The Nicaraguan government recently closed greater than 1,500 nonprofit organizations – a lot of them civil and non secular groups They perform humanitarian work in a rustic that has long been mired in political violence, economic unrest and social unrest.

The closures in August 2024 were the most recent in a long-running crackdown on civil society, including religious groups – a number of the last influential, independent organizations within the country. In the identical month, the Govt revoked the tax-exempt status of churches. Many in recent times Places of worship were or had been closed Their bank accounts have been frozen.

As a sociologistI worked with Central American scientists Explore the role of faith in public life in Central America, including Nicaragua. Several hundred Catholic figures have been arrested as a part of a sustained crackdown under President Daniel Ortega, now 78 the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

Blanket suppression

Ortega's FSLN party, because it is thought in Spanish, is the authoritarian remnant of the group that led a broad national movement against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle within the Seventies. After Overthrow of Somoza in 1979Ortega and the Sandinistas ruled until defeat within the 1990 elections.

Since Ortega returned to power within the 2006 elections, moderates have fled the FSLN, which they’ve used ever since oppression and violence for political and social control. In 2013, the National Assembly Presidential term limits were lifted is about out within the structure of Nicaragua.

In April 2018, Ortega's regime began take targeted motion against student demonstrators. Since then, tons of of residents – religious leaders, university students, academics, journalists and doctors – have done so been killed or arrestedsubmerged or forced to go away the country.

Ortega's crackdown was comprehensive. Universities had their assets were confiscated and funding was cut and a few were closed as government took control of upper education. Media company were closed, and international aid organizations were expelled.

Paramilitary police and prison guards have been accused of collaborating arbitrary killings and torture. Meanwhile a Record variety of refugees flee the country.

Silence churches

Under the nearly 5,500 nonprofits which have closed In Nicaragua, between 2018 and 2024, there are Catholic, Evangelical Christian and historic Protestant organizations, in addition to secular humanitarian organizations. Those, 1,650 organizations and churches were closed in August 2024, with government officials claiming their closure was because of ties to non-public firms or a scarcity of economic records.

Catholic media and Radio station, Missionary Order And humanitarian groups have also been closed as Ortega and the vice chairman – his wife Rosario Murillo – have sought to eliminate places where ideas and data flow freely and folks act independently of the federal government.

The most distinguished religious leader affected by the repression is Rolando Álvarez, a preferred bishop, critic of Ortega and a distinguished Catholic voice of protest. Alvarez was arrested in August 2022accused”Conspiracy and spreading false news,, deprived of his citizenship and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Due to increasing international pressure, Alvarez and a bunch of other imprisoned Catholic clergy were released in January 2024 exiled to the Vatican – where the regime had previously expelled the Apostolic Nuncio, the Pope's top diplomat in Nicaragua. They are among the many 245 Catholic personalities within the country has shown in recent times. Another 135 people, including Catholics and evangelicalswas deported and stripped of their citizenship in September 2024.

Today, 43% of Nicaraguan residents discover as Catholic. However, this percentage was much higher, and the country has deep cultural roots in Catholicism.

In Nicaragua, as in much of Latin America, the Catholic Church is essentially the most powerful source of social authority and the biggest independent institution to public debate. It represents a key channel through which democratic values ​​can take rootgrow and prosper – an obstacle within the eyes of the regime.

It has been for a few years The church was the one organization that escaped Ortega’s grip – but no more.

Dangerous path

I witnessed firsthand Nicaragua's transformation from a rustic with promising seeds of democracy to a violent autocracy. As Civil war was raging between the unique Sandinista regime and US-backed Contras In the Eighties, I led travel seminars to Nicaragua for faith communities, journalists, congressional staff, and university students. I once met Ortega in person when he acted as translator at a gathering with American journalists when his official translator failed to point out up.

Today, as Ortega continues to consolidate his power by suppressing the opposition, Nicaragua has degenerated right into a repressive state ruled with an iron fist. This reality reflects broader dynamics worldwide, from autocratic movements within the United States and Western Europe to current regimes in Russia, India, Turkey, Hungary and China.

Closer to home, Ortega poses a regional threat and serves as a job model for other would-be autocrats. This is especially true in neighbors like El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele – the favored, self-described “coolest dictator” – sinks the same path transforming the nation into an authoritarian state.

I actually have seen the generosity and courage of Nicaraguans within the long struggle for freedom and justice. The closure of democratic spaces, civil society institutions and humanitarian organizations, in addition to the suppression of non secular freedom, are a transparent sign that the country is on the trail to more oppression and violence – and, as history shows, is in peril of becoming ripe for revolution .

I imagine that only a gradual reconstruction of civil society can save Nicaragua from this fate. The tragedy is what Nicaragua might have been: a thriving democratic society with a commitment to empowering the poor.

Inflation could deceleratebut high prices proceed to crush any hopes of savings for Californians living paycheck to paycheck.

Just this month, a brand new California law was passed Prohibition of so-called “junk fees” got here into force. Designed to Protect consumers from undisclosed costs When making purchases, it’s designed to stop firms from hiding additional fees, often until the tip of the transaction. Unfortunately, California's recent law will not be enough and doesn’t protect consumers from all fees they hold on.

Similar Federal Protection got here into force last fall. It ignores one among the essential culprits: the bank card firms.

Federal regulations on junk fees have thus far focused on concert tickets, lodging and airline fees. Exempting bank card firms when consumers are drowning in bank card debt — much of which is resulting from bank fees — is a large oversight. Millions of individuals across the country borrow money to pay for planned and unplanned expenses, but don't realize how much the fees increase the actual costs until it's too late.

Many Californians turn to traditional banking and financial solutions like bank cards to borrow money, but these firms don't at all times have their best interests at heart. Many of those credit products include hidden fees and an APR that could be misleading to consumers and doesn't truly disclose the prices. This goes far beyond late fees, which is why it's surprising that all the problem isn't being addressed. Junk fee rules won't solve the larger problem.

The amount of junk fees that accrue when consumers borrow money is staggering. Cash Poverty Report 2023 found that Americans pay greater than $25 billion in hidden fees annually. At the identical time, unplanned expenses cost the common family living paycheck to paycheck nearly $2,000 a yr. These are unavoidable, and financial firms shouldn’t be allowed to benefit from needy consumers. But they do it anyway.

The report found that subprime bank cards are by far the worst for consumers with low credit scores because they impose additional junk fees on borrowers. These cost consumers $11.5 billion annually in fees, including annual percentage rates, subscription fees, late fees, fees for processing fast payments, application fees, monthly account maintenance fees, recent card fees and ATM fees.

Payday Loans are the second costliest option, totaling about $6 billion in additional fees. And money advances by financial technology firms like Access to the wages you deserve and peer-to-peer lending offers cheaper solutions with total fees of $1.3 billion per yr.

It's clear that many Californians have been taken advantage of by the junk fees in the standard economic system. The standard industry-wide benchmark for comparing financial options shouldn’t be the APR, since it doesn’t represent the whole cost consumers incur after they borrow money. Borrowers must pay additional fees on top of the APR, creating much more confusion for people already in financial distress.

Regulators in California and Washington, DC have to transcend what they’re currently doing and address this inaccurate calculation through a distinct approach, which we call “Total cost rate.” It will not be intended to mislead the buyer, just like the annual percentage rate, but includes all the things a consumer pays along with the principal borrowed. The total cost ratio is the vital assessment of what the fee of credit really is when it includes all additional fees along with the principal and will not be limited to the annual percentage rate.

But it’s as much as California's local politicians, President Joe Biden, Congress and regulators to make finance fairer by moving to systems that will not be only cheaper, but additionally more convenient and accessible.

Introducing total expense ratios and involving bank card firms in regulating junk fees could help usher in an era of transparent pricing that makes life easier for Californians.

Originally published: July 31, 2024 at 5:30 am

Chinese regulators are completing a two-month “spring cleaning” of the country’s social media.

The latest version was launched on April 23, 2024 by the Cyberspace Administration of China. Qinglang Campaign – which accurately means “clean and bright” – goals to punish Chinese social media influencers and web celebrities who’re considered Display of wealth or conscious display of an opulent life based on money to draw followers and traffic. Its reach goes beyond the behavior of mainland social media users, as Taiwanese influencers are also feeling the pressure.

China is much from the one country to officially express concern concerning the perceived dangers of social media. The US government signalled on June 17 its desire to Place warning signs on platforms like TikTok, X and Instagram. But while the US efforts are Protecting mental health For users, the well-being of Chinese society is at the guts of Beijing's crackdown – and regulators there are going beyond mere warnings.

According to the policy of the Cyberspace Administration of China, various Chinese social media platforms blocked the accounts of influencers like for instance Wang Hongquanxingwho’s nicknamed “China’s Kim Kardashian”.

Wang appears to have been censored for boasting about his extravagant clothing and other luxury items. And he will not be alone. His fellow influencer Bo Gongzi received similar treatment for the demonstration of Porsche cars, Hermes bags and other rare and expensive accessories. And Baoyu Jiajie disappeared from Chinese social media platforms after boasting about her luxurious cuisine and lavish properties.

Violation of freedom of expression on the Internet?

Official Chinese media defended the move as a step against money worship and what Beijing describes as “toxic traffic“ – or recruiting online fans for the aim of being profitable.

Analysts reminiscent of Yao-Yuan Yeh, a Taiwanese professor of political science from St. Thomas University, have argued that the cancellation of influencers flaunting their wealth will not be simply motivated by a desire to guard public morality. Rather, it serves the aim of softening the Chinese public growing sense of relative economic drawbackaggravated by China’s current economic downturn.

While Ye's argument has merit, China has an extended history of punishing influencers who boast about their wealth, long before concerns concerning the country's economic situation arose. It reflects widespread fears in Beijing that social media might be used to spread views it considers subversive.

In 2014 there was an extra increase with the Cancellation by Guo Meimei.

Guo is an online celebrity known for her photos showing a lavish lifestyle, including driving a Mercedes and owning a big mansion.

The measures against the display of wealth come as a part of a broader crackdown on what Beijing sees as morally problematic behavior, reminiscent of watching pornography, gambling, drug use, vulgar live streaming and displaying Contempt for low-income residents.

The official campaign has received broad support from generally conservative public; it will not be only enforced from above.

In this respect, Chinese social conservatism draws on a centuries-old preference for an equal distribution of wealth, reflected within the Confucian idiom that political leaders “not concern about scarcity, but about unequal distribution.”

And Many surveys show The authoritarian Chinese government enjoys great support and trust among the many population.

As MIT political scientist Lily Tsai argues, the Chinese Supporting their authoritarian government will not be simply because of fear of political retaliation or satisfaction with long-term economic success. Rather, the Chinese Communist Party can also be credited with its ability to satisfy the general public's strong desire for retribution and justice.

This signifies that the Chinese people, by and enormous, support their government even when it punishes individuals who have violated the moral values ​​shared by each the political leadership and the common people – even when this implies restricting certain personal freedoms.

Taiwanese influencers

This public support for measures to combat social media activities deemed contrary to Chinese values ​​also serves as a political tool to strengthen the Chinese Communist Party's worldview.

As Experts on Chinese cultural policywe now have noted how China is putting pressure on Taiwanese social media influencers particularly to support its campaign against online wealth display. More broadly, China is using social media to encourage nationalist support and advance its agenda of reunifying the island democracy with mainland China.

The Chinese government has tightened control of cyberspace by directly or not directly pressuring celebrities and influential figures to publicly support pro-government values ​​and policies.

This happens in the shape of a Print campaign against the brand new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who was elected in January, despite some Taiwanese voters are concerned about his views on independence.

On May 20, Lai stressed in his inaugural speech as president that “the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) and the People’s Republic of China usually are not subordinate to one another“ – Comments which are understood as an uncompromising insistence on Taiwan’s independence.

China Central Television, an official media outlet in China, published a post on its social media account saying: warn the Lai government that “Taiwan independence was never, is never and never will be possible. China will eventually achieve complete reunification.”

Many Taiwanese entertainment stars, who mainly operate within the mainland, shared the CCTV post with their followers to indicate their support for China's reunification with Taiwan. CCTV, in turn, reposted their messages: Praise from “patriotic” Taiwanese celebritiesThis not directly put pressure on other Taiwanese celebrities to publicly declare their stance on reunification.

Current research shows that Taiwanese celebrities repost official messages less regularly on average than celebrities from the mainland and Hong Kong. Nevertheless, the frequent political signaling by celebrities on Chinese social media suggests an increasing politicization of popular culture.

An online army

Both the crackdown on online wealth displays and the pressure on Taiwanese influencers reflect Beijing's recognition of the facility of social media.

In 2022, China can have the biggest variety of web and social media users – about 1.02 billionin response to the most recent statistics. Chinese people use various social media platforms reminiscent of Twitter, WeChat, Xiaohongshu And Douyin for news and knowledge – something that President Xi Jinping, who got here to power in 2012, is well aware of.

The recent “spring cleaning” of Chinese social media will not be the primary to happen under Xi's watch, and it’s unlikely to be the last. Authorities in Beijing know that if social media is tightly regulated, it could possibly be used to spread their message. But if left unchecked, it could lead on to an increasingly subversive and chaotic cyberspace.

Every yr before the memorial day on June 4th Massacre on Tiananmen SquareThe Chinese government is tightening online censorship to suppress discussion of the event domestically.

Critics, dissidents and international groups expect a rise in Cyber ​​activity from emails containing malicious links to network attacks in the times and weeks leading as much as the anniversary.

Much of Beijing’s cyber activities are covert. But one recent restructuring the Chinese cyber forces and a Document leak The exposure of the activities of Chinese technology company i-Soon has make clear Beijing's hacking practices.

As a China expert and open source researcherI consider that the recent revelations raise the curtain on a Contractor ecosystem through which government officials and industrial operators are increasingly collaborating. In short, Beijing is outsourcing its cyber operations to a ragtag army of personal sector hackers who offer their services out of a combination of nationalism and profit.

From censorship to cyber attacks

The Chinese authorities are restricting the flow of knowledge on the Internet by banning search terms, scanning social media for subversive messages and restricting access to foreign media and applications that may host censored content. Controlling online activities is particularly strict across the anniversary of the Protests on Tiananmen Square in 1989 The war ended with a bloody crackdown by troops on demonstrators on June 4 of the identical yr.

Since then, democracy activists have tried to commemorate the massacre on its anniversary – and Beijing has tried to stop any mention of the brutal crackdown. Chinese Internet users Note further restrictions and censorship In the run-up to the anniversary, more words were banned and even certain emojis – corresponding to candles symbolising vigils – disappeared.

In 2020, Chinese authorities ordered Zoom, an American technology company with a development team in China, to block the accounts by US activists to commemorate June 4th and Cancel online vigils hosted on the platform. Zoom complied and stated that it Comply with local laws.

In addition to censorship, there have been also cyberattacks on dissident groups and Chinese-language media within the diaspora on or across the anniversary.

On June 4, 2022, Media Today, a Chinese-language media group in Australia, experienced an unattributed Cyber ​​​​Attack against its user accounts. And earlier this yr, the US Department of Justice Charges against seven China-based hackers by sending malicious tracking emails to members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a bunch founded in 2020 on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

China's cyber forces

The increasing sophistication of online attacks on dissidents and international groups comes at a time when China has restructured the agencies accountable for its cyber operations.

Today, a lot of China’s malicious cyber activities are carried out by the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s foremost intelligence and secret police agency. But before the MSS assumed this role, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was accountable for The first cyber attacks to the Chinese government. In 2015 dedicated a brand new service for cyberwarfare and network security: the Strategic Support Force.

But in April 2024, the PLA suddenly announced the dissolution of the Strategic Support Force and the emergence of three latest forces: the Air and Space ForceThe Cyberspace power and that Information Support Force. They, along with the prevailing Joint Logistics Support Forcereport on to the Communist Party of China.

This restructuring comes at a time of political uncertainty for China's leadership. In 2023, Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been removed only a couple of months after taking office, along with Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Li Yuchao, the commander of the Rocket Force.

Beijing has not yet announced details of the military reorganization, however the timing seems to send a message. President Xi Jinping personally led the Inauguration of the Information Support Forceand called on the members of the force to “obey the orders of the party” and to be “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable”.

Hackers: Patriots, Pirates or Profiteers?

The restructuring of China's cyber forces coincides with a trend toward outsourcing malicious cyber operations to personal sector contractors acting with the specific or tacit consent of the state.

In February 2024, a document leak revealed a underground network by Chinese cyber contractors who hack for profit.

Cyber ​​experts have long suspected that Hackers can work together with the Chinese government, however the leak shows how operators working for the Chinese company i-Soon sold services and products to Chinese government agencies and state-sponsored threat groups. The company was founded in 2010 by Wu Haibo, a former member of the Green Armyoften described as China's first hacker community.

The Green Army was founded in 1997 in order that hackers could learn and share hacking techniques. In 1998, patriotic Chinese hackers began organizing cyberattacks. For example, when unrest in Indonesia triggered by the Asian financial crisis led to racially motivated violence against Indonesians of Chinese descent, Chinese hackers within the crosshairs Indonesian government web sites.

In 1999, Chinese hackers vandalized US government web sites after NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The term “honker”, which implies “red hacker” in Chinese, emerged around this time to explain Chinese hackers who were ideologically and nationalistically motivated.

But Chinese hackers have a difficult relationship with the authorities. While they supply the Chinese government with cyber expertise and might credibly deny their actions, when their actions go too far and provoke criticism, they have an inclination to tarnish Beijing's foreign policy.

They are also vulnerable to cybercrime corresponding to fraud and theft of mental property, in addition to state-sponsored espionage.

The Chinese government and outstanding “patriotic” hackers have already tried rein in the community and promote legitimate work corresponding to cybersecurity.

However, the i-Soon leak documents how Chinese state-sponsored contractors used bribery and other illegal activities.

Exploitation of security vulnerabilities

China's cyber capabilities have grown through the control and exploitation of cyber professionals, whether state-sponsored or not. But the connection is complicated.

To prevent the criminal behavior of hackers, Beijing has developed a pipeline to coach their cyber workforce. And partly to stop them from passing on their expertise to foreigners, are generally prohibited of international hacker competitions.

While cybersecurity improves when security experts share newly discovered vulnerabilities, Chinese regulations restrict the flow of such information. By law, software vulnerabilities discovered in China have to be reported immediately to the Chinese government. Experts assume that the Ministry of State Security uses this data to develop offensive cyber capabilities.

Nevertheless, the i-Soon leak points to corruption in not less than one corner of China's growing industrial hacking network. Internal correspondence shows contractors bribing government officials with money, alcohol and other favors. Messages also show contractors failing to generate revenue, producing substandard work and complaining about their employee pay.

As local governments in China struggle to offer basic services in a weak economyCompanies like i-Soon that support Beijing's cyber operations face not only political but additionally financial headwinds. Although Beijing goals to perform a web-based crackdown every June 4, the cyber forces it employs face problems of their very own that bring increased scrutiny and correction from the Chinese Communist Party.