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☆ Why Qatar is unlikely to withdraw from the Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Qatar hosts Hamas’ political office, but it is also home to a 10,000-troop US military base. Experts say it is unlikely Qatar will end its mediation role. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani gives a press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Doha on Wednesday. And on Monday, Democratic US Congressman Steny Hoyer accused Qatar of “blocking” progress in the talks. The Gulf state was also a Major Non-NATO Ally, as well as key energy supplier to Western states.

Persons: Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ” Al Thani, “, ”, Anna Jacobs, “ They’ve, ” Jacobs, Daniel Shek, ” Shek, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Karim Jaafar, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Majid Al Ansari, Netanyahu, James Comer, General Merrick Garland, Steny Hoyer, Jacobs, Joe Biden, NATO Ally Organizations: UAE CNN, Foreign, United States Congress, US, Qatar, Group, CNN, ”, Qatar's, Turkish, Wednesday, Qatari, Hamas, Washington DC, Democratic, Al Udeid, Al Udeid Air Base, NATO Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Qatar, Doha, United States, Washington, Egypt, Gaza, Gulf, Brussels, Israeli, ” Qatar, Thani, AFP, Qatari, Al Udeid Air

☆ China’s Xi to host former Taiwan president in Beijing, in rare meeting echoing bygone era of warmer ties
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Nectar Gan | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Joint concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness under Xi, including toward Taiwan, are a key driver of that summit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping shakes hands with then Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou before their meeting in Singapore on November 7, 2015. Taiwan's former President Ma Ying-jeou speaks to reporters ahead of his visit to China at the Taoyuan International Airport on April 1, 2024. Ma Ying-jeou” or former chairman of the KMT, with no mention of his former role as the president of Taiwan. Reaction in TaiwanMa’s itinerary – and his meeting with Xi – has been closely watched in Taiwan.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Ma Ying, Xi, Chiang Kai, Eric Chu, Ma, ” Chu, Lai Ching, Joe Biden, Biden, Fumio Kishida, Roslan Rahman, Amanda Hsiao, “, underscoring, ’ ”, Tsai Ing, –, Lai, Lai’s, fixating, ”, ” Sung, China –, Ma’s, Hsiao, Yan Zhao, Mr, Sun, Xi –, Sung, ” Ma, James Chen Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, Kuomintang, KMT, China’s, shek’s Nationalists, –, Democratic Progressive Party, CNN Beijing, Japanese, Getty, International Crisis, Atlantic, “, Taoyuan International Airport, Communists, Nationalists, Atlantic Council, Taiwan’s Tamkang University, DPP Locations: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, Taipei, Singapore, Washington, Japan, Philippines, AFP, Taoyuan, Guangzhou, Republic of China, Shaanxi, United States, China . Washington

Boat tours around Kinmen are still operating, though under a closer watch by Taiwan’s coast guard. Officers visit each boat before they set sail and warn captains not to stray into Chinese waters. “In the past, whenever a mainland ship crossed the median line (into Taiwan’s waters), our cannons would fire toward it without warning,” Hung said. On Monday, five Chinese coast guard ships entered prohibited or restricted waters around Kinmen, but left shortly after being warned away by Taiwan’s coast guard, according to a Taiwan minister. Last week, Chinese coast guard officers boarded a Taiwanese tour boat for inspection, an unprecedented move that startled passengers on board.

Persons: ”, Hung Ho, cheng, Hung, Mao Zedong’s, Chiang Kai, John Mees, Kinmen, ” Hung, Sam Yeh, Kuan, ” Kuan, Chang, Wu Chia, chiang Organizations: Taiwan CNN —, Residents, Mao Zedong’s Communist, Nationalist, CNN, Mao’s Communist, Taiwan, Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, Tourism Association Locations: Kinmen, Taiwan, China, China’s, Beijing, It’s, Staten Island, “, Taipei, Xiamen, AFP, Taiwanese, China's Xiamen

☆ The dangerous parallels between Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine and Xi’s claims on Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Will Ripley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

What is happening is to a certain extent, an element of a civil war,” Putin claimed. The island remained a Japanese colony for half a century until the end of World War II, when it came under the control of China’s ruling Nationalist government. Today Xi is expanding China’s military at a pace the world hasn’t seen in a century – since before World War Two. Long-time China analyst Steve Tsang, author of “If China Attacks Taiwan,” once told me that Xi’s military build-up is, by comparison, larger than Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan combined. Many here in Taiwan fear it’s only a matter of time before Xi, like Putin, puts his words into action.

Persons: Taiwan CNN —, Kolas Yotaka, Tucker, Vladimir Putin, “ Putin, Xi, ”, Putin, Xi Jinping, ” Yotaka, –, Jens Stoltenberg, “, ” Stoltenberg, it’s, ” China’s, Russia –, Carlson, ” Putin, Critics, Chiang Kai, shek, ” Xi, He’s, Tsai Ing, Steve Tsang Organizations: Taiwan CNN, Taiwan Presidential, Taiwan –, NATO, Munich Security, Communist Party, Russia, Observers, Nationalist, Communists, Taiwan’s National Chengchi, Democratic Progressive Party, Taipei, Xi, Navy, Global China, Atlantic Council, Taiwan Relations Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Ukraine, Beijing, China, Russia, Soviet, Ukrainian, Soviet Union, Japan, Republic of China, Taiwan Strait, United States, Hong Kong, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Washington

☆ Shih Ming-teh, Defiant Activist for a Democratic Taiwan, Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Chris Buckley | Amy Chang Chien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shih Ming-teh, a lifelong campaigner for democracy in Taiwan who spent over two decades in prison for his cause and later started a protest movement against a president from his former party, died on Jan. 15, his 83rd birthday, in Taipei, the island’s capital. The cause was complications of an operation to remove a liver tumor, said his wife, Chia-chiun Chen Shih. Mr. Shih helped lead a pro-democracy protest in 1979 that was brutally broken up by the police and that is now viewed as a turning point in Taiwan’s journey from authoritarianism to democracy. “I was imprisoned for 25 years, and I faced the possibility of the death penalty twice, but each time I came out, I instantly plunged back into the whole effort to overthrow the Chiang family dictatorship,” Mr. Shih said in an interview with The New York Times in 2022. “I’m someone who never had a youth.”

Persons: Shih Ming, Chia, Chen Shih, Shih, Chiang Kai, shek, Chiang Ching, Chiang, ” Mr, “, ” Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Taiwan, Taipei, China

☆ Twenty killed in Sierra Leone attack and nearly 2,000 prisoners escape
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Umaru Fofana | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FREETOWN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Twenty people were killed and nearly 2,000 inmates escaped during Sunday's attack on a military barracks, a prison and other locations in Sierra Leone, officials said on Monday. The West African country was thrown into panic in the early hours when the assailants sent gunfire ringing across the capital Freetown. Some 1,890 inmates escaped from the Pademba Road central prison after the attackers broke in, according to a situation report that prison officials shared with Reuters on Monday. [1/2]Sierra Leone's Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visits the central Pademba Road prison after unidentified gunmen attacked a military barracks and the prison, following which inmates escaped, in Freetown, Sierra Leone November 27, 2023. In August 2022, at least 21 civilians and six police officers were killed in anti-government protests.

Persons: Julius Maada Bio, Issa Bangura, Shek Sulaiman Massaquoi, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Umaru, Umaru Fofana, Anait Miridzhanian, Bate Felix, Edward McAllister, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Sierra Leone Correctional Service, Sierra Leone's, REUTERS, European Union, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, Freetown, United States

☆ Cartoon elves and scrolls visualize Chinese military’s goal of Taiwan ‘reunification’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It has long vowed to “reunify” Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary. The Chinese painting "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" displayed in its entirety in the National Palace Museum Taipei on June 1, 2011. As a result, the scroll has long been seen as a living symbol of the division between China and Taiwan. Visitors look at "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" at the National Palace Museum Taipei on June 1, 2011. The “Escape from the British Museum” series “has struck a chord in people’s hearts and reflects the deep patriotic sentiments,” said one article in the state-run tabloid Global Times.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, “, Patrick lin, Huang Gongwang, —, Shi Tang, Xi Jinping, ” Xi’s, Chiang Kai, Mao Zedong’s, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Eastern Theater Command, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Communist Party, Theater Command, Palace Museum, Getty, National, Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, World Health Organization, Olympic Games, Asian, British Museum ’, British Museum, Beijing’s, Nationalist, Global Times, British Locations: Hong Kong, Taiwan Strait, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Palace Museum Taipei, AFP, Taipei, Hangzhou, China, National Palace Museum Taipei, Beijing, Ukraine, Fujian, London, Mao Zedong’s Communist, Greater China

☆ Xi says China, US 'should and must' achieve peaceful co-existence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the plenary session of the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told two US Flying Tigers veterans who fought for China during World War II that China and the US "should and must" achieve peaceful co-existence, offering further cues for both sides to lower persistent tensions. "Looking to the future, China and the United States, as two major countries, bear more important responsibilities for world peace, stability and development," Xi said. "They should and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation." Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Xi Jinping, GIANLUIGI, Harry Moyer, Mel McMullen, Xi, Chiang Kai, Han Zheng, Antony Blinken, Han, Ryan Woo, Michael Perry Organizations: Rights, US Flying Tigers, Japan, American Volunteer Group, Flying Tigers, US, shek's Kuomintang, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights BEIJING, China, United States, Republic of China

☆ Republicans Agree on Foreign Policy — When It Comes to China - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Peter Beinart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Understanding why Republicans prioritized China then helps explain why they’re prioritizing it now. Many of America’s most influential Asia Firsters — like the Time magazine publisher Henry Luce — were either the children of American missionaries in China or had served as missionaries there themselves. The John Birch Society, whose fervent and conspiratorial brand of anti-Communism foreshadowed the right-wing populism of today, took its name from an Army captain and former missionary killed by Chinese communists at the end of World War II. It boasts much of the world’s economic, political and military power, which is why the Biden administration focuses on the region, too. In March, a Gallup poll found that while Democrats were 23 points more likely to consider Russia a greater enemy than China, Republicans were a whopping 64 points more likely to say the reverse.

Persons: Robert Taft, “ Mr, H, Alexander Smith, Truman, William Knowland, Joyce Mao, Chiang Kai, shek, Asia Firsters, Henry Luce —, John Birch, Biden, Mao, fixate, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping Organizations: Republican, NATO, Foreign Policy, Armed Services Committee, Nationalist, Republicans, Communist, Time, John, John Birch Society, Army, Gallup Locations: Europe, Formosa, ”, Taiwan, China, Asia, United States, Pacific, Washington, Beijing, Russia

☆ The Life and Times of China’s Pirate Queen
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( E. Lily Yu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The book opens with Shek Yeung’s husband, Cheng Yat, receiving a mortal injury. To carry out that wish, Shek Yeung negotiates a marriage to his heir, Cheung Po, with the promise of a son. Despite the fearsomeness of the historical figure, Chang-Eppig’s Shek Yeung is pensive and passive. When Shek Yeung disembowels a man, we do not see, hear, feel or smell anything. Only in the last 100 pages, when the Qing emperor’s pirate hunter, Pak Ling, becomes a credible threat, does Shek Yeung blossom into her namesake and act with vitality and resolve.

Persons: Rita Chang, Ching Shih, Cheng, Sao, Yeung, Ching, Kuang’s, Bardot, ”, Larry Feign’s, ” Rita Chang, Shek, Cheng Yat, Shek Yeung, Cheung Po, Chang, Pak Ling Organizations: AS, SEA, “ Pirates Locations: South China, Caribbean

☆ Hong Kong: One of the world's most expensive cities raises minimum wage by 32 cents
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

So when the Hong Kong government raised the minimum wage by a measly 32 cents on Monday, activists and community workers were scathing in their response. “It cannot cover basic needs in Hong Kong.”The new minimum wage now stands at 40 Hong Kong dollars ($5.1) per hour, up from the previous 37.5 Hong Kong dollars ($4.78) per hour. But Wong said this new increase will make little difference in Hong Kong, consistently ranked one of the world’s most expensive cities. The city’s median hourly wage last year was 77.4 Hong Kong dollars ($9.86), according to the Census and Statistics Department. A demonstration from the Hong Kong Women Workers Association in front of the Central Government Office on May 1, 2023.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called self-ruled Taiwan "an inalienable part of China" and said the one-China principle was an "overwhelming trend" internationally. When Taiwan temporarily averted a split with Honduras after President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022, U.S. State Department officials remained wary. The Biden administration is also keeping a close eye on tiny Belize for any cracks in its Taiwan relationship. Two U.S. officials said Washington was putting less stock in Taiwan maintaining its diplomatic allies in favor of efforts to increase its participation in international organizations. While denied a seat in the United Nations, Taiwan is a member of the WTO and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

☆ The US's B-29 bomber was more expensive than the nuclear bomb it dropped on Japan at the end of World War II
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Miguel Ortiz | We Are The Mighty | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Manhattan Project cost about $2 billion, or nearly $30 billion in 2021 dollars. The US's B-29 bomber program cost $3 billion, or just over $44.5 billion in 2021 dollars. In total, the program cost about $2 billion, or nearly $30 billion in 2021 adjusted for inflation. It was pushed through though because it was necessary for the Manhattan Project to work and the war to be won. It was also incapable of carrying and delivering the atomic bomb being developed by the Manhattan Project.

I read the book "Never Split the Difference" which felt like a detailed negotiation course. Chris Voss, the author of "Never Split the Difference," demonstrating a negotiation technique in his MasterClass. "No" is how negotiations start, not end. It was eye-opening to read that the word "no" is the start of a negotiation, not the end of it. Managing your tone of voice is one of the first things mentioned in the book.

☆ An embarrassing defeat 73 years ago is a preview of the problems China would face in an attack on Taiwan today
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Chinese Communist troops who stormed Kinmen island in October 1949 expected a quick victory. The planChinese Communist troops take prisoners at bayonet point after heavy fighting in Shanghai on May 21, 1949. Kinmen Island, 59 square miles in size and home to some 40,000 people, was essential to this plan. A model of a soldier in a bunker near the Hujingtou Battle Museum in Little Kinmen, Taiwan in April 2018. By day's end, the PLA troops who had retreated to the beaches had also surrendered.

U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if China invaded, President Joe Biden said Sunday, his clearest statement yet on the issue and one that is likely to infuriate Beijing. In a “60 Minutes” interview broadcast on CBS, Biden was asked whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan against an attack from Beijing, which claims the self-ruling island democracy as its territory. It is at least the fourth time since last year that Biden has made comments that appear to alter longtime U.S. policy on Taiwan. “The president has said this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year,” the spokesperson said, referring to comments Biden made in May. “He also made clear then that our Taiwan policy hasn’t changed.

☆ Marius Stan, 23 octombrie 2020
▼ + stars: | 2020-10-26 | by ( ) moldova.europalibera.org time to read: +7 min

A fost cea mai tânără dintre surorile Soong și și-a lăsat amprenta în mod decisiv asupra „lungului” secol XX chinez. Avem în față unul din acele destine extraordinare și o femeie considerată, la un moment dat, cel mai important om din Asia. Vreme de mai multe decenii, a fost prima doamnă a republicii conduse de liderul naționaliștilor Guomindang, autor al unificării chineze. S-a căsătorit cu acesta în pofida opoziției familiei Soong și a faptului că-i separau douăzeci și șapte de ani. În acea viziune, vechea Chină era problema și Chiang Kai-shek, „salvatorul”, era cel care trebuia s-o modernizeze.

Persons: ling, Chiang Kai - shek, - lea, Qing, Charlie Soong, . Sun, Sora, Soong Ching, Chiang Kai, shek, Charlie, Chiang Kai -, Wendell Willkie, Franklin D . Roosevelt, Hemingway Organizations: Chinez, republican, Sun, Song, Partidului Comunist, Fondatori, Civil Chinez Locations: Shanghai, New York, Asia, Chinei, comunist, Statelor Unite, Taipei, - Japonez, China, Taiwan, nipon, Statele Unite, New Jersey, Wesleyan, Connecticut, ling, Japonia, Republicii Chineze, Washington, Asia de Est, Chiang Kai - shek

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