Richard McGregor @mcgregorrichard Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

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@REGEMAT3D

Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

China is about to wipe out, with the stroke of a pen, Australia's biggest export markets for wine, lobster and a few other commodities, against WTO rules and a bi-lateral FTA. Seems like it should be a bigger deal, and not just in Australia....

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

ICYMI, a time line from @LowyInstitute displaying how China displaced the US as the trading partner for most countries:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

"The angry summer playing out in Australia right now was predictable." The relationship between the bush fires and climate change, laid out in detail:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

"Way before Nato existed, Russia looked like this: it had an autocrat. It had repression. It had militarism. It had suspicion of foreigners and the West. This is a Russia that we know, and it’s not a Russia that arrived yesterday."

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

"China wants to have its cake and eat it. Privately they remain aligned with Russia, but publicly they don’t want to be tainted because of guilt by association.” Why Beijing is squirming over Ukraine:

The rising costs of China’s friendship with Russia

The war in Ukraine represents a threat to China’s economy and could lead to a diplomatic backlash over its support for Moscow

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

“Fifteen years ago, if I talked to Western colleagues about the negative aspects of China, I was treated as a right-wing, China-hating, Japanese scholar. Now, people listen to us.”

How Japan sees China

Mighty, but also dangerously overconfident

www.economist.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

The Chinese are keeping their sense of humour while bunkered down with the #cornonavirus

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Put simply: The US threw out fake journalists whose work makes no difference; and China got to throw out real journalists whose work was invaluable. Who thinks this was a good trade, besides the MSS in China and a few ardent hawks in the US?

Edward Wong

@ewong

4 years

Trump officials’ move to constrain Chinese state-run media in US backfired, says @benyt . It gave China the pretext to expel almost all journalists for NYT, WSJ and Wash Post. The world relied on their great reporting for China news, including on the virus.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

1 year

Amazing, and potentially big implications for everyone from Tim Cook to Terry Gou (still contemplating a career in Taiwan politics) to anyone waiting on their new iPhone, Apple shareholders, the party secretaries of Zhengzhou and Henan, and on and on.....

China Labor Watch

@chinalaborwatch

1 year

The latest Foxconn worker protest video

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 months

A good corrective from @byjamesmann about Henry Kissinger and China:

The Six Myths Kissinger Created About Himself — That Everyone Fell For

His actual record on China policy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

www.politico.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

"One would think the Chinese leadership, which has made a fetish of their 'century of humiliation,' would be wary of deliberately fostering the same resentments in a country that will one day be a formidable competitor."

China Is Foolish to Make an Enemy of India

While the People’s Republic may be more powerful now, its arrogance is driving Asia’s other giant into the arms of the U.S.

www.bloomberg.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

Not sure why @globaltimesnews posted this. The protesters argue their corner very well.

Global Times

@globaltimesnews

5 years

#HongKong protesters got in the way of a foreign tourist in #HK airport after all departures were canceled due to sit-in protests. The tourist fought back: "Hong Kong is a part of China!" "Go get a job!" #香港

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

The most interesting thing about this story is that News Ltd is reported on as if it is a fully-fledged political player - changing policies while confidentially briefing affected parties and negotiating with dissenters in its ranks.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

With the recent COVID-19 resurgence in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, I guess that makes Australia and NZ the most Confucian countries outside of China in the region?

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

China has ample domestic reasons to act on climate change - water, technology, environment etc.... - and don't need any trade offs as an incentive. False bargain.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

How to stop a Chinese bank run: "One by one, cadres and executives stood before a microphone to pledge their backing for the bank, as smiling employees brandished wads of cash before cameras."

Scenes From a Chinese Bank Run: ‘We Really Can’t Afford to Lose the Money’

A cash squeeze at Yichuan Bank makes it at least the fourth small lender that authorities have rushed to aid this year.

www.wsj.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

This tweet storm from Beijing's Ambassador to France adds a new angle to the civilisational struggle over the #coronavirusaus - it's Asian countries that have outperformed the democratic West, with China best of all.

Ambassade de Chine en France

@AmbassadeChine

4 years

Les pays asiatiques, dont la Chine, ont été particulièrement performants dans leur lutte contre le Covid-19 parce qu’ils ont ce sens de la collectivité et du civisme qui fait défaut aux démocraties occidentales. 8/15

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

So the PM tells a single journalist the country will remain "closed" well into next year? A momentous announcement and there seems to be a collective shrug of the shoulders. Shouldn't that be the spark for emergency policies to find safe ways to re-open?

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Great coverage of a stunning @ASPI_org report:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

Striking display of solidarity.

Jonathan Cheng

@JChengWSJ

3 years

Diplomats from twenty-five countries at the Canadian embassy in Beijing this morning for the Spavor verdict.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

FWIW, the China bureaus of three big US papers the @nytimes @washingtonpost @latimes are now all headed by Antipodean women, respectively @JanePerlez @annafifield @RobynDixon_LAT 加油！

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Few leaders make a genuine difference, but Abe did, as the father of the QUAD, the Indo-Pacific and a new national security and bureaucratic culture in Japan. History was his black spot, with Beijing and Seoul. They will think long and hard about who to send to his funeral #Abe

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

More Chinese infrastructure porn.

People's Daily, China

@PDChina

6 years

Behold, the breathtaking Bailong Elevator in Zhangjiajie, China, which is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest, fastest, and largest-load outdoor elevator in the world.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

"Only 7.2% of Japanese companies in China either planned or considered shifting production out of China, down from an already paltry 9.2% in 2019." Good reminder of the challenges of de-coupling:

Why Japan Inc can't and won’t quit China - Asia Times

TOKYO - As the fog of economic war lifts, the ways in which China outmaneuvered Donald Trump’s White House are becoming clearer. Nowhere more so than in

asiatimes.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

8 months

"A joke in South Africa these days asks what the difference is between the Titanic and South Africa. Answer: At least the Titanic’s lights were on as it sank." Very good, and depressing, article, on SA's unravelling:

Gangs, Corruption and Collapse: The Slow and Steady Demise of South Africa

The end of Apartheid in South Africa brought a surge of hope for a brighter future. But the ANC, the party that liberated the Black majority from oppression, has transformed the country into a swamp...

www.spiegel.de

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

“I smiled and said, of course I am in favour of One Country, Two Systems. And in my heart, I thought, screw you.”

China lures Taiwanese into ‘brainstorming’ talks on island’s future

Xi Jinping seeks to show he is achieving progress towards reunification

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

The phrase “must read” is hackneyed but it definitely applies to this book. Astounding story of global corruption, starting in #malaysia #1MDB @TomWrightAsia @bradleyhope

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

I vote @MrKRudd and @TurnbullMalcolm to have their own regular TV show, though maybe not on @SkyNewsAust #insiders

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

Democracy blocks authoritarian neighbors streaming sites, to guard against influence operations. We really are moving into a new era.

Charles Mok 莫乃光

@charlesmok

5 years

台灣block騰訊百度以防止干預定2020選舉 Taiwan to block Tencent and Baidu streaming sites on security risk Taipei fears Beijing ramping up 'cultural infiltration' ahead of 2020 election

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

"The more pressure Japan had (in the 30s), the more adamant, arrogant and self-assertive we became, because we were too nationalistic and too undemocratic, and that was our destiny. China is following the same path.”

As the World Gets Tougher on China, Japan Tries to Thread a Needle (Published 2020)

Tokyo has not confronted Beijing as the United States and other allies have, mindful of its neighbor’s economic might and its own limited military options.

www.nytimes.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Plain-clothes police setting upon protesters outside a Henan bank. Watch as they come in waves. All highly trained. A good glimpse into the vast and often hidden security apparatus on hand when the system requires them.

mark【雅典娜农场】

@mark57677

2 years

储户 #维权与中共 #维稳战场片段：河南郑州市中心中国人民银行前，几路人马冲杀团战中。#中共便衣警察及雇佣黑社会人员现场殴打被欠钱的储户。#河南村镇银行

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Australia’s classy election campaign comes to an end…..

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

Well played, Japan.

Jesse Johnson

@jljzen

5 years

Uighur activist OK'd to visit Japan for G20 summit despite protest by Beijing | The Japan Times

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Terrible to see this. It could be years before we have any journalist accredited to an Australian media organisation on the ground in China.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Love it.

Marina Rudyak 卢玛丽

@RudyakMarina

4 years

What to do if you can't shake hands? #coronavirus #creativity #china

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

If this happens, it will be written up as "China bails out Russia" whereas it would really be Beijing opportunistically pouncing on hugely underpriced resources.

Bloomberg

@business

2 years

EXCLUSIVE: China considers buying or increasing stakes in Russian energy and commodities companies, such as gas giant Gazprom

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

France refuses to sign onto #BRI and inks EU40bn in China deals; Italy signs onto #BRI and gets contracts for a fraction of that. Even with the Airbus inflation, noteworthy:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

A good summary of Europe's growing disillusionment with China. “In the Denmark where I grew up, we were taught that if you invite a guest to dinner and they do not invite you back, you stop inviting them."

Dawn of Asian century puts pressure on EU to choose sides, says top diplomat

EU foreign affairs chief says end of US-led global system may have arrived and Europe needs robust strategy for China

www.theguardian.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Henry Kissinger in @wsj today on Trump’s “solid job” on the #Coronavirus . So telling that a man of his statue still won’t speak truth to power for fear of losing access to the White House.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

7 years

Xi not just worried about Soviet-style collapse; but also the rise of an politized oligarch-class in its aftermath:

China Takes On Its New Tycoons

Fearing the rise of Russia-style oligarchs, Xi Jinping looks to remind China’s wealthy class of entrepreneurs who is really in charge.

www.wsj.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

All too easy for Beijing at the moment.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

Straight back from Xi in Beijing to this. Abe continues to be so fleet-footed in diplomatic Asia.

PM's Office of Japan

@JPN_PMO

6 years

PM Abe: I heartily welcome Prime Minister @narendramodi of India as he visits 🇯🇵. I lost no time taking him to the lakeside at Lake Yamanaka, where the autumn leaves are in their glory. After this, I will invite him to my summer house, where only the two of us will dine together.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Epic @reuters report on China's handling of a swine fever epidemic which took a quarter of the world's pigs off the global market:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

“Thank you, Teacher Fang Fang, for withstanding the tempest of smears and abuse." A writer in Wuhan and her struggle to document to the city's lockdown:

A Wuhan Writer Rages Against China’s Communist Machine and Becomes an Online Star

Debate rages over allowing independent voices in China after Wuhan writer Wang Fang, known to millions as Fang Fang, documented life and death in a locked-down city ravaged by coronavirus.

www.wsj.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

“He wastes so much time with these illusions, these deliriums, these conspiracies, these fantasies, these scuffles." If you think your country's leaders are mishandling #COVID ー19 you can at least be thankful you are not in Brazil:

Bolsonaro's anti-science response to coronavirus appals Brazil's governors

The president has contradicted his own health ministry by urging people to return to work and schools – ‘I was gobsmacked,’ said one former Bolsonaro ally

www.theguardian.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

By the Queen's side is the then up-and-coming Shanghai Mayor, Jiang Zemin, who, incidentally, is also 96 this year.

China in Pictures

@tongbingxue

2 years

In Shanghai, 1986.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Japan offers its companies money to move out of China, but its big corporates say - no thanks. A reminder of the difficulties of de-coupling from the world's fastest growing consumer market:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

So much for the so-called conciliatory speech from the No. 2 at the Chinese Embassy at the Press Club just a few weeks back.....

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Congratulations to @WTA for this principled stand. Happy to admit that this is one area of de-coupling I didn't see coming.

wta

@WTA

2 years

"With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong."

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

"We have to forget the idea that China’s policy is still tailored to growth. In his speech, Xi mentioned Marx 15 times. The word 'market' appeared only 3 times." Joerg Wuttke, the EU's China business veteran, keeps getting gloomier:

China after the Party Congress: Ideology trumps the Economy

Joerg Wuttke, President of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, sums up the 20th Party Congress and shares his views on the future economic and foreign policy under Xi Jinping.

themarket.ch

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

“I want to be a Communist Party member, thank you.” No surprises here from #JackieChan who, let's not forget, travels on an Australian passport:

Jackie Chan praises Communist Party, offends fans inside and outside China

To mainlanders, the admirer of the Communist Party is immoral because he once had an affair; fans outside China accuse him of being pro-Beijing for commercial reasons.

www.scmp.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Beijing has been diluting opposition to an inquiry over the last week and it's clear from the list of countries that they didn't lobby hard against this motion. In other words, their focus is on managing this probe and any conclusions. We're just at the starting line.....

Stephen Dziedzic

@stephendziedzic

4 years

Here are the countries currently backing the EU motion. A fascinating coalition including Russia, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Japan, the UK, Turkey. Does *not* include either China or the US for now. I'm told US has been pushing for stronger language but's still likely to join

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

“History researchers shouldn’t be cold-eyed observers of times and trends. They must stand atop the commanding heights of our times and guide governance and nurture people.” Terrific @wsj article on a CCP core project, the re-writing of history:

China Repackages Its History in Support of Xi’s National Vision

The propaganda campaign to promote Communist Party history is the largest mass-education drive since the Mao era. Efforts to forge what Xi calls a “correct outlook on history” come ahead of the...

www.wsj.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

“Don’t talk, just listen. We have two teams coming for you.” Terrific ⁦ @WSJ ⁩ story on Meng Hongwei and Interpol.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

"As China rises, instead of embracing a superpower mindset and growing a thicker skin, it is becoming increasingly sensitive to perceived slights, all while it fosters a thin-skinned, resentful nationalism among its people."

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

I hope they do. The discovery process would be good.

Global Times

@globaltimesnews

4 years

Sources say that China is considering suing Adrian Zenz and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) who have long published and disseminated disinformation about China for libel.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

I am not sure that many people realised that the new Chinese Ambassador's offer to "meet Australia halfway" meant we would see them in the Solomons Islands.

Jack Norton

@JackNorton8064

2 years

Former PM Kevin Rudd says China’s security deal with Solomon Islands was a ‘politically illiterate’ move if Beijing is sincere about improving relations with Australia.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

"The most consequential poll in 2020 might not come at the end of the year, when Trump seeks a second term, but much earlier and closer to home, in Taiwan this weekend." A @LowyInstitute paper with @natashaskassam

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

A chilling account of Beijing's anti-Uighur campaign and how the country's ethnic assimilationists won out:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Nasty and disproportionate, and Beijing believes it is strong enough to get away with it. A disaster, because China is under reported (unlike the US, which is over reported.) Finally, US should have never picked this fight. China will always win a race to the bottom on the media.

Michael Fullilove

@mfullilove

4 years

Ping ⁦ @mcgregorrichard ⁩ and ⁦ @natashaskassam ⁩

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

"The conclusion Beijing has drawn is the only one possible in an authoritarian system: when the moment is right, they must act ruthlessly to punish Hong Kong." Depressingly true but it will only increase resistance to CCP around the world @JamilAnderlini

Beijing will have its revenge on Hong Kong

‘Asia’s world city’, braced for impending retribution, will never be the same again

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

1 year

Samsung was early to the derisking/decoupling game. Getting out of China has made it and other SK companies among the largest investors in Vietnam, India and Indonesia:

Samsung Is a Case Study in How Manufacturers Leave China

The company still has significant operations in China but its smartphone manufacturing business pulled up stakes years ago. How and why that happened is instructive.

www.wsj.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

"In Wuhan, the system failed, monumentally." ICYMI, an excellent, detailed account of what went wrong after the first cases of #coronavirus were detected:

Analysis | China’s early warning system didn’t work on covid-19. Here’s the story.

Lies and cover-ups halted vital information.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Absolutely +1. The BBC seems caught in perennial culture wars at home. Abroad, especially in countries without a free press, the World Service is indispensable, a byword for reliability and fairness, and a great asset for the UK itself.

Lindsey Hilsum

@lindseyhilsum

2 years

The BBC World Service, radio and TV, is the best ambassador Britain could ever have. I have spent a lifetime travelling, relying on it myself, and meeting people who see it as a consistent source of high quality news and information.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

The fetishisation of the 'Five Eyes' as a kind of all-purpose Anglospheric policy vehicle was always going to reach its limits, and no surprise that it is NZ that is tapping on the brakes 1/

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

Stunning story, naming very senior Chinese officials.

Matthew Rose

@MtthwRose

5 years

In secret meetings, Chinese officials offered to spy on ⁦ @WSJ ⁩ reporters investigating a Malaysian investment-fund scandal.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

As far as #notwastingacrisis goes, in recent weeks, Beijing has upped war games around Taiwan, engineered mass arrests in HK and thrown a bunch of US journalists. Not bad going... #coronavirus

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

On @abc730 @PeterDutton_MP talked about China's dispute with Thailand. Have I missed something? Or did he mean Taiwan?

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

This is not true now by a long shot. Whether it will ever be true is an open question.

Jonathan Cheng

@JChengWSJ

3 years

Former Australian PM Tony Abbott: "The answer to almost every question about China is India. Although currently not as rich as China, as a democracy under the rule of law…India is perfectly placed to substitute for China in global supply chains."

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

We are a long way from some kind of 'League of Democracies" jointly sharing the pain of Chinese coercion. Right now, the sanctions against Australia are simply an opportunity for someone else.

The Sydney Morning Herald

@smh

3 years

At least 60 countries count China as their number-one trading partner and they're all keen to fill the void left by the trade bans on Australia | @ErykBagshaw

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 months

The Australian ship was "close to Chinese waters" (not in), so the PLAN was entitled to use sonar to "detect their real intention." But we should be friends anyway. What a mess of an article. (And fixing previous tweet.).

Global Times

@globaltimesnews

6 months

#Opinion : The Australian Navy should anticipate that when they send any ship close to Chinese waters, the Chinese naval ships will use sonar to try to detect the real intentions of the other side. Staying out of Chinese waters will make Australian sailors much safer. We need to…

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

This speech about China from the head of MI5 is startlingly explicit. You can barely see the Cameron-Osborne 'golden era' in the rearview mirror:

Joint address by MI5 and FBI Heads | MI5 - The Security Service

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum and FBI Director Chris Wray warn of growing threat posed by Chinese Communist Party.

www.mi5.gov.uk

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

Good to see the world holding China's feet to the fire over Ukraine but IMHO, the idea propagated by some - that Xi could "pick up the phone" and talk Putin out of the invasion - doesn't hold water #UkraineChina

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

So-called "wet markets" are common throughout Asia, not just China, and "most are not virus petri-dishes filled with exotic animals ready to be slaughtered." If only we close down the few that do trade in wildlife:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Agree. Went to PNG a week ago and every incoming passenger at Port Moresby had their temperature taken. Coming back through Brisbane, we breezed though immigration and customs.......

Jodie Gunders

@JodieGunders

4 years

What’s the story, Australia? Just breezed through customs at Brisbane International. No temp checks, no questions about health/symptoms. Also, no sniffer dogs or follow up questions re biosecurity and ASF? @abcnews

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

I think this is Beijing's strategy. Spook Chinese importers who will decide it is no longer safe to do business with Australia. They will simply look elsewhere for wine and other goods, and the trade with Australia will wither.

Stephen Dziedzic

@stephendziedzic

4 years

The mere threat of a trade suspension is already hurting some Australian exporters. Febrile atmosphere. One winemaker told me today that importers in China have *already* cancelled forward orders because they were spooked by rumours / unofficial warnings from Chinese officials

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

If Pentagon contracts caused uproar at with Goggle staff then I presume running a censored search engine for China will cause mass resignations?

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

British spy chiefs split on Huawei. "The intelligence agencies are all agreed that there is a threat. Where there is divergence is on the way the threat can be managed and mitigated.”

Huawei threat uncovers enemy within UK spy agencies

Debate about approach to the Chinese telecoms group reveals tensions over security roles

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

And to think, that a month ago, China looked to be on its knees, and the US was just a spectator. Incredible........

Howard French

@hofrench

4 years

Cuomo just now: The Chinese government is facilitating a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will be coming in today. (Brokered by Asia Society.) He thanks Joe Tsai, Jack Ma and the "Chinese ambassador."

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

A reminder of what it is like trying to report in China (and especially Xinjiang) these days. The sheer surveillance hours thrown at tracking foreign journalists is astonishing:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

“Some of them are prepared to die for the movement. I am also willing to die for it.” How desperate citizens became radicals. Excellent @wsj article on HK protests:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

The opposite is a more likely explanation. Having worked in China for years, foreign carmakers know they would be crucified w/t the political connections of their JV partners.

James Laurenceson 罗震

@j_laurenceson

6 years

So this is interesting. Foreign car makers in China will be able to go it alone from 2022. Yet they seem to be choosing to remain in joint ventures. Might sometimes the 'forced technology transfer' narrative be overplayed?

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

Remarkable picture. I wonder if Chinese state media will give it much prominence.

Anna Fifield

@annafifield

6 years

Moon, Li and Abe kicking back after their "very fruitful" meeting in Tokyo today

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

Wang Yang goes where few of Beijing's leaders dare to go; slams CultRev for destroying traditional Chinese culture; compliments Taiwan for preserving it:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

A $39bn port in a village of 20,000 people? Australia should be alert to China's intent in PNG but spoiler alert, this will never, ever happen, not least because Beijing's technocrats wouldn't let such risky money out of the country.

John Kehoe

@Johnkehoe23

3 years

China to build $39bn city right on our Pacific doorstep

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

From @POLITICOEurope "The EU hung Australia out to dry at the WHO's World Health Assembly, derailing call for an independent probe into the coronavirus outbreak by negotiating a compromise with Beijing." Is this how Canberra and Brussels sees it?

As Australia clashes with China, the EU lies low

A trade war with Beijing is no fun for anyone, but it’s especially problematic for Canberra.

www.politico.eu

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

9 years

Dusk on East Capitol Street @capitalweather http://t.co/E1wK1HPdSx

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

All of "the-world-supports-Oz-on-China" headlines this week overshadowed the distinctly cool appraisal from Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong whose speech only a few years ago on regional geo-politics won a big tick from @ScottMorrisonMP

Singapore’s Lee Advises Australia to Engage With China

The past year has seen a chill descend over relations between Canberra and Beijing.

thediplomat.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Respectfully suggest two (pejorative, lazy and loaded) words should be banned in Oz in the China debate: #kowtow and #appeasement

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

"In front of Xi were placed two teacups. The six other Politburo Standing Committee members had only one teacup in front of them." @NikkeiAsia 's Nakazawa always writes fun articles which only confirm what little knowledge we have about Chinese politics:

Analysis: Xi Jinping's two cups signal there's plenty of hot tea left

With play on 'cold tea' idiom, president signals that retirement is nowhere in sight

asia.nikkei.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

The US should keep three assets against China even if its economy is smaller: "A law-governed democracy; a free-market economy; and economically powerful allies. These are sources of admiration, dynamism and strength. Sadly, the US is trashing them all."

How the US should deal with China

Washington is in danger of throwing away the leverage its allies could have given it

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

5 years

So Trump asked Xi to give something to Qualcomm, which was then paraded as a concession, but which Qualcomm didn't want? Things are very messy post-G20 on the US side.

Caixin Global

@caixin

5 years

There were reports over the weekend that China left the door open for a renewed Qualcomm bid to buy NXP Semiconductors. Now Qualcomm has shut it.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Excellent @fryan piece on #TikTok 's travails, to which could be added another reason for hostility. Beijing bans foreign social media/internet platforms. It can hardly complain if other countries return serve:

TikTok is a political football of Beijing’s making | The Strategist

Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is facing an existential crisis. By its own estimation, its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, is set to lose US$6 billion after being kicked out of India. A...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

3 years

"One can no longer talk about Xi Jinping as a normal person. He should not be touched or spoken about”. Germany's Confucius Institutes (inside universities) toe the line @ft ($):

China blamed for cancellation of events for German book on Xi Jinping

Publisher says situation is a ‘disquieting signal’ after presentations pulled at short notice

www.ft.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

“The China brand is being damaged quickly and extensively." @JKynge on China v. the World (or at least a large slab of it):

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

China isn't the only model for suppressing the #coronavirusaus spread, despite its megaphone diplomacy. Good @FT take on how democracies like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have managed it as well:

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

6 years

The "collapse of the 'China collapse' theory" A column on how all the China bears have (for the moment) gone into hibernation: @LowyInstitute

The collapse of the “Chinese collapse” theory

Originally published in the Australian Financial Review on 9 April 2018. Richard McGregor

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

2 years

These paeans to the Chinese Government from the likes of Gerry Harvey work well for people like him, until the government decides they don’t like him, and in the name of “getting things done”, bulldozes a few of his stores overnight and puts him in jail without charge.

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

1 month

"A child born in Kerala in India’s south has a better chance of surviving to age five than in the US. In Uttar Pradesh in the north, the odds are worse than in Afghanistan." Terrific article on Modi and India's north-south divide @andymukherjee70

Why India’s South Rejects Modi — And Why It Matters

The more progressive and successful part of the country is drifting away from the poverty-ridden north and its majoritarian leader.

www.bloomberg.com

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Richard McGregor

@mcgregorrichard

4 years

Superb, forensic journalism on elite princeling wealth in HK. Which raises a question: the CCP needs HK as a financial centre which requires a deal of integrity in public records. How will that system survive a political crackdown?

Mike Forsythe 傅才德

@PekingMike

4 years

JUST POSTED: The Chinese Communist Party elite have a huge financial stake in Hong Kong. Relatives of 3 of the top 4 CCP leaders have luxury real estate there worth at least $51m (actually worth far more), a NYT investigation shows. By @jotted and me.

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