Current Events

[Randy W]

Chinese authorities issue health warning amid sandstorms

from CGTN on Twitter
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-04-12/Chinese-authorities-issue-health-warning-amid-sandstorms-1iWbBY3VjNK/index.html

 

Chinese authorities issue health warning amid sandstorms. https://t.co/GigVoEpZw5 pic.twitter.com/41DvXT2JLO

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) April 12, 2023

 

 

[Randy W]

A resident uses a plastic bag to cover up as a sandstorm sweeps through Beijing, April 10, 2023. The ongoing dusty weather that has impacted vast parts of northern China will continue in the coming months.

Related read: http://ow.ly/k2OL50NFB9Z

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid02xUTmq2QAegacmkbSLy2c4bbU7yyuyTPYFdifU1uSnDSAkZx3zVzE3FmP3CzKUeSYl

 

[Randy W]

Erena So Hoi-lam created a buzz when she became the first woman from Hong Kong to enter Japan's adult video industry in 2022, with many in the community sharply critical of the move. Emilia Wong said she also came under fire when she started a blog to promote body positivity and hit back against sexuality taboos. Within three years, the former law student turned her blog into a business selling adult photos on the members-only crowdfunding site Patreon. But despite the negative responses, both women said they consider making adult content empowering and something that puts them in control of their bodies and futures.

Related story:
‘Why is it a taboo?’: Hong Kong model turned porn actress on city’s conservatism https://sc.mp/mbqg

Sexuality on their own terms: the Hong Kong women who feel empowered by making adult content

AV idol

An AV idol (AVアイドル, Ēbui aidoru, short for adult video idol) or AV actress (AV女優, Ēbui joyū) is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances vary widely, from suggestive softcore imagery to hardcore pornography.

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

GLOBALink | "Flowers and Dreams" at GBA Flower Show: Diversity
The 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Flower Show features 22 gardens with over 1,000 new flower varieties. International designers have interpreted their garden dreams with diverse styles. #GLOBALink

from China Xinhua News  on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/XinhuaNewsAgency/videos/204989705602223/

 

 

GLOBALink | "Flowers and Dreams" at GBA Flower Show: Diversity

The 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Flower Show features 22 gardens with over 1,000 new flower varieties. International designers have interpreted their garden dreams with diverse styles. #GLOBALink

Posted by China Xinhua News on Sunday, April 16, 2023

 

 

[Randy W]

IN A MINUTE: China rolls out new wartime military recruitment rule

from the SCMP

Beijing released new rules for the recruitment of soldiers in wartime on April 12, 2023, with veterans listed as a priority as part of any potential war preparations.

[Randy W]

US law enforcement officials arrested two New York residents for allegedly operating a Chinese ‘secret police station’ in Manhattan's Chinatown, part of a crackdown on Beijing's alleged targeting of US-based dissidents https://reut.rs/43Dr6lF

from Reuters on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/Reuters/posts/pfbid07TqUKenGRmADt7oT7o7kLhcMDSmcX5b2wYNPwMz2Z41va3iJEd9Mpg3Ma4dvrLu8l

 

FBI arrests two alleged Chinese agents and charges dozens with working inside US to silence dissidents

from CNN

Quote

 

Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping allegedly operated the police station in New York City’s Chinatown. Both men are US citizens and have been charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government and obstructing justice. The police station has been shut down since a search warrant was executed at the location last fall, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for the US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York.

The two men appeared in court Monday, with Lu being released on a $250,000 bond and Chen on a $400,000 bond. They are not permitted to travel within half a mile of the Chinese consulate nor mission or communicate with co-conspirators. Neither has entered a plea.

 . . .

China hit out at the arrests with Beijing’s Foreign Ministry dismissing the FBI’s claims about the alleged police station and calling it an act of “political manipulation” by US authorities.

“China firmly opposes the US side’s slander and smear campaign,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news conference.

“The relevant claims have no factual basis. In fact, there is no such thing as the so-called overseas police stations you mentioned,” Wang added.

The US Justice Department also announced charges against 34 officers of the national police of the People’s Republic of China with harassing Chinese nationals in the US critical of the Chinese government.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

A hospital fire killed 29 in Beijing, but residents were kept in the dark for hours

Fire damage is seen at the Changfeng Hospital in Beijing on April 19, after a fire broke out a day earlier

from CNN

Quote

 

The deadliest fire to hit the Chinese capital in two decades killed 29 people in a hospital Tuesday, but most people didn’t hear about it until several hours later, and even then the details were slim as authorities kept a tight lid on details.

As flames tore through the Changfeng Hospital in Fengtai district from around 1 p.m. Tuesday, forcing some to desperately clamber out of windows and huddle on air conditioning units, state media kept silent and censors appeared to scrub the internet of any mentions.

The extent of information control and censorship came as a shock to internet users, as well as Beijing residents, many of whom complained online that they had no idea a deadly fire had erupted in their city until late on Tuesday night.

 

 

[Randy W]

 

IN A MINUTE: Hospital staff and residents climb out windows to flee deadly fire in Beijing #shorts

@SouthChinaMorningPost

At least 29 people, including two hospital workers, have died in a fire at a Beijing hospital on Tuesday, city authorities announced. A preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire has concluded that on-site construction caused flammable paint to ignite.

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid0LH1gcWfuWBefrP8BnstftSLf2XDaoVTEzZhvWH9Dfeq55ryLE39t5YgB2qeQ1T5Bl

 

Beijing Hospital Fire Kills 29 People, 12 Arrested
A preliminary investigation blames construction work that ignited flammable paint as the cause of the fire.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Man passes out after stranger in China applies mysterious ointment on his back #shorts

from the SCMP

 

 

 

[Randy W]

China denounces US plans to send nuclear ballistic submarine to South Korea

• Beijing says planned deployment of sub and other ‘strategic assets’ to Korean peninsula is result of America’s ‘selfish geopolitical interests’
• The comments come after Seoul and Washington announce declaration reaffirming ‘nuclear umbrella’ to counter threats from Pyongyang

from the SCMP

Seoul and Washington announced on Wednesday that US nuclear-armed submarines will visit South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years. Photo: AP

Quote

 

Mao’s comments came after Yoon’s visit to Washington concluded with a declaration that reaffirmed a “nuclear umbrella” to protect South Korea from threats from the North. According to the declaration, US strategic assets – such as bombers and aircraft carriers – will be deployed to the Korean peninsula more regularly.

In particular, a US nuclear ballistic missile submarine will “visit” South Korea, which has not happened since the early 1980s. Biden said no nuclear weapons would be permanently based there.

“We’re not going to be stationing nuclear weapons on the peninsula,” he said in a joint press conference with Yoon at the White House. “But we will have visits to ports, visits of nuclear submarines and things like that.”

The two sides will establish a Nato-style nuclear consultative group to share information on nuclear assets and intelligence, as well as jointly plan exercises, drills and implementation plans, according to Yoon.

 

 

 

 

 

[Randy W]

more diplomatic fall-out from the visit (the guitar was signed by Don McLean) - 

from the SCMP

China summons South Korean diplomat over statement by Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden on Taiwan, South China Sea

• Beijing expresses ‘strong dissatisfaction’ after Seoul and Washington reaffirm support for status quo in hot-button disputes
• Chinese foreign ministry official stresses one-China principle in meeting with South Korean embassy minister

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the US this week marked the 70th anniversary of the alliance between Seoul and Washington. Photo: Reuters
 

Quote

 

In the meeting, Liu stressed Beijing’s stance on issues including Taiwan and urged Seoul to adhere to the one-China principle, according to the foreign ministry.

Liu stressed China’s “stern position on Taiwan and other issues” and urged Seoul to “effectively adhere to the one-China principle”, the ministry said.

 . . .

“The phrase ‘maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo’ is obviously aimed at China,” said Ma Jianying, director of the Centre for Maritime Security Studies at Shandong Normal University.

“This is a blatant intervention into the Taiwan issue, which is an internal affair of China. This could never be accepted by the Chinese side,” he said.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Has China just finalised the world’s first hyperloop destinations?

• Chinese version of Elon Musk’s vision could travel up to 1,000km/h, top engineers say
• Several major cities were considered for mega project, expected to be operational by 2035

from the SCMP

As testing continues, a Chinese version of Elon Musk’s vision of hyperloop could travel up to 1,000km/h, top engineers say. Photo: China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation
 

Quote

 

China is likely to build its first hyperloop train line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, according to the nation’s top engineering and rail design institutes.

The 150km-long (93-mile) in-vacuum tunnel will allow maglev trains to travel at speeds of up to 1,000km/h (621mph).

The Chinese Academy of Engineering and rail authorities commissioned a “comprehensive assessment on the candidate construction sites for ultra-high speed pipeline maglev system demonstration line”, and the two richest cities in the east coast emerged as winners, said scientists involved in the project in a report published in the Chinese-language journal Railway Standard Design on April 17.

 . . .

Several candidate lines competed for the hyperloop project in China, including the Beijing-Shijiazhuang, Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Chengdu-Chongqing lines. Each had unique advantages, according to Zhang’s team.

 

 

[Randy W]

Ding Liren won the rapid chess playoff by 2.5 points to 1.5, capitalising on Ian Nepomniachtchi’s mistakes https://aje.io/rk7q3r

from AL Jazeera English on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/photos/a.10150243828793690/10161622235823690

 

Quote

Ding’s triumph means China holds both the men’s and women’s world titles, with current women’s champion Ju Wenjun set to defend her title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July.

 

[Randy W]

The law goes into effect on July 1.

China has widened its already sweeping counter-espionage law. Experts say foreign businesses should be worried

from CNN

A comic strip poster warning of foreign spies is displayed at a subway station in Beijing on April 22, 2016

Quote

 

The changes expand the definition of espionage from covering state secrets and intelligence to any “documents, data, materials or items related to national security and interests,” without specifying specific parameters for how these terms are defined.

Cyber attacks targeting China’s key information infrastructure in connection with spy agencies are also categorized as espionage under the new version of the law, which goes into effect on July 1.

 . . .

The revision is likely to heighten concerns of foreign individuals, such as academic researchers or journalists, and businesses about visiting or operating in China.

The new language in the amendment suggests “any organization and anyone can be suspect … and anything can be counted as a threat to national security” in the arbitrary application of the law, Matsuda said. “This will definitely cause a chilling effect,” he said.

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

‘Please forgive me’: restaurant owner gets down on knees and begs in front of disappointed customer as China’s barbecue capital overflows

• Millions of people online have viewed a video clip of the incident which has made an already hugely popular city in China even more crowded
• The flood of people into Zibo city in eastern China’s Shandong province has prompted local authorities to tell people not to come

from the SCMP