🌏 Asia-Pacific News Thread

[blueharvest]

South China Sea: Timeline of US ally's confrontation with Chinese forces

China's territorial feud with the Philippines has opened up another flashpoint in the contested waterway.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Lily Adler]

Women outperform men after Japan medical school stops rigging exam scores

Juntendo University says abolishing unfair treatment of women is behind rise in entrance exam scores

www.theguardian.com

 

[blueharvest]

Former aide to New York's governor is charged with being an agent of the Chinese government

Federal prosecutors say a former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government.

apnews.com

 

[blueharvest]

China-linked 'Spamouflage' network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate

As voters prepare to cast their ballots in the November election, U.S. adversaries like China are making their own plans

abcnews.go.com

 

[blueharvest]

Inside Thailand's $2 billion scam industry now targeting Americans

A former scammer and local police reveal how Chinese masterminds are leading giant scam centers.

www.newsweek.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Biden moves to crack down on Shein and Temu, slow shipments into US

Rapid growth of Temu and Shein threatens US businesses and consumers, Biden says.

arstechnica.com

 

[blueharvest]

German warships ignored China's complaints and sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in over 2 decades

Berlin's ships passed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in over 20 years, making it the latest US ally to navigate the tense waters.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[blueharvest]

 

[blueharvest]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Reports: China hacked Verizon and AT&T, may have accessed US wiretap systems

Chinese hackers were in networks of major ISPs “for months,” WSJ reports.

arstechnica.com

If you build a backdoor into something - networks, encryption, whatever - others will discover it if not also use it eventually.

 

[blueharvest]

Intelligence officials say US adversaries are targeting congressional races with disinformation

Top U.S. intelligence officials say Russia and China are seeking to meddle with specific U.S. House and Senate races this election year

abcnews.go.com

 

[blueharvest]

China fires water cannon at US ally near disputed territory

The Philippines says a group of Chinese coast guard and navy ships failed to derail a mission to supply fishermen at Scarborough Shoal.

www.newsweek.com

 

[blueharvest]

China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years

IEA says faster clean energy rollout led by solar power in China with country set to boast half of world’s renewables by 2030

www.theguardian.com

 

[squeekness]

China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years

IEA says faster clean energy rollout led by solar power in China with country set to boast half of world’s renewables by 2030

www.theguardian.com

Wish we were doing do well.

 

[blueharvest]

Parliament dissolved by new Japan PM, snap election called

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is banking on his popularity, weak opposition as well as promised defense and demographic measures.

www.newsweek.com

 

[blueharvest]

North Koreans deployed alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, sources say

Engineers said to be supporting missile launches and reports of North Koreans killed near Donetsk

www.theguardian.com

 

[blueharvest]

Taiwan says four iPhone maker staff detained in China under 'strange' circumstances

Four had been detained in China’s Zhengzhou, home to a major Foxconn plant assembling Apple’s iPhones, on suspicion of the equivalent of “breach of trust,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[blueharvest]

China vows to take ‘countermeasures’ over US and Taiwan $2bn arms deal

Package includes Nasams air defence system that Taiwan says will help it in the face of China’s frequent military manoeuvres

www.theguardian.com

 

[blueharvest]

Hong Kong jails 45 pro-democracy activists after largest national security trial

Prominent activists Benny Tai and Joshua Wong receive 10 years and four years respectively

www.independent.co.uk

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

China Is Studying Russia’s Sanctions Evasion to Prepare for Taiwan Conflict​

Officials report back to Beijing with lessons it can use in the event of war and Western penalties​

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-is-studying-russias-sanctions-evasion-to-prepare-for-taiwan-conflict-5665f508

 

[blueharvest]

Impeachment complaint filed against Philippine Vice President Duterte after she threatened president

An impeachment complaint has been filed against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing a legal storm over a death threat she made against the president and her alleged role in extra-judicial killings of drug suspects, corruption and failure to stand up to Chinese aggression in the dis

apnews.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

 

[squeekness]

China Is Studying Russia’s Sanctions Evasion to Prepare for Taiwan Conflict​

Officials report back to Beijing with lessons it can use in the event of war and Western penalties​

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-is-studying-russias-sanctions-evasion-to-prepare-for-taiwan-conflict-5665f508

Oh, goodie. Something to look forward to. You know China is at least going to try it.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

South Korea lifts president's martial law decree after lawmakers reject military rule

The president of South Korea has lifted the martial law he imposed on the country, bending to political pressure after a tense night in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule.

apnews.com

Like Trump he was elected by angry men.

Young, Angry, Misogynistic, and Male: Inside South Korea’s Incel Election

Anti-feminism is at the forefront of this year’s Korean presidential election, with populist candidates mobilizing an army of angry young male voters.

www.vice.com

Pro-arts but pro-sexism? New South Korean president ushers in a contentious era after 'incel election'

Against a backdrop of misogynistic rhetoric, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol promises to create half a million jobs in the Korean cultural industry

www.theartnewspaper.com

Now he wants to be the dictator of South Korea. He should be removed from power and prosecuted if crimes have been committed.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Yoon’s step would affect the country’s governance and democracy. The move drew immediate opposition from politicians, including the leader of his own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, who called the decision “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Yoon has now banned the legislature and all political parties:

(URGENT) Activities related to National Assembly, political parties banned: martial law commander | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr

The SK military appears to be backing the new dictatorship:

[속보] 계엄사령관에 육군 대장 박안수 | 연합뉴스

(

www.yna.co.kr

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

China hits out at latest US effort to block Beijing’s access to chip technology

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/02/tech/china-us-chips-new-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html

A day later, it banned outright the sale of a number of materials crucial for the production of semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries to the US. The export of gallium, germanium, antimony and other “super hard” materials will not be permitted because they may be used for military purposes, according to the ministry.

China had restricted the sale of some of these materials last year, as the tech rivalry between the two sides escalated. However, there was previously an option for companies to apply for special permits to export to the US, a loophole that now appears to be closed.