Sinobabble

When Xi became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, no one assumed he would take up that position for life. But when Presidential term limits were abolished in 2018, it was widely understood that Xi had made himself supreme leader, and would remain head of the state, party, and military indefinitely. But how did Xi manage to pull this off, and how did everyone seemingly miss the signs? According to some sources, Xi made a swift powergrab, sweeping over party consensus and using guile and manipulation to crush his foes. The truth, however, may be a lot less straightforward (or exciting). Analysis suggest Xi not only went through tried and true boring procedures to gain his position, but that he did so with the explicit support of his fellow party members. Chapters (00:00) Introduction (04:29) Background on Xi (11:40) Predicitons about Xi's leadership (19:50) The state of China in 2012 (34:50) Xi will be a weak leader (40:30) How Xi managed to turn the tide (47:45) The consensus of the Party as deciding factor (54:15) Conclusions Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

Why are so many cultural heritage sites in China fake? Why is the architecture all the same? And why does no one care that all these old towns were built in the past 20 years? Let's take a deep dive into the history of the cultural heritage industry in China, the role of the CCP party-state, the agency of local actors, and try and figure out why Chinese tourists love fake reconstructions of mini European villages in the middle of their megacities. *Diary of the visit to Furong was in 2022 not 2002!! #China #culturalheritage #unesco #culturalrevolution #chinesehistory #chinatourism Chapters (00:00) Introduction (03:45) Attitudes to cultural heritage around the world (06:45) The destruction of China's cultural heritage (11:11) Reasons for rebuilding China's cultural heritage sites (12:38) Defining authenticity (17:00) Examples of Disney-fied heritage sites (40:25) What tourists want (44:45) Does authenticity matter? Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

Hi everyone, I’m really excited to announce that I will be hosting my first ever livestream this Friday 10th May over on Youtube. This is just a casual event, where you guys can ask me any questions you want, we can discuss current affairs and China news, and we can brainstorm future episode ideas as a collective. The stream will be at 10pm BST. You can join us at this link on Friday - I’m really looking forward to chatting with everyone! See you soon, Edi Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

There’s a lot of outrage currently about China’s attempts to grow its EV market, at the expense of the US economy. But the truth is that the Chinese EV market wouldn't be where it is today without the generous funding it received (and continues to receive) from the US, Western governments, and multinational companies looking to cash in on the next big thing. So let's talk about the ways in which China's EV industry is funded by the US, both directly and indirectly, partly with the help of your pension fund. Chapters (00:00) Introduction (03:15) Timeline of China's EV industry (12:20) The threat of Chinese made EVs (15:00) #1: The West was happy with China’s EV development (when it benefited them) (20:40) #2: China's EV market was funded with US FDI and investor capital (28:45) #3: China's investment scene is better than Silicon Valley (39:30) The West as get rich quick scheme Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sinobabblepod Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

"Safeguarding National Security Bill", also known as Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, was passed in March to no public opposition. I read through the whole bill and discussed how it may be used to transgress human rights and common sense in Hong Kong. I also discuss the history of recent protests in Hong Kong, and how they paved the way for Beijing to get its way and increase its control over its people Chapters (00:00) Introduction to Article 23 (03:15) Background: protests and new legislation 2019 - 2021 (13:07) Going through Article 23 (16:00) Part 2: Treason (18:45) Part 3: Sedition (22:55) Part 4: Espionage (26:55) Part 5: Sabotage (27:27) Part 6: External Interference (31:15) Part 7: Enforcement (36:08) Foreign commentary Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sinobabblepod Links to everything: https://linktree.com/sinobabble Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

In the face of economic turbulence, China's youth are struggling to find jobs that are suited to their skills and can give them the life that they want and were promised. While China's government strives to alleviate youth unemployment, societal and cultural factors pose significant challenges. China's young people are reacting in unpredictable ways - finding alternate ways to get jobs, taking time out to become full time kids, or forging their own paths altogether. Chapters 00:00 Background: Employment in China vs the West 03:50 Reasons for youth unemployment in China 08:55 Crazy job requirements 11:30 Chinese gov helps youth find jobs 17:20 Caveat about youth unemployment 18:37 Chinese social culture and jobs 27:18 Young people's response to joblessness Support the Show. Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod