The @iocmedia reportedly pulled out of meeting with the activist group the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the #Uyghur Region. In an email, IOC's head of human rights claimed differences in approach were the main cause of the suspension of engagement. nytimes.com/2022/01/04/wor…
"But the correspondence between the I.O.C. and the anti-forced labor coalition, which was reviewed by The New York Times, shows how reluctant the committee is to engage Beijing’s critics even on issues directly related to the operation of the Games."
"“They either had nothing to say or show on due diligence on forced labor, or they were unwilling because they won’t cross swords with Beijing,” said Bennett Freeman, a former State Department official who sent the emails to the I.O.C. on the coalition’s behalf."
"The Olympic committee also met with Human Rights Watch in January but rebuffed the group’s requests for information about its due diligence procedures, said Minky Worden, the group’s director of global initiatives."
"The Olympic committee has defended its approach to human rights concerns in China, arguing that sports are a tool to building a better world."
"In an emailed response to questions, it said it was willing to engage with critics, and it defended its sourcing practices, noting that it engages with suppliers and at times conducts audits."
“It is our policy that the I.O.C. hears all concerns that are directly related to the Olympic Games,” the statement said.
But “while generic concerns have been expressed in the past about Beijing 2022’s product sourcing, the I.O.C. has not been approached about any specific case or situation, including by the Coalition.”
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The Biden administration and the Israeli government held low-profile consultations last month on #China. The new Israeli government has signaled that it will take U.S. concerns more seriously and view China more through a national security lens. axios.com/us-israel-chin…
The meeting on Dec. 14, led by deputy national security advisers from both sides, was the first wide-ranging consultation between the two countries on China since President Biden took office.
A senior Israeli official said both sides presented general policy lines and exchanged notes as they conduct their respective policy reviews, but that no decisions were reached.
By @LiYuan6: "Under the direction of #China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, the government’s unbridled hand is meddling in big ways and small, leaving companies second-guessing their strategies and praying to not become the next targets for crackdown.” nytimes.com/2022/01/05/tec…
"China’s biggest tech companies are regulated to limit abuses of power and to mitigate systemic risks. But Beijing’s hyper-political approach shows that it’s more about the Communist Party taking control of the industry than about leveling the playing field."
"The crackdown is killing the innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that made China a tech power in the past decade. It is destroying companies, profits and jobs that used to attract China’s best and brightest."
“We have immediate concern about the government of China’s attempts to bully Lithuania, a country of fewer than 3 million people," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after a meeting in Washington with his German counterpart.
Blinken said China had been pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania or risk losing access to the Chinese market.
“However, the latest blueprint has the potential to help #China become the factory floor of the future, with uber-efficient and precise machinery, at a time when the U.S.’s biggest hurdle to competitiveness is just that.” google.com.tw/amp/s/m.econom…
State planners released a five-year smart manufacturing development plan in late December that shows #China will now focus on building and owning industrial robots, as well as upgrading equipment and processes used in the manufacturing sector.
With global supply chains in a state of disarray, #China’s intent to upgrade its vast industrial production sector and the ecosystem around it to bolster its role as the world’s supplier is shrewd and prescient: Beijing will do better what it already does well.
From @Reuters: #Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky on Wednesday in a drill simulating a war scenario, showing its combat readiness amid heightened military tensions with #China. taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4399133
The exercises were part of a three-day drill to show Taiwan's battle readiness ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of this month.
"With the very high frequency of Communist planes entering our ADIZ, pilots from our wing are very experienced and have dealt with almost all types of their aircraft," Major Yen Hsiang-sheng told reporters,...
Walmart Inc arm Sam's Club, responding to the furore in #China over what local media said was its deliberate removal of #Xinjiang-sourced products from its app, denied the move in a call with analysts and termed it "a misunderstanding". news.yahoo.com/exclusive-walm…
Chinese social media users and local news outlets criticised Sam's Club, a members only warehouse club that offers products and services, last week for the removal of the products from its domestic online stores.
China's anti-graft agency accused the U.S. retailer and Sam's Club of "stupidity and short-sightedness" over the matter.