Category: China
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Despite how significant Ukraine is, Australia’s top concern should be a conflict in Taiwan.
Other than the Middle East, the world faces the possibility of two major wars escalating in Europe and East Asia, over Ukraine and Taiwan. Australia must worry about either of those wars, but ultimately it’s the possible loss of Taiwan to China that could be the front-and-centre issue for our national security. Ukraine and Taiwan…
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At a global forum, a Uyghur activist draws attention to the linked struggles of Uyghurs and Baloch people.
At the 5th Balochistan International Conference organised by the Baloch National Movement (BNM), Rahima Mahmut, a Uyghur human rights activist, highlighted the ongoing struggles of both the Baloch and Uyghur peoples. She drew parallels between China’s genocide of the Uyghurs and the exploitation of Balochistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Mahmut opened with a…
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Italy’s gentle restart with China subsequent to abandoning the Belt and Road
While Italy’s initial entry into the BRI was surprising, its exit was less so due to the limited economic benefits and the symbolic nature of the agreement. Despite a recent visit by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to China and a new three-year action plan, the future of Chinese–Italian relations is likely to be shaped…
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The Dalai Lama, Tibet, and China’s power struggle
The 14th Dalai Lama is 89 years old this year. The question of his succession has become part of a power struggle between India and China. For Beijing, Tibet belongs to China. And China wants sole power to determine who will be the next spiritual leader of the Tibetans. The Dalai Lama has lived in…
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After Finland said it couldn’t finance its own bears, Hong Kong was given two extra giant pandas.
Pandas An An and Ke Ke, a gift from Beijing to Hong Kong, arrived in the Chinese territory on Thursday to much fanfare, two days after Finland said it would return its own pair over mounting debts. Hong Kong officials welcomed the giant pandas at the city’s international airport with a red carpet on the tarmac and panda…
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China looks into a US corporation that declined to purchase cotton from Xinjiang.
China has launched an investigation into PVH Corp., the U.S. parent company of fashion brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for suspected discriminatory measures by refusing to purchase cotton and other products from its northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to 12 million Uyghurs. Analysts said the measure appears to be a retaliatory response by Beijing…
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Japan ships its first battleship across the Taiwan Strait
Japan has sent a destroyer through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, Japanese media reported, amid increasing military activity around Japan by China. The Sazanami entered the strait from the East China Sea on Wednesday morning, spending more than 10 hours sailing south to complete the passage, public broadcaster NHK and the Yomiuri Shimbun…
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The Taiwan Strait’s Deepening Divide
Tensions are brewing once more in the Taiwan Strait. A new administration in Taipei, led by President Lai Ching-te, believes clear affirmations of Taiwan’s de facto sovereignty and autonomy from China are necessary in order to push back against an increasingly imperious and aggressive Beijing. China finds Taipei’s stance to be dangerously defiant, particularly because Beijing…
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CCP Targets Journalists and Families in Hong Kong
Journalists and their families in Hong Kong are experiencing escalating harassment and threats from the Communist Party of China, both online and offline. The frequency and severity of these incidents have increased in recent months, as stated by Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) Chairperson Selina Cheng during a press conference on September 13. An investigation…
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China is called upon to free an imprisoned Uyghur academic
Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on China’s communist regime to release prominent Uyghur economist and government critic Ilham Tohti who was convicted and given a life sentence ten years ago. The rights group termed the arrest and conviction of Tohti in 2014 on alleged charges of inciting separatism as “politically motivated,” in a…