Day: January 13, 2023

Chinese Study Estimates 900M COVID Infections

Chin@Strategy

As China grapples with a massive surge of coronavirus infections, a new study by a Chinese university estimates the virus has infected some 900 million people in the country to date. China has stopped publishing daily COVID statistics following the end of its zero-COVID policy. The government claims the total number of dead since the beginning of the pandemic is around 5,200, but many health experts consider that a vast undercount. The Peking University study says roughly 64% of all people in China are estimated to have been infected, and…

Biden and Kishida Vow to Bolster US-Japan Alliance as China’s Power Grows

Chin@Strategy

Japan is an important member of the Quad coalition in Asia, which includes the United States, India and Australia and was formed in part to counter Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region. Chinese officials say it is obvious the United States is trying to use alliances and partnerships in the region to constrain China, including the Quad as well as AUKUS, the new security coalition formed by the United States, Britain and Australia. The United States and Japan also announced on Friday a new agreement to cooperate on the exploration…

Laos struggling to combat rising costs

Chin@Strategy

Inflation in the small, land-locked nation of Laos has been spiraling for the last few months, shooting up by nearly 40% at the end of 2022 as a new prime minister tries to calm concerns about rising costs.  The country’s National Statistics Bureau reported year-to-year inflation of nearly 39.3% in December 2022, up from 38.5% the month before, making it the highest among the Association for Southeast Asian Nations members. In response, Lao authorities ordered the closing of all money exchange outlets and are now allowing only banks to exchange…

Japan’s PM vows to modernise military for new era of threats

Chin@Strategy

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has pledged to modernise his country’s military alongside US president Joe Biden, warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had opened a dangerous new era and could embolden China. Welcoming Kishida at the White House, Biden hailed the Japanese government’s announcement last month that it will double defence spending over the next five years and develop new capabilities. “Let me be crystal clear: the United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and more importantly to Japan’s defence,” Biden said. Japan has been officially…

Why has China’s zero-Covid U-turn sparked so much public resentment?

Chin@Strategy

Complaints in social media posts about a dearth of medications, overwhelmed hospitals, ambulance services and funeral parlours, and acute blood shortages are a sign of widespread public resentment. “It’s ruthless to make us, the vulnerable elderly, pay the price for the government’s haphazardness,” Liu said, adding that all members of her family had received three vaccine jabs and had worn masks when in public spaces. Her husband was finally given a bed in an intensive care unit after his immediate family, their relatives and friends contacted nearly a dozen hospitals.…

White House Explains COVID Restrictions on Travelers from China

Chin@Strategy

As China has relaxed its zero-COVID policy and made it much easier for travelers to come and go, a surge of infections has prompted some countries, including the United States, to impose new testing requirements for anyone arriving from China. Each Chinese traveler boarding a flight from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau must present a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than two days prior. Beijing has pushed back on the increased screening, even though each foreign traveler entering China must also present a negative COVID-19 test. VOA Mandarin…

Myanmar Reportedly Jailed Malaysia-bound Rohingya Refugees for Traveling ‘Without Official Documents’

Chin@Strategy

A military-backed court in Myanmar has reportedly sentenced 112 Rohingya Muslim refugees to jail terms after they were caught traveling outside refugee camps, as the entire group was on its way to Malaysia. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on January 10 that the Bogale township court sentenced the group of “Bengalis”— a pejorative the authorities in the country use to identify Rohingyas — to two to five years imprisonment on January 6 for traveling “without legal documents.” The court gave jail terms of two years to five…