Press and social media went through the war on Thursday in China, with the announcement by Taiwanese and Japanese media that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would travel to Taiwan this Sunday (10).
The CCTV network headlined Sina Weibo with the news that “the People’s Liberation Army will take effective measures to thwart outside interference and Taiwanese separatist attempts.”
The topics also echoed the proposal by Hu Xijin, a journalist for the Global Times, to ban flights in Taiwan and fly over the island with fighter jets on the day, among other military measures.
The growing mobilization made headlines on the Guancha portal (pictured above, with the Chinese foreign ministry’s “serious” reaction) and on the Xinhua news agency’s English-language website, echoing in the US by bodies such as Bloomberg and Reuters, with an eye on Hu.
Closing the day, on Weibo highlights, again with CCTV, “Pelosi infected by coronavirus”. In the Global Times headline, “Pelosi ‘tests positive, postpones trip to Asia’ after China warns of resolute, forceful action on alleged visit to Taiwan.”
Hu, also on Weibo: “Pelosi, 82, tested positive and announced a delay. The People’s Liberation Army, which is ready to ‘take in’ her, can rest a little.”
US THREATS INDIA
The headlines in newspapers like Jagran and Times of India went to the country’s new pro-Russian UN vote and increasing US “pressure”, now even calling Indian ministers to Washington.
The White House said a “more explicit strategic alignment” from New Delhi to Moscow would have economic “consequences”.
CHOMSKY AND THE DANGER
In the New Statesman, American activist and academic Noam Chomsky, 93, criticizes Vladimir Putin for “criminal aggression” on Ukraine, where his father was born, but adds: “Why did he do that?” He points out that the US announced in September military cooperation with Ukraine, bringing the country closer to NATO. He lists “the long history” of US interventions and the famine in Afghanistan “because the US does not release Afghan money from the banks in New York”.
Finally, he warns, citing the risk of nuclear war: “We are approaching the most dangerous point in human history.”
NYT AGAINST TWITTER
The Insider, echoed by sites like Mediaite (pictured above) and Nieman Lab, reported that the New York Times had sent a statement to its nearly 2,000 journalists supporting them to “walk away” or “significantly reduce” their presence on Twitter, which should be treated with “journalistic skepticism”.
