Day: December 20, 2022

China Trying to Downplay COVID Threat, Experts Say

Chin@Strategy

new delhi —  Chinese government officials and international experts have always been at loggerheads about the COVID-19 situation in the world’s most populated country. But now they have changed positions. For more than a year, international experts and non-Chinese businesses have been criticizing Beijing’s stringent controls, including the use of lockdowns, transportation blockades and mass testing that slowed the economy and disrupted global supply chains. The controls appeared excessive in a country that has acknowledged just 5,242 COVID-related deaths compared with the loss of 1.1 million people in the U.S.…

Experts: North Korea’s ICBMs Pose Preemption Challenges for US

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washington —  North Korea’s rapidly advancing ICBM capabilities pose a growing threat to the United States and its allies, according to experts who say it will become increasingly difficult to destroy Pyongyang’s missiles prior to launch with preemptive strikes. In the latest development, North Korea suggested Tuesday it is preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile on a normal trajectory similar to what would be used in a real attack, rather than on the less threatening lofted trajectory of previous tests. North Korea successfully launched a Hwasong-17 ICBM in November,…

China Covid infection surge puts end of global emergency in doubt – WHO

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It may be too early to declare the global end of the Covid-19 pandemic emergency because of a potentially devastating wave to come in China, according to several leading scientists and World Health Organization advisers. Their views represent a shift since China began to dismantle its zero-Covid policy last week after a spike in infections and unprecedented public protests. Projections have suggested the world’s second-largest economy could face more than a million deaths in 2023 after the abrupt change in course. China’s zero-Covid approach kept infections and deaths comparatively low…

Tour of Pyongyang reveals massive wealth gap to North Korean farmers

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North Korea rewarded this year’s best farmers with a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Pyongyang, but the farmers returned from their trip incensed at how they are made to live in relative squalor compared to residents of the capital, sources in the country told RFA. Only the most privileged members of North Korean society are allowed to live in Pyongyang, and most North Koreans can only dream of ever visiting, so being selected for the tour is considered a great honor. “The farmers who visited Pyongyang said they were envious that Pyongyang…

Chinese scammers detain Burmese youths for refusing to defraud foreigners

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A Chinese gang is holding 19 young Burmese migrant workers against their will in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state after “buying” them from people posing as job brokers to operate online fraud schemes, according to the victims and their family members.  The 13 men and six women, all about 20 years old, signed what they thought were employment contracts for jobs in October, and agents associated with the gang took them to Mong Pauk township in the rebel United Wa State Army-controlled Special Administrative Region, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from…

China’s Official COVID Statistics Meet Public Doubt as Cases Increase 

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washington / taipei, taiwan —  Almost two weeks after China relaxed its strict “zero-COVID” policy measures, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Tuesday reported five deaths related to the virus after reporting two deaths the day before. Chinese authorities also reported 2,722 new confirmed cases nationwide and added that all five people who died were infected domestically. In a nation with more than 1.4 billion residents, there is public skepticism about the accuracy of the NHC figures because they are much lower than what experts predicted even before the end…

US Offers COVID Vaccines to China to Stem Outbreak

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Washington —  The United States on Tuesday offered to share vaccines with China to stem soaring COVID-19 cases, saying containing the outbreak was in the interest of the world. It is unlikely that China would accept the offer from the United States, its frequent adversary, after Beijing invested heavily in COVID-19 diplomacy that included shipping its homegrown vaccines around the world. “It’s important that all countries focus on getting people vaccinated and making testing and treatment easily available,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “The U.S. is the largest…

Australia news live: Penny Wong arrives in China for talks; vandalism of ancient Nullarbor Plain cave art ‘shocking’

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From 36m ago SA minister condemns ‘shocking’ vandalism of ancient Indigenous cave art Kyam Maher, South Australia’s minister for Aboriginal affairs and attorney general, has condemned the vandals who have destroyed sacred Aboriginal cave art. Adelaide Now reported this week that vandals have destroyed 30,000-to-40,000-year-old Nullarbor Plain cave art that is sacred to the Mirning people of the Great Australian Bight: Traditional owners have been left “devastated” by the destruction of “fluting” designs carved into chalk limestone walls in Koonalda Cave, which is protected by locked steel gates. Maher has…

Chinese business charm offensive aims to rebuild supply chains with human touch after 3-year isolation

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On the day Chen landed in Indonesia, textile manufacturer Shen Wei, from the neighbouring city of Jiaxing, had just returned from Japan on a chartered flight organised by the city government after attending the three-day Asia Fashion Fair in Tokyo as part of a group of more than 90 textile company representatives. “It was very common to go abroad to meet clients before, so we didn’t cherish the opportunity as much as we do now,” Shen said. Advertisement As China shifts its focus to bringing the economy back on track…

National Security Provision in Iconic Press Club’s Lease Concerns Some Members in Hong Kong

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Since 1949, Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club has offered a refuge to international journalists: offering talks, exhibitions, or just a place to relax and chat with others in the trade. But its lease renewal has some questioning whether the club — which historically defends free press principles — can survive in Hong Kong. Since 1982, the club has been located in the city’s business district, where it leases from the government a converted 19th century brick building that is now dwarfed by towering skyscrapers. But when it came time to…