Taiwan has condemned as “contemptible” the timing of China and Russia’s “no limits” partnership at the start of the Winter Olympics, saying the Chinese government was bringing shame to the spirit of the Games. China and Russia, at a meeting of their leaders hours before the Winter Olympics officially opened, backed each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the west. Russia voiced its support for China’s stance that democratically governed Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and opposition to any form…
Day: February 4, 2022
Meet the U.S. Figure Skating Team
Meet the U.S. Figure Skating Team Juliet MacurReporting from the Beijing Olympics ⛸ James Hill for The New York Times Mariah Bell, 25, is proof that experience and perseverance still matter. Last month, she became the oldest female U.S. singles champion in 95 years. Her soulful, balletic performance to the song “Hallelujah” will give you goosebumps. NYT
At least 21 dead after Pakistan army clashes with militants for third day
Pakistani troops battled separatist militants for a third day on Friday in the troubled province of Balochistan, where hundreds of residents in a town near the Iranian border remained trapped by shellfire and heavy fighting. The violence erupted on Wednesday when insurgents from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) launched twin assaults on bases of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the Naushki and Panjgur districts, leading to the deaths of at least 12 soldiers and nine militants. The fighting in Noshki lasted 16 hours before all the assailants were killed, and…
The Rise and Fall of Democracy With Chinese Characteristics
Advertisement When U.S. President Joe Biden invited leaders of the free world to the virtual Summit for Democracy in December 2021, China was not happy. In response, Beijing held its own “Advanced Democracy Summit” among Chinese and foreign scholars. The State Council also published the “Democracy in China” white paper, which argues that democracy is infused in all aspects of China’s political process – therefore, the paper argued, the political system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is more democratic than the morally bankrupt Western democracy. Many…
What Putin and Xi Said (and Didn’t Say) About Ukraine
Advertisement On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia President Vladimir Putin held their first in-person meeting since 2019. Putin arrived in Beijing to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics (which also took place on Friday). He is one of 25 foreign leaders in Beijing for the Olympics festivities, but only a few (including Putin, as well as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan) are being accorded one-on-one meetings with Xi. Xi and Putin have kept up a steady stream of virtual visits, but the COVID-19 pandemic…
Xi and Putin denounce Nato expansion as Ukraine tensions rise
China’s Xi Jingping and Vladimir Putin of Russia have signed a joint statement calling on the west to “abandon the ideologised approaches of the cold war”, as the two leaders showcased their warming relationship ahead of the Beijing Olympics. In a joint statement released by the Kremlin, Putin and Xi called on Nato to rule out expansion in eastern Europe, denounced the formation of security blocs in the Asia-Pacific region, and criticised the Aukus trilateral security pact between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The two countries also pledged…
Pelosi Warns U.S. Olympic Athletes Not to Anger China With Protests
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discouraged Olympic athletes from protesting at the opening ceremony in Beijing on Thursday, saying that it wasn’t worth the risk of reprisal from a “ruthless” Chinese government. Pelosi said that she and other politicians would speak out against China’s human rights record, but that athletes would be at risk if they use their platforms to protest. “I would say to our athletes: You’re there to compete,” she said. “Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government, because they are ruthless.” It is not known…
China’s belt and road plans face new EU, US competition, but ‘space for cooperation’ remains
China is unlikely to be displaced as the main funder of infrastructure projects among belt and road countries even as alternatives like the European Union’s Global Gateway plan come online, analysts say.But after a series of setbacks, Beijing is taking a more discerning view on how it engages with many developing countries.A number of flagship projects along China’s modern-day Silk Road, which seeks to link Asia, Europe and Africa with a network of ports, motorways and railways, have run into…South China Morning Post