The Chinese - not a great bunch of lads

[Drlligaf]

Given the apparent source, it's hard to believe that this didn't have a least tacit CCP approval.

'A disturbing fake image circulated by China infuriated the (Australian) Prime Minister and sparked outrage across the nation. This is where it came from.

'The “repugnant” photoshopped image circulated by China of a grinning Australian soldier appearing to slit the throat of an Afghan child has been shared on social media by pro-China activists for days.

'As the Prime Minister slammed China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian for sharing the fake image, the diplomatic row has prompted an official complaint and demands for an apology from China. Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Frances Adamson also called the Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye to lodge an official complaint over the image, as it continued to be shared by Chinese activists on social media giant Weibo.

'The fake image shows a grinning Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child who is clutching a lamb. The Australian soldier is crouching over the flag of Afghanistan, with a blue cloth from the Australian flag covering the child’s face. The caption on the photo reads: “Don’t be afraid, we are coming to bring you peace!”

Where China’s sick photo originated

The “repugnant” photoshopped image circulated by China of a grinning Australian soldier appearing to slit the throat of an Afghan child has been shared on social media by pro-China activists for days.

www.news.com.au

E2A:

'A Chinese official has delivered a powerful response to demands for an apology over a shocking faked photograph of an Australian soldier.

'This evening, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying delivered a statement, broadcast on ABC news, doubling down on the disturbing image posted by her colleague. “Some Australian soldiers committed serious crimes in Afghanistan,” she said. “The details are appalling and shocking including men and boys who were shot dead all with their throats slit while blindfolded. There are stories about two 14-year-old boys whose throats were slit and their bodies were thrown into a recruit and recruits were told to kill prisoners in a practise known as blooding. These cruel crimes have been condemned by the international community. The Australian side has reacted so strongly to my colleague’s Twitter, does that mean that they think the cold blood murder of Afghan innocent civilians is justified while other people’s condemnation of such crimes are not justified?

“Afghan lives matter. The Australian government should bring the culprits to justice and offer an official apology to the Afghan people and make the solemn pledge that they will never repeat such crimes. “They said that the Chinese government should feel ashamed. It is Australian soldiers who committed such cruel crimes. Shouldn’t the Australian government feel ashamed? Shouldn’t they feel ashamed for their soldiers killing innocent Afghan civilians?”

'It comes just hours after the editor-in-chief of Chinese state media outlet The Global Times Hu Xinjin warned that Scott Morrison can forget about an apology. In the first public response to the Prime Minister’s fury, the Chinese Government appointed editor said Australian soldiers were responsible for “murders. It is a popular cartoon that condemns the Australian Special Force’s brutal murder of 39 Afghan civilians,” he wrote on Twitter.'

Except that it wasn't a 'cartoon'; it was a high definition, photo-shopped photographic image.

China trolls Australia with sick fake image

Chinese officials have delivered a stinging response to demands for an apology over a shocking faked photograph of an Australian soldier, accusing Australia of “barbarism” and saying the government should feel ashamed.

www.news.com.au

You distract attention from your own crimes, in this case massive, by directing attention to other peoples crimes, real or imagined.

 

[Drlligaf]

On a slightly different note, the chinese have bought up firms in Germany, mostly those of a technical or engineering nature. The chinese were obviously of the opinion that they could do what they wanted, he who pays the piper calls the tune, so to speak. Then they ran into the works councils, in Germany by law any firm with 15 or more employees must have a works council. A works council represents the employees interests and consists of employees voted by the others to sit on the council, these members cannot be fired by the employer, thereby giving them a certain amount of protection from aggressive employers, eg chinese. The new owners were not exactly enthusiastic, but had no choice than to accept the decisions of the works councils on labour related matters. First lesson in democracy, the people have a voice and rights. They don't like it? You for coffee, pronto.

 

[ThunderBox]

Chinese have put a import tax on our wine, I’m increasing my consumption four fold for Queen and country!

 

[smartascarrots]

It's a good thing Australian soldiers weren't actually killing people they shouldn't have, else the fuss over a fake photo illustrating factual comments would look like distraction activity.

 

[ThunderBox]

It's a good thing Australian soldiers weren't actually killing people they shouldn't have, else the fuss over a fake photo illustrating factual comments would look like distraction activity.

Factual? How do you know they are factual? In fact, how do you know they took place at all?

 

[Dafty duck]

Factual? How do you know they are factual? In fact, how do you know they took place at all?

Isn't there a thread all about the SASR slotting guys they shouldn't have?

 

[ThunderBox]

Isn't there a thread all about the SASR slotting guys they shouldn't have?

well you ruined that!

It’s known about because Australia investigated it, doesn’t sound like a distraction attempt to me.

 

[smartascarrots]

It’s known about because Australia investigated it, doesn’t sound like a distraction attempt to me.

If Australia know their troops have been engaging in dodgy killings, doesn't that make the righteous indignation over the photo seem a little 'Daily Mirror' to you? It's not as if the words in the accompanying statement are inaccurate in any way.

 

[ThunderBox]

If Australia know their troops have been engaging in dodgy killings, doesn't that make the righteous indignation over the photo seem a little 'Daily Mirror' to you? It's not as if the words in the accompanying statement are inaccurate in any way.

Not really, the actions of a few should not tar the image of many.

Besides, from what I am seeing here in Aus, it was a vote winning speech and might promote a closer alignment of those against China’s expansionism.

 

[Drlligaf]

Chinese have put a import tax on our wine, I’m increasing my consumption four fold for Queen and country!

Greater love hath no man than he who sacrifices his liver for his country!

 

[smartascarrots]

Not really, the actions of a few should not tar the image of many.

No they shouldn't, but the fact that they were a few in a very high-pressure role might give politicians with a view to the next election an incentive to get the public focussed on something else - like an emotive photo rather than the factual text accompanying it.

Like someone else said, you distract attention from your own crimes by directing attention to other peoples crimes, real or imagined.

 

[A signaller]

Like someone else said, you distract attention from your own crimes by directing attention to other peoples crimes, real or imagined.

SOP when politicians get caught out.

 

[SkippedOnce]

Seems that the Celestial Empire may have kicked an own goal.

'This year Beijing has introduced a number of trade tariffs and other measures blocking Australian products such as barley, beef, wine, rock lobsters from entering China or making them prohibitively expensive.

'Australia’s coal has also been unofficially banned since October, with steel mills and power companies told not to buy it, Bloomberg News reported.

'Recently it was revealed that more than 60 ships carrying both thermal and coking coal are reportedly stranded off China’s coast, unable to unload their cargo, and some have been in limbo for months, with suggestions that environmental quality problems were to blame, the ABC reported.

'China’s decision to stop taking Australian coal has seen the price for Australia’s premium hard coking coal fall by 22 per cent since October, global price reporting agency Argus reported.

'However, China also appears to be paying a heavy price for its decision.

'China relies on coal, particularly premium hard coking coal, to fuel its steel making industry.

'But last week, the price of coking coal in China soared to a four-year high, Bloomberg reported.

'The high prices were blamed on delays in supplies of coal from Mongolia, which is the biggest supplier of coal to China alongside Australia. Extra health checks on truck drivers transporting coal from mines in the Gobi desert have been required due to the coronavirus and this has slowed the customs process.

'But analysts from Chinese financial information portal Hexun Futures noted in a December 1 update that the restrictions over Australian coal had also contributed, along with tightened measures around coal mine safety supervision.

'The situation has seen prices for coal produced in China soar.

'Australian correspondent for global price reporting agency Argus, Jo Clarke said that the difference between the price of Australian coal and Chinese coal had been growing since early April.

'Prices for Australia’s premium coking coal are now so low, it’s cheaper than the cost of coal produced domestically in China, despite China’s coal being of much lower quality.'

‘Heavy price’: China’s Aussie ban backfires

If China’s decision to block Australia’s coal exports is a deliberate strategy to hurt Australia, China also appears to have paid a high price for the move.

www.news.com.au

 

[SkippedOnce]

You distract attention from your own crimes, in this case massive, by directing attention to other peoples crimes, real or imagined.

And seemingly doing an effective job of it.

'China’s Communist Party is pushing the narrative that the pandemic has proved the superiority of its authoritarian model. The muscular message is finding fans at home.

'In one Beijing artist’s recent depiction of the world in 2098, China is a high-tech superpower and the United States is humbled. Americans have embraced communism and Manhattan, draped with the hammer-and-sickle flags of the “People’s Union of America,” has become a quaint tourist precinct. This triumphant vision has resonated among Chinese. The sci-fi digital illustrations by the artist, Fan Wennan, caught fire on Chinese social media in recent months, reflecting a resurgent nationalism. China’s authoritarian system, proponents say, is not just different from the West’s democracies, it is also proving itself superior. It is a long-running theme, but China’s success against the pandemic has given it a sharp boost.

“America isn’t that heavenly kingdom depicted since decades ago,” said Mr. Fan, who is in his early twenties. “There’s nothing special about it. If you have to say there’s anything special about it now, it’s how messed up it can be at times. Time to wake up from blind faith in the Western system,” said a commentary in the state-run China Education News last week. “Vicious partisan fighting has worsened in certain Western countries, social fissures have deepened, and a severe social crisis is brewing.”

“In this fight against the pandemic, there will be victorious powers and defeated ones,” Wang Xiangsui, a retired Chinese senior colonel who teaches at a university in Beijing, averred this month. “We’re a victor power, while the United States is still mired and, I think, may well become a defeated power.” The firm leadership of Mr. Xi and the party has earned China its recent success, say newspapers, television programs and social media.

'Some warn that China risks underestimating the strengths of the United States. In recent months, Chinese scholars have debated how Beijing should handle the post-Covid world, with a good number urging restraint as the best way to win lasting influence. “China’s high-volume nationalism at home is making the United States feel that China is getting aggressive,” Xiao Gongqin, a historian in Shanghai wrote in an essay that was published last month, prompting wide discussion.

“Chinese values and American values are totally at odds,” Mr. Fu said late last month on a Chinese online talk show broadcast last week. “These values are in fundamental conflict.”

Full article - China’s Combative Nationalists See a World Turning Their Way

 

[smartascarrots]

And seemingly doing an effective job of it.

Primarily because it has. They've left out that the same model allowed local authorities to ignore and suppress the outbreak and spread for critical periods of time, but it's an effective message for a people who see central government as the time-honoured remedy for local ills.

What's interesting is that although they're not expressly pushing an alternative model for other countries to follow, they're also not expressly averring it as suitable for China's unique conditions, as was de rigeur during the Hu/Wen era.

 

[SkippedOnce]

So doubtless now about to claim ownership of this new piece of the Celestial Empire.

'China’s first mission to return a sample of dirt from the Moon just arrived back at Earth, with a container of lunar rocks in tow, China state media confirmed. A capsule of lunar material scraped up by a Chinese spacecraft landed this afternoon in a very snowy Inner Mongolia, after plunging through Earth’s atmosphere and parachuting to the ground.'

China returns sample of lunar dirt to Earth

It’s the first time samples from the Moon have been returned to Earth since 1976.

www.theverge.com

 

[kiwidoug]

So doubtless now about to claim ownership of this new piece of the Celestial Empire.

'China’s first mission to return a sample of dirt from the Moon just arrived back at Earth, with a container of lunar rocks in tow, China state media confirmed. A capsule of lunar material scraped up by a Chinese spacecraft landed this afternoon in a very snowy Inner Mongolia, after plunging through Earth’s atmosphere and parachuting to the ground.'

China returns sample of lunar dirt to Earth

It’s the first time samples from the Moon have been returned to Earth since 1976.

www.theverge.com

Knowing the Chinese penchant for loving innovative and very expensive cuisine, how long before we see in the Beijing restaurants " Duck with Essence of Celestial Moon Dust "

 

[lokiuk]

Knowing the Chinese penchant for loving innovative and very expensive cuisine, how long before we see in the Beijing restaurants " Duck with Essence of Celestial Moon Dust "

And then the cheap Chinese knock offs will start appearing....

 

[SkippedOnce]

What's Mandarin for Schadenfreude?

'The towering skyscrapers in Changsha have stopped glowing.

'The provincial capital of Hunan and home to more than 7 million people is without street lights, too. Lifts have been switched off, forcing workers to scale dozens of flights of stairs to the office in the bitter cold.
In Yiwu, a city of 1.2 million in China’s far east, factories have slashed working hours by up to 80 per cent. When workers leave at night, the streets are dark.

'The problem is two-fold. The first part of the problem is that China has emerged from the worst of COVID-19 relying heavily on electricity to fuel work through the winter which, in many parts, features temperatures below zero. The second part of the problem is that China banned Australian coal.

“Many local power plants depend on Australian coal due to its higher efficiency and now they are having trouble finding an alternative,” said the director of China Huadian Corporation.

'The New York Times reports the ban on Australian coal is having an unexpected impact as the relationship between the two countries goes “into free-fall”.'

China’s ban on Australian exports backfires as city blackouts ordered

The towering skyscrapers in Changsha have stopped glowing.

www.news.com.au

 

[Civvy Scum]

What's Mandarin for Schadenfreude?

'The towering skyscrapers in Changsha have stopped glowing.

'The provincial capital of Hunan and home to more than 7 million people is without street lights, too. Lifts have been switched off, forcing workers to scale dozens of flights of stairs to the office in the bitter cold.
In Yiwu, a city of 1.2 million in China’s far east, factories have slashed working hours by up to 80 per cent. When workers leave at night, the streets are dark.

'The problem is two-fold. The first part of the problem is that China has emerged from the worst of COVID-19 relying heavily on electricity to fuel work through the winter which, in many parts, features temperatures below zero. The second part of the problem is that China banned Australian coal.

“Many local power plants depend on Australian coal due to its higher efficiency and now they are having trouble finding an alternative,” said the director of China Huadian Corporation.

'The New York Times reports the ban on Australian coal is having an unexpected impact as the relationship between the two countries goes “into free-fall”.'

China’s ban on Australian exports backfires as city blackouts ordered

The towering skyscrapers in Changsha have stopped glowing.

www.news.com.au