Category: China

The Moon is the ultimate high ground and the Chinese are hoping to set precedents on how to control this high ground by maintaining a continuous human presence first:

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket prepares to be transferred to the launching area of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Oct. 7, 2021. (Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via AP)

If China were to be the first to land its astronauts, sometimes known as taikonauts, it could gain the advantage in “establishing the rules of the road for how this new era of exploration will work,” said Todd Harrison, a nonresident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“We want to be there establishing precedent for mining of materials on the moon and how that’s done for making claims to materials and property rights,” he said. “We want to do that in a way that’s consistent with our values and our economic system. And if China gets there first, they will get to set precedent that’s based on their values and their economic system.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but this is why I have always felt we need to secure a U.S. presence on the Moon first before Mars.

I did not take this viral video for me to realize the need to avoid Chinese food products:

Fears of Chinese-made food products are spreading among Korean consumers, once again, after a video went viral last week showing a worker at a Tsingtao beer factory urinating into a tank believed to contain raw ingredients.

The video, which has received tens of millions of views on social media worldwide since being uploaded last Thursday, purportedly shows a worker dressed in a uniform clambering into a high-walled container and urinating inside it.

The clip is believed to have been recorded at Tsingtao Brewery No. 3, according to a statement released on Friday by Tsingtao, one of China’s top beer producers and exporters. The company said in the statement that it had contacted the police to investigate the incident.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I am surprised that the number of Koreans supporting the expansion of the U.S.-ROK alliance is this high:

Koreans are carefully weighing the possible consequences of expanded security cooperation with the United States, especially regarding possible conflicts with China, a survey suggests.  
   
In a recent survey of 1,000 Koreans over the age 18 by the JoongAng Ilbo and the East Asia Institute, 81.8 percent agreed that the Korea-U. S. alliance should address not only issues of the Korean Peninsula but also those of the region at large. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

However, though the Korean public favors expanding the U.S.-ROK alliance, they don’t want the ROK to become involved in a conflict over Taiwan:

Should a conflict break out between the United States and China in the Taiwan Strait, a majority of respondents wanted Korea to take no part in the clash.  
   
Slightly more respondents said Korea should remain uninvolved in a clash over Taiwan than those who said Korea should play a role in the conflict, 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent.  
   
When asked more generally what Korea should do in a potential conflict between the two superpowers, 50.3 percent said Korea should stay neutral; 45.2 percent said Korea should support the United States; and 4.2 percent said that Korea should support China. 

Luckily for South Korea countries back in 1950 came to their aid when they were attacked by aggressive Communists, but now the majority of Koreans want to turn their backs on a country very similar to them facing aggressive Communism today.

A lot more interesting findings from this survey can be read at the link.

It will be interesting to see if Chinese President Emperor Xi Jin-ping actually visits Seoul or not because I am not sure what he and President Yoon would talk about. If Xi comes that means some kind of concession would need to be made by South Korea. What concession could Yoon give Xi for a visit?:

In this file photo, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) poses for a photo with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during their bilateral talks at a hotel in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, 2022, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol will set out to arrange a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea, a senior government official said Sunday.

“As President Xi brought up a visit first to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, we will start discussing the matter with China in earnest through diplomatic channels,” the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.

Chinese President Xi said Saturday he will seriously consider a visit to Seoul during his meeting with Prime Minister Han on the sidelines of the Asian Games, which is currently taking place in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.