Share This

Showing posts with label Hong Kong violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong violence. Show all posts

Wednesday 22 January 2020

Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticism and report of China are a lie, reflect Western elites’ hypocrisy, anti China-rise !


 
https://youtu.be/BisTR2w9Bqs

https://youtu.be/HSKwA_uDHIw

https://youtu.be/EUF8XYotIfc

HRW’s criticism of China is a lie




US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its World Report 2020 on Tuesday. Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, said in his speech that China has launched an assault on the international human rights system.

An NGO as it is, HRW has been openly coordinating with the US on its tough China policy. The organization's funding source and personnel structure have shown it will embed US national interests deeply into its goals. Roth once served as a US federal prosecutor. HRW's extreme antagonism toward China results from his prejudice and political stand.

The organization's main business is global human rights, but it seems it is unfamiliar with human rights conventions and standards under the UN system. The right to development - a human right that the UN stresses the most - is almost completely missed out in the latest HRW's report.

People like Roth are only suitable for talking big in New York's high society. If their interpretation of human rights is examined from the perspective of developing societies and emerging markets, people will easily find they are narrow-minded and paranoid. They are keen to show their sympathy for the lack of human rights in developing societies, but they have no idea what the most important thing is there.

It is acceptable to criticize China. But HRW has been propagating a huge lie by smearing China, a country where modern life has spread rapidly and people's living standards have been greatly raised. HRW has been living in an abnormal atmosphere of public opinion about China.

Have people like Roth ever visited Chinese cities and spoken with ordinary Chinese families? Have they ever been to the shopping malls and streets that have sprung up all over China, and talked with ordinary Chinese people there? Have they left nightclubs and walked back to the hotel at night in China? Is China's human rights system the worst in the world? Are they talking about human rights or the privileges of the very few followers of the US value?

The life span of the Chinese people is becoming longer. Conditions of food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, public health services and provisions for the aged have been improved. Pollution has been effectively controlled. Chinese people have become the main force of global tourism and studying abroad. China's internet is also one of the most developed worldwide. These have formed the basis of the continuing development of China's human rights.

China is different from the US and the West politically. Thus, China has its own characteristics in political participation and governance of public opinion. The Chinese system supports the country's development. Our system does not threaten that of the West and should gain respect from the West.

Some extreme Western political elites have attacked China violently for geopolitical purposes. People like Roth are not really advocating the general advancement of human rights, but are following the needs of US politics. They are tarnishing the great human rights cause of mankind, and should be ashamed of it.

People like Roth should go deep into a huge society like China and really understand what is going on there and what people really care about. The likes of Roth should seriously study the world, not arrogantly represent the world.

Source link

HRW report reflects Western elites’ hypocrisy: analysts

 
Experts attend a side-event on China's human rights protection of ethnic minorities amid the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, July 2, 2019.

Criticizing China for "suppressing" human rights is the card that the West has been playing for decades. This reflects the hypocrisy and deep ignorance of arrogant Western elites who cannot give an objective assessment of other countries' situations, analysts said on Wednesday, in response to the latest report of nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch which deemed China as a global threat to human rights development.

In its 335-page World Report 2020, the New York-based NGO claimed that China is now a global threat to human rights. Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, claimed that the country is also using its "growing economic clout to silence critics and to carry out the most intense attack on the global system for enforcing human rights since that system began to emerge in the mid-20th century."

Roth was banned from entering Hong Kong on Sunday, about a month after the HRW was sanctioned by the Chinese central government for their "horrible activities" in instigating the months-long riots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The NGO, which claims it does not receive funds from the government, releases human rights reports every year, evaluating the global system for protecting human rights. However, many of its officials and members are former US federal government officials, and the NGO has been using its right to speak to export the ideological tendency, Chinese analysts said.

"To judge other countries at will by ignoring the facts is their way of doing things," an analysts close to a government-related think tank who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, another NGO, Freedom House, said in its latest report that Chinese media's overseas expansion posed "serious implications for the survival of open, democratic societies."

Rioters set up barricades on streets to block traffic in Hong Kong on Jan. 1, 2020. (Xinhua)


Long-term ignorance

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that HRW's China-related remarks, including its report, are devoid of facts and paint white as black, and that there is no need to discuss it.

"These two organizations have been viewing China from distorted views for a long time. Their China-related comments always ignore facts with no objectivity," Geng Shuang, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a routine press conference.

"The state of the human rights situation in China is in the best of times," he noted.

Some China-related topics HRW highlighted in its 2020 report have appeared in previous reports, including criticism over so-called repressions of Uygur people, tightening controls on freedom of expression and the erosion of HKSAR's freedom. Also, HRW has always been enthusiastic about criticizing other countries and regions as well as paying close attention to topics on juridical fairness, racial discrimination, extortion, and confessions by torture.

Its 2020 report has also adopted the same biased way of depicting "old stories" with new arguments. For example, in the Hong Kong chapter, HRW claimed that a large number of protesters acted peacefully, but the police used excessive force by intentionally ignoring the legitimacy of police law enforcement.

This is not the first time HRW pointed its finger at other countries' internal affairs, coming up with reports filled with biased views and false evidence. It ignored cases of police beating African-Americans to death in the US or the infamous abuse of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, according to a letter jointly released in May 2014 by more than 130 scholars, mostly from the US, criticizing the HRW. Singapore's Ministry of Law also refuted the NGO criticism of proposed fake news laws in 2019 in Singapore.

The letter, calling on HRW to close its revolving door to the US government, noted that many members of the HRW are former CIA agents and former US officials. The organization's standard on human rights is in accordance with US diplomatic policies and interests, thus damaging its credibility and independence.

"It also reflects the lack of oversight of NGOs in international law. For example, what criteria does HRW use to evaluate human rights in other countries?" the analyst said, noting that it seriously undermines the joint efforts of other countries in the field of human rights.

A rioter starts a fire on a Hong Kong street corner. Photo: Cui Meng/ GT


Politically driven

Chinese analysts also noted that the funding and membership of the NGO linked it close to the US government, although it claims to be nongovernmental, and its goal is to work for the country's national interests.

A graduate of Yale Law School and Brown University, Roth used to serve as a federal prosecutor, whose perception of China's human rights is embedded with hostility and political bias.

"They've been watching and criticizing other countries based on their understanding and idea of the West's concept of human rights. China has its own human rights concept, formulated on our social, economic and cultural background. But the Chinese concept was often disregarded by those NGOs," another anonymous expert told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Human rights include, first and foremost, the right to life, subsistence and development, the Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary in 2019. When HRW criticized China's Xinjiang policy, it turned a blind eye to the region, which used to fall victim to violent terrorist attacks that has killed innocent people but has been developing into a peaceful and prosperous place.

Its perception of China's human rights status also reflects the hypocrisy and arrogance of provocative Western elites, analysts said.

Though these NGOs claim to be politically neutral, it is impossible for them to completely ignore the political background and stance of Western countries, He Zhipeng, a professor of international human rights and legal education at Jilin University in Northeast China, told the Global Times.

"They usually take Western culture as the basis or ideological fortress, and always stand on the basis of the Western human rights ideology to observe and criticize other countries, while China's socio-economic and cultural background is often unheard in their investigation," he said.

Wang Yabin contributed to the story

 Source link

Saturday 11 January 2020

US gains limited from changed China policy


 

The year 2019 has been one in which US sought to reconstruct its relations with China.

First, the US reset the premise of its policies toward China. From former president Bill Clinton to Barack Obama, Washington used to consider living with a rising China conditionally as the precondition; but since Donald Trump took office, he has changed the relatively friendly premise into a hostile one. Trying to slow down China's development and preventing the country from surpassing or even replacing the US have become the real intention of his China policy.

Second, the US reframed its relations with China, taking economic and trade ties as the turning point, as well as putting in more efforts in diplomacy, security, politics and culture. The key tools in its reconstruction of economic and trade ties were the war of tariffs, technology and finance.

During 2019, the trade war launched by the US against China saw many ups and downs. The number of products on which the two sides slapped duties reached an unprecedented scale. With the escalating tech war against China, the US Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its "entity list." Besides, China was listed as a currency manipulator by the US Department of Treasury.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration carried out a whole-of-government approach to compete with China and imposed all-round pressure on China.

The US has continued to meddle in Taiwan-related affairs. The Trump administration approved the sale of 66 F-16 fighters to Taiwan in August, the biggest military transaction between the US and Taiwan. Then US National Security Advisor John Bolton's meeting with Taiwan's National Security Council (NSC) head David Lee in the White House in May indicated the upgrade of US-Taiwan relations, which happened for the first time since 1950s.

Most seriously, the US was trying to promote Taiwan's status as a sovereign state. In the Indo-Pacific Strategy Report issued by US Department of Defense, Taiwan was publicly listed as a country; and the Coordination Council for North American Affairs was changed into Taiwan Council for US Affairs.

In 2019, US so-called freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea were much more aggressive. The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was also besieged and smeared by the US. The US Indo-Pacific Strategy is meant to counter China's BRI.

Additionally, the US has stepped up competition with China politically and ideologically and kept attacking China's political system.

In terms of the issues of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, US interference was way more blatant than before. The US even passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, in order to legalize its future interference in the Hong Kong issue. Moreover, the US attacked China's governance in Xinjiang. Not only did the Ministry of Commerce impose export control over 28 Chinese business entities, but the US Department of State also announced visa restrictions against Chinese officials and their relatives. US Congress, furthermore, passed the so-called Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, keeping up the pressure on China even more.

The series of measures the Trump administration employed to restructure the China-US relationship framework are aggressive.

The Trump administration is trying to change the way China and US interact. It believes that Washington should abandon the engagement policy and cooperation should give way to strategic competition and that the US must pressure China to make concessions. That being the case, the Trump administration has changed the approach of engagement and hedging, reduced engagement and cooperation, and increased confrontation and conflicts with China.

When some hawks within the Trump government talk about China-US competition, what they really want are confrontation and conflict. Many working-level dialogue mechanisms established during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations are no longer in operation. Now Washington resorts to trade, technological and financial wars as well as sanctions. How far can the US go in this way?

First, it depends on how much price the US is willing to pay. Competition, decoupling, confrontation, and non-cooperation all come at a price. The US-launched trade war against China has impacted US agricultural and manufacturing industries and forced consumers to pay more, while the technological war has put the US high-tech industry under risk of losing the Chinese market. Escalating military competition with China means a significant increase in US military expenditure. Restricting China-US people-to-people exchanges will also cause losses to American universities and research institutions.

In fact, with the negative effects of the Trump administration's China policy increasingly becoming apparent, doubts within the US have grown. Although the US elites have generally reached a consensus on a tougher stance against China, they have yet to agree on how much price the US can pay.

Second, China-US relations are the result of bilateral interactions and cannot be unilaterally decided by the US. Facing heightened US pressure, China is exploring more effective ways to respond. Beijing is not afraid of competition.

Finally, the attitudes of the international community and the US allies matter. The China policy and other foreign policies of the Trump administration not only aimed at maximizing US interests, but also have the features of protectionism and unilateralism. The trade war against China has damaged global industrial and value chains, undermining the interests of other countries including US allies.

To sum up, although the US has benefited from its China policy recalibration, its gains are limited. How far will the US move to restructure its relations with China go? It hinges on the changes in US domestic politics as well as China's will and art in wrangling with the US.

By Wu Xinbo Source:Global Times - The author is dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University.


Read more:

China's strategic willpower leads to progress

China is not the most powerful country. But it is strong enough to defend its philosophy of seeking truth from facts. Sometimes, justice and correctness need to be proven through games and tested by time. China has the ability to create conditions for that. This is perhaps what strategic willpower means.

How should China develop in the 2020s?

China has been moving forward. It is a bit tired, but China has been doing great.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Related posts: Xi discusses fresh ties with Trump Xi discusses fresh ties with Trump In "Business and economy" China showed truth about Xinjiang, but Western media chose to be blind as US practises ‘double standards’ China showed truth about Xinjiang, but Western media chose to be blind as US practises ‘double standards’ In "China" US cannot break China’s supply chain US cannot break China’s supply chain


Tuesday 17 December 2019

China exposes the truth about Xinjiang, but the West ignores. Why? US hypocrisy on human rights & Trade

https://youtu.be/bRy1AKUzb2o

China airs Xinjiang truths

Fresh and shocking footage recorded in Xinjiang over the past two decades has been released in response to criticism of current prevention measures. The State Council Information Office of China has offered clear numbers to mark the progress made in Xinjiang, saying the U.S. is using double standards regarding anti-terrorism and extremism elimination. Why does the West have different standards for human rights issues with other nations and themselves? How are China's proactive preventative policies paying off? And what is the situation in Xinjiang today?

https://youtu.be/_WEPyG6tKjM

劉曉明:中國沒有政治犯 反問主持有否去過新疆- BBC News 中文 | HARDtalk

香港政治動蕩的重要性遠遠超出了這個狹小地域的邊界,它給習近平帶來嚴峻的挑戰。 如果北京不能平息香港對自由的呼籲,這如何告訴外界北京在其他地方威權統治的可持續性? BBC時政談話類節目《HARDtalk》邀請中國駐英國大使劉曉明來談談中國政府如何應對內外壓力。
https://youtu.be/NHImDrs_d9Q

China to U.S.: Stop interfering in Xinjiang

With less than a week until the deadline on December 15, Beijing and Washington are widely expected to hammer out a partial trade deal. Jitters persist over the U.S. imposing fresh tariffs on Chinese goods. But recent events may throw a monkey wrench into a deal, such as impeachment hearings on the U.S. president, and unwelcome U.S. intervention in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Could these weigh heavily on China-U.S. trade talks? Can they keep trade talks on track?

https://youtu.be/cLfxhhq9U_Q

China slams U.S. over human rights violation

Chinese foreign ministry has criticized the U.S. over human rights violations.

China has paid close attention to UN reports and comments and is shocked by the violation of human rights by the U.S. and some European Union member countries. The human rights conditions have been deteriorating. recently in the U.S. and some EU countries.

https://youtu.be/F7KeqGAaA6g

习近平答BBC记者“人权没有最好、只有更好

中国领导人习近平10月21日下午在唐宁街首相府与卡梅伦会晤后举行联合记者会。其中BBC记者库恩斯伯格问他有关人权的问题。习近平说在人权方面"没有最好、只有更好"。

https://youtu.be/hxrQ4kDuc4s

习近平访英首日行程结束

BBC电视节目《广角镜》(Panorama)在习近平访英前播出的The Xi Factor《习近平因素》引起广泛关注。在纪录片中,BBC中国编辑凯瑞(Carrie Gracie)从习近平的家庭背景说到他集权于一身的经过。

https://youtu.be/kiHRqovOU04  

解读习近平:纪录片The Xi Factor 二之一

BBC电视节目《广角镜》(Panorama)在习近平访英前播出的The Xi Factor《习近平因素》引起广泛关注。在纪录片中,BBC中国编辑凯瑞(Carrie Gracie)从习近平的家庭背景说到他集权于一身的经过。
https://youtu.be/Oc2uuziqPM8

Trainees in Xinjiang education, training program have all graduated

Trainees participating in education and training programs of standard spoken and written Chinese, understanding of the law, vocational skills and deradicalization at vocational education and training centers in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have all graduated, a regional official said Monday.

https://youtu.be/B4u7Vgw_oSk

'Trainees have all graduated' | The Star Online


  Will we see a China-U.S. trade deal this Sunday?


China and the U.S. are just days away from imposing additional tariffs on each other's goods. Can a "phase one" deal be reached by this Sunday's deadline?

Guests: Zhao Hai, research fellow at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Einar Tangen, current affairs commentator.


Related posts;



A documentary released by China's national broadcaster CGTN on the anti-terrorism work in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Auto...


  • https://youtu.be/BjgSOYRZqIo Between 1990 and 2016, thousands of terrorist attacks shook the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in nort...

  • China’s Most Direct Security Threat   Chaos was rampant in China’s westernmost region. Explosions and other violence struck terror in t..
    Inside America's Meddling Machine: NED, the US-Funded Org Interfering in Elections Across the Globe https://youtu.be/NzIJ25ob1aA 

    China airs Xinjiang truths

    By Liu Xin Source:Global Times

    Photo:Screengrab of CGTN

    China's state broadcasters consecutively aired three documentaries from Thursday illustrating the anti-terrorism efforts in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a terrorist organization East Turkistan Islamic Movement's (ETIM) role in plotting terrorist attacks in China and US hypocrisy on human rights issues. The documentaries sparked wide discussions on domestic and overseas media.

    Many netizens commented that the documentaries disclosed rare video footage on terrorist attacks that Xinjiang had suffered, fully reflecting the severe threat of terrorism Xinjiang was facing. They also said Western media that criticized China's Xinjiang policies should watch these videos carefully.

    But many Western media, especially those which tried to hype the "leaked documents" on vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang in recent weeks, kept silent over the heated discussions on the Chinese mainland generated by the documentaries.

    Chinese mainland experts said that some Western media outlets selectively report what fits their stereotypes and interests. These outlets also went great lengths to slander on Xinjiang. Their silence on the documentaries showed their double standards in regards to China's Xinjiang issues, they said.

    Two of the three documentaries were newly made and aired on CGTN on Thursday and Saturday respectively, telling of the overall counter-terrorism work in Xinjiang and ETIM's role in inciting terrorist attacks in China's Xinjiang and other Chinese cities.

    One documentary, initially aired in April 2018, was streamed again on CGTN on Friday night, deploring the human rights crisis created by the US in the Middle East since 2003.

    Topics of "New documentaries on Xinjiang's anti-terrorism work" and "Unveiling the black hand behind Xinjiang's terrorism" were viewed 390 million times and 230 million times respectively on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media.

    CGTN also uploaded these two documentaries on YouTube and the first episode, "Fighting terrorism in Xinjiang" was watched more than 150,000 times.
    Some internet users commented on Sina Weibo that they had visited Xinjiang and enjoyed the splendid landscape, friendly atmosphere and safety, but they had no idea that Xinjiang used to suffer such grim terrorism and extremism threats.

    Leonard Brownies, one  internet user from abroad commented on Twitter after watching one documentary that "This is FACT. Some stupid Western fake news media should see this."

    The documentaries were "very touching and reflect truth on Xinjiang in a clear way," Erkin Oncan, a Turkish reporter, told the Global Times on Sunday.

    "Unlike the Western propaganda news, the documentaries tell what was really happening in Xinjiang by original videos and remarks of witnesses and participants of terrorist attacks."

    Photo: Screengrab of CGTN

    Pretending to be blind

    Few Western media outlets reported discussions about the documentaries on the Chinese internet as of press time.

    This is in sharp contrast to extensive coverage by Western media such as the 17 media partners of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on "leaked government files" on Xinjiang.

    Erkin said that he was not surprised to see many Western media "pretend to be blind" at the Chinese documentaries as their reports on Xinjiang were in line with "some Western countries' political agenda, not with the principles of journalism."

    By making public rare video footage of terrorist attacks including the Urumqi riots on July 5, 2009 and the Tiananmen Square terror attack on October 28, 2013, "the documentaries tear the hypocrisy mask off the US," said Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing.

    "It claims to protect human rights but supports terrorist groups and interferes in China's domestic affairs."

    For some Western media and US politicians, who know clearly the previous severe terrorist threat in Xinjiang and still chose to smear China's anti-terrorism policies in the region, they would ignore the documentaries on purpose, Li asserted.

    "They give no care to the truth but want to hype Xinjiang issue to make troubles for China," he said..

    "These documentaries disclosed many rare and original video footages of terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang and other cities in China. China used to release some information on terrorist attacks but images of the documentaries are more powerful than words."

    Li said that the bloody scenes of terrorist attacks, the cruelty of terrorists and the tragedy of innocent people's deaths not only left a strong impression on the audience but also reminded people the hefty price the regional government and local people have paid for restoring peace and stability in Xinjiang.

    Li told the Global Times that these documentaries target people who were fooled by fake news of some Western media but wanted to know true stories of Xinjiang.

    "I believe that people who have conscience would get to know and give just comment on China's strenuous efforts on countering terrorism and on protecting local residents' human rights in Xinjiang," said Li.


    China's approach in Xinjiang best answers Western criticism


    China's approach has been in consonance with the real protection of human rights by conforming to the rule of law, guaranteeing better livelihood, and ensuring the right to survive and develop of every terrorist and extremist who can be saved. This is the best response to groundless condemnation by the US-led Western world.

Tuesday 3 December 2019

China sanctions US over Hong Kong

https://youtu.be/sKKfKYHuE2s

https://youtu.be/MC5ZHDSxcyU

https://youtu.be/p1OmtjY0pKM

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the first wave of countermeasures against the US on Monday since the US passed and signed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and continued its interference in China's domestic affairs in the city.

The move includes suspending visits of US warships and aircraft to the city and sanctioning multiple US-headquartered non-governmental organizations, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Human Rights Watch. Chinese experts said that some US diplomats at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao who have connections with the targeted NGOs could be expelled as these organizations' activities in Hong Kong could be deemed illegal in the future.

From a logistic perspective, suspending visits of US warships and aircraft will force US military forces to find other ports in the region for resupply, which could cost more, experts noted.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the first wave of countermeasures against the US on Monday since the US passed and signed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and continued its interference in China's domestic affairs in the city.

The move includes suspending visits of US warships and aircraft to the city and sanctioning multiple US-headquartered non-governmental organizations, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Human Rights Watch. Chinese experts said that some US diplomats at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao who have connections with the targeted NGOs could be expelled as these organizations' activities in Hong Kong could be deemed illegal in the future.

From a logistic perspective, suspending visits of US warships and aircraft will force US military forces to find other ports in the region for maintenance, which could cost more, experts noted.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a routine press conference on Monday that China would suspend its reviews of applications made by US military aircraft and naval vessels to make port calls in Hong Kong after US President Donald Trump signed the so-called Hong Kong act, which allows Washington to impose sanctions on individuals over alleged human rights violation in Hong Kong.

Hua said China will also sanction NGOs including NED, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI), Freedom House and Human Rights Watch for their "horrible activities in the months-long turmoil in the city."

"A great amount of evidence proving that these NGOs have supported anti-China forces to create chaos in Hong Kong, and made utmost efforts to encourage these forces to engage in extreme violent criminal acts, and also hyped separatism activities in Hong Kong," she said.

"They have a huge responsibility for the current chaos in Hong Kong, and deserve to be sanctioned and pay the price."

"NED is a notorious organization that plays a major role in funding color revolutions and training political activists worldwide to create trouble for many non-Western states," said Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

"The NDI and IRI are two organizations that mainly receive funding from NED, and the NDI follows political line of Democrats, while the IRI follows Republicans. Sanctioning these two NGOs sends the message that the two major parties are being targeted for initiating and passing the Hong Kong act," said Diao Daming, a US studies expert at Renmin University of China.

A masked rioter is standing out among his group in a standoff with police outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, November 17, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

Expulsion from HK

On questions as to what extent China can sanction these NGOs, Chinese experts said that due to the "one-country, two systems" policy, these organizations are allowed to operate in Hong Kong without restrictions, but since they are using this to harm China's national interests, their activities and cash flow in Hong Kong could be frozen.

Diao said "These NGOs could be identified as illegal organizations, so not only their personnel, but US diplomats at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao could be affected."

Staff member of those NGOs will be restricted from entering Chinese territory, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and those NGOs' operations in HKSAR will also likely be limited, said Fan Peng from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

Fan said that imposing restrictions on those organizations' operations hits external forces to the very core and helps to ward off their influence in Hong Kong, as those organizations support the rioters.

If the US government uses the authorization provided by the US Congress to conduct further interference in Hong Kong, China will surely raise its retaliation, Lü said.

China could investigate US diplomats connected to the listed NGOs, or even directly involved with their local funding targets and provided training and assistance, and these diplomats could be expelled if they don't stop making trouble in the city, Diao noted.

Military ties harmed

China, in the past, allowed the US vessels and aircraft to visit and resupply in Hong Kong since the coastal city is a perfect port in the West Pacific region, and serves as a strategic hub. But now, due to US intervention in the Hong Kong situation, US military forces will lose their right to use this hub and need to spend more resources to get supplies in other ports in the region, Chinese experts said.

Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday that whether China allows US warships to conduct port visits in Hong Kong has been a barometer of the two countries' political and military relations.

Now that China has decided to suspend the port visits, it means China and the US have suffered a significant decline in political and military ties, which have been caused by US violations of China's sovereignty and interference in China's internal affairs, as it is challenging the one-China principle by publicly supporting Hong Kong secessionists, Song said.

A US warship port call to Hong Kong now will send a very wrong signal to Hong Kong rioters, and China is absolutely right to turn down visit requests, take resolute action and counter the US for its provocation, Song said.

 Source link




Related posts:

Beijing slams meddling in internal affairs The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions. Chine...

Inside America's Meddling Machine: NED, the US-Funded Org Interfering in Elections Across the Globe https://youtu.be/NzIJ25ob1aA

Friday 29 November 2019

China outraged by US law on Hong Kong

Beijing slams meddling in internal affairs

The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions. Chinese foreign ministry statement

https://youtu.be/noOKupbGAbk

https://youtu.be/YldbrQ91n3U

https://youtu.be/mp74Fy-X9bo

https://youtu.be/787fWT43tzk

https://youtu.be/fuEgStQS3KU

HONG KONG: China summoned the US ambassador and threatened retaliation after US President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting Hong Kong protesters, just as the world’s top two economies edge towards a trade truce.

Trump signed the legislation under heavy pressure from Congress, where it attracted rare bipartisan support, and in a statement spoke of his “respect” for Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling for both sides to “amicably settle their differences”.

But Beijing lashed out furiously, summoning the US ambassador, threatening unspecified “firm countermeasures” and warning Washington not to implement the legislation.

“The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

“China strongly urges the US side to correct mistakes and change course,” the ministry added later.

In Hong Kong, the government expressed “extreme regret” after Trump signed legislation requiring an annual review of freedoms in Hong Kong and banning the sale of crowd control equipment like tear gas.

“The two acts are obviously interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs,” the city government said in a statement, warning the move would “send the wrong message to the protesters”.

And Beijing’s liaison office in the city condemned Washington’s “disgusting conduct”, saying it would bring “trouble and chaos” to Hong Kong.

Hong Kongers have protested in huge numbers over the last six months.

The territory’s leaders have offered few concessions and police have cracked down on protesters in increasingly violent clashes.

More than 5,800 people have been arrested and nearly 1,000 charged, with detentions skyrocketing in the last two months.

Yesterday, police entered the campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, to which they have laid siege for days.

Most protesters have now left, some of them arrested and beaten as they tried to flee, and police were collecting evidence including Molotov cocktails and archery bows at the ransacked site.

The violence has done little to dampen public support though, with pro-democracy candidates winning a landslide victory in local council elections over the weekend.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act requires the US president to annually review the city’s favourable trade status and threatens to revoke it if the territory’s freedoms are quashed.

Trump also signed legislation banning the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and other equipment used by Hong Kong security forces in putting down the protests. - AFP

Read more:.


Hong Kong society needs to jointly resist US provocation

“One country, two systems” is China's independent constitutional arrangement and US intervention damages its external environment. Hong Kong society should be vigilant. To maintain “one country, two systems,” the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR need to work together. Anyone who colludes with external forces to undermine “one country, two systems” must pay a heavy price.



US move on Hong Kong dims deal hopes


US President Donald Trump's decision to sign a bill into law that interferes with China's internal affairs related to Hong Kong has cast a cloud over prospects for a highly anticipated phase one trade deal, with Chinese experts warning Washington of countermeasures if it attempts to link Hong Kong affairs with the ongoing negotiations.

 

Greater connection to the mainland would safeguard HK stability

If China can take the initiative in its competition with the US, it would build confidence among Hongkongers and inspire them to love the country while making the mainland more attractive from their perspective.

 

Pompeo's futile efforts to discredit CPC

The CPC has led Chinese people to be truly independent, realize great economic growth in the past decades, fundamentally reshape people's livelihood, and regain dignity in the world. The CPC has dedicated itself to the great rejuvenation of China. This is a consensus of Chinese people, and many Westerners cannot imagine how unshakable it is.

 

Time for HK pan-democrats to build consensus

Pan-democrats gained more seats, but they should maintain political sobriety. The young newly elected, in particular, should keep a distance from those who betray the country and Hong Kong, and have the courage to explore a new political path in accordance with the “one country, two systems” principle. Hong Kong is a part of China, and never will it belong to the US or the West. Only by keeping this in mind and acting accordingly will they have a solid political career.

China needs to counter Western public opinion war

The most effective way to counter US public opinion war against China is to raise our voices while doing our own things well. We must strengthen our ability to expose slander and Western lies. Since the US launched the trade war with China, China has been expanding its openness while fighting back. China's image in international trade is becoming increasingly better than the US' and people can see it.

Related posts:


Inside America's Meddling Machine: NED, the US-Funded Org Interfering in Elections Across the Globe https://youtu.be/NzIJ25ob1aA

Exclusive: How the US is pushing HK's protesters to attack China, overthrow: 100 Years of U.S. Meddling & Regime Change, from Iran to Nicaragua to Hawaii to Cuba


'We lied, we cheated, we stole', ‘the Glory of American experiment’ by US Secretary of State/Ex-CIA director Mike Pompeo


Friday 22 November 2019

US's ‘Support Hong Kong Violence Act’ condemmed

https://youtu.be/D6bjbxpQEXY

https://youtu.be/CjtqiO8LZTU https://youtu.be/H4KneU4Q-Wg

The US Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act," a move that seriously tarnished sacred terms like "human rights" and "democracy." The bill's real title should be "Support Hong Kong Violence Act" as it has overtly taken sides with rioters who are destroying the rule of law in Hong Kong. And it has targeted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and Hong Kong police, who are struggling to prevent chaos from turning into anarchy.

The core of the new US bill is to oppose HKSAR government's efforts to stop violence, end chaos as well as to prevent the Chinese central government from saving Hong Kong under any circumstance. The most prominent clause subjects the city to an annual review for its special trade status, which would strip Hong Kong of the status.

Some opposition figures in Hong Kong stupidly kowtow to Washington and express their gratitude for US support for the radical protesters' "democracy struggle." But if the US imposes economic sanctions on Hong Kong, all Hong Kong people will have to bear the consequences.

Once the bill is signed by the US president, subtle changes will take place in Hong Kong's international business environment, because of the uncertainties caused by the US. American investors in Hong Kong will panic, and the city's geoeconomic status and function will be reevaluated.

Some may expect this to deter Beijing. Such thinking is naïve. Hong Kong is in a mess, but the country hasn't intervened so far.

Instead, the Chinese central government encourages the city to stop violence and end chaos under the leadership of the HKSAR government, solve the conundrum under the framework of the Basic Law and not use the provisions of the Basic Law for emergency situations.

However, if the chaos continues, even paralyzes the city and destroys ordinary people's lives, how can the central government not intervene?

Passing the act is the US attempt to disrupt the People's Republic of China's governance over Hong Kong, weaken the HKSAR government, and compel the police to be afraid of cracking down on radical rioters in accordance with the law.

The US is hoping that Hong Kong falls into disorder for a long time. If we take this US bill seriously and shrink from tackling riots, Hong Kong will suffer from an accelerated collapse of the rule of law and be erased from the modern world.

Hong Kong has long acted as an interface linking China and the West. The US move will undermine that function of the city. But no matter what challenges Hong Kong will have to face, it will be far better than what it faces now: Streets are full of roadblocks; subway stations are burned; schools cannot re-open; and many businesses are forced to stop.

If riots continue, Hong Kong is doomed. The threat from the US is much less than the damage the city is currently suffering.

What the bill brings is not fear, but anger. People see certain US politicians' malice against Hong Kong and the entire China between the lines.

It is believed that with the central government's support, Hong Kong will resolutely reject the US threat. Hong Kong's special trade status is entitled by the Basic Law. The US attitude does not represent the international community's. Hong Kong's future is bound to that of the entire China, instead of the US.

Source link


Read more: 

China ready to  'fight back' over US  Hong Kong bill

https://youtu.be/jfgbg4Be4sA

China ready to  'fight back' over US  Hong Kong bill


US Senate's passage of HK 'rights act' condemned | The Star ...


image: https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2019/11/21/397785.jpg

Strong words: Yang said the passage openly supported protesters and radicals in Hong Kong and completely exposed the hegemonic nature of some politicians in the United States. — Reuters


Related posts:

Exclusive: How the US is pushing HK's protesters to attack China, overthrow: 100 Years of U.S. Meddling & Regime Change, from Iran to Nicaragua to Hawaii to Cuba

https://youtu.be/Dl1xwIdQhDU

'We lied, we cheated, we stole', ‘the Glory of American experiment’ by US Secretary of State/Ex-CIA director Mike Pompeo

https://youtu.be/DPt-zXn05ac

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."

Pompeo said this at an event at Texas A&M University on April 15, 2019. Here is the official State Department transcript:https://www.state.gov/secretary/remar....

https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone Twitter: https://twitter.com/grayzoneproject Facebook: https://facebook.com/thegrayzone

Hong Kong Riots, engineered by CIA, nothing but true!

 

Inside America's Meddling Machine destabilizing the world order

 https://youtu.be/NzIJ25ob1aA

Hong Kong's social problems stem from British rule, faces risk of Beijing rule as UK's ‘toothless threat’ against China

 

Hong Kong's youngters barking up at the wrong tree: preaching the West's cheats, divide-and-conquer, farce hearing !  https://youtu.be/n9Modr_sVr0

 

Inside America's Meddling Machine: NED, the US-Funded Org Interfering in Elections Across the Globe https://youtu.be/NzIJ25ob1aA

Behind Hong Kong's chaos lie deep-seated social ills


Hong Kong in decline


Tuesday 24 September 2019

Home Is Where The Heart Is

https://youtu.be/a_B80AIQegE

Harking after a home: Officials have acknowledged that the lack of affordable housing is one of the issues that sparked the unrest in Hong Kong, which has been going on for months. — AFP
Owning a house is the standard ambition of any individual, however, getting there is increasingly becoming not only a local, but global struggle.

THERE’S a lesson to be learnt from the protests in Hong Kong – politics is about selling hope. So if the young people living in a depressing environment feel they have no future, then the alarm bells should ring loudly.

In the case of Hong Kong, the leaders – mostly technocrats and government officials – didn’t see it coming, or maybe they were just indifferent.

Many young people in Hong Kong feel they stand no chance of becoming a homeowner in their lifetime, and officials have acknow-ledged that the issue is one of the causes that sparked off the unrest.

The controversial Extradition Bill, which allows a Hong Kong resident to be sent to mainland China to face trial, was merely a catalyst. Those protesters couldn’t all possibly believe they’d fall on the wrong side of the law and face the consequences, could they?

Last week, former Hong Kong chief executive Leong Chun-ying was in Kuala Lumpur for appointments with businessmen, opinion leaders and officials, to update them on developments on the island.

I was among the lucky Malaysians picked to hear his thoughts and views on Hong Kong, while he, too, listened to our concerns during the two-hour closed-door meeting.

My co-host and meeting organiser, Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, and I both feel that of all the problems faced by any country in nation- building, none deserves greater priority than housing the people.

What expectation could be more basic than having a roof over our heads, and with it being a decent and affordable one at that? And when we talk about affordable, it should be truly attainable by the low-income people who form the bulk of the population in most countries.

Azman, the Bernama chairman, rightly outlined the consequences of the failure that stems from a lack of will in resolving the housing problem of the masses. And as he said, this could easily lead to people pouring into the streets protesting issues not even directly related to housing.

It’s a fact that many poor Hong Kong people live in a room less than 75sq ft, and millions live in deplorable conditions.

More recently, “nano” flats – tiny apartments less than 200sq ft – have fast become the norm in overcrowded Hong Kong.

According to a South China Morning Post report, the cost began at HK$2.85mil (RM1.52mil) for an apartment no bigger than an average Hong Kong car park space, but the lack of interest forced a rethink by the developer.

But what’s mind-boggling is that while there are plenty of poor people in Hong Kong, or many who feel poor, Hong Kong’s fiscal reserves stood at HK$1.16tril (RM620bil) as at the end of January.

In a report, Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said there was a surplus of HK$86.8bil (RM46.2bil), bringing the cumulative year-to-date surplus up to HK$59bil (RM31bil).

All this wealth belongs to Hong Kong and not mainland China, so a lot can be done with that money for a population of just seven million people, especially low-cost housing!

In comparison, Malaysia’s official reserve assets amounted to US$102.03bil (RM425bil) as at end November 2018, while other foreign currency assets stood at US$51.6mil (RM215mil) for the same period, Bank Negara said. Malaysia has a population of 32 million.

It can’t be denied that Singapore has done well in housing its population, with over 90% of the seven million population reportedly living in homes of their own, and the home-ownership ratio is said to be the world’s highest.

The Singapore Housing Development Board (HDB) deserves global recognition for its feat in solving the housing problem of the people, especially the poor.

The middle-class and poor must be able to have a roof over their heads. That’s an essential human need. No country can have peace and stability if the poor are not able to own a home in their lifetime.

A prosperous and satisfied middle-class will lead to political stability. A huge middle class will also mean greater purchasing power, and this will lead to a better economy with spillover effects for everyone.

When there are angry citizens protesting everything from the escalating food prices to housing, then even the elite (including politicians and businessmen) will not feel safe. In South Africa, the rich live in houses with high walls and electric fences to protect themselves, but that’s not the best way to live. It’s living dangerously.

Malaysian politicians who still wield the race and religion card will realise that at some point, these will be “dead issues”.

With well-documented shrinking numbers, the Chinese and Indian population will no longer be the proverbial bogeymen in the future. Instead, it is class stratification that will be a matter of concern.

Last year, it was reported that the gap in income between the rich, middle class and poor in Malaysia had widened since 2008, according to a study by Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).

In its “The State of Households 2018” report, the research outfit of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd noted that the gap in the real average income between the top 20% households (T20) and the middle 40% (M40) and bottom 40% (B40) households had almost doubled, compared to two decades ago.

The report, titled Different Realities, pointed out that while previous economic crises, in 1987 and the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crisis, saw a reduction in the income gap between the T20 and B40/M40, post-2008/09 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), those disparities had not reduced.

But the Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality in the country, had declined from 0.513 in 1970 to 0.399 in 2016, denoting improvement in income inequality in Malaysia over the past 46 years.

Explaining the phenomenon, Allen Ng, who is the lead author of the KRI report, said income of the T20 households had continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace than that of the M40 and B40 since 2010.

“However, because they (the T20) started at a higher base, the income gap between the T20 and M40/B40 had continued to grow despite the fact that the relative (income growth) is actually narrowing post-GFC, ” Ng explained at a press conference after the launch of the report yesterday.

In his bestselling book The Colour Of Inequality: Ethnicity, Class, Income And Wealth In Malaysia (2014), economist Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid wrote that “the future does not look rosy for Malaysia; the current policies are encouraging wealth disparity between rich and poor, and between ethnicities.

“Unless bold and drastic actions are taken urgently, a harmonious future for Malaysia is uncertain. There must be an urgency to give every Malaysian economic security, a better and sustainable future.”

Muhammed, the managing director of the research and consulting firm DM Analytics Malaysia, said last year that contrary to popular belief, most Chinese (70%) are wage-earners, as are most Malays (72%). In fact, the poverty gap between races has dropped compared to 40 years ago, though the disparity remains.

And what about Malaysia? We have a disastrous, if not scandalous, record, particularly the pathetic business activities, dealings and performance of the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme’s (PR1MA) set up to build affordable homes.

More than RM8bil has gone up in smoke because PR1MA’s management failed to meet its targets, despite all the assistance and facilities accorded to their projects by the previous federal government and most state governments.

PR1MA reportedly built only 11,000 homes, compared with its target of half a million residential units to be delivered by the end of 2018. That’s less than 5% of the original plan.

PR1MA Malaysia was set up to plan, develop, construct and maintain high-quality housing with lifestyle concepts for middle-income households in key urban centres. Its homes are priced between RM100,000 and RM400,000.

PR1MA is open to all Malaysians with a monthly household income of RM2,500 to RM15,000.

A total of 1.42 million people registered for PR1MA, a promise of one million homes by 2020, but only 16,682 units, or 1.6%, of the target, were completed between 2013 and 2018, costing the government billions in public funds.

Poor management, exorbitant land acquisition costs and unsuitable sites have turned the people’s housing project into a major financial flop. PR1MA’s failure, which could cost the new government billions, is apparently already saddled with ballooning debts, rendering the loss-making company untenable.

It’s the responsibility of the government to build affordable homes – not the private developers. Private developers, especially those who helm public listed companies, have profits and dividends to answer for to shareholders. They are in the business of making money, and with the expensive land bank they have acquired, they need to build expensive homes, too.

Even if there are requirements with the obligated mixed homes for social housing needs, it still won’t resolve the problems.

Our politicians shouldn’t pass their responsibilities to them. They just need to have qualified and competent professionals with integrity to run a set-up like HDB. Obviously, the people who ran PR1MA didn’t do their jobs. We can help Malaysians own homes, or at least rent them at affordable rates, if we’re truly committed. The question is, are we?

As for Hong Kong, there is another lesson the young protesters need to learn: a full democracy doesn’t guarantee you a home and a decent job. Just ask the homeless in the United States and Britain.

Source link

Read more:  



Abolish RPGT to avoid penalising non-speculative ..

Property wish list for Budget 2020 | The Star Online


Hong Kong tycoon in the spotlight