A survey of young people in the UK has revealed they are more likely to accuse Blair and Bush of crimes against humanity than Pol Pot. Half had never heard of Lenin, and 70% don’t know who Mao Zedong was.
Contents: How Iran’s Khomeini fooled Jimmy Carter before the Great Islamic Revolution; Khamenei accuses ‘evil’ Britain of fabricating the BBC report
Contents: Economic collapse of Venezuela will devastate the entire Caribbean region; Lufthansa suspends flights to Venezuela over non-payment; Hugo Chávez dismantled Venezuela’s businesses on purpose to create Socialist Paradise
Contents: Chinese official slams Hong Kong independence during ‘inspection visit’; Hong Kong’s history and culture make it very different from China
Contents: Venezuela’s Maduro accuses US of planning an imminent invasion; Syria peace talks in Vienna collapse in farce – again
Contents: Russia announces a surprise partial military withdrawal from Syria; Opinions vary on why Russia pulled back from Syria now
China’s communist government has issued a directive stating that all “Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative ventures and foreign business units shall not engage in online publishing services.”
In an hour-long interview with the Asia Times, Pope Francis spoke about his general impressions of China as well as his hope that the Chinese people will be able to work together with other countries to bring about greater peace
There would seem to be something ideologically incongruous about honoring the godfather of Chinese communism with a giant golden statue, but the story of the Mao colossus of Zhushigang gets worse with each new detail. The imposing 120-foot statue, made from steel and concrete covered in gold paint, towers over the surrounding trees.
Tsoi Wing-mui, author of The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai, argues that despite his many years of marriage, Zhou had an enduring romantic relationship with Li Fujing. “Zhou Enlai was a gay politician who had the misfortune of being born 100 years early,” Tsoi writes in her book.
A book to be published in Hong Kong in the new year says Zhou Enlai, Communist China’s much-respected first premier, was probably gay despite his long marriage, and had once been in love with a male schoolmate two years his junior.
Contents: Taiwan may reverse South China Sea policy and oppose China; Burundi calls planned African Union peacekeeping force ‘an attack’
Contents: Presidents of China and Taiwan to meet in Singapore on Saturday; China asserts a ‘bottom line’ to US in South China Sea
Contents: China displays belligerence, militarism in WW II victory parade; China’s weaponry highlighted by the anti-American ‘carrier killer’; Many world leaders snub China’s WW II victory parade; China sends warships to Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska; China rewrites history of WW II by giving credit to Mao instead of Chiang
Hong Kong’s emeritus archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Zen, has slammed the Chinese government’s program to demolish rooftop crosses from Christian churches, calling it a “regression” in China’s policy toward religion, reminiscent of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
Turkey, Armenia hold dueling WW1 centennials over genocide and Gallipoli; Turkey commemorates the 100th anniversary of Anzac day and the Battle of Gallipoli; Turkey debates its role in the Armenian genocide; The politics of genocide and rape — in Turkey and elsewhere
China Central Television (CCTV) suspended popular host Bi Fujian after a video surfaced that showed him insulting Mao Zedong. The station announced they will investigate the incident and Fujian recently apologized.
