The recent raid by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on an American factory, as operated by the South Korean companies Hyundai Motor Company (cars) and LG Electronics (batteries), reminded me of the 1992 novel Rising Sun by Michael Crichton (1942-2008). "Although a detective/murder mystery novel at first glance, Rising Sun deals...
Intro LO: The most important quote might be in the 5th paragraph below: “He noted that the number of marriages in China last year was less than half of the 13.47 million in 2013.” Note: bold & italic markings by LO. Source: Reuters, 10 February 2025, Marriages in China plunge by a record in 2024, fanning birthrate concerns Hence, China may not have enough...
Intro LO: In line with several earlier blogs, my first and foremost thought was this one: Can China - or anyone else - ever trust Russia ?? There are several Wikipedia articles on (military) conflicts between China and Russia, which partly relate to Russia assisting in the Mongol Empire attacks on China: The ancient, complicated and violent China-Mongolia relations;...
Intro LO: This recent Times article highlights a demographic topic in (very) many countries: declining birth rates that are announcing a declining population (eg, China-FT-2021). South Korea claims it “faces extinction”. That claim makes sense given the numbers in the 3rd paragraph of the article below. The 5th paragraph explains why this demographic issue is (much)...
Before Covid-19, many articles assumed that the Chinese economy would soon surpass the American economy. Even before Covid-19, I never believed that. Nowadays, many articles assume that China may never become an economic Superpower. As long as the CCCP rules, that new belief is valid. Hence, my blog title: does a Superpower need pragmatism? In my view, ideology will...
At the recent UN General Assembly, several countries accused the Russian president of imperialism (eg, 2022 invasion of Ukraine). It has been a long way for Russia: from imperialism to communism to nationalism and back to imperialism. I presume Putin will be proud of being called an imperialist. The countries accusing Russia of imperialism know what they are talking...
Recent Comments