China’s Gaming Crackdown Backfires

Hi Global Recap readers,

Question: What does the CCP do when it tries to crack down but gets flak for it?

Fire a guy then walk it back as if nothing happened.

🌐 Around the world:

• 🎮 China’s gaming crackdown backfires.

• 🇮🇷 Iran rocked by two “terrorist” explosions.

• 🇹🇷 Turkey busts Mossad spies.

• 🇮🇱 Israel’s plan: “Voluntary migration” of Gazans.

• 🏛️ Harvard president resigns over plagiarism allegation and antisemitism controversy

Let’s get into today’s news.

🎮 China’s Gaming Crackdown Backfires

A top Chinese official was fired last week.

Why? Sources say it is because of his botched attempt to stop people from gaming so much. The proposed regulations triggered a massive sell-off in gaming stocks and sparked public outrage.

• Official: Feng Shixin was the head of the publishing unit of the Chinese Communist Party’s publicity department and oversaw the video game regulator.

• Regulations: The planned restrictions included limiting in-game spending and daily login rewards for gamers.

• Impact: Gaming giants Tencent, NetEase, and BiliBili lost over $80 billion in market value on the day of the announcement (Dec. 22, 2023).

• Reversal: The regulator quickly withdrew the regulations after receiving feedback from the industry and facing market turmoil.

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💣 Iran Blames Terrorists for Blasts

The anniversary of a beloved Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani, was rocked by two explosions that killed more than 100 people.

• Soleimani: He was the country’s top commander, who was assassinated by a US drone attack ordered by President Trump in 2020.

• Suspects: State media labeled the explosions as “terrorist attacks.”

• Timing: This comes only a day after a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri, was killed in a drone strike in Beirut. With Arouri on Israel’s hit list for years, fingers are being pointed their way.

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🇹🇷 Turkey Busts Mossad Spies

Turkey said it arrested 34 people for allegedly spying and plotting kidnappings for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

• That’s not all: There are reportedly 12 more agents at large.

• Tension: The arrests come amid a diplomatic spat between Turkey and Israel over the Gaza war.

• Criticism: Turkish President Erdogan has accused Israeli PM Netanyahu of committing acts of “terrorism” and compared him to Hitler. Last month, Erdogan also warned of “serious consequences” if Israel tries to target Hamas militants in Turkey.

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🇮🇱 Israel’s Gaza Plan

Israel is secretly negotiating with Congo and various other countries to resettle thousands of Gazans.

The plan is to encourage “voluntary migration” of Gazans who are fed up with Hamas’s rule and the ongoing war with Israel.

• Context: Hamas won the most seats (74 of the 132 seats) in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council election, but another political faction named Fatah refused to share power. This resulted in a military conflict in Gaza, which ultimately resulted in Hamas’ takeover of the Strip. There haven’t been any elections since 2007.

• Opposition: The US condemned the idea as “inflammatory and irresponsible.”

• Support: Some Israeli ministers and lawmakers have backed the plan as the only solution for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

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United States

Harvard President Resigns Over Plagiarism Allegation and Antisemitism Controversy

🎓 Harvard Leadership. Claudine Gay, the President ex-President of Harvard University, resigned amid accusations of plagiarism and criticism over her congressional testimony.

A quick rundown of her controversy:

🏛️ Congressional Hearing. First, she came under fire for her poor performance at the congressional hearing by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Dec. 5, 2023.

• The hearing was in response to alleged antisemitic incidents on college campuses.

• Gay was joined by Liz Magill (then-President of the University of Pennsylvania) and Sally Kornbluth (President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

• Critics have expressed anger over their smirking demeanor and evasive responses to Congresswoman Stefanik’s question regarding whether calling for the genocide of Jews on campus can be classified as hate speech.

Watch Stefanik grill Magill, Kornbluth, and Gay (in the order of questioning):

🔍 Academic Integrity. If that wasn’t enough, Gay’s academic career came under intense scrutiny by conservative activists who found several instances of alleged plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral dissertation.

We previously covered it extensively here

Here’s a snippet from it:

• Dec. 11, 2023: The Washington Free Beacon reports more instances of plagiarism in Dr. Gay’s dissertation and three other papers she published between 1993 and 2017.

• The Harvard Corporation initially supported Gay but later found two additional examples of "duplicative language without appropriate attribution.

• Gay announced her resignation in a letter to the Harvard community.

Click here for the resignation letter

📣 Reactions to the Resignation. The resignation was celebrated by conservatives who put her alleged plagiarism in the national spotlight. However, supporters of Gay lamented her resignation, calling it an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Examples:

• Ben Shapiro: The editor-in-chief of the conservative media company, The Daily Wire, wrote about the political Left’s playbook.

• Ibram X. Kendi: The award-winning author blamed her resignation on racism. But of course, he got Community Noted.

• Rev. Al Sharpton: The renowned civil rights activist called Gay’s resignation “an assault on the health, strength and future of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

🧑‍⚖️ It’s Official. Dr. Gay’s tenure as the President of Harvard University is the shortest in the university’s history.

🌐 Opinion