This happened over the summer. The allegation is as follows:
Jin, officials from the PRC government and others allegedly collaborated to identify meeting participants and to disrupt meetings hosted on Company-1’s U.S. servers, at times creating pretextual reasons to justify their actions to other employees and executives of Company-1, as well as Company-1’s users themselves. In particular, in May and June 2020, Jin and others acted to disrupt meetings held on the Company-1 platform to discuss politically sensitive topics unacceptable to the PRC government by infiltrating the meetings to gather evidence about purported misconduct occurring in those meetings. In fact, there was no misconduct; Jin and his co-conspirators fabricated evidence of TOS violations to provide justification for terminating the meetings, as well as certain participants’ accounts. Jin then tasked a high-ranking employee of Company-1 in the United States to effect the termination of meetings and the suspension and cancellation of user accounts.
As detailed in the complaint, Jin’s co-conspirators created fake email accounts and Company-1 accounts in the names of others, including PRC political dissidents, to fabricate evidence that the hosts of and participants in the meetings to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre were supporting terrorist organizations, inciting violence or distributing child pornography. The fabricated evidence falsely asserted that the meetings included discussions of child abuse or exploitation, terrorism, racism or incitements to violence, and sometimes included screenshots of the purported participants’ user profiles featuring, for example, a masked person holding a flag resembling that of the Islamic State terrorist group. Jin used the complaints as evidence to persuade Company-1 executives based in the United States to terminate meetings and suspend or terminate the user accounts of the meeting hosts.
Company-1 though not identified is known to be Zoom.
So just a bit more fuckery out of the CCP coming out this week.
+4
TraceGNU Terry Pratchett; GNU Gus; GNU Carrie Fisher; GNU Adam WeRegistered Userregular
(Edit not CPP phone) CCP nationalism in the modern age is weird and scary. It is full on Cyberpunk human botnet and if you point out the nationalism they call it.racism.
Not sure how to fight it other than letting the CCP collapse on it's own which...is probably our best bet at this point.
The CCP seems unlikely to collapse as long as they continue to deliver economic improvements.
+19
MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
I had thought about putting this in the US foreign policy thread, but this is pure East Asia so it fits more here. Mostly, this is a question: we talk about the Chinese government, but considering that Xi Jinping is basically absolute dictator-for-life, more power than the emperors of old even had, and anyone who dares cross him or go against him in any way will feel his retribution (even extending to the highest figures in the Chinese Communist Party and billionaires), how much can we really talk about "the government" versus just "Xi"? Is there really a difference anymore?
The importance of this question is that there's a fundamental difference between a government and absolutist rule of one person. A government implies an entire apparatus of people who work at different aims and purposes, who might find common ground for different things, where there are theoretically some checks against maniacal power-mad lunatics. Absolutist rule means there's nothing stopping Xi from anything he might desire or wish; he has nothing but yes men left (if they know what's good for them), and no limits to his insanity, greed, and/or cruelty, as he may want.
It just seems like we're entering a very, very dangerous stage from the previous merely very dangerous stage we had all been in before.
Xi is certainly powerful, but he is still operating as the head of Chinese government with the blessing of the Chinese Communist Party. He may be powerful because he is bringing prosperity to China and he is working towards the goals of the CCP not his own arbitrary whims.
He certainly doesn't have the power in China of a Mao or a Stalin (although time will tell if he consolidates it). He will maintains at least the fiction that he is serving Chinas long-term interests with the support of a large chunk of the populace and in general while he may be funneling millions or billions into his pockets and the pockets of his cronies at the time being it also is serving Chinas larger national insticts.
The things that will show how solid his power is will be either a major economic downturn / recession, or a war. I think his personal rule is more brittle than you might expect compared to say Putin or Un and more along the lines of Ergoden if he starts crossing or costing the Chinese elite their fortunes.
+7
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
North Korea has apparently decided to fund technological advancement with hacking, ransomware and complicated schemes that honestly, would make a pretty good picture if we could get Michael Mann to direct it.
So a few weeks ago Kim Jung Un opens a public meeting by talking about how the food situation in the country was “tense”, now state media is showing interview with people “worried” about how much weight he has lost and how gaunt he looks (which he does seem to have lost at least some weight but I don’t know if gaunt is the word I would use).
So this brings up question, is North Korea so bad off on food that they can’t even adequately feed Kim Jong Un?
MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
Moving this here - in the Climate thread we were talking about the absolutely massive flooding in and around the city of Zhengzhou in China. Hundreds of thousands evacuated and the death toll is rising. A third dam has failed and an aluminum plant has exploded from the flooding. Molten aluminum and water do not mix.
A year's worth of rain just fell in three days and it's still pouring.
Moving this here - in the Climate thread we were talking about the absolutely massive flooding in and around the city of Zhengzhou in China. Hundreds of thousands evacuated and the death toll is rising. A third dam has failed and an aluminum plant has exploded from the flooding. Molten aluminum and water do not mix.
A year's worth of rain just fell in three days and it's still pouring.
With the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election coming up on the 30th, Suga has announced that he will not be running, meaning that he will be out as prime minister next month. He's had a sub-50% approval rating for almost his entire tenure and recently hit 29%, so this isn't a huge shock.
A Diet election has to be held by the end of November, but that shouldn't result in any particularly big political changes. Despite Suga's low approval rating, the LDP is still by far the most popular party with 33.4% support. The Democratic Party for the People, the primary opposition party, has 6.4%.
With the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election coming up on the 30th, Suga has announced that he will not be running, meaning that he will be out as prime minister next month. He's had a sub-50% approval rating for almost his entire tenure and recently hit 29%, so this isn't a huge shock.
A Diet election has to be held by the end of November, but that shouldn't result in any particularly big political changes. Despite Suga's low approval rating, the LDP is still by far the most popular party with 33.4% support. The Democratic Party for the People, the primary opposition party, has 6.4%.
DPP hasn't had a real showing in ages. Really a well organized opposition party could probably give the LDP a run for its money again but no one has stepped up to the spot. Top it off the old laws make it harder and part of why the LDP have basically kept the country as a single party for so long.
You mean it's a bad sign when a party splits and merges 3 times in 5 years?
Yeah, I don't know how the opposition can right their ship at this point. I thought Koike had a decent chance, but Abe was able effectively nip that in the bud. Maybe if the LDP goes through another series of short-lived governments like they did after Koizumi.
With the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election coming up on the 30th, Suga has announced that he will not be running, meaning that he will be out as prime minister next month. He's had a sub-50% approval rating for almost his entire tenure and recently hit 29%, so this isn't a huge shock.
A Diet election has to be held by the end of November, but that shouldn't result in any particularly big political changes. Despite Suga's low approval rating, the LDP is still by far the most popular party with 33.4% support. The Democratic Party for the People, the primary opposition party, has 6.4%.
Out of curiosity, how many other parties are there to make up the rest of the difference between LDP and DPP?
Curious what the breakdown in Japanese politics is that leaves LDP with the plurality but at such a low overall percentage
With the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election coming up on the 30th, Suga has announced that he will not be running, meaning that he will be out as prime minister next month. He's had a sub-50% approval rating for almost his entire tenure and recently hit 29%, so this isn't a huge shock.
A Diet election has to be held by the end of November, but that shouldn't result in any particularly big political changes. Despite Suga's low approval rating, the LDP is still by far the most popular party with 33.4% support. The Democratic Party for the People, the primary opposition party, has 6.4%.
Out of curiosity, how many other parties are there to make up the rest of the difference between LDP and DPP?
Curious what the breakdown in Japanese politics is that leaves LDP with the plurality but at such a low overall percentage
Here's the complete list (these are from NHK, incidentally):
LDP - 33.4%
Constitutional Democrats (CDP) - 6.4%
Komeito - 3.7%
Communists (JCP) - 3.3%
Ishin - 1.7%
DPP - 0.8%
Social Democrats (SDP) - 0.5%
Reiwa - 0.2%
NHK - 0.2%
Other - 0.3%
No Party - 42.8%
Don't Know/No Response - 6.4%
Only the top six of these have seats in the House of Representatives, the Diet's lower chamber.
I also mixed up the CDP and DPP in my original post. The remnants of the old Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) are pretty indistinguishable in my eyes and the specifics change so often that it can be hard to keep track.
Anyway, the clear takeaway from the poll is that there's widespread disaffection with the current political parties. This poll isn't an outlier; No Party has been the leading result for years. Political participation has never really recovered from the failure of the DPJ administration and has only been just over 50% in the last two elections. And when people don't vote, the LDP win.
Also, to quickly recap the parties that you may not be familiar with:
Komeito - A kind of weird party that's been in coalition with the LDP since 1999. Originated as the political arm of Soka Gakkai (a Buddhist group that may or may not be a cult depending on who you ask) but are now nominally independent. They're conservative socially but otherwise largely to the LDP's left. Ishin - The Japan Innovation Party. They're arguably to the right of the LDP as a whole, but that's kind of irrelevant as that's not why people are voting for them. They originated in Osaka and are primarily a party advocating for the decentralization of power away from Tokyo. DPP - The DPP merged with the CDP in 2020 and dissolved. The minority who refused to go the CDP formed a new party with the same name. SDP - Essentially the same as above. The SDP merged with the CDP in 2020, but there were a few holdouts. Reiwa - Reiwa Shinsengumi. Progressive party centered around an actor turned politician. NHK - I'm not going to list their official name because it's really long and they change it every few months. This is a single-issue party centered on eliminating the NHK license fee that everyone with a TV has to pay.
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
I'm incredibly curious about that. My impression seemed to be that despite all the romanticism around the Shinsengumi and the samurai class in general, they were pretty much the old aristocracy of the Tokugawa period fighting to keep their priviledges (that included a very expensive stipend from the central government and the right to execute civilians that "disrespected them") up to the point of rebellion and civil war. They were crushed, obviously. Post-Napoleonic, post-Independance Wars armies were really, really good at crushing armies that failed to adapt, and we are talking about the same time period of the Franco-Prussian War, where that disparity was also in display.
Though considering that their opponents ended up becoming Imperial Japan, with everything that implies, well.
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
I'm incredibly curious about that. My impression seemed to be that despite all the romanticism around the Shinsengumi and the samurai class in general, they were pretty much the old aristocracy of the Tokugawa period fighting to keep their priviledges (that included a very expensive stipend from the central government and the right to execute civilians that "disrespected them") up to the point of rebellion and civil war. They were crushed, obviously. Post-Napoleonic, post-Independance Wars armies were really, really good at crushing armies that failed to adapt, and we are talking about the same time period of the Franco-Prussian War, where that disparity was also in display.
Though considering that their opponents ended up becoming Imperial Japan, with everything that implies, well.
Yeah, that was my understanding of them as well; there’s a certain degree to which I understand it that there’s a read on the Shinsengumi as, stripped from the romanticism surrounding them, they were basically just brute muscle for the shogunate.
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
Reiwa Shinsengumi is indeed named after the historic Shinsengumi. You're right that they were a conservative force, though in modern Japan most would just regard them as tragic heroes who died for what they believed in without really delving into the greater political context. In this case, however, I think there is a simpler explanation. One of Yamamoto's most prominent roles as an actor was in the TV series "Shinsengumi," and I suspect that's one of the reasons he chose the name.
I think their low level of support has less to do with their platform and more to do with them just being so small. Thus far, they've only run 19 candidates at the most, most of whom were quite weak. The vast majority of Japanese couldn't vote for them even if they wanted to, and they're just not taken seriously.
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
I'm incredibly curious about that. My impression seemed to be that despite all the romanticism around the Shinsengumi and the samurai class in general, they were pretty much the old aristocracy of the Tokugawa period fighting to keep their priviledges (that included a very expensive stipend from the central government and the right to execute civilians that "disrespected them") up to the point of rebellion and civil war. They were crushed, obviously. Post-Napoleonic, post-Independance Wars armies were really, really good at crushing armies that failed to adapt, and we are talking about the same time period of the Franco-Prussian War, where that disparity was also in display.
Though considering that their opponents ended up becoming Imperial Japan, with everything that implies, well.
It sounds like you might be confusing the Shinsengumi with the later rebellion by Saigo Takamori against the new Meiji government?
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
I'm incredibly curious about that. My impression seemed to be that despite all the romanticism around the Shinsengumi and the samurai class in general, they were pretty much the old aristocracy of the Tokugawa period fighting to keep their priviledges (that included a very expensive stipend from the central government and the right to execute civilians that "disrespected them") up to the point of rebellion and civil war. They were crushed, obviously. Post-Napoleonic, post-Independance Wars armies were really, really good at crushing armies that failed to adapt, and we are talking about the same time period of the Franco-Prussian War, where that disparity was also in display.
Though considering that their opponents ended up becoming Imperial Japan, with everything that implies, well.
It sounds like you might be confusing the Shinsengumi with the later rebellion by Saigo Takamori against the new Meiji government?
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
Reiwa Shinsengumi is indeed named after the historic Shinsengumi. You're right that they were a conservative force, though in modern Japan most would just regard them as tragic heroes who died for what they believed in without really delving into the greater political context. In this case, however, I think there is a simpler explanation. One of Yamamoto's most prominent roles as an actor was in the TV series "Shinsengumi," and I suspect that's one of the reasons he chose the name.
I think their low level of support has less to do with their platform and more to do with them just being so small. Thus far, they've only run 19 candidates at the most, most of whom were quite weak. The vast majority of Japanese couldn't vote for them even if they wanted to, and they're just not taken seriously.
Makes sense for a party founded on *checks notes* 2019.
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
Thanks cckerberos; I’m kind of surprised that the Communists are that high up, relatively speaking
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[20] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. They would also ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[21]
The party has announced that it would reverse/abolish many of the laws that were revised or passed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe if elected, including the pre-emptive anti-terrorism law such as martial law State Secrecy Law and the 2015 Japanese military legislation.[citation needed]
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
The Communist are kind of a weird event more having to do with election laws and the disorganization of the normal opposition parties. In some of the last elections they were the only party opposing very unpopular LDP legislators so gained seats on what seems to be protest votes more than pro-communist votes.
I would also add that the Japanese Communist Party is really a middle of the road socialist party in terms of its platform. They aren't really what most people would picture when they hear "communist."
There's been a recent push for "common prosperity" in China, in light of the recent crackdowns and investigations of Chinese tech firms and their subsequent pledges of massive amounts of money over the coming years to govt. social causes. Effects have been widespread and seem to have also affected the entertainment industry, tutoring industry and, most notably for gaming with the restriction of chinese youth on online gaming.
It'd be interesting to see how things develop. One would hope for a positive outcome but the actions taken have been heavy handed, not surprisingly.
Probably less about anything to do with inequality and more about redistributing funds from business fat cats to government fat cats.
The heavy handed measures against the youth in regards to video games and fandom is crazy though. I guess it may be time to summon the 10 mystical creatures and let the Grass Mud Horse ride once again.
+3
daveNYCWhy universe hate Waspinator?Registered Userregular
Probably less about anything to do with inequality and more about redistributing funds from business fat cats to government fat cats.
The heavy handed measures against the youth in regards to video games and fandom is crazy though. I guess it may be time to summon the 10 mystical creatures and let the Grass Mud Horse ride once again.
Could be an extortion move against the industry. Do <something> or we'll regulate you out of existence.
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
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Good point, I didn't realize what thread I was in.
Guess who also didn't realize what thread I was in?
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This happened over the summer. The allegation is as follows:
Company-1 though not identified is known to be Zoom.
So just a bit more fuckery out of the CCP coming out this week.
(Edit not CPP phone) CCP nationalism in the modern age is weird and scary. It is full on Cyberpunk human botnet and if you point out the nationalism they call it.racism.
Not sure how to fight it other than letting the CCP collapse on it's own which...is probably our best bet at this point.
The importance of this question is that there's a fundamental difference between a government and absolutist rule of one person. A government implies an entire apparatus of people who work at different aims and purposes, who might find common ground for different things, where there are theoretically some checks against maniacal power-mad lunatics. Absolutist rule means there's nothing stopping Xi from anything he might desire or wish; he has nothing but yes men left (if they know what's good for them), and no limits to his insanity, greed, and/or cruelty, as he may want.
It just seems like we're entering a very, very dangerous stage from the previous merely very dangerous stage we had all been in before.
He certainly doesn't have the power in China of a Mao or a Stalin (although time will tell if he consolidates it). He will maintains at least the fiction that he is serving Chinas long-term interests with the support of a large chunk of the populace and in general while he may be funneling millions or billions into his pockets and the pockets of his cronies at the time being it also is serving Chinas larger national insticts.
The things that will show how solid his power is will be either a major economic downturn / recession, or a war. I think his personal rule is more brittle than you might expect compared to say Putin or Un and more along the lines of Ergoden if he starts crossing or costing the Chinese elite their fortunes.
The Story from BBC. Warning it's a long one but very interesting.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/28/asia/kim-jong-un-weight-interview-intl-hnk/index.html
So a few weeks ago Kim Jung Un opens a public meeting by talking about how the food situation in the country was “tense”, now state media is showing interview with people “worried” about how much weight he has lost and how gaunt he looks (which he does seem to have lost at least some weight but I don’t know if gaunt is the word I would use).
So this brings up question, is North Korea so bad off on food that they can’t even adequately feed Kim Jong Un?
I mean, all things considered? My first guess is COVID.
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A year's worth of rain just fell in three days and it's still pouring.
Streaming 8PST on weeknights
These videos are probably from the same day, just coming out at later timers. I'm going to lalala any suggestion otherwise for my own sanity.
A Diet election has to be held by the end of November, but that shouldn't result in any particularly big political changes. Despite Suga's low approval rating, the LDP is still by far the most popular party with 33.4% support. The Democratic Party for the People, the primary opposition party, has 6.4%.
DPP hasn't had a real showing in ages. Really a well organized opposition party could probably give the LDP a run for its money again but no one has stepped up to the spot. Top it off the old laws make it harder and part of why the LDP have basically kept the country as a single party for so long.
Yeah, I don't know how the opposition can right their ship at this point. I thought Koike had a decent chance, but Abe was able effectively nip that in the bud. Maybe if the LDP goes through another series of short-lived governments like they did after Koizumi.
Out of curiosity, how many other parties are there to make up the rest of the difference between LDP and DPP?
Curious what the breakdown in Japanese politics is that leaves LDP with the plurality but at such a low overall percentage
Here's the complete list (these are from NHK, incidentally):
LDP - 33.4%
Constitutional Democrats (CDP) - 6.4%
Komeito - 3.7%
Communists (JCP) - 3.3%
Ishin - 1.7%
DPP - 0.8%
Social Democrats (SDP) - 0.5%
Reiwa - 0.2%
NHK - 0.2%
Other - 0.3%
No Party - 42.8%
Don't Know/No Response - 6.4%
Only the top six of these have seats in the House of Representatives, the Diet's lower chamber.
I also mixed up the CDP and DPP in my original post. The remnants of the old Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) are pretty indistinguishable in my eyes and the specifics change so often that it can be hard to keep track.
Anyway, the clear takeaway from the poll is that there's widespread disaffection with the current political parties. This poll isn't an outlier; No Party has been the leading result for years. Political participation has never really recovered from the failure of the DPJ administration and has only been just over 50% in the last two elections. And when people don't vote, the LDP win.
Also, to quickly recap the parties that you may not be familiar with:
Komeito - A kind of weird party that's been in coalition with the LDP since 1999. Originated as the political arm of Soka Gakkai (a Buddhist group that may or may not be a cult depending on who you ask) but are now nominally independent. They're conservative socially but otherwise largely to the LDP's left.
Ishin - The Japan Innovation Party. They're arguably to the right of the LDP as a whole, but that's kind of irrelevant as that's not why people are voting for them. They originated in Osaka and are primarily a party advocating for the decentralization of power away from Tokyo.
DPP - The DPP merged with the CDP in 2020 and dissolved. The minority who refused to go the CDP formed a new party with the same name.
SDP - Essentially the same as above. The SDP merged with the CDP in 2020, but there were a few holdouts.
Reiwa - Reiwa Shinsengumi. Progressive party centered around an actor turned politician.
NHK - I'm not going to list their official name because it's really long and they change it every few months. This is a single-issue party centered on eliminating the NHK license fee that everyone with a TV has to pay.
Also curious about Reiwa Shinsengumi; are they purposefully playing off the historic shinsengumi, or is there another use of the term I’m unfamiliar with? I’d always had the connotation of the historic Shinsengumi as a conservative force, relatively speaking, so interesting to see a progressive party using it
EDIT:
Aside from the Nuclear ban, seems like a pretty good platform?
I'm incredibly curious about that. My impression seemed to be that despite all the romanticism around the Shinsengumi and the samurai class in general, they were pretty much the old aristocracy of the Tokugawa period fighting to keep their priviledges (that included a very expensive stipend from the central government and the right to execute civilians that "disrespected them") up to the point of rebellion and civil war. They were crushed, obviously. Post-Napoleonic, post-Independance Wars armies were really, really good at crushing armies that failed to adapt, and we are talking about the same time period of the Franco-Prussian War, where that disparity was also in display.
Though considering that their opponents ended up becoming Imperial Japan, with everything that implies, well.
Yeah, that was my understanding of them as well; there’s a certain degree to which I understand it that there’s a read on the Shinsengumi as, stripped from the romanticism surrounding them, they were basically just brute muscle for the shogunate.
Reiwa Shinsengumi is indeed named after the historic Shinsengumi. You're right that they were a conservative force, though in modern Japan most would just regard them as tragic heroes who died for what they believed in without really delving into the greater political context. In this case, however, I think there is a simpler explanation. One of Yamamoto's most prominent roles as an actor was in the TV series "Shinsengumi," and I suspect that's one of the reasons he chose the name.
I think their low level of support has less to do with their platform and more to do with them just being so small. Thus far, they've only run 19 candidates at the most, most of whom were quite weak. The vast majority of Japanese couldn't vote for them even if they wanted to, and they're just not taken seriously.
It sounds like you might be confusing the Shinsengumi with the later rebellion by Saigo Takamori against the new Meiji government?
Hmm, likely. That's on me, my bad.
Makes sense for a party founded on *checks notes* 2019.
The Communist are kind of a weird event more having to do with election laws and the disorganization of the normal opposition parties. In some of the last elections they were the only party opposing very unpopular LDP legislators so gained seats on what seems to be protest votes more than pro-communist votes.
It'd be interesting to see how things develop. One would hope for a positive outcome but the actions taken have been heavy handed, not surprisingly.
Streaming 8PST on weeknights
The heavy handed measures against the youth in regards to video games and fandom is crazy though. I guess it may be time to summon the 10 mystical creatures and let the Grass Mud Horse ride once again.
Could be an extortion move against the industry. Do <something> or we'll regulate you out of existence.