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OK y'all. I haven't been posting "Broken China" Updates for a while. I could do one almost everyday but y'all would get burned out from me repeating all the stupid stuff going on in the PRC.
This will seem like an odd statement but I think we are at or rapidly approaching the point where every day the People's Republic of China DOESN'T dissolve is a blessing for us (US). I'll explain.
The US is in the midst of the fastest peacetime industrial and manufacturing boom in our history. It's not enough. There are still too many things that we are dependent on the PRC for.
If you want a non-sexy, but critically important example, there is a four year wait time on electrical transformers (step up/ step down) from China. We don't build them. There is no guarantee that even half the current orders will be fulfilled. Our current electrical generation/ distribution capacity will need to expand by at least half in the next ten years to cover our industrial build out even if the Green agenda goes NOWHERE. OK, on with the update.
Item One:
80% of the PRC's reservoirs exceed their service life; ALL pose a risk of dam failure. China has more dams and reservoirs than any other country. It already has ~52 dam failures (of all sizes and types) per year.
China currently has over 98,000 dams and reservoirs. ~80% were built in the 1950s through 70s. Over the past 67 years there have been 3,558 dam failures. It is a matter of time before there is a cascading failure. A major cascading failure would make last year's flooding in north China look like playing with toy boats on the pond in Central Park.
Item Two:
Exacerbating the current manufacturing slump and high unemployment there is serious resurgence of COVID/ influenza in north China. OK, so what else is new?
Item Three:
An internal speech by Xi Jinpooh has been leaked revealing important Diplomatic and Economic information. It also reveals Xi's frustration and fears over the crumbling foundation of the CCP. Xi commented on world affairs saying the situation is murky, the Russian military is not as mighty as we thought, having a tough time with Ukraine, stuck in the mire, which means we can't move forward with our strategy. The elections in Taiwan and the US represent a chance for us. Had Russia won, we could have seized the moment to take Taiwan.
In his address, Xi conceded that the military is a let down, riddled with severe corruption and security leaks. He further expressed severe frustration with the Politburo's top brass accusing then of withholding information, slacking off, or engaging in corruption.
He then went on to lambaste the Politburo members as completely deteriorated saying they posed a disbandment threat to the CCP's Central Committee.
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A personal comment here: I am increasingly of the belief that Xi, for all his personal ambition, honestly desires what he thinks is best for the PRC and its people. He has waged an unceasing war on corruption within the CCP and the Chinese military. I think he knows what is coming for China demographically and is casting about for any way of stopping or slowing the inevitable decline.
Nothing Can Stop What is Coming (NCSWIC) is a common phrase heard on these threads although it is in the context of the upcoming return of Trump with the resulting destruction of the Deep State. This is especially true of the of the coming demographic collapse around the world. The next three decades are going to be tumultuous world wide. They will be difficult in North America but this will be the best place on Earth to ride it out.
The past 75 years has been the most glorious golden age in world history. It has been particularly golden in the US. It may not look that way but it is true. The average person, worldwide, has never before been happier, healthier, wealthier, safer, or lived as long as they do now. This golden age is coming to an end. Demographics is destiny. NCSWIC. Nothing! To quote Julius Caesar, "Alea iacta est" (The die is cast.)
The Greatest Generation destroyed Fascism, Nazism, and Imperial Japan. The Boomers defeated the Soviet Union and kept the peace long enough for the world to industrialize.
It remains to be seen what our descendants will make of what they have been given. The best we can do is to educate and give them the mental tools to deal with the situation. I think many of us will be surprised as to how well they do.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)