Editor’s note for Thursday, December 9, 2021

STOP PRESS: As we send this, Nicaragua has just announced it is breaking off diplomatic relations with Taipei and establishing ties with the People’s Republic of China.

“Be fruitful and multiply” said God to Noah and his sons in the Judeo-Christian story, and now the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is asking the same of its members and Chinese citizens. Or perhaps demanding:

The Washington Post reports on an apparent change in Chinese health care policy that has made it difficult for men to get vasectomies, while a commentary widely published by state media websites said that Party members “have a personal obligation to help tackle the country’s plunging fertility rate by having three children.” (The commentary has since been scrubbed from the Chinese internet, but the message has probably got through.)

We’ve updated our electric vehicle guide: Check it out for details on Zotye, Aiways, Human Horizons, and other new companies in the space.

A “Uyghur Tribunal” convened in London says that China has committed “genocide” in Xinjiang. Beijing is naturally displeased.

Upcoming event: December 15: Beyond Shang-Chi: Superheroes, masculinity, and Asian-American representation.

Our word of the day is:

If you’re backward, you’ll be beaten up; if you’re poor, you’ll have to starve; if you can’t speak, you’ll get a scolding.

落后就要挨打，贫穷就要挨饿，失语就要挨骂
luòhòu jiù yào áidǎ, pínqióng jiù yào ái’è , shīyǔ jiù yào áimà

This is from a 2015 speech (link in Chinese) by Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 cited by Cornell University scholar Sun Peidong, as quoted in this article by Mary Hui.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief