U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described Communist-run China as “the gravest threat to the future of religious freedom” Thursday in Indonesia, the last stop of his four nation regional tour.
Secretary Pompeo praised the majority-Muslim nation’s embrace of democracy and tolerance of other religions during a speech in Jakarta before Nahdlatul Ulama, a liberal Muslim group that acts as a counterweight against hardline lslamic movements.
Calling on religious leaders “to be a moral witness” and speak out on behalf of people of all faiths, Pompeo touched on China’s “war” against Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and practitioners of the outlawed Falun Gong sect.
The top U.S. diplomat specifically mentioned Beijing’s “brutalization” of the ethnic Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, where they are subject to a brutal crackdown by Communist Chinese authorities, including the mass incarceration of as many as one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in detention centers.
China denies mistreating Uighurs and says the centers provide vocational training and are needed to tackle extremism and promote development.
Pompeo said Chinese authorities ‘have spun fantastic tales of happy Uighurs, eager to discard their ethnic, religious and cultural identities to become ‘modern’.”
Pompeo also addressed the “violent oppression” of Muslim Rohingyas at the hands of Mynamar’s military, and the Iranian regime’s persecution of Baha’is, Christians, Sunni Muslims and other minority groups.
Pompeo’s stop in Indonesia comes after visits to New Delhi, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Male, Maldives. He said last week he will discuss “commercial issues, security issues, and diplomatic issues” and affirm the two countries’ vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific in meetings with Indonesian leaders, including with President Joko Widodo.
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Category: East
East news. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise. The practice of praying towards the East is older than Christianity, but has been adopted by this religion as the Orient was thought of as containing mankind’s original home
Rooster Kills Philippine Police Chief in Freak Accident
A Philippine police chief was killed during a raid on an illegal cockfight earlier this week after he was slashed by the razor-sharp metal blade attached to a rooster’s leg.Lieutenant Christian Bolok, the chief of the San Jose police department in central Northern Samar province, was trying to grab a rooster when the blade, known as a gaff, cut a gaping hole in his leg and sliced his femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death.Three people were arrested in Monday’s raid and several cockfighting roosters were confiscated.Cockfighting is a popular pastime in many rural areas in the Philippines, where gamblers bet on which rooster would survive the bloody fight. However, cockfighting and other sporting and cultural events have been banned in the archipelago to blunt coronavirus spread, which has led to over 375,000 infections, including at least 7,114 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
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Typhoon Molave Blasts Central Vietnam
A powerful typhoon hit Vietnam on Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead and 26 fishermen missing.Typhoon Molave made landfall along the central coastline about noon local time with winds up to 135 kilometers per hour.Prior to landfall, thousands of people were evacuated from the storm’s path, Reuters reported, and those who stayed home were told to remain indoors.”I can see bits of roof, perhaps mine included, and tree branches flying under sky thick with clouds,” Nguyen Van Muoi, a Binh Dinh province resident, told Reuters.Cattle stand in a flooded field as Typhoon Molave sweeps through Hoi An, Vietnam, Oct. 28, 2020, in this image obtained from social media.Local TV footage has aired scenes of wind toppling trees in Quang Ngai, while roads in nearby Phu Yen province appeared littered with fallen power lines, trees and billboards, AP reported, adding that the winds blew the roofs off homes and destroyed fish farms.Some 250,000 soldiers stood at the ready to assist in the rescue and recovery process, according to news reports.”We are mounting one of our biggest relief operations ever,” Vietnam Red Cross President Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said in a statement, which also called for $4 million in relief funds.In addition, Vietnam mobilized two naval ships to search for the 26 missing fishermen, the government said. There has been no word if any of the missing had been found.An empty street is barricaded ahead of Typhoon Molave in Da Nang, Vietnam, Oct. 28, 2020.The Southeast Asian country already has been battered by severe weather this month, which caused flooding and landslides. Some 130 people have died in the country’s central region, and many, including soldiers, remain missing.”The people of Vietnam are tough, yet this is among the worst destruction ever seen in many areas. The relentless storms and flooding are taking a devastating human toll,” Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said in her statement.”All our hard work in containing the social and economic fallout of COVID-19 is being undone by these massive storms hitting us one after the other,” she said.Before hitting Vietnam, Molave hit the Philippines, killing at least nine.
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North Koreans Focus on Telling Their Own Stories in South
While much of the world’s media coverage about North Korea focuses on the country’s nuclear weapons, many South Koreans are seeing a more human side of the isolated country. As VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul, that’s because North Korean defectors are becoming more involved in telling their own stories.
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US to Open Embassy in Maldives Amid Geopolitics Competition with China
The United States is opening an embassy in the Maldives to strengthen economic and security cooperation five decades after the two nations established diplomatic ties. The move reflects “the continued growth of the U.S.-Maldives relationship and underscoring the United States’ unshakeable commitment to Maldives and the Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Wednesday after his meetings in the Maldives with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks to board an aircraft to leave for Maldives, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 28, 2020.The latest move is seen as part of Washington’s push for a free and open Indo-Pacific to curb Beijing’s influence in the region.
The United States does not have a consulate or embassy in Maldives currently but operates an American Center in Malé. The U.S. ambassador and embassy staff in Sri Lanka are accredited to Maldives and make regular visits to the island archipelago. FILE – A construction worker looks on as the China-funded Sinamale bridge is seen in Male, Maldives, Sept. 18, 2018.Pompeo’s travel to the South Asian nation comes after the U.S. and Maldives signed a defense agreement on September 10 to “deepen engagement and cooperation” in the peace and security of the Indian Ocean, according to the State Department. India, historically skeptical of foreign military presence close to its borders, has blessed the deal, U.S. officials say. In recent years, U.S. naval vessels have regularly conducted port calls at Maldives. The nation of islands has provided support to U.S. efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing. The U.S. has provided $2 million in assistance to Maldives for COVID-19 recovery during the pandemic. Washington has also pledged millions in economic support aimed at strengthening Maldives’ fiscal transparency, maritime security, and counterterrorism. The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Maldives in 1966 following its independence from Britain. After Maldives, Pompeo heads to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will underscore religious freedom and human rights in the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, according to U.S. officials. The secretary of state has told reporters that it is in the best interest of Southeast Asian nations to protect “their maritime rights” and the ability to conduct business, ensuring “that their sovereignty is protected against” threats from the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing has built strong economic and diplomatic ties with Jakarta. China was the second largest source of foreign direct investment in Indonesia in the first half of this year. Southeast Asia is the region most impacted by While Indonesia is not seen as a party to the South China Sea disputes, it has on multiple occasions detected Chinese fishing or coast guard ships in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone off the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.
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Indonesia’s Pandemic Response: A Law to Create Millions of Jobs
A landmark law passed this month in Indonesia will open the populous, impoverished country to labor-intensive industry like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors despite a hit to worker rights, people on the ground say. The 905-page Omnibus Bill on Job Creation bill will give millions of young people chances to work, including in formal jobs that can be hard to find because older Indonesian laws discouraged foreign investors from setting up factories, analysts believe. Indonesians are struggling to earn income during an unrelenting COVID-19 outbreak that prompted shutdowns from April. The nation with nearly 400,000 infections reported a sharp drop in retail sales from April through August and a fall in exports over the three months ending in September. “With this new law, it is expected that the investment would come not only to the Indonesian economy, but also come to the labor-intensive part, and by getting more investment in that area it is expected that more jobs will be created, and those jobs are more of the quality jobs, not only informal jobs,” said Yose Rizal Damuri, economics department head with the Center for Strategic and International Studies research organization in Jakarta. Indonesia’s government and House of Representatives passed the bill ahead of schedule on October 5, the Jakarta Post reported. The bill aims to cut bureaucracy and make it easier for investors to create jobs, said Richard Borsuk, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies adjunct senior fellow in Singapore.Protest against the government’s proposed labor reforms in Sukabumi, West Java, Oct. 7, 2020.President Joko Widodo’s government sees this bill as part of his “legacy” to stimulate the 270 million-person country’s economy, Rizal said. Minerals, oil and farming make up much of Indonesia’s $1 trillion-plus GDP today. “Labor-intensive” industry players find Indonesia too expensive now, Rizal said, explaining why that sub-sector makes up just 2% of the country’s total investment. Foreign manufacturers of garments, shoes and textiles normally pick other low-cost Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, over the past decade because of stiff pro-labor laws, economists say. Foreign investment eventually raises the living standards, as witnessed in China and eventually Vietnam. “It’s probably something that will be a long-term benefit, if this does go through,” said Rajiv Biswas, senior regional economist with IHS Markit, a London-based analysis firm. “It creates a better environment for foreign multinationals to hire, because from the perspective of foreign multinationals, it’s very restrictive labor laws there,” Biswas said. “They’re worried about hiring because it’s very hard to reduce the workforce later on.” Foreign investors will consider the law a “step in the right” direction for making Indonesia friendlier, forecast Song Seng Wun, an economist in the private banking unit of Malaysian bank CIMB.“This Omnibus Bill is part of something that Jokowi [was] looking to see how they can help sort of improve the investment landscape to make it a little bit more attractive in Indonesia, just to make sure Indonesia doesn’t get pushed down the investible list of countries,” Song said, using the Indonesian president’s nickname. But the law sparked staunch opposition. Some governors have asked Widodo to revoke the law and other people protested in the streets over three days, sometimes violently, Borsuk’s study says. The law effectively eliminates the power of labor unions, said Paramita Supamijoto, an international relations lecturer at Bina Nusantara University in greater Jakarta. The October bill would roll back legal support for fair wages, safe working conditions and excessive overtime, U.S.-headquartered human rights advocacy group Amnesty International said in a statement in August. It called the bill’s preparation process “opaque.” Severance pay for laid-off workers will also slip, Damuri said. For workers, the law means that “whatever you do, your life will be determined by your employers,” Supamijoto said.But the law could stoke enough investment to stop people from migrating overseas in search of work, she said. “Under our current president’s administration, they prefer to invite the investors rather than sending workers abroad, so it’s better to invite you to come here to spend money, to invest your money, then to help us to build the infrastructure,” she said.
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Myanmar Military Investigating Death of 2 Boys Allegedly Used as Minesweepers
Myanmar’s military said it is investigating the recent deaths of two Muslim boys and the injury of another while the children allegedly were being used as human minesweepers when crossfire erupted between the military and the Arakan Army, an armed group seeking independence.Army Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the Tatmadaw, as the Burmese army is called, said, “We are launching an investigation about that incident, in case, if there are any discrepancies or weaknesses in handling the said case.” Zaw Min Tun said the Tatmadaw brought the bodies of two boys to their village, Pyin-shay, a Muslim area, and took the injured child to a military hospital for treatment. Myanmar is Buddhist majority.The identities of the boys have not been released.Rohingya refugee children fly kites in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia on Oct. 11, 2020.According to the U.N. Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar, October 5, “two boys were killed in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, in crossfire between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. This occurred after the children, as part of a group of 15 local farmers, were alleged to all have been forced to walk in front of a Tatmadaw unit to ensure the path toward a military camp was clear of landmines and to protect the soldiers from potential enemy fire.“On the way, fighting broke out between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, after which the two boys were found dead with gunshot wounds,” the taskforce stated.“We call for a full, transparent, and expedited investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable,” the CTFMR also stated. A Pyin-shay village resident who did not want his name used told VOA’s Burmese service that the Tatmadaw had forced some 15 villagers to work as porters as the military advanced.“AA did not shoot at them,” the villager said.“They died in crossfire between the AA and military. The military did not release them. They ran for their lives. We brought back two bodies to the village and buried them,” he said.Rakhine State, in Myanmar’s far west, borders Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The ethnic Rakhines are waging a Rohingya refugee children play football at Thankhali refugee camp, in Ukhia on Oct. 6, 2020.The agencies also voiced “deep alarm” over an alarming increase in reports of killings and injuries of children in Myanmar.More than 100 children were killed or maimed in conflict during the first three months of 2020, amounting to more than half of the total number in 2019, and significantly surpassing the number of child casualties in 2018, according to the U.N.The most recent incident occurred within 12 months of the delisting of the Tatmadaw for underage recruitment in the U.N. Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) of 2020, agencies noted.
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New Storm Bears Down on Flood-Damaged Central Vietnam
The third typhoon in a month is bearing down on Central Vietnam, where residents are still reeling from historic flooding and landslides that have claimed 130 lives and affected more than 5 million people.Another 20 people are still missing in the wake of two storms that ravaged the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh.Typhoon Linfa and Typhoon Nangka both hit in the first two weeks of October. Now Typhoon Molave is bearing down and expected to hit the same region within hours.A monk hands out food supplies to locals in a pagoda in Quang Tri.Local authorities have asked residents in Da Nang and Hue to stay indoors through Tuesday night for their own safety, and are preparing to potentially evacuate nearly 1.3 million people from the most vulnerable areas.The storm’s eye was forecast to be directly over Da Nang’s coastline by 10 am Thursday with winds reaching up to 150 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 167-183 kilometers per hour.Residents in Da Nang have been taking preventive measures by sandbagging the entrances to their homes and businesses. Meanwhile, local workers have been frantically lopping treetops in the My Khe beach neighborhood.Residents have been told to expect power cuts and more potential flooding and landslides over the coming days.Last week, 22 soldiers went missing in a landslide at a military camp in Quang Tri and as of now 14 bodies have been found. This is likely to be the greatest loss of life to strike Vietnam’s military since the end of its civil war.Quang Tri was a significant battlefront in the Vietnam War and underground military tunnels as well as tanks from the war are still on display today.A woman pushes a child on a bicycle through a flooded street in Quang Tri.Each year the central coastal provinces of Vietnam are prone to massive storms; however, the severity of this year’s flooding is the worst the country has seen in over two decades.The heavier than usual downpours this year are being attributed to a “La Nina” climate pattern, which as many as five or six more tropical depressions could reach Vietnam’s 2,000-mile coastline this year.“The flooding in Quang Tri is worse than the floods in 1999, but we are Vietnamese and we are strong,” said Ms Anh, a local resident who is assisting with the relief effort. “The government is of course helping us and other locally-run charities are helping as well.”Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said last week that the government will be provide the equivalent of about $21.5 million to five of the hardest hit provinces.The wetlands of Quang Tri are home to many farmers who mainly grow rice and raise livestock, much of which has been lost in the floods.“We will collect the money and other items to provide for the local people… these days, the local people have nothing to eat, nothing to drink… so we will try to provide them with something to eat and drink,” said a local female volunteer helping out at a Buddhist pagoda in Quang Tri.A local man wearing a raincoat stands near a home that was recently flooded in Quang Tri.The monks and other members of the pagoda have been providing food and assistance for 200 households in a flood-affected village in Quang Tri. The damage to rice paddies, roads, homes, schools, shops and other businesses is clearly visible throughout the coastal areas of the province.Almost every remaining house in the wetland areas shows a distinct muddy line just a few meters from the ceiling, showing how high the water levels rose. Other houses were completely submerged.Lacking electricity and pumps, residents have been laboriously sweeping out the muddy water with brooms and wheelbarrows. Schools have been shut for over two weeks and many facilities, including computers, playground equipment, textbooks and toys have been destroyed.Locals walking through a flooded road in Quang Tri.Since the beginning of October, dramatic images and videos carried in the local media have shown distressed people searching for their missing loved ones, fisherman caught at sea being rescued by emergency workers in helicopters, and locals climbing onto their roofs as they wait to be rescued.The United States Agency for International Development gifted the Vietnam Red Cross Society $100,000 on Saturday, and another $100,000 has been promised by the U.N. Development Program and Save the Children Vietnam. The Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Robyn Mudie, announced Friday that Australia will be providing the equivalent of $71,000 in relief funds as well.Pacific Links Foundation and Blue Dragon are two prominent organizations that are working on the ground in the flood zones helping families at risk by donating aid and raising money.
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Embattled Malaysian PM Receives Support From Former Ruling Party
Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has received crucial support from a key ally in his attempt to keep his fragile governing coalition together.
The United Malays National Organization issued a statement Monday offering its support for the prime minister as the country faces a surge of new coronavirus cases.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin appeared to be on the brink of being forced from power a day earlier after King Al-Sultan Abdullah rejected his request to declare a state of emergency due to the pandemic. Had the king approved Muhyiddin’s request, the state of emergency would have suspended parliament before the prime minister is due to present a budget in early November.
Failure to pass the budget would be the equivalent of a no-confidence vote against Muhyiddin and put pressure on him to call for a general election.
Muhyiddin has been prime minister since February, when he was chosen by King Abdullah after then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad unexpectedly resigned and his government collapsed. His slim alliance includes UMNO, which had ruled Malaysia for more than six decades since it gained independence from Britain in 1957.
UMNO leaders have been angered over Muhyiddin’s failure to place its members in senior leadership positions.
Veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim met with the king last month and said he gave the monarch the names of 120 members of the 222-seat parliament who are ready to defect from the prime minister’s coalition. Anwar led a coalition that ousted scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak and the ruling UMNO-led coalition from power in a historic election in 2018.
But Najib, who remains in parliament despite a conviction on corruption charges, has called on UMNO to join forces with Anwar’s coalition.
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Long COVID-19 Lockdown Ends In Australia’s Second Most Populous City
One of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns is coming to an end in the Australian city of Melbourne. Beginning Tuesday, all shops, cafes and restaurants can re-open, and strict-stay-at home orders will be lifted. The lockdown was imposed in early July in response to a deadly second wave of infections. Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, has for a second consecutive day recorded no new coronavirus infections or fatalities. A sustained fall in daily cases has allowed the authorities to end one of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns in the city of Melbourne. Starting on Tuesday, the retail and hospitality industries can reopen, although conditions still apply. Face coverings remain mandatory, and cafes and restaurants can serve a maximum of 20 people inside and 50 people outdoors. Weddings can now proceed with up to 10 guests and funerals with 20 mourners. Strict stay-at-home orders imposed on Melbourne’s five million residents will end. Victoria premier Daniel Andrews says now is the time to bring the lockdown to an end.“We are able to say that now is the time to open up. This belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team to bring this second wave to an end. But it is not over. This virus is not going away. It is going to continue to be a feature of our lives every day until a vaccine turns up. These are big steps,” Andrews said.Men queue for a haircut outside a barber shop in Melbourne on October 19, 2020, as some of the city’s three-month-old stay-at-home restrictions due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak were further eased on falling infection rates.Victoria state has been at the center of Australia’s COVID-19 crisis. It has had the majority of infections and almost 90 per cent of the nation’s virus fatalities. The lockdown has not been universally popular. Two people have been charged over an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne last week, including a woman who allegedly kicked a police horse. The state government has been accused of being too cautious while jobs were lost and there are concerns that the mental health consequences will be dire. Victoria’s conservative opposition leader is Michael O’Brien. “There will be scars on the psyche of this state that will not heal. There are many, many people whose lives have changed permanently because of what they have had to endure over the last few months,” O’Brien said.More than 27,500 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in Australia, and 905 people have died. The federal government has said there have been four critical parts to the nation’s response to the pandemic: the closure of its international borders to foreign travelers, widespread testing, reliable contact tracing and community respect for hygiene and physical distancing protocols. Victoria’s state government has indicated it plans to ease other restrictions in early November that are likely to include reopening gyms and allowing residents to travel more than 25 kilometers from home. As Melbourne’s lockdown comes to an end, there is immense relief and celebration among residents, or as local media have put it, there have been “cheers, tears and beers.”
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Pentagon: State Department OKs Potential Arms Sales to Taiwan
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of 100 Boeing-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems to Taiwan in a deal that has a potential value of up to $2.37 billion, the Pentagon said Monday. The move comes days after the State Department approved the potential sale of three other weapons systems to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery that could have a total value of $1.8 billion which prompted a sanctions threat from China. Earlier Monday in Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told reporters China will impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, Raytheon and other U.S. companies it says are involved in Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan. The U.S. moves come as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on China in the run-up to the November 3 presidential election and concerns rise about Beijing’s intentions toward Taiwan. Beijing sees Taiwan as a renegade province that it has vowed to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.
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Vietnam Ready To Evacuate 1.3 Million People As Typhoon Approaches
Vietnam is preparing to evacuate nearly 1.3 million people as it braces for the impact of typhoon Molave, which lashed the Philippines overnight causing flooding, landslides and leaving at least a dozen fishermen missing on Monday.
Typhoon Molave, with wind speeds of 125 kilometer (77 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph, left the main Philippine island of Luzon earlier on Monday, with heavy rain causing seven landslides and floods in 11 areas, the disaster agency said.
There were no reports of casualties, but 12 fishermen at sea failed to return to Catanduanes province off the country’s eastern coast.
Molave, the 17th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, is forecast to make landfall in central Vietnam on Wednesday, with wind speeds of up to 135 kph.
It will be the fourth storm to hit Vietnam in a tumultuous month during which floods and landslides have killed 130 people and left 20 missing in the central region.
Vietnam is prone to destructive storms and flooding due to its long coastline.
“This is a very strong typhoon that will impact a large area,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in an urgent warning to provinces and cities in Molave’s path to prepare.
Phuc compared Molave to typhoon Damrey, which killed more than 100 people in central Vietnam in 2017. He ordered boats ashore and told the security forces to get ready.
“Troops must deploy full force to support people, including mobilizing helicopters, tanks and other means of transportation if needed,” Phuc said in a statement.
About 11.8 million people in Vietnam’s costal provinces are exposed to the threat of intense flooding, with 35% of settlements located on crowded and eroding coastlines, a World Bank report said last week.
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With US Help, Cambodia Wants to be Landmine-free by 2025
Cambodia is deploying 2,000 soldiers to train as deminers after Western nations, led by the United States, bolstered their efforts to rid the country of landmines and other unexploded ordnance by 2025.Camera: David Potter, Luke Hunt, Ny Chhan
Producer: Luke Hunt
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Australian Anguish at Passenger Strip Searches in Qatar
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports Australia has formally complained about what it is calling the “offensive and grossly inappropriate” treatment of passengers at Doha airport in Qatar. The report says thirteen Australian women were taken off a flight to Sydney after a newborn baby was found in an airport bathroom and the travelers were forced to have invasive internal examinations.Airport authorities say when a premature baby was discovered in a bathroom at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, on October 2, all female passengers onboard a flight preparing to fly to Sydney were taken off the aircraft. The group included 13 Australian women. They were taken to two ambulances waiting outside the airport and subjected to strip searches. Some of the women have told local media they were terrified and were not told why the examinations were being carried out. The Australian Federal Police have been informed, although it is unclear what powers investigators might have over an incident that occurred in the Middle East. Australian foreign minister Marise Payne says Australia has formally complained to Qatar. “We also understand the matter has been reported to the Australian Federal Police. This is a grossly, grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events. It is not something I have ever heard of occurring in my life in any context. We have made our views very clear to the Qatari authorities on this matter,” Payne said.Media reports have said the Australian women could take legal action against authorities in Qatar. Australian Labor opposition leader Anthony Albanese says their treatment has been unbelievable. “Reports of this treatment are really disturbing. The idea that women could be subject to these very intrusive searches is in my view an absolute disgrace,” Albanese said.In a statement, airport officials in Doha said the baby was “safe” and being cared for in Qatar.They added that medical staff had expressed concern to them “about the health and welfare of a mother who had just given birth and requested she be located prior to departing.” Australian authorities have said they are expecting a report on the incident from the Qatari Government later this week.
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European Markets Nosedive Monday as Global Coronavirus Cases Rise
European markets were falling Monday as investors appeared increasingly uncertain about the outlook of the global economy due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases across Europe and the United States. Britain’s benchmark FTSE index was down 0.2% at the midway point of the trading day. The CAC-40 index in France lost 0.4%, and Germany’s DAX index plunged 2.2%. Markets in the Asia-Pacific rim ended mostly lower earlier Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index finished its trading session down 22 points, but unchanged percentage-wise.A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 and other Asian indexes at a securities firm in Tokyo, Oct. 26, 2020.The S&P/ASX index in Australia lost 0.1%. Shanghai’s Composite index was 0.8% lower. South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped 0.7%, while in South Asia, Mumbai’s Sensex plunged 1.3%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.5%, and in Taiwan, the TSEC index finished up 10 points, but was unchanged percentage-wise. In commodities trading, gold was selling at $1,906.20, up one point. U.S. crude oil was selling at $39.10 per barrel, down 1.8%, and Brent crude was selling at $41.05 per barrel, down 1.7%. All three major U.S. indices were trending negatively in futures trading as investors awaited the opening bell on Wall Street.
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Typhoon Displaces Thousands, Floods Villages in Philippines
A fast-moving typhoon forced thousands of villagers to flee to safety in provinces south of the Philippine capital Monday, flooding rural villages and ripping off roofs, officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Typhoon Molave, but authorities reported at least one person was missing and seven others were rescued after their yacht sank off Batangas province south of Manila. The typhoon has sustained winds of 125 kilometers (77 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 miles) per hour and was blowing westward at 25 kph (15 mph). Molave is expected to start blowing out of the country into the South China Sea on Monday, government forecasters said. At least 25,000 villagers were displaced with about 20,000 taking shelter in schools and government buildings which were turned into evacuation centers, according to the Office of Civil Defense. “Villagers are now asking to be rescued because of the sudden wind which blew away roofs,” Humerlito Dolor, governor of Oriental Mindoro province, told DZMM radio. Dolor said pounding rains overnight swamped farming villages in his province then fierce winds toppled trees and power posts early on Monday, knocking off power. Authorities were clearing roads of fallen trees and debris in some towns after the typhoon passed, he said. More than 1,800 cargo truck drivers, workers and passengers were stranded in ports after the coast guard barred ships and ferry boats from venturing into rough seas. About 20 typhoons and storms annually batter the Philippines, and the Southeast Asian archipelago is seismically active, with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
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Thai Parliament Opens Special Session Over Protest Tensions
Thailand’s Parliament began a special session Monday that was called to address tensions as pro-democracy protests draw students and other demonstrators into the streets almost daily demanding the prime minister’s resignation. As Speaker of the House Chuan Leekpai began the session, only 450 of the total of 731 members of both houses had signed in for the meeting. The demonstrations by student-led groups in the Bangkok and other cities have three main demands: that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha step down, the constitution be amended to make it more democratic and reforms be made to the monarchy to make it more accountable. Public criticism of the monarchy is unprecedented in a country where the royal institution has been considered sacrosanct, and royalists have denounced the protesters for raising the issue. “The only way to a lasting solution for all sides that is fair for those on the streets as well as for the many millions who choose not to go on the streets is to discuss and resolve these differences through the parliamentary process,” Prayuth said last week.Opposition leader from Pheu Thai Party, Sompong Amornwat delivers a speech during a special session at the parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Oct. 26, 2020.The non-voting session of Parliament is expected to last two days. The protesters have little confidence in the parliamentary path, declaring the government’s efforts insincere. They noted the points of discussion submitted by Prayuth’s government for debate dealt not with the protesters’ concerns but were thinly disguised criticisms of the protests themselves. They concern instead the risk of the coronavirus spreading at rallies, the alleged interference with a royal motorcade by a small crowd earlier this month, and illegal gatherings and the destruction of images of the royal family. The protesters allege Prayuth, who led a coup in 2014 as the army chief, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s election because laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party. The protesters also say the constitution, written and enacted under military rule, is undemocratic. Parliament in September was scheduled to vote on six proposed constitutional amendments but instead set up a committee to further consider such proposals, and then recessed. Constitutional changes require a joint vote of the House and the Senate, but the proposals lack support in the Senate, whose members are not elected and are generally very conservative and hostile to the protesters. Instead of confronting lawmakers and counter-protesters on Monday, the pro-democracy protest organizers have called for an afternoon march to the German Embassy, apparently to bring attention to the time King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends in Germany. Germany’s foreign minister, questioned in Parliament by a member of the Green Party, recently expressed concern over any political activities the king might be conducting on the country’s soil. Protesters’ criticism of the royal institution has roiled conservative Thais. Self-proclaimed “defenders of the monarchy” mobilized last week online and in rallies in several cities, in many cases led by local civil servants. A small group of royalist demonstrators were outside Parliament on Monday morning, saying they were there to let lawmakers know of their opposition to any changes in the status of the monarchy.
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Australia Wants Citizens Stranded Overseas by COVID-19 Restrictions Home by Christmas
Australia is to allow more of its citizens stranded overseas by COVID-19 restrictions to return home. A weekly quota imposed because of capacity constraints in the mandatory hotel quarantine system is to be raised by almost 300 people to 6,290.Foreign travelers were banned from Australia to curb the spread of COVID-19 in March, but citizens and permanent residents have been allowed to come home. When they do, they face a mandatory 14-day stay in hotel quarantine but there are strict limits on the number of repatriated travelers permitted to return each week. The current weekly quota is 6,000 people, and that will soon be increased to 6,290. It is estimated there are about 25,000 Australians stranded overseas. The federal government wants them home by Christmas and is looking with state and territory authorities at other quarantine measures beyond the use of hotels. Prime minister Scott Morrison.“Whether that is quarantining in home, on farm, in camp at a mining camp, on campus — any of these options we will be looking at and working together with states and territories to both identify and trial some of these options,” said Morrison. The government of the state of Victoria has delayed plans to ease some of the world’s longest lockdown restrictions in the city of Melbourne. An announcement on the relaxation of disease-control measures for shops and restaurants, as well as strict stay-at-home orders for the city’s 5 million residents, had been expected Sunday because of a sustained fall in daily infections. Officials do not know, though, whether a recently discovered cluster of coronavirus cases in Melbourne is contained. Victoria premier Daniel Andrews believes a prudent approach is needed.“This is not anything other than a cautious pause to wait to get that important information, to get the results of those tests just to rule out whether there is more virus there than we think,” said Andrews.Melbourne went into a second COVID-19 lockdown in early July. Business groups have said that they are “shattered” by the delay in reopening the retail, fitness, tourism and hospitality industries. Many restrictions have been lifted or partially relaxed in other parts of Australia as life begins to resemble what it was before the pandemic, but officials warn against community apathy or complacency.Australia has recorded 27,500 virus infections. More than 900 people have died.
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Protests Persist in Thailand Ahead of Special Parliamentary Session
Thousands of protesters gathered in Bangkok’s central shopping district Sunday after the prime minister ignored a “deadline” from the movement to resign. Last week, largely student-led protests demanded that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha, who seized power in a 2014 coup, resign by Saturday evening. As the deadline came and went, protesters returned to the Ratchaprasong intersection to demand his ouster. Renewed protests come ahead of a special parliamentary session Monday, which is aimed at easing political tensions amid the ongoing protests.Thai Protest Leader: ‘Our Demands Are Supremely Clear’Parliament to hold special session after protesters call for removal of prime minister, a new constitution and reform of monarchyPrayuth has described the special session as a step toward finding a “middle-of-the-road path. In addition to changes to the constitution, demonstrators are seeking to reduce the influence of the Thai monarchy. The institution maintains a divine-like status among Thailand’s elite, and is protected by strict “lese majeste” laws that allow for imprisonment of anyone convicted of insulting the monarchy.
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India Gives Submarine to Myanmar Amid Growing Chinese Footprint in Indian Ocean Countries
India has given a submarine to Myanmar as part of a military outreach to its eastern neighbor that strategic analysts say is driven by New Delhi’s bid to counter China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia.“Cooperation in the maritime domain is a part of our diverse and enhanced engagement with Myanmar,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said while announcing earlier this month that India is giving its neighbor its first submarine — a 3,000-ton diesel-electric, Kilo class Russian-built submarine that has been refitted.Renamed UMS Minye Theinkhathu, a historical hero in Myanmar, the attack submarine was showcased in a naval exercise conducted by the Myanmar navy in mid-October. It can operate at a depth of up to 300 meters.The submarine, the first supplied by India to any country, is part of an effort by New Delhi to step up its defense engagement with Myanmar as it tries to contain China’s looming presence in a country that is a gateway to the Bay of Bengal, a strategic waterway located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.India and Myanmar share a 725-kilometer maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. India’s decision to give an underwater vessel to its eastern neighbor comes four years after Bangladesh, which shares a border with both India and Myanmar, acquired two submarines from China. Beijing is also helping Bangladesh build a submarine base, funding the development of its Chittagong port and developing a deep-sea port in Kyaukpyu in Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal.Analysts say that for New Delhi these projects represent yet another bid by China to expand its naval presence in countries that ring India, prompting it to strengthen its own partnerships in the region.“Myanmar wants to reduce its military and economic dependence on Beijing, but ok? in order to do that they have pointed out that they need options,” according to Prakash Jha, a professor of defense and security studies at India’s O.P. Jindal Global University.“We have given them defense equipment earlier, such as naval surveillance aircraft and communication equipment which was nonlethal in nature. But recently they have been seeking more advanced equipment. So, giving a submarine is part of India’s decision to engage Myanmar much more cohesively, to build goodwill,” he said.Myanmar’s acquisition of a submarine comes amid a spree in recent years by small Asian countries, from Bangladesh to Vietnam, to acquire underwater capability as they seek to modernize their navies — viewed as an effort by the export-dependent countries to ensure open sea lanes.FILE – A Myanmar navy vessel takes part in a celebration to mark the navy’s 72nd anniversary in Yangon, Dec. 24, 2019.“Tensions in recent years have been rising along maritime borders,” Jha said. “And many of the small countries now believe that submarines represent a technological upgrade for their navies and give them some biting power,” he said.The website of Myanmar’s military’s commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, says the submarine will enhance the state’s defense prowess.”To be a more modernized navy, we must be facilitated with submarines,” the website said.India’s move, according to ministry spokesman Srivastava, was in accordance with its vision “to build capacities and self-reliance in all our neighboring countries.” India’s army chief, Manoj Mukund Naravane, and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Myanmar this month.“Seventy to 80% of the world’s trade passes through the Indian Ocean and the Chinese have invested in countries like Myanmar, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, that are all gateways to the Indian Ocean,” defense analyst Rahul Bedi said.“India’s giving a submarine to Myanmar is a small cog in the much, much bigger wheel of acquiring a dominant position in these crucial waters,” he said.
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Cambodia Expects to be Landmine-Free Within 5 Years
The Cambodian government will deploy 2,000 soldiers to train as deminers after Western nations, led by the United States, bolstered efforts to rid the country of landmines and other unexploded ordnance by 2025.Children, curious or just scavenging for scrap metal, are often among the victims but it’s a problem that afflicts the entire country and an economy in need of productive land for agriculture. The economy has also been punished by the withdrawal of trade preferences by the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ruined a once-thriving tourism sector and halted exports from the lucrative garment and textiles industry. Observers said that has prompted the Cambodian government to shift its economic focus to agriculture, particularly rice cultivation. A 30-year civil war left the country among the most heavily mined nations on earth, with an estimated 4 million to 6 million land mines and other munitions littered across the landscape. In 1996 Cambodia recorded 4,320 people killed or wounded by landmines and other unexploded ordnance, according to the United Nations Development Program. That figure fell to just 77 casualties last year, with 55 victims reported for the first nine months of this year amid a concerted international effort to rid the countryside of the scourge. Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, said he now needs about $377 million to finish the job. According to Ly Thuch, “5.7 million people have access to safe land thanks to the mine-clearing operation in this country and the United States by far is one of the largest donors.” “UXOs still remain a threat for Cambodian people and an obstruction to the country’s development,” he said. An original 2010 deadline for clearing all landmines and other unexploded ordnance was revised to 2020 amid a low-level border conflict with Thailand around the ancient temples at Preah Vihear. Other issues causing delays include geography and “sloping,” where clearance work must be done on by deminers on their hands and knees, crawling up steep slopes and wearing full protective gear. Ly Thuch said annual floods and the current monsoon season, with the heaviest rainfall in a decade, were also creating problems for deminers. “Landmines might be moved by strong flood undercurrents or are uncovered by landslides to prevent people from entering or passing through,” he said, urging people to mark and report sighted landmines and other unexploded ordnance. To date, just under half of the mined land, or 1,893 square kilometers, has been cleared but another 1,970 square kilometers remains contaminated. Tong Try, a demining adviser with the UNDP, said an extra 2,000 deminers would enable the clearance of an extra 85 square kilometers a year. He said they would be deployed mainly along the northwest Cambodian-Thai border, where the Khmer Rouge retreated following the 1979 Vietnamese incursion. That military intervention ended Pol Pot’s reign of terror, but a civil war persisted, and the frontier was heavily mined until the war ended in 1998. “If we have the 2,000 deminers from the Royal Cambodian Army to support the humanitarian demining, we will ask them to clear mostly the landmines along the Cambodia-Thai border,” Tong Try said. The broader strategy includes community awareness programs, victim support, mine education and new technologies. FILE – Magawa, a mine-sniffing rat, is pictured in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in this undated handout picture provided to Reuters on Sept. 25, 2020. (PDSA UK/Handout via Reuters)The training of Magawa, a large African pouched rat, in detecting the scent of chemicals used in explosives and his ability to point them out to handlers has proved more effective than dogs. U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Patrick Murphy said the U.S. has spent about $160 million clearing Cambodia of landmines and unexploded ordnance over the last 20 years. “Whether we’re working in agriculture, public health, education, environment, law enforcement, food security and demining, we have excellent partners here and we’re making a lot of progress in helping Cambodia become more prosperous, and stable and hopefully more democratic as well,” he said.Australia has also been a major contributor, spending $100 million on mine-clearing over the last two decades, and recently announced a further $20 million. Australian ambassador Pablo Kang recently said the 2025 deadline was ambitious but achievable. “There’s a humanitarian aspect, given Cambodia’s very tragic history and just the sheer number of mines and UXOs [unexploded ordnances] that there are around the country, but also increasingly the economic benefits of decontaminating land and then that being freed up for productive agriculture purposes,” he said. Millions of dollars have also been promised to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority for the next five years with Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, South Korea and Japan chipping in. David Potter and Ny Chann contributed to this report.
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Lee Kun-Hee, Force Behind Samsung’s Rise, Dies at 78
Lee Kun-hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics, has died. He was 78.A Samsung statement said Lee died Sunday with his family members, including his son and de facto company chief Lee Jae-yong, by his side.Lee Kun-hee had been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack, and the younger Lee has run Samsung, the biggest company in South Korea.“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him,” the Samsung statement said. “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.”Lee Kun-hee inherited control from his father and during his nearly 30 years of leadership, Samsung Electronics Co. became a global brand and the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips. Samsung sells Galaxy phones while also making the screens and microchips that power its rivals, Apple’s iPhones and Google Android phones.Samsung helped make the nation’s economy, Asia’s fourth largest. Its businesses encompass shipbuilding, life insurance, construction, hotels, amusement park operation and more. Samsung Electronics alone accounts for 20% of the market capital on South Korea’s main stock market.Lee leaves behind immense wealth, with Forbes estimating his fortune at $16 billion as of January 2017.His death comes during a complex time for Samsung.A stern, terse leaderWhen he was hospitalized, Samsung’s once-lucrative mobile business faced threats from upstart makers in China and other emerging markets. Pressure was high to innovate its traditionally strong hardware business, to reform a stifling hierarchical culture and to improve its corporate governance and transparency.Samsung was ensnared in the 2016-17 corruption scandal that led to then-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment and imprisonment. Its executives, including the younger Lee, were investigated by prosecutors who believed Samsung executives bribed Park to secure the government’s backing for a smooth leadership transition from father to son.In a previous scandal, Lee Kun-hee was convicted in 2008 for illegal share dealings, tax evasion and bribery designed to pass his wealth and corporate control to his three children.The late Lee was a stern, terse leader who focused on big-picture strategies, leaving details and daily management to executives.His near-absolute authority allowed the company to make bold decisions in the fast-changing technology industry, such as shelling out billions to build new production lines for memory chips and display panels even as the 2008 global financial crisis unfolded.Those risky moves fueled Samsung’s rise.Lee was born Jan. 9, 1942, in the southeastern city of Daegu during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. His father Lee Byung-chull had founded an export business there in 1938 and following the 1950-53 Korean War, he rebuilt the company into an electronics and home appliance manufacturer and the country’s first major trading company.Lee Byung-chull was often called one of the fathers of modern industrial South Korea. Lee Kun-hee was the third son and his inheritance of his father’s businesses bucked the tradition of family wealth going to the eldest. One of Lee Kun-hee’s brothers sued for a bigger part of Samsung but lost the case.When Lee Kun-hee inherited control from his father in 1987, Samsung was relying on Japanese technology to produce TVs and was making its first steps into exporting microwaves and refrigerators.The company was expanding its semiconductor factories after entering the business in 1974 by acquiring a near-bankrupt firm.‘Let’s change everything’A decisive moment came in 1993. Lee Kun-hee made sweeping changes to Samsung after a two-month trip abroad convinced him the company needed to improve the quality of its products.In a speech to Samsung executives, he famously urged, “Let’s change everything except our wives and children.”Not all his moves succeeded.A notable failure was the group’s expansion into the auto industry in the 1990s, in part driven by Lee Kun-hee’s passion for luxury cars. Samsung later sold near-bankrupt Samsung Motor to Renault. The company also was frequently criticized for disrespecting labor rights. Cancer cases among workers at its semiconductor factories were ignored for years.In 2020, Lee Jae-yong declared heredity transfers at Samsung would end, promising the management rights he inherited wouldn’t pass to his children. He also said Samsung would stop suppressing employee attempts to organize unions, although labor activists questioned his sincerity.South Koreans are both proud of Samsung’s global success and concerned the company and Lee family are above the law and influence over almost every corner of society.Critics particularly note how Lee Kun-hee’s only son gained immense wealth through unlisted shares of Samsung firms that later went public.In 2007, a former company lawyer accused Samsung of wrongdoing in a book that became a best seller in South Korea. Lee Kun-hee was subsequently indicted on tax evasion and other charges.Lee resigned as chairman of Samsung Electronics and was convicted and sentenced to a suspended three-year prison term. He received a presidential pardon in 2009 and returned to Samsung’s management in 2010.
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Thai Protests Inspire Rare Online Government Criticism in Neighboring Laos
Days of demonstrations in Thailand, where protesters are calling for regime change, have inspired a rare outpouring of frustration with the government by netizens in neighboring Laos, where criticism of the one-party communist state is strictly forbidden and punishable with hefty prison terms.Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday ended an emergency decree banning public gatherings of more than five people after demonstrators defied the order and held daily protests in the streets for more than a week, calling for a new constitution and limits to King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s power.Prayut, the leader of the country’s 2014 coup who has also faced calls to step down, said a day earlier during a prerecorded televised speech that he was taking steps to “deescalate” tensions and called on protesters to air their grievances through the country’s parliament. Activists have dismissed the prime minister’s efforts at reconciliation and given him a three-day deadline to resign.Lao citizens monitoring Thai social media have expressed solidarity with the protesters in Bangkok and on Oct. 20 launched the hashtag campaign “if Lao politics was good” on Twitter, taking the rare step of pointing out misgovernance in their own country, where those who post messages complaining about the state’s failure to address graft, poverty, and other social problems are routinely locked up.“In Laos our government [is] trying to blame us that we have someone … call for democracy too,” one user named “emergen” tweeted in English. “If Lao politics is good, why we need [to do] this? Do not underestimate the wisdom of Lao youth, we [know] everything, but we can’t say it out [loud].”“Protests in Thailand has sparked a lot of young gen in Laos to voice their opinion on this tag #ຖ້າການເມືອງລາວດີ (if Lao politics was good) and the gov. kindly reminded us that we can’t do that or we’ll end up in jail, or worse; death sentence,” another user named “zero” tweeted.“(if Lao Politics was good) we’d have freedom of speech and wouldn’t have to hide behind [an] anonymous online profile,” the user noted in another tweet.User “GrumpyG” tweeted that netizens posting under the hashtag are “fighting for real democracy in Laos.”“We’re fighting for our new generation’s future and I truly hope that the Government will listen to our voices.”Prominent Thai student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal tweeted using the hashtag, saying he was happy to see that Laotians had been inspired to “criticize the social problems and undemocratic regime of their country after seeing Thai protests.”By Friday, hundreds of thousands of tweets had been posted under “if Lao politics was good,” including rants about the misuse of taxes, high rates of illiteracy because of underfunded schools while the political elite send their children abroad to study, devastation of the country’s natural resources, and frustration over the yawning wealth gap.Response to campaignThe hashtag campaign drew detractors, including Facebook user “Lao patriotism,” who accused the movement of being made up of Twitter users who “almost [all] are abroad” and comprised of an “anti-government group trying to create unrest.”Facebook user Vongvichit Poti Lars responded to the hashtag by cautioning against comparing Laos with Thailand.“Laos has stabilized political security while Lao people have strong unity without divisiveness. Don’t mess up Lao politics,” the user wrote.However, Laotians inside Laos welcomed the movement in comments they made to RFA’s Lao Service, saying the public should have the right to express their concerns, even if it doesn’t lead to regime change.“The Thai protest provides us lessons on democracy and freedom of speech that civilized nations enjoy,” said one resident of Laos, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “Lao people should be able to participate in decisions of national development.”Another citizen, who also declined to be named, said Laotians had seen from Thailand that “leaders suppress their people in many forms,” which had prompted feelings of sympathy in Laos.“Laos must slowly change and open to the world because it cannot be against the globalization and isolate itself,” he said.The hashtag campaign even elicited an expression of support from an official with the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, who acknowledged that anyone in Laos who dares to express liberal opinions in a public forum will be accused of defaming the government, often leading to their arrest or enforced disappearance.“I agree with the hashtag messages because they are true,” he said.“But in Laos, only a single party dictates the direction of the country, so I find it hard to believe students would protest here like in Thailand … Laos has absolutely no democracy. If Laos had democracy, it would not be what it is today.”Vanida S. Thephsouvanh, chairwoman of Paris-based Lao Movement for Human Rights, told RFA that as protests continue in Thailand, Lao democrats inside the country, as well as state officials, are watching to see how things will play out.“It will surely give them things to think about, act on, and react to,” she said. “I suppose that both the people and the leaders in Laos are watching to see what will happen before doing or saying anything.”Lao netizensAccording to statistics compiled by www.laoconnection.com, there were more than 3 million social media users in Laos in early 2020, accounting for around 40% of the population.In a series of RFA interviews in August for the 70th Lao Media and Publication Day, Lao citizens said they shunned Lao state media to get their news on YouTube, Facebook and television from next-door Thailand, with one resident of the capital saying state media were “slow and not up to date.”Ruled by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party since 1975, Laos’ government brooks no opposition in any form and locks up citizens who post popular gripes and mild criticism on Facebook about corruption and mismanagement.In 2014, the Lao government issued a decree prohibiting online criticism of the government and the LPRP, setting out stiff penalties for netizens and internet service providers who violate government controls.According to a recent report in the Vientiane Times, persons causing “loss or damage” through social media are subject to a prison sentence of between three months and three years, as well as a fine of between $430 and $2,165, according to Article 62 of the country’s penal code.In November, a 30-year-old woman named Houayheuang Xayabouly was jailed for five years for defaming the country in complaints about the government response to floods in a Facebook Live video. “If Lao politics was good” tweets have also called for her release.Lao activist Sangkhane Phachanthavong, who was detained in late August for writing about government corruption on Facebook, was granted a rare release on bail after more than a month in jail, but still faces charges surrounding alleged links to “an anti-government group of overseas Laotians.”Reporters Without Borders reported this year that Laos was ranked 172nd out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom.Washington-based Freedom House classified Laos as “not free” with a global freedom score of 14 out of 100 in its 2020 Freedom of the World survey. The Southeast Asian country scored 2 out of 40 in political rights, and 12 out of 60 in civil liberties.Reported and translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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Thai Protest Leader: ‘Our Demands Are Supremely Clear’
On Monday, the Thai parliament will open a special session called after protests swelling since August moved Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to declare a weeklong state of emergency in the Bangkok area.Police say they are prepared to handle flare-ups during the session from protesters demanding Prayuth’s resignation and reform of the monarchy. Prayuth has described the special session as a step toward finding a “middle-of-the-road path.”Unlike past anti-government protests in Thailand that saw two political interests battling each other to assume power, the current movement is led by school and college students pushing for systemic changes. Their movement has evolved with a group of loosely aligned leaders who organize online.FILE – Student leader Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree speaks during a Thai anti-government mass protest, on the 47th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising, in Bangkok, Oct. 14, 2020.One of the leaders is Tattep “Ford” Ruangprapaikitseree, whose father drives for Grab, southeast Asia’s Uber, and whose mother died in 2014. Tattep became interested in politics when pro-establishment protesters mounted a massive street campaign in 2013-14 to oust then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a sister of the self-exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006.FILE – Tattep Ruangprakitseree and his partner, Panumas Singprom, sit in a flat in Nonthaburi province, in Thailand, Aug. 22, 2020.The Free Youth Movement pushed protesters to continue after the government attempted to ban demonstrations on October 15, when Prayuth declared a state of emergency.“In this current movement, they gathered at many locations at the same time,” Tattep told VOA Thai on Monday. “The turnouts were big everywhere. That means the number of people who agree with us is growing. People can choose a convenient location to participate.”On Wednesday, a day after Prayuth’s Cabinet announced the special session of parliament would begin on Monday, Prayuth said, “The only way to find a fair solution for the problem — for the people who have taken to the streets and for the tens of millions of people who haven’t, is through a dialogue, to work together through the parliamentary system.”’We have to be patient’“I know that this route may take time and may not be satisfyingly fast enough. But this route will not cost damage to the country,” Prayuth added during the televised announcement. “We have to be patient and bring out maturity in everyone to work on this. We have to be brave about taking a middle-of-the-road path.”Tattep believes negotiations are unnecessary “because our demands are supremely clear. Prayuth must step down. A new constitution must be drafted. The monarchy needs to be reformed. It’s so clear that the government or the parliament can implement it without any further talks. We are not going to compromise. We will not retreat. We will not lower the ceiling.” A movement catchphrase is “push the ceiling,” referring to the demand to reform the monarchy. FILE – A tuk-tuk driver naps as a man walks past in an area usually busy with tourists in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 27, 2020. The pandemic, with its damage to the tourism industry, has hit the Thai economy hard.Further fueling the protests is the implosion of Thailand’s tourist-dependent economy. With global travel severely restricted by the coronavirus pandemic, analysts are predicting the economy could shrink this year, worse than during the 1997 Asian financial crisis when the Thai baht lost half its value. And, many students who are unable to attend classes because of COVID-19 restrictions want tuition discounts.“The parliamentary session may lead to a new constitution, but if Prayuth is still in power and the monarchy isn’t committed to reforms, it won’t be enough to end the movement,” Tattep told VOA Thai.The protesters are pressuring the government for the departure of Prayuth, a former general; a new constitution that will move the balance of power from the military and the elite to the people; and new elections.King lives abroadMany, like Tattep, want to rein in King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The king lives in Germany with access to a personal fortune estimated at $30 billion to $40 billion, making him the world’s richest royal.Thailand’s harsh lèse majesté law, which carries the threat of up to 15 years in prison for criticizing the crown, has been used successfully by authorities to stifle dissent for decades. The protesters now defy it by speaking out against the king’s government.“If you don’t reform the monarchy, the mob will continue, and the pressure remains on,” Tattep said. “Don’t even think about playing games with the people. … It’s like water building up strongly – if the government continues to act like they are a shut levee, I can’t guarantee the levee will not explode.”Although Prayuth has said he is looking for a middle-of-the-road path, Tattep told VOA Thai, “My view is that the movement will not end easily. It will go on for a long time.”
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