Category: Media Library

Feminist journalist Sophia Huang stands trial for subversion

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feminist journalist sophia huang stands trial for subversion

Feminist journalist Sophia Huang and labor activist Wang Jianbing stood trial in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday for “incitement to subvert state power” as dozens of rights groups called for their release. Huang and Wang were detained on Sept. 19, 2021, and later charged with “incitement to subvert state power,” a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Huang had planned to leave China via Hong Kong the following day – Sept. 20, 2021 – for the United Kingdom, where she…

Diplomatic missions call on Vietnam to stay inmate’s execution

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The European delegation to Vietnam and the Canadian and U.K. Embassies have urged Vietnamese authorities to halt the execution of death row inmate Le Van Manh, whose family was told this week to make preparations to receive his body after his sentence is carried out. In a joint statement, posted to the E.U. delegation’s Facebook page on Thursday, the diplomatic missions noted that Le Van Minh, 42, has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence since he was sentenced for rape and murder in 2005 and dismissed the death penalty as an acceptable…

China’s Lending to Africa Hits a Low, Study Shows

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chinas lending to africa hits a low study shows

johannesburg —  As China marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of its global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), new data show lending to Africa has fallen to its lowest level in almost two decades. A paper released this week by researchers at Boston University’s Global China Initiative said the pandemic, domestic economic woes, a policy shift and concerns about African debt were among the reasons lending in 2021 and 2022 dropped below $2 billion for the first time since the inception of the BRI. In 2000-22,…

Transiting Taiwan airport, Chinese activist seeks political asylum

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transiting taiwan airport chinese activist seeks political asylum

Refusing to board a flight to China while in transit through Taiwan, Chinese dissident Chen Siming said Friday he is seeking political asylum because he would be imprisoned for his political activism should he venture back to China. Chen, an outspoken activist who recently published an open letter commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen massacre — a banned topic in China — had flown into Taipei from Bangkok on Friday morning, and refused to board his connecting flight to Guangzhou, in southern China,. He remained stuck in the transit lounge of Taiwan’s…

Arizona Governor: Taiwan Firm’s Semiconductor Plant Back on Schedule

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arizona governor taiwan firms semiconductor plant back on schedule

Earlier this year, Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC announced that it was delaying the opening of a computer chip plant in the U.S. state of Arizona because of a shortage of specialized workers. But during a visit to Taiwan this week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs told officials that the project is back on schedule and should have no further delays. From Phoenix, Arizona, Levi Stallings has our story. Voice of America

The west’s Modi problem

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the wests modi problem

On September 10, Narendra Modi led Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Justin Trudeau and other world leaders on a morning wreath-laying visit to Rajghat, a New Delhi memorial to India’s slain independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.  The spectacle, on day two of the G20 summit, of the Indian prime minister leading the world’s most powerful people, either barefoot or slippered and wearing shawls, produced striking images that reinforced both Modi’s image domestically and India’s ascent globally as a diplomatic and economic power. But behind the scenes, a conflict was brewing that within a…

Chinese dissident who held Tiananmen Square vigils flees to Taiwan

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A Chinese dissident known for regularly commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square has fled to Taiwan where he pleaded for help in seeking asylum in the US or Canada. In a video posted online on Friday, Chen Siming said he was in the transit area at Taoyuan international airport to escape Chinese political persecution. “The Chinese police’s stability maintenance methods directed towards me were becoming more and more cruel and crazy,” he said in his post. “They detained me at will without following legal procedures,…

US to Provide $116 Million in Aid to Myanmar, Bangladesh

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us to provide 116 million in aid to myanmar bangladesh

The U.S. has committed to providing an additional $116 million in aid to people impacted by humanitarian crises in Myanmar, Bangladesh and the surrounding region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday that the package aims to provide critical resources to nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, many of whom fled genocide in Myanmar, and to more than a million of their Bangladeshi hosts. According to ACLED, an international data mapping group, Myanmar in 2022 was by far the worst country in terms of…

Chinese Dissident in Transit at Taiwan Airport Pleads for Help in Seeking Asylum

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chinese dissident in transit at taiwan airport pleads for help in seeking asylum

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  A Chinese dissident known for regularly commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square fled to Taiwan on Friday and pleaded for help in seeking asylum in the United States or Canada. In a video he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Chen Siming said he was in the transit area at Taoyuan International Airport to escape Chinese political persecution. “The Chinese police’s stability maintenance methods directed towards me were becoming more and more cruel and crazy,” he said in his post. “They…