Editor’s note for April 12, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
My thoughts today:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in China. There have not yet been any official communications or media reports of the visit. We’ll have all the news about it tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Europe, and Taiwan, criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron’s conduct and remarks during and after his trip to China last week continue. The Economist today published a piece titled Emmanuel Macron’s blunder over Taiwan that said the “French leader has made a dangerous situation worse.” The New York Times titled their report: From red carpet to doghouse: Macron returns from China to allied dismay.
Related: Chinese state media is today headlining (in English, Chinese) a visit by Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 to the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command. But he seems to have changed his mind about previously announced plans, or threats, to shut the airspace north of Taiwan for three days on April 16 to 18, and is instead cutting down the no-fly time to 27 minutes.
Our Word of the Day is: Southern Theater Command (南部战区 nánbù zhànqū).
