Month: May 2023

Chinese fighter jet made ‘aggressive’ manoeuvre near US military plane over South China Sea: Pentagon

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“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.” The incident occurred during a week in which two US officials have decried Beijing’s denial of invitations to set up high-level, military-to-military talks Advertisement Speaking in New York last week, US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John C. Aquilino accused the Chinese government of holding out on such invitations as a “bartering chip” and condemned that approach as a failure “to mitigate risk and to avoid miscalculation”. US assistant secretary of defence for…

Following apology to Hun Sen, farming activist is freed on bail

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A farming activist and two of his associates were freed on bail Tuesday after they made a public apology to Prime Minister Hun Sen for seeking to “topple the government.”  The case involving Theng Savoeun, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, has drawn the attention of rights groups who say it undermines the work of civil society and is part of a “crackdown” on the opposition in Cambodia ahead of the July 23 general election. On May 17, authorities in Kratie province arrested Savoeun and 16 of his…

Taiwan’s volunteer soldiers fight for freedom and democracy – in Ukraine

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In Taiwan, he was in the coffee industry and military reserves. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Yao Kuan-chun volunteered to go fight. He has been on the ground in Ukraine the past three months, one of a handful of Taiwanese soldiers who have joined other international fighters in the war that started in February 2022. Yao, 30, knows the threat of invasion from a bigger authoritarian neighbor – China – and is fighting for the larger causes of democracy and freedom.  But he’s also getting first-hand combat experience in case China…

Hui Muslims and police clash in China’s Yunnan over mosque dome demolition

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Police in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan have detained more than 30 people following clashes over the weekend between hundreds of armed police and Hui Muslims trying to prevent the demolition of a dome on a major mosque. Authorities in the mostly Muslim town of Nagu started arresting people for public order violations after clashes on Saturday, when a government demolition team toppled the minarets and dome roof of the historic Najiaying Mosque. It is part of the “sinicization” of religion under President Xi Jinping that ushered in a…

Outlawed church group makes comeback in Vietnam

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A church outlawed in Vietnam has reappeared in the country’s northern Thanh Hoa province after many years with no presence or activities in the area, Vietnamese police said Tuesday. The World Mission Society of Church of God, also known as Church of God the Mother, has made a comeback with 16 service locations, mostly in Thanh Hoa city, and around 500 followers, according information on the provincial police’s website. The group’s embers range in age from 18 to 50 years old, and most are students and housewives, authorities said. They…

China’s Young People Can’t Find Jobs. Xi Jinping Says to ‘Eat Bitterness.’

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Gloria Li is desperate to find a job. Graduating in June with a master’s degree in graphic design, she started looking last fall, hoping to find an entry-level position that pays about $1,000 a month in a big city in central China. The few offers she has gotten are internships that pay $200 to $300 a month, with no benefits. Over two days in May she messaged more than 200 recruiters and sent her résumé to 32 companies — and lined up exactly two interviews. She said she would take…

China’s C919 debut could inspire aviation supply chain to take off, but self-sufficiency ‘difficult’

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But key technologies – including the engine, avionics, control systems, communications and landing gear – were all imported. “Due to limitations on productivity capacity and difficulties in the supply chain for commercial flight production, we expect that it would be difficult to upgrade the productivity of the C919 model in a short period of time, and there will be little impact on the supply and demand of the industry,” the Shanghai-based Orient Securities said. Advertisement The C919 – which has been in production for more than 14 years – was…

China Seeks Stronger Ties With Sudan Amid Regional, International Tug-of-War

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CAIRO —  China has been a major investment partner in Sudan’s energy, agriculture and transport sectors in recent years, pumping nearly $6 billion in investments into the country since 2005. Its interests in Sudan date back to 1959, but China began to flourish on a broader level after the U.S. placed the country under economic sanctions in 1998. And now, as nations work to extend a shaky cease-fire between rival forces, China is looking to maintain a neutral stance and advance its own interests as well. China played a key…

US Sanctions 17 Chinese, Mexican Targets Over Fentanyl Production

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The United States hit 17 individuals and entities in China and Mexico with sanctions on Tuesday, accusing them of supplying equipment that Mexican drug cartels use to manufacture fentanyl-spiked fake pills for the U.S. market. The move by the U.S. Treasury Department, coordinated with the Mexican government, is part of a U.S. crackdown on the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs from Mexico that are taking the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. The nine companies and eight individuals sanctioned on Tuesday are “directly or indirectly” involved in…

Elon Musk Meets Chinese Foreign Minister, Who Calls for ‘Mutual Respect’ in US-China Relations

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China’s foreign minister met Tesla Ltd. CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday and said strained U.S.-Chinese relations require “mutual respect,” while delivering a message of reassurance that foreign companies are welcome. U.S.-Chinese relations are especially tense after Washington shot down a Chinese balloon believed to be gathering intelligence and warned Beijing against supplying arms to Russia for its war against Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported China has rejected a request for its defense minister to meet the U.S. defense secretary when both are in Singapore this weekend. “We need to…