Politics

Veteran China affairs journalist Han Yong Hong examines recent flak TikTok has received in the US, suggesting that it reflects different approaches the US and China have towards freedom of speech and its responsibilities. Interestingly, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is in the front rank of those criticising TikTok in the name of upholding free speech. Who has the users' interest in mind and how can Tik Tok fend off the heat?

Influential Hong Kong political commentator Simon Shen argues that Beijing is seeking to control the economic and political freedoms of the Hong Kong people by controlling the business community. He cautions against state corporatism of the sort employed in fascist states of the past and discusses how such state control can creep into our everyday lives.

On the first anniversary of her arrest in Vancouver, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou pens an open letter about her days under house arrest. In an emotive account, she says the strength she draws from warm words and gestures will light her way forward. This is the English translation of her full letter in Chinese. The original Chinese version of her letter is included at the end.

Social movements of today are no longer campaigns by the downtrodden poor but avenues for the well-educated middle class to air their anti-establishment discontent. Aided by social media, these groups appropriate concepts without understanding their true meanings, and look set to stay due to structural imbalance in the world caused by globalisation, technological progress and social divide. Zheng Yongnian opines that states badly need institutional reforms if they are to engage the social movements of today.

Hong Kongers used to call Beijing “Grandpa”. But the recent protests and the district council elections show that they no longer see mainland China as an authority figure. Tai Hing Shing analyses how Beijing lost its standing in Hong Kong.

What made Hong Kongers stand with the rioters during the recent district council elections? Does this landslide victory for the pro-democracy camp really count as a win for Hong Kong? How will Beijing react? Veteran China affairs journalist and associate editor of Zaobao Han Yong Hong gives her opinion.

Has China won control of the South China Sea? Senior Fellow Daljit Singh of the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute opines that with the US' toughening stance towards China and an increased danger of a clash from naval and coast guard vessels that often operate at close quarters, China has not won yet.

Riding on a record voter turnout of 71%, the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong has won 17 out of 18 district councils. This is despite mainland China media calling on Hong Kong people to use their votes in the district council elections on 24 November, to end the violence and restore order in Hong Kong. Yu Zeyuan examines the Mainland China media's tactics and what an opposition victory would mean for the future of Hong Kong, on the election day.

China and Israel share a special relationship that goes back in history and is grounded in modern economic and social needs, but the US has both explicit and implicit concerns about growing China-Israel relations. Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun illuminates how Israel walks the tightrope of advancing relations with both China and the US amidst intense rivalry between the two major powers.