On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with the reports that the PRC is threatening to scuttle Trump’s visit to Beijing over a second arms package from the U.S. to Taiwan, including thoughts on next moves from the U.S., how this arms shipment happened, and the PLA’s dangerous aerial maneuvers around Taiwan. From there: Reactions to the news that Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong prison, a State Council white paper on “One Country, Two Systems,” and Sanae Takaichi’s party secures a supermajority in Japan three months after the PRC’s pressure campaign over her Taiwan comments. At the end: The propaganda value of AI models, and a word about hockey and the Winter Olympics.

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Bill Bishop is the author of Sinocism

To email the show: email@sharpchina.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Jimmy Lai sentenced; Xi on Sci-tech self-reliance; Japan elections; US-China; Nanjing Museum case; AI propaganda — Sinocism

Xi’s Beijing inspection; Li on rare earths; Hong Kong white paper; Taiwan Affairs Work Conference; PBoC report — Sinocism

China warns US arms sales to Taiwan could threaten Trump visit in April — Financial Times

China steps up dangerous air encounters near Taiwan — Financial Times

China critic and former media tycoon Jimmy Lai is sentenced to 20 years in a Hong Kong security case — AP

Exclusive | China rallies neighbours against Japan in rare meeting. Will it work? — SCMP

UK, UN and EU deplore ‘monumental injustice’ of Jimmy Lai’s 20-year jail sentence — The Guardian

Japan’s Leader Wins in a Landslide, Clearing Way for Hard-Line Agenda — New York Times

How Japan’s Leader Rescued Her Party from the Abyss — New York Times

Tokens of AI Bias — China Media Project

Chinese artificial intelligence distorts perceptions — Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service

Activist father of U.S. Olympian Alysa Liu targeted by Chinese spy ring — AP

Who is Alysa Liu, Team USA’s alt-girl figure skater who just won an Olympic gold medal? — Yahoo! Sports