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.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
Images claiming to show four people selling the flags at Manila’s Luneta Park days before the Philippines’ Independence Day have sparked fury online
Under Philippine law, it is illegal for foreign flags to be displayed in public or used in commercials
Four people seemingly selling Chinese flags at the Luneta Park in Manila. Photo: Facebook
Staged photographs showing vendors selling Chinese flags in a Philippine park ahead of the country’s Independence Day should be condemned if they were an attempt to undermine bilateral relations, the Chinese embassy has said.
The embassy’s intervention comes after the photos, which purportedly show four people selling the flags at Luneta Park in Manila, sparked fury online at the weekend and reignited a debate about Chinese influence in the country.
Under Philippine law, it is illegal for foreign flags to be displayed in public or used in commercials.
Many social media users in the Philippines reacted negatively to the pictures, hitting out at what they perceived as undue influence from Beijing. In one post typical of the public’s response, Facebook user Martin Masadao criticised Philippine President
writing: “Chinese flags are sold in Luneta! Are we going to be a province of China?”
However, an investigation by the national park authorities has since found the four people in the photograph were paid to pose as if they were selling the flags.
JUST IN: National Parks Development Committee clarifies that there are no vendors selling Chinese flags in Luneta Park,and that the trending photos are fake.Their CCTV caught three Filipinos who allegedly paid the vendors to pose as if selling/buying the Chinese flags. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/KlTpazfeTO— Mav Gonzales (@mavgonzales) June 9, 2019
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy noted that the incident had occurred on China-Philippines Friendship Day.
“We noticed the staged photos of [vendors] selling Chinese flags, which have caught widespread attention,” it said. “If this was done with good intentions to celebrate China-Philippines Friendship Day, you are welcome. However, if it was done to undermine the China-Philippine relationship, we condemn it.”
Manila’s booming logistics property attracts Chinese investment
Manila police on Tuesday said they were searching for suspects “who maliciously ordered the display and selling of Chinese flags in an unauthorised place”.
Anti-China sentiments have been rising in the Philippines over fears the Duterte administration is aligning itself too closely with Beijing.
Duterte: ‘I love China but is it right for a country to claim whole ocean?’
A surge in Chinese migrant workers has also caused resentment domestically. Some Filipinos accuse these workers of taking jobs from locals and adding pressure to the housing market.
On Tuesday, the Philippines announced it would tighten rules for foreign workers. The move follows figures showing that more Chinese workers are entering the country, many of them illegally. Foreign workers will now need a work permit as well as a working visa and a tax number.
Police intervene as members of Sabarimala Karma Samithi try to disrupt a celebratory meeting after two women entered Sabarimala Ayyapa temple, at the High Court Junction in Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala on January 2, 2019(AFP)
More than 100 people, including 38 policemen, were injured on Thursday as a shutdown to protest against the Kerala government for helping two women enter the Sabarimala temple turned violent at several places in the state.
In Thrissur, four workers of the BJP were stabbed while enforcing the shutdown call by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of various pro-Hindutva groups, spearheading protests against the Supreme Court’s September 28 verdict, and Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP).
The Bharatiya Janata Party is supporting the shutdown while the Congress-led UDF is observing a “black day” on Thursday. (Live updates)
Police in Pandalam, Kozhikode, Kasargode and Ottapalam baton charged at protesters as several party offices and houses were attacked throughout the state. In Kozhikode, police used tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to enforce the 12-hour shutdown.
New agency AFP reported journalists were assaulted in Palakkad during a march organised by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led party.
The shutdown forced the state to a standstill as shops and other small businesses were closed in many places. Most bus services were halted and taxis were refusing to take passengers as some drivers, who said they feared they could be attacked.
Various universities, including Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut and Kannur have deferred their examinations scheduled for Thursday.
It was the first time that women aged between 10 and 50 had set foot in the gold-plated temple nestled in a tiger reserve since the Supreme Court in September last year ordered the lifting of the ban on women of menstruating age entering the hilltop shrine.
The temple has refused to abide by the ruling and subsequent attempts by women to visit it had been blocked by thousands of angry devotees.
Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga dressed in all black were escorted by police into the temple through a side gate early on Wednesday, catching the devotees off guard. The temple priests closed the shrine dedicated to the celibate Lord Ayyappa for purification rituals and protests against the women entering the temple erupted quickly.
A 55-year-old activist of the Samithi died after he was injured during a stone pelting incident in Pathanamthitta on Wednesday. Others have also been injured.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan defended helping the two women in gaining entry to the Sabarimala temple as he accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to incite trouble in the state.
Also watch: Two women below the age of 50 enter Sabarimala Temple
Vijayan said during a press conference it was his government’s constitutional obligation to help the two women and warned that troublemakers will be dealt with sternly.
“The Sangh Parivar is trying to sabotage the Supreme Court verdict. The real devotees are not against the verdict,” the chief minister said.
“Kanakadurga and Bindu were given protection after they sought security to visit the shrine. They were not airdropped. They visited shrine like normal devotees. None of the devotees protested,” he told reporters.
The BJP and held the chief minister responsible for the violence.
Michael Spavor is a businessman based in Dandong, near the Chinese border with North Korea. He has deep ties to the North Korean government.
Ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig currently works for a think tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG), which has said it is concerned for his health and safety.
Timeline of events
1 December: Meng Wanzhou arrested in Canadian city of Vancouver at the request of the US as part of an inquiry into alleged sanctions-busting by her company Huawei
10 December: Canadian former diplomat Michael Kovrig arrested in Beijing “on suspicion of engaging in activities that harm China’s state security”
11 December: Meng Wanzhou released on bail but still faces the prospect of extradition to the US
12 December: China confirms the detention of businessman Michael Spavor for “activities that endanger China’s national security”, saying the investigation began on 10 December
He is being held officially “on suspicion of engaging in activities that harm China’s state security”.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMichael Kovrig was working for a think tank that focuses on conflict reduction research
However, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, suggested another reason, saying the ICG had not been registered as a non-governmental organisation in China and therefore it was unlawful for its staff to work there.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has said Mr Kovrig’s case was raised directly with Chinese officials.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guillaume Bérubé confirmed that Mr Spavor had contacted them earlier in the week because “he was being asked questions by Chinese authorities”.
Canada is working hard to determine Mr Spavor’s whereabouts, Mr Bérubé said.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMichael Spavor (left) helped arrange ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea in 2013
China state media confirmed on Thursday that, as with the previous arrest, Mr Spavor was under investigation on suspicion of “engaging in activities that endanger China’s national security”.
Mr Spavor runs an organisation called Paektu Cultural Exchange, which organises business, culture and tourism trips to North Korea.
He is a regular visitor to North Korea and regularly comments in the media on Korean issues. He is particularly well known for helping to arrange the visit by former NBA star Dennis Rodman to North Korea in 2013.
Rodman is a personal friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The US has been investigating Huawei, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, since 2016, believing that it used a subsidiary to bring US manufacturing equipment and millions of dollars in transactions to Iran illegally.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia was told Ms Meng had used a Huawei subsidiary called Skycom to evade sanctions on Iran between 2009 and 2014.
She had allegedly misrepresented Skycom as being a separate company.
Ms Meng faces up to 30 years in prison in the US if found guilty of the charges, the Canadian court heard.
Are the arrests in China an act of retaliation?
After the detention of Mr Kovrig, Canada said there was no “explicit indication” of any link to the Meng case but China experts doubted that it was just a coincidence.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Western diplomat in China told Reuters news agency: “This is a political kidnapping.”
Asked if the detention of the two Canadians was in response to Ms Meng’s arrest, China’s foreign ministry spokesman described it as an “operation taken by China’s relevant national security authorities in accordance with the laws”.
Lu Kang said Ms Meng’s arrest was “wrong practice”, adding: “I can point out that, since the Canadian government took the wrong action at the request of the US and took Meng Wanzhou into custody, many Chinese are wondering if their trips to Canada are safe.”
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
