Tag: China

How China’s top-notch mass surveillance system threatens global freedoms
26Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

How China’s top-notch mass surveillance system threatens global freedoms

Going by the records of Beijing Public Safety Bureau, every step, every action is monitored by state-of-the-art surveillance cameras. Facial recognition algorithms filed away in a secret database could land you in legal trouble for something you did near your front door. A semi-political post made in a private chat could lead to the loss of your job.Yet it is only the beginning of the rise of technologically-advanced China and its dystopian dreams. It might be a deterrent to crime, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership says, but it also means a substantial loss of privacy and free expression."The Chinese Communist Party is committed to the production and use of technology that controls and surveils its population," Chairman Robin Cleveland and Vice Chairman Carolyn Bartholomew of...
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Will ask US for military assistance if China attacks in South China Sea: Philippines
25Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

Will ask US for military assistance if China attacks in South China Sea: Philippines

In a statement, the Philippines have made it clear to China that it would turn to the United States for military help during ongoing flare-ups between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr said Manila would invoke its defence agreement with the US if China attacks its naval vessels in the disputed waters."If something happens that is beyond incursion but is, in fact, an attack on say a Filipino naval vessel.....means then I call up Washington DC," he added.Since 1951, the US and the Philippines have had a Mutual Defence Treaty that commits them to support each other in the event if either is attacked.The statement by the Philippines Foreign Secretary marks the first time President Rodrigo Duterte administration openly declaring its intent...
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Thailand delays US$724m China submarine deal after public anger
25Sep By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Thailand delays US$724m China submarine deal after public anger

Facing heat from the public, Thailand has delayed its controversial US$724 million purchase of two submarines from China as the kingdom's economy flatlines due to the coronavirus pandemic.Under a 2015 deal, Thailand was one of the first countries to buy Chinese naval hardware and finalised its purchase of three submarines in 2017, with the first one expected to be delivered in 2023.An order for two more for 22.5 billion baht (US$724 million) was approved in August by a parliamentary sub-committee - a move which drew public outrage as Thailand struggles with a freefalling economy.Angry citizens took to social media to criticise the deal, and the hashtag "People don't want submarines" trended on Twitter.Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri later announced that Prime Minister Prayut Chan...
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It’s time for western universities to cut their ties to China
11Sep mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, Market, USA

It’s time for western universities to cut their ties to China

Western universities now need to close their Confucius Institutes and end their academic cooperation with China. Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, one of the ways China sought to rebuild its image abroad was by systematically forging partnerships with Western universities. At first, these partnerships mainly focused on research collaboration. Later, they grew to include the Confucius Institutes for language education and the establishment of Western universities’ branch campuses in China.At a time when China was undemocratic but liberalizing, such engagement seemed like a sensible strategy. There have always been uneasy moments in Western universities’ relationships with China, whether prompted by tensions over hosting the Dalai Lama or controversies over university self-censor...
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The rise of new India as PM Modi fulfils his promises
9Sep mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

The rise of new India as PM Modi fulfils his promises

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the country’s 74th Independence Day came with the credibility of six previous speeches in which all promises made by him have been kept. For example, in 2014, PM Modi promised a bank account for every Indian. Then, from 58% Indians in 2014, almost 400 million new accounts have opened now.A billion plus scale financial inclusion has since been used along with Aadhaar (biometric countrywide data base) to affect the largest and most successful Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) policy in the world.Now, during the recent coronavirus induced lockdown, while many developed countries struggled to give out some cash in the hands of the poor, India did it instantly within days of the lockdown utilizing the DBT regime.In the 2015 speech, Modi made the prom...
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Illegal activities of Nepal PM’s IT consultant get government amnesty: Report
6Sep By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Illegal activities of Nepal PM’s IT consultant get government amnesty: Report

A recent report has revealed that Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's IT consultant, Asgar Ali has been involved in “illegal business” ranging from collecting information illegally to hacking news portals.A report by news portal Kharbarhub.com, citing security sources, said, "Ali's company has used the same server and the same IP from the PM's office to banks and other organizations while grabbing most of the IT contracts of the government.”The report further stated that most of Ali's companies are involved in the contract of more than Rs 20 billion besides involvement in illegal transactions with alien forces, mainly China, to capture the digital domain."Ali, most likely, has some connection with the Chinese and the controversial Huawei Company," the source was quoted as saying.The repor...
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After TikTok, Trump indicates banning Alibaba, other Chinese firms in US
4Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

After TikTok, Trump indicates banning Alibaba, other Chinese firms in US

Days after signing an executive order against TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, US President Donald Trump has indicated that he was looking to ban other Chinese-owned companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba in the United States.The development came after Trump issued an executive order on August 14, requiring ByteDance to divest its interests in video-sharing app TikTok's operations in the US within 90 days."There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance ... might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," Trump said in the order.The previous order could have forced US-based app stores to stop distributing the TikTok app if ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest from it in 45 days.Under the latest order, ByteDance is expe...
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Biden Administration to place US-India ties on ‘high priority’
4Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Biden Administration to place US-India ties on ‘high priority’

In a major policy document on Indian-Americans, the Joe Biden administration’s campaign has said that it will place a "high priority" on continuing to strengthen the India-US relationship, asserting that no common global challenge can be solved without the two countries working as responsible partners.The campaign also said Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden believes there can be no tolerance for terrorism in South Asia, cross-border or otherwise.A Biden administration will also work with India to support a rules-based and stable Indo-Pacific region in which no country, including China, is able to threaten its neighbors with impunity, it said."Biden will deliver on his long-standing belief that India and the United States are natural partners, and a Biden administration will place...
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Nigeria in crisis over China’s debt-trap diplomacy
4Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

Nigeria in crisis over China’s debt-trap diplomacy

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is in crisis over the possibility of 'losing' its sovereignty to China over debts. The Federal lawmakers of the national assembly are demanding a probe into China's lending practices into Nigeria, in a wake of a sovereign guarantee clause in loan agreements that they consider 'an entrapment of Chinese neo-colonial plans'.Lawmakers fear that the clause could cause Nigeria to sign away its sovereignty in the event of a payment default.According to clauses in Article 8(1) of the Commercial Loan Agreement signed between Nigeria and the Export-Import Bank of China, Nigeria stands to concede her sovereignty to China should there be a default in the repayment of the $400 million for the Nigerian National Information and Communication Tech...
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US must end trade deal with China: East Turkistan National Awakening activists
2Sep By Michael SmithNo Comments
China, USA

US must end trade deal with China: East Turkistan National Awakening activists

In view of China’s consistent engagement in “genocide, organ harvesting and using slave labour of Uyghurs”, the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement has urged the US Trade Representative to ends its trade deal with Beijing and officially recognize the genocide of Uyghur Muslims.“The @USTradeRep must END its #TradeDeal with #China. #America shouldn’t engage in trade with #CCP regime that is engaging in genocide, organ harvesting & using #SlaveLabor of #Uyghurs. We urge the @WhiteHouse to officially recognize the #UyghurGenocide & take ACTION to STOP it,” the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement said in a tweet.Over the years, Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang have been tortured with the objective of eradicating their ethnic identity and the population.According to multiple rep...
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