Authorities in Laos have rescued 11 Indian nationals who were lured to the Chinese-run Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in the north of the country and put to work as phone scammers, according to the Indian Embassy. The operation shines a light on the murky enclave in Bokeo province – home to the Kings Roman Casino resort – where many foreigners who were promised lucrative jobs end up held against their will by trafficking rings that exploit them under threat of violence. The Golden Triangle economic zone is a gambling…
Day: November 3, 2022
Uyghur doctor jailed for treating a ‘terrorist’ dies after release from prison
A Uyghur doctor sentenced to eight years in prison in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region for removing a bullet from the foot of a suspected criminal, died shortly after being released from prison in September, local police and people with knowledge of the situation said. Tudahun Nurehmet, also known by the surname Mahmud, was the former chief of the Achatagh Hospital in Uchturpan (in Chinese, Wushi) county, Aksu (Akesu) prefecture. In 2013, he was sentenced for treating a person Chinese authorities identified as a terrorist who was wounded during a clash…
North Korea’s missile splurge cost $70 million – more than a year of imported rice
Updated at 10:03 EDT on 11-04-22 North Korea’s record breaking single-day barrage of more than 20 missiles cost the impoverished country more than U.S. $70 million, or as much as it spent importing rice from China in 2019 to try to cover grain shortages that year, experts told Radio Free Asia. Pyongyang on Wednesday launched 23 missiles, one of which crossed a disputed maritime border, ratcheting up tensions on the peninsula. On Thursday, it launched six more, including an ICBM, and observers anticipate that North Korea’s seventh nuclear test could…
Xi Jinping: Prince or Party Man?
Advertisement Most observers agree that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a 20th Party Congress that confirmed his dominance of the party. Such is this dominance that it is something of a conventional wisdom to describe him as either Mao Zedong reincarnated or a new Chinese “emperor.” Some believe this dominance may contain within it the seeds of the party-state’s undoing. Meixin Pei argues that as Mao himself demonstrated, “While trampling institutional rules and norms may benefit autocratic rulers, it is not necessarily good for their…
The Guardian view on Olaf Scholz’s visit to Beijing: treading a fine line | Editorial
The brevity of Olaf Scholz’s one-day visit to China, where he will meet President Xi Jinping on Friday, means that there will be little scope for the kind of colourful photo-ops that his predecessor, Angela Merkel, enjoyed during 12 visits to Germany’s most important trading partner. For Mr Scholz, who becomes the first G7 leader to visit Beijing since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, that is just as well. The optics of the German chancellor’s trip have already proved controversial enough. Mr Scholz is travelling with the traditional bevy…
200 detained in Tibet’s capital Lhasa over COVID protest
Around 200 residents of Tibet’s capital Lhasa were detained in the wake of massive protests in the city last week against COVID lockdowns that left many restricted to their homes without adequate food or medical care, RFA has learned. The Oct. 26 protest included both Han Chinese and Tibetans living in the city, and was Lhasa’s largest since a 2008 uprising, later crushed by Chinese security forces by Tibetans calling for greater freedoms under Chinese rule. Chinese authorities have now detained around 200 Lhasa residents in the wake of last…
Xi Jinping wants ready soldiers and loyal generals
In the early hours of April 28th 1984, a young Chinese officer led an infantry regiment in an attack on Vietnamese forces embedded in the mountains on China’s southern border. The battle of Laoshan was among the bloodiest of the skirmishes that sputtered on for a decade after China’s four-week war with Vietnam in 1979—the most recent that Chinese forces have waged. Like the war, the battle ended with no clear victor. But it forged the reputation of the regimental commander, who almost four decades later has emerged as the…
The Chinese city that covid forgot
If China, in some parallel universe, allowed voting on its “zero-covid policy”, the “change course” camp would be gaining ground. Battling new variants of covid-19 ahead of an expected winter surge in infections, officials have imposed partial lockdowns in cities from Xining in the west to Fuzhou in the south. Restaurants have closed, schools have gone online, access to food shops has been limited and millions of people have been plunged into some form of confinement, many for a second or third time. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and…
The never-ending campaign against graft in China
While he was holed up in caves in Yan’an in 1938, Mao Zedong gave a series of speeches that would form one of his best-known works. In “On Protracted War” he argued that China, which had been invaded by Japan, should not expect a quick victory. It had to dig in for a long struggle. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen to this story Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitask…
Former military pilots from the West are being lured to China
IN APRIL A Chinese fighter jet crashed in a rural part of eastern China. The two pilots safely ejected and were quickly surrounded by locals, who recorded the encounter. “Who is that?” asked a villager, pointing to one of the pilots, a white man with red hair who spoke in English. “This is our instructor,” said the other pilot in Chinese. “Don’t take photos.” Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen to this story Save time…