One of those days where I am feeling like I have lost the plot so do not have anything interesting to write for commentary.

The official PRC reactions to the US government statements in the last day about the South China Sea have so far been relatively muted and rhetorically predictable. I will bet that is not because there will not be a reaction but rather that the relevant authorities are still working through what the shift means and how best to respond.

Today’s Essential Eight:

1. Official fears the Hong Kong Legco election not rigged enough

2. UK trying to rectify its “golden error” with China

3. South China Sea

4. More US-China

5. TikTok

6. Video of PRC police trying to control speech globally

7. Xu Zhangrun released from custody, fired from Tsinghua

8. Dushan debt crisis in ghostly video

Thanks for reading.