Day: March 8, 2023

Republicans Push Lab Leak Theory on Covid’s Origins, but Lack ‘Smoking Gun’

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accused top federal health officials on Wednesday of excluding him from discussions in early 2020 about whether the coronavirus was the result of a laboratory leak — an assertion that one of the officials, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, later said had “nothing to do with reality.” Three years into the pandemic, the accusation by the former C.D.C. director, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, put a spotlight on the lingering bitterness and partisan divisions around the scientific question of…

Could a Ming dynasty Buddha found near an Australian beach rewrite history?

Chin@Strategy

In 2018, a pair of Australian film-makers were doing runs with metal detectors in remote Western Australia as they prepared to shoot a documentary about the French exploration of Australia. The film was supposed to feature a hunt for scientific equipment believed to have been left in the area by the Baudin expedition of 1800-1803. There was no trace of Napoleonic-era exploration, but what they did find was something perhaps even more unusual. It was 15cm-tall bronze Buddha figure, weighing just over 1kg and – according to experts – likely…

Growing numbers of Chinese citizens set their sights on the US – via the deadly Darién Gap

Chin@Strategy

On the first day of 2023, Xu was in no mood to celebrate the new year. He had just arrived in the Colombian beach town of Necoclí along with dozens of other Chinese citizens, weary from a two-day bus trip from Ecuador. Their goal was the US via the Darién Gap, a roadless, lawless and extremely dangerous stretch of rainforest connecting South and Central America. He wanted to leave China far behind him. “After I leave the country [China], I have no plans to go back alive,” says Xu later,…

Media hype of war with China forgets the impact on Australian society | Yun Jiang

Chin@Strategy

Much ink has been spilled in Australia on war scenarios with China. Some experts claim that unless Australia takes action now, a war with China will be inevitable in three years. This type of commentary and analysis inflates the role Australia plays in deterring China while underselling the roles other countries in the region play. In addition, only military aspects of war are usually considered while the economic and social consequences are ignored. In much of the media reporting in Australia, the world comprises only three countries – China, Australia…

China’s rising power and influence in the Pacific explained in 30 seconds

Chin@Strategy

Located between the US, China and Australia, the Pacific island countries hold strategic importance for security and defence. The US has long maintained influence and a military presence in the Pacific region. Over the last decade, China has focused on strengthening its ties in Pacific through increased aid, development, diplomacy and security cooperation. In 2022, Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China, sparking international concern over the possibility of Beijing building its first military base in the region. At the same time, the US ramped up its Pacific diplomacy,…

Cabinet Office ‘told Matt Hancock to tone down lab leak claims’

Chin@Strategy

Matt Hancock was instructed by the Cabinet Office to tone down claims in his memoir that the Covid-19 pandemic originated from a laboratory leak in China, according to leaked correspondence. Officials warned it would “cause problems” if Hancock repeated the claim in his Pandemic Diaries and insisted he must make clear he was not reflecting the government’s view, the Daily Telegraph reported. The changes to the book were made after he submitted the manuscript to the Cabinet Office for review last year – a procedure all former ministers are obliged…

Cambodia, Laos declare Women’s Day a holiday, but host of inequalities remain

Chin@Strategy

Cambodia and Laos declared Wednesday’s International Women’s Day a holiday as leaders sought to highlight improvements in the status of women, but activists across Southeast Asia said much progress was still needed in protecting women, who regularly face discrimination and threats of violence. Although the Ministry of Women’s Affairs encourages female victims to seek help from local authorities, “those requests are often ignored,” said Chak Sopheap, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.  She raised examples of women activists who have faced violence from security personnel while fighting to…

U.S. Intelligence Agencies Warn of China’s Efforts to Expand Its Power

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — China’s government is increasingly convinced it can only make itself the pre-eminent power in Asia, and a major power globally, by diminishing American influence, the top U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday. The goal of weakening U.S. power and influence is one reason China has continued to pursue a deepening partnership with Russia, according to an annual intelligence threat assessment that was also released Wednesday. Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence who appeared before a Senate committee to present the threat assessment, said China believes it can…

Netherlands Responds to US China Policy With Plan to Curb Semiconductor Tech Exports

Chin@Strategy

AMSTERDAM / WASHINGTON —  The Netherlands’ government on Wednesday said it planned new restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, joining the United States’ effort to curb chip exports to China. The U.S. in October imposed sweeping export restrictions on shipments of American chipmaking tools to China, but for the restrictions to be effective, they need other key suppliers in the Netherlands and Japan, who also oversee key chipmaking technology, to agree. The allied countries have been in talks on the matter for months. Dutch Trade Minister…

Overseas Chinese feminists draw inspiration from ‘white paper’ movement back home

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Stymied by strict censorship and the fear of political persecution at home, Chinese women are finding allies in the international feminist movement, as well as standing with Uyghur women activists overseas. Xiao A, a Chinese millennial currently studying in Munich, said she has recently been involved in activism alongside women from Germany, Iran, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Somalia and Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group targeted by the Chinese Communist Party for mass incarceration, surveillance, forced labor, forced marriage and religious persecution. “As a Chinese woman living…