Tag: China

China uses tech as tool of repression to monitor citizens: US commission
China, Market, World

China uses tech as tool of repression to monitor citizens: US commission

According to a congressional commission of the US, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is committed to the production and use of technology that controls and surveys its population.Chairman Robin Cleveland and Vice Chairman Carolyn Bartholomew of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in a joint statement, said that China's move to use technology as a tool of repression is "politically motivated to sustain the Party"."The Chinese Communist Party is committed to the production and use of technology that controls and surveys its population. The decision to use these tools of repression is politically motivated to sustain the Party," the statement read.Surveillance has become a booming business in China with number of tech start-ups moving in to meet the market demand with the go...
India can play a crucial role in easing global reliance on China: British lawmaker
China, World

India can play a crucial role in easing global reliance on China: British lawmaker

An influential British lawmaker with the ruling Conservative party, Iain Duncan Smith has said that India could play a crucial role in reversing the alarming strategic dependence of the world’s democracies on China.Sir Iain pointed out that authoritarian China, under Xi Jinping, has made no secret about its ambition to emerge as an unrivalled global power by the middle of the century.“The Chinese government has become even more dictatorial and intolerant in the last few years under President Xi and as far as I can make out by what he has said and by their behaviour, that his government’s plan is that by 2040 or thereabouts, China wishes to be the world’s biggest economy possessing the world’s largest and most powerful military. Those things are what they said they wish to be, and everythin...
China sanctions 11 US officials in response to Hong Kong sanctions
China

China sanctions 11 US officials in response to Hong Kong sanctions

China imposed sanctions on 11 Americans in retaliation for similar restrictions imposed by Washington over an alleged effort to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy.China’s sanctions targeted Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Pat Toomey; Congressman Chris Smith; Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth; National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman; and Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House.“In response to the U.S.’s wrong behaviors, China has decided to impose sanctions on those individuals who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues,” the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, said.On August 7, The U.S. said that it was placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong.The sanctions target Hong Kong Specia...
China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling
China, USA, World

China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling

The Chinese embassy in Canada has denounced the five eyes alliance for their statement on Hong Kong government's disqualification of candidates and postponement of Legislative Council elections.On July 9, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the five eyes) had said that the disqualification of candidates and postponement of elections have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.In a sharp response, the Chinese embassy in Canada, in a statement said, “…the foreign ministers of Canada and other countries made a statement which once again contained irresponsible comments on the Hong Kong affairs and amounted to gross interference in China's domestic affairs. China expresses its strong dissatisfac...
China’s presence in Arctic poses military threat to West
China, World

China’s presence in Arctic poses military threat to West

Melting ice in Arctic Circle has raised the focus for Donald Trump's administration over the presence of china’s navy and its effort to strengthen its knowledge of the Arctic. According to the 2020 Nordic Report, China has made efforts to lay the necessary diplomatic groundwork to justify future military activities but creation of new sea due to melting ice could offer china’s submarines a clear path which could pose a military threat to the West.US forces commander, Admiral James Foggo, said: "The diminishing ice coverage is causing competition to emerge in this new area”.“The High North is attracting global interest with abundant natural resources and opening maritime routes that have not been navigable before", Admiral Foggo added.Pentagon in its warning also said: "The diminishing ice ...
Myanmar continues pushback against China’s BRI
China, World

Myanmar continues pushback against China’s BRI

In yet another setback for China’s expansionist plans, the Myitkyina Financial Growth Zone (MEDZ) – a part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – is behind schedule due to reservations from the Myanmar government and its residents.China’s headache continues to multiply in its southern neighbor Myanmar with a series of BRI associated infrastructure projects that hopes to provide Beijing access of Bay of Bengal facing critical pushback.After the Yangon mega city project where Beijing’s position has been minimized China funded Myitkyina Financial Growth Zone (MEDZ) – which was scheduled to be ready by 2021 – in Myanmar’s Kachin state is yet to take off due to serious differences between the Myanmar government and Chinese firm over land acquisition and compensation package.It wa...
Fierce competition starts between US, China for energy corridors in central asia
Asia, China, World

Fierce competition starts between US, China for energy corridors in central asia

Amid already heightened tensions between the United States and China, the Trump administration has now called "for a new alliance of democracies" to counter China's aggressive policies, and, in a retaliatory move, Beijing has begun adding more potential new trade and energy corridors linking Central Asia with South Asia and the Middle East.To counter China's aggressive expansionist policies in the South China Sea, the US has decided to have a quadrilateral alliance with Japan, Australia and India.Maleeha Lodhi, who has served as Pakistan's ambassador to Britain, the US and the United Nations said, “Fundamental realignments are taking place across the world at a challenging, transformative time in international affairs when global power is shifting to the East. Our region is no exception an...
Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China
China, Market, World

Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China

Drawn by India’s giant market, inexpensive skilled workforce and tax breaks, Taiwanese firms are apparently pivoting to India and leaving China behind.According to media reports, firms from Taiwan are seeking to reduce their reliance on mainland China. A Taiwanese company Pegatron, an assembly partner for the US tech giant Apple, earlier in July announced that it was applying for permits to set up its first plant in India.The firm, which reported revenue of USD 44.8 billion in 2019, normally offshores its orders to its factories in mainland China. But analysts and the Taiwanese government said the firm’s swing into India is only the latest example of a trend that has been gaining pace over the past four years as ties between India and Taiwan strengthened.According to the Taiwan Bureau of F...
Myanmar to involve foreign partners in China-funded mega city project
China, World

Myanmar to involve foreign partners in China-funded mega city project

In another pushback against China, Myanmar has decided to involve international partners in a key project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - the Chinese funded mega Yangon City Project.The Myanmar government has decided to open up the project for other foreign firms besides China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), as it is not keen that one single company dominates the mega project, according to sources with knowledge on the matter.According to sources, the project has been a source of controversy due to its flood-prone location as well as the CCCC’s involvement.“The CCCC has been accused of corruption relating to development deals in at least 10 countries in Africa and Asia”, they said.During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar early this year, the two sides had ...
Pakistan jolts all-weather ally China, warns its app TikTok, blocks Bigo Live
Asia, Singapore

Pakistan jolts all-weather ally China, warns its app TikTok, blocks Bigo Live

Pakistan has given a big jolt to the business ambition of Chinese tech firms in the country by issuing a “final warning” to video-sharing app TikTok over obscene and immoral content and blocking the Bigo Live streaming application.Such moves from Pakistan is unexpected for China, since it was Beijing which has invested billions of dollars in the country.The Pakistani establishment's unhappiness with theses Chinese social media applications is not overtly linked to security or geopolitical issues like India that banned 59 Chinese apps on security grounds.The United States is also seriously mulling a ban on TikTok, alleging that it's a front for data mining and all user data is shared with the Chinese government. TikTok is under scrutiny in Australia too for similar reasons.So even if there ...