Ongoing Events in China

[angelburst29]

U.S. warship sails through Taiwan Strait, stirs tensions with China

FILE PHOTO: The guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) is shown in the South China Sea, March 6, 2016. Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marcus L. Stanley/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

China expressed "deep concerns" on Thursday over a U.S. Navy warship sailing through the Taiwan Strait, a day after Beijing warned that it was ready for war if Taiwan moved toward independence.

Taiwan is among a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and China’s increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said China had “expressed deep concerns to the U.S. side” over its latest action in the strait separating China from Taiwan.

“The Taiwan question is the most sensitive and important issue between China and the U.S.,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.

“We urge the U.S. to abide by the One China principle and the three joint communiques, to be prudent and act appropriately with regards to Taiwan so that it doesn’t harm China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait’s region.”

China claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control.

On Wednesday, China warned that it is ready for war if there was any move toward Taiwan’s independence, accusing the United States of undermining global stability and denouncing its arms sales to the self-ruled island.

The warship sent to the 112-mile-wide (180-km) Taiwan Strait was identified as the Antietam.

“The (ship’s) transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said in a statement on Wednesday. “The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” he added.

The voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said the U.S. ship had sailed north through the Taiwan Strait in its freedom-of-navigation voyage and Taiwan had monitored the mission.

“Taiwan makes no compromise on its freedom, democracy and sovereignty,” President Tsai Ing-wen told reporters in Taipei, when asked to comment on the U.S. warship’s passage through the strait.

 

[angelburst29]

Moscow Disputes Seoul's Account Of Unprecedented Aerial Altercation Over Sea Of Japan

July 23, 2019 - Russia has disputed that one of its military aircraft violated South Korea's national airspace over a small grouping of islets in the Sea of Japan, as well as reports that South Korean fighter jets fired approximately 360 20mm cannon shells in a series of warning shots during the altercation. The incident occurred during a joint Russian-Chinese aerial patrol involving two Tu-95MS Bear bombers and an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft from Russia's military flying together with a pair of China's H-6K bombers.

The confrontation occurred on July 23, 2019, local time, as the Russian and Chinese aircraft flew into the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone, or KADIZ, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble F-15K Slam Eagle and KF-16C/D Viper fighter jets, also sometimes referred to as F-16Ks, to intercept them. The incident turned more serious when the A-50 reportedly flew over actual airspace South Korea claims above the set of islets, which it refers to as Dokdo. Japan also claims these as its national territory, calling them collectively Takeshima, and registered its own complaint that the Mainstay had violated Japanese national airspace.

"The Air Force instantly deployed multiple jets, including F-15Ks and F-16Ks, and sent warning messages to it in accordance with operation manuals," an unnamed officer from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Yonhap News Agency. "But the plane [the A-50] did not respond, so one of our aircraft fired some 10 rounds of flares and 80 warning shots."

The F-15K and the F-16K each carry a single M61A1 20mm Vulcan cannon, a six-barrel Gatling gun that fires up to 6,000 rounds per minute. A total of 80 warning shots would equate to just under a one-second-long burst from one gun.

The A-50 left, but returned again to the airspace above the islets relatively soon thereafter, prompting South Korean jets to fire another 10 flares and 280 warning shots, according to South Korean officials. South Korea says this is the first time a foreign aircraft has ever violated its national airspace since the end of the Korean War. Officials in Seoul made formal complaints to both the Russian and Chinese ambassadors to South Korea over the flights around Dokdo/Takeshima and in the KADIZ.

Japan's Ministry of Defense subsequently released pictures of the A-50, seen at the top of this story, as well as the other Russian and Chinese aircraft, from its own intercepts. In addition, it provided a map that also asserted that the Mainstay had flown within the territorial limits around the islets. Japanese officials also lodged a separate complaint about the South Korean jets flying in airspace over what they claim as their national territory.

Japan Ministry of Defense
Maps showing the reported routes taken by the Tu-95s and H-6s, at left, as well as the A-50's flight over the Dokdo/Takeshime islets.

Russia has subsequently confirmed that its Tu-95MS bombers had flown through the KADIZ, but denied that they had violated any other country's airspace or that any foreign combat aircraft had fired warning shots at them. They did confirm that South Korean jets had deployed flares, but that the Bears had ignored them since they were flying in international airspace.

"It is not the first time that South Korean pilots have unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the Russian aviation’s maneuvers over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, citing a self-imposed 'air defense identification zone,'" the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on July 23, 2019. "However, these zones are not envisioned by the international rules and, therefore, are not recognized by Russia, which has been repeatedly communicated to the South Korean side through various channels."

"No warning shots were fired by South Korea’s fighter jets," the statement continued. "If the Russian pilots felt a security threat, the response would follow quickly."

What is curious about the Russian response is that neither the South Koreas nor the Japanese says it was the Tu-95s that flew into their national airspace in the Sea of Japan. The Kremlin has made no statement about the A-50, which is at the center of allegations. China, which was not involved in the altercation according to any of the parties, has said it had no additional information about the incident.

South Korea, as well as Japanese, intercepts of Russian and Chinese aircraft are a regular occurrence in the Sea of Japan, as well as the East China Sea, where there are various territorial disputes. The annual totals for these intercepts have risen and fallen in recent years, but appear to be on the rise again now.

In January 2019, Japan said it had intercepted a record number of Chinese intelligence and surveillance aircraft in these regions between April and December 2018. In 2016, Japanese authorities had said that the Japan Air Self Defense Force had carried out a record number of intercepts, though the frequency of these sorties decreased the following year.

This new incident comes as China, in particular, is stepping up its routine aerial and naval activity in Northeast Asia, as well as in the more hotly disputed South China Sea, demonstrating an increasing ability to project power beyond the mainland. In recent years, Russia has also increased its own routine, long-distance aerial patrols in the Pacific Region, including off the coast of the United States.

At the same time, military-to-military ties between Russia and China have been steadily growing. Beyond the disputed incident over the islets in the Sea of Japan, this mission reflected the first time Russian and Chinese bombers had flown a joint long-range aerial patrol.

This increased Russian-Chinese cooperation is an important development for both South Korea and Japan. Its impact has already been felt with regards to how Moscow and Beijing have been expanding their ties with North Korea.

But the incident over Dokdo/Takeshima islets shows that the ramifications extend well beyond the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula. While neither Russia nor China make claim to those islets, China, in particular, has other ongoing territorial disputes with both South Korea and Japan. The Kremlin and Japanese authorities also remain locked in a disagreement over the Kuril Islands, which has prevented the two countries from ever signing a formal World War II peace deal.

So, while it is unclear why Russia might have violated the airspace over Dokdo/Takeshima in this instance, it, along with China, certainly have reasons for wanting to assert their respective authorities in the region. They have also routinely demonstrated their desire to challenge South Korean and Japanese claims, as well as the ability of their premier ally, the United States, to respond to these sorts of provocations. The U.S. Department of Defense has since expressed its support for both of its allies and their responses to the airspace violations.

South Korea's reported decision to fire actual warning shots at the A-50 is an unprecedented show of force, by any standards. It would certainly seem to reflect how serious Seoul feels about the evolving geopolitical situation in the region.

By every indication, Russia and Chinese aerial patrols, including joint long-range missions, will continue to be a routine occurrence near disputed areas and may even increase. It remains to be seen whether South Korea's assertive response, in this case, will also increasingly become the norm.

 

[angelburst29]

Chinese official urged Hong Kong villagers to drive off protesters before violence at train station

A front view of the village of Nam Pin Wai, where groups of suspected attackers at the Yuen Long train station were surrounded by police, in Hong Kong, China July 23, 2019. REUTERS/James Pomfret

HONG KONG July 26, 2019 - A week before suspected triad gang members attacked protesters and commuters at a rural Hong Kong train station last Sunday, an official from China’s representative office urged local residents to drive away any activists.

Li Jiyi, the director of the Central Government Liaison’s local district office made the appeal at a community banquet for hundreds of villagers in Hong Kong’s rural New Territories.

In a previously unreported recording from the July 11 event, Li addresses the large crowd about the escalating protests that have plunged Hong Kong into its worst political crisis since it returned to Chinese from British rule in 1997.

Li chastises the protesters, appealing to the assembled residents to protect their towns in Yuen Long district and to chase anti-government activists away.

The banquet was attended by a Hong Kong government district officer, Enoch Yuen, and many of the city’s rural leaders.

Last Sunday, after anti-government protesters marched in central Hong Kong and defaced China’s Liaison Office, over 100 men swarmed through Yuen Long train station, attacking black-clad protesters, passers-by, journalists and a lawmaker with pipes, clubs and lampstands.

When some protesters retaliated, the beatings escalated as men and women were hit repeatedly on their heads and bodies by the masked men, who wore white shirts.

Video footage showed victims fleeing the mayhem amid screams, and floors of the train station streaked with blood. Forty-five people were injured, one critically.

TRIADS
The protesters are demanding Hong Kong’s leader scrap a controversial extradition law that many fear will extend China’s reach into the city.

The government’s refusal to do so - it has agreed only to suspend the bill so far - have led to two months of sometimes violent demonstrations across the city.

Beyond the extradition bill, many activists are demanding independent inquiries into the use of police force against them, and far-reaching democratic reforms - anathema to Beijing’s leaders.


China’s Foreign Ministry Office in Hong Kong said earlier this week that “the recent extreme and violent acts in Hong Kong have seriously undermined the foundation of the rule of law ... and trampled on the red line of “One Country, Two Systems” which underpins Beijing’s control of Hong Kong.

Two senior police sources told Reuters some of the men who attacked the protesters had triad backgrounds including from the powerful Wo Shing Wo, Hong Kong’s oldest triad society, and the 14K, another large, well-known triad.

While Hong Kong’s triads - ancient secret societies that morphed into mafia-style underworld operations - no longer hold the high profile of previous decades they remain entrenched in some grittier districts and in rural areas, according to police.

Police told reporters in 2014 during the so-called “Occupy” democracy protests, that hundreds of triad members were suspected of mounting operations to infiltrate, beat and harass those in the movement. Several dozen people were arrested at the time.

Protesters calling for 'free Hong Kong' converge on airport

More than 1,000 protesters calling for democracy and some chanting "free Hong Kong" converged on the Chinese-ruled city's airport on Friday as Singapore advised its travelers to avoid protest areas in the territory.

U.S. top diplomat says he hopes Hong Kong protests remain peaceful: Bloomberg interview

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday he hoped protests in Hong Kong would remain peaceful and China would show restraint.

'We can't hide anything' say Cambodians at alleged China base

Trying to rebut a report of a secret deal to give China access to a naval base, Cambodia's defense ministry took reporters to see the torpid jetty and outbuildings on Friday.

 

[angelburst29]

China rejects U.S. lawmaker's comments on HK protests, human rights

U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) speaks during the introduction of the Climate Action Now Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

China said it strongly opposes what it calls "erroneous" claims made by Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel, who criticized China's Communist Party over its position on protests in Hong Kong.

Engel said in a statement on Friday that he was “deeply concerned” by reports of police brutality in Hong Kong and criticized Beijing’s “increasingly harsh responses and propagandic depictions” of the protesters.

China’s Foreign Ministry Office in Hong Kong responded on Sunday with a sharply-worded statement, saying it “urges foreign politicians to stop sending the wrong signals over this violent behavior”.

“What are the qualifications of American politicians to criticize Hong Kong’s human rights, freedoms and the rule of law?” it said.

It’s the latest in a series of sharp rebukes by China aimed at U.S. and UK politicians who have criticized Hong Kong authorities’ responses to the protests, as well as Beijing’s growing influence in the independently governed city.

China recently said it believes U.S. officials were behind the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and asked the United States to “withdraw their black hands”.

Protesters clash in Hong Kong as cycle of violence intensifies

Hong Kong police clashed with thousands of protesters on Sunday, as they sought to defend China's main representative office from crowds seething over what many see as an increasing cycle of violence against them.

 

[angelburst29]

Most people sent to mass detention centers in China's Xinjiang region have "returned to society", a senior official from the region said on Tuesday, but he declined to give an estimate of for many have been held in recent years.

China says most people in Xinjiang camps have 'returned to society'

A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

U.N. experts and activists say at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs, and members of other largely Muslim minority groups, have been detained in camps in the western region.

China describes the camps as vocational training centers to help stamp out religious extremism and teach new work skills.

Xinjiang vice chairman Alken Tuniaz, asked at a briefing in Beijing for an account of how many people had been put in the facilities, said the number was “dynamic”, and that most had “successfully achieved employment”.

“Currently, most people who have received training have already returned to society, returned home,” Tuniaz said.

Turkey to send observation team to China's Xinjiang for Uighur Turks

Turkey will send an observation team to China's Xinjiang region, the Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday after discussing the situation of Uighur Turks with his Chinese counterpart.

 

[angelburst29]

Pompeo - as a wrecking-ball, yet AGAIN! Sowing more discord and intimidation towards China.

Senior China diplomat says important for U.S.-China to meet face-to-face

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday, said it was important for China and the United States to meet face-to-face and cooperate no matter how many problems may arise.

Pompeo criticizes China after meeting top diplomat in Bangkok

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized China's actions in Asia after meeting his Chinese counterpart for the first time this year amid political tension between the two countries.

Pompeo blasts Chinese 'coercion' in South China Sea

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized Chinese "coercion" in the disputed South China Sea, highlighting a divide with Beijing at a meeting of Southeast Asian nations with world powers.

U.S. secretary of state criticizes China's dams on Mekong River

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized China's dam-building on the Mekong River, saying its construction had left the crucial waterway at its lowest level in a decade in Southeast Asian countries downstream.

Pompeo says U.S. doesn't ask Southeast Asians to take sides

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Southeast Asian counterparts at a meeting in Bangkok on Thursday that the United States never asked Indo-Pacific nations to take sides.

Two fake bombs found near Bangkok forum of world powers: police
Thai police said they found two fake bombs on Thursday near the venue of a regional security meeting in Bangkok of world powers and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping.

Senior Chinese diplomat urges U.S. caution on Taiwan, Hong Kong issues
China and the United States have different values but both share common interests, senior diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday, following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the foreign ministry said.

Chinese billionaire indicted in U.S. for alleged $1.8 billion aluminum tariff evasion

A Chinese billionaire has been indicted by a grand jury on charges he schemed with the aluminum company he founded to evade $1.8 billion of tariffs by smuggling huge amounts of the metal into the United States, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Taiwan rebukes China for tourism ban amid rising tension

Taiwan's president rebuked China on Thursday over its decision to ban individual travel permits for Chinese visitors to the self-ruled island, saying the move aimed to manipulate presidential elections in January.

China says Taiwan ruling party's independence promotion dampens conditions for travel
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Thursday that Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) promotion for independence has seriously dampened conditions for mainland citizens' travel to the island.

China's army garrison in Hong Kong releases video with 'anti-riot' scenes

As Hong Kong's political crisis simmers amidst heated protests, China's People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong released a video showing footage of "anti-riot" exercises and its top brass warned violence is "absolutely impermissible".

 

[angelburst29]

Pompeo jabs at China's 'bad behavior', defends U.S. tariffs

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday decried "decades of bad behavior" from China that have hampered free trade, laying out a case at a Southeast Asian forum for Washington's escalating trade war with Beijing.

Trump says it's up to China to deal with Hong Kong 'riots'

U.S. President Donald Trump has described protests in Hong Kong as "riots" that China will have to deal with itself, signaling a hands-off approach to the biggest political crisis gripping the former British colony in decades.

Lawmakers urge U.S. to block sales of crowd-control gear to Hong Kong

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Friday urged the Trump Administration to suspend future sales of munitions and crowd-control equipment to Hong Kong police which has been accused of using excessive force against anti-government protesters.

Thousands of Hong Kong civil servants defy government to join protests

Thousands of civil servants joined in the anti-government protests in Hong Kong on Friday for the first time since they started two months ago, defying a warning from the authorities to remain politically neutral.

Protesters march in Hong Kong as rival rally supports police

Thousands of mostly black-clad activists set off on a protest march in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district on Saturday, as the Chinese-controlled city braced for another weekend of anti-government demonstrations.

China's new U.N. envoy says Beijing ready to fight U.S. on trade

China's new U.N. ambassador warned on Friday that if the United States wanted to fight China on trade "then we will fight," and signaled that trade tensions could hurt cooperation between the countries on dealing with North Korea.

Beijing says progress on China-Australia ties 'unsatisfactory'

The progress of repairing China-Australia ties, strained over Canberra's concerns about Chinese influence in its domestic affairs, has been "unsatisfactory," said China's top diplomat after meeting his Australian counterpart.

Canadian and Chinese ministers meet amid tensions, pledge to continue talks

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday she met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss tensions following Canada's December arrest of a Huawei Technologies Co executive on a U.S. warrant, and the subsequent detention of two Canadians by China.

 

[angelburst29]

China is destabilizing the Indo-Pacific, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday, charging Beijing with predatory economics, intellectual property theft and "weaponizing the global commons".

China destabilizing Indo-Pacific: U.S. Defense Secretary

U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper speaks next to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a joint news conference with their Australia counterparts in Sydney, Australia, August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Pool

The comments by Esper on his first overseas trip as U.S. defense secretary threaten to inflame already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing as they wage an escalating trade war.

China’s increasing assertiveness, especially in the energy-rich South China Sea, has raised concerns within the region and the United States is challenging Chinese maritime hegemony and seeking stronger ties with nations pushing back against Beijing.

“We firmly believe no one nation can or should dominate the Indo-Pacific and we are working alongside our allies and partners to address the region’s pressing security needs, Esper told reporters in Sydney.

“We also stand firmly against a disturbing pattern of aggressive behavior, destabilizing behavior from China. This includes weaponizing the global commons, using predatory economics and debt for sovereignty deals, and promoting state-sponsored theft of other nations’ intellectual property.”China has unnerved the region and angered the United States by installing military equipment and other facilities on artificial islands it has made in the disputed South China Sea.

Both Esper and Pompeo met with their Australian counterparts in Sydney on Sunday at an annual security forum where the United States and Australia pledged to strengthen opposition to Chinese activities in the Pacific.

The United States and its Western allies worry that China is using foreign aid to secure greater influence over small Pacific countries which control vast swathes of resource-rich ocean.

 

[angelburst29]

U.S. seeks to renew Pacific islands security pact to foil China

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine and Palau's Vice President Raynold Oilouch hold a news conference after their meetings in Kolonia, Federated States of Micronesia August 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

SYDNEY August 5, 2019 - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday negotiations have begun with three Pacific island nations to renew a national security agreement that would help Washington counter growing Chinese influence in the region.

Under the terms of the deal, known as the Compact of Free Association, the U.S. military have exclusive access to airspace and territorial waters of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. In exchange, the small islands receive financial assistance.

“Today, I am here to confirm the United States will help you protect your sovereignty, your security, your right to live in freedom and peace,” Pompeo told reporters in Pohnpei State, one of four members of the Federated States of Micronesia.

“I’m pleased to announce the United States has begun negotiations on extending our compacts.... they sustain democracy in the face of Chinese efforts to redraw the Pacific.”

Pompeo, who is the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Micronesia, spoke after meeting the leaders of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau.

The three tiny Pacific nations have gained greater strategic significance in recent years due a push by China into the region. During a visit to Sydney on Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper described China’s actions as both “aggressive” and “destabilizing”.

 

[angelburst29]

Air China to suspend Beijing-Hawaii flights amid weak travel demand

Air China will suspend its flights on the Beijing-Hawaii route from Aug. 27 after a review of its network, China's flagship carrier said on Tuesday, as travel demand remains weak amid an escalating U.S.-China trade war.

China warns of countermeasures if U.S. puts missiles on its 'doorstep'

China threatened countermeasures on Tuesday if the United States deploys intermediate-range, ground-based missiles in Asia and warned U.S. allies of repercussions if they allow such weapons on their territory.

China says People's Liberation Army will defend every part of its territory
China's People's Liberation Army is a strong force and will defend every part of its territory, a spokesman of China's Hong Kong affairs office said, when asked about possible use of Chinese troops in the Asian financial hub riven by protests.

China might escort ships in Gulf under U.S. proposal: envoy

China might escort Chinese commercial vessels in Gulf waters under a U.S. proposal for a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers, its envoy to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday.

Philippines' Duterte to meet China's Xi over South China Sea arbitration win

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping soon to discuss a 2016 arbitration case over the South China Sea, an aide said on Tuesday, as domestic pressure builds for the firebrand leader to stand up to Beijing.

Group of Hong Kong activists says will not back down on demands: TV

A group of activists dressed in the Hong Kong protest uniform of masks and hard hats held a widely televised news conference Tuesday and urged the city's leader Carrie Lam to "return power to the people".

China calls on U.S. politicians to stop colluding with Hong Kong separatists

The Chinese foreign ministry's commissioner in Hong Kong said on Tuesday the city belongs to China and that it will firmly respond to any action that harms China's sovereignty.

China warns Hong Kong protesters not to 'play with fire'

Protesters in Hong Kong must not "play with fire" and mistake Beijing's restraint for weakness, China said on Tuesday in its sharpest rebuke yet of the "criminals" behind demonstrations in the city whom it vowed to bring to justice.

 

[angelburst29]

China suspends movies, stars from Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards
China's film regulator on Wednesday said it was suspending mainland Chinese movies and their personnel from participating in Taiwan's annual Golden Horse Awards this year, without giving a reason.

The China Film Administration made the announcement in a statement on its official WeChat account.

The move comes after the event, the Chinese-speaking world’s version of the Oscars, last year became a lightning rod for questions about Taiwanese independence, sparking a debate between Taiwanese and mainland stars as well as netizens.

The state of ties between Beijing and the self-ruled island has since become more tense, with China announcing that it would stop issuing individual travel permits for Taiwan to Chinese travelers last week, dealing a blow to the island’s tourism industry.

“We certainly would feel regret if it was true,” Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival said in a statement, adding that related events will be held as scheduled.

Beijing has been using the international stage to assert its sovereignty over the island amid rising Chinese pressure, which also includes military drills. Taipei repeatedly said the Chinese moves were aiming to manipulate the island’s presidential elections in January.

“From an industry point of view, the Golden Horse was a good platform for exchanges on films among mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong,” said Dong Shu, a Shanghai-based film critic.

“But some people in Taiwan had to get politically sensitive content on it, things that crossed red lines for mainland China, thus the nature of this award has been changed.”

Taiwan is self-governed and has a democratically elected leadership, but China claims the island as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to ensure unification. The question of Taiwan’s formal independence is one of Beijing’s most sensitive political concerns.

China’s content regulator has also been taking an extra-cautious stance over its media industry in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, on Oct. 1, pulling off a few blockbusters and banning “entertainment-driven” historical dramas and idol dramas.

Reports of the suspension soon became a trending topic on China’s Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service, with one related hashtag receiving more than 68 million views Wednesday morning.

“Taiwan made this award political first, don’t we have a right to punch back?” said a Weibo commentator. Others expressed disappointment at the decision.

“Politics aside, this is a lose-lose situation. There isn’t an impartial and matchable award in mainland China, what a pity!” said another commentator.

Sink or swim: Chinese port plans put Pacific back in play

Early in the morning, before sunrise, low tide on the Samoan island of Savai'i reveals the remnants of an old American airstrip, washed away by decades of erosion, cyclones and tsunamis.

Hong Kong facing worst crisis since handover - senior China official

Hong Kong is facing its worst crisis since it returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the head of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said on Wednesday, as more protests were set to rock the Asian financial hub.

 

[angelburst29]

China urges U.S. to stop sending wrong signals to Hong Kong 'violent separatists'
The Hong Kong office of China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday lodged stern representations with the United States, urging U.S. officials to stop sending wrong signals to the "violent separatists" in Hong Kong.

China also asked the United States to issue clarifications on media reports that U.S. officials are in contact with leaders among the separatists, the office of the commissioner of China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong said on its website.

More Hong Kong protests planned as U.S. raises travel warning

The United States raised its travel warning for Hong Kong, urging increased caution by visitors to the Chinese territory in the face of what it described as civil unrest after months of sometimes violent street protests.

More Hong Kong companies say business impacted by mass protests

Conglomerate Swire Pacific <0019.HK> became the latest major Hong Kong company to voice concern about the impact of protests in the city on business activity, saying they are having direct and indirect impact on demand on a number of its businesses.

 

[angelburst29]

U.S. calls China 'thuggish regime' for singling out U.S. diplomat in Hong Kong

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman on Thursday called China a "thuggish regime" for disclosing personal details and a photograph of a U.S. diplomat who met with leaders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

Vietnam confirms China ship leaves its waters, ending month-long standoff
A Chinese survey ship embroiled in a tense month-long standoff with Vietnamese vessels has left Vietnam's continental shelf, the Southeast Asian nation's foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday.

Late on Wednesday, the Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel, operated by the China Geological Survey, had headed away from Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“In the afternoon of August 7, the Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey vessel stopped its survey activities and left Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and southeastern continental shelf,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told a regular news conference.

Vietnamese authorities would continue to monitor the location of Chinese vessels in the area, Hang added.

Since early July, Vietnamese ships had been closely tracking Chinese vessels operating in the EEZ, the latest confrontation in waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China’s sweeping maritime claims.

China dispute casts shadow on Canadian election, and on Trudeau

Canada's dispute with China, an economic powerhouse, has been a nagging headache for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the feud is showing no signs of going away before his October bid for re-election.

 

[angelburst29]

China aviation authority aims to avoid disruption to Hong Kong-mainland trips
China's aviation authority said on Monday that in light of situation in Hong Kong, it will increase transfer capacity in the Greater Bay Area airports to avoid disruption to trips between the mainland and Hong Kong.

China denies Hong Kong port visit for U.S. Navy ships amid tensions
China has denied a request for two U.S. Navy warships to visit Hong Kong in the coming weeks, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, as the political crisis in the former British colony deepened.

China tells U.S. to back off after lawmakers condemn Hong Kong violence

China's foreign ministry on Tuesday told the United States to stay out of its internal affairs after some U.S. lawmakers, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, condemned what they called acts of violence by police against protesters in Hong Kong.

U.S. Senate leader: Any violent crackdown in Hong Kong would be 'completely unacceptable'

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell warned China on Monday that any violent crackdown on protests in Hong Kong would be "completely unacceptable," while Trump administration officials urged all sides to refrain from violence.

Protesters scuffle with police at Hong Kong airport
Hong Kong's Airport Authority said on Tuesday operations at the city's international airport had been "seriously disrupted" by a public assembly, as riot police moved in and used pepper spray against protesters amid some clashes in the evening.

Hong Kong airport suspends flight check-ins: authority
Flight check-in services have been suspended at Hong Kong's international airport, the airport authority said on Tuesday, citing disruptions caused by anti-government protests.

Hong Kong airport grinds to halt; China likens protests to terrorism

Hong Kong's airport halted flights on Monday, blaming demonstrators for the disruption, while China said the anti-government protests that have swept the city over the past two months had begun to show "sprouts of terrorism".

Hong Kong airport says aiming to restore normal service but more protests planned
Hong Kong's Airport Authority said on Tuesday it was working with its partners to restore normal operations as soon as possible but noted that more protests are planned.

Hong Kong leader says rule of law being damaged, city's recovery will take long time

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that "lawbreaking activities in the name of freedom" were damaging the rule of law and that the Asian financial hub's recovery from anti-government protests could take a long time.

Chinese ship returns to Vietnam's exclusive economic zone
A Chinese survey ship returned to Vietnam's exclusive economic zone off its coast on Tuesday, ship tracking data showed, less than a week after it left the area where vessels from the two countries were locked in a month-long standoff.

China approves $156 million airport project in Sichuan province
China's state planner said on Tuesday it has approved an airport project costing around 1.1 billion yuan ($155.68 million) in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

Class dismissed: Surge in arrests of foreign teachers in China

Arrests and deportations of foreign teachers in China have soared this year, lawyers, schools and teachers say, amid a broad crackdown defined by new police tactics and Beijing's push for a "cleaner", more patriotic education system.

 

[angelburst29]

Trump urges China's Xi to meet Hong Kong protesters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet personally with the protesters in Hong Kong, saying it would lead to an end to tensions that have seized the territory for weeks.

China notes Trump comment on Hong Kong: foreign ministry
China has noted U.S. President Trump's comment that Beijing needs to resolve the crisis in Hong Kong on its own, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

In 'clear warning', Chinese paramilitary forces exercise near Hong Kong

Hundreds of China's People's Armed Police conducted exercises at a sports stadium in Shenzhen on Thursday, as the U.S. State Department expressed concern that they could be deployed across the border in Hong Kong to break up protests wracking the city.

Trump ties China trade deal to 'humane' Hong Kong resolution after troop buildup worry

President Donald Trump on Wednesday tied a U.S. trade deal with China to humane resolution of the weeks of protests wracking Hong Kong, hours after the State Department said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of movement of Chinese paramilitary forces along the Hong Kong border.

China's Hong Kong office condemns 'near-terrorist acts' at Hong Kong airport
China's Hong Kong affairs office condemned what it called "near-terrorist acts" at Hong Kong's airport and reiterated support for local authorities to severely punish those responsible amid an escalating crisis in the Chinese-controlled city.

Chinese state media urge action, voice support for Hong Kong police after clashes

Chinese state media called on Beijing on Wednesday to deal with protests in Hong Kong more decisively after a reporter from one of China's largest government-backed newspapers was caught up in overnight clashes.

Hong Kong protesters offer apologies, China doubles down after airport clash

China said on Wednesday Hong Kong's protest movement had reached "near terrorism" and more street clashes followed ugly scenes the previous day when protesters set upon men they suspected of being government sympathizers.

China will not 'sit on its hands' if Hong Kong protests intensify, says UK ambassador

China will use its power to quell Hong Kong protests if the situation deteriorates further after some protesters have shown signs of terrorism, China's ambassador to London said on Thursday.

May take time to convince Hong Kong public of merits of extradition bill: UK ambassador

It may take time for the Hong Kong government to convince the public that the extradition bill that sparked violent protests is in their interest, China's ambassador to London said on Thursday.

Cathay Pacific says has fired two pilots over Hong Kong protests

Cathay Pacific Airways <0293.HK> has terminated the employment of two pilots, the company said on Wednesday, after it suspended them in the past week over their involvement in protests in Hong Kong.

China says crew information submitted by Cathay Pacific meets requirements

China's aviation regulator said on Thursday that identification information submitted so far by Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd <0293.HK> for its crew meets requirements.

Amazon faces online backlash in China for T-shirts with Hong Kong democracy slogans

Chinese social media users directed their fury at online retailer Amazon.com on Thursday, after discovering T-shirts on its website sporting slogans that support anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

Taiwan sharply boosts defense budget amid China tension

Taiwan unveiled its largest defense spending increase in more than a decade on Thursday amid rising military tensions with its giant neighbor China, which considers the self-ruled island its own and has not renounced the use of force against it.

U.S. senator warns China on Hong Kong trade status if it intervenes in protests

A prominent U.S. senator warned China on Tuesday Hong Kong could lose its special U.S. trade status if Beijing intervenes directly to crack down on increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in the city.