U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the military coup in Myanmar and demanded an immediate return to democratic rule.  Guterres condemned Myanmar’s repressive actions in his opening address to the 46th session of the UN Human rights Council. Guterres departed from his lengthy speech on COVID-19 related violations to blast Myanmar’s military for its takeover of the country’s democratically elected government.  “We see the undermining of democracy, the use of brutal force, arbitrary arrests, repression in all its manifestations,” Guterres said. “Restrictions of civic space.  Attacks on civil society.  Serious violations against minorities with no accountability, including what has rightly been called ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population.  The list goes on.”EU to Impose Sanctions on Myanmar   US Secretary of State to join foreign ministers meeting in Brussels via videoconference   Guterres said coups have no place in our modern world.  He praised the Human Rights Council for its recent and timely focus on this critical situation. The council held an emergency session on the Myanmar crisis on February 12 and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all detained people, including the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.Over the coming month, the council will examine the human rights records of Myanmar and many other countries accused of gross violations of human rights.   The council will focus on ways in which COVID-19 has accelerated inequalities, setback progress on poverty reduction and deepened discrimination and racism.Guterres said the pandemic has triggered a vicious circle of violations.  He said unscrupulous leaders are using COVID-19 as a pretext to entrench their power and criminalize fundamental freedoms.  He said the virus has spurred resurgent neo-Nazism and white supremacist movements, as well as racially and ethnically motivated terrorism.”The danger of these hate-driven movements is growing by the day.  Let us call them what they are,” Guterres said. “White supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are more than domestic terror threats.  They are becoming a transnational threat.  These and other groups have exploited the pandemic to boost their ranks through social polarization and political and cultural manipulation.”   UN Chief Guterres warned these extremist movements represented the number one internal security threat in several countries.  He said global coordinated action was needed to defeat this grave and growing danger.He noted similar global coordinated action was needed to defeat the pandemic, which has killed millions of people and ruined many more lives.
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Protesters in Myanmar are back out in large numbers Monday, demonstrating against the country’s military regime despite an ominous warning of a deadly response by security forces.   A group called Gen Z along with the Civil Disobedience Movement issued a call Sunday for a general strike, urging people to come together for a “spring revolution” on the “Five Twos,” a reference to the digits in Monday’s date, 22/2/2021, and a nod to the 8888 pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar on August 8, 1988.  A message carried Sunday on state-owned MRTV warned protesters “are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life.”   Reports out of Yangon says security forces have set up roadblocks near some foreign embassies, which have become gathering points for protesters calling for foreign intervention.    Tom Andrews, the U.N.’s special rapporteur for Myanmar, tweeted late Sunday that he was “deeply concerned” about the junta’s warning, adding a warning of his own: “Unlike 1988, actions by security forces are being recorded & you will be held accountable.” Deeply concerned w an ominous public warning by the junta that protesters are “inciting the people” to “a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life”. Warning to the junta: Unlike 1988, actions by security forces are being recorded & you will be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/1VGa3lWvqS— UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) February 22, 2021Three people have already been killed as a result of the daily protests across Myanmar since the overthrow of the civilian government on February 1, including two people killed in Mandalay Saturday — one of them a teenage boy — when police and security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon and slingshots against demonstrators.   An additional 20 people were wounded in Saturday’s violence, according to the head of a volunteer emergency service.  The activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says 640 people have since been arrested, charged or sentenced in connection with the military takeover.   One of those arrested is actor Lu Min, who was detained at his home in Yangon, according to a message posted on his Facebook page by his wife. Lu Min had taken part in protests in Yangon and was one of six celebrities the army said were wanted under an anti-incitement law.  The army accused Lu Min of encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. If convicted, he faces a two-year prison sentence.    An internet shutdown Monday morning has been rumored in Myanmar, with the U.S. embassy among those warning people to be prepared for a blackout.Reports received that internet and mobile data may not be available from 1:00 am to 12:00 pm tomorrow in Yangon.— American Citizen Services – Burma (Myanmar) (@ACSRangoon) February 21, 2021NetBlocks, which tracks internet disruptions and shutdowns, reported that Myanmar was back online from 9 am Monday after an eighth night of internet shutdowns imposed by the military  NetBlocks said that while connectivity is restored, online platforms remain filtered with indications that mobile data restrictions are now in place. Update: #Myanmar is back online from 9 am after an eighth night of internet shutdowns imposed by the military 📈While connectivity is restored, online platforms remain filtered with indications that mobile data restrictions are now in place #Yangon📰https://t.co/Jgc20OBk27pic.twitter.com/YAPlAhbIHe— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 22, 2021Sunday, Facebook took down the main page of the Myanmar military, known as Tatmadaw, citing the firm’s policy of prohibiting the incitement of violence, Reuters reported.    A company spokesperson said in a statement that the page was removed “for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm.”   On February 11, Facebook announced it was limiting the distribution of all content from the military’s pages and profiles “in line with our global policies on repeat offenders of misinformation.”  U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Twitter Sunday that the United States “will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government,” referring to Myanmar’s previous name.  “We stand with the people of Burma.”The United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government. We stand with the people of Burma.— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 22, 2021U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deadly violence. “The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” he said on Twitter late Saturday.I condemn the use of deadly violence in Myanmar.The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.Everyone has a right to peaceful assembly. I call on all parties to respect election results and return to civilian rule.— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 21, 2021Britain said it would consider further action against those involved in violence against protesters, and the French Foreign Ministry called the violence “unacceptable.”        In a Twitter message, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on “the military and all security forces in #Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians.”I strongly condemn the violence against peaceful civilian protestors by the military. I urge the military and all security forces in #Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians. We will discuss on Monday #FAC the latest events in Myanmar to take appropriate decisions— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 20, 2021EU foreign ministers are to meet Monday to discuss possible sanctions.       In a statement released late Sunday, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry called the messages “flagrant interference” in its internal affairs.   “Despite facing the unlawful demonstrations, incitements of unrest and violence, the authorities concerned are exercising utmost restraint through minimum use of force to address the disturbances,” it said in a statement.   But security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with them since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government nearly three weeks ago.        The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last November’s general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.      The military’s claims were rejected by Myanmar’s electoral commission.     Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a “true and disciplined democracy,” but he did not specify when they would take place.  
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World number one Novak Djokovic beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his ninth Australian Open title and extend his record-breaking reign at Melbourne Park Sunday.Djokovic demolished the fourth seed 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of 7,400 fans on Rod Laver Arena to end the Russian’s unbeaten run at 20 matches.In winning his third straight Australian Open, the Serb claimed his 18th Grand Slam title to move within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have 20 each, while denying Medvedev his first. 
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Police arrested a famous Myanmar actor Sunday, hours after two people were killed by gunfire as security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and slingshots against protesters who were demonstrating against the military’s Feb. 1 coup.The actor, Lu Min, had taken part in protests in Yangon and was one of six celebrities the army said Wednesday were wanted under an anti-incitement law. The army accused Lu Min of encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. If convicted he faces a two-year prison sentence.In a video posted on Lu Min’s Facebook page, his wife said police had come to their home in Yangon and taken him away.”They forced open the door and took him away and didn’t tell me where they were taking him. I couldn’t stop them. They didn’t tell me,” Khin Sabai Oo said.Military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun has not responded to repeated attempts by Reuters to contact him by telephone for comment.About 500 police and soldiers gathered Saturday at a shipyard in Myanmar’s second-largest city of Mandalay to disperse workers and other demonstrators, sparking an hourslong faceoff.Security forces dispersed the crowd with gunfire and other forms of force, leaving two dead and 20 others injured, according to the Irrawaddy news website and a leader of the Parahita Darhi volunteer emergency service agency, Ko Aung.Demonstrators, area residents and journalists reportedly fled the area as security forces chased after them, attacking one group of journalists with slingshots and tear gas.The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, said Saturday 569 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced in connection with the coup.Security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with Myanmar security forces since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government nearly three weeks ago. The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last November’s general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.A protester flashes the three-fingered salute during an anti-coup protest outside the Hledan Centre in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 21, 2021.The military’s claims were rejected by Myanmar’s electoral commission.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deadly violence. “The use of lethal force, intimidation and harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” he said on Twitter.U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States was “deeply concerned” by reports that security forces had fired on protesters and continued to detain and harass demonstrators and others.”We stand with the people of Burma,” Price wrote on Twitter. Myanmar is also known as Burma.Britain said it would consider further action against those involved in violence against protesters, and the French foreign ministry called the violence “unacceptable.””The shooting of peaceful protesters in Myanmar is beyond the pale,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a tweet. “We will consider further action, with our international partners, against those crushing democracy & choking dissent.”Tens of thousands of demonstrators have since filled the streets of Myanmar’s biggest cities in defiance of a strict curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than four people, holding signs with pro-democracy slogans, many of them with pictures of Suu Kyi.  They have raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny as depicted in the popular Hunger Games movies.In addition to protests, government employees and civil servants are on strike, resulting in disruptions to train services throughout the country. The military has ordered civil servants back to work and threatened action against them. A growing number of workers from other sectors, including medical personnel, have walked off their jobs in recent days.Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a “true and disciplined democracy,” but he did not specify when they would take place.Reuters news service contributed to this report. 
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Taiwan’s air force scrambled for a second straight day on Saturday after a dozen Chinese fighter aircraft and bombers carried out drills close to Taiwan-controlled islands in the disputed South China Sea, the defense ministry in Taipei said.Beijing, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory, has carried out repeated air missions in the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in recent months, mostly near the Pratas Islands.After nine Chinese air force aircraft flew near the Pratas Islands on Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said it tracked 11 aircraft on Saturday — eight fighter jets, two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and an anti-submarine aircraft, also near the islands.It said Chinese naval forces were also involved but gave no details.Taiwan’s air force warned the Chinese aircraft to leave and deployed missile systems to monitor the activity, the ministry said.China has not commented on the last two days of activities. It previously said such maneuvers were a response to “collusion” between Taipei and Washington, Taiwan’s main international backer and weapons supplier, and to safeguard Chinese sovereignty.A spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Saturday repeated a call for Beijing “to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan,” adding that it should “instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.”The Pratas Islands sit in the top part of the South China Sea and are also claimed by China.Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, they are only lightly defended by Taiwan and are considered by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack because of their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.Chinese aircraft fly in the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense zone almost daily, though the last such large-scale activity was on January 24 when 12 Chinese fighters were involved.Taiwan on Friday unveiled a reshuffle of senior security officials, including the appointment of a new, U.S.-trained defense minister, to help bolster military modernization and intelligence efforts in the face of what it sees as a rising Chinese threat.  
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Myanmar’s banking sector continues to be in chaos as mass anti-coup demonstrations saw armored vehicles patrol the streets in the city of Yangon this past week.
 
Since the military takeover at the beginning of February, professionals from a variety of sectors, led by medical workers and including bankers, have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) – a strike campaign to resist the military government. Followers have insisted they will not return to work until the elected government has been given back its power.
 
“I don’t want to live under [a] military government. So, I joined CDM and fight for democracy,” one employee of Myanmar Apex Bank (MAB) told VOA.
 
Many banks nationwide remain closed, while others have scaled back their operations.  
 
Residents must deal with long lines at ATMs, while cash withdrawal has been either reduced or unavailable, and businesses are facing cash flow difficulties.
 
One employee from Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA) told VOA that although the strikes have made life difficult for ordinary people and businesses, they have made it more difficult for the military government.
 
“Myanmar’s current banking system is relying on private banks. We have to rely on private banks for the country’s cash flow and our interactions with international banks. I think the strike by the private bank employees themselves will make it difficult for the junta to manage money,” the banker said.Soldiers stand outside Myanmar’s Central Bank during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 15, 2021.Myanmar is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, and despite the additional financial strain, the bankers said they personally aren’t being pressured to return to work, and they haven’t received any personal visits from the military, yet.
 
“Until now, from the military, no visits yet,” another AYA banker said. But the banker admitted he knows of “soldiers in civilian clothes” visiting banks and asking for contact details of the managers.
 
Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by armed forces from 1962 until 2011. In 2015, leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy (NLD) party won the country’s first open democratic election.
 
General elections in Myanmar in November 2020, saw the military-backed opposition lose heavily to the NLD, leading it to claim there was widespread electoral fraud.
 
Myanmar’s military, known as Tatmadaw, removed the NLD government on Feb. 1. Military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing took power, announcing a “one-year-long state of emergency” and saying a future general election would be held. NLD party members were detained while Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint were arrested.  
 
Since then, widespread protests have taken place across Myanmar, with thousands demanding an end to the coup. More than 400 people have been arrested, and at least two people have died, including a protester and a police officer, local reports say.
 
The new deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar has slammed the CDM movement, claiming protesters are “destroying their own economy.”
 
Win Thaw is the military-backed replacement for former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge, who has reportedly been detained with his whereabouts unknown.
Win Thaw told Frontier Myanmar, an English-language news outlet in Myanmar, that long-term boycotts by employees would have a negative impact on the economy.People line up outside a bank branch in Yangon, Myanmar Feb. 1, 2021.“The banking system is needed to develop the country’s economy. Bank staff shouldn’t refuse to come to work,” Win Thaw told Frontier. The deputy governor later added that the Central Bank of Myanmar has “plans A, B and C to ensure the financial system does not come to a halt,” but refused to elaborate on what those plans were.
Zeya Thu, a Myanmar political and economic commentator, warns that Myanmar’s political crisis will lead to financial instability and that eventually “banks have to resume their services.”  
 
“The fact that banks are closed makes people feel financially insecure. Many of them are financially insecure and they are thinking they will lose their savings forever. Companies won’t be able to provide monthly salaries,” Thu told VOA.
 
Aung Wai Yan, treasurer and senior officer at Shinhan Bank, says the protests have had a “prompt impact” on the whole country, as banks are afraid to dispense cash, convenience stores have denied card payments and payments for international trade and currency are nearly at a standstill.
 
“Next week is interesting, [it is] pay day weeks for most organizations. [The] banking sector service is critical. The foreign exchange market has almost stopped. International trade payments [have] delays. Border trade has stopped. Tax payment and logistics payment has stopped. All import and export payments have stopped. Now Myanmar’s financial sector is so risky,” he told VOA.
 
According to U.S. citizen Adam Hunt, a director of ONOW, a fintech social enterprise based in Myanmar, the nation has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing an increase in digital financial services to facilitate relief and social welfare payments.
 
But since the coup, Hunt said his company is one of many facing an uncertain future under the military government and added that the CDM movement has increased uncertainty in all sectors.
 
“Even as companies of all sizes are finding ways to support their employees’ right to protest, CDM participation is causing substantial uncertainty in all sectors. Companies are making operational, or furiously developing, business continuity plans that call for cash reserves. When bank operating hours are unpredictable, and when mobile money services are threatened due to frequent internet cuts, it necessitates withdrawal of capital for both households and businesses to have physical notes on hand,” he told VOA.
 
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The United States is concerned that China’s recently enacted coast guard law could escalate maritime disputes and be invoked to assert unlawful claims, the U.S. State Department said Friday. China, which has maritime sovereignty disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea, passed a law last month that for the first time explicitly allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels. FILE – U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price holds a news briefing at the State Department, Feb. 17, 2021.State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular briefing that Washington was “concerned by language in the law that expressly ties the potential use of force, including armed force, by the China coast guard to the enforcement of China’s claims, and ongoing territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China seas.” He said language “strongly implies this law could be used to intimidate [China’s] maritime neighbors.” “We are further concerned that China may invoke this new law to assert its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, which were thoroughly repudiated by the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling,” he said, referring to an international ruling that found in favor of the Philippines in a dispute with China. Price said the United States reaffirmed a statement last July in which then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected China’s disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful.” FILE – A Philippine fishing boat is seen anchored near China coast guard vessels patrolling at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, April 5, 2017.He added that the United States “stands firm” in its alliance commitments to both Japan and the Philippines. The United States has mutual defense treaties with both countries and has sailed regular naval patrols in the region to challenge China’s extensive maritime claims. The Philippines said last month it had filed a diplomatic protest over China’s new law, describing it as a “threat of war.”
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Kuo Chih-wen moved to Taiwan in December. The former denizen of the San Francisco Bay Area had been working from home since March 2020, like people all across the United States trying to dodge COVID-19. Her parents thought it would be a good chance to return to a safer, un-locked down Taiwan, where Kuo was born.
 
The 27-year-old had planned to return to the United States this month, but now intends to stay through May. She can go out in Taiwan thanks to a low coronavirus rate over the past year. She works overnight hours at the same trading company that employed her in California, while enjoying movies, museums, restaurants and domestic travel.
 
“We’re very lucky to be able to come back to Taiwan at this time and live a normal life, since we’ve been locked for over 10 months,” Kuo said. “It almost feels like there’s no COVID in Taiwan. Life hasn’t really changed.”
 
Taiwan got a lid on COVID-19 about a year ago through early checks on inbound flights, a strict quarantine system and relentless contact tracing. The island of 24 million people has reported just 941 cases as of this week.
 
Kuo is just one of likely thousands of Taiwan-born foreign nationals who have moved back, often with family, to avoid COVID-19 and the lockdowns in countries where they normally live. Now Taiwan is getting a boost from the money returning Taiwanese spend traveling, eating and making longer-term investments. Some bring unique talents and hire local collaborators.
 
“You look at the big restaurants, the high-class restaurants over this past Lunar New Year holiday, and their business was extremely good,” said Liang Kuo-yuan, president of the Polaris Research Institute, a policy group in Taipei.
 
He believes wealthy returning Taiwanese made up much of the crowd during a holiday that already sets Taiwan abuzz with family dinners. The 2021 new year break ended this week.
 
Government offices in Taipei do not keep tabs on exact number of returnees, though one department says it noticed a surge in overseas Taiwanese who came in January 2020 for Lunar New Year and because of COVID-19 decided to stay on the island.
 
Liang cited estimates that up to one million among Taiwan’s total 24 million population live overseas, and he said they are coming back in high numbers. Many returnees are over 50 years old now and had left the island to escape political and economic uncertainty in Taiwan. They kept Taiwanese citizenship to smooth any returns.FILE – People wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus shop for the Lunar New Year holiday, in Taipei, Taiwan, Feb. 9, 2021. Taiwanese returning home to shelter from the pandemic have provided an unexpected boost for the island’s economy.Taiwan’s service sector, 60% of the $635 billion economy, gets a boost from people such as Kuo who go out and spend. They are buying up property, too, and Taiwanese financial institutions are making money on cross-border banking fees, Liang said.
 
Taiwan home prices grew 6.5% year on year in the fourth quarter last year and 6.1% in the previous quarter — the fastest rate since a 6% contraction in early 2016, according to figures compiled by the research firm CEIC Data. COVID-19 being “brought under control” explains part of the spike in late 2020, the Taipei Times news website says.
 
Younger professionals who are back after living most of their lives abroad bring capital, talent and the search for business partners. Many are staying on visas that are reserved for foreign citizens with economic promise.
 
A particularly well-known Taiwanese returnee, 43-year-old YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, said in April he was studying ways to boost the island’s start-up scene by establishing a “collaborative bridge” that would help other people like himself relocate to Taiwan from other parts of the world.
 
Taiwanese American actor-producer Welly Yang, 48, is working with the Taipei entertainment sector to put together international Broadway concerts in April and May. The leading figure in productions such as Aladdin and Miss Saigon arrived in August from Los Angeles. He lives now with his wife and two children.
 
Yang’s heritage sealed one professional relationship in a special, only-in-Taiwan way.
 
“The biggest promoter here, he wants to present my concerts and then it turns out my grandma was his music teacher, like that’s just crazy,” Yang said. 
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For a brief time before Beijing banned the audio chat app Clubhouse, tech-savvy Chinese joined global discussions on taboo topics — Beijing’s placement of Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests — absorbing perspectives and information far outside the lines drawn by the Communist Party.Unlike Twitter posts, there was no public record of the app’s audio messages, which may complicate official monitoring efforts, according to In this file illustration photo taken on Jan. 25, 2021, shows the application Clubhouse on a smartphone in Berlin.Yu Ping, the former China country director of the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, told VOA that while only a few people with access to iPhones registered outside China can access Clubhouse, they are often members of “China’s intellectual class, and for the authorities these are people who need to be more controlled” than ordinary citizens.Ping pointed out that any authoritarian government like China’s wants to control information and public opinion. In China, if information is not effectively manipulated and public opinion is not well-directed, authorities see an intolerable existential threat to the regime.Banning Clubhouse and the virtual private networks (VPNs) that give users the ability to surmount the Great Firewall manifests Beijing’s fear, he said.June Dreyer, professor of political science at the University of Miami, said Chinese authorities removed Clubhouse because audio content is harder to control compared with text content. Dreyer said although Chinese people used the app to comment on current affairs and even criticize the government, authorities shouldn’t have blocked the app even though they can.Users are going to get angry because they enjoyed Clubhouse, she said. Blocking it will upset people even more and then they will “seek more ways to vent their grievances. Sometimes it’s just better to let people who want to complain, complain.” Dreyer said the damage that banning Clubhouse causes to people who want to voice their opinion is limited. “As I say, people who have things that they want to talk about will always find ways to talk about them,” she said. “They can be repressed or suppressed, but there are always ways around that.” There are also concerns that the app has security flaws that could provide Chinese authorities access to user information. The Stanford Internet Observatory believes Clubhouse chatroom metadata are relayed to servers hosted in China, so the Chinese government potentially has access to users’ raw audio.  In addition, the Stanford Internet Observatory blog confirmed that the software that supplies back-end infrastructure to Clubhouse is based in China and because a user’s unique Clubhouse ID number and chatroom ID are transmitted in plain text, it is possible to connect Clubhouse IDs with user profiles. Clubhouse told the Stanford Internet Observatory blog that it is “deeply committed to data protection and user privacy.”The app told the blog that when it launched, it was available to every country worldwide except China. Some people in China found a workaround to download the app, which meant that the conversations they were a part of could be transmitted via Chinese servers.“With the help of researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory, we have identified a few areas where we can further strengthen our data protection.” 
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Human rights activists say “red-tagging,” a tactic whereby individuals are labelled as communists or terrorists – often without substantial proof – is being increasingly deployed by government supporters and state officials in the Philippines.
 
The practice equates many left-wing activities with terrorism. Rights activists say it is now being used against doctors, activists, academics, students and journalists, among others. Rights groups say the tagging spree has led to a spate of unlawful detentions and killings.  
 
Cristina Palabay, secretary general of the human rights organization Karapatan, told VOA at least 78 people have been killed as a result of either red-tagging or anti-terrorism police operations in the last year alone. There were also some 136 arrests, according to records compiled by the group.  
 
“More and more people are now in the firing line – things appear to only be getting worse,” said Palabay.  
 
Ibarra Gutierrez, a human rights lawyer and former member of the Philippine House of Representatives, told VOA that while the Philippines has a long history of red tagging, the current administration is the first to use the tactic openly.  
 
“Red-tagging also occurred during prior administrations, but people at the top were still smart enough to distance themselves from it – they would not outright condone the killings.
 
“Now we have officials in government who regularly use the tactic themselves – the levels of shamelessness in the Philippines have reached an all-time high,” said Gutierrez.  
 
For more than 50 years, the Philippine government has been mired in a civil war with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
 
After peace talks to end the insurgency collapsed in 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte has since accused the CCP and other left-wing groups of trying to “overthrow the government.” The accusation comes alongside the enactment of a controversial anti-terror law in July last year.  
 
Amid this heightened anti-terrorism campaign, those who express dissent may now find their names appearing on lists, street tarpaulins or Facebook posts, accusing them of being communist rebels. For some, the simple label is tantamount to a death sentence.
 
In a high-profile case last December, a red-tagged doctor and her husband were gunned down in broad daylight by unknown assailants in the city of Guihulngan. Dr. Mary Rose Sancelan – who had led her community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic – had reportedly appeared on a list from local militia group ‘Kagubak,’ which baselessly claimed Sancelan had links to the NPA.  
 
Some local rights groups have long asserted that a ‘culture of red-tagging’ is ‘state-sponsored,’ but presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has repeatedly denied claims of a government-led plan to accuse people of being communists.  
 
While red-tagging has been embraced by many anti-communist groups, some Philippine state officials have also used the tactic.  
 
Last month, Facebook pages belonging to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) published a list of academics and alumni from the University of the Philippines, claiming the individuals were either deceased or current NPA rebels.  
 
In an online statement following his red-tagging in the now-deleted list, former Philippine Health Insurance Corporation CEO Alexander Padilla said: “I am appalled and disgusted [at] how [the] government cavalierly plays with the lives of innocent people. I am now anxious for me and for others on the list, whose lives are now placed in peril.”
 
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called the list an “unpardonable gaffe,” while the AFP’s Civil Military Operations Office (CMOO) released a statement to “apologize for those who were inadvertently affected by inconsistencies.”
 
The CMOO also said that personnel responsible would be held accountable, with the Presidential Palace urging the military to ‘exercise prudence’ when disseminating information online.  
 
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Analysts are warning that China’s new law authorizing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels in the disputed South China Sea will target five other Asian governments that have competing maritime claims and growing support from Beijing’s superpower rival, Washington.   The National People’s Congress standing committee in Beijing passed a law January 22 that expressly lets the coast guard use force. The law prescribes “all necessary means” to stop foreign vessels, including use of weapons aboard Chinese ships.   The coast guard fleet of about 200 boats regularly encounters vessels from Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, three countries with rival sovereignty claims in the resource-rich South China Sea that extends from Hong Kong south to Indonesia.   FILE – A ship (top) of the Chinese Coast Guard is seen near a ship of the Vietnam Marine Guard in the South China Sea, about 210 km ff shore of Vietnam May 14, 2014.The U.S. Navy regularly passes warships through the 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway to warn China, a former Cold War foe, and show support for the Southeast Asian claimants. China cites historical records to back its claim to about 90% of the sea. Other countries believe China’s claims violate international maritime laws.    “Using guns and real force against others will be against Vietnam and the Philippines and Malaysia in the South China Sea because of the sheer imbalance of power in favor of China,” said Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. “Big guns” on the Chinese coast guard ships would intimidate the Southeast Asian states, he said.   The three Southeast Asian countries, plus quieter claimants Brunei and Taiwan, resent China for its expansion at sea, especially in the heavily contested Paracel and Spratly islands. China, backed by the strongest armed forces in Asia and the third most powerful worldwide, has built up some of the islets that Southeast Asian states call their own. The surrounding sea is prized for fisheries and undersea fuel reserves.    Philippine National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China’s coast guard law raises the risk of “miscalculation” at sea, domestic media outlets said. A Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman reacted to China’s move by urging all countries to follow international laws.   Vietnamese sailors died in 1974 and 1988 in military clashes with China. The two countries rammed each other’s boats in 2014 when Beijing authorized placement of a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters. China and the Philippines entered a standoff in 2012 as the Chinese side took control of a shoal west of Luzon Island. China and Malaysia were locked in their own standoff in early 2020.   Southeast Asian claimants also shadow Chinese ships that pass near the contested islets and repel Chinese fishing vessels.   Chinese resentment has grown because of U.S. support for the Southeast Asian claimants including regular warship movement in the South China Sea — such as U.S. carrier group exercises earlier this month. Washington, which does not claim the sea, helps train Philippine troops and in 2016 it authorized sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam. Taiwan already buys advanced U.S. arms.   In this photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea, July 6, 2020.“I think the PLA [China’s People’s Liberation Army] is playing that game of uncertainty in the minds of everyone else, so that uncertainty claims a buffer of ‘don’t take precipitate action in these territories, because we have this option,’” said Eduardo Araral, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s public policy school.    In Beijing, Standing Committee Chairman Li Shanzhu said the coast guard law “provides legal guarantees for effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.   China’s coast guard has the largest ships of any patrol force in the world, but it cannot match U.S. forces, Vuving said.   China hopes instead to reset relations with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden after a rocky four years under former president Donald Trump, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center.    “The context of the great power competition in the past four years is already very negative,” Sun said. “If the Chinese have any expectation for improvement, overreaction at this point is not a good strategy.”   
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A Malaysian court on Thursday ordered Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, to enter a defense in a corruption trial linked to a multimillion-dollar project approved while the ex-premier was still in power.Dozens of graft charges were filed against the couple after Najib lost the 2018 election, amid popular anger over alleged corruption and their opulent lifestyle after police raids revealed Rosmah owned millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry and luxury handbags.The Kuala Lumpur high court ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving sufficient grounds for the case to proceed.”This is my finding that the prosecution has produced credible evidence to prove every element of the offense… I now call upon the accused to enter a defense,” judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said in his ruling.Rosmah, 69, told the court that she would testify under oath when taking the witness stand during defense proceedings.Rosmah faces three charges of soliciting and receiving bribes involving a sum of $48.09 million to help a company, Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, secure a solar power project.Of that total, prosecutors accuse Rosmah of arranging for $46 million to be paid as a political donation to Najib, while also receiving two bribes of $1.6 million.If found guilty, she could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined at least five times the sum specified in the charges.In July, Najib was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 12 years in jail in the first of several trials linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He has since filed an appeal against the decision.The couple have denied any wrongdoing, saying the charges are politically motivated.
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