Zhang Chiahou's Blog, page 11

India’s Modi rallies troops at China border, as Beijing urges caution

NEW DELHI/ BEIJING (Reuters) – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew on Friday into the northern border region where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a stand-off, and said the military stood ready to defend his country.

His comments prompted Beijing to call for restraint at the tense border area in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh.

Modi, making his first trip to the Ladakh region since the Indian army lost 20 soldiers in a clash with Chinese soldiers last month, said his country’s commitment to peace should not be seen as a sign of weakness.

“Today India is becoming stronger, be it in naval might, air power, space power and the strength of our army. Modernization of weapons and upgradation of infrastructure has enhanced our defence capabilities multifold,” he said in a speech to soldiers near Leh, the regional capital.

India says Chinese troops have intruded across the Line of Actual Control, or the ceasefire line separating the two armies in the high altitude Ladakh region, and the clash on June 15 occurred because Chinese troops sought to erect defences on India’s side of the de facto border.

China says the whole of the Galwan valley where the clash occurred is its territory and that it was frontline Indian troops that had breached the border, which is not demarcated.

China’s foreign ministry said on Friday the two countries were holding talks to reduce tensions.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian, responding to a question about Modi’s visit to the border region, said both sides were in communications through diplomatic and military channels to ease the situation.

“In these circumstances, neither side should take actions that might complicate the border situation,” he said at a daily news briefing in Beijing.

The most serious crisis on the India-China border in years has erupted while Beijing is embroiled in disputes over the South China Sea, Taiwan and its tightening grip over Hong Kong, which have all fanned fears of an expansionist policy.Slideshow (5 Images)

Modi referred to expansionism in his speech to soldiers, saying it caused problems.

“(The) Prime Minister said that the time for expansionism is over. This is the era of development,” the Indian government quoted Modi as saying, in a press release. “He recalled that it is this mindset of expansionism that did great harm.”

In a separate development, India’s power ministry stipulated that Indian companies will need government permission to import power supply equipment and components from China, amid rising military tensions between the two countries.

Source: Reuters

India to scrutinize power supply parts imports from China

CHENNAI (Reuters) – Indian companies will need government permission to import power supply equipment and components from China, which the government will inspect to assess cyber threat risks, according to an order by the power ministry.

The ministry said the order was intended “to protect the security, integrity and reliability of the strategically important and critical power supply system and network”.

Indian and Chinese troops clashed last month on their disputed border.

Source: Reuters

Kuwait embarks on 2nd phase of plan to bring life to normal

An employee works in a government department in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, July 1, 2020. Kuwait started on Tuesday to embark on the second phase of its plan to bring life to normal by reducing curfew hours and opening commercial complexes.

Source: Xinhua

China firmly opposes Britain’s offer of residency rights to Hongkongers and warns of ‘corresponding measures’

China’s embassy in Britain says offer of residency rights and path to citizenship violated 1984 memorandums of understanding regarding sovereignty over cityLawyer says Hongkongers can choose whether to apply for British citizenship but were never given a choice about Chinese citizenship

Sarah Zheng

Published: 5:08pm, 2 Jul, 2020

China has been angered by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s declaration that millions of Hongkongers eligible for British National (Overseas) passports, their spouses and underage children would be allowed to resettle in Britain and given a path to British citizenship.

Photo: SCMP / Winson WongChina has warned it may take “corresponding measures” following the British government’s offer of residency rights and a path to citizenship to millions of Hongkongers after Beijing imposed a harsh national security law on the former British colony.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the United Kingdom moves violated international relations norm, and China reserved the rights to take countermeasures. “The UK has to bear all the consequences of this,” he said.

The Chinese embassy in the UK also claimed on Thursday that Britain’s move violated 1984 memorandums of understanding exchanged between London and Beijing regarding the status of Hongkongers after sovereignty over the city was transferred to Beijing in 1997.

According to the memorandums, people in Hong Kong born before the 1997 handover would be eligible to be British National (Overseas) passport holders, a class of British citizenship that does not confer right of abode in Britain.

“If the British side insists on unilaterally changing the relevant practices, this not only violates its own position and commitments, but violates international law and the foundation of international relations,” the Chinese embassy spokesperson said, adding that Hong Kong citizens were Chinese nationals. “We firmly oppose this and reserve the right to take corresponding measures.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Xinhua

The threat came after Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said millions of Hongkongers eligible for BN (O) passports would be able to resettle in Britain and have a pathway to British citizenship. Johnson said the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong late on Tuesday was a “clear and serious breach” by Beijing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984, which settled how Hong Kong would be governed under Beijing’s rule.

Britain was among the vocal critics of the sweeping national security legislation – which bans acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with a maximum penalty of life in prison – for eroding the city’s semi-autonomous status from Beijing and the freedoms of its people.

Beijing defended the law as necessary to safeguard Hong Kong’s stability and its ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, claimed that London had “grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs” with its comments on the legislation.

The Chinese Ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming. Photo: Xinhua

Craig Choy, a Hong Kong lawyer and campaigner on BN (O) issues, said he was thrilled to learn about the proposal for BN (O) holders to obtain British citizenship, which offered a “lifeboat” to Hong Kong people and those who had taken part in protests over the past year.

Legal experts worry national security probes will bypass courts2 Jul 2020

“As we all know, the Chinese government can pass whatever law they like and say whatever they like and, at the same time, the UK government can do that as well since nationality law is an internal matter,” he said.

“The UK government offered such a pathway for Hong Kong people, so at least Hong Kong people can choose whether they want to take it or not. But the Chinese citizenship, we have never had the option whether we want it or not – it was just imposed on us.”

A British National (Overseas) passport. Photo: SCMP / Fung Chang

But the insistence that Hong Kong citizens were Chinese nationals would have an impact on the process since China did not recognise dual citizenship, Choy said.

“Even if these BN (O) holders go to the UK and get citizenship, if they did not renounce the Chinese citizenship, then the Chinese government will still consider them as a Chinese citizen,” he said.https://www.youtube.com/embed/tw7NKoo9tpM?wmode=transparent&jqoemcache=P32bw

A 28-year-old Hongkonger with a BN (O) passport said she would take the path to British citizenship in the wake of the national security law, which has made her fearful of joining protests in the city.

“The second I heard the national security law became effective, I wanted to jump on the first plane and leave, even though it means I will have to forever leave my birthplace,” said the woman, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

She said it was “good news” since it provided another option for Hongkongers seeking to leave the city, but lamented the fact that a lot of younger protesters born after 1997 would not be able to benefit.

“I’m luckier than a lot of people,” she said.

Source: SCMP

India deploys helicopter, 12 drones to stop fast-spreading locusts

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Tuesday deployed a helicopter and a dozen drones spraying insecticide to stop desert locusts that have spread to nine heartland states of the world’s second-biggest producer of rice and wheat.

FILE PHOTO: A desert locust is seen in a grazing land in Nakwamuru village, Samburu County, Kenya January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi -/File Photo

The move came after swarms invaded Gurugram, a satellite city of the capital New Delhi, during the weekend, prompting people to criticise authorities for not quickly containing the outbreak.

The government has also placed an order for five new helicopter-mounted spray systems from Britain to install in Indian Air Force helicopters, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

India, battling its worst desert locust outbreak for decades, pressed into service 12 drones to track the movement of locusts and spray insecticides on the swarms.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has amended rules to allow state government officials to use drones at night, a step that experts have said may help neutralise the locusts.

The government had already been using specialist vehicles and fire engines for spraying operations in at least nine densely populated states in the north, centre and west.

The locust infestation has not caused significant damage so far because it has fallen in the lean season – the gap between the previous harvest and the next planting season. But some farmers have complained about crop losses in a few districts of the desert state of Rajasthan.

The federal government said it had provided financial assistance to the Rajasthan government against the locusts.

Source: Reuters

China passes national security law in turning point for Hong Kong

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s parliament passed national security legislation for Hong Kong on Tuesday, setting the stage for the most radical changes to the former British colony’s way of life since it returned to Chinese rule 23 years ago.

Details of the law – which comes in response to last year’s often-violent pro-democracy protests in the city and aims to tackle subversion, terrorism, separatism and collusion with foreign forces – are due out later on Tuesday.

Amid fears the legislation will crush the global financial hub’s freedoms, and reports that the heaviest penalty under it would be life imprisonment, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong’s Demosisto group said it would dissolve.

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“It marks the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before,” Wong said on Twitter.

The legislation pushes Beijing further along a collision course with the United States, Britain and other Western governments, which have said it erodes the high degree of autonomy the city was granted at its July 1, 1997, handover.

The United States, already in dispute with China over trade, the South China Sea and the novel coronavirus, began eliminating Hong Kong’s special status under U.S. law on Monday, halting defence exports and restricting technology access.

China said it would retaliate.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, speaking via video link to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, urged the international community to “respect our country’s right to safeguard national security”.

She said the law, which is expected to come into force imminently, would not undermine the city’s autonomy or its independent judiciary.

Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have repeatedly said the legislation is aimed at a few “troublemakers” and will not affect rights and freedoms, nor investor interests.A pro-China supporter celebrates with champagne after China’s parliament passes national security law for Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a tabloid published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said on Twitter the heaviest penalty under the law was life imprisonment, without providing details.

Details of the law would be published later on Tuesday, said Henry Tang, a Hong Kong delegate to China’s top advisory body, after a meeting at Beijing’s main representative office.

‘OVERPOWERING’

The legislation may get an early test with activists and pro-democracy politicians saying they would defy a police ban, amid coronavirus restrictions, on a rally on the anniversary of the July 1 handover.

At last year’s demonstration, which came amid a series of pro-democracy protests, a crowd stormed and vandalised the city’s legislature.

“We will never accept the passing of the law, even though it is so overpowering,” said Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai.

It is unclear if attending the unauthorised rally would constitute a national security crime if the law came into force by then.

A majority in Hong Kong opposes the legislation, a poll conducted for Reuters this month showed, but support for the protests has fallen to only a slim majority.Slideshow (3 Images)

Police dispersed a handful of activists protesting against the law at a shopping mall.

Dozens of supporters of Beijing popped champagne corks and waved Chinese flags in celebration in front of government headquarters.

“I’m very happy,” said one elderly man, surnamed Lee.

“This will leave anti-China spies and people who brought chaos to Hong Kong with nowhere to go.”

This month, China’s official Xinhua news agency unveiled some of the law’s provisions, including that it would supersede existing Hong Kong legislation and that interpretation powers belong to China’s parliament top committee.

Beijing is expected to set up a national security office in Hong Kong for the first time and could also exercise jurisdiction on certain cases.

Judges for security cases are expected to be appointed by the city’s chief executive. Senior judges now allocate rosters up through Hong Kong’s independent judicial system.

It is not known which specific activities are to be made illegal, how precisely they are defined or what punishment they carry.

Britain, the European Union, Japan, Taiwan and others have also criticised the legislation.

China has hit back at the outcry, denouncing “interference” in its internal affairs.

Source: Reuters

Li Zhensheng: Photographer of China’s cultural revolution

Image caption Li Zhensheng in his youth

Li Zhensheng risked his life in his determination to capture China’s Cultural Revolution on film.

As a staff photographer working for a state-run newspaper, Li Zhensheng had rare access to people and places during one of the most turbulent periods of the 20th Century.

He took tens of thousands of photos, some of which were published, others stored in the floorboards of his flat for fear of punishment.

What he didn’t know then was that these hidden images would one day find their way out into the world.

The 79-year-old died earlier this week of cerebral haemorrhage in the US, said his Hong Kong publisher, the Hong Kong University Press.

“I have pursued witnessing and recording history all my life,” his publisher records him as saying before his death. “Now I rest in history.”

Red-colour News Soldier

Born in 1940 to a poor family in the Chinese province of Liaoning, Li grew up under difficult circumstances.

His mother died when he was three and he grew up helping his father in the fields until he was 10. Only then did he start school, but quickly rose to the top of his class.

He earned a spot at the Changchun Film School and eventually became a staff photographer for the Heilongjiang Daily newspaper in north-eastern China.

This job came during one of the most brutal periods in China’s history. The Cultural Revolution began in 1966 when Communist leader Mao Zedong began a campaign to eliminate his rivals.

Image caption Swimmers reading Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’

Mao mobilised thousands of Chinese youth to destroy the “four olds” in Chinese culture – old customs, habits, culture and thinking.

Colleges were shut so students could concentrate on “revolution”, and as the movement spread, they began to attack almost anything and anybody that stood for authority.

Children turned on their parents and students turned on their teachers, intellectuals were exiled. Thousands were beaten to death or driven to suicide.

Li’s new job left him in the unusual position of being able to record the violence and brutality that was happening around him.

Rare Chinese Cultural Revolution photos on displayWhat was China’s cultural revolution?

He noticed that the Red Guards – militant students – were getting access to photograph anything they wanted, so he decided to make an armband emblazoned with the words “Red-colour news soldier”.

“My work meant that I could take photographs of people being persecuted without being harassed,” he told the BBC in an earlier interview.

“I realised that this turbulent era must be recorded. I didn’t really know whether I was doing it for the revolution, for myself, or for the future.”

But he realised that the sensitive nature of the images could make him a target, so he hid the negatives away under the floorboards of his flat – around 20,000 of them.

Image caption Heilongjiang’s provincial governor had his hair shaved after being accused of growing it long like Chairman Mao

When he was eventually accused of counter-revolutionary activities in 1968, his flat was ransacked by the authorities but the negatives remained undiscovered.

If they had been found, Mr Li would have been severely punished and they would almost certainly have been destroyed.

“It was kind of risky,” he admitted. “When I took these photos I was not sure how useful they would be.”

Li’s photos were safe but he was not – he was denounced and along with his wife, was forced to undergo hard labour for two years.

The Cultural Revolution: A memory avoidedThe propaganda art of China’s Cultural Revolution

Upon his release he returned to his flat, and found the images safe and preserved.

He eventually became a professor at a university in Beijing and in the 1980s – a period of time when China saw a sliver of press freedom – his works were exhibited at a photography event in Beijing.

Image caption Red Guards were so known for red bands they wore around their arms

It was then that his pictures were discovered by Robert Pledge of Contact Press Images (CPI), who later went on to publish a book with Li’s images.

The book’s name? Red-colour News Soldier.

“We will be forever grateful to Li for having risked so much to doggedly preserve his images at a time when most of his colleagues agreed to allow their politically ‘negative negatives’ to be destroyed,” said Pledge.

He revealed that Li kept all his photos in small brown paper envelopes. On each envelope he wrote detailed captions in delicate Chinese calligraphy. Communes and counties, people’s names, official titles and specific events were all carefully noted.

His photos were eventually exhibited in dozens of countries.

Image caption Li at the Lucie Awards

In 2013, he was awarded the Lucie Award – known as the Oscars of the photography world.

And in 2018, his works were printed with Chinese text for the first time and published in Hong Kong.

“No single photographer covered the revolution more thoroughly and completely than Li,” said Contact Press Images in a statement following his death.

“He leaves an inestimable photographic legacy. He will be sorely missed.”

Source: The BBC

Judges with ‘dual allegiance’ because of foreign nationality should not handle national security cases, Beijing says

Senior official Zhang Yong notes no country allows foreigners to preside over cases endangering domestic securityRemarks appear to contradict Hong Kong leader, who earlier called excluding foreign justices unrealistic

Kimmy Chung  and Gary Cheung

Published: 3:42pm, 24 Jun, 2020

Beijing official Zhang Yong has said the power to pick judges for national security cases must lie with Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam. Photo: Robert NgHong Kong’s leader must avoid picking judges who could be compromised by “dual allegiance” because of their foreign nationality, when selecting candidates to oversee cases under the new national security law Beijing is preparing for the city, an official from China’s top legislative body has said.Zhang Yong, vice-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, brushed off concerns this would undermine judicial independence, insisting it had nothing to do with jurisdiction and the central government, according to worldwide practice, should always have the final say on matters of national security.

The law, the full draft of which is likely to be unveiled only after its expected passage by June 30, would be effective immediately, according to Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu.

The new law will take effect the day it is passed, Secretary for Security John Lee says. Photo: May Tse

“On the day the law is passed, it becomes a Hong Kong law as it is already put in Annex III of the Basic Law, becoming a national law applying to Hong Kong,” Lee said on Wednesday. “The law is effective on the day it is announced.”Zhang’s remarks on foreign judges, in a speech to representatives from a broad swathe of Hong Kong society on Tuesday – made public a day later – appeared to directly contradict Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s rejection of calls from the pro-Beijing camp to bar non-Chinese judges from handling national security cases.

Lam had said barring judges with foreign nationality would not be realistic, and she would instead draw up a list of them to handle relevant cases after consulting the city’s chief justice, rather than hand-pick a specific judge for every case.CORONAVIRUS UPDATEGet updates direct to your inboxSUBSCRIBEBy registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy

The contradiction suggested Beijing might not endorse Lam’s attempts to pacify critics, according to Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies.

“Some among the pro-establishment camp have tried to water down the law, but what Beijing wants is actually the deterrent effect,” Lau said.

The Chief Executive’s Office has yet to respond to an inquiry filed by the Post.

03:18

Hong Kong’s national security law is like ‘anti-virus software’, top Beijing official says

The Post on Wednesday obtained a copy of the speech Zhang gave to 120 attendees at Beijing’s liaison office in the city, explaining the new legislation.

“Among various countries around the world, no country has allowed foreigners to act as judges to try cases that endanger its own national security,” Zhang said.

The new law did not completely shut out judges with foreign nationality, but allowed the chief executive to appoint a pool of judges for relevant cases, he noted.

How will China enact Hong Kong national security law?23 Jun 2020

“Not only does it not affect judicial independence at all, but better guarantees the responsibilities of judges and judicial fairness, and reflects our respect for the current judicial system,” he said. “There is no inevitable correlation between judicial independence and jurisdiction.”Citing Article 19 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that courts in Hong Kong “shall have no jurisdiction over acts of state such as defence and foreign affairs”, Zhang said the judicial power of Hong Kong courts had limitations, but that did not undermine judicial independence.

According to an outline of the draft released over the weekend, Beijing may exercise jurisdiction over a tiny number of cases under specific circumstances, but the exact scope remains unknown.

But Zhang said Hong Kong would have no “authority or ability” to handle ones involving foreign interference, national defence or military matters.

Former Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, who attended the meeting, told the Post Zhang reassured them the central government would set a “high threshold” for applying its jurisdiction. “The law would state clearly under what circumstances the central government would exercise such jurisdiction and the procedures for doing so,” Tsang said.

Leader of city’s Catholics hopes ties with the Vatican will not fall foul of legislation 24 Jun 2020

Zhang’s remarks sparked a fresh round of criticism, with opposition lawmaker Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party, a representative of the legal sector, saying, “That’s the crux of the problem, the chief executive will be under pressure regarding how to choose judges.”

He noted that judges were already required to take an oath to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong.

He also drew attention to the conflicting role of the city leader, as the chief executive will also chair the national security commission in charge of the prosecution.

Legislator Priscilla Leung says Beijing has not ruled out the possibility there may be judicial personnel who hold right of abode elsewhere. Photo: Winson Wong

Kwok’s party colleague, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, questioned if Beijing officials had a full grasp of Hong Kong’s judicial system, pointing out that all but two of the city’s judges – the heads of the Court of Final Appeal and High Court – were not required to declare if they were foreign citizens.

The city’s main grouping of solicitors, the Law Society, also expressed concern about letting the chief executive designate judges to handle national security cases.

“That (or the perception arising therefrom) prejudices judicial independence,” it said in a statement, urging that such designations should only be made upon the suggestions of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission in accordance with the Basic Law.

However, pro-Beijing lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, also a member of the Basic Law Committee, said the arrangement was already a compromise.

“They haven’t ruled out the possibility that there may be judicial personnel who hold right of abode elsewhere. It is already a very moderate view from mainland China,” Leung said.

Time to stop talking about Hong Kong’s ‘premature death’

The immediate effectiveness of the law after it is passed is also causing further concern, even though the government can do so within existing rules by means of a special gazette.

“But the public needs time to digest it, even those who want to follow it and avoid stepping over any red line,” veteran opposition lawmaker James To Kun-sun To said.

According to the Basic Law, the standing committee may add to or delete from the list of laws in Annex III after consulting the Basic Law Committee, but the Post understands that a formal meeting of the 11-member advisory body has not been held.

Five Hong Kong members attended a two-hour meeting at the liaison office on Wednesday morning during which Zhang sought their views on the draft, but they were not provided with the full text, the Post has learned.

Source: SCMP

China sees uptick in new COVID-19 cases, including 17 in Beijing

FILE PHOTO: A medical worker in protective suit collects swabs from construction workers for nucleic acid tests following a new outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China June 25, 2020. cnsphoto via REUTERS/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) – Mainland China reported on Saturday the highest number of new coronavirus cases in four days, driven by a COVID-19 resurgence in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

The National Health Commission reported 21 new confirmed infections in mainland China on Friday, up from 13 a day earlier and the highest since Monday.

In Beijing, 17 new confirmed cases were reported, up from 11 a day earlier and the most since June 20.

Since June 11 when Beijing reported its first case in the current outbreak, stemming from a sprawling wholesale food centre in the southwest of the capital, 297 people in the city of more than 20 million have contracted the virus.

Mainland China reported four new so-called imported cases on Friday, infections linked to travellers arriving from abroad. That compares with two cases a day earlier.

That took the cumulative number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 83,483.

Mainland China reported 12 new asymptomatic patients, who tested positive for COVID-19 but showed no clinical symptoms such as a fever, up from five a day earlier.

The national health authority does not include asymptomatic patients in its tally of confirmed cases.

The death toll stood at 4,634, unchanged since mid-May.

Source: Reuters

People wear face masks in Croatia

Xinhua| 2020-06-26 18:43:58|Editor: Lu Hui

People wearing face masks get on a bus in Zagreb, Croatia, on June 25, 2020.

Source: Xinhua