Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
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Image copyright SIPA/SHUTTERSTOCKImage caption The photographs of the Tiananmen Tank Man became some of the world’s most famous
Charlie Cole, one of the photographers who captured the famous Tank Man on film during the Tiananmen Square protests, has died.
The image of one man standing in the way of a column of tanks, a day after hundreds possibly thousands of people died, has become a defining image of the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
Cole later described how he had expected the man would be killed, and felt it was his responsibility to record what was happening.
But the unidentified protester was eventually pulled away from the scene by two men. What happened to him remains unknown.
A symbol of peaceful resistance
Cole knew he would be searched later by Chinese security so hid the undeveloped film roll in the bathroom.
Shortly after he took it, officials broke through the door and searched the hotel room, but they did not discover the film.
The scene as shot by him and the other three photographers went on to become an iconic symbol of peaceful resistance across the world.
Media caption Tiananmen’s tank man: The image that China forgot
Thirty years ago, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square became the focus for large-scale protests, calling for reform and democracy.
Demonstrators had been camped for weeks in the square, but late on 3 June, the military moved in and troops opened fire.
China has only ever said that 200 civilians and security personnel died, but there has been no publicly released record of deaths. Witnesses and foreign journalists have said the figure could be up to 3,000.
Tiananmen is still a heavily censored topic in modern China, and the Tank Man pictures are banned.
SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Authorities in Indian Kashmir have arrested nearly 4,000 people since the scrapping of its special status last month, government data shows, the most clear evidence yet of the scale of one of the disputed region’s biggest crackdowns.
Muslim-majority Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has been in turmoil since India stripped its portion of the region of its autonomy and statehood on Aug. 5, leading to clashes between security forces and residents and inflaming tension with Pakistan.
India said the removal of the status that its part of Kashmir has held since independence from Britain in 1947 would help integrate it into the Indian economy, to the benefit of all.
In an attempt to stifle the protests that the reform sparked in Kashmir, India cut internet and mobile services and imposed curfew-like restrictions in many areas.
It has also arrested more than 3,800 people, according to a government report dated Sept. 6 and seen by Reuters, though about 2,600 have since been released.
A spokeswoman for India’s interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Jammu and Kashmir police.
It was not clear on what basis most of the people were being held but an Indian official said some were held under the Public Safety Act, a law in Jammu and Kashmir state that allows for detention for up to two years without charge.
The data for the first time shows the extent of the detentions, as well as indicating who was picked up and where.
More than 200 politicians, including two former chief ministers of the state were arrested, along with more than 100 leaders and activists from an umbrella organisation of pro-separatist political groups.
The bulk of those arrested – more than 3,000 – were listed as “stone pelters and other miscreants”. On Sunday, 85 detainees were shifted to a prison in Agra in northern India, a police source said.
Rights group Amnesty International said the crackdown was “distinct and unprecedented” in the recent history of the region and the detentions had contributed to “widespread fear and alienation”.
“The communication blackout, security clampdown and detention of the political leaders in the region has made it worse,” said Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty International India.
‘RIGHT TO LIFE’
India says the detentions are necessary to maintain order and prevent violence, and points to the relatively limited number of casualties compared with previous bouts of unrest.
The government says only one person is confirmed to have died compared with dozens in 2016, when the killing of a militant leader sparked widespread violence.
“The right to life is the most important human right,” India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval told reporters recently.
The report contains data from the 13 police districts that make up the Kashmir Valley, the most populous part of the Himalayan region where the main city of Srinagar is located.
The largest number of arrests have been in Srinagar, the data shows, at nearly 1,000. Earlier unrest often centred in rural areas.
Of the detained political leaders, more than 80 were from the People’s Democratic Party, formerly in coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
About 70 are from the National Conference, which has for years dominated politics in Indian Kashmir, and more than a dozen from India’s main opposition Congress party.
Police also arrested more than 150 people accused of association with militant groups fighting Indian rule.
An Indian official said it was likely that more than 1,200 people were still held, including all the high-profile politicians and separatists mentioned in the report, while dozens more are being arrested every day.
In the 24 hours before the report was compiled, more than two dozen people were arrested, mainly on suspicion of throwing stones at troops, the data showed.
The data did not include those under informal house arrest, nor people detained in a round-up of separatists that began in February after a bomb attack by a Pakistan-based militant group on Indian troops.
Days before India’s move to strip Kashmir of special status, one prominent separatist leader told Reuters that more than 250 people with links to the movement were already in detention.
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A Solomon Islands task force recommended to the government on Friday that the South Pacific archipelago sever its long-standing ties with Taiwan and normalise diplomatic relations with Beijing.
The recommendation is likely to help Beijing peel away another ally from self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties.
The parliamentary task force advised the government to switch ties to China and invite it to establish a diplomatic mission in the capital, Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, according to a copy of its report obtained by Reuters.
“The findings reveal that Solomon Islands stands to benefit a lot if it switches and normalizes diplomatic relations with PRC,” the task force said, referring to China by its official name of the People’s Republic of China.
The recommendation was discussed at a cabinet meeting on Friday, two sources with direct knowledge of the issue said. It has not been presented to parliament.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has repeatedly said the government would not make a formal decision until reviewing the findings of the task force, which has toured the Pacific studying Chinese aid and bilateral financing.
Taiwan’s representative office in the Solomon Islands called the report a “fallacy” in a Facebook post and said the task force members did not conduct proper fact-finding.
The government of the Solomon Islands did not respond to questions.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment.
A diplomatic switch by the Solomons would reduce the number of countries that recognise Taiwan to 16, after El Salvador in Central America, Burkina Faso in West Africa and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, all switched to Beijing last year.
The South Pacific has been a diplomatic stronghold for Taiwan, where formal ties with six island nations make up more than a third of its total alliances, though China has in recent years been expanding its influence in the region.
Solomon Island lawmakers who support maintaining ties with Taiwan will want the report to be made public, and to get feedback before any decision is made, according to one of the sources.
Taiwan’s supporters, who include many university students, would like the decision delayed until Sogavare travels to the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York later this month, in the hope talks he has there might save the Taiwan alliance.
The issue has divided loyalties in the former British protectorate, an archipelago of just over 600,000 people.
The United States has criticised China for pushing poor countries into debt, mainly through lending for large-scale infrastructure projects, and accused China of using “predatory economics” to destabilise the Indo-Pacific region.
China denies that.
One Solomon Islands province has said it would not be responsible for repaying any debts incurred by the government, according to media reports.
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday expressed his expectation for the Japanese economic community to seize the opportunities of China’s opening up, increase investment in China and expand bilateral cooperation areas to promote more achievements in trade and the economy.
Li made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Japan’s business community, led by president of the Japan-China Association on Economy and Trade Shoji Muneoka, chair of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Akio Mimura, and Nobuyuki Koga, chairman of the Board of Councilors of the Japan Business Federation.
China-Japan relations have returned to the right track since last year thanks to the joint efforts of the two sides, and the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has been steadily advanced and the prospects for bilateral cooperation are broad, said Li.
When China-Japan relations encountered difficulties, the Japanese economic community made important efforts and contributions to maintain their healthy and steady development as well as accelerate pragmatic cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese premier said.
According to Li, China and Japan are two of the world’s major economies, and should give full play to their complementary advantages and work together to deepen cooperation, which will not only benefit the two countries, but also conducive to regional and global economy, as well as the prosperity and stability of the world.
Noting that economic globalization is irreversible, and economic and trade exchanges should not be blocked by national borders, Li pointed out that promoting the healthy development of globalization is the way of progress.
“China has always firmly upheld the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core and promotes the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment,” Li said, stressing China will unswervingly promote all-round opening up, and strive to optimize the business environment.
China welcomes the Japanese economic community to seize the opportunity brought forth by China’s opening up and increase investments in China, expand cooperation areas, and promote more cooperation achievements in trade and economic areas between the two countries, he said.
While expressing congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Japanese economic delegation said that Japan and China have witnessed progress in bilateral ties since last year, and close high-level exchanges have facilitated the two countries’ economic and trade cooperation.
The Japanese economic community firmly supports free trade and hopes China and the United States will resolutely resolve their trade disputes through negotiation, they said.
Speaking highly of China’s efforts in promoting trade and investment liberalization, expanding market access and improving the business environment, they said that the Japanese economic community is willing to boost cooperation with the Chinese side in science and technology innovation, climate change, health care and third-party markets.
They also expressed their expectation of concluding the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, by the end of the year.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev here on Wednesday.
Calling Kazakhstan China’s friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner, Li said the two countries enjoy solid political mutual trust, fruitful cooperation results and a long-standing friendship.
China stands ready to better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with Kazakhstan’s development strategy, Li said.
The two countries should intensify all-round cooperation, and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the region, he said.
Cooperation between China and Kazakhstan is based on mutual trust, geographical proximity, huge potential and broad prospects, Li said, promising that China will facilitate cooperation with Kazakhstan in energy, production capacity, nuclear electricity, finance, and science and technology.
The Chinese premier also called for better use of cross-border e-commerce platforms and expansion of bilateral trade.
Tokayev congratulated the People’s Republic of China on its 70th anniversary.
China is viewed as an important strategic partner of Kazakhstan, said Tokayev, reiterating that his country is willing to be an active participant in the construction of the Belt and Road, boost bilateral cooperation in all areas, and expand exports to China.
He added that Chinese enterprises are welcome to invest in Kazakhstan, and voiced hope for more tourism cooperation and closer exchanges among young people.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Ho Iat Seng, the newly elected and appointed chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with Ho Iat Seng, the newly elected and appointed chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi congratulated Ho on his appointment by the central government as the fifth-term chief executive of the Macao SAR.
“You has long adhered to the position of loving the country and Macao, enthusiastically served the Macao society, worked wholeheartedly on public posts including as a member of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and president of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR, and made contributions to the country’s reform and opening up, modernization, as well as prosperity and stability of Macao,” Xi said to Ho, adding that the central government fully recognizes such efforts.
“Your nomination and election with overwhelming support fully show that you have won broad endorsement in Macao,” Xi told Ho.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland.
For the past 20 years, under the leadership of two chief executives Edmund Ho Hau Wah and Chui Sai On, the Macao SAR government has united people from all walks of life, fully and accurately understood and implemented the principle of “one country, two systems,” firmly upheld the authority of the Constitution and the Basic Law, passed on the core values of loving the country and Macao, promoted Macao’s rapid economic growth, sustained improvement in people’s livelihood and social stability and harmony, demonstrating to the world a successful practice of “one country, two systems” with Macao characteristics, said Xi.
“One country, two systems” has proved to be a workable solution welcomed by the people, said Xi.
Xi hoped that Ho will accurately grasp Macao’s situation and the country’s strategic development needs, unite and lead the Macao SAR government and people from all walks of life to strive for the region’s long-term development and continue the successful implementation of “one country, two systems.”
Ho said he is honored to be appointed the fifth-term chief executive of the Macao SAR by the central government.
Ho pledged to, under the leadership of President Xi and the central government, firmly implement the “one country, two systems” principle, safeguard the authority of the Constitution and the Basic Law, maintain favorable relations between the central government and the Macao SAR, uphold the central government’s overall governing power, defend the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests and make steady progress in implementing the “one country, two systems” principle.
Han Zheng and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) Evan Greenberg at the latter’s request in Beijing, capital of China, on Sept. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday met with Chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) Evan Greenberg in Beijing at the latter’s request.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China welcomes the U.S. side’s latest decision to delay an increase in tariffs, which was previously scheduled for Oct. 1.
The whole world looks forward to seeing progress in trade consultations between China and the United States, Liu said, adding that working groups of both sides will meet next week and have earnest discussions on trade balance, market access, protection of investors and other issues of common concern.
The U.S. business sector does not want to see a hike in tariffs, and hopes that the two countries will solve their differences through consultations and bring bilateral trade back to normal, Greenberg said.
The USCBC is willing to play a positive role in this regard, he added.
Military stresses combat readiness and war mentality in production released just weeks before 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic
China’s air force shows a more assertive side in a new propaganda video. Photo: Handout
The Chinese air force has ramped up its combat rhetoric in its latest propaganda video, with pilots warning enemies in English and top brass stressing the need for crisis mode.
The four-minute video was posted on the Ministry of National Defence’s website on Wednesday and begins with two J-20 stealth fighters taking off from an unidentified airbase.
At least three missile-carrying J-11 jets are then shown make low passes and various aerobatics at sea.
After that, a pilot shouts in English: “This is the PLA Air Force speaking. You are about to enter Chinese airspace. Leave immediately. Leave immediately.”
The video also features members of an elite brigade called the “Eagles of Liaoning province”, a frequent winner of PLA Air Force competitions.
PLA Air Force formation ‘a sign of stealth fighter mass production’ in China
Brigade member Bai Long, a J-20 fighter pilot, says the team have a higher calling.
“Winning over enemies is more important than winning competitions,” Bai says.
Also featured is Wang Hai, a 93-year-old combat veteran from the Korean war, who encourages air force personnel to fear nothing during combat.
“You cannot do anything if you are not brave enough. You can’t be a pilot if you fear death,” Wang says.
Wang Yongtong, a brigade commander, is also quoted as saying that the Chinese air force is using war games to strengthen its combat readiness.
“We will meticulously prepare for war and improve our combat capacity to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and interests,” he says.
The video’s release comes just a few weeks before China marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic with a massive military parade showcasing its military weapons.
It also underlines China’s increasingly assertive efforts to defend its interests.
On Wednesday, China hit out at Canada for sending a warship to traverse the Taiwan Strait.
And in late July, South Korea claimed that two Chinese warplanes entered South Korea’s air defence identification zone, a claimed denied by the Chinese foreign ministry.
And in late January, a Chinese surveillance plane crossed the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea via the Tsushima Strait, prompting the Japanese air self-defense force to scramble fighter jets.
On Tuesday night, thousands of protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong chanting slogans and singing Glory to Hong Kong.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Many protesters flooded shopping malls
In the popular shopping district of Mongkok, a sea of protesters dressed in black were seen congregating across the different levels of one mall.
Jason Y. Ng
✔@jasonyng
Hundreds of shoppers spontaneously assembled at a mall atrium and broke into song. They sang “Glory to Hong Kong,” an ersatz national anthem (coz we aren’t a national and haven’t the right to an anthem). People ask what Communist China is most afraid of—the answer is right here.
Another video showed protesters chanting “Go Hong Kong” – a phrase that has been used frequently as a sign of encouragement.
Shopping malls have been the scene of clashes in recent weeks, with one incident in July seeing riot police fight battles with protesters inside a mall in the district of Sha Tin.
Without true democracy, HKer shall never surrender! This video shows citizens are gathered in a mall and cheering each other up after singing the song of #HKprotest “Glory to Hong Kong”.
The new rallying cry has joined other popular songs used by the protest movement, including Do You Hear the People Sing? from musical Les Miserables and the Christian hymn Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.
It was also heard at the Hong Kong v Iran football match on Tuesday at Hong Kong Stadium.
#Hongkong soccer fans booing the #Chinese national anthem tonight. Footy fans also have their backs to the field. Carrie Lam’s administration had been planning to introduce tough new penalties for booing the anthem but this can’t be easy to bring in in the city’s current climate. https://twitter.com/SCMPHongKong/status/1171411414801534977 …
The 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier saw thousands of protesting booing when the Chinese national anthem played before the start of the game.
The jeering, which could be heard from outside the stadium, was intended as a clear “message” to Beijing that they do not want to be part of China in the future, says the BBC’s Nick Beake who was at the game.
Nick Beake
✔@Beaking_News
VIDEO: The moment #HongKong football fans began booing #China national anthem before the start of their @FIFAWorldCup qualifier against #Iran. #CarrieLam ‘s govt has delayed (another) controversial new law that could give 3 year prison term for disrespecting anthem. @BBCWorld
Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Under the “one country, two systems” rule, the city is granted a high level of autonomy, an independent judiciary and rights such as freedom of speech.
But those freedoms – the Basic Law – expire in 2047 and it is not clear what Hong Kong’s status will then be.
There has been growing anti-mainland sentiment in recent years, and anger at what many feel is increasing mainland interference in Hong Kong affairs.
Media caption Protesters sang the US anthem outside the consulate
This reached a tipping point when the Hong Kong parliament proposed a new law that would have enabled suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to China.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched on the streets in protest of the law, demanding that it be abandoned. The government initially suspended in June, and then finally dropped earlier this week – almost three months after protests first begun.
But protesters have said this is “too little, too late”, and their demands have evolved into calls for a much wider set of reforms, including a call for universal suffrage.
BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Malaysia have agreed to set up a joint dialogue mechanism for the disputed South China Sea, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Thursday after meeting Malaysia’s foreign minister.
Recent Chinese naval deployments in the strategic waterway, through which more than $3.4 trillion worth of goods are transported annually, have reignited tension with Vietnam and the Philippines. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims in the South China Sea.
Malaysia had been critical of China’s South China Sea position, but has not been excessively outspoken recently, especially after China pumped in billions of dollars into infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative.
Malaysia regularly tracked Chinese naval and coastguard vessels entering Malaysia’s territorial waters, but China respects Malaysia and had “not done anything that caused us trouble, so far”, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu told Reuters last month.
Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi told a news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah that this year, tensions in the South China Sea had dropped.
Littoral states and China were committed to continue appropriately handling the South China Sea issue and jointly safeguard peace and stability there, said Wang, who is the Chinese government’s top diplomat.
“To this end, our two sides have agreed to set up a bilateral consultation mechanism for maritime issues, a new platform for dialogue and cooperation for both sides,” he said.
Abdullah, who referred to Wang as “my brother”, said the mechanism would be led by the two countries’ foreign ministries.
“Our officers will be discussing the details, but I think this is one important outcome of the meeting today and also the 45 years of our diplomatic relations,” he said.
China is debt-heavy Malaysia’s biggest trade partner and the countries have close cultural ties too.
In July, China and Malaysia resumed construction on a train project in northern Malaysia, which is part of China’s Belt and Road plan, after a year-long suspension and following a rare agreement to cut its cost by nearly a third, to about $11 billion.
Image copyright SIPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 