International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

The Future of Social Control? China's Proposed Social Credit System

Robin Lee — 2018-01-09T10:46:30Z

China's one-party state has long sought to silence critical voices having been concerned about maintenance of control and regime stability. Following Xi Jinping's rise to power, the country has once again been witnessing a harder line in this respect as the regime has cracked down on various groups of activists and continues to narrow the space for those perceived as dissenting voices on and offline. More recently, a new plan, which would potentially establish an increasing degree of control over society through the construction of a social credit system, has received a lot of attention from critics and those concerned about this increasing state repression.

- IV516 - January 2018 / China

An unhappy affair: The changing fortunes of a China and Hong Kong funded Bahamian mega-resort project

Robin Lee — 2017-11-20T07:56:58Z

In April 2017, the first part of the Baha Mar, a 1,000 acre luxury mega-resort in the Bahamas that will eventually consist of several hotels, a 100,000 square foot casino, a golf course, spas, shops and restaurants, constructed by China Construction America, finally opened. The event was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by then Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Perry Christie, who labelled the opening, “the most significant economic development event ever to occur in a single phase within the Bahamas and the Caribbean” [1].

- IV514 - November 2017 / China, Bahamas

An introduction to the Chinese-Pakistan economic corridor

Robin Lee — 2017-09-29T08:14:49Z

While initial plans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) predate those of OBOR it has been given renewed impetus under it and has come to be described as a flagship OBOR project. Along with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the CPEC receives specific mention in the National Development and Reform Commision's 2015 OBOR Vision and Action document. The corridor, which involves a series of infrastructure projects linking the two countries, runs for 3,000 kilometres from Kashgar in western China to the port of Gwadar in Pakistan. Along the corridor huge infrastructure projects, including roads, railways and power plants and an optical cable fibre network are either being built or planned to be built which are largely funded by Chinese capital and loans. The value of the corridor is currently estimated to be US$62 billion.

- IV512 - September 2017 / Economy, Pakistan, China

What might One Belt, One Road mean for people in China?

Robin Lee — 2017-09-21T09:59:39Z

While OBOR is an outbound development strategy that is expected to significantly expand China's political and economic reach overseas, it also potentially has significant domestic implications. On the one hand, as highlighted above, OBOR is in part intended to solve domestic problems such as overcapacity issues, while on the other hand it should result in profits flowing back to China from overseas investments made by Chinese companies. Along with additional trade opportunities and investments made in China, according to some narratives of development, this should also contribute to improving prosperity domestically. Indeed OBOR is also intended to support the development and reform of all provinces and regions within China [1], with different provinces and regions intended to have different functions within the plan and many also passing their own development plans in relation to this.

- IV512 - September 2017 / Economy, China

In a city where freedom is declining, a few posters can have a big impactâ€”the Hong Kong poster dispute

Robin Lee — 2017-09-16T09:19:13Z

The recent outpouring of anger over posters put up and removed from democracy walls at universities in Hong Kong once again highlights the growing erosion of political and academic freedom in the city.

- IV512 - September 2017 / China, Hong Kong

China's ongoing property crisis

Robin Lee — 2016-11-15T09:15:21Z

In late summer a sudden surge in the number of couples seeking a divorce was reported in Shanghai. This was not due to a high number of relationships suddenly falling apart. Instead, rumours were being circulated that the municipal government would soon introduce new tougher restrictions for the purchase of property, which favoured first time buyers and so couples were rushing to get a so called “paper divorce” before the changes took effect, in the hope that they would still be able to buy a second home more cheaply. This drastic action by many couples in Shanghai to the potential change in legislation was not the first such response of its kind, but one which once again goes to highlight some of the absurdities of the property market in China.

- IV502 - November 2016 / China