China's Xi warns of 'grim' situation with Taiwan - Yahoo Singapore News

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday, urging the island's main opposition party to help seek "unification of the country."

China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.

Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as "inevitable."

In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu -- the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party -- Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a "shared political basis."

"In the past our two parties insisted on '1992 consensus' and opposing 'Taiwan independence' ... to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations," Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.

"At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim," he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and "the unification of the country."

Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.

The KMT has side-stepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus -- a tacit agreement that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.

In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should "seek common ground and respect their differences" to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of "one China."

Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.

On Thursday, China flew 24 warplanes including two nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, the biggest incursion in weeks, after voicing its opposition to Taipei joining a major trans-Pacific trade deal.

aw/oho

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2021-09-26 10:52:58Z
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China's Xi warns of 'grim' Taiwan situation in letter to opposition KMT - The Straits Times

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - The situation in the Taiwan Strait is "complex and grim", Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday (Sept 26) to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing.

Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) elected as their leader on Saturday former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu, who said he would rekindle stalled high-level contacts with China's ruling Communist Party.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to force the democratically ruled island to accept Chinese sovereignty, even though most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being governed by Beijing.

In Mr Xi's letter, a copy of which was released by the KMT, he said both parties had had "good interactions" based on their joint opposition to Taiwan independence.

"At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together," wrote Mr Xi, who is also head of the Communist Party.

He expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on "seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalisation".

Mr Chu, who badly lost the 2016 presidential election to current President Tsai Ing-wen, responded to Mr Xi that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were "all the children of the Yellow Emperor" - in other words, all Han Chinese.

Mr Chu blamed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with Beijing after pursuing anti-China policies.

Mr Chu, who met Mr Xi in China in 2015, said he hoped to "seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust and geniality, strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to allow the continued peaceful development of cross-strait relations".

Under outgoing KMT leader Johnny Chiang's 17-month tenure, high-level contacts with China stalled amid military tensions and suspicion in Beijing the party was not sufficiently committed to the idea Taiwan was part of "one China".

As well as losing the 2016 polls, the KMT were trounced in elections last year after failing to shake DPP accusations they were Beijing's lackeys.

China refuses to talk to Ms Tsai, calling her a separatist.

She says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, the island's formal name, and that only Taiwan's people have the right to decide their own future.

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2021-09-26 07:24:49Z
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Climate education still a 'peripheral topic' in Southeast Asia's syllabus amid calls to make it compulsory - CNA

CLIMATE MATERIALS FOR CHILDREN

The lack of government-mandated climate education has opened the door to education entrepreneurs to fill a gap.

The founders of Earth Warriors, a global early childhood education curriculum, noticed a lack of climate education content available to any children under the age of 11.

Keya Lamba and Shweta Bahri have designed materials suitable for those aged between 3 and 7, which they hope will be adopted by schools around the world. Their courses have been peer reviewed and supported by climate scientists.

“Our whole mission and belief is that if you build these sustainable habits at a young age, then being a conscious citizen that cares about the planet comes as naturally to these kids as brushing their teeth,” Lamba said.

“There’s a lot of evidence that shows this is true. It can also nudge the adults around them as well,” she said.

"We try to show that kids are the ones demanding and making the changes. Climate change education has to be everywhere at every age group. It’s so critical and it’s surprising that it’s not taken very seriously or urgently.”

They aim to challenge assumptions that learning about climate change is too complex or daunting for children, and eventually advocate for governments to include this type of material themselves.

From their research, they say there is no formal inclusion of climate education in Southeast or South Asia. But they first plan to deliberately target schools with higher fees, like those that use international curriculums. 

“We made a very conscious decision. Research shows that it’s people from higher income backgrounds that are contributing a lot more to climate change than people from lower income backgrounds,” Bahri said.

Children are already highly exposed to the impacts of climate change. The recently released Children’s Climate Risk Index from UNICEF found that more than 99 per cent of children are exposed to at least one major climate and environmental hazard, shock or stress, “creating a child’s rights crisis”.

Climate impacts such as flooding, cyclones, water scarcity, disease and air pollution overlap and compound in many parts of the world. Children in those often-poor parts of the world face even more future risks.

It is a further reason why experts want to accelerate the ability of young people to contribute to solutions and feel empowered to tackle these inherited issues.

“There’s a growing recognition that we owe something to them, that they have a voice and a seat at the table,” Rajakumar of Climate Governance Malaysia said.

“And there’s no silver bullet. There’s no dashboard, no roadmap, so why not invite the children to the table as well?”

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2021-09-25 22:00:15Z
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Release of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou a step towards better US-China ties, Beijing's CPTPP goal - The Straits Times

BEIJING - When the US Department of Justice unexpectedly announced on Friday (Sept 24) that it was dropping charges against Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, it marked a turning point in a case that had soured ties between Beijing, Washington and Ottawa.

The case had always been a three-way one: Canada had detained Ms Meng at a Vancouver airport upon the request of the US.

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2021-09-25 21:00:00Z
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Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou freed as China claims political persecution - The Straits Times

BEIJING - Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou returned home to China on Saturday (Sept 25), after she was released in a deal involving China, Canada and the United States.

Shortly after US prosecutors announced that they would end a bank fraud case against her leading to the dropping of extradition proceedings against her in Canada, two Canadians detained in China were freed.

Ms Meng’s release from house arrest in Vancouver drew a line under a case which has been a sore point in relations between Beijing and Washington for nearly three years. 

But the deal opened up US President Joe Biden to criticism that his administration was capitulating to China and one of its top tech firms at the heart of a technological rivalry between the two countries.

Ms Meng left Vancouver on a government chartered Air China flight and minutes after it entered Chinese airspace, the foreign ministry in Beijing released a statement hitting out at the US, denouncing her detention as “arbitrary”. 

“The facts have already fully proven that this is a political persecution of Chinese citizens with the aim of suppressing China’s high tech enterprises,”  a ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in a statement. “The allegations of ‘fraud’ against Ms Meng were purely fabricated,” Ms Hua added.

But Beijing was silent on the release of the two Canadians – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, who were welcomed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they arrived in Calgary in western Canada. 

“There is going to be time for reflections and analysis in the coming days and weeks,” Mr Trudeau told reporters before the men’s arrival. “But the fact of the matter is I know that Canadians will be incredibly happy to know that right now, this Friday night, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are on a plane and they’re coming home."

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor (left) and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig (right). PHOTO: AFP

Ms Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on a US warrant in December 2018, and indicted on bank and wire fraud charges for allegedly misleading banking giant HSBC in 2013 about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran.

The Chinese telecommunications giant, which was founded by Ms Meng’s father, Ren Zhengfei,  has been at the centre of strategic competition between the world’s two largest economies. The behemoth provides 5G telecommunications equipment for much of the world’s developing economies but the US and its allies have raised questions about security, insisting that the firm offers the Chinese government a backdoor to data. 

The firm and its founders have consistently denied such allegations but it has also resulted in several countries pulling Huawei products from their 5G superfast internet rollout plans. 

On Saturday evening, hundreds of people waited for Ms Meng’s flight to arrive at the Bao’an International Airport in Shenzhen, home to Huawei headquarters. Some held up banners while others sang patriotic songs including Me And My Motherland. 

Supporters wait for the arrival of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen on Sept 25, 2021. PHOTO: AFP

State broadcaster CCTV had rolling coverage of Ms Meng’s return, with the live feed showing dozens of Huawei employees, family and friends holding up Chinese flags and a banner to welcome Ms Meng on the tarmac, cheering as she disembarked clad in a red dress and black kitten heels. 

“After more than a thousand days of hardship, I am finally back in the embrace of the motherland,” she said as she choked up. 

Calling herself an “ordinary Chinese citizen” who has gone through the ordeal of being stuck in a foreign land, Ms Meng especially thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for his concern. 

Across the city, screens flashed “welcome home” messages as buildings were lit up in colour. Hundreds of thousands more tuned into live streams of her return. 

The Canadians were detained on charges of espionage just days after Ms Meng’s arrest. During their time in detention the men had scant access to their lawyers. 

Ms Meng, on the other hand, was monitored at all hours by private security at her own expense and confined to her luxury Vancouver home at night. 

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2021-09-25 15:25:36Z
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Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou leaves Canada after agreement with US over fraud charges - The Straits Times

OTTAWA (REUTERS) - Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou flew home to China on Friday (Sept 24) after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to end the bank fraud case against her, relieving a point of tension between China and the United States.  

Within hours of the news of the deal, two Canadians who were arrested shortly after Meng was taken into custody in December 2018 were released from Chinese jails and were on their way back to Canada. Beijing had denied that their arrests were linked.  

The years-long extradition drama has been a central source of discord in increasingly rocky ties between Beijing and Washington, with Chinese officials signaling that the case needed to be dropped to help end a diplomatic stalemate between the world’s top two powers.  

The deal also opens US President Joe Biden up to criticism from China hawks in Washington who argue his administration is capitulating to China and one of its top companies at the center of a global technology rivalry between the two countries.  

Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on a US warrant, and indicted on bank and wire fraud charges for allegedly misleading HSBC in 2013 about the telecommunications equipment giant’s business dealings in Iran.  

In an exclusive on Friday, Reuters reported that the United States had reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng. Nicole Boeckmann, the acting US Attorney in Brooklyn, said that in entering into the agreement, “Meng has taken responsibility for her principal role in perpetrating a scheme to defraud a global financial institution.”

The agreement pertains only to Meng, and the US Justice Department said it is preparing for trial against Huawei and looks forward to proving its case in court.  

A spokeswoman for Huawei declined to comment.  A person familiar with the matter said Meng – the daughter of Huawei founder, Ren Zhengfei had left Canada on a flight to Shenzhen.  

The two Canadians, businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig, had been held in China for more than 1,000 days. In August, a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage.  

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in brief remarks late on Friday the two men had left Chinese airspace just minutes before. He was not asked whether the two countries had struck a bilateral deal.  

“I want to thank our allies and partners around the world in the international community who have stood steadfast in solidarity with Canada and with these two Canadians,” he said.  

At a hearing in Brooklyn federal court on Friday, which Meng attended virtually from Canada, Assistant US Attorney David Kessler said the government would move to dismiss the charges against her if she complies with all of her obligations under the agreement, which ends in December 2022. He added that Meng will be released on a personal recognizance bond, and that the United States plans to withdraw its request to Canada for her extradition.  

Meng Wanzhou arrives at British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver on Sept 24, 2021. PHOTO: EPA

Meng pleaded not guilty to the charges in the hearing. When U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly later accepted the deferred prosecution agreement, Meng sighed audibly.  

A Canadian judge later signed Meng’s order of discharge, vacating her bail conditions and allowing her to go free after nearly three years of house arrest.  She was emotional after the judge’s order, hugging and thanking her lawyers.  Speaking to supporters and reporters on the steps of the court afterward, Meng thanked the judge for her “fairness” and talked of how the case had turned her life “upside down”.  

Meng was confined to her expensive Vancouver home at night and monitored 24/7 by private security that she paid for as part of her bail agreement. Referred to by Chinese state media as the “Princess of Huawei,” she was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor her movements, which became fodder for the tabloids when it hung above her designer shoes.

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2021-09-25 01:03:54Z
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Canadian court frees Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou as US extradition case ends - The Straits Times

VANCOUVER, NEW YORK (REUTERS, AFP) - A Canadian judge on Friday (Sept 24) signed Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s order of discharge, vacating her bail conditions and allowing her to go free after nearly three years of house arrest as her US extradition case ends.

Canadian government lawyers asked the court to withdraw the authority to proceed in her case and discharge her, after Meng reached a deal with US prosecutors earlier on Friday that ended their bank fraud case against her.

The US Justice Department said Friday it has reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng, that would avoid a trial and move toward defusing a case that has strained relations with China. 

Meng, who agreed to a statement of facts in the case but did not plead guilty, will see the felony fraud charges against her dropped on December 1, 2022 if she abides by the agreement, a Justice Department attorney told the federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

The executive was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018 on a US warrant and was indicted on bank and wire fraud charges for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran.

The deferred prosecution agreement, reported first by Reuters, pertains only to Meng and US charges against the company remain, according to another person familiar with the matter.

Such a resolution would remove one of several major disputes between the world’s two biggest economies.

The agreement could also potentially pave the way for the release of the two Canadians - businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig - held in China, who were arrested shortly after Meng was taken in custody in 2018.

In August, a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage.

A spokeswoman for Huawei declined to comment. A spokesman for the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to comment.

An attorney for Meng could not be immediately reached for comment.

Meng has maintained she is innocent and has been fighting extradition to the United States from Canada.

She is confined to Vancouver and monitored 24/7 by private security that she pays for as part of her bail agreement.

Under a deferred prosecution agreement, the government agrees to refrain from prosecuting a defendant for a period of time, and drops the case altogether if the defendant complies with specified conditions.

Huawei, a telecommunications equipment giant, was placed on a US trade blacklist in 2019 that restricts sales to the company for activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy interests.

The restrictions have hobbled the company, which suffered its biggest ever revenue drop in the first half of 2021, after the US supply restrictions drove it to sell a chunk of its once-dominant handset business and before new growth areas have matured.

The criminal case against Meng – the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei – and Huawei is cited in the blacklisting. 

Huawei is charged with operating as a criminal enterprise, stealing trade secrets and defrauding financial institutions. It has pleaded not guilty. 

Articles published by Reuters in 2012 and 2013 about Huawei, its former subsidiary Skycom and Meng figured prominently in the US criminal case against her.

Reuters reported that Skycom had offered to sell at least €1.3 million (S$2 million) worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator in 2010. At least 13 pages of the proposal were marked “Huawei confidential” and carried Huawei’s logo.

Reuters also reported numerous financial and personnel links between Huawei and Skycom, including that Meng had served on Skycom’s board of directors between February 2008 and April 2009.

Judicial hearings in her extradition case in Vancouver wrapped up in August, with the date for a ruling to be set on Oct 21. 

China v US

Huawei has become a dirty word in Washington, with a knee-jerk reaction by China hawks in Congress to any news that could be construed as the US going soft, despite Huawei being hobbled by US trade restrictions.

Then President Donald Trump politicised the case when he told Reuters soon after her 2018 arrest that he would intervene if it would serve national security or help secure a trade deal. Meng’s lawyers have said she was a pawn in the political battle between the two superpowers. 

Senior US officials have said that Meng’s case was being handled solely by the Justice Department and the case had no bearing on the US approach to ties with China.

During US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s July trip to China, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Xie Feng insisted that the US drop its extradition case against Meng. 

US officials have acknowledged that Beijing had linked Meng’s case to the case of the two detained Canadians, but insisted that Washington would not be draw into viewing them as bargaining chips.

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2021-09-24 14:38:30Z
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