Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China. The “tech war” between the United States and China has shifted to Europe, where the United Kingdom this week announced, in an abrupt reversal, that it would ban the use of equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in its high-speed wireless network. The British government’s decision is a major victory for the Trump administration, which has been campaigning to steer countries away from China as they develop their 5G infrastructure. Europe has been one of Huawei’s key markets as [...]
Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. The violent demonstrations that followed the killing of popular Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa in Addis Ababa last week have left at least 239 people dead and led to thousands of political arrests. Hachalu’s Oromo community, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, is now bracing for a broader political crackdown as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration attempts to forestall additional violence. Hachalu gained fame for his protest songs, which gave voice to the feelings of political and economic marginalization among the Oromo, and he helped [...]
Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China. Chinese police on Monday detained prominent legal scholar Xu Zhangrun, one of the few academics in China who still dared to openly criticize Xi Jinping’s leadership. Xu’s arrest is further evidence that under Xi, times have changed for well-known intellectuals who were once spared detention for airing measured grievances about the government. Xu first drew widespread attention in 2018 when he denounced Xi’s hard-line policies in an essay that The New York Times described as a “rare rebuke” of [...]
