Red Flags for Forced Labor Found in China’s Car Battery Supply Chain

June 20, 2022 / Bullies and Scoundrels, Business and Finance, China, Climate Change Remediation

Ties to potentially coercive labor practices could prove a problem for an industry that is heavily dependent on China, once a new law barring Xinjiang products goes into effect. By Ana Swanson and Chris Buckley June 20, 2022Updated 8:11 a.m. ET “The photograph on the mining conglomerate’s social media account showed 70 ethnic Uyghur workers standing at attention under …

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Why a Chinese Security Deal in the Pacific Could Ripple Through the World

April 20, 2022 / China, David Lindsay, Micronesia and Solomon Islands

In potentially opening the door to a Chinese military base, the Solomon Islands threatens the balance of power in a vital shipping region. By Damien CaveApril 20, 2022Updated 7:42 a.m. ET “SYDNEY, Australia — When the Solomon Islands’ prime minister stood before Parliament on Wednesday to announce that his government had signed a sweeping security agreement with China, he …

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These Revered Cranes Escaped Extinction. Can They Survive Without Humans?

March 21, 2022 / Japan, The Sixth Extinction of Species

Conservators vastly increased the numbers of red-crowned cranes, a symbol of loyalty and longevity in Japanese culture. That’s just a start. By Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida Photographs by James Whitlow DelanoMarch 21, 2022. “KUSHIRO, Japan — The dance of the red-crowned cranes commenced, an impromptu pas de deux. The pair approached each other with a bow. They crossed …

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Beijing Wanted the Winter Olympics. All It Needed Was Snow.

February 9, 2022 / China, Climate Change Polluters, Sports and Martial Arts

The environmentally unfriendly secret of winter sports is that many competitions take place on artificial snow. China’s water-scarce capital had to go to enormous lengths to make enough of it. By Matthew Futterman and Raymond ZhongPublished Feb. 5, 2022Updated Feb. 6, 2022阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版Leer en español “BEIJING — China did not move mountains to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. But it flooded a …

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In Clash With U.S. Over Ukraine, Putin Has a Lifeline From China

February 2, 2022 / China, Russia

President Biden could find his plans to punish Russia undermined by Xi Jinping, a longtime ally of Mr. Putin. But China moves cautiously during crises. By Steven Lee Myers and Edward WongFeb. 2, 2022Updated 2:49 a.m. ET “BEIJING — As the United States moves to exert maximal pressure on Russia over fears of a Ukraine invasion, the Russian leader, …

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My Young Mind Was Disturbed by a Book. It Changed My Life.

January 31, 2022 / History and Literature, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Vietnamese Literature

Jan. 29, 2022, 769 comments. NYT. By Viet Thanh Nguyen Mr. Nguyen is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” and the children’s book “Chicken of the Sea,” written with his then 5-year-old son, Ellison. “When I was 12 or 13 years old, I was not prepared for the racism, the brutality or the …

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What Japan Got Right About Covid-19

January 24, 2022 / Japan, Public Health

Jan. 24, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET By Hitoshi Oshitani Dr. Oshitani is a professor of virology at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. He has helped advise the Japanese government on its Covid-19 response. By Hitoshi Oshitani Dr. Oshitani is a professor of virology at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. He has helped …

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China’s Births Hit Historic Low, a Political Problem for Beijing

January 17, 2022 / China, Population Growth

The demographic crisis, a challenge to the economy, also signals a limit to the reach of the government, which has struggled recently to grow the population. By Steven Lee Myers and Alexandra StevensonJan. 17, 202, “China announced on Monday that its birthrate plummeted for a fifth straight year in 2021, moving the world’s most populous country closer to …

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Why Even a 40% Tax Break Won’t Move Japan’s Employers to Raise Pay

December 23, 2021 / David Lindsay, Japan, Politics and Economics

The country’s prime minister says lifting long-stagnant wages would jump-start the sputtering economy. Companies call the plan a nonstarter. 14 By Ben Dooley and Hisako UenoDec. 23, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET “TOKYO — Over the last two years, Masataka Yoshimura has poured money into the custom-suit business his family founded more than a century ago. He has upgraded his factory, installed …

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RACE TO THE FUTURE

December 22, 2021 / China, Climate Change Remediation, Transportation

Why a Chinese Company Dominates Electric Car Batteries Beijing gave CATL lavish subsidies, a captive market of buyers and soft regulatory treatment, helping it to control a crucial technology of the future. CATL’s headquarters, shaped like an oversize lithium battery, in Ningde, China.Credit…Qilai Shen for The New York Times By Keith Bradsher and Michael Forsythe Dec. 22, 2021,  …

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