Tibetans living as refugees in Nepal are likely to face continued restrictions on their movements and political activities under the government of Nepal’s new prime minister, a former Maoist guerrilla leader who is seen as being close to China, according to analysts and other observers. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called Prachanda, was sworn in on Monday as the head of Nepal’s new government in a deal reached with other political parties in the Himalayan country bordering India and China. The former leader of a 10-year guerrilla insurgency launched in 1996…
Year: 2022
EU states looking for joint stance on Covid testing for travellers from China
Member states of the European Union are trying to find a joint stance on how to treat travellers entering the borderless Schengen area from China, after Italy urged the rest of the economic bloc to bring back anti-Covid checks in response to Beijing’s rapid rollback of its previously stringent hygiene restrictions. In recent days more than 50% of passengers from China at Milan’s Malpensa airport have tested positive for the virus, and on Wednesday Italy brought back mandatory coronavirus tests for everyone arriving from China, after reports of rising infection…
Hong Kong’s Gloomy Year Featured COVID Lockdowns, Jailings
Hong Kong has faced another year of gloom as the city struggles to overcome its pandemic and political woes. Self-proclaimed as “Asia’s World City,” the Chinese territory has effectively been globally isolated for three years because of the pandemic, while facing a record population decline and a continued crackdown under the Beijing-imposed national security law. National security cases Three-and-a-half years on, the effects of Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests remain palpable. Authorities have arrested hundreds for violating the draconian National Security Law passed in response to the political uprising, with…
China Covid: U.S. Testing Rule Meets a Collective Shrug
Some Chinese were disappointed by the Biden administration’s new testing requirement for travelers coming from their country. Others radiated contempt, calling it the latest Western effort to contain China’s rise. But many were simply indifferent. For many Chinese, the U.S. rule that they must present negative Covid tests to visit is a tangential development. China is grappling with severe outbreaks that have sickened countless people and overwhelmed hospitals and funeral parlors. Many are focused on trying to hold on to their jobs and homes as the economy sputters. And to…
Lack of Information on China’s COVID Surge Stirs Global Concern
Beijing — Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. There have been no reports of new variants to date, but China has been accused of not being forthcoming about the virus since it first surfaced in the country in late 2019. The worry is that it may not be sharing data now on any signs of…
COVID Controls Offer Insight Into China’s Surveillance Network
WASHINGTON — For many outside China, this was the year that the term “surveillance state” became something they understood. Western media reported in April on what were thought to be government-operated drones whirring through a locked-down Shanghai, China’s most populous city, where authorities reported a record 22,000 new cases of COVID-19 on a single day. In an unverified viral video, one drone trumpeted, “Control your soul’s desire for freedom” as it hovered over a housing compound at night. Citizens were expected to download a “health code” app for smartphones that…
US Pays to Clean Up Agent Orange on Vietnam War Anniversary
The United States earlier this month announced a contract worth up to $29 million to clean up dioxin contamination at the Bien Hoa Air Base in southern Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City, a consequence of U.S. use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The move is the most recent attempt to demonstrate cooperation between the two countries despite a still complicated relationship. The nations now work together on trade issues, climate change, and legacies of the war, such as the dioxin spraying or the so-called Christmas…
Myanmar’s junta courts crack down on student activists
Myanmar’s junta continues to impose harsh prison sentences on student activists, sentencing seven of them to prison terms of between two and 25 years over the past seven days. The longest sentence was handed down by Yangon’s Insein Prison Court on Tuesday to Kaung Sat, from the city’s Myanmar Maritime University, according to his students’ union. He was arrested in November 2021 and charged with four counts of sedition, possessing arms, possessing explosives with intent to attack junta forces and buildings, and attempted murder. The court found him guilty of…
US to Sell Taiwan Anti-Tank System Amid Rising China Threat
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of an anti-tank mine-laying system to Taiwan amid the rising military threat from China. The department on Wednesday said the Volcano system and all related equipment would cost an estimated $180 million. It’s capable of scattering anti-tank and anti-personnel mines from either a ground vehicle or helicopter, the type of weapon some experts believe Taiwan needs more of to dissuade or repel a potential Chinese invasion. To advertise that threat, China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan…
Qing dynasty expert Gao Xiang named head of China’s leading policy think tank
While a number of regional think tanks have emerged in China, CASS stands out for its role in shaping the ideology behind the party’s policy formulation. Its academics also keep close ties with the top echelons of the Chinese government. In June this year, an article written by a panel led by Gao and published in a Chinese Academy of History journal sparked an internet storm when it was interpreted by online commenters as a defence of the “closed door” policy of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Advertisement The article…