Wow as bad as Mondale.....heh
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Working on a Broken China Update for the new thread whenever it drops.
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)
If you want on or off the ping list send me a FReepMail.
Item One:
You will remember me reporting about the uproar in the PRC over the Japanese releasing treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. The PRC issued a sweeping ban on the importation of Japanese seafood. In typical PRC hypocrisy, the PRC fishing fleet continues to fish much the same waters as the Japanese fishing fleet. Anyone want to bet that they are upfront and open in reporting this to Chinese seafood consumers? I didn't think so.
Item Two:
The release of Huawei's new phone, the Mate 60 Pro, is so far underwhelming. They are not advertising it as 5G even though it is. I saw one report on this suggesting that Huawei is attempting to protect suppliers of components from retaliation by the US government for violating export restrictions.
Item Three:
The valuation of publicly traded PRC housing sector companies has suffered a 72% collapse year-on-year. The reduction is 56% just since January. There is no reason to believe that the reduction in non-publicly traded companies is any different.
The Housing sector is not just construction and the building trades. It also represents everything that goes into a housing unit. Things such as, concrete & lumber, electrical wire & fixtures, piping & fittings, carpet, paint, decorating. It is a VERY big list.
The knock-on effects are almost as big as the loss in building. In the PRC the largest and most dire for the CCP is the reduction in government revenue at all levels. It is most acutely felt at the municipal, county, and provincial levels.
In an attempt to spur a DIRE housing slump, officials in Guandong (Hong Kong) are relaxing various restrictions. The fear is that should Beijing and Shanghai adopt a similar reductions in restrictions that it could suck in investment from the rest of the country leaving the rest utterly prostrate. So far, despite serious problems in their own markets, Beijing and Shanghai are holding fast. The other fear is that Beijing and Shanghai scrap restrictions and nothing much happens. Should that happen, the PRC could be looking at their own version of a Great Depression.
Item Four:
The former deputy head of the PRC National Bureau of Statistics, He Keng, says, "How many vacant homes are there now? Each expert gives a very different number, with the most extreme believing the current number of vacant homes are enough for 3 BILLION people. That estimate might be a bit much, but 1.4 billion probably can't fill them."
Item Five:
Confrontations between the PRC Coast Guard and others are increasing. Both Vietnam and the Philippines are pushing back hard. Recently the Philippines Coast Guard and fishermen started cutting away floating barriers the PRC put out in the South China sea to keep fishermen and others away from islands they have 'claimed' but are clearly within the Economic Exclusion Zone of other countries. .png?itok=MviFpN20)
Two weeks ago the PRC Coast Guard failed to stop a resupply mission to a grounded LST manned by members of the Philippines military to maintain their sovereignty over a group of islands.
There is far more going on here than just fishing. About two thirds of the PRC oil supply passes through the South China sea. There are also major underwater data cables which carry the bulk of Southeast Asia's internet traffic. 
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)