Forwarded from 📡Guardians of Hong Kong
Australian Foreign Minister: Australian-Chinese Female Host for CCTV’s Overseas Operation Detained in Beijing
The Australian government has confirmed that Australian-Chinese reporter Cheng Lei is being detained in Beijing. An employee of China Global Television Network (CGTV), an overseas subsidiary of China’s state media organization CCTV, Cheng is under residential surveillance. The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) described the case as a “fresh challenge” to Australia-China relations.
A statement from Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne confirms that Cheng is detained in Beijing, China’s capital. Australian diplomats were allowed a conversation with her by video conferencing last week. The statement said the Australian government had been informed that Cheng, an Australian citizen, had been detained in China.
Australia received an official notification of Cheng’s detention from the Chinese authorities on 14 August. Australian officials made their first consular visit to Cheng by means of a video conference at the detention facility on 27 August. The Australian authorities promised to “continue to provide assistance and support to her and her family”.
Colleagues: Cheng had not replied to messages for weeks
According to the ABC’s report, Cheng’s co-workers at CGTV noticed that she had not been replying to messages for weeks and started to worry about her. They suspected that she might have been detained by the Chinese authorities. No charges have yet been pressed against Cheng, though she is kept under what is known as “residential surveillance at a designated location”. Several of her family members, including two children, are in Melbourne.
Cheng’s family has since issued a statement, saying they were aware of the current situation of Cheng Lei as reported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). They added that they will communicate closely with DFAT and give Cheng their full support. “In China,” they said, “due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter.”
Born in 1975 in Yueyang, Hunan, Cheng moved to Australia with her parents when she was 10. She gained a business degree at The University of Queensland in 1994 and became a business analyst in 2001. She joined CCTV the next year and later the financial channel CNBC Asia, where she had worked for nine years, stationed in China and Singapore. The ABC described her as being “well known” in the Australian community of Beijing for having hosted various events for business associations and the Australian Embassy.
China’s Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the matter. Cheng is the second Australian detained in Beijing. Writer and former Chinese government employee Yang Hengjun was detained by the Chinese authorities back in January 2019. He has been placed under investigation for espionage and denied access to his lawyer for the past 19 months. This July, the Australian government updated its travel advisory for China, warning citizens of an increased risk of being arbitrarily detained.
#Australia #China #CCTV #CGTV #Diplomacy
Source: Stand News #Sep01
https://bit.ly/2Z4lVLZ
The Australian government has confirmed that Australian-Chinese reporter Cheng Lei is being detained in Beijing. An employee of China Global Television Network (CGTV), an overseas subsidiary of China’s state media organization CCTV, Cheng is under residential surveillance. The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) described the case as a “fresh challenge” to Australia-China relations.
A statement from Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne confirms that Cheng is detained in Beijing, China’s capital. Australian diplomats were allowed a conversation with her by video conferencing last week. The statement said the Australian government had been informed that Cheng, an Australian citizen, had been detained in China.
Australia received an official notification of Cheng’s detention from the Chinese authorities on 14 August. Australian officials made their first consular visit to Cheng by means of a video conference at the detention facility on 27 August. The Australian authorities promised to “continue to provide assistance and support to her and her family”.
Colleagues: Cheng had not replied to messages for weeks
According to the ABC’s report, Cheng’s co-workers at CGTV noticed that she had not been replying to messages for weeks and started to worry about her. They suspected that she might have been detained by the Chinese authorities. No charges have yet been pressed against Cheng, though she is kept under what is known as “residential surveillance at a designated location”. Several of her family members, including two children, are in Melbourne.
Cheng’s family has since issued a statement, saying they were aware of the current situation of Cheng Lei as reported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). They added that they will communicate closely with DFAT and give Cheng their full support. “In China,” they said, “due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter.”
Born in 1975 in Yueyang, Hunan, Cheng moved to Australia with her parents when she was 10. She gained a business degree at The University of Queensland in 1994 and became a business analyst in 2001. She joined CCTV the next year and later the financial channel CNBC Asia, where she had worked for nine years, stationed in China and Singapore. The ABC described her as being “well known” in the Australian community of Beijing for having hosted various events for business associations and the Australian Embassy.
China’s Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the matter. Cheng is the second Australian detained in Beijing. Writer and former Chinese government employee Yang Hengjun was detained by the Chinese authorities back in January 2019. He has been placed under investigation for espionage and denied access to his lawyer for the past 19 months. This July, the Australian government updated its travel advisory for China, warning citizens of an increased risk of being arbitrarily detained.
#Australia #China #CCTV #CGTV #Diplomacy
Source: Stand News #Sep01
https://bit.ly/2Z4lVLZ
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US to Open Bilateral Economic Dialogue with Taiwan to Help Resist CCP Coercion
The US State Department announced on 31 August that they are opening a bilateral economic dialogue with Taiwan. This is to strengthen the ties between the two countries and to support Taiwan in responding to the increasing pressure from the CCP. Washington has also declassified confidential documents on Reagan’s six guarantees for Taiwan’s security. Commentators believe this to be a sign of the US’s support for Taiwan.
Cross-Strait relations have become increasingly tense this year. Sino-US relations are also at their lowest point in years. At an online forum hosted by the American conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, David Stilwell, the chief diplomat for East Asian affairs at the US State Department, said the US’s policy toward Taiwan does not entail a policy change but a series of major adjustments to the “One China Policy”, to which the US adheres. “We will continue to help Taipei resist the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign to pressure, intimidate, and marginalize Taiwan,” he stressed.
Stilwell added that the bilateral economic dialogue the US and Taiwan are developing will also involve explorations of “the full spectrum” of their economic partnership, covering such issues centring on technology as semiconductors, healthcare, and energy. The dialogue, he stressed, is not part of US’s bilateral relations with the PRC. The Taiwanese chip manufacturer and the world’s largest TSMC announced a few months ago that they would spend US$12 billion on building a new factory in Arizona. Reuters reported that Taiwan has been looking forward to free trade negotiations with the US, only to be hampered by the US’s huge trade deficit.
Source: Stand News #Sep01
#US #Taiwan #China #Trade #Economy #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/322jsDz
The US State Department announced on 31 August that they are opening a bilateral economic dialogue with Taiwan. This is to strengthen the ties between the two countries and to support Taiwan in responding to the increasing pressure from the CCP. Washington has also declassified confidential documents on Reagan’s six guarantees for Taiwan’s security. Commentators believe this to be a sign of the US’s support for Taiwan.
Cross-Strait relations have become increasingly tense this year. Sino-US relations are also at their lowest point in years. At an online forum hosted by the American conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, David Stilwell, the chief diplomat for East Asian affairs at the US State Department, said the US’s policy toward Taiwan does not entail a policy change but a series of major adjustments to the “One China Policy”, to which the US adheres. “We will continue to help Taipei resist the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign to pressure, intimidate, and marginalize Taiwan,” he stressed.
Stilwell added that the bilateral economic dialogue the US and Taiwan are developing will also involve explorations of “the full spectrum” of their economic partnership, covering such issues centring on technology as semiconductors, healthcare, and energy. The dialogue, he stressed, is not part of US’s bilateral relations with the PRC. The Taiwanese chip manufacturer and the world’s largest TSMC announced a few months ago that they would spend US$12 billion on building a new factory in Arizona. Reuters reported that Taiwan has been looking forward to free trade negotiations with the US, only to be hampered by the US’s huge trade deficit.
Source: Stand News #Sep01
#US #Taiwan #China #Trade #Economy #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/322jsDz
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Anger as Chinese Foreign Minister Threatens Czech Senate President: Scholar Says Czechs Are “Standing up to CCP’s Hooliganism”
China’s foreign minister Huang Yi said earlier that Miloš Vystrčil, the Czech senate president who visited Taiwan, will “pay a heavy price”. Noting such rare strong responses from the Czechs as summoning the Chinese ambassador, Czech scholar Filip Jirous said China had crossed the line and the Czechs are “standing up to CCP’s hooliganism”. Whether the Czechs’ relations with China will worsen depends on what China is up to and its next step.
In an interview with a Czech media organization on 31 August, Vystrčil criticized Huang for meddling with the Czech Republic’s internal affairs and said his comments were regrettable. Vystrčil stressed that the Czech Republic is a sovereign nation committed to developing good relations other countries. In leading a delegation to Taiwan, he aimed to foster cooperation between the two democracies and create good conditions for the Czech economy to grow. Vystrčil said also that Huang’s comments reminded him of the threatening letter sent to his late predecessor Jaroslav Kubera.
Kubera was scheduled to visit Taiwan in February, only to die a sudden death before the trip. In Vystrčil’s speech at National Chengchi University on the afternoon of 31 August, he mentioned that Kubera was planning on a visit to Taiwan but was pressured to call it off by the Chinese embassy and top-level Czech officials.
The pro-Beijing Czech president Miloš Zeman is strongly opposed to Kubera’s and Vystrčil’s visits to Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Czech foreign ministry summoned the China ambassador Zhang Jianwen on 31 August to protest against China’s unusually strong comment.
Source: Apple Daily #Sep01
#Czech #Taiwan #China #Vystrcil #Kubera #Zeman #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/301yKqX
China’s foreign minister Huang Yi said earlier that Miloš Vystrčil, the Czech senate president who visited Taiwan, will “pay a heavy price”. Noting such rare strong responses from the Czechs as summoning the Chinese ambassador, Czech scholar Filip Jirous said China had crossed the line and the Czechs are “standing up to CCP’s hooliganism”. Whether the Czechs’ relations with China will worsen depends on what China is up to and its next step.
In an interview with a Czech media organization on 31 August, Vystrčil criticized Huang for meddling with the Czech Republic’s internal affairs and said his comments were regrettable. Vystrčil stressed that the Czech Republic is a sovereign nation committed to developing good relations other countries. In leading a delegation to Taiwan, he aimed to foster cooperation between the two democracies and create good conditions for the Czech economy to grow. Vystrčil said also that Huang’s comments reminded him of the threatening letter sent to his late predecessor Jaroslav Kubera.
Kubera was scheduled to visit Taiwan in February, only to die a sudden death before the trip. In Vystrčil’s speech at National Chengchi University on the afternoon of 31 August, he mentioned that Kubera was planning on a visit to Taiwan but was pressured to call it off by the Chinese embassy and top-level Czech officials.
The pro-Beijing Czech president Miloš Zeman is strongly opposed to Kubera’s and Vystrčil’s visits to Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Czech foreign ministry summoned the China ambassador Zhang Jianwen on 31 August to protest against China’s unusually strong comment.
Source: Apple Daily #Sep01
#Czech #Taiwan #China #Vystrcil #Kubera #Zeman #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/301yKqX