Chinese authorities in Tibet have sentenced two monks from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province to prison for sending prayer offerings to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of their monastery, both living in exile in India, Radio Free Asia has learned. The two monks, Rachung Gendun and Sonam Gyatso, had both sent the donations to Tibet’s foremost spiritual leader and Kirti Rinpoche, sources said. In both cases, details surrounding their trials and sentencing are not known in detail, but Chinese authorities consider it illegal for Tibetans to contact exiles.…
Day: November 7, 2022
Xinjiang party secretary visits areas where COVID lockdown protests occurred
Xinjiang’s Communist Party secretary on Monday visited districts in the capital Urumqi in northwestern China where rare protests against severe coronavirus lockdown measures occurred last week. Local police officers confirmed the demonstrations and authorities punished three Han Chinese men for spreading rumors about the highly contagious respiratory infection. Ma Xingrui visited districts and counties in Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) hit by the recent wave of COVID-19 that struck Xinjiang in early August and impacted by the protests His visit included the Tianshan, Shayibak, Shuimogou, High-tech Zone, and Midong districts of…
North Korea makes uniforms for Russian soldiers in Ukraine, violating UN sanctions
North Korean factories are producing uniforms for Russian soldiers – in violation of U.N. sanctions – as Moscow’s war in Ukraine begins its first full winter, sources inside North Korea told Radio Free Asia. At least three factories in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, and more in other parts of the country, are bringing in foreign currency for the cash-strapped government by making winter uniforms, underwear, and footwear for Russian soldiers in Ukraine using Russian raw materials, the sources said. “The export garment factory in Moranbong district in Pyongyang…
China Maritime Report No. 24: Incubators of Sea Power: Vessel Training Centers and the Modernization of the PLAN Surface Fleet
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is building modern surface combatants faster than any other navy in the world. Before these new ships can be deployed, however, their crews must learn how to effectively operate them across the range of missions for which they were designed. In the PLAN, this “basic training” largely occurs at specialized organizations called Vessel Training Centers (VTCs). Since their creation in 1980, VTCs have played a key role in generating combat power for the fleet. But as China’s naval ambitions have grown, the VTCs have…
China Again Misses World Cup
Advertisement Even with 1.4 billion people, China can’t find 11 solid soccer players. China is missing out on the World Cup again despite spending millions — probably billions — to develop the game, a reported priority of Xi Jinping, the all-powerful general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. To underline the humiliation, smaller neighbors Japan and South Korea have had sustained success with high-profile players scattered across Europe. South Korean forward Son Heung-min, for example, has become one of the world’s best scorers at English club Tottenham. China’s abysmal record…
Tanzanian President’s Visit to China Means One Thing: Africa’s Agenda Matters.
Advertisement Xi Jinping has started his third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party with a flurry of diplomatic activity at home. Many headlines noted that Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was in Beijing from November 2 to 4, was the first head of state to visit China after the quinquennial Party Congress. (The two visitors who preceded her were Vietnam’s Communist Party chief and Pakistan’s head of government.) It was also Hassan’s first state visit outside of Africa, signaling China’s importance in Tanzania’s foreign policy. During…
Germany begins trial of second suspect in Trinh Xuan Thanh kidnapping case
UPDATED AT 02:24 A.M. ET ON 11-7-2022 Germany has started the trial of the second suspect in the kidnapping case of Vietnamese oil executive and former provincial official Trinh Xuan Thanh. Proceedings got underway last Wednesday in Berlin. Le Anh Tu, 32, was living in the Czech capital Prague before the kidnapping in 2017. He is accused of “spying and assisting in the deprivation of liberty,” in connection with the abduction of Thanh in a Berlin park in July, 2017. Tu’s trial comes five years after the case happened because…