The Chinese government is drawing parallels between Afghanistan and Taiwan, suggesting the U.S. is a weak and unreliable partner.  Analysts say the accusation is part of China’s political warfare – as VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports.
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The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan fails any comparison to Washington’s role in Taiwan because no American troops are stationed on the island and Taiwan’s most likely enemy, China, lacks any physical stronghold there, analysts told VOA this week after Chinese media linked the two situations.Conversely, they add, the United States is better placed to help Taiwan now with part of its military budget no longer tied up in Afghanistan, and China is probably using its media to discredit Washington.A US Marine escorts US Department of State personnel to be processed for evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2021. (US Marine Corps photo)With the rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the American troop withdrawal, China’s government-backed, English-language Global Times newspaper suggested on August 16 that Taiwan could suffer the same sudden pullout of U.S. forces as has Afghanistan.“Now the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan has even worried some in the island of Taiwan and sounded a warning bell to secessionists there, as it’s not the first time the U.S. has abandoned its allies and the so-called alliances, which are made use of only as chess pieces in Washington’s global strategy,” the Global Times editorial said.The Afghanistan-Taiwan comparison doesn’t work, however, political science scholars say.“There is no U.S. pullout that could be envisioned there, and so there’s no prospect that Taiwan is going to collapse anytime soon,” said Scott Harold, a Washington-based senior political scientist with the Rand Corp. research organization.“Taiwan is not connected to China by a land border, and there is not an active insurgency going on inside Taiwan,” he said.In Afghanistan, the Taliban already controlled parts of the country before the United States withdrew. U.S. troops reached Afghanistan in late 2001 to look for al-Qaida operatives after that year’s September 11 terrorist attacks.In another contrast with Afghanistan, Taiwan’s democratic government is stable and its own military well established, Harold said. Taiwan and Japan Ruling Parties to Hold First Security Talks The announcement of the talks was condemned by Beijing, which claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan and opposes countries having official contacts with TaipeiWithdrawal of troops from Afghanistan stops a “drain” of U.S. taxpayer money, he added. The United States had spent $2.26 trillion on the war in Afghanistan as of April, including operations in Pakistan, the Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs at Brown University estimated.The intents of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and Taiwan differ markedly too, said Michael Shoebridge, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Defense, Strategy and National Security program.“In one way the U.S. and its coalition partners, which include Australia and NATO members, were doing things to Afghanistan, whereas in the Indo-Pacific and in cases like Taiwan, the Americans are working with their security partners and allies for joint interests and ends,” he said.U.S. officials are bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to consider defending Taiwan if needed. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, backed by a political party with an especially guarded view toward China, and former U.S. President Donald Trump deepened relations with a flurry of senior-level visits, U.S. Navy ship passages in the Taiwan Strait and additional arms sales.U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reinforced the U.S. commitment to Taiwan at the department’s press briefing August 19.“We do have an abiding interest in peace and security across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.“We consider this central to the security and stability of the broader region, of the broader Indo-Pacific. Events elsewhere in the world, whether that’s in Afghanistan or any other region, are not going to change that.” he told reporters. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, though the two sides have been separately ruled since Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communists and retreated to the island.Taiwan regards China as a military foe, as Beijing has not renounced use of force to bring Taiwan under its flag. Beijing usually protests any U.S. military aid to Taiwan as well as major strides in political relations.China, as a longstanding government, should hesitate in casting itself as a Taliban-like aggressor, analysts caution. The Taliban was a rebel insurgency until this month.“The Chinese Communist Party and Taliban both use military might to obtain their political power, but in terms of political systems the two can’t be so simply compared,” said Huang Kwei-bo, vice dean of the international affairs college at National Chengchi University in Taipei.“If you want to make that kind of comparison, couldn’t someone say the modern Vietnamese Communist Party is the Taliban?” Huang said. “So, we need to be extremely careful.”Chinese media, most of which are government-run, probably meant for their Taiwan-Afghanistan comments to discredit the United States as an ally, said Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia program at the Stimson Center in Washington.“They are trying to use the case of Afghanistan to sow the seed of doubt among the Taiwanese and also to demonstrate to the international community that U.S. commitment is unreliable,” Sun said.The United States “abandoned” allies in South Vietnam and eventually evacuated most U.S. citizens in Saigon, the Global Times report says. Two years ago, it adds, U.S. troops withdrew from northern Syria “abruptly and abandoned their allies.” Taiwan, the commentary adds, “is the region that relies on the protection of the U.S. the most in Asia”.Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Party spokesperson Hsieh Pei-fen said in an August 19 social media statement that the issues in Taiwan and Afghanistan are “different by nature.”VOA’s Elizabeth Lee contributed to this report.
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When Hong Gang-chul, a North Korean border guard, decided to escape his homeland in 2013, he knew his relationship with his family would never be the same.Hong, who had helped other North Koreans escape, left the country in a hurry, believing he was wanted by North Korean authorities.In doing so, he left two young daughters with their mother in North Korea. When he later began to arrange for them to defect, they refused.A stocky, soft-spoken 48-year-old, Hong now lives in a simple apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, where he looks after his elderly mother, who also fled the North.Like many defectors, Hong at times struggles to adjust to his new life in South Korea.In North Korea, he manned a guard post along the demilitarized zone; now, he hosts a YouTube channel and works as a writer and commentator on North Korea issues.When punditry doesn’t provide enough income, he takes work as a low-skilled laborer at construction sites — anything to scrape together enough to send his daughters money at least once a year.“It’s impossible now for me to do the things a typical father would do for his children,” he told VOA in a matter-of-fact tone that only partly hides his distress. “The only thing I can do to look after them at this point is to send money.”North Korean escapees have long sent funds to relatives back home using a network of brokers who smuggle cash and goods across what used to be a relatively porous border with China. The remittances can be a major source of income in North Korea, where the economy is tightly regulated.Such money transfers have become trickier and much more expensive during the coronavirus pandemic. Many North Korean officials who used to look the other way, or who even accepted bribes to assist with smuggling, now report brokers to authorities, amid a wider crackdown on cross-border activity.The increased risk has driven prices way up. Before the pandemic, remittance brokers would typically charge a commission of around 30%, but that figure is now closer to 50%, according to several Seoul-based defectors and activists.“The money I send to North Korea has basically been cut in half,” said Hong, who also cited unstable foreign currency exchange rates in the North.Some brokers charge as much as 70% commission, he added.Links severedThe remittance crackdown is one of many ways the coronavirus pandemic is severing the already fragile links between North Korean defectors and their families back home.Since the pandemic began, North Korea has imposed one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, not only sealing its external borders but also expanding domestic travel restrictions.As a result, many defectors, including Hong, haven’t heard from their families in months.That is partly because brokers often help pass messages between separated family members, according to Sokeel Park of Liberty in North Korea, a group that helps North Korean defectors settle in the South.Even for North Koreans who talk with the outside world via smuggled Chinese cellphones, communication has become much harder.“Most of the time people are not making calls from inside their house. They are moving around to other places close to the border,” either to get a better signal or avoid state surveillance, Park said.However, any movement is now difficult, especially near the border, he added.‘Worse than ever’The crackdown on money brokers seems to have become especially intense in the last several months.The Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that relies on a network of anonymous sources inside North Korea, reported a “massive campaign” of broker arrests beginning in May.Whereas brokers who were caught used to receive three to five years of reeducation as punishment, North Korean authorities have now tripled those sentences to 10 to 15 years, the Daily NK reported.“The punishment is worse than ever,” said Ju Chan-yang, another Seoul-based defector, who told VOA she has stopped trying to send money to North Korea altogether.Even when offered a 70% commission, a broker refused to send money from one of her friends to a family member in Pyongyang who has cancer and needed money for treatment, Ju said.No escapeNorth Korea’s lockdown is also preventing defections, which have plummeted to historic lows.In 2019, 1,047 defectors arrived in South Korea, according to data from Seoul’s Unification Ministry. In 2020, only 229 defectors arrived in South Korea.During the second quarter of 2021, only two North Koreans reached the South. That is the smallest quarterly figure since Seoul began counting in 2003.Lee Se-jun, a South Korea-based defection broker, told VOA he has not helped facilitate an escape from North Korea in over a year, due to the intense security buildup on the North Korean side of the border.Another factor is the skyrocketing cost of defections.Hong, the former North Korean border guard, said it now costs up to $21,000 for North Koreans to defect, compared to a previous rate of about $13,000.No end in sightThe North Korean pandemic restrictions may not be relaxed anytime soon.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly warned of “prolonged” anti-epidemic measures, even as his government continues to insist it has detected no coronavirus cases.Many of those who have escaped North Korea now acknowledge it may be a long time before they will hear from family.“It’s a real double whammy,” said Park. “Along with everything else, so much of the contact is being shut off at the time when North Korean people face their biggest challenges in 20 years.”
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A Taiwanese company, TiSPACE, plans to launch Australia’s first commercial rocket later this year.The rocket is called Hapith, which means “flying squirrel” in a Taiwanese Indigenous language.So far, no specific date for the rocket’s launch has been given. However, officials say an experimental flight is planned this year from a private facility on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Official approval was granted by the Australian government this week.Developers hope the vehicle will reach outer space, at least 100 kilometers above sea level, before falling back to Earth, over the sea. The rocket’s data, navigation and propulsion systems will be scrutinized.James Brown, the chief executive of the Space Industry Association of Australia, said it will be a significant mission.“This is the first, sort of, major rocket launch in about 40 years for Australia,” he said. “So, this is a rocket that is about 10 meters high, it’s got two stages, it’ll be launched from South Australia out over the ocean and it will get to about 100 kilometers high. It is basically testing this Taiwanese technology, which is a rocket built around a hybrid engine, and if that works well, if it is all safe, if it’s all reliable, then the plan is for this company to come back and launch a bigger rocket that is about 20 meters high that can carry up to 400 kilograms worth of satellite payload into space, so it is a really exciting development for the industry.”TiSPACE is Taiwan’s first private space company, which reportedly chose a launch site in Australia because of regulatory problems back home. The Taipei Times reported concerns over the legality of proposed launch sites in Taiwan.Researchers have said the project is potentially significant for both Australia’s and Taiwan’s space industries, which have lagged behind other space programs. Australia only established a domestic space agency in 2018.Alice Gorman, an associate professor at Flinders University and space exploration expert, says Australia is well-positioned to benefit from the global space sector.“At the top of the country, in the north, we are relatively close to the equator and that is a huge advantage for launching satellites into geostationary orbit because you get the assistance of the Earth’s rotation,” she said. “In the south, where Southern Launch is developing its launch sites, we are perfectly located to launch things into polar orbit, and this is where a lot of our earth observation satellites are, a lot of scientific satellites, and we are not looking at, you know, monumentally massive, big rockets here. We are looking at small rockets, small satellites and with both ends of the country able to specialize in different kinds of launch, we really do have a geographic advantage.”Australia’s rocket-launching heritage goes back decades. For years, launches were taking place regularly at the Woomera range in South Australia, including missile experiments for the military. The site remains a major Australian defense and research facility.TiSPACE has said it plans further “suborbital launches and several orbital launches” after this year’s test flight. 
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Vietnam is facing challenges in its COVID-19 vaccination efforts from global shortages and anti-Chinese vaccine sentiment as it tries to reach herd immunity by the end of next year’s first quarter.“Shot or no shot?” Chau Nguyen asked her sister after spending nights thinking about whether to get vaccinated and whether to accept the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. While not a vaccine skeptic, the restaurant owner in the city’s Go Vap District worried about her health after she ultimately got the vaccination.Her reluctance is understandable given the anti-Chinese vaccine sentiment circulating on social media; many Vietnamese worry about Chinese vaccines’ safety and efficiency.Chau’s dilemma came as Ho Chi Minh City entered the vaccination campaign, targeting at least one shot for 70% of its population in August. The month kicked off with controversy as authorities announced a plan to purchase and use 5 million doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.On Aug. 25, Vietnam reported 12,096 new COVID-19 cases and 335 deaths, marking the seventh day in a row the country recorded more than 10,000 cases a day.The latest number brings the total number of cases in the fourth COVID-19 wave to 377,245. The COVID-19 death tally was at 9,349.Ho Chi Minh City continued to see spikes in COVID-19 cases. As of Aug. 25, the city reported 5,294 new cases and 266 deaths.From March to mid-August, Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of about 10 million, vaccinated more than 4.3 million people, more than 100,000 of whom received the full two shots, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc told reporters Aug. 13.That group included 456,000 people over 65, a priority group getting vaccines that are still scarce in Vietnam, such as the Moderna and Pfizer shots. During that period daily vaccinations ranged up to more than 318,000.High demandVietnamese people tend to accept vaccinations — a June UNICEF survey said 67% of Vietnamese are eager to be vaccinated.There are many reasons why people in Ho Chi Minh City are encouraged to get shots, even though they acknowledge that vaccines provide only partial protection from COVID-19.The government seems to have convinced people of the severity of COVID-19. Most of those speaking with VOA judged the current pandemic situation in Ho Chi Minh City as “dangerous.” Van Anh, 26, disagreed with the notion that the economic costs of dealing with the pandemic are worse than those of the pandemic.Chau, the Go Vap District restaurant owner, who ended up having an AstraZeneca dose Aug. 2, told VOA local authorities called her to get a shot. She had asked whether she could refuse vaccination and was told she could, but if she became infected and spread the virus to others, she risked being fined millions of dong.Unlike Chau, some others say being vaccinated is better than continuing under the country’s strict social distancing measures under Directive 16, which was extended for a month, starting Aug. 15.Asked about the argument that lost jobs, closed businesses and other consequences of pandemic measures are more of a risk than dying from the pandemic, Bich Nguyen, a 30-year-old who works in the media industry, told VOA, “I 70% agree with this opinion.”He said he has been desperate to start a probationary period for work since June 1 because the city has been locked down since May 31.“It cost me nearly 100 million dong [about $4,400] from a purely financial aspect, but when it comes to the mental aspect, the stress, fatigue, loss of will … are immeasurable,” he said.Thao Vu, 31, whose husband’s company has been closed since the start of the lockdown period, said that she is willing to get a shot because it is the only way to open the economy and restore social activities.“It is necessary to realize that the pandemic will not stop just because we are in lockdown. Once we open the society and economy, there is a complete risk of an outbreak again, so we need to learn how to live with it. Long-term lockdowns only push manual workers into poverty and businesses to close, leading to social evils that will increase when people are unemployed. The consequences on the economy and social security may be more serious than the pandemic itself,” she said.Vaccine shortages, anti-Chinese vaccine sentimentWhile citizens are willing to get vaccinated, Ho Chi Minh City faces challenges that could result in interruption.As of Aug. 12, the city had administered most of the roughly 4.3 million doses allocated by the national Health Ministry. Municipal leaders said that Ho Chi Minh City’s current vaccine strategy is to reach high coverage as soon as possible.Regarding plans for the future, the city said it would continue to search for vaccines. It is in talks to buy 5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and aims to get 2 million doses in October. In addition, it has said it has international commitments for another 750,000 doses.The Vietnamese government established a working group on COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy Aug. 13. The working group is expected to mobilize donated vaccines, drugs for treatment and medical supplies, as well as technology transfer for vaccine and drug production from other countries.In its first meeting on Aug. 16, group members said countries, especially developing countries, will face difficulties obtaining vaccines through the end of the year, given complexities of the global pandemic situation.The assessment is worrisome for Ho Chi Minh City. While the city faces vaccine shortages, the local government finds it hard to take advantage of available Sinopharm vaccines because of anti-Chinese sentiment.Van Anh, who works in the media industry, said she approves of government social distancing measures and stressed the importance of vaccines for public health purposes but said she will not accept Chinese vaccines.Similarly, Binh Tran, a 20-year-old student who is in his second year of medical school in Ho Chi Minh City, argued that vaccines will protect people from COVID-19 but said that he would not accept Chinese vaccines because of “low immune efficiency and unreliable data.”Anti-Chinese vaccine sentiment has prompted Vietnamese government and Ho Chi Minh City officials to repeatedly affirm that “the best vaccine is the first one,” emphasizing that vaccination is good for everyone and contributes to the pandemic fight. They have also called on people to be aware of the importance of vaccinations and ready to receive the vaccine.Since Aug. 13, having used up the doses allocated by the Health Ministry, Ho Chi Minh City has officially administered Sinopharm vaccines while promoting access to other vaccine supplies and making use of available sources.Earlier, on Aug. 12, the city allocated Sinopharm vaccines to its localities. Specifically, the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City issued an order to provide 1,000-7,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, also known as Vero Cell, per city region, a total of 44,000 doses.Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Party chief Nguyen Van Nen said local authorities should tell people what type of vaccine they were getting before vaccinations. After inspecting a local COVID-19 vaccination location Aug. 13, Nen noted an instance of people expressing disappointment after receiving Chinese vaccinations.“We should use our experience and tell people the type of vaccine in advance, so only those who accept the vaccine will go to get the shots,” he said.Meanwhile, though, he stressed that the city has no choice regarding what vaccine to provide, saying that while the city has tried various sources, “supplies are extremely limited.”
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Throughout China, as the school year starts on September 1, all elementary and secondary school students face a new mandatory class — Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The new curriculum highlights how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Xi are focusing on ideological control of the population as the course, referred to as “Xi Thought,” trickles down from Chinese universities, where it was introduced in 2020. “Propaganda and political instruction have been part of education in China since 1949, as the Communist Party understands exactly the power of shaping people’s minds, especially when they are young and malleable,” said Didi Kirsten Tatlow, a senior fellow at the Asia Program of the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, Germany. Chinese leader Mao Zedong declared the CCP had founded the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949.  It’s no surprise, Tatlow added, that as FILE – Men ride a scooter past a poster showing Chinese President Xi Jinping on the side of a school building in Henan province, China, Feb. 22, 2019.”This is how to control the next generation and ensure continued support for the party and for Xi. Coupled with an ongoing push to ‘party-build’ in all walks of life including business, it shows Xi and the party are doubling down on ideological control,” she told VOA Mandarin in an email interview. ”Party building” refers to efforts to purify CCP organizations and strengthen support from party members as well as average Chinese citizens. Perry Link, an expert on contemporary Chinese politics and a distinguished professor at the University of California, Riverside, agreed, telling VOA Mandarin, “It’s time that we call a spade a spade. This is brainwashing.”  Guideline issued The FILE – Students take a picture with the People’s Liberation Army during morning assembly at a secondary school, on the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China, in Hong Kong, July 1, 2021.To get a better sense of the new textbooks, VOA Mandarin read the grade 3 version, which has 52 pages divided into six chapters.  In the second chapter, “We Follow the Communist Party Wholeheartedly,” Xi appears in six photos in a subsection called “Grandpa Xi Jinping’s heart is with the people.” The images show him visiting deaf girls in an Inner Mongolia orphanage in 2014, shaking hands with workers at a marine instruction site in the coastal city of Qingdao in 2018, talking to Beijing residents during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2019, visiting a poor family in Chongqing in 2019, chatting with a local family in Gansu province in 2019, and making rice cakes with ethnic minorities in a Yunnan province village in 2020. In illustrations, children say: “Grandpa Xi Jinping tells us a person can have many aspirations, but the most important aspiration in life should be connected to the country and the people” and “Grandpa Xi Jinping tells us we should establish the value of ‘labor is glorious’ when we’re young.”  In the fifth chapter titled “We Are the Successors of Communism,” in a subsection called “Grandpa Xi Jinping’s expectations for us,” photos show a smiling Xi surrounded by schoolchildren, planting trees with Young Pioneers, and holding still as a young girl ties a red Young Pioneer scarf around his neck. The last page of the subsection is a letter written by Xi to congratulate the Chinese Young Pioneers on the organization’s 70th anniversary. The nationwide youth organization enrolls all Chinese children ages 6 to 14.  “Ever since Xi Jinping took power, especially in the last few years, not just in school history textbooks but also the party’s own history archives, have had more exposure of Xi,” said Yang Jianli, founder of the U.S.-based rights group Citizen Power Initiatives for China. He added that what is happening now is more aggressive than when Mao led China and that the new curriculum reminded him of George Orwell’s “1984.”  Tracy Zhang, a teacher and a parent in central China’s city of Xi’an, said parents have little control over what their children are exposed to in school. She asked VOA to use a pseudonym in fear of attracting attention.  “We cannot control what the schools teach our kids unless we send our kids to international schools,” she told VOA Mandarin. The students will have to pass exams to graduate. So we don’t have a choice. The government probably doesn’t think the current brainwashing is enough.”Lin Yang contributed to this report.
 
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U.S. officials are continuing to investigate two possible cases of so-called Havana Syndrome health incidents that delayed Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip from Singapore to Vietnam.The investigation was in its early stages and officials deemed it safe for Harris to make her scheduled stop in Vietnam, after initially hitting pause for a few hours on Tuesday. Havana Syndrome is the name for a rash of mysterious health incidents first reported by American diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital beginning in 2016. Harris on her trip is reassuring Asian allies after the tumultuous evacuation of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.U.S. officials had not yet confirmed the latest reported Havana Syndrome case, and it did not involve anyone traveling with Harris, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. In light of the reports, “there was an assessment done of the safety of the vice president, and there was a decision made that she could continue travel along with her staff,” Psaki said.There have been two separate cases of unexplained health incidents reported by U.S. personnel in Vietnam within the past week, U.S. officials said. It was not immediately clear who was impacted by the syndrome, though officials said it was not someone who worked for the vice president or the White House, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.On Wednesday, Harris appeared before U.S. diplomatic staff in Hanoi to sign a lease to a new embassy there. She didn’t weigh in directly on the Havana Syndrome situation but expressed gratitude to those working for the U.S. across the globe.“Here’s my message to embassy staff: thank you. The people who work in our embassies around the world are extraordinary public servants who represent the best of what the United States believes itself to be and aspires to be, which is a good neighbor for our partners and our allies around the globe,” she said.On Wednesday Harris was highlighting the announcement that the U.S. will send 1 million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Vietnam, bringing the total U.S. vaccine donation to that country to 6 million doses.The U.S. will also provide $23 million to help Vietnam expand distribution and access to vaccines, combat the pandemic and prepare for future disease threats. The Defense Department is also delivering 77 freezers to store vaccines throughout the country.Some of those impacted by Havana Syndrome report hearing a loud piercing sound and feeling intense pressure in the face. Pain, nausea, and dizziness sometimes follow.Similar, unexplained health ailments have since been reported by Americans serving in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia and China. A variety of theories have been floated to explain the incidents, including targeted microwaves or sonic attack, perhaps as part of an espionage or hacking effort.Particularly alarming are revelations of at least two possible incidents in the Washington area, including one case near the White House in November in which an official reported dizziness. Administration officials have speculated that Russia may be involved, a suggestion Moscow has denied.Congress has raised alarms over such incidents, finding rare bipartisan support in the House and Senate for continued government-wide investigation into the syndrome, response as well as support for American personnel receiving medical monitoring and treatment.The Biden administration is facing new pressure to resolve the mystery as the number of reported cases of possible attack has sharply grown. But scientists and government officials aren’t yet certain about who might have been behind any attacks, if the symptoms could have been caused inadvertently by surveillance equipment — or if the incidents were actually attacks.
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Taiwan and Japan’s ruling party will hold security talks for the first time later this week, a Taiwanese lawmaker said Wednesday, as the two neighbors fret about China’s increasingly bellicose military threats.The announcement of the talks was condemned by Beijing, which claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan and opposes countries having official contacts with Taipei. Two lawmakers each from Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will hold a virtual talk on Friday dubbed a “two-plus-two” security meeting. “This is the first dialogue of its kind initiated by the Japanese side and we will be discussing diplomacy, defense and regional security issues,” participant and DPP lawmaker Lo Chih-cheng told AFP. The talks will address regional security concerns including China, added Lo, who also heads up the DPP’s international affairs department. Masahisa Sato, a parliamentarian in charge of foreign affairs for LDP, told the Financial Times that the dialogue was a substitute for ministerial talks as Japan officially recognizes Beijing over Taipei. They were necessary as Taiwan’s future would have a “serious impact” on Japan, Sato was quoted as saying. “That is how important we feel the situation in Taiwan is at the moment,” he told the paper, adding “higher-level talks with Taiwanese government officials” would be planned in the future.China hit out at Friday’s summit, saying it opposed “any form of official interaction” with Taiwan. “The Taiwan issue touches on the political foundation of China-Japan relations…(Japan) should be especially cautious in its words and deeds,” warned foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. Like the United States, Japan has become increasingly rattled by China’s saber-rattling towards Taiwan.In a recent defense white paper, Tokyo directly linked Japan’s security with Taiwan’s, breaking with years of precedent.Beijing has ramped up diplomatic, military and economic pressure on self-ruled democratic Taiwan in recent years.Chinese fighter jets and nuclear capable bombers now routinely fly into Taiwan’s aid defense zone while state media churns out regular editorials vowing that Taiwan will be swiftly defeated in any invasion.Recent editorials have seized on the Washington’s chaotic departure from Afghanistan as evidence the US cannot be relied upon to protect Taiwan. Taipei and Washington have rejected that narrative and say relations are “rock solid”.During a trip to Hanoi on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said the US would find new ways to “raise the pressure on Beijing”, accusing China of bullying in hotly disputed Asian waters for the second time in two days.
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A prominent physician in Australia’s Lebanese Muslim community says he has been sentenced to 10 years prison in absentia in Lebanon. Dr. Jamal Rifi has been working with members of Sydney’s Jewish community as part of a program to organize treatment for Palestinians in Israeli hospitals. Since 2017, Dr. Jamal Rifi has worked with Jewish groups in Australia on Project Rozana. It is a humanitarian organization that helps train Palestinian medical workers and assists in transferring Palestinian patients, including sick children, from Gaza and Palestinian Territories for treatment in Israeli hospitals. Dr. Rifi, who moved to Australia almost 40-years ago to study medicine, has also worked to help the fragile Palestinian health system during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing ventilators. In 2017, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia, a prestigious civic honor. His brother in Lebanon, Ashraf Rifi, informed him that he has been punished for his charity work in absentia because of his association with Jewish groups.  Dr. Rifi told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the news was deeply unsettling. “The Lebanese military tribunal sentenced me to ten years’ imprisonment for being a collaborator and a traitor with the enemy. Nobody wants to be labelled as a traitor and I am really upset, and it is a distraction from the work that I am doing right now, and this is a reflection of the Lebanese corrupt system,” Rifi said.The sentence means Dr. Rifi cannot return to visit family in Lebanon. He believes the verdict against him could also be part of sinister domestic politics in Lebanon.  His brother happens to be the former director-general of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, and a fierce critic of Hezbollah, according to media reports. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia Islamist political, military and social organization, has been accused of having influence in Lebanon’s politics. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has denied in the past that the group has such influence. The group is a sworn enemy of Israel. About 230,000 Australians have Lebanese ancestry, according to official figures. Most are Christians, and around 40% are Muslims. 
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The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium — during the same pandemic — as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme “We Have Wings.”Among the few on hand were Douglas Emhoff, husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons and International Olympic President Thomas Bach.It was a circus-like opening with acrobats, clowns, vibrant music and fireworks atop the stadium to mark the the start of the long parade of athletes.Entertainers perform during the opening ceremony for the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021.”I cannot believe we are finally here,” Parsons said in his opening remarks. “Many doubted this day would happen. Many thought it impossible. But thanks to the efforts many, the most transformative sport event on earth is about to begin.”The opening ceremony featured the national flags of the 162 delegations represented, which included the refugee team. In addition, the flag of Afghanistan was carried by a volunteer despite the delegation not being on hand in Tokyo.Comparisons to the Olympics stop with the colorful jamboree, save for the logistical and medical barriers during the pandemic, and the hollowing out of almost everything else.Tokyo and Paralympic organizers are under pressure from soaring new infections in the capital. About 40% of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. But daily new cases in Tokyo have increased four to five times since the Olympics opened on July 23. Tokyo is under a state of emergency until Sept. 12, with the Paralympics ending Sept. 5.Organizers on Tuesday also announced the first positive test for an athlete living in the Paralympic Village. They gave no name or details and said the athlete had been isolated.The Paralympics are being held without fans, although organizers are planning to let some school children attend, going against the advice of much of the medical community.Parsons and Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee, say the Paralympics can be held safely. Both have tried to distance the Paralympics and Olympics from Tokyo’s rising infection rate.”For the moment we don’t see the correlation between having the Paralympics in Tokyo with the rising number of cases in Tokyo and Japan,” Parsons told The Associated Press.Some medical experts say even if there is no direct link, the presence of the Olympics and Paralympics promoted a false sense of security and prompted people to let down their guard, which may have helped spread the virus.Athletes from the United States wave as they enter the stadium during the opening ceremony for the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Aug. 24, 2021.The Paralympics are about athletic prowess. The origin of the word is from “parallel” — an event running alongside the Olympics.Markus Rehm — known as the “Blade Jumper” — lost his right leg below the knee when he was 14 in a wakeboarding accident, but earlier this year he jumped 8.62 meters, a distance that would have won the last seven Olympics, including the Tokyo Games. Tokyo’s winning long jump was 8.41 meters.”The stigma attached to disability changes when you watch the sport,” said Craig Spence, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee. “These games will change your attitude toward disability.”If you look around Japan, it’s very rare you see persons with disabilities on the street,” Spence added. “We’ve got to go from protecting people to empowering people and creating opportunities for people to flourish in society.”Archer Matt Stutzman was born with no arms, just stumps at the shoulders. He holds a world record — for any archer, disabled or otherwise — for the longest, most accurate shot, hitting a target at 310 yards, or about 283 meters.Wheelchair fencer Bebe Vivo contracted meningitis as a child and to save her life, doctors amputated both her forearms and both her legs at the knees.”So many people told me that it was impossible to do fencing without any hands,” Vivo said in a recent interview. “So it was so important to me to demonstrate and show people that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have hands, or you don’t have legs or whatever. If you have a dream and you really want to achieve it, just go and take it.”Stutzman and Vivo are both set to compete in Tokyo and have already won medals in previous games, superstars who told their stories last year in the Netflix documentary about the Paralympics called “Rising Phoenix.”The rest of the 4,403 Paralympic athletes in Tokyo — a record number for any Paralympics — will be telling their stories until the closing ceremony.”I feel like I’m meeting movie stars,” said 14-year-old Ugandan swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe, who is competing for the first time.She acknowledged being a self-conscious adolescent, even more so because of a congenital impairment that left her with no lower right arm, an her left hand slightly misshapen.”Since it’s the Paralympics and everybody else is disabled, I feel really comfortable with myself,” she said. “In Uganda, there are very few people who have disabilities who want to come out and be themselves.”Paralympic organizers played a part last week in launching “WeThe15,” a human-rights campaign aimed at 1.2 billion people — 15% of the global population — with disabilities. They’ve also produced a 90-second video to promote the cause of social inclusion.”Difference is a strength, it is not a weakness,” Parsons said, speaking in the largely empty stadium. “And as we build back better in the post-pandemic world, it must feature societies where opportunities exist for all.”Shingo Katori, a member of boy band SMAP that had its roots in the 1980s, now works with Paralympic organizers. He acknowledged his early fears of working with people with disabilities.”Frankly speaking, people in wheelchairs or people with artificial legs — I hadn’t had an opportunity to meet these people and I didn’t know how to communicate with them,” he said. “But through Paralympic sports, such hesitation faded away.”Stutzman, known as the “Armless Archer,” has a disarming sense of humor — pardon the pun. He jokes about growing up wanting the be like former NBA star Michael Jordan.”I gave it up,” he deadpans. “I wasn’t tall enough.”
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to be the ruling political party’s vice-presidential candidate in next year’s elections, the PDP-Laban party said on Tuesday, laying the groundwork for the leader to stay in power beyond his term. The PDP-Laban party made the announcement ahead of a national assembly on Sept. 8 where it is also expected to endorse Duterte’s aide and incumbent senator Christopher “Bong” Go to be its presidential candidate in the 2022 polls. Duterte is making “the sacrifice” and heeding “the clamor of the people,” Karlo Nograles, executive vice president of the ruling PDP-Laban party, said in a statement. In the Philippines, the president is limited to one six-year term and Duterte’s term is due to end by June next year. His vice-presidential run is seen by political observers as a backdoor to the presidency, however. Nograles said the move would “guarantee continuity of the administration’s programs during the past five years,” including those meant to address illegal drugs. Duterte’s critics believe he could be making a play for retaining power through the number two post, by taking over as president in the event ally Go wins and then resigns. Duterte, who has portrayed himself as a reluctant president with no desire for power, has on several occasions said he wanted Go to be his successor. His endorsement in 2019 helped Go to become a senator, a post he carries out alongside his duties as Duterte’s personal aide. Go has been the 76-year-old’s closest aide since the late 1990s, when Duterte was a congressman representing Davao City in the country’s south. “I am still not interested [in the presidency],” Go, who chairs the senate committee on health, told Reuters. “Vaccines first, before politics,” he added. Duterte has said he wants to shield Sought for comment, Go said he would rather focus on addressing the pandemic. “I am still not interested [in the presidency],” said Go, who chairs the senate committee on health. “Vaccines first before politics” himself from possible legal action when he leaves office. That may include a possible investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The ICC’s prosecutor has sought the go-ahead to launch a formal investigation into the killings committed during Duterte’s war on drugs.  
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday China “continues to coerce, to intimidate, and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea.” Speaking during a visit to Singapore, Harris said China’s actions “continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.” U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has made countering Chinese influence a key part of its foreign policy. “The United States stands with our allies and partners in the face of these threats,” Harris said.  “And I must be clear: Our engagement in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific is not against any one country, nor is it designed to make anyone choose between countries.  Instead, our engagement is about advancing an optimistic vision that we have for our participation and partnership in this region.” Harris said she was reaffirming U.S. commitments to peace and stability, freedom on the seas, unimpeded commerce, advancing human rights and an international rules-based order.  U.S. Vice President visits Singapore, Aug. 24, 2021.She cited the millions who depend on sea lanes in the region for their livelihood and the billions of dollars in commerce flowing through the region.    She said those in the Indo-Pacific region understand the threats of climate change, including rising sea levels and floods, and that the crisis is “getting much more urgent.”  Harris added that in an interconnected world, the issue affects everyone and “requires collective action.”  Speaking specifically about Myanmar, also known as Burma, Harris said the United States is “deeply alarmed” by the coup carried out by the military earlier this year.  “We condemn the campaign of violent repression and we are committed to supporting the people there as they work to return their nation to the path of democracy. And we hope that the nations throughout the Indo-Pacific will join us in that effort,” she said.  Harris also took part Tuesday in a roundtable discussion about supply chain resilience and cooperation.    She is set to fly later Tuesday to Vietnam and become the first U.S. vice president to visit Hanoi.  In Vietnam, she is expected to discuss many of the same issues, including security and climate change. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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Hong Kong has seen an alarming reduction in its population over the last 12 months, as people leave in the wake of the pandemic and the city’s political turmoil.According to data released by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s population has declined by 1.2%, equating to 89,200 people. It’s the biggest decrease in Hong Kong’s population in 60 years, AFP reported.It comes after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city, cracking down on political dissidents following the anti-government protests in 2019.Kacey Wong, a visual artist and activist from Hong Kong, recently relocated to Taiwan, citing the far-reaching effects of the security law. He told VOA over the phone that he wants to live somewhere that has “100% freedom of expression,” he said. “For me Taiwan provides that opportunity,” he added.One of Hong Kong’s well-known artists, Wong, 51, is known for his flair for the visual arts embodied with social activism and politics. But he hasn’t gone unnoticed by Beijing, as his name appeared in state-controlled newspaper Ta Kung Pao — which is thought to be China’s wanted list for those who may have broken the security law.After seeing dozens of lawmakers arrested under the security law, Wong believes that the so-called “red line” of the law in Hong Kong has become so ambiguous that it’s becoming untenable to live with.“People are saying it’s not the red line anymore, it’s the red sea. It’s a zone that you cannot avoid,” he said.Wong pointed to how supporters are being targeted for wearing black t-shirts and yellow face mask.  The two colors are associated with the pro-democracy movement, and wearing them is seen as a method of protest against the government. Supporters of the movement have used other methods too, such as publicly reading Apple Daily’s pro-democracy newspaper, before its closure in June.Last Edition: Hong Kong’s Apple Daily Signs Off With Million-Copy RunPro-democracy newspaper prints its final edition at midnight after national security law case forces it out of businessA government spokesman said the high numbers of those leaving the city are not all necessarily emigrating and the population decline is also due to the lack of new arrivals, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, the South China Morning Post reported.Additionally, Hong Kong has also had the COVID-19 pandemic to contend with, and although the city has recorded only 12,000 cases with 200 people dead, strict quarantine measures remain.British visaAn offer of citizenship made by Britain for millions of Hong Kong residents has contributed to thousands leaving, the data suggests.Following activation of the security law, the British Government announced it would extend the rights of British National Overseas, or BNO, passport holders in Hong Kong, with nearly 3 million residents eligible. The scheme allows Hong Kong residents born before 1997 a “pathway to citizenship” after five years.An assessment by the British Government estimated that by 2026 up to 300,000 could apply to emigrate, with 34,000 having already applied between January and March.One Hong Kong resident told VOA that she recently relocated to Taiwan but there is the BNO option, too.Jenny, which isn’t her real name, said she was arrested during the protests in 2019 and decided to leave Hong Kong last July, fearing jail.“I’m not sure whether I would get a fair trial or not,” she said.Hong Kong’s Security Bureau recently told VOA in an email that people were not being targeted based on their political or professional affiliation.“Any law enforcement actions taken by Hong Kong law enforcement agencies are based on evidence, strictly according to the law, for the acts of the persons or entities concerned, and have nothing to do with their political stance, background or occupation. It would be contrary to the rule of law to suggest that people or entities of certain sectors or professions could be above the law,” the bureau said.Activists self-exiled  Dozens of lawmakers and activists are facing jail under the security law in Hong Kong, but several managed to flee overseas.Ted Hui, a former lawmaker in Hong Kong’s mini-parliament, the Legislative Council, left for Australia in late 2020. He was facing nine charges and believes he was being investigated under the security law.“In the past year, I think the intensity is getting stronger and stronger and level of enforcement. It’s no doubt to me now, a year after the introduction of the NSL, 100% it is the death of one country two systems, a total collapse of Hong Kong’s freedoms. Not any autonomy at all,” Hui told VOA in June. Hong Kong Reels After One Year of National Security Law Imposed by China As China exuberantly celebrated 100 years of the Communist Party in Beijing, the mood and atmosphere in Hong Kong was different Teachers’ union disbanded  The political climate in Hong Kong has also pressured civil society groups into closing. Last week the Civil Human Rights Front disbanded.  The group was responsible for some of Hong Kong’s largest-ever street protests.Hong Kong’s Professional Teachers’ Union also disbanded earlier this month after the government cut ties with the union and accused it of spreading anti-Beijing and anti-government sentiment.Hong Kong’s Largest Protest Group Disbands Civil Human Rights Front is the latest pro-democracy group to fold in Hong Kong The education sector has come under scrutiny ever since the security law was passed, and Hong Kong schools were ordered to remove materials that may violate the legislation.One teacher, who requested anonymity fearing retaliation, told VOA that there are concerns that “investigations” could be launched if umbrellas were used during practical activities in the classroom. Umbrellas were deployed by protesters during street protests and became symbolic during the pro-democracy movement.Another teacher quit their role at the Chinese University of Hong Kong citing self-censorship fears and being misreported if discussing texts such as George Orwell.“I stopped at the university because I felt there’s no way that we’d be able to have the kind of in-class discussions we used before the national security law,” the teacher told VOA.
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of what she called a “shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region” as she visited Singapore at the start of a short trip to Southeast Asia. Speaking to reporters alongside Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Harris stressed U.S. commitment to the region and working with allies to “uphold the rules-based international order and freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea.” “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” Harris said.U.S. Vice President visits Singapore, Aug. 23, 2021.Monday’s talks included extensive focus on the climate crisis, Harris said, along with the need for cooperation to end the coronavirus pandemic and to prevent future ones from occurring. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of working together as partners on the issue of global health,” she said. Harris is scheduled to meet Tuesday with business leaders in Singapore as part of a joint effort to shore up supply chains. The United States and Singapore have also agreed to cooperate on an effort to identify new coronavirus variants and to boost preparedness in Southeast Asia. Earlier Monday, Harris took part in a welcome ceremony and met with President Halimah Yacob. Harris will also make a stop Monday at the Changi Naval Base, where she will speak to U.S. sailors aboard the visiting USS Tulsa.      Late Tuesday, Harris arrives in Vietnam, becoming the first U.S. vice president to visit Hanoi, as Washington seeks to bolster international support to counter China’s growing global influence.      Her visit follows Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s late July trip to the same two countries plus the Philippines and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s virtual meetings August 4 with counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at an annual summit.US Seen Bolstering Military Links in Southeast Asia to Counter China US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Hanoi and Manila this week to advocate ‘integrated deterrence’ among Southeast Asian statesRalph Jennings contributed to this article. 
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Government minister in New Zealand Chris Hipkins admitted that the country’s “elimination” approach to achieve a “COVID zero” status may no longer be viable as the delta variant is proving difficult to control. The government in Wellington has extended a nationwide lockdown until at least Friday and 107 infections have been detected so far. Stay-at-home orders in the city of Auckland — the center of the outbreak — are to remain until at least August 31. New Zealand has been imposing lockdowns at the first sign of an outbreak implementing a strategy to “crush” COVID-19 and curb the spread of the virus. It also closed its borders to most foreign nationals in March 2020, and returning citizens are subject to strict quarantine controls. The country has tried keep the pandemic at bay and earned the name “Fortress New Zealand” due to the strategy. However, the government is now admitting there are cracks in the country’s approach in combatting the pandemic. Health officials have linked the delta variant outbreak to a traveler who returned from the Australian state of New South Wales on August 7. Hipkins told a local TV station TVNZ on Sunday that eliminating the virus would be a difficult task. “Delta does raise some big questions that we’re going to have to grapple with, you know, less than a 24-hour period for someone getting it and passing it on to others that’s like nothing we’ve dealt with in this pandemic so far, and it does change everything. It does mean that all of our existing protections start to look less adequate and less robust as a result of that. So, we are looking very closely at what more we can do there, but, yes, it does raise some pretty big questions about what the long-term future of our plans are,” Hipkins said. Australia is also moving away from its long-held elimination strategy. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that people would have to learn to live with the virus. But he said lockdowns would continue until at least 70% of the population was fully vaccinated. So far, just under a third of Australians have received two doses. A night-time curfew in virus-hit parts of Sydney began Monday as delta variant infections increase in Australia’s biggest city. Masks are now mandatory for all residents outdoors. The police have been given greater powers to lock down apartment blocks, and order people to isolate for 14 days if they break any restrictions. New South Wales and Victoria — Australia’s most populous states — are in lockdown, along with the national capital, Canberra.  New Zealand has recorded about 3,000 coronavirus cases and 26 deaths since the pandemic began. Australia has reported 44,000 infections and 981 deaths, according to the country’s health department. 
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The U.S. special envoy for North Korea was scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart on Monday, as the two allies look for ways to entice Pyongyang back to talks over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.Sung Kim arrived in Seoul on Saturday for a four-day visit. He met with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong at the minister’s residence on Sunday, where they discussed ways for a speedy resumption of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, a foreign ministry official said.On Monday Kim will meet with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, and on Tuesday with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Seoul.The visit comes as a brief thaw in inter-Korean relations in July gave way to a new standoff over U.S.-South Korean military exercises that North Korea has warned could trigger a security crisis.The nine-day exercise began on Aug. 16, with silence so far from North Korean state media despite fears that the country could conduct a missile test or take other actions to underscore its disapproval.North Korea has said it is open to diplomacy, but that the American overtures appear hollow while “hostile acts” such as the drills continueU.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it will explore diplomacy to achieve North Korean denuclearization but shown no willingness to ease sanctions. 
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday, the start of a two-nation trip to Southeast Asia.Harris begins her public duties on Monday, speaking with Singapore President Halimah Yacob and holding a bilateral meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to The Associated Press.During the first leg of her trip to regional financial center Singapore, Harris will also make a stop at the Changi Naval Base, where she will speak to U.S. sailors aboard the visiting USS Tulsa.Late Tuesday, Harris arrives in Vietnam, becoming the first U.S. vice president to visit Hanoi, as Washington seeks to bolster international support to counter China’s growing global influence.She will speak with both Singaporean and Vietnamese officials about security, climate change, the pandemic and “joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order,” spokesperson Symone Sanders said. Her visit would follow Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s late July trip to the same two countries plus the Philippines and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s virtual meetings August 4 with counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at an annual summit.US Seen Bolstering Military Links in Southeast Asia to Counter China US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Hanoi and Manila this week to advocate ‘integrated deterrence’ among Southeast Asian statesThe trip appears a continuation of the Biden administration’s efforts to compete with China for influence in a crucial yet wary region of 660 million people, experts say.Southeast Asian nations have long valued the U.S. role in their “security,” according to a Foreign Policy Research Institute research organization analysis released in June.Washington periodically sends warships, sells arms and helps train troops.The 10-member Southeast Asian bloc, however, opposes overtly siding with any outside power, though, the analysis says. 
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Myanmar’s military government has arrested two more local journalists, army-owned television reported on Saturday, the latest among dozens of detentions in a sweeping crackdown on the media since a February 1 coup.   Sithu Aung Myint, a columnist for news site Frontier Myanmar and commentator with Voice of America radio, and Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, were arrested on August 15, Myawaddy TV reported.   Sithu Aung Myint was charged with sedition and spreading false information that Myawaddy said was critical of the junta and had urged people to join strikes and back outlawed opposition groups.   Htet Htet Khine was accused of harboring Sithu Aung Myint, a criminal suspect, and working for and supporting a shadow National Unity Government.   BBC Media Action said in a statement it was concerned about Htet Htet Khine’s safety and the charges against her and was closely monitoring the situation.   Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the pair were being held incommunicado. “We strongly condemn the arbitrary conditions of their detention, which reflect the brutality with which the military junta treats journalists,” said its Asia-Pacific desk head Daniel Bastard.   Myanmar remains fraught with instability and opposition to army rule, under which more than 1,000 people have been killed, according to an activist group that has tracked killings by security forces. The military, which has revoked the licenses of many news outlets, says it respects the role of media but will not allow news reporting it deems false or likely to create public unrest. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists https://bit.ly/3glb0WN last month said Myanmar’s rulers had effectively criminalized independent journalism.   Human Rights Watch late last month said the army government had arrested 98 journalists since the coup and should stop prosecuting media staff. Of those arrested, 46 remained in custody as of the end of July. 
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Implementation of last year’s highly contentious national security law could cost Hong Kong its international luster as a financial hub, experts have told VOA. More than 130 residents, activists, politicians, journalists and others have been arrested under the law despite the government’s initial promise the law would not affect ordinary citizens. Discussions revolving around how it might affect the city’s valued financial sector have become more heated.    Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yu, whose agency’s responsibilities include maintaining Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center, sought to reaffirm the city’s financial stability in a Police officers stand outside a court in Hong Kong Aug. 19, 2021. Two Hong Kongers on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces as well as Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai to endanger national security according to reports.Hong Kong’s score on Maplecroft’s Freedom of Opinion and Expression Index over the past three years has worsened from the 112th worst-performing globally in 2018 to now 73rd, Brennan said.   A law expert warned of the potential risks to company assets under the law that “can be highly unpredictable and changing like wind.” “The national security law is capable of breaking a company. Assets can be frozen under some causes vaguely defined by the law, so investors will certainly have to be mindful of this risk,” Horace Young, associate professor at the University of Leicester law school, told VOA.    This concern has been shared by close to half of the expats based in Hong Kong, according to a May survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. The report showed that there have been “growing underlying tensions and nagging fears,” mostly stemming from “discomfort due to the national security law.”   Losing its place even as a gateway to China’s vast market?   While AmCham spokesperson Tara Joseph told the BBC earlier this year that capital flow between Hong Kong and the mainland China “is very hard to replicate,” Brennan predicted that the portion of Chinese investment into Hong Kong compared to international capital flowing into Hong Kong “is likely to increase over the coming decade.”   “International investors are increasingly wary of being caught in the crossfire in Hong Kong, as Beijing tightens its grip via the national security law and Western states counter with international sanctions,” Brennan said.    Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore specializing in Chinese politics, said companies are now forced to choose between moving their offices to mainland China, which would shift more of their business toward China, or shifting their offices overseas. He also said companies might choose to move their offices to mainland China because Hong Kong’s advantage derived from rule of law is now fading.    Earlier this year, major commercial bank HSBC announced plans to start an office in China’s Greater Bay Area – China’s effort to link Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and several other cities as a unified business hub –  after the Asia chief signed a petition in support of the national security law in June last year.    “These implications can be boiled down to the fact that Hong Kong’s financial status has been jeopardized. In the future, the city will likely become China’s financial center, instead of an international hub,” said Wu.    Brennan added that the city’s rule of law was Hong Kong’s traditional competitive edge over its rivals, but the recent erosion will “likely induce some international companies to move their regional hubs to alternative commercial centers, such as Shanghai or Singapore.”   China’s support of Hong Kong’s capital flow between Hong Kong and China might keep the city afloat as a domestic financial hub, “as a means to increase its control over the territory,” said Brennan.  Young said that both domestic and international corporations will “reconsider their options of HQ locations so as to control their exposure to political and legal risks.” “Hong Kong has always played and capitalized on its role as the middleman between the East and West. If it becomes ‘One Country One System’ in Hong Kong, I do not think Hong Kong will continue to be appealing to international corporations.  “They can choose any major cities in China, notably Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, to be their regional HQs, especially if China is their target market.” Hong Kong might still have a role to play as a financial gateway to China, if there are still restrictions on movement of capital in the mainland, Young added.    Wu added that Hong Kong can still be an appealing location for money laundering from mainland China’s wealthy families and corrupted officials, despite losing its international luster.  “But now Hong Kong is very much a part of China in terms of jurisdiction. If China steps up its anti-corruption campaign, it can affect Hong Kong, so money and talents might also switch to Singapore,” Wu said. 
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The last surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan, launched his final defense in appealing his conviction for genocide this week as the long-running United Nations-backed tribunal held its last public hearings before winding down. Luke Hunt has more.
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The last surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan, has made his final appeal against his conviction for genocide as the long-running United Nations-backed Cambodia tribunal held its last public hearings before winding down. Amid tight security and health restrictions imposed to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic, Khieu Samphan delivered a dramatic 16-minute defense in which he categorically refused to accept his 2018 conviction for genocide against Cambodia’s Muslim Cham and ethnic Vietnamese.“I cannot accept the accusation that I was involved in a plot to commit crimes against my compatriots, including the Cham or the Vietnamese,” he said.“Many years of sitting as a defendant at the end of this long case it is important for me to inform you and especially inform the Cambodian people that I never wanted to commit a crime against my compatriots or anyone else,” he said.“No matter what you decide I will die in prison. I will die always remembering the suffering of my Cambodian people. I will die seeing death. I am alone in front of you. I am judged symbolically rather than by my actual deed and as an individual. That’s the end.”With that, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia ended 15 years of public hearings and went into its final recess.Courts spokesman Neth Pheaktra said a decision on the appeal was not expected until the fourth quarter of next year, and in the meantime the court will finalize outstanding legal issues and cases that would not proceed.“We still have some administrative work to finalize between the Cambodian government and the United Nations before the court will close. It means, complete its mission,” he told VOA.The Khmer Rouge split from the Indochinese Communist Party after secret meetings were held at the back of the Phnom Penh railway station in 1960 and then pushed Cambodia into a civil war as the conflict in neighboring Vietnam was gathering pace.Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 and held it until early 1979, when a Vietnamese invasion forced the Khmer Rouge into the remote jungles near the Thai border. Up to 2.2 million people, a third of this country’s population, had perished.Ex-Khmer Rouge Official Appeals Genocide Verdict in Cambodia His defense team is seeking to overturn a 2018 verdict finding him guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimesPol Pot died under house arrest in 1998. It was only then that a war crimes tribunal became a serious prospect, leading to the establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in 2006.Senior Khmer Rouge leaders, including former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, his wife Ieng Thirith and former army chief Ta Mok, died behind bars, awaiting trial.Only Khieu Samphan, 91, survives. He was convicted for genocide alongside Nuon Chea, known as Brother No. 2, and second in command of the Khmer Rouge, who died two years ago.Another Khmer Rouge leader, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, was also convicted of crimes against humanity. He ran the S21 death camp, where 24,000 people were processed for extermination in the Killing Fields. The court heard there were 196 such camps across the country.Helen Jarvis, a former chief of the court’s Public Affairs and Victims Support Sections, said it took a “Herculean” effort to get the tribunal up and running amid wrangling with the U.N. and over funding issues.“It was a very important historical event that needed to be done. It was long overdue to recognize the crimes that had taken place here, crimes against humanity, genocide. It needed to be done. I think it has been done,” she said.Jarvis said the Extraordinary Chambers compared favorably with other tribunals, noting its $330 million cost to date is about a quarter of what was spent on the Rwandan war crimes tribunal and about half of the budget for the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.The other tribunals were held under the auspices of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, with no local component and a long way from where the atrocities were committed. However, the Khmer Rouge court was a hybrid tribunal made up of local and international judges and it was held in Cambodia.That created its own issues.Prosecutors have been divided along international and Cambodian lines over whether to prosecute four lower-level Khmer Rouge officials, which means those cases cannot proceed.“The most important thing is that the Cambodian people have been there, have been part of it right through. It wasn’t something done like former Yugoslavia or Rwanda, done outside the country,” Jarvis said.“It was done in Cambodia with Cambodia’s full participation, a 500-seat courtroom which was full every day,” she said.Ou Virak, president of the Future Form think tank in Phnom Penh said the tribunal had played an important role in Cambodia’s development.  “It was a success, it was necessary, it was an establishment of fact and truth and in some ways that will be studied by historians but more importantly by the Cambodian population,” he said.Ou Virak also said the trials will provide contemporary and future historians with much greater insights into the regional political dynamics of the 1970s by major powers – the United States, the Soviet Union and China, which backed the Khmer Rouge.  “There are a lot more people now trying to understand the roles of different major powers, different parties back then including the involvement of America as well as China.“Because of that I think there will be more interest in the tribunal, not because of historical atrocities, but more so because of its relevance to the current geo-political discussion,” he said.Even if Khieu Samphan wins his appeal he will remain behind bars after exhausting the appeals process for his conviction for crimes against humanity.Either way authorities can now plan commemorations for Pol Pot’s victims, who are expected to be cremated in accordance with traditional Buddhist rites, delivering some closure for one of the great tragedies of the 20th century.David Potter contributed to this report.
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European Union members will step up their advocacy of open access to the disputed South China Sea, a key world trade route, despite Chinese claims to nearly all of it as they discuss the issue with Southeast Asian countries, analysts believe.The 27 EU members, such as France and Germany, hope all countries can follow United Nations maritime rules in the South China Sea to ensure consistency with other world waterways and to protect a booming seaborne trade in goods with Asia, the experts say.China claims about 90% of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea, including pieces of the U.N.-prescribed exclusive economic zones of four Southeast Asian states. Chinese officials point to maritime documents dating back to dynastic times to back their claim.EU leaders met in early August with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations for discussions that touched on the South China Sea, and the two sides are due to convene again this quarter. The EU has met with the Southeast Asian association since 1977, part of the ASEAN’s series of dialogues with other major countries and regions.ASEAN is the EU’s third-largest trading partner outside Europe, after China and the United States, with more than $221 billion in trade in goods last year.About 60% of maritime trade by volume passes through Asia and about one-third goes through the South China Sea, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development estimates. The sea is a connector between East Asia and the Indian Ocean, which puts ships on their way to Europe.“The EU … has a big stake in the Indo Pacific region and has every interest that the regional architecture remains open and rules-based,” the European side said in a statement in April.However, it continued, “current dynamics in the Indo Pacific have given rise to intense geopolitical competition, adding to increasing pressure on trade and supply chains as well as in tensions in technological, political and security areas.”Neither the EU nor any of its member countries claim sovereignty over the South China Sea. ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam call parts of the sea their own, overlapping China’s own boundary line, and Taiwan claims almost all of it.France, Germany, and non-EU member Britain issued a joint note to the United Nations almost a year ago challenging China’s claims in the sea, which they view as a potential threat to international traffic.“That’s pretty clear, they want consistency,” said Carl Thayer, Asia-specialized emeritus professor from the University of New South Wales in Australia.“Why? Because the way you can do business. It lowers the risk,” he said.Some EU positions on the South China Sea echo that of its Western ally, the United States, which regularly sends warships to the waterway as warnings to China. The EU’s website says, for example, that its members and ASEAN uphold “principles of a rules-based international order.”EU nations have stepped up their own ship movements this year as well, but experts say they’re focused more on international law than with taking a pro-U.S. position.China’s Likely Responses to European and Indian Warships in Sea it Calls its OwnChinese authorities may tail foreign vessels, protest verbally and target other countries one by one, analysts suggest If South China Sea claimants violate the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, they would open the possibility for individual countries to control European seas, said Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. The convention sets up exclusive economic zones for maritime states, among other provisions aimed at sharing cross-border waterways.“Their primary interest is to maintain international law, maintain open freedom of navigation rather than siding with the United States in its strategic competition with China,” Vuving said.Southeast Asian countries with claims to the South China Sea oppose Beijing’s landfilling of small islets for military use and passing its vessels through their exclusive economic zones.However, they seldom use language that enrages China, a key Southeast Asia trade partner, and the EU backs that approach to the maritime dispute, Alan Chong, associate professor at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said. Both blocs look to China for trade as well.“They are coming along to ASEAN in part because they are aware that ASEAN’s game is probably the surest and safest way of maintaining this dual policy of both engagement and constraining China,” Chong said.Even the subtle language preferred by ASEAN is “enough to put Beijing on notice,” Chong said. China will probably avoid responding publicly but privately ask around for the meaning of any communiques that come out of the EU-ASEAN dialogue, he said.
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Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters in Australia have clashed with police.  There have been clashes in Melbourne, while many arrests have also been made in Sydney.  Both cities are under strict stay-at-home orders as the delta variant continues to surge.In Melbourne, thousands of people defied the authorities to march in the city center.   Protesters clashed with the police, and videos posted on social media have shown chaotic scenes in Australia’s second-biggest city.  In Sydney, 1,400 police officers prevented a large-scale anti-lockdown rally, but there was still violence.  Demonstrators were heard chanting against strict stay-at-home orders and repeating anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.  Hundreds of protesters march on a street during an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 21, 2021.Many arrests have reportedly been made in both cities, which are under some of Australia’s toughest-ever lockdown restrictions.Earlier, authorities in New South Wales state announced Australia’s worst day of the pandemic so far, with 825 new COVID-19 infections in the state.State Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the delta variant is so contagious that Australia’s long-held strategy of trying to eliminate the virus is over.“We can’t live in our bubble forever,” said Berejiklian. “The challenge is that every state has to live with the fact that once you get to 80% double doses and your population is allowed to live more freely, the delta variant will creep in.” Authorities are making a final push to stop the worsening COVID-19 crisis in Australia’s biggest city.Australia Reports Record-high Number of COVID-19 Cases US will offer booster shots next month Sydney’s lockdown is being extended and it’s getting even stricter.  There will be a curfew in virus hotspots, masks must be worn outdoors, and the police have even tougher powers to enforce stay-at-home orders.  Mass vaccinations are continuing as the number of infections rises. WOMAN 1: “With the cases today, yeah, we’re very happy we’ve been able to come here and get vaccinated.”WOMAN 2: “It’s a really scary number.  To think that even last week we were concerned about it and now it just seems like it’s getting out of hand.”New Zealand has extended a nationwide lockdown until at least Wednesday as a cluster of Covid-19 infections has grown to more than 50 cases.   “We just don’t quite know the full scale of this delta outbreak. All in all, that tells us we need to continue to be cautious,” said Prime minister Jacinda Ardern.Health officials in New Zealand have linked the delta variant infections to a traveler who returned from New South Wales two weeks ago. New Zealand has reported about 3,000 COVID-19 cases and 26 fatalities since the pandemic began.Australia has recorded 42,200 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic.  Nine hundred seventy-four people have died, according to the Health Department.Both countries closed their international borders to most foreign nationals in March of last year.
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Every day for a year, a Japanese diplomat has posted a near-identical Instagram video of the paper crane he has folded that day.”Today is my 365th day in Seattle,” says Hisao Inagaki, consul general in the western US city, in a video posted Friday.”I have folded a 365th crane while praying for everyone’s health and peace.”It was a triumphant moment for Inagaki, 60, who arrived in the United States in August last year as the country was in the depths of the Covid-19 health crisis, and person-to-person contact was tricky.”I started recording origami cranes because of the pandemic,” he told AFP in a video interview.”I wanted to use my social media to send a message to everyone expressing my sympathies.”So began his Zen-like meditation, in which every identically framed video shows Inagaki delivering the same message, with only the numbers — and his shirts — changing.Paper cranes have been created for centuries in Japan, where they symbolize longevity.”It is thought that folding 1,000 paper cranes is a prelude to good things,” says Inagaki, adding that 1,000 is not a precise number, and stands instead for “a lot.”Not counting a two-day outage that kept him off the platform on days 193 and 194, Inagaki has remained faithful to his plan — and his script.Day 195 marked a slight deviation, when he added an enthusiastic: “I’m back!” to the start of the video, before returning to his pattern.Friday’s post saw the diplomat — wearing a suit for the occasion — showing off the numbers “365” constructed out of paper cranes.”To keep (posting) every day, I thought it is better to be simple,” Inagaki says.That simplicity makes Inagaki’s Instagram account almost hypnotic, with each 10- or 11-second video a self-contained piece of performance art.Each folded crane is dated and preserved in a large box, but at the end of his Seattle posting, Inagaki says he would like to donate his works.”I want to give them to someone… to provide these folded cranes to a nursery” or an old people’s home, he said. Until then, he will keep on folding — much to the delight of his nearly 900 followers.”I look forward to your videos every day,” wrote one follower on Day 360.”Lovely,” wrote another. “I’m glad you live in my city.”
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