Extending from the recent #Mulan controversy, #Uyghur lawyer @RayhanAsat argues in this latest op-ed that the persecuted minority deserves a high-profile public figure who is willing to speak out against the repression against the #Uyghurs. thehill.com/opinion/intern…
"The mass atrocities against Uighurs have largely met with silence. It is hard to tell whether this is due to a lack of understanding or fear of retribution. 2020 marks four continuous years of devastating persecution of millions of Uighur men, women and children."
"Those who value freedom in the world should not ignore what is happening as our families are torn apart and innocent people are persecuted. The walls of internment camps may not look like the Berlin Wall,...
... but with barbed wire and sophisticated Chinese surveillance, families are separated from their loved ones without reason, without hope."
"The coalition of celebrities vowing, “Not on our Watch” garnered global attention to ongoing genocide in Darfur. In 2008, Steven Spielberg resigned his adviser position to the Beijing Olympics to protest the failure of China to distance itself from the genocide in Darfur."
"Now, Beijing is set to host the 2020 Olympics again, while at the same time it has trapped millions of its own people, the Uighurs, behind walls and in prisons."
"The Uighurs desperately need a hero, hopefully many heroes, willing to stand up and speak out on their behalf. So, I search for celebrities and others of influence to join in the rescue...
... not only of my brother, Ekpar, but of millions of other mistreated, detained and imprisoned Uighurs in Xinjiang, China."
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Australia and the Philippines said their militaries would conduct a joint maritime activity with Japan, New Zealand and the United States in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, which covers one of Asia's most sensitive sites. channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippin…
"The Maritime Cooperative Activity demonstrates our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Australia's Department of Defence said.
The joint exercise comes after a series of air and sea encounters between the Philippines and China, which have sparred over disputed areas of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, one of Asia's most contested features.
My latest: As #China and Russia look to deepen cooperation in the Arctic, analysts cite concern about increasing geopolitical competition in the region, forcing countries to think more about how to respond to potential threats.
Following a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow on August 21, China released an expansive communique outlining ways the two countries are boosting cooperation.
On the Arctic, Beijing and Moscow pledged to strengthen cooperation in areas including shipping development, navigation safety, polar ship technology and construction.
The EU is expected to notify #China that it will impose tariffs on electric vehicle imports this week, firing the starting gun on a potential summer trade war with Beijing. theguardian.com/business/artic…
A formal pre-disclosure of tariffs could happen as early as Wednesday, after a lengthy investigation into China’s state subsidies for its car manufacturing, which is predicted to conclude that massive support continues to be concentrated on the EV sector.
Chinese manufacturers are already bracing themselves for new import duties, but experts anticipate that Beijing will retaliate with countermeasures that could hit a range of EU exports to the country, ranging from cognac to dairy products.
My latest: Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun Sunday issued a stern warning on Taiwan and the South China Sea at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. voanews.com/a/china-warns-…
During his 40-minute-long keynote speech, Dong accused Taiwan’s government under the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which favors highlighting Taiwan’s sovereignty, of "pursuing separation [from China] in an incremental way" …
… while external forces continue to sell arms to Taiwan and maintain "illegal" official contacts with Taiwan.
Thread: Following U.S. Secretary of Defense @SecDef's speech at #SDL24, the People's Liberation Army held a presser to hit back against the speech, criticizing Washington's stance on a range of issues including #Taiwan, South China Sea and the Middle East conflict:
“The real purpose [of The U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy] is to merge a small circle into the big circle of NATO, that is, an Asia-Pacific version of NATO, to maintain the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
[It] is a political rhetoric that sounds good but does no good. It builds exclusive clubs with the cold war mentality and zero-sum mindset in the name of advancing regional cooperation.”
My latest: #Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has passed a set of legal amendments granting lawmakers greater investigative power to scrutinize the government under President Lai Ching-te, who took office on May 20. voanews.com/amp/taiwan-s-p…
Despite days of protests that have attracted hundreds of thousands of people since May 17, the two opposition parties, the China-friendly Kuomintang, or KMT, and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party, or TPP, …
… used their combined majority to push through the deal on Tuesday. The bills still require the president’s signature to become law.