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☆ Taiwan on alert over 'waves' of missile tests in north China
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Saturday it was monitoring "waves" of missile tests taking place in China's far northern region of Inner Mongolia and that its air defense forces were on alert. Taiwan's forces are continuously monitoring developments and the air defense forces are on alert, the ministry said, without giving details. China's defense ministry did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours. Taiwan operates powerful radar stations on some of the peaks of its central mountain range that can look far into China, according to security sources. China detests Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, calling him a "separatist", and has increased its military pressure including war games since his inauguration.

Persons: Nancy Pelosi, Lai Ching, Lai Organizations: Peoples, China's, Force, U.S . House, Taiwan Locations: Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, China's, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan, China, Taipei

☆ China’s ‘military readiness’ questioned with dramatic downfall of two defense ministers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

At the height of their careers, former defense ministers Li and Wei often struck a tough tone before the world’s top military officials. Former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe have both been expelled from the Communist Party over corruption allegations. Most of the generals dismissed or disappeared without explanation last year were linked to the Rocket Force or military equipment, including Li and Wei. An engineer by training, the 66-year-old spent decades launching rockets and satellites in southwest China before being promoted to the PLA headquarters to deal with military equipment procurement. “The gun barrel must always be held in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the party,” Xi told the PLA elites.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Xi, Li Shangfu, Wei Fenghe, Xi Jinping, Li, Wei, “, James Char, ”, Former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu, Wei’s, Joel Wuthnow, ” Wuthnow, ” Char, Weidong, Char, Jason Lee, Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, Xu, Guo, Wuthnow, Jiang Zemin, haven’t, ” Wei, Li “, Bill Bishop, ” Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Former Defense Ministers, AP, Reuters, Rocket Force, Development Department, Second Artillery Corps, Pentagon, National Defense University, CCP, China’s Naval University of Engineering, Central Military Commission, Military, People's, CMC, Communist Locations: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States, Singapore, People's Republic of China, Beijing, Yan’an

☆ Saudi Arabia is seeking billions in Chinese investment for Neom. But it comes with a massive risk.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewAt a recent exhibition in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia showcased its futuristic vision for its planned Neom megacity. It was part of Saudi Arabia's drive to secure billions in new investment for the project, which is the centerpiece of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 strategy. China sees Saudi Arabia as not just a business opportunity but a way of undercutting the influence of its longtime Saudi ally, the US. AdvertisementIn April, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund-subsidiary Alat signed a deal with Dahua Technology, one of China's most important surveillance technology firms. "The main risk today to Saudi Arabia's tech cooperation with China is the growing China-US tech war.

Persons: —, Mohammed bin Salman's, Xi Jinping, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Yue Yuewei, Leonard Chan, Robert Mogielnicki, Abdullah Al, Crown Prince Mohammed, Alat, GREG BAKER, Camille Lons, Neom that's, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's, Biden Organizations: Service, Business, Saudi, Saudi Crown Prince, Getty, Hong Kong Innovative Technology Development Association, Gulf States Institute, Crown, Public Investment Fund, Dahua Technology, US, European Council, Foreign Relations, Saudi Arabian Crown, New York Times Locations: Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Riyadh, Xinhua, China, Washington, Neom, Riyadh Tower, Beijing, Israel

☆ Tiananmen Square: How journalists smuggled out the iconic ‘Tank Man’ photo
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Mike Chinoy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The photo and footage of the so-called “tank man” became the defining image of the Tiananmen Square crackdown whose 35th anniversary passed on Tuesday. People hold candles at a vigil in Hong Kong to mark the Tiananmen Square anniversary on June 4, 2017. Jeff Widener/AP“I’m biking towards the Beijing Hotel and there’s just debris and charred buses on the ground,” he said. It went out.”A student protester before a burning armored personnel carrier that rammed through student lines, injuring many during an attack on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on June 4, 1989. Several media outlets took a photo of “Tank Man,” but Widener’s shot was the most used.

Persons: Mike Chinoy, ”, Isaac Lawrence, Jeff Widener, Chinoy, Liu Heung, Widener, ‘, Kirk Martsen –, Jonathan Schaer, He’d, “, ” Schaer, “ I’m, ” Jeff Widener's, I’m, ” Liu, Liu, didn’t, ” Widener Organizations: University of Southern, China Institute, CNN, American Journalists, Chinese Communist Party, Getty, Associated Press, AP, of, People, Beijing, Widener, Sony Locations: University of Southern California’s US, Beijing, Asia, China, People’s Republic, Hong Kong, British, AFP, CNN’s Beijing, –, Bangkok, CNN’s, Tiananmen Square, Beijing –

☆ Hong Kong arrests six for social media posts in first use of new local national security law
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Hong Kong police have made their first arrests under a newly passed local national security law over social media posts deemed “seditious” by authorities. “Those who intend to endanger national security should not have the delusion that they can avoid police investigation by going anonymous online,” the statement added. The arrests marked the first time Hong Kong’s own national security law had been invoked since it was unanimously passed by the city’s opposition-free legislature in March. The legislation introduces 39 new national security crimes, adding to an already powerful national security law that was directly imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before. The local national security legislation covers a raft of new crimes including treason, espionage, external interference and unlawful handling of state secrets, with the most serious offenses punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Persons: netizens, “, Hong, John Lee, Lee Organizations: CNN, Hong, police Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, China

☆ Zhongnanhai: The scenic garden that became China’s secretive seat of power
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Jonathan Chatwin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

As the seat of power, Zhongnanhai is often thought of as China’s equivalent to the White House, or the Kremlin. Architectural changesThere have been serious revisions to the architecture of Zhongnanhai since the end of imperial rule in 1912. Having re-established Zhongnanhai as a center of political power in the new China, Mao set about rebuilding the compound according to his tastes. “It was here,” noted Aldrich, “with the background trappings of a scholar, that he met Nixon and Kissinger in 1972.”Most subsequent leaders have preferred to keep a house outside the Zhongnanhai compound. However, the compound hasn’t always been so forbidden for the masses following the collapse of China’s imperial dynasty.

Persons: Jonathan Chatwin, “, Deng Xiaoping, Leung Chun, Xi Jinping, Simon Song, Xi Jinping’s, Ming, Geremie Barmé, Qianlong, Feng Li, ” Linda Jaivin, ”, Dowager Cixi, Zhongnanhai, Cixi, Dowager, M, Aldrich, Mao Zedong, ” Aldrich, China’s, Yuan Shikai, Yuan Shikai ‘, William Lewisohn, Xinhuamen, William Cooper, —, Qianlong Emperor, Yuan, Invincible Mao, — Mao, Kangxi, Mao, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi, Zhang Wentian, Nikita Khrushchev, Khrushchev, Nixon, Kissinger, Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Newscom Aldrich, Mao’s, Li Zhisui, Xi, Chicago's Walter, Hu Yaobang, Gong, “ Heck Organizations: CNN, Bell, Communist Party, CCP, White, Hong, China Morning, University of Bristol Library, Great Communist Party of China, ”, Shuangqing Villa, Alamy, State Council, China’s Politburo, Huairen, Chicago's Walter Payton College Preparatory, New York Times, Zhongnanhai, Bloomberg Locations: Modern China, Prospect, Tiananmen, Hong Kong, Zhongnanhai, City, China, Beijing, “, People’s Republic, New China, Arlington, Peking, Xinjiang, Russian, Beihai, Beijing’s, Huairen, Qinzheng Hall

☆ Opinion | The Real Danger if Trump Is Reelected
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Jacob Heilbrunn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump may be regularly depicted as an impetuous toddler in chief, but he appears to possess genuine convictions about international relations. This impulse is not a new phenomenon for the United States; it dates back to World War I and World War II, when leading American conservatives praised foreign autocrats such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco as their ideological comrades in arms. During his four years in office, Mr. Trump blustered about alliances and praised foreign dictators but never actually upended America’s foreign policy. That could change in a second Trump administration. It would convert America from a dominant economic and military power into what Mr. Trump purports to abhor — a global loser.

Persons: Donald Trump, Mikhail Gorbachev, Trump, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Trump’s Organizations: Playboy, Communist, America, NATO Locations: Soviet, United States

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants to work with countries like China with “influence on Russia” as his country faces a renewed Moscow offensive, urging Beijing to attend peace talks next month. Ahead of expected peace talks in Switzerland next month, Xi has called for negotiations that take both sides’ positions into account. Engaging global players like China is crucial because “they have influence on Russia, and the more such countries we have on our side… the more Russia will have to move and [more countries] to reckon with,” Zelensky said. Zelensky said he would like to see China at the international talks in Switzerland next month, aimed at paving the way for a peace process in Ukraine. Russia has not been represented at any of the four rounds of closed-door international peace talks that have taken place so far, and will not be at this one.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia ”, Zelensky, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin’s, Russia’s, Xi, ” Zelensky, Viola Amherd, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylov, Switzerland Wang Shihting, Emmanuel Macron, Emmanuel Organizations: CNN, Beijing, AFP, Reuters, of, Getty, French Locations: China, Russia, Moscow, Beijing, Switzerland, Zelensky, Ukraine, Tiananmen, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Paris

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin heaps praise on Xi while in China; Russia says forces advancing 'in all directions' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's national flag flies beside the Chinese flag in front of Tiananmen Gate next to Tiananmen Square, during the state visit of Russia's president Vladimir Putin in Beijing on May 16, 2024. Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations' ties as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world as they met May 16 in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praise on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the start of a two-day state visit to China. He said both countries were working for a "multipolar world" and that many of their approaches to global or regional problems were similar. Putin thanked China for its efforts in trying to solve the Ukraine "crisis" and said he would brief Xi on the battlefield situation, with Russia claiming that its forces are advancing in all directions in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin Organizations: Russia's Defense Locations: Beijing, Ukraine, Russian, China, Russia, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Chinese asylum seekers in New York City live in limbo, caught between China and the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Tara John | Yong Xiong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

It was his only day off from working 12-hour shifts at a Chinese restaurant in New York City. Evelio Contreras/CNNAfter arriving in New York, Ye spent a week in a Manhattan shelter. For Chinese asylum seekers like Ye, there is a well-trodden route to residency in the US. … It’s impossible for them to be spies.”But the rhetoric around the rise of undocumented Chinese migrants highlights growing tensions between the US and Chinese governments. He received permanent US residence a year later and has gone on to help Chinese migrants in Flushing.

Persons: Ye Chengxiang, “, ”, Ye, Evelio Contreras, Amy Hsin, Jiang Zhen, Yong Xiong, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mark Green of, Wan Yanhai, …, Jiang, “ It’s, I’m, Melanie Stetson Freeman, ’ Wan, Flushing . Li Jiada, Li Jiada, Jesus, Li Organizations: NY CNN, Central America, CNN, Queens College, Customs and, Embassy, Central, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China, Republicans, Republican, House Homeland Security Committee, Communist Party, Christian Science, Customs Enforcement, of, Yorker Locations: Flushing, NY, New York City, China, Communist, Ye, States, Colombia, Darien, South, Central, New York, Manhattan, Flushing’s, Sunset, Mexico, Central America, Queens, Hunan province, Guangdong, Chinatown, , Flushing , New York, San Francisco, Mark Green of Tennessee, Beijing, Flushing ., Flushing , Queens

☆ Nicholas Kristof says press ‘shouldn’t be neutral’ with coverage of Trump’s threats to democracy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The American press, he writes in clear-eyed terms, “shouldn’t be neutral about upholding democracy” and must not “dispassionately observe our way to authoritarianism.”We spoke with Kristof over email for a Q&A about this and more. This is strange for a pundit to admit, but I think there’s too much punditry in journalism today and not enough reporting. … We journalists shouldn’t dispassionately observe our way to authoritarianism; we shouldn’t be neutral about upholding democracy.” Do you believe your colleagues in the press are as clear-eyed about this as you are? I believe that journalism — along with law and the civil service — restrained the Trump presidency and is a force for civilization and democracy. He believed it and I believe it, and that is why I say that journalism is an act of hope.

Persons: Nicholas Kristof, “, Kristof, Gray Lady, Donald Trump, ”, James Bond, scoff, I’ve, That’s, It’s, I’m, we’re, aren’t, it’s, William Safire, shouldn’t, Joe McCarthy, Edward R, Murrow, McCarthy, Martin Luther King Jr, George Wallace, Jim Crow, Trump, Joe Kahn, — that’s, Will, Let’s, — Organizations: New York CNN, New York Times, The New York Times, Times, Trump, Endowment, Arts, CNN, State Security, State, “ Locations: New York, Congo, Iraq, Syria, Aleppo, America, Washington, China, —, Oregon, U.S, Gaza, Russia

☆ Apple, Tesla and Starbucks struggle in China’s economic slump after making a fortune for decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —For decades, Western companies made a fortune betting on the inexorable rise of the Chinese consumer. Now an economic slump and the emergence of ferocious local competitors means those bets look less safe as price wars erupt. Tesla’s China market share shrank to 4% in April, almost halving from 7.7% in March, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association on Friday. In the 1990s, “every company in the West” was hiring consultants and having boardroom meetings about how to do more in China, according to Stevenson-Yang. He added that he continues to feel optimistic about the Chinese market in the long term.

Persons: ”, Anne Stevenson, Yang, Stevenson, aren’t, Yang Wang, Kevin Frayer, Tim Cook, iPhones, Cotti, Luckin, Belinda Wong, “, McDonald’s, Wallace Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Passenger Car Association, J Capital Research, EV, Apple, Starbucks, Counterpoint Research, Macao —, Huawei, China Academy of Information, Communications Technology, Luckin Coffee, McDonalds, KFC, Burger Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, United States, Germany, Brazil, Beijing, Greater China, Taiwan, Macao, Starbucks China, Dominos, India

☆ China has a lot more missiles — with US warships and bases in its sights
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

American warships and bases in the Pacific are within reach of an increasingly worrying threat, a missile force unlike anything the US has faced in combat. With these missiles, China is signaling that it could attack US bases and ships in the region with little to no warning, Clark said. TK Department of DefenseThere's a lot more to the Chinese Rocket Force than these weapons, though. AdvertisementThat said, the US and its allies can't afford to assume the Rocket Force won't be ready should conflict come. In other words, how the US prepares itself and adapts to the Chinese Rocket Force gives it the best shot at avoiding a fight altogether.

Persons: China's, Andersen, Thomas Shugart, Bryan Clark, John Aquilino, Kevin Frayer, Harry Harris, Harris, Clark, Shugart, Gerald R, Kendall Warner, Byrd, US Defense Department Harris, Robert Peters, Peters, Ronald Reagan, Andrea Rosembert, Cpl, Ryan Little, Charles Flynn, I'm, Flynn, it's, Andy Wong Organizations: Business, Army Rocket Force, Pentagon, China's Rocket Force, Department of Defense TK Department of Defense, Center, New, New American Security, US Navy, PLA, Hudson Institute, Pacific Command, People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, Eastern Theater Command, People's Liberation Army PLA, Getty, Rocket Force, Liberation, TK Department of Defense, Chinese Rocket Force, US Defense Department, Ford, Virginian, Tribune, Service, Japan, Self, Defense Force, Misawa Air Base, Pacific, US, Defense, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, Army, Heritage Foundation, Aegis, Guam, Area, Ronald, Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense, Department of Defense, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Andersen Air Force Base, Marine, Combat, US Army Pacific, Stealth, Force, Military Locations: Beijing, China, American, Guam, South, Washington, Japan, New American, People's Republic of China, South Korea, Taiwan, South China, AFP, U.S, Marshall, Pearl, Pacific, PLARF, Tiananmen

☆ Op-ed: The effusive China tour is a failing playbook for Apple, Tim Cook, and every CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Dewardric L. Mcneal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

This ritual, epitomized by high-profile engagements — such as Apple CEO Tim Cook's effusive overtures and statements of commitments to China — signals that American corporate titans think the strategy can still work. Tim Cook's narrative of China as "critical" to Apple , coupled with his admiration for the country's advanced manufacturing capabilities, embodies the ethos of this engagement playbook. Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook attends the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24, 2024. It's not that the Apple CEO is doing anything wrong. Chinese Apple superfans jostled to enter the smartphone maker's newest store as it opened on March 21 night.

Persons: Tim Cook's, Tim Cook, Pedro Pardo, Jim McNerney, Xi Jinping's, Mark Zuckerberg, Deirdre O'Brien, Strstr, Xi, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang Organizations: Apple, American, titans, U.S, Apple's, China Development Forum, AFP, Getty, Boeing, Airbus, Volkswagen, Qualcomm, Google, Facebook, Huawei, Afp Locations: China, Beijing, Weibo, Shanghai

☆ Opinion: The dangers in leaving TikTok at Beijing’s disposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For many of the 170 million TikTok users in the United States, Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives to effectively ban the social media platform is worrisome. That’s just one reason why it’s laughable to hear China’s foreign ministry claim that the TikTok bill would disrupt market operations and undermine investor confidence. Most of the world’s most popular social media apps, incidentally, are banned in China unless they — or their user data — are locally based and thus easily overseen by the government. She has had multiple meetings with legislators and has spoken with Trump about protecting TikTok, according to the Washington Post. The government needs to develop oversight rules for all social media.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Donald Trump, TikTok, Shou Chew, “, Jack Ma —, Xiao Jianhua, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Trump, ” Trump, ”, Jeff Yass, Kellyanne Conway, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, ByteDance, Frida Ghitis CNN, Pew Research, Facebook, Oracle, National Intelligence, Rutgers University, Air Force One, Microsoft, Trump, Citizens United Locations: United States, Washington, Russia, TikTok, Beijing, That’s, China, Israel, Tibet, Hong Kong, USSR

☆ Should China Own TikTok?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack, TikTok flooded users with videos expressing extreme positions from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tilted toward the Palestinian side, a Wall Street Journal analysis found. On Monday, the top U.S. intelligence official released a report saying that the Chinese government had used TikTok to promote its propaganda to Americans and to influence the 2022 midterm elections. TikTok is also owned by a company, ByteDance, that’s based in a country that is America’s biggest rival for global power: China. ByteDance executives say that they operate separately from China’s government and that they regularly remove misleading content from TikTok. The most likely scenario, experts say, is that officials aligned with the Chinese government shape TikTok’s algorithm to influence what content Americans see.

Persons: Jeanna Smialek, Jim Tankersley, “, Sapna Maheshwari, China’s, Xi Jinping, Xi Organizations: Rutgers University, Rutgers, Communist Party, Soviet NBC Locations: U.S, Tibet, Hong Kong, United States, China, Soviet

☆ In post-Covid China, the masks are off, but Xi’s tight control is here to stay
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

2 official, who is charged with running its economy – and one more move for Xi to cement his control over the official narrative. China's Premier Li Qiang speaks during a press conference after the closing session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 13, 2023. He used his first and likely last press conference last year to highlight the prominence of the Communist Party over the state government. The axing of the premier’s press conference came alongside a shortening of the “two sessions” overall – first imposed during the pandemic to prevent the spread of Covid. Traffic slowed due to checkpoints on surrounding streets, with security officials even stopping and checking IDs of some cyclists riding on a major throughfare along the square.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi, ”, Liu Dongshu, Jinping, Li Qiang, Greg Baker, Premier Li Keqiang, Xi protégé Li Qiang, Li, “, ” Li, Liu, ” Changhao Wei, Paul Tsai, presser, Tatan Organizations: Beijing CNN, of, National People’s Congress, City University of Hong, National People's Congress, Premier, Communist Party, Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School, National People's, AP, Communist Locations: Beijing, Communist, China, City University of Hong Kong, AFP, Hong Kong, Tiananmen

☆ Coldplay has a request: They really, really want to play in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

He really, really wants to play in China. “I promise we’ll play in China one day,” Martin said to the screaming crowd when he invited two lucky fans up on stage. “You know, we can’t get the permission (to play in China),” he told concertgoers. Chris Martin and Coldplay aren’t alone in wanting to serenade mainland Chinese audiences. Chinese authorities have also been known to vet the content of shows, including setlists and lyrics.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Coldplay, Chris Martin, “, ” Martin, don’t, Coldplay, ”, Martin, concertgoers, “ Coldplay, China …, Paul Kane, Coldplay aren’t, Jon Bon Jovi, Jovi, Bon Jovi’s, Lama, Xi Jinping, –, Xi, Golshifteh Farahani, “ Young, Bjork, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry's, Sam Yeh, Katy Perry, Madonna, James Hetfield, we’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, Coldplay, Tourism Ministry, Oasis, Communist Party, China’s Communist Party, Tibet, Municipal, of Culture, Getty, Taiwan, Chinese Culture Ministry, South China Morning Locations: Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Guangzhou, British, Asia, Tokyo, –, Beijing, Shanghai, Macao, Covid, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Worth, Iranian, Buenos Aires, Iran, Taipei, AFP, Taiwan

☆ Russia's Kinzhals are frustrating Chinese analysts who want to find out how Beijing's hypersonic missiles might stack up against US battlefield defenses
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

China hopes its own hypersonic missile, the Dongfeng, will be game-changing in its capacity to take down US aircraft carriers. A Ukrainian sapper recovers the warhead of a Kinzhal missile. AdvertisementThe Kinzhal's maneuverability, they wrote, "cannot be compared with that of a real hypersonic missile." "Although Russia calls the 'Dagger' a hypersonic missile, analysts from other countries generally believe that the so-called hypersonic 'Dagger' missile is actually an air-launched version of the 'Iskander' short-range tactical ballistic missile," it said. "The 'Dagger' missile has more than enough ambition but not enough power," the July analysis said.

Persons: —, Ukrainian sapper, Yin Jie, Yin, it's, VASILY MAXIMOV, Lyle Goldstein, Rand, Nathan Waechter, Goldstein, GREG BAKER, What's, it's gleaning, I've Organizations: Service, US, Kremlin, Emergency Service, Ordnance Industry Science, Technology, People's Liberation Army, International Military, Forum, Patriot, Getty, Institute for, Defense, Diplomat, Military Locations: China, Ukraine, Beijing, Moscow, Ukrainian, Shaanxi, Russia, Russian, Patriot, Syria, AFP, Washington, Asia

☆ China’s economy grew by about 5.2% in 2023, Premier Li tells Davos meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s economy grew by about 5.2% in 2023, slightly better than the official target Beijing had set, Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “In the past year of 2023, China’s economy has generally rebounded and improved,” the country’s second highest official told the meeting of global business and political leaders. While this expansion would mark a significant pick-up over 2022, when China’s economy grew by just 3%, it is still one of the country’s economic worst performances in over three decades. “Even if there are twists and turns in China’s economic operation, its overall long-term positive trend will not change,” said Li. The premier is the most senior Chinese leader to attend the Davos forum in person since President Xi Jinping in 2017.

Persons: Li Qiang, Hong, Seng, ”, Li, Xi Jinping, Viola Amherd, Joe Biden, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, Swiss, Economic Cooperation, APEC, Getty Locations: Hong Kong, Davos, Switzerland, “, China, Beijing, Asia, Woodside , California, AFP, United States

The world also said goodbye to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died Nov. 29. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesAnother political figure who died this year was former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19. Among the entertainers who left the world this year was singer Tina Turner, who died May 24. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2023 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Fred White, 67. A Hall of Fame forward who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Kissinger, Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter, Silvio Berlusconi, Dianne Feinstein, James Buckley, James Abourezk, Nigel Lawson, Pervez Musharraf, Sandra Day O’Connor, Li Keqiang, Martti Ahtisaari, United Nations Bill Richardson, Gov, Sheila Oliver, Theodoros Pangalos, Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, Raquel Welch, Richard Belzer, Chaim Topol, Jacklyn Zeman, Lance Reddick, Alan Arkin, Paul Reubens, David McCallum, Richard Roundtree, Tom Sizemore, Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor, Rita Lee Jones, Burt Bacharach, David Crosby, Fito Olivares, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Astrud Gilberto, Coco Lee, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Cormac McCarthy, William Friedkin, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, Louise Glück, Jeff Beck, Mary Quant, Kaija Saariaho, Lloyd Morrisett, Fred White, Maurice, Verdine White, Ken Block, Walter Cunningham, Fay Weldon, ” Jan, Russell Pearce, Charles Simic, Lynette “ Diamond ” Hardaway, Donald Trump, Diamond, Constantine, Jan, Tatjana Patitz, George Michael’s, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley, Robbie Knievel, Evel Knievel, Ray Cordeiro, Elmo, Cookie, Gina Lollobrigida, Chris Ford, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Cindy Williams, Shirley, “ Laverne, Billy Packer, Sylvia Syms, Alex ”, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield, “ Papa, Rollin ’ Stone, Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, Bobby Hull, Paco Rabanne, Harry Whittington, Dick Cheney, Hsing Yun, ”, San Jose ”, Carlos Saura, Spain’s, Hugh Hudson, Oscar, “ Greystroke, Hans Modrow, David Jude Jolicoeur, Huey “, ” Smith, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, “, Leiji Matsumoto, Yamato ”, Tim McCarver, Stella Stevens, Jerry Lewis’s, John Munch, Ahmed Qureia, Betty Boothroyd, Ricou Browning, Gill, Gérard Latortue, Fontaine, Barbara Everitt Bryant, Ryan ”, Kenzaburo Oe, Judy Heumann, Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Georgina Beyer, Traute Lafrenz, Rose, Peterson Zah, Tevye, Robert Blake, Jiang Yanyong, Bud Grant, Dick Fosbury, Pat Schroeder, Gloria Bosman, Jacqueline Gold, Britain’s Ann Summers, John Wick ”, John Jenrette, Juana La, Willis Reed, Darcelle, Paul O’Grady, Lily Savage, Emperor ”, Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter, Margaret Thatcher, Ben Ferencz, Nuremberg, Elisabeth Kopp, Michael Lerner, Jack Lipnick, “ Barton Fink, Bugsy Calhoun, Anne Perry, Thomas Pitt, William Monk, Al Jaffee, magazine’s, Charles Stanley, Richard Riordan, Todd Haimes, Tony Awards, Barry Humphries, Tony, Dame Edna Everage, Len Goodman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Emmett Till, LeRoy “ Lee ” Carhart, Larry “, ___ Gordon Lightfoot, Tori Bowie, Vida, Grace Bumbry, Rock ”, Ovelha, Denny Crum, Heather Armstrong, Bobbie Spencer, Rolf Harris, Kenneth Anger, Doyle Brunson, Jim Brown, Timothy Keller, Andy Rourke, Ray Stevenson, Thor ”, Ed Ames, George Maharis, Carroll Cooley, Miranda, John Beasley, Kaija, George Winston, Ipanema ”, Robert Hanssen, Richard Snyder, Simon & Schuster, Françoise Gilot, Pablo Picasso —, Pat Robertson, Theodore “ Ted ” Kaczynski, Roger Payne, Treat Williams, Glenda Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Big, George Frazier, Lee Sarokin, Rubin “, ” Carter, Winnie Ewing, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, “ Fiorello, John Goodenough, Peg Yorkin, Sue Johanson, Yan Mingfu, John Berylson, James Lewis, poisonings, Mikala Jones, André Watts, Jane Birkin, Kevin Mitnick, San Francisco ”, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Hugh “ Sonny ” Carter Jr, Jimmy, Randy Meisner, Herman, Angus Cloud, Fezco, ” O’Neill, ___, Mark Margolis, Hector Salamanca, Saul, Sixto Rodriguez, flamed, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jones, Magoo, Timbaland, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Clarence Avant, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Ada Deer, Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert, Alpert, Michael Parkinson, Muhammad Ali, Miss Piggy, Jiri Cerny, Betty Tyson, Richard Nixon’s, John Warnock, Ron Cephas Jones, Howard Hubbard, Samuel “ Joe ” Wurzelbacher, Joe, Barack Obama, Gil Brandt, Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Bill Richardson, Steve Harwell, Shabtai Shavit, Jordan, Ian Wilmut, Dolly, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Roy Kidd, Eno Ichikawa, Michael McGrath, Fernando Botero, Giorgio Napolitano, Matteo Messina Denaro, Michael Gambon, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter ”, Mankombu Sambasivan, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Hosni Mubarak, Tim Wakefield, Dick Butkus, Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello ”, Masters, Burt Young, Paulie, Sylvester Stallone, Hughes Van Ellis, Kevin Phillips, Louise Meriwether, Mark Goddard, Major Don West, Rudolph Isley, Isley, unblinking, Piper Laurie, Chrissy Snow, Bobby Charlton, Bishan Bedi, Richard Moll, Xi Jinping, Wu Zunyou, Chandler Bing, Ken Mattingly, Bob Knight, Frank Borman, Steve Norton, Don Walsh, Mariana Trench, Terry R, Taylor, Daisaku Ikeda, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Ussery, George “ Funky ” Brown, Joanna ”, Marty Krofft, Pufnstuf, Donny, Marie ”, Terry Venables, Tim Dorsey, Serge A, Frances Sternhagen, ” “, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Gerald Ford, Shane MacGowan, Bernard McGhee Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian, White House, U.S, Supreme, United Nations, Greek Foreign, Republican, Hong, Boston Celtics, NBA, NBC, CBS, Television, Fame, Chicago Blackhawks, ”, New, of Fame, Louis Cardinals, “, Palestinian, Israel, South Dakota Democrat, Arab, Arab American U.S, Britain’s, Commons, . Census Bureau, Alabama ”, Zealand, Navajo, Minnesota Vikings, People, Playboy, Capitol, Juana La Cubana, New York Knicks, Guinness, World Records, Hollywood, Treasury, Southern Baptist Convention, Los Angeles, Roundabout Theatre Company, Air Force, Harlem Globetrotters, Janeiro Games, baseball’s, Germany’s Bayreuth, NCAA, Hall of Famer, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Legion, Ames, Phoenix, FBI, Simon &, Christian Broadcasting Network, Republican Party, Christian Coalition, Harvard, Feminist Majority Foundation, “ Little, Communist Party, Millwall, New York Philharmonic, San, Brigade, Wing, Eagles, HBO, of Indian Affairs, M, Police, Carpenters, Adobe Systems, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys, escapist, Democratic, Zulu, Eastern, AA, Broadway, Communist, U.S . Senate, Red Sox, Yankees, Boston, Chicago Bears, Major, Isley Brothers, New York Times, Manchester United, India, Indiana, Nevada — Resorts, Atlantic City —, Navy, Associated Press, Soka Gakkai, Kentucky Derby, Kool, The, European, Barcelona, Tottenham, City Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russian, U.S, Finnish, New Mexico, New Jersey, British, Greece, American, Hong Kong, Italian, America, New York, Spanish, catwalks, Texas, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, San, New Orleans, Rosebud, Arab American, Haiti, “, African, Brooklyn, London, Los, Mississippi, United States, Rivers, Georgia, Savannah, Louisville, New York City, Irish, HBO’s “ Rome, Brazilian, Ipanema, Moscow, Virginia, Montana, Vietnam, Canada, Asia, Chicago, Hawaii, France, South Africa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Czech, Eastern Kentucky, Colombian, ”, California, Tulsa, Finland, China, Nevada, Atlantic City, Florida, Berkshire

☆ Ben Rhodes: Henry Kissinger, the Hypocrite - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ben Rhodes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Kissinger was not uncomfortable with that dynamic. From the side of the free world, Mr. Kissinger backed genocidal campaigns — by Pakistan against Bengalis and by Indonesia against the East Timorese. The generous defense is that Mr. Kissinger represented an ethos that saw the ends (the defeat of the Soviet Union and revolutionary Communism) as justifying the means. Mr. Kissinger was fixated on credibility, the idea that America must impose a price on those who ignore our demands to shape the decisions of others in the future. Mr. Kissinger lived half of his life after he left government.

Persons: Kissinger, —, Salvador Allende, Allende’s, ”, Kissinger’s, Deng Xiaoping, Henry Kissinger Organizations: East, Soviet Union, Mr, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, United States, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, East Timorese, Chile, Soviet, America, East Pakistan, Bangladesh, Soviet Union, China, Republic of China, Tiananmen, U.S, Taiwan

"Many protesters experienced being part of a civic collective for the first time," said Huang, who fled to Germany in March after narrowly avoiding detention during protests in Shanghai. Reuters was unable to confirm the total number of protesters detained last year, although some were since released. This year, on the weekend anniversary of the protests, there were no demonstrations in Beijing and Shanghai. During last year's Beijing protests, some demonstrators also called for press freedom, democracy and human rights. Some of the protesters that Reuters spoke to, as well as observers, said the events helped raise awareness of how much political power Chinese people actually wielded.

Persons: Huang, Xi, It's, Li, Li Keqiang, I'm, Laurie Chen, Jessie Pang, Casey Hall, Nicoco Chan, Brenda Goh, Tian, Miral Organizations: Reuters, Washington DC, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, HONG KONG, China, Germany, Shanghai, Beijing, New York, London, Tiananmen, Italy, Guangzhou, Hong Kong

☆ An image of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole shows Google search still can't tell AI-generated pictures apart from genuine ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementIf you're struggling to differentiate AI-generated images from real ones, you're not alone. An AI-generated image of the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole is currently showing up as the top search result on Google when you search his name. Business Insider searched for "Israel Kamakawiwoʻole" on Sunday evening and found the AI-generated images continuing to appear as the top search results. Noah Giansiracusa, a professor at Bentley University, pointed out on X that the AI-generated images show Kamakawiwoʻole playing a guitar. Google told 404 Media a day later that it had removed the AI-generated image from search results.

Persons: —, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Ethan Mollick, VdZmuUAwCK, Noah Giansiracusa, Google's, Giansiracusa, Kamakawiwoʻole, Judy Garland's, Edward Hopper, Johannes Vermeer Organizations: Service, Google, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Business, Bentley University, Reddit, Media Locations: Hawaiian, Reddit

Zhao Changpeng, founder and chief executive officer of Binance greets the audience during an event in Athens, Greece, November 25, 2022. "Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance," Zhao tweeted. Binance became the world's biggest crypto exchange within six months. As Binance hired more widely from traditional financial and regulatory worlds, Zhao's tight control over his company was undiminished. Richard Teng, a senior Binance executive who joined in 2021, is the new CEO, Zhao posted on social media on Tuesday.

Persons: Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Costas Baltas, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Prosecutors, Tuesday's, General Merrick Garland, Yi, Richard Teng, Teng, Tom Wilson, Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Justice Department, Binance, New York Times, U.S, Reuters, Futures Trading Commission, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, Binance, Binance ., Shanghai, China, Canada, Tokyo, New York, London

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