Editor’s note for Tuesday, July 27, 2021
A note from the editor of today’s The China Project Access newsletter
My thoughts today:
“China’s yet-to-be-announced new ambassador to the United States Qín Gāng 秦刚 headed to Washington on Tuesday,” according to sources cited by Reuters.
Qin’s appointment does not tell us anything about Beijing’s view on its worsening relations with the U.S.: Qin is a loyal, unremarkable Party hack. He is a little famous for two things:
In 2008, he answered a journalist’s question about rock band Guns and Roses album, Chinese Democracy, with the following statement:
So far as I know, not many people are fond of this kind of music because it’s too loud and noisy. Besides, you are a mature adult, aren’t you?
In 2009, Qin became the subject of a meme video comparing his defense of censorship with then U.S. president Obama’s praises for the possibilities of the open internet.
Our word of the day is coal (煤炭 méitàn).
—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief
