Month: February 2024

For China, North Korea Is ‘Card to Play’ in Competition With US, Experts Say

Media Library

washington —  Beijing is unlikely to help Washington disrupt military cooperation between North Korea and Russia because China sees that move as undermining itself while bolstering U.S. goals in Europe and Asia, analysts said. “Given U.S. policy in Asia and Washington’s ongoing effort to contain Chinese power in the region, Beijing has no reason to assist the U.S., even indirectly, on one of its most top foreign policy priorities – a Russian defeat in Ukraine,” said Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities. “For China, North Korea is not a…

China’s robotic dog can shoot like a pro. What is the US doing?

Media Library

Others, however, see vast potential in this emerging technology, saying it could revolutionise future warfare. The US Marine Corps bought several units to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the Chinese-made robotic dogs last year. And while the results of that evaluation are not available, a study by Chinese scientists suggests these robotic dogs may outshoot even seasoned troops when it comes to handling firearms. The study “demonstrates the feasibility of a legged strike platform”, lead scientist Xu Cheng and his team wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese…

Ukrainian YouTuber Finds Her AI Clone Selling Russian Goods on Chinese Internet

Media Library

washington —  Speaking Mandarin and promoting love for China, countless videos of foreign-looking women made with artificial intelligence started popping up on Chinese social media platforms around the Lunar New Year earlier this month. The avatars in the videos are created with online images that are stolen, reproduced and repurposed so that even the women in real life recognize themselves in the videos. Olga Loiek is one of those women. She’s a 20-year-old Ukrainian who studies cognitive science at the University of Pennsylvania. A couple of months ago, Loiek started…

Boeing to pay $51mn US penalty over arms export violations

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Boeing is paying $51mn to settle a US administrative charge over unauthorised exports, to countries including China, of technical data related to a range of US military weaponry including fighter jets and missile systems. The deal with the US aerospace manufacturer will resolve nearly 200 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations laws, the US state department said on Thursday. The company and…

China’s secrets law could mean new risks linked to ‘work secrets’

Media Library

China’s latest piece of security legislation will have a further chilling effect on foreign investment and the economy by creating a new category of confidential information called ‘work secrets,’ analysts said in recent commentaries and interviews with RFA Mandarin. President Xi Jinping on Tuesday signed an executive order that will see the Law on Safeguarding State Secrets take effect from May 1, after the law was revised and adopted by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Feb. 27. The move follows a number of police raids last year on…

US House Republicans add Pacific nations deals to bill ‘countering Communist China’

Media Library

First signed in the 1980s with the three island nations, the Cofa agreements provide Washington exclusive military access to strategic swathes of the western Pacific in exchange for economic help. Cleo Paskal, an Indo-Pacific expert, described the inclusion as an “encouraging sign that more members of Congress realise that this needs to be passed as soon as possible, whatever legislative cycle available”. This particular bill “may or may not succeed in its current form, but just being included increases the visibility of the compacts and the chances that the compacts…

For Some Chinese Migrants, Few Options in Xi’s China

Media Library

Lajas Blancas, Panama / Washington —  With only a backpack, a portable tent and a small shoulder bag, Cong, a 47-year-old Chinese migrant, was one of more than a dozen migrants to step out of a narrow wooden boat on the stony shore of the Chucunaque River in Lajas Blancas, Panama. The stop was one of dozens he had made over the past month, and it was where he met with VOA’s Mandarin Service on his journey toward the United States — a journey that began in China’s southwestern province…

With Back-to-Back Actions, Biden Spotlights China Data Security Threat

Media Library

WASHINGTON —  The Biden administration launched a series of actions against China in recent days, sustaining pressure against the United States’ key strategic rival even as it focuses on more urgent fronts, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. In the span of one week, the administration announced an executive order to protect Americans’ personal data from foreign adversaries, including China; launched an investigation into potential security threats posed by connected vehicles that use Chinese technology; and placed sanctions on Chinese entities for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The actions…

Freedom House: Civil Liberties Decline Globally for 18th Year

Media Library

washington —  Civil liberties declined globally for the 18th consecutive year in 2023, with conflict and flawed elections the biggest factors, a new report has found. Political rights and civil liberties deteriorated for more than one-fifth of the population, the non-profit group Freedom House found. And only one-fifth of the 210 countries and territories the research group analyzed was found to be “free.” Released on Thursday, the Freedom in the World report assesses political rights and civil liberties, then ranks countries or territories as “free,” “partly free,” or “not free.”…

Vietnam police detain YouTube activist on anti-state charges

Media Library

Hanoi authorities arrested the creator of two popular YouTube channels on Thursday on anti-state charges under Article 117, Vietnam’s vaguely written law that human rights organizations say is used to silence dissent. Nguyen Chi Tuyen will be detained while an investigation is conducted into the charge of “disseminating information, materials, items and publications against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” Hanoi’s Security Investigation Agency said in a statement. Tuyen is a founding member of the “No-U group,” which rejects a U-shaped line that China puts on maps of the South China…