Xi in Liaoning; Power outages; Taiwan-US trade talks; Hong Kong guilty pleas
Today’s issue is a but thin, it is a beautiful late summer day here in DC and so I got distracted, though I am sure lots of you are happy for a shorter summer read…Back to normal Monday.
Summary of today’s Essential Eight:
Xi’s Liaoning tour - The full propaganda package hit the Thursday CCTV Evening News. In addition to the signal he seems to have sent about Taiwan with his visit to the Liaoshen Campaign Memorial, I thought the most interest messaging, even if not new, was around Common Prosperity and “self-reliance”.
Outbreaks - Confirmed cases are back to the highest level in three months with Hainan and Tibet as the worst hit. It is so hard to know from the little bits of information that dribble out of Tibet but it sounds like the situation is getting a bit dicey.
Heat, drought and power outages - Power outages are spreading as the heat continues and the drought worsens. Is there a quick fix to the power issues, or, as I suspect, they may last longer than most people assume?