TAIPEI, TAIWAN — FILE – A recruiter talks with an applicant at a booth at a job fair at a shopping center in Beijing, on June 9, 2023. A record of more than one in five young Chinese are out of work, their career ambitions at least temporarily derailed by a depressed job market as the economy struggles to regain momentum after its long bout with COVID-19

Melody Xie thought 2024 would be the year for her to start the next chapter of her life as an adult in China: finding a job, getting married and eventually having children.

But after sending out hundreds of resumes and failing to pass two civil service exams, the 24-year-old college graduate remains unemployed and has had no choice but to move back in with her parents who live in the southern city of Guangzhou.

“It’s been a year since I graduated from university but I have no income, no savings and no social life,” she told VOA in a written response on November 28.

Like Xie, hundreds of thousands of young people in China have struggled to find ideal full-time jobs throughout 2024. While the Chinese government has introduced some fiscal measures to boost the sluggish economy in October, China’s youth unemployment remains high.

Since July, China’s unemployment rate for youth between 16 and 24 has remained above 17%. While some Chinese state media outlets claim the youth unemployment rate has improved since October, the economic downturn has been exacerbating China’s unemployment problem for several years, said Dali Yang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Chicago.

“There is a backlog of youths who were supposed to be joining the labor force over the last two to three years, but they didn’t do very well in the job market,” he told VOA by phone.

“As a new cohort of youth graduating from college each year, that makes the job market very tough for the college graduates,” he added.

In addition to the large number of unemployed college graduates in the job market, Li Qiang, executive director of China Labor Watch, told VOA that poor working conditions in the country are also discouraging many educated young people in China from looking for full-time jobs.

“Many Chinese businesses will ask employees to work 12 to 16 hours a day, and they expect employees to work six or seven days a week,” Li said.

“Most young people in China are not willing to accept these jobs with tough working conditions, so that has also led to an increase in youth unemployment rate,” he told VOA by phone.

Linda Liu, a 25-year-old former project manager at a tech company in China’s Guangxi province, said jobs in some rural towns in China often offer very poor pay and almost no benefits.

“After being laid off from my job at a tech company in Guangzhou at the beginning of 2023, I moved back to my hometown in Guangxi province and soon found a job there,” she told VOA in a written response.

“But since the pay was very low and I can only take four days off each month, I quit after less than six months,” Liu added.

While some young Chinese are still looking for jobs, others have decided to “lie flat” or quit without backup plans.

“After being laid off in 2021, I left Beijing and moved to the southwestern Yunnan province for two years,” Celine Liu, a 26-year-old former law firm clerk, told VOA in a recorded response.

“At the time, I wanted to pull myself away from the hectic lifestyle in the big city and figure out what I wanted to pursue in my life. But after moving back to Beijing earlier this year, I realized I could no longer adapt to life in the big city, and that has also affected my ability to do well in job interviews,” she added.

The idea of “lying flat” also denotes a laid-back lifestyle that rejects intense competition and societal expectations. In recent years, many young Chinese people have chosen to “retire” to rural parts of the country with a lower cost of living to cope with the ongoing unemployment challenges. Some of them turn to e-commerce as a source of income.

Others see quitting without a backup plan as an opportunity for them to slow down and enjoy life.

“Many young people in China, including myself, follow the typical pattern of entering college, finding a job after graduation, getting married and having children, but we often don’t know what kind of future we want,” said Victor Wang, a 26-year-old former engineer in the Chinese city of Zhejiang.

“After quitting without a backup plan, I finally have a chance to take care of my physical and mental health, and it finally feels like I’m in control of my life,” he told VOA in a written response.

As the youth unemployment rate remains high in China, Ye Liu, an expert on international development at King’s College London, told VOA, young people in China might “diversify” their work patterns.

“More young people [will engage] in freelancing, part-time employment and [work] multiple jobs,” she said.

China will host an annual economic work conference this week and youth unemployment is expected to be one of several topics discussed by top Chinese officials during the event.

Discussion of the topic remains sensitive on the internet in China and social media platforms.

Last week, a commentary about China’s weak consumption, unemployment and “dispirited” youth by Gao Shanwen, chief economist of China’s state-owned SDIC Securities, was removed by China’s internet censors.

Additionally, access to Chinese economist Fu Peng’s video social media account was blocked after he commented on China’s weaker consumption at a conference in September.

The Chinese government has introduced some measures to boost employment opportunities for college graduates, including rolling out campus recruitment activities and increasing job placement rates for unemployed youth. China’s state news outlet, People’s Daily Online, reported more than 1,000 employers from around the country “are expected to offer more than 30,000 education-related positions.”

However, Li at China Labor Watch said unless the Chinese authorities try to fundamentally improve working conditions and strengthen protection for workers’ benefits, China’s youth unemployment problem is unlikely to improve within the next five years.
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BANGKOK, THAILAND — A recent altercation between fishermen from Thailand and the Myanmar navy has publicized the long-running dispute between the two countries about overlapping fishing rights, experts say. 

In the early hours of November 30, Myanmar patrol boats fired on 15 Thai fishing vessels off Ranong province in southern Thailand. One Thai national was killed while four Thai crew members were detained along with 27 Myanmar nationals. One Thai fishing vessel, the Sor Charoenchai 8, was also seized. 

Thailand authorities have since been trying to negotiate with Myanmar over the release of the Thai sailors. 

Nikorndej Balankura, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Bangkok Friday that the four men were being taken to the town of Koh Song on the Thailand-Myanmar border. “At this moment, the Thai township border committee is coordinating the relevant measures required to send the four crew members back to Thailand,” he said. “It’s being discussed and aim to finalize this process as soon as possible. I sincerely hope there will be good news soon.” 

But as of Monday, the four still remained in Myanmar’s custody. 

Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai confirmed the Thai national who died in the altercation had drowned after jumping into the sea when the Myanmar navy opened fire. The deceased was a 24-year-old who was on his first expedition, reports say. 

Phumtham told reporters on Monday that Thailand was still waiting for a reply from the Myanmar military government, and now is unsure of a timeline as to when the four remaining Thais will be freed. 

He previously said the firing of shots was an “overreaction” from the Myanmar navy. But Myanmar’s military government maintained it acted correctly because boats were invading its waters. 

The regime, which is currently fighting a brutal conflict with pro-democracy resistance groups throughout the country, said it was also investigating materials found on the fishing trawler relating to Myanmar’s revolutionary groups.

Thailand and Myanmar share land borders of more than 2,400 kilometers in Southeast Asia. They also share a maritime boundary of 263 kilometers in the Andaman Sea, which was officially established in 1980 through a bilateral agreement. 

But Thai trawlers have often crossed those maritime lines. 

Phil Robertson, director at Asia Human Rights Labour Advocates, says the Thai fishermen were illegally fishing. 

“The Thai fishing fleets were up to their old lawless ways, conducting fishing in Myanmar’s territorial waters, and this time they got caught by the rights-abusing [Myanmar] navy that shoots first and asks questions later. This latest incident is really a repeat of previous practices on both sides,” he told VOA. 

Myanmar’s waters are attractive to Thai fishermen because of the rich fishing stocks available. Thailand’s fishery sector contributed to more than 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2023.  

Dominic Thomson, regional director of Southeast Asia for the Environmental Justice Foundation, says fishing disputes between the two countries have been going on for decades, but this incident is a first. 

“Thailand and Myanmar have yet to fully resolve their maritime boundary in the Andaman Sea, leading to overlapping claims. “The tensions over fishing rights dates back to the 1980s when Thailand massively expanded its fishing fleet due to high domestic demand for seafood, coinciding with a sharp decline in fish stocks within Thai waters. Overfishing in Thai waters therefore drove Thai fishing vessels into Myanmar’s Exclusive Economic Zone, often without permits,” he told VOA via email. 

Thailand was given a yellow card warning by the European Union in 2015 over its failure to combat illegal, underreported and unregulated, or IUU, fishing. 

The mechanism is the first step used by the EU to warn trade partners over their inaction over reducing illegal fishing. If a red card is shown to a country, it means that nation hasn’t made enough progress and its fishing exports to the EU will be banned.   

Later that year, Thailand introduced new regulations that said Thai fishing vessels must have monitoring technology installed to warn them when they encroach on maritime border lines. 

It is not clear whether these warning systems were ignored, or not active when the vessels were fired at on November 30. 

“There have been no reports of similar incidents since at least 2015. The nature of the incident, coupled with the detention of the fishing vessels and crew is unprecedented,” Thomson said. 

Robertson says questions remain over how this happened. 

“Reliable sources report that there were many more Thai fishing boats engaged in this illegal fishing activity than reported, raising questions about why Thai marine regulatory agencies are failing to ensure their fishing fleets respect Burmese waters. The Thai fishermen look like victims here, but they are the core problem as well,” Robertson added. 

Thomson said Thailand must look at its monitoring systems to prevent a repeat incident. 

“Thailand should ensure that its monitoring and control systems are adequately staffed, trained and resourced to ensure that Thai fishing vessels that stray into other countries’ waters are told to turn back as soon as possible. It is vital that there are appropriate sanctioning powers in place and consistent enforcement of these powers to deter similar intrusions in the future,” he added. 

Thailand is set to welcome Myanmar and other ASEAN nation members to Bangkok in a ministerial meeting on December 20.
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Bangkok — Experts tell VOA that Thailand’s deportation last month of six Cambodian activists back to Cambodia shows Bangkok continues to participate in “transnational repression” — coordination among governments targeting dissidents outside their countries.    

Authorities deported Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou, Soeung Khunthea and Vorn Chanratchana last month.   

The four women and two men have since been charged by Cambodia with treason for posting social media statements criticizing Cambodian policies over the 20-year-old Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area, or CLV-DTA, agreement, which is aimed at easing trade and migration among the three countries, The Associated Press reports.  

They are now being held in separate facilities in pre-trial detention in Cambodia, and will face trial for their charges, that could see them sentenced to lengthy time in prison, according to Radio Free Asia. 

The six activists are supporters of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and had left Cambodia for Thailand in 2022.  

Tiy Chung, a regional spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, confirmed to VOA by email that the six have been deported and “are people of concern.” 

UNHCR, he said, is “deeply concerned” by the deportation, which included a child, he said, and which goes against Thailand’s obligation to ensure that no one is expelled or returned to someplace where their life or freedom could be at risk. 

“We are seeking urgent clarification from the Thai authorities on the circumstances surrounding this deportation and urge them to honour Thai law and their international obligations to prevent such actions in the future,” he wrote.   

In recent years the Cambodian government has cracked down critics in and out of the country.    

Planned protests against the CLV-DTA agreement saw September arrests of at least 100 activists, who accused Phnom Penh of ceding Cambodian territory, although the same month saw Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet announce Cambodia would pull out of the decades-old deal.     

In February, three other Cambodian activists, recognized as persons of concern by the UNHCR, and their families, were arrested in Thailand before they had planned to protest Manet’s visit to Thailand.  

The practice of transnational repression is not new.    

Freedom House said in 2022 that since 2014, over 150 people in Thailand had been victims of the practice.  

Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights Labor Advocates, said Thailand is not safe for Cambodian refugees.     

“The message here to all Cambodian refugees sheltering in Thailand is you’re not safe because the friendship between the Hun and Shinawatra families trumps any obligations Thailand is supposed to uphold under international human rights law,” he said.  

Cambodia has been ruled by the Cambodian People’s Party for 45 years, with critics saying in recent years the regime has stepped up efforts to target dissidents, opposition parties and independent media who pose threats to its reputation or rule. Hun Manet took power in 2023, succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for nearly four decades.   

Thailand and Cambodia have endured an up-and-down relationship over the years, with border and cultural conflicts periodically being divisive.    

Those relations appear currently to be close, in part because of family ties. Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Manet in Laos in October. But it is the relationship between their fathers and predecessors, Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen, that has cemented strong ties between the two families.    

Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party has vowed to work together on transnational crime with Manet.    

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst in Thailand, told VOA the family links are likely key in this deportation case.    

“The close personal relations and even family ties between the two families make this deportation suspect. It will be difficult not to conclude that these intimate links facilitated it. The deportation is an ill-considered move for the Paetongtarn leadership and government that claims democratic legitimacy despite coming second in the May 2023 election,” he told VOA.    

The purported treasonous crimes that six Cambodians allegedly committed fall under Article 453 of Cambodia’s criminal code. If found guilty, the criticism of the Cambodian regime and its policies toward neighbors Vietnam and Laos could land them a decade in prison.    

Thailand has its own strict laws it implements for those who are critical of its monarchy. Under Article 112 of its criminal code, it is illegal to criticize the Thai monarchy, carrying sentences of 15 years in prison for each offense.    

In January, a 30-year-old man was sentenced to 50 years in jail after being ruled to have defamed the monarchy.   

Prem Singh Gill, visiting fellow in Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia, says the Thai and Cambodian governments share similar interests when it comes to prohibiting dissent.    

“This collaborative approach is not coincidental but strategically designed. Both countries share similar authoritarian impulses, with royal institutions and political elites working in concert to maintain their grip on power. By harmonizing their approach to dissent, Thailand and Cambodia create a more comprehensive mechanism of controlling political discourse,” Gill told VOA via email.   

“Transnational repression becomes a sophisticated tool of regional authoritarianism, where activists find themselves trapped in a network of legal and extra-legal threats. Governments collaborate through informal channels, sharing intelligence, coordinating deportations, and creating an environment of constant vulnerability for political dissidents,” he added.   

Thailand recently was elected to a seat at the U.N. Human Rights Council and is expected to begin its duties in January 2025.    

VOA contacted Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry for comment but received no response. 
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian law enforcement authorities on Monday declared an arson attack on a synagogue last week a terrorist act in a decision that increases resources available to the investigation.

Arson squad detectives have been investigating the blaze that extensively damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on Friday. But the investigation was taken over on Monday by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team which involves Victoria state Police and Australian Federal Police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency.

“The decision … to transition the Adass Israel Synagogue fire attack to the Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team is a crucial turning point in this investigation,” Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters.

“I want to thank Victoria Police investigators for the significant information they have gathered so far, which has helped lead us to believe that this is likely to be a politically motivated attack. This is now a terrorism investigation,” Barrett added.

The declaration gave investigators more resources, information and legal powers to pursue the three suspects, police said.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said investigators had made “significant progress,” but declined to detail that progress.

Witnesses reported seeing two masked men spreading a liquid accelerant before the fire. Police have not revealed what role the third suspect played. Police have also not revealed if they know the identity of any suspect.

The synagogue fire is the first declared terrorist incident in Australia since April when a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed a bishop and priest in a Sydney Assyrian church while a service was being streamed online.

Some lawmakers had been calling for the arsonists to be charged with terrorism offenses so that they would potentially face longer prison sentences.

The blaze is an escalation in targeted attacks in Australia since the war began between Israel and Hamas last year. Cars and buildings have been vandalized and torched around Australia in protests inspired by the war.

In a separate initiative, Australian Federal Police announced on Monday the formation of Special Operation Avalite to target antisemiticism around the country.

The investigators were brought together in response to arson attacks on the synagogue, Jewish lawmaker Josh Burns’ Melbourne office in June and on a car in a Sydney street last month that was related to antisemitic vandalism.

“Special Operation Avalite will be an agile and experienced squad of counter-terrorism investigators who will focus on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community and parliamentarians,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said his government was striving to make the Jewish community “feel safe.”

“We’ve experienced in Australia, in the last year, the highest level of antisemitism that I’ve experienced in my lifetime. That’s a common reaction from members of the Australian Jewish community,” Dreyfus said.

The Victoria government on Friday offered 100,000 Australian dollars ($64,300) to help repair the synagogue and said there would be an increased police presence in the area.

The federal government on Sunday offered the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella body representing more than 200 Jewish organizations, AU$32.5 million ($20.8 million) to enhance security at community sites including synagogues and schools.
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TOKYO — A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. A parade of frolicking animals. An Ukiyo-e style Mount Fuji. Giant waves. A Japanese artist who goes by the name Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves, giving life back to them.

The world of Lito’s delicate art, which he began in 2020 and posts on social media almost daily, has won fans from around the world. The leaf art has also given him solace after earlier struggles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a purpose in life — the joy of making people happy with his art.

He enjoys working at night. From a pile of leaves treated with a wrinkle-free chemical, he picks one and places it on a cutting board.

First, he outlines the design on the leaf with a pen in his right hand. Then he takes a design knife in his left hand and starts cutting the leaf carefully. Slowly, the leaf begins to take the shape of a frog carrying an umbrella — a simple design he demonstrated in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

More complex, highly intensive work on a single leaf can take more than eight hours to complete.

His leaf-cutting works include titles such as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals, Leaf Aquarium and Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Each piece includes his own twists and often uses animals.

“I would rather finish it in one go when I am focused,” Lito, 38, said. He didn’t want to disclose his real name for personal reasons.

Since his childhood, Lito says he has had high levels of concentration and patience. But he had trouble fitting into what was considered the norm at school or at work, despite all his efforts. He struggled to interpret others’ feelings and to avoid confrontations.

After years of difficulty, he went to a hospital at age 30 and was told he has ADHD, a diagnosis that he felt explained why he has always done things differently.

He saw no point in forcing himself to do things the same way as other people, and began to adjust his life.

In early 2020, Lito came across the art of leaf cutting. He saw it as the perfect use of his patience and concentration.

Word of his skills has spread across social media, and he has published books on his leaf-cutting work. He holds a near monthly solo exhibition in various places in Japan.

“If I can make people happy by doing what I am doing, I want to do more. That’s my driving force for what’s next,” Lito says. 
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote next week on an annual defense bill that includes just over $3 billion for U.S. telecom companies to remove equipment made by Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE 000063.SZ from American wireless networks to address security risks.

The 1,800-page text was released late Saturday and includes other provisions aimed at China, including requiring a report on Chinese efforts to evade U.S. national security regulations and an intelligence assessment of the current status of China’s biotechnology capabilities.

The Federal Communications Commission has said removing the insecure equipment is estimated to cost $4.98 billion but Congress previously only approved $1.9 billion for the “rip and replace” program.

Washington has aggressively urged U.S. allies to purge Huawei and other Chinese gear from their wireless networks.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel last week again called on the U.S. Congress to provide urgent additional funding, saying the program to replace equipment in the networks of 126 carriers faces a $3.08 billion shortfall “putting both our national security and the connectivity of rural consumers who depend on these networks at risk.”

She has warned the lack of funding could result in some rural networks shutting down, which “could eliminate the only provider in some regions” and could threaten 911 service.

Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan on Saturday praised the announcement, saying “funding is desperately needed to fulfill the mandate to remove and replace covered equipment and services while maintaining connectivity for tens of millions of Americans.”

In 2019, Congress told the FCC to require U.S. telecoms carriers that receive federal subsidies to purge their networks of Chinese telecoms equipment. The White House in 2023 asked for $3.1 billion for the program.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said funding for the program and up to $500 million for regional tech hubs will be covered by funds generated from a one-time spectrum auction by the FCC for advanced wireless spectrum in the band known as AWS-3 to help meet rising spectrum demands of wireless consumers. 
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South Korean lawmakers failed Saturday to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law — which was lifted within hours — this week. But opposition lawmakers say they will hold another impeachment vote as soon as next week. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul.
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The impeachment effort against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared uncertain on Saturday, as opposition forces made an emotional, last-minute effort to convince their conservative colleagues to support the measure.

During a tense session at South Korea’s National Assembly, nearly all conservative lawmakers of the governing People Power Party, or PPP, walked out of the legislative chamber just minutes before the vote, effectively boycotting the opposition-led impeachment motion against Yoon.

As conservatives filed out of the chamber one by one, each was met by loud jeers and chants from an opposition-dominated crowd gathered just outside, with many screaming insults, including “collaborators.”

Hours later, a dramatic scene continued to unfold as the opposition used a variety of pressure tactics to get their counterparts to return. At one point, opposition lawmakers chanted the names of their conservative colleagues, one by one, followed by “come back.”

At least two conservatives returned, joining one other PPP member who had stayed, prompting loud cheers in the National Assembly building.

The impeachment effort needs the votes of eight conservative PPP lawmakers to pass. The opposition Democratic Party says the vote can last until approximately 12:30 a.m. local time.

Outside the legislative compound was a crowd of approximately 100,000 people, according to police estimates, the vast majority of whom had gathered to support the impeachment measure. Many chanted for conservative lawmakers to return.

Yoon declared martial law late Tuesday, claiming it was necessary to “crush anti-state forces” and “protect constitutional order.” The decree was overturned by opposition lawmakers within hours.

Earlier on Saturday, he apologized for causing public anxiety and vowed he would not attempt a second martial law decree.

In an apparent attempt to find a path forward that does involve his resignation, Yoon also said “future governance will be jointly handled by our party and the government.”

It is not clear how Yoon would yield any presidential authority to the PPP, analysts said, since there does not appear to be an established political process for doing so.

Some PPP lawmakers have begun pushing for a compromise proposal, under which South Korea’s constitution would be amended to shorten presidential terms to four years, rather than the current five.

Under such a proposal, Yoon would apparently step down early and the powers of the presidency could be reduced in some manner.

However, opposition party lawmakers have given no indication that they would support such a deal.

“This is a cunning tactic only in order to buy time,” Kim Joon-hyung, a lawmaker with the opposition Rebuilding Korea Party told VOA. “This regime, and the ruling party is dead and dysfunctional, even if the impeachment vote fails.”

South Korea’s presidential office has not clarified Yoon’s remarks or whether he would support such an arrangement.

A Seoul-based law professor, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions, said there is no process by which the president can transfer the powers of the presidency to the party.

“But more importantly, I don’t think that’s what [Yoon] meant,” he added. “I think he merely meant that he will follow whatever decision the party makes regarding how to stabilize the situation … whether that refers to constitutional revision is unclear.”

Yoon and his party may be trying to avoid a vacancy in the office of the presidency, because under such a scenario an election must be held, according to the constitution, he said.

“President Yoon seems to be trying everything he can to hang on to power,” said Hans Schattle, a professor of political science at Yonsei University. “But the idea of him staying in office any longer seems totally out of sync with the public outrage right now.”

Opposition lawmakers, who have a solid majority in the unicameral legislature, have vowed to quickly hold another impeachment vote if their Saturday effort fails, raising the prospect of a prolonged period of political instability.

“The public will continue to demand that the president, the instigator of this rebellion, will face prosecution or arrest,” Rep. Kim Min-seok told VOA amid the uncertainty Saturday.

Kim, a senior Democratic Party leader, said Yoon’s apology was insincere.

“This will further fuel public anger and lead to greater political chaos,” he said. 
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA   — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday apologized for causing public anxiety and vowed he would not attempt a second martial law decree, in an apparent last-minute bid to save his presidency ahead of an impeachment vote.

In a televised address, Yoon said his decision to impose martial law late Tuesday was a “desperate decision made by me, the president, as the final responsible authority for state affairs.”

“I deeply regret the anxiety and inconvenience this has caused to people. I sincerely apologize to the citizens who were greatly appalled by this,” Yoon added, before bowing in front of the camera.

Yoon also said he would take “full legal and political responsibility” and would “leave the responsibility of stabilizing the political situation, as well as my term, to our party.”

“The future governance will be jointly handled by our party and the government,” he added.

It was not clear how Yoon would yield any presidential authority to his ruling People Power Party, analysts said, since there does not appear to be an established political process for doing so.

“The only way I know of that he can be relieved from duty is impeachment or resignation,” said Ben Engel, who teaches political science and international relations at Dankook University outside Seoul.

Yoon, frustrated for months by what he saw as opposition attempts to obstruct his governance, declared martial law late Tuesday, claiming it was necessary to “crush anti-state forces” and “protect constitutional order.”

Within hours, South Korean lawmakers overturned the decree, after fighting their way through police and military personnel who had been sent to the National Assembly Building.

The opposition, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, plans to vote on Yoon’s impeachment late Saturday.
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Seoul, South Korea   — The head of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party has announced support for suspending the duties of President Yoon Suk Yeol – a stunning, last-minute move to abandon his fellow conservative leader that analysts say greatly increases the chances of Yoon’s impeachment over his failed attempt at martial law.

At a party meeting on Friday, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon called for the “swift suspension” of Yoon’s duties, citing “newly revealed facts” that suggest Yoon had attempted to use intelligence agencies to arrest prominent lawmakers, accusing them of being “anti-state forces.”

“President Yoon has not acknowledged that the illegal martial law was a mistake. If President Yoon continues to carry out his duties, there is a significant risk of a recurrence of such extreme actions … which could pose a great threat to the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han said, using South Korea’s formal name.

Yoon, frustrated for months by what he saw as opposition attempts to obstruct his governance, declared martial law late Tuesday, claiming it was necessary to “crush anti-state forces” and “protect constitutional order.”

Within hours, South Korean lawmakers overturned the decree, after fighting their way through police and military personnel who had been sent to the National Assembly Building.

The opposition, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, plans to vote on Yoon’s impeachment late Saturday.

Tensions building

Adding to the urgency, South Korean media on Friday reported unconfirmed rumors that a second attempt at martial law was being planned, though the reports were quickly denied by the military.

In a live-streamed interview on YouTube, Kwak Jong-geun, the head of South Korea’s special warfare command, said he would not enforce a second martial law decree, should he receive such orders.

Kwak also said that during the first short-lived martial law, he refused orders to clear lawmakers from the National Assembly, viewing such a move as illegal.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense later suspended Kwak and two other senior military commanders who were involved in the first martial law declaration, according to the Yonhap news agency.

At the country’s legislature, tensions were briefly high on Friday, amid rumors that Yoon was set to visit and meet with lawmakers in an attempt to find a path forward that does not involve impeachment.

In preparation for Yoon’s rumored visit, hundreds of opposition lawmakers and officials gathered at the entrance, warning Yoon to stay away.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Min-seok told a public gathering that his party had informed the presidential office that Yoon would not be allowed to enter the grounds. Yoon’s office later said that he had no plans to visit. 

PPP leader a key figure

South Korean police on Thursday announced they have opened an investigation into charges that Yoon and other senior leaders committed treason related to the events of Tuesday night.

On Friday, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reported that Yoon ordered South Korea’s spy agency to arrest Han, the conservative party leader who had once been a close ally and colleague of Yoon during their earlier careers as prosecutors.

Han, who had previously served as Yoon’s justice minister, has played a key role in the political drama unfolding this week.

Immediately after Yoon declared martial law, Han opposed the effort, and 18 members of his conservative party voted to overturn the decree.

However, on Thursday Han and his fellow conservatives began to rally around Yoon, saying they would oppose the impeachment, which they claimed would paralyze the country.

Han changed his stance again on Friday, saying he had obtained “credible evidence” that Yoon was trying to arrest senior lawmakers.

“I firmly believe that now is the time to think solely about the nation and its citizens,” he said.

Constitutional court uncertainty

To succeed, at least eight members of the PPP must support the impeachment motion. So far, only two conservatives have publicly said they will vote to impeach Yoon.

But after Han’s reversal, many observers say it now appears likely that the impeachment will pass.

If Yoon is impeached, he would be immediately suspended while the Constitutional Court deliberates on whether to remove him from office, a process that could take weeks or even months.
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KYOTO, JAPAN — The Tokyo-Beijing Forum was held in person this week in Japan for the first time since it went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the two-day forum from December 4 through 5, officials from Japan and China expressed hopes to warm their frosty relations.

Analysts pointed to China sending a higher-level delegation than at past forums as a sign that Beijing wants closer trade ties with Japan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya attended in person, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed the forum via video. Both expressed hopes for improving China-Japan relations, which cooled after Tokyo’s support for Washington’s restricted exports of advanced microchips to China amid its increasingly assertive military, and attacks this year on Japanese citizens living in China.

Huang Wei-hsiu, a project researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, told VOA Mandarin the attendance of former Finance Minister of China Lou Jiwei and former Governor of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang was a sign of China’s need for better economic relations.

“Because foreign capital has been leaving, raising the level of economic officials’ attendance symbolizes China’s emphasis on the economic field with Japan,” he said.

China’s economic growth has been slowing amid a slump in property prices and low domestic demand. Despite a raft of government stimulus measures, economists say it could drop below 5% growth this year.

China is Japan’s top trade partner. In 2022, China exported $178 billion to Japan, while Japan’s exports to China was $135 billion.

The ministry said Japan invested $3.4 billion in China in 2020, the most recent year listed, while China invested half a billion dollars directly in Japan.

Cold at the bottom?

Sachio Nakato, a professor of international relations at Ritsumeikan University, told VOA Mandarin that both sides want to see better relations.

“In this sense, [Japan’s] Prime Minister [Shigeru] Ishiba and [China’s] President Xi [Jinping] have the will to improve relations within the current difficult situations,” Nakato said.

However, a joint survey released before the forum by Genron NPO, a Japanese think tank, and state media China International Publishing Group showed the Japanese public generally dislike China, while there is a growing sense of hostility toward Japan among the Chinese public.

“The proportion of Japanese people with a negative view of China has remained consistently above 80% since 2012,” Huang said.

“One of the factors contributing to the deterioration of the Japanese people’s views on China is the killing, detention and prosecution against Japanese nationals in China for unknown reasons,” said Professor Hiromoto Kaji of Aichi University.

“The Chinese government has not explained or responded on the motives of the perpetrators. Japanese public opinion is growing increasingly distrustful of this uncertainty,” Kaji said.

Another factor is China’s restrictions on the import of Japanese food and other products since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and release of treated water from the nuclear plant. In August 2023, China temporarily banned the import of Japanese food and feed.

The public opinion survey also showed a sharp drop in the number of Chinese who believe that “Japan-China relations are important” — from 60.1% to 26.8%, the first time it ever dropped below 60%.

To address some of the tension and attract more tourist dollars, China in late November resumed 30-day visa-free travel for Japanese visiting China, which had been halted during the pandemic.

But the action is so far temporary and will expire at the end of 2025 if relations between the two countries don’t improve. 
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Baku, Azerbaijan / Washington — International rights organizations and Western governments are calling on the Azerbaijani government to release prominent human rights defender Rufat Safarov.

“The arrest of Rufat Safarov on trumped-up fraud and hooliganism charges is another glaring example of the Azerbaijani authorities’ relentless efforts to silence dissenting voices in the country,” Amnesty International said in a Wednesday statement.

Safarov, a former prosecutor who heads the Defense Line human rights organization, was detained Tuesday and charged with fraud and hooliganism. He has been put on four months of pretrial detention.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs told VOA that Safarov’s detention was related to a conflict between him and an individual over a land purchase.

However, in a statement on social media written at his request, Safarov attributed his detention to being nominated for a human rights award in the United States.

“I was supposed to travel to the United States in two days because I had been recognized as the ‘Human Rights Defender of the Year,’ ” the statement reads. “From the outset, I express my deep gratitude to U.S. Ambassador Mr. [Mark] Libby, for nominating me, and to U.S. Secretary of State Mr. [Antony] Blinken for supporting my candidacy.” 

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has confirmed that Safarov was due to meet with several senators next week to receive the State Department’s Human Rights Defender Award.

“But the Azeri regime jailed him on bogus charges,” Cardin wrote on X. “His fight for justice transcends prison walls. He must be released immediately.”

Libby called on the Azerbaijani government to release all those unjustly imprisoned and to abide by its international human rights obligations.

The ambassador spoke Thursday at an event organized in the capital, Baku, which was also attended by the ambassadors of Britain, the European Union and Switzerland, as well as Azerbaijani human rights defenders, members of the civil society and public activists.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denounced criticism by the ambassadors, calling their comments an interference with the country’s judicial system.

“We strongly reject the claims of the ambassadors of the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and the European Union regarding the detention of ‘journalists’ and ‘political activists’ in Azerbaijan. These statements are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of the Azerbaijani judicial system,” the ministry said in a statement.

Rapporteurs at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have called Safarov’s arrest another example of a growing crackdown on human rights defenders and activists in Azerbaijan.

“This alarming development is part of an ongoing pattern of repressing critical voices and targeting those speaking up to defend fundamental freedoms and democratic values,” Thorhildur Sunna Aevarsdottir and Emanuelis Zingeris said in a statement.

The head of the opposition Musavat Party, Isa Gambar, condemned Safarov’s arrest and called the charges against him politically motivated.

“It aims to both hamper and halt his activities, and to once again threaten the society by using him. This is unacceptable,” he told VOA, calling on authorities to release Safarov and all other political prisoners.

Azer Gasimli, head of Azerbaijan’s Institute of Political Management, believes there are only a handful of human rights defenders left in Azerbaijan who are not behind bars.

“The government has declared a war on the nation, on its active and enlightened part. On the one hand, it drowns people with social problems, tramples on their rights. And on the other hand, it tries to destroy dignified members of the society. I know, without doubt, that sooner or later, the people will win in this fight,” he told VOA.

Bahruz Maharramov, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, told VOA that Safarov’s detention and criminal prosecution are being carried out in compliance with all the procedural requirements and in accordance with the law.

“A person’s position, beliefs, affiliation with political or other public associations, or being a social media phenomenon cannot exempt them from legal responsibility,” Maharramov said.

Safarov resigned from the Zardab District Prosecutor’s Office in 2015 after accusing the Azerbaijani authorities of human rights violations and lawlessness. He was subsequently arrested on charges of accepting bribes, which he denied, and was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2016. He was later pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and released in 2019.

This story originated in VOA’s Azerbaijani Service.
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