Pope Francis Friday called on bishops in Thailand to keep their doors open for priests and to spread the faith as their missionary predecessors did.”Be close to your priests, listen to them and seek to accompany them in every situation, especially when you see that they are discouraged or apathetic, which is the worst of the devil’s temptations. Do so not as judges but as fathers, not as managers who deploy them, but as true elder brothers.”Francis gave a speech to the Asian Bishops Conference at the Shrine of Blessed Nicholas Bunkerd Kithamrung in Sam Phran, 56 kilometers west of capital Bangkok.Huge crowds, including faithful from Vietnam, Cambodia and China welcomed the pope  when he earlier arrived for a meeting with clergy and seminarians at Saint Peter’s Parish in Nakhon Pathom province.   Francis concluded the day’s celebrations with a Mass dedicated to young people at Bangkok’s Cathedral of the Assumption.
       
Francis is only the second pope to visit Thailand. Pope John Paul II, now Saint John Paul II, was the first in 1984. 
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Pope Francis paid tribute Friday to Catholics in Thailand who suffered or were killed for their faith in the past and urged today’s Thais not to consider Christianity a “foreign” religion.The pope was on his last full day of a visit to Thailand, where the dominant culture is closely tied to Buddhism, although the Catholic minority of fewer than 1% were generally treated well in modern times.On Friday, Francis traveled to Wat Roman, a mostly Catholic area on the outskirts of the bustling capital of Bangkok.Pope Francis waves to the crowd following his visit to St. Peter’s Parish church in the Sam Phran district of Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, Nov. 22, 2019.World War II era priestThe pope visited a modern sanctuary built in honor of Nicholas Bunkerd Kitbamrung, a Thai priest who died in 1944. The son of Christian converts from Buddhism, he was arrested for ringing a church bell during a period dominated by an anti-Western government suspicious of foreign influences, such as the French colonial powers in neighboring countries.The priest was sentenced to 15 years in prison and died of tuberculosis in a hospital where he was treated badly and denied proper care because he was Catholic.In a talk to priests and nuns gathered in the church, Francis expressed his gratitude to those he said had offered the “silent martyrdom of fidelity and daily commitment” in the past.In 1940, seven Catholics, including three teenage girls, were killed by Thai police in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom. Pope John Paul II later declared them martyrs.The World War II period and other spells of persecution are considered aberrations and today relations between Buddhists and Catholics are generally very good.During the reign of Thailand’s King Narai 350 years ago, the Vatican formally established its “Mission de Siam.”Although missionaries failed to achieve mass conversions, they were largely tolerated by the Buddhist majority and particularly the royal court.Thai face of CatholicismSince the start of his pontificate in 2013, Francis has preached that the Church should grow by attraction and not by proselytizing, or conversion campaigns.This has provoked criticism from some conservatives who favor an aggressive approach and largely oppose what is known as “inculturation,” or adapting Church teachings to local culture.Francis urged priests and nuns to find more ways to talk about their religion in local terms, saying he had learned “with some pain, that for many people, Christianity is a foreign faith, a religion for foreigners.”He added, “Let us give faith a Thai face and flesh, which involves much more than making translations.”Meeting Thai bishops in the same shrine complex later, Francis once again talked about issues such as human trafficking and exploitation.On Thursday he condemned the exploitation of women and children for prostitution in Thailand, which is notorious for its sex tourism, saying the violence, abuse and enslavement they suffer are evils to be uprooted.Francis was scheduled to meet leaders of other religions and celebrate a Mass in Bangkok’s Assumption Cathedral on Friday afternoon, before leaving on Saturday for Japan.
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The U.S. Congress approved two bills Thursday to support pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong after months of unrest in the semi-autonomous city.The House overwhelmingly passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which requires an annual review of the favorable trade status the United States grants Hong Kong. The measure also authorizes U.S. sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses.The second piece of legislation prohibits the export of certain non-lethal munitions to Hong Kong, including tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.The House passed both bills one day after the Senate approved them, sending them to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law.The White House has indicated Trump will sign the legislation.Passage of the measures is widely viewed as a potential roadblock to a major trade deal between the U.S. and China.”If America does not speak up for human rights in China because of commercial issues, we lose all more authority to speak about human rights anywhere in the world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, told reporters shortly after the bills were approved.Both measures received bipartisan support, despite the divisiveness that currently reigns on Capitol Hill.FILE – Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, atends a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 23, 2019.”We don’t stand here today as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans united in our strong support for the people of Hong Kong,” said Congressman Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”This bill sends a clear message to China that there will be consequences for the ruthless and brutal actions in Hong Kong. We will not sit on the sidelines as the Chinese Communist Party enriches herself and oppresses her own people,” McCaul declared.For the past five months, protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong demanding more democracy and autonomy. The demonstrations have sometimes turned violent, stoking concerns that China will ratchet up its response to stop the civil disobedience.China promised Hong Kong a “high degree of autonomy” for 50 years after it regained sovereignty over the city from Britain in 1997, but protesters contend that freedoms have since steadily eroded.Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
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China is working to resolve conflicts with Washington over trade, a Commerce Ministry official said Thursday, dismissing speculation the talks might be in trouble as inaccurate “rumors.”Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said he had no new information to release. But he said China was committed to working toward an agreement.“China is willing to address core concerns together with the U.S. on a basis of equality and mutual respect, and to work to conclude our discussions on the first phase” of a trade deal, Gao told reporters at a weekly briefing.“This will benefit China, the U.S. and the world,” Gao said.Financial markets have swung between elation and gloom in recent days as conflicting reports over the talks swirled. Some have cited officials saying they believe a deal is likely by the year’s end, while others have expressed skepticism.Gao described such reports as “outside rumors that are not at all reliable.”President Donald Trump began imposing punitive tariffs on Chinese exports nearly 18 months ago, citing trade and technology policies that he says violate Beijing’s market-opening commitments and are unfair.Since then, tariffs have been raised by both sides on billions of dollars’ worth of each other’s exports, squeezing farmers and manufacturers. A fresh set of tariffs is due to take effect Dec. 15 on about $160 billion of Chinese exports to the U.S., including smartphones, laptops and other consumer goods.President Donald Trump had said he hoped to sign a preliminary agreement with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at a regional economic summit in Chile in mid-November that was canceled due to protests. Prospects for the two leaders to meet and sign a deal soon appear uncertain.Earlier this week Trump indicated he was prepared to go ahead with more tariff hikes if he does not get a deal with China that he likes.The approval this week of a U.S. congressional resolution expressing support for human rights in Hong Kong after months of increasingly violent political protests drew an angry response from China’s foreign ministry.It also rattled financial markets: markets fell Thursday for a second straight day in most regional markets after losses overnight on Wall Street.China took control of the former British colony in 1997, allowing it a semi-autonomous status and separate legal and economic systems. It bristles at foreign comments on matters that it considers its internal affairs.China has urged Trump not to sign the legislation, which passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate almost unanimously.“If the U.S. goes its own way, we will take countermeasures,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.But Geng adopted a less fiery tone when asked about the trade talks, reiterating the stance that reaching an agreement is in the best interests of everyone.“We hope both could meet each other halfway,” Geng said. 
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Firefighters battled hundreds of bushfires across Australia Thursday as scores of blazes sprang up in new locations, triggering warnings that it was too late for some residents to evacuate.As thick smoke blanketed the most populous city of Sydney for a third day, residents were urged to keep children indoors, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to tackle climate change.By early afternoon, dozens of fires were burning across the southeastern state of Victoria and temperatures of 40.9 Celsius (105.6 F) in Melbourne, its capital, matched the hottest day on record in 1894, Australia’s weather bureau said.Authorities warned residents of towns about 50 km (31 miles) north of Ballarat, the state’s third largest city, that it was too late for them to evacuate safely.“You are in danger, act now to protect yourself,” fire authorities said in an alert. “It is too late to leave. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately.”Blazes across several states have endangered thousands of people, killing at least four people this month, burning about 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of farmland and bush and destroying more than 400 homes.Fire season early, badThe early arrival and severity of the fires in the southern hemisphere spring follows three years of drought that experts have linked to climate change and which have left bushland tinder-dry.With 10 days remaining to the official start of summer, extreme temperatures and high winds have sparked wildfires in new areas, even as firefighters tracked the crisis across the mainland, the Northern Territory and the island of Tasmania.In Victoria, power to more than 100,000 homes was knocked out amid lightning strikes and strong, gusty winds of more than 110 kph (68 mph) that knocked tree branches into power lines, ahead of a cool change expected to bring relief in the evening.The extensive damage was likely to leave some customers without power through the night as utilities worked to restore networks and fix downed powerlines, a spokeswoman for power provider Ausnet said.State authorities issued its first Code Red alert in a decade, signifying the worst possible bushfire conditions, warning that should a fire start it would be fast moving, unpredictable and probably uncontrollable.In the state of New South Wales, strong winds blew smoke from 60 fires still burning over much of Sydney, shrouding the harbor city and its famous landmarks in thick smog.The state imposed tough new water curbs in Sydney from Dec. 10, when a key dam is expected to be down to 45% capacity.Residents face fines if they use hoses to water their gardens and wash their cars.Climate politicsThe unrelenting conditions have sharpened attention on the climate change policies of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who rejected any link.“Climate change is a global phenomenon, and we’re doing our bit as part of the response to climate change,” Morrison told ABC radio. “To suggest that, with just 1.3% of global emissions, that Australia doing something differently — more or less — would have changed the fire outcome this season, I don’t think that stands up to any credible scientific evidence at all.”Morrison’s conservative government has committed to the Paris Agreement for a cut in emissions from 26% to 28% by 2030, versus 2005 levels. Critics say current projections suggest it will miss that target and have urged remedial steps.
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A former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong says he was detained and tortured by Chinese secret police trying to extract information about massive anti-government protests in the territory.Simon Cheng said in an online statement and media interviews that he was hooded, beaten, deprived of sleep and chained to an X-shaped frame by plainclothes and uniformed agents as they sought information on activists involved in the protests and the role they believed Britain played in the demonstrations.FILE – Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain, Oct. 24, 2019.British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab summoned the Chinese ambassador in London to demand Beijing investigate.”I summoned the Chinese Ambassador to express our outrage at the brutal and disgraceful treatment of Simon in violation of China’s international obligations,” Raab said in a statement. “I have made clear we expect the Chinese authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account.”Chinese police in August announced Cheng’s release after 15 days of administrative detention but gave no details of the reasons behind his detention.China reactionChina’s foreign ministry responded angrily to the allegations and the summoning of the ambassador at a daily briefing Wednesday.Ambassador Liu Xiaoming will “by no means accept the so-called concerns or complaints raised by the British side,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.FILE – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang speaks during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Jan. 29, 2019.”The Chinese ambassador to the U.K. will lodge the complaints with the U.K. to express our strong opposition and indignation to the U.K.’s wrong words and deeds on Hong Kong in these days,” Geng said.Geng did not address Cheng’s allegations directly, but cited a statement by Shenzhen police from August saying his lawful rights had been protected and that he had “admitted his offense completely,” an apparent reference to a confession of soliciting prostitution that Cheng says was coerced. Cheng has strongly denied the charge.Police in Shenzhen did not immediately respond to faxed questions about Cheng’s allegations.Cheng worked for the consulate as a trade and investment officer with a focus on attracting Chinese investment in Scotland. That required him to travel frequently to mainland China and he was detained at the border with Hong Kong after returning from a one-day business trip.Hong Kong’s nearly six months of pro-democracy protests began in opposition to proposed legislation that would have allowed criminal suspects in the semi-autonomous city to be extradited to face trial in mainland China, where critics say their legal rights would be threatened. While Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has since withdrawn the bill, demonstrations have continued unabated as strong anti-government sentiment continues.China says it doesn’t allow suspects to be tortured or make false confessions, although both practices are believed to be common.’Blindfolded and hooded’In his account on Facebook, Cheng wrote that he had been asked about the supposed British role in the protests, his own involvement in them and mainland Chinese who joined in demonstrations.China has long accused “anti-China foreign forces” of fomenting the protests, which have grown increasingly violent, without providing direct evidence.FILE – Demonstrators hold posters in support of Simon Cheng, a staff member at the consulate who went missing after visiting the neighboring mainland, during a protest outside the British Consulate-general office in Hong Kong, China, Aug. 21, 2019.Cheng wrote that while being held he was shuttled between detention and interrogation centers while hooded and handcuffed. In addition to being shackled to the frame, he wrote he was ordered to assume stress positions for “countless hours,” and was beaten with what felt like “sharpened batons” and poked in the knee if he faltered. He was also punished for dozing off during the sessions by being forced to sing the Chinese national anthem, he wrote.”I was blindfolded and hooded during the whole torture and interrogations, I sweated a lot, and felt exhausted, dizzy and suffocated,” Cheng wrote.One interrogator speaking Hong Kong’s native Cantonese dialect cursed him, saying, “How dare you work for the British to supervise Chinese,” while another speaking in a northern Mandarin accent told him they were from China’s secret intelligence service and that he had “no human rights in this place,” Cheng wrote.He said the interrogators expected him to confess that Britain had instigated the protests by donating money and materials, that he personally led that effort and paid the bail of mainland participants. At the detention center, he witnessed police questioning other young inmates who appeared to be Chinese mainland nationals being punished for participation in the protests.Cheng said he refused but confessed to the minor offense of “soliciting prostitution” in order to avoid harsher treatment and a heavy sentence on national security charges. Some of the officers holding him said they could “abduct” him back to the mainland if he didn’t “behave,” he said.Cheng no longer works at the consulate and has fled to a third country. Raab, the foreign minister, said the U.K. is working to support Cheng, including a possible move to Britain.
 
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China is bolstering its lead in resource exploration and any conflicts in the South China Sea, a sea disputed by five other governments, by stepping up deployment of expendable, cost-effective drones, analysts believe.Last month the People’s Liberation Army exhibited an “electronic-warfare variant” of drones that had done just reconnaissance missions before, part of an effort to control information during any military movement,  American research organization Center for Strategic & International Studies said.In September, a drone network operated by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources was sent to survey the contested sea’s waters and remote, uninhabited islets, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said as reported by domestic media. In 2017 Chinese researchers christened a drone specifically for maritime transport and surveillance.Drones can easily spy because, if caught, operators can claim they’re being used for resource exploration, experts say. Their cheaper than radars and other intelligence-gathering tools, causing little loss if seized, they add.“The drone is of course a very ideal sort of spy,” said Alan Chong, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore “Drones are in a sense more expendable than aircraft. If they’re shot down, China would raise a protest, but that’s it.”Stronger position in South China SeaChina, hemmed in by other claimant states and monitored by Western powers, isn’t expected to occupy more features in the 3.5-million-square-kilometer sea that’s prized for fisheries and energy reserves.But drones along with other quasi-military technology will help it find undersea fossil fuels and know quickly if another country is expanding, especially near China’s existing maritime assets, scholars say.FILE – U.S. ScanEagle drones are lined up for the formal turnover, March 13, 2018, at Villamor Air Base in suburban Pasay city, southeast of Manila, Philippines.Vietnam and China got into a standoff earlier this year over energy exploration tracts off the Vietnamese coast, and Filipinos are growing edgier about China’s pressure on their maritime holdings despite friendliness at the state-to-state level.“People are concerned that China is using technology not only in the South China Sea but spying on the Philippine population in general,” Atienza said. Defense leaders and some legislators are starting to go public with their worries, she added.China does not disclose details about its drone deployments, but it indicated in June that it sees drones as crucial hardware in the maritime dispute.The People’s Liberation Army website China.mil then linked a U.S. plan to sell drones in Southeast Asia to containing China. The Pentagon had said that month it would sell 34 ScanEagle drones worth of $47 million to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
 
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Contrary to Pyongyang’s belief that nuclear weapons and missile programs safeguard its security and ensure its survival, experts said they make the country less safe because they leave it prone to U.S. military targets.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “thinks that nuclear weapons are the guarantee of his regime survival,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp. research center. “In reality, they’re the guarantee of his regime destruction.”Although Kim promised he will commit to denuclearization since he began engaging with the U.S. in 2018, North Korea has not shown a serious willingness to reach a deal agreeing to forgo nuclear weapons.Experts said North Korea’s reluctance to reach a denuclearization deal stems from its dogmatic view of nuclear weapons as essential for its security.Evans Revere, a former State Department official who had negotiated with North Korea extensively, said, “I am convinced that North Koreans believe nuclear weapons guarantee their security.”“And as long as that is the case, there is no chance that Pyongyang will give them up,” he added.StallingRather than committing itself toward reaching a viable denuclearization deal with Washington, Pyongyang has been stalling while blaming Washington for refusing to make concessions.North Korea said on Monday it is not interested in having another summit with the U.S. in an apparent response to President Donald Trump’s Sunday tweet urging Kim to “act quickly” to “get a deal done.” Mr. Chairman, Joe Biden may be Sleepy and Very Slow, but he is not a “rabid dog.” He is actually somewhat better than that, but I am the only one who can get you where you have to be. You should act quickly, get the deal done. See you soon! https://t.co/kO2k14lTf7— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019North Korean Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye Gwan said, “We are no longer interested in such talks that bring nothing to us,” in a statement carried by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).“As we have got nothing in return, we will no longer gift the U.S. president with something he can boast of.” Progress on denuclearization talks has been stalled since the Hanoi Summit held in February failed when Trump denied Kim’s request for sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization. Trump, instead, asked Kim to fully denuclearize before any lifting of sanctions can be granted.Trump-Kim Summit Ends With No Agreement 

        Despite their collapsed talks in Vietnam this week, U.S. 

After months of stalled negotiations, working-level talks were held in Stockholm in October, but the talks ended quickly without a deal reached when North Korea walked away from the negotiating table.
North Korea Walks Away from Nuclear Talks, but Maybe Not For Good video player.
Revere said North Korea had used negotiations in the past as a cover-up to further develop its nuclear weapons.“Even when negotiations seemed to be moving in a positive direction, such as in 1994 and 2005, we now know that the North Koreans are determined not to give up their nuclear weapons and used the negotiations to cover their continued pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Revere said.While North Korea has been engaged with the U.S. this year, it demonstrated it has been developing advanced missile technologies through a series of missile tests it conducted since May.Missile launchesAmid a flurry of missile launches in August, Pyongyang said it “will never barter the strategic security of the country” even for the sanctions relief it has been seeking since the Hanoi Summit, apparently referring to nuclear weapons when it said the security of the country.Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said, “Kim Jong Un, like his father and other North Korean leaders view nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent against the U.S.” He continued, “That’s why they have poured so much of their scarce resources into their missile and nuclear programs over the past four decades.”According to experts, Pyongyang adheres to the doctrine of nuclear security because it does not think the U.S. will launch an attack against a country that has nuclear weapons to retaliate.“The North Koreans have long believed that nuclear weapons are an insurance policy against an attack or invasion by the United States,” Revere said. “They have convinced themselves, with good reason, that the United States will not attack a country that has the ability to respond to a U.S. attack with nuclear weapons.”Thomas Countryman, former acting undersecretary of arms control and international security at the State Department, said, “The DPRK has developed nuclear weapons because it believes this is the ultimate effective deterrent against what it sees as a risk of U.S.-ROK attacks on the DPRK.”The DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name in English, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The ROK is an acronym for South Korea’s official English name, the Republic of Korea.Furthermore, Pyongyang thinks even if it were to launch an attack against South Korea targeting American troops stationed there, the U.S. will not retaliate against North Korea or defend South Korea, Bennett, of Rand Corp., said.This view, he said, comes from Choi Ju Hwal, a high-ranking military official of the North Korean army who defected to South Korea in 1995 and testified to the U.S. Congress in 1997.In the testimony Choi said, “Some Americans believe that even if North Korea possessed the ability to strike the United States, it would never dare to because of the devastating consequences.”Choi continued that North Korea’s then-leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un’s father, “believes that if North Korea creates more than 20,000 American casualties in the region, the U.S. will roll back and the North Korea will win the war.” Kim Jon Il ruled North Korea from 1994 until 2011.Bennett said, “I worry that we have not tried to convince Kim Jong Un that that’s a wrong view because an even more senior military defector much more recently has told me that that view continues within the North Korean regime.” ((ACT 2))’Alliance of convenience’Bennett said Pyongyang holds this view because it believes the alliance of the U.S. and South Korea is “an alliance of convenience” rather than “an alliance of commitment.”“If indeed, [North Korea] were to kill 20,000 Americans, which is more than 10 times the number of Americans killed at Pearl Harbor, I think you get an idea of what the Americans are likely to do to [North Korea],” Bennett said, pointing out the U.S. policy toward North Korea in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. The U.S. policy, according to the review, is to end the regime if North Korea were to use nuclear attacks against the U.S. or its allies.“Our deterrent strategy for North Korea makes clear that any North Korean nuclear attack against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime,” the review said. “There is no scenario in which the Kim regime could employ nuclear weapons and survive.”It also said the U.S. will target North Korea military forces hidden underground and in natural terrains “at risk.”Manning, of the Atlantic Council, said, “Any North Korean use of nuclear weapons would be suicidal, as would a major conventional attack on the ROK.” He continued, “Any nuclear use would mean their demise.”Ken Gause, director of the Adversary Analytics Program at CNA, said, “Once North Korea uses forces in large measure against Seoul, the U.S. would likely take steps to end the North Korean regime.”
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Shinzo Abe entered the history books as Japan’s longest-serving premier on Wednesday, but many of his ambitious goals, including a constitutional revision to strengthen the military, appear far from reach.Wednesday marks Abe’s 2,887th day in office, topping the record previously set by Taro Katsura, a revered politician who served three times between 1901 and 1913.The 65-year-old is also the second-longest-serving leader of the Group of Seven major economies behind only German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in office since 2005.Abe’s grip on power remains firm as he passes the landmark, with his tenure likely to last until at least September 2021 and no clear successor yet on the horizon.But the premier has plenty of unfinished business, saying earlier this year after a cabinet reshuffle that he hoped to “take on the challenge to create a new country.”He has reiterated his long-cherished ambition of revising Japan’s post-war constitution to change the status of the country’s Self Defense Forces.But opposition parties have refused to move forward with procedures for the revision, and Abe has seen his reputation tarnished by the resignation of two cabinet ministers and a cronyism scandal.FILE – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center left, and his wife Akie, center right, pose for pictures with their guests during his cherry blossom viewing party at a park in Tokyo, April 13, 2019.’No strong rivals’He is currently mired in a row over inviting too many of his supporters to a costly cherry blossom viewing party, forcing the government to scrap the annual event next year.Speaking to reporters on Wednesday to mark the record, he was peppered with questions about the latest scandal, which shows little sign of going away.Despite recent missteps, however, experts say Abe’s ruling coalition faces no major threats in parliament, and there are no obvious pretenders to his office.”There seem to be no strong rivals inside the LDP, and the prime minister’s political foundation inside the party is stable,” said the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun.An NHK poll this month showed support for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at a solid 36.8 percent, dwarfing the 6.3-percent support for the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.Nearly 38 percent said they did not support any particular party.’Ambitious goals’With his place in the history books secure, Abe is expected to focus on several difficult goals in coming years, experts say: the constitutional revision, the release of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea, and the resolution of a long-standing territorial dispute with Russia.”Definitely, Prime Minister Abe will go down in history,” said Shinichi Nishikawa, professor of political science at Meiji University in Tokyo.”But the chances of achieving his ambitious goals are very, very slim,” Nishikawa told AFP.Abe became Japan’s youngest prime minister when he took office in 2006 at the age of 52, but he resigned after just a year, hit by scandals and debilitated by health issues.In 2012, he returned to office on a pledge to revive Japan’s economy with his growth blitz, known as “Abenomics.”He has pushed ahead with policy reforms intended to boost the country’s flagging birth rate, including by increasing access to pre-schools for toddlers.He has also prioritized forging a close personal relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump in a bid to strengthen the key alliance with Washington that guarantees Japan’s security.
 
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Waves of student protesters attempted daring escapes past police lines, while less than 200 others remain barricaded inside a Hong Kong University, which has been surrounded by riot police since Sunday.VOA Cantonese Service reporter Iris Tong, who was with students inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, described scenes of desperation, with at least two young teenagers threatening suicide. “I saw one boy (threaten) to use a knife on his neck,” Tong says. “I didn’t see any blood from his neck, but he just talked about how he wanted to kill himself. But other people said it wasn’t necessary for him to do that and told him to put down the knife.” “I can feel they are hopeless,” she said. “It’s quite sad.”Since Sunday, police have ordered the protesters to drop their homemade weapons and leave the campus via a single exit, where they likely would face riot-related charges. As of early Tuesday, hundreds had agreed to leave the school following negotiations by local officials and community leaders.Many other students have attempted to escape to freedom — some by sliding down ropes to waiting motorcycles, which tried to zoom past the security cordon that surrounds the campus. Police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at those who attempt to flee.Last week, hundreds of students barricades themselves on the campus, collecting makeshift weapons including bricks, arrows, and molotov cocktails. Now, only “100-something” protesters remain, says Tong. “But less than half of them can go to the frontlines,” she estimates. Lam commentsHong Kong’s executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday made her first substantial remarks on the standoff, saying she is “extremely worried” and hopes the situation can be resolved peacefully.But the Beijing-friendly Lam also defended police actions, saying she was shocked that the students had turned the campus into a “weapons factory.” About 600 protesters have left the campus so far, Lam said. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 11, 2019.The scene around the campus was relatively calm as of midday Tuesday. A night earlier, waves of protesters tried unsuccessfully to breach police lines and reach the campus with supplies. Protesters lobbed petrol bombs at police and set obstructions on the street, but were eventually turned back by the police, who fired water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. EscalationThe clashes are some of the worst violence since anti-government protests began in Hong Kong five months ago.The protests started in opposition to a proposed bill that would have allowed Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to the mainland. The protests quickly morphed into wider calls for democracy and opposition to growing Chinese influence.A smaller group of hardcore protesters have also increasingly engaged in more aggressive tactics — clashing with police, destroying public infrastructure, and vandalizing symbols of state power. The protesters have defended the tactics as a necessary response to police violence and the government’s refusal to make political concessions.Beijing standing firmNeither Beijing nor Hong Kong authorities show signs of giving in.Earlier this week, Hong Kong’s High Court ruled that the government’s ban on face masks was unconstitutional. The face mask ban, which went into effect last month, punished offenders with up to a year in prison.But China’s top legislature on Tuesday slammed the court ruling, insisting Hong Kong courts have no authority to rule on the legality of legislation.Beijing’s statement fundamentally threatens the rule of law in Hong Kong, says Angel Wong, a Hong Kong lawyer.“This completely changes our understanding of our legal system,” says Wong. “It makes us worry what Beijing will do to take away the power of the Hong Kong court(s).”Many Hong Kongers are outraged by the steady erosion of the  “one country, two systems” policy that Beijing has used to govern Hong Kong since Britain handed it over to China in 1997.
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The United States is “gravely concerned by the deepening political unrest and violence in Hong Kong” as the confrontation between police and protesters has escalated in recent days.”We’ve repeatedly called for restraint from all parties in Hong Kong. Violence by any side is unacceptable. The Hong Kong government bears primary responsibility for bringing calm to Hong Kong,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday during a press briefing at the State Department.Pompeo’s remarks came amid a dramatic escalation in unrest, with Hong Kong police threatening to fire live bullets if demonstrators did not stop using weapons in the latest anti-government protests.”Unrest and violence cannot be resolved by law enforcement efforts alone. The government must take clear steps to address public concerns,” added the top U.S. diplomat.Police interrogate protesters who left the occupied campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University that is surrounded by police in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 18, 2019.Senior U.S. officials have repeatedly called on the Chinese government to honor its promises to the Hong Kong people “who want the freedoms and liberties” that they have been promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a U.N.-registered treaty.On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hit out at China, pointing to leaked documents that “delineate the government’s chilling, systematic campaign against ethnic minorities in another supposedly autonomous region, Xinjiang.””The problem is Beijing’s efforts to erect the same kind of sinister, brutal surveillance state in Hong Kong that China is also trying to set up everywhere else,” McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor. “The protesters are not the problem. It is Beijing and the Hong Kong leadership who must de-escalate.”The top Republican in the Senate called on the Trump administration to not solely focus on trade, when it comes to China, but also “make Hong Kong’s autonomy a key topic within our bilateral diplomacy.”Polytechnic University siegeEarlier Monday, police tightened the barricade around the Polytechnic University and prevented dozens of students from breaking through police lines.The president of the Polytechnic University said he has brokered a truce with police that would allow the hundreds of protesters trapped inside the campus to leave peacefully.A view of the area where protesters crafted Molotov cocktails inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus, in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 19, 2019.Teng Jin-Guang Teng said he received assurances from police for a temporary suspension of the use of force if the protesters do not initiate the violence.”We have also received permission from the police for you to leave the campus peacefully, and I will personally accompany you to the police station to ensure that your case will be fairly processed,” Teng said.It is unclear whether and when the truce was taking effect.Dozens of student protesters, however, made another frantic attempt to escape the university that has been surrounded by riot police, as the siege on the campus entered a second day.Waves of students fled on foot late Monday, running through clouds of tear gas as they attempted to break through police lines.Threat of lethal forceIt was the second concerted attempt by students to flee the urban campus, which has been surrounded by police who have repeatedly warned they will use lethal force.Live feeds showed riot police chasing down students, some of whom were covered in blood. It was not immediately clear how many were arrested and how many may have escaped the campus successfully.The clashes raised fears that the siege would end in a deadly crackdown.An anti-government demonstrator cries after coming out of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) to surrender, in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 19, 2019.Students barricaded themselves on the campus, and several others across Hong Kong, early last week, stockpiling homemade weapons such as petrol bombs, slingshots and bricks.Early Monday, VOA saw police arrest dozens of students, who were detained with plastic wire ties around their wrists. Some were marched in front of reporters as they were taken away toward waiting police vans.”I can’t imagine this happening in Hong Kong. We are a civilized city and we are witnessing so many uncivilized acts,” said a young man nicknamed Ronald, who came out to witness the campus siege firsthand. “We all have something in common and we all want to achieve the same thing.”In my opinion, (the students) are not really violent. They are acting in response to the police force,” he said.Thousands of riot and other police have surrounded the urban campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the past day, warning the students to drop their weapons. But a hardcore group showed no signs of surrender. Earlier, police said they were arresting students on riot related charges.The number of casualties is not clear. Police on Sunday warned they would use lethal force if they continued to be attacked. Local media reports said live rounds were used in several cases.The clashes are some of the worst violence since anti-government protests began in Hong Kong five months ago.Escalating protestsSince June, Hong Kong has seen massive, regular demonstrations, which started in opposition to a proposed bill that would have allowed Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to the mainland. The protests quickly morphed into wider calls for democracy and opposition to growing Chinese influence.Police in riot gear move through a cloud of smoke as they detain a protester at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Nov. 18, 2019.A smaller group of hardcore protesters, many of whom are college students, have also increasingly engaged in more aggressive tactics — clashing with police, destroying public infrastructure, and vandalizing symbols of state power. The students have defended the tactics as a necessary response to police violence and the government’s refusal to accept their demands.Hong Kong Polytechnic University is one of at least five campuses where students this week barricaded themselves in, blocking roads and collecting makeshift weapons in case of an attack by authorities. Most of the protesters had left the other campuses by Saturday, though a group of hardcore protesters remained at Polytechnic.The protests escalated in the past week, following the first death of a protester who fell from a building during clashes between protesters and police.
 
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The United States on Monday granted another 90 days for companies to cease doing business with China’s telecoms giant Huawei, saying this would allow service providers to continue to serve rural areas.President Donald Trump in May effectively barred Huawei from American communications networks after Washington found the company had violated US sanctions on Iran and attempted to block a subsequent investigation.The extension, renewing one issued in August, “will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark,” US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.”The department will continue to rigorously monitor sensitive technology exports to ensure that our innovations are not harnessed by those who would threaten our national security.”American officials also claim Huawei is a tool of Beijing’s electronic espionage, making its equipment a threat to US national security — something the company denies.Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the company’s founder and CEO, was arrested in Canada last year and is now fighting extradition to the United States on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to US sanctions.The battle over Huawei has also landed squarely in the middle of Trump’s trade battle with Beijing.US officials initially said the two were unrelated as the Huawei actions were strictly law enforcement and national security matters but Trump has suggested a resolution could involve some common ground concerning Huawei.Following the near-collapse of US-China trade talks in May, Washington added Huawei to a list of companies effectively barred from purchasing US technology without prior approval from the US government.But, since companies have said they need time to begin to comply with the change, Trump has granted a series of limited reprieves, which officials say allow only “specific, limited” transactions involving exports and re-exports.
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