Tag Archives: Beijing

China pushes Common Development Vision over 10 Pacific Nations

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • China wants 10 Pacific nations to endorse sweeping agreement
  • China wants 10 small Pacific nations to endorse a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries in what one leader warns is a “game-changing” bid by Beijing to wrest control of the region
  • Wang is visiting seven of the countries he hopes will endorse the “Common Development Vision” — the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea
  • Micronesia’s President David Panuelo has written an eight-page letter… warning the agreement opens the door for China to own and control the region’s fisheries and communications infrastructure. He said China could intercept emails and listen in on phone calls.
  • “an intent to shift those of us with diplomatic relations with China very close to Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them.”
  • This comes after China signed a separate security pact with the Solomon Islands last month.

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Chinese government agents spy on and harass U.S. residents

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Five people charged with acting as Chinese government agents to spy on and harass U.S. residents critical of Beijing
  • The five defendants are accused of aiding the Chinese government’s efforts to harass, stalk and surveil Chinese nationals living in Queens and elsewhere in the United States.
  • In another case, the defendants are accused of crimes including planning to destroy the artwork of a Chinese national living in Los Angeles who has criticized the Chinese government.
  • In a third case, a former Chinese scholar who helped start a pro-democracy organization in Queens is charged with using his position within New York City’s Chinese community to collect information about prominent activists, dissidents and human rights leaders and provide it to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), a civilian intelligence and secret police agency responsible for political security.

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China sends 13 jets into Taiwan’s defense zone

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Taiwan Scrambles Jets as 13 Chinese Aircraft Enter Air Defense Zone
  • Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949, but Beijing sees it as a breakaway province. China has repeatedly condemned US assistance to the government in Taipei as interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
  • Speculation has increased among some Western politicians and analysts that China could undertake a similar step against Taiwan.

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China expanding dominance by increasing defense spending and encroaching into neighboring economic zones

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • All eyes on Ukraine, China flexes in South China Sea
  • Beijing warns regional states against ‘external interference’ in disputes while announcing military drills in Vietnam’s claimed EEZ
  • Beijing announced that it will increase its defense spending by 7.1%
  • This brings official Chinese defense spending to $229 billion, a whopping figure dwarfing all other regional rivals’ defense budgets combined and second only to the United States globally.
  • Meanwhile, there are growing indications that China has stepped up… deep-sea exploration activities across the South China Sea and well into the EEZ of neighboring states, in a clear bid to lay claim to and dominate precious resources in the area.
  • Taiwan, which has been repeatedly threatened with a potential military invasion by top Chinese leaders, has been on high-alert mode.

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Beijing concerned about civilian casualties but vowed to continue normal trade with Russia

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • China considers buying stakes in Russian energy, commodity firms
  • China is considering buying or increasing stakes in Russian energy and commodities companies, such as gas giant Gazprom PJSC and aluminum producer United Co. Rusal International PJSC, according to people familiar with the matter.
  • Any deal would be to bolster China’s imports as it intensifies its focus on energy and food security — not as a show of support for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine — the people said.
  • Worried about the impact surging prices will have on the economy, China’s top government officials issued orders to prioritize commodities supply security, Bloomberg reported last week.

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Steve Gray: Beijing will be Primary Beneficiary of Russia Sanctions

Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Important Takeaways:

  • China is ‘big winner’ of Russia-Ukraine war, former FBI agent who worked in China warns
  • “They’ll be the primary beneficiary of the sanctions against Russia, the yen will benefit from the decline of the ruble, and they have been given a case study of what the world’s response would look like if they were to invade Taiwan.”
  • “It would not be surprising at all to learn that this is shaping up exactly as China planned,” Gray, who spent 10 years working as a supervisory special agent focused on China and North Korea, added.
  • “From my experience as an FBI supervisory special agent working on China and North Korea, I know that the Chinese Communist Party is perpetually and patiently planning to take our place as global leaders,” he warned. “As Americans, we need to be cognizant of this threat.”
  • Although European countries have joined the U.S. in imposing hefty sanctions on Russia amid the Ukraine war, they have mostly spared Russia’s energy industry of such economic warfare, because much of Europe is dependent on Russia for energy.

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Taiwan and China are gauging America’s response in the Ukraine crisis

Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Taiwan watching Ukraine crisis with ‘concern and anxiety,’ says top diplomat in U.S.
  • Taipei’s representative in Washington, Bi-khim Hsiao, said “Like everyone else in the world, we are watching the situation with much concern and anxiety,” she said. “We certainly hope that the situation can be resolved peacefully through diplomatic means.
  • Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, said last month that her nation “empathized” with the plight of Ukrainians because of the military threat Taiwan faces from its powerful larger neighbor. She ordered the creation of a task force to study how tensions between Russia and Ukraine could affect Taiwan’s own long-running conflict with Beijing.
  • Former U.S. officials say China will gauge the U.S. response to Russia as a possible guide to how Washington might counter a crisis over Taiwan.
  • Hsiao said China has tried to wear down Taipei through pressure tactics, bullying and disinformation that stops short of outright military action, in what her government calls “gray zone warfare.”
  • “The Chinese have also been launching cyberattacks, disinformation, cognitive and psychological warfare on the people of Taiwan, aimed at weakening our resolve to our self-defense and also trying to sow divisions within our society,” Hsiao said.
  • Governments that have refused to sever ties with Taiwan or that have criticized Beijing have faced economic retaliation from China, including those of Lithuania and Australia, she said. Democratic countries need to rally, she said, and show China that Beijing’s “coercion” will not succeed.

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China uses Olympics to share future of undisputed power

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Important Takeaways:

  • As Olympics begin, Beijing projects ‘shared future’ of undisputed Chinese power
  • China’s motto of coming “together for a shared future” during the hardships of pandemic — an echo of President Xi Jinping’s political philosophy of building a “community with a shared future for mankind”
  • [Narrative] has been countered by U.S.-led diplomatic boycotts that seek to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for human rights abuses, military aggression and ascendant nationalism during Xi’s rule
  • Coronavirus-constraining “closed loop” of designated buses and hotels has made it impossible for most Beijing residents to take part in the events.
  • China itself has used the Olympics to promote its political vision; underscore its claims of ownership over Taiwan
  • Xinhua News Agency wrote, “Ensuring the Beijing Winter Olympics were held on schedule demonstrates the significant advantages of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and is a bold declaration that no force can stop the Chinese people from realizing their dreams.”

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Beijing’s agents ‘more brazen, more dangerous’ than ever before, bureau head says

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Important Takeaways:

  • FBI chief Wray: China engaged in large-scale hacking operations targeting U.S. tech
  • Mr. Wray argued Beijing is using its global reach and market power “to steal and threaten, rather than to cooperate and build.”
  • “That theft, those threats, are happening right here in America, literally every day,” he said.
  • The threat is not just economic, as it also poses a challenge to American freedom, the FBI chief said.
  • He noted that there are more than 2,000 FBI investigations focused on Chinese efforts to steal U.S. information and technology
  • The Chinese government steals staggering volumes of information and causes deep, job-destroying damage across a wide range of industries, so much so that we’re constantly opening new cases to counter their intelligence operations about every 12 hours.”

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Lithuanian diplomats leave China as relations sour over Taiwan

By Yew Lun Tian and Andrius Sytas

BEIJING/VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania’s diplomatic delegation to China left the country on Wednesday in a hastily arranged exit, diplomatic sources said, as relations soured further over Taiwan, which opened a de facto embassy in Vilnius last month.

Beijing, which has stepped up pressure on countries to sever relations with the island, downgraded diplomatic ties with Lithuania in November after Taiwan opened a representative office in the Baltic state’s capital.

Lithuanian authorities said on Wednesday they had summoned their top diplomat back from China for “consultations” and that the embassy would operate remotely for the time being.

A diplomatic source told Reuters a group of 19 people comprising embassy personnel and dependents left Beijing en route to Paris. Another diplomatic source familiar with the situation called their departure a response to “intimidation”.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Like most countries, Lithuania – a European Union member state – has formal relations with China and not self-ruled and democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as its territory.

Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said there was uncertainty over the legal status of Lithuanian diplomats in China before their departure.

He told Reuters earlier that China had demanded Lithuania change the status of its Beijing embassy into a lesser charge d’affaires office. This would have mirrored the change China made to its own legation in Vilnius in response to the opening of Lithuania’s Taipei office..

Taiwan’s foreign ministry voiced its “highest respect to the Lithuanian government and its diplomatic decision-making” on Wednesday, and called on Taiwanese companies to support closer economic ties with the small Baltic republic.

Lithuania’s ruling coalition agreed a year ago to back what it described as “those fighting for freedom” in Taiwan.

On Wednesday the Lithuanian embassy building in a gated Beijing compound appeared empty. No one answered a knock on the door or telephone call. A photograph taken a day earlier showed two bouquets of flowers at the front door.

Lithuania had recalled its ambassador in September, several weeks after China demanded the envoy’s withdrawal and said it was recalling its envoy from Vilnius.

The United States has spoken out in support of Lithuania during its row with China, adding to U.S.-Chinese tensions.

Lithuania’s foreign ministry said it was ready to continue a dialogue with China and restore the functions of the embassy once a mutually beneficial agreement has been reached.

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian and Andrius Sytas; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by David Goodman, Andrew Heavens and Mark Heinrich)