Your Tuesday Briefing: China Walks Back Ambassador’s Comments

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China moved quickly yesterday to limit the damage to its relations with Europe, after China’s ambassador to France questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet states like Ukraine.

The comments by Lu Shaye, the ambassador, in a televised interview on Friday sparked a weekend diplomatic storm between foreign ministers and European parliamentarians. China is trying to stem the fallout by insisting that it recognizes the sovereignty of former Soviet republics that have declared independence, including Ukraine.

But the problem did not go away. France summoned Lu to the foreign minister to explain his comments. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – which were annexed by the Soviet Union after World War II – also said they would summon Chinese envoys.

Diplomacy: The fallout from the comments threatens to derail China’s efforts to boost trade with Europe while still supporting Russia. The war in Ukraine puts China in an awkward position. Beijing refused to condemn the invasion but promised not to help Russia militarily.

Analysis: Europeans, experts say, will listen to Lu’s comments “and think, this is how the Chinese and Russians talk about themselves,” about a world divided by influence – China in Taiwan and the Pacific, and Russia in Ukraine and the former. empire.

Separate: At the United Nations, US and European Security Council members refused to send their foreign ministers to a meeting chaired yesterday by Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat. China is one of the countries that sent the minister.

China recently unveiled draft rules for artificial intelligence software systems, like the one behind ChatGPT, in a show of the government’s determination to maintain tight regulatory control over the potentially era-defining technology.

According to the draft rules, chatbot content must reflect “socialist core values” and avoid information that undermines “state strength” or national unity. Chatbot creators must also register their algorithms with Chinese regulators.

Companies have tried to comply, but China’s efforts to control information could hinder efforts to compete in AI, experts say. Chinese entrepreneurs have been racing to catch up with chatbots like ChatGPT, which are not available in China.

Challenge: On the face of it, China’s rules require a level of technical control over chatbots that Chinese tech companies have not yet achieved.

The daughter of a ousted populist leader is a strong contender for prime minister in Thailand’s election next month, raising concerns that the return of a political dynasty could further destabilize the country.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, is a member of the most polarizing family in Thai politics – the Shinawatras – and has no political experience. His father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2006. His younger brother succeeded him as prime minister in 2011 before he was also ousted.

Critics have tried to take on the scandalous past of her family, but Paetongtarn has galvanized many and has fueled nostalgia for his family’s legacy. Many also blame the current prime minister for the slow economic growth.

Inheritance: Thaksin is remembered for his $1 health care program and debt relief for farmers. Since 2001, established political parties have consistently won the most votes in every election.

International relations: Once a stable ally of the US, Thailand has drawn closer to China under the military junta that ousted Shinawatra.

According to many accounts – from players, parents, teachers and website metrics – the popularity of chess has exploded.

Casual observers might attribute these trends to pandemics and boredom. But quietly, the grandmaster’s plan is also unfolding, carefully crafted by Chess.com to expand the game’s appeal and turn millennials and Gen Z into chess-playing pawns.

For almost seventy years, Barry Humphries, Australian-born Australian actor and comic who died at 89, lived the character of Dame Edna, his alter ego. Edna became a cultural phenomenon, “a force of nature trafficking in evil, sequined Commentary on the nature of fame,” her colleague Margalit Fox wrote in her obituary for Humphries.

Using Edna as an archetype for the ordinary middle-class matron, Humphries lampooned suburban pretensions, political correctness and the cult of self-crowned celebrities. He toured the world in a series of solo stage shows and was on television in the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere.

“The genius of Humphries’ vanity,” our former theater critic wrote, “was to translate the impudence and impatience of the middle-class Australian suburbs where he grew up into a more invincible satisfaction than the excesses of the star.”

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