Day: November 19, 2022

Asia Fact Check Lab: Did NATO donate HIV-infected blood to Ukraine?

Chin@Strategy

During the past two weeks, a conspiracy theory alleging that NATO members had donated HIV and hepatitis-infected blood to Ukraine was originally posted and spread on Weibo by “Guyan Muchan,” an influential account with more than 6 million followers.  Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) tracked down and confirmed the pro-Putin Telegram channel Breaking Mash as the disinformation’s source. Further inquiries by the Ukraine-based fact-checking organization StopFake caused the Ukrainian government to release a formal statement debunking the disinformation.  On Nov. 3, Guyan Muchan, a widely followed Weibo user, published a…

Beloved giant panda given to Taiwan by China dies aged 18 after seizures

Chin@Strategy

A panda given to Taiwan by China 14 years ago as a symbol of what were then warmer ties died on Saturday, after suffering seizures, Taipei zoo said. Tuan Tuan and his breeding mate Yuan Yuan were given to Taiwan by Beijing in late 2008, at a time when relations between the two were more cordial. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day bring the self-ruled democratic island into its fold, by force if necessary. “Our medical team has confirmed that Tuan Tuan’s…

China and US renew commitment to tackling climate crisis but differences remain

Chin@Strategy

China and the US have renewed their partnership to tackle the climate crisis, and are working closely and productively on ways of bringing down greenhouse gas emissions, China’s head of delegation has said. The surprise news from Xie Zhenhua, who briefed a small group of journalists at the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt on Saturday, comes as a rare moment of progress amid a conference mired in stalemate and bitter fighting between developed and developing countries. Xie said he and John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate,…

Does US have China in mind with F-22 deployment to its bases in Japan?

Chin@Strategy

Former US Marine fighter pilot and diplomat Steve Ganyard said the move was a sign that concerns about China had overtaken the US Air Force’s traditional focus in the region on potential conflict in North Korea. “You can look at it as the USAF coming to grips with the reality that nothing on the first island chain, especially not Kadena [air force base in Okinawa], will be survivable in a conflict with China,” he said, according to a report last week in US military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Advertisement The…

Xi steals the limelight at APEC, showcasing China’s regional clout

Chin@Strategy

UPDATED at 5:45 a.m. EST on 11-19-2022. Even as host Thailand passes the APEC baton to its successor the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been busy using the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to highlight China’s growing clout and push back against U.S. influence in the region. Having secured an unprecedented third term as leader at the Chinese Communist Party’s Congress last month, Xi embarked on his first major foreign tour since the pandemic struck nearly three years ago – to the Group of 20 Summit in Bali, then…

Giant panda Tuan Tuan dies in Taiwan after seizures

Chin@Strategy

A male giant panda gifted by Beijing to Taiwan as a symbol of warmer ties died on Saturday after suffering a spate of seizures, Taipei Zoo said. “Our medical team has confirmed that Tuan Tuan’s heart stopped beating at 13.48,” the zoo said in a short statement that did not state the cause of death. Earlier on Saturday, a separate statement said the panda’s condition was “irreversible” and that he could no longer “live a quality life”. Vets first noticed Tuan Tuan, 18, was ill in August, when he began…