It seems to have started with the Bloomberg story, which is still to be proven, and has escalated since. There was the Huawei story, the social credit system story etc.

I suspect it has something to do with the media being fed stories to boost U.S. position in the trade war. They're probably gushing themselves over getting such 'exclusive' pieces, while it's all per-planned.

It's not even far fetched, as that's exactly what happened prior to the invasion of Iraq, but if it indeed is the case, it would be a huge irony, given that we often, (correctly), point out how much control the CCP has over the press.

Not only you, I see that too. The wonderful people who make HN readers, are just beginning to discover for themselves a surreal fairyland that Chinese politics is.

The further you go down that rabbit hole, the more you ask yourself how such a crazy country as China can even exist, and the more it fires up your curiosity. After dealing with China for 11 years, I haven't come any closer to understanding that.

This nation is like the Dark God Azathoth: any attempt to understand it rationally is futile. The more it feels that trying to understand it is breaking your brain, the more you want to understand it.

They are more important in the world than ever before, and there is a lot to worry about.