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.
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Chan is accused of supporting Beijing’s so-called nine-dash line, which is its historical justification for its territorial claims in the resource-rich sea
Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei all have competing claims in the waterway that overlap with China’s
Film star Jackie Chan. Photo: Reuters
Martial arts film star Jackie Chan’s planned visit to Vietnam for a charity has been cancelled following an online backlash related to Beijing’s expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.
The Hong Kong-born actor was set to visit Hanoi on November 10 to support Operation Smile, a charity that gives free surgery to children with facial disfigurements.
Jackie Chan says he wants to make films in Saudi Arabia
But the plans were scrapped after thousands of angry Facebook users flooded the charity’s official page when his visit was announced last week.
Some of their comments claimed Chan had spoken in support of China’s so-called nine-dash line – its historical justification for its territorial claims in the resource-rich sea.
A map showing claimant countries’ exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea.
However, Chan has not explicitly expressed public support for the controversial maritime assertion.
Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei all have competing claims in the waterway that overlap with China’s – long a source of tension in the region.
Issuing a mea culpa on Friday for failing “to predict the reaction” of the Vietnamese public, the charity asserted that their work is “non-political”.
“We are very sorry … Operation Smile will not organise any activities with [Chan’s] involvement” in Vietnam, they said.
A Chinese coastguard ship sails by a Vietnamese vessel off the coast of Vietnam in 2014. Photo: Reuters
Vietnam is one of Beijing’s most vocal critics over the flashpoint South China Sea issue.
The foreign ministry on Thursday repeated its usual proclamation on the sea, citing the country’s “full legal basis and true evidence to affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty”, deputy spokesperson Ngo Toan Thang said.
Chan has in the past been accused of siding with China over Hong Kong’s democracy protests after calling the unrest in his hometown “sad and depressing”.
The comment sparked ire in Hong Kong but was warmly received by many in China where he has a massive fan base.
Abominable has been criticised for a scene showing the nine-dash line. Photo: DreamWorks
Beijing claims most the South China Sea through the vague delineation, which is based on maps from the 1940s as the then-Republic of China snapped up islands from Japanese control.
Image copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption The Guy Fawkes mask has been worn by many protesters during anti government rallies
A Hong Kong protest-themed cake has been disqualified from a cake decorating competition in the UK, in a move that has been referred to as “political censorship”.
It featured protest symbols including umbrellas and a Guy Fawkes mask.
The company behind the cake told the BBC it believed it was pulled after complaints from Chinese competitors.
But the Birmingham competition organisers said it was because one element of the cake was oversized.
Anti-government protests have been taking place in Hong Kong for five months.
They first erupted in June, triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China.
The bill has been withdrawn but the protests have continued, having evolved into a broader revolt against the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.
‘Obvious it was an excuse’
The cake was one of many displayed this year at the Cake International competition, held in the city of Birmingham from 1- 3 November.
It draws competitors from all over the world.
The entry by a baker from the 3rd Space cafe in Hong Kong included fake tear gas and a figure made to look like a typical protester clad in black and wearing a hard hat.
Image copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption A man in a yellow hard hat, carrying an umbrella, was one element of the cakeImage copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption The cake also had umbrellas which had fake “tear gas” coming out of them
It was inspired by the “streets [of] Hong Kong”, the spokesperson for the cafe told the BBC.
“The design was simply an expression of what is happening at the moment in Hong Kong,” the spokesperson added.
A music box placed inside the cake also played “Glory to Hong Kong”- a tune which has been adopted as the unofficial anthem of the protests – on loop.
But according to 3rd Space, Cake International decided to take action after it received numerous “complaints from Chinese candidates”, who said the cake featured “offensive content… promoting [the] independence of Hong Kong”.
Cake International first decided to turn the music off, before later sending the baker an email telling them that the cake would be “removed”, said 3rd space.
Dozens of people later took to Cake International’s social media platforms complaining, accusing the organisers of pandering to “censorship”.
The protests have presented a serious challenge to China’s leaders, who have painted the demonstrators as dangerous separatists and accused foreign powers of backing them.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 