceEUPT0GG9MR2jvOL_8qUWLgh2-C7MlEGYoFGXt0uYoAVts7MMZw2YMZivIAZ35BJrgpWdOpA/s923/Screenshot_20230305-122849_Chrome.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ90nuoowHD2biM9WlJy-7CZi-PccxiqZv_XwQWPt_FIA7sSf_djvfRjBIon-bEdJmJJs247YJhNe-gGmLjMQZ0esKAIDbBaHDIl4088kblqUpqOO0bceEUPT0GG9MR2jvOL_8qUWLgh2-C7MlEGYoFGXt0uYoAVts7MMZw2YMZivIAZ35BJrgpWdOpA/s320/Screenshot_20230305-122849_Chrome.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.schedium.net/2016/02/no-hope-for-democratisation-in-china-under-xi-jinping-writes-tiananmen-veteran-wang-dan.html?m=1" target="_blank">Wang Dan</a>, a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, who was jailed for his participation in the pro-democracy movement and later emigrated to Taiwan and the United States, openly endorsed Trump. </p><p>On October 2, 2020, he wrote on his Facebook page: </p><p>"There is only one reason why I endorsed Trump for a second term: his team's policy and orientation in opposing the Chinese Communist Party ... I also think that Trump's words and deeds are dangerous for American democracy, but right now, the greatest danger for democracy and freedom is not Trump, but the Chinese Communist Party ... Even though I don't like Trump as an individual, this is the reason why I support Trump's re-election." </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg863eW9SADsQBGt1lygdDFl-p0Drgo5eZViqJDGZT8Iun0WuEmunpC_NU1_WI6yT2wsKNvmeJp9nX_SsqwTFyAFbmDA8MsyHoaMmtbtefgMAmyNf9F4df9PuyWbEibXlFluOBfQpkcdiB0yxJUola5LEL4tD0dHKKUynFiNA5F56CpmktG1rF1xBGF9g/s1122/Screenshot_20230305-130139_Facebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg863eW9SADsQBGt1lygdDFl-p0Drgo5eZViqJDGZT8Iun0WuEmunpC_NU1_WI6yT2wsKNvmeJp9nX_SsqwTFyAFbmDA8MsyHoaMmtbtefgMAmyNf9F4df9PuyWbEibXlFluOBfQpkcdiB0yxJUola5LEL4tD0dHKKUynFiNA5F56CpmktG1rF1xBGF9g/s320/Screenshot_20230305-130139_Facebook.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The Epoch Times, a far right media company affiliated with the Chinese Falun Gong movement, has also spread conspiracy theories and far right <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2022/11/its-culture-wars-stupid-uses-religious-ethnic-identity-mobilize-voters.html?m=1" target="_blank">culture war</a> propaganda. </p><p>The Epoch Times was founded in New York in August 2000 and it is one of the largest overseas Chinese media outlets. Its main focus was the coverage of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party and human rights abuses in the PRC. The Epoch Times drew international attention when one of its reporters, Wang Wenyi, publicly heckled PRC President Hu Jintao for several minutes during a visit at the White House (Thornton 2010, p. 231). </p><p>Since 2016, the Epoch Times has <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/epoch-times-media-giant-youve-never-heard-of-and-why-you-should-pay-attention/" target="_blank">shifted to the far right</a>, endorsing Trump and spreading far right conspiracy theories and tropes. </p><p>The Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, though initially critical of Trump, often used his Twitter account to retweet and spread far right messages. In August 2020, he quoted Trump, writing: "If we [i.e. Trump and the Republicans] don't get elected, China will totally vanquish the US". </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyApEg_AHPCT__qPFPLyzv8eL_pw2O8x6N7GgtduQjVFFx73WwSDJzIgV9bllgafRE-DsODqgwHBgZRmCqcm2V_uBZ5Xw7S4tYbOf8wf4l5JCcxKWeWkqfHUFuEDNgvNDgmB84S6AMerEXV77gecaI1hi3Dr1-P5sHEy_dHOM1E_r6RlJtO9U5FzvJg/s720/Screenshot_20230305-125114_Chrome.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="720" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyApEg_AHPCT__qPFPLyzv8eL_pw2O8x6N7GgtduQjVFFx73WwSDJzIgV9bllgafRE-DsODqgwHBgZRmCqcm2V_uBZ5Xw7S4tYbOf8wf4l5JCcxKWeWkqfHUFuEDNgvNDgmB84S6AMerEXV77gecaI1hi3Dr1-P5sHEy_dHOM1E_r6RlJtO9U5FzvJg/s320/Screenshot_20230305-125114_Chrome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Hong Kong media tycoon <a href="https://china-journal.org/2023/02/04/apple-daily-the-rise-and-fall-of-hong-kongs-sensationalist-pro-democracy-tabloid/#the-2019-democracy-protests-and-lai-s-support-for-donald-trump" target="_blank">Jimmy Lai</a>, an opponent of the Chinese Communist Party, became a vocal Trump supporter in 2019. As the 2020 US presidential election approached, Lai stated in a CNN interview: “Only Trump can save Hong Kong.”</p><p>Another interesting case is that of Chinese dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng. In 2012, Chen fled house arrest in his rural town in China and <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20120502-china-chen-guangcheng-leaves-us-embassy-blind-lawyer-activist" target="_blank">sought refuge at the US embassy</a>, causing a diplomatic spat between Washington and Beijing. </p><p>In May 2012, after "an arduous negotiation process headed by Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton," as Forbes reported at the time, Chen Guangcheng <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/worldviews/2012/05/20/checkmark-for-hillary-clinton-chen-guangcheng-lands-in-america/?sh=45b7422940ba" target="_blank">arrived in the US</a>. </p><p>Nevertheless, Chen later became a critic of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, and he endorsed Donald Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention.</p><p>Another prominent pro-Trump Chinese dissident is the business tycoon <a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/02/09/steve-bannon-guo-wengui-warn-that-china-might-attack-taiwan-urge-the-west-to-unite-against-beijing/" target="_blank">Guo Wengui</a> (also known as Miles Guo and Miles Kwok). Guo used to belong to China's business elite with ties to powerful government officials. In 2014 he was the 74th richest person in the country with a net worth of $2.6 billion. His most high-profile property development project was the Pangu Plaza, a torch-shaped building close to many of the 2008 Beijing Olympic venues.</p><p>Guo fell out of favour with the regime in 2014. The following year Li You, one of his business partners, was arrested by police on corruption charges. Ma Jian, a former senior spy chief who was reportedly close to Guo, was detained in 2016 on charges of bribery and abuse of power and subsequently sentenced to life in prison.</p><p>After fleeing China, Guo Wengui became an outspoken opponent of the Chinese Communist regime with a substantial internet presence. In 2017, he reportedly met Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon, and the two became close allies, often appearing together on Guo's internet channel. </p><p>It is difficult to say what motivates anti-CCP Chinese and Chinese-Americans to support the American far right. It might be their hatred of everything that calls itself leftist, or that can be portrayed as such. In that case, it might resemble the attitude of Cuban-Americans, who <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/majority-of-south-florida-cubans-in-gop-want-trump-to-run-again-dislike-bidens-handling-of-economy-global-affairs-fiu-cuba-poll-finds/" target="_blank">overwhelmingly favour the Republican Party and Trump</a>. </p><p>But it is quite stunning that those who rail against Mao Zedong and allegedly support freedom, do not seem bothered by Trump's attempt to overthrow US democracy by unleashing a radicalized mob on the US Capitol; or by the far right culture war against peaceful minority groups; or <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2023/01/florida-war-on-woke-is-war-on-freedom.html?m=1" target="_blank">Florida's policies against political opponents and dissent</a>. </p><p>Is it a case of willful ignorance? Effective propaganda? Or simply a personal quest for vengeance? </p><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p><b><i>If you want to support me, visit my <a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" target="_blank">ko-fi profile</a>, or take a look at some of my books on Amazon</i></b> </p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div></div><p><br /></p><p>• Thornton, P. The New Cybersects. In: Perry, E. J., Selden, M. (2010) (Eds.). Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance. </p>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-75171083924879533852023-03-05T22:07:00.025+08:002023-03-07T14:46:51.363+08:00Far Right Activist Xi Van Fleet Calls Critical Race Theory "the American version of the Cultural Revolution"<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Disclaimer: this article contains links to right-wing websites used as sources</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p>A victim of <a href="https://china-journal.org/2019/03/10/brainwashing-the-people-mao-zedong-the-chinese-communist-party-and-the-politics-of-thought-control/" target="_blank">Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution</a> has sided with the American far right in its crusade against <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory#:~:text=Critical%20race%20theory%20(CRT)%20is,conceptions%20of%20race%20and%20ethnicity." target="_blank">critical race theory</a> and attempts to "rewrite" US history. </p><p>Xi Van Fleet (<a href="https://m.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/01/15/a103322096.html/amp" target="_blank">Chinese name</a>: 弗里特, pinyin: Fú Lǐtè) is a Chinese-American who grew up in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and experienced the turbulent years of Communist dictator Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976). At the age of 26 she moved to the United States. </p><p>"I know very, very well what happened during the Cultural Revolution," Xi Van Fleet <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/critical-race-theory-china-wrong-us" target="_blank">told</a> the Washington Examiner. "They rewrote history, and then they fed us, the young people, the fictional history, for the indoctrination for control [of] mind."</p><p>On February 26, Xi Van Fleet draw renewed attention from far right circles when she sparred with 1619 Project [¹] creator Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMJXsdrqRNskIhNVlCLdZbcZNaG7NjHtoVNcPlt_xPQQ7H4-bCqzMySU9yadwDj9jLc_r9Y2bBNgKLjcVDsAvHCsQGgGS0ln0OBfCB6iNBDJDqFjQHlzPaQy2c3Ys6jmSU2xIlQ3cPpKed0ZFFagiarwUJycJxjb4cEctECZs7EVaJ9h-dJXFkt-iuw/s713/Screenshot_20230305-121242_Chrome.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="711" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMJXsdrqRNskIhNVlCLdZbcZNaG7NjHtoVNcPlt_xPQQ7H4-bCqzMySU9yadwDj9jLc_r9Y2bBNgKLjcVDsAvHCsQGgGS0ln0OBfCB6iNBDJDqFjQHlzPaQy2c3Ys6jmSU2xIlQ3cPpKed0ZFFagiarwUJycJxjb4cEctECZs7EVaJ9h-dJXFkt-iuw/s320/Screenshot_20230305-121242_Chrome.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>"In Mao's China where I grew up ... you can only do things you're told to do. You can only think the way you're allowed to think. Everything is controlled. There's no individual freedom. It is all collectively under one party control. So there's no individual success," Xi Van Fleet told the Washington Examiner.</p><p>"[Nikole Hannah-Jones'] message is that you have no hope in this country. This country is always going to oppress you — which is absolutely false ... We have so many examples right in front of our eyes that people have succeeded," she added.</p><p>In the summer of 2021 "Fox News" <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-xi-van-fleet-critical-race-theory-china-cultural-revolution-loudoun" target="_blank">reported</a> on Xi Van Fleet's pushback against critical race theory at a Loudoun County School Board meeting. </p><p>"I’ve been very alarmed by what’s going on in our schools," she said. "You are now teaching, training our children to be social justice warriors and to loathe our country and our history ... The Communist regime used the same critical theory to divide people ... The only difference is they used class instead of race ... This is indeed the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution ... The critical race theory has its roots in cultural Marxism. It should have no place in our school."</p><p>It is quite curious that Xi Van Fleet did not mention Trump's attempt to overthrow democracy on January 6, 2021. Nor did she question whether the far right war on books and theories, which she herself endorses, is authoritarian or reminiscent of Chinese Communist Party methods. </p><p>But her interview highlights a puzzling phenomenon: the support for Trump and far right ideology among a section of the Chinese-American community, as well as Chinese and Hong Kong opponents of the Chinese Communist Party. This will be the topic of my next post. </p><p style="text-align: center;">____ </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="720" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Rc8xYNme7zugHoSoKBPzEmLtPyzRFsuYaqLXCC88lr7dgvRGKQ2Ks5pPJMTU0lJ4kzPeIheUMCsf8lvg-FkAZAAk4swlPWN4k2oLiHRuNit4pcTjRNxN-JuFAGqYDi6oH1O_5wseelfX0DA6vu-PFbA0zfjsbm7TQFU55P17D7x_MxW9K-to8NDJvA/w200-h100/Logopit_1678026073663.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i>My Books on Amazon</i></b></p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p>[¹] "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html" target="_blank">The 1619 Project</a> is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative", via The New York Times.</p>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-45182622938892152502023-03-04T04:46:00.004+08:002023-03-07T16:27:51.871+08:00Far Right Congressman Scott Perry Says Leftists "Gotta Be Quaking in Fear", Denounces "Globalization" During CPAC Interview <p>During an interview at this year's <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Political_Action_Conference" target="_blank">Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)</a>, far right Congressman Scott Perry spread conspiracy theories about a "Marxist" takeover of the United States, denounced "globalization", and issued threats to the left. </p><p>A retired Pennsylvania Army National Guard Brigadier General, Perry was elected in November 2021 as chairman of the far right House Freedom Caucus. He is also a member of the Congressional Veterans Caucus and the Second Amendment Caucus. </p><p>"Their [the Democrats'] goal is actually the globalization of the United States of America, destruction of our sovereignty and so this is all intentional ... This is all by design ... We're not only in a philosophical battle, but we're also in a spiritual battle for the soul of our country, and to save this Republic," Perry said. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6ucEqenqaTFOjHo1-68v8Gd3Wm31w_GEoPMsnwz7T_mf3Iredh7vRZGkJzKZ4NyzN9v9OhBVG0_-wtKywwU8MOLCDmiSg2EWG8QnX28mreR83mj00Eu7gzCvQM-awJsn1rLRwwCH5ZL7_uzdWrEyjt8tLLrPp_lgJ8KJJv5BavJX-UAaiCqSueyZmw/s1289/Screenshot_20230305-112734_YouTube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1289" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6ucEqenqaTFOjHo1-68v8Gd3Wm31w_GEoPMsnwz7T_mf3Iredh7vRZGkJzKZ4NyzN9v9OhBVG0_-wtKywwU8MOLCDmiSg2EWG8QnX28mreR83mj00Eu7gzCvQM-awJsn1rLRwwCH5ZL7_uzdWrEyjt8tLLrPp_lgJ8KJJv5BavJX-UAaiCqSueyZmw/s320/Screenshot_20230305-112734_YouTube.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scott Perry at CPAC, via NowThis News YouTube channel </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p>He then ranted about a supposed takeover of the US by "Marxists":</p><p>"These leftists, these Marxists that have prevailed upon the American people and used the awesome power of the federal government to cower us into fear in our homes, they gotta be put on notice, they gotta be quaking in fear ..."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKhkrca5XxXM3J0Y1SF3ZO25litVldCrEeZV6oGo45SDWuj4NcdpBvY72aC9a2BzPl5d2hCe4Z2avpE_K6Fw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Perry also warned that he would use his own power to punish federal agencies if civil servants or Biden appointees refuse to show up at congressional hearings staged by Republican committees: </p><p>"If they are not interested in showing up, we can say I‘m in charge now of the transportation committee of federal leases. Isn‘t that something?" he said. "I wonder whose leases might be coming up – we are taking a look at the list ... when they go from a big building to that small space on the square, that will be awesome, won‘t it?"</p><p>Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who was interviewed alongside Perry, quoted "General Kellogg" (probably Keith Kellogg) and said that Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mark Milley is "a traitor" who "should have been fired long ago".</p><p>On October 30, 2020, and again on January 8, 2021, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-business-china-arts-and-entertainment-army-74ad214fdfbf0f8422a762e8f6657862" target="_blank">Milley called his Chinese counterpart</a> to assure him that Trump would not start a war with China. </p><p>Norman lied about the Biden administration, accusing it of undermining democracy, and he spread <a href="https://www.schedium.net/2022/11/its-culture-wars-stupid-uses-religious-ethnic-identity-mobilize-voters.html?m=1" target="_blank">culture war</a> talking points regarding children's education: "What's happened in the last two years ... is evil," he said. "It's an attack on our democracy, it's an attack on our children, and it's an attack - pure and simple - on freedom." </p><p>In his closing remarks, he added: "our children are not safe ... what's happening to them in the education system is evil."</p><p>While Norman baselessly accused Biden of undermining democracy, he himself was engaged in an actual attempt to overthrow US democracy and install Trump as dictator.</p><p>On 17 January 2021, 11 days after the violent Capitol insurrection, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/14/republican-ralph-norman-marshall-law-misspelling-trump" target="_blank">Norman wrote a text message</a> to Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging him to advise the then-President to invoke martial law, only three days before Biden's inauguration: </p><p>"Mark, in seeing what’s happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion law suits attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of no return in saving our Republic !! Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!", Norman wrote.</p><p>On August 8, 2022, Norman issued a <a href="https://norman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1433" target="_blank">statement</a> calling the FBI search at Trump's resort in Mar-a-Lago a "total abuse of political power" and "Deep State malfeasance." </p><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><b><i>Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my content and want to support me, you can make a donation or look at some of my books on Amazon. Thanks for your support! </i></b><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=KKST63SPGRUK&keywords=aris+teon+urashima&qid=1672946359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d8814ad994d904b03c40418dd288b3be&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Adventure of Urashima Taro</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Spring-Evening-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B074PDXNRM?crid=6L5G1Y8PCDXN&keywords=Aris+teon&qid=1667872413&sprefix=aris+teon%2Caps%2C356&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=21fd4c7267f0267d9bbb6fd1bbb29078&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Craven-other-Stories-Shiying-Mu-ebook/dp/B01MYH1OBF?crid=15XMFLOM1JGAQ&keywords=Mu+shiying&qid=1667872589&sprefix=mu+shiying%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-9&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=d67f5c6e458ab0854c56c585d1fc7bde&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Craven A and other Stories</a></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Vendor-Queen-Flowers-Literature-ebook/dp/B00SXJRC3S?crid=1MD0VYMXX02GB&keywords=the+oil+vendor+and+the+queen+of+flowers&qid=1669205657&sprefix=%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=965ac88882974ac4c99601e73f6b06e8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China</a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AzbtXoIrdiscCUtTqYB6MTB7fyX2HIDX20ewvLUq1Zqs_8QUS3LQim47uWJu8-eQfHpfbEepWrTGpOAYTr1I3VCZw_EWWALamONWaexhXI91dTwvHpdTcDS9dx6LzTC_vjWX2ycpeI_GSw1kjXQvG6G1t9YYynBkW50dl8WguBUDHlWA1Y3igvc0Ag/w200-h100/Logopit_1677838583668.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /></div>Aris Teonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908667041766497133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858479887971750000.post-18547059831049562592023-03-02T23:13:00.006+08:002023-03-03T18:19:23.352+08:00Hong Kong Sports Federation Wants Google To Stop Ranking Pro-Democracy Song "Glory To Hong Kong" Higher Than China's National Anthem <p>Hong Kong's Sports Federation has urged the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3212052/national-anthem-blunder-hong-kong-authorities-must-get-google-fix-results-problem-sports-federation" target="_blank">Hong Kong</a> government to pressure Google to stop showing the pro-democracy song "Glory to Hong Kong" high up in search results. </p><p>The Federation's statement comes after the song was played by mistake at a sporting event in Bosnia and Herzegovina on February 28 instead of the "March of the Volunteers", the <a href="https://www.hk01.com/%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E/872748/%E6%92%AD%E9%8C%AF%E5%9C%8B%E6%AD%8C-%E5%9C%8B%E9%9A%9B%E5%86%B0%E7%90%83%E7%B8%BD%E6%9C%83%E8%87%B4%E6%AD%89-%E8%B2%9D%E9%88%9E%E5%A5%87%E5%80%A1%E5%86%8D%E4%BF%83%E6%90%9C%E5%B0%8B%E5%BC%95%E6%93%8E%E7%BD%AE%E9%A0%82%E6%AD%A3%E7%A2%BA%E5%9C%8B%E6%AD%8C" target="_blank">official anthem</a> of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which also serves as Hong Kong's anthem. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpgDH1TeTMjCvigIZrivNzJSzxNNa3GGksQxOL9c8MNzZVddgs-YJLkjiLTp6V6w-dPzaJ65doxVsYiDvxAdWpOEr3A7cacnVwAXqWR8Xw4MfXJNwftl7SQn45ej7W6sxsCKxeA2qfqgPMCyjML_imrrajFg8abg8NXcd8JHcgaSfT2E-8SQ3PYuS0A/s5184/Glory_to_Hong_Kong_in_New_Town_Plaza_20190911.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpgDH1TeTMjCvigIZrivNzJSzxNNa3GGksQxOL9c8MNzZVddgs-YJLkjiLTp6V6w-dPzaJ65doxVsYiDvxAdWpOEr3A7cacnVwAXqWR8Xw4MfXJNwftl7SQn45ej7W6sxsCKxeA2qfqgPMCyjML_imrrajFg8abg8NXcd8JHcgaSfT2E-8SQ3PYuS0A/s320/Glory_to_Hong_Kong_in_New_Town_Plaza_20190911.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">"</span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82142550" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">Crowd singing Glory to Hong Kong at New Town Plaza shopping mall in September 2019</a><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">" by Studio Incendo is licensed under </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a><span face="Inter, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="background-color: white; color: #30272e; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;">_____</p><p>Pui Kwan-kay, honorary vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, said on Thursday (March 2) that the solution to the problem is to ensure that the wrong song is no longer placed high up in search engine results. </p><p>"<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49661135" target="_blank">Glory to Hong Kong</a>" (願榮光歸香港) was written by a local musician in his mid-20s who identified himself only as "Thomas". In late 2019, at the height of the pro-democracy protests, it became popular and was sung by people gathering in public spaces such as shopping malls and parks. It was considered the unofficial anthem of the movement. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lj6EOOxy13U" width="320" youtube-src-id="Lj6EOOxy13U"></iframe></div><br /><p>But as the PRC government in Beijing passed the <a href="https://china-journal.org/2021/03/05/the-rise-and-decline-of-hong-kong-from-the-british-colonial-era-to-the-chinese-communist-takeover/" target="_blank">National Security Law in 2020 and crushed the pro-democracy movement</a>, the song can no longer be performed in public. </p><p>In July 2020, the Hong Kong government <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/protest-anthem-banned-in-hong-kong-schools-as-new-security-office-opens" target="_blank">outlawed</a> any performance or broadcast of anti-regime political songs at schools, including "Glory to Hong Kong". Education Secretary Kevin Yeung stated that "schools must not allow students to play, sing or broadcast [Glory to Hong Kong] in schools."</p><p>In November last year a similar incident occurred when "Glory to Hong Kong" was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-refused-hong-kong-request-over-protest-anthem-hk-official-2022-12-12/" target="_blank">played</a> at the men's final of a rugby tournament in South Korea. The Hong Kong government subsequently requested that Google change its search results to display China's national anthem when users search for Hong Kong's national anthem, but the company refused. </p><p>In June 2020, the Hong Kong government passed a <a href="https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202006/12/P2020061200855.htm" target="_blank">National Anthem Law</a> to "promote respect for the national anthem" and "provide guidance on the standard, etiquette, and occasions for playing and singing of the national anthem."</p><p>Offences, such as altering the <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/04/hong-kong-passes-controversial-bill-that-outlaws-insulting-china-s-national-anthem" target="_blank">anthem</a>'s lyrics, or singing 'in a disrespectful way', are punishable by a fine of up to HK$50,000 and three years in jail.</p><p style="text-align: center;">____</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Urashima-Taro-Aris-Teon-ebook/dp/B0BRQB834C?crid=5XB50X3IFZWP&keywords=aris+teon&qid=1677838137&sprefix=Aris+te%2Caps%2C295&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=gcj-20&linkId=24a02837bb5c25d4f55a065f25ee5dab&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="2458" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7j3NWorIlnIH-NlfM4yqrwSH18vYn5rylQHUh-u4VyLOAnqQIDhLkutHX9XW56pZ0lYUedaSAsUcO3GxlsFUKjzgT8KfKgedCH5IE0I4LOh6LG-n-tpzmXuFnpGOiGBy-4oPVPCbPpfUpQY-L9mcdIuULhcn5aRcrSD6m03hTNTvPUEQSjCPpA0m2eg/s320/Logopit_1677837578252.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/aristeon89" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZo04fO2qLHFPZ0ss3fGC4Im6QpCjXBRRue4rlgEphOwhjEBssOpyTUSzQqhOG9DVMZbG6zar8CT-0AkgAWZN9Am0HiMh-NVOOPtgUeSMXQ4UpbxGj54U67kRX5nuKYnvvxFVhDP_n1gaS7tlg_KN-CLQJt3ti1MSMXm4DudpvhcVxtNqr0AL0_MFNvw/w200-h100/Logopit_1677838583668.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>
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