Furthermore, it portrays and generalizes, from an Orientalist point of view, the idea that in China, there is no right to expression when this is not true. Of course, this does not mean that there is no censorship in China, however, it is well known that people are not allowed
while appealing to the alma mater of those students to support the veracity of these claims. Extract: “Our work documents an alarming sign of regional censorship emerging in China,” said the researchers, who include authors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Stanford University.”
enabling local authorities to exert a greater degree of control within their respective regions. The issue with The Guardian’s article is that it created a whole rhetoric on censorship in China by referring to a single study
The goal of the study was to characterize provincial-level censorship in Henan and compare it with the national-level GFW. It concluded that there has been an increase in regional censorship, suggesting a departure from China’s centralized censorship apparatus,
The study cited refers to a very recent article published and titled “How the Great Firewall of China Detects and Blocks Fully Encrypted Traffic,” written mostly by Ph.D. students from different universities in the U.S.
The article continues to comment on the “internet censorship regime” implemented by China’s authorities in the central province of Henan. The word “regime” is linked to an article written six years ago by the same newspaper, talking about China’s Great Firewall.
what fueled the momentum for the protests that led to her impeachment. It is only natural that people would feel increasingly infuriated by these issues in a country that still plays along with the false perception of meritocracy.
#spoontheory #socialmobility #Korea #Parkscandal #populism
with her connections in official circles and the money she made from the foundations seized by her father. Although violation of public duty was what got her into trouble, it was the problems of social mobility at the end that related to the experiences of ordinary Koreans and
For example, job seekers are regularly asked to provide information on the background of their parents, a practice that has been criticized for allowing employers to favor those with a more privileged background. Park Chung-hee was the personification of privilege herself,
making frequent reference to "democratization of the economy", however, she had used her inherited wealth to gain political power, without having a previous career in politics. Thus, we can see that the "spoon theory" hits serious social issues in Korea.
Koreans seem to have a particular way to channel their anger when it comes to inherited wealth and the failure of the political system to rectify it. Park Chung-hee used a populist strategy to tackle the issue of class discrimination to attract voters,
background due to her being the daughter of Park Chung-hee, and to the connections and networking she established through her kinship. Regardless of how many scandals she was involved in before her impeachment,
The article “Spoon Theory” and the Fall of a Populist Princess in Seoul" gives a great example of how Koreans react to the loss of opportunities for social mobility based on family ties. In particular, it exposes the case of the former president Park Geun-hye, who comes from a "gold spoon"
however, in reality, only to contribute to China’s political stage. Of course, there is no need to say that no ethnic minority cadres have ever served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body.
#China #ethnicminorities #uyghur #tibetans #humanrights
again under the “national security” slogan. As we can notice from the media, the only occasions when China has openly shown proudly its cultural diversity it is at special events like the National Day parade or the opening ceremonies of the National People's Congress, to “promote national unity,"
Other foreign tourists who want to visit these regions are also controlled in their itineraries if anything seems suspicious. In 2024, China even introduced a law that the Public Security Bureau officers and border agents can look through laptops and cellular phones without a warrant,
In China, the cultures of the 55 ethnic minorities have been turned into a simulated commodity for domestic tourists, mainly the Han, under the guise of economic development and cultural preservation. Meanwhile, actual expressions of ethnic identity keep being suppressed.
considered an essential campaign for “national security purposes.” Tibetans, on the other hand, although it cannot be equated with the situation in Xinjiang, are also routinely deprived of their freedom of expression, movement, religion, and assembly.
they have been perceived as “terrorists”, religious extremists”, and a target for persecution. For example, in 2014, the Chinese government launched the “Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims,
In a country whose mindset and actions are carried out under the idea that “human rights are less important than the state,” it is not surprising to see Chinese ethnic minorities, in other words, not Han people, as victims of recurrent abuse. In the case of the Uyghur, as a Muslim minority,
The problem is, once again, the business mentality behind all these decisions. This should not be a market challenge where the government observes customer behavior to come up with a solution. We know the answer; it just depends on the will of those in power.
Today, the environment minister aims for a "flexible" introduction of the "disposable cup deposit system" in replacement of reusable cups. However, this is the time we should start thinking more about how "flexible" we want to be by delaying critical decisions that are impacting the environment.
The Ministry of Environment stated that "it aimed to evaluate public reception of the regulation before considering nationwide implementation", which, of course, sparked speculation that the ministry was backing away from its environmental policy, prompting criticism from governors and activists.
which they could reclaim upon returning the cups with the barcode labels to the place of purchase. However, facing protests from local businesspeople in the single-use cup industry, the authority revised the plan to enforce it only in Sejong and Jeju Island.
the change of regulation. These firms produced barcode label stickers for single-use cups commonly used at cafes and take-out stores that sell coffee drinks or beverages. Under the regulation, customers using single-use cups were charged an additional 300 won,
Unfortunately, the government's decision to downscale the single-use cup deposit program has brought consequences to other businesses as well. According to a 2024 article by the Korea Times, two printing firms in Gwangju and Cheonan incurred losses exceeding 6.4 billion won ($4.6 million) due to
that this agreement on the reusable cups was between the Ministry of Environment, Starbucks and SK Telecom.
The program was later replaced with a deposit system for single-use cups, requiring customers to pay an additional 300 won as a deposit.
However, in 2024, Jeju cafes stopped using reusable cups after the provider Happy Connect (a social enterprise under the SK Happiness Foundation) withdrew due to "financial considerations." This case reflects how the Ministry is dependent on the support of private companies. We need to remember
For example, in the case of single-use plastic cups at coffee shops, the initiative to reduce waste has come from companies like Starbucks, which started its "reusable cup program" in Jeju in 2021 and later expanded it to the mainland.