Subscribed? Check “update your preferences” at the bottom of this newsletterChina NewsletterWhat China Is ReadingIssue 96 – October 15, 2021In This IssueThe articles shared here do not necessarily reflect the views of China Newsletter or Dialogue China. All articles sourced from WeChat public accounts unless otherwise noted.I. Editorial1. History Will Not Forget the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of ChinaII. Policy2. Is the Exaggerated Gold Medal Battle Between China and the United States Concealing the Only Way Out for Chinese Sports?3. “Men Can’t Just be ‘Uncles’ at Home”: There is a Deep Seated Problem Behind the Top Level StanceIII. Politics4. In the Face of Constant Ecological Catastrophe, We Need “Wartime Communism” 5. Jiangxi Province Teacher Detained by Police for 15 days for Pandemic-Related Comments is Too Extreme6. The “Didi Chuxing Incident” Tests the Financial “Voltage Stabilizer” of the United States and China RelationshipIV. Society7. “Having Three Sons and Crying”: The Special Root of the Dramatic Change in the Attitudes of Rural Dwellers8. What Can Social Forces Do in the Face of Flooding, and What are the Challenges?9. “Sideline Business” is Becoming the New Rigid Requirement of Young PeopleV. Finance and Business10. Alibaba’s Value System Waterloo: Gender Bullying and Performance Violence in Corporate Workplaces11. Harmful Fan Circle Culture: Streaming Worship and Capital Pursuing ProfitSurveyTo China Newsletter ReadersEditorial Board – China Newsletter – October 15, 2021Hello China Newsletter readers!   Since its inception in 2017, China Newsletter has been with our readers for four years. 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There are three questions to finish less than 1 minute:   Click here to take part in the survey.Do you want China Newsletter to continue?If Yes, would you be willing to become a paid subscriber of China Newsletter?If Yes, please select the monthly subscription fee you can afford for the bi-weekly China Newsletter: $5, $10, $20, or a sliding scale subscription model.No matter what, China Newsletter will remain true to our original mission: to tell the story of China now. Today and ongoing, we are here and we will never give up.   Thank you,   China Newsletter Editorial Board October 15, 2021【Back to Top】Editorial1. History Will Not Forget the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of ChinaWang Dan – Radio Free Asia Commentary – September 27, 2021Meng Wanzhou – Huawei Chief Financial Officer and daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei – was released from detention in Canada. Germany and Japan are both in the process of leadership re-elections and transitions. Taiwan’s Kuomintang [Chinese Nationalist Party] elected a new party chairman. These and a series of other news highlights have recently occurred, so a major news event in Hong Kong was more or less ignored by the outside world. That is the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China – one of the most influential civil society organizations in Hong Kong – in the perilous political environment resulting from the imposition of the National Security Law, was forced to declare its disbandment. As a long-time member of the Chinese democracy movement supported by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, I think I have an obligation to appeal to the outside world to remember the significant contribution of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China to the promotion of democracy in Mainland China and Hong Kong over the past 30 years.   The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has achieved a lot of accomplishments in the 30 years since its founding. But in my opinion, the following three things are the most meaningful:   1. he Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has been in existence since 1989. It has persisted in organizing annual candlelight vigils in Victoria Park, Hong Kong to commemorate the June 4, 1989 Beijing Massacre for the past 30 years. Fluctuations in the number of people or bad weather notwithstanding, the event has been held every year without a break. These 30 years of annual candlelight vigils have ensured that the 1989 pro-democracy movement has not been completely suppressed and relegated to the memory hole by the Chinese Communist Party. This is what we, the participants of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, should be most grateful for. They did what we could not do. The new generation of young people in Hong Kong now have opinions about the Alliance. There are criticisms. This is very normal. But I think they have overlooked the historical context that brought Hong Kong to this point of the Umbrella Revolution. In fact, the annual Victoria Park candlelight vigils not only raised the international visibility of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, but to a large extent this persistence is a kind of political enlightenment. Hong Kong’s Spirit of Resistance – including the civil disobedience actions of the younger generation – viewed from the perspective of a development timeline, The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and annual candlelight vigil all grew up under the influence of this political enlightenment. The annual Victoria Park June 3-4 evening gathering and candlelight vigil has become a political symbol written into the history of Hong Kong. This is what Hong Kong people should not forget.   2. The five main ideas put forward by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China in the early days of its establishment: “Release pro-democracy activists. Reverse the verdict on the 1989 pro-democracy movement. Demand accountability for the Beijing Massacre. End Single-Party Dictatorship. Build a Democratic China” For more than 30 years these demands have not been abandoned. This is not just a slogan/mission statement, it describes their specific actions. Over the years, they helped organize “Operation Yellow Bird” to rescue the Tiananmen Protest activists. They have supported the “Tiananmen Mothers”* movement in China. They have given support to Chinese political prisoners and human rights lawyers, including me. And they have shown solidarity with the “We Want to Go Home” campaign of political exiles abroad. During a long period of political darkness in China, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has long been a tireless advocate and supporter of democratization in China. It is a great spiritual inspiration to those in China who still exercise tenacious resistance in the face of tyranny. Over the course of decades, it has also played a significant role in promoting the development of democracy in China. This is something that all those working for democracy in China should not forget. * The Tiananmen Mothers is a group of Chinese democracy activists promoting a change in the government’s verdict on the military crackdown of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. It is led by Ding Zilin, a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot and killed by government troops during the protests.   Finally, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and other pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong – through their more than 30 years of hard work – created the “Spirit of Hong Kong.” The essence of this “Hong Kong Spirit” includes long term persistence, includes the influence on the younger generation by handing down the torch of knowledge and experience, includes a rigorous approach to work, and includes a strong belief in the ideas of human rights and freedom. All of these have contributed to Hong Kong in the past 30 years playing the role of a base for democracy in East Asia and the role of a bridgehead against Chinese Communist Party tyranny. Although the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was forced to disband and stop its activities, their involvement in creating the “Hong Kong spirit” will not fade away. A reminder to the world about the regression of the totalitarian power of the Chinese Communist Party, Inspired resistance movements in East Asia including Taiwan, This is something that all lovers of democracy and freedom around the world should never forget.   Although the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has been formally disbanded, the Communist Party bitterly hates them with gnashing teeth. This hatred is the Alliance’s badge of honor. They have been working diligently for more than 30 years. Not only has history been made, but their work will inevitably be written in the pages of history. History will not forget them.【Back to Top】Policy2. Is the Exaggerated Gold Medal Battle Between China and the United States Concealing the Only Way Out for Chinese Sports?Long Way Foundation – Beijing Cultural Review – August 8, 2021Why Read This? In the future, we need to put more emphasis on displaying China’s openness, inclusiveness, and confident cultural image toward the outside world. We should also pay more attention to how to tell the Chinese sports success story well. We need to pay close attention to how to move from the middle of the grand national narrative, and find the precise and appropriate individual sports image and develop an open and welcoming sports image of the Chinese delegation and Chinese athletes to the world.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Policy3. “Gay Men Can’t Just be ‘Uncles’ at Home”: There is a Deep Seated Problem Behind the Top Level StanceWu Fei – Beijing Cultural Review – August 15, 2021Why Read This? Recently, seven central government departments issued the “Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening Family Education and Family Culture Construction,” and demanded to make the “new era of family values” into moral norms and behavioral standards. Previously, high-level discussions on family education and family culture construction were published and distributed. In it they proposed giving full play to the role and advantage of lesbians. But men should also play a role. “You can’t just be an ‘uncle’ at home, you can’t expect to come home and just stretch out your hands and eat an easy meal.” This triggered a strong public opinion reaction.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Politics4. In the Face of Constant Ecological Catastrophe, We Need “Wartime Communism”Slavoj Žižek – The Paper: Marketplace of Ideas – July 23, 2021Why Read This? The once-in-a-thousand-year rainstorm in Henan Province has caused widespread concern and anxiety about climate change. The severe drought in the United States and Canada and the floods in Germany also demonstrate the global nature of the climate crisis. In this article, the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek pointed out that from the inception of the COVID pandemic and the northern hemisphere climate warming problem mankind may be facing the last emergency exit on the road to eternal destruction.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Politics5. Jiangxi Province Teacher Detained by Police for 15 days for Pandemic-Related Comments is Too ExtremeCheng Mo – Starting Point Humanities – August 13, 2021Why Read This? The article starts: If such mistakes by the Jiangxi police are not legally revoked, for freedom from fear it seems necessary to stop online messaging. I also suggest that the state shut down all free commentary platforms on the Internet to prevent more people from being accidentally sent to the detention center. It will not only prevent the nation’s precious judicial resources from being wasted, but also prevent undermining of social harmony.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Politics6. The “Didi Chuxing Incident” Tests the Financial “Voltage Stabilizer” of the United States and China RelationshipLi Wei, Mu Ruitong – Political Science and International Relations Forum – August 15, 2021Why Read This? In the past few years, the strategic competition between China and the United States has become increasingly tense. Both sides have suffered serious setbacks in their relationship in the fields of trade, investment, science and technology, humanities, politics and security. Against expectations, only the financial relationship between the two countries has remained relatively stable in the midst of the storm. Finance has become the last “voltage stabilizer” in the United States and China relationship. However, the tree wants to stay still but the wind will not stop. Recently, the “Didi Chuxing Incident” has cast a long shadow on the United States and China financial relationship. Whether the United States and China financial relationship can continue to remain stable for long in the midst of the great nation political storm has for a while now become a huge question mark.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Society7. “Having Three Sons and Crying”: The Special Root of the Dramatic Change in the Attitudes of Rural DwellersYang Hua – Beijing Cultural Review – August 11, 2021Why Read This? With the arrival of the third child era, the corresponding policies to encourage childbirth have also been introduced in various places. This will be a great benefit to rural areas. However, the new generation of rural dwellers also face the problem of wanting to have children but being afraid to do so. Therefore, to enable China’s most fertile young rural dwellers to have children, we must start with supporting education measures.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Society8. What Can Social Forces Do in the Face of Flooding, and What are the Challenges?Southern Metropolis Observer – Southern Metropolis Observer – July 21, 2021Why Read This? From July 17, 2021, rare heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou – the capital of Henan Province – caused serious flooding in the Zhengzhou underground railway. On the night of July 20, 2021, accumulated water collapsed the retaining wall and flooded the main line area, stopping train service on line five. 12 people died after ineffective resuscitation efforts. The vast rural areas of Henan Province were also hit by widespread flooding. Some reservoirs are in a state of emergency.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Society9. “Sideline Business” is Becoming the New Rigid Requirement of Young PeopleTang Shan – Tiger Sniff App – August 13, 2021Why Read This? Several years ago, these young people were endowed with a nice sounding name: “Back Slash Youth.” They were described by the media as “pioneers in the pursuit of ideals,” “living life the way they want to,” and “if one world can’t accommodate my dreams, then I will pursue two.” In the past two years, the situation seems to be subtly changing again.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Finance and Business10. Alibaba’s Value System Waterloo: Gender Bullying and Performance Violence in Corporate WorkplacesHou Qijiang – The Paper: Marketplace of Ideas – August 12, 2021Why Read This? Female employees in the workplace are not a material job benefit for male employees. They even more should not be used as a sexual favor tool to bribe employees to accomplish business goals. Sexual assault in the workplace is not only a crime under the legal framework in a specific situation, it is a common cancer that must be removed from the corporation’s organization and management.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Finance and Business11. Harmful Fan Circle Culture: Streaming Worship and Capital Pursuing ProfitYang Lu – Sanlian Life Weekly – August 16, 2021Why Read This? Streaming stars and fandom culture have long been plagued by negative events. This has generated widespread concern and debate. These chaotic developments arise not only because of the combination of fan circle culture and the mobile Internet, but in the last decade the abnormal streaming worship on the mobile Internet, profit seeking and capital harvesting have also played a role in fueling the flames. The political rectification of the celebrity list is a popular topic of discussion. The fan community, interactive comments, and other key links should also burst the streaming bubble at the same time.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】