How to survive a nuclear war

Jilin Daily, the official state newspaper of the northeastern province that shares a 1,200-kilometer border with North Korea, has taken the unusual step of issuing a full-page advisory (in Chinese) on how to survive a nuclear war, including “cartoons reminiscent of the rather hopeful public service announcements in 1950s America advising children to ‘duck and cover’ to survive a nuclear attack,” notes the Washington Post.

• Among the pieces of advice: Scrub boots with water, clean ears out with cotton buds, and force vomiting if contaminated food is consumed.
• State tabloid Global Times noted in an editorial that while there is no immediate risk of nuclear attack, “it’s natural that Jilin Province is more sensitive to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, given its special geographic location,” according to Quartz. The Global Times editorial has apparently been deleted.
• The original article came from the Jilin Provincial People’s Air Defense Office and does not specifically mention North Korea. An official with the office told Chinese media that “the outside world should not overinterpret it,” the Post reported.
• Meanwhile, CNN reports that South Korean leader Moon Jae-in will travel to Beijing next week to meet with Xi Jinping to discuss denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. It will be the third meeting between the two leaders, as relations between the two countries have shown signs of improvement in recent months.

Rattled nerves in China — senior diplomat dispatched to D.C.

Writing on Axios, China-watcher and increasingly connected Beltway denizen Bill Bishop says, “Beijing has dispatched Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang 郑泽光 for a visit to D.C. starting today, on what a knowledgeable source describes as a ‘firefighting’ mission with the apparent goal of preventing an escalation of tensions over North Korea.”

Bishop says that this is a sign of Beijing’s real concern “about the trajectory of the relationship with the U.S., especially over North Korea and trade,” and that despite the apparent success of the American president’s Beijing visit, “the Trump administration appears to have Beijing rattled.”

China jobs with the National Committee

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is one of the most interesting organizations in the transpacific community. Listen to this Sinica Podcast if you’re curious, or go to its website if you’d like to apply for the following positions: Director of Development, Program Officer/Senior Program Officer, and Communications and Production Assistant.

(“How to survive a nuclear war” by Sky Canaves)