Dedicated to the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
This week's newsletter focuses primarily on Xi Jinping's July 1 speech. It is well worth a read both to remind yourself of the operative CPC historical narrative and to re-familiarize yourself with the related language.
Weekly Reading
July 1 marked the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi Jinping gave an important speech to mark the occasion. It serves as an excellent summary of how the CPC views the current point in history, touching on the importance of Marxism, the continuing threat of corruption, relations with Taiwan, and maritime issues.
It's not ALL about Xi this week; there is also Brexit to consider.
Graphs of tumbling stocks speckled Weibo after Britons voted to leave the EU. Some Weibers were particularly relishing the potential damage to Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's British holdings. Li was censured by Chinese state media last fall when he began transitioning his business out of the mainland, so some see the Brexit as punishment for lack of faith. In the words of one sardonic user responding to a Sina Finance post, "Everyone knows th
at Superman Li's fortunes grew the fastest during the most stable periods. He ought to thank China for the stability of its regime and the inertia of its policies"
In his July 1 speech (see weekly reading above), Xi Jinping used this 成语 to describe the situation China was in after the western imperialists arrived and the feudal order rotted. It means "the people were plunged into an abyss of misery."
Keeping with our focus on Xi's July 1 speech, here is a link to the full video. You have to sit through the Smithfield pork advertisement first [editor's note: after careful consideration, puns and ironies that were in this space have been omitted].
If you appreciate the effort we put into organizing Chinese-language policy events, providing robust language and policy resources on our website, and the kind of content you see in this newsletter, please consider
supporting us with a tax-deductible contribution--every bit helps!
The American Mandarin Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
