Category: Special Topics

Protests Break Out in Wuhan, Residents Demand Lifting of Lockdowns

Residents in a locked down region of China’s Wuhan took to the streets on Sept. 4 confronting police and security guards to protest against an ongoing closure of their communities amid a recent COVID-19 outbreak. Wuhan, the capital city of China’s central Hubei Province where the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out, imposed this latest round…


China Warns US to Stop Arms Sales, Military Interactions With Taiwan

China has warned the United States to cease its arms sales and military interactions with Taiwan after Washington agreed to sell anti-ship and air-to-air missiles worth billions of dollars to Taiwan. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, warned that China will “resolutely take legitimate and necessary countermeasures” in light of the…


US May Use Our Military Bases If Taiwan Conflict Threatens National Security: Philippines Ambassador to US

The Philippines would allow U.S. forces access to its military bases during a Taiwan conflict if it was deemed “important” to Philippine security, its ambassador to the United States said on Monday. Philippine envoy Jose Manuel Romualdez said the two countries have begun talks to increase the number of Philippine military bases accessible to U.S….


US May Use Philippine Military Bases If Taiwan Conflict Threatens National Security

The Philippines would allow U.S. forces access to its military bases during a Taiwan conflict if it was deemed “important” to Philippine security, its ambassador to the United States said on Monday. Philippine envoy Jose Manuel Romualdez said the two countries have begun talks to increase the number of Philippine military bases accessible to U.S….


US Indicts 2 Beijing-Linked Marshallese Citizens for Political Bribery

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted two naturalised citizens of the Marshall Islands for running a multi-year money laundering and bribery scheme—via a UN-linked non-profit organisation—to support the creation of a special economic zone within the Pacific country. One expert says the incident is an example of Beijing’s efforts to destabilise democratic institutions in…


China’s Shenzhen to Adopt Tiered COVID-19 Measures

BEIJING/SHANGHAI—China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen said it will adopt tiered anti-virus restriction measures starting on Monday as the country grapples with fresh outbreaks. Shenzhen, which went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday, announced a new round of COVID-19 testing. Separately, Chengdu, which placed its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday, said the city…


CCP Tightens Online Censorship Before Party Congress

China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) has further tightened ideological control before its twentieth party congress. The regime’s Cyberspace Administration announced on Sept. 2 that it would launch a three-month special campaign to crack down on “internet rumors.” The Cyberspace Administration said in a statement that the campaign would target “rumors” about major political meetings, important…


US Maintains Trump-Era China Tariffs, While Review Continues

The U.S. government said that it will continue to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods on Sept. 2, while continuing the statutory review of those tariffs initiated during the Trump administration. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a federal notice that the department received requests…


CCP Members Publicly Call for Deleting ‘CCP Leads Everything’ From Constitution Before Party Congress

Three senior members of China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) published an open letter on Chinese social media with their real names right before its twentieth party congress. They called for the deletion of the words “CCP leads everything” from the party constitution and punish any member for practicing a cult of the leader. Dong Hongyi,…


Taiwan to Purchase US Anti-Ship and Air-to-Air Missiles for $1.1 Billion

Taiwan on Friday welcomed its sixth prospective arms deal with the United States under the Biden administration, which will include anti-ship and air-to-air missiles, amid China’s military threats. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA) said in a statement that it had delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the possible arms sale, which totaled…