Tag: East Asia

Taiwan president warns of China’s ‘infiltration’ effort

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday that China has deepened its influence campaigns and infiltration against the democratic island, pledging measures to tackle Beijing’s efforts to “absorb” Taiwan. Taiwan has accused China of stepping up military drills, trade sanctions and influence campaigns against the island in recent years to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty claims. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with senior security officials, Lai said Beijing had used Taiwan’s democracy to “absorb” various members of society, including organized crime groups, media…

China accuses New Zealand’s top spy of spreading ‘false information’

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BEIJING —  China’s embassy in New Zealand on Thursday accused Wellington’s top spy of lying after the intelligence chief warned of security risks posed by Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific. In a speech in Wellington last week, New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service Director-General Andrew Hampton said the focus of Pacific nations on economic and transnational crime issues had opened the door for China to sign strategic deals with them that linked economic and security cooperation. “The relevant remarks are totally baseless, all fabrication, and amount to spreading false information,”…

Advocates for jailed publisher Lai turn to Trump administration

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WASHINGTON —  The son of imprisoned pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai this week brought the campaign to secure his father’s release to the Trump administration in Washington. Nearly two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, Lai’s son Sebastien and their international legal team were in Washington this week to meet with Trump administration officials and lawmakers in hopes that the United States can help push for Lai’s release. Lai, a businessman and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong, stands accused of collusion with foreign forces and…

VOA Mandarin: China, Walmart discuss response to US tariffs

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China’s Commerce Ministry reportedly held talks with Walmart on Tuesday after the U.S. retail giant had requested a 10% price cut from its Chinese suppliers to offset U.S. tariff costs, state media CCTV said. The report added that the ministry is believed to have expressed concern over Walmart’s “unfair” practice, which it believes may create the risk of supply chain disruption and harm the interests of Chinese and American companies and American consumers.” Click here for the full story in Mandarin. Voice of America

China, Iran, Russia hold joint naval drills in Middle East

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TEHRAN, IRAN —  China, Iran and Russia conducted joint naval drills Tuesday in the Middle East, offering a show of force in a region still uneasy over Tehran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program and as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten new attacks on ships. The joint drills, called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. The area around the strait has in the past…

China boosting development of AI for use in trade war with US

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NEW DELHI —  Encouraged by the enthusiastic reception to its DeepSeek artificial intelligence platform in January, China’s leaders are going all out to encourage AI companies to harness the power of this technology to compete with the United States and other countries in business and military spheres. China considers AI an important tool to handle U.S. restrictions on Chinese business, particularly after DeepSeek shook up Wall Street, resulting in a loss of $589 billion for Nvidia stockholders in late January. “The government in China works directly with the private sector…

VOA Mandarin: US House passes bill to restrict use of Chinese-made batteries

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The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed two bills involving China. One will restrict the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries made by Chinese companies. The other will set up a working group in the Department of Homeland Security to monitor and respond to threats from China. The bills will now await consideration by the Senate. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. Voice of America

VOA Mandarin: As China NPC closes, dissidents on ‘forced holidays’ to be sent home

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China wrapped up its week-long National Party Congress meetings on Tuesday, where its nearly 3,000 representatives cast votes to pass a total of seven bills in half an hour. Analysts called China’s two sessions a rubber-stamp political gathering, where many dissidents have been placed on “forced holidays” outside of Beijing so that their voice would not be heard. One dissident told VOA he will be sent home one day after the NPC’s closure on Tuesday. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. Voice of America

Fate of 8 Uyghurs in Thailand in limbo after 40 deported to China

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BANGKOK —  Human rights advocates say at least some of the eight ethnic minority Uyghurs who remain in Thailand’s custody since authorities deported 40 others to China last month are at risk of the same fate. After weeks of denying it was planning to repatriate any of the 48 Chinese Uyghurs it had held since arresting them for illegal entry in 2014, Thailand abruptly turned 40 of them over to China on Feb. 27. The United States, United Nations and international rights groups strongly condemned Thailand for sending Uyghurs back…

Dalai Lama says his successor to be born outside China

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NEW DELHI —  The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago. Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old’s death, he writes in “Voice for the Voiceless,” which was reviewed by Reuters and is being released on Tuesday. He had previously said the line of spiritual leaders might end with him.…