For foreign envoys in China, Xi's G20 absence confirms worrying trend - CNA

He has only left China twice - to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and to attend a meeting of major BRICS emerging economies in South Africa last month, where he also missed a keynote address without explanation.

SCRIPTED COMMENTS

By comparison, Xi managed five overseas visits in 2022 - when the country's borders were effectively shut due to rigid pandemic controls - and a dozen in 2019 before COVID-19 struck.

Some Western leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have travelled to China to hold talks with Xi this year.

But for several Western envoys in Beijing, regular access to Chinese officials or even scholars from state-linked think tanks - which play a key role in explaining China's policies to the world - has dropped off compared to before the pandemic, they said.

Scheduling visits for travelling dignitaries, as well as establishing protocols and ensuring media access, is also getting harder, several diplomats said.

When meetings are arranged, Chinese officials stick rigidly to scripted comments, the diplomats said, while some added they experienced hostile behaviour from nationalistic academics. This has curtailed the quality of information envoys can feed back to their capitals, they said.

Reuters reported in July on how some diplomats say they are also facing heightened scrutiny and interference from Chinese authorities.

However, envoys from two countries which enjoy close relations with China said they had experienced no such problems.

Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington DC-based think tank, said curtailing access or not attending events is increasingly used by China as "leverage" against countries with whom it has disagreements.

"Engagement is seen and used by China as a leverage to shape other countries' behaviours," Sun said, adding that she had also heard that the lack of access and security restrictions for Western diplomats in China had "intensified".

And with China ramping up a sweeping national security drive, aimed in part at rooting out foreign spies, there is little sign of this trend letting up any time soon, analysts say.

"When the anti-West sentiment is on the rise within the Chinese bureaucracy, frequent contact or close working relationships with Western officials may raise questions about one's political trustworthiness," said Tong Zhao, senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"To Chinese officials, the benefits of such engagements have become less evident, while the political and security risks are growing."

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2023-09-06 12:19:21Z
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Attend G-20 Summit With Xi Absent - Bloomberg

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1. Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Attend G-20 Summit With Xi Absent  Bloomberg
2. Xi's G20 no-show hints at China's shifting diplomatic priorities  CNA
3. Analysis: Xi reprimanded by elders at Beidaihe over direction of nation  Nikkei Asia
4. What Xi’s G20 absence means  Hindustan Times
5. Opinion: Looking For Excuses, Xi Skips G20 To Avoid Tough Questions On Economy  NDTV
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-09-05 22:17:59Z
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Malaysia seeks return of ex-Goldman banker convicted in 1MDB case - The Straits Times

NEW YORK - Malaysia wants a former Goldman Sachs banker convicted in 2022 in New York of helping loot billions of dollars from its 1MDB sovereign wealth fund to return to the country before starting his 10-year US prison sentence.

In a letter on Tuesday, to US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, federal prosecutors asked for a one-month delay in Roger Ng’s scheduled Sept 6 surrender, so they could talk to Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial on charges there.

“The United States is also working to ensure that the procedures governing the defendant’s return to Malaysia will not unduly delay the service of his US sentence,” prosecutors said.

Ng’s lawyers agreed to the one-month delay, prosecutors said. Mr Marc Agnifilo, one of the lawyers, declined to comment.

The case stemmed from about US$6.5 billion (S$8.85 billion) in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013.

US prosecutors said US$4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates.

Ng, 51, was convicted in March 2022 on bribery and money laundering conspiracy charges.

Judge Brodie called his embezzlement “a crime of pure greed” when sentencing Ng a year later.

At a court hearing in August, US prosecutor Drew Rolle said Ng could be returned to Malaysia to stand trial there once he is in US custody.

Mr Agnifilo said at the hearing that Malaysia wanted Ng’s cooperation with an ongoing 1MDB probe.

Ng was arrested in Malaysia in November 2018 and agreed to be extradited to the US three months later.

In a separate letter to Judge Brodie on Tuesday, lawyers hired in September by Malaysia’s government said the US had “backtracked” on its commitments regarding Ng’s surrender. The lawyers called the matter a “very serious issue”.

Another one-time Goldman banker, Ng’s former boss Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty and testified against Ng at trial. He has not yet been sentenced.

Jho Low, the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scheme, was also criminally charged but is at large. REUTERS

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2023-09-05 17:00:40Z
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ASEAN risks losing relevance if it remains passive, avoids taking positions on issues: PM Lee - CNA

JAKARTA: In a world fraught with geopolitical uncertainty, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must be proactive and not avoid taking collective positions on issues, or it could risk losing its relevance, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Sep 5).

Tensions between the United States and China - both of which have strong links with ASEAN economies - have threatened to strike an overbearing influence on the bloc, while in its own backyard, ASEAN members have had different approaches to resolving the Myanmar crisis.

Describing the present situation as one of “great geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty”, Mr Lee said how the 10-member grouping responds will determine whether its centrality still holds in the years ahead. 

Speaking during a retreat session with fellow leaders at the ASEAN Summit, he outlined how ASEAN centrality must be manifested consistently in its positions, actions and policies and be based on a “unity of purpose and action”.

“We have to be united in dealing with difficult issues, whether external or internal, for example the situation in Myanmar,” said Mr Lee. 

“We will each have our own national interests and positions on the geopolitical challenges, but we still have to work towards common landing points. And this inevitably will involve all of us with some give and take.”

As global superpowers de-couple their economies and become more assertive, the bloc’s passive, consensus-based “ASEAN Way” that is rooted in the principle of non-interference cooperation through lengthy dialogue has sometimes been criticised as ineffective.

Mr Lee said ASEAN has done well in ensuring its external partners engage the grouping on its terms and for the benefits and value it brings, which is why there needs to be a doubling down of efforts at economic integration, especially in areas of green and digital economies.

But he added that even as the grouping steps up external engagement in an open and inclusive way, it has to accept that “geopolitical rivalry will play out in our region, as is happening elsewhere in the world; we may not wish it but we have to accept it”.

“The solution is not to remain passive and avoid taking positions on all issues. Otherwise, ASEAN will lose its relevance. We have to be prepared to engage all sides actively, in mutually beneficial ways,” he said.

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2023-09-05 13:25:29Z
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Indonesian President Jokowi calls on Asean to be 'captains of our own ship' amid big-power rivalry - The Straits Times

JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday called on South-east Asian leaders to become bolder, more agile and devise a long-term tactical plan to address growing global challenges.

Likening Asean to a large ship, Mr Widodo said it has a major responsibility towards the hundreds of millions of people who are sailing together on it.

“And despite having to sail through a storm, we as leaders must ensure that this ship can continue to sail, and we have to be captains of our own ship to achieve peace, to achieve stability, to achieve prosperity together,” he told his counterparts at the start of the plenary session of the 43rd Asean Summit.

Nine South-east Asian leaders, including newly minted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and prospective member Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, were present.

New Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin did not attend, and was represented instead by Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan.

Myanmar generals, barred from high-level Asean meetings for failing to make concrete progress on a peace plan to end a crisis, did not send a non-political representative.

Earlier, in his opening remarks to kick off the three-day summit from Tuesday to Thursday, Mr Widodo also repeated his consistent message that Asean will not become a proxy for any power and that it will cooperate with anyone for peace and prosperity.

“Don’t make our Asean ship an arena of rivalry that destroys each other, but make this Asean ship a space to foster cooperation to create prosperity, create stability, create peace that is not only for the region but also for the world,” he said.

Indonesia, this year’s rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc, is facing mounting pressures to resolve the situation in Myanmar, which has sunk into violence following a military coup in 2021, and speed up the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the disputed South China Sea.

To Asean leaders, Mr Widodo also noted that future challenges “are increasingly difficult and result in a struggle for influence by big power”, but Asean’s unity and centrality are key in addressing this.

Unity does not mean that there will be no differences in opinions, but instead there is harmony in diversity, he said, adding: “Differences in opinions actually nourish democracy and precisely show that we as a family have an equal position.”

He added: “The world’s oceans are too wide to navigate alone. On the way, there will be other ships, Asean’s partner ships. Let us together realise equal and mutually beneficial cooperation to sail together towards the epicentrum of growth.”

Under the theme “Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, the priorities of the summit are to lay a strong foundation for the grouping’s long-term vision, beef up its resilience in facing the current and future challenges, strengthen its position as an epicentre of growth, and ensure a safe and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.

The three-day talks will kick off with the plenary and retreat sessions of the Asean Summit, and other high-level meetings with dialogue partners including the East Asia Summit and the Asean Plus Three Summit.

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2023-09-05 05:40:00Z
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Chinese spy agency suggests that a Biden-Xi meeting hinges on 'sincerity' - CNA

BEIJING: China's top security agency has hinted that any meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in San Francisco later this year will depend on the United States "showing sufficient sincerity".

Biden on Sunday (Sep 3) expressed disappointment that Xi was not attending an upcoming summit of G20 leaders in India, but added that he was going to "get to see him".

Biden did not elaborate but the next likely opportunity for Biden to hold talks with Xi, as the two countries seek to stabilise troubled relations, is an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in November.

"To truly realise 'from Bali to San Francisco', the United States needs to show enough sincerity", the Ministry of State Security said in a post on Monday on its WeChat social media page.

It was referring to the last meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of a G20 summit on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in November last year. It did not mention the APEC summit in its post.

It is unclear if the ministry, which is China's main intelligence agency, is privy to, or has influence over, Xi's considerations on diplomatic engagements.

This weekend, Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to a G20 summit in New Delhi, the Chinese government has announced, all but confirming that Xi would not attend.

The ministry in its post said Biden's administration had adopted a dual-natured strategy towards China, inviting competition with China but also wanting to control the competition.

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2023-09-05 05:11:00Z
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Ho Ching Suggests Caning Diners Who Allegedly Left Outram Restaurant Without Paying S$245 Bill - MS News

Ho Ching Says Outram Restaurant Customers Who Dined & Dashed Should Be Caned

Earlier this week, it was reported that a pair of diners failed to pay the S$245 bill they racked up after dining at a restaurant along Outram Road.

One of the employees at the restaurant reportedly had the bill deducted from his salary due to the oversight.

Outram Restaurant Asks Man & Woman To Settle S$245 Bill After They Allegedly Leave Without Paying

Madam Ho Ching, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has chimed in on the matter, saying the alleged freeloaders ought to be caned.

She also shared her thoughts on whether it was fair and logical for the employee to incur the expense, or if the employer should help to foot the bill in such situations.

Ho Ching shares thoughts on Outram restaurant incident

On Monday (4 Sep) afternoon, Madam Ho penned a Facebook post titled, “There are cheats and there are cheats”, in response to the dine-and-dash incident at the Outram restaurant.

Source: Ho Ching on Facebook

In Madam Ho’s view, cheats who prey on vulnerable members of our society are the “lowliest of the low life”.

She also suggested that such individuals should be caned for “preying on the weak and vulnerable”.

Ho Ching says employees should be given benefit of doubt

Madam Ho also took the opportunity to share her thoughts on opinions brought up by some members of the public.

Responding to netizens’ opinions that it was heartless of the employer to make the staff pay, she pointed out that this was shifting the blame from cheaters to employers.

She called such an arrangement a “perverse system”.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

“Just think — what if employers are required to absorb such losses? More cheats will turn up,” she warned.

Dishonest employees may even fake incidents or work in cahoots with cheats to scam their employers.

Dishonest employees will also report fake incidents of cheating customers to disguise their own stealing of ingredients.

However, Madam Ho said employers should consider giving their staff the benefit of the doubt if it’s the first time a staff member has been involved in such incidents., or if such incidents happen rarely.

Whatever the case, she stressed that such practices should fall under the employer’s prerogative and should not be a requirement.

Thinks most people who have forgotten would return to pay within the week

Madam Ho also responded to netizens who pointed out that the diners who dashed off might have forgotten to pay or walked off absentmindedly.

She disagreed, pointing out that most people who have forgotten to pay would return soon after to foot the bill.

Rarely would someone be totally forgetful that they don’t come back at all to pay.

In such a scenario, looking at the accused’s track record is still important.

For those who have forgotten to pay for the first time, Madam Ho said that the authorities could consider exercising discretion if restitution or repayment is made with apologies.

On the other hand, if a request for leniency came from those with a long track record of such acts, Madam Ho said it’d be “stupid” for anyone to take their plea at face value.

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from Temasek and Shin Min Daily News. 

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2023-09-05 04:08:18Z
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