Hundreds of Hong Kong student protesters remain locked in a tense standoff with police at a university where protesters have barricaded themselves since last week. The students and police have engaged in intense but sporadic clashes for the past 24 hours. Police have intermittently tried to break through protester barricades but have been driven back by molotov cocktails and other makeshift weapons. Early Monday, dozens of students attempted to flee the besieged campus on foot, but were met by police tear gas. Some managed to escape, according to local media reports, while others were driven back inside. Smaller groups of people appeared to attempt to leave the campus later Monday, but were also met by police teargas. 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. 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 shows no signs of surrender. A student protester who was in contact with friends inside the campus told VOA that as many as several hundred may be present. Earlier police said they were arresting students on riot related charges. It’s not clear how many have been arrested. The number of casualties also isn’t 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. Protesters run as police fire tear gas near Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019.The clashes are some of the worst violence since anti-government protests began in Hong Kong five months ago.Overnight, police advanced in waves, firing tear gas and water cannons, as protesters lobbed petrol bombs and other weapons. At one point, an armored police vehicle appeared to be completely on fire.Police have also engaged in clashes with protesters on streets outside the campus, some of whom appeared to be trying to come to the rescue of the besieged students. Calls on social messaging sites issued calls for Hong Kongers to stream in from all directions to help free the students.Since 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.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.On Saturday, dozens of Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers helped clear protester barricades from a street, emerging from their barracks for the first time since the latest round of protests began.Pro-democracy lawmakers immediately condemned the move as a violation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini constitution, which forbids interference by mainland Chinese soldiers unless formally requested by the Hong Kong government.
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Over the past five months, millions have marched through Hong Kong, demanding democratic reform in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. On Sunday, Hong Kongers will finally get a chance to express their opinion, albeit in a limited way, by casting votes. If the election goes ahead as planned, Hong Kongers will choose over 400 members of 18 district councils scattered across the tiny territory — a crucial barometer of public opinion amid a wave of anti-government protests that have become increasingly aggressive.The hyper-local district council members don’t actually wield that much power but under Hong Kong’s quasi-democratic system, the vote could have major effects on how the territory’s more influential Legislative Council and chief executive are selected in the future. Protesters are sprayed with blue liquid from water cannon during clashes with police outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019.Many in the pro-democracy camp fear the government will postpone or cancel the vote over concerns about election violence. In recent weeks, several pro-democracy figures have been attacked, including a politician whose ear was partially bitten off during a clash outside a mall. A pro-Beijing politician was also stabbed by a man carrying a bouquet of flowers.Some pro-Beijing voices are calling for the vote to be delayed until calm is restored. The People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, last week ran a commentary saying “fair elections” are only possible after authorities “decisively put down the riots” and restore peace.Government urged to hold voteHowever, a broad range of public figures is demanding the election go ahead as planned, warning that delaying the vote would only create more public frustration. “It would be a grave error to cancel those elections,” said Steve Vickers, the former head of the Royal Hong Kong Police Criminal Intelligence Bureau. Vickers, who heads the SVA risk consultancy group, concedes it may be a challenge for police to keep factions apart during the vote. He said that shouldn’t prevent the election from happening, though. “Ugly though it may be, I think it’s a lot better to make sure the elections occur,” Vickers said. “The district council elections are the most fundamental building block of democracy in Hong Kong.” FILE – Occupy Central leaders from right; Shiu Ka Chun, Lee Wing Tat, Raphael Wong, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, Chu Yiu-ming, Tanya Chan, Eason Chung and Tommy Cheung arrive a court in Hong Kong, April 9, 2019.Tommy Cheung, a pro-democracy candidate running for district council in the Yuen Long district, a culturally diverse community with a young middle class population, said canceling or delaying the vote risks bringing a “disaster to Hong Kong society.” “You would be destroying the ability of people to use the establishment to solve problems,” Cheung told VOA. “People supporting peaceful, nonviolent protests would change into supporting violent protests.” The protests have already escalated in recent weeks — with smaller groups of hardcore protesters destroying public infrastructure, defacing symbols of state power, and clashing with police. Protesters defend the moves as an appropriate reaction to police violence and the government’s refusal to meet their demands. The protests started in June as a reaction against a now-scrapped proposal that could have resulted in Hong Kongers being extradited to mainland China. A vast number of Hong Kongers saw the proposal as the latest erosion of the “one country, two systems” principle with which Beijing has governed the former British colony.Despite the protester violence, the movement still enjoys widespread public support, polls suggest. Meanwhile, the approval of Hong Kong’s Beijing-friendly chief executive, Carrie Lam, has fallen to a record low of about 20%. Questions of fairnessFILE – Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, Nov. 11, 2019.Lam has vowed to do her “very best” to ensure the election takes place “in a safe and orderly manner.” Even if the election is held on time, though, there are questions over whether it will be fair. During the past several years, Hong Kong authorities have disqualified 10 candidates, either before or after the vote. The government accused them of violating the law by advocating independence or self-determination.This time around, the only candidate barred from running was high-profile student activist Joshua Wong. Authorities accused Wong of promoting “self-determination.” Wong insists he does not support independence, but only greater protection of Hong Kong’s limited autonomy from Beijing.“The system has been very unfair, but still we try our best to tell the whole world and the Hong Kong government that indeed we have the majority of Hong Kong citizens’ support,” said activist and scholar Edward Yiu.FILE – Hong Kong pro-democracy by-election candidate Edward Yiu listens to questions from the media after losing a seat at the legislative council by-elections in Hong Kong, March 12, 2018.Yiu won a seat in the Legislative Council in 2016, but was disqualified for improperly taking the oath of office after he added several phrases mentioning democratic and other reforms. Still, he said the elections are vital. “Even though it may not be the solution to all problems, [the elections] are a very important platform to make government officials realize that the public have an opinion, [and] that they have to listen,” he said. More voters, more choicesAmid the protests, Hong Kong has seen a major surge in voter registrations, particularly among young people. Nearly 386,000 people have registered to vote in the past year —  the most since at least 2003 — according to the South China Morning Post.That surge has been fueled by an increase in voter registrations by those aged 18-35, which could benefit the pro-democracy camp, the paper reported.Voters will also have more choices this election. The previous district council election saw more than 60 pro-establishment candidates win unopposed. That won’t be the case this year, with pro-establishment and pro-democracy candidates facing off in nearly every district. It is the most candidates the pro-democracy camp has ever run in district council elections, according to local media reports. Why it’s importantThe district council election is significant for reasons that may not be immediately obvious, thanks in part to Hong Kong’s complicated, quasi-democratic electoral system.On the one hand, local district councils have no power to pass legislation, essentially serving as advisory bodies for decisions such as building roads or schools. But crucially, the district councils also help select members of the more influential Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s legislature, only about half of which is directly elected. District council members also have 117 seats on the committee of about 1,200 people who choose Hong Kong’s chief executive. “That’s a big deal,” said Emily Lau, a former Legislative Council member and prominent member of the pro-democracy camp. “Because of this constitutional linkage, it makes the significance of the district council much bigger than its powers show you,” she said.Voter excitementAt a recent pro-democracy rally in central Hong Kong, many protesters said they plan to vote, but  were divided on whether the election will lead to real change. “I’m not excited,” said Ip, giving only her first name. “I think voting is one of our ways to express our voice, but I doubt the results will be very good.”Another demonstrator named Ms. Chan said she also intends to send a message by voting. “The government needs to listen to the people,” she said. “They do many wrong things, so I think many people will go out and vote on the 24th of November.”
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Dozens of Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers helped clear protester barricades from a street Saturday, emerging from their barracks for the first time since protests engulfed the semiautonomous Chinese territory five months ago. 
 
Pro-democracy lawmakers immediately condemned the move as a violation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which forbids interference by mainland Chinese soldiers unless the Hong Kong government formally requests action. 
 
The decision appeared to be Beijing’s latest attempt to gradually increase and normalize Chinese military involvement in Hong Kong, which has seen increased protests over the past week following the first death of a student protester.  Personnel from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army barracks in Hong Kong emerged on to the city streets on Nov. 16, 2019, to help with the cleanup after a week of violence and disruption caused by pro-democracy protesters.Carrying broomsticks and buckets, about 50 PLA soldiers jogged in formation Saturday afternoon from their barracks in the Kowloon neighborhood. The soldiers, dressed in black athletic shorts and khaki T-shirts, removed bricks from a street for about 30 minutes. 
 
Protesters had placed the bricks at Hong Kong Baptist University,  one of several campuses across Hong Kong where students this week blocked roads and clashed with police. 
 
A small group of residents and pro-Beijing politicians joined soldiers in the cleanup, according to reports. 
 
It was the first time that PLA soldiers had been seen on Hong Kong’s streets during the current pro-democracy protests.  Police in riot gear fire tear gas at protesters near Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Nov. 16, 2019.Violation of Basic Law? 
 
A Hong Kong government spokesperson said local authorities did not request PLA help, calling the move purely voluntary, according to public broadcaster RTHK. A PLA spokesperson said the soldiers were simply “coming to the aid” of local residents, the broadcaster said. 
 
Article 14 of the Basic Law stipulates that mainland Chinese military forces “shall not interfere in the local affairs of the Region,” but that the Hong Kong government may, when necessary, ask for assistance “in the maintenance of public order and in disaster relief.” 
 
In a statement, a group of pro-democracy lawmakers condemned the move as illegal, saying it was meant to “gradually rationalize” PLA operations. 
 
“Although the actions themselves may appear innocuous, the PLA’s conduct today is worrying from a constitutional standpoint,” Wilson Leung with the Hong Kong Progressive Lawyers Group told VOA. “There’s no indication from the Hong Kong government that they have invoked Article 14 and called for the PLA’s assistance. 
 
“Thus, there is good reason to think that Article 14 may have been breached,” Leung said, calling it a possible further erosion of the “one country, two systems” principle with which Beijing has governed the former British colony. 
 
Last year, PLA troops also left their barracks to help clean up after a typhoon. At the time, Hong Kong officials also said they did not request the assistance. 
 
The PLA occupies about 19 sites, including 12 barracks, in Hong Kong. The exact number of Chinese troops stationed in Hong Kong is unknown, but reports suggest anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000, with Beijing possibly reinforcing those numbers since the protests began.  Protesters clash with police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Nov. 16, 2019.Since 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. 
 
A smaller group of hardcore protesters, many of whom are college students, also have increasingly engaged in more aggressive tactics — clashing with police, destroying public infrastructure and vandalizing symbols of state power. Campus takeovers
 
Over the past week, some students took over university campuses, many of which were closed early for the semester because of the unrest. Students at the sites in some cases collected makeshift weapons, such as bricks, slingshots and Molotov cocktails, which they say are used to defend themselves from police attacks. 
 
At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, police and protesters engaged in a fierce clash late into the night Tuesday. The clash prompted concerns that the violence had entered a new phase, but as of late Saturday, only a small contingent of students remained at many of the campuses. 
 
The protests escalated over 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 Hong Kong government is probably considering measures to strengthen its crackdown on anti-government protesters after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a direct warning, urging the city to “end violence and restore order,” analysts say.Stepping up the suppression, however, may backfire, fueling tensions in the city and further hurting its economy if protesters refuse to back down, they add.Xi told a summit in Brazil Thursday that “persistent radical and violent crimes have seriously trampled on the basic principle of ‘one country, two systems’ scheme” in Hong Kong, the state news agency People’s Daily reported.Xi’s warning“Stopping the violence and restoring order is Hong Kong’s most urgent task at present,” he said.Xi also expressed support for the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, the Hong Kong police, and its judiciary in punishing what he called “violent criminals.”Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, Nov. 11, 2019.“The Chinese government is unwavering in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and developmental interests, implementing the ‘one country, two systems’ scheme and deterring any interference by foreign forces in Hong Kong affairs,” he added.While a reiteration of Beijing’s long-held stance, Xi’s remarks are effectively a direct order for Lam to get tough and end the city’s five months of political unrest, said Sang Pu, a critic and Hong Kong commentator.“This [stance] was reiterated by Xi Jinping in his statement in Brazil and this Brazil statement makes sure that suppression overrides and prevails everything else. And this suppression will not go away very easily,” Sang said.On Friday, protesters continued to paralyze parts of Hong Kong for a fifth day, forcing schools to close and blocking some main roads, as university students barricaded campuses and authorities struggled to calm the violence.Lam also condemned an “attack” in London on Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng during a confrontation with protesters, during which Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm,” according to Hong Kong government statement. Lam said the incident was barbaric and violated the principles of a civilized society, the Hong Kong government said.
Inside Campus Fortresses, Hong Kong Students Prep for Battle video player.
Embed” />Copy LinkWatch related video by VOA’s William GalloMore emergency measures?Sang said he believes Lam is considering emergency measures such as curfews or cutting off the Internet, as Xi’s statement followed a short-lived tweet by China’s tightly censored Global Times, saying that the city government was expected to announce a curfew this weekend.The tweet was quickly deleted as by editor-in-chief Hu Xijin because there wasn’t sufficient information to back it up.Media speculation was rife in Hong Kong that a meeting of ministers chaired by Lam late Wednesday was devoted to discussing emergency measures including the curfew. That led the city government to issue a press statement Thursday to clarify what it calls “rumors … totally unfounded.”Sang said he believes the deleted tweet was meant to test the level of tolerance or fear for curfews among Hong Kongers while Lam gauges pressure from the outside world in deciding her next move.Were Lam to step up the suppression against protesters, the city’s political crisis would worsen, as protesters would not back down, Sang said.“Even if they’re tired, even this battle will not be the winning battle, they will still stride on because actually they have no other choices,” he said.The reason is, he said “that if they now step back and then forgo any resistance anymore, the real suppression will come.”“Many people including me myself and many other Hong Kongers will be arrested at home and even disappear suddenly,” he said.FILE – A man inspects a Bestmart store that was vandalized during anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Oct. 21, 2019.Escalation to hurt economyThe city’s political crisis appears to be deteriorating as internal conflicts aren’t easy to resolve, but any further escalation of tensions will badly hurt the city’s economy, said Liao Qun, chief economist at China CITIC Bank International.Hong Kong “has already slipped into a recession in the third quarter and I expect to see another negative growth in the fourth quarter,” he said.The recession will continue if the unrest fails to cool, he said, “However, if things cool down, we may begin to see a mild rebound.”The economist warned that the city’s economy would take another hit if legislation under consideration in the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong were to become law, but that would not force China to change how it rules Hong Kong, said Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Renmin University.The act, he said, “will definitely have a serious adverse impact on the China-U.S. relations, the Chinese economy and Hong Kong’s financial stability.”“No matter how large an impact there is, the People’s Republic of China government’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty over Hong Kong and the city’s stability won’t waver,” he said.Shi added that Beijing will firmly support the Hong Kong government’s decisions to solve its political crisis even if Lam decides to invoke her emergency powers. 
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The Hong Kong government is probably considering measures to strengthen its crackdown on anti-government protesters after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a direct warning, urging the city to “end violence and restore order,” analysts say.Stepping up the suppression, however, may backfire, fueling tensions in the city and further hurting its economy if protesters refuse to back down, they add.Xi told a summit in Brazil Thursday that “persistent radical and violent crimes have seriously trampled on the basic principle of ‘one country, two systems’ scheme” in Hong Kong, the state news agency People’s Daily reported.Xi’s warning“Stopping the violence and restoring order is Hong Kong’s most urgent task at present,” he said.Xi also expressed support for the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, the Hong Kong police, and its judiciary in punishing what he called “violent criminals.”“The Chinese government is unwavering in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and developmental interests, implementing the ‘one country, two systems’ scheme and deterring any interference by foreign forces in Hong Kong affairs,” he added.While a reiteration of Beijing’s long-held stance, Xi’s remarks are effectively a direct order for Lam to get tough and end the city’s five months of political unrest, said Sang Pu, a critic and Hong Kong commentator.“This [stance] was reiterated by Xi Jinping in his statement in Brazil and this Brazil statement makes sure that suppression overrides and prevails everything else. And this suppression will not go away very easily,” Sang said.On Friday, protesters continued to paralyze parts of Hong Kong for a fifth day, forcing schools to close and blocking some main roads, as university students barricaded campuses and authorities struggled to calm the violence.Lam also condemned an “attack” in London on Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng during a confrontation with protesters, during which Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm,” according to Hong Kong government statement. Lam said the incident was barbaric and violated the principles of a civilized society, the Hong Kong government said.Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, Nov. 11, 2019.More emergency measures?Sang said he believes Lam is considering emergency measures such as curfews or cutting off the Internet, as Xi’s statement followed a short-lived tweet by China’s tightly censored Global Times, saying that the city government was expected to announce a curfew this weekend.The tweet was quickly deleted as by editor-in-chief Hu Xijin because there wasn’t sufficient information to back it up.Media speculation was rife in Hong Kong that a meeting of ministers chaired by Lam late Wednesday was devoted to discussing emergency measures including the curfew. That led the city government to issue a press statement Thursday to clarify what it calls “rumors … totally unfounded.”Sang said he believes the deleted tweet was meant to test the level of tolerance or fear for curfews among Hong Kongers while Lam gauges pressure from the outside world in deciding her next move.Were Lam to step up the suppression against protesters, the city’s political crisis would worsen, as protesters would not back down, Sang said.“Even if they’re tired, even this battle will not be the winning battle, they will still stride on because actually they have no other choices,” he said.The reason is, he said “that if they now step back and then forgo any resistance anymore, the real suppression will come.”“Many people including me myself and many other Hong Kongers will be arrested at home and even disappear suddenly,” he said.FILE – A man inspects a Bestmart store that was vandalized during anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Oct. 21, 2019.Escalation to hurt economyThe city’s political crisis appears to be deteriorating as internal conflicts aren’t easy to resolve, but any further escalation of tensions will badly hurt the city’s economy, said Liao Qun, chief economist at China CITIC Bank International.Hong Kong “has already slipped into a recession in the third quarter and I expect to see another negative growth in the fourth quarter,” he said.The recession will continue if the unrest fails to cool, he said, “However, if things cool down, we may begin to see a mild rebound.”The economist warned that the city’s economy would take another hit if legislation under consideration in the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong were to become law, but that would not force China to change how it rules Hong Kong, said Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Renmin University.The act, he said, “will definitely have a serious adverse impact on the China-U.S. relations, the Chinese economy and Hong Kong’s financial stability.”“No matter how large an impact there is, the People’s Republic of China government’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty over Hong Kong and the city’s stability won’t waver,” he said.Shi added that Beijing will firmly support the Hong Kong government’s decisions to solve its political crisis even if Lam decides to invoke her emergency powers.
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Taiwan and the United States have sent their first joint trade delegation to one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies as tiny, often impoverished countries keep turning instead to China, a source of aid for the developing world but a perceived threat to both delegation organizers.
 
In the first week of November, the delegation visited Saint Lucia, one of just 15 nations that recognize Taiwan diplomatically instead of China. They assessed ways offshore businesses could help the Caribbean country with infrastructure, trade and investment, the government-run Central News Agency in Taipei said.
 
“The way to consolidate diplomatic relationships is multi-dimensional,” Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said. “It should be an effort across different domains, and investment is one of them. We hope that it will help. We do hope that through this joint delegation, it can play an important role.”
 
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry hasn’t announced plans for future visits to other Taiwan diplomatic allies but doesn’t rule out the idea.FILE – From left, the World Bank’s Erik Bethel, Saint Lucia Gov. Nancy Charles, Taiwan Amb. to Saint Lucia Shen Cheng-tsung, and U.S. Department of State official Corey Johnston visit a U.S.-owned firm, in Saint Lucia, Nov 6. 2019. (@USEmbassyBbdos) Protecting fragile alliances
 
The prospect of more U.S. aid spearheaded by Taiwan should give allies in Latin America and the South Pacific new incentives to stick by Taipei instead of switching recognition to China, analysts believe. Those countries would see Washington as a potentially powerful benefactor, and some have received American assistance in the past.
 
Since 2016, seven countries have switched allegiance from Taiwan to China, which officials in Taipei say offers hefty sums of infrastructure aid. China bars any of its 180-plus allies from forming relations with Taiwan because it regards Taiwan as part of Chinese territory rather than a state entitled to its own diplomacy.
 
Taiwan and China have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. The government in Beijing maintains that the two sides eventually unite.
 
“The current government needs desperately help on the part of the United States to enhance the further relationships with Caribbean countries, particularly when mainland China has played a heavy-handed role,” said Liu Yih-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan.
 
“At this moment I don’t see that without help on the part of goodwill of the United States that anything else can be done,” Liu said.
 Common causes for Taiwan, US
 
Taiwan looks to its allies for a voice in the United Nations, where China prevents Taiwan from acquiring U.N. membership. They also offer Taiwan an international profile that could otherwise be overshadowed by the larger, more economically powerful China.
 
U.S. officials hope to stop their former Cold War foe China from expanding militarily, said Sean King, vice president of the Park Strategies political consultancy in New York. China’s navy is passing ever more often into waters outside its coastal economic zones.
 
“Washington wants to help Taipei maintain whatever international standing and presence it has left not least because governments that still formally recognize Taipei can help speak up for it at the United Nations and in various world bodies,” King said. “We the U.S. also want to ward off any new PLA (People’s Liberation Army) naval berths in the Pacific.”FILE – A Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jet lands on a closed section of highway during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Chiayi, central Taiwan, Sept. 16, 2014. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan now reportedly total some $12 billion. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government has helped Taiwan resist China by passing naval ships through the strait separating the two Asian rivals and selling advanced weaponry to Taipei.
 
After the South Pacific nations of Kiribati and the Solomon Islands broke ties with Taiwan in September, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington would provide $15 million to strengthen “governance” and “autonomy” of South Pacific countries, the State Department said online.Taiwan has four remaining Pacific allies: Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.
 Saint Lucia case
 
Members of the joint delegation to Saint Lucia have not finalized their “assessment” of what the country needs, Taiwan’s Ou said.Taiwan had helped the country before to develop health care, education, technology and “empowerment” for women and children, she said. Future investments there hinge on what private-sector Taiwanese investors want to offer, she added.
 
China is still likely to offer more than Taiwan or the United States can, King said. “Sadly, Beijing can more than match whatever we offer these governments not to switch,” he said.
 
Saint Lucia’s 200,000 people live at a higher standard than around much of the Caribbean because of growth in tourism. But the tiny island benefits from foreign direct investment in tourism as well as offshore banking and trans-shipments, U.S. research organization The Heritage Foundation says.
 
China made offers totaling at least $8.6 billion to the countries that switched allegiance since 2016, the foreign ministry in Taipei estimated in September. 
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Washington’s defense cost-sharing demand could hurt the U.S.-South Korean alliance, said a former military general, suggesting the demand seems to stem from “a new paradigm” the Trump administration has adopted.Bernard Champoux, a retired three-star general who served as commander of the Eighth Army in South Korea during the Obama administration, said he is “concerned about the impact” the increased cost-sharing demand “will have on the alliance.”The U.S. has been asking South Korea to pay more for keeping about 28,500 American troops in South Korea in the cost-sharing deal set to expire at the end of this year.In the last round of negotiations for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) held in October in Honolulu, Washington asked Seoul to pay about $5 billion for next year, an amount that is more than five times the $924 million Seoul agreed to shoulder for this year.Incoming Commander General of the Eighth U.S. Army, Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, second from left, ROK-US Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Curtis Scaparrotti, center, and outgoing Commander General of the Eighth U.S. Army, Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, second from right, during a change of command ceremony at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 2, 2016.New cost-sharing paradigmChampoux said the U.S. demand for the increased defense cost-sharing stems from a “new paradigm” adopted by the Trump administration.Champoux said the increased cost-sharing demand “is not a negotiating tactic because this is the result of a new paradigm.” He continued, “It’s perhaps consistent with the way this administration has looked at the burden sharing of all our allies, to include Japan and the NATO allies.”As a way of pushing his “American First” policy, a slogan Trump used in his presidential campaign, Trump has given a priority to U.S. national economic interests in broad-ranging foreign policy issues including trade and military alliances.The approach had Trump declaring the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), America’s military alliance with North American and European countries, was “obsolete” and costing too much in January, only to roll back to say, “It’s no longer obsolete” in April.For years before he entered the political arena, Trump had complained that U.S. allies did not pay the U.S. enough for bases and troops used in their defense and, earlier this year, pushed for the “Cost Plus 50” plan.Under the plan, the U.S. could ask countries hosting American forces such as South Korea, Japan and Germany to pay five to six times as much as they currently pay or an additional 50 percent of current amounts.“Wealthy, wealthy countries that we’re protecting are all under notice,” said Trump in January.Trump has backed away from pushing the plan, and it is uncertain whether it will become official U.S. policy, but the idea is being played out in Washington’s defense cost-sharing negotiations with Seoul.FILE – New chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks during his welcome ceremony, Sept. 30, 2019, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.Mark Milley, chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the American public needs an explanation of how much it costs for U.S. forces to defend wealthy countries like South Korea and Japan. He made the remark while en route to Tokyo on Sunday. He arrived in Seoul on Wednesday and met with South Korean General Park Han-Ki for the Annual Military Committee Meeting.“The average American looking at the forward deployed U.S. troops in South Korea and Japan asks some fundamental questions: Why are they needed there? How much does it cost? These are very rich and wealthy countries, why can’t they defend themselves?” Milley said.He continued, “It is incumbent on us … to make sure we adequately explain how the U.S. military is a stabilizing force in Northeast Asia.”Ahead of Milley’s trip, Randall Schriver, assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said the U.S. allies “have to be willing to pick up a larger share of the burden, as the president has emphasized globally, not just related to South Korea.”Champoux says Washington’s steep increase in Seoul’s burden of defense cost could impact the alliance in a way that could benefit its adversaries.“Our adversaries would love there to be an issue or challenge that drives a wedge in the alliance,” Champoux said.David Maxwell, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel and current fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, “Of course, Korean people are asking why should they pay more.” He continued, “We are heading for a train wreck.”On Wednesday, North Korea, one of the adversaries considered by the U.S., expressed anger over the planned joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea scheduled for December saying they are “hostile” to North Korea. It vowed to respond with “force in kind,” through a statement carried by its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo shake hands for the media before the 51st Security Consultative Meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 15, 2019.North Korea’s statement came as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday while traveling to Seoul that he is open to the possibility of adjusting the joint drills to provide space for diplomacy.In Seoul, Esper will be attending the 51st U.S.-ROK Security Consultative Meeting on Friday where he is expected to discuss with South Korea a host of important alliance issues, including the defense cost-sharing deal and an intelligence-sharing pact set to expire this month, which Seoul announced in August that it will terminate with Tokyo against the U.S. urges.After the 44th Military Committee Meeting in Seoul on Thursday, Milley said the U.S. remains ready to use “the full range of U.S. military capabilities” to respond to “any attacks on the Korean Peninsula” according to a joint statement.VOA Korean reporter Christy Lee contributed to this report
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North Korea on Friday said it issued an ultimatum to South Korea that it will tear down South Korean-made hotels and other facilities at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort if the South continues to ignore its demands to come and clear them out.The North Korean statement came weeks after leader Kim Jong Un visited the site and ordered the demolition of South Korean properties he described as “shabby” and “unpleasant-looking” while vowing that the North would redevelop the site on its own.For months, North Korea has expressed frustration over the South’s unwillingness to defy U.S.-led international sanctions against the North and resume South Korean tours at the site.The North later formally demanded the South Koreans come to Diamond Mountain at an agreed-upon date to clear out their facilities and proposed an exchange of documents to work out details.FILE – Local tourists walk on the trail at Mount Kumgang, known as Diamond Mountain, in North Korea, Oct. 23, 2018.South Korean tours to Diamond Mountain were a major symbol of cooperation between the Koreas and a valuable cash source for the North’s broken economy before the South suspended them in 2008 after a North Korean guard fatally shot a South Korean tourist.South Korea has said it will prioritize protecting its property rights over the facilities and seek “creative solutions” to the problem based on political considerations and inter-Korean dialogue. But the North has so far rejected South Korean calls for face-to-face discussions or sending a delegation of government officials and businesspeople to inspect the site.’No room’ for South KoreaIn the new statement, North Korea ridiculed the South over “begging us to let them stay even at a corner of the mountain” and participate in future tourism programs after halting the joint tours for more than a decade “in fear of the U.S.””On November 11 we sent an ultimatum, warning that if the (South Korean) authorities persist in their useless assertion, we will take it as an abandonment of the withdrawal, and take resolute measure for unilaterally pulling down the facilities. However, they have remained answerless until today,” the statement said.”We will develop Mt. Kumgang to be the world-renowned tourist resort with responsibility and in our own way as its owner for the sake of the nation and posterity. There is no room for (South Korea) to find its place there.”The South Korean government didn’t immediately comment on the statement.U.S. relationsIn a summit last September in Pyongyang, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to restart South Korean tours to Diamond Mountain and normalize operations at an inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, voicing optimism that sanctions could end and allow such projects.Kim raised the subject again during his New Year’s speech this year, saying that Pyongyang was ready to restart the projects “without any precondition” while making a nationalistic call for stronger cooperation between the Koreas.But without a breakthrough in larger nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, the inter-Korean economic projects remain shelved. North Korea in recent months has suspended virtually all diplomacy and cooperation with the South while demanding Seoul break away from its ally Washington and restart inter-Korean economic activities.
 
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Beijing lifted a nearly five-year ban on imports of U.S. poultry meat on Thursday, a move the U.S. Trade Representative said would lead to more than $1 billion in annual shipments to China.China’s decision comes as the world’s two largest economies are trying to finalize a limited trade deal.It is also driven by an unprecedented shortage of meat in China after a fatal hog disease, African swine fever, has killed millions of pigs in the pork-loving country over the past year.China, the world’s top pork consumer, will likely buy all types of U.S. chicken, turkey and duck to offset the pork shortage, said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, an industry group.“We’re in a state of euphoria,” Sumner said. “At this point, if it’s meat protein, they’ll eat it.”Shares of American poultry producers rose on the announcement. Tyson Foods gained 2.1%, Sanderson Farms climbed 4.1% and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp rose 1%.Beijing banned U.S. poultry and eggs in January 2015 because of a U.S. outbreak of avian flu, closing a market that bought $500 million worth of American poultry products in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Beijing has a tariff of about 25% on U.S. poultry from before the ban, which is in line with its duties for other countries, Sumner said.China was previously a major importer of chicken feet and wing tips, providing a valuable market for parts of birds that Americans generally do not eat.“We believe renewed access to China will present significant opportunities for growth and value creation for our team members, our growers and our business,” said Pilgrim’s Pride, which is mostly owned by JBS SA.Sanderson Farms, the third largest U.S. poultry producer, began rendering chicken feet and wing tips for products like fertilizer and pet food instead of exporting them for higher returns, after China’s ban. The halt shut a market worth $62 million in total sales for the company in fiscal 2014.“China has been a significant market for poultry in the past and we look forward to new export opportunities resulting from this opening,” Tyson Foods said.China agreed to resume purchases after the USDA amended the Federal Register last week to approve imports of poultry products derived from birds slaughtered in China.
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Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests entered a new, more violent phase this week, following the death of a young protester. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports on how the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s 24-week-old protest movement is changing
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China’s industrial output grew significantly slower than expected in October, as weakness in global and domestic demand and the drawn-out Sino-U.S. trade war weighed on activity in the world’s second-largest economy.Industrial production rose 4.7% year-on-year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Thursday showed, below the median forecast of 5.4% growth in a Reuters poll.Indicators showed other sectors also slowing significantly and missing forecasts with retail sales growth back near a 16-year trough and fixed asset investment growth the weakest on record.An employee works at a manufacturing plant of Sany Heavy Industry Co. during a government-organized tour of manufacturers based in Changsha, Hunan province, China, Oct. 19, 2019.Disappointing dataThe disappointing economic data adds to the case for Beijing to roll out fresh support for the economy after China’s economic growth slowed to its weakest pace in almost three decades in the third quarter as the bruising U.S. trade war hit factory production.Broad activity in China’s manufacturing sector remains weak with data over the weekend showing factory gate prices falling at their fastest pace in more than three years in October.China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) also showed activity in the factory sector remained in contraction for a sixth straight month.“Admittedly, optimism surrounding a phase-one U.S.-China trade deal could provide a boost to corporate investment in the near term,” Capital Economics China Economist Martin Lynge Rasmussen said.“But even if a minor deal is agreed upon in the coming months, this would merely allow the focus to shift to the more intractable issues that we think will eventually lead the trade talks to break down. The case for further monetary easing remains intact,” he added.Other data Thursday showed China’s property investment growth in the first 10 months of the 2019 slowing year-on-year.Trade war hits global demandThe tariff war between China and the United States has hit global demand, disrupted supply chains and upended financial markets.While some signs of recent progress in trade negotiations between the superpowers have cheered investors, officials from both sides have so far avoided any firm commitments to end their dispute.That uncertainty has continued to weigh on manufacturers and their order books.Thursday’s data also showed fixed asset investment, a key driver of economic growth, grew 5.2% from January-October, against expected growth of 5.4%. The January-October growth was the lowest since Reuters record began in 1996.Private sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for 60% of the country’s total investment, grew 4.4% in January-October.On Wednesday, China’s State Council said Beijing would lower the minimum capital ratio requirement for some infrastructure investment projects.Retail sales rose 7.2% year-on-year in October, missing expected growth of 7.9% and matching the more than 16 year low hit in April.Consumers have been hit with higher food prices over the past few months, as pork and other meat prices soared.At the same time, consumers have been reluctant to make big purchases with auto sales falling for the 16th straight month in October, data showed Monday.
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U.S. and North Korean officials held a meeting at a nonproliferation conference in Moscow, a former U.S. official who attended the conference told VOA’s Korean Service, as the denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington remain deadlocked.“I was told that there was such a meeting between the U.S. and North Korean officials,” Thomas Countryman, former acting undersecretary of state of arms control and international security, said after the conference that ended Saturday.U.S. officials, led by Mark Lambert, director of the office of Korean affairs at the State Department, attended the three-day annual Moscow Nonproliferation Conference.Jo Chol Su, head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s North American department, led the delegation from Pyongyang.Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, was also present but did not engage in talks with North Korean representatives other than to exchange greetings. About 250 participants from 40 countries also attended.Organized by Russia’s Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS), the conference is held every year to discuss global nuclear issues, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.FILE – U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman talks to the media at the government building in Skopje, Macedonia, February 2011.Relaying North Korea’s remarks, Countryman said, “I did not hear anything new. I heard the same old rhetoric from speakers about hostile policy, about denuclearization on the entire world, about the peace-loving nature of the DPRK” — in English, North Korea’s official name for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Denuclearization talks stalledThe meeting between the U.S. and North Korea comes at a time when talks between the two sides remain deadlocked because of an inability to reach a compromise on how to synchronize the steps of denuclearization and sanctions relief.Washington has been maintaining its position of keeping sanctions on North Korea until it takes steps toward full denuclearization, while Pyongyang has been insisting the U.S. first relax sanctions.The denuclearization talks have remained deadlocked since the failed Hanoi Summit in February, despite Washington’s attempts to break the stalemate at the working-level talks in Stockholm in early October. The Stockholm talks broke down when North Korea walked away from the negotiating table.Kelly Magsamen, former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs in the Obama administration, told VOA’s Korean Service that both Kim and Trump have not defined the scope of denuclearization.“I don’t think that Kim Jong Un has made a strategic decision about the scope of what he’s going to give up in terms of his nuclear weapons,” Magsamen said. “Likewise, President Trump hasn’t figured out what he can accept in terms of any kind of capability that the North Koreans may continue to possess. So, I don’t think either side has done the deep thinking about the end state we’re trying to get to.”FILE – People watch television file footage of a North Korean missile launch at a railway station in Seoul, Oct. 31, 2019.North Korean testsWhile North Korea has been engaged in talks with the U.S. this year, it has conducted multiple tests since May, ramping up pressure for sanctions relief and demanding the U.S. change its position by the end-of-the-year deadline Pyongyang has insisted Washington meets.During the nonproliferation conference, Jo reiterated that the U.S. change its stance by Pyongyang’s self-imposed deadline.“We’ve given the United States quite a lot of time, and we’re waiting for an answer by the end of this year,” Jo said. “But I must say that the window of opportunity closes every day.”On Wednesday, North Korea again warned that the U.S. will face consequences if it does not meet the end of year deadline.“If the current flow in the political situation doesn’t change, the United States will soon face a bigger threat and harsh suffering that will force them to acknowledge their mistake,” said an unnamed spokesperson for North Korea’s State Affairs Commission in a statement carried by state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Baik Sung-won and Christy Lee contributed to this report from VOA’s Korean Service.
 
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