🐾 China's new rules

Author

Geopolitics Hound
August 03, 2023

Good morning, readers!

Today, with the one-week deadline of ECOWAS fast approaching, our map below is heating up in Africa once again. With the possibility of military intervention growing every day, we seem to be getting ever closer to a global conflict.

However, to distract ourselves from conflicts, we have some lighthearted news for you later!

Today’s geopolitics hotspots:

China plans to cure internet addiction with socialism

China's internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), is mandating all mobile devices, apps, and app stores to add a "minor mode" limiting screen time to a mere two hours a day based on age.

CAC announced these new rules on Wednesday, asserting that these are required to combat internet addiction among young individuals and “guide minors to form good habits.”

✍🏻 Rapid Fact Check:

  • Screen time allowed per day:
    ◦ Under 8: 40 minutes,

    ◦ Ages 8-16: 1 hour,

    ◦ Ages 16-18: 2 hours.

  • Minors are banned from using their phones between 10 pm and 6 am.

  • Content providers are required to offer "age-based content" that aligns with "core socialist values."

  • The new rules are scheduled to come into effect on Sept. 2.

📚 Context: 

  • 2018: China created a regulatory body to oversee the gaming industry, citing concerns about issues such as near-sightedness, health, and morality among children.

  • 2019: China imposed a curfew on online gaming for minors, restricting them to 90 minutes on weekdays and 3 hours on weekends and holidays.

  • 2021: China banned children from gaming for more than 3 hours a week, after a state media outlet branded online games as “spiritual opium.”

  • Demographic crisis: The country is grappling with a declining birth rate and an aging population. Some experts suggest that these new rules aim to promote more family time and encourage childbearing.

Niger coup leader’s Mali visit: Wagner involvement?

General Salifou Mody (left), Yevgeny Prigozhin (middle), Assimi Goïta (right).

General Salifou Mody, the vice president of the group that seized power in a military coup last week in Niger, visited Mali on Wednesday. This has raised speculation of a possible interest in the Wagner mercenary group, which has a presence in the country.

✍🏻 Rapid Fact Check:

  • Mali’s transitional president, Assimi Goïta, hosted Mody and his large military delegation.

  • The coup in Niger could have serious consequences for the stability and security of West Africa and the Sahel region. Several countries are already grappling with Islamist insurgencies, ethnic violence, humanitarian crises, and setbacks in democracy.

📚 Context: 

  • July 26: Niger's presidential guard detained President Bazoum.

  • July 28: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin celebrated the coup in Niger and expressed that Wagner could provide assistance.

  • July 30: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc, threatened to use force if Bazoum was not reinstated within a week and imposed sanctions on the coup plotters.

  • Mali’s President Goïta came to power by a military coup.

  • Hundreds of Wagner contractors are already stationed in Mali.

Chinese sun bear conspiracy

Have you seen this viral video of a sun bear standing upright and waving?

👋🏻 Meet Angela, a four-year-old sun bear at Hangzhou Zoo in China. Her adorable actions have sparked a playful conspiracy theory, with some people suggesting she might be a human in a bear costume. They point to her awkwardly loose skin, slender legs, and surprisingly human-like movements as evidence of a possible hoax.

The zoo firmly denies the conspiracy theory while also noting a 30% spike in visitors since the video went viral.

Quick updates

📕 Note for the newcomers: 
Click on the country's name to read the full article.

Marcin Przydacz (left), Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right).

  • 🇹🇼 Taiwan: Taiwan launches an investigation into a group of military officers who are suspected of leaking sensitive information to China. Among the suspects is a lieutenant colonel, who is alleged to have leaked classified details to representatives of the CCP.

  • 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Ukraine summons the Polish ambassador over comments made by a senior official in the Polish president’s office, who said Ukraine should “start appreciating” Poland’s help.

  • 🇺🇦 Ukraine: 12 countries have joined the G7’s joint declaration on “security guarantees” that entail explicit and long-lasting obligations to bolster Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression.

  • 🇮🇳 India: Communal clashes in Nuh and Gurugram have resulted in 6 deaths and over 80 injuries. To prevent further violence, the Delhi Police has increased surveillance and suspended mobile internet and SMS services in some parts of Haryana until August 5.

  • 🇺🇸 US: A recent poll reveals that 31% of eligible voters in the US support or strongly support sending American troops to Ukraine.