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My Take

American and Chinese flags wave at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, China. File photo: AP

My Take | How China and the West misconstrue the ‘century of humiliation’

The rise of China is not specific to the nation but part of a larger historic trend in the fall and rise again of the non-West – and of the reverse for the West.

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My Take | Foresight, not pivots, can restore confidence in China’s economy

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My Take | Some who study too much history end up repeating it

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My Take | Chickens come home to roost as Pentagon prepares for unrest

Reissued directive from the US Department of Defense clears the way for long-banned troop deployment to enforce law on domestic soil.

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Riot police push back a crowd of supporters of US President Donald Trump after they stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

My Take | A sports dispute resolution system is long overdue in Hong Kong

A passion for sport is starting to take hold in the city along with a desire to host ‘mega’ events. But there is no clear process for settling differences.

My Take | US has become a terrible example of democracy for today’s world

Unlike America, China has never claimed its system of government is universally applicable or tried to impose it by force on other nations.

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My Take | Heavy price of coal will continue to be paid by world for while yet

Rich, but tragic, vein of fossil fuel runs through a great grandfather in the mines of Yorkshire, China colliery death traps and closure of UK plant.

A view of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham, England, on September 29, 2024. Photo: AP

My Take | Israel has no place among the family of nations at the UN

Given its murderous attacks on UN staff in Gaza and declaration of its chief as ‘persona non grata’, it’s about time to invoke Article 6 of the UN Charter to expel the rogue state.

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My Take | Against China, and now India, Canada stands all on its own

With little help from allies, Ottawa keeps finding itself in diplomatic trouble by trying to play by rules that friends and foes alike ignore.

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My Take | Demography is not destiny for China or anyone else

Mass immigration gives the US a huge advantage over everyone else facing depopulation but it’s a double-edged sword that has escalated domestic strife.

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People shop at a supermarket in Nanjing, China. Photo: Xinhua

My Take | Porcupine, anaconda or capybara are choices for Taiwan’s defence

The spiky prey will prove to be a deadly meal for the snake but it also will not survive. Better to imitate the rodent that gets along with everyone.

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Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock

My Take | Let’s hope Macau can retain its charm amid the challenges ahead

As the gambling enclave elects a new leader, he will need to comply with Beijing’s order to diversify and revitalise the post-pandemic economy.

My Take | Why universities in Hong Kong have flourished since mayhem

After the 2019 unrest, and with no more politically motivated riots to distract them, students and teachers can focus on studies, research.

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My Take | For Israel, the road to Tehran has always been through Washington

Netanyahu has long understood with each escalation towards – from Gaza and the West Bank, then Lebanon and now finally, the prized war against Iran – the US will capitulate bit by bit, until it has no autonomy left in the Middle East.

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US President Joe Biden (right) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 25, 2024. Photo: AP

My Take | So is this just how our great free press of the West really operates?

To appreciate the true magnitude of its disgrace, imagine the response if murdered Gazan journalist Hassan Hamad were a Uygur or a Tibetan.

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Pro-Palestinian activists take part in a protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. Photo: AFP

My Take | Protests or riots, 2014 and 2019 were the biggest mistakes of this generation

No one really knows how or why a society works or doesn’t work, so don’t think you have a magic formula for it.

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My Take | What China’s stock market rallies confirm about Communist Party rule

Strong growth has been key to the party holding on to power, and it has again shown the ability to shift course to heed public opinion.

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My Take | Much ethnic debate about nothing in Taiwan

If the island is an integral part of China, then obviously its indigenous people are Chinese too.

A statue of an indigenous hunter at a village in Chishang, Taiwan. Photo: AFP

My Take | Why Benjamin Netanyahu is becoming Beijing’s best frenemy

Xi’s friendship with Putin comes with serious liabilities, but growing antagonism from Israel may paradoxically benefit China even more.

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My Take | US envoy blames China for own failure against Yemeni Houthis

Most of world realises Red Sea harassment of international cargo ships is not terrorism, but a bid to stop mass killings of fellow Muslims in Gaza.

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My Take | The US can’t resist the return of ‘Great Game’ politics

As American hegemony erodes, the old practices of balance of power and spheres of influence are making a comeback.

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Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a shelling on a high-storey residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine on September 24, 2024, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. Photo: EPA-EFE

My Take | As US ally blows up the Mideast, China preserves Asia’s prosperity

Launching Cold War 2.0 against a reluctant Beijing while enabling Israel to set fire to an entire region is now official American foreign policy.

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Ruins at the site of the Israeli air strike that killed Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters

My Take | Viral tweet about mind-altering drug exposes Silicon Valley’s toxic culture

Plant hallucinogen ayahuasca is all the rage among those seeking enlightenment and healing in a shallow tech milieu desperate for a quick fix and patch.

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Opinion | Will Japan’s new PM Shigeru Ishiba lead the Asia-Pacific down a nuclear path?

The Japanese prime minister supports the creation of an ‘Asia Nato’ to deter China, Russia and North Korea.

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My Take | Why I have stopped feeling so much outrage at Israel

After almost lifelong support for the cause of the Palestinians, I am, in middle age, becoming numbed to their endless sufferings.

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A woman walks with an infant past the rubble of a collapsed building in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 16, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. Photo: AFP

My Take | Shigeru Ishiba a Japanese leader who is willing to engage China

The next PM’s idea of an Asian Nato is a pipe dream but his expressed willingness to be more independent of the US should be taken seriously.

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Shigeru Ishiba, the newly elected leader of Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Photo: Reuters

My Take | Taiwan opposition brave to reject distortion of key UN resolution

Lawmakers from Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party show courage in walking out on DPP’s motion, which effectively denies ‘one China’.

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My Take | Joe Biden is leaving behind a legacy of ashes

Russia has exposed the limits of Western power while Israel has dragged the West’s global standing through the mud. Meanwhile, a cold war with China will be a lose-lose for everyone.

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My Take
My Take, a popular and sometimes controversial daily column of the South China Morning Post, analyses a variety of hot-button issues concerning Hong Kong, mainland China and the region.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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