Jingjing Newsletter (Week 56)
By Li Jingjing, Douglas Rooney
Welcome to this week’s Jingjing Newsletter. Let’s continue to explore under-reported sides of world news.
This week was Israel’s deadliest since the beginning of the war in Gaza. 24 soldiers died on Monday, with 21 dying in the same incident, the deadliest single attack on the IDF in the entire war. The 21 soldiers were laying explosives in a residential building close to the Gaza-Israeli border when a rocket hit the building, setting off the explosives the soldiers had just laid, and causing the building to collapse on the IDF troops. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to seek retribution for the incident, and the IDF has surrounded the Gazan city of Khan Younis in the wake of the attack. The Gazan Health Ministry has reported around 200 Palestinians are dying every day in this latest phase of the fighting, with the death toll in the Gaza Strip surpassing 25,000. Gaza has had no communications or internet service for 10 days, hampering ambulance dispatches to areas targeted by Israel and preventing people from checking on one another and on the whereabouts of Israeli forces.
The United States and the United Kingdom launched new strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for the Yemeni rebel group’s ongoing disruption of shipping in the Red Sea aimed at putting pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza. This is the 8th round of strikes carried out by the US or her allies since the operation against Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, began on 12th January. In a statement broadcast by the Houthi Al-Masirah TV network, a military spokesperson said the group "affirms that retaliation against American and British attacks is inevitable, and any new aggression will not go unpunished."
Türkiye's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday. Both Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started in 2022. Ascension to NATO requires unanimous agreement from all member countries, and while Finland’s application was approved relatively quickly, Sweden’s application has been slowed due to disagreements with Türkiye. The Türkiye government has previously accused Sweden of harboring dissident groups that Türkiye classes as terrorist organizations, while Sweden claimed it couldn’t restrict the rights of these groups due to a commitment to free speech. However, Sweden appears to have assuaged Ankara’s concerns as the ascension protocol passed Türkiye’s parliament with ease, with the final tally voting tally 287-55 to approve the application.
The ascension of Finland and Sweden to NATO terminates a long-standing policy of neutrality in the conflict between Russia and the West for the two northern European countries. During the Cold War, Finland and Sweden made a point of remaining outside of the formal structure of the Western security alliance and engaged with the Soviet Union on a number of issues. However, in recent decades the two countries have been drifting towards a more openly pro-America and anti-Russian stance. This change in policy hasn’t come without consequences, and the participation of the two EU nations in Western sanctions against Russia has seen their relationships with Moscow deteriorate to a new low. For example, just this week, Russia announced the termination of a cross-border cooperation agreement with Finland, citing Finland’s increasingly hostile attitude and participation in Western sanctions. All this makes Russia’s reintegration into the European economy after the Ukraine war all the more difficult. This has also spurred Russia’s recent attempts to engage more fully with Asian markets – becoming China’s largest oil provider this year.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration of a controversial Hindu temple this week. The temple in Ayodhya, in northern India, is believed by Hindus to be the location of the birthplace of Lord Ram, an important deity in Hinduism. Until 1992, it had been the site of a historic Muslim Mosque, but that year, Hindu nationalist activists tore down the mosque. Riots that followed the destruction of the mosque killed around 2,000 people. The site has sat in limbo for the better part of three decades as Muslim and Hindu groups fought in the courts over who could claim ownership of the site, but in 2019 the Indian Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Hindus, paving the way for the construction of the Temple consecrated this week. Modi’s presence at the Temple ceremony is significant as he and his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have sought to emphasize the Hindu aspect of India’s identity, and support for the temple has led to accusations by critics that the BJP government are eroding the secular foundations of the modern Indian state. The attendance of the BJP leadership at the consecration of the temple at Ayodhya further underscores their support for a Hindu nationalist project that has worried some minority groups. With two more disputes over religious sites currently in the courts and hundreds more sites marked as potential targets by various Hindu nationalist groups, the temple at Ayodhya may signify a further escalation in the simmering sectarian tensions in India.
Donald Trump has won the New Hampshire primary with a double-digit lead over his only remaining challenger, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. With a solid win in the Iowa caucus earlier in the month and polling suggesting victory in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24th, Donald Trump is almost certain to be the Republican nominee to challenge Democrat President Joe Biden. Biden also had a good night in New Hampshire. Although Biden wasn’t actually on the ballot, he easily defeated two Democratic challengers with a write-in campaign organized by his allies in the state. With no clear route to victory for either man’s challengers, the 2024 US Presidential election looks set to be a rematch of the 2020 election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Tragic news from China this week as a landslide in a rural coal-mining village in Yunnan province caused the death of 44 people on Thursday. As of Tuesday afternoon, over 1000 personnel from local, provincial, and national rescue teams had arrived on the scene. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing also arrived on the scene on Monday to help oversea the rescue operation. An investigation into the cause of the landslide has been announced, according to national news reports.
Jingjing’s Highlights in This Week
1. This is why Japan is hated in Asia - Japan's secret germ warfare & human experiments during WWII
During WWII, Japan invaded and occupied many parts of Asia. During their aggression, it launched multiple biological warfare across Asia, especially in China, and conducted cruel human experiments on civilians. Not to mention the abduction of women and forcing them to be sex slaves, mass massacring innocent civilians. This history is not known among people outside of Asia, and those war criminals got away with their crimes.
2. Israel and the US finally condemned a "genocide" ... not in Gaza, but in Xinjiang?!
What You May Have Missed This Week in the World.
1. China, France eye glorious future on 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties
“Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron delivered video speeches to a reception in Beijing celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France on Thursday night.”
2. UN court to deliver ruling as conflict continues
The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 25,900 since October 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Thursday.
3. ‘More killing won’t bring back lost lives’: Tal Mitnick, 18, on going to prison instead of joining IDF
“In late December, Mitnick refused his mandatory draft to join the Israel Defense Forces. As a result, a military court sentenced him to 30 days in custody, making him the first conscientious objector to be jailed in Israel since 7 October.”
4. Nauru's decision indicates South Pacific Islands' trust in China
“On January 15, 2024, Nauru President David Adeang proclaimed on local media in Nauru and on international media outlets that Nauru was emphatic and resolute – in that – the moment of truth and sovereignty had arrived. ‘The Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China's territory, and will sever 'diplomatic relations' with Taiwan as of this day and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan.’”
5. China kicks off Spring Festival travel rush with 9 bln trips expected
“China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with record-breaking journey numbers expected.”
6. Rohan Davis - Understanding Fascism in India
An explainer on the rise of the Hindu nationalist right in India – and what it means for the subcontinent’s future.
7. Richard Medhurst - How Israel Destroyed Arab-Jewish Communities (Ft. Ilan Pappé)
8. POLITICO Magazine - Trump Could Come Back. Resistance Might Not.
“The shock of 2016 spurred his critics to fight. A 2024 repeat could prompt flight instead.”
Page Editor: Jin Yulin
Call for Contributors!
I’ve added a “ feature article” section to my Substack homepage. It’s an open platform I specifically designed to let everyone share their own perspectives with the world. Feature articles can be related to any topic as long as you’re highly passionate about it! Article length is recommended to be within 700 - 900 words.
If you have an idea for a feature article, contact jjnewsletter@hotmail.com with a brief description of the article's focus.
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