Editor’s Note: The article that previously appeared here has been removed because the original statement on which it was based has been retracted.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Russia and China have developed relations to an unprecedented level based on “full trust” and they almost always coordinate international action, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his annual press conference.
Relations between Russia and China had reached “a point that has never existed throughout our entire history” in both level and quality, Putin told Russian and foreign journalists, as well as members of the public who called in during the four-and-a-half televised session on Thursday.
“Everything that Russia and China do for each other is based on full trust,” he said during the “Result of the Year” press conference on Thursday.
Putin added bilateral trade between Russia and China was worth between US$220 billion and US$240 billion, with almost 600 joint investment projects of a combined value of US$200 million.
“It means the future is assured,” he said.
The president, who has held the post, with a four-year gap to serve as prime minister, for 20 years, has visited China 20 times, most recently in May.
Before that, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a “no limits partnership” with no forbidden areas of cooperation in February 2022, days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We frequently, almost always, coordinate our actions on the international stage, which is a very important element of international affairs,” Putin said.
In 2009, Russia and China, together with India and Brazil, founded a grouping called BRICS that has now become a geopolitical grouping with nine members.
The Russian president denied, however, that the bloc was established to counter the West and that it had a confrontational agenda.
“Our work is not aimed against anyone. We focus on our own interests and the interests of the group’s member countries,” he said.
Ties between Moscow and Beijing serve as “a stabilizing tool” in global affairs, said Putin, whose invasion of neighboring Ukraine has become the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
‘Special military operation’
Putin’s answers were clearly aimed at the domestic audience, who sent more than 2.2 million questions to the televised press conference.
A large part of the press conference was focused on the war in Ukraine, which the president referred to as a “special military operation.”
“I started telling fewer jokes and almost stopped laughing,” Putin said about how the war had changed him.
“Due to various circumstances, we are now increasing the strength of the army, security and law enforcement agencies to 1.5 million people.”
Asked whether he would change his decision to launch the full-scale invasion in 2022 if he could, Putin said: “we should have done it earlier” instead of waiting for the situation to deteriorate.
He insisted that the Russian army was making progress and advancing “by square kilometers” every day but he declined to give a timeline for the war.
Russia has always been ready to talk with Ukraine, Putin said, “but we need that country to be ready for both negotiations and compromise.”
Putin also said that he was open to talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
“I don’t know when we will meet because he has not said anything about it … I have not talked to him for more than four years,” he said.
“Should there be an opportunity for a meeting with the newly elected president, Donald Trump, I am confident there will be plenty to discuss.”
RELATED STORIES
Russians see North Koreans as a ‘burden’ over ignorance of drones: South says
Does a video show Putin sending off his son to Ukraine?
G7 urges China to oppose North Korea-Russia military cooperation
Putin, responding to a question from an American journalist, rejected the suggestion that he would find himself in some kind of weakened state when meeting Trump.
“You and the people who pay your salary in the United States really want to see Russia in a weakened state,” he told the journalist. “I believe that Russia has become significantly stronger in the past two or three years.”
Russia’s sovereignty
“We are strengthening our defense capability. The combat readiness of the Russian armed forces is the highest in the world today,” he added.
According to Putin, Russia was now “capable of firmly standing on our feet when it comes to the economy,” with an expected growth rate of about 4% for 2024.
He acknowledged a rocketing year-on-year inflation rate of more than 9% but said that people’s salaries had increased, too.
“We are becoming a truly sovereign country, and we barely depend on anybody,” he added.
The president spoke at length about Russia’s sovereignty, which appeared to be at the core of his political calculations.
“Economic growth is also an effect of bolstered sovereignty,” Putin said.
He also spoke of the changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine, adopted in November, in which it demands increased “responsibility of non-nuclear states that may participate in an aggression against the Russian Federation alongside the countries that have nuclear weapons.”
“If, like their allies, these countries also pose a threat to our sovereignty and Russia’s existence, then we imply that we have the right to use our nuclear weapons against them,” Putin said.
That means Russia could respond with nuclear weapons should it deems an attack by Ukraine as “a threat to Russia’s sovereignty.”
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan has received 38 M1A2T tanks from the United States, the first U.S. tanks for the island in 23 years, and the first batch of an expected 122 due to arrive over the next two years.
While many defense experts rate the M1A2T as the world’s most advanced main battle tank, some also question whether it is suitable for Taiwan’s relatively confined, built-up spaces and its mountainous terrain.
Eric Gomez, senior fellow of Defense and Foreign Policy at Cato Institute, said in a news release that in the event of an invasion by China, its amphibious assault brigade may have light amphibious armored vehicles to help in the attack but it would not be supported by main tanks.
“The main task of the Abrams tanks in the Taiwanese army is to fight for those landing points and rely on strong firepower and armor to resist the landing troops,” said Gomez.
The M1A2 Abrams, a variant of the M1 Abrams produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, is considered one of the most advanced main battle tanks in the world. It is armed with 120-millimeter smoothbore guns capable of piercing armor up to 850 millimeters thick.
It can withstand shells fired by most other battle tanks and is faster than Taiwan’s existing tanks, U.S.-made M60A3s and indigenously developed CM11 tanks.
The M1A2T tank also features a “hunter-killer” capability, allowing it to track one target while simultaneously engaging another.
Lin Ying-yu, an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, told Taiwan’s Central News Agency that Taiwan’s M60A3s and CM11s tanks have been in use for 30 years and are unlikely to withstand China’s advanced anti-armor weapons.
Lin said the M1A2Ts would significantly enhance the island’s defensive capabilities but some experts have questioned the suitability of the M1A2T in Taiwan’s built-up and mountainous terrain.
‘Highly constrained’
Michael Hunzeker, associate director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University, told Radio Free Asia that although the M1A2 is highly capable, its weight and size made it more suited to open terrain.
“Taiwan is highly urbanized, mountainous, and or covered in small roads and small bridges,” he said. “Thus, M1s are highly constrained in where they can go, which limits their utility and works against one of their main advantages: mobility and speed.”
The tanks also require extensive logistical support for fuel to keep its jet turbine engine running, and for maintenance, Hunzeker said.
“In essence, it’s not that the M1 is ‘bad’ per se,” said Hunzeker. “It’s that the M1 is a suboptimal allocation of Taiwan’s scarce defense dollars.”
Gomez added that the fuel consumption and maintenance issues were real but not insurmountable.
“The bigger danger related to the Abrams logistics requirements is the vulnerability of support facilities,” he said, adding that maintenance facilities and fuel may be vulnerable to China’s long-range strikes.
Ukraine, which has a variant of the Abrams, has more space to disperse its support facilities and reduce its exposure to Russian attacks, unlike Taiwan, Gomez said.
“Taiwan’s smaller size makes it harder to disperse its logistics facilities, though it could try hardening the facilities to make them more difficult to destroy,” he said.
“Tanks can still be effective, but they need to be supported by other forces that can protect them against things like helicopters and drones,” Gomez added.
RELATED STORIES
Taiwan to buy $2.2 bln of US weapons after Trump urged more spending
Taiwan wonders if Trump will charge ‘protection fees’
Taiwan ‘determined’ to protect its democratic way of life
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked about the arrival of the U.S. tanks on the island that China claims as its territory, reaffirmed its opposition to U.S.-Taiwan military ties.
“The Taiwan authorities’ attempts to achieve independence through military reliance on external forces are doomed to fail. China will resolutely defend its national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity,” said Lin Jian, a Chinese ministry spokesperson, on Monday.
The tanks delivered on Sunday are from a batch of 108 tanks and other items announced for Taiwan by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense records, the island’s military is set to receive two more shipments of Abrams tanks, each consisting of 42 units, over the next two years.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu for RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Authorities in Hong Kong are stepping up surveillance of the city’s 7 million residents with plans to deploy automated police drones, artificial intelligence and thousands of new cameras in public places, including taxis, according to recent government announcements.
The police are currently installing an additional 2,000 surveillance cameras in public places including the controversial smart lampposts targeted by protesters in 2019, Senior Superintendent of Police for Operations Leung Ming-leung told a meeting of the Independent Police Complaints Council on Dec. 17.
By 2027, an additional 7,000 cameras will be installed to monitor “crime black-spots,” with a pilot scheme already rolled out in Mong Kok, which saw mass pro-democracy protests and gatherings in 2014 and 2019, as well as the “Fishball Revolution” of 2016.
The move comes amid an ongoing crackdown on public protest, peaceful activism and freedom of speech in Hong Kong in the wake of the 2019 protest movement.
Thousands have been arrested on public order charges and hundreds under two national security laws, which ban criticism of the authorities or references to the protests.
“At places where there is a higher footfall, we would install the CCTV with a view to preserving public order and public safety,” Leung said.
Police will also install “public address systems” to boost communication with the public, he added.
Facial recognition
As early as 2019, protesters were damaging and toppling controversial “smart lampposts” that had been newly installed in the city, saying their specification included facial recognition functions, although officials said at the time they hadn’t been activated.
Police Commissioner Raymond Siu said in February that use of facial recognition technology to track people caught by the cameras was likely in future.
RELATED STORIES
Hong Kong officials learn neighborhood surveillance from China
Hong Kong police ask for billions to fund digital network linked to bodycams
Hong Kong adds hundreds of surveillance cameras in public places
Leung told the Council that footage captured by CCTV has helped solve 97 cases so far this year, including assaults and murders, but it is currently not intended for use in traffic violations like running a red light.
He said the authorities used surveillance cameras to estimate the size of crowds in the Lan Kwai Fong bar district at Halloween, “to help with manpower deployment.”
Automated drone patrols
Secretary for Security Chris Tang told lawmakers police are currently looking at bringing in automated drone patrols along default routes across Hong Kong, with images analyzed by AI for policing purposes.
“This can lead to greater operational effectiveness and higher work quality,” Tang said, adding that the program would comply with current safety and privacy laws.
Hong Kong’s police force is already equipped with a range of different drones and monitoring instruments, and are already increasingly being used by police, customs and immigration for investigation purposes, Tang told the Legislative Council on Dec. 11.
Police also use drones to conduct high-rise patrols at crime black spots, he said.
“For instance, mounted thermography and infrared detection systems are used to detect the presence of suspicious persons lingering or hiding at remotely located places or at difficult terrains,” Tang told lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the Transport Advisory Committee has said it plans to amend the law to mandate in-vehicle and dashboard cameras and GPS systems in all taxis.
“The camera system proposal … will better safeguard the interests of taxi drivers and passengers in cases of disputes and enhance driving safety for taxis,” Committee Chairman Stephen Cheung said in a statement on Dec. 17.
“These two measures will be conducive to enhancing the overall quality and image of taxi services,” he said.
‘It’s overkill’
Not everyone thought the additional cameras would make them safer, however.
“I don’t think it will,” a passerby who gave only the surname Lai for fear of reprisals told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. “On the contrary, if the streets are being monitored, there will be no privacy.”
“I really think it’s overkill.”
A taxi driver who gave only the surname Wong for fear of reprisals said: “I don’t really agree with it, because of the privacy issues.”
“Who gets to see it? It could be misused, or used as a political tool by the government,” he said. “I’m very worried about that.”
A passerby who gave only the surname Chan told RFA in an earlier interview that he had doubts about the true purpose of the surveillance cameras because there isn’t much street crime in Hong Kong.
“There really aren’t that many thieves,” he said. “But it’ll mean that if we have something we want to speak out about in future, or to oppose, we won’t be able to.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Wei Sze, Luk Nam Choi and Edward Li for RFA Cantonese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Authorities in Hong Kong are stepping up surveillance of the city’s 7 million residents with plans to deploy automated police drones, artificial intelligence and thousands of new cameras in public places, including taxis, according to recent government announcements.
The police are currently installing an additional 2,000 surveillance cameras in public places including the controversial smart lampposts targeted by protesters in 2019, Senior Superintendent of Police for Operations Leung Ming-leung told a meeting of the Independent Police Complaints Council on Dec. 17.
By 2027, an additional 7,000 cameras will be installed to monitor “crime black-spots,” with a pilot scheme already rolled out in Mong Kok, which saw mass pro-democracy protests and gatherings in 2014 and 2019, as well as the “Fishball Revolution” of 2016.
The move comes amid an ongoing crackdown on public protest, peaceful activism and freedom of speech in Hong Kong in the wake of the 2019 protest movement.
Thousands have been arrested on public order charges and hundreds under two national security laws, which ban criticism of the authorities or references to the protests.
“At places where there is a higher footfall, we would install the CCTV with a view to preserving public order and public safety,” Leung said.
Police will also install “public address systems” to boost communication with the public, he added.
Facial recognition
As early as 2019, protesters were damaging and toppling controversial “smart lampposts” that had been newly installed in the city, saying their specification included facial recognition functions, although officials said at the time they hadn’t been activated.
Police Commissioner Raymond Siu said in February that use of facial recognition technology to track people caught by the cameras was likely in future.
RELATED STORIES
Hong Kong officials learn neighborhood surveillance from China
Hong Kong police ask for billions to fund digital network linked to bodycams
Hong Kong adds hundreds of surveillance cameras in public places
Leung told the Council that footage captured by CCTV has helped solve 97 cases so far this year, including assaults and murders, but it is currently not intended for use in traffic violations like running a red light.
He said the authorities used surveillance cameras to estimate the size of crowds in the Lan Kwai Fong bar district at Halloween, “to help with manpower deployment.”
Automated drone patrols
Secretary for Security Chris Tang told lawmakers police are currently looking at bringing in automated drone patrols along default routes across Hong Kong, with images analyzed by AI for policing purposes.
“This can lead to greater operational effectiveness and higher work quality,” Tang said, adding that the program would comply with current safety and privacy laws.
Hong Kong’s police force is already equipped with a range of different drones and monitoring instruments, and are already increasingly being used by police, customs and immigration for investigation purposes, Tang told the Legislative Council on Dec. 11.
Police also use drones to conduct high-rise patrols at crime black spots, he said.
“For instance, mounted thermography and infrared detection systems are used to detect the presence of suspicious persons lingering or hiding at remotely located places or at difficult terrains,” Tang told lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the Transport Advisory Committee has said it plans to amend the law to mandate in-vehicle and dashboard cameras and GPS systems in all taxis.
“The camera system proposal … will better safeguard the interests of taxi drivers and passengers in cases of disputes and enhance driving safety for taxis,” Committee Chairman Stephen Cheung said in a statement on Dec. 17.
“These two measures will be conducive to enhancing the overall quality and image of taxi services,” he said.
‘It’s overkill’
Not everyone thought the additional cameras would make them safer, however.
“I don’t think it will,” a passerby who gave only the surname Lai for fear of reprisals told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. “On the contrary, if the streets are being monitored, there will be no privacy.”
“I really think it’s overkill.”
A taxi driver who gave only the surname Wong for fear of reprisals said: “I don’t really agree with it, because of the privacy issues.”
“Who gets to see it? It could be misused, or used as a political tool by the government,” he said. “I’m very worried about that.”
A passerby who gave only the surname Chan told RFA in an earlier interview that he had doubts about the true purpose of the surveillance cameras because there isn’t much street crime in Hong Kong.
“There really aren’t that many thieves,” he said. “But it’ll mean that if we have something we want to speak out about in future, or to oppose, we won’t be able to.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Wei Sze, Luk Nam Choi and Edward Li for RFA Cantonese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON D.C.- Manhattan resident Chen Jinping has pleaded guilty to a charge in federal court related to running a secret Chinese police station in New York.
Chen Jinping, a U.S. citizen, had assisted with administrative tasks at the hidden outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 2022.
According to U.S. prosecutors, it was set up by officials at China’s Fuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, a branch of its Ministry of Public Security, and was used to intimidate and silence critics of the Chinese government in New York.
Chen’s plea in Brooklyn on Wednesday is the first time a person involved in one of these overseas outposts has been held to account in court.
More than 100 of the Chinese police outposts have apparently been opened in cities around the world.
Chen, 61, admitted to conspiring to act as a foreign government agent, for which he faces up to five years in prison.
The existence of the police station in Chinatown and in other locations around the world was first reported in a 2022 report by the Spain-based human-rights group, Safeguard Defenders.
“I hope the outcome of cases like this will encourage victims of the PRC’s transnational repression to come forward in greater numbers,” Laura Harth, the campaign director of Safeguard Defenders, told RFA, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“I also hope that the 53 countries where ‘overseas police stations’ have been uncovered take note and take action. This case serves as a warning to anyone considering assisting the CCP in its covert operations: there is no advantage in doing so,” she said, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party.
Chen Jinping was arrested in April 2023. He was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He did not plead guilty to the second charge. He will be sentenced on May 30, 2025.
Chen Jinping, a home health aide, wore a dark blue suit and a red tie to appear before Judge Nina Morrison of the Eastern District of New York.
Rising to address the court, he read from a sheet of paper. “I knowingly acted as a foreign agent,” he said in Mandarin. An interpreter from Fujian Province translated.
When RFA asked later how he felt after pleading guilty, he only smiled.
RELATED STORIES
‘Secret’ New York police station is mere sliver of Beijing’s U.S. harassment push
EXCLUSIVE: Alleged Chinese spy tied to Prince Andrew is businessman Yang Tengbo
According to prosecutors, Chen and another man who was also charged, Lu Jianwang, worked at the outpost set up within the confines of the nonprofit American Chang Le Association in Chinatown.
RFA visited the association last year, and members of the Chinese community in New York disclosed that while the association had helped some in the diaspora with paperwork and logistics, it had also played a role in harassing others.
Responding to Chen’s plea Wednesday, Zhou Fengsuo, a community leader, told RFA: “This is a representative case for the U.S. system, in which justice is served and evil is punished.”
“We hope that more overseas police stations will be closed and investigated so that Chinese people living abroad will face less oppression and threats from the CCP,” he added.
Lu is due in court in 2025.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment by press time, but the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry has previously denied the existence of overseas police stations.
Edited by Boer Deng
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jane Tang, Tara McKelvey.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
A US$10-billion oil project in Uganda being developed by France’s TotalEnergies and CNOOC of China has been linked to human rights violations, with rights groups accusing the local authorities of repression and forced evictions, and citing sexual violence and environmental damage in connection with the project.
The project forms a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road global supply chain and infrastructure program, which China says has helped more than 150 countries develop seaports, railways and bridges, and critics say has led to growing geopolitical influence for Beijing and debt traps for its partner countries.
Championed by Uganda’s strongman President Yoweri Museveni, despite ongoing opposition from environmentalists, the Ugandan project involves drilling for oil in the northwestern Lake Albert region and building a 1,443-kilometer (900-mile) heated pipeline to ship the crude to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga.
According to a recent report by the International Federation for Human Rights, or FIDH, Civic Response on Environment and Development and Lawyers Without Borders, the project has been associated with “disproportionate security measures, repression, land rights violations, forced evictions and corruption.”
The report accuses Ugandan troops of beating and harassing fishing communities, and documents cases of sexual and gender-based violence committed by soldiers and company personnel.
Some 12,000 families have been displaced to make way for the pipeline, while hundreds of households around Lake Albert have also been forced to leave their homes, it said.
The most serious abuses took place in and around the Kingfisher oil fields, the report said, noting a “high level of fear” in the region.
RELATED STORIES
EXPLAINED: What is the China-Africa summit and why does it matter?
China’s president pledges $50 billion to fund African development
Illegal Chinese fishing off East Africa hurts local communities: report
Meanwhile, non-government groups have reported house break-ins, beatings, unlawful detentions and torture, with at least 96 activists arrested between May and early December after they opposed the project, it said.
“Having displaced thousands of people, oil development is now significantly transforming the realities of local communities,” Sacha Feierabend, FIDH’s Senior Researcher on business and human rights, said in a statement launching the report.
Construction works, high inflation, pressure on land, deployment of security forces, and influx of workers have a considerable, combined impact on human rights, he said.
He called on all companies, the Uganda authorities and other stakeholders to assess their involvement in human rights abuses.
The army has reportedly carried out repeated arrests, extortion, and blatant mistreatment of community members to enforce restrictions on fishing, crippling the main source of livelihood in the area and instilling fear among residents, the rights groups said, citing eyewitness testimonies of hundreds of people being “evicted at gunpoint.”
The report said CNOOC, as the operator of Kingfisher, had a “distinct responsibility,” yet was taking no action to address “serious violations on its doorstep.”
It said TotalEnergies, as the main investor in all the projects including Kingfisher, had “failed to uphold its human rights duty to conduct effective due diligence.”
Sexual exploitation and gender-based violence are also on the rise in the project area, with growing prostitution near Kingfisher and Tilenga, the report found, adding that women are being excluded from work on the project itself.
Andrew Bogrand, Senior Policy Advisor at Oxfam, called on TotalEnergies to strengthen its human rights policies and ensure they are “better enforced” among its partners on the project.
“This report reveals how human rights risks flagged in previous years are turning into real violations, especially against human rights defenders,” Bogrand warned.
Government and companies respond
Ugandan government spokesman Chris Baryomunsi said the allegations were “rather ridiculous and unfounded,” and a “smear campaign” that wouldn’t succeed in halting the project, Agence France-Presse reported.
TotalEnergies expressed its “strongest disagreement” with the claims in the report “that cast doubt on the attention paid to respect for human rights in operations in Uganda,” the agency said.
“In Uganda, as elsewhere, TotalEnergies is transparent about its human rights commitments and their implementation, which have been the subject of numerous public communications,” it added.
CNOOC has yet to comment publicly on the report, but took part in a joint consultation on similar allegations from Just Finance International, according to a company response posted to the Business Human Rights website, that found “no connection” between recent human rights allegations and the activities of the Kingfisher operations in the project area.
The June 10 response from TotalEnergies said the Ugandan military hadn’t carried out any enforcement operations for the project, and “the allegations of physical displacement seem not connected to the Kingfisher project.”
CNOOC’s official website defines non-government groups and local communities as “stakeholders” in its projects.
“We believe respecting human rights is a fundamental aspect of responsible energy development,” according to the Corporate Social Responsibility section of its website.
“We strive to ensure business decisions are examined for their potential impact on human rights and by taking steps to ensure employees and contractors are never complicit in human rights violations,” according to the website.
Policy of non-interference
David Hamilton Shinn, adjunct professor at the School of International Affairs at George Washington University and former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, said CNOOC likely sees any local human rights violations as the Ugandan government’s problem.
He said the state-owned offshore exploration and development giant had likely adopted the Chinese government’s own approach of non-interference in the “internal affairs” of other countries.
Lin Kunda, an assistant professor of international affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said many of China’s Belt and Road projects take place in authoritarian regimes, where it’s far harder for local people to hold their own government to account.
“This is … all about Beijing’s relationship with Uganda’s rulers, who are also profiting from this project,” Lin said. “China doesn’t care about its reputation in Uganda because people there have no way to complain to the government.”
Yet China’s Belt and Road cooperation model has been popular among developing countries where political instability is a concern for Western competitors, because its state-owned enterprises are able to offer technology and funding in the form of cheap loans.
“Chinese state-owned enterprises hunt in packs, and so others will come in to set up factories to refine raw materials, and transport [the products] back to China too,” Lin said. “This one-stop shop approach is very attractive.”
Lin said Beijing is still keen to diversify its energy sources, particularly since the war in Ukraine started.
“They can’t guarantee that their relationship with Russia will always be plain sailing,” Lin said. “I don’t think China will give up its efforts to expand its energy sources via the Belt and Road.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The United States finalized a $406 million grant for GlobalWafers, a key Taiwanese semiconductor component manufacturer, amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump might overturn a law promoting U.S. semiconductor production through subsidies, including to foreign companies.
Trump has expressed a preference for using tariffs over subsidies to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing, noting that tariffs on imported chips would incentivize companies to relocate production to the U.S. without the need for government spending.
The funds for projects by GlobalWafers in Texas and Missouri will establish the first high-volume U.S. production of 300-mm wafers for advanced semiconductors and expand production of silicon-on-insulator wafers, the U.S. Commerce Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Wafers are thin slices of silicon used as the base for making semiconductors. They undergo layering and etching to create circuits for chips used in technologies like AI, 5G, and computing. Their quality is crucial for chip performance.
“The semiconductor wafers that will be produced here in the U.S. because of this investment in GlobalWafers are the foundation of the advanced chips that will help us out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The subsidy will also support nearly US$4 billion in investments by GlobalWafers in both states to construct new wafer manufacturing facilities and create 1,700 construction and 880 manufacturing jobs, the department added.
“As we plan to achieve the first milestone in the first half of next year, we have an opportunity to receive the first CHIPS Act funding by the end of next year, if everything progresses smoothly,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu told reporters.
The CHIPS Act is designed to strengthen U.S. semiconductor manufacturing by offering subsidies, grants, and incentives to companies, including foreign manufacturers like Taiwan’s GlobalWafers, to invest in semiconductor production within the U.S.
Domestic opinions on the act are divided. Supporters argue it’s vital for boosting U.S. semiconductor production, reducing reliance on foreign supply chains, and ensuring national security. Critics, however, see it as excessive government spending that favors large corporations and question its effectiveness.
RELATED STORIES
China hits US chipmaker Nvidia with antitrust investigation
Chipmaker Nvidia teams up with Vietnam for AI amid US-China row
US targets China’s chip industry with new export controls
Trump, in a November media interview, criticized the Act.
“When I see us paying a lot of money to have people build chips, that’s not the way … you could have done it with a series of tariffs,” he said.
GlobalWafers’s Hus said, however, she believed the U.S. government would uphold the law and that no major changes would occur as Washington has a good track record of living up to its promises even after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
GlobalWafers is set to establish and expand facilities in Sherman, Texas, to produce wafers for leading-edge, mature-node, and memory chips, and a new facility in St. Peters, Missouri, focused on wafers for defense and aerospace applications.
Five major companies, including GlobalWafers, dominate more than 80% of the global 300-mm silicon wafer market, with approximately 90% of silicon wafers manufactured in East Asia.
Edited by RFA Staff.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
A London-based lawyer accused of secretly working with China’s propaganda arm has lost a legal appeal against the U.K.’s domestic intelligence service.
Christine Lee said an “interference alert” from MI5 issued in January 2022 had violated her rights, leading to lost business, a barrage of racist emails and even death threats. Her son, David Wilkes, was part of the appeal and said that the alert also negatively affected him.
But the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent U.K. judiciary body, unanimously dismissed their claim, calling the alert issued to the British Parliament “a proportionate response to the threat posed” by Lee.
The alert accused Lee of attempting to interfere with U.K. politics on behalf of the United Front Work Department, which Western governments say operates covert intelligence and influence campaigns abroad.
The alert was the first ever issued related to China. However, officials did not deem her to have committed any prosecutable offense.
Lee was born in Hong Kong but emigrated with her family to Belfast when she was 12.
At the time the alert was issued, she was working as an attorney largely on behalf of members of the British Chinese community. Lee’s work on Anglo-Chinese relations garnered an award in 2019 from then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
Wilkes, her son, was a diary manager for Barry Gardiner, a member of Parliament to whom Lee had donated more than 500,000 GBP over five years.
The issuance of the alert prompted a barrage of news reports alleging that Lee was a Chinese agent, which she claimed caused her emotional distress. The judgment issued this week notes that Lee received rape and death threats following the issuance of the alert. Lee said the alert led to “irreparable reputational harm” and ended her work on behalf of asylum seekers.
Wilkes alleged that he was told by his employer to resign or be dismissed the day the alert was issued. Gardiner denied the claim, and the two later reached a settlement. But the alert forced him to change careers and cost him friendships, Wilkes said.
However, the tribunal ruled today that MI5’s warning about Lee’s alleged threat was justified, and that the agency was not responsible for abuses she faced from the media and public. The court was established in 2000 to weigh cases in which public entities, in particular British intelligence agencies, are alleged to have violated individual rights.
The decision to dismiss Lee and Wilkes’ claims comes as fears over Chinese efforts to influence politics have gripped Britain.
RELATED STORIES
EXCLUSIVE: United Front-linked group lauded Yang Tengbo’s links to David Cameron
EXCLUSIVE: Alleged Chinese spy tied to Prince Andrew is businessman Yang Tengbo
EXPLAINED: What is China’s United Front and how does it operate?
On Monday, British officials named Yang Tengbo as the alleged Chinese spy who had been barred from entering the United Kingdom due to national security risks in 2021, confirming an RFA Dec. 13 report.
Yang had served as a business adviser to Prince Andrew and, as also was reported by RFA, had connections with former British Prime Ministers David Cameron and Teresa May through his consultancy, the Hampton Group International.
British authorities allege Yang plotted to secretly advance Beijing’s interest in the U.K. through his ties to high-profile figures.
Chinese officials have denied the allegations, saying Yang’s work was part of normal exchanges to promote international business. Yang himself had asked British authorities to release his name publicly. “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue,” he said in a statement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday called the spying allegations against Yang “ridiculous.”
Edited by Abby Seiff and Boer Deng
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jim Snyder.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
A Californian man was sentenced to almost three-and-a-half years in prison on Monday for running a business that helped affluent Chinese tourists “hide their pregnancies” from immigration officials so they could give birth on American soil and grant their children U.S. citizenship.
The sentencing comes amid a proposal by President-elect Donald Trump to end birthright citizenship in the United States, and the “Run” movement that has seen a surge in Chinese immigrants arriving at the southern American border to seek asylum in the United States.
Michael Wei Yueh Liu, a 59-year-old man from San Bernardino county, was sentenced to 41 months in U.S. federal prison over the “USA Happy Baby” business he ran with his wife, 47-year-old Jing Dong, from January 2012 to March 2015, selling “birth tourism” packages.
Liu was found guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering in September. Dong, who is now separated from Liu, is expected to be sentenced early next year.
The couple charged “tens of thousands of dollars” for the service, which included short-term housing in San Bernardino and maternity care to the mostly affluent women, who usually returned to China “within one or two months after giving birth,” a press release said.
RELATED STORIES
U.S. reports sharp rise in people fleeing China amid ‘run’ movement
Want to ‘run’? TikTok tutors teach Chinese how to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico
‘We’re all fleeing persecution’: Chinese asylum-seekers head to US via Darién Gap
“Liu and Dong advised their customers on how to hide their pregnancies from the immigration authorities,” the press release said, adding that they later also helped in obtaining birth certificates.
The clients were instructed to wear baggy clothing and lie to immigration officials by saying they were visiting only for tourism and would only stay for one or two weeks. In practice, they remained in the country for months and gave birth.
“Liu and Dong or their agents also advised their customers to fly to ports of entry with perceived less customs scrutiny, such as Hawaii, before flying to Los Angeles, to wear loose fitting clothing, to favor certain lines at customs that they perceived to be less strict, and on how to answer the customs officials’ questions,” it explained.
Liu and Dong made several millions of dollars from the scheme, federal prosecutors had said in court.
Pleas for leniency
In federal court on Monday, Liu pleaded for leniency in sentencing, with his attorney noting that he was the sole provider for his 95-year-old father and 82-year-old mother, as well as he and his estranged wife’s 13-year-old son, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Prosecutors had sought a more than five-year prison sentence for the scheme that they said deliberately aimed to deceive U.S. immigration officials. His attorney argued he should face a 26-month term.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said he had reduced the sentence slightly to reflect Liu’s family situation but that his legal predicament was ultimately due to the “choices you make,” and not the court’s.
Liu’s lawyers had earlier argued he and Dong had not violated any U.S. laws because they had only helped the pregnant Chinese women give birth once they had arrived in America, and that other companies were responsible for helping them evade detection on their way in.
The women would have faced punishment under China’s one-child policy, which was eventually scrapped in 2015, had they been allowed to return home to give birth, Liu’s defense attorney told the court.
However, the California jury did not buy the story and found both Liu and Jong guilty of their offenses in September – almost a decade after their “maternity hotels” were raided by police in 2015 amid a wider crackdown on the lucrative “birth tourism” industry in the state.
It’s not illegal for women to visit the United States while pregnant, but it is an offense to lie to immigration officials about the reason for travel.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alex Willemyns.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Hong Kongers who go overseas are still winding up trapped in a notorious scam park operation in Myanmar, family members told RFA Cantonese in recent interviews after petitioning the city’s leader John Lee for help.
They are joining thousands of captives who are being held at a large compound in Kayin state called KK Park, a Chinese development project that has become a notorious center for scam operations.
Thousands of human trafficking victims from all over Asia — and as far away as Africa — are being held hostage there despite some attempts at rescue by the authorities. Former victims have said they were lured in by false advertisements and forced to scam other people, then tortured if they refused to comply.
A woman who gave only the nickname Mary for fear of reprisals, who was among three people to petition Chief Executive John Lee for assistance with disappeared family members on Tuesday, said she had lost contact with her son after he traveled to Thailand at the beginning of December “for work.”
He didn’t tell his family what kind of work he had planned, and remained in touch until the point where he is believed to have entered KK Park.
Asked if she fears for her son’s life, Mary told reporters: “That’s the thing I’m most worried about.”
Mary’s son is among at least 23 Hong Kongers believed to be lured into Southeast Asian scam operations this year, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told the Legislative Council on Dec. 3. Of those, 11 have returned to Hong Kong, Tang said.
While Tang told lawmakers that some people inside KK Park were “in contact” with loved ones, and that anyone working there had “entered voluntarily,” relatives of the missing say they haven’t heard from their loved ones at all, and that they were tricked into going there while traveling to completely unrelated countries like Japan and Taiwan.
RELATED STORIES
‘Thousands’ of trafficked people held at scam casino site amid escalating violence
Plea for help from telephone scam victims falls on deaf ears among Chinese officials
61 Vietnamese rescued from Myanmar casinos
Scam centers have plagued the border areas of Thailand, Myanmar and China as nationals from all three countries are tricked into — and subsequently enslaved in — online fraud.
The businesses typically force trafficked workers to call people across Asia and convince them to deposit money in fake or fraudulent investments.
Tens of thousands involved in the criminal schemes were deported from Myanmar in 2023 by both junta and rebel army officials. Many are linked to forced labor, human trafficking and money laundering, which proliferated after COVID-19 shut down casinos across Southeast Asia.
Six new cases
Former Yau-Tsim-Mong District Council chairman Andy Yu, who has previously helped Hong Kong families with loved ones in KK Park, said he has received six new cases of family members trapped at the site in recent weeks.
“There are a lot of family members who are unable to contact their loved ones, so they are wondering why the secretary for security said that they are in contact with those trapped there,” Yu told RFA Cantonese while delivering the petition on Tuesday.
Yu said the organization that runs the park now appears to be stopping them from contacting loved ones to let them know they’re OK, after previously allowing it.
“It’s been hard for family members to reach their loved ones lately, so they don’t even know if they’re OK or not,” he said.
Another family member of a person trapped in KK Park who gave only the nickname Calvin for fear of reprisals said his relative had been lured to Myanmar after traveling to Japan in search of a job as a purchasing agent six months ago.
They were only supposed to be gone for two or three days, so by day four, Calvin reported them missing to the Hong Kong police.
He later heard from his relative that they were being held in KK Park, but he hasn’t heard anything back from the police, he told RFA Cantonese.
Promises of jobs
Yu said victims are being lured initially to Japan and Taiwan, often with the promise of a job, then taken to Thailand, then to KK Park in Myawaddy.
Ransoms have skyrocketed in recent years, he said.
“Two years ago, you could have gotten out by paying a ransom of HK$500,000-600,000 (US$64,300-77,200),” Yu said. “Now, it’s much higher, more than HK$1 million (US$129,000), and that’s if they even offer a ransom.”
“Getting out of there isn’t easy,” he said.
While staff at his office accepted the families’ petition, Chief Executive John Lee made no mention of the issue when he took questions from reporters at a regular news briefing later in the day.
A United Nations report in August 2023 said that hundreds of thousands of people have been forced by organized criminal gangs into working at illegal casinos and other online scam work in Southeast Asia.
Myanmar and Cambodia topped the list of countries where the largest numbers of citizens were being forced to carry out online scams.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Wei Sze and Edward Li for RFA Cantonese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – An annual forum between the cities of Shanghai and Taipei that is meant to promote dialogue across the Taiwan Strait has opened about six months late after tensions including unprecedented Chinese sabre-rattling raised doubts that it could be organized this year.
The Shanghai-Taipei City Forum opened in the self-ruled island’s capital on Monday with a visit by Hua Yuan, the deputy mayor of China’s largest city, presided over by Taipei’s mayor, Chiang Wan-an.
Chiang, in his opening remarks, acknowledged the recent tensions between Beijing and the island it regards as its territory and has vowed to take over by force if necessary.
Just last week, China’s military deployed what one senior Taiwan official called a “staggering” array of ships and aircraft in the seas and skies around the island in a show of force that analysts said could be aimed at setting red lines for the incoming administration in the United States, Taiwan’s main ally.
“I always say that the more tense and difficult the moment, the more we need to communicate,” Chiang told the visiting Chinese delegates at the forum.
Chiang called for talks.
“More dialogue and less confrontation; more olive branches of peace and less sour grapes of conflict. More lights from fishing boats to adorn the sunset; less of the howls of ships and aircraft,” said Chiang.
Chiang, a member of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which traditionally advocates for closer cross-strait ties while rejecting accusations it is pro-Beijing, is widely seen as a possible presidential candidate.
The forum is an annual platform for dialogue and cooperation between the two cities. Established in 2010, it serves as a semi-official channel for communication, focusing on practicalities such as economic collaboration, tourism, education, culture, and public services.
The city-to-city is seen as a useful avenue for people-to-people exchanges, especially when official cross-strait communications are limited.
Entry bans
This year’s forum was initially planned for July or August but was postponed as the tensions raised doubts about the schedule, until an agenda was finally drawn up late in the year.
The event has not been without its casualties.
As tensions surged last week with the Chinese show of force, Taiwan banned entry to Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office Director Jin Mei and nine Chinese media personnel.
Assistant Professor of Taiwan’s Shoochow University’s Department of Political Science Chen Fang-Yu told Radio Free Asia that the forum, in principle, should be a “positive event,” especially as it involves official exchanges from both sides.
“However, since 2016 China has unilaterally cut off all opportunities for official dialogue with Taiwan,” he said, adding that Taipei seemed “urged” to host the forum this year.
Chen noted that Taipei Mayor Chiang had vowed in his 2022 election campaign that the forum would only be hosted when the Chinese Communist Party stopped sending military aircraft and vessels to harass Taiwan.
“Clearly, this goal has not been met,” Chen said.
RELATED STORIES
Taiwanese rapper says he ‘took money’ from China’s United Front operatives
Taiwan warns internet celebrities on collusion after video uproar
China mobilizes ‘staggering’ naval presence in Taiwan Strait: Taipei
At the forum, Shanghai Mayor Hua called for practical cooperation between the two sides and said that Shanghai tour group trips to Taiwan would resume, although China has yet to fully restore the levels of tourism to the island seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have always been one family. We often come and go, getting closer and closer to each other,” Hua told the forum.
However, Chen warned that the offer to resume tour groups from China could be seen as a Chinese tactic to promote its pro-unification agenda.
“It feels like they are treating the reopening as some kind of favor to Taiwan,” Chen said, referring to the resumption of group tours.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu for RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
ANALYSIS: By Sione Tekiteki, Auckland University of Technology
The A$140 million aid agreement between Australia and Nauru signed last week is a prime example of the geopolitical tightrope vulnerable Pacific nations are walking in the 21st century.
The deal provides Nauru with direct budgetary support, stable banking services, and policing and security resources. In return, Australia will have the right to veto any pact Nauru might make with other countries — namely China.
The veto terms are similar to the “Falepili Union” between Australia and Tuvalu signed late last year, which granted Tuvaluans access to Australian residency and climate mitigation support, in exchange for security guarantees.
And just last week, more details emerged about a defence deal between the United States and Papua New Guinea, now revealed to be worth US$864 million.
In exchange for investment in military infrastructure development, training and equipment, the US gains unrestricted access to six ports and airports.
Also last week, PNG signed a 10-year, A$600 million deal to fund its own team in Australia’s NRL competition. In return, “PNG will not sign a security deal that could allow Chinese police or military forces to be based in the Pacific nation”.
These arrangements are all emblematic of the geopolitical tussle playing out in the Pacific between China and the US and its allies.
This strategic competition is often framed in mainstream media and political commentary as an extension of “the great game” played by rival powers. From a traditional security perspective, Pacific nations can be depicted as seeking advantage to leverage their own development priorities.
But this assumption that Pacific governments are “diplomatic price setters”, able to play China and the US off against each other, overlooks the very real power imbalances involved.
The risk, as the authors of one recent study argued, is that the “China threat” narrative becomes the justification for “greater Western militarisation and economic dominance”. In other words, Pacific nations become diplomatic price takers.
Defence diplomacy
Pacific nations are vulnerable on several fronts: most have a low economic base and many are facing a debt crisis. At the same time, they are on the front line of climate change and rising sea levels.
The costs of recovering from more frequent extreme weather events create a vicious cycle of more debt and greater vulnerability. As was reported at this year’s United Nations COP29 summit, climate financing in the Pacific is mostly in the form of concessional loans.
The Pacific is already one of the world’s most aid-reliant regions. But considerable doubt has been expressed about the effectiveness of that aid when recipient countries still struggle to meet development goals.
At the country level, government systems often lack the capacity to manage increasing aid packages, and struggle with the diplomatic engagement and other obligations demanded by the new geopolitical conditions.
In August, Kiribati even closed its borders to diplomats until 2025 to allow the new government “breathing space” to attend to domestic affairs.
In the past, Australia championed governance and institutional support as part of its financial aid. But a lot of development assistance is now skewed towards policing and defence.
Australia recently committed A$400 million to the Pacific Policing Initiative, on top of a host of other security-related initiatives. This is all part of an overall rise in so-called “defence diplomacy”, leading some observers to criticise the politicisation of aid at the expense of the Pacific’s most vulnerable people.
Lack of good faith
At the same time, many political parties in Pacific nations operate quite informally and lack comprehensive policy manifestos. Most governments lack a parliamentary subcommittee that scrutinises foreign policy.
The upshot is that foreign policy and security arrangements can be driven by personalities rather than policy priorities, with little scrutiny. Pacific nations are also susceptible to corruption, as highlighted in Transparency International’s 2024 Annual Corruption Report.
Writing about the consequences of the geopolitical rivalry in the Solomon Islands, Transparency Solomon Islands executive director Ruth Liloqula wrote:
Since 2019, my country has become a hotbed for diplomatic tensions and foreign interference, and undue influence.
Similarly, Pacific affairs expert Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva has argued the Australia–Tuvalu agreement was one-sided and showed a “lack of good faith”.
Behind these developments, of course, lies the evolving AUKUS security pact between Australia, the US and United Kingdom, a response to growing Chinese presence and influence in the “Indo-Pacific” region.
The response from Pacific nations has been diplomatic, perhaps from a sense they cannot “rock the submarine” too much, given their ties to the big powers involved. But former Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Meg Taylor has warned:
Pacific leaders were being sidelined in major geopolitical decisions affecting their region and they need to start raising their voices for the sake of their citizens.
While there are obvious advantages that come with strategic alliances, the tangible impacts for Pacific nations remain negligible. As the UN’s Asia and the Pacific progress report on sustainable development goals states, not a single goal is on track to be achieved by 2030.
Unless these partnerships are grounded in good faith and genuine sustainable development, the grassroots consequences of geopolitics-as-usual will not change.
Dr Sione Tekiteki, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Auckland University of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Representatives of the military junta and leaders of an insurgent army have been holding talks in China’s Yunnan province as Beijing leans on both sides to find a resolution to Myanmar’s civil war, sources close to the junta and the ethnic armed group told Radio Free Asia.
The negotiations in Kunming began Sunday, according to the sources who requested anonymity for security reasons. Neither the junta nor the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, have made any statements on the talks.
Lieutenant Gen. Ko Ko Oo represented the junta, along with a brigadier general and office staff, a junta source told RFA.
The talks come more than a month after junta leader Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Kunming to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a regional summit. The Nov. 6 trip marked the junta chief’s first trip to China since Myanmar’s military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat.
In August, the MNDAA captured Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city and the location of the junta’s northeast military command. Since then, Beijing has pressured the rebel army to withdraw from the city, an important commercial gateway near the Chinese border.
Over the last year, the MNDAA has also seized control of more than a half dozen towns in the area that serve as significant border trading hubs.
In October, the group’s leader, Peng Daxun, traveled to Yunnan for medical treatment and to meet with Deng Xijun, China’s special envoy for Asian Affairs.
Sources close to the MNDAA told RFA last month that he was prevented from returning to Myanmar after the meeting as a way of pressuring the group to withdraw its troops from Lashio.
A source close to the junta regime told RFA that Peng was being held at a hotel in Yunnan that’s owned by his father. China’s foreign ministry denied that he was under house arrest.
The MNDAA, which has been fighting for autonomy since before the 2021 coup, declared a cease fire on Dec. 3 and announced that it would send a high-level delegation for talks with the junta. Peng’s status or location wasn’t mentioned in the announcement.
Aim to reopen trade crossings
Discussions will likely focus on continuing the ceasefire and the reopening of border trade gates, political analyst Phoe Wa said.
“Pressure for either side to withdraw from their territories will not be accepted,” he said. “Instead, both sides are likely to reinforce their commitments to their current stronghold positions. The minimum possible agreement could involve easing the trade ban.”
The junta could request the release of soldiers captured by the MNDAA during the fight for Lashio, a former military officer and political analyst told RFA.
“The rebels have detained a significant number of junta troops, which poses a heavy burden for them,” the analyst said. “Given their limited territory and budget, providing adequate food for the prisoners of war is challenging.”
RELATED STORIES
Top Myanmar army officers seized by insurgents in Shan state, junta says
Junta chief vows to complete Myanmar census by year-end — then hold elections
Leader of rebel army detained in China’s Yunnan province
Political analyst Than Soe Naing said the junta may also ask that it be allowed to dispatch troops in towns along the Muse-Mandalay trade route, as well as in Kunlong, a border town seized by the MNDAA in November 2023.
“I believe the junta will aim to maintain control in these areas,” he told RFA. “If they can secure Kunlong, they would likely consider that sufficient. They may propose a joint administration with the local population to solidify their rule.”
RFA attempted to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Htun and a spokesperson for the MNDAA for comment but didn’t receive a response.
RFA also didn’t immediately receive a reply to an emailed request for comment sent to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar on Monday.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Yang Tengbo was officially named as the alleged Chinese spy in Prince Andrew’s entourage after a United Kingdom court lifted an anonymity order today.
Radio Free Asia first revealed Yang’s name on Friday using information contained in a newly released court document and open-source data. Along with his ties to the Duke of York, he had access to top U.K. leaders: He was photographed with two prime ministers, RFA disclosed.
Yang has been excluded from entering the United Kingdom on national security grounds since 2021 on the basis of reports from MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, that he had sought to covertly advance Beijing’s interests in London through his connections to King Charles, Andrews’ brother, as well as an array of senior British political figures.
In a statement issued Monday, Yang said he applied for the anonymity order to be lifted because of the “high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere.”
“I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue,” he said.
Last Friday, the Chinese Embassy in London described the case against Yang as the product of a campaign to “smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.K.”
Yang called himself a victim of the changing political climate.
“When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded,” he said in the statement today.
RELATED STORIES
EXCLUSIVE: Alleged Chinese spy tied to Prince Andrew is businessman Yang Tengbo
EXPLAINED: What is China’s United Front and how does it operate?
Though Yang was barred from the U.K. three years ago, his case only came to public attention on Dec. 13. He had been appealing his exclusion through the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a court established to deal with national security cases like Yang’s. The court issued its judgment rejecting his appeal at the end of last week.
The judgment identified Yang only by the codename H6. But it contained sufficient personal information – such as his exact date of birth, membership of clubs and precise details of businesses he owned – for RFA to identify him.
The judgment caused a major stir in the United Kingdom over the details of Yang’s intimate relationship with an already-embattled Prince Andrew, who was forced to retire as a working member of the royal family following revelations about his friendship with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A letter cited in the judgment from one of Andrew’s close advisers described Yang’s position in the prince’s entourage as sitting “at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
RFA reported on Friday that Yang had posed for photographs with May and Cameron. The case has sparked a renewed debate over the need to regulate and guard against foreign agents in the U.K.
A 2019 report by the Intelligence and Select Committee of the British Parliament examining political interference by Russia said acting as an undeclared agent of a foreign power should be made a criminal offense. No such law was passed. The then-chair of the committee, Dominic Grieve, told the Guardian on Saturday that Yang’s case emphasized the need for such a law.
“We remain without an important weapon in our armory,” Grieve told the Guardian.
Edited by Jim Snyder.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Investigative.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan in Hagatna, Guam
The United States is advancing the fortification of its territory closest to China with the arrival of the first Marines from Okinawa and its first interceptor missile test in Guam last week.
About 100 Marines from Japan landed on Saturday, the vanguard of about 5000 due to be relocated to Guam under a security treaty with the US.
The US successfully downed one of its own unarmed ballistic missiles last Tuesday in what will be a regular occurrence in the territory over the next decade.
The milestones come as the House of Representatives last week also passed the 2025 National Defence Authorisation Act — with more than US$2 billion in spending for Guam — that now goes to the Senate for approval.
Nicknamed the “tip of the spear” due to its proximity to China, Guam is considered a potential target in any conflict between the two nations. The island has no bomb shelters and the unprecedented military build-up continues to divide residents.
“The intensity of the build-up is overwhelming for citizens and public agencies trying to keep track and respond to military plans as they unfold,” said Robert Underwood, chairman of the Guam-based Pacific Centre for Island Security.
“A master plan is needed for understanding by all concerned. One must exist and we are not privy to it,” he told BenarNews.
Lays the groundwork
The arrival of the first troops lays the groundwork for preparing Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz to receive thousands more.
“Relocations will take place in a phased approach, and no unit headquarters will be moving during this iteration,” a US Marine Corps press release said on Saturday.
“Forward presence and routine engagement with allies and partners are essential to the United States’ ability to deter attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion and respond to crises in the region, to include providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief when necessary,” the USMC said.
Japan will pay US$2.8 billion to fund some of the infrastructure projects on Naval Base Guam, Andersen Air Force Base and Camp Blaz.
The Missile Defence Agency last Tuesday tested its Aegis system, firing off an interceptor from Andersen Air Force to down an unarmed, medium-range ballistic missile more than 200 nautical miles north-east of Guam.
“The event marked a pivotal step taken in the defence of Guam and provides critical support to the overall concept for the future Guam defence system,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing last Wednesday.
The launch was the first in a series of twice-yearly missile defence tests on Guam over the next 10 years.
16 sites planned
The US Indo-Pacific Command plans to build a missile defence system with 16 sites, touted to provide 360-degree protection for Guam.
The urgency was highlighted after China conducted a rare ballistic missile test with a dummy warhead in September. Its flight path crossed near Guam, Federated States of Micronesia and Marshall Islands before falling into the ocean in the vicinity of Kiribati.
In July, US military officials had announced that the first missile defence test was set to take place in Guam “by the end of the year,” but did not provide the exact date.
Nanette Reyes-Senior, a resident of Maina village, said she was “extremely surprised” that the MDA launched the flight test “without prior notice to the public — unless there was notice that I missed.”
Underwood has called for greater transparency about the missile defence of Guam.
“The missile testing had already been announced . . . but no specific week, let alone date was announced,” Underwood said.
With more tests to be launched in the coming years, Underwood said: “The general public should be given advanced notice and especially land owners.”
No significant impact
After public consultation earlier this year, the Missile Defence Agency decided the planned tests would not significantly impact humans or the natural environment.
President of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors Robert Celestial welcomed the US missile defense test.
“China had 23000 ballistic missiles, numerous ICBM missiles and 320 nuclear warheads. It is evident that we are preparing for war, so we should at least prepare to protect the civilian population from a nuclear attack,” he told BenarNews.
“Growing up in the 1960s we had duck-and-cover drills. I feel better prepared now than [to] suffer later.”
Guam is no stranger to war, being part of the Pacific campaign during World War II.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s visit to Guam earlier this month to strengthen ties has raised residents’ fears of the territory being further targeted in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Shelly Vargas-Calvo, a senator-elect who will assume her seat in the Guam legislature next month, said the growing tensions in the region will take Guam into the path of war.
“I applaud the successful test launch,” she said. “It is imperative to show power and capability despite having a small footprint in the region to send a message that we and our allies are not to be messed around with.”
Republished from BenarNews with permission.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
While the United States provokes conflicts across the world, China has promoted economic development, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, building infrastructure, and encouraging win-win cooperation. Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Chinese revolution.
In this episode of Geopolitical Economy Hour, Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Chinese revolution.
The post While The US Provokes Chaos, China Promotes Economic Development appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
Trigger Warning: Disturbing Visuals
A short video apparently showing a human body tied up and placed above a fire is being shared on X (formerly Twitter) as yet another incidence of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
X user Mini Razdan (@mini_razdan10) posted the video on December 12, claiming it genocide was taking place in the neighbouring country. “Hindu Gen0cide in Bangladesh …. WAKE UP HINDUS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” the post, which was later deleted, said. However, by then, it had already been viewed over 6,000 times and shared widely.
The video has also been shared with similar claims by users such as Dr JaiNath Singh (@DrJaiNathSingh3) and Sanjeev Singh (@Sanjeev26429531), among others.
Click to view slideshow.A reverse image search of some key frames from the video led us to an Instagram post by Galaxychimelong, uploaded on October 31, 2018. The location was specified in the post as Hengqin, Guangdong, China.
The Instagram post contains a video in which a similar contraption — with sets of sticks tied up vertically at two ends and another stick connecting them horizontally with logs of wood placed underneath it — can be seen. The video also shows a man rotating a handle from one end and the human-like figure tied to the horizontal stick rotates with it.
On investigating further, we found a YouTube video uploaded on October 27, 2018, by travel vlogger SviatMe. The video was titled “Halloween Party at Chimelong Ocean Park, Zhuhai, China” and we can see similar visuals as the viral post from the 5:26-minute mark in the video.
We are not embedding the video here in view of its graphic nature.
Click to view slideshow.Based on this, it seems like the human-like figure is merely a prop used for Halloween celebrations.
Taking cue from this, we ran another keyword search. This led us to a fact-check report by an Indonesia-based anti-hoax portal, posted on December 28, 2019. Turns out this isn’t first time the video has gone viral with a false claim. In 2019, the video was widely shared with rumours that it showed a restaurant in Nigeria serving human flesh.
The Indonesian outlet’s report debunking that claim also corroborates that the clip was actually from a Halloween party in October 2018 at China’s Chimelong Ocean Park.
Thus, the video recently viral on X is neither from Bangladesh nor does it show brutality against the Hindu minorities there. The video is from a Halloween party in China in 2018, where a human-like figure was used as a prop.
The post Video of burning Halloween prop in China shared as ‘Hindu genocide’ in Bangladesh appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Several times a year, the U.S. Defense Department launches ballistic missiles from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. These ballistic missiles are generally intercepted by missiles launched 4,200 miles away from the Ronald Reagan Missile test range located in the Marshall Islands.
U.S. officials said the recent U.S. missile test launch was just part of routine and periodic activities to reassure U.S. allies that its nuclear deterrent “is safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter 21st-century threats.” However, several days ago, on December 10, 2024, Guam became an even bigger military target in the Pacific with the activation of a missile intercept site.
The post Guam Becomes An Even Bigger Military Target appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
Congress has just passed a new bill that will see the U.S. spend huge sums of money redesigning much of the public school system around the ideology of anti-communism. The “Crucial Communism Teaching Act” is now being read in the Senate, where it is all but certain to pass. The move comes amid growing public anger at the economic system and increased public support for socialism.
The Crucial Communism Teaching Act, in its own words, is designed to teach children that “certain political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism…conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that are essential to the founding of the United States.”
The post Congress Revives Cold War Tactics With New Anti-Communism Curriculum appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
Panelists and attendees championed the cause of sovereignty, modernization, and South-South cooperation at the Global South Academic Forum in Shanghai from December 5–6. Over 250 guests from 35 countries and regions attended the forum, whose theme was “Global South and Global Modernization.”
The forum was hosted by East China Normal University (ECNU) and organized by the institution’s School of Communication and Fudan University’s Institute for Global Communication and Integrated Media. Co-organizers included Fudan University’s School of Journalism and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Media and Communication.
The post Sovereignty, Modernization, And Cooperation Championed At Global South Forum In Shanghai appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
The verdict by a Hong Kong court has generated widespread criticism after it found seven people — including former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting — guilty of “rioting” when they tried to stop white-clad men wielding sticks from attacking passengers at a subway station in 2019.
Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, who like Lam is a member of the Democratic Party, accusing authorities of “rewriting history.”
“It’s a false accusation and part of a totally fabricated version of history that Hong Kong people don’t recognize,” Hui told RFA Cantonese after the verdict was announced on Dec. 12.
“How does the court see the people of Hong Kong?” he asked. “How can they act like they live in two separate worlds?”
The District Court found Lam and six others guilty of “taking part in a riot” by as dozens of thugs in white T-shirts rained blows down on the heads of unarmed passengers — including their own — using rattan canes and wooden poles at Yuen Long station on July 21, 2019.
Lam, one of the defendants in the subversion trial of 47 activists for holding a democratic primary, is also currently serving a 6-years-and-9-month prison sentence for “conspiracy to subvert state power.”
While the defense argued that the men were defending themselves against the thugs, the prosecution said they had “provoked” the attacks and used social media to incite people to turn up and defend against the men.
Letters of thanks
The verdict came despite Lam and former District Councilor Sin Cheuk-lam having received letters from the Hong Kong Police thanking them for their role in the incident.
Sentencing in the trial, which began in October 2023, is expected on Feb. 27, with mitigation hearings set for Jan. 22.
A conviction for rioting carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, although the District Court is limited to handing out sentences of no more than seven years.
Issuing his verdict on Dec. 12, Judge Stanley Chan said he didn’t believe that Lam had using his standing as a Legislative Councilor to mediate the conflict or monitor the police response, and accused him of trying to take advantage of the situation for his own political benefit.
Felt numb
A victim of the attacks who is now overseas and gave only the pseudonym Galileo for fear of reprisals said he felt numb when he heard Thursday’s verdict, as he had felt the result to be inevitable amid an ongoing crackdown on public dissent in Hong Kong.
“I used a fire extinguisher and sprayed water [during the attacks],” Galileo said, adding that he and journalist Gwyneth Ho were “beaten several times.”
“I was panicky and scared, and my instinct was to protect myself and others,” he said.
According to Galileo, Lam’s actions likely protected others from also being attacked.
“I felt that his presence made everyone feel calmer, because he was a member of the Legislative Council at the time,” he said of Lam’s role in the incident. “He kept saying the police were coming, and everyone believed him, so they waited, but the police never came.”
Police were inundated with emergency calls from the start of the attacks, according to multiple contemporary reports, but didn’t move in until 39 minutes after the attacks began.
In a recent book about the protests, former Washington Post Hong Kong correspondent Shibani Mahtani and The Atlantic writer Timothy McLaughlin wrote that the Hong Kong authorities knew about the attacks in advance.
Members of Hong Kong’s criminal underworld “triad” organizations had been discussing the planned attack for days on a WhatsApp group that was being monitored by a detective sergeant from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the book said.
Chased and beaten
According to multiple accounts from the time, Lam first went to Mei Foo MTR station to warn people not to travel north to Yuen Long, after dozens of white-clad thugs were spotted assembling at a nearby chicken market.
When live footage of beatings started to emerge, Lam called the local community police sergeant and asked him to dispatch officers to the scene as soon as possible, before setting off himself for Yuen Long to monitor the situation in person.
On arrival, he warned some of the attackers not to “do anything,” and told people he had called the police. Eventually, the attackers charged, and Lam and others were chased and beaten all the way onto a train.
One of the people shown in that early social media footage was chef Calvin So, who displayed red welts across his back following beatings by the white-clad attackers.
So told RFA Cantonese on Friday: “The guys in white were really beating people, and injured some people … I don’t understand because Lam Cheuk-ting’s side were spraying water at them and telling people to leave.”
He described the verdict as “ridiculous,” adding: “But ridiculous things happen every day in Hong Kong nowadays.”
Erosion of judicial independence
In a recent report on the erosion of Hong Kong judicial independence amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent that followed the 2019 protests, law experts at Georgetown University said the city’s courts now have to “tread carefully” now that the ruling Chinese Communist Party has explicitly rejected the liberal values the legal system was built on.
RELATED STORIES
EXPLAINED: What is the Article 23 security law in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong police ‘knew about’ Yuen Long mob attacks beforehand
EXPLAINED: Who are the Hong Kong 47?
Nowadays, Hong Kong’s once-independent courts tend to find along pro-Beijing lines, particularly in politically sensitive cases, according to the December 2024 report, which focused on the impact of a High Court injunction against the banned protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong.”
“In our view, at least some judges are issuing pro-regime verdicts in order to advance their careers,” said the report, authored by Eric Lai, Lokman Tsui and Thomas Kellogg.
“The government’s aggressive implementation of the National Security Law has sent a clear signal to individual judges that their professional advancement depends on toeing the government’s ideological line, and delivering a steady stream of guilty verdicts.”
Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Luk Nam Choi and Edward Li for RFA Cantonese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Updated Dec. 13, 2024, 7:40p.m. ET
A businessman with close ties to Prince Andrew who has been banned from entry into the U.K. is a longtime operative who did little to hide his ties to Beijing.
RFA can identify the man who served as a business advisor to the Duke of York as Yang Tengbo, a director of the consultancy Hampton Group International, based on details revealed in the immigration judgment against him, as well as evidence gathered from open source intelligence that corroborates information released by the U.K. court.
Yang is listed as a director of the London-based group, which was known to have gained connections to top U.K. government officials as early as in 2020, including Prince Andrew.
The judgment from the Special Immigration Appeals Tribunal made public Friday determined that a Chinese national, codenamed H6, should be barred from entering the U.K. on national security grounds, as he is alleged to have plotted to secretly advance Beijing’s interest in Britain using his ties to high profile figures.
H6 was born on March 21, 1974 and founded a U.K. company in 2005 that changed its name in 2020, according to the ruling.
While the judgement does not name the company, Yang Tengbo shares H6’s birthdate and founded Newland UK Ltd in 2005, which changed its name in 2020 to Hampton Group International Ltd, according to Companies House.
An emailed enquiry to the Hampton Group on Friday returned a message that the group’s server would not accept emails from RFA.
The judgment also noted that H6 was an honorary member of a Sino-British business association, the 48 Group Club, which describes itself as the product of the “first western trade delegation to the newly formed People’s Republic of China” in 1954.
The club’s founder was made an honorary red guard member by Mao Zedong and today the organization is frequently lauded in Chinese media. It was accused of acting as a conduit for the Chinese state to “groom” senior British businessmen and political figures, in “Hidden Hand” a 2020 book by Australian researchers looking at covert Chinese influence worldwide.
The club has previously insisted that it acts only in the U.K.’s national interest and tried to block the publication of the book.
Yang can be found among the honorary members in an archived “who’s who” page from 2022, where he is listed as “Mr Chris Yang, Chairman, Hampton Group.”
In an email, the board of the 48 Group Club told RFA that Yang held only an honorary membership and “has never had any involvement with the work of the 48 Group.” They added that his membership had been rescinded in light of the allegations against him.
Yang’s name has not been published in the U.K. press, despite numerous identifying details about him in the judgment. There is a temporary anonymity order appended to the judgement.
When asked by RFA, the U.K.’s Home Office would not confirm the identity of H6 or the reason for the order.
Other details from the judgment include the assertion that H6 was working for the United Front Works Department – an arm of the Chinese government that seeks to promote its political, economic and social agenda abroad. Such efforts range from using Chinese nationals and sympathizers to broadcast Beijing-friendly talking points to gathering personal information about people of interest.
Yang has frequently and publicly echoed the points United Front advances and had ties to the central government he did not hide, although the judgement notes that he “deliberately obscured his links with the Chinese State, the CCP and the UFWD” in interviews with U.K. authorities.
In 2022, he was photographed attending the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC, in Beijing, where he was also interviewed by the state media outlet China Daily. The CPPCC is the leading body in China’s United Front system.
The China Daily quotes Yang as praising China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a vast project of exporting Chinese-funded infrastructure projects abroad.
“As an overseas Chinese businessman in the U.K., I have actively participated in the “Belt and Road” initiative since it was proposed. China-U.K. cooperation in third-party markets is showing new characteristics of effectively reducing the risk of conflict and promoting harmonious regional development,” he said.
In a filmed 2019 interview with Europe Daily News, a Chinese media outlet registered in France widely reported to be a United Front organization, Yang gives his biography to the camera, telling the reporter that he went to the U.K. in 2002 to study at a public administration school. After graduation, he started in the tourism industry to generate cash flow, he says. Those biographical details are echoed in the court judgement.
“Between 2007 and 2012, China experienced a strong trend of ‘going out’,” he says in the video interview. “We helped domestic enterprises [and] State-owned enterprises expand internationally, starting from tourism and moving into the conference and public relations industries.”
“In 2013, British companies began expressing interest in entering the Chinese market, so our group pivoted to strategic consulting,” Yang continues. “Next, we plan to transform into an investment group.”
He also reveals that “in 2017, through a very unexpected opportunity, a prince entrusted us with bringing this project to China.” The “prince” appears to refer to Prince Andrew and the project appears to be the Pitch@Palace program, an initiative by the prince to connect entrepreneurs seeking funding to wealthy investors.
When asked what was different about making friends with princes and high-ranking figures, Yang replies: “Trust is the most important thing.”
The judgement notes that MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, considered that H6 “poses a risk to U.K. national security.”
Prince Andrew’s office issued a statement Friday evening insisting that he had “ceased all contact” with the alleged Chinese spy following advice from the U.K. government.
“Nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed” with Yang, he said, adding that he was “unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
Besides Prince Andrew, Yang appears to have had access to the top echelons of British society. A profile of Yang that aired on CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster, features a shot of his desk, upon which sits a photo of him with former prime minister Theresa May and another with former prime minister David Cameron.
Beijing has long defended the United Front, saying the group aims primarily to improve national prosperity and happiness, and calling claims of espionage or infiltration “conspiracy theories.
Such language was echoed in a press statement issued on Friday, in which the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London denounced the judgement as the product of a campaign to “smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.K.”
“Some on the British side repeatedly use China’s United Front work as a pretext to accuse China of wrongdoing, discredit China’s political system, and undermine normal exchanges and cooperation between China and the U.K. Such sinister plots will never succeed,” the spokesperson said.
“We urge the relevant parties in the U.K. to immediately stop creating trouble, stop spreading the “China threat” narrative, and stop undermining normal exchanges between China and the U.K.,” they added.
Yang could not be reached for comment.
Updated to add comment in from the 48 Group.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Investigative.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu
Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from earlier in the year. For more information please head to theguardian.com. We’ll be back with new episodes soon.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu
Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from earlier in the year. For more information please head to theguardian.com. We’ll be back with new episodes soon.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington, his incoming White House press secretary said Thursday.
Karoline Leavitt told the hosts of Fox and Friends that inauguration officials are making plans for other foreign dignitaries to attend too.
Her comments confirmed an earlier report by CBS News, which quoted sources as saying that Trump invited Xi in early November, shortly after the election, adding that it was unclear what’s Xi’s response was.
Xi has said he’s ready to work with the Trump administration, but has also warned that both countries stand to “lose from confrontation,” as Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of at least 60% on Chinese imports.
If confirmed, the invitation to Xi would be unprecedented, as foreign leaders haven’t attended U.S. presidential inauguration ceremonies since 1874, but could offer China the chance to negotiate with the new president, who recently nominated several China hawks to top foreign policy positions, analysts told RFA Mandarin.
According to CBS, Hungary’s far-right leader Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, described by the station as having “a warm relationship with Trump,” has yet to respond to his invitation.
“World leaders are lining up to meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to power and restore peace through American strength around the globe,” the station quoted Leavitt as saying.
RELATED STORIES
More China trade ‘hawks’ among Trump’s top State Department picks
Trade and tariffs to dominate US-China ties under Trump
China expecting harder times after Trump victory
The report comes after Trump nominated outspoken China critic Marco Rubio for his Secretary of State, Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida for national security adviser, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump then announced on Dec. 9 he had picked three China trade hawks for top roles at the State Department, including Michael Anton, who has previously argued it is not in U.S. interests to defend Taiwan from an invasion by China.
‘Preferring one-to-one summits’
But Li Da-Jong, director of the Institute of International Affairs and Strategy at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, told RFA Mandarin, the invitation to Xi, if confirmed, wasn’t an indicator of a more pro-China foreign policy than had previously been expected.
“If Trump made a formal invitation to Xi Jinping from the outset … it’s not a sign of weakness, of compromise, or a concession to China,” Li said. “It’s in line with his past style of preferring one-to-one summits … leader-to-leader, to create the political energy to break through the status quo.”
Ming-shih Shen of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research said Trump considers Xi a personal friend, and the reported invitation would seem natural from that perspective.
He said Xi is very unlikely to accept any invitation, however.
“Given the current situation in China, and the People’s Liberation Army’s large-scale exercises in the Taiwan Strait and Western Pacific right now, I don’t think Xi would go anyway,” Shen said.
“The main question would be who does represent China, which could be the vice president or another member of the Politburo Standing Committee,” he said, adding that he believes Trump’s stated policy of imposing 60% tariffs on Chinese imports across the board is an opening gambit for negotiations, rather than a final policy.
“China will act tough and declare that it won’t comply, but it will devalue the yuan to protect trade,” Shen said. “China often appears to draw a line in the sand, but then makes concessions.”
Taiwan issue
Yi-feng Tao, associate professor of politics at National Taiwan University said China could also stop short of bringing Taiwan into any negotiations with Trump.
“Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is a high consensus issues across the United States, and also across all of the U.S.’ allies and Asia-Pacific countries,” Tao told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “So Beijing may not directly touch on that issue in a moderate interaction with Trump.”
He said China will more likely continue to reiterate its core interests, particularly the “thorny issue” of tariffs and high-tech bans.
Reuters reported on Thursday that two senior members of Taiwan’s government are in the United States to meet people connected to Trump’s transition team, in a bid to establish ties with the incoming administration.
Lin Fei-fan and Hsu Szu-chien, both deputy secretaries-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council and several of their staff are in Washington for meetings through this week, the agency cited multiple sources as saying.
Their visit came as China deployed an “unprecedented number” of naval vessels in the Taiwan Strait and announced extensive reserved airspace zones in a display of its capability to project power into the Pacific, a senior Taiwanese defense official said on Wednesday.
The show of force, which has yet to include any military exercises, comes days after Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, visited the U.S. state of Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam during a tour to reinforce ties with the island’s Pacific allies.
One-China principle
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the United States not to do anything to undermine Beijing’s territorial claim on Taiwan, which it terms the “one-China principle.”
“China’s position on the Taiwan issue is consistent and clear,” Mao told a regular news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. “We urge the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle … handle the Taiwan issue prudently, and not send any wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
Taiwan has never been ruled by Beijing, nor formed part of the People’s Republic of China, and is formally governed by the Republic of China government formed after the 1911 fall of the Qing Dynasty under Sun Yat-sen, that later fled to Taipei after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists on the mainland.
While China insists on eventual “unification” with Taiwan, by armed invasion if necessary, the majority of Taiwan’s 23 million people have no wish to give up their democratic way of life to submit to Chinese rule.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Huang Chun-mei for RFA Mandarin.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.