This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
-
Gaza is entering its second winter under attack from Israel, and talks to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appear to have stalled yet again. For more on efforts to end the war and secure the release of captives on both sides, we speak with veteran Israeli negotiator Gershon Baskin, who has acted as a backchannel to Hamas leaders in the current and previous conflicts. “We need to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the agenda again and make sure this is the last war we fight,” says Baskin.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Read this story on BenarNews
SYDNEY — The United States will spend more than $864 million on infrastructure and military training in Papua New Guinea over 10 years under a defense deal signed between the two nations in 2023, PNG’s foreign minister has said.
No figure putting a value on the agreement has previously been publicly released.
The size of the package reflects increasing U.S. security engagement with Pacific island nations as it seeks to counter China’s inroads in the vast ocean region.
The proposed investment is part of a defense cooperation agreement, signed in May 2023, that gives the U.S. military “unimpeded access” to develop and deploy forces from six ports and airports, including the Lombrum Naval Base.
Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, left, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby, April 20, 2024. “The agreement is over 3.5 billion [kina] in investment in infrastructure development, training, equipment for the benefit of security in our region,” PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said in a speech on Monday in the Australian city of Sydney.
“It shows you the commitment that the United States now has directly with PNG. Before they used to allow Australia, for example, to look after the region. Now, the United States has taken the lead itself to deal with our Pacific island countries.”
A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy Port Moresby said the agreement “does not have a dollar amount associated with it,” but was aimed at addressing shared defense and security challenges.
In PNG’s 2025 national budget, released last month, 441.9 million kina (US$109.2 million) was set aside for defense spending, which is projected to fall to around 400 million kina in the coming years.
Australia has for decades been PNG’s leading security partner under a bilateral program that contributed US$31.8 million in 2022–23, according to the Australia Army Research Center.
The poor state of PNG defense forces has been a long-running concern for both the PNG and Australian governments.
Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific islands program at the Lowy Institute, said the amount suggested by Tkatchenko was substantial, and would be “commensurate with PNG’s scale as by far the largest Pacific country” and the high level of external support needed for security and law enforcement.
But he said it was important not to lose sight of the scope and scale of Australian assistance to PNG over the last few decades.
“The U.S.’s recent contributions, though laudable, don’t really compare,” he told BenarNews. “And there’s the question of how much of what the U.S. has announced will it be able to actually get through Congress and will we see on the ground in PNG or elsewhere in the Pacific.
“Given both Australia and the U.S. have security agreements with PNG, all three countries will be coordinating on national and regional security very closely into the future.”
Although Donald Trump’s election victory has prompted questions around the world about whether the U.S. will be a less reliable ally, Tkatchenko said he was confident the defense relationship would endure.
“We would like to ensure that the DCA continues because the work has already started,” he said. “Runways are being constructed, wharfs are being constructed. Fuel storage facilities are now being constructed as we speak, and many, many other programs.”
PNG, the most populous Pacific island country, is rich in natural resources and strategically located with “one foot in Southeast Asia and one foot in the Pacific,” Tkatchenko said.
Its proximity to Guam – the main U.S. military hub in the Western Pacific – and Australia also makes it a critical point from which American forces and material can be staged and deployed in the event of a regional conflict, including in East Asia.
The 15-year defense cooperation agreement allows for the transit, maintenance and refueling of U.S. aircraft and vessels, and prepositioning of personnel and disaster relief materials. Some facilities identified in the deal, or parts of them, can be used exclusively by U.S. forces, which have permission to refurbish them.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape shakes hands with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Port Moresby, July 27, 2023. During a visit to Port Morseby last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington is not seeking a permanent military base in the country. But America’s security footprint is growing.
Ann Marie Yastishock, the U.S. ambassador to PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, said defense exercises in the Pacific nation had increased by 25% between 2023-24, from four to five.
Visits by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels to PNG’s waters had grown by 27% over the same period, from 11 to 14, she said at the same investment event in Sydney.
The U.S. military had also finished building a bunkhouse at Igam Barracks, near Lae, and would award three more small-scale infrastructure projects this year, with work to begin in 2025.
“We will continue to exercise with the Papua New Guinea Defense Force in bilateral and multilateral exercises,” she said. “We also have additional plans of small incremental increases in Department of Defense personnel in the country, as well as looking for additional training opportunities.”
Following decades of neglect, U.S. interest in the Pacific was galvanized in early 2022 after Beijing and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact. Washington and allies such as Canberra feared it could lead to a Chinese military presence in a region they consider crucial to their defense and security.
China has also emerged as a key development partner for many economically-lagging Pacific nations as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and reshape global institutions in its favor.
Beijing was “a friend of PNG” and an important economic partner, Tkatchenko said, but “at the end of the day … we keep to our traditional security partners.”
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Harry Pearl for BenarNews.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Indonesia’s foreign minister on Monday responded to concerned lawmakers that a recent joint maritime development deal with China did not recognize Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, but analysts said his explanations were a weak justification for a serious error.
A joint statement issued after a meeting last month in Beijing between new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries had reached an “important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims.”
However, Jakarta had consistently rejected China’s sweeping claims in the contested South China Sea, which encroaches into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of the Natuna islands.
During a parliamentary hearing on Monday, Indonesian legislator Sukamta said these Chinese claims, which are represented on its maps by a so-called nine-dash line, are changed by Beijing as it pleases.
“Previously it was nine dashes, now it’s 10,” said the legislator who goes by one name.
“We must be firm in asserting our rights. … Without clear boundaries, we risk being manipulated by China,” he said.
Sukamta called for more clarity on the geographical scope of the development agreement mentioned in the text of the joint statement issued after Prabowo met with Xi.
China’s claims in the South China Sea overlap those of five Asian nations and Taiwan.
And in what many analysts back then saw as a political message, Jakarta in 2017 renamed the southern reaches of the South China Sea the North Natuna Sea to emphasize its sovereignty over those waters encompassing natural gas fields.
Another Indonesian lawmaker, Farah Puteri Nahlia, echoed Sukamta’s concerns.
“We all understand that China is Indonesia’s key trading partner, but we should not become overly dependent,” Farah said.
“What steps will the foreign ministry take to ensure we maintain our non-aligned stance? We must aim for not only free trade but fair trade, while safeguarding our EEZ amidst these tensions.”
Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) patrol boat KN Tanjung Datu-301 (left) and Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sutedi Senoputra (right) shadow the China Coast Guard (CCG) 5402 ship to expel it from the North Natuna Sea in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, Oct. 21, 2024. Already, during the first week of Prabowo’s presidency in October, Indonesian naval and coast guard ships confronted and expelled a Chinese coast guard ship from its EEZ in the North Natuna Sea on three occasions.
China has in recent years also opposed Indonesia’s oil and gas exploration activities in its EEZ.
This agreement comes amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea region, a crucial maritime route for global commerce.
‘50% of nothing is still nothing’
Foreign Minister Sugiono responded to lawmakers’ concerns saying that the joint statement did not recognize China’s nine-dash line.
“The text itself is clear – it does not imply any such recognition,” Sugiono, who goes by one name, told lawmakers.
“The specifics, including the locations and terms of the cooperation, have not yet been defined. This is merely a preliminary agreement and the details will be worked out later.”
He also said joint cooperation was President Prabowo’s plan “as part of efforts to reduce tensions and maximize resource utilization,” and had been discussed with leaders of neighboring countries.
“The core principle is that President Prabowo has directed us to enhance cooperation with our neighboring countries for mutual benefit, while upholding Indonesia’s sovereignty,” Sugiono said.
He said Indonesia’s position on sovereignty remained unchanged, noting that the joint development agreement would be guided by international law and Indonesia’s interests.
“Indonesia’s stance remains unchanged, as do the positions of its neighbors. However, the principle stands: 50% of nothing is still nothing,” Sugiono further said.
“If there is no way to derive benefit from these resources for our nation’s interests, it is better to collaborate while strictly adhering to fundamental principles and maintaining sovereignty.”
‘Little room for multiple interpretations’
For foreign policy analyst Mohamad Rosyidin, these explanations from Sugiono did not explain the crux of the problem – why the joint statement included the phrase “overlapping claims.”
“The statement is merely an excuse for the blunder in the joint statement. It’s unlikely the government will admit to that mistake,” Rosyidin, of Diponegoro University, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.
“Just because we want to collaborate with China in the South China Sea doesn’t mean Indonesia should shift from a rule-based approach to pragmatism.”
The Indonesian government should remain consistent with the nation’s stance on the South China Sea, he said.
“The real problem is that Chinese vessels frequently enter Natuna waters. However, this does not mean there is an overlapping claim; it is a violation of sovereignty by China.”
Another international relations analyst, Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, concurred.
“I am among those who believe there is little room for multiple interpretations of the joint statement between President Prabowo and President Xi Jinping regarding overlapping claims,” he told BenarNews.
“Regardless of how it is responded to or justified, I see the initial phrasing in the agreement as a concession by Indonesia, yielding or compromising with China.”
He said the problematic text could have an effect on Indonesia, if not immediately then in the near future.
“Whether intentional or not is a secondary matter. Intentional or not, there will be impacts on Indonesia’s sovereign rights. … especially if there are no serious efforts for reversal through follow-up measures or statements,” he said.
Such a concession may ease any tensions between Indonesia and China, but it strengthens Beijing’s hand and gives the impression Jakarta is yielding to the major power, he said.
“Currently, the foreign minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in damage-control mode. The potential for conflict and unilateral claims are two sides of the same coin,” he said.
“The only positive aspect is that the initiative has not yet materialized, as mentioned by the foreign minister.”
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
You’ve made so much music with so many different people, including your new solo album. Is there a certain attitude you bring that is consistent throughout?
I’m going to go with an Albini quote. At Electrical Audio, the studio in Chicago [founded by Albini], they have a no-asshole policy. I think that’s probably a creative philosophy. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, because it’s a good first policy to think about even before you begin to think about other creative aspects of [of a project].
I think that’s a good policy no matter what you’re doing.
Sure, but it’s easy. I can think, “Well, they’re probably having a bad day,” or “Yeah, they can be…” It’s a whole group of people up there at Electrical Audio. They have two studios running. Steve doesn’t do every session. The way they book the bands, anybody can come in—it’s cool. Nobody has to be uber-professional. I could see why it really does help to be able to say, “Okay, we can rein in these contacts and the people that we’re going to be interfacing with here. The first thing is just no assholes.” When you think of it like that, it’s just a really good policy. I like that.
I used to go up there and say, “Oh my god, these people are so great. You know who’s great? This intern is so very cool.” Albini would say, “We have a no-asshole policy. That’s why.” It’s like, “Oh, yeah. Right.”
You worked with Albini on your new record, and you’ve worked with him in many different contexts in the past. Sadly, he passed recently. Why was he your go-to guy over the decades?
There’s an aesthetic, choices that he prefers and I prefer that work well together. If I go out and sing something in the studio and I want to come back and listen, there shouldn’t be reverb just put on it willy-nilly for no reason. If there is, I’ll say, “Can I hear it without reverb to see what’s there?” And it shouldn’t even be talked about like that. He knows that.
It’s more of the ideal that I’m trying to focus on, not the “Some people do this, and I don’t like that.” There’s also something else that he does that is good, and it drives me nuts, because he’s right all the time. Well, not all the time, but most of the time. When I’m singing, I have a tendency to go, “Can I re-sing that? The word got caught it in my throat.” There are all these things that I hear that [affect my] expectation of what should have just happened.
Of course, he doesn’t have that expectation. He’s just listening to it. It sounds fine to him. “Is it? I don’t think it’s in pitch.” He’ll say, “I don’t know what pitch is. I don’t know if it’s out of pitch or not. Sounds good to me.” I’ll say, “Can we punch this word in? It really drives me crazy, that smacking sound that I’ve just done. It’s just weird the way the word came out.” He does the punch, and now I didn’t have the right breath or the right closeness to the mic, so it just sounds different. I’ve made a black spot on the couch, and now we’re going to spend this much time trying to clean the black spot, and it wasn’t even that big of a deal to begin with. So, yeah—his ability to look at something and just appreciate that it was done. “You did it. That’s how it sounded, and it’s good.” That’s a good thing for me to hear.
I know from talking with him that he was a no-nonsense, straight-to-business kind of person. He liked to get in there and get the job done. Are you that way as well, or do you like to experiment more?
It’s not like I want to experiment, but in my mind’s ear I hear something, so that’s the direction I’m going for. Now, he can’t hear my mind’s ear. I can talk and I try to be transparent because if he’s not getting something or somebody’s not getting something, it’s because of my lack of communication. I need to explain it better, because most of the time, people just want to help out.
I remember I wanted to get some feedback on an amp, and he was just being weird, not wanting to do it, or something. I ended up getting it, but you could tell he didn’t want to spend the time. He was better alone when I was doing solo stuff. As a solo person bringing stuff to him, he was more relaxed about it because it could be anything. I just drove up five hours from Dayton, and he’ll say, “What do you want to do today, Kim?” He has no idea. He’s a recording engineer. He’s not a producer. He has no idea what we’re doing.
“I want to play drums.” “Okay, do you want [recording rooms] Alcatraz, Kentucky, or Center Field?” “I want Kentucky.” So, he opened up and he knew we were going to do all sorts of things, so he was willing to do more. I trained him to do it, because he knew I would never back off until we did it that way. But then when we did it, he really would say, “Oh, I see. That makes sense now when you put it all together like that.” On a weird song like “Spark,” on [the Breeders’ 2008 album] Mountain Battles, that’s just such a weird thing, and it’s hard to explain what I’m going to do. Then you just have to do it, whether you like it or not. Which I think he did, probably. It reminded him of something.
John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame wrote your bio for the new album. He’s such a talented guy, obviously, but why was he your choice for this?
Back in the day, the East Los Breeders—that’s when we had Mando Lopez and José [Medeles] from East Los Angeles in the band—learned [the song] “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” We had the guitar player singing it, and we did that live at a Breeders show. I think John just heard that we did it and came to a Breeders show at the Bowery in New York City. He stage-dived, but nobody caught him, of course. He landed on the ground, and we became friends. There’s even a photograph of him about ready to hit the ground. We wanted to make t-shirts and sell them. We thought that would be fun, so we’ve been friends ever since. He comes to visit in Dayton. He’s a dear friend.
You’ve put out solo material before, but Nobody Loves You More is your first official full-length album. Was that a daunting prospect for you at all? Obviously, you’ve made tons of albums. But this is the first one with your name on it.
With my name on it, yeah. I mean, I’m from the Midwest. I like rock bands. Nazareth, Outlaws, UFO. I only liked bands, so I only wanted to do bands. It was weird. After [the Breeders’ 1993 album] Last Splash and the Amps, then I worked with the East Los Angeles guys, but I was also doing Pixies. I did one last Pixies tour called The Lost Cities Tour, the last tour we were to do, and then I had no band.
José, the drummer for the East Los guys, moved to Portland, Oregon, and he started a gorgeous drum shop called Revival, and had a kid. In 2011, he said, “You want me to come out with the kid and rehearse for three weeks?” Then I went to Los Angeles and did some solo recording. José’s drumming on some of it. I met another drummer out there, and I started putting out these 7-inches. I think the gateway drug was the first 7-inch. At one point, I did a song and thought, “This should be an album track.” Then everything after that followed in that path.
My favorite song on the album is “Crystal Breath,” which I understand was originally written as a theme song for the TV show Physical—and rejected. Rejection is pretty much built into the creative life, so I was hoping you could talk about that experience a little bit.
It was an odd thing to be asked. I wasn’t really into it at first. TV theme? They don’t really do TV themes, do they? That’s weird. Then they said that Rose Byrne was the actress in it, and I’m like, “I’ll do anything you want me to do if she’s in it.” So, I tried. I didn’t take the rejection as that bad because they just went in a different direction. They started using material from the ’80s, from the time period of the show, so it’s not like they [hired somebody else] or anything. There’s been other rejections that were harder. That wasn’t that hard because it felt like they just declined, and they were going to go a different way. But I do talk about failure on this record.
If the album had a theme, that would be it.
I’m intrigued by it. There’s something about George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and those outlaw country guys where they were living in bravado and they’re just manly men. Then they’re aging and you see the toll that it’s taken on their existence spiritually and physically—the liver enzymes making their eyes a little yellow—and they’re on their third wife and they’re just older. There’s something so sweet about it and so endearing.
I think maybe to try things, it’s worth the failure. To me, failure reads as: At least you fucking tried it, even if you got fucking beat up because you were in the fight to try something. There’s something really sweet and endearing about somebody who got their ass kicked. They were out there trying. I can relate to that in some capacity, because it’s speaking to me. I don’t know why. I can look at all the little failures of my life, but that’s not what I think about. I read it as, “Oh, you look so cool all beat up.”
The album artwork was designed by Alex Da Corte, and it’s based on the story of another artist, Bas Jan Ader. [In 1975], Bas decided he’s going to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat, in search of the miraculous. His wife takes this photograph of him, and he’s never seen again. They just find the washed-up sticks of his boat. I just think, “Wow, that’s some fucking committed shit right there.” The guy went for it and failed miserably. So, the album cover is me on the boat—the doomed voyage.
You’ve used various pseudonyms over the years—”Mrs. John Murphy” on the first couple of Pixies releases, “Tammy Ampersand” with the Amps. Why did you do that, and how is it related to your artistic identity on those records?
Back in the day—I’m talking like ‘87 or whatever—it’s super spandex and big looks, right? Just before that, you had bands like Asia and Styx. It just didn’t seem very tough or cool to me. With punk, there was John Doe [of X], Poison Ivy [of the Cramps] and, of course, Iggy. It’s like all the cool people, they didn’t need to put their name on it. Who gives a shit, right?
I thought it was cool, so we started talking about it. I think [Pixies guitarist] Joe [Santiago] went with “Joey,” and we made fun like [drummer] David [Lovering] could be David Sticks Lover, but he didn’t do it. And then Charles was Black Francis. I was working at a doctor’s office at the time. Somebody called up for an appointment, and I said, “Okay, let me get your chart, Ethel.” She responded, “My name is not Ethel. My name is Mrs. David Smith.” So, I’m like, “Oh, god—fantastic.” She’s so old-school that her power and respect can only be conferred to her by her husband’s name. Using another person’s identity. But at the same time, I’m not showing her respect by talking to her as her own person. That’s when I was like, “I want to be Mrs. John Murphy on the record.”
How much of that do you think was a form of ego death? Like you said, all these people didn’t feel the need to have their names on their records. They didn’t need the credit for their self-esteem.
Yeah, that’s true. I think that’s probably one of the positives of that period of time. I’m not saying that all of those people in bands being played on college radio stations didn’t have egos. They had huge egos, just like any other fucking Asia guy. But [using fake names] was definitely the style of the time, anyway. It seemed cool. It seemed dumb to do it any other way, but then I think it became an actual style, and it became a trend. Bands were actually writing fake labels on the back of their records. They would be on Universal, but they would be like, “We’re on Blackmore Records. It’s a small indie,” because it was uncool for people to even be on major. All these huge record labels would start these smaller labels so the bands they signed could opt out of having the big-name label on the back of their records. Being on a major label meant you were selling out.
You’ve worked in different contexts with your twin sister Kelley over the years. You often sing together, achieving what’s commonly referred to as a “blood harmony.” As you know, there’s nothing like it. I know what it sounds like, but what does it feel like?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It feels nice. The rich vibrato-ing and stuff like that, is very satisfying. It’s very nice in a room—especially acoustically. Unfortunately, it’s totally different once you’re in front of a microphone. But acoustically, yeah, it’s very good. My mother has a recording of us when we were four years old, and we’re singing together on it, doing harmonies. My mother sounds like a hillbilly because she’s from West Virginia. You can hear her in the background, going, “Sang into the microphone, Kimmy. Sang!”
What do you see as the pros and cons of collaboration versus making music yourself and having total control?
It’s nice to have people in the room to suggest things, even if you think it’s stuff that won’t work. Just the fact that they suggested it can be helpful. You might realize later on that it was a good idea. Or maybe even, “No, that won’t work, but you know what’s kind of like that and could be a thing?” To bounce ideas off each other or just having somebody in there talking about it can be helpful. Even if somebody’s saying, “Can I hear it again?” or “Can I hear it again with no vocals?” Then you sit there and listen to the track instrumentally because somebody else asked you to. All of a sudden, you hear something you didn’t hear before.
I have a weird thing about cover art. I’m sort of ambivalent about it. I don’t care about what’s on the cover of a Breeders record because I know me and [bassist] Josephine [Wiggs] and Kelley are going to go at it. We love each other, so it’s okay, but Josephine’s going to have an idea, and I think it’s going to be stupid. But then Kelley’s going to think it could be good. Then Kelley’s going to have an idea that I think is stupid, but Josephine thinks it could be good. When I finally have an idea about it, both of them think it’s stupid. But when I’m just doing this on my own and nobody’s in the room, it’s like…
Nobody’s going to tell me this sucks?
Exactly. I appreciate that. I know there are some people who are passionate about album artwork. I’m not one of those people. I’m passionate about my microphones—my U47s, my C12s. I love them so much, and I want to talk about them. But album art? Meh. It’s hard for me to go, “You know what should it be? It should be a huge octopus with 16 rings on each tentacle, and it should be in a sea of red.” Somebody at the label suggested this album should have an image of me on the cover. I thought, “Oh, wouldn’t that be funny?”
But it’s nice to be able to try things. I wouldn’t have been able to try this stuff with the Breeders, I’ve got to tell you. I had this little ukulele song I was working on. I don’t know how to play the ukelele, but I can play my song on it. I’ve got it sounding pretty good, and I decide to play it for the Breeders. Jim [Macpherson] and Kelley are standing there, but then Josephine sees the ukulele and says, “Absolutely not.” She didn’t even want to listen to it. She’s pure goth. So, it’s on my album now.
Kim Deal Recommends:
The Rest is History (podcast)
Kim Gordon – The Collective (2024 album)
Smile 2 (2024 film)
Laura (1944 film)
This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by J Bennett.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on Just Stop Oil and was authored by Just Stop Oil.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
On the final official day of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it is still unclear if this year’s United Nations climate summit will lead to an agreement before the end of the official conference or if talks will extend into the weekend. The COP29 presidency has released a draft text that calls for a $1.3 trillion in annual climate financing by 2035, but it only obligates rich countries to provide $250 billion of that total. Climate justice activists and members of civil society who held a protest at COP29 on Friday say that amount falls far short of what’s needed, demanding “trillions, not billions.” Democracy Now! was there.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on The Grayzone and was authored by The Grayzone.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
- Union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports reached a deal to suspend strike until Jan. 15 for contract talks.
- Death toll for Hurricane Helene rose to 215 as rescue workers continue to struggle in reaching hard-hit areas.
- The presidential campaign heated up as Trump attacked Harris while she held a rally in Wisconsin with Liz Cheney
- Three former Memphis officers were convicted of witness tampering charges in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, while two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for widespread policing reforms.
- Sonoma County board of supervisors passed first-in-the-nation tenant protection law to shield renters from displacement during fires and natural disasters
The post Union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports reaches deal to suspend strike until Jan. 15 – October 3, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.
This content originally appeared on KPFA – The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
-
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said his first call if elected would be to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and he would demand that Xi honors a previously struck agriculture deal.
The former U.S. president made a deal with China in his first term in tariff negotiations, which he said included an agreement by Xi to buy US$50 billion worth of American agricultural goods.
“My first call – I’m going to call up President Xi. I’m going to say, ‘you have to honor the deal you made,’” Trump said at a roundtable featuring farmers at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania.
“We made a deal, you’d buy $50 billion worth of American farm product, and I guarantee you he will buy it, 100% he will buy it,” said Trump, adding that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris – his November election rival – had failed to enforce the deal.
The former president also said he would tell Xi to crack down on fentanyl “pouring out of China and across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
“Second thing I’m going to do is I’m going to say, ‘you have to give the death penalty to your fentanyl dealers who are sending fentanyl’,” said Trump.
Overdoses by people taking illicit fentanyl have surged in the United States and U.S. authorities say China is the main source of the chemicals used to make the drug. China denies that.
Trump added he would fight against China buying up American farmland, touted his policy of getting rid of the estate tax and stressed he would protect fracking.
China has emerged as one of the top targets in the presidential race between Trump and Harris as both candidates vow to take a tough stance against Beijing and its growing military and economic influence.
During their first presidential debate this month, Harris said Trump as president had “invited trade wars” and resulted in a trade deficit, backing the Biden administration’s targeted tariffs on only certain Chinese imports – such as a 100% rate on electric cars and a 50% rate on solar panels.
She argued that targeted tariffs would bolster domestic manufacturing without causing wider economic damage.
Trump has proposed an across-the-board rate of “more than” 60% tariff on Chinese imports, and a rate of 10% – or even 20% – on all other imports, in order to revive U.S. manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign trade.
RELATED STORIES
US ELECTIONS 2024: Trump, Harris trade barbs over China in presidential debate
EXPLAINED: Trump’s and Harris’ differing proposals on Chinese tariffs
Trump says ‘getting along’ with North Korea is a ‘good thing’
During the debate, Harris also took Trump to task for a response to Chinese leader Xi over the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, while repeating assertions she made during her nomination speech on Aug. 22 that Trump liked to “cozy-up” to dictators.
Trump criticized the Biden administration’s overall record on international affairs, saying: “The leaders of other countries think that they’re weak and incompetent and they are.”
The roundtable with Pennsylvania farmers was intended to convince the key swing state voters that Trump would do more for them than Harris.
Pennsylvania has emerged as the top battleground in the fight between Trump and Harris and a state that underscores the importance of the economy in the race.
Both 2024 candidates have hit The Keystone State hard to sway voters their way, as securing the state would be a huge win in the fight for the needed 270 Electoral College votes.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.
-
This content originally appeared on The Grayzone and was authored by The Grayzone.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects growing domestic and international calls to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal, we go to Jerusalem to speak to Gershon Baskin of the human rights advocacy group International Communities Organization. Baskin has spent years as a back-channel Israeli negotiator with Hamas in ceasefire deals, including throughout Israel’s current war on Gaza. “It’s very clear that Netanyahu doesn’t want to end the war,” says Baskin, who calls for all remaining stakeholders, including Hamas, the United States and Israeli protesters, to increase pressure on the defiant prime minister.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing a cease-fire deal
- A new report by the CDC shows federal child vaccination program prevented 1.1M deaths over the last 30 years, but gaps persist.
- The Democratic National Convention headed into its second day. Former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke at the DNC, a day after the unofficial farewell for President Joe Biden, who served eight years as Obama’s vice president.
- The Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army marched on the Democratic National Convention Monday evening in Chicago, the first day of the convention.
- Trump and Vance hit campaign trail this week, promise increased support for police and closed borders.
- Lawyers representing the activists who took over the Golden Gate Bridge earlier this year to protest the war in Gaza called on San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to recuse herself from the case, citing a conflict of interest.
- Veteran Central Valley journalist Lloyd Carter has passed away. Born and raised in Fresno, Carter covered the Valley for United Press International and The Fresno Bee. His life was dedicated to advocating for equity and fairness in the allocation of the state’s water.
The post U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing a cease-fire deal – August 20, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.
This content originally appeared on KPFA – The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
The U.S. State Department has approved exemptions from arms-export controls for Australia and the United Kingdom that will allow defense contractors in the two countries to build American military technology without undergoing a lengthy licensing process.
A key part of the AUKUS security deal between the three countries known as “Pillar 2” of the pact, the move is intended to help take pressure off a backlogged U.S. defense industrial base amid concerns that America’s rate of military production is falling behind China’s.
Related stories
US begins review process for key AUKUS pillar
US needs to share military secrets, Australian diplomat says
Democrats question proposed part of AUKUS deal
Rudd foresees ‘seamless’ AUKUS defense industry
Australia and the United Kingdom join Canada as the only countries with exemptions under U.S. laws known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, which is intended to stop advanced U.S.-made weaponry from falling into the wrong hands.
The long-awaited decision, which was initially expected in April but delayed by the White House, was unveiled after the State Department said it had assessed revamped Australian and British operational security standards as being on par with those in America.
Anti-AUKUS protesters stand outside Australia’s parliament, in Canberra, Australia, March 18, 2024. (Lewis Jackson/Reuters) The State Department informed Congress that the “Australia and UK export control systems are comparable to those of the United States and have implemented a reciprocal export exemption for U.S. entities,” it said on Thursday, paving the way for ITAR exemptions.
“The changes implemented by this rule will maximize innovation and mutually strengthen our three defense industrial bases by facilitating billions of dollars in secure license-free defense trade,” it said in a statement, adding that the change takes effect Sept. 1.
“This effort will enable deeper cooperation among AUKUS partners to advance peace, stability, and security in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” the statement said. It explained that trilateral cooperation would also enable “innovation” in military production “at a pace of relevance.”
However, the statement noted that the ITAR exemptions will not be absolute and that certain technologies will still require Australian and British contractors to undergo the existing licensing processes.
Espionage concerns
The exemptions were opposed by some leading Democrats in Congress, who argued that Australia has had well-publicized problems with Chinese espionage and that lowering the regulatory burden could lead to leaks of designs for sensitive American weaponry.
The State Department also initially opposed the exemptions, which instead suggested a streamlined licensing process that would see bulk approvals of requests made by Australian and British companies.
However, their passage was spearheaded by Kurt Campbell, who was an architect of AUKUS during his time as U.S. President Joe Biden’s “Asia czar” on the White House National Security Council and who earlier this year was approved as U.S. deputy secretary of state.
The second pillar of AUKUS – the first covers a deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines – is part of a wider U.S. initiative to counter the growing military influence of China. Beijing, for its part, has slammed AUKUS as an aggressive alliance against it.
A seminar on AUKUS is held in Vienna, Austria Aug. 2, 2023. The AUKUS nuclear submarine deal poses a serious risk to regional and global security, according to a joint report released by a Chinese and a Russian think tank at the seminar. (He Canling/Xinhua via Getty Images) But in Washington the trilateral pact has proved popular.
Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who serves as chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, welcomed the ITAR exemptions but described them as “long overdue.”
In a statement issued from Sydney, where McCaul was touting cooperation between the United States and Australia on producing hypersonic missiles, he said the decision would “remove significant red tape and administrative burdens” for U.S. defense companies.
However, McCaul said there were still “too many items that are critical to fully implementing AUKUS that are not included in this exemption,” and called for sweeping exemptions for “two of our closest allies.”
“Until the Excluded Technologies List is limited to only a handful of items — as Congress intended — big government regulation will continue to hamper this crucial alliance’s ability to truly deter a conflict in the Indo-Pacific,” McCaul said in the statement.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alex Willemyns for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen on Monday again threatened to arrest anyone who tries to organize a demonstration in the country against an economic cooperation agreement with Vietnam and Laos that has been a subject of online debate over the last month.
The 1999 agreement between the three countries was aimed at encouraging economic development and trade between Cambodia’s four northeastern provinces and neighboring provinces across the border.
Last month, three activists were arrested on incitement charges after they spoke of concerns that the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle Development Area, or CLV, could cause Cambodia to lose territory or control of some of its natural resources to Vietnam.
The activists made the comments in an 11-minute Facebook video. An angry Hun Sen ordered the arrests and has spoken publicly about the CLV several times since then.
On Monday, Hun Sen warned in a Facebook post of more arrests after overseas Cambodians set up a chat group on the Telegram app where plans for an Aug. 18 demonstration in Phnom Penh against the CLV were being discussed.
The Telegram group was created following a weekend of protests against the CLV among overseas Cambodians living in South Korea, Japan, Canada and Australia.
“My message to all brothers and sisters in this group, I listened to your conversation in the group long enough,” he said. “You are being incited by overseas people.”
‘Try it’
Hun Sen said he has spies in the Telegram group who have sent conversations and names to his private account. He added that he wouldn’t order the arrests for anyone who left the group.
“We cannot let a few people destroy the peace of 17 million people. Some have seen the events in Bangladesh and compared the events in Cambodia,” he said. “Try it. If you consider yourself a strong person, please try.”
Hun Sen stepped down as prime minister last year but remains a powerful force in the country. His son, Hun Manet, succeeded him as prime minister.
Last week, Hun Manet warned Cambodians against protesting against the government, citing Bangladesh’s recent demonstrations in its capital that turned into deadly clashes and caused that country’s leader to resign.
RELATED STORIES
Cambodia’s prime minister warns against Bangladesh-like demonstrations
Police arrest activists after Facebook video angers Cambodia’s Hun Sen
Hun Manet has also tried to reassure Cambodians about the CLV, saying that the agreement won’t result in the loss of any territory.
Soeung Senkaruna, the former spokesman for human rights group Adhoc, said Cambodians both inside and outside the country have the full right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and international law.
Using force to keep people from expressing their opinions shouldn’t happen in a country “that the government claims enjoys democracy and peace,” he said.
Translated Sun Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Russia and North Korea have agreed to cooperate on healthcare, medical education and science, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Under the agreement, Russia and North Korea will work together in areas such as child health, healthy lifestyles and the fight against infectious diseases.
In particular, they will focus on the fight against tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and hepatitis; prevention and treatment of cardiovascular, endocrine, oncological, among other diseases, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
They will also cooperate in training and retraining of medical professionals and regulation of the distribution of medicines and medical devices.
TASS cited a document published on the Russian legal information portal as saying that the cooperation “takes into account the principle of equality and mutual benefit, and implements measures to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the people in accordance with the laws of the parties.”
Russia and North Korea have been stepping up cooperation on all fronts since summits between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia in September last year and in North Korea in June this year.
RELATED STORIES
Russian prosecutor chief in North Korea for cooperation talks
North Korea’s Kim in military talks with Russian vice defense minister
North Korea sends military delegation to Russia
Low vaccination rates
Choi Kyu-bin, a research fellow at Seoul-based Institute for Human Rights Studies at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said in a report that North Korea’s vaccination rate was less than 50% for most of last year.
Citing data from the World Health Organisation and the U.N. Children’s Fund, Cho said North Korea had maintained vaccination coverage rates of more than 90% for many vaccines prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but since it closed its borders in 2020, there has been a clear downward trend in vaccination rates.
In 2023, coverage was below 50% for many vaccines, except for the TB vaccine, and none of the 11 vaccines required for children under one year of age had coverage of more than 90%.
For example, coverage of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis primary, or DTP1, vaccine, which children should receive, halved from 98% in 2019 to 41% in 2023.
“Low vaccination rates put children’s health at risk,” Choi said, urging North Korea to step up access to international organizations to ensure smooth vaccine procurement and immunization.
Edited by RFA Staff.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by 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.
-
China and the Philippines said they have achieved a “provisional arrangement” on resupply missions by the Philippines to the Second Thomas Shoal, where it maintains an outpost that China objects to, but their accounts of the agreement differed.
The shoal, known in China as Ren’ai Jiao and in the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal, has been at the center of sharply rising tension and confrontation between the two countries, with China being accused of blocking access to Filipino troops stationed there.
On June 17, a Filipino soldier was wounded in an encounter with Chinese coast guard personnel who also confiscated some Philippine guns during a Philippine rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre – an old navy ship that Manila deliberately grounded on the reef in 1999 to serve as its outpost to reinforce its claim.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that both countries had “recognized the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation.”
The provisional arrangement for the resupply of daily necessities and rotation missions to the BRP Sierra Madre was achieved following the “frank and constructive” discussions at the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism meeting on the South China Sea on July 2, the foreign ministry said, noting that it would not prejudice either side’s position in the disputed waters.
It did not provide any further details.
The hot-headed June 17 encounter raised fears of a more serious clash between U.S. ally the Philippines and China, but both sides agreed at the early July consultation to “de-escalate tensions” in the waters.
RELATED STORIES
Philippines reports fewer Chinese ships in South China Sea
Philippine military chief demands China pay US$1 million in damages for clash
Tensions simmer near a shoal both China and the Philippines claim
China’s version
On Monday, a spokesperson at China’s foreign ministry said Beijing continued to demand that the Philippines tow away the BRP Sierra Madre and restore the state of hosting no personnel or facilities at the Second Thomas Shoal.
In the meantime, China would allow the Philippines to send living necessities to the personnel on the warship “in a humanitarian spirit” if the Philippines informed it in advance and after on-site verification was conducted, according to the spokesperson.
But if the Philippines were to send large amounts of construction materials to the warship and attempted to build fixed facilities or a permanent outpost, China would “absolutely not accept it and will resolutely stop it,” the spokesperson added.
A Chinese think tank – the South China Probing Initiative – said that with this statement, the two sides may agree to return to the situation between 1999 and 2022 when the Philippines promised not to send construction materials to the Second Thomas Shoal and China would continue to let humanitarian supplies go there.
Analyst Collin Koh from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore wrote on the X social media platform that China’s version of the agreement “draws more questions than not about whether it will hold at all even before the ink is dry.”
In this handout image provided by Armed Forces of the Philippines, a Chinese Coast Guard holds an axe as they approach Philippine troops on a resupply mission in the Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea on June 17, 2024. (Armed Forces of the Philippines/AP) Shortly after the Chinese side issued its statement, Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza denied that such arrangements as prior notification and on-site confirmation had been made.
“I want to stress that the agreement was concluded with the clear understanding by both sides that it will not prejudice our respective national positions,” she said.
“For the Philippines, this means that we will continue to assert our rights and jurisdiction in our maritime zones as entitled under UNCLOS (U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea).”
The Second Thomas Shoal lies well inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but also within the self-proclaimed nine-dash line that China draws on its maps to claim historic rights to almost the entire South China Sea.
Maritime expert Ray Powell at Stanford University in the United States said that given the latest exchanges, he was “not sure there is a deal at this point.”
A meeting of foreign ministers from Southeast Asian countries is to take place this week in Vientiane, Laos, and Daza said the Philippines would continue to articulate its positions on the South China Sea issue there.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA and BenarNews Staff.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy discusses ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued hostility to compromise and the Biden administration’s ineffectual mediation. Contrary to its claims of brokering peace, the U.S. “will continue to send the weapons” Israel uses to devastate Gaza, unremittingly fueling an increasingly unpopular war, says Levy, who is now president of the U.S./Middle East Project.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
A claim emerged in Chinese-language social media posts in June that Saudi Arabia terminated a 50-year formal agreement with the United States to conduct oil transactions in U.S. dollars, under a deal called the “petrodollar agreement.”
But the claims are false. No known formal deal stipulating that Saudi Arabia must sell oil in U.S. dollars exists. While not formally bound by agreement, Saudi Arabia has in practice conducted all its oil deals over the past several decades entirely in U.S. dollars.
The claims were shared on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, on June 15, 2024.
“The Petrodollar Agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia expired and Saudi Arabia announced on June 9 that it would not renew it. The agreement, reached in 1974, closely linked the U.S. dollar to oil,” the claim reads in part.
Several Weibo influencers and media outlets claimed that Saudi Arabia had decided not to renew an agreement formally requiring all the country’s oil transactions to be conducted in U.S. dollars. (Screenshots/Weibo) Similar claims have been shared on social media here and here as well as some Chinese and Taiwanese media outlets here and here.
Taiwanese media outlets used such claims to state that the Saudi Arabia-U.S. oil agreement would quickly cease to be effective. (Screenshots/Liberty Times, China Times and YouTube) But the claims are false. No known formal deal stipulating that Saudi Arabia must sell oil in U.S. dollars exists.
No formal deal
Chinese social media users cited a joint commission for economic cooperation, the United States-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, as evidence that there is a formal agreement between the two countries to sell oil in dollars.
The commission was formed in June 1974 and expired on June 9, 2024.
But an official at the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. government’s highest auditing body, said the commission did not contain any formal agreement on oil trade in U.S. dollars between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, citing a government report published in March 1979.
The official added that there are no other documents on using U.S. dollars in oil trade between the two countries.
Separately, the American Institute of Economic Research noted in a report that the use of U.S. dollars in oil trade had never been dictated by a formal treaty.
Informal agreement
But the U.S. and Saudi Arabia made an “informal” agreement in 1974 to trade oil in U.S. dollars – a secret deal revealed by Bloomberg in May 2016.
In exchange for agreeing to invest billions of dollars in earnings from these oil sales into U.S. Treasury bonds, Saudi Arabia received large amounts of U.S. military aid and equipment, Bloomberg reported.
An academic paper on U.S. oil hegemony also pointed out that this unofficial agreement between the two countries allowed the dollar to become the standard international oil reserve currency, placing the U.S. in an extremely powerful position as nations continued to rely more and more on oil in the decades following the deal.
Non-dollar oil transactions
Even though there is no formal agreement requiring Saudi Arabia to sell oil in U.S. dollars, and it has shown a willingness to sell oil in other currencies, in practice, it still sells oil exclusively in dollars.
Public records of oil exports show that all of Saudi Arabia’s oil transactions up to the present day have used U.S. dollars as the base currency, with no recorded instances of other currencies being used for any transactions.
However, there has been speculation that Saudi Arabia would begin oil trades in other currencies.
Paul Donovan, chief economist of Global Wealth Management at global financial firm UBS, said, for instance, that non-dollar currencies had always been used in oil trades and that Saudi itself indicated in 2023 it would be “happy to conduct” such transactions.
Similarly, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that 20% of the world’s total oil trade that year was not denominated in dollars and that Saudi Arabia had “recently taken steps laying the groundwork for trade that sidesteps the dollar.”
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alan Lu for Asia Fact Check Lab.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
We speak with Australian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, a prominent supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who says the publisher’s case is “a big deal” in the country that cut across political divisions. “It’s taken a really big campaign, a really big grassroots campaign by thousands of people in Australia — indeed, millions of people around the world — to bring this to the attention of politicians.” Assange landed in Australia Wednesday after pleading guilty to a single charge of violating the U.S. Espionage Act, allowing him to avoid further prison time after years of legal jeopardy.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Julian Assange has landed in Australia a free man, reuniting with his family Wednesday after pleading guilty to one charge of violating the U.S. Espionage Act as part of a deal with the Justice Department. The WikiLeaks publisher entered his plea on the Pacific island of Saipan, part of the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, which lets him avoid further prison time following five years behind bars in the U.K. awaiting possible extradition to the U.S. He had been facing a possible 175 years in U.S. prison if convicted on charges related to his publication of classified documents in 2010 that revealed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. “This case is an attack on journalism, it’s an attack on the public’s right to know, and it should never have been brought,” the WikiLeaks founder’s wife, Stella Assange, said at a press conference Wednesday. “Julian should never have spent a single day in prison. But today we celebrate, because today Julian is free.” We also play comments from members of Assange’s legal team, Jennifer Robinson and Barry Pollack, who said the use of the World War I-era Espionage Act to go after a publisher put press freedoms at grave risk.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
Local governments in China are offering to buy up farms from rural families, offering vouchers for apartments in smaller cities in a bid to encourage more people to give up farming and move into urban areas, according to official announcements posted online this month.
Authorities in the eastern provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang and the central province of Hubei are rolling out trial “housing voucher” schemes targeted at rural communities in a bid to boost the country’s flagging real estate sector and accelerate the mass relocation of rural communities, according to announcements posted to official government websites and social media accounts.
The move is part of a nationwide bid to resettle rural communities in urban areas, both piecemeal and en masse, as part of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s “poverty alleviation” policy and attempts to stabilize the food supply.
But commentators said it doesn’t look like a very attractive deal for families who have farmed the same land for generations.
A farmer plants red pepper seeds with a machine, May 8, 2022, at a field in Bozhou in China’s eastern Anhui province. (AFP) Rural land in China is typically leased to farmers on 30-year “household responsibility” contracts, with the ownership remaining with the government. In 2016, the administration of supreme party leader Xi Jinping made it easier for farmers to be bought out of those leases.
In a trial being rolled out in Anhui’s Fengyang county from June 20, farming families who voluntarily release their leased farms back to government ownership will be given a subsidy, or voucher, worth 50,000 yuan (US$6884) to help them buy an apartment in a smaller, regional city, according to the Nantong county government’s official WeChat account.
Meanwhile, authorities in Zhejiang’s Changshan county are trialing a scheme that would set the value of the housing voucher based on the size of the farm being handed back to the authorities.
Details of the voucher deal appear to vary from region to region, but are generally being announced by village, township and district governments as part of measures to boost a flagging real estate market, according to announcements seen by Radio Free Asia.
‘Fob them off on us’
In Zhejiang’s Longyou county, voucher holders won’t get their hands on the whole lump sum all at once, instead receiving it in increments across a two-year period.
A farmer who gave only the surname Sang for fear of reprisals said his local government hasn’t announced a similar scheme yet, but that he wouldn’t take it even if they did.
“I’m definitely not giving up this land,” Sang said. “Rural land is supposed to be used for growing food.”
A farmer sprays pesticide with a tractor in a wheat field, Feb. 28, 2023, in Taizhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. (AFP) “It was handed down to us by our ancestors, so we could grow vegetables and have somewhere to bury the elderly when they die,” he said.
Some online comments appeared to agree.
Blogger Xiao An’s Reason commented: “Nobody wants to buy these apartments, so they’re trying to fob them off on us farmers … they want us to give up our farmland.”
“They will leave us with no place to call home, and turn us into slaves forever,” the blogger wrote.
Authorities in Zhejiang’s Jiangshan city said they would be targeting villages that are prone to flash flooding and landslides, areas with dilapidated housing, and areas designated part of “land improvement” schemes, as well as areas where housing has been deemed to be illegally constructed.
“Those who opt for apartment housing voucher resettlement … shall voluntarily give up the legal right to use their farms, and the right to build on them, and shall vacate their original dwellings and facilities and return them to the village collective,” according to trial regulations published on the municipal government website.
‘Hollow out the countryside’
A June 24 post about the move from the Hebei-based Sina Weibo account @Husky_who_really_keeps_cats commented: “What’s the point of this? If you can’t sell these apartments, then lower the price. They’re just trying to cheat elderly farmers.”
“They want to hollow out the countryside and mess up the cities,” commented @Temple_victory, while @Today_I_woke_up_from_my_dream added: “They have to take away the last bit of security.”
A farmer dries harvested corn at a village, Sept. 21, 2023, in Lianyungang, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. (AFP) @A_turtle_is_smaller_than_a_tortoise commented that 50,000 yuan wasn’t much compensation for leased land on which people could at least practice subsistence farming and ensure that everyone had somewhere to live and enough to eat. “They’d be giving up a permanent benefit for 50,000 yuan,” the user wrote.
Other comments pointed out the rapid aging of the population, saying that rural governments don’t have enough people paying into social security schemes to be able to pay pensions to the elderly, while still others said farmers’ pensions were miniscule anyway.
Current affairs commentator Zhang Jianping, who hails from a rural community, said the scheme didn’t take into account the value of farms to farming families.
“They should know that farmers’ houses have been built with the blood and sweat of several generations,” Zhang said. “Grabbing their farms back with a subsidy of just 50,000 yuan shows total disrespect for farmers’ property rights.”
He warned that while the scheme is being trialed as “voluntary,” it could soon become coercive, citing waves of rural land grabs across China over decades of Communist Party rule.
A farmer dries crops during the harvest season, Sept. 22, 2023, in Linyi, in China’s eastern Shandong province. (AFP) Current affairs commentator Ji Feng said the rural farms are often home to, and support, large families of up to a dozen people.
Farmers, who also move around the country in large numbers in search of work, have typically relied on being able to go back and support themselves through subsistence farming if their lives in urban areas don’t work out, Ji said.
“This practice will push people into a desperate, dead end,” he said. “If the farmers sign up for these schemes, they will have been severely cheated.”
He said the authorities under Xi want to reclaim as much privately controlled land as possible for government use. That could involve selling the land back into private hands for a huge profit, especially if it’s in a more valuable area on the outskirts of a city.
Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Chen Zifei for RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.