I’ve compiled some relevant news items about China which will hopefully increase our understanding and interest in China and geopolitics.
JAPAN PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO TAIWAN – Straits Times, 14 July 2021 Japan directly broached the subject of Taiwan security for the first time in its annual defence review released on Tuesday (July 13), as it raised the alarm over the growing brinkmanship and arms race in the region.“Stabilising the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japan’s security and the stability of the international community,” Japan’s Defence Ministry said in its annual white paper for the first time.”Therefore, it is necessary that we pay close attention to the situation with a sense of crisis more than ever before.”
BOYCOTT DUE TO TREATMENT CHINA OF MUSLIMS – China News, 15 July 2021 The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region, the latest effort in Washington to punish Beijing for what U.S. officials say is an ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would create a “rebuttable presumption” assuming goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labor and therefore banned under the 1930 Tariff Act. The bill must also pass the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who introduced the legislation with Democrat Jeff Merkley, called on the House to act quickly. “We will not turn a blind eye to the CCP’s ongoing crimes against humanity, and we will not allow corporations a free pass to profit from those horrific abuses,” Rubio said in a statement.
CHINA SENDS LARGEST OVERSEAS TEAM TO OLYMPICS – NHK World, 15 July 2021 China says it will send a 777-member delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, starting next week. It says the number is the largest for an Olympics held outside the country. Observers say Beijing may be considering the possibility of sending a special representative while monitoring the infection situation in Tokyo, which is now under a fourth coronavirus state of emergency. The United States has decided that First Lady Jill Biden will attend the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremony.
DISPUTE CHINA AND INDIA STILL UNRESOLVED – Aljazeera, 15 July 2021 The failure of China and India to resolve the standoff over their disputed border in the western Himalayas, despite an agreement last year, is not in the interest of either side, India’s foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday. In accordance with last year’s pact, military commanders on both sides completed a pullout of troops, tanks and artillery from the Pangong Lake area in February as part of a first step towards full withdrawal from other friction points. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in border clashes in June last year – the first combat losses on the disputed border in more than four decades. China later admitted four of its soldiers were also killed. The killing of Indian soldiers caused a backlash against China, forcing New Delhi to impose curbs on Chinese businesses and investment and banning dozens of Chinese apps, including wildly popular TikTok.
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Alex David Rosaria Blog 