Today, the Additional Session judge in Multan rejected the bail application of Rawal Asad, though the written order will be given tomorrow. Rawal’s lawyer, Azhar Bukhari, presented a strong defence in front of the judge and argued that the case is fabricated from start to finish. He also cited precedent in many rulings of various courts in Pakistan over the past several decades, and pointed out that joining a protest is a basic democratic right of every citizen, as guaranteed by the constitution (for now).

The ordeal of a Marxist student leader from Multan, Rawal Asad, seems to be unending. He is clearly being victimised through unlawful acts and a delaying of the court procedures. Today, once again it was made clear that no law exists in Pakistan, and the courts and lawyers are all part of a farcical façade, while the real power brokers rule unchallenged. The bail application for the fabricated case of sedition was due to be heard in a court in Multan today. But the judge delayed the hearing until the closing hours of the court. In the end, he said that he couldn't hear this case and that it should be referred to some other judge.

Rawal Asad, a Marxist student from Multan, was presented in court today after two days in police custody. The police reported to the court that they had completed their investigation and that they no longer required his physical custody. The lawyers of Rawal Asad moved a bail application, which will be heard tomorrow in the same court. Until then, he is being kept in jail.

Rawal Asad is an undergraduate student and political activist of Government Emerson College in Multan. On 5 February, he joined a protest called by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Multan. They were protesting the killing of their leader, Arman Luni, who was a college professor and was killed in Balochistan a few days previously by a senior police officer, personally, by torture. The case of this murder has still not been registered. But the Multan Police registered a case against all the protestors, including Rawal Asad, charging them with sedition, among other things.

Xie Xuehong (Hsieh Shue-hong, 謝雪紅) was a key figure in the revolutionary movement in Taiwan in the early 20th century. Despite having to fight against the tremendous barriers that a backward patriarchal society placed before an impoverished, illiterate peasant woman, she was able to found and build the Taiwanese Communist Party (TCP, 台灣共產黨).

馬克思主義者們認同1949年中國革命所帶來的各種重大成就。這也毫不意外地讓毛澤東所喊出的一些口號在世界各地產生共鳴，並吸引了尤其在中蘇交惡後，尋求官僚化蘇聯以外社會主義體制的革命志士們。然而，所謂的毛澤東思想仍然和真正的馬克思主義之間存在著必須要澄清的重要政治分歧。

马克思主义者们认同1949年中国革命所带来的各种重大成就。这毫不意外地让毛泽东所喊出的一些口号在世界各地产生共鸣，并吸引了尤其在中苏交恶后，寻求官僚化苏联以外社会主义体制的革命志士们。然而，所谓的毛泽东思想仍然和真正的马克思主义之间存在着必须要澄清的重要政治分歧。

On 11 December 2018, the official Weibo account of the US Embassy in China published a blog post entitled “American University Marxist Students Show Solidarity for Unionization and Strikes” (美国大学生马克思主义社团声援工人组织工会和罢工). In it, the embassy referred to the activities of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) comrades in the Marxist Student Association (MSA) and their political work in Madison, Wisconsin.

On 8-9 January, around 200 million workers went on a two-day strike across India, bringing the country to a grinding halt. The strike was called by 10 central trade unions of India against the anti-labour policies of the Modi government. BMS, affiliated with RSS-BJP, was the only central trade union that was against the strike and tried to sabotage it. All others supported the strike and made huge efforts to make it successful.

朱梅雪是华航企业工会现任秘书长。在2018年的桃园市长选举内，他以无党籍的身分参选，挑战台湾两大政党：国民党和民进党。朱梅雪的选战需求工人阶级应独立于两大财团政党，并以工人阶级观点提出多项政策，也推广了“工人不投蓝绿党！”、“百万劳工站出来！”、“为自己投一票！”等口号。

朱梅雪是華航企業工會現任秘書長。在2018年的桃園市長選舉內，他以無黨籍的身分參選，挑戰台灣兩大政黨：國民黨和民進黨。朱梅雪的選戰需求工人階級應獨立於兩大財團政黨，並以工人階級觀點提出多項政策，也推廣了“工人不投藍綠黨！”、“百萬勞工站出來！”、“為自己投一票！”等口號。

Zhu Meixue is the current Secretary General of Taiwan’s China Airlines Employees’ Union (CAEU). In 2018, he ran for mayor of Taoyuan as an independent against the candidates of both the KMT and the DPP, the two major bourgeois parties of Taiwan. In his campaign he called for the political independence of the working class from the two parties of the bosses, proposing policies from a working class perspective, with slogans such as “Workers don’t vote for the KMT or DPP!,” “The laboring millions come forward!,” and “Vote for yourselves!”

Marxists recognise the enormous achievements of the 1949 Chinese Revolution. Unsurprisingly, many slogans by Mao Zedong found an echo across the world as an alternative to the bureaucratised USSR after the Sino-Soviet split. However, there are significant political differences between the ideas of genuine Marxism and those of Maoism, which should be clarified.

The marvellous national convention of the Progressive Youth Alliance was held in Lahore on 15 December, with the main demands of free education for all and restoration of student unions. Revolutionary students and unemployed youth from across the country gathered to discuss problems faced by the youth and how to organise to overcome them.

在台湾执政的民主进步党在近期的九合一大选中惨败。民进党的大败立即导致了总统蔡英文请辞民进党党主席一职，而行政院长赖清德和总统府秘书长陈菊也照样请辞。在选举同时举办的公投中，社会保守势力得以大举进击。然而，虽然表面上选票回到了现在在野的中国国民党，台湾的资本主义危机也正在准备将阶级斗争推向新一个阶段。