Chat Lounge

"The only thing that the Communist Party of China fears is Chinese people. Not the U.S. or the UK, but just Chinese people," observed British MP Tom Tugendhat in an interview. Responding to the statement, one popular comment noted: "This is just the highest form of praise for a government."

 

Indeed, one of the principles that China follows is what’s known as “people-oriented governance.” From where did such a philosophy appear? How is it being carried out? How is it different from a democratic government in the West?

Despite the massive progress China has made over the past decades, the Chinese system has been, to a large extent, a mystery to many outside the country. While it’s clear the CPC is at its center, how does it work and how does it differ from other governance systems?

This episode focuses on ideology – Chinese ideology vs Western ideology, as it’s being highlighted to draw a line between China and the West. So how does the CPC govern the country? How the Chinese ideology differs from that of the West? Must one ideology overtake the other?

The Communist Party of China, or the CPC, is marking its 100th anniversary on July 1st. The CPC has presided over China's meteoric rise as a global power. This episode focuses on the Chinese government’s ability for long-term planning, which is believed to have ensured a sustainable and consecutive economic expansion for decades.

China's new three-child policy has aroused some controversy. According to traditional Chinese cultural values, the more children, the greater prosperity. Why hasn’t the desire for a second or third child been ignited in China? What’s the purpose of the policy change and how can China get there?

Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial settlers killed hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from the Herero and Nama tribes after they rebelled against the colonial rule in today’s Namibia.

Along with Germany, France also took responsibility for their role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The US marks the 100th anniversary of Tulsa Race Massacre as remains of 215 children were discovered in Canada’s residential schools.  

So what exactly happened in history? What do those massacres mean today?

Tesla has put brake on its factory expansion plan on the Chinese mainland. It comes around the time its sales on the mainland market experience a monthly slump of around two thirds in April, the biggest decline the company has seen since it started manufacturing electric vehicles in China. What has led to the fall? What has prompted Tesla’s decision to suspend its expansion? Is Tesla's China honeymoon over?

India this week has reported more coronavirus deaths in a single day than any other country at any time during the pandemic. 4529 people lost their lives on Wednesday. So where are we now in the fight against the pandemic? How much longer do we need to get out of the woods? And what’s preventing us from effectively containing the virus?

“An elderly person at home is like a living golden treasure.” That’s how Chinese people value the grey hair of experience. But when a country is getting old, does the principle of “elders are treasures” also apply?

China has been criticized of engaging in Wolf Warrior style diplomacy. But the Chinese side argues that their diplomats are simply responding a harsh external environment. So is there a change of Chinese foreign policy and its principles of conducting diplomacy? What’s behind the new dynamics between China and the US or the West to a larger extent?