Day: March 17, 2023

Q&A: White House ‘Concerned’ About Xi-Putin Meeting, ‘Supports’ Xi-Zelenskyy Meeting 

Chin@Strategy

white house —  The White House is rejecting Beijing’s proposal for a cease-fire in Ukraine, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, saying it would ratify Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine. However, officials say the administration “fully supports” Xi talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so that China may consider Kyiv’s perspective. Zelenskyy is scheduled to hold a phone call following the Chinese leader’s meeting with Putin. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, spoke Friday with VOA Chinese…

US Opposes Chinese Cease-Fire Proposal in Ukraine

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON —  The White House is rejecting Beijing’s proposal for a truce in Ukraine, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week and a subsequent phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We’d be concerned if coming out of this meeting there was some sort of call for a cease-fire,” said John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications in an interview with VOA on Friday. “While a cease-fire sounds good, it actually ratifies Russia’s gains on the ground.” Putin’s foreign…

UN Weekly Roundup: March 11-17, 2023

Chin@Strategy

UNITED NATIONS —  Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. Will Ukraine-Russia grain deal continue? The package deal that facilitates the export of Ukrainian grain, Russian food and fertilizer products to international markets faces another renewal on Saturday. If neither party objects, it will automatically continue. But Russia has said it wants only a 60-day extension, rather than the agreement’s mandated 120 days. Ukraine and Turkey, which helped broker the deal, have both…

More than 50,000 Cambodian workers laid off amid downturn in garment sector

Chin@Strategy

More than 50,000 Cambodian garment workers have lost their jobs as struggling companies have made cutbacks to try to stay afloat while others have closed, Radio Free Asia has learned. To date, 10 Cambodian factories have completely shut down and 500 others have suspended production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dec. 2019.  The government has cited the war between Russia and Ukraine as the main reason for the industry’s inability to recover from downturns it experienced during the pandemic and other woes. But experts say a better…

US Seeks to Sanction More Companies for Using Forced Labor in China, Says Official

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON —  One of the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this year is to add more companies to a sanctions list for using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, a senior DHS official said on Friday. Robert Silvers, DHS undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans, said another priority this year was to work to persuade like-minded countries in Europe, as well as Japan, Australia, India and others, to pursue enforcement regimes similar to those of the United States. The department was assigned by the U.S. Uyghur…

WHO Accuses China of Withholding Data on Covid’s Origins

Chin@Strategy

The World Health Organization rebuked Chinese officials on Friday for withholding scientific research that may link the origin of the coronavirus to wild animals called raccoon dogs, asking why the data had not been made available three years ago and why, after it was published online in January, it could not be found now. Before the Chinese data disappeared, an international team of virus experts downloaded and began analyzing the research. They say it supports the idea that the pandemic could have begun when illegally traded raccoon dogs infected humans…

Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Has Chinese Startups Worried

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON —  The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has caused panic not just in the U.S. tech industry but also in China, where the bank has been a key player for years among Chinese startups. In recent days, many startups in China have issued statements to reassure their investors that their deposits with SVB will not impact their operations. Before the bank failed and was taken over by U.S. regulators this month, Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th-largest American bank. In foreign markets, SVB’s reputation for financing about half of…

Australia news live: total fire bans in parts of Victoria, NSW and SA amid autumn heat blast

Chin@Strategy

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North Korean Defectors Put Spotlight on Rights Abuses  

Chin@Strategy

united nations —  By the time he was 12 years old, North Korean defector Joseph Kim had seen his father starve to death, his sister sold to a man in China, and his mother imprisoned. Left alone, he begged, stole and worked in coal mines to survive. “Even though North Korea is a dark place, it is still my home and home to 25 million North Korean people today,” Kim said. “North Korea is a land with darkness, not a land made of darkness.” This was his message to an…

China’s Xi to Visit Putin Under Shadow of War-Crimes Warrant

Chin@Strategy

Global dividing lines over Russia’s war in Ukraine hardened on Friday with the announcement that China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, would personally meet with President Vladimir V. Putin in Russia next week — and that he would do so under the shadow of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court that accuses Mr. Putin of war crimes. Mr. Xi’s visit was cast by China as a mission of personal diplomacy to help make peace between Russia and Ukraine. But it is more broadly seen by Western officials as…