The China Now special program informs about this country's news.
Telesur English presents a new episode of “China Now”, a wave media's production that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian Giant.
China Now is a show that explores the past and future of the Asian Giant.
Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?hl=es
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/teleSUREnglishOfficial
Youtube ⏯ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmuTmpLY35O3csvhyA6vrkg
Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hMLCY0a6z7&_r=1
Telesur English presents a new episode of “China Now”, a wave media's production that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian Giant.
China Now is a show that explores the past and future of the Asian Giant.
Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K
Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N
Web https://www.telesurenglish.net/
X https://twitter.com/telesurenglish
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?hl=es
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/teleSUREnglishOfficial
Youtube ⏯ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmuTmpLY35O3csvhyA6vrkg
Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hMLCY0a6z7&_r=1
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, Telesur English presents a new episode of China Now, a webmedia production that showcases
00:15the culture, technology, and politics of the Aisai island.
00:18In this first segment, we are going to start with China Currents with topics such as China
00:23issuing a ban that could cripple all U.S. high-tech weapons, a Philippine vessel colliding
00:30with a Chinese ship, Taiwan to lose its diplomatic ties with the U.S., and much more.
00:35Let's see.
00:36China Currents is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.
00:43We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's
00:49cutting-edge technologies.
00:50Let's get started.
00:51Welcome to China Currents, your weekly news report on what's happening in China.
01:05I'm Lisa.
01:06In this episode, China has issued a ban that could cripple all U.S. high-tech weapons.
01:12The Philippine Coast Guard vessel deliberately collided with a Chinese ship.
01:17Australia betrayed their promise to a Hong Kong separatist.
01:22Taiwan island is about to lose its largest diplomatic tie in the Americas.
01:27A monkey from China has set several world records in the gaming industry.
01:33Let's start with a new Chinese law that could potentially neutralize all American high-tech
01:38weapons.
01:39In a joint statement on 15 August, China's Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration
01:46of Customs said, China will impose export controls on antimony products, including antimony
01:52ores, metals, oxide, and other rare antimony compounds, and has kicked off a comprehensive
01:59sanction on antimony against the U.S.
02:03Antimony is known for its wide use, especially in the military sector.
02:08For instance, antimony trioxide is commonly used as a flame retardant in aircraft, rockets,
02:14and missiles.
02:15It is also used in production of military equipment, such as armor-piercing shields,
02:21explosives, night-vision goggles, and nuclear weapons.
02:25An indium antimony is primarily used to manufacture high-performance sensors and array seekers.
02:34These seekers play a crucial role in guiding missiles, which are highly effective against
02:39fourth-generation fighter jets.
02:42The media has long emphasized the critical role of antimony in U.S. military production.
02:48Experts have urged China, the world's dominant supplier of antimony, to limit its export
02:54to the United States.
02:55This call stems from America's heavy reliance on China's antimony exports and processing
03:01capabilities, which are essential for manufacturing advanced military equipment such as stealth
03:07flighters, missiles, and night-vision devices.
03:11China is responsible for over 80% of global annual antimony supply, making it the world's
03:17largest producer.
03:19Russia is the second largest, accounting for 7% of the global output, while the United
03:24States produces less than 1%.
03:28Given this data, any export restrictions imposed by China could significantly disrupt the supply
03:33chain of the U.S. military industry.
03:36In response to this vulnerability, the U.S. Congress has asked the Pentagon to strengthen
03:41its strategic reserves of critical minerals, with antimony being a top priority for the
03:47national defense stockpile.
03:49The U.S. House Armed Services Committee has also expressed concerns about potential supply
03:55chain disruption from both Russia and China in a recent report.
03:59The committee has urged the Department of Defense to develop policies for recycling
04:04in order to recover precious metals, rare earth elements, and other strategically important
04:10materials.
04:11Historically, the United States sourced antimony from a gold mine in Adaho, but that mine closed
04:19down in 1997.
04:21According to a 2020 report from the U.S. Geological Survey, there are currently no active antimony
04:27mines operating within the United States.
04:31In a statement, Under Export Controls highlighted that a key rationale is to prevent the proliferation
04:38of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, allying with its longstanding efforts to fulfill
04:44non-proliferation obligations.
04:46Following the suspension of nuclear arms control talks with the U.S. in April prompted by Washington's
04:52arms sales to Taiwan Island, China's tightened controls on antimony export can be viewed
04:59as an extension of its countermeasures against the United States.
05:03Given the size of U.S. nuclear arsenal, China can impose significant constraints by limiting
05:09access to key materials essential for production.
05:13This move represents a shift from China's previously more open approach to supplying
05:19critical materials to the U.S.
05:21In recent years, Japan and other developed countries in Europe paid high attention to
05:26the strategic reserve of antimony, placing it on critical mineral list.
05:31As global antimony ore reserves dropped from 2 million tons in 2021 to 1.8 million tons
05:38in 2022, declining ore grades and resource depletion have led to a continuous fall on
05:45global antimony production.
05:48Although high-tech weapons rely heavily on rare metals and resources, antimony also has
05:53important applications in the field of biology and medicine field.
05:58Antimony-based drugs such as meclamide and humanate are also considered the primary treatment
06:03for leishmaniasis, an infectious disease caused by parasites.
06:09China's new export control law may help ensure that this precious resource is used to save
06:14lives rather than for military purpose.
06:18Despite China's ongoing efforts to promote global security, the Philippine Coast Guard
06:22ramped up regional tensions.
06:25On 19 August, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels entered Chinese waters in the South China
06:30Sea without authorization from the Chinese government.
06:34The Chinese Coast Guard claimed that the Philippine ship ignored repeated warnings and deliberately
06:40collided with a Chinese vessel in an unprofessional and dangerous manner.
06:45The footage released by China's Coast Guard showed the Philippine vessel number 4410 sailing
06:50alongside Chinese ship before suddenly turning towards it, causing damage to the Philippine
06:56vessel.
06:57Interestingly, the video also showed at least two individuals on the Philippine vessel carrying
07:02professional camera equipment along with several US journalists.
07:07This was later confirmed by a report from ABC News on the 19th, which stated that some
07:13of the videos and photos were taken by journalists from a US television network.
07:18These American journalists were likely on board because they trusted the professionalism
07:22of the Philippine Marine Time Forces, given their recent joint exercise with the US Navy.
07:28However, the incident has now called that trust into question.
07:32Less than a day after the ramming incident, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
07:38condemned China during a phone call with its Philippine counterpart.
07:43Sullivan also reaffirmed the US$500 million in US foreign military financing to the Philippines
07:49under the 2024 Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriation Act.
07:55This bill, signed into law by President Biden on 24 April, aims to boost the Philippine
08:01military's capability to escalate tension in the South China Sea.
08:06According to reports by The Philippine Star, Philippine President Marcos expressed his
08:11gratitude for the US military aid during the meeting with a US congressional delegation
08:17on 8 August.
08:19Marcos emphasised the importance of this aid in addressing new challenges in the region.
08:24The recent action of the Philippine government have indeed created new challenges for China-Philippine
08:30relations, especially in terms of trade.
08:33Data released by General Administration of Customs of China in July showed a new record
08:39with the total value of China's imports and exports reaching $2.96 trillion in the
08:45first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%.
08:49However, in the first four months of 2023, the bilateral trade between China and the
08:55Philippines dropped by 10.31%.
08:59It remains to be seen whether the United States will compensate the Philippines for this trade
09:03loss in 2025 in the Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriation Act.
09:09Compared with the Philippines, Australia is clearly more pragmatic in its approach to
09:14China relations.
09:16On May 2020, the UK and Australia promised to provide asylum to Hong Kong separatists
09:22holding British national overseas passports, who had violated China's national security
09:28law in Hong Kong.
09:29As of February 2024, the UK Home Office estimated that there are around 2.9 million BNO passport
09:37holders in Hong Kong.
09:38However, data revealed by the South China Morning Post on August 14 shows that the approval
09:45rates for asylum applications from Hong Kong are extremely low in both Australia and the
09:50UK.
09:51Over the past five years, Australia has reviewed only 584 asylum applications, with just five
09:59being approved.
10:01People seeking asylum usually need to prove that they are unable to live safely in their
10:06own countries.
10:07For these Hong Kong separatists, their actual situation in China makes it difficult for
10:12them to meet Australia's protection approval criteria.
10:16Earlier this year, there were signs of improving relations between China and Australia.
10:22On 29 May, China lifted its ban on five Australian beef exporters.
10:27This was followed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang's official visit to Australia on 15 June, during
10:34which both nations agreed to strengthen their bilateral relationship, with a focus on expanding
10:40cooperation across various sectors.
10:43This context suggests a more nuanced and complex dynamic between China, the UK, Australia and
10:49the Hong Kong separatists seeking asylum.
10:52While the UK and Australia have made public promises, the actual asylum approval rates
10:57indicate the challenges these separatists face in successfully relocating.
11:03The improving China-Australia relations also provide a backdrop to these developments.
11:09Interfering with China's internal affairs has never been a good deal, but it seems Paraguay
11:15is only just beginning to realise this.
11:17According to Reuters, on 22 August, Paraguayan President is reconsidering his country's
11:24diplomatic ties with Taiwan authorities in pursuit of trade deals with mainland China.
11:30In an interview with a Japanese outlet, the Paraguayan president admitted he is under
11:36pressure from domestic agricultural groups, urging Paraguay to cut off diplomatic relations
11:41with Taiwan island.
11:43A 2023 report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
11:50stated that trade between China and Latin America expanded 35-fold from 2000 to 2022,
11:59reaching nearly US$500 billion in 2022.
12:03In contrast, the Economist reported that from 2019 to 2023, Taiwan authorities have only
12:10provided Paraguay with US$115 million in aid.
12:15An article in Economist on 4 July highlighted that the price of Paraguayan loyalty is rising.
12:22The previous administration asked Taiwan for US$1 billion in investment, but did not receive
12:28it.
12:29Meanwhile, the director of the Millennium Institution for China and Latin American Studies,
12:35Francisco Udness, stated that Paraguay's relationship with Taiwan cost the country
12:40more than 1% of its GDP annually due to missed investment and credits from China.
12:47Next up, let's focus on a monkey from China who has recently left a lasting impression
12:52on global gamers.
12:54On 20 August, the Chinese video game Blackmiss Wukong launched globally and quickly gained
13:00massive popularity.
13:03Within just one hour of its release, the game reached over 1 million concurrent players
13:08online, surpassing the record set by high-profile titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Elder Ring,
13:14according to a Bloomberg report.
13:17By 23rd, Blackmiss Wukong had officially announced over 10 million copies sold across all platforms,
13:24with peak concurrent online players exceeding 3 million.
13:28This is the first time in history of Steam, the world's largest game distribution platform,
13:33that a single-player game has reached such a large number of concurrent players.
13:38The overwhelming demand for download even caused some servers to crash temporarily.
13:43The game also gathered significant attention from Chinese state media due to the development
13:48team's meticulous recreation of 36 real-life ancient Chinese buildings, 27 of which are
13:55located in Shanxi Province, including a Fo Guang Temple, the third earliest preserved
14:02timber structure in China.
14:04Today, the temple is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site and is undergoing restoration.
14:11However, in the game, players can not only appreciate the stunning scenery of the temple,
14:16but they will also engage in battles against the game's monsters within its historically
14:21significant location.
14:23This effort to preserve and promote Chinese cultures has earned widespread recognition
14:28from Chinese investors.
14:30Following the game's release, the stock of the publishing company surged by 40% in
14:35just four days.
14:36The success of the game Wukong also spurred the growth of the entire Chinese gaming industry,
14:42with the gaming sector of the Chinese stock market rising by 1.71% on August 20th.
14:49Former World of Warcraft team leader praised Wukong as a great victory in a tweet.
14:54While the game has been praised by investors and industry insiders, the BBC reported that
15:00it included anti-feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigate negative
15:06discourse.
15:07In response, Chinese netizen remarked,
15:10Black Miss Wukong is like chocolate, everyone has their own taste, but is lethal if a dog
15:16eats it.
15:17And that is all for today.
15:19Thank you for watching this episode of China Current.
15:22If you have any thoughts or comments about our show, please reach us at the email address
15:26below.
15:27We look forward to hearing from you and see you next time.
15:37We'll go for a short break, but we'll be right back, stay with us.
16:19Welcome back to China Now.
16:24In this second segment, we have Thinker's Forum with Glenn Disen, Norwegian academic
16:29and political scientist, specialized in Russian foreign policy, political economy, conservatism
16:36and Eurasian integration.
16:38Also is Camila Escalante, co-founder of Casachus News, and Latin American correspondent at
16:44TV Press.
16:45Let's have a look.
16:49The big change for Russia came in 2014.
16:58And there was two things that happened.
16:59One, the Greater Europe initiative they had died, and also an alternative Eurasian format
17:08emerged.
17:09So it's important to realize that for the past 300 years, since Peter the Great, Russia
17:16always looked towards the West for modernization, also since the early 18th century.
17:22In the West is where the main technologies were.
17:25The West also dominated the seas as where the main transportation corridors are, which
17:29can physically connect the world.
17:32And also this was the area of financial connectivity of the world.
17:36So they had everything.
17:37This is why Russia's integration into an international economic system, pursuing prosperity and modernity
17:43always meant to Europeanize Russia, to make it more European.
17:50Now there's always been some concerns about this, especially those who read Dostoyevsky,
17:55all this 19th century scholars arguing that perhaps Russia should look more towards the
17:59East.
18:00Anyways, after the Cold War, Russia continued this tradition of looking to the West.
18:06They wanted to make peace with the West.
18:08They wanted to modernize their economies.
18:10So they began to then pursue this pro-Western policies.
18:16However, what they found out was that this greater Europe was denied.
18:21That's what NATO expansion represented, that we were going to create a Europe without Russia.
18:26And a Europe without Russia quickly became a Europe against Russia, simply because we
18:30then had to compete over where the new dividing lines would be instead of removing them.
18:36So the problems always built up.
18:38In 2014, this is when everything broke, because until then, many people in Russia thought,
18:43well, perhaps we can have an incremental integration with the West.
18:49But when the West toppled the government in Ukraine, this was the clear signal that Ukraine
18:55would not be a bridge, but it would be a front line.
18:58And when Russia took Crimea in order to safeguard its Black Sea fleet, then, and all the sanctions
19:05came, even the few Russians who still wanted to pursue greater Europe had to recognize
19:10this was a utopia, it was never going to happen.
19:14And what happened at the same time, exactly the same time in 2013-14, well, this is when
19:19China really began to lay the foundations for an alternative international economic
19:24system.
19:25That is, the Chinese began to push this Belt and Road Initiative.
19:30They started to more openly assert ambition to take technological leadership in the world.
19:36China began to advance this new financial institutions, be it the Asian infrastructure,
19:41investment bank, looking to internationalize its currency.
19:44We see that the S.E.O. or Brexit represents a world order based on multipolarity, in which
19:50the great powers, they seek to harmonize interest with each other, rather than pursue the dominance
19:56and global hegemony.
19:58This is very important to recognize, because in the West, we, at least for the past decade,
20:04we always predicted that the Chinese and Russians would start to fight over Central Asia.
20:08But they don't.
20:09They attempt to accommodate each other's interests.
20:11No one is seeking hegemony, and thus they can avoid the zero-sum approach to security.
20:17So this was suddenly a new system emerged in the East.
20:20So this was a tremendously important time in history for Russia.
20:25When it goes to the East, it notices that it doesn't have the same historical baggage.
20:29It doesn't meet the same hostility.
20:32And even the fact that China is the biggest country there, not Russia, it actually works
20:37often to Russia's advantage.
20:39So I think 2014 was really the main era, because this is when Europe really slammed the door
20:47in the face of Russia, and a new door opened in the East, which was China.
20:52And that's when this greater Eurasia ambition really began to move forward.
20:56The main problem for Russia has always been it had unfavorable asymmetrical interdependence
21:03with the West.
21:04So we often say that interdependence between nations is good.
21:08It creates peace.
21:09Well, yes, to some extent, because in all interdependent relationships, one will always
21:13be more dependent on the other.
21:15So this goes with people as well as states.
21:19Now, when you have huge asymmetries, then one side can use that to extract political
21:25power from the rest.
21:26So let's say, for example, a relationship between the collective West and Russia.
21:30If 90% of Russian trade is dependent on the West, while 3% of the West trade is dependent
21:37on Russia, this is asymmetrical.
21:39Now the West is much less dependent on Russia than Russia is on the West, and the West can
21:43use this to extract political concessions.
21:48And this is what we saw.
21:49We saw Russia being dependent on the West for its technologies, access to transportation
21:53corridors, banks, currencies, payment systems, insurance systems, everything.
21:58The only thing really Europe was dependent on Russia was energy.
22:02And we did everything we could to reduce this, to have maximized interdependence.
22:08Because in any interdependent relationship, you get some influence, but you lose some
22:11autonomy.
22:12If you have asymmetrical interdependence, you maintain your autonomy and you get influence
22:17over the other.
22:19So this is the problem for Russia.
22:20This was the condition for creating a Russia, a Europe without Russia.
22:24How can you have a Europe where we leave out the largest country on the continent?
22:27For Russia, if they want to have some political autonomy and security and act as an independent
22:32pole of power in a multipolar world, they need to diversify their partnerships.
22:36Yes, they need some strategic autonomy in key sectors, for example, technology, energy,
22:41but they need to diversify partnerships.
22:44And this is what they failed to do.
22:46So ideally, Russia would be very close with China, but also India, Iran, Korea, Japan,
22:52but also the EU, US to have as many partners as possible so no one can bully it.
22:57So this excessive dependence on the West is really the mistake I would refer to, which
23:02was very damaging for Russia.
23:05What I argued is that the Russians will be somewhat concerned not to recreate this in
23:10the East.
23:11Because Russia's pivot to the East can't simply become a pivot to China.
23:15Why?
23:16Well, because China is much, much more powerful, at least economically, than Russia.
23:22So it doesn't want to get stuck in a partnership where, again, 95% of its trade is dependent
23:27on China and 2% of Chinese trade is dependent on Russia, because that would be a very uneven
23:32relationship.
23:36So this means Russia really has to diversify its partnerships.
23:40So not just integrate with China, but also look a bit to India, Iran, Korea, and also
23:44the rest of the world.
23:46And what has been a very pleasant experience for the Russians is that China is okay with
23:54it.
23:55They're not sabotaging it.
23:56And this is something new to the Russians, because whenever Western countries have deal
24:01with Ukraine, Central Asia, Turkey, Armenia, the key objective is always to decouple them
24:07from the Russians, to sever ties between them.
24:10The Chinese have never done this.
24:11And part of the reason is because China is happy with the multipolar system.
24:15If China wanted to recreate a Chinese hegemony to replace an American one, they would have
24:19tried to cut Russia's tie from other states and made it subordinate.
24:23But it's not doing this.
24:24And this is what is very reassuring to the Russians.
24:27And this is also an indicator why we're seeing a multipolar system emerge where, yes, China
24:33is the leading state, but it's not seeking to dominate others.
24:38I wrote this book a decade ago.
24:41It's Russia's geoeconomic strategy for greater Eurasia, where I kind of pointed out that
24:45this soft balancing has to be in place in order for the integration or greater Eurasia
24:51to be durable.
24:52But at this moment, they're getting deeply involved with the Chinese partnership and
24:56they're very comfortable with it because they can maintain their political autonomy.
25:00So again, 10 years ago, this book didn't really, wasn't received that well.
25:06People said it's marriage of convenience, they're never going to be in a de-dollarization.
25:10This was almost science fiction.
25:12But we see 10 years later now, this is the direction things are going because states
25:18will seek what I call a balance of dependence.
25:20Well, it's also become a cliche that one hegemon or one leading power doesn't hand over the
25:26mantle peacefully to the next one.
25:29There's usually conflict.
25:32And I think the United States have tried everything now, they did a lot to sabotage China's technological
25:39industries, with the chip bans, encouraging other countries to decouple from China.
25:47They can put pressure on transportation corridors, access to finance.
25:51Again, there's a lot that the United States has done, but none of this is working.
25:59They could have done this maybe 10 or 20 years ago, but now China's too big, it's too late.
26:03So this is why the United States is now leaning towards militarizing the rivalry instead.
26:10And that's why it's important with a proxy.
26:12Well, it doesn't have to be Taiwan, it could also be Philippines because it's great empires,
26:21they try not to fight with their own troops.
26:24So if you don't want to fight a huge great power like Russia or China with your own military,
26:31it will be devastating, they probably would lose and it could escalate into nuclear war.
26:36So it's better to fight with proxies.
26:38And so if you're going to fight the Russians, then obviously for them, Ukraine will be the
26:45best proxy to fight.
26:47Now with the Chinese, yeah, you would use Taiwan or Philippines most likely, which is
26:53where the Americans are now sending their weapons, encouraging more antagonistic relationship
26:58with Beijing.
26:59This is what the direction the Americans are going.
27:03Under the one China principle, the Americans should limit themselves to economic and cultural
27:07ties to Taiwan.
27:09Instead we're seeing now that they're sending their top politicians there, which is a breach.
27:14They're sending military trainers there, which is a breach.
27:17And so they're step by step trying to dismantle it.
27:22So asking for more representation for Taiwan in international institutions, such as the
27:27UN.
27:28So beginning to give it the status of a sovereign country, which is not correct because our
27:34peace and stability with China is based on this principle that there is one China, Taiwan
27:39is a part of China.
27:41And if we try to abandon this, then there will be war.
27:44And it's not in China's interest to use military force against Taiwan.
27:49I think China is quite confidently sees as its economy grows, it will be able to integrate
27:54Taiwan more through peaceful means, economic connectivity.
28:00So waiting for a more favorable government perhaps.
28:03So the only reason why I think China would use military force is if the Americans are
28:08pushing for Taiwan secession.
28:10I think that's the red line for China.
28:12The Chinese should be careful because if the Americans are looking for a proxy war like
28:16they did with Ukraine, because keep in mind in Ukraine, the same thing happened.
28:21The Russians went in because America sabotaged all peace agreements.
28:24They went in with the military, which was this, you know, unprovoked invasion.
28:27And on the first day they attempted to, they reached out to the Ukrainians, started a peace
28:32negotiations, which they did.
28:34And then the Americans came and sabotaged it because they wanted a war and they chose
28:37a war.
28:38And this is why one should be careful not to walk into a similar trap over Taiwan.
28:44But China and Russia has been a different relationship with Washington over the past
28:5030 years because China had a more favorable position.
28:54The Russians, they had a military block gradually expanding on their border.
28:59They were never offered a status quo.
29:01Instead they had to see NATO march slowly on its borders with the repercussions being
29:06quite predictable.
29:08So this often made it necessary for Russia to punch above its weight, to really flex
29:13its muscles beyond even what it had the capability to match with action.
29:18Now China was a bit of the opposite, favorable.
29:20There was no military block marching on its borders.
29:24It tried to not create any waves.
29:26So what's also called a peaceful rise, just try not to create too much attention, draw
29:33too much attention to itself, which would make the dominant, well, the American empire
29:38strike against China, try to, you know, knock it down.
29:41So this is why we saw the different paths by the Chinese and the Russians.
29:45But now, of course, China's become too powerful for America's comfort.
29:50So now they kind of have to come out of the closet as well and start to push back, which
29:54is what we're seeing.
30:12There are, there's an endless list of ways in which the mainstream corporate media internationally
30:18has wrongly portrayed Venezuela.
30:21You know, in the past, going back to the years in which the sanctions were really having
30:26a visible impact on the country, they were depicting scenes of hungry people.
30:33At some point they found images supposedly of people eating out of a dumpster.
30:40They made these headlines about people eating zoo animals or something absolutely bizarre
30:47like that.
30:57Things in Venezuela are relatively normal in terms of everyday commerce, in terms of
31:03people going to their workplaces, things are being sold out on the streets, especially
31:09in the capitals and in the capital of the country, Caracas, things are bustling as normal.
31:14Public transportation has resumed.
31:17And so we know the situation from the past that the mainstream media internationally
31:23likes to show a country in chaos.
31:26But the reality is that there was some violence and there were some incidents of terrorism
31:32we call these armed gangs and these violent groups in the street, guarimbas, but they
31:38went out and they committed acts of arson.
31:41They attacked people and all of these different crimes, which we can get into.
31:45But what the authorities have said is that the people who carried out those different
31:52acts of violence were in large part paid by the opposition.
31:58They were people who had a criminal record profile.
32:02They were young street kids.
32:04Some of them were minors.
32:06So they were actually teenagers.
32:09And a lot of them had recently returned from places like Chile, Peru and the United States
32:14in what seems to be an organized plan to carry out these acts of violence.
32:20And the authorities have also said that in making the arrests, it has been found that
32:25many of these people didn't even cast a vote.
32:28So things are really returning to normal in that sense that that period of violence has
32:37ended. But of course, there have been a lot of mobilizations in favor of the government's
32:44triumph, President Maduro's triumph in his reelection.
32:48Every day there have been large rallies in support of the government that have marched
32:54to the Mito Flores Palace, the presidential palace in Caracas.
32:57And at the same time, there have been some rallies in support of that main opposition,
33:03which came in second in those July 28th elections.
33:08Apart from that, there is something that's a little bit odd.
33:11And that's, of course, that the media has once again turned its eye to Venezuela, that
33:17the headlines once again include Venezuela and that the State Department and the
33:22European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada and all of these other
33:28countries are paying very close attention and they're emitting statements all the time.
33:33And also other countries of Latin America with right wing presidents and governments.
33:38There's an endless list of ways in which the mainstream corporate media
33:43internationally has wrongly portrayed Venezuela.
33:48One of the things is that they show a lot of opposition support and they they always
33:55depict huge support in the streets while trying to convey a message that the support for the
34:04government is dwindling over time and that people don't feel as enthusiastic as they once
34:09did. The fact is that we saw during this campaign season that there was huge support in the
34:16streets for maintaining the Bolivarian revolutionary project and in support of the
34:21re-election of Nicolás Maduro and that he had huge rallies all across the countries and all
34:27the main cities. And of course, in the capital, it goes without saying that the final campaign
34:34closing rally just a few days before the election was absolutely massive and possibly the
34:41largest political rally we've seen in Venezuela since Commander Hugo Chávez. And so, you know,
34:51they're they're showing, you know, misrepresenting the levels of support for this government in the
34:57country. Of course, we saw, you know, in the past going back to the years in which the sanctions
35:03were really having a visible impact on the country. They were depicting scenes of hungry
35:10people. At some point, they found images supposedly of people eating out of a dumpster. They made
35:18these headlines about people eating zoo animals or something absolutely bizarre like that.
35:27The fact is that in the global south and particularly in Latin America, one of the main
35:31issues that we face is that salaries are low. They are objectively low in Latin America compared to
35:38the global north. On average in Latin America, the minimum wage earner is earning in a month's time,
35:45you know, two hundred dollars. They're not earning what we earn in North America.
35:51And so that's that's a huge reason why people have migrated northward. It's not because of
35:58these issues that are being spoken about in the human rights industry based in Washington or
36:05Brussels or Berlin or wherever they're based. It's not what the State Department is saying,
36:09that it's because of human rights or repression or because of the stifling of
36:18fundamental freedoms in the country because of political persecution or all of these things
36:23that have been fabricated. It is that people just want to live in another country and seek better
36:27economic opportunity. And the economy is growing and has really recovered in the last three years
36:36because of some of the measures taken by President Maduro and his government. This is a country that
36:42for a period of years had hyperinflation in which the local currency was worth very little. And so
36:51it was almost useless to carry around cash. You had to use a debit card for any purchases.
36:57And now the exchange is actually at 36. 36 bolivars are the equivalent of a dollar. So it's
37:05much easier to make purchases there. And things have really normalized. You see investment from
37:12foreigners. You see a lot of tourism has returned. A lot of Venezuelans have returned.
37:17Just to speak a little bit about the way in which things have really improved economically in terms
37:24of the living conditions for regular people. A lot of the products that had gone missing have
37:30returned. Now it's a country that has become overwhelmingly and the government would say
37:36completely food sovereign, which means that they're no longer having to import food from
37:41neighboring countries and friends, but they're able to produce a lot of. So this is something
37:45that has really changed. Things have, like I said, improved in the country and the press simply has
37:52not reported on that. It really is a normal country in that there are ride apps. If you want
37:59a taxi, you go on your phone and you go onto your app and you choose your location where you want to
38:05go and you call it and you go like anywhere else. You go to a nightclub, you go to a bar, people are
38:10selling things in the streets. There are, you know, people go on vacation. There's domestic tourism.
38:17And so there are, of course, endless ways in which the media is misrepresenting
38:25the country. But what's fascinating is that the media is still able to operate
38:31in Venezuela without any sort of censorship or anything at all. If you see the international
38:39press conferences held by President Maduro at the palace, he invites the journalists and
38:45correspondents in the country accredited from EFE, from Reuters, from AP, from BBC, among many
38:53others. And they are there constantly providing information, despite that so many of them have
39:00lied about the situation in the country for so many years. The opposition that we're largely
39:04talking about, the one that came in second in the November 28th elections, you're seeing them
39:10as the main representatives of the country, even though they're the opposition
39:15in the international mainstream media. They have a huge presence on social media and they have a lot
39:20of resources because we know that in past years they've received a lot of funding from NGOs linked
39:27to the State Department. And that way they have been able to fund protests within the country,
39:33in Venezuela, but also a lot of online campaigning and propaganda in support of regime change.
39:40These people have gone out and largely lived in the exterior, some of them as millionaires
39:47in luxury condos in places like Bogota, Miami, Washington, and Madrid, which has for years
39:55sought sanctions, the unilateral course of measures of which there are more than 900
40:01that are imposed against Venezuela, really striking the Venezuelan people. We saw in
40:092018 the creation of what was called the Lima Group, which was a group of countries that came
40:17together all with right-wing governments to try to oust the democratically elected popular
40:24government of Nicolas Maduro. They started holding meetings in places like Ottawa, Canada,
40:31and all around Latin America about Venezuela. And this is actually something that they're trying to
40:37do again right now. They're looking for ways to meet a gathering of presidents, sometimes a
40:43gathering of foreign ministers of these right-wing governments, look for ways to attack Venezuela
40:50essentially with different forms of aggression, to pressure them politically, to emit joint
40:55statements together. The United States has the strategy of using its close allies, but really
41:03we can see the way in which all of this has been orchestrated by Washington in order to
41:08mount more political pressure as just one of its strategies. At the same time,
41:13it's mounting more economic pressure with the announcement of new sanctions all of the time,
41:18especially sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector. The oil issue in Venezuela is one of the most
41:23important issues, of course. So you can just look and see what's taking place right now in Guyana
41:29to see that is the country that has essentially become a U.S. protectorate, a U.S. territory.
41:36They are sending all sorts of South Com troops in order to do supposed joint military exercises
41:47with the Guyanese military, but really they're just trying to create the necessary conditions
41:53in order for Chevron and Exxon Mobil to be able to extract oil from this region. Venezuela is not
42:02the only country that has huge oil reserves, but it is perhaps the largest right now and definitely
42:09the largest in South America. It's very important that the U.S. get its hands on that oil, but also
42:16with the oil, Venezuela, since Commander Hugo Chavez, has been able to help many of its neighbors.
42:25It's been able to help neighbors through its Petro Caribe program, in which it was selling
42:33oil to these countries at huge subsidies, huge subsidized prices, in order for them to become
42:40more economically independent from other world powers, and it has been a huge help.
42:48Additionally, under the formation of this articulation of countries, which is ALBA-TCP,
42:55Venezuela and Cuba have been able to help these other Caribbean countries of the eastern Caribbean
43:01states with things like medical missions and sharing medical supplies when things are donated
43:08from countries like China and Russia, and these sorts of supports allow these countries to build
43:14and take their own independent path, asserting their right to implement their own models,
43:19and are breaking away with Monroe Doctrine and United States dominance. The United States is
43:26obviously not content with that. They know that there are endless opportunities in resource
43:34extraction, even apart from oil, if they're able to gain control over that country's resources,
43:41but they know they can only do that by installing one of their allies of this far-right opposition.
43:49This is a country that was highly reliant on the income generated from its oil sector, and so
43:55the way in which that was impacted was that, because of the unilateral course of measures,
44:01it was very difficult for Venezuela to do crucial things like purchase the necessary
44:07replacement parts in order to repair its oil refineries. They suffered huge fuel shortages
44:16in a country which itself produces oil. They had to rely on cooperation with Iran to be able
44:24to recover its oil industry, and Iran was even bringing fuel over to Venezuela during a crucial
44:33moment in perhaps 2020-2021 to Venezuela. There were a lot of shortages of food, as was widely
44:44reported, and part of why that happens is the same reason why it happens in countries like Cuba,
44:51under the blockade which has lasted more than 60 years, which is that there are issues with
44:59making purchases under these unilateral coercive measures, but there's also
45:05issues in which the shipping companies themselves and these sort of third parties don't want to
45:10enter into any contracts or do any commerce or trade having anything to do with a sanctioned
45:16entity, whether it be a government official of Venezuela, whether it be the Venezuelan state,
45:23because of the way in which they could be subject to secondary sanctions. And so that creates a
45:29situation where people don't want to take any risks because it could harm them economically,
45:35even if they're, let's say, some completely random South African shipping company. So
45:43they were deprived of medicines and other crucial things, such as insulin for diabetic people,
45:53and this created a lot of difficulties. Thankfully, in large part, and thanks to a lot of
46:00Venezuela's close allies, they've been able to largely overcome that. I think Venezuelans know
46:07that if the empire were able to overturn their revolution and come in and actually
46:15consolidate a coup, that it would be catastrophic for all the rest of our countries.
46:22And this was another episode of China Now, a show that opens a window to the present
46:27and the future of the Aishan Yael. Hope you enjoyed it. See you next time.