Author: Nectar Gan

Senior political pundit in China is given an 8-year sentence for “subversion”
12May By Nectar GanNo Comments
China

Senior political pundit in China is given an 8-year sentence for “subversion”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) demands the release of Chinese political commentator Guo Feixiong, who was recently given an eight-year jail term after serving more than twelve years in the past. Yang Maodong, a Chinese political analyst and human rights attorney best known by his pen name Guo Feixiong, was found guilty of "incitement to subvert state power" and sentenced to eight years in jail by a Guangzhou (southern China) court on May 11, 2023. Guo, 56, was covertly detained on 5 December 2021, and two days after his wife passed away from sickness, he was formally brought into jail on 12 January 2022. Guo was found guilty by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court for posting articles on his website that were critical of the Chinese government. Diplomats from the US, UK, Canad...
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5May By Nectar GanNo Comments
China

Are China’s Aircraft Carriers a Deadly Threat or Political Theater?

China demonstrated a capacity that it has yet to master and might take years to perfect when it sailed one of its two operational aircraft carriers, the Shandong, east of Taiwan last month as part of military maneuvers around the island. Beijing's military modernization is raising concerns for the United States and its allies due to its powerful missile forces and other naval warships, such as cutting-edge cruisers. According to four military attachés and six defense experts who are acquainted with regional naval deployments, China may not be able to establish a credible carrier threat for more than ten years. Carrier Killer: China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles by Gerry Doyle and Blake Herzinger is a related publication. Instead, the attaches and experts told Reuters that China'
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China supports Myanmar’s political transformation process
3May By Nectar GanNo Comments
China

China supports Myanmar’s political transformation process

China has offered its assistance to Myanmar's military government as it goes through a democratic transition. Beijing, however, also asked the international community to play a "constructive role in helping Myanmar achieve peace and reconciliation." The remarks were made by the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at a meeting with the leader of the junta in Myanmar, Aung Hlaing, on Tuesday in Nay Pyi Daw, the country's capital. According to Chinese official media in a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Qin expressed China's earnest wish that Myanmar can achieve stability and national development. He said that China aids Myanmar in looking into a growth route that "suits its national conditions." According to Qin, China "supports Myanmar in moving...
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China’s departure restrictions are expanding as Xi Jinping’s political repression increases.
2May By Nectar GanNo Comments
Politics

China’s departure restrictions are expanding as Xi Jinping’s political repression increases.

Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, "China has expanded the legal landscape for exit bans and increasingly used them" against many Chinese and foreigners, according to the rights organization Safeguard Defenders. In spite of the government's declaration that the nation is open for business again after three years of harsh Covid-19 restrictions, China is progressively making it difficult for anyone to leave the country, especially foreign CEOs. According to a recent report by the rights organization Safeguard Defenders, numerous Chinese and foreigners have been caught up in exit bans. A Reuters analysis revealed an apparent increase in court cases involving exit bans in recent years, and foreign business lobbies are raising concerns about the trend. The Safeguard Defenders resear...
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<em>China-India border dispute: neighbours vow to ‘speed up’ progress as defence chiefs prepare to meet</em>
25Apr By Nectar GanNo Comments
World

China-India border dispute: neighbours vow to ‘speed up’ progress as defence chiefs prepare to meet

India and China agreed to “speed up” progress towards a solution over the countries’ disputed border as their frontline officers ended another round of talks on Sunday, days before their defence ministers are set to meet in New Delhi. The officers exchanged views “in an open and candid manner” over the western part of the Line of Actual Control at the 18th commander-level meeting held at the customary Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side, government statements from both sides said. The two sides have also pledged to keep communication open on the issue. Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu is expected to visit New Delhi on Thursday and Friday for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting between defence chiefs. It will be the first visit by a Chinese defence ministe
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Is Egypt planning to swap debt with China for strategic assets?
19Apr By Nectar GanNo Comments
Asia

Is Egypt planning to swap debt with China for strategic assets?

Has Egypt joined Sri Lanka and other countries that have swapped their debts with China for their strategic assets? Although the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied any knowledge about it, a local news website Arabi21.com has reported that Cairo is in discussion with Beijing for swapping a part of the US$8 billion loan it took from China for properties like ports and airports owned by it. The Egypt-based news website said the process of discussion between Egypt and China had begun in August 2022 when an Egyptian delegation went to Switzerland to meet with a Chinese delegation to negotiate swapping of Chinese debt on Cairo for strategic assets. Arabi21.com has linked these negotiations between Cairo and Beijing with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s statement that he gave after t
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To counter China’s aggression, US to set up four new naval bases in Philippines
11Apr By Nectar GanNo Comments
China

To counter China’s aggression, US to set up four new naval bases in Philippines

With China increasing its military footprint in the Indo-Pacific region by even deploying a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) in the South China Sea to deter its adversaries, the US on  April 3 announced setting up four new naval bases in the Philippines to counter Chinese aggression in the region. The US already operates five military bases in the Philippines on a rotational basis, and the establishment of new four naval bases in the Southeast Asian country will “provide a major boost to America’s presence in the region,” The Hill said in its report. While it indicates growing tension between China and the US, the development has sent chills down the spine of those who want peace to prevail in the Indo-Pacific region which is projected to be the largest contri
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At the conclusion of his trip to China, Macron received a crowd at a university.
8Apr By Nectar GanNo Comments
World

At the conclusion of his trip to China, Macron received a crowd at a university.

On the last day of a tour where he repeatedly urged his counterpart Xi Jinping to assist in putting an end to the Ukraine crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed by a sizable throng at a university in southern China on Friday. Macron said he was trying to convince China not to assist Russia's invasion of its neighbor when he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday. In dramatic contrast to China's own stodgy political system, Hollande traveled on Friday to the southern city of Guangzhou, where he was surrounded by hundreds of shouting students and admirers eager to take a photo or give the French president a high-five. Before an early supper with Xi, talks with Chinese investors, and a trip home, Macron addressed students in the school gym and answered their questions. Some ...
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Between the USA and China, negative political and economic trends are developing.
2Apr By Nectar GanNo Comments
Asia, China

Between the USA and China, negative political and economic trends are developing.

The recent official visit by the Chinese president to Russia and his talks with Russian President Putin have only served to highlight Beijing's rise as a great power with sway that now extends well beyond Asia. The visit appears to have been "refracted through a prism of both nations' mutual antagonism toward the United States," according to analyst Stephen Collinson, and "Washington, watching carefully from the sidelines, poured scorn on the idea of China as a peacemaker in Ukraine." But it is undeniable that the United States now faces a significant foreign policy challenge in a scenario where strategic experts believe that attempts are being made to undermine the current international order through the restructuring of it. Collinson claims that the White House launched a public rela...
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China will make its own unique contribution to the political resolution of the “Ukrainian crisis”
29Mar By Nectar GanNo Comments
World

China will make its own unique contribution to the political resolution of the “Ukrainian crisis”

China will contribute to the political resolution of the "Ukrainian crisis" in its own unique way and supports peaceful negotiations to de-escalate the situation, according to Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. Beijing is in contact with all parties and aims to play a constructive role in contributing to the de-escalation, while hoping that the U.S. will act responsibly and create an appropriate environment for peaceful talks. China released a 12-point proposal to settle the Ukrainian crisis, which includes calls for a ceasefire and peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his expectations of seeing Beijing's support for the Ukrainian peace plan, emphasizing that the "respect for sovereignty and territorial i...
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