Commentary ,Asia ,East Asia

PSYCHOLOGICAL Coercion

Especially revealing was the transfer by the PLA Eastern Theatre Command of four military activity banners, representing a complete persuasion technique of “advancing”, “deterrence-containment”, “destruction-paralysis” and “lock-control”. The work was mental intimidation through show of force and the idea of invasion.

This strategy serves three goals. Second, it normalises large military activities in disputed waters, slowly reshaping global aspirations.

Zhang Chi of China’s National Defence University confirmed this plan, stating the unknown approach has become “normal process”. For frame indicates Beijing’s purpose to normalise its military actions around Taiwan.

Second, it allows China to gradually improve pressure without triggering crisis-level reactions that particularly named procedures might provoke. Chinese state television explained that the initial activities were deliberately not labelled as part of” Strait Thunder-2025A” to demonstrate the armed forces ‘ ability to adapt to rapidly evolving combat situations.

Third, it supports a independence tale by characterising activities as regular home security procedures.

The contrast to the 1995 to 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis is informative. Those exercises, codenamed” Strait 961″ and involving missile testing near Taiwan’s ships, were expressly identified as extraordinary occasions. The current strategy represents an important evolution – no longer framing military pressure as excellent but as the regular state of affairs.

Especially important was the inclusion of simulated “inspection and record” operations against vessels – blending aspects of sea interdiction with regular military operations in a way that suggests preparation for enforcing geographical claims through defense means.

According to the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, the exercises focused on “identification and confirmation, warning and ejection, and infiltration and incarceration” while testing army capabilities in place control, combined blockade operations and precision strikes on vital targets.

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When China started its one-child legislation in 1980, it not only made marriage easier, but it also raised the bar for relationship. This made the problems even worse. The divorce rate soared from 0.3 per 1, 000 persons in 1980 to 3.4 in 2019.

In response, China adopted a novel civil code in 2021 that mandated a 30-day cooling-off time for marriage, following the example of the UK and France. However, despite this lowering of the divorce rate to two per 1,000 people, it has since risen to 2.66 by 2023, much higher than Japan’s ( 1. 5 ).

FIRST BIRTH AT OLDER Years

Chinese men and women have a very small biological window. By the age of 30, a person usually has 12 % of her hens left, and only 3 % by the age of 40.

The risk of miscarriage increases from 10 % for women under 30 to 20 % at 35, between 33 % and 40 % at 40, and between 57 % and 80 % at 45. With the family’s period, the chances of having a child with Down syndrome rise from one in two thousand at 20 to one in 350 at 35, and off to one in 30 at 45.

Curiosity in raising children decreases as the wedding time is increased.

That’s why about two-thirds of all births are delivered by people under the age of 30 worldwide. In the United States, Mexico, and India, parents were just 21 when they were first born.

In contrast, Taiwanese women’s average age at first birth has increased rapidly over the past few years, from 25 in 2000 to 28 in 2020. In Shanghai, it increased from 30 in 2019 to 32 in 2024.

Worse, China’s overall rate of infertility has increased from 1 % to 2 % in the 1970s to 8 % in 2020. More and more people are having their second child or becoming pregnant after marriage.

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ARE XI’S Claims ENOUGH?

According to Xinhua, Mr Xi presumably told companies, even including Mr Ma, Ren Zhengfei of Huawei and Wang Chuanfu of BYD, that it was “prime occasion for private companies and businesses to give full play to their skills”.

He assured them that the present difficulties and challenges facing the private market may be overcome and called for renewed confidence in the future.

Mr Xi also vowed to make equal care for the private sector and pledged to maintain access to bank loans while addressing common illegal law enforcement and operational activities, including random taxes, fines, inspections and asset seizures.

Mr Xi’s remarks represent the strongest message of support for private enterprises at a time when China’s market is in a negative period, weighed down by falling home prices and reduced consumer confidence. Meanwhile, Mr Trump in his second term has threatened additional tariffs on Chinese products, and China’s exports, one of its traditional growth engines, remain bleak.

Beijing recently announced an&nbsp, economic growth target of “around 5 per cent” for this year, but revitalising the private sector is crucial to achieving this goal, especially since the private sector contributes about 60 per cent to China’s gross domestic product and over 80 per cent of employment.

Will Mr Xi’s words be enough? After all, China had already been unwinding its crackdown on the private sector starting in 2023, with officials increasing pro-business rhetoric and referring to private entrepreneurs as “one of us”.

Yet in many cash-strapped localities, illicit actions against the private sector, including arbitrary fees, fines, and asset seizures, have continued unabated.

Mr Xi’s remarks are expected to curb these illicit actions, but whether they will spark optimism among private businessmen remains to be seen.

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Tonally, however, this year’s show marked a distinct and important shift.

Until now, the subjects of “advanced elderly” care were for the most part Japan’s prewar generation. This cohort undoubtedly enjoyed many of the benefits of the country’s postwar economic resurgence and subsequent economic “miracle”, but were never entirely defined by those forces. 

GROWING OLD IN GOOD TASTE AND VANITY

The huge incoming wave of advanced elderly, though, was precisely defined in that way.

And you can now clearly discern the idea that standards and salesmanship should be raised to meet the combination of good taste, vanity and faddishness that made the baby boomer generation what it is.

At the show, health supplements and beauty products for the over-75s abounded; large crowds gathered around a vibrating sofa based on technology to help returning astronauts. It will supposedly wobble the user to better physical and mental health. 

Food was a significant feature but with a striking emphasis on preserving the appearance of the high life, while accommodating the realities of age, infirmity and the fact that accidental inhalation of food or drink now ranks just behind heart disease and senility among the top killers of Japanese. 

Highlights included a range of mousses, carefully crafted and flavoured to look and taste like a juicy steak or a succulent fillet of mackerel but requiring no chewing. The country’s biggest producer of green tea has developed a no-choke formula for its top-end matcha. One of Japan’s largest sausage makers had diversified into elegant tea cakes, petits fours and other dainties designed for the toothless gourmet.

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MORE MEASURES NEEDED

Civil service jobs in China are highly coveted, as evidenced by the report 3.4 million candidates who sat for the quarterly civil service exam last quarter, competing for only 39, 700 opportunities. These tasks are often seen as an “iron grain bowl”, offering stability and security.

However, it is difficult to calculate how much a legal servant’s ‘ salary actually earns due to the layered structure of their earnings. During the past give hike in 2015, it was reported that regular standard pay ranged from 1, 320 renminbi for the lowest-ranked civil servants to 11, 385 yuan for national-level officials. Civil servants are also entitled to various accommodations and subsidies according to their rank and rank in addition to standard give.

The most recent pay raise is good meant to underscore that civil servants are essential to the proper functioning of the government and that they are responsible for maintaining their moral character. But the magnification of it risk alienating the broader community, especially private-sector personnel who face rising employment insecurity.

A clear plan could fail by provoking public scrutiny or generating extra demands, which contributes to the relative secrecy surrounding pay raise for legal servants.

In his New Year information, President Xi Jinping expressed his confidence in China’s market but acknowledged the Chinese government faces “new parameters”, including issues internally and externally.

To handle these issues, China may acquire long-term reforms that go beyond one-off spend adjustments.

To maintain and promote private investment, the Taiwanese government needs to take steps privately to identify the rule of law based on the fundamental rights of private home.

China will need to collaborate more strongly with its main business partners, including the United States and the European Union, to improve their current cooperation and establish proper respect.

As Xi said:” Dreams and wishes may be far, but they can be fulfilled with dedicated pursuit”.

Bo Zhiyue is the author on China’s elite politics and the founder and president of the Bo Zhiyue China Institute, a consulting firm that provides services to government officials and CEOs of multinational corporations.

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