Prof. Chen Ning Yang, a world-renowned physicist, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor at Tsinghua University, and Honorary Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Tsinghua University, passed away in Beijing due to illness at the age of 103. His life stands as a timeless chapter in human history—one that shines not only for China but for the global community of thinkers and innovators. His legacy will live on forever.
I stopped reading the New York Times years ago precisely for this reason, but people post images. I think the NYT has exhausted the "but at what cost?" narrative (simply tack on "but at what cost?" to any positive news from China), but I guess we're happy to announce the birth of a new one.... Everybody in China is resisting. Everything they do is an act of resistance. Against the you know who.
You walk down the street in China and you see a guy on a bicycle. HE IS RESISTING. Why is he resisting? Because most everyone else is on an electric scooter, and there he is, showing the finger to the CCP, riding a good old fashioned bike.
Fitness has become very popular in China in recent years, social media is full of videos of people from gyms, everyone's got a fitness app, etc. They are resisting. Why are they resisting? Because the CCP wants them to work, work, work to increase the GDP and they are like "fuck you CCP, I'm going to the gym". THEY ARE RESISTING.
An LGBTQ+ lesbian woman is buying a mango at the farmer's market in Beijing. SHE IS RESISTING. Why is she resisting? Because most mangos in Mainland China are imported from Taiwan and Beijing government often sanctions it (temporarily) to punish Taiwan for some provocation or other. An act of buying the mango is an act of resistance. She wants Taiwan to be free and she will not take the CCP dictat. Give me 5 kilos of mangos.
The message is obvious. People in China are desperate. And they need our help. They cannot protest, so they make these desperate acts of resistance: they buy apartments, ride bikes and go to the gym, and eat mangos. We have to save them.
Is anyone out there paying for a New York Times subscription? Please don't do that to yourself. You've worked hard for that money. Don't spend your money on this kind of toxic propaganda. You should not even be reading it for free really.