Diplomatic friction has worsened between the United States and China after Beijing claimed, without evidence, that US high-altitude balloons flew over its Xinjiang and Tibet regions, and threatened unspecified measures against US entities for undermining Chinese sovereignty. Washington and Beijing are locked in a tussle over flying objects after the US military this month shot down what it called a Chinese spy balloon over the coast of South Carolina. Beijing said it was a civilian research vehicle mistakenly blown off course, and that Washington overreacted. This week, China has claimed…
Day: February 15, 2023
Senate Unanimously Condemns China for Spy Balloon, Joining the House
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a pair of resolutions condemning China for sending a surveillance balloon over the United States, joining the House in formally decrying an incident that has prompted a bipartisan chorus of demands for accountability on Capitol Hill. The first of the two measures, written by Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, condemns the Chinese Communist Party for an “invasion” of U.S. airspace, while calling on the president to be “transparent with the American people and Congress” about the spy balloon incident and…
Competitor or adversary? The west struggles to define its relationship with Beijing
If you want to solve a problem, it helps to be able to define it, but when it comes to a problem like China, western leaders have been struggling to find the right words. Liz Truss sought to designate China as a “threat” to Britain, but did not stay prime minister long enough for that to become established policy. Her successor, Rishi Sunak, has opted for the less combative “systemic challenge” but he is under pressure from backbench MPs to follow Truss’s path and call Beijing a “strategic threat”. Sunak…
US Worried by Myanmar Junta, Russia Expanding Nuclear Cooperation
WASHINGTON — The United States is concerned about the expansion of Russia’s nuclear cooperation with the military-led government in Myanmar — also known as Burma — the U.S. State Department said this week. “We are deeply concerned with — but not surprised by — Russia’s willingness to expand its material support, including through nuclear energy cooperation, to the repressive regime in Burma (Myanmar),” the State Department said in an emailed statement to VOA on Tuesday. “Russia’s actions are prolonging a crisis that threatens our efforts to advance peace and prosperity…
Elderly in China protest over slashed health benefits
At the end of last year, thousands of young Chinese took part in protests that eventually forced the government to overturn its strict zero-Covid measures – people had grown weary of the mass testing and sudden, sweeping lockdowns that had been smashing the economy. BBC
Experts: A Girl and Missiles Are North Korea’s Way to Perpetuate Regime
WASHINGTON — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made a symbolic gesture of telling the world his regime would continue into the next generation by presenting his daughter at a series of major military events featuring top generals and the latest military hardware, said experts. Ju Ae, believed to be about 10 years old, was seen on two consecutive nights during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the founding the Korean People’s Army (KPA). North Korean state media showed Ju Ae alongside Kim and her mother, Ri Sol Ju,…
Thousands of Chinese Retirees Protest Government Cuts to Benefits
WUHAN, China — Thousands of retirees confronted local officials and the police outside a popular park in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to demand the repeal of recent cuts in government-provided medical insurance for seniors. The protest on Wednesday, the second in Wuhan in a week, was the latest sign of strain on the finances of China’s local governments, which are responsible for covering much of the cost of everything from health care to heating homes. China’s “zero Covid” policies, dictated by Beijing over the past three years, saddled…
Interview: “We told the children we were defecting. They said ‘thank you.’”
O Hye-son is the wife of Thae Yong-ho, who in 2016 was North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom when the family decided to defect from the North to resettle in the South. Thae became the highest ranking North Korean official to switch sides. Less than four years after they arrived in Seoul, Thae won a local election and became a member of the National Assembly representing the wealthy Gangnam district of Seoul. Though South Korean and Western media have been eager to tell Thae’s former North Korean diplomat…
How Questions Over a Spy Balloon and U.F.O.s Fed a Crisis Between the U.S. and China
Other murky actions have challenged U.S. analysts trying to read Chinese intentions. On Jan. 28, when the balloon approached the Aleutian Islands and American airspace over Alaska in its off-course trajectory, the balloon’s self-destruct function did not activate, U.S. officials said. Chinese operators may not have wanted to destroy the balloon; it is also possible that they attempted to trigger the self-destruct mechanism and it failed. The Chinese Spy Balloon Showdown The discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon floating over the United States has added to the rising tensions between…
Blinken Prepares for Possible China Talks During Europe Trip
state department — The United States is preparing for a possible meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during a regional security conference in Europe this Friday, a diplomatic source confirmed to VOA on the condition of anonymity. The meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference could be the first face-to-face talks between two top diplomats since the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon early this month. The incident led Blinken to postpone a planned trip to Beijing. Blinken told Wang…