Poland is selling one million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to boost Australia’s comparatively low COVID-19 inoculation rates. Australia has bought extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the Polish government for an undisclosed amount. The first shipment arrived in Sydney Sunday. Reports have said Poland has been trying to sell-on at least four million spare doses from its national stockpile.   The deal is part of Canberra’s international hunt for extra doses to boost its vaccination rollout. With only about a quarter of its population fully inoculated, Australia has lagged behind many other countries.    Half of the doses from Poland will go to 20-to-39-year-olds in the worst virus-hit suburbs in Sydney, where Australia’s harshest lockdown got even stricter on Monday with new regulations that limit the movement of millions of people.  Many residents in areas with large numbers of delta variant infections are not allowed to move more than 5 kilometers from their homes as law enforcement agencies assume some of the most sweeping powers the country has ever seen.   Almost 18,000 police officers and 1,800 soldiers are patrolling Sydney streets to enforce the lockdown. Health authorities in New South Wales Monday reported 478 new COVID-19 cases — a new daily record — and seven more fatalities.   Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is urging people to obey the public health orders. “We have been seeing those case numbers rise in Sydney and New South Wales each day and that is terribly concerning. So, together we have got to get those numbers coming down and there are two things we can do. I need you to stay at home and you needed more vaccines from us. More vaccines are on their way, they will be there this week,” Morrison said.In Victoria, officials Monday extended a lockdown in Melbourne until at least September 2 as delta variant infections increase. A night-time curfew will be imposed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Lockdowns are also in place in the Australian Capital Territory — the region surrounding Canberra — and the Northern Territory.   Travel into and out of Australia remains heavily restricted. Most foreign nationals were banned from entering in March 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. The policy continues to separate many families.   Daniella May, a German-Australian woman, has written a song about not seeing her extended family overseas.     “In different time zones we sit, and the uncertainty we breathe, we with our loved-ones freeze on ‘phone screens, cry and think, is this Australia?” May said. About 39,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in Australia since the pandemic began, and 958 people have died, according to the Health Department. 
…

Malaysia’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has tendered its resignation to the king, science minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Monday, after months of political turmoil that resulted in a loss of the premier’s majority. Khairy announced the news in a post on Instagram. Prime Minister Muhyiddin was earlier seen entering the national palace on Monday, after reports he would tender his resignation to the king. Muhyiddin’s office did not respond to Reuters requests for confirmation on Monday. Muhyiddin’s hand had weakened after months of infighting in his coalition. If confirmed, his resignation would end a tumultuous 17 months in office but could also hamper Malaysia’s efforts to reboot a pandemic-stricken economy and curb a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, as there is no obvious successor. Malaysia’s ringgit currency earlier fell to a one-year low and the stock market slipped. It was not immediately clear who could form the next government, given no one has a clear majority in parliament, or whether elections could be held during the pandemic. Malaysia’s infections and fatality rates per million people are the highest in Southeast Asia. The decision is likely to be thrust into the hands of constitutional monarch King Al-Sultan Abdullah, who can appoint a prime minister from among elected lawmakers based on who he thinks is most likely to command a majority. Muhyiddin, who had for weeks defied calls to quit, had informed party members that he would submit his resignation to the king on Monday, according to Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, a minister in the prime minister’s department, news portal Malaysiakini reported on Sunday. The minister did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister convened a special cabinet meeting on Monday morning, state news agency Bernama reported. Reuters journalists saw Muhyiddin arrive at the national palace. His resignation could return the premiership to the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia’s ‘grand old party,’ which was voted out in a 2018 election after being tainted by corruption allegations. The top two contenders for the premiership or interim prime minister’s post include deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and veteran lawmaker Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, both from UMNO. Muhyiddin’s grip on power has been precarious since he took office in March 2020 with a slim majority. Pressure on him mounted recently after some UMNO lawmakers — the largest bloc in the ruling alliance — withdrew support. Muhyiddin had said the recent crisis was brought on by his refusal to meet demands including the dropping of corruption charges against some individuals. UMNO politicians, including former premier Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, are facing graft charges. They have denied wrongdoing and were among those who withdrew support for Muhyiddin this month. 
…

One of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy organizations has announced it will close immediately. The Civil Human Rights Front, or CHRF, has been responsible for some of the largest street demonstrations in the city’s history, especially during the 2019 anti-government protests. Since Beijing enacted a National Security Law for Hong Kong in June of last year, the government has repeatedly rejected applications from the CHRF to hold any rallies, citing the coronavirus pandemic.  Rumors of the group disbanding had been reported in local media for days, but on Sunday it was confirmed. A post on the group’s page read that member groups have been “suppressed” and civil society has faced “serious challenges.” 香港人加油，人在希望在﹗

民間人權陣線（下稱民陣）自2002年起，一直擔任公民社會團體的溝通平台，旨在推動香港的人權民主自由，以合法、和平、理性及非暴力的原則籌辦大型遊行集會，讓廣大市民發聲。
…Posted by 民間人權陣線 Civil Human Rights Front on Saturday, August 14, 2021The group added the decision to dissolve was “unanimous,” while thanking its supporters. “The record of the marching of one million people and two million people, let the aspirations go through the whole city, let the world see Hong Kong, let the lights shine on the darkness, and let democracy and freedom plant in the hearts of people,” part of the announcement read.  The National Security Law has acted as a catalyst for a political crackdown in the city, with dozens of political figures arrested and jailed.  The regulation — enacted to bring stability to the city following the 2019 demonstrations — has been widely criticized as a threat to Hong Kong’s once-vibrant free press. Under the law, subversion and foreign collusion are prohibited. Previous CHRF convener Jimmy Sham is one of 47 political figures charged in February with conspiracy to commit subversion under the law. And in May, the front’s current convener, Figo Chan, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to unauthorized assembly two years ago. The front admitted that no members were willing to step up to form a new secretariat after Chan was sent to jail. Founded in 2002, the CHRF was an umbrella group affiliated with the majority of pro-democracy political groups in the city. Loud and proud, the group was a vital cog during the widespread pro-democracy rallies two years ago and was responsible for Hong Kong’s largest street protest ever. The organizers claimed nearly two million people – a quarter of Hong Kong’s population – opposed a now-withdrawn extradition bill on June 16, 2019. The city’s authorities claimed the turnout was a lot lower. The extradition measure called for some criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.  Richard Tsoi, former secretary of civil society group the Hong Kong Alliance, told VOA the CHRF’s disbanding is a big blow to the pro-democracy movement. “From 2002 until now, the Civil Human Rights Front acted as the umbrella organization for the civil society to organize Hong Kong people through collective actions to protect human rights and fight to democracy. Without this civil society forum, it would be hard for large-scale collective actions fighting for democracy in the near future. It will definitely have [a] negative impact to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.” The announcement comes after a Hong Kong police chief said the group may have previously violated the National Security Law, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. Chow Hang-Tung is the vice president of the Hong Kong Alliance, a group which organizes an annual vigil to mark the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Chow told VOA in June that she believes the government is going after pro-democracy civil society groups. “Apart from media, I think they want to target civil society organizations, NGO’s and all these political parties and groups. And it looks like ours. A lot of people saying the Civil Human Rights Front or us [Hong Kong Alliance] are the authorities’ next target.” When asked for comment, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Security Bureau responded to VOA via email. “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.”  Political analyst Joseph Cheng, formerly of Hong Kong but who is now in New Zealand, told VOA via email the closure of the CHRF is “a severe blow…” “The closing is expected. Most of the leaders are detained or imprisoned. The majority of the constituent groups have left. There is no action program and no strategy ahead.” “It means that the Chinese authorities are not ready to tolerate any large-scale protest activities, so there’s no freedom of assembly. Any organizer will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said. Cheng praised the front, saying it was “respected and trusted” and that it served as a “broad spectrum” for all levels of political and social causes. The front’s announcement following the recent disbanding of Hong Kong’s largest teachers’ union. The union did so last week after the government cut ties with it, accusing the group of spreading anti-Beijing and anti-government sentiment. The Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU), a member of the CHRF, was founded in 1973 and was the city’s largest single-industry trade union. Up until its closure, it had 95,000 members.  Largest Hong Kong Teachers’ Union Disbands Amid Crackdown The Professional Teachers’ Union is the city’s largest single-industry trade union, with 95,000 membersThe split came hours after Chinese state media called the union a “malignant tumor” and called out other pro-democracy groups in the city. Ronson Chan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) told VOA that the pressure on Hong Kong’s civil groups is mounting. “I think that the pressure from the north is very obvious and very strong. It seems that no civil community will exist,” he said.The HKJA was founded in 1968 and was another member with ties to the CHRF. Chan said the association remains defiant despite it reportedly being a target of authorities. “We have done nothing special or nothing different after the National Security Law has passed. We are trying to stand as (long) as possible as we can. But if you say, can you guarantee to be safe, I’m sorry; I cannot make this promise,” he added. 
…

Thai riot police fired tear gas and sprayed water cannons Sunday as more than 100 anti-government protesters marched on an army base in the capital Bangkok where Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has his residence.The group of mainly young demonstrators pelted the police lines that blocked their way, hurling rocks, fireworks and small explosives known as “ping-pong bombs.”Televised images of a Thai police station showed a traffic control booth in flames.Sunday marked the fourth time in the past seven days that protesters and police have fought in the Din Daeng area of the city.Demonstrators are calling for Prayuth’s resignation over his perceived bungling of the government’s coronavirus vaccination program. Thailand has seen infection rates surge in the past few weeks while vaccination rates remain low.But the protests are also part of a wider push for sweeping political change that includes the resignation of the government, a new constitution and – most contentious of all – fundamental reform of the powerful but opaque monarchy.Elsewhere, Sunday saw thousands of protestors gather in vehicles and on motorbikes for a mobile anti-government rally. They met in three locations to hear speeches before slowly driving around the city. By staying in vehicles they hoped to minimize participants’ potential exposure to COVID-19.One of the main organizers, veteran activist Nattawut Saikua, appealed to those taking part to keep it peaceful, saying violence would alienate many potential supporters. 
…

The Australian state of New South Wales announced a snap lockdown Saturday due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the seven-day, statewide lockdown to begin Saturday evening. Schools will close for at least a week.“This is literally a war,” Gladys Berejiklian, the state’s premier, said.  “The delta strain is diabolical.”Saturday was the state’s worst day of the pandemic, with 466 new cases and four deaths.Berejiklian said New South Wales is facing a “dire” situation.Earlier Saturday, Dr. Danielle McMullen, the Australian Medical Association’s New South Wales president, said in a statement, “We need to treat this virus like it’s everywhere, all the time. … Doctors from across NSW are exhausted and concerned for their community. Our already fragile rural and regional health system will be unable to cope with increases in cases.”United StatesAn advisory panel for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously Friday in favor of recommending a third coronavirus vaccine dose to 2.7 million people with weakened immune systems.The decision comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for extremely immunocompromised individuals, who represent less than 3% of the overall population.The FDA’s acting commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock, said in a statement late Thursday, “The FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease.””Other individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected,” Woodcock said, “and do not need an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine at this time.”The CDC recommended that vulnerable Americans, including cancer patients, HIV patients and others with immunodeficiencies, get the booster shot after multiple studies showed that it could better protect their immune systems from the virus.According to the CDC, 40%-44% of people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 after being vaccinated are immunocompromised.RussiaElsewhere in the world, Russia reported Friday a daily record of 815 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll of the pandemic.Health officials blamed the increase on the more contagious delta variant.Officials also reported 22,277 new coronavirus cases Friday, down from a peak in July.Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said daily hospitalizations in the city had fallen by half since late June. Moscow reported 2,529 new infections on Friday.CanadaThe Canadian government announced Friday that it would require vaccinations for all passengers traveling between provinces by plane, train or cruise ship.Officials said the government would also require all federal public servants to be vaccinated.Canada said Wednesday that it was developing a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport for its citizens to use for international travel.Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said the federal government in Ottawa is working with provinces and territories, which are responsible for vaccinating residents, on a common approach in creating the passport, which should be available in the next few months.Mendicino said the vaccine passport is “a key step forward in ensuring Canadians will have the documents they need once it is safe to travel again.”US schoolsOn Friday, the Chicago school system, the third largest in the U.S., become the latest to require all its teachers and other employees to be fully vaccinated.The school system said all workers must submit proof that they are vaccinated by Oct. 15 unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption.On Thursday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced a universal indoors mask mandate for kindergarten through Grade 12.Earlier this week, California decided to require teachers and support staff to either be inoculated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.California Governor Gavin Newsom said the new order applies to both public and private schools across the nation’s most populous state, and it includes teachers’ aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and volunteers.Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.   
…

For the first time in Australia, a state government has said visitors from virus-hit parts of the country must be vaccinated to enter. The state of Western Australia has insisted the tough measures, imposed on travelers from New South Wales, are designed to curb the spread of the delta variant as a record number of infections were reported Saturday in Sydney.Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the delta outbreak in neighboring New South Wales is a threat to the entire country.“New South Wales needs to have a clear plan for containment,” Palaszczuk said. “This is of serious concern to the rest of the nation.”On Saturday, a record number of 466 new infections were reported in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state.The outbreak has prompted the state of Western Australia to impose its toughest-ever internal border controls. Entry to visitors from New South Wales now requires proof of a vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test.“This hasn’t been done before in Australia,” said Western Australia state premier Mark McGowan. “We haven’t actually ever said you have to be vaccinated to travel between the states, you have to be tested if you want to travel between the states. No one has ever done this before, but I think it is entirely fair.”Millions of Australians are in lockdown, including those in the city of Melbourne.Sydney, and surrounding regions, have been under strict stay-at-home orders since June 26. Authorities have said all of New South Wales will be locked down starting Saturday for a week to try to curb the spread of the virus.Sydney residents will need a permit to leave the city. Fines for people caught breaching lockdown orders are increasing from the equivalent of $735 to more than $3,600. Police will launch “Operation Stay at Home” Sunday with the support of 500 soldiers.Brad Hazzard, the New South Wales health minister, is urging people to obey the rules.“Delta is an extremely dangerous weapon, and some people are allowing it to be used as a weapon because of their ignorance, their stupidity,” he said.Australia has recorded 38,000 coronavirus cases and 948 deaths since the start of the pandemic.About a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated. 
…

A Philippine court has dismissed a libel case against Maria Ressa, one of several lawsuits filed against the journalist who says she has been targeted because of her news site’s critical reports on President Rodrigo Duterte.The plight of Ressa, who was named Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for fighting media intimidation, has raised international concern about the harassment of journalists in the Philippines, a country once seen as a standard bearer for press freedom in Asia.Journalist Maria Ressa: ‘We’re Losing the Battle for Our Rights’ in Philippines Co-founder of the Philippines’ media site Rappler says online disinformation and hate is putting Philippines’ democracy at risk The cyber-libel case was filed by a college professor against Ressa and a reporter at her news site, Rappler, in October. It involved a story alleging that the professor gave students better grades in exchange for money, an accusation he denied.Ressa, a dual U.S.-Filipino citizen, and Rappler face several other legal cases, including alleged tax offenses and violation of foreign ownership rules in media.Theodore Te, Ressa’s lawyer, said Thursday the court dismissed the cyber-libel case this week after the professor said he was no longer interested in pursuing it.It is the second cyber-libel case against Ressa to be thrown out by a court after the complainant withdrew.In June of last year, however, Ressa was convicted in a cyber libel case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng over a 2012 article that linked a businessman to illegal activities. Ressa faces up to six years in jail but has appealed the ruling.Duterte-Critic Journalist Ressa Convicted in Philippines Libel Case The verdict was handed down in a Manila courtroom against Ressa”It’s a temporary relief, but the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against me and Rappler continues,” Ressa said in a statement after the case was dismissed.”These ridiculous cases remind us all of the importance of independent journalism holding power to account.”Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has repeatedly said Duterte supports freedom of speech even as the leader has publicly lashed out at Rappler, calling it a “fake news outlet” sponsored by American spies.
…

Japan’s defense minister on Friday visited a Tokyo shrine viewed by China and both Koreas as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression to pray for the war dead just days before the nation marks the 76th anniversary of its World War II defeat.Victims of Japanese actions during the first half of the 20th century, especially the Koreas and China, see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism because it honors convicted war criminals among about 2.5 million war dead.”It is only natural in every country to pay respects to the spirits of the war dead,” said Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his denials of wartime atrocities.”I expressed my reverence and paid tribute to those who fought for the country and lost their lives in the last war,” Kishi said after offering prayers. “I also renewed my war-renouncing pledge and resolve to protect the lives and peaceful livelihood of the people.”He is the first serving defense minister to visit Yasukuni since Tomomi Inada, an Abe protégé, visited in December 2016.Abe stayed away from the shrine for seven years after a 2013 visit triggered outrage from China and the Koreas, but has regularly visited since he resigned as prime minister last year.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga donated a religious ornament during Yasukuni’s spring festival in April but avoided visiting the shrine.Economy and fiscal policy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, in charge of pandemic measures, visited the shrine separately on Friday.Kishi and Nishimura said they chose to visit the shrine to avoid crowds and pray quietly ahead of the Aug. 15 anniversary.South Korea and China criticize offerings or visits by Japanese leaders to the shrine, urging them to face up to and reflect on Japan’s wartime aggression.Many South Koreans hold strong resentment toward Japan for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have sunk to their lowest levels in recent years due to disputes over compensation for Korean wartime forced labor and sexual abuse of so-called “comfort women” by the Japanese military.South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to protest Kishi’s visit to Yasukuni, a site it described as beautifying “Japan’s past colonial rule and war of aggression and honors war criminals.” Seoul’s Defense Ministry released a statement saying Kishi’s visit was “deplorable” and expressed its “serious concern and regret.”
…

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said her government will continue to pursue its ambitious COVID-19 elimination strategy indefinitely. On Thursday, she outlined a cautious and staged approach to reopening the country’s borders to some foreign travelers early next year.New Zealand, which has some of the toughest COVID-19 controls in the world, closed its borders to most foreign nationals in March of last year. The closure is part of a strategy to eliminate the virus that also includes strict lockdowns and mandatory hotel quarantine for New Zealanders returning from overseas.The borders will remain closed for the rest of this year, and their reopening depends on the success of New Zealand’s vaccination rollout. The government said this would represent a shift from the “collective armor” of travel restrictions to the “individual armor” of inoculations.No timetable has been set, but it is likely that next year, vaccinated visitors from low-risk countries — those considered to have COVID-19 under control — will not have to go into hotel quarantine in New Zealand. Unvaccinated travelers and all visitors from high-risk countries would face a mandatory 14-day hotel isolation.Ardern said it’s a cautious approach.“We cannot keep borders restrictions on forever, and to be absolutely clear, we do not want to do that, and neither do the experts we talk to,” she said. “Border closures were only ever a temporary measure in order to keep COVID out before vaccine was developed and administered. So long as the scientific evidence shows we can safely transition from a border defense to the individual armor of the vaccine, then that is the direction we will go.”Later this year New Zealand will test home isolation or shorter stays in hotel quarantine for selected travelers, including workers sent overseas by local businesses.The national vaccination program will also be accelerated, with everyone ages 16 or over eligible for their first vaccine dose starting Sept. 1.About 20% of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated.The South Pacific nation has recorded about 3,000 coronavirus cases and 26 deaths since the pandemic began.A quarantine-free travel corridor with Australia, which opened in April, has been suspended because of delta variant outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne.
…

One year ago this week, Hong Kong authorities raided Apple Daily’s offices and arrested the pro-democracy news outlet’s founder, Jimmy Lai.Lai’s arrest was one of the first under the new national security law. The regulation — enacted to bring stability to the city following the 2019 anti-government protests — has been widely criticized as a threat to Hong Kong’s once-vibrant free press.Under the security law, subversion and foreign collusion are prohibited. But the way in which the law has been interpreted is putting news outlets on tenterhooks. Some journalists say they are concerned that reporting seen as criticism of the Hong Kong or China government may result in prosecution.Apple Daily’s experiences have compounded those fears.After 26 years in business, the pro-democracy newspaper was forced to close June 24 after authorities arrested more of its top executives for alleged foreign collusion and froze the company’s financial access.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 businessAt least six Apple Daily executives and reporters have been arrested or charged under the national security law.Lai, who already is serving two sentences in relation to anti-government protests in 2019, is awaiting trial under the national security law. If convicted, the 73-year-old could be sentenced to life in prison.Since the closure, some reporters and at least one news outlet, Initium Media, have announced they are leaving.Initium Media didn’t directly link its move to Singapore to the law, but in a letter to readers last week said, “The road to freedom has become a harder and harder one.”Initium Media declined to comment when contacted by VOA. Hong Kong’s Security Bureau did not respond to VOA’s request for comment.Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has defended the national security law, saying previously that it would target only a minority and that the Apple Daily case was about “a suspicious act of endangering national security” and not about media freedoms.So far, one person has been convicted and at least 100 people have been arrested under the law.Media hardshipAfter printing a final edition, all members of the Apple Daily newsroom staff lost their jobs.In a phone interview with VOA, former reporter Alvin Chan said he still could not come to terms with the situation. “Even now I can’t believe the whole company, the whole newspaper, disappeared,” he said.Chan said the closure has been a “trauma.” The media outlet employed up to 1,000 staff members, he said, and he is concerned that other news groups may be discouraged from offering them jobs because of whom they used to work for.So far, Chan has been provided some work at news website Stand News, but it’s only one day per week.“[I’m] jobless. Unemployed. I hope I can still be a journalist, but the actual situation in Hong Kong, in the media, after the Apple Daily shutdown, I believe there are only a few media companies that are willing to employ the reporter from the Next Media,” he said, referring to Apple Daily’s parent company Next Digital.“It’s political,” Chan said. “Most of the Hong Kong media have different political views, different political agendas, and it’s quite against the journalists in Apple Daily, and I don’t believe they will try to employ some of our colleagues.”Ronson Chan, deputy assignment editor at Stand News, has said that isn’t the case for his company. “We have some new members from Apple Daily, around four to six persons. I don’t think we have any special consideration,” he said.Although the editor doesn’t get involved in hiring, he said, “I don’t think hiring any Apple Daily staff will take any risk.”Founded in 2014, Stand News describes itself as a pro-democracy news website.During the protests of 2019, several of its reporters were injured, including journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho. She was one of 47 people accused of subversion under the new law in February.Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activists Charged The move follows recent news China is planning an overhaul of the electoral system in Hong KongThe media news site has been touted by some as another target for authorities, but Chan told VOA last month that Stand News’ editorial policy is sticking to its “mindset” and “principles.”“From my understanding of the law and the police operation, I don’t think we have a problem with our news reporting,” Chan said.Still, Stand News last month removed some commentaries, op-eds, blogs and reader contributions from the website, widely seen as a precautionary move.Long-term fearsHong Kong authorities have said 30 articles published by Apple Daily were evidence the publisher conspired with foreign countries by calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and China.Reporter Chan is concerned that former Apple Daily journalists may be targeted still if the authorities define their work as breaking the law.“If they try to redefine the news article as propaganda, then all of my work in the past is propaganda, not news,” he said.The shifting climate is affecting not just Hong Kong’s private media. Chief Executive Lam announced Monday that public broadcaster RTHK would partner with Chinese state media to “nurture a strong sense of patriotism.”RTHK Independence Called into Question Over Show Hosted by Hong Kong LeaderNew political series by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam marks further shift in public broadcaster RTHK’s output, journalists and analysts sayMedia analysts previously have criticized changes implemented under the new government-appointed director of broadcasting, Patrick Li, including the axing of popular shows for alleged bias, contracts being terminated, and Lam’s being provided with her own TV segment.As pressure mounts on the media, a veteran journalist who hosted a former RTHK show and worked as a columnist for Apple Daily left the special administrative region, citing concerns about the reach of the security law.Steve Vines, who had moved to Hong Kong more than 30 years ago, told the Financial Times that “white terror” — a term used to describe periods of intense repression — is sweeping Hong Kong.
 
…

The Australian capital of Canberra entered an immediate seven-day lockdown Thursday after posting its first confirmed COVID-19 infection in more than a year.Authorities said a man in his 20s tested positive Thursday after being infectious in Canberra since Sunday.  Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman later announced that three other people, who had been in close contact with the man, also tested positive for COVID-19.Residents will not be able to leave their homes during the one-week lockdown except for essential reasons, including work, shopping, medical and vaccination appointments and outdoor exercise.Canberra joins the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, forced into lockdown due to the rapid spread of the delta variant of COVID-19.  The latest outbreak began in June when an airport limousine driver in Sydney tested positive after transporting international air crews.Meanwhile, Russian authorities reported a new single-day record of 808 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, despite a decline in overall daily cases from an average of 25,000-per day in July to about 21,000 a day.Figures from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center have Russia at 6.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 164,413 deaths.(Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.)
…

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday the nation will not open its borders to non-residents until next year to preserve the success they have had against the coronavirus pandemic.The nation of five million people has been among the best in the world at containing the virus that causes COVID-19. The country has seen just 2,914 cases and 26 deaths, according to the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global outbreak. A large part of that success is due to New Zealand closing its borders for the past 18 months to non-residents.At a news conference in Wellington, Ardern told reporters the recent wave of infections around the world convinced her the country is doing the right thing.  “While the pandemic continues to rage overseas, and the virus continues to change and mutate, the best thing we can do is lock in the gains achieved to date, while keeping our options open and giving ourselves choices,” she said.Ardern said vaccines are the “game changer” in the pandemic, and for them to be successful, the country needs to get as many people inoculated as possible. Perhaps because of their success in controlling the spread of the virus, New Zealand has seen a slow rollout of their vaccination program, with just 29% of the population having received one shot and 17% fully vaccinated.Ardern said the delay in opening the borders will allow the country to complete its vaccination program. And even then, she said the reopening will be “careful and deliberate.”Ardern said beginning in early 2022, the government will move to a new model for travel into New Zealand, establishing low-, medium- and high-risk pathways into the country.Fully vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries will be able to travel quarantine-free, while those from medium- and high-risk countries will have to go through a combination of measures ranging from self-isolation to spending 14 days in quarantine.The prime minister said New Zealand will also speed up its vaccination program with all eligible ages able to book their shot by September 1. It will also extend the gap between doses to six weeks to ensure more New Zealanders are at least partially vaccinated.Some information in this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.
…

Australian paleontologists have discovered a new species of a prehistoric flying reptile in outback Queensland. The pterosaur, named Thapunngaka shawi, is the largest of its kind ever found in Australia, and dates back 100 million years.Researchers have said the pterosaur, a type of flying reptile, was the “closest thing we have to a real-life dragon.”With a spearlike mouth and a wingspan estimated at 7 meters, they have said it would have “soared like a dragon” above the vast inland sea that once covered much of outback Queensland.Paleontologists have said it was perfectly adapted to flight, with relatively hollow, air-filled bones. Pterosaur remains are rare and often poorly preserved.So, the discovery of a fossil of the creature’s jaw in a quarry in 2011 by a local fossicker is significant. For several years, it was left in a museum display cabinet before being analyzed by a University of Queensland team.Tim Richards, a researcher at the university’s Dinosaur Lab, says it would have been a savage prehistoric predator.“What we are able to do with the jawbone was compare it to closely related pterosaurs that are complete, and essentially just extrapolate from there,” he said. “So, we know that the jawbone that we are looking at is quite large compared to closely related pterosaurs. We assume obviously, and it is speculation, that the size of our pterosaur would have been roughly around about a 7-meter wingspan. The skull would have probably been about a meter long.”The new species belonged to a group of pterosaurs known as anhanguerians, which inhabited every continent during the latter part of the age of dinosaurs.The name of the new species — Thapunngaka shawi — recognizes the Indigenous peoples of the Richmond area where the fossil was found, using words from the now-extinct language of the Wanamara Nation in Queensland.The pterosaur has been described for the first time in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.Pterosaurs were flying reptiles but were not classified as dinosaurs, although they lived at the same time.Fossils have shown that Australia had a diverse range of dinosaurs that lived from about 65 million to 250 million years ago.    
…

A Panamanian-registered ship ran aground in a northern Japanese harbor and was leaking oil, but there were no injuries among the 21 crew and the oil leak was being controlled with no signs it had reached shore, the Japan Coast Guard said.The 39,910-tonne vessel, the Crimson Polaris, was carrying wood chips when it ran aground on Wednesday morning in Hachinohe harbor. It managed to free itself, but due to poor weather was unable to move far and ended up anchoring about 4 kilometers out from the port.A crack developed in the hull and oil began leaking, with a slick 5.1 kilometers long by 1 kilometers wide visible by Thursday morning, the Coast Guard said, adding that containment measures were being taken by patrol boats. 
…

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet on Thursday with China’s new ambassador to Washington, as the world’s two largest economies navigate deeply strained relations.   The meeting between Sherman and Qin Gang will take place in the afternoon at the State Department in Washington, the department said on Wednesday in announcing its public schedule for the following day.   Qin Gang, 55, who has earned a reputation for often pointed public defenses of his country’s positions, struck an optimistic tone as he arrived in Washington in late July to take up his post, saying great potential awaited bilateral relations. In the last week of July, Sherman held high-level talks in China that ended with both sides signaling that the other must make concessions for ties to improve. Qin previously served as a vice foreign minister, whose recent past portfolios included European affairs and protocol. He also did two stints as a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman between 2006 and 2014. He replaced China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, 68, who last month announced his departure after eight years in Washington.   Relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated sharply under former President Donald Trump, and since taking office in January, President Joe Biden has maintained pressure on China, stepping up sanctions on Chinese officials and vowing that China won’t replace the United States as the world’s global leader on his watch. China’s Foreign Ministry has signaled there could be preconditions for the United States on which any kind of cooperation would be contingent, a stance some analysts say leaves dim prospects for improved ties. 
…

When acclaimed China historian Yü Ying-shih accepted the inaugural Tang Prize in Sinology in September 2014, he used his speech to express support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement.In response, China promptly banned his books and articles.When Yü collected the $358,000 award, he was 13 years into retirement, which consisted of days spent researching and writing into the early hours of the morning. The routine resembled his working life in academia, where he was recognized as one of the leading historians in China studies.By backing the Umbrella Movement, Yü affirmed that he viewed himself “as a public intellectual in the traditional Chinese sense, taking on the responsibility of making the world a better place,” as the Yü Ying-shih’s original poem and calligraphy for Kang-I Sun Chang and her husband, C. C. Chang, written before Yü left Yale for Princeton in 1987. The original poem is now at the National Central Library in Taipei. (Kang-I Sun Chang)Yü was perhaps the most well-connected person who didn’t have email, according to Kang-I Sun Chang, a longtime friend and former colleague of Yü’s from his tenure at Yale. Yü, who didn’t use a computer, preferred communicating via fax, although he also used a landline phone.Chang, now a professor emeritus at Yale, recalls buying a fax machine for the sole purpose of staying in touch with him. “He had a gift for friendship,” she told VOA.To commemorate events and offer encouragement, Yü gave friends poems he composed in Chinese and wrote in calligraphy, a gesture traditional among China’s scholars centuries ago. A poem for Chang explained Yü’s reasoning for departing Yale for Princeton in 1987.He was also a generous scholar, said Willard Peterson, a friend and colleague of Yü’s at Princeton.Yü wrote so many prefaces for other scholars that he later published a collection of them. Academic colleagues appreciated his willingness to provide advice on their research and writing, and Chang was quick to add that while she was often among those who asked Yü for research advice, “he didn’t need any help.”Following Yü’s death, China scholars took to social media to recount the many ways he had helped them during their careers, often without Yü ever fully realizing the great impact he was having on them.Born in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin in 1930, Yü never received a formal education as a child. Growing up amid war with Japan, he largely studied on his own and received just one year of schooling under a private tutor before passing the high school exams that let him attend college.Civil war in China disrupted his higher education, but he continued his studies in Hong Kong, then a British colony, before later leaving to pursue a doctorate at Harvard. Yü emerged with an unparalleled ability to read classical Chinese, analyze and compile evidence, and write convincingly about Chinese history, his colleagues said.He also excelled at weiqi, “the game of encirclement,” an ancient, abstract Chinese board game.During his hiring process at Princeton, “we realized Professor Yü had published something substantial in the specialized field of each of us in Chinese studies,” Peterson told VOA.Yü’s legacy will be his historical approach to studying China that blended “empathy, sincerity and critical evaluation,” in contrast to the study of China through the lens of philosophy and religion, Tillman said.Yü Ying-shih’s calligraphy of a poem by the Tang poet Zhang Ji (张继), which he presented to his Yale colleague Edwin McClellan before Yü left for Princeton in 1987. (Kang-I Sun Chang)Throughout his career, Yü published dozens of books and more than 500 articles, most of which were written in Chinese. Yü never compiled a curriculum vitae of his publications, a usual academic endeavor, but he never needed one because his reputation preceded him, colleagues told VOA.When China banned those writings in 2014, Yü felt honored because it meant the Chinese government viewed his work as powerful and influential, according to Wang Fan-sen, a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica who studied under Yü as a doctoral student at Princeton.That Yü’s writings are still available through underground back channels in China despite their prohibition is just another testament to their influence, Wang added.Censoring and banning material that is deemed sensitive or contrary to the official state narrative is common practice in China but being outlawed reflected Yü’s rarified embodiment of the traditional Chinese concept of the public intellectual.Yü felt it was his duty to raise issues in his scholarship that impacted and improved the world, said Peterson, who is now a professor emeritus at Princeton.“He understood — more than most of us in the history profession understand — that part of the purpose of history is to understand how we got to where we are, and what are we going to do about it going forward,” Peterson continued.A colleague, Perry Link, who is now a professor emeritus at Princeton, told VOA, “Yü Ying-shih was like an unmoving North Star, an always reliable point that could provide orientation for everyone else.”In a 17th-century Chinese tale, a bird flies over a flaming mountain, letting drops of water fall off its wings onto the conflagration below. The bird knows that it won’t quench the blaze, but it cannot bear to watch the mountain burn without doing something.Yü was like the bird, said Peterson. With each scholar that he advised, each book and article that he wrote, Yü sought to rescue a Chinese culture that he viewed as under threat, even if he alone couldn’t save it. In all his endeavors, said colleagues, it was that sense of mission that strongly guided him.  
…

Demonstrators clashed with Thai police in Bangkok Wednesday amid ongoing protests over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Protesters fired slingshots and threw paint and firecrackers at police, who in turn used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. The confrontation occurred as the crowd sought to approach the home of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.The protesters are demanding Prayuth resign for what they believe is his mismanagement of Thailand’s most serious outbreak of infections and its adverse impact on the economy. He refuses to resign.
Police said at least eight officers were injured and the Erawan Medical Center reported one demonstrator was hurt. This was the second consecutive day of protests over the government’s response to the pandemic.The U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University says on its coronavirus dashboard that Thailand currently has more than 795,000 confirmed cases and 6,588 deaths. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease.
…

Five people jumped from an apartment building in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to escape government security forces who were raiding the building, and at least two died, according to government and media reports Wednesday.During the raid on Tuesday night, security officers said in a radio conversation that five people — four men and a woman — jumped from the apartment building before they could be apprehended. They said three died and the two others had life-threatening injuries.In a statement Wednesday, however, the government said the incident involved eight people. It said two died, three were hospitalized and three others were arrested. The police precinct responsible for the raid refused to comment.A neighbor told local media that five people had climbed onto the roof in an attempt to escape the security forces and jumped into an alley after they had nowhere else to go.The government said the security forces conducted the raid after hearing that explosives might be in the apartment, and seized various items including firecrackers, gunpowder and “handmade grenades.”Four explosions were reported in Yangon earlier in the day, but it was unclear whether they were related to the raid.Since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February and seized power, there has been a groundswell of protests around the country.More than 900 people have been killed by the authorities since the takeover, many in anti-government protests, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Casualties are also rising among the military and police as armed resistance grows in both urban and rural areas.
…

Law enforcement authorities in Western Australian have said a new mobile interpreting app will help improve relations with Indigenous communities, especially in areas where English is not commonly spoken. The technology translates a few common police directions into local languages and has been devised with an Aboriginal interpreting service.  The so-called Yarning app allows Western Australian police officers to select from eight Aboriginal languages and play key messages relating to rights in custody and the COVID-19 pandemic. Indigenous leaders believe it will save lives by preventing the wrongful imprisonment of people who don’t understand the legal process. The technology will be available in communities where English is often the third or fourth most commonly used language.  Chris Dawson is the Western Australia police commissioner. He says the app will build trust with indigenous communities.  “What better way to communicate that in language in the sense that we can now offer additional information to overcome confusion or to overcome fear, doubt, whatever it might be. This app is a world first,” he said. Critics, though, say the app is too basic and ignores deeper problems of racism within Australia’s justice system. Aboriginal Australians are some of the most incarcerated people on Earth, according to a report commissioned by the government in Canberra in 2019. FILE – An Aboriginal dance troupe performs at Australia Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia, Jan. 26, 2020. Rap music has been employed as part of a new awareness campaign to educate Australia’s Indigenous about the coronavirus.Relations with the police have often been fraught. Western Australia has the country’s highest rate of indigenous youth detention. A criminology study by the University of Technology, Sydney, said that since 1991, the number of Indigenous inmates in Australia has more than doubled from 14% to 29% of the total prison population. More than 780 indigenous languages are identified by First Languages Australia, an organization dedicated to saving linguistic heritage. It says about 20 languages are used every day by fluent speakers. Australia’s original inhabitants make up about 3.3% of the Australian population, according to a 2016 Australian Census, but suffer high rates of poverty, ill-health and unemployment. 
…

Hong Kong’s largest teachers’ union said it disbanded Tuesday because of the changing political climate, as the government continues its crackdown on dissent in the city. The Hong Kong government cut ties with the pro-democracy union last week and accused it of spreading anti-Beijing and anti-government sentiment. The split came hours after Chinese state media called the union a “malignant tumor” that should be eradicated. The Professional Teachers’ Union is the city’s largest single-industry trade union, with 95,000 members. “Regrettably, the changes in the social and political environment in recent years have forced us to think about the way forward, and some recent rapid developments have also put us under tremendous pressure,” the union said in a statement Tuesday. It said it would stop accepting new members and refund renewals submitted by current members. It will also lay off 200 staff members and dispose of its assets, and it will soon halt its medical center services and welfare centers that sold discounted goods to members. The closure of the teachers’ union is the latest fallout from efforts by Hong Kong authorities to stamp out dissent in the city. Over the past two years, numerous political groups and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily have ceased operations over concerns that they would be targeted under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing last year following months of anti-government protests that at times descended into violence. More than 100 pro-democracy figures have been arrested under the law. Critics have slammed the crackdown on dissent, saying the former British colony is losing the freedoms it was promised when it was handed over to Chinese control in 1997. This year, Hong Kong changed its election laws to reduce the number of directly elected lawmakers and give a largely pro-Beijing committee the leeway to nominate lawmakers aligned with Beijing. Separately, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam expressed support Tuesday for legislation allowing retaliatory sanctions after the U.S. and other Western governments punished city officials over the crackdown on democracy activists. Lam said the anti-foreign sanctions law should be adopted in Hong Kong via local legislation, rather than imposed by Beijing, and that she has told the Chinese government about her views. Lam’s support for the adoption of the anti-sanctions law in Hong Kong came after China implemented a broad anti-sanctions law in June. Anyone hit with retaliatory sanctions could be subject to visa restrictions, have their assets seized or frozen and be banned from doing business with any Chinese company or individual in China. The law comes after the U.S. slapped sanctions on dozens of Chinese and Hong Kong officials — including Lam — over their role in suppressing Hong Kong’s autonomy. “There are external forces, or foreign governments or Western media, which would make use of the opportunity to weaken our international financial center status as well as a weakening confidence in Hong Kong,” Lam said. 
…

A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on espionage charges.   Wednesday’s verdict in a court in the northeastern city of Dandong was handed down nearly six months after Spavor’s one-day, closed-door trial that even Canadian diplomats were prevented from attending.   Reuters reported that a statement on the court’s website said Spavor will be deported but did not say when. Spavor was arrested in December 2018, just days after Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on a U.S. warrant.   The arrest of Spavor and another Canadian, former diplomat Michael Kovrig, that same month triggered accusations from Ottawa that the two men were arrested in retaliation for Meng’s arrest.  Spavor’s verdict comes a day after a Chinese court upheld a death sentence for another Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was convicted in 2018 for trafficking methamphetamine. Schellenberg was arrested in 2014 and initially sentenced to 15 years in prison, but his sentence was changed during a one-day retrial in 2019, shortly after Meng’s arrest.   Meng remains under house arrest in Vancouver as she fights the extradition warrant from the U.S. As chief financial officer of Huawei — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of smartphones — Meng is accused of lying to U.S. officials about Huawei’s business in Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions.    The U.S. has also warned other countries against using Huawei-built products, suspecting the Chinese government of installing spyware in them.      Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.  
…

North Korea on Wednesday said South Korea and the United States missed a chance to improve relations and are risking a “serious security crisis” by choosing to escalate tensions as they conduct joint military drills. Kim Yong Chol, a general and politician who played a leading role during historic summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump, criticized South Korea and the United States for responding to Pyongyang’s goodwill with “hostile acts.” The statement comes a day after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned Seoul and Washington over annual joint military drills set to begin this week. For the second day in a row, North Korea did not answer routine calls on inter-Korean hotlines, South Korea said Wednesday.   The hotlines only reconnected at the end of July, more than a year after the North severed them amid rising tensions. The sudden resumption in inter-Korean calls followed a series of letters between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un, but the new flare-up casts doubt on Moon’s goal of improving relations with Pyongyang in this last year of his presidency.   It also raises the prospect of new North Korea missile tests, something Pyongyang has often done in the past to signal its displeasure.   Kim Yong Chol singled out Seoul for what he said was a missed opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations by going ahead with the drills.   The South must be made to “clearly understand how dearly they have to pay” for choosing their alliance with Washington over peace between the Koreas, he said in the statement carried by state news agency KCNA.   “We will make them realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice,” Kim said. U.S. President Joe Biden has said it is up to Pyongyang to respond to his pledge to seek practical ways to engage. North Korea has also said it is open to diplomacy, but that the United States and South Korea have clung to hostile policies, such as continuing to hold regular military drills. Analysts said Pyongyang may be using sharp rhetoric to boost its leverage in future talks, wring concessions from South Korea, or distract from domestic economic crises.   “The Kim regime is shifting blame for its struggles to restart the economy after a long, self-imposed pandemic lockdown,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul. “Pyongyang is also trying to pressure South Korean presidential candidates to express differences with U.S. policy on sanctions and denuclearization,” he added.  
…

In May 2021, China allowed its families to have up to three children, just five years after it had increased the limit to two. However, the changes are not likely be felt anytime soon because of the far-reaching impacts of China’s one-child policy, which lasted more than 35 years. Here is a look back at the controversial one-child policy and how its many ramifications are affecting the current state of families in China.
 
…

A series of voyages by multiple Western allies in mid-2021 through a disputed Asian sea will incite China, the waterway’s largest claimant, to shadow the foreign ships, hit back at the countries behind them and possibly hold a live-fire drill, analysts say.At least eight countries have indicated since late July plans to send navy vessels into the resource-rich South China Sea, which stretches from Hong Kong to Borneo Island, in support of keeping it open internationally rather than ceding it to Chinese control.The HMS Defender destroyer, part of a British carrier strike group, reached the South China Sea last month, domestic media reported. It’s scheduled to join vessels from France, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand and the United States for joint exercises near the sea. India for its part plans to send four ships over two months, according to its FILE – In this photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Groups steam in formation, in the South China Sea, July 6, 2020.“It’s almost like a flock mentality — they see more and more of their friends making baby steps into this part of the world, they follow suit,” said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.India’s defense ministry said its ship deployment “seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain.”Chinese defense planners should view the foreign ship movement as “shows of flag” with coordination such as “parallel cruising” rather than a direct military threat, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army Navy may respond with more missile tests without hitting anyone, he said.This month China already announced it was planning live fire, “aircraft carrier killer” anti-ship ballistic missiles exercises in the sea.“They may try again the anti-ship ballistic missile firing, since they have a pretty huge range, but I don’t see the gathering of Chinese navy assets in those areas [as foreign ships pass],” Huang said.China accuses the United States of going too far and hints at avoiding conflict.“In the regional waters, there is no room for confrontation, zero-sum games, or bloc rivalries,” the official Xinhua News Agency said in a July 31 commentary posted to its website. “The so-called ‘China threat’ is merely one of the many tricks adopted by Washington to deliberately smear China, sow discord between regional countries, and contain China’s development.”Officials in Beijing will resent India and the European governments as “extraterritorial countries” and come out with “forceful responses,” Oh said. But in calibrating its responses, he said, China will consider too that France, Germany and the U.K. are major trading partners.“I think what China would do is to very carefully have differentiated responses to all these different countries,” Oh said. “But, of course, China could not do too much as well because these are major trading partners.” Some of the 220 Chinese vessels are seen moored at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea, March 7, 2021. (Credit: Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea/Handout)Western-allied navies for their part might venture to the center of the sea but keep a distance from “sensitive areas” held by China, said Carl Thayer, Asia-specialized emeritus professor from the University of New South Wales in Australia.
…