In the aftermath of the revelations of the parliamentary inquiry into the PwC scandal and the report "PwC: A Calculated Breach of Trust", Australians became aware of how large corporations given the mission of providing services to the government, rather than public servants, has screwed Australians over, but made little change in the culture in our government. This article traces the events of Jack Ma and how, in complete contrast to the Australian mode of bowing and scraping to large corporations, China put him in his place.
Stargate, a $500 billion AI project unveiled by Donald Trump, will exclusively and only serve OpenAI, per the Financial Times.
Mainstream media outlets often fail to uphold fundamental journalistic principles, particularly when reporting on sensitive issues such as China. Too often, they rely heavily on government officials’ statements without conducting sufficient independent verification or analysis.
This tendency to prioritise and amplify the views of politicians—frequently without adequate supporting evidence—reflects poor journalism. By neglecting to seek out and incorporate expert perspectives, the media misses opportunities to provide the context and balance necessary for a more accurate public understanding.
When unverified political claims are amplified by the press, the consequences can extend beyond domestic debate, potentially damaging Australia’s relationship with China.
In this way, media outlets can inadvertently, or at times deliberately, become vehicles for propaganda by uncritically accepting and disseminating the opinions of government officials.
This review highlights a paper that provides a critical analysis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) 2020 report "Uyghurs for Sale", which alleged systematic forced labour of Uyghurs in Chinese factories by Jaq James titled "The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Uyghurs for Sale Report: Scholarly Analysis or Strategic Disinformation?".
China's remarkable economic ascent, particularly its role as the "world's factory," has fundamentally reshaped the global economic landscape. However, China's ongoing economic transition, characterised by rising wages and a shift towards higher-value manufacturing, is creating significant uncertainty. Finding a successor to China as the dominant manufacturing hub presents a formidable challenge, potentially leading to higher production costs, reduced efficiency, and disruptions to global supply chains. While countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and India are potential contenders, they face limitations in terms of scale, infrastructure, and internal challenges. The passage underscores that China's economic reforms have been instrumental in enabling the globalization of manufacturing beyond the West. Consequently, its ongoing transition could have profound and potentially disruptive consequences for the existing global economic order.
Lindy Lee's sculpture marks the emergence of Australian art as the authentic experience of our landscape and context
Bill Birtles tells us why news lies
Isabella Weber’s *How China Escaped Shock Therapy* challenges neoliberal orthodoxy by examining China’s gradual economic reforms, contrasting them with the disastrous shock therapy policies in Russia. Weber highlights the success of China’s dual-track system, price controls, and state-owned enterprises, while critiquing corporate-driven inflation and ineffective central bank responses to modern economic crises.