Thousands march in Hong Kong to show dissent for Chinese rule

Rally by pro-democracy groups on 20th anniversary of city’s handover to Chinese rule follows Xi Jinping’s visit and labelling of any challenge to it as ‘a red line’

Pro-democracy protester Leung Kwok-hung joins a march in Hong Kong on Saturday. He was later taken away by police.
Pro-democracy protester Leung Kwok-hung joins a march in Hong Kong on Saturday. He was later taken away by police. Photograph: Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have marched across Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese control with a high-profile show of dissent.

China’s president Xi Jinping, who had been in the former British colony on a three-day tour, flew out of Hong Kong just hours before the annual protest kicked off in Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon. Tiếp tục đọc “Thousands march in Hong Kong to show dissent for Chinese rule”

Trump administration confirms Taiwan arms-sale plan

al jazeera

State Department confirms plan for the sale which will be the first since the $1.83bn sale under Obama in December 2015.

The US is legally obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan for its self-defence [Reuters]

The United States plans to sell Taiwan $1.42bn in arms, the first such sale under the administration of President Donald Trump and a move sure to anger China, whose help the president has been seeking to rein in North Korea.

The sale, which requires congressional approval, would be the first to Taiwan under Trump and the first since a $1.83bn sale that former President Barack Obama announced in December 2015, to China’s dismay. Tiếp tục đọc “Trump administration confirms Taiwan arms-sale plan”

Panama cuts off ties with Taiwan, switches to China

al jazeera 13 June 2017

Taiwan says China’s luring of Panama is an ‘open threat’ and ‘provocation to peace and stability’.

China and Panama's foreign ministers signed a joint communique establishing ties in Beijing [AFP]
China and Panama’s foreign ministers signed a joint communique establishing ties in Beijing [AFP]

Panama has established diplomatic ties with China while breaking off with Taiwan, dealing a victory to Beijing which claims the self-governing island as its own territory.

Panama President Juan Carlos Varela announced the change in a televised address on Tuesday, saying it represents “the correct path for our country”. Tiếp tục đọc “Panama cuts off ties with Taiwan, switches to China”

Taiwan lawmakers launch support group for Hong Kong democracy

 
Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday, a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China. AFP/SAM YEH

TAIPEI: Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday (Jun 12), a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China.

Taiwan and Hong Kong are thorns in Beijing’s side — both saw huge anti-China protests in 2014, known respectively as the Sunflower Movement and Umbrella Movement.

Ties with self-ruling Taiwan have worsened under China-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office last year. Tiếp tục đọc “Taiwan lawmakers launch support group for Hong Kong democracy”

Emirates tells cabin crew to swap Taiwanese flag pins for Chinese ones

Leaked email to Taiwanese staff says airline has been instructed by Beijing to follow One China policy

Emirates cabin crew walk past a sign at Taoyuan airport
Emirates did not respond to questions asking whether staff could still choose to wear a Taiwanese flag pin. Photograph: Chen Chi-Chuan/AFP/Getty Images

Emirates airline has waded into a decades-old diplomatic spat after ordering Taiwanese cabin crew to swap flag pins worn on their uniforms for Chinese ones, sparking anger and calls for boycott on social media.

The airline sent an email to staff saying Emirates was “instructed by the Chinese government” to “follow the One China policy”. Tiếp tục đọc “Emirates tells cabin crew to swap Taiwanese flag pins for Chinese ones”

Missing Taiwan activist allegedly detained in China

Al Jazeera

Lee Ming-che disappeared after clearing immigration in Macau on March 19, but China remains mum about his whereabouts.

Lee Ching-yu, third from the right, holds up a photo of her missing husband Lee Ming-che [AP]

A Taiwanese human rights advocate who went missing last week in China has been arrested by mainland authorities, according to his wife.

Lee Ching-yu, the wife of non-governmental activist Lee Ming-che, said in a statement on Tuesday that reliable government sources suggest her husband has been detained by Chinese security officials.

“I want the government of China to act like a civilised country and tell me what they’re doing with my husband on what legal grounds and … what they plan to do with him,” Lee said.

The Taiwan Association for Human Rights said Lee disappeared after clearing immigration on March 19 in Macau, and never showed up for a planned meeting later that day with a friend across the border in China’s city of Zhuhai.

READ MORE: China cuts communication channel with Taiwan

On Tuesday, Lee’s wife visited the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), a semi-official organisation handling business matters involving China.

She said her husband might need more money to get “food and hypertension” medicine.

SEF spokeswoman Lee Li-jen said her organisation has twice contacted its counterpart in China, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, but received no response.

“We will contact them later today again, hoping to get more details,” she told AP news agency.

Police and government officials in southern China either could not be reached or said they had no information about Lee. China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of his case.

‘One China’ dispute

Cheng Hsiu-chuan, president of a Taipei college where Lee worked, told AP the 42-year-old may have attracted the attention of Chinese security after using the Chinese social media service WeChat to “teach” China-Taiwan relations to an unknown number of people.

“For China, the material he was teaching would be seen as sensitive,” Cheng said.

Cheng said Beijing should release public records about his entry, such as CCTV images.

“The Mainland Affairs Council has engaged. We’ll do our best,” Taiwan’s presidential spokesman Alex Huang said late on Tuesday.

In June, China halted communications with Taiwan, a move triggered by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s failure to endorse the “one China” principle, which requires countries that seek diplomatic relations with China to break official relations with Taiwan.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. China insists the two sides must eventually unify – by force if necessary.

Source: News agencies

Singapore has consistently abided by ‘One China policy’: DPM Teo

Commenting on the “broad and longstanding relationship” between the two countries, DPM Teo said that the two countries have worked well together to advance common interests, despite different perspectives on some issues.

Both countries also have a common interest in building a peaceful and growing region, and “this is much greater than any occasional differences of views”, he added.

He said that each of Singapore and China’s Government-to-Government projects have supported China’s developmental priorities at key stages. Tiếp tục đọc “Singapore has consistently abided by ‘One China policy’: DPM Teo”

Backing away from a fight, Trump to honor one-China policy

 

February 10 at 5:54 AM Wasjington Post
President Trump just backed down from what could have been a serious fight with China.

On Thursday evening in Washington, he appeared to shy away from confrontation with Beijing by agreeing to honor the one-China policy, during a lengthy telephone call with China’s President Xi Jinping.

The move is set to ease tensions between the world’s two most powerful nations: relations had been inflamed after Trump suggested he would only commit to the one-China policy if Beijing addressed his concerns about trade and currency issues.

Continue reading of Washington Post

Beijing says ‘one-China’ policy can’t be bargaining chip after Trump calls principle negotiable

Japan  Times

by

Staff Writer Jan 15, 2017

China has pushed back against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestions that the “one-China” policy on Taiwan is negotiable, with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing urging the incoming administration to “recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Saturday called the one-China principle “nonnegotiable” and “the political foundation” of China-U.S. relations. Tiếp tục đọc “Beijing says ‘one-China’ policy can’t be bargaining chip after Trump calls principle negotiable”

For Taiwan, a Dilemma Over Identity, Economy and China

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan addressed naval officers in July, about two months after she took office. Some fear Ms. Tsai’s recent phone call with President-elect Donald J. Trump will destabilize United States-China relations, while others see a welcome rethinking of Washington’s ties to Taiwan. Credit Office of The President Taiwan, via European Pressphoto Agency

Tiếp tục đọc “For Taiwan, a Dilemma Over Identity, Economy and China”

Beijing ‘seriously concerned’ by Trump’s One China remarks: Govt

BEIJING: Beijing is “seriously concerned” by US president-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that he could drop Washington’s One China policy unless the mainland makes concessions on trade and other issues.

It issued its first clear warning Monday (Dec 12) over Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric, as state media said the Asian giant could back “forces hostile to the US” if the president-elect follows through with threats to drop Washington’s One China policy.

It was the strongest signal yet from Chinese authorities that abandoning the One China policy, which guides relations with self-ruling Taiwan, would upset decades of carefully managed Sino-US relations and end cooperation between the world’s top two economies. Tiếp tục đọc “Beijing ‘seriously concerned’ by Trump’s One China remarks: Govt”