Xi Jinping will arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday on a long awaited visit to a regional ally that has readied full state pageantry and a round of agreements likely to cement ties between China and Saudi Arabia – and deepen alarm in Washington. China’s president will meet more than 30 heads of state and business leaders during his three-day visit to the Saudi capital, which is set to lead to a “strategic agreement” between the authoritarian powers. The trip is the culmination of decades of cooperation once based on oil…
Day: December 6, 2022
Beijing, Gulf Nations Expected to Sign Dozens of Deals at Summit
Washington — After nearly two years of preparation, the first summit between China and the Arab states is scheduled for this week, a meeting Beijing describes as a “milestone” in Sino-Arab relations. The Global Times, a daily newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, said in an opinion column Tuesday that “the summit conforms to the trend of the development of the times and will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations. … The China-Arab friendly cooperation is set to enter a new stage.” The Chinese delegation…
Guards beat Muslim political prisoner to death in Myanmar’s Insein Prison
A Muslim political prisoner and former parliamentary candidate accused of plotting acts of terrorism was beaten to death by prison guards in Myanmar last year, according to Sean Turnell, the former economic advisor to deposed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Khin Maung Shwe, 44, had been sentenced to 65 years in prison for allegedly plotting to blow up parliament and a shopping center in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon in 2016. Turnell, an Australian national who was was released from prison by the junta in a general amnesty on…
Association Head Says Rohingya Still Face Genocide
Washington — The head of a Rohingya organization urgently called for the U.N. Security Council to prevent what it described as genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK), told VOA that the Rohingya in Rakhine state, Myanmar’s far west region, continue to face a genocidal program that puts their very survival at risk. Tens of thousands of Rohingya people were displaced between August and late September and the evidence points to a repeat of the conditions that culminated in the atrocities…
US to increase rotation of forces to Australia, condemns China’s ‘dangerous and coercive actions’ in region
The US will increase rotations of its air, land and sea forces to Australia and has condemned China’s “dangerous and coercive actions” across the Indo-Pacific region. As part of the step-up in defence ties, the US plans to preposition munitions and fuel in Australia to support its military forces. Airfields in northern Australia are set to be upgraded to enable rotations of US aircraft. The defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, also said the US would not allow Australia to experience a capability gap in its naval forces and pledged to help…
China’s Covid shift fails to ease ‘deep concern’ in India about supply chain problems
Mohindroo said compared to pre-pandemic years when manufacturers would place orders for components “just in time”, now they have become more careful in terms of planning for supplies to avoid disruptions. Analysts say if China’s healthcare system is overburdened in the coming months due to a spike in cases, it could lead to a reimposition of stringent controls and more supply chain problems. Advertisement “The major concern has been whether there will be a lockdown in the factories [in the coming weeks],” said Avneet Singh Marwah, chief executive of Super…
Taiwan foreign minister: China may scapegoat us over Covid protests
Taiwan’s foreign minister has backed China’s anti-Covid protesters but also expressed concerns that Beijing could seek to scapegoat Taiwan if demonstrations restarted. Joseph Wu said Taiwan stood alongside other democracies in calling for China to “respect basic human rights” regarding the extraordinary protests that spread across China last week and the swift police response to close in on those involved. “When the people’s livelihood is restricted or people’s lives are made inconvenient because of the government policies, I think it is the right for the people to stand up and…
In Phoenix, a Taiwanese Chip Giant Builds a Hedge Against China
The company originally set the technology level at the Phoenix site at five nanometers. That was an advance over most chips in 2020, but behind the level that TSMC would produce in Taiwan in 2024, when the U.S. factory is set to open. The new plan would upgrade the factory to also use four-nanometer technology, which Apple was first to adopt. The second factory, expected to begin operating in 2026, will be able to produce three-nanometer chips, TSMC said. Intel, which hopes to introduce its own new production processes over…
North Korea forces youth to join grueling pilgrimage to sacred Paektu mountain
In years past, North Korea would reward particularly patriotic youth by inviting them to join a grueling pilgrimage up Mt. Paektu, the tallest mountain on the Korean Peninsula and a sacred peak in the lore about the ruling Kim family. It was considered an honor to climb to near the top of the mountain, which borders China and offers a stunning vista of a piercing blue lake below. But these days, young people don’t want to go on this arduous journey, which is traditionally made not only in the summer, but…
China considers downgrading Covid’s status to remove need for strict controls
Outbreaks of these diseases require local governments to impose strong measures such as lockdowns, isolation and quarantine if they are needed to contain the spread, according to China’s Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and other public health regulations. Expectation has been growing among health officials that the National Health Commission will announce that in future the disease should now be treated like a category B. Reuters reported earlier this week that the change was expected next month, but recent announcements from the central government have raised…