"Singapore is currently in the midst of its largest domestic COVID surge, with 192 cases directly linked to an outbreak centered around the country's karaoke lounges, known as KTVs."
"Most of these KTVs are not innocent family-friendly affairs: Like another outbreak in Taiwan earlier this year, they are fronts for illegal brothels run by organized crime cartels."
"It has exposed the pernicious role of organized vice enterprises in Singapore, and the institutional failure of the country's much-vaunted law enforcement to clamp down on them."
"Run behind the scenes by the same organized crime groups, these illegal brothels have become a normalized, even integral, part of many business dealings -- particularly among local and mainland Chinese business communities -- as well as serving as money laundering fronts."
"After closing down Geylang at the beginning of the pandemic, authorities did the same for KTVs. Then, without explanation, KTVs were allowed to reopen under the pretense of pivoting toward becoming "bistros" after August 2020."
"Questions are also being asked as to who signed off on the conversion of known KTV fronts into so-called bistros, something they were never designed to function as."
"Watching disingenuous ministers feign retrospective shock and surprise at how the latest outbreak occurred no longer cuts it."
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Today, I learnt that CCP used to recognize Taiwan as an independent country between 1928 and 1943. This means that even before the People's Republic of China (PRC) existed and before it was created by CCP, CCP recognized Taiwan's independence.
"Neither the ROC’s ruling party, the Kuomintang, nor the Chinese Communist party viewed Taiwan as part of China during this period. It was not until 1943 that the CCP reversed course."
"Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei said that the CTOC and most sports governing bodies in Taiwan are either controlled by KMT members, affiliated with them, or controlled by businesspeople with close KMT ties."
"KMT-affiliated officials take up the top posts, not because of their sports expertise or experience in sports business, but because of their loyalty to the KMT during the party’s authoritarian regime, he said."
"Sports in Taiwan need transitional justice, Chen said.
“Changes must be made to allow new members and the younger generation into these sports bodies,” Chen said."
"The international community and health experts have warned of the escalating threat of Covid-19... However, the junta have ignored these warnings. As it is preoccupied with maintaining its grip on power; it has lacked the capacity to ensure adequate disaster preparedness."
"Yet, the junta's priority is lopsided towards political control and bringing the situation back to normal. It opened public schools in early June -- through pressure and coercion -- despite a widespread boycott by teachers and students."
"Public outrage against the authorities surged after the military government took control of oxygen supplies. Local media reported the regime's forces fired warning shots to disperse a crowd waiting to get oxygen cylinders refilled."
"The Taiwan Higher Education Union yesterday urged the government to extend eligibility for the education and labor ministries’ COVID-19 relief programs to foreign students."
"Many foreign students at Taiwan’s universities and colleges who have been living in the nation for a long time and have been affected by a local COVID-19 outbreak have been unable to apply for assistance, it said."
"One lecturer told the union that they last week received a message from a Vietnamese student saying that she had planned on working part-time this summer to save money for her living expenses next semester, but she has been unable to find work due to the COVID-19 outbreak."
.@ltntw editorial: "In the past, the international community has often put practical considerations ahead of values in its desire for access to the Chinese market and its hopes that China moves toward democracy in step with economic development."
"As a result, advanced democracies have often tolerated China’s human rights abuses, including persecution of ethnic minorities, and its authoritarian dictatorship. This has allowed China to deceive the world by hiding behind a mask of reform and opening up."
"The discrepancy between ideal and reality has prompted the Western world to gradually wake up to the deadly risk posed by communist China."