Editor’s note for Monday, January 25, 2021

My thoughts today: 

Davos notes: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 gave a speech via video link to the DAVOS World Economic Forum. Xi called for global collaboration to combat COVID-19 and its accompanying economic woes, but the speech was short on details. 

Taiwanese attitudes: The independent Hong Kong-based Initium News interviewed 35 Taiwanese of all ages, and the result (in Chinese) is “worth your time” per Catie Lilly on Twitter. The interviews are about “what they hope for (or think is practical) for Taiwan’s future status, what they’d do in case of war, and whether they identify with the ROC. Beautiful interface and [Chinese] subtitled audio clips.” 

Our word of the day is to make a show of force (炫耀武力 xuànyào wǔlì), which Beijing both did by sending military aircraft into the Taiwan Strait over the weekend and, in today’s Foreign Ministry press briefing (English, Chinese), chided the U.S. for doing in the South China Sea. 

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief