https://www.scmp.com/rss/322878/feed Dr Hans-Georg Moeller is a professor in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Programme at the University of Macau. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Almost every day, the United States takes further steps in a new cold war with China. Sometimes the measures are military, sometimes political, sometimes economic and sometimes cultural. But they all have the same target: the assets and public profile of the Chinese government. On August 13, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the labelling of Confucius Institutes in the US as foreign missions of China. The obvious intention of the directive is to establish administrative hurdles and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098006/us-targeting-confucius-institutes-just-latest-push-gain-free-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3098006/us-targeting-confucius-institutes-just-latest-push-gain-free-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2020 17:30:08 +0000 Critics of US President Donald Trump point out how badly he has managed the Covid-19 crisis – but these critics misunderstand Trump’s approach to politics. For Trump, politics is about managing public perception, optimising approval ratings and, most importantly in 2020, winning the presidential election. To win an election, Trump knows only too well, one does not primarily need to govern well, but to, first and foremost, get more votes than the opponent. Crises come and go, and from an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3083308/trump-making-china-bogeyman-election-year-sound-familiar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3083308/trump-making-china-bogeyman-election-year-sound-familiar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2020 17:00:16 +0000 The cover of the German news magazine Der Spiegel warned about a deadly peril to humankind: “Coronavirus Made in China”. The colour of the words “Made in China” signals to the reader the nature of this peril: it is yellow – as yellow as the five stars on the Chinese national flag, to be precise. The cover photo makes a visual allusion to this flag by showing an Asian man cloaked in red protective gear. He is also wearing a gas mask with yellow air filters, which match the colour of the words... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3049121/biased-western-reporting-coronavirus-may-have-nasty-side-effect-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3049121/biased-western-reporting-coronavirus-may-have-nasty-side-effect-new?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2020 01:00:10 +0000 The dismal German Fifa World Cup campaign ended not only with an unexpected first-round exit of the previous World Champions, but also in a major socio-political public relations disaster challenging the country’s hard-won reputation as an emerging world leader in morality. Key player Mesut Ozil angrily declared that he would never wear the German jersey again and accused the German Football Association, as well as the German public, media, and some of his sponsors, of implicit or explicit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2157293/what-ozils-resignation-reveals-about-german-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2157293/what-ozils-resignation-reveals-about-german-political?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jul 2018 13:00:15 +0000 The reasons for the Brexit vote are complex. However, it is clear that frustration about immigration played a major role. This begs the question: why does immigration bother so many people in Britain? Why now, when the UK had already been dealing rather well with it for decades? The country could even be regarded as a model for the transition from a traditional nation state to a multicultural society – so why now all the fuss? An all-too-easy answer is that a breaking point was reached. But no... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1983000/are-germanys-open-border-policies-result-its-post-war-guilt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1983000/are-germanys-open-border-policies-result-its-post-war-guilt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2016 06:13:58 +0000