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China

Recent increased naval activity East Asia

Submitted by soryang on Thu, 04/30/2026 - 4:18am

Media bragging about US/Philippine/Japan/New Zealand/France/Canada joint military exercises in South China Sea. In the first video, NTD is an Falun Gong/Epoch Times related organization, mostly propaganda, but sometimes apart from the spin, the military news there is useful. Watch 5 min from where it's cued to start.

Hitch your wagon to a star

Submitted by soryang on Fri, 01/30/2026 - 7:18pm

So the saying goes. There is a version of it in the far east as well, described as an insider mechanism of political power in China in the video I'll link to below. General Zhang Youxia,张有侠 recently purged from the PLA Central Military Commission, is the key figure. He was no 2 in the PLA power structure only after Xi himself. A staff General on the commission Liu Zhenli was also purged, leaving Xi alone at the top after previous removals of other generals on the commission.

Toast to Peace

Submitted by soryang on Mon, 01/26/2026 - 10:42pm

I've been listening to this OST sound track below, which frankly isn't all that extensive, only 2 songs and 2 instrumentals so far(?) as I can tell. I started watching the (apparently) new Chinese drama on youtube, Swords into Plowshares, after hearing the songs, just to try studying the subs. The sound track has an obvious patriotic theme, but also an emphasis on peace. (another political interpretation below)

Tianwen 天问 Heavenly Questions

Submitted by soryang on Sat, 01/10/2026 - 9:47pm

I can't recall how this song came to my attention. I think youtube coughed it up because I was looking for and listening to Chinese music videos for something pleasant to the ear, with lyrics I might like. This song seemed to fit with a caution against the use of violence to solve problems. Then I started looking at the drama series itself and became more and more perplexed trying to understand what I was watching and listening to.

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