Time for ASEAN to intervene in Myanmar's crisis, CCP Embassy responds to CRPH, etal
News (1) to (4 ) / Source : The Irrawaddy
News (1)
ASEAN's future depends on its response to Myanmar crisis
With the slaughter and rights violations continuing daily in Myanmar, tougher global action is needed. The world has condemned the junta’s barbarous actions and is looking to neighbors China, India, Thailand and ASEAN to mediate and broker a peaceful outcome.
The pressure on ASEAN is mounting. This time, if ASEAN fails to save lives and stop the violence in Myanmar—one of its members—no one will take the bloc seriously.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, which currently serves as the chair of the 10-member ASEAN, and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin voiced concerns over Myanmar in a joint statement released after their meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan this week.
On Monday, Brunei and Malaysia agreed that ASEAN will hold a special summit in Jakarta to address the Myanmar situation, as harsh crackdowns on anti-coup protesters continue in the country.
The ASEAN meeting was first proposed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in March. The country has led efforts within ASEAN to seek a peaceful solution to the Myanmar crisis.
Meanwhile, Singapore has also exercised unusually strong language to express its concern over the increasing bloodshed in Myanmar. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the use of lethal force was “just not acceptable” and “disastrous”. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called the situation “an unfolding tragedy” and the military crackdowns a “national shame”.
Yet Myanmar citizens feel that Singapore should be doing more. Why?
Singapore is the largest foreign investor in Myanmar’s tourism sector, provides medical care for the regime’s generals and is seen as a financial center for the Myanmar elite. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore was Myanmar’s largest source of foreign funding last year with US$47.5 million in investments, followed by Russia and Britain.
In fact, Singapore poured a cumulative $24.1 billion in approved investments into Myanmar’s economy between 1988 and 2020, according to official Myanmar data. That makes it the biggest source of foreign capital over the period—outpacing even China.
Although the total includes multinationals, Singaporean firms are also investors in their own right in businesses from real estate to coffee shops.
Many wealthy Myanmar tycoons, generals and other elites have bought residences and are believed to have savings in banks in Singapore. Former dictator General Ne Win sought medical treatment in the city state, as do ex-strongman Senior General Than Shwe and former President U Thein Sein.
Myanmar’s top international airline, Myanmar Airways International, is a joint venture between the Myanmar government and Region Air, a company owned by hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore’s best-connected businessmen. Yangon’s The Strand Hotel, Myanmar’s top hotel and often compared to Singapore’s Raffles Hotel, is jointly owned by Myanmar’s tourism authorities and Singapore-based General Hotel Management. According to Reuters, the Singapore bourse is also host to the only Myanmar firm listed overseas—Yoma, a real estate firm with close junta links.
In the early 1990s, according to the now defunct Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review and defense analysts, Singapore allegedly shipped tons of ammunition, mortars and other military hardware to the regime (then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council) at a critical time, and also built a cyber-war center in Rangoon capable of telephone, fax and satellite communications. But that was another era.
Today, Myanmar citizens feel that Singapore, Thailand and several other ASEAN countries could be doing much more to save their lives. If these countries don’t act, they will be accused of ignoring the plight of citizens who are gunned down every day—or even of tacitly supporting the murderous military regime.
It is interesting to note that Singapore’s late minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew was briefly a critic of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
In 1996, Lee said openly that the Myanmar military was the only institution capable of “keeping the country stable and preventing civil war,” and questioned Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s ability “to govern if ever she came to power.” If Lee were alive today, he would doubtless seek to correct this statement.
In any case, Lee’s comments led to angry demonstrations outside several Singaporean embassies in the region. Some protesters burned effigies of Lee. The Father of Singapore was told to mind his own business and not to insult the people of Myanmar.
“Mr. Lee is a smart man,” read a statement from Myanmar’s then opposition National League for Democracy in 1996, “but he is not always right.”
Lee golfed with Gen. Ne Win in Yangon in the 1970s and recognized Myanmar’s potential to become an Asian tiger. He urged the dictator to open up the country and promote tourism, but his advice fell on deaf ears.
It took a decade before Lee’s real views of the Myanmar generals came out. In 2007, a leaked US diplomatic cable quoted Lee as describing them as “stupid” and “dense.” According to the cable, Lee told US diplomats that dealing with the junta leaders was like “talking to dead people.” He accused the generals of mismanaging the country’s natural resources, and said he “had given up on them a decade ago.”
When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi came to power in 2016, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made friendly gestures and referred to the history of the bilateral relationship in his gift to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—a photo of his late father Lee Kuan Yew meeting her mother Daw Khin Kyi in the 1950s.
As the current crisis has unfolded, we have seen the city state take a blunter diplomatic line. Balakrishnan has used strong language to send a message across ASEAN and to the junta. And language matters—the legitimacy-hungry generals follow closely the responses of Myanmar’s neighbors to the situation in the country and their brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
Balakrishnan said last week, “It is essential for ASEAN’s credibility, centrality and relevance to have a view, have a position and to be able to offer some constructive assistance to Myanmar.” He said the crisis would take time to resolve, but ASEAN had to decide its role.
Singapore along with Indonesia can play a key role in stopping the violence. It can work with like-minded countries to pressure the junta, as well as with China and the West.
If ASEAN fails to act to stop crimes against humanity and end the attempted and illegitimate coup in Myanmar, other major powers such as the US, Japan and China will step in and compete to play a greater role. More skeptical observers feel that Myanmar is being let down on the international front—not just by superpower rivalry but by ineffectual “middle power” quibbling. There is a danger that, as a result, Myanmar will become a failed state; this instability will have direct consequences for ASEAN and its neighbors. Myanmar is the weakest link in ASEAN’s “centrality” and its promise to maintain peace and promote prosperity. It is time for ASEAN to intervene in Myanmar’s crisis.
Ex-US ambassador to Myanmar: Not just another coup
The Irrawaddy spoke to Scot Marciel, who served as US ambassador to Myanmar from 2016-20, about the unfolding crisis in the country and how the international community and regional powers can help stop the regime’s violence against the Myanmar people.
THE IRRAWADDY: It seems Myanmar is now sliding into chaos and civil war; the resistance to the military coup is very strong. The attempted coup has not succeeded yet. We have seen a lot of people die; young people, young children are dying, kids are being killed, shot through the head. You left Myanmar in 2020. How do you see the situation in the country now?
SCOT MARCIEL: It’s tragic and it’s horrible. First, the coup itself occurred in the aftermath of an election that produced a clear winner in the form of the [National League for Democracy (NLD)], which was a legitimately elected government. So the coup itself was a terrible step, and had no justification as far as I can see. Second, even worse, since the coup the military’s incredible brutality and willingness to murder its own people, including women and children on the streets, is just so appalling. And it is quite clear that you have two sides. The Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s military] together with the police on one side, and on the other side you have the overwhelming proportion or percentage of Myanmar people who refuse to accept this coup. We have seen tremendous bloodshed; I fear we are going to see more.
Where do you think this is going to go? People inside the country have been hoping for some form of intervention. Last month, protesters and demonstrators were holding signs calling for ‘R2P’—the principle of the international community’s ‘Responsibility to Protect’—and for some form of intervention. But as the days go by, you can see the people are growing frustrated, taking up homemade weapons and fighting against the military. We are seeing reports of clashes taking place in the countryside. What can the international community do?
I understand the frustration of the people of Myanmar. I think there are a couple of things that the international community should be doing. One, trying to put maximum pressure on the Tatmadaw to reverse course, including by not doing anything to legitimize the coup or the junta that has taken over in Naypyitaw. Two, going after the sources of finances, to put pressure on it. It is very hard for the international community, especially the UN. The UN is made of member states. For example, at the Security Council meeting on [March 31], most of the members of the UNSC were quite united and were pushing for very tough language going forward. But you know China and Russia opposed that, so it’s very hard to get that [language] when you have opposition from countries like China and Russia. It is very difficult for the UNSC to do very much.
And I would say that ASEAN is somewhat in a similar situation. It is a group that operates by consensus. Some of the members—Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines—have been quite strong in their condemnation of the violence and looking for a diplomatic way to try to end the violence and calm things down, and move the country back towards democracy. But it’s hard without unity within ASEAN. And remember, Myanmar is a member of ASEAN. Myanmar’s representative is in these meetings, and so far in these meetings the representatives are from the junta. And that is just the way ASEAN operates. It is really important that ASEAN has been talking about an emergency summit. I think that would be useful, and it is important that at the summit they not just talk, but come up with specific ideas to reduce the military’s violence against its own people. And if the representative of the junta is sitting in the Myanmar seat, I hope that other members do not allow them to veto any kind of ASEAN action. I think it is also important to make it clear that, while ASEAN is keeping channels of communication open to the SAC [the State Administration Council, the junta’s ruling body], that does not mean that they are conferring legitimacy on it. These are very important steps.
Among ASEAN members there are like-minded authoritarian governments, and some members are dragging their feet, simply observing the situation. Indonesia and Singapore are using tougher language, but other members are keeping quiet. That is not very helpful.
I think it is not only important for these ASEAN members but for all nations in the neighborhood not to see this just as a fight for democracy and human rights, although it is. But it is also a question of the stability of the country and of the region. Myanmar has headed down a very dangerous path because of the Tatmadaw. I want to be very clear: It is because of the Tatmadaw’s behavior that Myanmar is headed down this path. Even for governments that may not place a priority on democracy and human rights, they should be concerned about the risks of greater conflict, of a large [number] of refugees fleeing, of increased production and sales of narcotics, and of Myanmar—one of the 10 ASEAN members—becoming, if not a failed state, a source of great instability and of huge problems for the entire region. So even if you are thinking in strategic terms or just about peace and stability, there is a need for more than just observing.
Russia was invited to attend the Tatmadaw’s Armed Forces Day parade. This is quite chilling because coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing seems to be drawing one of the major powers into the conflict. China and Russia have always provided much-needed support for past regimes, including diplomatic cover at the UN, and continue to do so for the current regime. What is your view on this? It seems the middle powers and the international system are failing Myanmar, quibbling among themselves.
I would [make a distinction between] Russia and China—with a caveat that I am not an expert on China or Russia. But my sense is that Russia does not have huge interest in Myanmar, so it is not affected if there is great instability or conflict in Myanmar. But it is an opportunity to sell weapons and to show up and show itself to be a friend of the generals. China—and then again, I can’t speak for the Chinese government—but my sense is that China is in a difficult position. I can’t believe they are happy with the current situation, as it would not be in China’s interest to see this level of violence and instability. The trouble is their ambassador to the UN in his statement on Wednesday talked about how pressure and the threat of sanctions could add to tensions or further complicate the situation. I think we are way past that point. We already have not only tension, but terrible violence. So I think it is important that all of the countries in the world and certainly in the region, look at the situation as what it is: an illegitimate military junta basically trying to terrorize its population into submission. And the population is refusing to accept this. And as a result the conflict is taking the country down a dangerous path, as I mentioned before, obviously foremost for the people of Myanmar and also for the entire region.
Intellectuals are leaving, civil servants are being arrested, politicians are being detained, and activists are fleeing the country. Not only that, businesspeople are concerned about the future. How can ASEAN members, or China, Japan, Singapore or anyone else, hope to do business in the country?
I think it’s very hard trying to do any kind of legitimate long-term business. Myanmar has to look extremely unattractive right now just from a pure business point of view. So there may be money flowing in, but there is a lot of money flowing out of the country. And again, this contributes to the country’s downward spiral; obviously it’s creating great suffering in the country. But [it also creates] great risk for the entire region. And that is why this can’t be just looked at by the international community as business as usual: “Oh, too bad, there was a coup.” This is much more than a coup, this is a takeover by a military that has no support, no legitimacy and a history of terrible governance. And it is opposed by virtually the entire country. It is important for the policy makers in the country and around the world not to see this as just “Oh this is just another coup.” It is much more than that.
In addition to Myanmar, you served as ambassador to Indonesia. How can Western powers including the US and other powers in the region put pressure on ASEAN, which is not doing anything?
It’s not about putting pressure on ASEAN. I am a big supporter of ASEAN. I think it has played a very important role for many years even though, in a situation like this, it has not been able to do much. I think ASEAN can play a role in two ways. One—already seen in the effort by the Indonesian foreign minister and others—is trying to establish channels of communication and push for an end to the violence and some kind of dialog that could lead to a way out of this. I think what ASEAN has in its so-called “ASEAN Centrality” is the ability to convene and lead in that sense. It doesn’t have to always lead by dominating or coming up with ideas. But at ASEAN’s upcoming summit, if they want to take the lead, I think certainly the US and many other countries are more than willing and interested in working with and trying to support an initiative to try and improve the situation in Myanmar. But it is really important that it has to be an initiative that takes into account the fact that the overwhelming percentage of Myanmar people will not accept this coup or the military role.
Let’s talk about ASEAN and the US. You cannot speak for the Biden administration, but what can the US do to work with ASEAN? Previously, you tweeted about “not dealing with the Tatmadaw”. Can you elaborate on that? How can the US work with regional partners?
There is an important distinction here. Some of my friends in Southeast Asia/ASEAN have talked about the need to keep open channels of communication, including to the Tatmadaw. That’s reasonable. It is always useful to have channels of communication. I think it is a different thing to deal with them as a legitimate government or to give them legitimacy by dealing with them as an accepted government. So there are ways this can be done, that allow communication without conferring legitimacy. I believe there are a lot of conversations between people at the State Department and elsewhere in Washington and Southeast Asia about this situation. There is ongoing dialog. And I think it is really important not to see this as a US vs. China issue. I do not think it is. We are not looking at it as, “Oh what about China?” We are looking at it as, “How can we help the people of Myanmar?” So I do not think it has to be part of this big power rivalry. There is an opportunity for different parties to try to work together in support of the people of Myanmar. And I hope ASEAN can play an important role, just as it did in helping the international community and Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis. ASEAN can create entry points for the international community to try to work together in support of—again, I have to stress “in support of”—the Myanmar people. This is not about coming up with some deal behind the backs of Myanmar people, which would be totally unacceptable.
You have mentioned that this is not US vs. China and not about the US-China rivalry. But we saw a lot of anti-China protests inside the country, making threats against Chinese businesses and the Chinese natural gas pipeline. At the same time, do you think China can work with the US on Myanmar or for the people of Myanmar?
I do not know, I just don’t know. But I think we should have conversations. As I said, I can’t be sure and I can’t speak for the Chinese government, but I can’t imagine that they are happy with the current situation. There may not be a lot of overlapping interests, but there may be some if we all try to work in support of Myanmar people. Not only because we care about them and democracy, but because this is the best way to get to long term peace and stability. I will just add that I do not want to see anti-Chinese sentiments in Myanmar. There are a lot of ethnic-Chinese people in Myanmar, I do not want to see divisions in the country. Hopefully the people will stay focused on the responsible party for the issue and that is the Tatmadaw. I think it is important not to lose focus on that.
We shouldn’t forget Japan, which is a key player in Myanmar, as one of the largest donors and investors, and generally well received inside the country. When you were ambassador you saw a lot of Japanese investment coming in and observed Tokyo’s influence both with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government as well as with the military.
Japan is a very important player and I think it has been a very constructive player. It’s taken a pretty firm position since the coup. Again, I may be too optimistic but I think a lot of countries in the region and the US all have an interest in Myanmar getting out of this terrible situation, ending the military violence against its own people, and finding some way to support a process that allows the people to choose their own government. I don’t think there are too many governments who are happy with the current situation. If governments recognize that the continuation of the junta is going to lead to more violence and more instability, that should allow many of us to find ways to work together. At least I hope so. Certainly Japan has a very important role and I think it can be a very positive role.
Should Japan stop aid and investment in Myanmar?
I can’t tell you what Japan should do. My view in general is that, if governments are able to provide assistance in helping people and communities but not the Tatmadaw/junta, then I would say that should not be stopped. Investment, that’s a really difficult situation. Again investments … that benefit the junta—absolutely not. But private companies that are giving people jobs? It is a really difficult situation to be honest. The bottom line is you are not going to get too much investment right now as long as this continues.
Let’s discuss the Quad members, in particular Australia. Australian adviser to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Sean Turnell is now in detention. Australia has been accused of being too soft, of acting like a ‘Norway of the southern hemisphere’, or like India. It has been skittish and people are saying it’s not to be trusted. But to be fair on both countries what are your thoughts on what can they do?
Well I think it is not helpful for various countries to be complaining about other countries. The trouble is, the truth is, that this is a very difficult situation. If there was an easy answer we would have already solved the problem. And I think each country is trying to make the best decision they can. Certainly I know Australians are in a very difficult situation. There is quite active debate in India right now about how to proceed. But again, I would just say that what’s important is to look at the best prospects for Myanmar returning to peace and stability and a legitimate government that the people of the country accept. And I think it’s clear that rule by the Tatmadaw is not the answer. And as times goes on, as more and more governments see this, I hope they will be compelled to act.
Let’s talk about Thailand, Indonesia and India, and even Bangladesh, because refugees are fleeing, activists are fleeing. There have been airstrikes targeting the Karen civilian population and insurgents along the Thai-Myanmar border. From a humanitarian point of view, how should these neighboring countries react and what can the US do to collaborate with them?
Well particularly with Thailand, it has a long history of accepting refugees fleeing conflict in the region. And we have a long history of working with Thailand as well as the UN and others to help Thailand meet the burden of hosting, hopefully temporarily, refugee populations. Recently Bangladesh has taken a lot of refugees. We have been working with them and the UN and others too, to help share the burden of that. I think the US has been quite generous and think we will continue to be generous in trying to support what is a huge burden for any country, to take a lot of refugees. But I think, also, these countries have taken a lot of refugees in the past; they don’t love it. But they do it because it’s their responsibility and I expect they will going forward. And I think the international community, including the US, will do what it can to support them financially and otherwise as they deal with this.
The US is implementing more targeted sanctions. Do you think this will work? What more can the US do?
There was this whole debate before 2010 and after 2010: Did sanctions work? Did engagement work? I think you need multiple things by multiple countries, each country doing what it can. Sanctions that reduce the flow of money to the junta, I think can be helpful. The Biden administration for example freezing US$1 billion of reserves at the New York Federal Bank, that’s money the junta can’t use to suppress its people and maintain its hold. I don’t think sanctions alone solve the problem. It’s an international effort not to accept or give legitimacy to the military junta that’s really important. It’s psychological but it is really important [to the junta] that they feel accepted. Because clearly their hope is that over time more and more governments will just accept them. There needs to be continued diplomatic efforts to work together to create a strong pressure on the Tatmadaw to recognize that it’s not going to win and to look for a way out. And that needs to be as many countries as possible, including the US. It’s also important that there be continuing dialog as much as possible with the Myanmar public, whether it is with elected parliamentarians or people whom the international community is able to talk with to make sure that whatever we are doing reflects as much as possible what the people of Myanmar are asking for. I think that is critical.
Before 2010 Myanmar was opening up under President U Thein Sein. The US, whether under Democrats or Republicans, was playing a leading role in Myanmar. Some critics kept saying Myanmar was a ‘boutique issue’ in Washington, but in the region and inside the country the role of the US was held in high regard. Do you think the US is doing enough or does it have too much on its plate?
I think it’s getting a lot of attention. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken about it multiple times. President Biden spoke about it. People are working constantly to look at what else we can do. You have seen a series of actions. But you also see on social media, people saying why don’t you do this and that. Honestly, the people may be well intentioned, but then you look at the suggestions and you realize that sometimes they are not easy to do, or it may not be very helpful. It takes a lot of work to make sure that whatever we do is helpful. I know the US will continue to be active diplomatically working with ASEAN colleagues, Japan, India, Australia, others—whoever is interested in contributing to the solution — and at the UN. The US sees [that] this may not be resolved for some time, but it is very much on the side of the people of Myanmar. And their clear message is that they don’t want to go back to military rule. So we are going to do everything we can to support that effort, even if it takes a lot of time.
In 2016 there was controversy over the US decision to lift sanctions on Myanmar. Some people regretted the lifting of sanctions on certain individuals. Some people argued that sanctions should remain until genuine change occurred.
I supported the lifting of sanctions and I still think based on what we knew then it was the right decision. It is important to remember that the sanctions that had been put in place until Myanmar allowed fair elections. Obviously the [2015] elections were not perfect—the military still controlled 25 percent of parliament—but the pro-democracy movement (very much) obviously participated and supported those elections and took charge of the government. The second thing was, at that point, our sanctions were hindering the kind of investments that we thought the country needed [in order] to have the economic progress that would reinforce the democratic reforms we had hoped for. You can’t say, “We need you to keep on making reforms, but we are going to make it harder for you by squeezing your economy.” The other point I would make is there is a tendency sometimes to exaggerate the influence of sanctions. We had sanctions in the early 2000s when the Tatmadaw was brutalizing the population in Karen and Shan states. It did not stop them. I have a hard time believing that maintaining sanctions would have stopped the Tatmadaw from either its actions in Rakhine or its coup. You can’t prove it. But there is just no evidence to support that, so I think it was the right decision at that time, and I think people tend to exaggerate how much leverage sanctions give you.
When you were ambassador, you worked with government officials including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and also with some top military leaders. Did you have any sense at the end of your term, any sort of signal or message or indicator, that Myanmar was returning to dark times? What was your feeling then?
Overall we certainly had some concerns about the Rakhine State situation, we had concerns about the lack of progress on peace, and we had concerns about things like freedom of press and assembly that were not at the level that we certainly had expected. And we certainly had concerns about the military’s behavior, which was bad even then. I didn’t anticipate a coup, no I didn’t. And so, I remained, when I left, optimistic, but optimistic in the longer term, because I saw a whole new generation of people rising, better educated, more access to information, more open minded and I thought that was the great hope for Myanmar, and I still think that’s the great hope. And you see these young people now very active and even talking among themselves about the need to change the relationship between the different ethnic groups and these sorts of things. I think that’s still great reason for optimism in the long run. But no, in short, I did not anticipate the coup and I am really sad to see this crisis.
News (3)
Explosions in Yangon on 7 April 2021
A series of explosions rocked at least seven locations in Yangon, including state-owned offices, a military cantonment area and a shopping mall, on Wednesday.
Three explosions occurred in the early morning in a cantonment area near the Shwedagon Pagoda, in Yangon’s Dagon Township, where the families of military personnel are housed.
A witness told The Irrawaddy that the blasts came from stun grenades that had been put on a vehicle on Ziwaka Street in front of the housing unit. Although the vehicle received minor damage, no heavy damage to the surrounding area was reported.
The regime’s forces arrive at the Yangon’s Sanchaung Township’s administration office after stun grenades exploded in front of the office on Wednesday morning.
The regime’s state-run Myawaddy TV reported Wednesday evening that three stun grenades exploded in that incident, one near the housing, a second one in a garbage bin and a third one on the windshield of a parked car.
Three other explosions reportedly occurred near the Yangon’s Hluttaw compound in Dagon Township when three grenades were thrown, the regime’s TV station reported.
Another two explosions occurred at the Sanchaung Township administration office and under the Myaynigone Flyover bridge in the township.
Some vehicles near the administration office received damage.
In addition, stun grenades were reported to have exploded at the Myanmar Plaza shopping mall in Bahan Township and near the eight miles junction in Mayangone Township. Those blasts came after an explosion occurred at the Myanmar Port Authority office at Yangon’s Kyauktada Township on Wednesday morning.
Those responsible for the explosions remain unknown.
Stun grenades exploded at the Myanmar Port Authority office in Yangon’s Kyauktada Township on Wednesday.
On Myanmar’s most popular social media platform, Facebook, people voiced their suspicions about who might be behind the attacks, given the locations of some of the blasts.
Located in the vicinity of former War Office, which is still occupied by the military, and other army-related buildings, the cantonment on Ziwaka Street was believed to be impregnable.
Many people have expressed suspicions that the regime arranged the blasts as a pretext to escalate the crackdown on anti-regime protesters who have been accused by military coup leaders of destabilizing the country.
The regime claims nightly via state-run TV that “rioters”—the military’s euphemism for anti-regime protesters—are attacking government offices, local level administration offices and police stations.
On Tuesday afternoon, a bus owned by the military regime was damaged by an explosion while it was being parked at the compound of a bus terminal owned by the regime at Yangon’s South Oakkalap Township.
Last week, two military-owned shopping malls in Yangon-—one downtown and another in the northern part of city—burned down during curfew hours when no civilians were not allowed to be out.
Following the February coup, more than two dozen government offices, local administration offices and police stations in the country had been attacked.
Amid the daily deadly crackdowns and arrests, tens of thousands of people across Myanmar have taken to the streets to show their defiance of military regime.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 590 people have been killed by the military regime during their lethal crackdowns, shootings and raids against the anti-regime protests, bystanders, pedestrians and residents.
News (4)
Chinese Embassy makes contact with Myanmar's Shadow Government
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar has for the first time spoken with members of a committee representing elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, amid Beijing’s repeated calls for all parties in its southern neighbor to seek a political resolution to the current crisis through dialog.
Multiple sources confirmed to The Irrawaddy that a counselor from the embassy in Yangon spoke by phone with members of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) last week. (The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is Myanmar’s Union Parliament.) Founded by NLD lawmakers following the February coup as a challenge to the legitimacy of the military regime, the CRPH enjoys popular support both domestically and overseas.
The phone call is the first contact between Chinese officials and lawmakers from the ousted NLD government since the Feb. 1 military takeover. The CRPH previously demanded to meet with officials from Beijing.
During the phone call, the two sides discussed the turmoil that has engulfed Myanmar since the military takeover.
The Irrawaddy has learned that the CRPH demanded China back the efforts of the committee and the Myanmar people to bring down the coup leaders and restore civilian rule to the country.
During the call, the counselor reiterated the Chinese ambassador’s earlier comments that the current situation is not what China wants to see, and expressed concern for the safety of Chinese citizens and investments in Myanmar amid the escalating violence.
The Chinese official reminded the CRPH members that those investments were approved under the NLD government.
In March, Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times claimed Myanmar protesters were responsible for attacks that damaged 32 China-backed factories in Yangon’s Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone. Protesters denied the allegation, saying the attacks were a plot by the military to justify harsher crackdowns.
The Chinese counselor did not state clearly whether Beijing sought a mediation role in any dialog between the parties involved. However, the official said Beijing wanted to open a communication channel with the CRPH.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in March that China would not change its course of promoting bilateral friendship and cooperation, no matter how the situation evolves in Myanmar. He said Beijing would however try to bring about reconciliation by engaging with all relevant parties in the country.
Following the coup, the CRPH sent at least three letters to Beijing demanding the Chinese government stand with the Myanmar people and not back the military regime.
Last week, the US called on China to use its influence to hold to account those responsible for the coup, saying Beijing could certainly do more, given its considerable leverage in Myanmar.
China has failed to take a strong stand against the coup in Myanmar. Amid demands from pro-democracy groups in the country that the international community apply “serious pressure” on the junta, Beijing has repeatedly blocked the UN Security Council (UNSC)’s attempts to take action against the coup leaders and prevent further bloodshed. Anti-Chinese sentiment has risen rapidly in Myanmar over Beijing’s stand at the UNSC.
Pro-democracy activists in the country have called for opposition to all Chinese projects in Myanmar. Some have even called for China’s twin oil and gas pipelines in the country to be blown up in response to Beijing’s stance at the UN.
News (5)
Regret for the silence of the past, the Burmese awakened under the violence of the military government
Image : On April 3, 2021, Myanmar protesters staged a candlelight demonstration against the violence in Tamwe, Yangon. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The security forces of the Myanmar military government opened fire at multiple locations on Wednesday (7th), killing 13 protesters. Anti-coup protesters continued to show resilience and determination. A series of small explosions occurred in Yangon, and a garment factory of Jiangsu Overseas Enterprise Group Co., Ltd. (JOC), a Chinese-funded enterprise in Yangon, was burned. The continued bloody violence prompted most Burmese people to reflect and awaken.
The owner of the JOC factory stated that the second floor of the building burned for about an hour, destroying "finished and semi-finished products and machinery."
The military government blamed all the violence and destruction on the protesters, accusing them of "destroying" the country. But so far, the shutdown of the Internet has caused a loss of 1 billion U.S. dollars in Myanmar, and the military government seems to be more willing to pay for this than the public. The United Nations warned that as food and fuel prices soar, food insecurity will increase.
According to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, known as Thailand’s most prestigious university, Myanmar is facing economic collapse, internal strife, and division. The threat may even lead to a full-scale civil war.
Since the military coup, as of April 6, at least 550 Burmese civilians have been killed by security forces. The violence has triggered reflections among most Burmese.
Cho, a female rights worker in Yangon, said that she had never realized how bad the army was doing in other parts of the country, and now she is ashamed of her past ignorance. She said, "We now say that injustice is right in front of our door, because when it is knocking on someone else's door, we ignore it."
"We just focused on our own lives and didn't think about helping others." 25-year-old Cho said that almost everyone she knew regretted it.
Thurein Hlaing Win, 32, is a professional doctor and a senior journalist. He said that he had doubted whether the army really committed atrocities against ethnic minority groups, especially Rohingya Muslims, as some reports said, because these atrocities sounded so cruel.
Win said: "We have seen how brutal and inhumane the military is. Even in a city where there is a strong media presence, everyone can see what they are doing. I think, in a place where there is no media, they can How inhumane groups will hate them?"
Win recently publicly apologized for his previous views on Facebook. This post received more than 8,000 likes and 1,000 shares.
Most Burmese people live in the center of the country. Before the coup, they basically ignored the plight of ethnic minorities in mountainous and coastal areas, and the conflict between ethnic minority armed forces and the Burmese military has also devastated them. Many people have now apologized for their silence before.
"The coup was like a slap in the face of a person who was dozing off, and we were woken up." 23-year-old Khin Zaw Win said that the consequence of the coup was a windfall.
“The military has been disseminating statements that ethnic minorities, including Rohingya, are terrorists and saboteurs for many years.” said Swe Win, editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, an independent news organization that has extensively reported on the activities of the Myanmar army. They hate military dictatorship (before the election of the NLD government in 2015), but they still believe in some propaganda. But now the bullets have hit their homes, and the military government murdered civilians in order to make the people surrender.
Swe Win stated that the increasing unity among the various ethnic groups has created a new path for the country. If the coup is reversed, "we now have the power to build a society based on universal human rights."
Theo Htet, a Burmese Buddhist working in Singapore, also said that the anti-coup d’état movement in Myanmar has expanded to the former ruling NLD. The coup d’état is "horrible" but it is also "the awakening of all of us."
The CCP’s rule requires not only what people want to do, but also what people want to see and think on many issues of right and wrong. We often use examples of the CCP’s cover-up of the virus plague, talk about the CCP’s false propaganda and cover-up the truth. If any director has the ability to put together the origin of the outbreak of the Chinese Communist Party virus (Wuhan virus, SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, and put together all the doubts that can be grasped at present, and make a documentary or movie that reveals the truth, it will be shocking enough. .
I recently saw a set of figures. There was new news that there are manufacturers in the mainland that are engaged in the urn business. From January to August 2020, a total of 1.68 million urns were sold in Hubei, and it was only them. One manufacturer, there are other manufacturers, only one manufacturer has sold so many. In the same time period in the past, it was possible to sell no more than 20,000 units. Just calculate it at 20,000. Excluding this number, from January to August 2020, this manufacturer sold 1.66 million units in Hubei. The urn is very suspicious. Combined with the abnormal traffic jam in the cemetery of Qingming Festival, the sale of chrysanthemums before New Year's Day, and other events, think about it, how many people died in Wuhan and Hubei? The CCP is deceiving everyone as fools.
Now, the international accountability for the CCP’s concealment of the epidemic is obviously not as good as it was at the beginning. The CCP is taking the opportunity to engage in vaccine diplomacy. It is clearly a "thief" but wants to become a "savior" and continues to threaten regional security. The world's response to the CCP has shifted to another focus, which is "Taiwan."
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U.S., China, Taiwan and West confrontation, Liaoning exercises in east Taiwan to block U.S. and Japan
On April 5th, the Communist Army conducted military exercises in the eastern and western waters of Taiwan at the same time. In the west, on April 5, the CCP sent 10 military aircraft to invade Taiwan’s airspace. On April 6, another 4 aircraft invaded Taiwan’s southwest airspace. On April 7, 15 Chinese military aircraft flew into Taiwan’s southwest airspace again, 12 of which were fighter jets. They disturbed Taiwan’s airspace 7 times on the same day. . Similar actions by the Chinese military aircraft have recently occurred every day.
On the 7th, an EP-3E electronic reconnaissance plane of the US military took off at 3 a.m. and flew from the southern airspace of Taiwan to the middle of the strait. It flew around in the southwestern airspace of Taiwan at almost 8 a.m. The flight trajectory of the US military aircraft is very special and rare, especially when the US and Chinese military aircraft appeared in the airspace of western Taiwan on the same day.
In addition, on this day of April 7, the USS McCain also passed through the Taiwan Strait. The US military stated that this was fulfilling its commitment to the "free and open" Indo-Pacific region. This is the current situation in western Taiwan.
In eastern Taiwan, the aircraft carrier Liaoning of the Communist Party of China and its five frigates crossed the "Miyako Strait" into the Pacific Ocean on April 4 and 5. They detoured to the east coast of Taiwan to conduct exercises. Soon, the Communist Army "Nanchang" The destroyer No. 1 also joined the exercise, which was regarded by the Chinese Communist Party's official media as a component of the standardized formation of aircraft carrier combat groups.
Regarding the Communist Army’s rare exercises outside the east coast of Taiwan, the Communist Army stated that this is a routine exercise to protect the so-called international security. It also said that such exercises around Taiwan’s waters will become the Chinese Navy in the future. The "normal".
The "Global Times" of the Communist Party of China also published the opinions of so-called experts, saying that the current exercise of the Communist army around Taiwan means that the Communist army has the ability to surround the island of Taiwan and isolate the Taiwan army so that they cannot leave the encirclement and have no chance of winning the war. It was a report by "Circle Time". The article also said that the exercise of the Communist Army’s aircraft carriers in the waters east of Taiwan is also a warning to the United States and Japan, because any intervention by the US or Japanese forces must come from the east of Taiwan Island. The exercises of the Communist Army mean that they can cut off the United States. Support from the Japanese Armed Forces.
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The Chinese aircraft carrier can only put the door at the door, and the US aircraft carrier enters the South China Sea and the Shandong ship is exempted from the battle card
However, observers in the West say that the Communist Army’s naval exercises on Monday did not show any new capabilities. Moreover, the former US naval officer and currently a senior scholar at the “New American Security Center” think tank, Thomas Shu Gart (Thomas Shugart) unceremoniously pointed out that the military aircraft carrier's exercises east of Taiwan have no value, because it is so far away from the mainland that it will become vulnerable to the US military's nuclear-powered deep-water submarines.
The Epoch Times military columnist "Shen Zhou" also analyzed that the Communist Army currently has two aircraft carriers, one is Liaoning and the other is Shandong, but neither of these two aircraft carriers can operate far away from the mainland. Both aircraft carriers are conventionally powered. They are not as fuel-rich as the nuclear-powered submarines of the US military. Even if they sail from the Bohai Sea to the Taiwan Strait, they are already very far away. Even with a supply ship, the fuel is limited. If it is too far away, The supply is not available, and the frigates surrounding the aircraft carrier also need fuel supply. Based on this alone, the Communist Army said it would send an aircraft carrier to cut off the support of the United States and Japan in the eastern waters of Taiwan, which is already swollen and fat.
The communist army’s exercises in the eastern waters of Taiwan actually sent more of a political signal. An American expert believed that Beijing wanted to issue a warning against not only the United States, but also Japan or any other possible intervention. The power of the Taiwan Strait.
On April 6, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that the CCP’s warships and military aircraft activities in the Taiwan Strait have become more frequent and require great attention. And last month, when US Secretary of State Blinken had a dialogue with the Japanese government, he proposed that Washington and Tokyo should be prepared to confront any behavior that threatens the security and order of Asia by the CCP.
While Taiwan’s east and west sides were being invaded by the Communists, on April 4, the USS Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier Battle Group, a member of the US Seventh Fleet, entered the South China Sea for the second time this year, while the Shandong aircraft carrier of the Communist Army was I had driven to Hainan Island as early as 3 months ago, but did not dare to face the US military at all. When CCTV was touting the Shandong ship to Hainan, it was bragging about the Shandong ship’s ocean-going operations, but this big bubble blew it. It can only bluff people who don't like to think.
U.S. aircraft carriers have all entered the South China Sea. At this time, the Shandong aircraft carrier goes to the U.S. aircraft carrier to turn around. Hey, this kind of thing can be used for publicity. Isn’t it better to mobilize the little pink adrenaline, but when faced with a real tiger, the Communist Army I'm afraid again, I can't come out from hiding in Hainan.
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The Taiwan Strait is full of gunpowder barrels, and the Taiwan-Hanguang military exercise simulates a counterattack, calling the war to the end
Even so, the outside world should not be taken lightly by the Communist military's cultural attacks against the Taiwan Strait, because the CCP will surely lose if it relies on its true strength, but it will be all kinds of conspiracies, tricks, deceit and slippery.
Taiwan’s Republic of China’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie declared on April 7 that based on his limited understanding of U.S. policymakers’ concerns about Taiwan Strait affairs, the U.S. clearly saw the danger that the CCP might attack Taiwan. Wu Zhaoxie went on to say that Taiwan is willing to defend itself. There is no doubt about this. To fight, Taiwan will fight, and will continue to defend itself until the last day. Show the determination to the end of the War of Resistance.
At the same time, Taiwan will raise more defense expenditures and announce that this year’s Hanguang military exercise will be held from April 23 to 30 to simulate all possible situations when the communist army comes in, and test the defense forces of Taiwan’s national army. Then Taiwan’s hospitals will also participate in military exercises to simulate the treatment of wounded soldiers.
To sum up what we have just mentioned, on the east side of the Taiwan Strait, the aircraft carriers of the Communist Party are exercising, and then the US and Japanese forces are monitoring; on the west side of Taiwan, which is the side close to the mainland, the Chinese military planes continue to invade, and at the same time US destroyers pass by. , There are also patrols by US reconnaissance aircraft.
Taiwan’s National Defense University expert Ma Zhenkun said on April 6 that the surrounding area of the Taiwan Strait is like the Balkan Peninsula before the outbreak of World War I. "Powder barrels" have spread all over the Taiwan Strait. Intensified.
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Wary of "grey areas" in Asia Pacific
The United States has also taken precautions against possible future military conflicts with the CCP, and has placed a large number of weapons in the east of the mainland. A military blogger from the mainland analyzed that in East Asia, the F-35 fighter squadrons of the US military stationed in South Korea and Japan, plus the US F-35 fighters equipped by the Korean and Japanese armies, and the carrier of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet The F-35 series of military aircraft, as well as the F-35 used by other US allies, the US military only has this type of fighter, and by 2025, it will accumulate more than a thousand in East Asia. At that time, the current fighter capacity of the Communist Army will add all its new fighters together. By 2025, there will not be as many as the F-35 of the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Army will also have F-15, F-16 and others. Kind of military aircraft.
On March 26 this year, an XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV of the U.S. Army projected another small UAV from its cylindrical ammunition launcher over the test site in Arizona. The ALTIUS-600 can fly by itself for 4 hours and can carry another nearly 3 kilograms of materials, including cameras, or weapons and ammunition.
After the communist experts learned about it, they all wrote articles in the party media exclaiming that the U.S. military uses drones to launch smaller drones. Once this technology matures and is used on the battlefield, it may bring about tremendous changes in future wars.
Therefore, the hard power comparison between the Communist Army and the U.S. Army is clear at a glance.
However, as we have just said, the Communist Party should know that it is not an opponent of the US military and its allies in conventional warfare. However, if it is playing yin, the CCP has rich experience.
In the latest "Four-year National Defense Review" recently released by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, for the first time “response to gray zone threats”, referring to the CCP’s “mixed warfare” against Taiwan in the non-military field, including psychological warfare and public opinion. Wars, legal wars, cyber warfare initiated by hackers, and interference in Taiwan’s elections, as well as frequent military aircraft disturbances, all belong to the CCP’s “grey zone threat” to Taiwan. It consumes Taiwan's combat readiness.
Today, a poll conducted in March on the island of Taiwan shows that 63.3% of the people in Taiwan believe that the communist army will not attack Taiwan, and even 61.1% suspect that the United States is helping Taiwan in self-defense because of "ulterior motives.", wanted to use Taiwan.
To be honest, I was shocked when I saw this statement. Unless the polls are false, otherwise, so many people’s ideas are consistent with the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, which is to treat the United States, which can really help Taiwan, as an ulterior motive to use. If the Taiwanese side rejects the United States on the island of Taiwan, but still wants to actively promote cross-strait dialogue under the mask of the CCP, it would be tantamount to destroying the Great Wall and drawing wolves into the house. When the international community wants to help, it may be difficult.
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At least three doubts about "Taroko derailment" Li Yixiang lied
Of course, there are also some people in Taiwan who remain most wary of the CCP. I even saw a few Taiwanese friends leave me a message, suspecting that some accidents in Taiwan have ghost images of the CCP, such as the recent Taroko derailment case. But I don’t have the relevant evidence, but a few Taiwanese friends did leave a message with me, saying this to express his doubts. However, the Taroko derailment has exposed some doubts, and this is indeed the case.
According to the preliminary investigation as of April 6, in the case of Taroko’s derailment, the engineering vehicle driver "Li Yixiang", who had derailed the train because of the lack of the hand brake because it was not previously said, caused the engineering vehicle to slip down on the hill. More facts about him are inconsistent with his previous confession.
First, Li Yixiang said that on April 2 he was alone to inspect the construction site and caused the accident, but the monitoring screen of the relevant road section showed that Li Yixiang, the site director, drove the accident project for two consecutive days on the 1st and 2nd. The car, carrying waste tires to the construction site, and there is a person in the co-driver of the car, and the identity of that person is still being checked.
Someone took a suspicious photo showing that after the derailment incident, Li Yixiang and at least six other people watched the scene of the accident together on the hillside. From the photos, these people were quite calm, and there were suspected photos showing that they were standing on the hillside before. Some people on board even got underneath the distressed train, behaving suspiciously. This is also inconsistent with Li Yixiang's confession.
Second, a line group where Li Yixiang is in received the Qingming holiday notice from the Taiwan Railway Administration as early as noon on April 1st, requiring construction to stop from noon on April 1st to 12 noon on the 6th, and requesting all construction sites Check the safety and maintenance of the facilities in advance, and complete the traffic, safety, sanitation, and environmental protection checklists before finishing the fake work, and upload them afterwards.
These must be completed before noon on April 1. According to group records, Li Yixiang fulfilled these requirements on time. Then why did he reappear on the construction site on the day of the orbital accident on April 2?
Third, Taiwan’s National Sports Association stated that before the accident occurred on the morning of April 2, Li Yixiang carried a car of tires into the construction site at 8:49, and that not only was he working on a construction vehicle, but also other vehicles and others. personnel. And at about 9:30, before and after the derailment accident, the construction vehicle operated by Li Yixiang was always in a starting state. As he said, the person was not in the vehicle, but left the field early and forgot to pull the handbrake.
Moreover, after the accident, there were other construction vehicles on the construction site. According to the monitor observation, these vehicles moved and retreated.
The above three doubts cannot fully reveal the ultimate truth of the accident. The cause of the incident is still under investigation, but at least it has been proved that Li Yixiang lied to the public before and he concealed something in his confession. Moreover, the engineering company that Li Yixiang was responsible for was also brought to the bottom, and other shady scenes were exposed in addition to the accident, which was suspected of engineering "corruption". In short, we expect that the truth of this tragedy will be revealed.
This is the topic of the CCP’s attempt to invade Taiwan just now, and by the way, I have made some updates on the case of Taroko’s derailment.
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The Communist Army entered Myanmar, the military stopped its mobile network and started shooting medical care
The threat from the CCP is not limited to the Taiwan Strait. On April 6, a short film shot by "Muji Town" in Myanmar was circulated on the Internet, showing that there were armored vehicles, artillery, and military transport vehicles of the CCP, parked on the local street, and each military vehicle was inserted into the video. Root the blood flag of the CCP. It is reported that the CCP sent troops in under the pretext of protecting the "natural gas pipeline" in Myanmar. "Muji Town" borders Ruili, China, and the two sides interact frequently.
The situation in Myanmar has been very tense since the coup d’état on February 1. Recently, as the Burmese began armed rebellion, some ethnic minority armed forces have also joined the ranks of opposing the military government, and a new government has also been established against the military government. It may lead to a full-scale civil war in Myanmar.
At the same time, the Myanmar military’s repression has not stopped, and it is getting more and more intense. Now, the medical staff active on the streets to rescue people have become the target of the Myanmar army’s guns. Any medical staff involved in the rescue may be shot. kill. On the evening of April 4, a female paramedic was shot directly by the Burmese army on the street because of overtime violation of the curfew, and the medical team on the side was warned not to go ahead for treatment, otherwise the army would open fire. Eventually this female caregiver died.
The Burmese army also recently ordered that telecommunications companies are forbidden to provide wireless network services to Burmese people. No mobile network is allowed to be used. It can only use fixed optical fiber networks or satellite networks in a limited state, but these are far from in Myanmar. It has reached the level of popularization, which severely limits the external communication of Burmese people.
On April 6, some Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, announced that they would convene heads of state to hold an emergency meeting on the Myanmar issue. However, the date has not yet been determined, and research how to do it but the outside world does not know why.
On April 7, at least 13 people were shot dead under the fire of the Burmese army.
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Ukraine joins NATO, Israel sinks Iranian spy ship
Except for Myanmar and the Taiwan Strait, the tensions in eastern Ukraine show no signs of loosening, and Russian troops are suppressing the border. The President of Ukraine has proposed that the best solution to ensure Ukraine’s security is to make Ukraine join NATO as soon as possible. Ukraine has clearly expressed its aspirations, and now it depends on whether Western countries can show the courage to face Russia.
We reported last time that there are hidden dangers of war in three places around the world, but now there is actually another one more, namely Israel and Iran. Iran had previously attacked Israeli cargo ships with missiles. At 7:30 in the morning on April 6, Israel attacked the Iranian spy ship Saviz with mines in the Red Sea. The United States had been notified before the operation.
This spy ship is considered a "floating base" of Iran in the Red Sea. Israel has long issued a war warning to Iran. If Iran over-developes its nuclear capabilities, Israel means that it will carry out military strikes.
A world that is not peaceful requires courageous leaders to lead governance. Many friends may think of Trump. If he continues to be in office, with his tough methods, the world may not be so chaotic today.
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Secret of Trump's office. What does the shrinking wealth prove?
This week, "Fox" announced the 2021 Global Rich List. Trump ranked 1,299 in the world for only US$2.4 billion, a drop of 298 from last year. When he became president in 2017, Trump ranked 544th among the world's richest people, with a net worth of US$3.5 billion. In this regard, Trump himself said that he was not surprised by this ranking, and said: In fact, this should be the case. Politicians should not make money during their tenure, and wealthy people should have less wealth than before when they leave office.
Indeed, I think at least this can prove that Trump did not at least take the opportunity to expand his business territory to make money during his tenure, and he was not president for making money, otherwise his business would not fall to this point. Even if there are business problems, if you make money while you are in office, you will not fall to this point.
And a report in the US "Politics" magazine recently also paid attention to the interior view of Trump’s office at the Mara Ago Manor, showing that in Trump’s office, when the photo was taken, there was a copy of "The Wall Street Journal", a pair of reading glasses, Memorabilia of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, photos of the "Air Force One" plane, photos of President Hill, and a set of tables and chairs similar to his desk and office chair when he was in the White House.
The left media pays attention to these in order to find some topics to taunt Trump, and Trump supporters see that Trump still misses the country.
True patriotism requires practical actions, not shouting slogans. This is why Trump is popular. The CCP uses people’s patriotism to maintain its rule, and it is doing the opposite. It recently launched a boycott of foreign goods, and now the incident has grown to a ridiculous degree.
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Pompeo finds a new job and signs with Fox to debut on stage on Friday
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has found a new job. He has signed with Fox and will provide analysis on Fox News. This Friday, Pompeo will take the stage to meet the audience for the first time.
Fox News announced on April 8 local time that CEO Suzanne Scott had signed a contract with Pompeo. Pompeo became a "Contributor" of Fox News, and he will provide analysis on all Fox News platforms, including daytime and prime time news programs.
Scott said, “Pompeo is one of the most recognized and respected voices in US foreign policy and national security issues. I look forward to his contributions on our various platforms and interact with millions of viewers. Share his unique insights".
On Friday (April 9) local time on the "FOX&Friends" program, Pompeo will make his debut to meet the audience.
Pompeo tweeted that, as a former US diplomat, in fulfilling his new role at Fox News, he intends to frankly let the audience understand geopolitics, international relations and the "America First" policy.
He said that this will contribute to the unprecedented prosperity of the United States, and at the same time promote American security issues.
Former White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany left office and became a member of Fox News.
The 32-year-old McKenney graduated from Harvard Law School. Because of her beautiful appearance and sharp words, she has attracted much attention from the outside world. McKennaney has previously worked at Fox and CNN.
On March 2, McKennaney accepted an interview with Harris Faulkner, host of The Faulkner Focus. Faulkner said, "I am happy to welcome Kelly McKennaney to the Fox family. We will see her more in the future."
During his tenure as Secretary of State, Pompeo had a tough attitude towards the CCP. Before leaving office, he identified the CCP’s persecution of human rights in Xinjiang as "genocide and crimes against humanity." This is of great significance to the international community’s accountability for the CCP’s human rights. Subsequently, the United States joined with the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada to impose sanctions on four CCP officials and entities that persecuted human rights in Xinjiang.
After leaving office, Pompeo joined the Hudson Institute, a well-known conservative think tank in the United States, as an outstanding researcher.
On October 30, 2019, Pompeo delivered a China policy speech at the Institute. He pointed out that the CCP has always been hostile to American values. The CCP regime is seeking the power to dominate the world. Therefore, the world must be Trade, human rights, South China Sea sovereignty, etc. have responded head-on.
Pompeo also clearly separated the CCP from the Chinese people. He pointed out that the CCP’s biggest lie is that it claims to represent the 1.4 billion Chinese people oppressed by it. He called on the free world to join hands to overthrow the CCP's tyranny.
Pompeo became the first U.S. Secretary of State to be sanctioned by the CCP after he stepped down because of his strong attack on the CCP. However, he believes that it is his glory to be sanctioned by the CCP.
The CCP madly dialed 16 times but Palau’s President stopped answering. The wolf diplomacy failed miserably
Image : Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. (middle) held an international press conference with Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie (left) in the evening of March 29. US Ambassador to Palau John Hennessey-Niland (right) also attended.
Palau President Surangel Whipps, who had just visited Taiwan with the US ambassador recently, revealed that the CCP had called his mobile phone madly in order to prevent him from contacting Taiwan, but he would never answer it again.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse video on April 6, Whipps stated that despite Beijing’s pressure on him, his stance of insisting on being friendly with Taiwan will not change.
Whipps revealed to the media that during the general election last year, CCP officials called his cell phone several times, "about 16 times." "After the election, I did not answer their calls." He said that the CCP officials told him directly to sever "illegal" contacts with Taiwan.
Whipps said that one of his distrust of the CCP was due to the aggressive foreign policy of the CCP's upper echelons, and the other was learned from personal experience. He said that CCP diplomats were arrogant when they called him, "I had a meeting with them, and the first thing they told me on the phone was that what you are doing now is illegal and you realize that Taiwan is illegal. You must stop."
"This is their tone." Whipps said, "Others can't tell us who we can be friends with."
Palau is located about 900 kilometres (600 miles) east of the Philippines, and the number of Chinese tourists visiting here has exploded but in 2017, the CCP suddenly put economic pressure on Palau and prohibited Chinese people from traveling to Palau.
Whipps believes that the CCP’s actions are counterproductive, which makes Palau more aware of the CCP’s coercion. "This is an example of (they) spreading bait." ) After doing this, then I expect you to do the second and third things."
He also stated that Taiwan, which established diplomatic relations with Palau in 1999, is not just an ally. The aborigines of Palau are Austronesians, and their ancestors spread across the Pacific tens of thousands of years ago. “We have a common culture and history. Whipps said that during the epidemic, other countries’ sympathy for Taiwan increased. “Taiwan is a free country and a democratic country. It should be respected. As a diplomatic ally, it cannot be ignored.”
On March 28, Whipps led a delegation to Taiwan, accompanied by the US Ambassador to Palau, John Hennessey-Niland. This was his first visit after taking office and the first visit to Taiwan after the international epidemic among foreign heads of state. Both parties also jointly announced the launch of Asia's first intercontinental travel bubble.
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Trump suspects that Biden has been left behind and wishes him good health
On the 6th, President Trump said in an interview with "Newsmax" television station that he suspected that Biden had "ridden with power" and wished Biden good health.
The Voice of Hope compiled the report. In the interview, Trump stated that he suspected that Biden had “fallen out of power” because he felt that “most of the decisions” of the White House were not made by Biden. He said that as President, “There is a lot of work to be done. do". He also wished Biden good health.
Trump also said that in his view, Biden may be delegating his responsibilities to his senior advisers: "I think most decisions are made by other people." "Many of Biden's policies are related to (ultra-left) participation. Senator Bernie Sanders is very similar."
During the interview, Trump expressed his best wishes to Biden, who has been president for three months. He said: "I hope he is in good health, and I hope everything is well physically and mentally."
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Pence's new agency promotes MAGA's conservative policy, suspected of competing with Trump in the 2024 election
Former Vice President Pence launched an organization called "Advancing American Freedom" on Wednesday (April 7), which aims to integrate traditional conservative thinking with the Trumpist MAGA movement. It will seek to defend the policies of the Trump and Pence administrations.
Trump pointed out in the statement, "It is great to see Mike highlight some of our achievements!" "This is the most successful first term in American history."
Left-wing CNN pointed out that Pence had ambitions for the presidency. After he stepped down as vice president in January this year, he wrote a column for the conservative publication "the Daily Signal" in March. In the content, Si condemned a Democratic-led voting rights bill and expressed concern about the fairness of the 2020 US presidential election. In addition, he also mentioned some examples of illegal voting related to voting.
Pence’s aides refuted speculation that the advocacy organization was a springboard for Pence’s presidential campaign, saying that next year’s midterm elections and setting the policy agenda were the focus.
Pence will travel to South Carolina at the end of this month to participate in a large-scale dinner hosted by a conservative non-profit organization. This will be his first public appearance after leaving office as the vice president, and then he will continue to give lectures on the tour.
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Biden Secretary of Commerce: Trump's Steel and Aluminum Tax Saved U.S. Jobs
Biden’s Secretary of Commerce, Ms. Gina Raimondo, said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House on Wednesday (April 7) that the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have saved jobs in the U.S. steel and aluminum industry.
The Epoch Times reported that Raimundo said, “Imposing 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum actually helped save jobs in the steel and aluminum industries in the United States.” This indicates that the Biden administration rarely agrees with the Trump administration on this point. Policy.
Raimundo continued, “We must create a level playing field. If the playing field is level, no one can beat American workers. The fact is that the CCP’s actions are uncompetitive, coercive, and despicable. Unscrupulous. So I will use all the tools in my hands as actively as possible to protect American workers and companies from China’s unfair practices."
In March 2018, President Trump implemented "Article 232" for national security considerations, imposing tariffs of 25% and 10% on imported steel and aluminum, respectively, in order to protect the American steel and aluminum industry.
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After boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics, the United States changed its stance after a few hours?
Many international human rights organizations and US politicians have been calling on the US authorities to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics. Many people compare the Beijing Winter Olympics with the 1934 Olympics held in Nazi Germany.
Has the United States negotiated with its allies on boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics? US State Department spokesman Price said earlier that he would negotiate with allies on this issue. A few hours later, White House spokesperson Shaqi said: "We are not discussing any boycott actions with allies or partners."
News (21)
Pretending to be refugee families, a large number of illegal immigrants rented children to transit the United States
According to the current border policy of the Biden administration, compared with illegal immigrant families without children or single adult illegal immigrants, illegal immigrant families with children will receive better treatment and can be released into the United States as a priority. Smuggling syndicates have started a business of renting children to impersonate illegal immigrant families.
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tom Homan said on March 30 this year, “We have conducted criminal investigations and smuggling syndicates will rent children to impersonate illegal immigrant families. Once the illegal immigrants are released into the United States , The child on loan will be sent back to Mexico and re-rented again. This happens often."
Rodolfo Karisch, Chief Detective of the Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley District, said that in 2014, less than 1% of all adult men arrested by the Border Patrol had children, but By 2019, 50% of people have brought children. As of March 2021, there have been more than 170,000 immigrants who have crossed the border illegally, many of which are families with children, accounting for the highest month in 6 years.
According to a public case in 2019, a Honduran man bought a 6-month-old baby in Guatemala and pretended to be a family member, hoping to be released first in the United States. Another case found that a criminal group established a mechanism for repeated renting and recycling of children between Houston and Mexico. The cost of renting a child ranges from less than $100 to more than $1,000.
In 2019, the Department of Homeland Security set up a rapid DNA test. The results showed that up to 30% of immigrant families in the El Paso and Rio Grande Valley districts of Texas were impersonating. Homan criticized the Biden administration this year and has not implemented extensive DNA testing so far.
News (22)
Fox host: The number of illegal immigrants concealed by the Biden government is three times the true number
On the 5th, the famous Fox host Tucker Carlson said in his program that recently his news team arrived at the US-Mexico border military base in Fort Bliss and reported to the local Ministry of Health and Human Services (HHS). Officials asked about the number of illegal immigrants living in this base, but did not get an answer. "I was told that these tents were not allowed to be photographed. This is a national security secret, just like a missile launch site. Why do they hide this? Because they are lying to us."
Recently, the Border Patrol has detained two Yemeni terrorists "on the federal terrorist watch list." They transited from Mexico into California.
Carlson said, "In the past three months, how many potential terrorists have crossed the border without being caught? How many gang members? How many rapists and murderers?"
He then asked: "We know that Washington is constantly lying about numbers. They told us that there are 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, and the true number is three times that number."
News (23)
Choose prisons with "self-identified gender", California male offenders will be admitted to female prisons
The California Department of Corrections said on Tuesday (April 6) that under the new California law, since January of this year, 261 California prison inmates have requested to be transferred to prisons that are consistent with their "self-perceived" gender identity. However, some prisoners worry that some prisoners who ask for transfer may lie about their gender identity in order to transfer to a women's prison.
The Sound of Hope compiled a report that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill No. 132 (S.B.-132) in January. The bill requires the California Department of Corrections to require everyone who enters the supervision of the department to clarify their gender pronouns (pronouns), their gender identity (gender identity), and whether they are identified as transgender, non-binary, or intersex. people. Connecticut and Massachusetts have passed similar legislation.
The California Department of Corrections told the Daily Caller on Tuesday that since the bill took effect in January, 261 prisoners have requested the transfer of “gender-based facilities”. The vast majority of these were prisoners who requested to be transferred to female facilities, only 6 were not.
The Correctional Services Department has so far approved 21 of these requests. Of these 21 people, 4 have been transferred to the prison in Chowchilla, but 2 of these 21 have changed their minds. Inmates at Chokira Prison told the Los Angeles Times, “The men are here, and the prisoners should probably expect sexual violence to occur.”
Thornton, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections, said that as of April 2, 1,129 detainees have identified themselves as transgender, non-binary, and intersex.
News (24)
Epidemic of Kexing vaccination in Chile has risen, research shows that the first dose is only 3% protective
More than 35% of the population of Chile, a Latin American country, has been vaccinated against Chinese Communist pneumonia (COVID-19), but the country’s epidemic situation has recently continued to rise. The study found that China's CoronaVac vaccine has only 3% protection after the first dose.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, the University of Chile has conducted a study on the effectiveness of the Kexing vaccine and found that the effectiveness of the vaccine can reach 56.5% two weeks after the injection of two doses of the vaccine.
In Chile, 7.07 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 4.04 million people have received two doses. About 93% of them received the Coxing vaccine. In the past month or so, the number of confirmed cases in the country has continued to rise. So far, more than one million people have been infected in the country.
News (25)
The world's largest copper-producing country suddenly closed its borders, and copper prices soared above US$9,000
Due to the rapid rise of the epidemic, on the 5th, the Chilean government was forced to shut down and declare the border closed. Chile is the world's largest copper producer, which also caused copper prices to soar by 3.7%, breaking through US$9,000 per metric ton.
New Head Shell reported that since the start of the Kexing vaccine in February this year, more than 35% of the people have been vaccinated so far, but the recent epidemic has not fallen but has risen. There were nearly 8,000 new confirmed cases every day last week.
Although the Chilean Ministry of Energy and Mining emphasized that maritime transportation and mining companies will continue to operate normally, international copper prices are still rising sharply.
The Chilean government announced new anti-epidemic measures, stipulating that Chilean citizens and foreign residents are not allowed to enter Chile, and truck drivers traveling to and from the border must provide a negative nucleic acid test within 72 hours before entering the country.
News (26)
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has very rare side effects, 19 people die
According to a report by France, European Union national regulators have received dozens of cases of cerebrovascular thrombosis after vaccinations with Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Some people were killed as a result, which prompted many countries to suspend the administration of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. .
The British vaccine regulator said on the 7th that as more and more evidence shows that the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine may cause blood clots, it is recommended that adults under the age of 30 can administer other vaccines.
The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Administration found that as of the end of March, there were 79 cases of rare thrombosis reported after vaccination in the UK, and 19 people were killed. The “Financial Times” reported that of the 19 dead, 3 were under 30 years old.
On April 7, 2021, Ankara Municipality dug a hole in front of the Chinese Communist Embassy in Turkey under the name of "checking the nearby residents for misappropriating tap water resources." Ankara municipal administrator Oztok tweeted pictures
The CCP and Turkey are engaged in diplomatic battles. After the Mayor of Ankara and another politician issued an article commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Uyghur "Barenxiang Uprising", they were criticized by the Chinese Embassy in Turkey and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the local CCP ambassador to protest. The Ankara Municipality digs a pit in front of the Chinese Embassy to detect whether water resources have been stolen. Some people think that it was an alternative counterattack by the Turks and it won the applause of the people.
Cuneyt Ozturk, a manager of the municipal department of the Turkish capital Ankara, posted on Twitter on Wednesday (7th) two photos of the construction in front of the CCP’s embassy in Turkey. He stated that the construction was intended to “inspect the area. Whether the residents of the country misappropriated tap water resources".
Oztok previously wrote in another tweet in a mocking tone that the Chinese Embassy may not have to pay water bills this month. He also satirized the CCP's "vaccine diplomacy" and economic pressure on Turkey.
Refat, a Turkish citizen of Uyghur origin, told the station that according to the division of authority, the municipal government is responsible for the smaller streets and municipal projects in Ankara. The sudden construction in front of the CCP Embassy should be a kind of response to previous diplomatic incidents. In an alternative statement, in the face of the CCP’s "wolf war diplomacy," Turkey is taking a counterattack road different from that of Western countries.
Refat said: The name the city government is looking for is "we are investigating the problem of the theft of drinking water resources." So digging that piece is actually damaging the CCP's embassy. This is how it should be for the CCP. Turks support this move. . The CCP’s war wolf-style tweeted threatening Turkey’s elected mayors and politicians. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CCP likes to say "we Chinese don’t eat this set", and we Turks don’t eat this set. In addition to verbal condemnation, we have many other channels to fight back against you.
Omer Kul, Professor of East Turkestan Issues at Istanbul University, said that CCP’s image in the world is already very poor. This time the CCP’s "wolf war speech" has aroused a lot of resentment among Turkish people and the media.
Kuer also said that as an academic, he strongly supports the Chinese Communist Party’s sanctions against the Uyghur genocide in many countries around the world. Given Turkey’s cooperative relationship with China, perhaps Turkey has not sanctioned the Chinese Communist Party for the time being, but if the incident continues to escalate, Maybe it will inspire Turkish sanctions.
Abdullah German, a Uyghur in exile in Turkey, revealed that on the occasion of the "31st anniversary of the Baren Township Uprising", they held protests, seminars and exhibitions in six cities. This should be the important point that the Chinese Embassy was very angry. The reason is that they spread the fire on politicians who support Uyghurs and aroused a backlash among the people.
Abdullah German said: We conducted a protest in front of the Consulate in Istanbul, sent a black wreath to the front of the Consulate, held a press conference in Ankara, and held exhibitions in six different cities in Turkey. Due to the CCP’s persecution of Uyghurs during these 31 years, the Turkish people are particularly concerned about this issue. They hope the government will take a practical action to stop the CCP’s genocide of Uyghurs.
On the day of the "31st Anniversary of the Baren Township Uprising", Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Meral Aksener, leader of the nationalist Iyi Party (Iyi Party), were pushing Here is a memorial. Yavas said in a tweet that “even though 31 years have passed, we still feel the pain of the East Turkestan massacre just like the first day.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China also supported the embassy's remarks at a press conference on Wednesday (7th), while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey summoned Liu Shaobin, the Chinese ambassador to Turkey, to express its dissatisfaction.
In 1990, 200 Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims in Baren Township, Xinjiang Autonomous Region clashed with the local government because of ethnic conflicts. The Chinese Communist Party officially called it a "riot," but Uyghurs insisted on calling it an "uprising." On the day of the "31st Anniversary of the Baren Township Uprising", a group of overseas Uyghurs protested in front of the CCP's embassy in Istanbul.
Turkey is one of the main countries of refuge for Uyghurs overseas, and it is currently estimated that 50,000 Uyghurs have sought refuge here. Earlier, it was rumored that the Chinese government used “vaccine diplomacy” to pressure the soil to sign an extradition agreement, which made the outside world worry about the Uyghurs’ situation. Uighur-Turkish citizen Reifat believed that the CCP’s war-wolf diplomacy had awakened the Turkish people and the wave of civil protests would also be awakened. Influencing the government's attitude towards China is not a bad thing for Uyghurs.
News (28)
The CCP threatens the countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan: "If diplomatic relations are broken, you will get a vaccine"
Recently, it has been reported that the CCP has used one million doses of the Chinese SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine as a bargaining chip to induce Paraguay to put pressure on it and break diplomatic relations with Taiwan. But this crisis was resolved with the help of Indian vaccines. Experts believe that the effectiveness of China's vaccine has been widely questioned at home and abroad. In the future, it will continue to play the "vaccine diplomacy" card in Central and South America and the Middle East, and it will only become more and more difficult.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie: “That’s why we see that India has sent 100,000 vaccines to Paraguay, and Mexico has also certified the vaccine the day before yesterday, which means that the vaccine can be used in Central and South America, so they will start to use it soon. "
Paraguay and Taiwan have had diplomatic relations for 63 years. At the end of March, it was reported that due to the urgent need for vaccines in Paraguay, the Chinese Communist Party has launched "vaccine diplomacy" in South America, putting Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez under tremendous pressure and the ruling party There is even an internal discussion about whether to continue maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie mentioned in the Legislative Yuan on April 8 that through cooperation and consultation with the United States, Japan and other countries, and finally with the help of India, Taiwan’s diplomatic ally Paraguay successfully obtained the vaccine.
Wu Zhaoxie: "In the follow-up, India should still continue to send 100,000 vaccines. This is the result of the joint efforts of the entire international community. Everyone sees our diplomatic countries and faces political, economic, and social pressures. "
According to Reuters, Wu Zhaoxie criticized earlier that the CCP used vaccine diplomacy to "show its muscles" and continue to exert influence in Central and South America where there are five Taiwan allies. And actively advocated to the public that as long as Paraguay severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, millions of doses of Chinese vaccines could be obtained, putting pressure on Taiwan-Pakistan diplomatic relations.
Gobi Dong, an independent scholar in the U.S. and a columnist for independent current review: "The CCP treats all its resources as a weapon to persecute or attack other countries in its international exchanges. The vaccine has become a means by which the CCP forces these Latin American countries to isolate Taiwan. Use anti-epidemic materials to attack the United States, use bilateral trade to attack Australia, use hostages to threaten Canada, use deception and abuse against France, and now use vaccines to attack Taiwan."
Gobi Dong, an independent scholar in the United States and a columnist of current commentators, believes that this is the latest example of the CCP's ubiquitous diplomacy. The CCP can be regarded as the country with the most vaccine scandals in the world, including a large number of fake vaccines, virulent vaccines, and vaccine victims. Strictly speaking, the CCP is not qualified to produce vaccines at all.
Gobi Dong: "And so far, none of China's vaccines has been approved by the WHO. Even under such circumstances, the CCP not only forcibly promotes vaccines at home, but also engages in vaccine diplomacy internationally, which is really exhausting. Tianliang. It is reported that there have been 12 deaths from vaccine reactions in Hong Kong, 11 of which were Chinese vaccines."
In March of this year, Pakistani President Arif Alvi was vaccinated with the China National Pharmaceutical Group's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and confirmed on Twitter that he was positive. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan also received the first dose of the Chinese vaccine, and the infection was confirmed two days later.
It was even reported in April that the epidemic situation in some countries where the Chinese vaccine has been administered has not decreased but has increased, including Brazil, Chile, Pakistan and Turkey. After the Chinese Kexing vaccine has been administered, the number of confirmed cases has increased.
Chen Kuide, Executive Chairman of the Chinese Society of Princeton University: "Countries that use vaccines in Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as countries that use German vaccines, have relatively high vaccination rates. For example, Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom have an obvious downward trend in the epidemic. It’s obvious. In the United Kingdom, his vaccination rate is very close to Chile. Of course, Chile uses CCP vaccines. The comparison between the two shows that the problem is that Chile is vaccinated. The latest development of cases is increasing, and the more vaccinated, there are more number of cases."
The most recent case was the sudden death of Kyrgyzstan’s young diplomat and Deputy Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyar Shakirov on April 1. According to family members, Shakirov received the Chinese Communist virus vaccine shortly before his death, and it was the first batch of vaccinations. This news was denied by the CCP Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.
Chen Kuide: "Obviously, the above facts have increased people's doubts about the safety of China's vaccines, especially the effectiveness (questions), which have all appeared in other countries. The country’s blockade and concealment cannot be concealed, so after the basic data came out, the third phase of his data does not look very good, and it has not been released yet."
Chen Kuide, executive chairman of the Chinese Society of Princeton University, believes that because the effectiveness of vaccines produced in China lags behind that of advanced countries, its vaccine diplomacy will only become less effective in the future. Moreover, when the European and American epidemics are brought under control, countries around the world will continue to hold the CCP accountable for the huge losses suffered by the epidemic.
News (29)
Rejection of Chinese-funded rare earth mining projects, Greenland election changes day
Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark, has the world's largest undeveloped rare earth deposit. The Chinese-funded rare earth mining project became a key factor in the Greenland elections this month. As a result, the ruling party that supported the project lost the election, and the winning party reiterated its opposition.
In the Greenland parliamentary election held ahead of schedule on April 6, the opposition Workers’ Party won 37% of the votes, surpassing the 29% of the current ruling Kadima Party.
On the 7th, the leaders of the Workers’ Party reiterated their opposition to the large-scale rare earth mining plan in the Kvanefjeld area in the southwest of the island: "The Greenlanders have spoken out that the mineral project in Kvanefjeld will not be approved."
Greenland Minerals, the owner of the Kwana Bay deposit, is an Australian company, but the Australian company is owned by a Chinese company.
Greenland Mining Company stated that this deposit may become the most important rare earth producer in the Western world.
The population of Greenland is only about 56,000, but it is rich in rare earth resources and its geographical location is important. It plays an important role in the confrontation between the United States and China. Because it involves the development of global strategic resources, the rare earth mining plan has become the focus of attention in this election in Greenland and has also attracted worldwide attention.
The export of rare earths was previously monopolized by the CCP. At present, Europe, the United States, Australia and other countries have begun to strengthen the development of rare earths in order to get rid of their dependence on China's rare earths.
In February of this year, the center-right Democratic Party of Greenland withdrew from the three-party ruling coalition due to opposition to the uranium and rare earth mining plan of the Kwane Bay deposits, leaving only the center-left Kadima Party and another small party leader. The government and the parliament agreed to re-election early on April 6.
The Kadima Party advocates giving the green light to this rare earth mining project to lay a solid economic foundation for Greenland's eventual separation from Denmark. Although the left-wing Workers' Party also supports independence, it opposes the mining of uranium and rare earth mines, and is worried about causing radiation and toxic waste pollution.
News (30)
The Beidou system drops and kills people, the CCP's positioning technology is questioned again
The CCP launched the Beidou Global Navigation and Positioning System to compete with the US GPS. However, a few days ago, a Hebei driver was fined for "Beidou dropped" and committed suicide in anger, causing Chinese drivers to complain that Beidou often dropped and made mistakes. Experts point out that there is a big gap between the quality of Beidou and GPS. If it is used in the military, it will cause catastrophe.
On April 5, Hebei truck driver Jin Deqiang was fined 2,000 RMB and detained the vehicle because the Beidou positioning system “dropped” when he passed the over-limit checkpoint. Jin Deqiang believes that Beidou's disconnection is not a problem with the driver and therefore cannot accept punishment. But the staff ignored him, and Jin Deqiang swallowed pesticides at the checkpoint in grief and died.
This matter has triggered heated discussions. Netizens have expressed grievances for the dead, and many drivers have begun to complain about the high charges of the Beidou positioning system, frequent disconnections, and frequent errors.
A driver shared a video saying that his car hadn't moved all afternoon, but the Beidou system showed that the car had been driving and kept reminding him of "driving fatigue".
The #北斗 location system developed by the CCP has frequent problems, and the driver has dropped the connection and was fined up to 5,000 yuan for detaining the car. Videographer: The car did not move here all afternoon, but Beidou showed that the car was moving at a speed of 3.4 km/h, and Beidou has been prompting #fatigue driving in the car. #大纪元新闻网 pic.twitter.com/lFvxJi9cwT
— Epoch Times (@dajiyuan) April 8, 2021
In China, truck drivers are officially forced to install the Beidou system and charge service fees. They are often fined because Beidou disconnects for no reason.
The CCP claims that all the 30 satellites of the Beidou system are already in place, which can keep pace with the global satellite navigation systems of the United States, Russia, and the European Union. According to foreign media reports, in order to ensure the security of military communication networks and prevent accidental interruption of information, the CCP has invested US$10 billion in the project.
Radio Free Asia quoted Mr. Fang, a network expert, as saying that the Beidou system is often disconnected, and the key lies in the lack of control over the quality of Chinese products. Without this link, the entire quality system would be difficult to meet the requirements. He pointed out that Beidou may not be able to reach the GPS positioning accuracy of 5 meters.
Mr. Fang said that the Beidou system is mainly used for the navigation of the CCP’s military equipment. If there is an error in the positioning data, the consequences will be disastrous. Two of their own aircraft may collide, and the two units may open fire to each other.
Jiangxi scholar Mr. Shen also said that the role of the Beidou system has been exaggerated, mainly for propaganda in China and deceiving the people inside the wall. If you really want to use it for war, you don't know how many soldiers will die and how many civilians will be accidentally injured.
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