‘Why the loyalty check?’: Chinese-Filipinos fear prejudice fuelled by Alice Guo case, South China Sea dispute

There are 1.2 million Tsinoys or Filipinos of Chinese ancestry in the Philippines.

 ST PHOTO: MARA CEPEDA

Mara Cepeda
Philippines Correspondent
Sep 02, 2024,

MANILA – The curious case of a former Philippine town mayor who fled the country after being accused of being a Chinese spy and crime boss is stoking fears of discrimination among Chinese-Filipinos.

Locally called Chinoys or Tsinoys, Filipino nationals who are of Chinese ancestry fear that the case of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo is fanning the flames of Sinophobia amid Manila’s dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising her alleged links to the country’s online casino industry, or Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) – mostly Chinese-backed and now banned.

Filipinos were even more outraged when Guo, who is believed to be a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, escaped from the Philippines in August despite facing multiple probes for her alleged links to crime syndicates.

Historian Meah Ang See, a Chinese-Filipino, told The Straits Times that some Tsinoys have already been experiencing what she described as microaggression from fellow Filipinos. The latter have teased them about whether they know Guo personally or have anything to do with Pogos.

Ms Ang See was formerly director of the Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran organisation, which advocates for Tsinoys’ integration into Philippine society. She is also a former president of Bahay Tsinoy, a museum on the ethnic Chinese people’s contributions to Philippine history.

“We’re not Pogos. We are living our lives as Filipinos. We definitely are Filipino citizens. We are legal. We are not involved in crime,” she added.

Some netizens mocked Guo’s accent and looks in posts about her evasive answers when she faced Filipino senators for the first time in May.

“She sounds like she works at the Shenzhen sorting centre,” one Facebook user wrote, in reference to a distribution compound in China where Filipinos’ orders from Chinese e-commerce shops are usually packed before shipment.

For Chinese-Filipino author and podcaster Cedric Cheng, comments like this indicate that some Filipinos are still unable to distinguish between Tsinoys and Chinese nationals living or working in the Philippines.

In an episode of the Now Steaming: Conversations On Tsinoy Life podcast on Aug 5, he said Guo’s case has sparked a “new wave of Sinophobia” online and could lead to “hostile interactions” against Tsinoys offline.

Ms Ang See said there are some 1.2 million Tsinoys, which is about 1 per cent of the Philippines’ total population. This tally does not include the Chinese nationals working in the Philippines, whose number is not readily available.

The Tsinoy community has contributed much to the nation’s history since the first wave of Chinese immigrants moved to Manila from Fujian province in the 1500s.

Chinese influence has since seeped through Philippine cuisine, culture and traditions. The oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594, is located in the heart of the capital Manila, drawing millions of visitors each year for its Chinese-Filipino food and Chinese New Year festivities.

Despite these rich ties, anti-Chinese sentiments have been growing among Filipinos in recent years as Beijing ramped up its aggressive actions against Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea.

These sentiments, coupled with anger over the Guo case, have spilt over to confront some Tsinoys. Some have been asked which side they would support should war erupt between the Philippines and China over the disputed waterway.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising former Bamban town mayor Alice Guo’s alleged links to the country’s online casino industry. She has fled the country. 

PHOTO: SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES


In the same Now Steaming podcast episode, Tsinoy broadcaster Kimberly Mas shared that her cousins were recently at a shopping mall when a male Filipino came up to them and said the “West Philippine Sea is ours” before running away.

The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s official term for the eastern parts of the South China Sea that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China is also claiming them.

“My cousins didn’t respond. They just let it go,” said Ms Mas. “But if I were them, I would have told the guy: ‘Yeah, it is ours.’”

It is a scenario all too familiar for Tsinoys given recent tensions between the Philippines and China, said Ms Ang See.

“We’re Filipino. Why are you even asking us about loyalty? That should be automatic,” she added. “So now Tsinoys are rethinking our position in Philippine society. Are we really accepted?”

But for Dr Sidney Bata, Chinese studies programme director at Ateneo de Manila University, comments like this highlight Filipinos’ growing distrust of China, given its actions towards the Philippines in the sea dispute.

A March 2024 survey by local pollster OCTA Research showed that 91 per cent of 1,200 Filipino respondents said they distrust China, up from 58 per cent in 2022.

“I don’t think it’s racism. I think the conversations now are only having undertones of it because people are becoming distrustful (of China) first. People are angry by these things happening (in the South China Sea),” said Dr Bata.

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Philippine ex-mayor linked to Chinese crime rings fled to Singapore in July: Filipino authorities

In recent months, China has been obstructing Philippine ships sending supplies to a World War II-era warship grounded at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. A skirmish between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy in these waters in June caused one Filipino soldier to lose a thumb.

Dr Bata added that this distrust may also be rooted in the Philippines’ colonial past, having been conquered by Spain, the United States and Japan. The Filipinos’ anger is now directed at China because it has been deemed the Philippines’ modern-day aggressor.

As emotions continue to run high amid the manhunt for Guo, the crackdown on Pogos and geopolitical tensions with Beijing, Tsinoys can only hope that their countrymen would focus more on the facts when discussing these issues.

Ms Ang See said Tsinoys’ Chinese ethnic heritage should be kept out of the conversation.

“When you say that anything Chinese is now illegal, what about us Chinese-Filipinos? What about the Chinese nationals who are following our laws? It’s like you’re lumping everyone together,” she added.

“That’s what we want to separate.”

Shanghai Museum welcomes feline visitors to Egyptian cat exhibition on Meow Night

A cat visitor prepares to have its photo taken in front of a statue depicting the cat goddess Bastet at Shanghai Museum's Meow Night. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

Sep 01, 2024

SHANGHAI - Shanghai Museum has pulled in crowds this summer for an exhibition of ancient Egyptian relics including cat statues and other feline imagery, and which on Saturday nights allows up to 200 visitors to bring along their own four-legged friends.

Inspired by ancient Egyptians’ worship of Bastet, the goddess of protection – often depicted as a cat – the museum has given cats the chance to interact with part of the exhibition called The Secrets Of Saqqara.

“Egyptian archaeological teams discovered a cat temple in Saqqara and unearthed many cat mummies and cat statues. So when we were planning the event, we had cats as a theme, and then came the idea for Meow Night,” said Shanghai Museum deputy director Li Feng.

The Top Of The Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Civilisation Exhibition began on July 19 and runs until Aug 17, 2025, with Meow Night planned for at least 10 Saturdays. It has held six so far with tickets, including 200 bring-a-cat tickets, selling out each time.

Visitors bring their cats in carriers or pet strollers and can take them out only at designated areas, such as for a photo opportunity next to a statue of Bastet.

The cats are checked on entry to ensure up-to-date vaccinations and for signs of illness or stress. There are veterinarians on-site and rest areas for cats in case the stimulation from their night at the museum gets a bit much.

"It's very special that you can bring a cat with you," said visitor Qiu Jiakai who was attending Meow Night with one-year-old puss An Mao.

“I listened to the narrator’s introduction saying ... many of today’s pet cats are related to the cats domesticated in ancient Egypt. So I thought I would have to bring my cat here to see its ancestors and the cat goddess,” she said. 

REUTERS

AU CONTRAIRE

Uygur women hit hardest by US sanctions on Xinjiang

China.org.cn 

Xinhua,

August 31, 2024

In a Cantonese cuisine restaurant in a newly-developed area in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China, Uygur cashier Parida Abdukeyum was busy handling diners' payments and answering phone calls during dinner time, speaking in Mandarin to Han customers and in Uygur to her Uygur co-workers.

The 23-year-old girl comes from Akto, one of the last counties in Xinjiang that were lifted out of absolute poverty in late 2020. She studied in a vocational college in Urumqi and found the job after graduation.

"I like living and working here in Urumqi," said Parida. "In my hometown, life would be marrying someone in the early twenties and then taking care of children at home."

"That is the life of some of my childhood friends. They are married. They stay at home without a job, taking care of their children," she said. "They kind of envy me because I am in a big city, free to live a life that I like."

Parida is one of the tens of thousands of young Uygur women in Xinjiang who have been pursuing a life of their own wish as socioeconomic progress has brought changes to the Uygur community where people believed women should stay at home instead of pursuing their own career.


Female employees operate at a workshop of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

"I WANT TO RETURN TO WORK"

To encourage young Uygurs to find a job and create opportunities for them to seek a better life, Xinjiang local governments have been engaged in helping them to be employed in companies either in their hometown or in cities inside and outside Xinjiang.

However, the program was labeled as "forced labor" by the United States, which has in the past two years imposed sanctions on dozens of Chinese companies on the allegations.

Instead of "protecting human rights," the unilateral sanctions have severely undermined the rights of Uygurs, particularly young Uygur women.

Aminam Tulladin, a 26-year-old girl in Shache, the most populous county in Xinjiang, is among those who lost their income due to the U.S. sanctions.

In 2017, with the help of her vocational high school, Aminam went to work as an intern in a textile company in the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao.

"The first time I got a salary, I was extremely happy as it was earned by my own hand," said Aminam. "During the internship, sometimes I sent part of my salary back to my family, but most of it was spent for myself on items that girls like, such as clothes and cosmetics."

What made Aminam even happier was that the company she worked with later set up a plant in her hometown. In March 2018, Aminam became a formal employee of the company, working in its Shache plant.

A skilled worker, Eminem became a section chief in 2019. "At that time, I can keep some of my salary for myself and give the rest to my family, especially for supporting my younger brother's schooling."

Just as Aminam and the other several hundred Uygur women were embracing their new life, the company was sanctioned by the U.S. administration for hiring these Uygur women.

Its plant which once created nearly 1,000 jobs for locals in Shache now hires less than 100 workers.

"We didn't want our employees to bear the cost. We tried our best, but it was much too tough. We used to have a number of European and American customers, but they had since stopped dealing with us for fear of the U.S. sanctions," said the manager of the Shache plant.

Aminam lost her job and soon after that she got married and had a child. The whole family is supported by her husband, who works as a chef.

"When I was working, I didn't have to ask for money. For the money I earn by myself, I could spend it as I like. Now of course my husband gives me money, but I don't feel good," said Aminam. "I want to earn money by myself. I don't want to ask for it. I want to return to work."

Tuersun Aibai, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xinjiang University, who previously worked in a village in southern Xinjiang, noted that going for work can help Uygur women have relatively stable wage income, enhance their family status and empower them to live a life of their own wish.

"For a family, the complementarity of economic income between husband and wife is conducive to their enjoyment of equal family status," the Uygur scholar said. "Meanwhile, working is beneficial for Uygur women to understand modern production technology, lifestyle and concepts, and could promote their awareness of their right to make choice, and enhance their ability to pursue a better life."

The textile company Aminam once worked with is not the only one plagued with the U.S. sanctions.

Zheng Liang, director of the Institute for Communication and Borderland Governance at Jinan University, who grew up in Urumqi, has studied some cases.

Zheng told Xinhua that a company, whose name he asked not to be disclosed, in the southern province of Guangdong, one of China's economic powerhouses, had to dismiss several hundred Uygur workers due to economic losses inflicted by the U.S. sanctions.

"Those Uygur workers, most of them women, were so upset when they were told the company could no longer hire them. They had been paid a good salary, much higher than what they could get in their hometowns. They wanted to stay," Zheng said.

ECONOMIC COERCION

Unilateral sanctions must not be used as a foreign policy tool and means of economic coercion, said an independent UN expert, referring to the U.S. sanctions.

"During my visit I received numerous reports on the unilateral sanctions' adverse impact and the consequent socioeconomic implications affecting peoples' lives," the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, said in May following her 12-day official visit to China.

She said the decline in business activities and the significant loss of global markets caused by the unilateral sanctions led to job losses, with consequent disruptions in social protection schemes, by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable, particularly in labour-intensive sectors, including women.

"Xinjiang is particularly affected, with key economic sectors and cross-border and international supply chains being disrupted for fear of primary or secondary sanctions for alleged commercial or production ties with this region," said Douhan, who visited cities in Xinjiang as well as Beijing and Shenzhen, a metropolis in Guangdong.

"I wish to reiterate the illegality of extraterritorial application of unilateral sanctions," said the expert. "The unilateral sanctions against China do not conform with a broad number of international legal norms and are introduced to apply pressure on the state."

The Special Rapporteur will present her country visit report to the UN Human Rights Council in September.


Female employees enjoy TV series during break time at their dormitory room of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

Tuersun Aibai said the sanctions were part of the U.S. strategy of "using Xinjiang to contain China" and have seriously infringed upon the rights of enterprises and Uygur workers, "having created forced unemployment."

"It should be noted that women often find themselves in a disadvantaged position in the job market. The sanctions imposed by the U.S. have caused more challenges for Uygur women, resulting in a decrease in economic income, family status and education level, which is a blatant violation of human rights," said Tuersun.

Zheng Liang noted the U.S. sanctions had nothing to do with the alleged human rights concerns. The purpose, he said, is to crush Xinjiang's economy, cause mass unemployment and undermine social stability. Zheng urged sanctioned Chinese companies to take legal actions to defend rights of themselves as well as their Uygur employees.

"WE WON'T LAY OFF ANY ETHNIC EMPLOYEES"

Hoshine Silicon Industry, a leading Chinese company in silica-based products, which was sanctioned by the United States in mid-2021, has been fighting through legal means.

In February, Hoshine filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Court of International Trade, requesting the revocation of the Withhold Release Order that has detained its shipments.

Hoshine's independent subsidiary in Xinjiang has four production bases, with more than 11,000 ethnic minority employees, nearly 60 percent of its local staff.

At Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry's base in a Urumqi suburb, several ethnic minority employees told Xinhua that they got their jobs through online applications or campus job fairs, slamming the "forced labor" allegations as totally ridiculous.

"My major in the university was polymer material and engineering. I applied for this job on the internet last year because my major matches the position and the company offered good pay," said test engineer Gulpari Abdursul, a 28-year-old Uygur woman. "Nobody was forced to work here. We are very angry about those rumors."

Adilijiang Alimu, a Uygur graduate from an engineering college in eastern China, who is now in charge of the green plants at the base, said he first learned about the company due to its giant production base in his hometown, Turpan. "I knew it was a big company. So when I saw its recruitment announcement on the internet, I was interested and I applied."

"Finding a job in Xinjiang, or more broadly in China, is a two-way selection process. We are in a law-based society, how could anyone be forced to work?" said Adilijiang.

Yeernaer Adierjian, a 22-year-old salesman of the Kazak ethnic group from Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, said he got the job through a campus career fair. He became emotional when talking about the "forced labor" accusations.

"As a native of Xinjiang and an employee of a company sanctioned by the United States, I do have a say," Yeernaer said. "We know too well their purpose. Even if they won't be able to split Xinjiang from China, they will do whatever they can to make Xinjiang unstable and unable to develop as part of their efforts to contain our country. I challenge those who invented the false allegations and those who spread them to come to Xinjiang and to my company to have a look."

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 29, 2024 shows a view of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry's base in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

Asked if the company would consider laying off its Uygur employees in exchange for the revocation of U.S. sanctions, Dai Tian, general manager of the Urumqi base at Xinjiang Middle Hoshine, said: "No. Absolutely not. We won't lay off any ethic employees. They have been making contributions to the development of our company, how could we abandon them?"

"We even invested more in Xinjiang after the sanctions," Dai said, adding that Hoshine has been adjusting its production structure and tackling technical challenges in response to the sanctions.

"We see safeguarding the great unity of our nation as our social responsibility. 'Forced labor' was merely an excuse to suppress the development of Chinese high-tech companies and to disrupt China's social stability and unity. So we should be even more united, and focus on developing and strengthening ourselves," Dai said.

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Scrapping two-child benefit limit ‘would still leave 100,000 young Britons in poverty’

Chaminda Jayanetti

THE GUARDIAN
Sat 31 August 2024 

The two-child limit and benefit cap are driving up child poverty, says Alison Garnham, CEO of Child Poverty Action Group.

Richard Johnson/Alamy

Tens of thousands of children affected by the two-child benefit limit may not be lifted out of poverty unless the overall benefit cap is reformed, official figures show.

Introduced by the Conservatives, the two-child limit stops households with a third or subsequent child born from 6 April 2017 receiving additional universal credit or child tax credits for these members of the family.

Labour is under pressure to scrap the policy – a key cause of child poverty in larger families. Last month it suspended the whip from seven MPs who voted for an amendment to the king’s speech backing its abolition.


But the figures, supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the impact of scrapping the two-child limit would be dented unless the benefit cap – introduced by the coalition government in 2013 to limit the amount a household can receive – is also reformed.

As of April 2024 – the most recent figures available – 27,000 households claiming universal credit were hit by both the two-child limit and the benefit cap, including 100,000 children.

The true figure of those affected by both policies is likely to be higher, as the DWP data excludes households that receive old-style child tax credits and all households in Northern Ireland.

The benefit cap places an upper limit on the total benefits that working-age households can receive. The amount varies by location and household but particularly hits those living in areas with high rents.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The two-child limit and benefit cap are hugely harmful for children because they break the link between a family’s assessed need and their entitlement to support. Both policies force families to live on less than they need. Both are driving up child poverty. In keeping with the government’s pledge to tackle child poverty, they must be scrapped in the upcoming budget.”

The DWP figures show that households affected by both the two-child limit and the benefit cap lose £273 a month on average due to the benefit cap – equivalent to about £3,276 a year. There are 4,120 households that lose out on more than £500 a month – £6,000 a year.

Prof Kitty Stewart of the London School of Economics said: “We’ve been really concerned about families affected by both these policies for two reasons – first, they are losing out on very substantial amounts of money, which is causing real hardship. And second, although they are among those who are in most urgent need, they won’t see any change at all if the two-child limit is scrapped.”

She said the current benefit cap would also catch some families for the first time if the two-child limit was scrapped, denying them the full benefit from doing so.

“By definition, benefit-capped families are not working, or working few hours – but as we already have quite tough work conditionality requirements, this tends to reflect considerable barriers to work, including young children or children with health difficulties or special educational needs. Over two-thirds of capped families are single parents, half with a child under five.

“While some people have res­ponded to the policy by moving into work, our research found that it has actually pushed others further from the labour market. Our research found that there is no way for families to escape the cap by moving – they are already in the cheapest accommodation, often overcrowded and poor quality.”

Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s chief analyst, Peter Matejic, said: “A generation of children is growing up hungry and cold, with their parents forced into unthinkable decisions about whether to heat their homes, or put food on the table or warm clothes on their children’s backs. This is a disgrace in a country as wealthy as the UK.

“A coherent child poverty strategy, based on research and evidence, is required to tackle the crisis facing those at the sharpest end of the UK’s social security system.

“As well as scrapping the two-child limit, we need universal credit to be reformed and the benefit cap reformed or, better still, removed so that the minimum level of support never falls below the amount required to afford essentials. Making these changes can lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.”

Related: The Observer view on child poverty: Labour must tackle this scourge as soon as possible | Observer editorial

Removing the two-child limit would cost the government an estimated £2.5bn this year, rising to £3.6bn a year further down the line.

The government has launched a ministerial child poverty taskforce, which is due to publish a new child poverty strategy next spring. Among the stated objectives of the taskforce is “supporting households to increase their income, including considering social security reforms that support people into work and alleviate poverty”.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said: “Child poverty is a scar on our society. It harms children’s life chances and our country as a whole. That is why tackling child poverty is a top priority for this government. We will take action with a comprehensive strategy to drive down poverty and drive up opportunity, building a better future for us all.”

A look into the Covid pandemic impact on the poorest children in Oxford

Charlotte Coles
Sat 31 August 2024

A look into the Covid pandemic impact on the poorest children in Oxford

 (Image: PA)

As pupils return to schools for the new academic year, the Covid pandemic impact on children in Oxford has been looked into.

A report from several charities said children are being failed in "dual crises of poverty and mental health", adding poverty is a "critical risk factor" that has surged in recent years.

Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show a record number of children across the UK lived in households earning less than 60 per cent of the median income in 2022-23.

Some 2.5 million children now live in relative low-income households before housing costs, up from 2.3 million in 2018-19.

This includes 3,626 children in Oxford, equivalent to 14.4 per cent of under-18s in the area – up slightly from 14.3 per cent in 2018-19.

The report, from the Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, called on Labour to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

Several Labour MPs have criticised the cap, calling for it to be scrapped, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has resisted pressure to do so.

Rosie Duffield described the limit as a "heinous piece of legislation", while John McDonnell called the policy an "attack on the poorest" and said his party should plan to abolish it within weeks.

Sir Keir said there is no "silver bullet" and there was a "complicated set of factors" including pay, benefits, work, housing, education and health at play.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show a record number of homeless children across England were living in temporary accommodation as of the end of March.

The number of children housed in temporary accommodation such as hotels and bed and breakfasts has risen by 17 per cent since 2020, including 205 in Oxford.

The areas with the highest rates of children living in temporary accommodation are mostly in London, with some areas seeing more one in 20 children living in short-term housing.

Labour described the homelessness crisis as a "national scandal".

The figures also show 30 households with children in Oxford were assessed as needing a prevention duty in the three months to March, with a further 28 assessed as needing a relief duty.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We have laid out clear plans in the short and long-term about how we will deliver our target of 1.5 million homes.

"We will prevent homelessness before it occurs by banning Section 21 evictions, and deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

"We will also give councils more stability through multi-year funding settlements."

SMOKERS’ CORNER: 

THE OUTrAGE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Nadeem F. Paracha

Published September 1, 2024 

DAWN/EOS

Illustration by Abro

The ‘angry young man’ (AYM) was a character-type first introduced by some British writers in the 1950s. In fact, it was the British media that began to use this term for novelists whose protagonists were disaffected young men, who questioned the ethos of social conformity that had emerged in Western societies after the turmoil of World War II.

The protagonists were morally ambiguous, individualistic and sardonic towards notions of middle class morality and social norms. They mostly chose to brood and sulk, but carried in them a volatility and anger that, when unleashed, often led to disruptive outcomes.

The AYM character soon began to appear in films as well. He operated in the grey area between the archetypal hero and the archetypal villain. As a protagonist, he was neither all good nor entirely bad. Yet, he often managed to attract the sympathy of the audiences. The audiences, though, going along with the post-war conformist consensus, secretly admired a character who was challenging the prevailing ethos, but without being a ‘bad person’ as such.

As the appearance of AYM characters in British and American films increased, they arrived with a bang in Bollywood. In the 1970s, the actor Amitabh Bachchan became the quintessential Bollywood AYM. In films such as Deewar, Zanjeer, Sholay, Trishul and Kala Phatar, he repeatedly played an AYM — a resentful working class man who severely lambasted and mocked social hypocrisies. He moved back and forth from brooding to erupting in fits of rage.

The mid-to-late 20th century archetype of the ‘angry young man’ that dominated popular media has now been replaced by a culture where everyone is in constant outrage

The AYM character manifested the anger simmering underneath the surface of society — a rage that was always threatening to boil over. But the AYM was not an activist or a revolutionary. He was amoral (or had his own moral code). He was cynical, sardonic and, if need be, violent. He was suspicious of all ideologies.

By the mid-1980s, though, the AYM trope had run its course. One can posit two reasons for this. Firstly, not only did the character start to generate shallow imitators, but it also began to imitate itself, becoming its own caricature. Secondly, as a new consensus of conformity developed in most societies after the tumultuous 1970s, and the AYM began to lose his appeal.

In fact, in the 1980s, the character started to remind people of the political and social upheavals of the previous decade, which they now wanted to forget. Consequently, the AYM mutated and became a full-on ‘action hero’, but without any meaningful social or political context or subtext. He simply became disposable entertainment.

The action hero only adopted AYM’s overt masculinity. Eventually, the classic AYM vanished from screens. For over 15 years now, many regions have been witnessing political, social and economic upheavals. So why have there been so few AYMs in films and novels during this period?

In 2019, Stanford University’s Professor Richard T Ford wrote that outrage, once the stance of the cinematic AYM, has now become a universally shared orientation. Once an atypical response to extreme circumstances, outrage is now a default reflex.

Decades ago, the AYM on screen or in literature, was a character with whom people would develop a cathartic relationship. They saw the AYM express what they themselves were reluctant to, due to the fear of being ostracised. By the early 1980s, however, instead of manifesting social and political pathos, the AYM became an assembly line product and then the archetypal action hero.

According to Ford, today, due to social media and the “outrage media”, almost every man and woman has become an “angry person.” Outrage is now a tool of the conservative as well as of the radical and the underdog. The world has no use any more of a fictional character who would aid paying audiences to vent their anger. The people themselves have become this character. But the outraged today are largely the outcome of the so-called ‘outrage media’ dishing out what The New York Times cartoonist Tim Kreider called “outrage porn.”

The outrage media and its consumers are all part of what has come to be known as the “outrage industrial complex” (OIC). It is mostly made up of electronic and social media outlets whose business model is to sensationalise and compound the perceptions of fissures in society. The purpose of the language that they use and the images they circulate is to trigger anger and outrage in people towards particular groups or individuals.

This is not to suggest that all outrage is the consequence of exaggerated slights. Some outrage is organic, quite unlike the one sparked by the outrage media. AYM films had become big box office draws. The character became an industry, fed on and by the fashion, film and publishing industries. Today, the OIC feeds on and is fed by the outrage media producing ‘outrage porn’ through social media ‘influencers’, vloggers, particular kinds of podcasts and loud TV talk shows.

All feed off each other. According to the American academic Arthur Brooks, opposing sides outraging against each other are likely to cooperate, because both benefit from the OIC. One cannot benefit without the other. Bait is dangled by an individual or a group that is almost immediately taken by an opposing group and a ‘debate’ ensues. The fact is that this is not really a debate, but an exchange of accusations, judgements and distasteful labels.

As this goes on, more and more people get involved. Eventually, the most active ones go away with ‘likes’, reposts, views and even money, while others feel good about themselves for doing something ‘meaningful’ and for a ‘good cause.’

For example, do notice the number of times vloggers on YouTube use phrases such as “shocking revelations”, or “big breaking” in thumbnails, or pose provocative questions such as, ‘Is so and so a thief/corrupt/agent/traitor/etc?’, ‘Is so and so gay/atheist/fundamentalist?’, ‘Why was so and so fired/killed/raped/etc?’

Again, a ‘debate’ ensues in the comments section, with some agreeing with the vlogger, some disagreeing, and most only interested in getting ‘likes’ on their own ‘profound’ comments.

The vloggers want this. More views, likes, ‘subscribes’ and comments mean more money. Sometimes vloggers even take positions which they may not be fully committed to, but know that these positions attract more views.

According to Ford, current forms of outrage keep us intoxicated by a false sense of urgency and efficacy. He then adds that we are all locked in an arms race of outrage, in which stalemate is the only possible outcome. And stalemate favours the status quo. Therefore, outrage is no more a form of effective protest, as such. According to Ford, it has become an aesthetically debased form of entertainment.

Quite like what the AYM became.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 1st, 2024

 GREENWASHING 

Kyle Bass Says Blackballing Oil Was Always a Lost Cause for ESG



Natasha White
Sun, Sep 1, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- One of the most contentious investing strategies on Wall Street might be a lot less beleaguered right now if its defenders had shown a bit more moderation from the get-go, according to Kyle Bass.

The hedge fund veteran and founder of Hayman Capital Management says the backlash that’s been building against environmental, social and governance investing in recent years is largely due to climate activists’ demands that fossil fuels be abandoned here and now. As a proposition, that was never tenable or even responsible, he says.

“There were all of these idiots that were just saying, if anyone is doing hydrocarbons, we’re going to blackball them from doing business or from receiving capital,” Bass said in an interview. “And so Texas lashed back and said, if you’re going to blackball someone that’s producing hydrocarbons, we’re not going to do business with you either.”

It’s a line of argument that gets to the heart of an increasingly entrenched standoff between much of Wall Street and the climate movement. A recent case in point is the months-long campaign outside the Manhattan headquarters of Citigroup Inc., which has seen tense encounters between bankers and protesters.

Protest organizers have galvanized enthusiasm using slogans like “Hot People Hate Wall Street” and “Eat the Rich.” So far, dialogue has been limited and neither side has made any concessions of note.

Bass, who has spoken up in favor of agendas on various sides of the US political debate spanning tariffs on China to abortion rights, is the latest in a list of increasingly vocal financial professionals to characterize such climate activism as naive. Others to have made similar points include KKR & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis, as well as the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Jamie Dimon and David Solomon.

“Energy transitions take 40 or 50 years,” Bass said. There are people who “think we can just turn hydrocarbons off and turn on alternative power. But they have no idea how the grid works and no idea how business works.”

The focus now should be on energy efficiency and electrification, with a full transition to nuclear in the long run, he said. Until then, it’s more realistic to accept that fossil fuels and renewable energy sources are “going to coexist for decades and decades to come,” Bass said.


Many Wall Street firms who initially signed up to net zero alliances have since found themselves on the receiving end of bans in Republican states that target firms seen as hostile toward fossil fuels. Those same firms are now becoming more vocal in their support of oil and gas clients.

“Skirting hydrocarbons is like bringing politics into investing,” Bass said. “If you’re willing to give up returns for that, then so be it. But I think that’s naive and it’s a breach of fiduciary duty.”

Texas, where Bass is based, passed two laws in 2021 that restrict government contracts with companies that take what state officials regard as punitive stances toward the fossil-fuel and firearms industries. The legislation, which is now being challenged in the courts, has prompted state officials to place restrictions on financial firms including Citigroup, Barclays Plc and BlackRock Inc.

The Sunrise Project, a nonprofit focused on the financial sector’s contribution to global warming, says such legislation represents a “bad-faith” attempt to “punish financial-service providers for managing investment risk.” The group points to evidence that laws like those in Texas ultimately end up costing taxpayers money.

At the same time, climate scientists warn that the planet is reaching dangerous tipping points as rising emissions trigger increasingly deadly floods, wildfires and droughts. Continued bankrolling of the fossil fuels that directly add to those emissions is contributing to a climate catastrophe and must be urgently reined back, they say.

Meanwhile in Europe, which is home to the world’s biggest ESG investing rulebook, regulators are adjusting their stance. There’s now an extensive review underway of existing regulations with a view to allowing a less absolutist stance on fossil fuels. In essence, investors who can show they’re helping a company with a big carbon footprint transition toward a greener future will likely be able to call that an ESG strategy.

ESG investors have already started adjusting their strategies to reflect expectations that regulations will be more accommodating toward the fossil-fuel sector. A recent study by analysts at Goldman Sachs found that ESG funds are now more exposed to the oil and gas industry than they were just a year ago.

Changes in the ESG regulatory backdrop in Europe “could drive flows towards companies traditionally excluded,” according to a team of Goldman analysts that included Evan Tylenda and Grace Chen.


Meanwhile, Bass is himself adapting to a greener future by specifically targeting investment projects that protect the natural environment. Since 2021, he’s been buying up land through his private equity firm, Conservation Equity Management, with a view to shielding forests from over-exploitation and monetizing environmentally fragile habitats.

Bass, who shot to fame after successfully betting against US subprime home loans during the financial crisis of 2008, says there are clear opportunities to make money from nature conservation. In fact, he says he’s seeing enough external investor demand to allow him to expand his strategy.

“We’re focusing on mitigating or offsetting physical impacts on the environment,” Bass said. “And we’re going to make a pretty penny in doing so.”

Part of Bass’s venture involves generating so-called mitigation banking credits, which are tradable units that can be bought by companies required by law to compensate for their environmental impact.

Whether it’s renewable energy developers or oil producers, companies still need to offset the damage they do to nature, Bass said.

Ultimately, Texan support for fossil-fuel producers has “only made it better” for investment strategies like his that are linked to selling offsets, Bass said.

--With assistance from Lisa Pham.

POST-FORDISM

Saudi Arabia seeks Chinese tech as it reinvents itself as car and automation hub

South China Morning Post
Sun, Sep 1, 2024

Saudi Arabia is seeking cooperation with Chinese companies in the car sector and automation as a top industrial official kicks off a tour of East Asia this week.

Saudi industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Alkhorayef is leading a delegation to visit Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore from Sunday until September 8, according to a statement from his office. The trip is aimed at improving relations and exploring joint venture opportunities.

China and Saudi Arabia have strengthened ties in recent years while their relations with the United States have soured. Riyadh is looking to diversify its economy and become an industrial hub in the Middle East, while the region is gaining appeal for Chinese companies that want to explore overseas markets in the face of growing containment by the US.

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"The visit of the delegation to China aligns with [the country's] objective to become a key automotive hub in the region and a leader in innovative [and] eco-friendly vehicle solutions," Alkhorayef's office said.

Key meetings in Guangzhou, capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, will include discussions with GAC Group, a major electric vehicle (EV) maker, as well as lithium battery producer General Lithium and communication tech giant Huawei, the statement said.

Saudi Arabian industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Alkhorayef's visit to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore is aimed at improving relations and exploring joint venture opportunities. Photo: Handout alt=Saudi Arabian industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Alkhorayef's visit to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore is aimed at improving relations and exploring joint venture opportunities. Photo: Handout

Chinese EV makers are facing punitive tariffs from the European Union and the US, which have accused China of flooding their markets with subsidised EVs that pose a national security risk with their "connected" car technology.

According to Alkhorayef's office, the automotive sector is a key focus of Saudi Arabia's national industrial strategy, which emphasises developing the car industry and incorporating innovative technologies.

It added that the talks with Huawei will discuss opportunities for collaboration in "innovative smart solutions" and leveraging technologies for the "Fourth Industrial Revolution", referring to a 21st century wave of hi-tech progress aided by advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things.

"Saudi Arabia aims to attract high-quality investments in 12 promising industrial sectors, including automotive, pharmaceuticals, and food, supported by a stimulating investment environment," the statement said.

"The visit is expected to result in partnerships that [focus] on mutual growth through high-quality investments, sustainable development, and economic diversification, particularly in strategic industrial sectors."

According to figures from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, China is the Middle Eastern kingdom's biggest trading partner, with trade exceeding US$100 billion in 2023.

The data also shows that Chinese investment in Saudi Arabia last year included US$5.6 billion in original equipment manufacturing for the automotive industry and US$5.26 billion in the minerals sector, with semiconductor investment amounting to US$4.26 billion.

According to official Chinese data, the total value of goods exported to Saudi Arabia from January to July was US$27.55 billion, an increase of nearly 12 per cent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the total value of goods imported from Saudi Arabia decreased by 7.3 per cent compared to the same period last year to US$34.97 billion.

In Hong Kong, the delegation will meet the city's chief executive as well as officials in charge of technology and industry development.

In Singapore, the Saudi delegation will meet the deputy prime minister and senior trade and science officials.

China's electric vehicle makers scramble for EU tariff deal, with price floor on the table

South China Morning Post
Sun, Sep 1, 2024

China's car industry was scrambling to cut a last-minute deal with the European Commission last week, with representatives offering to set a minimum price on imported electric vehicles (EVs).

Companies would in return be granted some amnesty from hefty import tariffs due to be slapped on Chinese-made EVs by the commission by October. The EU has complained that cheap, exported Chinese vehicles threaten the future of Europe's car industry.


The companies would also be willing to put a limit on the volume of EV exports to the European Union should Brussels cut the punitive tariff, according to people familiar with the meetings. Above that volume, imports would face the duties the commission proposed earlier this month of up to 36.3 per cent.

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Online hearings took place on Wednesday, with car companies including BYD, Geely and SAIC, and Friday with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME). The details of the proposals were first reported by Politico.

Such a deal would closely mirror one reached 11 years ago during a trade war over cheap Chinese solar panel imports. Under that agreement, Chinese producers agreed to set a minimum price at which their panels would be sold.

Panels sold at a higher rate or above a certain sales volume were subject to punitive import duties designed to bring the products in line with local market rates.


The commission is considering the proposals, but insiders thought it improbable that they would fly at this stage, given the fact that they were pitched as a "gentleman's agreement" that would not be watertight.

Nor does the commission have fond memories of the solar panel resolution, which ultimately fell apart when powerful member states including France and Germany withdrew their support for EU measures.

China had slapped trade tariffs on French wine and threatened the German car industry in response, and a decade later the EU solar industry has been decimated by Chinese competition.

Nonetheless, it has given Brussels pause for thought. Even last week, it was thought that a negotiated settlement would be nigh on impossible to reach, given that car companies and the Chinese government denied that there were any undisclosed subsidies in their supply chains.

Beijing has already lodged a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and launched retaliatory probes into EU brandy, pork and dairy products.


Last week, China closed its brandy investigation and is expected to impose anti-dumping duties of up to 39 per cent on French cognac brands at a later date, after declining to introduce provisional measures.

"Our sector seems to be a collateral victim of a broader trade conflict, which will limit the access of Chinese consumers to products they greatly value and appreciate, if not resolved as a matter of priority," said Adam Ulrich, director general at Spirits Europe, a lobby group.

Brussels has always been open to making a deal on EVs, but it must have the same equalising effect as the tariffs, which are designed to protect European-based companies from the market-distorting impact of subsidised Chinese competitors.

While an official consultation period expired on Friday, the offer will be analysed this week as officials continue trickling back from their extended summer holidays.

Since the deal would involve pledges from individual car companies rather than the Chinese government, it is unlikely that it would flout WTO rules that outlaw preferential treatment based on corporate nationality.

Chinese companies' willingness to make such an offer comes as its industry faces being blocked out of other major markets. Last week, Canada joined the United States in slapping a 100 per cent import duty on Chinese-made EVs.

The EU tariffs, even after punitive duties are applied, would be comparably low. BYD EVs, for example, would take a total 27 per cent total tariff hit at EU ports, while Geely would face a 31.3 per cent rate.

Even the EU's top rate of 46.3 per cent for companies such as SAIC - including the 10 per cent base rate - is less than half the North American import tax.

The deadline for introducing long-term duties is October 30. In a vote anticipated in the coming weeks, 15 of the 27 EU member states constituting 65 per cent of the bloc's population must vote against the tariffs to stop them from being imposed.


Xpeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng says his electric vehicle company is looking for a manufacturing site in Europe. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Xpeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng says his electric vehicle company is looking for a manufacturing site in Europe. Photo: Bloomberg>

Chinese companies are already planning for life under tariffs. This week, executives from BYD and Xpeng said that they were going to increase their European manufacturing footprints as they look to avoid paying punitive duties.

Xpeng's CEO He Xiaopeng told Bloomberg that the company was scouting Europe for sites for factories and data centres. BYD boss Stella Li told the same publication that the company wanted 50 per cent of its revenues to come from overseas markets, and that it would set up its own data centres in individual European countries to avoid sending data back to China.

The scramble for data centres comes amid mounting security concerns about the levels of data collected by electric and connected vehicles.

Earlier this week, Uber was fined €290 million (US$322 million) by Dutch authorities for transferring European driver data to the US. The ride-sharing app recently partnered with BYD in a deal that will see the Chinese carmaker provide 100,000 EVs for its fleet in Europe and Latin America.

Regardless of whether a tariff amnesty is reached, industry analysts expect Chinese EVs to remain competitive in Europe

"The Europeans are in denial. They don't want to acknowledge that European carmakers have been out-engineered and outclassed," said Tu Le, managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a consulting firm.

He added that EU countries would struggle to hit their zero-emissions goals without Chinese EVs and that governments were facing difficult choices.

"Chinese carmakers are fighting the long game. They see Western governments as changing hands, changing philosophies, changing policies every four to six years, and so these are kind of just the ebbs and flows that they kind of deal with on a regular basis," Tu said.

"There's this tension between, are we going to hit our zero-emissions goals, and if so, how do we do that without Chinese electric vehicles?"

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fed's preferred inflation gauge shows prices increased in line with Wall Street's expectations in July

Josh Schafer · Reporter
Updated Fri, Aug 30, 2024

The latest reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge showed prices increased at a pace in line with Wall Street's expectations in July.

The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out the cost of food and energy and is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose 0.2 % from the prior month during July, in line with Wall Street's expectations for 0.2% and the 0.2% reading seen in June.

Over the prior year, prices rose 2.6% in July, matching June's annual increase and below analyst expectations for a 2.7% increase.

The report is the first look at inflation since Fed Chair Jerome Powell all but confirmed the Fed will cut rates next month during a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., saying the "time has come for policy to adjust." Powell added that his confidence had "grown" that inflation is heading back to the Fed's 2% goal.

Friday's report will do little to change Powell's assessment of the situation.

"A Fed rate cut in September is assured after Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole speech," Nationwide senior economist Ben Ayers wrote in a note to clients Friday morning. "But the further cooling of inflation could give the Fed leeway to be more aggressive with rate declines at coming meetings, especially if the labor market shows a steep deterioration."

Read more: Fed predictions for 2024: What experts say about the possibility of a rate cut

Economists have reasoned that while inflation's decline remains paramount for the Fed when considering cutting interest rates, concerns about the labor market deteriorating have also come into focus. This, Oxford Economics chief US economist Ryan Sweet told Yahoo Finance, puts a "smaller weight" on monthly inflation releases.

"It's not going to be a smooth, easy ride," Sweet said on Aug. 23. "There's going to be bumps along the road with the inflation numbers."

Still, Sweet noted the Fed's preferred inflation gauge remains within "spitting distance" of the Fed's target.

Investors are expecting a rate cut in September, but the debate remains on how much the Fed will cut. As of Friday morning, markets are pricing in a roughly 33% chance the Central Bank cuts interest rates by 50 basis points by the end of its September meeting, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers remarks during a press conference in Washington, U.S., June 12, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo · (Reuters / Reuters)

Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.

AMERIKA

Strikes start at top hotel chains as housekeepers seek higher wages and daily room cleaning work

LEARNING FROM UAW

ALEXANDRA OLSON
Updated Sun, Sep 1, 2024

With up to 17 rooms to clean each shift, Fatima Amahmoud's job at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston sometimes feels impossible.

There was the time she found three days worth of blond dog fur clinging to the curtains, the bedspread and the carpet. She knew she wouldn't finish in the 30 minutes she is supposed to spend on each room. The dog owner had declined daily room cleaning, an option that many hotels have encouraged as environmentally friendly but is a way for them to cut labor costs and cope with worker shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unionized housekeepers, however, have waged a fierce fight to restore automatic daily room cleaning at major hotel chains, saying they have been saddled with unmanageable workloads, or in many cases, fewer hours and a decline in income.

The dispute has become emblematic of the frustration over working conditions among hotel workers, who were put out of their jobs for months during pandemic shutdowns and returned to an industry grappling with chronic staffing shortages and evolving travel trends.

Some 10,000 hotel workers represented by the UNITE HERE union walked off the job Sunday at 25 hotels in eight cities, including Honolulu, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Seattle. Hotel workers in other cities could strike in the coming days, as contract talks stall over demands for higher wages and a reversal of service and staffing cuts. At total of 15,000 workers have voted to authorize strikes.

“We said many times to the manager that it is too much for us,” said Amahmoud, whose hotel was among those where workers have authorized a strike but have not yet walked out.

Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, said the company's hotels have contingency plans to minimize the impact of the strikes. “We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” he said.

In a statement before the strikes began, Hilton said it was “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements.” Marriott and Omni did not return requests for comments.

The labor unrest serves as a reminder of the pandemic's lingering toll on low-wage women, especially Black and Hispanic women who are overrepresented in front-facing service jobs. Although women have largely returned to the workforce since bearing the brunt of pandemic-era furloughs — or dropping out to take on caregiving responsibilities — that recovery has masked a gap in employment rates between women with college degrees and those without.

The U.S. hotel industry employs about 1.9 million people, some 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 90% of building housekeepers are women, according to federal statistics.

It's a workforce that relies overwhelmingly on women of color, many of them immigrants, and which skews older, according to UNITE HERE.

Union President Gwen Mills characterizes the contract negotiations as part of long-standing battle to secure family-sustaining compensation for service workers on par with more traditionally male-dominated industries.

“Hospitality work overall is undervalued, and it’s not a coincidence that it's disproportionately women and people of color doing the work,” Mills said.

The union hopes to build on its recent success in southern California, where after repeated strikes it won significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees in a new contract with 34 hotels. Under the contract, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour by July 2027.

The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50% cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need.

Kevin Carey, the association's interim president and CEO, says hotels are doing all they can to attract workers. According to the association's surveys, 86% of hoteliers have increased wages over the past six months.

"Now is a fantastic time to be a hotel employee,” Carey said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Hotel workers say the reality on the ground is more complicated.

Maria Mata, 61, a housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, said she earns $2,190 every two weeks if she gets to work full time. But some weeks, she only gets called in one or two days, causing her to max out her credit card to pay for household expenses

“It's hard to look for a new job at my age. I just have to keep the faith that we will work this out,” Mata said.

Guests at the Hilton Hawaiian Village often tell Nely Reinante they don’t need their rooms cleaned because they don’t want her to work too hard. She said she seizes every opportunity to explain that refusing her services creates more work for housekeepers.

Since the pandemic, UNITE HERE has won back automatic daily room cleans at some hotels in Honolulu and other cities, either through contract negotiations, grievance filings or local government ordinances.


But the issue is back on the table at many hotels where contracts are expiring. Mills said UNITE HERE is striving for language to make it difficult for hotels to quietly encourage guests to opt out of daily housekeeping.

The U.S. hotel industry has rebounded from the pandemic despite average occupancy rates that remain shy of 2019 levels, largely due to higher room rates and record guest spending per room. Average revenue per available room, a key metric, is expected to reach a record high of $101.84 in 2024, according the hotel association.

David Sherwyn, the director of the Cornell University Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations, said UNITE HERE is a strong union but faces a tough fight over daily room cleaning because hotels consider reducing services part of a long-term budget and staffing strategy.

“The hotels are saying the guests don’t want it, I can’t find the people and it’s a huge expense,” Sherwyn said. “That’s the battle.”

Workers bristle at what they see as moves to squeeze more out of them as they cope with erratic schedules and low pay. While unionized housekeepers tend to make higher wages, pay varies widely between cities.

Chandra Anderson, 53, makes $16.20 an hour as a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor, where workers have not yet voted to strike. She is hoping for a contract that will raise her hourly pay to $20 but says the company came back with a counteroffer that “felt like a slap in the face.”

Anderson, who has been her household's sole breadwinner since her husband went on dialysis, said they had to move to a smaller house a year ago in part because she wasn't able to get enough hours at her job. Things have improved since the hotel reinstated daily room cleaning earlier this year, but she still struggles to afford basics like groceries.

Tracy Lingo, president of UNITE HERE Local 7, said the Baltimore members are seeking pensions for the first time but the biggest priority is bringing hourly wages closer to those in other cities.

“That's how far behind we are,” Lingo said.

______

Associated Press Writer Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this story.

____

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A giant hole in Siberia is visible from space and growing rapidly. It might reveal hints about our planet's future.

Morgan McFall-Johnsen
Updated Fri 30 August 2024 at 2:37 pm GMT-6·4-min read



Satellite images show a giant hole in Siberia is rapidly expanding.

The Batagay megaslump is a result of the ground thawing and collapsing as Arctic temperatures rise.

It's an extreme case of a changing Arctic landscape accelerating the climate crisis.

A giant hole in the earth is breaking open the land in Siberia, and photos from space show it's growing rapidly.

It resembles a stingray, a horseshoe crab, or a giant tadpole. It started as a sliver, barely visible in declassified satellite imagery from the 1960s.

Declassified satellite imagery from 1965 shows the very beginnings of the hole growing in Siberia.Corona Satellite/USGS

Now it's a chasm with steep cliffs, clearly visible from space.


The hole tripled in size between 1991 and 2018, according to the US Geological Survey.

Satellite images from 1999 and 2017 show how much the Batagay megaslump has grown (and how much satellite imaging has improved).NASA Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen/Landsat data from the US Geological Survey

The Batagay crater, sometimes referred to as Batagaika or the "gateway to hell," represents a much larger, often invisible problem that affects the entire planet.
What is this hole in Siberia?

The Arctic is heating up faster than the rest of Earth, and that's quickly thawing the permafrost, which is a thick layer of soil that's permanently frozen — at least, it used to be.

The Batagay crater isn't actually a crater at all. It's the world's largest "retrogressive thaw slump," a pit that forms when permafrost thaw causes the ground to cave in, creating a landslide as the earth at its edges slumps into the pit.

There are thousands of thaw slumps across the Arctic. But the size of the Batagay "crater" has earned it the title of megaslump. It's named for the nearby town of Batagay.

A drone view of the head of the Batagay megaslump.Reuters TV

"Permafrost is not the most, let's say, photogenic of subjects," Roger Michaelides, a geophysicist at Washington University in St. Louis, told Business Insider. "You're talking mostly about frozen dirt underground, which by definition you often can't see unless it's been exposed somehow, like in this megaslump."

That makes the Batagay pit a bit of a permafrost celebrity and an omen of what lies ahead.
The Batagay megaslump could help decode our planet's future

The Batagay crater in 2020, imaged in near-infrared.contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA

As permafrost thaws, all the dead plants and animals that have been frozen inside it for centuries start to decompose, belching carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

Those are powerful heat-trapping gases, which cause global temperatures to rise even more, triggering even faster permafrost thaw.

This vicious cycle could have dire effects. Permafrost covers 15% of the land in the Northern Hemisphere and contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere.

One study estimated that permafrost thaw could emit as much planet-warming gases as a large industrial nation by 2100 if industries and countries don't aggressively rein in their own emissions today.

"There's a lot we don't know about this feedback loop and how it will play out necessarily, but the potential is there for very large changes to the climate system occurring over very, very fast geologic timescales," Michaelides said.

In short, permafrost thaw could quickly make the climate crisis much worse. But it's still a mysterious process. Studying extreme sites like the Batagay megaslump can help scientists understand permafrost thaw and see into the future.

In a study published in the journal Geomorphology in June, researchers used satellite and drone data to construct 3D models of the megaslump and calculate its expansion over time.

They found that about 14 Pyramids of Giza's worth of ice and permafrost had thawed at Batagay. The crater's volume increases by about 1 million cubic meters every year.

"These values are truly impressive," Alexander Kizyakov, the study's lead author and a scientist at Lomonosov Moscow State University, told BI in an email.

"Our results demonstrate how quickly permafrost degradation occurs," he added.

The researchers also calculated that the megaslump releases about 4,000 to 5,000 tons of carbon each year. That's about as much as the annual emissions from 1,700 to 2,100 US homes' energy use.

Michaelides said those numbers didn't surprise him, but they can help inform models of future permafrost thaw and emissions.

"I think there is a lot we can learn from Batagaika, not only in terms of understanding how Batagaika will evolve with time, but also how similar features might develop and evolve over the Arctic," Michaelides said. "Even if they're a tenth or a hundredth the size of Batagaika, the physics is fundamentally the same."