Too concerned re Pelosi visit? -- China angered after Taiwan opens diplomatic office in Lithuania
"Xi Jinping the gambler’s greatest fear isn’t war "Putin’s War in Ukraine Is a Watershed. Time for America to Get Real. "Chomsky: Let’s Focus on Preventing Nuclear War, Rather Than Debating “Just War" "
Michael Doyle with wires Friday 19 Nov 2021 at 7:44pm
Taiwan now has a diplomatic office in Lithuania.(Reuters: Ann Wang) Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article
China says Lithuania "shall be responsible" for the consequences that come after the opening of a de facto Taiwan embassy in the European nation.
Key points:
* China says the Taiwanese office in Lithuania threatens Chinese sovereignty * The new office was opened on Thursday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius * Taiwan has offices in countries around the world, but uses the name Taipei
The Taiwan Representative Office was opened on Thursday in the capital Vilnius despite the strong condemnation from China, who claims the island of 24 million as part of its territory.
A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry on Friday said the opening of the office "undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and called for its immediate closure.
"The Chinese government expresses strong protest over and firm objection to this extremely egregious act and will take all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesperson said.
"The Lithuanian side shall be responsible for all the ensuing consequences. - "We demand that the Lithuanian side immediately correct its wrong decision." - Taiwan has offices around the world, including Australia, but uses the name of the city Taipei.
Its office in Australia is called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office while in the United Kingdom it is called the Taipei Representative Office.
The decision to use the name Taiwan in its new office in Lithuania has led to threats from Beijing over the island's attempts at independence.
"We also have this stern warning for the Taiwan authorities — seeking Taiwan independence by soliciting foreign support is a totally misguided attempt that is doomed to fail," the spokesperson said.
"There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China."
Chinese pressure has reduced Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 15.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said the opening of the office would "charter a new and promising course" for ties between it and Lithuania. - "Taiwan will cherish and promote this new friendship based on our shared values," it said. - Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the new office was part of the country's ongoing efforts to establish more relationships in the region.
Mr Landsbergis also indicated the Baltic state would consider opening its own office in Taiwan.
"We seek closer relations with the entire Asian and the Indian-Pacific Ocean region," he said.
"Lithuania opened an embassy in Australia recently, another one will open in South Korea, and also probably a representation office in Taipei in the future."
Xi Jinping Has Critics in China. They Have Paid a Steep Price.
"Xi Jinping the gambler’s greatest fear isn’t war [...]China just set its lowest target for economic growth in 30 years. It still looks ambitious"
Human rights defenders in China face arrest and lengthy detention for calling out Xi’s mistakes.
By William Nee October 14, 2022
Credit: Depositphotos
In the lead up to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on October 16, all eyes will be on one man: Xi Jinping.
To pave the way for a smooth Party Congress, the CCP has gone to extreme efforts to crack down on any sources of what it perceives as “social instability” ahead of the Congress
The protest, like all others, was quickly disrupted by authorities and mentions of it were censored online. It’s unclear as of this writing what happened to the protester, but based on the party’s usual treatment of Xi’s critics punishment is likely to be harsh.
In the hagiographic narrative of state media, China has only gone from victory to victory under the leadership of Xi Jinping. The whole party is compelled to study Xi Jinping Thought. And, as such, Xi is widely expected to take on a precedent-breaking third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party during the 20th Party Congress next week.
To be sure, over the last 10 years since Xi came to power, the Chinese government has made some limited progress. Its comprehensive power has increased, its air quality has improved, and China has made some strides in terms of climate change commitments.
But Xi Jinping has also made a series of avoidable domestic and foreign policy blunders that will undoubtedly hobble China for generations to come.
Crucially, at every turn, there have been human rights defenders who have bravely spoken out against Xi’s mistakes.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi once asserted .. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chinese-foreign-minister-berates-reporter-1.3611510 .. that it is “the Chinese people” who are in the best position “…to have a say about China’s human rights situation,” but rather than embracing constructive criticism from the Chinese people, the CCP under Xi has gone to extraordinary lengths to silence its human rights critics.
Ji was summoned by police seven times in 2022 for speaking out about the real life, disastrous impacts of Xi’s “zero-COVID” strategy that he saw all around him in Shanghai.
Most economists now think the “zero-COVID” policy has been severely detrimental for the Chinese economy, with the World Bank lowering .. shorturl.at/bcuK3 .. its forecast for Chinese growth from 5 percent down to 2.8 percent. Some observers think the economic crisis is so bad .. shorturl.at/CFGHN .. that China is no longer expected to overtake the United States as the largest economy.
But it’s not just economic mismanagement where Xi’s reign has been damaging. Take the case of the rule of law, as epitomized by Li Yuhan.
Li, has been stuck in pre-trial detention for nearly five years. She suffers from seven serious medical issues, including heart disease. The 65-year-old woman has been forced to eat vegetables on pans that other inmates at her detention center have urinated on.
But Li Yuhan is not some sort of hardcore criminal: She was just a lawyer doing her job.
Li had defended fellow human rights lawyer Wang Yu, whose surprising arrest on July 9 of 2015 kicked off the Chinese government’s then-unprecedented nationwide campaign to detain and silence nearly 300 legal professionals, in what was latter dubbed the 709 Crackdown.
In essence, the 709 Crackdown showcased one of Xi Jinping’s greatest mistakes:his choice to not follow a rule-of-law based system.Xi could have chosen to make China more compliant with international human rights law, in which the law holds power, including political parties, accountable.
[Gee. Trump and Xi are really much alike.]
Instead, rather than putting “power in a cage .. http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201301/23/WS5a2f8496a3108bc8c6725278.html ,” as Xi suggested early in his term, he chose to consolidate a system in which “law” serves mainly to entrench CCP power, and by extension, his personal power. As party documents euphemistically put it, “socialist rule of law must uphold the party’s leadership.”
Human rights lawyer Wang Yu’s treatment is also instructive. Wang had once served as lawyer for Ilham Tohti, an economist and arguably the most famous Uyghur intellectual at the time who was dedicated to increasing mutual understanding between the dominant Han Chinese and Uyghurs. Wang represented the willingness of Han people to protect the rights of everyone, including Uyghurs.
Ilham Tohti’s persecution and life sentence in 2014 foreshadowed Xi’s eventual descent into committing a series of dreadful abuses against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities that have shaped the course of history.
On August 31, the United Nations released its assessment .. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/2022-08-31/22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf ... of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, which noted that the Chinese government “may be committing crimes against humanity.” The report also pointed out that none of the Uyghurs interviewed by the U.N. who were deprived of liberty and placed in “re-education camps” had access to lawyers of their choice.
Indeed, to the best of CHRD’s knowledge, no Uyghur intellectuals since Ilham Tohti have had access to any lawyers of their choice, in defiance of China’s own Criminal Procedure Law and Constitution.
The lawless nature of raw party power in Xinjiang obviously makes a mockery out of Xi’s notion of China being “ruled according to the law.”
Thus, to some extent, Xi’s crackdown on human right defenders, particularly the legal community, paved the way for his making mistakes of enormous historical consequences in Xinjiang, where the widespread crimes against humanity, including the likelihood of forced labor, would inevitably fracture relations with the West and have an impact on China’s positions in global supply chains.
Moreover, how will millions of Uyghurs, who were detained extrajudicially and subjected to unspeakable abuses, including torture and rape, feel about the people who detained and tortured them? How will the Uyghur generations to come process these horrors?
Rather than listening to well-meaning criticism from moderate intellectuals like Ilham Tohti, and resolving contentious issues through dialogue, Xi has subjected millions to deprivation of liberty, violence, surveillance, and coercion. Xi has deepened the grievances that fuel ethnic conflict and exacerbated a problem that future generations of Chinese leaders will be dealing with long after he has left the scene.
What might have happened if Xi had listened to people like Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who were advocates for a democratic China based on the rule of law? It’s possible there would have been a much greater degree of true ethnic harmony, and a less fractured relationship with Western countries. Unfortunately, however, Xu and Ding are languishing in detention after being subjected to secret trials.
At the 20th Party Congress, the world will likely witness a literal “yi yan tang,” a hall in which only one voice is effectively permitted to speak: the voice of Xi Jinping. The CCP has created an incentive structure in which sycophantic “yes men” only repeat the “thoughts” of the idiosyncratic dictator to prove their loyalty.
This is group think by design and could lead to even greater policy disasters.
For the CCP to course correct and recover its famed dynamism, it could start by actually listening to the “Chinese people,” particularly China’s brave human rights defenders.
Authors Guest Author William Nee is the research and advocacy coordinator for the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).
Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd appointed ambassador to the US
"Xi Jinping the gambler’s greatest fear isn’t war P - "Putin’s War in Ukraine Is a Watershed. Time for America to Get Real. "Chomsky: Let’s Focus on Preventing Nuclear War, Rather Than Debating “Just War" P - Rudd is a former Australian PM. Speaks Chinese and is a considered China expert .. he gets some plaudits near bottom here .. AUSTRALIAN election soon. At this gravest of times the Coalition has served up an election budget designed simply to keep itself in power https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=168377534 By Kevin Rudd March 26, 2022 — 8.30am "
Related:
Thankfully no. Labor's win no surprise. As Trump's character caught up to him, so did Morrison's. Unity and optimism beat fear and division. Women's issues. Gender differences. Climate. Played important roles. Humility edged arrogance aside. P - "Was this a surprise?... AUSTRALIA OUSTS PM SCOTT MORRISON, ENDING YEARS OF CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP" https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=168934733
Aussie conservatives have moved too far right too. Turnbull encourages voters to back independents to ‘thwart’ Liberal factions P - "AUSTRALIAN election soon. At this gravest of times the Coalition has served up an election budget designed simply to keep itself in power" https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=168766962
Anthony Albanese told reporters the appointment would be seen within the US as a significant one
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has been appointed ambassador to the US. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Tue 20 Dec 2022 11.48 AEDT First published on Tue 20 Dec 2022 11.07 AEDT
The prime minister made the announcement in Canberra on Tuesday, confirming months of speculation that Rudd was a frontrunner for Australia’s key diplomatic post in Washington DC.
Albanese said Australia would be well served with a representative of Rudd’s standing “at a time when our region is being reshaped by strategic competition” between the US and China.
Albanese told reporters the appointment would be seen within the US as a “very significant” one, given Rudd’s stature as a former prime minister and former foreign affairs minister. Albanese also cited Rudd’s extensive contacts in the US.
In recent years, Rudd has served as global president and chief executive of the international relations institute the Asia Society.
On Tuesday, Albanese was asked about the previous criticisms of Rudd levelled by some of his Labor party colleagues during the internal upheaval during its last term of government – including descriptions of him as a micromanager.
Albanese responded by saying Rudd was “an outstanding appointment” who brought “a great deal of credit to Australia by agreeing to take up this position”.
Albanese added that Rudd would be “a major asset” to assist the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
“I am very pleased that Kevin Rudd is prepared to do this. He’s doing it out of a part of what he sees as his service obligation to the country that he loves – and I am sure that he will serve very well.”
Rudd ‘greatly honoured’
Rudd said on Tuesday he was “greatly honoured” by the government’s decision to nominate him as the next ambassador.
In a statement, Rudd said Australia faced its most challenging security and diplomatic environment for decades, and its national interest would be served by “the deepest and most effective strategic engagement of the United States in our region”.
Despite his past criticism of Republicans .. https://twitter.com/MrKRudd/status/1498426251026989057 .. who wanted to “avoid upsetting Trump”, Rudd said he had had the pleasure over the past decade of “building relationships with Republicans and Democrats across politics”.
He said he looked forward to “strengthening the bonds between our two countries”.
Rudd replaces the former Liberal minister Arthur Sinodinos, who is due to complete his term as ambassador to the US early next year.
Albanese, who is personally close to Rudd, briefly served as his deputy prime minister after Julia Gillard was ousted as prime minister shortly before the 2013 election that the Coalition went on to win.
The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, did not criticise Rudd’s appointment, but noted Albanese had “personally chosen a friend and confidant” for the position.
“Above all else, the Coalition looks to Mr Rudd and all of the new appointments to deliver on Australia’s national interests first and foremost,” Birmingham said.
Rudd’s potential appointment as ambassador has been the subject of renewed speculation over the past few months, after the claims were dismissed before the election.
US asks Australia for extradition of former Marines pilot Daniel Duggan [-- excerpt outed here .. He faces four US charges, including conspiracy to export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violating the Arms Export Control Act. P - Duggan is now an Australian citizen who had been working in China since 2014 and renounced his US citizenship in 2017. P - Days before his arrest, the UK said it is changing its national security law to stop former military pilots working with a South African flying school to train Chinese pilots.] Read more > https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/17/us-asks-australia-for-extradition-of-former-marines-pilot-daniel-duggan
That report prompted Albanese to say he had had “no discussions about anyone being an ambassador to any place” and the story was “complete nonsense” – but he did not rule out appointing Rudd.
At the time, Rudd had also branded that claim as “total garbage” and said he had sent a letter to “the toothless Australian Press Council” seeking a correction and apology from the Australian.
The government announced a range of other diplomatic appointments on Tuesday, including the former Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout as Australia’s consul general in New York.
The outgoing ambassador to Zimbabwe, Bronte Moules, will take up the newly created position of Australian ambassador for human rights.
Wong said the appointments aimed to “restore Australia’s commitment to human rights around the world”.
Six career diplomats were also named as ambassadors or high commissioners to Brazil, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe, Croatia and the Cook Islands.
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