• Apple and Huawai“s smartphone rivalry divides China
• China denies iPhone ban for officials but notes its ‘security incidents’
• China becomes first to name new Afghan ambassador under Taliban
• Why is China so outraged at the Fukushima wastewater release? | Podcasts
• Taliban say Chinese envoy appointed to Kabul in first ambassadorial appointment since takeover
• ‘Farcical’: China’s media gives short shrift to British spying allegations
• [Uk] Security services warn over Chinese infiltration in politics
• Chinese consumers cheer Apple“s iPhone 15, others prefer Huawei
• China, Venezuela upgrade ties to “all-weather strategic partnership“ -state media
• China unveils Taiwan economic ‘integration’ plan as warships conduct manoeuvres off coast
• Exiled Chinese dissidents alarmed by ‘spy’ arrest of Westminster researcher
• US says Hanoi ties upgrade is not a “cold war“ move against China
• Members of Congress are planning official visits to China
• Hunt for nearly 70 crocodiles that escaped during China floods
• Unusual Bird-like Dinosaur Discovered in China

Apple and Huawai“s smartphone rivalry divides China

https://reuters.com/article/apple-china/apple-vs-huawei-a-new-smartphone-battle-divides-china-idUSKBN30J0GC

Apple's iPhone 15 drew mixed reactions in its third largest market of China on Wednesday, with many online users liking its faster chip and improved gaming capabilities while others preferred Huawei's new smartphone.

China remains key for the U.S. tech giant, which unveiled its new iPhone lineup on Tuesday. The company occupies a leading position in China's premium smartphone market, in part due to the decimation of Huawei Technologies' (HWT.UL) smartphone business by U.S. export controls, but has also come under scrutiny in the run-up to the iPhone 15's launch.

Shares in Apple (AAPL.O) and its suppliers were battered last week after reports that Chinese government agencies and state firms were banning staff from using the phone and Huawei launched a new smartphone with an advanced chip, seen as an effort by the Chinese firm for a comeback.

The unveiling of Apple's iPhone 15 attracted intense discussion online on Wednesday, as new models have done in the past. The new phone goes on sale online in China on Alibaba's (9988.HK) Tmall marketplace on Sept. 15, and in-stores on Sept. 22.

Topics discussing the new launch attracted 380 million views on social media platform Weibo, with more than 800,000 discussions, including posts, comments and likes, on the iPhone 15.

Many cheered the iPhone 15 Pro's new 3 nanometer chip and Apple's pitch that console-quality games such as "Resident Evil 4 Remake", can be played on the device, appealing to China's army of mobile gamers.

But several social media users had misgivings about choosing an American brand over a domestically made rival, especially after state media applauded the roll out of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro earlier this month as a triumph by China over U.S. sanctions.

A survey by Chinese news portal Sina on the social media platform asking participants if they would buy the Mate 60 or iPhone 15 saw 61,000 votes for the Huawei device versus 24,000 for the iPhone 15.

Comparisons of how the Mate 60 Pro could make calls and send texts via satellite, while the iPhone 15 was only capable of satellite texts, also generated significant discussion.

"The iPhone 15 can only send SOS messages via satellite, using last-generation technology already deployed in Huawei's Mate 60, which supports full satellite calling," one user wrote.

China's smartphone market, like the sector globally, is in the midst of a slump and analysts cautioned that this, and the country's slowing economy, could also weigh on sales of the iPhone 15.

Apple's third-party retailers in February launched rare discounts on the iPhone 14 Pro by as much as 10% that helped sales but could undermine demand for the latest series, analysts said.

"This is not a good signal for the upcoming 15 series as some demand has been fulfilled before the launch," said Archie Zhang, a research analyst at Counterpoint. "Before Huawei's surprise launch, we projected Apple's sales in China Q3 and Q4 to be flat or slightly weaker than last year."

Will Wong, an analyst with industry research group IDC, saw recent public sector developments and Huawei posing a challenge for Apple.

"Sales (of the iPhone 15) are not going to be easy, especially since Chinese consumers are either being cautious in spending or shifted their focus to leisure or travel," he added.

China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Beijing had not issued a ban on the purchase and use of foreign phone brands like Apple but noted that it had noticed media coverage of security incidents related to Apple's phones.

IDC expects Apple's share in China's premium phone market will gradually decline due to increased competition from Huawei.

For the first half of 2023, Apple held 67% of market share for phones priced over $600, followed by Huawei with 15.6%.

($1 = 7.2825 Chinese yuan)

China denies iPhone ban for officials but notes its ‘security incidents’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/13/china-iphone-ban-security-issues/2023-09-13T08:49:31.078Z

Just hours after Apple wrapped up its annual product launch for the hotly anticipated iPhone 15, the Chinese government denied reports that it had banned officials from using the smartphones — and then noted recent “security incidents” involving the devices.

“China has not issued any legislation, regulations or policy documents prohibiting the purchase and use of Apple’s foreign-brand phones. However, we have indeed noticed many recent media reports exposing security incidents related to Apple phones,” Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday.

Mao didn’t elaborate on whether the “incidents” in question were well-reported recent security vulnerabilities from out-of-date software or a potentially more serious Chinese government concern about the safety of the devices.

Make sure you download the latest iPhone security update

But the vague comment is likely to feed a wave of concern about Apple’s relationship with China, which manufacturers most of its iPhones — and where, by some estimates, it now sells more of the phones than in the United States.

News last week of a potential iPhone ban for Chinese government workers knocked $200 billion off the company’s value in two days.

In meetings and private chat groups, superiors at Chinese central government agencies told officials not to bring iPhones or other foreign-branded devices into work, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The reported decision to widen already existing restrictions on the use of foreign-made technology in some government departments comes as the Chinese Communist Party has urged Chinese technology giants to keep pace with international leaders like Apple.

Beneath the drive to become a leader in the technologies of the future is Beijing’s desire to be self-sufficient in critical technologies like microchips, because it sees a tightening chokehold on Chinese access by United States and its allies as a grave threat to China’s rise and national security.

And that politically charged standoff is increasingly playing out in everyday consumer technology as well.

Earlier this month, while Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was visiting the country, Chinese technology giant Huawei launched its latest smartphone with an advanced — and reportedly Chinese-made — chip.

Claims of a sooner-than-expected breakthrough were hailed in China as evidence that U.S. sanctions had failed to hold the company back, and local media turned Raimondo into an unwitting brand ambassador for the device.

For some on Chinese social media, Apple’s annual product launch on Tuesday evening in California was another opportunity to praise their home champion.

During a live-stream of the event, and under CEO Tim Cook’s post about the iPhone 15 on microblog Weibo, many commented “far, far ahead” — a phrase often used to show support for Huawei after the company used it 14 times in a 2020 presentation.

Chinese memes make U.S. envoy unwitting brand ambassador for new Huawei phone

A Chinese government campaign to question the safety of Apple devices could be a serious blow to a relationship with China that the company has carefully built over decades.

The risk of Apples overreliance on Chinese factories has already been underscored in recent years by worker exoduses during the country’s unpredictable coronavirus lockdowns and human rights group accusations of suppliers relying on Uyghur forced labor.

The apparent squeeze on Apple comes as China has increasingly cited national security concerns to investigate or restrict the operations of foreign companies in the country.

But the Economic Observer, a Chinese newspaper, raised another potential — and in fact opposite — concern for the Communist Party: Its powerful graft-busters are unable to unlock the iPhones of suspects caught in top leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.

“This is a problem we often encounter,” an unnamed official for the Beijing Discipline and Supervision Bureau, a powerful graft-fighting agency, told the newspaper. “We have software to unlock other mobile phones without passwords, including some software from Russia. Only Apple phones can’t be unlocked. So this is also a reason officials cannot use Apple phones.”

Pei-Lin Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

---

China becomes first to name new Afghan ambassador under Taliban

https://reuters.com/article/afghanistan-conflict-china/china-becomes-first-to-name-new-afghan-ambassador-under-taliban-idUSKBN30J0SO

China became the first country on Wednesday to formally name a new ambassador to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, after its envoy presented credentials at a ceremony in Kabul.

The Taliban have not been officially recognised by any foreign government, and Beijing did not indicate whether Wednesday's appointment signalled any wider steps towards formal recognition of the Taliban.

"This is the normal rotation of China's ambassador to Afghanistan, and is intended to continue advancing dialogue and cooperation between China and Afghanistan," China's foreign ministry said in a statement. "China's policy towards Afghanistan is clear and consistent."

A Taliban administration foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters new envoy Zhao Xing was the first ambassador from any country to take up the post since August 2021, when the Taliban took over as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew after 20 years.

Mohammad Hassan Akhund, acting prime minister in the Taliban administration, had accepted the new envoy's credentials in a ceremony, the Taliban administration's deputy spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said in a statement.

The Taliban administration spokesperson's office published photos of a ceremony at Afghanistan's presidential palace on Wednesday at which the ambassador was received by officials, including Akhund and the acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi.

China's previous ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, took up the role in 2019 and finished his tenure last month.

There are other diplomats in Kabul with the title of ambassador, but all of them took up their posts before the Taliban takeover.

Other countries and bodies, such as Pakistan and the European Union, have since sent senior diplomats to lead diplomatic missions using the title 'charge d'affaires', which does not require presenting ambassadorial credentials to the host nation.

The Taliban entered the capital on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Afghan security forces, set up with years of Western support, disintegrated and U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled.

Why is China so outraged at the Fukushima wastewater release? | Podcasts

https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/09/12/why-is-china-so-outraged-at-the-fukushima-wastewater-release

Chinese social media is awash with disinformation about nuclear wastewater. Ever since August 24, when Japan began to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, China’s state media has pumped out a flood of one-sided reports about the dangers. China’s nationalist netizens have spread them.

Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Ted Plafker, our China correspondent, take a look inside a Chinese Communist Party disinformation campaign and ask what China’s government stands to gain from the public outrage over the Fukushima wastewater release.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | RSS

Taliban say Chinese envoy appointed to Kabul in first ambassadorial appointment since takeover

https://reuters.com/article/afghanistan-conflict-china/taliban-say-chinese-envoy-appointed-to-kabul-in-first-ambassadorial-appointment-since-takeover-idUSKBN30J0SO

A new Chinese ambassador presented his credentials to the Taliban's prime minister in Kabul on Wednesday, Afghan officials said, adding it was the first appointment of a foreign envoy at the ambassadorial level since the Taliban took power in 2021.

The Taliban have not been officially recognised by any foreign government. It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's appointment signalled any steps by Beijing towards formal recognition of the Taliban.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

"Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, accepted the credentials of Mr Zhao Xing, the new Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, during a ceremony," said the Taliban administration's deputy spokesman, Bilal Karimi, in a statement.

A Taliban administration foreign ministry spokesman confirmed he was the first ambassador appointed since August 2021 when the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew.

China's previous ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, took up the role in 2019 and finished his tenure last month.

Other nations and international delegations, such as Pakistan and the European Union, have sent senior diplomats to lead diplomatic missions in Kabul but they have taken on a 'chargee d'affaires' title, usually meaning they are responsible for ambassadorial duties but do not formally hold the role of ambassador.

Some ambassadors appointed during the previous foreign-backed Afghan government have also stayed in Kabul with the same title.

The Taliban entered the capital on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Afghan security forces, set up with years of Western support, disintegrated and U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled.

---

‘Farcical’: China’s media gives short shrift to British spying allegations

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/13/china-media-reaction-british-spying-allegations

The fallout from revelations that two people were arrested in the UK for allegedly spying for China has dominated British news since the story broke. In the heavily state-controlled media in China, however, it has caused barely a ripple.

It took more than a day for state-controlled press to run the story, reporting a short statement from its embassy in London and then comments from the foreign affairs ministry.

The message was short: the allegations were baseless and the UK was “hyping” it up. On Tuesday, the Global Times, a hawkish state-backed tabloid, published an editorial from its former editor Hu Xijin calling the situation “farcical” and said it highlighted how “the declining British empire is becoming increasingly paranoid and shallow”.

On Wednesday, the outlet ran an editorial in both Chinese and English asking if the UK was trying to replicate “balloongate”, referring to the US shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon in its airspace in February, just as the two countries were beginning to repair relations.

The Global Times said the British revelations would “typically be a minor case” and accused some parliamentarians of hyping it up. “In the US and the UK, there are individuals or forces who specialise in sabotaging relations with China,” it said.

On social media, commenters were apathetic about the controversy. “No one … is clean when it comes to spies,” wrote one person. More comments joined in with another British-focused media campaign – calling for the return of artefacts from the British Museum.

The Global Times, while state-backed and vociferous, is not an official mouthpiece. Outlets more tightly controlled by the Communist party, such as Xinhua and the People’s Daily, tend to focus more on the leadership’s agenda, recent speeches by Xi Jinping and propaganda campaigns – for example the ongoing negative coverage of Japan’s release of treated waste water at Fukushima, or railing against “separatism” by the government in Taiwan.

They have not devoted the same energy to the UK spy story and government spokespeople have instead stuck to the talking points.

---

[Uk] Security services warn over Chinese infiltration in politics

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66798560?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Chinese consumers cheer Apple“s iPhone 15, others prefer Huawei

https://reuters.com/article/apple-china/chinese-consumers-cheer-apples-iphone-15-others-prefer-huawei-idUSKBN30J0GC

Apple's iPhone 15 drew mixed reactions in its third largest market of China on Wednesday, with many online users liking its faster chip and improved gaming capabilities while others preferred Huawei's new smartphone.

China remains key for the U.S. tech giant, which unveiled its new iPhone lineup on Tuesday. The company occupies a leading position in China's premium smartphone market, in part due to the decimation of Huawei Technologies' (HWT.UL) smartphone business by U.S. export controls, but has also come under scrutiny in the run-up to the iPhone 15's launch.

Shares in Apple (AAPL.O) and its suppliers were battered last week after reports that Chinese government agencies and state firms were banning staff from using the phone and Huawei launched a new smartphone with an advanced chip, seen as an effort by the Chinese firm for a comeback.

The unveiling of Apple's iPhone 15 attracted intense discussion online on Wednesday, as new models have done in the past. The new phone goes on sale online in China on Alibaba's (9988.HK) Tmall marketplace on Sept. 15, and in-stores on Sept. 22.

Topics discussing the new launch attracted 380 million views on social media platform Weibo, with more than 800,000 discussions, including posts, comments and likes, on the iPhone 15.

Many cheered the iPhone 15 Pro's new 3 nanometer chip and Apple's pitch that console-quality games such as "Resident Evil 4 Remake", can be played on the device, appealing to China's army of mobile gamers.

But several social media users had misgivings about choosing an American brand over a domestically made rival, especially after state media applauded the roll out of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro earlier this month as a triumph by China over U.S. sanctions.

A survey by Chinese news portal Sina on the social media platform asking participants if they would buy the Mate 60 or iPhone 15 saw 61,000 votes for the Huawei device versus 24,000 for the iPhone 15.

Comparisions of how the Mate 60 Pro could make calls and send texts via satellite, while the iPhone 15 was only capable of satellite texts, also generated significant discussion.

"The iPhone 15 can only send SOS messages via satellite, using last-generation technology already deployed in Huawei's Mate 60, which supports full satellite calling," one user wrote.

China's smartphone market, like the sector globally, is in the midst of a slump and analysts cautioned that this, and the country's slowing economy, could also weigh on sales of the iPhone 15.

Apple's third-party retailers in February launched rare discounts on the iPhone 14 Pro by as much as 10% that helped sales but could undermine demand for the latest series, analysts said.

"This is not a good signal for the upcoming 15 series as some demands have been fulfilled before the launch," said Archie Zhang, a research analyst at Counterpoint. "Before Huawei's surprise launch, we projected Apple's sales in China Q3 and Q4 to be flat or slightly weaker than last year."

Will Wong, an analyst with industry research group IDC, saw recent public sector developments and Huawei posing a challenge for Apple.

"Sales (of the iPhone 15) are not going to be easy, especially since Chinese consumers are either being cautious in spending or shifted their focus to leisure or travel," he added.

IDC expects Apple's share in China's premium phone market will gradually decline due to increased competition from Huawei.

For the first half of 2023, Apple held 67% of market share for phones priced over $600, followed by Huawei with 15.6%.

($1 = 7.2825 Chinese yuan)

China, Venezuela upgrade ties to “all-weather strategic partnership“ -state media

https://reuters.com/article/china-venezuela-diplomacy/china-venezuela-upgrade-ties-to-all-weather-strategic-partnership-state-media-idUSKBN30J0MC

China and Venezuela will elevate their ties to an "all weather strategic partnership", Chinese state media citied President Xi Jinping as saying in a meeting with Venezuela's president on Wednesday.

China is willing to consolidate and deepen cooperation with Venezuela in various fields, Xi told President Nicolas Maduro in Beijing.

China unveils Taiwan economic ‘integration’ plan as warships conduct manoeuvres off coast

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/13/china-unveils-taiwan-economic-integration-plan-as-warships-conduct-manoeuvres-off-coast

China’s government has unveiled a “new path towards integrated development” with Taiwan, including proposals to make it easier for Taiwanese people to live, study and work in China.

At the same time, it sent the largest number of warships to gather in years to the waters on Taiwan’s east, in what analysts said signalled a choice between peaceful “reunification” and military violence, just months out from Taiwan’s presidential election.

The new measures, released by the ruling Communist party’s Central Committee and the State Council on Tuesday said the coastal province of Fujian would become a “demonstration zone” for integrated development.

The 21 measures include facilitating Taiwanese people to live in Fujian and access social services, expanding enrolment of Taiwanese students in Fujian schools, and deepening industrial cooperation.

“The move is aimed at deepening cross-strait integrated development in all fields and advancing the peaceful reunification of the motherland,” said official state media outlet, China Daily.

The Global Times, a hawkish state-backed news outlet, described the document as “equivalent to outlining the future development blueprint of Taiwan island”.

China Daily said that “pair cities” of Xiamen and Kinmen, and Fuzhou and Matsu would play “an even more prominent role”. The islands of Kinmen and Matsu sit just a few kilometres from the Chinese mainland and have some cultural and economic ties, but are governed by Taiwan.

Taiwan’s media extensively covered the announcement, with a particular focus on measures encouraging Taiwanese to buy homes and invest in Fujian. Responses were sceptical, with many pointing to the property market crisis in China.

“The Chinese government has cut leeks among its own people, now they turn to the Taiwanese,” said one commenter, using an idiom that refers to financial industries taking advantage of gullible investors.

Xi Jinping wants “reunification” with Taiwan without war, although he has said he is prepared to use force. The integration plan coincided with the massing of Chinese warships in the western Pacific for what appeared to be major military exercises.

On Monday the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent a carrier strike group past Taiwan’s southern tip into the western Pacific Ocean, led by the aircraft carrier Shandong. Dozens of warplanes were also detected by Taiwan flying new and longer patterns over the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and to the islands south as they accompanied the strike group.

On Tuesday, Japan’s defence ministry detected two flotillas of eight warships sailing through the Miyako Strait south of Okinawa, on a course that analysts said could converge with the Shandong-led group. Another 36 war plane sorties were detected on Wednesday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry said. Should the groups converge, it would form the largest ever manoeuvres seen involving a Chinese aircraft carrier, Su Tzu-yun, an analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the Financial Times.

In Taiwan a senior military official, General Huang Wen-chi, told media on Tuesday the Shandong “undoubtedly poses a new threat”.

Chinese authorities have made no announcement about the exercises, and as of publication there were no navigational warnings issued for the area. The PLA last held major exercises with the Shandong to Taiwan’s east in reaction to a meeting between Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen and US House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Analysts have told the Guardian they suspect this week’s activity is in response to recent transits of the Taiwan Strait and joint exercises involving the US and allies, and a continuation of military threats to Taiwan.

In January, Taiwan will have its next presidential election, and it is widely expected that Beijing will seek to influence voters during the campaign, as it has done in previous years. It is most opposed to a victory by the ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP), which is the most strident in asserting Taiwan’s status as a sovereign nation. Vice-president Lai Ching-te, the DPP’s presidential candidate, is the present frontrunner.

However opposition parties – and a growing majority of Taiwan’s people – also reject the prospect of Chinese rule. After Tsai came to power in 2016, Beijing cut off formal communications with Taipei.

Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Wednesday’s dual signals of a peaceful integration plan, while simultaneously staging intensive military exercises were a sign of the confused messaging.

“How are the Taiwanese people supposed to interpret this? Go to the mainland for great economic opportunity, but fly over the warships we’ve surrounded your island with?”

Additional research by Tzu-wei Liu

Exiled Chinese dissidents alarmed by ‘spy’ arrest of Westminster researcher

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/13/exiled-chinese-dissidents-alarmed-by-spy-arrest-of-westminster-researcher

Finn Lau’s meeting with a Westminster researcher who was later arrested on suspicion of spying for China lasted just 20 minutes. Nearly a year later he is mulling the potential consequences.

Lau, an exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist with a £100,000 bounty on his head, has a lingering suspicion that some of his ideas for putting more pressure on China appear not to have made it beyond their meeting.

Exiled Chinese dissidents such as Lau, as well as Hong Kong activists and others including advocates of Tibetan independence and China’s Uyghur minority ethnic group, have raised concerns after news of the researcher’s arrest in March emerged at the weekend. The man, who has not been named by police, has since said he is “completely innocent” and rejected what he said was “extravagant news reporting”.

These communities have long complained of being the target of surveillance by Chinese authorities, at demonstrations or online. Claims that China operates overseas “police stations” in Britain have also been a long-term concern.

“We are no strangers to being spied on but this week has caused people to sit up and take notice. This is a story that has gone viral among the Chinese community here,” said Lau, who continues to take security countermeasures every time he steps out in London. He said he was most recently the target of an attempt to interview him by someone posing as a reporter from a reputable Chinese radio news station.

The researcher who was arrested, who had a parliamentary pass and contact with ministers, is not thought to have family ties to China. Lau said: “It has not changed my behaviour. But I think people will also now be even more careful about who they engage with, no matter what the colour of their skin. You might say that there is even a benefit to that, if it punctures the stereotypes of what an alleged Chinese spy should be.”

Lau called for an audit of vetting measures in parliament – a system that he and Hong Kong activists argue sometimes makes it more difficult for them to engage with the democratic process in the UK.

The Conservative MP Tim Loughton spoke this week of how he had tried to hire as an intern someone who had come to the UK from Hong Kong but parliamentary security rejected them because they had not been in the UK for three years and had come from China.

In a call echoed by Amnesty International, Chung Ching Kwong, a Hong-Kong born democracy activist now living in the UK, called for reassurances to be given to those who gave information to parliamentarians and who now fear they may be at risk.

“Rather than MPs, it is the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese, Chinese dissidents and Hongkongers that are and will be the ones to suffer,” she said. “Has anyone briefed the activists and dissidents that may have been affected due to potential security failure? At least flag to people what kind of trouble they are now being put into.”

She added: “A lot of Chinese dissident activists do sensitive work in this field and I do think that people should be worried, not necessarily in the sense that they may have to change their address immediately, but people should definitely be doing an audit of what kind of information they may have shared.”

Amnesty said: “We have long called on the UK government to protect these communities from the long arm of Chinese state oppression and to defend their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression and prevent any effort to intimidate and silence them.

“The government must take urgent, concrete steps to investigate this case and demonstrate to those standing up for the rights of their families and friends in China that parliament is the protected space it claims to be.”

US says Hanoi ties upgrade is not a “cold war“ move against China

https://reuters.com/article/vietnam-usa-china/us-says-hanoi-ties-upgrade-is-not-a-cold-war-move-against-china-idUSKBN30J06D

The United States' move to upgrade relation with Hanoi is not a Cold War move against China, a U.S. National Security Council official said on Wednesday.

"The idea that this is in any way any kind of Cold War move, and also the idea that this diplomatic opening is any kind of effort to choose between Vietnam and China, because I don't think it is either one of those things," Mira Rapp-Hooper, National Security Council Director for the Indo-Pacific, said at a digital news briefing.

Vietnam and the United States on Sunday upgraded their relationship to the highest diplomatic status during a visit to Hanoi by U.S. President Joe Biden.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the U.S. to "abandon hegemony and Cold War thinking," in her response to the Vietnam-U.S. relation upgrade.

"We demand that the United States, when dealing with relations with Asian countries, must respect the common aspiration of regional countries for stability, cooperation, and development, abide by the basic norms of international relations," Ning said.

Rapp-Hooper said the upgraded partnership with Vietnam is a dynamic, open, inclusive partnership that is intended to support Vietnam and its technological, economic, and development aspirations.

"This relationship isn't about anyone else," she said.

"It's about our two countries and the intrinsic value this relationship has in terms of our shared prosperity, our shared security, our shared interests in a free and open Indo-Pacific, in a free and open South China Sea."

The U.S. and China are Vietnam's largest trading partners. Vietnam and China have for years been embroiled in a dispute over the potentially energy-rich stretch of water, called the East Sea by Vietnam.

Members of Congress are planning official visits to China

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/12/schumer-china-delegations/2023-09-12T15:00:23.863Z

Two delegations of U.S. lawmakers are planning trips to China this fall in what would be the latest in a string of high-level visits, encouraged by the Biden administration, as Washington debates how to address a dangerously frayed relationship with Beijing.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) hope to lead a bipartisan visit in October, spokespeople for the two senators said Tuesday. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told The Washington Post that he wants organize a trip by House lawmakers.

In a statement affirming his “hope” to lead a delegation to China when the State Department deems it “appropriate,” Khanna, a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said that he supports diplomacy with Beijing, and believes “it’s important to engage and have open lines of communication between our two countries.”

The planned visit led by Schumer and Crapo was reported earlier on Punchbowl News.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawmakers’ travel preparations come as administration officials amplify their focus on trying to cool tensions with China. The two powers have been locked in a simmering trade war, and each side has warned of a possible military conflict in the future as their slate of disagreements grows.

In recent months, the White House has dispatched to Beijing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who in June became the first top American diplomat to visit China in five years. He was followed, in July, by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and President Biden’s special envoy on climate change, John F. Kerry. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo went in August.

To the frustration of many Republicans, the Chinese government has yet to reciprocate by dispatching any of its top officials for talks in Washington.

U.S. officials acknowledge that the administration’s overtures thus far have yielded only modest results. Several in the GOP, meanwhile, have criticized the outreach as misguided, even dangerous, as they argue for an American foreign policy that’s guided by deterrence through military strength.

The administration has taken steps to bolster U.S. military partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, prompting criticism from Beijing, but those moves have done little to appease Republicans who have accused Biden of being soft on China.

Senate aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Schumer-Crapo led trip, said that the majority leader also extended invitations to Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). It was not immediately clear who from the House may accompany Khanna.

Hagerty, who served as ambassador to Japan under President Donald Trump, said in an interview that he believes it’s “ill-advised” to continue sending senior administration officials, and “certainly anybody from the United States Senate,” when the Chinese have thus far declined to follow suit.

“Anybody that has dealt with the CCP, as I have in the past, should know that you need to be dealing from a position of strength,” Hagerty added. “That’s not where we are right now.”

He declined to say how he responded to Schumer’s invitation.

Cornyn, in a separate interview, said he informed the majority leader that, “I think something like this could be very important, but frankly not at this time.”

“What I’m worried about … is that you’ve seen the number of Cabinet officials going over there and, you know, looking like they are, frankly, cow towing to the Chinese Communist Party,” he added, saying that the planned trip’s optics seemed “really dubious to me” and that he was unsure “what could actually be accomplished.”

Rounds declined to say whether he was invited or would consider visiting Beijing, adding, though, that he would not “second guess” other members who do. U.S. lawmakers and government officials visit other countries that don’t espouse American democracy but with whom it’s important to maintain a relationship, he noted.

Rounds said, however, that he was unsure whether such outreach to China was effective. “I know that there’s folks who really want to try to do everything they can to avoid conflict. I understand that. But there also has to be a mutual respect for each other,” he said, noting that the U.S. officials to visit so far “have not been very well received.”

Spokespeople for Heinrich and Shaheen said they also would not participate in the trip.

The U.S.-China relationship cratered earlier this year after the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, exposing what the Biden administration later characterized as a sophisticated surveillance operation spanning “more than 40 countries across five continents.”

The White House did not respond to questions about the potential congressional delegations.

Schumer rarely undertakes official travel abroad, though, underscoring this trip’s apparent importance to the administration. Earlier this year, he led a delegation to Germany, India, Pakistan and Israel. Before that, his last such trip was to China, in 2011, two years before Xi became president.

A growing chorus of China hawks in Washington has called for stricter economic policies toward Beijing, including measures to prevent U.S. investment in Chinese companies that build military technology.

At a hearing Tuesday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who chairs the China select committee, warned of a scenario in which “China’s military could be raining missiles on our friends in Taiwan, and very likely American servicemembers, with weapons that Americans funded.”

“In short, we’re at risk of financing our own destruction,” Gallagher said during the hearing, held in New York, to scrutinize the interconnectedness of the U.S. and Chinese economies.

State Department officials said during Blinken’s visit in June that, in addition to calming tensions, the United States also is seeking to increase commercial flights between the two countries and find ways to combat the U.S. fentanyl crisis by targeting precursor chemicals that often originate in China.

Yellen said following her visit to Beijing that she spoke to Chinese officials about the government’s treatment of American companies operating in China, and its inappropriate use of state power to shape global markets. Chinese officials, in turn, took aim at U.S. tariffs, implemented under Trump and continued under Biden, and more recent limitations on trade and investment in sensitive technology.

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Toluse Olorunnipa contributed to this report.

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Hunt for nearly 70 crocodiles that escaped during China floods

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/13/crocodiles-escape-china-floods

A Chinese city has launched an operation to find a large number of crocodiles that escaped when floods hit the region in recent days, authorities have said.

A typhoon brought sustained heavy rains to southern China last week, triggering inundations in Hong Kong and other areas.

Deluges around the city of Maoming in Guangdong province caused a lake at a commercial crocodile farm to overflow with over 70 animals escaping, local media reported. Local authorities warned villagers in Peng Cun at one point to stay indoors after crocodiles were seen in the area.

A spokesperson from the local emergency management office told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that officials were “working to deal with” the reptilian runaways.

The person did not say how many animals were still on the loose or whether any had so far been recovered, however reports in Chinese state media said eight had been caught. Some have reportedly been shot or electrocuted.

A video published by the state-backed Beijing News showed responders in red uniforms searching flooded fields in rescue boats. Other images showed several two-metre-long crocodiles lying on the road, their jaws bound tight with red tape.

“Crocodiles are still in the water, and several government departments are working to catch them,” the state-affiliated China National Radio (CNR) reported, citing the local agriculture bureau.

“The specific situation is still under investigation … [including] the specific number of crocodiles,” CNR said.

Crocodiles are bred in China for their skin as well as their meat, which is sometimes used in traditional medicine. The stricken area is also home to a “crocodile theme park” and “the country’s largest crocodile breeding base”, according to CNR.

Unusual Bird-like Dinosaur Discovered in China

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/unusual-bird-like-dinosaur-discovered-in-china/7263773.html

About 148 to 150 million years ago, a strange chicken-sized and bird-like dinosaur with long legs and arms much like wings lived in southeastern China. Its unusual body suggests it was either a fast runner or lived near water.

Scientists said last week they had unearthed in the Fujian area the fossil of a dinosaur they named Fujianvenator prodigiosus. They say it lived during the time in Earth’s history called the Jurassic Period.

The new dinosaur find provides more information about an important stage in how birds developed, or evolved, the researchers say.

The question of whether the dinosaur should be called a bird depends on how one defines a bird, said study leader Min Wang. He is a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Asked for a word to describe Fujianvenator, Wang answered, “I would say ‘bizarre.’ Fujianvenator is far from similar to any modern birds.”

Birds evolved from a grouping of dinosaurs known as theropods in the late Jurassic. The oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx, dates to around 150 million years ago in Germany.

Fujianvenator is a member of a grouping called avialans that includes all birds and their closest non-bird dinosaur relatives, Wang said.

The fossil was discovered last October. It is mostly complete but lacks the animal’s head and part of its feet. That makes it hard for scientists to suggest what it ate and how it lived.

Fujianvenator’s lower leg bone – the tibia – was twice as long as its upper leg bone – the femur. These sizes are exceptional among theropods. The theropod group includes all the meat-eating dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus.

Wang said that Fujianvenator did have wings, but it is not clear if it could fly. Wang said, if it did fly it probably did not fly well, based on its bone structure.

Wang said the fossil did not include feathers. But, the animal’s closest relatives and almost all bird-like theropods have feathers. Many dinosaurs had feathers, also.

Wang said, “It would not be a surprise if Fujianvenator had feathers .”

Based on its long legs, the researchers suggested it lived in two possible ways – either as a fast runner or near water, similar to birds like cranes or herons.

Wang has an opinion on the mystery: "I would put my money on runner," the scientist said.

I’m Gregory Stachel.

 

Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted the story for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

fossil – n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks

paleontology – n. the science that deals with the fossils of animals and plants that lived very long ago especially in the time of dinosaurs

bizarre – adj. very unusual or strange

feather – n. any one of the light growths that make up the outer covering of the body of a bird