Dark Money.

Common prosperity.

1. Xi Jinping (the official translation): “We are now marching toward the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country. In response to the evolution of the principal challenge facing Chinese society and people's growing needs for a better life, we must make achieving common prosperity the focus of the Party's efforts to seek happiness for all Chinese people, which will in turn solidify the foundations of the Party's long-term governance. High-quality development requires high-caliber workers. Only by promoting common prosperity, increasing urban and rural incomes, and improving human capital can we raise total factor productivity and build a strong base of momentum for high-quality development. We are now living in a world in which income inequality is a glaring problem. Some countries have witnessed the growth of a huge gulf between rich and poor and the collapse of the middle class, which has led to social division, political polarization, and a surge of populism. This is a profound lesson. We in China must make resolute efforts to prevent polarization and promote common prosperity in order to safeguard social harmony and stability.” (Source: en.qstheory.cn)

2. Chinese President Xi Jinping will employ force to unify Taiwan with China by 2027, an influential Chinese academic who advises Beijing on foreign policy told Nikkei. Jin Canrong, a professor in Renmin University's School of International Studies, notes that the People's Liberation Army already has a posture superior to that of the U.S. to deal with a contingency involving Taiwan. He is known as one of China's most vocal hawks, and his online comments are followed by many. Xi has set Taiwan unification as a goal but has not indicated a timeline. Jin said: "Once the National Congress of the Communist Party of China is over in the fall of 2022, the scenario of armed unification will move toward becoming a reality. It is very likely that the leadership will move toward armed unification by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the PLA's founding." (Source: asia.nikkei.com)

3. The United States and its allies have prepared a list of Russian elites in or near Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle to hit with economic sanctions should Russia invade Ukraine, a senior administration official said on Monday. "The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin's destabilizing behavior," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The United States has developed specific sanctions packages for both Russian elites who meet the criteria and their family members, and these efforts are being pursued in coordination with U.S. allies and partners, the official said. Seems thin, no? (Source: reuters.com)

4. Former President Trump on Saturday said that if elected to a new term as president, he would consider pardoning those prosecuted for attacking the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. He also called on his supporters to mount large protests in Atlanta and New York if prosecutors in those cities, who are investigating him and his businesses, took action against him. The promise to consider pardons is the furthest Mr. Trump has gone in expressing support for the Jan. 6 defendants. “If I run and I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly,” he said, addressing a crowd at a fairground in Conroe, outside Houston, that appeared to number in the tens of thousands. “We will treat them fairly,” he repeated. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.” (Source: nytimes.com)