China is engaged in “political warfare” in the Pacific, the outgoing president of the Federated States of Micronesia has alleged in an excoriating letter, accusing Beijing officials of bribing elected officials in Micronesia, and even “direct threats against my personal safety”. Two months before his term as president expires, David Panuelo’s letter alleged China is preparing for conflict over the island of Taiwan, and that its goal in interfering in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was to render the country neutral in any potential Pacific war. “China is seeking…
Day: March 9, 2023
Why China Is Tightening Its Oversight of Banking and Tech
A real estate market that is threatening the financial system and holding back the economy. A tech industry that is being targeted by aggressive U.S. efforts to cut it off from the world. Tech companies that are trying to keep pace with fast-moving developments in artificial intelligence. As its trade and economic rivalry with the West has intensified, China has launched a government overhaul intended to address some of its biggest stated priorities. A series of changes handed down from the highest reaches of the government were approved Friday at…
Xi Jinping handed unprecedented third term as China’s president
Xi Jinping has been handed an unprecedented third term as president, capping a rise that has seen him become China’s most powerful leader in generations. In a carefully choreographed ceremony in Beijing, Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red leather copy of China’s constitution. In the oath – beamed live on state television across the nation – he vowed to “build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and great modern socialist country”. The appointment by China’s rubber-stamp parliament comes after he was handed…
Xi Jinping Starts New Term in China, With a Focus on Economy and U.S. Rivalry
“In the coming period, the risks and challenges that we’re facing will only become more and more numerous and grim,” Mr. Xi said, while urging officials to remain “calm and focused” while also braced for “struggle.” To tackle these challenges, Mr. Xi has emphasized the need for China to wean itself off its reliance on Western-held technologies and expertise, and to fortify itself against risks to food and energy security. He has populated the government’s top ranks with his loyalists and allies to carry out his agenda. Mr. Xi’s No.…
Kim Supervises North Korean Troops Simulating Attack on South
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire artillery drill simulating an attack on a South Korean airfield and called for his troops to be ready to respond to the enemies’ “frantic war preparation moves” — apparently referring to the large military exercises the U.S. will carry out with the South. The North Korean state media report Friday came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea from a site near the western coastal…
Townships in Myanmar’s Chin state hit by one airstrike per day over last two months
Myanmar’s military averaged nearly one airstrike per day on townships under martial law in Chin state, in the western part of the country, in the first two months of 2023 alone, an ethnic Chin minority rights group said Thursday, as NGOs urged governments to sanction companies selling jet fuel to the junta. The military launched at least 53 airstrikes, dropping more than 140 bombs, on the townships of Mindat, Hakha, Matupi and Thantlang, the Chin Human Rights Organization said, killing five members of the Chin National Army and three members…
China Escalates Hostile Rhetoric Against US
Top Chinese officials have lashed out at the United States this week with unusually direct, hostile rhetoric coming from Beijing’s new foreign minister. Qin Gang warned of conflict and confrontation if the US continues to try to contain China. The US says it is not seeking to contain China and sees no change in relations, as VOA’s senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports. VOA
Biden Budget Aims at China With Billions for Pacific Islands
washington — Alarmed by China’s success in wooing Pacific island nations, the Biden administration is proposing to spend billions to keep three of those countries in the U.S. orbit. President Joe Biden’s proposed federal budget released Thursday includes more than $7.1 billion in funding for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The money is included in the $63.1 billion request for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It’s unclear if Congress would approve such aid. The overall budget proposal faces certain opposition in the Republican-led House…
Free college and IVF help: China hunts for ways to raise its birthrate
At China’s annual parliamentary meeting this week, proposals to boost China’s falling birthrate have come thick and fast. On Wednesday, the All China Women’s Federation, a state-backed organisation, called for a national publicity campaign to “advocate a positive concept of marriage and childbearing”, through film and television. Other delegates to China’s parliament have called for tax breaks for companies that employ more mothers, opening up maternity insurance to college students, free college education for families who have a third child born after 2024 and allowing unmarried women to access fertility…
Biden budget includes billions for Pacific islands in bid to ‘out-compete’ China
Alarmed by China’s success in wooing Pacific island nations, the Biden administration is proposing to spend billions from its federal budget to keep three of those countries in the US orbit. President Joe Biden’s spending plan, released on Thursday, includes more than $7.1bn in funding for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The money is included in the $63.1bn request for the state department and the US Agency for International Development. The White House said the payments were part of its strategy to “out-compete China” and strengthen America’s alliances and…