ANTISEMITISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
Antisemitism is surging in China as tropes move from marginal spaces into the official discourse, warns a report by the Jewish People Policy Institute. Driven by Beijing's escalating rivalry with the U.S. and strategic alignment with Arab nations, CCP propaganda increasingly combines anti-Western sentiment with anti-Jewish rhetoric. Following the Gaza war, a growing "antisemitic wave" has swept Chinese publications, influencers, academics, and social media, with universities emerging as "influential incubators" for these narratives. This shift involves a deliberate blurring of distinctions between Israel, Jews, and Judaism. Because Beijing perceives Jews as wielding outsized influence over U.S. policy, it has weaponized stereotypes to vilify them and the West more generally. Chinese nationalists who once praised Jewish perseverance and determination, are now reinterpreted these traits malevolently. "Philosemitism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin in China," the report concludes. (The Times of Israel, February 24, 2026)
CCP DEFECTOR DETAILS HIS REPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
Ma Ruilin, a former official from the CCP's secretive United Front Work Department (UFWD) who recently defected to the U.S., provided a rare glimpse into Beijing's domestic repression and overseas influence operations in a CNN interview. A Hui Muslim now residing in New York, Ma detailed his role in designing programs to surveil and suppress Christians and Muslims and other religious minorities. The department's tactics include shutting down mosques, removing domes, and using informants to facilitate mass detention of Muslims in Gansu. Ma warned that Beijing's "transnational repression" against Chinese diaspora communities follows the perfection of these surveillance techniques at home. "The system has always been evil. If you don't leave, you'll keep doing evil there," Ma said. (CNN, February 27, 2026)
NEW ETHNIC UNITY LAW PROMOTES ASSIMILATION, MANDATES MANDARIN
China has adopted a sweeping "ethnic unity" law to foster "a stronger sense of community among all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation," says National People's Congress delegate Lou Qinjian. The legislation mandates Mandarin Chinese in compulsory education, requiring it be taught to all children from pre-kindergarten through high school. While Mandarin is already the primary language in regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, this law effectively ends the autonomy ethnic minorities once held over their instructional languages nationwide. The law also calls for the promotion of "mutually embedded community environments," which are designed "to encourage Han and other minorities to migrate into each other's communities," notes Minglang Zhou of the University of Maryland. "The people of each ethnic group," according to the new law, must now "forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to law and the constitution, and take the responsibility of building this consciousness." (Japan News, March 13, 2026)
CK HUTCHISON ESCALATES LAWFARE AFTER PANAMA SEIZES PORTS
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison has escalated its legal battle against the Panamanian government following the latter's seizure of its Panama Canal port operations. The conglomerate filed a court petition to review the executive action that led to the "unlawful" occupation of its facilities and property confiscation. In January, after a court ruling deemed the contracts unconstitutional, Panama annulled the deals that gave CK Hutchison's subsidiary, the Panama Ports Company, control of the Balboa and Cristobal terminals. The dispute disrupts CK Hutchison's plan to divest to a BlackRock-led consortium for $23 billion. Beijing had criticized the proposed sale, which Donald Trump praised as a step toward "reclaiming" the Panama Canal and diminishing PRC influence. (MSN, March 6, 2026)
AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSMAN CONVICTED OF WORKING FOR MSS
Australian businessman Alexander Csergo, 59, faces up to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of reckless foreign interference for drafting reports for suspected Chinese intelligence officers. While working in Shanghai in 2021, Csergo was approached by "Ken" and "Evelyn," who offered to pay him for national security information. Csergo would meet the pair in empty restaurants to hand over his reports in return for envelopes of cash. Although the information he provided was "worthless" — consisting largely of plagiarized, falsified, and publicly available data — prosecutors argued that Csergo, who exchanged 2800 WeChat messages with "Ken," recklessly supported China's Ministry of State Security. He is only the second person convicted under Australia's 2018 anti-spying laws. (BBC, March 13, 2026)
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