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22·12 hours agoNo, it effects ‘ordinary’ Chinese people as many invested their life savings hoping to pay for a house or an apartment for themselves and their children. Their money is now gone for property that will never be built, or is half-built and’ll be never finished. Many are now left behind with an amount of debt.
As the article says:
Money flooded into real estate as the emerging middle class leapt upon what was one of the few safe investments available, pushing home prices up sixfold over the 15 years ending in 2022. … At its peak, the sector directly and indirectly accounted for about a quarter of domestic output and almost 80% of household assets.
The consequences are dire:
With household debt at a high of 145% of disposable income per capita at the end of 2023, homeowners are increasingly under financial pressure. The country’s residential mortgage delinquency ratio – which tracks overdue mortgage payments – jumped to the highest in four years as of late 2023. Some homeowners are being forced to sell their properties at a discounted rate, which is only exacerbating the problem … the situation could deteriorate further in 2026 as households struggle to repay mortgages and other loans.
The data for these inferences comes from official Chinese sources - which is, once again, a very bad sign given as China’s official statistics are ‘opaque’ to say the least. The article reads:
The property sector’s drag on inflation could even be greater than official data suggest [because] the methodology used to determine China’s official Consumer Price Index understates falling rents, and, by extension, the broader deflationary impact.
It could even be worse than the data suggests.
And it definitely effects a large number of Chinese people of the middle class, just like you and me.
[Edit for clarity.]
141·2 days agoOh, no, it’s also about toxic and unsafe products that threaten people’s health because they are offered by retailers that violate any safety and consumer regulation. This is why they have no license.
As Interpol says,
Counterfeit toys pose a significant risk to children, as they may contain hazardous materials and chemicals that can be toxic to children, and their poor build quality can lead to accidents and injuries.
Justice and accountability are not tokens for negotiation, say survivors in Ukraine
At the international conference hosted by Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) in Kyiv on 26 November, survivors presented their Call to Action. These demands include:
- No amnesty for war crimes
- The immediate release of all those still in Russian captivity
- The inclusion of survivors of violations committed since 2014 in the Registry of Damages. Survivors also stress that the process for applying for compensation need to be flexible, accessible and survivor-centred
- The effective and prompt implementation of Law 4067 (Bardina Law)
The Bardina Law gives survivors of conflict-related sexual violence the right to urgent interim reparation. The law came to force in June 2025 but is yet to be implemented. The pilot project on Urgent Interim Reparations for conflict-related sexual violence survivors proves that the registration process can be inclusive, transparent, credible and survivor-centred.
And don’t forget that one in 10 rescued Ukrainian children sexually abused in the occupied territories.
It is important to note that Putin’s Russia broke some 400 agreements in the recent decade or so, that’s basically every he signed.
The operation is the second in two years and brings the number of counterfeit toys seized by authorities to almost 17m, most of them from China.
bUt It Is cHeAp.
If a war breaks out I would work also longer than 60 hours and if this propaganda parrot promises to never come back I pay for his one-way ticket to Moscow or Beijing.
As early as 2012, one report wrote on Chinese Fascism’s Global Consequences:
It is increasingly clear that China is the most powerful, mature and internationally accepted fascist state in global history and its status as such should cause us all a great deal of concern.
Last year, under, China’s Turn to Fascist Rule, another analysis reads,
Under Xi Jinping, China meets all four hallmarks of what constitutes fascism – cult-like worship, hyper-nationalism, a merciless surveillance apparatus and the glorification of military strength.
There are many more.
1·4 days agoThis is not about ‘leverage’ but a stance on human rights. But, more importantly, it’s a reason why China is not a reliable partner for Canada.
It’s also important that the UAE is also allegedly supporting crimes against humanity and genocide in China’s Xinjiang region. There is ample evidence for Beijing’s atrocities against Uyghurs as you may know (you’ll find a lot of very reliable sources across the web, some of them even here as I have read).
So Canada must not look only at Sudan but also China.
It is also important in this context that Chinese military was reportedly hosted at base in the UAE. The UAE and China have close military ties and held a joint air force drill in China’s Xinjiang region.
do we(legally) need to protest against each new version over and over again?
Not a legal expert, but I am afraid that’s how it is …
You may wish to write your MEP(s):
1·5 days agoThat’s a shame. It may also be important in this context that Chinese military was reportedly hosted at base in the UAE. The UAE and China have close military ties and held a joint air force drill in China’s Xinjiang region.
Financial Services firm Morningstar sees European defense stocks as undervalued after the recent overreaction to potential peace deal ignores the real drivers of demand.
The market reaction is overstated. European defense valuations are anchored in structural budget increases rather than short-term Ukraine revenue, and rearmament plans are unlikely to reverse even in the event of a peace agreement …
European governments’ long-term demand reflects inventory rebuilding, capability and platform scale-up, and autonomy from US support … to reach 3.5% of GDP on defense spending. These fundamentals remain intact and support order visibility, backlog conversion, and cash generation.
Ukraine procurement is marginal for most contractors. Germany is now the largest single supporter of Ukraine. Yet, Rheinmetall has only EUR 1.7 billion of Ukraine orders within an EUR 64-billion backlog, underscoring the sector’s long-run domestic and NATO-driven demand …
How do you make such an inference? This is a divisive rhetoric out of the blue that is echoing anti-democratic propaganda aimed at sowing division among society.
Aha …
Chinese robotaxi operator Pony.ai says one of its cars caught fire in Shanghai
Pony.ai Recalls Autonomous Driving Software After Crash in California
Europe needs to build that itself, as much as it needs to ‘re-industrialize.’ The safest and best place to produce things is in Europe as its environmental and social rules are more developed as elsewhere: https://feddit.uk/c/buyeuropean
6·5 days agoYeah, that’s certainly true. For Europe, however, the continent was rather regulating than building in the past. But it must do both. It’s also important to build a strong open source ecosystem in Europe imho. Relying on European Big Tech (Telecom, SAP, …) is insufficient. I am no sure whether all politicians have gotten this.
Addition: That’s basically what @emotional_soup_88@programming.dev says in this thread. I fully agree with that.
This is not bullying but legitimate critique. The state that is often bulling its neighbors is elsewhere.
Yeah, the world should rather hail the reasonable people of the governments who are refusing to exit from fossil fuels. These Europeans and their allies get it all wrong (s/, just to be safe).
Probably, I am not an expert in construction, but several reports (including this one) say there is a lack of security. Another one is economic struggle as the article also suggest. Many people wouldn’t live in these homes if they had a choice, but homelessness is on the rise in Hong Kong.