Dear Quartz members—
English-language writing about China often falls into the same trap: Assuming that the country is a monolithic entity, a vast nation ruled by the all-powerful Communist Party.
Take, for example, censorship. This is a case where it seems like the omniscient party narrative would apply: censors make a decision from on high and pass it down through the country. Block this term, shut down that account, and so on.
In fact, it is much more subtle than that. In the latest episode of Quartz’s video series Because China, Nikhil Sonnad and Tony Lin explore how censorship often works not only from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. If someone inside or outside China offends the Communist Party, officials may not be aware of it until it is widely denounced by the country’s hyper-nationalistic factions on social media.
The notion of the omniscient Communist Party breaks down almost anywhere if you look closely enough. Even in a sector of the economy as straightforward as agriculture. How could China, with its tightly controlled economy, produce so many large-scale health scares, from SARS, to gutter oil, to powdered milk? Shouldn’t mass surveillance and centralized control mean that such things are snuffed out before they begin?
Not so. Just look at the latest massive health crisis, African swine fever. In another episode of Because China, Quartz reporter Isabelle Niu talks to farmers who had to convince the government that their pigs were dying in the thousands because of the disease, even as local officials tried to look the other way to avoid being blamed for not catching it earlier. The Communist Party is not to be ignored. But neither is it the whole story.
Also this week, we published a new presentation on the forces shaping the future of automated vehicles. It builds on our recent member field guide to AVs. I thought this slide made an interesting point:
You can view all of our presentations, which we produce exclusively for members, here. They’re designed to give you a fast way to get informed on a topic, and we welcome you cribbing from the slides if they’re useful in your own work.
And if you’re looking for a good topic to discuss this weekend with friends or family, I’d recommend Mike Murphy’s article on Google’s focus on sustainability. As Mike points out, it’s admirable that Google is openly questioning its impact on the environment when producing new devices, but it’s hard to square that thinking with an event designed to promote a host of new products. The contradiction wasn’t lost on our contributors. One member noted: “A host of new versions of products that people already have bathed in a glow of greenwash.”
As always, we’re keen to hear what you’d like us to cover. You can email me directly at x@qz.com or members@qz.com with your ideas and feedback.
With best wishes for a thoughtful and relaxing weekend,
Xana Antunes
Executive editor, Quartz