Month: April 2023

UN Experts Say China Forcing Tibetans Into ‘Vocational Training’

Chin@Strategy

Geneva, Switzerland —  United Nations human rights experts on Thursday accused China of forcing hundreds of thousands of Tibetans into programs that threaten their cultural identity and could lead to forced labor. Six U.N. special rapporteurs voiced concern over claims that the so-called vocational training and labor transfer programs were being used as a pretext to undermine Tibetan religious, linguistic and cultural identity, and to monitor and indoctrinate Tibetans. “Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been ‘transferred’ from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015,…

South Korean Conservatives Lament ‘Nuclear Shackles’ Following Yoon-Biden Summit

Chin@Strategy

seoul, south korea —  The United States’ pledge to reinforce its nuclear umbrella protecting South Korea has failed to quiet some South Korean conservatives who want their country to develop nuclear weapons. Under the so-called Washington Declaration, which was unveiled Wednesday as U.S. President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit, the United States vowed to deploy more “strategic assets,” such as nuclear-capable submarines, long-range bombers and aircraft carriers, to South Korea. In return, South Korea stated its “full confidence” in the U.S. defense…

India Accuses China of Violating Border Agreements

Chin@Strategy

New Delhi —  India’s defense minister accused China on Thursday of eroding the “entire basis” of ties between the countries by violating bilateral agreements, a reference to a nearly 3-year-old standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and “had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations,” India’s Defense Ministry said. Singh told Li that “development of relations between India and China…

Activist known as ‘Onion Leaf Bae’ kept from meeting lawyer

Chin@Strategy

The defense lawyer for ‘Onion Leaf Bae,” an activist whose online video mimicked a Turkish chef in apparent mockery of a senior government official, said he was kept from seeing his client this week. Bui Tuan Lam, who runs a beef noodle stall in Danang, achieved some notoriety in 2021 when a video that went viral showing him imitating the Turkish chef known as Salt Bae.  The video was widely seen as a mockery of Vietnam’s minister of public security, To Lam, who was caught on film being hand-fed one…

Calls grow for British government to speak out against Hong Kong’s media crackdown

Chin@Strategy

British lawmakers and the son of jailed media magnate Jimmy Lai have criticized the United Kingdom for failing to oppose China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s once-free media and support embattled journalists in the city.  “The British government did not really call for the release of my father,” Lai’s son Sebastien told journalists as the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong published a report on the state of the city’s media amid an ongoing crackdown under a draconian security law imposed by Beijing. “This is a man who has stood…

Iran seizes US-bound oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Media Library

Iran has seized a US-bound oil tanker from international waters in the Gulf of Oman, according to the US Navy’s Central Command. A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Advantage Sweet, was taken by members of Iran’s navy, Centcom said in a statement on Thursday. Satellite tracking showed the vessel had sailed from Kuwait and was broadcasting its destination as Houston, Texas. The vessel is capable of carrying about 1mn barrels of crude. “Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” Centcom said. The motive for…

China Is Blazing a Trail in Regulating Generative AI – on the CCP’s Terms

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement In April, China’s internet regulator published draft provisions for governing “generative artificial intelligence” (AI) (in Chinese, 生成式人工智能). The regulations aim to ensure “healthy development and standardized application” of AI services that can create text, videos, voice, and images. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is just one of many such technologies swiftly emerging around the globe. Although the United States leads in this area, the Chinese government has leapfrogged the U.S. in creating a regulatory framework. China’s answer to ChatGPT – Baidu’s ERNIE Bot – is barely out of the gate with an…

Mukesh Ambani and James Murdoch win rights to show ‘Succession’ in India

Media Library

Tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s media venture Viacom18, which is backed by James Murdoch, has bought the India rights to show films and television from Hollywood giant Warner Bros Discovery, stepping up competition with Walt Disney in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for streaming. The Warner Bros deal expands Viacom18’s offering from sport to high end entertainment, after the company beat Disney to secure rights to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition. The newly announced deal will from next month let Viacom18’s TV channels and its JioCinema streaming service…

Pot Politics Emerge as Key Issue in Thai Election 

Chin@Strategy

Bangkok —  Thailand’s political party known for getting cannabis partially legalized in the kingdom, the Bhumjaithai Party, has accused rivals of playing politics with its flagship policy ahead of a May 14 election, warning that marijuana reform is non-negotiable if it is to join any government coalition. In June of 2022, Thailand decriminalized cannabis to be cultivated and sold by licensed businesses for medicinal use only. But a detailed cannabis act failed to pass parliament before it was dissolved in March to make time for campaigning for the upcoming election.…

India’s biggest condom maker lifts dreary IPO market

Media Library

India’s biggest condom maker has raised Rs43.3bn ($529mn) in the country’s largest listing this year, as sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC led a rush to buy one of the country’s most widely known pharmaceutical brands. Mankind Pharma will float on the Mumbai stock exchange next month after its offer to investors received 15 times as many bids as there were shares available by the end of Thursday. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension plan, and the asset management arms of Goldman Sachs…