If China decides to take military action over tian, one of the jobs that his spies will have to do is try to wor out how the us. And its allies are going to respond. In a fast moving crisis like that? It's not clear that chinese spies are going to be able to make those judgments. Even if they do guess it right, that still leaves open the question of whether they would dare to communicate to shitim ping something that they feel would conflict with his own views.
In a global period of belt-tightening, popular anger will spill over. Our correspondent visits places where powderkegs seem closest to being lit; our predictive model suggests where might be next. China’s spies have a deserved reputation for hacking and harassing—but fall surprisingly short on other spooky skills. And why America is suffering a shortfall of lifeguards.
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