We told you so. Uncle Sam never wastes an opportunity to exploit a vassal when it is down.

It's happened throughout Europe, in Australia and now, to Japan.

"Although the US said it is 'satisfied' with Japan's act [the Fukushima dump], which has caused fury and concern worldwide, the US is in fact the country that has seen the greatest reduction in imports of Japanese seafood and rice wine, media reported, citing data published by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 

"Experts said this has exposed the hypocrisy of Washington to trade permission for Japan's dumping for Tokyo's loyalty to serve its geopolitical strategy, and that the administration of US President Joe Biden cares less about the safety and environmental protection that seriously matters to the US people."

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202308/1297053.shtml

www.globaltimes.cn

More countries take actions to handle Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water dump, while US ‘double-standard exposed hypocrisy’

In order to prevent any impact caused by Japan’s dumping of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, more countries, especially those in the Asia-Pacific like China, Thailand and Russia, are taking actions, including strengthened…

Journos at Hong Kong's neocolonialist SCMP are always looking for "But at what cost" angles to write their China stories.

The other boycott targets (machinery circuits, cars, etc) are always available and are not pegged, related to the Fukushima dump. And the grassroots avoidance of Japanese seafood in China is NOT at any directive of the Chinese government. It's a "people's movement" sparked by health concerns as well as predictable public anger at Japan's unilateral decision to dump.

When will foreign Sinophobes understand that Beijing's hostility towards Japan is actually much more moderate than that of the Chinese people － for obvious, historical reasons?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3232340/fukushima-water-release-why-chinas-ban-japanese-seafood-could-backfire

South China Morning Post

Why China’s ban on Japanese seafood because of Fukushima water could backfire

‘Many people won’t eat seafood’, an industry insider says of Chinese consumers, and the potential spreading of this mentality represents a ‘dangerous sign for the industry’.

So billionaire & Foxconn boss Guo has decided to contest Taiwan's crucial leadership election next January.

His candidacy will create a three-way split among the key non-independence and anti-independence forces.

It's as though some invisible hand is orchestrating things to ensure a win by DPP candidate William Lai Ching-te, a secessionist and rabid China-hater.

If he wins, Taiwan will continue to serve as Washington’s ATM for arms sales and chief proxy for war against the mainland. All Asia, and the world, will be imperiled.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3232504/foxconn-billionaire-terry-gou-announces-taiwanese-presidential-run

South China Morning Post

Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou announces Taiwanese presidential run

Three months after failing to secure KMT nomination the businessman says it’s time to pull independence-leaning DPP ‘off the shelf’.

Foreign Affairs, flagship publication of the Council on Foreign Relations, was once the august voice of the American Empire.

Now, it seems determined to compete with the funny papers.

It's a reflection of the state of the Empire.

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https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/putin-xi-khamenei-dictators-way

Foreign Affairs

Don’t Count the Dictators Out

The underappreciated resilience of today’s autocracies.

It’s not a pipedream that Hong Kong might become not just China’s or Asia’s No. 1 international financial center but the world’s premier money hub.

The scenario would mean Hong Kong surpassing New York and London as offshore financial centers -- as well as Switzerland, which has sacrificed its priceless neutrality on the altar of US hegemony.

With the decline of the West and the rise of China, most of the necessary conditions are already in place. Researcher Godfree Roberts explains below.

https://herecomeschina.substack.com/p/reconsider-hong-kong

Substack

(Re)consider Hong Kong,

its unique advantage, secret friend

To alert onlookers, it has been clear for years that the US is not out to “compete” with the Chinese, in any half-honest sense of the word.

Washington is out to cripple the juggernaut of progress that China so painstakingly built over four decades. And this the US is determined to do -- by means fair and foul. More recently, the means have seemed almost entirely foul.

Significantly, US MSM have joined the political elites in nakedly cheerleading such depraved behavior, not bothering even to brandish the usual hypocritical scruples.

So Beijing must be prepared not only to defend itself against such depravity, but to counterattack as deterrence to further abominations.

“They [US MSM] all seem to believe that China must be punished for succeeding in a system the US helped to create. What’s striking about Schuman’s piece, however, is the diabolical glee with which he promotes the ‘new U.S. policy of actively strangling large segments of the Chinese technology industry… with an intent to kill.’ That might sound a bit extreme for an opinion piece, but it does accurately reflect the aims of the Biden team who seem fully committed to ‘thwarting Chinese capabilities on a broad and fundamental level.’ In short, sabotaging China’s technological rise looks to be Washington’s top priority.”

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https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/for-biden-thwarting-chinas-development-is-job-one/

The Unz Review

For Biden, Thwarting China's Development is Job One

The Biden administration has imposed a blockade on advanced computer chips headed for China. The action is expected to slow China's technological development while inflicting serious damage on the broader economy. The strategy has been widely praised by the…

As this blog has been saying, the US strategy is to get proxies in the Asia-Pacific region to harass and fight China.

The risks are too high for Washington to take on Beijing directly, especially in a military confrontation.

This article recaps the cannon-fodder scheme and focuses, perhaps a trifle optimistically, on the "coalition of the coerced." Excerpt:

"A three-point Western media strategy to support a proxy war:

• Media trivialising aggressive moves by the USA and amplifying reasonable responses by China as aggressive;

• Misinterpreting age-old statements made by China of defending its land as new and aggressive threats to invade;

• Exaggerating misinformation relating to China in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, presumably to encourage fears in Taiwan of the same happening to them if they don’t fight."

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https://johnmenadue.com/the-us-fails-to-recruit-taiwans-neighbours-to-a-proxy-war/

Pearls and Irritations

The US fails to recruit Taiwan’s neighbours to a proxy war

Having failed to recruit Taiwan’s neighbours to a proxy war against China, this leaves only Australia; a willing participant in every US war.

Let's hope PM Albanese is as enthusiastic about seeking the release of another far more consequential, far longer-detained Australian journalist.

His name: Julian Assange.

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https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3230881/australias-albanese-urges-china-free-jailed-journalist-cheng-lei-three-years-too-long

South China Morning Post

‘3 years too long’: Australian PM calls on China to free jailed journalist

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Cheng ‘does not deserve this treatment’, adding Australia had pressed for her release at the highest levels.