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Portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square (photo by Rabs003 via Wikimedia Commons) Chinese dissident Zhang Jilin (张吉林) has been detained by police in the city of Chongqing after publicly saying that President Xi Jinping should be removed from office. According to Taiwan-based Apple Daily , on January 17 Zhang talked about China's current affairs on a WeChat group. His ideas received praise from the group members, and he later told friends that he wanted to give a public speech based on the thoughts he had expressed online. Other dissidents urged him to be careful, but he insisted that he had "the right to free speech." On January 19 Zhang went to Guanyinqiao Square, in the city of Chongqing, and delivered a speech about China 's political situation, calling on Xi Jinping to be removed from office. "I think it's time for Xi Jinping to be removed from office," Zhang told a crowd according to an audio recording. "The Chinese Comm

(Image by FEMA/Bill Koplitz via Wikimedia Commons) Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of a democratic society. The Founding Fathers of the United States felt that their experiment in self-government would not succeed if the citizens were not free to express themselves, to exchange ideas, and to criticize the politicians they elected. They therefore enshrined the principle of free speech in the First Amendment , which states that: " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. " In recent years, however, the right has been using the free speech argument for a different purpose: to gain exposure and conquer public space at the expense of their political opponents. The mastery of the rhetorical tactic of moral equivalence has

A street in Shenzhen, China (By Daniel Case [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons) Over the years I have met many Westerners who - to my surprise - praised dictatorships and engaged in moral equivalence. One American who visited Pyongyang told me that the Western media were not telling the truth about the country, and that North Korea was clean and modern. Westerners who live in China often parrot Communist propaganda and actively spread it, whether they are aware of it or not.  We have seen the decline of our cities and communities while witnessing the rise of illiberal market economies that oftentimes make us envious of their rising living standards, optimism and advances in technology and infrastructure.  The crisis of democracy which we are experiencing today is not a new phenomenon. It began 40 years ago with the rise of neoliberalism and the idea of a "free", unfettered market that would unite the world in one global ideology of money-making. Milton Frie

Vladimir Putin (by Kremlin.ru [CC BY 3.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons ) Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl's curtsy to Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn criticism from Austrian politicians and international media. On Saturday, August 18, Putin attended Kneissl's wedding in the state of Styria, in southeastern Austria. Among the guests were Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the conservative Austrian People’s Party, and vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ). Karin Kneissl  is a former journalist. On December 18, 2017, she was sworn in as Austria's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Integration. She is an independent, but she was recommended for the role by the Freedom Party. At the wedding Vladimir Putin gave a short speech congratulating Kneissl and her husband, businessman Wolfgang Meilinger. Kneissl danced with Putin and at the end of the dance she gave the Russian leader a curtsy. Foota

Poland is considering taking in more immigrant labour. The ruling right-wing Law and Justice party , however, wants to open up the country only to Christian workers.  Poland is one of Europe's most anti-immigrant countries. A survey released last December by the Polish Centre for Public Opinion Research (CBOS) showed that 63% of respondents did not want to receive refugees, while only 33% were in favour. The Polish government has refused to accept any refugees under the quota system set by the European Commission. The anti-immigration sentiment of the majority of the Polish population is directed mostly against Muslims.  Embed from Getty Images Although it refuses to take in refugees, Poland suffers from a severe labour shortage  and is in desperate need of foreign workers to sustain economic development. According to a survey conducted in January by Work Service SA, half of Polish companies cannot fill vacancies, and almost two-thirds of public-sector employers are s

On July 16 the Hong Kong police notified Andy Chan Ho-tin (陳浩天), the founder and leader of the Hong Kong National Party (香港民族黨, HKNP), that his party might be banned  for threatening China's "national security."  Hong Kong Secretary of Security John Lee Ka-chiu (李家超) said at a press conference that any Hong Kong-based society may be banned in order to protect national security and public order, or to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Protecting national security means safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, he added.  Embed from Getty Images Andy Chan was given 21 days to submit a written reply to the Secretary of Security, explaining why the HKNP should not be outlawed.  On July 26 Mr. Chan told Hong Kong-based newspaper HK01 that the previous day he had sent a letter to the Security Bureau (保安局) requesting to be given 2 months, instead of only 21 days, to respond to the government.  H

The government in Taipei has expressed its determination to stand up to China after 44 airlines  bowed to pressure from Beijing and stopped listing Taiwan as a separate country.  On July 25 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) newspaper  People's Daily announced that American Airlines, United, Delta, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific as well as forty other airlines had complied with a request filed by the Civil Aviation Administration of China  on April 25 to list Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as part of Chinese territory.    Embed from Getty Images American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson told the BBC that the company was implementing changes to address China 's request. "Air travel is global business, and we abide by the rules in countries where we operate," she stated. In a written statement Cathay Pacific explained that as an airline registered and based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) it

In August 2015 human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was arrested by the Chinese authorities and charged with subversion of state power. Wang's detention was part of a large scale crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists that has become known as the " 709 crackdown ". The wave of repression that began in July of that year was seen as yet another sign of President Xi Jinping 's desire to tighten the Communist Party's grip on society.  Embed from Getty Images For three years nothing was heard of Wang Quanzhang, and his family did not know what had happened to him. On April 11 Wang's wife, Li Wenzu , sent out a message saying that she had been placed under house arrest . "Last night I was forcibly returned home by Domestic Security," she wrote. "The people who are monitoring us were already at their posts, about 30 of them downstairs ... They include Domestic Security, Neighborhood Committee, and 'Chaoyang Aunties' [women who

A Hong Kong pro-independence party may be outlawed if it fails to meet a government request to explain within 21 days why it should not be banned.  The Hong Kong National Party (香港民族黨, HKNP) was founded  on March 28, 2016, by Andy Chan Ho-tin (陳浩天), who was then a 26-year-old engineering and business administration student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU). Although the Party did not have more than 50 members, its formation angered the central government in Beijing.  A spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council  told state-run Xinhua that the newly established pro-independence party harmed "national sovereignty and security, as well as Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," and that it violated the Constitution, the Basic Law and relevant regulations.    Embed from Getty Images On July 17 Chan disclosed that two police inspectors went to his home early that morning and handed him a thick pile of documents th