September 2021

The Monthly Review’s China Issue Reveals the Narcissistic Inward Gaze, Self-Flagellating Politics of the Western Left

At this late stage in the game, one should not be surprised at how incredibly poor the western left’s understanding of China is. Many western leftists remain unable to conceptualize any imperial or capitalist power outside of the US and therefore romanticize or downplay China’s authoritarianism because it seems to them at least an alternative to US global hegemony. This is the case, then, with respected leftist magazine Monthly Review’s recent August issue, featuring such writers as Asian American tankie commentator Mark Tseng-Putterman, and no less than the diasporic ethno-nationalist Qiao Collective. It proves of some hilarity to see the Monthly Review, which once hosted the Brenner debates and writing by luminaries such as Herbert Marcuse, Noam Chomsky, C. Wright Mills, and others, now platform the Qiao Collective...

KMT Chair Debate Reveals Party’s Ideological Hardening, Fixation on the 1992 Consensus

What emerges from the KMT chair election debate is that the party has failed to take action on the fundamental issues facing the party. This is no different than last year, when Johnny Chiang was elected. What surprises, then, is to what extent there were few ideological differences between any of the candidates and how the general discourse between the candidates gestures toward the shifts in the party over the past year. The general consensus of the party has shifted to become significantly more deep Blue compared to last year...

Seven Domestic Cases Announced, Delta Variant Confirmed for Banqiao Kindergarten Cluster

Seven domestic cases and two imported cases were reported at today’s CECC press conference, along with zero new deaths announced. Of concern, however, is the fact that cases linked to a kindergarten in Banqiao, New Taipei have been confirmed to be of the Delta variant. This marks the first time that Delta has entered a crowded urban area in Taiwan in any significant way. All seven cases today were in New Taipei, with three already in quarantine...