Thread: The View, from China

Hong Kong's national security laws are designed to make the media self-censor

eijing’s far-reaching security law was foisted on Hong Kong with breathtaking speed, sweeping aside guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of the press overnight. Analogies of slow-boiling frogs and civil liberties suffering a “death by a thousand cuts” now feel redundant as independent media outlets scramble to future-proof themselves against vaguely worded legislation that carries a punishment of life imprisonment for crimes such as “subversion” and “collusion.”


I founded Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) as a response to dwindling press freedoms after cutting my teeth reporting on the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. As a non-profit, it was the city’s first crowdfunded outlet – transparent, impartial, governed by an ethical code and built to resist censorship. But it was all based on the free press guarantees in the city’s mini-constitution.


Five years later, a draconian new law allows for “guidance, supervision and regulation” of the media and empowers police and agents to potentially conduct warrantless raids of newsrooms, seize devices, demand decryption help and conduct covert surveillance. Suspects will face closed-door trials with hand-picked judges. Meanwhile, the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, has repeatedly hit out at the press, claiming HKFP’s questions are “biased” and telling me last week that press freedom will only be guaranteed if journalists promise to obey the new law.

MORE Hong Kong's national security laws are designed to make the media self-censor | Tom Grundy | The Guardian

^ I see my reminder of who the HK Free Press actually is has worked kitty. Kudos.

China is the last major economy committed to a zero-COVID strategy, with restrictions aimed at stamping out all infections.

China has reported zero new COVID-19 infections in Shanghai for the first time since March, as the country’s latest outbreak subsides after months of lockdowns and other restrictions.

China is the last major economy committed to a zero-COVID strategy, stamping out all infections with a combination of targeted lockdowns, mass testing and long quarantine periods.

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list 2 of 3‘No end in sight’: In Beijing, fears of Shanghai-style lockdown

list 3 of 3China’s Shanghai aims to end COVID lockdown by June 1


The economic hub of Shanghai was forced into a months-long lockdown during a COVID surge this spring driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, while the capital, Beijing, shuttered schools and offices for weeks over a separate outbreak.

But infections have slowed to a trickle in recent days, with Shanghai on Saturday reporting zero locally transmitted cases for the first time since before the outbreak in early March.

“There were no new domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases and no new domestic asymptomatic infections in Shanghai,” the city said in a statement.

The lockdown on Shanghai’s 25 million residents was mostly lifted in early June, but the metropolis has struggled to return to normal as individual neighbourhoods have reimposed restrictions over new infections.

Millions of people in the city were temporarily locked down again two weeks ago after the government ordered a fresh mass testing campaign.

In Beijing, restrictions imposed in May were later eased as cases declined, but tightened again this month after a nightlife-linked infection cluster emerged.

After days of mass testing and localised lockdowns, the “Heaven Supermarket infection chain” – named after a popular bar visited by the patients – has now been effectively blocked, Beijing authorities said last week.

The city’s education bureau said Saturday that all elementary and middle school students could return to their classrooms for in-person schooling on Monday.

Beijing reported only two new local infections on Saturday.

However, China’s southern manufacturing powerhouse of Shenzhen said on Saturday it would close wholesale markets, cinemas and gyms in a central district bordering Hong Kong for three days after COVID cases were discovered there.

Chinese officials insist the zero-COVID policy is necessary to prevent a healthcare calamity, pointing to unevenly distributed medical resources and low vaccination rates among the elderly.

But the strategy has hammered the world’s second-largest economy and heavy-handed enforcement has triggered rare protests in the tightly controlled country.

China’s international isolation has also prompted some foreign businesses and families with the financial means to make exit plans.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...me-since-march

Originally Posted by sabang

China has reported zero new COVID-19 infections in Shanghai for the first time since March

Big fucking deal.

The virus is just loitering around ready to go back to work as soon as their guard is dropped.

Where's the chinky mRNA knock off?

That's what they need or it won't be long before the cycle repeats.

They certainly are unique in this draconian "Zero Covid " policy. I am sceptical myself.

Originally Posted by sabang

They certainly are unique in this draconian "Zero Covid " policy. I am sceptical myself.

Probably would have worked eventually if their vaccines weren't total shit.

I could quote you the embarrassing comparisons re how many people have died in the USA from Covid, compared to China with over triple the population. Or just refer you to that long term Harvard study, among several others, that shows +90% of Chinese people approve of their government. But that would just be repeating myself.

Originally Posted by sabang

I could quote you the embarrassing comparisons re how many people have died in the USA from Covid

Which would be as completely irrelevant as most of the shit you post.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Law planned to protect arable land

If only it applied to the land the chinky parasites destroy in countries like Vietnam and Laos.

Hong Kong Nears Bottom in New Human Rights Survey

LONDON —
Human rights in Hong Kong have deteriorated rapidly since Beijing’s crackdown after the pro-democracy protests of 2019, according to a new survey.


The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) published a survey this week showing the rapid change in human rights in Hong Kong, which now ranks close to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, both near last-place China.


Chung Kim-wah, honorary director of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, told VOA in a phone interview that survey data show that civil society in Hong Kong has shrunk, and freedom of speech and assembly has been suppressed since the imposition of the Hong Kong version of China’s National Security Law in 2020.


“Watching events in Hong Kong over the past couple of years has been quite harrowing, and so I doubt that Hong Kong’s scores will come as a surprise to any Hong Kong watchers,” said HRMI spokesperson Anne-Marie Brook.


VOA Cantonese contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment on the HRMI survey but has not received a response.


HRMI conducts national surveys to assess quality of life and safety from the state. The surveys are conducted in more than 30 regions worldwide and use up to 13 criteria outlined in United Nations treaties to measure the state of human rights. Respondents to the secure, online Hong Kong survey included local human rights workers, human rights lawyers and journalists covering human rights issues.


HRMI, which is based in New Zealand and the U.S., did not disclose the number or identities of the respondents, to protect them, according to Thalia Kehoe Rowden of HRMI. Some of the respondents have emigrated from Hong Kong.

The data show that Hong Kong's freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression and political participation continued to decline for the third consecutive year.


For example, the freedom of assembly and association is evaluated on a 10-point scale. Hong Kong scored 4.5 points in 2019 and 2.5 points in 2021, results the survey describes as “very bad.”


Freedom of expression fell from 4.7 in 2019, to 2.7 in 2021, while suffrage dropped from 4 to 2.4 over the same period.


However the survey also found the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest rose from 2.7 in 2019 to 3.5 in 2021.


And Hong Kong scored 4.6 out of 10 for its performance on the right to freedom from torture. According to HRMI, this falls “within the ‘bad’ category and means that a significant number of people are at risk of torture and ill-treatment.” It is the fourth lowest score among the East Asia and Pacific region countries the organizations tracks.


The scores reflect China’s crackdown on Hong Kong after months of pro-democracy street protests in 2019.


In terms of civil and political rights, China scores below 3.5 in 75% of indicators, which is considered “very poor.” In terms of freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression and political participation, China's overall score is only 2.1, the lowest among the 30 surveyed regions. This was the first year HRMI surveyed China.


"Hong Kong's scores over the last three years are converging on China's very low scores,” Rowden told VOA Cantonese via email Thursday evening. “Hong Kong's empowerment scores [freedom of assembly and association; freedom of opinion and expression; participation in government] have fallen dramatically, so that they are nearly the same as China's.”


Hong Kong survey respondents noted that Chinese law restricts freedom of assembly and association, and that anyone trying to run for office independently would be intimidated, even violently treated or imprisoned.

Dr. K. Chad Clay, an HRMI co-founder who is also its research methodology and design lead, told VOA Cantonese in an email that since the 2020 implementation of the Hong Kong version of China’s National Security Law, “speaking out is likely to result in arrest and detention, which has likely led many people to self-censor in order to avoid their own arrest in response.”


“Backing this up,” he added, “our data absolutely show a continued precipitous decline in the rights to opinion, expression, assembly, and association."


Clay, director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues and an associate professor at The School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, said it is important to note that Hong Kong’s “government may not feel the need to resort to as many arbitrary and political arrests now that empowerment rights are increasingly restricted.”


“In the years since the National Security Law was passed, it has been shown that speaking out is likely to result in arrest and detention, which has likely led many people to self-censor in order to avoid their own arrest in response,” he said. “Backing this up, our data absolutely show a continued precipitous decline in the rights to opinion, expression, assembly, and association.”


Chung said last year he saw police using the social gathering ban that is supposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to suppress gatherings in Causeway Bay on June 4 for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This “was very blatant and abusive of the law, and the purpose and spirit of the legislation is contrary to its original purpose.” This year, local authorities warned people to avoid the Victoria Park Tiananmen memorial and police detained several who ignored the caution.


Chung also said some Hong Kong political prisoners have been remanded for two years without being convicted. Because of the pandemic, outsiders are not allowed to visit inmates. One prisoner’s request for pens and paper was rejected.


"The most outrageous thing is that in just a few weeks, he was transferred to different prison cells five, six times without being given any reason,” he added. “This is obviously a kind of strategy that makes people lose their autonomy and lets them be manipulated. I think this is also torture."


Simon Cheng, founder of Hongkongers in Britain group, told VOA in a phone call that the good thing about the quantified indicators is that the changes can be evaluated with the same standards, and “they don’t talk past each other and it won’t turn it [the survey] into a political game.”


“This will prevent China from saying that each (country) has its own standards and making everyone lose direction.”


Hong Kong Nears Bottom in New Human Rights Survey

Hong Kong's Journalists Are 'Endangered Species'

Politics, sanctions, protests. The list of issues that Hong Kong’s journalists now think twice about covering is growing.


In the two years since Hong Kong enacted its national security law, authorities have detained over 180 people including journalists, activists and lawmakers, — data from news and analysis site China File shows.


And at least five news outlets have been shuttered. Some like Apple Daily and Stand News closed after authorities arrested staff or executives under national security or sedition laws. Others like the investigative outlet FactWire, which announced its closure Friday, cited only a “great change” in the reporting environment.


In the past year, Hong Kong dropped from 80 to 148 on the press freedom index, where No.1 is considered the most free. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which curates the list, says the security law triggered an “unprecedented setback.”


As one journalist working for a European outlet told VOA, “For the media, it’s simply not the city that it once was.”


In a further indication of the repressive environment, that journalist and another who spoke with VOA agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity— for fear of being targeted under the law.

The second journalist, who has worked for international media in Hong Kong for several years, told VOA she feels more pressure today than ever before.


“The working environment in Hong Kong is getting more stressful because of the red lines and the external pressure put on journalists, who often become targets of propaganda,” she told VOA.


The journalist said that pressure comes from Chinese media and officials.


Hong Kong’s Security Bureau told VOA that claims of a decline in press freedom could not be “further from the truth.”


The statement, attributed to a representative, said freedom of speech and of the press are protected under law, but “[they] are not absolute and can be restricted for reasons, including protection of national security.”


The representative said any legal action is based on evidence and has “nothing to do with [a person’s] political stance, background or occupation.”


Online harassment


Aside from concerns of legal action, reporters who cover politically sensitive news sometimes find themselves targeted by pro-Beijing media or online.


In these cases, the female journalist said, a reporter’s work can be misrepresented, or they are subjected to personal attacks online.


“Pro-Beijing media examine the pieces and speeches of 'problematic' journalists,” the female journalist said, adding that often they distort the meaning of the original article.


“Sometimes those reports published by mouthpieces were picked up by pro-Beijing opinion leaders, lawmakers or even officials, warning of consequences.”


“This kind of orchestrated intimidation also affects our way of reporting. I think the psychological burden is also one of the factors forcing journalists to speak less critically and vocally,” she added.


The male journalist, who covers politics for an online European outlet, said he has considered leaving because of threats online, criticism from pro-Beijing media, and abuse on social media.


“It seems that this is a well-orchestrated pro-government attack against Western media. And even though it’s not official, for me on the ground it feels the message is quite clear,” he said. “Certain reporting is no longer welcome in Hong Kong.”


It is a stark change from when that journalist first moved to Hong Kong. “There were almost no restrictions at all, so there was nothing to worry about,” he said.


That’s no longer the case.


“Now I think I am operating almost in the same way as foreign journalists operating in the mainland (China). It’s not that issues are legally sensitive, but they are politically sensitive, and you have to consider the political environment when reporting,” he told VOA. “I think there is definitely a culture of fear in the city, psychologically and sometimes editorially that affects us as journalists.”


Uncertain future


While popular pro-democracy outlets like Apple Daily and Stand News closed, others are trying to fill the gap.


The solo media operation reNews Hong Kong, run by Lam Yin-pong, started up in April as part of efforts to report on political issues via social media.


But the founder admits he too could be targeted for reporting on sensitive topics.


Other media publications such as Flow Hong Kong and Commons HK opened operations outside of the city in an attempt to shield reporters from possible legal action.


But journalists aren’t the only ones to relocate.


Lokman Tsui, a former media professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, moved to the Netherlands after he said he was denied tenure in 2020. He told VOA recently that this was one of several reasons why he left, and in an interview at the time, Tsui said he was unsure if the decision on tenure was politically motivated.


The Chinese University of Hong Kong did not reply to VOA's request for comment.


"Many of my students and journalist friends have been forced to look for different jobs or even change profession altogether or move abroad,” he said.


“It also doesn’t mean there [are] no journalists left in Hong Kong, it’s just that the critical, independent ones are being pressured,” he told VOA.


Tsui listed some subjects that cannot safely be reported: “Not the political stuff, not the sanctions, what happened in 2019, what happened in Yuen Long and July 21,” he said, referring to an attack on unarmed pro-democracy protesters.


Hong Kong police came in for heavy criticism for their response to the incident in July 2019.


But, the academic said, “That doesn’t mean there is nothing to report on.”


The Mandarin-language newspaper Ming Pao in Hong Kong challenged the government over a rising number of COVID-19 cases earlier this year.


“They found a good story critical of the government and caused a public discussion on what’s going on and the government had to come out and clarify the numbers. That was a good piece of journalism,” he said.

But overall, Tsui is pessimistic about the future of press freedom, with the city’s new Chief Executive John Lee proposing a false news law.


“A few years ago, it was perfectly fine to be a journalist in Hong Kong,” Tsui said. But today, journalists are like “the animals you have to protect when they are going to go extinct. They are [the] endangered species in Hong Kong.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/hong-kong-...-/6612615.html

Is living in China a pleasure or a torment?






Jason Smith ShangguanJiewen
· Follow
M.A. History, Published Author, Radio Show Host, VloggerUpdated May 17


China is amazing. I love living here. I am a Californian who has been living in China for 10 years.

An answer to your question might be this question: Why do more than half of all foreigners who move to China live here for more than 5 years?




Landing gear screaming on the runway in Pudong, Shanghai or Daxing, Beijing for the first time, one cannot know what to expect. There are simply so many conflicting descriptions of China. As a person looks from their taxi window it may occur to them that they’re in some science fiction movie. These ‘mega-cities’ have many times over the population of some countries. In the US or Japan, cash is king; in China, if one uses cash they are likely to get a confused look.



Suzhou, traditional architecture, Water Town

Let’s begin our description of China with the physical space of Chinese cities. My wife and I have moved to a completely different part of Beijing every year or so the entire time we’ve lived here. Each time we moved our travel routes changed. And each time I view the world from a Didi (Chinese Uber), a bicycle, or from the streets, I hardly recognize the city as Beijing except for a few of the tallest buildings in the world in the distance.

One thing I don’t like is the smell of ‘stinky tofu.’ You can smell this street food from a block away. Not even most Chinese people like it. I have to plug my nose when walking past.



Suzhou, the Venice of China

An under-simplification might be to say that wechat pay or alipay is like paypall. This wouldn’t just be an injustice; this is like saying super tankers are like pickup trucks as they both carry a lot of cargo. The first and most obvious difference to be noted by anyone making a comparison is the ubiquity with which the Chinese consumer uses their phones to pay for things. This is not limited to a mall or Starbucks. One pays for strawberries bought from a street vendor with their phone.

Bicycles. I am constantly in need of exercise as life is convenient here and the food is amazing. I have an APP called Meituan with which I can order books, lettuce, T-shirts with my own logo on them and yes, I can rent a bike. Now, I am no tourist and so I don’t rent a bike once at a time for a dime. Instead, I pay a monthly subscription of ten yuan. That’s like a buck twenty five a month.


There are hundreds of malls in a single city in China. The first mall I chanced upon in Chaoyang district was ‘Joy City’ or DaYueCheng. Stepping through the main entrance and looking up ten floors with multiple, seemingly crisscrossing escalators, some of which stretch five floors at a time, I felt like I’d stepped into a comic book about the distant future. With well over half a dozen different cafes, two of which are non-adjoining Starbucks in unrelated locations. This mall with its Imax, ice-skating rink, multiple hair salons, massage parlors, dozens of restaurants, and myriad outlets top range outlets, well towered over my parents’ hometown’s entire economy.

There was a time when the US was the most modern place for the convenience it offered in the 60s and 70s with its drive through banks and burger joints. And Japan had a turn to with vending machines and proto-robots, but China has moved into the first position leaving its rivals far behind. To quote Levar Burton in A Reading Rainbow, “But you don’t have to take my word for it.” Come and experience China for yourself.

What’s your experience of China? Have you visited or considered visiting?

Still stuck in the 1950's I see. The article above is about China today, 2022.

So because another chinky suck up posts another piece of brown nosing, sabang would have you believe that chinkystan isn't an authoritarian shithole where people are afraid to speak their mind.

Show me the shithole-

Originally Posted by sabang

Show me the shithole-

If you buy the fact that China is housing its poor, then you really are an idiot. Those homeless in SF are mostly losers and drug addicts, unlike China where the entire west side of the country is shut off from the media and only a few propagandists are allowed in during the summer when the sky is not completely black from coal pollution.

Originally Posted by sabang

Show me the shithole-

Sure.

RCEP agreement helps boost foreign trade among member economies: CCPIT


By Global Times Published: Jun 29, 2022 03:31 PM

"The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement has further boosted China's trade with the partnership's members, following 43,600 RCEP certificates of origin issued between January and May in 2022, which are valued at $2.08 billion, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Japan remained the top export destination for the issuance of RCEP certificates of origin by value for five consecutive months, accounting for 90 percent of the monthly value, indicating a strong pulling effect on China's exports to Japan from the implementation of the trade pact, Feng Yaoxiang, a spokesperson from CCPIT, said on Wednesday.

Feng added that China has already formed bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with many RCEP members, while China and Japan has established the first FTA through RCEP which has had an instant and significant impact on two-way trade.

The bilateral trade between China and Japan from January to May this year reached $146.54 billion, down 1.6 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

In the first five months of 2022, more than 10,000 enterprises have applied for the license. The issuance of 43,600 RCEP certificates of origin expected to reduce tariffs for RCEP members importing Chinese products by $31 million, Feng said. The exported commodities include clothing items and accessories, chemicals, plastics and corresponding products.

Feng further noted that RCEP also enriches the form of certificate of origin, diversifying the declaration methods in which exporters and producers can independently issue declarations of origin and improving the trade efficiency and convenience. "

RCEP agreement helps boost foreign trade among member economies: CCPIT - Global Times

Asia-Pacific countries should not stand under ‘dangerous wall' of NATO: Global Times editorial


By Global Times Published: Jun 28, 2022 11:51 PM

"The NATO summit kicked off on June 28 in Madrid, Spain. In the eyes of onlookers, the bloc - the product of the old Cold War - is lifting the curtain on a "new cold war." An article in Foreign Policy, published on Monday, articulated that "another, very different sort of cold war is beginning… as we will see at the NATO summit in Madrid - where the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand will join the gathering for the first time - new battle lines are being drawn that could last for generations." This somewhat pessimistic judgment reflects the international community's general concern about the current situation.

Relevant reports, almost without exception, all said that China will be listed a "challenge" for the first time in NATO's so-called new Strategic Concept. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said NATO's strategy paper would "speak in ways that are unprecedented about the challenge that China poses." But in terms of how to describe China, intense discussions are underway among NATO members.

It is said that, unlike the US and UK's radical attitude toward China, countries such as France and Germany believe that more measured and cautious terms should be used to describe China. French President Emmanuel Macron previously warned that "we shouldn't bias our relationship with China." Some diplomats from Lithuania and Portugal also expressed concerns about focusing too much on China, as NATO countries do not share a single border with China. This "fierce discussion" itself is enough to show how absurd the rhetoric of "China threatens NATO" is.

NATO has 30 member states, and their demands on interests and external attitudes cannot be the same, but Washington's strategic will is increasingly coercing and is kidnapping NATO. This makes countries that seek security guarantees by joining NATO often become vassals or pawns of Washington. In the end, their security environment will not fundamentally improve. They will face unpredictable worsening risks. In any case, NATO cannot change the nature of being a military and political bloc. Its very existence poses a threat to world peace and stability.

Mencius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, once said that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. To some extent, it can be said that NATO is the biggest "dangerous wall" in the world today.

NATO directly caused and continuously strengthened Europe's security dilemma and the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is a manifestation of its disastrous consequences. Facts have proven that the extreme pursuit of absolute security under the name of collective defense will eventually lead to confrontation between camps. In other words, NATO is by no means an antidote to Europe's security crisis, but poison. If anyone spreads such poison to East Asia, which is called "the oasis of world peace and development," the behavior is insidious and appalling.

Whatever the reason, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, especially Japan and South Korea, should not be present at the NATO summit. This is a very negative move. What can participation in this transatlantic military and political gathering with a strong Cold War characteristic and strong hostility toward China bring to these Asia-Pacific countries? What will they lose? It's not difficult to figure out.

The countries that are moving toward NATO, either actively or passively, may gain a few compliments from Washington, and make somewhat connections with the military bloc. However, the interests of Asia-Pacific countries are based on the peace and stability of the region. Catering to NATO's Asia-Pacificization is tantamount to inviting wolves into the house. It's an extremely unwise choice for any Asia-Pacific country and is bound to damage that country's strategic trust with China, inevitably leading to consequences.

The sewage of the Cold War cannot be allowed to flow into the Pacific Ocean - this should be the general consensus in the Asia-Pacific region.

If countries closely interact with NATO while intentionally or intentionally bringing Cold War into the Asia-Pacific, they will be no different to those people who insist on not driving drunk despite the fact they do. Europe's security is at a complicated impasse and all parties are still trying to find a solution. Asia-Pacific countries must learn lessons from Europe from a right angle.

In general, all tendencies shown at this NATO summit are wrong and dangerous. For Asia-Pacific countries, keeping vigilance against and opposing the Asia-Pacificization of NATO is a due task to keep their eyes open and tell right from wrong. There is no room for speculation."

Asia-Pacific countries should not stand under ‘dangerous wall' of NATO: Global Times editorial - Global Times

Originally Posted by OhOh

Asia-Pacific countries should not stand under ‘dangerous wall' of NATO: Global Times editorial

Unless they're Laos. Or Cambodia. Or Vietnam. Or....

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2022

"Xinhua News Agency:

According to reports, the first batch of Chinese emergency food aid arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday. Could you offer more details?

Zhao Lijian:

On June 28, 1,000 tonnes of rice, the first batch of Chinese emergency humanitarian aid, arrived at the Colombo International Container Terminals. The Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan officials received the shipment at the port and attended a handover ceremony. The Sri Lankan side thanked China for offering assistance at this trying time and underscored that a friend in need is a friend indeed. China’s assistance once again testifies to the ever-lasting and time-tested friendship between both sides. They said the Sri Lankan government and people will always remember the help they received.

As a traditional friend and neighbor, China has been closely following the difficulties and challenges faced by Sri Lanka and feel deeply for Sri Lanka. We have provided support to Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development to the best of our capacity. Between April and May this year, the Chinese government announced a total of RMB500 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, the largest sum of free aid the country has received so far since the economic and livelihood crisis hit. Chinese provinces, cities and businesses and the Red Cross Society of China have provided multiple batches of various types of assistance to people in Sri Lanka to improve their livelihood. China has pledged a total food donation of 10,000 metric tons of rice to Sri Lanka, which will provide daily nutritious meals to 1.1 million children in 7,900 schools across nine provinces in Sri Lanka for at least six months.

China will continue to work with Sri Lanka to overcome risks and challenges and help it emerge from the current difficulties.

Associated Press of Pakistan:

On June 29, the Karot hydropower project was put into full commercial operation. Can you share more details about it? And what is China’s comment on that?

Zhao Lijian:

Let me extend congratulations on the start of full commercial operation of the Karot Hydropower Plant.

The Karot Hydropower Plant is a priority project for energy cooperation and the first large-scale hydropower investment project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project was listed in the joint statement of the Chinese and Pakistani governments. Workers from both countries overcame difficulties and challenges together to complete the project, a process that took them seven years. With a total installed capacity of 720,000 kilowatts, the Karot Hydropower Plant will generate an average of 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which can meet the electricity demand of around five million people in the region and effectively reduce power shortage in Pakistan and improve the country’s energy structure. It is expected to save about 1.4 million tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 3.5 million tonnes per year, which will help achieve the global “carbon neutral” target and make new contributions to global climate response while promoting energy construction and economic and social development in Pakistan.
 
China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. CPEC is a key pilot project under the Belt and Road Initiative and an important platform for all-round practical cooperation between the two countries. It is guided by the concept of green, open and clean development and committed to realizing sustainable, livelihood-oriented and high-standard growth. Since its launch, cooperation in various fields under CPEC has delivered fruitful outcomes. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to renew our traditional friendship, deepen all-round practical cooperation and ensure CPEC will continue to blossom and bear more fruits and bring bilateral relations, people-to-people exchanges and economic and social development of the two countries to a new level.

Global Times:

In recent days, Chinese military’s Y-20 cargo planes arrived at Kabul International Airport, carrying with them disaster relief supplies for people in Afghanistan. Some Internet users said this contrasts sharply with what happened at this same airport in August last year, when at least two Afghans fell to their deaths from a US C-17 cargo airplane which hastily took off. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian:

I have noted relevant reports. I noticed some say that, at the same airport, one plane caused the loss of lives, while the other brought hopes. After the earthquake hit, China has acted at top speed to help Afghanistan to the best of its capacity. We have immediately provided RMB50 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to the quake-affected areas in Afghanistan. China is among the first countries that have provided the biggest and most tangible aid to Afghanistan. As of June 29, three batches of relief supplies had arrived in Afghanistan. The Chinese side is in close coordination with the interim government of Afghanistan to ensure that the relief supplies will be delivered to the people affected as soon as possible to help them pull through.
 
The US is the one that started the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Afghanistan. It is immediately responsible for the raging wars and conflicts, poverty, hunger and the people’s suffering in that country for many years. During the 20 years of US invasion in Afghanistan, over 30,000 Afghan civilians were killed and 11 million Afghans became refugees. During the same period, the US also connived at, supported and participated in the production and trade of drugs in Afghanistan. As such, the cultivation of poppy and production of opium far exceed the level before the US invasion, leading to drug proliferation in the country and seriously threatening the life and health of Afghan people. It is even more indignant that the US has, without asking the Afghan people, brazenly frozen their $7 billion life-saving money, making things even worse for them. This egregious behavior is more than outrageous. 

In the face of natural disasters and man-made calamities, the US should immediately stop chokeholding the Afghan people and return to them Afghanistan’s national assets as soon as possible. They should take concrete actions to remedy the harms they have inflicted on the Afghan people and mitigate the ongoing humanitarian disaster in that country.

Beijing Daily:

According to reports, retired US military intelligence officer Scott Bennett said that the United Nations should organize an international tribunal for American biological weapons developers whose laboratories operated in Ukraine on the basis of the evidence collected by Russia. What’s China’s comment?

Zhao Lijian:

I have noted relevant reports. We are seeing more and more people, including people in the US with inside information, raising questions about the US’s military biological activities around the globe. I have mentioned quite a few times the fact that the US conducts more such activities than any other country. It is also the only country that opposes the establishment of a verification mechanism under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). There have long been serious international concerns about the US activities conducted all over the world.

Ensuring compliance through verification is an international consensus. Biosecurity should be no exception. As one of the BWC depository states, the US is supposed to lead by example. We once again urge the US to act responsibly and provide convincing clarifications on its military biological activities in Ukraine and other places sooner rather than later. And we urge the US not to seek to gloss over or cover up its activities. The best way for the US to prove its innocence is to open its doors for international review.

The Ninth Review Conference of the BWC will be held at the end of this year. The US should take it as an opportunity to mend its ways, stop being the last country that stands stubbornly in the way of the establishment of a BWC verification mechanism, and make concrete contribution to the global biosecurity governance. This would help restore international confidence in the US’s compliance and also strengthen global biosecurity."

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2022

Originally Posted by OhOh

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2022

"Xinhua News Agency:

According to reports, the first batch of Chinese emergency food aid arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday. Could you offer more details?

Zhao Lijian:

"Yes we want to distract from the fact that we're the c u n t s responsible for them starving in the first place"

FTBFY

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