Links (January 2023)

‘It was all for nothing’: Chinese count cost of Xi’s snap decision to let Covid rip
(The Guardian, 01/29/23, Helen Davidson, Verna Yu, and Chi Hui Lin)

HK home prices suffer biggest drop since 1998
(rthk.hk, 01/27/23)

Xi puts top brain in charge of Taiwan unification strategy
(Nikkei Asia, 01/26/23, Katsuji Nakazawa)

Taiwan appoints new, British-educated intelligence chief
(Reuters, 01/26/23, Ben Blanchard)

Women Balk at Chinese Government Plans to Raise Birth Rate
(China Digital Times, 01/24/23, Arthur Kaufman)

Can China fix its property crisis?
(The Economist, 01/23/23)

China’s Overwhelming Debt Burden Points To Still Deeper Problems
(forbes.com, 01/16/23, Milton Ezrati)

China appoints new Hong Kong liaison office chief
(Reuters, 01/14/23, Clare Jim)

Taiwan Politics Outlook: A KMT Resurgence?
(The Diplomat, 01/10/23, Mercy A. Kuo interviews Nathan F. Batto)

China To Open Its Borders, Marking End of Zero-COVID Isolation
(China Digital Times, 01/03/23, Alexander Boyd)

The Human Freedom Index 2022
(Fraser Institute, Ian Vasquez, Fred McMahon, Ryan Murphy, and Guillermina Sutter Schneider)

The Last Generation: Why China’s Youth Are Deciding Against Having Children
(asiasociety.org, January 2023, Barclay Bram)