Day: April 20, 2023

TikTok CEO Tries to Ease Critics’ Security Concerns

Chin@Strategy

VANCOUVER, CANADA —  The CEO of TikTok tried to calm critics’ fears about the security of his company’s app during an appearance Thursday. Shou Chew was asked at a TED2023 Possibility conference if he could guarantee Beijing would not use the TikTok app, owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, to interfere in future U.S. elections. “I can say that we are building all the tools to prevent any of these actions from happening,” Chew said. “And I’m very confident that with an unprecedented amount of transparency that we’re giving…

Potential Suu Kyi Supreme Court Appeals Just for Show, Analysts Say 

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washington —  Myanmar’s Supreme Court reportedly will hear appeals by ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi of her convictions for corruption, election fraud and violations of state secrets laws. Suu Kyi was arrested February 1, 2021, when Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, seized power in a coup against her recently re-elected civilian-led government, driving the country into yet another period of violent conflict. The 77-year-old is serving 33 years in prison after a slew of convictions in more than a dozen cases that took place behind closed doors. Suu Kyi and…

Tibetans abroad rally in support of Dalai Lama following outrage over video

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Tibetan demonstrators held rallies in Europe, the United States, India and Australia this week to protest negative media coverage of a video of the Dalai Lama asking an Indian boy to suck his tongue in what Tibetans say was a misinterpretation of an innocent, playful act. A video of the Tibetan Buddhists’ spiritual leader hugging and kissing the young boy on the lips at a student event in northern India on Feb. 28 went viral on social media and sparked online criticism and accusations of pedophilia. The Dalai Lama, 87,…

Vietnamese workers in Taiwan sacrifice happiness to give families a better life

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The 14 Vietnamese migrant workers illegally crossed the border into China, then traveled to Fujian province. There they bought a used fishing boat and embarked on the final leg of their journey: the 160-kilometer (99-mile) voyage across the Taiwan Strait. But the boat never made it. Around mid-March, Taiwanese officials said they had only found 10 bodies washed up in different locations on the island’s west coast. After a month-long investigation, Taiwanese police determined that after launching from Fujian, their boat had capsized at sea, and the nine men and…

Trade Envoy Tai: US Not Seeking to ‘Decouple’ From China

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tokyo —  Washington is not seeking to decouple the American economy from China’s, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Thursday while on a visit to Tokyo. Tai, who is on her fourth visit to Japan after being appointed the top U.S. trade envoy, said all members of President Joe Biden’s administration have been “very clear that it is not the intention to decouple” China’s economy. U.S. trade sanctions against China are “narrowly targeted,” she said. Given its huge size and importance, unraveling the ties with China that keep the world…

Family outraged after officer shoots man during cockfighting raid in Cambodia

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Witnesses said a top local police officer shot a man during a raid on an illegal cock fight, but police later said that the gunshot came from an accidental discharge – which angered the victim’s family. Witnesses said Seang Bunnal, the deputy police chief in Prey Veng province’s Ban Phnom district, led a group of officers in the raid over the Khmer New Years holiday weekend.  Seang Bunnal fired his pistol, hitting San Vicheca, a 36-year-old farmer, witnesses said. San Vicheca had been watching the cockfighting and was sitting on…

Pacific Islands’ Rejection of Japan’s Radioactive Wastewater Disposal Plan Gains Support

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Pacific Island nations are pushing back against Japan’s request to release into the ocean treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was disabled in an accident 12 years ago. During the Group of Seven environment ministers meeting this month, the Islanders’ effort gained momentum. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports. VOA

Yellen Raps China for Serving as ‘Roadblock’ in Debt Restructuring Process

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washington —  As the world’s largest official bilateral creditor, China should participate in meaningful debt relief for countries facing problems but has served for too long as a “roadblock” to necessary action, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a major speech on U.S.-China relations on Thursday. Yellen said the United States expected China to make good its pledge to work constructively on issues such as debt relief and climate change, noting that delays in restructuring raised costs for both borrowers and creditors. Speaking at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced…

Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui denied bail in US fraud case

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The judge said the government would be “one in a long line of creditors” if he skipped out on bail. While he has proposed having the bond signed by two adults, including a family member, Torres said several relatives are accused of being recipients of fraud proceeds and Guo has not identified anybody wealthy enough to pay the bond with sufficient ties to the US who would have “moral suasion” over him. Advertisement Guo and his financial adviser, Kin Ming Je, are accused of scheming to cheat thousands of victims…