In the weeks since the US military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have spoken passionately about the need to more effectively compete with Beijing. A resolution condemning China for the balloon incident passed the House in an unanimous vote of 419 to 0. Joe Biden has similarly expressed hope that efforts to strengthen America’s global competitiveness in response to a rising China can unite Democrats and Republicans in an era defined by bitter partisanship. “Today, we’re in the strongest position in decades…
Month: February 2023
Australian Professor Among Three Hostages Released in Papua New Guinea
Sydney — An Australian archaeologist and two Papua New Guinea researchers held for a week by 20 armed men in a remote part of the Pacific Island nation were released on Sunday, while their captors remain at large, a local official told Reuters. Professor Bryce Barker and doctoral student Teppsy Beni from the University of Southern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea National Museum researcher Jemina Haro were released after a ransom payment, said Alphonse Seiyaka, an official with the government of Mount Bosavi, where the three were held in rugged…
China recruits women to fly carrier-based warplanes as navy faces pilot shortage
Training at the Naval Aviation University is required for all carrier-based pilots. Previously, the institution only recruited from high schools, typically those that provide specialised training in cooperation with the Chinese navy. While the Chinese military has trained women to fly fighter jets such as the J-10, it did not previously recruit them to pilot carrier-based craft. “After the 18th Communist Party congress, the Chinese navy’s missions and tasks have expanded, its transformation has been accelerated, and the demand for high-quality military personnel has become increasingly urgent,” the notice said,…
China, Needing Babies, Eases Limits on Births
In China, a country that limits most couples to three children, one province is making a bold pitch to try to get its citizens to procreate: have as many babies as you want, even if you are unmarried. The initiative, which came into effect this month, points to the renewed urgency of China’s efforts to spark a baby boom after its population shrank last year for the first time since a national famine in the 1960s. Other efforts are underway — officials in several cities have urged college students to donate…
Ex-ASML employee accused of data theft is being probed for ties to China
A representative for the Chinese embassy in the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands could not be reached for comment. The Dutch government declined to comment on whether it is also investigating a link between the former employee and the Chinese government. US officials have accused China of using a vast system of incentives to facilitate the theft of IP from Western companies. Advertisement The alleged data theft, disclosed in ASML’s annual report last week, is the second such breach…
The Observer view on the dubious excuses for not backing the UN resolution on the Ukraine invasion | Observer editorial
In times of trouble, a person or country discovers who their true friends are. Such insights can be disillusioning. The war in Ukraine has produced a number of such disturbing moments, for the government in Kyiv but also for the western democracies that are its most ardent supporters. “Whose side are you on?” is a crude but necessary question when international law is flouted and innocent people begin to die in large numbers. The UN general assembly’s non-binding resolution last week condemning Russia’s invasion, demanding its immediate, unconditional withdrawal and…
Tech war: US alliance with Japan, Netherlands to ban chip equipment exports to China may spur investment in South Korea
On Thursday, an article in the People’s Daily-affiliated tabloid Global Times quoted Lu Chao, a professor with Liaoning University in northern China, as saying that Korea’s semiconductor industry should not decouple from China. There are already signs that chip companies are looking to form closer business ties with South Korea. Advertisement Peter Wennink, CEO of Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML, met South Korean foreign minister Park Jin on February 17 during his visit to the Netherlands to discuss potential collaborations. According to the South Korean foreign ministry, Wennink said ASML…
Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 368 of the invasion
Thousands of people have taken part in a demonstration in central Berlin to protest against giving more weapons to Ukraine, urging the German government to instead pave the way for negotiations with Vladimir Putin. In London, Marina Litvinenko – the widow of a defector poisoned in London – led calls for a Ukrainian victory in the war at a demonstration of several hundred outside the Russian embassy. A meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies has ended without a consensus, with Russia and China objecting to…
North Korea’s Kim Taps Young Laborers to Build New Housing
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized young laborers to launch a new housing project in Pyongyang, state media said on Sunday, as he pushes an ambitious plan to build 50,000 homes in the capital despite deepening economic hardships. Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction project in Pyongyang’s Sopo district on Saturday with thousands of young laborers, the official KCNA news agency reported. In 2021, Kim unveiled a plan to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang by 2025, and state media reported the…
North Korea Food Shortage Worsens Since COVID
SEOUL, South Korea — Questions about North Korea’s food insecurity have flared as its top leaders prepare to discuss the “very important and urgent task” of formulating a correct agricultural policy. Unconfirmed reports say an unspecified number of North Koreans have been dying of hunger. But experts say there is no sign of mass deaths or famine. They say the upcoming ruling Workers’ Party meeting is likely intended to shore up support for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he pushes ahead with his nuclear weapons program in defiance…