DailySA: Chinese food shortages due to pandemic policies

Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Friday, 22 April 2022. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa

TODAY’S BRIEFING:

• Chinese food shortages due to pandemic policies
• China promises closer coordination with ally Russia
• Florida passes bill dissolving Disney’s special district
• NIJ study links extremism to online platforms

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SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

CHINESE FOOD SHORTAGES POSSIBLE DUE TO PANDEMIC POLICIES: China may see food shortages due to supply chain disruptions brought about by its domestic zero-COVID policies. An 87% decrease in trucking and transportation activity due to COVID restrictions has prevented agricultural implements from reaching farmers in time for planting season. Additionally, overzealous local officials have been arresting farmers for violating COVID policies while they are attempting to work their fields during the spring planting season. Provincial leaders are requesting relief from the government to allow farmers to plant and truckers to deliver the required agricultural products to make their yield goals. (Analyst Comment: Potential food shortages in China may also be exacerbated by a lack of feed corn from Ukraine, although China has been stockpiling grain and holds stockpiles of corn amounting to nearly 65% of the world’s supply. Chinese pork production, a key nutritional component of the Chinese diet, is also down after three years of culling due to African Swine Flu.- M.M.)

CHINA PROMISES CLOSER COORDINATION WITH ALLY RUSSIA: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said China would strengthen strategic coordination with Russia no matter what the U.S. and its Western allies did in response. Le Yucheng made the remarks during a meeting on Monday with the Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov. Le YuCheng stressed that China would work with Russia to achieve “win-win cooperation,” jointly safeguard their common interests and promote a new type of international relations and community. To emphasize the point he added that trade between China and Russia has increased over 30% during the first quarter of 2022. (AC: China does not appear to be cowed by the West’s threat of sanctions, despite what some media outlets have reported. Expect a coalition of the “unwilling” led by China to develop closer trade and financial ties in response to the West’s continuing threats of sanctions over Russia’s war with Ukraine. – M.M.)

FLORIDA PASSES BILL DISSOLVING DISNEY’S SPECIAL DISTRICT: The Florida House of Representatives followed the State Senate in approving two bills stripping Disney of its special status in Florida. Disney’s longtime agreement with Florida included special tax status, self-governance, oversight, and regulation. Headed to Governor Desantis’ desk for signature, the measures are in response to Disney’s political activism surrounding Florida’s education laws. (AC: Other states may follow in Florida’s footsteps and push back against corporate lobbying in state legislation. The national attention given to state-level action is often fueled by corporations deciding to take a public stance or actively fund their interests. If enough states take similar action, it may reduce the congruence between progressive politicians and corporate boards on social matters. This may slightly reduce exploitation of American culture by foreign influence actors. – D.M.)

NIJ STUDY LINKS EXTREMISM TO ONLINE PLATFORMS: Research from the National Institute of Justice found those engaging in “violent and non-violent hate crime” were influenced by social media. The study identifies commonalities between the Extremist Crime Database and Profiles of Individual Radicalization database in the U.S.. Social media was a link found between the two groups. Facebook was the largest linked social media platform. (AC: Extremism studies focus on online use due to low barriers for entry and reach groups can have. Findings outline that almost all extremists are engaged in online activity and are found on the same common online platforms as average civilians. Pressure for content moderation is likely to continue; however, determining what constitutes extremism can shift depending on the political environment since the U.S. does not have a standardized definition of extremism across all government sectors – D.F.)

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