Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 20, 2020

Just when we thought China couldn’t make itself more unpopular, China made itself more unpopular. Perhaps it was charity. Perhaps it was delusion. We don’t like thinking bad things about others, especially if we sacrificed our jobs and economies to have our stuff made more cheaply by them. Saying bad things about China was as politically incorrect as blaming the Karan for militants wanting to kill their enemies. Thinking bad things about China made Americans feel almost as guilty as thinking that voting against Obama wasn’t racist. No one wanted to say that China might be up to no good.

Why governments and global economy jockeys supposedly didn’t see it coming remains unexplained. But, all of a sudden, China is global enemy number one. The Western press has been educating the world about Taiwan in almost every Taiwan news story for the past decade. Anybody who is anybody at least asks, “What’s the relationship between China and Taiwan?” To Western taxpayers and voters, no acceptable answer will be in China’s favor. These days, China is damned if it does and more damned if it isn’t.

Governments are paying factories to dump China’s manufacturing. But, that’s not the biggest problem for the Chinese.

No one gives as much money to the World Health Organization as the US, behind that is Bill Gates, then the UK. China is among the smallest donors. So, why is so much Western money being used along the propaganda points of such a puny donor as China? If so much money is being usurped, the US would be obligated to pull the plug. And, that’s what it looks like, especially with the WHO siding with China on the matter of Taiwan. While Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO indicates bias, Western countries are concerned about the WHO helping cover up what happened in China.

With president Trump now calling for investigations in China about the pneumoniavirus, other problems could come up, such as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. China won’t allow that, not even to regain control of all that US money in the WHO. The world won’t have it. Global hatred toward China is only beginning.

Great Pacific

‘Suppress and lift’: Hong Kong and Singapore say they have a coronavirus strategy that works // Science

Singapore’s Ho Ching thanks ‘friends in Taiwan’ after quibble over masks donation // SCMP

Trade & Tech

Coronavirus: American Factory boss says pandemic will change China’s role in global supply chain // SCMP

Huawei founder to leave board of Shanghai Huawei Technologies // Taiwan News

China

National coronavirus updates: Trump says US wants investigators to go to China // Seattlepi.com

Trump warns China over Covid-19 outbreak as Europe approaches 100,000 deaths // Guardian

Navarro: China went from net exporter of protective equipment to net importer // YouTube @ Fox News

As Coronavirus Fades in China, Nationalism and Xenophobia Flare // NY Times

Coronavirus: China’s economy shrank for the first time since 1976 in first quarter // SCMP

Nancy Pelosi calls Zoom ‘a Chinese entity’ // CNBC

Taiwan

Good news: Taiwan reports zero new coronavirus cases // Taiwan News

Hong Kong

US and UK condemn arrest of Hong Kong democracy activists // Guardian

More than 1,000 Hong Kong homeowners could see loans exceed value of properties in first quarter // SCMP

Cathay Pacific to lay off nearly 300 cabin crew in US, calling bases in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles ‘no longer viable’ // SCMP

Korean Peninsula

North Korean defector becomes first to win South Korea parliamentary seat // BBC News