The goal is to prevent the opponent from regrouping in a systematic manner and pressure them into making mistakes in their own half of the field, so as to maximise the chances of scoring while minimising the opponent’s ability to launch their own attacks. [...] Likewise, when Beijing criticised the United States and the West for supporting the 2019 Hong Kong protest movement, it did so on the conviction that the United States and its allies were the main instigators of any form of anti-China opposition, not just relating to the Taiwan issue but also to that emerging in Southeast Asia. [...] However, the surge of the Omicron variant of the virus this year in many parts of China, particularly in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, has generated substantial unhappiness domestically, in relation to a new round of harsh lockdowns after an intermediate relaxation, even as the rest of the world opens up and resumes economic activity. [...] Indeed, one of the chief requirements of an effective gegenpressing strategy is to possess a strong backline with which to anchor the defensive (read “strong domestic”) position, so that the offensive elements have the freedom to attack the opponent. [...] Xi, Invincible and All-knowing? Part of the challenge of a counter-pressing strategy is the need for all the players and key actors to each know their place in the system.
- Pages
- 4
- Published in
- Singapore
