welcome to foreign policyOverview of China.
This week's highlights: Survey reveals 23 Chinese Olympic swimmers US Secretary of State tests positive for banned substance ahead of Tokyo 2021 Games antony blinken Preparing for a trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the US Senate tick tock Divestiture or Prohibition Bill.
New sports scandal emerges in China
A doping scandal has shaken the swimming world following the results of an investigation released by the swimming industry last weekend. new york times and German broadcaster ARD. The report revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers have tested positive for banned substances ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where the Chinese team won medals, including three gold medals. Some of the athletes are expected to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
At the time, China told the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that a mass contamination incident from a hotel kitchen was the cause of the positive tests. WADA withdrew this and allowed the swimmers to compete. A positive result for a banned substance usually leads to at least a temporary suspension. The US Anti-Doping Agency has now accused WADA of bending its rules to benefit China.
The swimming scandal comes on the heels of another suspicious incident at this month's Beijing Half Marathon. In this incident, three African runners visibly slowed down near the finish line, allowing China's national marathon record holder He Jie to win. One runner said she did not participate in the race because she and another runner served as pacemakers, but the organizing committee said there was no record of such an arrangement.
Race organizers quickly canceled Mr. He's results, but as the swimming investigation shows, sports scandals in China often take years to uncover, if at all, to reach a conclusion. Chinese authorities have a strong interest in covering up suspected violations, and international organizations often follow suit.
Consider the problem of underage gymnasts. At the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, Chinese athlete Dong Fangxiao, who won a bronze medal, was widely suspected of being underage. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, past Chinese state media reported that the Chinese team that won gold in the individual all-around had several underage athletes, most notably a 4-foot-8-inch athlete. He pointed out that it was He Kexin.
In 2010, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) ruled against Dong, who returned her medals from 10 years ago, but China submitted a document purporting to certify that all athletes on the 2008 team were legitimate. submitted. The FIG backed off, but the organization's president reportedly said there was “strong circumstantial evidence” that at least some of the gymnasts were underage.
China's sports culture is notorious for being medal-oriented and sometimes abusive. Sports officials select potential athletes at a young age and steer them toward sports where they think they can have an advantage, often including sports with few popular followings. Many parts of the system are reminiscent of the Soviet system, where abuses and doping were rampant and political interference was commonplace.
This approach paid off in the Olympics, and China went from zero to world-beater in a matter of decades. But it also breeds a win-at-all-costs attitude, leading to rampant cheating in other forums as well. It also seems to be less effective in team sports than in individual sports. For example, soccer in China is corrupt and not very competitive, despite years of investment and President Xi Jinping's personal interest in the sport.
The sports scandal reflects a deep-seated challenge to international organizations operating in China. Insisting on external or independent investigations angers the Chinese government, but the country is so large that organizations often have to compromise to maintain access. Remember the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the World Health Organization accepted China's false numbers and claimed to have tracked and isolated the virus?
The swimming scandal was uncovered through the kind of journalistic investigation that would be nearly impossible for Chinese media today and extremely difficult for foreign media within China. ( times Reporters worked from London, New York and Lausanne, Switzerland. ) There are many more problems with China's regulatory practices and statistics, especially when it comes to information shared with the world.
Sport is a relatively low-stakes field that tests how to deal with a powerful and intransigent nation. International sports organizations must either insist that China play by the rules or be willing to kick them out of the competition, as they did with Russia, if they don't.
what we follow
Blinken of China. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China from Wednesday to Friday, meeting with senior officials in Beijing and Shanghai. During his visit, he intends to pressure China to withdraw its support for Russia's war in Ukraine, a point emphasized in messages from U.S. officials in recent weeks. While visits like Blinken's are an important part of managing the contentious relationship, progress on the Ukraine issue seems unlikely.
Given how tense the U.S.-China exchanges are over trade, technology and climate, it's unclear what tools Mr. Blinken can or will use to tighten the screws on Beijing. A U.S. foreign aid bill that includes aid to Ukraine, which the Senate is expected to pass on Tuesday, could change China's view, albeit in two ways.
China may believe that the issue is not worth risking further tensions, or that its global goals would benefit from a Russian victory in Ukraine that would indirectly humiliate the United States. unknown.
German espionage? Following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's conciliatory visit to China last week, a series of arrests were made of suspected Chinese spies in Germany, including close associates of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Although China's ties with Europe's far right pale in comparison to Russia's, ties with the AfD in particular have increased in recent years.
The arrested aide went by the name “Jian G” and worked for Maximilian Kula. He has been at the center of multiple scandals, including one that focused on his past economic ties with China.
The timing of the arrest may have been intentional. Infighting often occurs between Western politicians like Mr. Scholz, who appear to want business as usual with China, and members of the security services, who see China as their main enemy. In Canada, selective leaks helped embarrass Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the country's own China influence scandal.
technology and business
A US ban on TikTok is looming. The hammer has fallen on TikTok in Washington, with the U.S. House of Representatives passing a divestment bill last Saturday and the Senate expected to pass it this week. (The bill is attached to the foreign aid package that the Senate voted on Tuesday.) But the legislation is unlikely to be the end for TikTok in the U.S., with months of legal challenges ahead. There is.
China is not supporting the app's lawsuits, and there are reports that embassy officials are lobbying against the ban, but exactly this kind of behavior shows that the app is being used by its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance. This is an act that fuels suspicions that it is a tool to exert powerful influence on the Chinese government through the Internet.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump continues to broadcast his comeback on TikTok. After his administration tried to ban the app, Trump now says any ban would be the responsibility of President Joe Biden. Jeff Yass, a major Trump financier, is also a major investor in the app.
Information warfare reorganization. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is undergoing a new reorganization with a new Information Support Force (ISF), separated from the recently established Strategic Support Force at the end of 2015 and dedicated to information warfare. Military purges and concerns about corruption suggest further restructuring is likely.
So what does ISF do? Despite the clear global conflict with the United States, a key part of the agency's work is said to be coordinating and distributing information within the Chinese military. Information is a contested commodity within Chinese organizations, traded and hidden for personal advancement. So-called knowledge hiding is a deep-rooted problem.
That ethos persists within the People's Liberation Army, where each officer manages his or her job alongside whatever interests and political demands they are running. One reason for creating the ISF is to give Mr. Xi and the Chinese Communist Party leadership more direct control over who knows what. It can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help.
Most read FP this week
a little culture
Shikatsura, or “Strange Tales”, is a staple of Chinese literature. Short, bizarre, and often funny, these works cover everything from sexual curiosities to hidden miniature worlds. Animals appear frequently, as in this reptile story from a 5th century collection. Further investigation of the spirit worldtraditionally attributed to the poet Tao Yuanming.
The snake in this story also tells an interesting story in Chinese. “That's what he says.”Wu Mou Jia”, literally, “he cut me sometime.” This is almost certainly text corruption, but I like the idea of the snake being prolix.—Brendan O'Kane, translator
snake story
It is said to be the work of Touen Ming.
It was mid-May, early summer, and a man named Zhang Gang from Wuxing was plowing his fields. He had brought a gourd packed with rice, but when he reached for his dinner, he noticed that it was gone. It wasn't the first time. So the next time he staked out his gourd, he saw a large snake stealing his food. He cut it with the trowel, but the snake quickly slithered away.
After chasing it, Gou came to a small hole on the hillside. He pushed into the hole and a sob could be heard. ssssssslashed we! “
“What should we do?” another voice asked.
“Report him to the God of Thunder,” said a third voice. “Let him slay the peonies with thunder and lightning.'' Clouds and rain gathered, and lightning crackled overhead.
Gou was jumping up and down crazy. “Lord!” he cried. “I am a poor man! I am tired of working and tilling the land! The serpent came and caught me. my Food – the crime was a snake, and now I Someone struck by lightning? You are a stupid Thunder Emperor! If you try it on, I'll cut your belly open with a trowel! ”
Soon the clouds and rain dispersed and began to move in the direction of the snake's nest. Dozens of snakes died.
