National Day of the People’s Republic of China

National Day (Chinese: 国庆节; pinyin: guóqìng jié; lit. ‘national celebration day’), officially the National Day of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国国庆节), is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on 1 October as the national day of the People’s Republic of China, commemorating the formal proclamation of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949. The Chinese Communist Party victory in the Chinese Civil War resulted in the Kuomintang “retreat” to Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Revolution whereby the People’s Republic of China “replaced” the Republic of China.

Although it is observed on 1 October, another six days are added to the official holiday, normally in lieu of the two weekend breaks around 1 October, making it a de facto public holiday comprising seven consecutive days also known as Golden Week (黄金周; huángjīn zhōu) with specifics regulated by the State Council. Festivities and concerts are usually held nationwide on this day, with a grand military parade and mass pageant event held on select years. The parade held on 1 October 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the incumbent Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist government of the Republic of China in the Chinese Civil War that took place from 1927 to 1950 except for a brief alliance against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In its aftermath, the internationally recognized government of China withdrew to the island of Taiwan, previously a prefecture of the Qing Empire that was ceded to Japan under its colonial rule from 1895 to 1945.

The People’s Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, with a ceremony celebrating the forming of the Central People’s Government taking place in Tiananmen Square in its new national capital of Peking (previously Peiping) on the same day that year. The first public parade of the new People’s Liberation Army took place there, following the address by the country’s first Chairman Mao Zedong officially declaring the formal establishment of the Republic. The Central People’s Government passed the Resolution on the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on 2 December 1949, and declared that 1 October is the National Day.

National Day marks the start of the only golden week (黄金周) in the PRC that the government has kept. Removing one of the Golden Weeks caused controversies when it happened in 2007.

The day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau with a variety of government-organized festivities, including fireworks and concerts, as well as sports events and cultural events. Public places, such as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, are decorated in a festive theme. Portraits of revered leaders, such as Mao Zedong, are publicly displayed. The holiday is also celebrated by many overseas Chinese.

FCC sanctioned TikTok: “Apple and Google remove it from stores”

The Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America sent a notice to Apple and Google in recent days asking them to remove the TikTok app from their stores due to its data management practices that are not exactly transparent.

FCC commissioner Brendan Carr sent the request to the two Silicon Valley giants after it emerged, thanks to a BuzzFeed News investigation, that TikTok staff in China had the ability to access US user data despite the company statements indicated otherwise.

“As you know, TikTok is an app available to millions of Americans via your app stores and collects vast amounts of sensitive data about US users. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, a company linked to the Chinese Communist Party and which responds to Chinese law by complying with government surveillance demands, “wrote Carr in a letter addressed to Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook, the two CEOs of Google and Apple.

“It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable risk to national security due to the vast amount of data it collects coupled with Beijing’s seemingly uncontrolled access to that sensitive data,” the FCC commissioner specified, according to TechCrunch.

It is not new that concerns are raised about the confidentiality of information collected by TikTok, which in the past has repeatedly replied that US user data is stored in the US and not in China. However, according to BuzzFeed News, TikTok staff in China had access to US user data as late as January of this year.

BuzzFeed’s claim is in contrast to a sworn testimony a TikTok executive gave in a US Senate hearing in October last year, stating then that it is “a renowned security team. based in the United States “to decide who can gain access to US user data.

TikTok’s response to BuzzFeed’s response was not long in coming: the company said it currently uses servers located in the US and Singapore for backup, but plans to delete US users’ private data from datacenters in the future ( in China) and fully switch to Oracle’s cloud servers located in the US. The company also stated that it is working to make operational changes and to set up a US-based department that can exclusively manage US user data.

The Chinese government abandons Windows and “Western” PCs: space for Linux

Over the next two years China will take care of nearly 50 million PCs used in government agencies with “non-foreigners” that can be maintained nationwide. This also involves the abandonment of Windows in favor of Linux, to an extent aimed at cutting any possible dependence on US realities for everything related to the operation of the state machine.

This is a measure that actually comes “from afar”, with the Chinese government over the last decade trying to encourage the adoption of local hardware and software as much as possible, including hiring a company to monitor local suppliers in the development of sensitive components and services for the operation of government information systems.

A move that could have quite severe effects on the reality as Dell and HP, for which the supply and assistance of a government reality is an important part of their turnover. Conversely, Lenovo could have the opportunity to snatch significant market share from US competitors.

However, there are some components that are fundamental for certain purposes and for which there is still no “made in China” alternative. Chinese PC system manufacturers will still rely on Western components – for example, processors and GPUs – to be able to build their machines.

It is similar that special permits will continue to exist for some specific categories, such as state media and cybersecurity agencies, because they can continue to source foreign technology, even if there is no real future in the future for a squeeze for these particular cases as well.

The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympics: One World, One Family

The lighting of the Olympic cauldron officially kicked off the Beijing 2022 Games, during a hypnotic Opening Ceremony that ended in an amazing way. Athletes from 91 countries marched into the Beijing National Stadium for the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony, arousing a strong sense of déjà vu given the previous Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. The Beijing National Stadium, or Bird’s Nest as it is affectionately known, has become the premier venue for the opening ceremonies of the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. The “One World, One Family” theme of the Opening Ceremony was represented by the image of a single snowflake and was at the center of the show from the beginning to the end of the Ceremony. The theme was based on an ancient Chinese saying which meant that “a truly wise person sees the whole world as one family”. World-renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou played the role of master of ceremonies for the second time, becoming the first person to direct two opening events in the same city. Zhang was also the mastermind behind the spectacular 2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony. The celebrated director brought the show to life through music, song, dance, innovative technology and fireworks, with the participation of Chinese citizens of Beijing and Hebei Province, instead of stars, singers, dancers or actors. professionals. The central stage within the venue included 11,600 square meters of HD LED screen, which mimicked “a surface of crystalline ice” throughout the ceremony. Zhang also used high technology to bring his creation to life through artificial intelligence, using live motion capture technology. In his speech, IOC President Thomas Bach praised athletes for their resilience and the inspiration they have provided to the world through sport. “You came here after overcoming so many challenges, experiencing great uncertainty. But now your time has come: the moment you’ve been waiting for. The moment we’ve all been waiting for,” said Bach. “We are all with you. We all support you. We all cheer for you.” Bach stressed how sport plays a crucial unifying role in society and stressed the importance of solidarity, a key principle of the Olympic Movement. “May this encourage you to go faster, to aim higher, to get stronger. Together,” he said. “In this way, you will inspire the world in this Olympic Year with the same ambition, courage and strength as the Year of the Tiger.”

Chinese New Year, 2022 is the year of the Tiger: it happens once every 60 years.

The Spring Festival commonly known as Chinese New Year. In the Eastern tradition, the calendar is lunisolar, that is linked to the phases of the moon (not the sun) and the months begin with each new moon. This is why we also speak of the Lunar New Year. The beginning of the new year always coincides with the second new moon after the winter solstice, therefore on a date between January 21 and February 20. A day that – this year on 1 February precisely – kicks off two weeks of celebrations for a large part of the Far East. Not only China, in fact, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan and Vietnam. Each year, according to Chinese astrology, is marked by an animal sign (12 in total) and one of the five fundamental elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. The 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and so on were also of the Tiger, but the combination with water recurs every 60 years. In the Chinese horoscope this sign embodies strength, courage and impulsiveness (characteristics similar to those of Leo in our local horoscope). The meaning attributed to it, therefore, is that of an unpredictable year. It mitigates the water element, but months of ups and downs are expected. Surely a better prospect than 2020, which was the year of the Rat: a year of great upheavals. The actual party, a bit like Christmas, begins on the evening of New Year’s Eve, with a family banquet. Then the first day opens with the lion dance, a traditional ritual. The party alternates between myths and superstitions. We visit parents and grandparents, not on the fourth day of celebration, however, because it brings bad luck and we fight. Among the traditional foods there are the Jiaozi, the famous steamed meat ravioli, which are eaten especially on the fifth day of the festival. To close the Chinese New Year cycle there is the Lantern Festival, the main recurrence of these holidays, in which you walk at night with the iconic rice paper lanterns. In modern times, plastic has replaced paper, and the decorations are written and drawings of anime, traditional Japanese cartoons. In the streets there are dances and other artistic performances, then the inevitable fireworks. But where do these customs come from?

China beats the US in space launches in the third quarter of 2021, reaching 15

The space launch market is becoming increasingly important both in terms of numbers and in terms of revenues. Through the data released by BryceTech we can look at the data for the third quarter of 2021. According to what was reported, China through the CASC (Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Company) carried out more space launches during the quarter, touching 15 launches against 3 of reality like SpaceX for the United States. But there is much more also thanks to the comparison with the second quarter of this year. China and the US dominate the space launch market Also according to the information released by BryceTech, between the 15 launches of CASC and the 3 of SpaceX Arianespace ranks with 5 while Roscosmos is in fourth position with 2 launches. In Q3 2021, companies such as ULA, Firefly, Astra, iSpace, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and Expace made a single launch. This account, however, as recalled by those who defined the table, also includes failed launches as in the case of Firefly. By way of comparison, in the previous quarter (Q2 2021), there were 11 launches of SpaceX and CASC respectively. 3 instead were those of Roscosmos and Arianespace, 2 those of ULA and Northrop Grumman and 1 Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab and the Iranian space agency. If we consider the number of spacecraft / satellites launched (regardless of operation), Arianespace dominates the ranking with 111 units, followed by SpaceX with 61, CASC with 30. The other companies are all further down in the rankings. Altogether 226 spacecraft / satellites were launched with 73% being for telecommunications. Only 12 were for data collection from space and 2% were manned or with cargo destined for space stations. Furthermore, 90% were smallsats which, however, concern only 24% of the mass. In the last quarter 577 spacecraft / satellites were launched with 83% related to telecommunications.

25th October (2021): Retrocession Day [Taiwan]

Retrocession Day is the name given to the annual observance and unofficial holiday and former public holiday in Taiwan to commemorate the end of Japanese rule of Taiwan and Penghu, and the claimed retrocession (“return”) of Taiwan to the Republic of China on October 25, 1945. However, the idea of “Taiwan retrocession” is in dispute.

Chief Executive of Taiwan Province Chen I (right) accepting the receipt of Order No. 1 signed by Rikichi Andō (left), the last Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan, on behalf of the Republic of China Armed Forces at Taipei City Hall.

Taiwan, then more commonly known to the Western world as “Formosa”, became a colony of the Empire of Japan when the Qing Empire lost the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and ceded the island with the signing of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. Japanese rule in Taiwan lasted until the end of World War II.

In November 1943, Chiang Kai-shek took part in the Cairo Conference with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, who firmly advocated that Japan be required to return all of the territory it had annexed into its empire, including Taiwan and the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands. Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation, drafted by the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and China in July 1945, reiterated that the provisions of the Cairo Declaration be thoroughly carried out, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender stated Japan’s agreement to the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation.

Under the authorization of American General Douglas MacArthur‘s General Order No. 1, Chen I (Chief Executive of Taiwan Province) was escorted by George Kerr to Taiwan to accept the Japanese government’s surrender as the Chinese delegate. When the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, General Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed an instrument of surrender and handed it over to governor-general of Taiwan Chen I, representing the Republic of China Armed Forces to complete the official turnover in Taipei (known during occupation as Taihoku) on October 25, 1945, at Taipei City Hall (now Zhongshan Hall). Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be “Retrocession Day” and organized the island into the Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. Taiwan has since been governed by the Government of the Republic of China.

The tension between China and Taiwan is still rising.Xi warns the world: “Taiwan will be reunited with China, no one will interfere”

Yesterday evening Beijing rejected the offer of talks made by the president of the Asian island Tsai Ing-wen. The president then said today that Taiwan will strengthen its defenses so that no one can force it to accept the path traced by China without freedom and democracy.

The Taiwan independence movement is “the biggest obstacle to national reunification, a serious threat to China’s rejuvenation: it never ends well for those who forget their ancestors, betray their homeland or divide the country. They will certainly be despised by the people and judged by history ”. The peremptory tones of President Xi Jinping, echoed in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, gave a clear representation of the woodworm well rooted in the Communist leadership because “the historical task of the complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled and it certainly will be. “.
Xi warned the world on the rebel island, 130 km away from the coasts of Fujian, so close and at the same time far from mainland China for institutional arrangements: never before, despite the pressure from Beijing and the almost 150 military aircraft and fighters sent to violate the defense space from 1 to 4 October.
Only the 23 million Taiwanese have the right to decide “the future and development” of the island, was the reply of the Taipei Council for Business with China: in the face of the ambitions of the Communist Party, President Tsai Ing- Wen has repeatedly reiterated that he “will neither yield nor advance”, strongly defending national sovereignty and security and continuing to deepen relations with friendly countries and maintain the “status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

The myth of Chinese austerity (and devotion)

Illustration of Pawel Kuczynski

The pandemic has shocked the world and the origin of the virus is certain … but probably in the future there will never be certainty of the true causes of the spread of the virus. China is a powerful country even for the United States, and controlling or spying on political movements is a difficult task if the government has a firm dictatorship.

But what do they know about the Chinese?
Obviously in the collective imagination there is always the idea that Chinese are the largest rice producing and consuming country .. But there are other things:
have you ever seen a chinese funeral?
It is strange to think about this … many say that the Chinese sleep personally in boxes.
In any case, this image is eloquent. It can have many meanings but the most obvious one is that the Western world is so used to the glitz that it wastes grains of rice. A different thing for the Chinese instead …

Cryptocurrencies, China closes 90% of its mining operations. Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum are in sharp decline

Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum are in sharp decline
With the closure of 26 mining operations in the Sichuan region, China’s overall Bitcoin mining will be reduced by 90% and global mining by a third. The backlash on the market has already arrived.
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China has decided to tighten cryptocurrencies to curb speculative trading, shutting down several mining operations in Sichuan province in southwest China, known to be the cradle of many miners. It is estimated that the closures will lead to a 90% reduction in Bitcoin mining in the Chinese area. Following this decision, the global cryptocurrency market showed signs of weakening which confirmed the downward trend.
China stops mining cryptocurrencies

Since June 20, many mining operations have been closed after local authorities ordered the mining of cryptocurrencies to be stopped. The decision follows that of the Chinese State Council which at the national level had expressed itself in May for the reduction of mining activities with these words: “Bitcoin mining and its commercial practices must be repressed and the transmission of individual risks to the sector must be prevented. social.” China has therefore expressed concern about the speculative trading of cryptocurrencies that could contaminate and be a risk for the real economy.

The notice issued by the Sichuan authorities on Friday leaves no room for doubt about the toughness to be applied to cryptocurrencies, as it has ordered local electricity companies to “check, finish and reclaim” the 26 reported mining activities by Sunday.

Chinese miners had already been hit in the northern areas of the nation and with the closure of those of Sichuan, in the southwest, it is expected that bitcoin mining will be closed for a total of 90%.