China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-03-23/24
Philippines supply ships clash with Chinese coast guard
"Philippine naval vessels were involved in a clash with the Chinese coast guard on Saturday while attempting to resupply troops at a contested outpost in the South China Sea."
--- Stupid title & lede by DW. There was no clash. The Chinese ships attacked with watercannon Philippine ships (which did not fight back) on a normal supply run.
There are better ways to report on Manila blasts China’s ‘unprovoked aggression’ in latest South China Sea incident
A Farce in Geneva: Seminar Claims Tibet and Xinjiang Are Paradises of Human Rights
"In a nutshell, the seminar presented Tibet, systematically called Xizang, and Xinjiang as model regions where human rights are affirmed and protected thanks to the enlightened rule of the CCP."
"They also asserted that China has made remarkable progress in the economic, social, cultural, and political development of Xizang (Tibet) and Xinjiang, and that the people of these regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy, religious freedom, and human rights.
Accusations that it is not so, Liang and Qiao said, are caused by external interference and sabotage by hostile forces, which seek to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tuersun Abai’s task was to deny that Uyghurs are coerced into “forced labor.” He claimed that Western researchers who denounce “slave labor” and governments that impose sanctions on companies that use Uyghur “organized labor” are condemning Uyghurs to poverty. Tuersun Abai had the effrontery to say that they are those who are really responsible for violating human rights in Xinjiang."
--- Wait, what? So they say that there are human rights violations, only that the West is responsible? I'm not sure that is what their CCP masters had in mind.
China targets group of MPs and peers with string of cyber-attacks
"China has targeted a group of MPs and peers at Westminster in a string of cyber-attacks, it has been reported.
On Monday, the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, is expected to inform parliament of the attacks.
Meanwhile, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory education minister Tim Loughton, cross-bench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool and Stewart McDonald, a Scottish National party MP, have been called on to attend a briefing from Alison Giles, parliament’s director of security.
Duncan Smith, Loughton, Alton and McDonald are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which monitors and scrutinises Beijing.
Foreign secretary David Cameron will also hold a meeting of the 1922 Committee during which the topic of China and security is likely to be discussed, the Sunday Times reported."
--- Looks like new UK sanctions against China are incoming. I wonder, what Cameron might try to soften the blow.
China Blocks Using Intel, AMD Chips in Government Computers
"China has introduced guidelines to phase out the use of U.S. microprocessors from Intel and AMD in government personal computers and servers, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said.
Government agencies above the township level have been told to include criteria requiring "safe and reliable" processors and operating systems when making purchases"
--- Who's decoupling?
The CCP has been trying to get rid of US software for years now. A Linux-based operating system was supposed to replace Windows, obviously not very successful. Now the CCP tries the same with processors. We'll see how that works out.
US Denies Reports of Troops on China's Doorstep
""The article was incorrect. There's no permanent stationing of U.S. forces there. We can talk in a classified setting for further evaluation, but that is just inherently inaccurate," Adm. John Aquilino told a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday morning"
--- Seems to contradict news from Taiwan:
"Taiwan's United Daily News (UDN) had reported that U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as Green Berets, were being permanently stationed on the self-ruled island, in line with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023.
Specifically, they were allegedly conducting training with Taiwanese troops on Penghu and Kinmen—outlying island counties in the 90-mile-wide Taiwan Strait that separates Taiwan from China.
[...] The admiral seems to have contradicted a remark by Taiwanese Minister of Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng days earlier.
When asked by the press whether there were American boots on the ground on a permanent basis in Kinmen, Chiu appeared to confirm the news. "We can learn from each other to see what strengths we have," he responded, adding that the arrangement was "fixed.""
--- Make of that whatever you want. I wouldn't see a problem with US troops in Taiwan, be it on Kinmen or anywhere else. But emperor Xi would be not amused.
Xi’s call for ethnic Chinese to tell Beijing’s story stirs anger
Forced Labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region: Assessing the Continuation of Coercive Labor Transfers in 2023 and Early 2024
China Exerting Influence in Spanish
--- China Uncensored: "Xi Jinping Just Had a Breakthrough. In The Worst Way Possible"
--- 60 Minutes (AUS): "China’s blatant bullying on Fiji territory"
--- CNN-News 18: "Philippines Accuses China Of New Water Cannon Attacks"
Mützenich setzt für "Einfrieren" von Ukraine-Krieg auf China
""Das hat die chinesische Regierung übrigens erklärt, nachdem Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz in Peking war und dort auf diese Klarstellung gedrängt hatte. Wir waren vermutlich im Herbst 2022 nahe an einer Katastrophe", so Mützenich. Derzeit habe China noch ein Interesse daran, diesen Krieg laufen zu lassen, weil die USA in den Konflikt verwickelt sind und dies in der hegemonialen Auseinandersetzung die USA binde.
"Aber vielleicht hat China nicht zuletzt aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen irgendwann wieder ein Interesse an größerer Stabilität in Europa. Und diesen Augenblick zu nutzen und darauf vorbereitet zu sein, das ist auch die Kunst der Diplomatie.""
--- Ein Angehöriger einer kommunistischen 5. Kolonne setzt auf die Kommunisten. Welch Überraschung.
Südchinesisches Meer: China soll erneut philippinisches Boot behindert haben
"Die Philippinen verurteilten das Vorgehen und die Nutzung von Wasserkanonen als »unverantwortlich und provokativ«. Das Vorgehen Chinas habe zu »erheblichen Schäden« und Verletzungen der Besatzung eines zivilen Bootes geführt, das zur Versorgung von Truppen angeheuert worden war, teilte die philippinische Task Force für das Südchinesische Meer in einer Erklärung mit."
--- Der Einsatz dieser massiven Wasserwerfer ist wohl eher ein Angriff als eine Behinderung.
China verbannt AMD, Intel und Microsoft aus Regierungscomputern
"Sichere und verlässliche Prozessoren und Betriebssysteme sollen chinesische Regierungsstellen laut einem Bericht der Financial Times vom Sonntag in Zukunft einsetzen; Hardware von AMD und Intel sowie Betriebssysteme von Microsoft hingegen nicht mehr."
--- Was die KPCh so 'sicher & verlässlich' nennt. Windows soll übrigens schon seit Jahren durch eine chinesische Linuxvariante ersetzt werden. Hat anscheinend bisher nicht so richtig funktioniert.
