Updated: September 8, 2019 08:15 AM.HONG KONG — A huge crowd of pro-democracy activists marched to the United States consulate in Hong Kong on Sunday in a bid to ramp up international pressure on Beijing following three months of huge and sometimes violent protests.Millions have taken to Hong Kong’s streets over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China’s rule since the city’s handover from Britain in 1997.The protests were lit by a now scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland, seen by opponents as the latest move by China to chip away at the international finance hub’s unique freedoms.But after Beijing and city leaders took a hard line the movement snowballed into a broader campaign calling for greater democracy, police accountability and an amnesty for those arrested.Sunday’s protest featured another massive turnout for a movement that has gripped the semi-autonomous territory and plunged it into a political crisis.Dense crowds of protesters spent hours slowly filing past Washington’s consulate in the thick tropical heat. Many waved US flags, some sang the Star Spangled Banner, others held signs calling on President Donald Trump to “liberate” Hong Kong.In chants and speeches they called on the US to pressure Beijing to meet their demands and for Congress to pass a recently proposed bill that expresses support for the protest.”More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested. We can’t do anything but come out onto the streets, I feel hopeless,” 30-year-old protester Jenny Chan, told AFP.”I think aside from foreign countries, no one can really help us,” she added.In what has become a now familiar pattern, the main daytime rally passed off peacefully.But as evening set in, riot police were chasing groups of hardcore protesters who blocked roads, vandalized nearby subway stations and set makeshift barricades on fire.Beijing riled by criticismHong Kong is a major international business hub thanks to freedoms unheard of on the mainland under a 50-year deal signed between China and Britain.But Beijing balks at any criticism from foreign governments over its handling of the city, which it insists is a purely internal issue.Authorities and state media have portrayed the protests as a separatist movement backed by foreign “black hands”, primarily aiming their ire at the US and Britain.While some American politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the democratic goals of the protesters, the Trump administration has maintained a more hands-off approach as it locks horns with China over trade.Trump has called for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis and urged China against escalating with a violent crackdown.But he has also said it is up to Beijing to handle the protests.Washington has rejected China’s allegations that it is backing the demonstrators and Beijing has shown little evidence to back its claims beyond supportive statements from some politicians.The ongoing protests show no signs of abating.The city’s unelected pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has struck an uncompromising tone for much of the last three months.But on Wednesday she made a surprise concession, announcing the full withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill which sparked the demonstrations.Protesters across the spectrum dismissed the gesture as too little, too late, saying their movement would only end once the remainder of their core demands were met.”Our government continuously takes away our freedoms and that’s why people are coming out,” a 30-year-old protester in a wheelchair who gave his surname as Ho told AFP on Sunday. Next moveAnalysts say it is difficult to predict what Beijing’s next move might be.Under president Xi Jinping, China has become increasingly authoritarian and dissent is being stamped out with renewed ferocity.But a move such as sending troops into Hong Kong would have huge economic and diplomatic consequences at a time when Beijing is already facing headwinds from the US trade war.Officials are also gearing up for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, with huge celebrations planned.Protesters in Hong Kong are seeking permission for a large rally next Sunday and are also looking to get out a large crowd on October 1.
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Category: East
East news. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise. The practice of praying towards the East is older than Christianity, but has been adopted by this religion as the Orient was thought of as containing mankind’s original home
Typhoon Kills 5 in North Korea, 3 in South Korea
One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Korean Peninsula has left five people dead and three injured in North Korea, state media reported Sunday, in its first public announcement of casualties since the storm made landfall in the country a day earlier.Before reaching North Korea, Typhoon Lingling hit South Korea, killing three people and injuring 13 others, though the country appears to have escaped widespread damage.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, said the typhoon left 460 houses and 15 public buildings destroyed, damaged or inundated in the country. It said 46,200 hectares of farmland were buried or inundated.KCNA said the typhoon hit North Korea from 2 p.m. Saturday to midnight Sunday. Recovery work was underway in typhoon-afflicted areas, it said.Outside observers said rainstorms could be a catastrophe in North Korea because of poor drainage, deforestation and decrepit infrastructure in the impoverished country. South Korean media said North Korea could eventually report more typhoon-related casualties and damage.According to a previous KCNA dispatch, leader Kim Jong Un “urgently convened” an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss disaster prevention efforts and scolded government officials who he described as “helpless against the typhoon, unaware of its seriousness and seized with easygoing sentiment.”South Korean weather officials said the typhoon had weakened when it moved through North Korea. They said the storm was moving near Russia’s Vladivostok as of Sunday morning.South Korea’s interior ministry said earlier Sunday that it was reviewing the damage from the typhoon and engaging in recovery work. The storm damaged buildings and knocked out power to about 161,640 homes in South Korea.Typhoons that made a landfall in South Korea in past years caused greater damage and more casualties.
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Hong Kong Protesters Take Message to US Consulate
Pro-democracy activists rallied outside the United States consulate in Hong Kong Sunday as they try to ramp up international pressure on Beijing following three months of huge and sometimes violent protests.Millions have taken to Hong Kong’s streets over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China’s rule since the city’s handover from Britain in 1997.The protests were ignited by a now scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland, seen by opponents as the latest move by Beijing to chip away at the international finance hub’s unique freedoms.But after Beijing and city leaders took a hard line, the movement snowballed into a broader campaign calling for greater democracy, police accountability and an amnesty for those arrested.Protesters wave U.S. flags as they march from Chater Garden to the US consulate in Hong Kong, Sept. 8, 2019, to call on the U.S. to pressure Beijing to meet their demands and for Congress to pass a bill supporting the protest movement.A huge crowd, some waving the Stars and Stripes flag, rallied in a park in Hong Kong’s commercial district and marched to Washington’s nearby consulate.They called on the U.S. to pressure Beijing to meet their demands and for Congress to pass a recently proposed bill that expresses support for the protest.“More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested. We can’t do anything but come out onto the streets, I feel hopeless,” 30-year-old protester Jenny Chan, told AFP.“I think aside from foreign countries, no one can really help us,” she added.
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Hong Kong’s Grandpa Protesters Speak Softly, Carry a Stick
“Grandpa Wong” holds a cane above his head as he pleads with riot police to stop firing tear gas — an 85-year-old shielding protesters on the front lines of Hong Kong’s fight for democracy.Despite his age, Wong is a regular sight at Hong Kong’s street battles, hobbling toward police lines, placing himself in between riot officers and hardcore protesters, hoping to de-escalate what have now become near daily clashes.“I’d rather they kill the elderly than hit the youngsters,” he told AFP during a recent series of skirmishes in the shopping district of Causeway Bay, a gas mask dangling from his chin.“We’re old now, but the children are the future of Hong Kong,” he added.”Grandpa Wong,” center left, 85, shields protesters from the police by stepping between them along with other “silver hair” volunteers in the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong, Sept. 7, 2019.Youth lead, but all marchThe three months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are overwhelmingly youth-led.Research by academics has shown that half of those on the streets are between 20 and 30 years old, while 77 percent have degrees.But the movement maintains widespread support across the public with lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers and civil servants all holding recent solidarity rallies, even as the violence escalates.Groups of elderly people — dubbed “silver hairs” — have also marched.But Wong and his friend “Grandpa Chan,” a comparatively spry 73-year-old, are among the most pro-active of this older generation.The two are part of a group called “Protect the Children,” made up of mostly senior citizens and volunteers.Almost every weekend, they come out to try to mediate between police and demonstrators, as well as buy protesters time when the cops start to charge.A pair of swimming goggles dangle from the neck of “Grandpa Wong,” 85, as he rides an MTR train to the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong, Sept. 7, 2019.‘Stay peaceful’As another volley of tear gas bounded down a boulevard in Causeway Bay, a street lined with luxury malls and fashion retailers, Chan gripped Wong’s hand tightly, stopping his old comrade from rushing back into the crossfire.“If we die, we die together,” yelled Chan, who eschews helmets and instead always wears an eye-catching red hat daubed with slogans.While “Protect the Children” turn up primarily to defend the youth, Wong said he tries to warn protesters not to provoke police.“It’s wrong to throw stones, that’s why the police beat them up,” he lamented. “I hope that police won’t hit them and the children won’t throw stuff back.”“Everyone should stay peaceful to protect the core values of Hong Kong,” he added.As Hong Kong’s summer of rage has worn on, the violence on both sides has only escalated.Each weekend has brought increasingly violent bouts, with a minority of black-clad protesters using molotovs, slingshots and bricks.Police have also upped their violence, deploying water cannons and resorting to tear gas and rubber bullets with renewed ferocity.More than 1,100 people have been arrested, ranging from children as young as 12 to a man in his mid-70s. Many are facing charges of rioting, which carry 10 years in jail.”Grandpa Wong,” center, 85, leans on his walking stick with other “silver hair” volunteers after intervening in a confrontation between protesters and riot police in the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong, Sept. 7, 2019.Fears have risen for the fate for one veteran protester Alexandra Wong, known as “Grandma Wong,” who attended dozens of protests waving a large British flag.She lives in Shenzhen, a city across the border on the Chinese mainland but has not been seen at the protests since mid-August when she appeared in videos looking injured after clashes with police inside a subway station.‘Let the elderly look after you’Grandpa Wong says he understands why youngsters feel they have no choice but to protest.He has watched over the decades as mainland China has grown more wealthy and powerful while remaining avowedly authoritarian.“If the Chinese Communist Party comes to Hong Kong, Hong Kong will become Guangzhou,” Wong sighed, referring to a nearby mainland city.“The authorities can lock you up whenever they want,” he said.Hong Kong’s protests were sparked by a controversial bill that would allow extradition to China, raising concerns over unfair trials given the mainland’s record of rights abuses.But it soon morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic reform and police accountability.”Grandpa Wong,” 85, speaks with a riot police officer along with other “silver hair” volunteers in the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong, Sept. 7, 2019.Roy Chan, who organizes the “Protect the Children” group, says he respects what the elderly citizens do but is disappointed they feel they need to come out.“They should have a good life at home during the last years of their lives,” he said. “But they are in a war and protecting the youth.”Grandpa Wong’s presence at the Causeway Bay protest came to an end as riot police eventually cleared the usually bustling shopping district.But the next day he was right back at it, this time at a protest near the city’s airport.“Go home kiddos,” he hollered, brimming with renewed energy. “Let the elderly look after you.”
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Cambodia Launches Campaign to End Child Labor in Brick Industry
Cambodia has launched a campaign to end child labor in the brick industry by 2020, a move industry observers cautiously welcome while expressing doubts the goal will be achieved, and calling for more structural changes.The industry drew international attention last year when a report, Blood Bricks: Untold Stories of Modern Slavery and Climate Change from Cambodia, asserted poverty, often caused by climate change, forced tens of thousands of Cambodians into debt bondage at brick kilns, and again in March when a 9-year-old girl lost her arm working in one of the factories.The government fined the factory and issued a directive barring children from brick kiln production line compounds. Children often live with their families in accommodation provided for by the brick factory, which often is in the direct vicinity of the kilns.The government said Aug. 31 that the director of the Labor Ministry’s Child Labor Department, Veng Heang, had started the campaign August 26 in cooperation with local authorities. “According to the department director, any brick factory found having child labor will be severely penalised without any excuse,” the state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse reported.One of the authors of the Blood Bricks report, Laurie Parsons, welcomed the initiative, saying child labor was still prevalent in the industry and estimating that the number of children working in brick factories ranged “in the thousands.”Parsons said the government had denied the issue for years and as late as last year, despite multiple reports by nongovernmental organizations, but now had started to acknowledge the issue because of increased international media attention.“Although the issue has been known, it hasn’t been internationally known,” Parsons said.He welcomed the initiative but called just focusing on child labor a “symptom-led approach” not likely to address the root causes of the problem. He said that poverty pushes people into debt-bondage at the brick kilns, poor working conditions, and brick kiln contracts barring workers from employment elsewhere.“It’s a focus which won’t necessarily produce any long-term tangible change, [which] is very much a kind of symptom-led focus with what we see as being an undue focus on the issue of child labor, which is obviously a very evocative topic,” he said. “It’s something that gets a lot of attention. But to us, the child labor is essentially part of the wider structural problem.”“The reason that these conditions exist is essentially because people are desperate enough to keep bonding themselves into work in the brick industry,” he said.The ministry remained evasive, however, about what concrete measures would be taken to combat child labor. Asked what the government would do once the inspection was done, ministry spokesman Heng Sour said: “I would like to inform you that our labor inspectors are still on their mission to inspect all brick factories across the country, which will conclude in late October. We will publish the report in this November.”Sour did not answer questions about further details of the campaign and what steps the government would take.Parsons said the success of the campaign depends on the concrete measures that have been taken, and whether the brick kiln owners’ claims they don’t directly employ children but only buy bricks will be tolerated. “It has to have a really sweeping overhaul of the entire industry,” he said.Sou Chhlonh, vice director of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia, agreed.Chhlonh said it would be easy for brick factories to avoid being fined if inspections were conducted on a one-off basis. Factories could easily have no children on site for one week, for example, and revert to children working there after the inspection was done, he said.To make matters more complicated, he said, children were largely not employed by the factory owners directly, but rather helped – voluntarily or involuntarily – their parents instead of going to school to lighten their parents’ debts. Sometimes, brick kiln owners tell parents to get their children to work to pay their debts, he said, but this was not always the case.Sour told VOA the government would show “zero tolerance” on the issue.“The main mission is zero tolerance to child labor, and debt bondage in the brick factory,” he said. “So, the labor inspector is doing such inspection, education, and raising awareness among the workers who work in the brick factory.”Chhlonh said training those inspectors is crucial for the success of the campaign, and raised doubts that child labor could be erased by the government’s deadline. “It’s so fast,” he said. “We should train more inspectors [first].”Pointing to the comparatively small size of the industry – Parsons estimated that about 10,000 people were involved in about 450 kilns in the country – the researcher said significant improvements could be made quickly.However, “in practice, of course, it’s not going to happen by 2020,” he said, “because resources won’t be put in place, and the kind of structural attitude won’t be there.”
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Expert: North Korean Call for UN to Cut Aid Staff Seen as Pressure for Sanctions Relief
North Korea’s call on the United Nations to cut its international staff involved in humanitarian work there could be a move to gain leverage over sanctions relief, a human rights expert said Thursday.Pyongyang told the U.N. in an August 21 letter it wants the world body to slash the number of aid workers inside the country by the end of the year because U.N. programs have been ineffective, according to a Wednesday report by Reuters. The news service quoted Kim Chang Min, secretary general for North Korea’s National Coordinating Committee for the U.N., as writing that “U.N. supported programs failed to bring the results as desired due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces” in the letter.The letter comes at a time when talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since their Hanoi summit in February failed due to their difference over denuclearization and sanctions relief. The United States rejected North Korea’s proposal for sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization while asking it to carry out complete denuclearization.Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, however, called the letter “an insidious way of blackmailing the international community.” Scarlatoiu wrote in a Thursday email that North Korea is essentially saying unless sanctions are eased “we will punish you by restricting your access to those North Korean people who need assistance.”Scarlatoiu said North Korea is “politicizing and weaponizing humanitarian aid” and “using its vulnerable people as hostage and leverage” to obtain sanctions relief.“The North Korean regime focuses on the sanctions as the root cause of its precarious humanitarian situation,” Scarlatoiu said. “This is a serious distortion of the truth. It is the regime’s deliberate policy of human rights denial that results in severe human insecurity in North Korea.”The U.N. Security Council began ratcheting up sanctions on North Korea in 2006 in response to its nuclear test in the same year, and in 2016, started imposing sanctions targeting North Korea’s key export commodities such as coal and seafood to cut off funds that flow into its nuclear and missile programs. The United Nations has been granting sanctions exemptions to humanitarian groups to provide aids to North Korea.Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Tuesday that sanctions on North Korea are impeding humanitarian work there.Scarlatoiu, though, said, “Humanitarian operators may be negatively affected by some unintended side effects of the sanctions regime,” but that the sanctions “do not target the people of North Korea.””The perennial human insecurity affecting the people of North Korea has persisted for three decades…[and is] are systematic,” he said, “What North Korea needs is comprehensive economic, political, and social reform.”Daniel Jaspers, public education and advocacy coordinator for Asia at the American Friends Service Committee, said the North Korean letter “points to an issue that humanitarian groups have been raising for a number of years – namely that sanctions are impeding humanitarian operations and aid delivery” in an email to VOA on Thursday. He continued, “These obstacles in aid delivery are despite U.N. regulations which clearly state that sanctions are not meant to interfere with humanitarian work.” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that the United Nations had received the letter, and said it is currently talking with North Korea. He said the U.N. already has “a light footprint on ground” and that keeping the current number of humanitarian staff in North Korea is “vital” in mobilizing resources to support U.N.’s food, water, and nutrition programs in the country.
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Hong Kong Officials Limit Airport Transportation to Prevent Protests
Officials in Hong Kong are limiting transportation services to the airport Saturday to try to prevent any demonstrations from taking place there this weekend.Authorities say an airport train from downtown Hong Kong will depart as scheduled Saturday but will skip all stations in between and instead only stop at the airport terminal.Some protesters called earlier this week for renewed demonstrations at Hong Kong’s airport; however, it is not clear whether they will take place.Hong Kong’s airport was forced to close in August when protesters occupied terminals. China called the behavior “near-terrorist acts” and some protesters later issued an apology.Violence broke out at protests late Friday after demonstrators besieged a police station and a subway stop, leading police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets.Earlier this week, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced that her government will formally withdraw an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to face trial in mainland China.The extradition bill sparked the mass protest movement in June. Since then, however, demonstrators’ goals have expanded to include demands for full democracy.
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Typhoon Leaves Thousands of South Korean Homes Without Electricity
Typhoon winds toppled trees, grounded planes and left thousands of South Korean homes without electricity Saturday as a powerful storm system brushed up against the Korean Peninsula.Strong winds and rain from Typhoon Lingling caused power outages in about 17,000 homes on the southern resort island of Jeju and in southern mainland regions, South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.The typhoon was 184 kilometers (114 miles) southwest of the southern mainland city of Gunsan Saturday morning, moving north at 45 kilometers (28 miles) per hour with winds of up to 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour, the Korea Meteorological Association said.More damage expectedIt is expected to affect a broader part of the country as it passes off South Korea’s west coast later Saturday before making landfall in North Korea in the evening.The storm toppled trees and streetlamps and damaged traffic signs in Jeju overnight, caused airports to cancel 89 flights and forced 38 people to evacuate from their flooded homes in a city near Seoul. There were no immediate reports of injuries.National parks were closed, as were southern ports on the mainland and major cross-sea bridges. South Korea’s weather agency has warned of flooding, landslides and structure damaged caused by strong rain and winds expected nationwide until early Sunday.Kim berates North Korean officialsNorth Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un “urgently convened” an emergency meeting Friday to discuss disaster prevention efforts and scolded government officials who he described as “helpless against the typhoon, unaware of its seriousness and seized with easygoing sentiment.”Kim called for his military to drive national efforts to minimize damage from the typhoon, which he said would be an “enormous struggle” that would require the entire country to step up, KCNA said.
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Protests Continue in Hong Kong Despite Bill’s Withdrawal
Hong Kong protesters besieged a police station and a subway stop on Friday in continuing defiance despite the government’s promise to kill a proposed law that sparked months of demonstrations in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced two days ago that her government will formally withdraw an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial. Many saw it as a glaring example of the city’s eroding autonomy since the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997.But the decision failed to appease protesters who have taken up a new slogan, “Five key demands, not one less.” They want an independent investigation into allegations of police brutality during the protests, the unconditional release of those detained, no more labeling of the protests as riots, and direct elections of the city’s leaders.More than a thousand angry protesters late Friday surrounded the Mong Kok police station for a second straight night, demanding accountability over a police raid of the Prince Edward station on Aug. 31. Police set up barriers at the entrance of the police station, and later fired tear gas and rubber bullets to ward off the crowd.
Rumors have been circulating in social media accusing police of covering up the alleged death of a protester during the earlier raid at the subway station, in which they were videoed swinging batons and shooting pepper spray at people inside a train. Protesters want surveillance camera recordings of the raid to be released to determine the truth.The Prince Edward subway station was closed during the evening rush hour after demonstrators staged a protest there against the alleged police violence.
The protest movement was triggered by the extradition bill but the focus has since shifted to alleged use of excessive force by police in the increasingly violent clashes.Separately, more than 1,000 people gathered Friday at a rally in a public park near Hong Kong’s legislative complex, chanting “Fight for freedom.”Medical workers also rallied at the office of the hospital authority.
Earlier in the day, students in blue school dresses and surgical masks like those worn by protesters held hands outside the Maryknoll Convent School, a Catholic girls’ school. People from other schools, including graduates clad in the protesters’ trademark black, also joined similar chains.One young man in a shirt with his school’s emblem held up a placard that said”Freedom” Other young people handed out fliers at metro stations. A group of two dozen black-clad youths were seen running around the busy Wan Chai commercial area shouting “Freedom for Hong Kong.”Lam has rejected the protesters’ other demands, saying a police watchdog agency investigating police misconduct was credible. Critics say the agency is led by her allies and doesn’t have the power to summon witnesses.Police say they have used the minimum amount of force necessary to quell riotous demonstrations. The protesters at Mong Kok retreated Friday when riot police confronted them, but some demonstrators set off street fires using a pile of carton boxes.
The city is bracing for more protests over the weekend, including plans to target the airport again on Saturday.The unrest led ratings agency Fitch to cut Hong Kong’s credit rating on Friday, saying the turbulence has “inflicted long-lasting damage” to the territory’s image and that a degree of public discontent is likely to persist.The ratings reduction was a new blow to Hong Kong officials, who are trying to boost an economy that was already slowing before the protests dented the territory’s tourism and retail industries.
Fitch also cited Hong Kong’s growing integration with the mainland, saying that could erode its autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework under which it returned to Chinese rule.Lam, who is in southern China for a visit, disputed the downgrade.“We do not agree with Fitch Rating’s decision because based on what happened in the past months, nothing has undermined the `one country, two systems,” she said.In Beijing, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Friday for the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents to be protected. Merkel, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, said political dialogue not violence was the path toward a resolution.
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In Bid for Friendship Renewal, China Offers Philippines More Development Money
China has pledged to help fund a $169 billion infrastructure renewal drive in the Philippines, an apparent bid for friendship as Filipinos question whether officials in Beijing are trying to squelch their maritime sovereignty claims.Over the past year, Chinese boats have surrounded a Philippine-held islet in a disputed tract of the South China Sea. A collision between vessels from the two countries sank a Philippine boat in June. Filipinos want China to honor a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague against the legal basis for its sovereignty claims to the sea, but Chinese officials reject the verdict.Too much distaste for China could pivot the Philippines closer to the United States, a staunch military supporter, and to Japan, a steady development aid donor. China is at odds with both Tokyo and Washington politically.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who made peace with China in 2016 by setting aside the maritime dispute, met last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Li vowed to “step up cooperation” on the five-year Philippine infrastructure drive, Duterte’s website said.“Perhaps it’s a way to reassure the government and at the same time also the public that it remains committed to the support in terms of the infrastructure projects in the Philippines,” said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
“At the same time, maybe they thought it’s a way to placate the rising dissatisfaction of the public and even some sectors in government about the Chinese movements in the EEZ [maritime exclusive economic zone] of the Philippines,” she said.FILE – China’s President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Basketball World Cup in Beijing, China, Aug. 30, 2019.Funding targetsDuring his meeting in Beijing with Duterte, Xi said it was “necessary” to pair the Philippine infrastructure drive with China’s own Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese official Xinhua News Agency reported.The Belt and Road initiative is a 6-year-old, $1 trillion campaign by Beijing to open trade routes around Eurasia by helping other countries build ports, roads and other infrastructure.
Xi called at the meeting for “major” cooperative projects in infrastructure construction, industrial parks, energy and telecommunications, Xinhua said.“First and foremost, the Chinese are trying to send a message that it’s not just words, but actually we’re going to step up to the plate and pledge some money,” said Stephen Nagy, senior associate politics and international studies professor at International Christian University in Tokyo.China stepped up trade and development support for much of Southeast Asia after losing in the International Court of Arbitration. In 2016 Xi pledged $24 billion in aid and loans for the Philippines.About $4.7 billion of that pledge had reached the Philippines as of February, according to domestic media reports. Ordinary Filipinos have complained that China is giving too little so far.
Duterte kicked off his infrastructure renewal, a program called “Build, Build, Build,” to help prepare the country for more industry. About one-in-five Filipinos live in poverty today, due largely to lack of jobs.FILE – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Aug. 29, 2019.South China SeaChina and the Philippines dispute sovereignty over parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer body, valued for fisheries and fossil fuel reserves. Three other Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan claim all or parts of the same sea, but China calls about 90% of the waterway its own.
About a decade ago, China began taking a military and technological lead by reclaiming land to expand small islets and place military equipment on some of them.Duterte’s predecessor filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Arbitration in 2013.
Xi said last week that China and the Philippines should set aside disputes, according to the Xinhua report.Poor Sino-Philippine relations would raise the prominence of U.S. and Japanese help for the Southeast Asian country, analysts believe.
Duterte initially shunned the United States to build ties with China, but a survey by the Manila-based research organization Social Weather Stations released in July found that 51% of Filipinos feel “little trust” in China while 81% had “much trust” in the United States.Washington irks China by passing Navy ships into the disputed sea as a statement it’s open for international use. Xi told Duterte China would “continue to firmly support the Philippines’ efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and resist external interference,” Xinhua said.
China must boost aid to “change the security equation,” Nagy said.Japan, which had given the Philippines a cumulative $24.4 billion in development support through 2017, also enjoys a favorable image among Filipinos. Japan is courting much of Southeast Asia through development aid to shore up its own influence in the region as China grows economically.“Any funder who would like to help the Philippines is always welcome, however at the moment, just to give you an update, the biggest share of our ‘Build, Build, Build’ remains with Japan,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist with BDO Unibank.
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China Urges Release of Huawei Exec With New Canadian Envoy
China urged Canada to “reflect on its mistakes” and immediately release a detained Huawei executive in comments Thursday on the appointment of a new Canadian ambassador to the country.Relations between China and Canada were severely damaged when Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei and the daughter of its founder, was arrested at Vancouver’s airport last Dec. 1 at the request of the U.S.“At present, China-Canada relations are facing serious difficulties,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing. “We urge the Canadian side to reflect on its mistakes, take seriously China’s stern position and concerns, and immediately release Meng Wanzhou and let her return safely.”Geng said China hopes the new envoy, Dominic Barton, can play an active role in returning ties to a “normal track” and take China’s concerns seriously. He said Canada is responsible for the current tensions.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired previous Ambassador John McCallum after he said it would be “great” if the U.S. dropped its extradition request for Meng. She is wanted by the U.S. on fraud charges and is currently under house arrest in her multi-million dollar Vancouver home.In apparent retaliation less than two weeks after her arrest, China detained two Canadians on suspicion of stealing state secrets. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been denied access to lawyers and their family members since Dec. 10.China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola and meat. In January, China handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial.Barton, former global managing director of consulting firm McKinsey & Co., worked in Asia for 12 years and served on the board of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. He also was an adjunct professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, according to online biographies.China has also appointed a new envoy to Canada, Cong Peiwu. Cong previously headed the foreign ministry’s office on North American affairs.
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US Woman Arrested at Manila Airport With Baby Hidden in Bag
An American woman who attempted to carry a 6-day-old baby out of the Philippines hidden inside a sling bag has been arrested at Manila’s airport and charged with human trafficking, officials said Thursday.They said Jennifer Erin Talbot was able to pass through the airport immigration counter on Wednesday without declaring the baby boy but was intercepted at the boarding gate by airline personnel.Talbot, from Ohio, was unable to produce any passport, boarding pass or government permits for the baby, airport officials said.Clad in an orange detainee shirt and in handcuffs, Talbot, 43, was presented to reporters in Manila on Thursday. She kept her head low and appeared at times to be on the verge of tears. She did not issue any statement.Talbot had planned to board a Delta Air Lines flight to the United States with the baby, airport officials said.“There was really an intention to hide the baby,” immigration official Grifton Medina said by telephone.After discovering the baby, airline staff called immigration personnel, who arrested Talbot at the airport. She was later turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation and the baby was given to government welfare personnel.The investigation bureau said Talbot presented an affidavit at the airport, allegedly from the baby’s mother, giving consent for the baby to travel to the U.S., but it had not been signed by the mother.Officials said no government travel approval had been issued for the baby, prompting them to file human trafficking charges against her. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.U.S. Embassy officials have been notified of her arrest.Officials are searching for the baby’s parents, who have been charged under a child protection law.
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Hong Kong Protesters Keep Up Pressure, Despite Extradition Bill Withdrawal
Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive Carrie Lam may hope the withdrawal of a hated extradition bill will help the semi-autonomous Chinese city move forward from three months of major protests.But if the initial reaction from activists, scholars and other Hong Kong residents is any indication, the protests may not go away any time soon, with protester demands having long ago expanded to include broader democratic reforms.Lam on Wednesday announced the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill, a move she said was intended to “fully allay public concerns” after having earlier only suspended the proposal. But while the withdrawal essentially amounts to an admission that the extradition bill was a mistake, it seems few in Hong Kong see the move as a major concession.“I haven’t heard anyone say they will stop protesting because of the withdrawal,” said Wilson Leung, who helped found the Hong Kong-based Progressive Lawyers Group. “Because a lot of the anger is now over police brutality and overreach.”Women pay their respects to the protesters who were injured during clashes with the police by placing flowers outside Prince Edward station, in Hong Kong, Sept. 4, 2019.Months of protests, strikesSince early June, Hong Kong has seen mass peaceful protests, widespread strikes, and occasional smaller groups of protesters who have clashed with police and attacked government symbols. The immediate cause of the protests was the extradition proposal. The legislation, if passed, would have allowed some criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.Hong Kongers feared the bill would expose them to China’s politicized court system, where a trial virtually always results in a conviction.But the protests underscored broader concerns about encroaching Communist Party influence in Hong Kong ahead of 2047, when a deal between China and Britain, Hong Kong’s former colonial power, is set to expire. Many feel Beijing’s “One Country, Two Systems” model, which allowed Hong Kong freedom of speech and the rule of law, has already hopelessly eroded.By failing to make any major concessions at the outset, and instead responding violently to the protests, Hong Kong and Beijing authorities helped ensure the movement expanded and took on loftier goals, analysts say.
Hong Kong’s Tradition of Protest video player.
Riot police officers search people and their belongings, after an anti-extradition bill protest, at Po Lam Mass Transit Railway station, in Hong Kong, Sept. 5, 2019.‘Too little, too late’“The concession made by Carrie Lam was too little too late,” said Willy Lam, a political analyst with the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It should not have much impact on the situation in Hong Kong. The wave of protests will likely continue.”The Chinese Communist Party may view the move as a major concession, since this is the “first time in many years that Beijing has needed to admit a mistake,” said the analyst Lam. “This is an open and full-fledged admission that the introduction of the extradition bill was a mistake.”“However, most Hong Kong people have decided they want Beijing to honor the agreement with the British to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and also to allow Hong Kong a faster pace of democratic reforms,” he said. “These are conditions which Beijing has refused to grant.”Protesters hold a vigil for democracy in Hong Kong in front of the Chancellery in Berlin, Sept. 5, 2019.On Thursday, the Beijing-friendly chief executive insisted the withdrawal decision was made by her — not mainland leaders. That assertion comes after several reports suggested Chinese leaders were guiding the official response to the protest movement.She also acknowledged that the protests have now made it “obvious to many of us that the discontentment in society extends far beyond” the extradition bill and covers “political, economic and social issues.”Only 40 out of 70 members of Hong Kong’s legislature are elected by popular vote. The chief executive is chosen by an election committee that is heavily weighted toward Beijing.Beijing has given no signs it will make democratic concessions. Instead, authorities in Hong Kong last week rounded up major pro-democracy figures. In total, more than 1,000 people have been arrested during the 13 weeks of protests.Protesters also say they cannot afford to give in, especially since the demonstrations have exposed deeper problems beyond the extradition bill.Pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow leave the Eastern Court after being released on bail in Hong Kong, Aug. 30, 2019.Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist who last week found himself in legal trouble yet again for participating in unauthorized anti-government protests, warned against being “deceived by the Hong Kong and Beijing government.”“They have conceded nothing,” he said in a tweet, adding: “A full-scale clampdown is on the way.”
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Hong Kong’s Tradition of Protest
Nearly three months of protests have rocked Hong Kong amid a harsh police crackdown, widespread arrests, and fears of suppression by Beijing. On Wednesday, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announced plans to withdraw a controversial extradition bill that sparked the unrest, but pro-democracy activists are pressing for more. Mike O’Sullivan reports on how the current demonstrations are the latest in a long history of protest in the Chinese semi-autonomous region.
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Experts: China Could Be ‘New Road’ Touted by North Korea
China may be a “new road” for North Korea if diplomacy with the United States fails, experts say.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a senior North Korean official Wednesday in Pyongyang during a three-day visit that began Monday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.Wang told Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, that China’s prosperity cannot be impeded by any country, apparently referring to the U.S., with which Beijing has been involved in an FILE – Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk during Xi’s visit in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), June 21, 2019.ReconciliationKim and Xi held their first summit in March 2018, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s landmark Singapore summit in June 2018, and have stepped up diplomacy in an apparent move to repair their relationship. Kim and Xi have met five times since the first summit.Relations between the two historical East Asian allies soured when Kim took power in 2011 and began testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. In response to North Korea’s weapons tests in 2016 and 2017, Xi supported U.S.-led sanctions against the country.Wang’s visit to Pyongyang came as North Korea’s first Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said on Saturday that FILE – People watch a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s speech, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 3, 2018. North and South Korea agreed Friday to revive their formal dialogue.Kim said during his 2019 New Year’s Day speech that he was willing to FILE – South Korean protesters shout slogans during a rally demanding withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Korea Peninsula near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, July 31, 2019.In August, Trump said South Korea “agreed to pay substantially more money to the U.S. in order to defend itself from North Korea.” He often said South Korea should pay more to keep about 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, an idea that South Korea rejects.Differences over cost-sharing for keeping the U.S. military in South Korea have apparently been exacerbated by Seoul’s decision in August to end an intelligence-sharing pact through which it agreed to share sensitive military information with Tokyo.Seoul’s decision generated U.S. criticism because the withdrawal could complicate U.S. security cooperation with both South Korea and Japan to guard against a North Korean threat.
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Hong Kong Leader to Speak to Media After Killing Extradition Bill
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is expected to address the media Thursday, a day after she withdrew a controversial extradition bill that has triggered mass protests and plunged the Chinese territory into its worst political crisis in decades.Lam, in a prerecorded televised message, Wednesday formally withdrew the bill, acceding to one of pro-democracy protesters’ five demands, although many demonstrators and lawmakers said the move was too little, too late.The official China Daily said Thursday that the withdrawal of the bill was an olive branch that leaves demonstrators with no excuse to continue violence.Protesters hold placards reading “Strike for Hong Kong” during continuing pro-democracy rallies in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, in Tamar Park, Hong Kong, Sept. 3, 2019.Beijing stopped earlier withdrawal The announcement came after Reuters reports Friday and Monday revealed that Beijing had thwarted Lam’s earlier proposals to withdraw the bill and that she had said privately that she would resign if she could, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters.The Beijing-backed leader is expected to meet the media before she departs for a trip to China’s Guangxi province Thursday afternoon.Skirmishes broke out in some districts late Wednesday after Lam’s announcement, which came after a weekend of some of the most violent protests the city has seen in the past three months.The Asian financial hub has been roiled by some of the worst violence in decades, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.The bill, which would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party, was seen as the latest example of what many residents see as ever-tighter control by Beijing, despite the promise of autonomy.Thousands of students gather during a strike on the first day of school at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, Sept. 2, 2019.Shrinking rightsThe former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” administration that gave the city of more than 7 million people more freedoms than mainland cities, such as an independent judiciary.China denies meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and accuses Western countries of fueling the protests.More than 1,100 people have been arrested since the violence escalated in June and Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade.China has strongly denounced the violence and warned it could use force to restore order. Beijing is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China Oct 1.Lam said in her televised message that her administration would reach out to the community to start a dialogue to address the discontent and the “foremost priority now is to end violence, to safeguard the rule of law and to restore order and safety in society.”
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Indonesian Human Rights Lawyer Accused of Inciting Protests
Police have accused a prominent human rights lawyer of spreading information on Twitter that incited violent protests in Indonesia’s restive Papua region.East Java police chief Luki Hermawan said Wednesday that rights activist Veronica Koman intentionally spread information about the arrests of 43 Papuan students in Surabaya last month, sparking protests in recent weeks in West Papua and Papua provinces.Hermawan said police will request assistance from the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency and Interpol in tracking her location. Police believe she is currently abroad.Koman could face up to six years in jail and a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($70,000) if found guilty under Indonesia’s criminal code and electronic information and transaction law.
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Huawei Accuses US of Cyberattacks, Coercing Employees
Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei accused U.S. authorities on Wednesday of attempting to break into its information systems and of trying to coerce its employees to gather information on the company.
Huawei, which faces mounting American pressure including possible loss of access to U.S. technology over accusations the company is a security risk, said in a statement that Washington has used “unscrupulous means” in recent months to disrupt its business.
American officials have given no evidence to support claims Huawei might aid Chinese spying, accusations the company denies. The United States, Australia, Japan and some other governments have imposed restrictions on use of Huawei technology.Huawei Technologies Ltd. is the No. 2 global smartphone brand and the biggest maker of network gear for phone companies.Export controls announced by the Trump administration in May would limit Huawei’s access to U.S. technology. Implementation has been postponed to mid-November.Washington is lobbying European governments to exclude Huawei from next-generation telecom networks. Germany, France and Ireland say they have no plans to ban any supplier.Huawei, headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, gave no evidence to support its accusations. A company spokesman said he had no additional details.
The accusations were included in a statement about an unrelated patent dispute in the United States.The White House in Washington and the American Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.AllegationsThe statement said American authorities launched cyberattacks “to infiltrate Huawei’s intranet and internal information systems” but gave no indication what information they targeted or whether they succeeded.Huawei also said FBI agents pressured its employees to collect information on the company.The Reuters news agency cited a Huawei document it said reported eight employees, all mid- to high-level executives, including several U.S. citizens, were involved in the incidents. It said the latest occurred Aug. 28 when an employee informed Huawei the FBI asked the person to be an informant.The company said U.S. authorities have disrupted Huawei’s business by delaying shipments, denying visas and unspecified intimidation.China’s government has accused Washington of improperly using national security arguments to hurt Chinese commercial competitors.”This kind of behavior is neither glorious nor moral,” a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Wednesday. He called on Washington to “stop deliberately smearing” Chinese companies and to “provide a level playing field” for them.
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Hong Kong Leader Withdraws Extradition Bill
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam says the government will formally withdraw an extradition bill that that sparked three months of growing and often violent pro-democracy protests.In a videotaped message released Wednesday by her office, Lam said she was withrawing the bill, which would have would have permitted criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the ruling Communist Party, “to fully allay public concerns.”Thousands of students gather during a strike on the first day of school at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, Sept. 2, 2019.Lam suspended the bill as the demonstrations escalated during the first month, but ignored calls to fully withdraw the measure. In making Wednesday’s surprise decision, Lam acceded to one of five demands made by the protesters, which include an independent probe into allegations of police brutality and the long-stated goal for greater democracy for the Chinese-controlled territory. The demonstrations have brought everyday life in the Asian financial hub to a near halt, with protesters disrupting activities at the city’s subway system and airport. Hundreds, if not thousands of protesters have been arrested after clashes with police wielding batons and firing tear gas and water cannons.But veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong told reporters after Lam’s address that the decision to pull the legislation was “too little, too late.”Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam reacts during a press conference in Hong Kong, Sept. 3, 2019.Wednesday’s announcement comes just days after Lam was heard in an audio recording obtained by Reuters telling Hong Kong business leaders that she had caused “a huge havoc” when she introduced a controversial extradition bill that sparked the protests. In the recording, which is available online, she tells the group, “If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology, is to step down.”Protest leaders took the remarks to mean that officials in Beijing would not permit her to resign. But Lam told reporters Tuesday she “had not even contemplated” discussing a resignation with Chinese leaders. When asked specifically if Beijing was stopping her from resigning, Lam said she has “never tendered a resignation to the central people’s government.”She said she doesn’t know how long it will take to end the civil disobedience, but that she remains confident of restoring law and order. She dismissed speculation that Beijing is anxious to resolve the crisis by Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
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Why the Philippines Is Reporting Record Growth in Retirement Visas
After John Ryder retired from teaching high school, he found himself running short of money to keep living in his apartment along the shores of San Francisco Bay, one of the most expensive parts of the United States. In 2015 he moved to the Philippines. Things could hardly be better.“Once you’re here and get your feet wet a little bit, it’s not too bad,” said Ryder, 69, as he ate an American-style lunch at local prices at the Veterans of Foreign Wars restaurant near Clark Field, a former U.S. air base north of Manila.“I couldn’t afford to live in California,” Ryder said. “I had a friend who gave me a break on the rent. When I told him I was going to retire he was, ‘well, I’m going have to raise your rent.’” Ryder’s story explains why the Philippines gave out a record number of visas, for a single year, in 2018. The total came to 6,437, including spouses and dependents. The 2018 figure marks a 10% increase over 2017. The Philippines has given out 63,538 visas to foreign retirees since it began issuing them in 1987, according to Philippine Retirement Authority figures.Foreign retirees enjoy a lifestyle that’s cheaper than what they would pay in their developed homelands, while the largely impoverished Philippines is getting a boost from the money they spend, from meals to investments.Cheaper lifestyleAround Clark Field — now the site of a growing international airport — a golfer can get course access and a caddy for $25, Ryder said.Lunch around Clark costs no more than $10. A lot of expats near the base enjoy cheap beers, gym access and quick flights to the more modern city of Hong Kong, he said. The nearest beach is about an hour from Clark and some retirees live there. “If you want to go away anywhere, you can just go to that airport and get out,” Ryder said.Arch Turner, 76, moved to the Philippines nine years ago despite his distaste for Asia after returning from the Vietnam War. He now enjoys living cheaply enough to ride a motorcycle every day, watch anything on television and donate money to poor Filipino children.“About once a year I take one of these mobile flip flop carts down to the orphanage and the kids come out two at a time and they all select a pair of flip flops and it costs me less than 100 bucks,” Turner said.Old, easy schemeThe Philippine visa program stands out over peers in Asia, such as Malaysia and Thailand, by keeping the minimum qualifying age at relatively low at 35 and the qualification process “not too complicated,” a retirement authority spokesperson told the VOA. A total of 25 countries, including a number in Latin America, offer retirement visas. They hope the visa holders will spend money on services, especially tourism.Foreigners deposit from $10,000 to $50,000 in a Philippine bank account, with amounts depending on age, to sign up. Retirees get that money back if they leave the country permanently. “We’re also one of the cheapest options, even compared to our neighbors and competitors in Southeast Asia,” the spokesperson said.The top source country for the Philippines last year was China, with 40% of the total, followed by South Korea at 21%. Americans ranked sixth at 4.7%.Economic supportRetirees contribute heavily to the service sectors in a country where about one-fifth of the population lives in poverty, mainly for lack of jobs. The urban areas near Clark Field in turn draw people from poorer parts of the country for service jobs. Some retirees start businesses, pumping more money into the economy, the retirement authority spokesperson said. “The Philippines benefits…as these foreign retirees consume goods and services, pay tax that support public goods and services, and while they set-up their own businesses, they bring capital into the area that may be invested locally by banks,” the spokesperson said.Around Clark Field, foreign retirees eat high-end European cuisine and drink in bars after hours. Many hire local cars for adventures outside town or trips to the Manila airport.Analyn Matol, 26, moved to the city closest to Clark Field nine years ago from a poorer part of the country because her aunt was running a restaurant there. She now helps manage a restaurant herself. “As long as people have the work, that’s most important,” she said.
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Sleepy to Sleepless? Indonesia’s Future Capital in the Forest
By day, the unforgiving sun glares off the road beside Ipah’s wooden home with blinding brightness as a passing motorbike stirs a swirl of dust.By night, the beams of an occasional truck carrying coal or palm fruits pierce the darkness.This remote corner of Indonesia is set to be transformed from a forest backwater on the island of Borneo to a global city – a new capital of a country whose 260 million people make it the world’s fourth most populous.At her stall serving ice tea and instant noodles, Ipah, an 18-year-old single mother, worries about what the change will bring.”Cities in Kalimantan are peaceful and safe,” said Ipah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, referring to the Indonesian part of Borneo island. “The capital is a city that never sleeps. Too much smoke, too much fuss.”A general view of the capital city as smog covers it in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 4, 2019The capital Jakarta’s reputation as a crowded, polluted mega city of more than 10 million people – one that is slowly sinking into the sea – is partly why Indonesia plans to move government offices to a “Forest City” in East Kalimantan province.The logic of the plan, first mooted nearly 70 years ago, is also to escape Java’s earthquake risk and to swing Indonesia’s political centre nearer the middle of the archipelago and away from the politically dominant island.”Within five years, we think there will be 200,000 to 300,000 people. Within 10 years, maybe the population will reach 1 million. And then after that 1.5 million,” Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told Reuters in Jakarta.”We will manage the growth of the city so that it doesn’t wildly expand out of control,” he said.The vision set out in glossy presentations for a $33 billion city is inspired by the good management of Seoul, the greenness of Singapore and Washington’s separation of administration from business, he said.The site of the new capital is about 1,300 km (800 miles) northeast of Jakarta.Reuters reporters travelled more than 280 km (175 miles) across the designated area, the thinly populated forested region of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara, between the existing cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda.Long-standing dreamBy identifying the site for the yet-to-be-named capital last week, President Joko Widodo – known as Jokowi – got closer than ever to realising a move now set to start in 2024.”Our people are grateful, Alhamdulilah (praise be to God),” said Abdul Gafur Mas’ud, regent of North Penajam Paser. “This regency has been considered undeveloped.”The congratulatory bouquets arrayed at his office are as bright as the mood in town since the decision.Many residents spoke of their hopes for better schools and paved roads, for clean, piped water and reliable electricity.But after initial celebrations, worries are also surfacing that land speculation will drive up prices, and over an influx of outsiders competing for jobs and over environmental destruction.The potential for massive corruption is also not lost on Indonesians given experiences with new capitals everywhere from Brazil’s Brasilia to Myanmar’s Naypyidaw with its vast projects and still largely empty highways.”Our people must prepare quickly,” said Awang Yacoub Luthman, secretary of the Kutai Kartanegara Ing Martadipura Sultanate, who has migration at the top of his list of worries.FILE – A man carries eggs as he crosses a street at a Sepaku market in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, Aug. 29, 2019.East Kalimantan touts its openness to religions other than Islam as well as its welcome for outsiders. In fact, many residents are descendants of Javanese settlers who came to the coal mining and palm oil growing region in the 1970s.But the new planned relocation is on a different scale.Land worriesThe region’s Tribun Kaltim newspaper said asking prices for land surged four times after the announcement.That said, Bagus Susetyo, local chairman of the Real Estate Indonesia property association, told Reuters major property companies were not acquiring land because they had large land banks in nearby Balikpapan.While some would gain from the rise in land prices, many Indonesians don’t own the land they live on.Among them is Ipah, who is already resigned to losing her dwelling, protected against bad luck by two diamond-shaped charms woven from young coconut leaves.”Mr Jokowi, can you give me free land, even just a square metre or a free house?” she asked.It is not only human homes at risk.East Kalimantan is known for forests inhabited by orangutans, sun bears and long-nosed monkeys.There will be no building in protected forest and the government plans to reforest abandoned mines and illegal palm oil plantations, Planning Minister Brodjonegoro said.He floated the idea of an orangutan conservation center similar to one for giant pandas in the Chinese city of Chengdu.The fate of the apes is particularly sensitive in Indonesia given that they have become symbols for campaigners targeting the world’s biggest palm oil industry over the destruction of forests for plantations.Conservationists said they were far from convinced that there would be no spillover effects from moving the capital to East Kalimantan.”The city center might be located quite far away,” said Aldrianto Priadjati, an executive of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, which is based in Kutai Kartanegara. “But the development will be everywhere, just like – sorry to say it – Jakarta.”
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Hong Kong Leader Denies Resignation Talks With Beijing
Hong Kong’s struggling chief executive has denied that she discussed resigning with Chinese officials amid growing pro-democracy protests, despite having been heard in a leaked audio recording saying she would step down if she had a choice.In the recording, obtained by Reuters, Carrie Lam told a group of business leaders last week that she had caused “a huge havoc” when she introduced a controversial extradition bill that sparked the protests. In the Protesters hold placards reading “Strike for Hong Kong” during continuing pro-democracy rallies in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, in Tamar Park, Hong Kong, Sept. 3, 2019.Willy Lam, a lecturer in Chinese politics, suggested that Beijing wants Lam to remain in office so that radical protesters will grow more frustrated and use greater force when confronting police. That, he said, will turn public opinion against the protesters and justify more numerous arrests.Protesters fear Tiananmen-style crackdownSome residents have expressed concerns about the risk of a Chinese military intervention similar to its crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.In the recording, Carrie Lam sought to assure business leaders that the Beijing government “has absolutely no plan to send in the PLA” or People’s Liberation Army.She said she doesn’t know how long it will take to end the civil disobedience, but that she remains confident of restoring law and order. She dismissed speculation that Beijing is anxious to resolve the crisis by Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.“It would be naive of me to paint you a rosy picture that things will be fine or I have a deadline,” the chief executive says in the recording. “But I can assure you that Beijing does not have a deadline. They know this will ripple on. They and ourselves have no expectation that we could clear out this thing before the first of October.”Lam was elected as Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017 by a pro-Beijing committee of Hong Kong business and civic leaders.The protests over the now-suspended extradition bill, which would have permitted criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial, have since evolved into calls for greater democracy and an independent probe into allegations of police brutality.The demonstrations have brought everyday life in the Asian financial hub to a near halt, with protesters disrupting activities at the city’s subway system and airport. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested after clashes with police wielding batons and firing tear gas and water cannons.
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Trump Warns China Against Delay in Reaching Trade Pact
U.S. President Donald Trump warned China on Tuesday against delays in reaching a new trade agreement in hopes he is defeated for re-election in 2020, saying that if he wins he will be “MUCH TOUGHER” in setting the terms of a deal.Trump, who is engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war with Beijing, said the U.S. is “doing very well in our negotiations with China,” although dates for the next round of talks planned for later this month in Washington have not been set.”While I am sure they would love to be dealing with a new administration so they could continue their practice of ‘ripoff USA'” with hundreds of billions of dollars in trade surpluses with the U.S., Trump said that “16 months PLUS is a long time to be hemorrhaging jobs and companies on a long-shot” until a new president could replace him in January 2021. ….And then, think what happens to China when I win. Deal would get MUCH TOUGHER! In the meantime, China’s Supply Chain will crumble and businesses, jobs and money will be gone!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2019He blamed previous U.S. administrations for getting “taken to the cleaners” by China, which the U.S. government says last year sold $419 billion more in goods to the U.S. than it bought, although Trump claimed the figure was $600 billion.He said the European Union treats “us VERY unfairly on Trade also. Will change!”For all of the “geniuses” out there, many who have been in other administrations and “taken to the cleaners” by China, that want me to get together with the EU and others to go after China Trade practices remember, the EU & all treat us VERY unfairly on Trade also. Will change!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2019On Sunday, the U.S. and China imposed new tariffs on each other’s exported goods, the latest skirmish in the lengthy and contentious trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.Trump levied 15% taxes on about $112 billion worth of Chinese exported products headed to the United States, with the tariffs likely resulting in higher prices paid by U.S. shoppers on some foods, sports equipment, sportswear, musical instruments and furniture.Meanwhile, Beijing started adding 5% and 10% tariffs on some of the $75 billion worth of U.S. exports being sent to China that it has said it will tax in the reciprocal tariff war with Washington. Initially, China said the American export of frozen sweet corn, pork liver, marble and bicycle tires were among the more the 1,700 products it would tax.
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China Rejects Trump’s Fentanyl Charges As ‘Groundless’
China on Tuesday denied it was to blame for fentanyl deaths in the United States after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of reneging on its promise to crack down on the opioid.U.S. authorities have long accused China of being the main source of the potent drug, which caused 32,000 overdose deaths in the United States last year alone.In an apparent gesture to Washington amid the U.S.-China trade war, Beijing announced a crackdown on fentanyl earlier this year, designating all analogues of the drug as controlled substances from May 1.The move aimed to prevent smugglers from skirting the law by changing formulas to make drugs similar to the painkiller.Fentanyl sellers have used parcel services to send the drug to the United States, and China had also vowed to step up customs checks.But Trump wrote on Twitter last month that while Xi had pledged to stop exports of fentanyl, “this never happened, and many Americans continue to die!”Liu Yuejin, vice commissioner of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, countered on Tuesday that no case of fentanyl smuggling has been reported since the May 1 ban.”What President Trump concluded on Twitter is groundless,” Liu said.”China has strengthened its control of fentanyl but the number of deaths linked to this substance continue to rise in the United States,” Liu said, suggesting that the drug came from elsewhere.
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