China: Building a Modern Air Force

By: Richard A. Bitzinger

READ: https://theepochtim.es/3gfRs6y

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G7 reaches consensus on China dumping, human rights abuses -U.S. official https://www.reuters.com/world/china/g7-reaches-consensus-china-dumping-human-rights-abuses-us-official-2021-06-12/?taid=60c545d8a6698a0001b8813b&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

G7 backs and adopts spending plan to rival China Belt and Road Initiative.

“President Joe Biden said he wanted the US-backed Build Back Better World (B3W) plan to be a higher-quality alternative to a similar Chinese programme.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57452158

Politicians push Beijing Winter Olympics ‘diplomatic boycott’ across 11 Western countries

A group of politicians across Europe and North America launched coordinated legislative actions on Monday, calling for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Spanning 11 countries and parliaments, the actions aim to pressure governments, elected officials and heads of state to decline invitations to next year’s Games, citing “gross violations of human rights” by the Chinese government.

In the United States, a resolution supported by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, Gregory Meeks, calls for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to instigate emergency measures to find a replacement venue, “given ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the host government”.
 
Source: Yahoo #Jun07

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/politicians-push-beijing-winter-olympics-230016602.html

#Beijing #Winter #Olympics #Boycott

Beijing loses US-China conference to Singapore

Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and owner of the eponymous financial information group, told the Financial Times that “logistics”, including Singapore’s Covid-19 safety record and the “very concerning” conditions in China for journalists, had persuaded the group to hold the New Economy Forum in the city-state in November.

The conference was held in Beijing in 2019 and virtually last year. The inaugural event in 2018 was meant to be held in Beijing but had been moved to Singapore amid escalating US-China tensions that year.

Source: Finance Times #May06

https://www.ft.com/content/fedf44c2-1d16-4e0d-bb9b-77965adb3424

#Beijing #US #China #Singapore #COVID19

(Emigration to Taiwan)

Hong Kong, Macao people seeking to live in Taiwan must state past allegiances in new form

Taiwan has instituted new rules requiring residency applicants from Hong Kong and Macao to declare whether they have sworn allegiance to their respective governments, a measure that some observers believe is designed to prevent infiltration.

The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan said that applications could be refused if there were concerns that the residency candidates would harm the national interest. The council added that the applications would be handled in accordance with laws and regulations.

Authorities amended the application documents on June 1 to reflect the new requirement. Applicants are now told to list all their work experience post-graduation as well, whereas the previous version of the form asked only for work experience over the last 10 years.

Immigration consultant Garrick Cheung told Apple Daily that he believed the Taiwanese government had implemented the measure out of political considerations. Cheung added that before June 1, the authorities were already scrutinizing residency applications from Hong Kong civil servants, using different methods to determine whether a candidate might engage in spying.

...

Political commentator Sang Pu said that the change reflected the fact that Taiwan was regarding the Hong Kong government in the same way as the mainland Chinese government.

...

Source

https://en.appledaily.com/hong-kong-macao-people-seeking-to-live-in-taiwan-must-state-past-allegiances-in-new-form/GYLKUWPSUBG4ZNGLEWWHSWAEQE

(u/KvasirsBlod)

BREAKING: G7 condemns China over Xinjiang, Hong Kong

https://hongkongfp.com/2021/06/13/breaking-g7-condemns-china-over-xinjiang-hong-kong/

G7 leaders call for a fresh investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and
called on China to respect human rights and freedoms in both Xinjiang, and Hong Kong.
#TakeDownCCP
#Standup4HumanRights
#StandwithHongKong
#StandWithUyghurs

https://t.co/3AGU2tv1m3

G7 chides Beijing over human rights and pandemic

Group of Seven leaders on Sunday scolded China over human rights in its Xinjiang region, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and demanded a full and thorough investigation of the origins of the coronavirus in China.After discussing how to come up with a unified position on China, leaders issued a highly critical final communique that delved into what are for China some of the most sensitive issues, including also Taiwan.The G7 urged China to cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO) on a "transparent" second-phase probe into how the global coronavirus pandemic began."We... call for a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based WHO-convened Phase 2 Covid-19 Origins study including, as recommended by the experts' report, in China", the group said in their communique after the three-day summit closed.The re-emergence of China as a leading global power is considered to be one of the most significant geopolitical events of recent times, alongside the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union that ended the Cold War.China's rise has also unnerved the United States: President Joe Biden casts China as the main strategic competitor and has vowed to confront China's "economic abuses" and push back against human rights violations."We will promote our values, including by calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang and those rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration," the G7 said.The G7 also called for a transparent, expert-led Phase 2 Covid-19 Origins study including in China, to be convened by the World Health Organization (WHO). Reuters earlier reported the finalised version of the draft communique."We haven't had access to the laboratories," Biden told reporters.Biden said it was not yet certain whether or not "a bat interfacing with animals and the environment... caused this Covid-19, or whether it was an experiment gone awry in a laboratory".Before the G7 criticism emerged, China pointedly cautioned G7 leaders that the days when "small" groups of countries decided the fate of the world were long gone.The G7 also underscored "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues"."We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions," they said.Biden said democracies were in a global contest with "autocratic governments", and that the G7 had to deliver viable alternatives."We're in a contest, not with China per se, ... with autocrats, autocratic governments around the world, as to whether or not democracies can compete with them in a rapidly changing 21st century," Biden told reporters."As I've told (Chinese President) Xi Jinping myself, I'm not looking for conflict. Where we cooperate, we'll cooperate; where we disagree I'm going to state this frankly, and we are going to respond to actions that are inconsistent."The G7 - comprising the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada - said it was concerned about forced labour in global supply chains including in the agricultural, solar, and garment sectors.Beijing has repeatedly hit back against what it perceives as attempts by Western powers to contain China. It says many major powers are still gripped by an outdated imperial mindset after years of humiliating China.UN experts and rights groups estimate that more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang in northwest China.China denies all accusations of forced labour or abuse. It initially denied the camps existed, but has since said they are vocational centres and are designed to combat extremism. In late 2019, China said all people (1)