This week’s one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was marked by another U.N. General Assembly resolution that overwhelmingly condemned Moscow. But in Southeast Asia, there are signs that Moscow retains some influence and support, particularly in Vietnam and Myanmar, the latter of which has faced its own international isolation two years after a coup d’etat that brought a military junta into power. Junta chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing recently celebrated the regime’s relationship with Russia, saying at a Feb. 16 forum that Myanmar will continue to cooperate with…
Month: February 2023
Hong Kong court jails martial artist for recruiting band of ‘subversive’ fighters
A Hong Kong court has jailed martial arts instructor Denis Wong Tak-keung for five years after finding him guilty of “subversion” in connection with social media posts that the authorities said “incited hatred” of the government. Wong, 60, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of “incitement to subvert state power” under Hong Kong’s national security law, while he and his assistant Cheung Man-ji, 62, both pleaded guilty to one count each of “illegal possession of a firearm.” Wong’s five-year jail term came after he was accused of trying to…
China moves to develop its own version of ChatGPT amid censorship concerns
Chinese search engine giant Baidu is moving to set up its own artificial intelligence chatbot amid reports that regulators have warned major tech companies not to offer the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT to the public. Baidu announced on Feb. 22 it will begin incorporating its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie into its search services from March, as part of an apparent bid to put a stop to the use of ChatGPT-backed services in China. Baidu CEO Robin Li said in an internal memo that Ernie Bot will be integrated across…
New EU Sanctions More Effectively Target Myanmar Junta
washington — The latest round of EU sanctions imposed on the Myanmar junta were welcomed by advocacy groups monitoring human rights violations in the Southeast Asian country. Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for the human rights advocacy group Justice for Myanmar, said in a statement to VOA on Thursday that the sanctions were “important in catching up with sanctions already imposed by the U.S., U.K. and Canada on arms brokers and units of the military responsible for supplying and manufacturing arms.” In a statement released Monday, Burma Campaign UK said, “This round…
Beijing Official in Hong Kong Warns US Envoy After Speech
HONG KONG — A Chinese diplomat accused the U.S. consul general in Hong Kong of interfering in its affairs after he said the city’s freedoms were eroding and warned the American not to cross political “red lines.” Consul General Gregory May gave a video address last month in which he expressed concern over diminished freedoms in Hong Kong and said its reputation as a business center depended on adherence to international standards and the rule of law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office in Hong Kong said commissioner Liu Guangyuan…
US joins EU in rejecting Beijing’s peace proposal, sanctions more Chinese firms
Eurasia Group analysts Clayton Allen and Anna Ashton said that China’s proposal was biased towards Moscow – even if it was less hostile to Washington and its allies compared to the comments that Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi had for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Germany last week. “Although several of the 12 points revealed Chinese concerns over actions primarily associated with Russia, it continued to echo Russia’s justifications for invasion and can largely be framed by Russia as supporting Moscow’s positions,” Allen and Ashton said in a…
China Reprises Old Themes in Ukraine Plan, Casting Itself as Neutral
After a drumroll of diplomatic activity suggesting that China was poised to play a more energetic role in seeking peace in Ukraine, Beijing issued a paper on Friday that reprised its established views on the war, calling for an end to fighting while avoiding demands — or words like “invasion” — that could hurt its ties with Russia. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the paper on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion and after China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, visited Europe, telling a security forum in Munich that…
Tourists crowd onto Laos-China high speed railway
Trains along the Laos-China Railway have been packed with passengers in recent weeks as Chinese tourists have surged into the country following Beijing’s decision last month to lift COVID-19 restrictions. The train stations in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and particularly Boten station – which sits on the border with China’s Yunnan province – have faced overcrowding. “There have been a lot of people waiting at the station,” said one passenger who uses the rail line frequently for business purposes. “They have to stand in a long line, and if you want…
For Chinese-Ukrainian Couple, First Year of War Brings Love, Marriage in Odesa
Washington — Wang Jixian, a software engineer turned citizen journalist living in Odesa, Ukraine, was there when Russia invaded. The Beijing native met the woman who would become his wife, Dasha Zakopaylo, a Ukrainian student majoring in Chinese at Odesa’s Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University K. D. Ushinsky, in May, three months after fighting began. On November 11, with winter’s chill creeping in, they married just as Russia began targeting Ukraine’s power facilities. Some couples have a special song, and just hearing a few bars can evoke a golden moment…
US Sees Evidence That China Is Considering Sending Lethal Aid to Russia
State Department — The United States has seen evidence that the People’s Republic of China is considering sending lethal weapons to Russia for its use in the war in Ukraine, and has directly warned China of consequences, according to a senior State Department official. “We obviously have a reason to be concerned,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told VOA in an interview on Thursday. She stopped short of elaborating on details when asked if there is evidence that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to Moscow. Sherman sat down…