Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Harris pushes ahead with Vietnam visit; 'lip service in Asia trip can't save US tainted image'

American rules-based order only serves Washington's hegemony: Chinese diplomat

The Vietnam War 1945–1975: “Napalm Girl”

US Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hold a joint news conference in Singapore on Monday during Harris' visit to the country. The two sides reached a series of agreements at combating cyberthreats, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and alleviating supply chain issues. Photo: VCG

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Harris's visit to Singapore can only bring verbal ... - YouTube

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and experts blasted US Vice President Kamala Harris' remarks which accused China of "intimidation" in the South China Sea and undermining the rules-based order, saying that US rules-based order means "arbitrary intervention" in sovereign countries considering what is happening in Afghanistan.

` Despite intensive visits by senior US officials to Southeast Asia recently, the US "lip service" diplomacy in enhancing the US' presence in the Asia-Pacific region will only end up in vain amid its collapsing image over its hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, severely weighing on its "America's back" strategy, which underscores that the US' so-called rules-based order only serves its own hegemony, Chinese experts said.

` Harris rebuked China during a speech in Singapore on Tuesday, accusing the country of coercion and intimidation on the question of the South China Sea, and claiming that the actions of the Chinese government continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations, Bloomberg reported.

` The senior US official also noted that the US engagement in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific is not against any country, nor is it designed to make anyone choose between countries, according to the media report. Harris, eager to woo allies in a bid to counter China, pushed ahead with the trip to Vietnam on Tuesday after a three-hour delay in Singapore due to an unexplained health incident potentially related to the mysterious Havana Syndrome, Reuters reported.

` Southeast Asia has been witnessing an "American comeback" in recent months as several senior officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, paid visits in quick succession to the region. The latest visit of Harris to Singapore and Vietnam is considered US renewed efforts in lobbying Southeast Asian nations in confronting China, playing the role of disrupter in the region for its own security and economic interests.

` "What is happening in Afghanistan clearly demonstrates that the US' so-called 'rules-based order' is a way to arbitrarily intervene militarily in a sovereign country without being held responsible for the suffering of its people," said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday during a routine press conference in response to Harris' remarks.

` The US can come and go whenever it wants without consulting the international community, or even its allies. It can smear, suppress, coerce and bully other countries at will without paying any price just to keep America first - that is the order the US wants, Wang said.

` When many compared the scene in Kabul airport with America's ignominious retreat from Saigon, Vietnam in 1975, some experts said that Harris' "lip service" diplomacy in courting Southeast Asian countries will not save the US from its unprecedented crisis of credibility among allies following its Afghan retreat.

`

` When Harris is in Vietnam, the Vietnam people surely will not forget how the US escaped from Saigon, and the Vietnam party and government deeply understand America's conduct and behavior. They will not echo the US call to provoke China and damage Vietnam-China relations, Lü Xiang, a research fellow in US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

` Even before the US fiasco in Afghanistan which has damaged its image, most Southeast Asian countries did not choose sides between China and the US despite the continuous lobbying of US officials in the region, not only because Southeast Asian countries usually adopt more balanced foreign policies regarding major powers, but also many are not convinced by the empty promises made by Washington.

`

` Given the momentum of China-ASEAN trade growth during the pandemic, the US feels anxious. Harris' visit signals a US reiteration of its "promises" to the region in the hope to enhance security cooperation with the region and push Southeast Asia to decouple with China, but Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, questioned to what extent such tactics can work to serve the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy.

` The US sees Singapore and Vietnam as two "partners" that it can work with but the two have close economic connections with China and supply chain decoupling would be very difficult, Xu told the Global Times on Tuesday.

` The US wants to use such high-level visits to pacify its partners and make them believe that the US will not leave the region, but it lacks the resources to achieve its overly ambitious goal, Xu said, noting the chaos in Afghanistan was so vivid that Southeast Asian countries will definitely use that to evaluate how reliable the US' promises are.

` US defense chief Lloyd Austin completed a week-long visit to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines in late July. Austin started his tour with hard-line remarks against China in Singapore, but this stance was not embraced by leaders of Southeast Asian countries.

` Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned earlier in August over the US against aggressively challenging China, saying Washington's increasingly hard-line views could be "very dangerous," according to the AFP.

` Harris' China-related position has not been openly echoed by leaders in Singapore, which shows that Southeast Asian countries have no intention of being hijacked by US Indo-Pacific strategy in wrestling with China, and some will continue to strike a balance between China and the US, Lü noted.

` "As long as they realize the role of US is not constructive, which only consumes diplomatic resources, they will further understand the US only serves as a regional disrupter rather than a contributor in Southeast Asia," he said.

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Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Open that window! Because fresh air can help lessen the spread of a virus and prevent infections

Fresh air can help stop infection

We need more emphasis on the need for good ventilation to avoid transmitting Covid-19.

University Kebangsaan Malaysia researchers have shown that the virus causing Covid-19 can remain in the air for up to eight hours in enclosed, poorly-ventilated spaces. This is why it is so important to open the window and bring in fresh air from outside. — dpa

WASH your hands. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve heard that constantly. But tell me, how often do you hear: “Open the window”?

` We’ve fussed over sanitising, sterilising and disinfecting to prevent the virus from spreading. But what about ventilation? Where is the fuss to bring fresh air to indoor spaces to clear contaminated air?

` Don’t get me wrong, I’m very much into washing hands – ask my children, who’ve heard that for years. But people get infected with Covid-19 mainly from the air they breathe, so why doesn’t ventilation get greater attention?

` People infected with Covid-19 release the virus when they exhale – and in high concentrations when they hack, cough, sneeze, shout or sing. In a closed room, the concentration of virus particles can build up along with the risk of infection. Covid-19 is said to spread with the “3 Cs” – crowded places, confined spaces and close conversation.

` Air-conditioners that recirculate air may become transmitters of disease. In one well-known case in a restaurant in China, 10 people sitting at three different tables got infected from one person, due to the air flow of the air-con blowing virus particles about.

` Over the last year, experts have hotly contested how Covid-19 spreads, in a debate over big droplets vs aerosols (tiny airborne droplets). Health organisations now increasingly accept the major role of airborne transmission. Such details may seem trifling, but the implications are huge. Droplets fall quickly to surfaces, like raindrops; aerosols can remain suspended in the air for hours and move with air currents, like dust particles. This means that you could walk into a closed room and breathe in virus particles left behind hours ago by an infected person.

` This is why ventilation is so critical – more so with the highly infectious Delta variant raging across the country.

` Studies last year by University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) researchers have shown that the virus causing Covid-19 can remain in the air for up to eight hours in enclosed, poorly-ventilated spaces – and that the virus can also travel as far as 6m in aerosols.

` “This is why it is so important to open the window and bring in fresh air from outside – it will dilute the contaminated indoor air inside,” explains ventilation expert Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, from UKM’s Centre for Earth Sciences & Environment, who led the studies.

` Ideally, a cross-breeze is needed, so air moves from a window across the room.

` But what if windows can’t be opened? High-rise buildings and shopping malls have central air-conditioners with a ventilation system bringing air in from outside. But such systems need to be monitored and maintained says Dr Shahrul, adding that servicing may not be as easy as most aircons in homes. And they may be inadequate, for instance in malls during festive seasons.

` Also problematic are offices or restaurants with air-conditioners that recirculate air and have no ventilation systems. These could be potential superspreader sites.

` In May, the Singapore government issued detailed guidelines on ventilation in enclosed spaces. The key takeaway: Open the windows and turn off the aircon as often as possible. Also, run exhaust fans at full capacity in closed areas such as toilets.

` “We need to start monitoring indoor air quality to ensure good ventilation so we can prevent indoor clusters,” Dr Shahrul says, adding that air quality sensors can provide continuous monitoring.

` Clean air matters for Covid-19 – there is a strong correlation between air pollutants and Covid-19, which both cause respiratory problems. Moreover, ultrafine particles in the air can potentially carry SARS-CoV-2, as shown by Dr Shahrul’s UKM team in a study published by the Nature Scientific Reports journal early this year.

` Areas with poor indoor air quality could have more ultrafine particles, increasing the risks of Covid-19 transmission. Attached to these particles, the virus could travel over longer distances, explains Dr Shahrul, adding that this occurs with other respiratory viruses.

` The risks of transmission are also higher if many people are in a confined indoor space with poor ventilation. Indeed, we have seen explosive spread in the cramped conditions in which migrant workers live and work.

` The UKM team aims to do a study on air quality on public transport. Buses and LRT/MRT trains have ventilation systems, but when packed, these may be inadequate.

` Dr Shahrul says air purifiers with true Hepa (high efficiency particulate air) filters can help clean air. But he adds: “I wouldn’t simply trust any air purifier brand, they must use a good, proven filter.”

` The other protective measure is, of course, to wear proper, fitting masks (ideally N95 or FFP2, ie masks that filter particulates).

` The pandemic has highlighted a long-standing problem: the need for better ventilation systems and regulations.

` “Human spend 90% of their lives indoors compared with outdoors. We definitely need much stronger regulations on ventilation,” says Dr Shahrul.

` For now, the best way to protect ourselves from Covid-19 (aside from vaccination) may be what renowned infectious disease expert Dr Michael Osterholm says: “Stop swapping air” with others outside your trusted circle of contacts.

` - Mangai Balasegaram writes mostly on health, but also delves into anything on being human. She has worked with international public health bodies and has a Masters in public health. Write to her at lifestyle@thestar.com.my. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

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Monday, August 23, 2021

WhatsApp, Friends Reunion, missing parcels: Here’s how scammers are stealing money from netizens

In its report titled ‘Spam and Phishing in Q2 2021’, researchers from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky have detailed how scammers used WhatsApp for tricking users into giving up their hard-earned money in the past quarter. — AFP

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms on the Earth. It is used by over two billion users across the world to send around 100 billion messages every month.

` Unfortunately, its popularity among users also makes it popular among scammers who are constantly looking for new tricks to dupe innocent netizens. Now, a new report by Kaspersky has shed some light on the tricks that the fraudsters have been using to steal users’ money.

` In its report titled ‘Spam and Phishing in Q2 2021’, researchers from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky have detailed how scammers used WhatsApp for tricking users into giving up their hard-earned money in the past quarter.

` “Victims were asked, for example, to take a short survey about WhatsApp and to send messages to several contacts in order to receive a prize.

Another traditional scam aims to persuade the user that they are the lucky winner of a tidy sum. Both scenarios end the same way: the scammers promise a large payout, but only after receiving a small commission,” the company wrote in its report.

` Another method used is sending messages through email. “Emails with a link pointing to a fake WhatsApp voice message most likely belong to the same category.

By following it, the recipient risks not only handing over their personal data to the attackers, but also downloading malware to their computer or phone,” the company added.

` Notably, WhatsApp is just one of the many ways that these fraudsters used to defraud innocent users. Yet another method that they used for tricking people is called parcel scam, which was one of the most common tricks that they used in the past quarter.

They used invoices from mail companies, including custom duties and shipment costs, to make Internet users pay a small sum to get their packages.

` “When trying to pay for the service, as with compensation fraud, victims were taken to a fake website, where they risked not only losing the amount itself (which could be far higher than specified in the email), but also spilling their bank card details,” the cybersecurity experts wrote in the report.

` Fraudsters also used Friends: The Reunion to defraud Internet users. Kaspersky researchers found fake sites supposedly hosting Friends: The Reunion.

“Fans who tried to watch or download the long-awaited continuation were redirected to a Columbia Pictures splash screen. After a few seconds, the broadcast stopped, replaced by a request to pay a nominal fee,” the report added. – Hindustan Times, New Delhi/Tribune News Service

`
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Saturday, August 21, 2021

The economics of politics: Malaysia's leaders should put the people's interests before their own !

THE Sengoku period (also known as the “Warring States period”) of Japan from 1467 to 1615 is a period of great turbulence and unrest due to endless civil war and social upheaval.

` It came about as a result of a political vacuum when the Ashikaga Shogunate collapsed. Advancement of technology during this period also contributed to new warfare. Europeans arriving at the shores of Japan in 1543 introduced the “arquebus”, a type of long gun of its time. It was the same weaponry used by the Portuguese when they invaded the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511.

` I find this period of Japanese history especially fascinating, as this is where samurai warlords such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to prominence. Nobunaga was the leading figure and is recognised as one of the “Three Great Unifiers” of Japan. Coming from a relatively small, Oda clan, he became the most powerful Daimyo (feudal lord) of his time. Due to his adoption of “arquebus” and prowess in war, he was a potent force fighting towards a unification of all of Japan.

` He was succeeded by Hideyoshi, after being forced to commit seppuku in Kyoto when a retainer samurai general, Akechi Mitsushide, launched a coup. Hideyoshi was Nobunaga’s loyal general who rose through the ranks from a foot soldier. He completed Nobunaga’s unification agenda from the existing foundation laid and became the de facto leader of his time.

` Sadly, blinded by his political ambition to expand territories beyond Japan, he launched an ill-fated Korean invasion which damaged Japan’s own domestic economy due to prolonged military stalemate.

` After his death, his five-year-old son, Toyotami Hideyori, succeeded him under the guidance of a Council of Five Regents. It wasn’t until 17 years later before the conflict between Toyotami loyalist supporting Hideyori as a rightful ruler of Japan and Ieyasu, the regent and most influential Daimyo then, imploded leading to the Battle of Sekigahara. Ieyasu won and it ushered 250 years of peace and economic growth known as the Edo Period (Tokugawa Era).

` As our country is in the midst of a second major political impasse after only 18 months and looking to have its third government in three years, this raises the issue of the cost of politics towards our country’s economy and its overall wellbeing.

` Looking back, the Sengoku period was a time of political turmoil where espionage, betrayals and revenge were ordinary course of daily business. It is no different from modern politics today minus the bloodshed. The whole cloak-and-dagger operations beneath the glamorous guise of democracy today hinges on personal interests over the greater good of the people. Hence, almost always the people end up paying the greatest price in the economics of politics.

` The current geopolitical issue in Afghanistan is a clear testament of the cost of politics and poor foreign policy of the United States. After spending US$1 trillion (RM4.2 trillion) of taxpayers’ money, sacrificing 2,448 Americans lives with 20,722 more wounded over 20 years, the longest spanning foreign war in the US’ history is officially drawing to a close. However, at what cost?

` The withdrawal of troops has a left a vacuum in Afghanistan where the “elected” government was overran by armed Taliban. Even president Ashraf Ghani fled the country with cars and choppers filled with cash. The innocent citizens of Afghanistan are left to fend for themselves, while those deemed pro-American are fearing for their lives. Innocent people of both countries paid the ultimate price for US disastrous foreign policy which benefited nobody except weapons manufacturers, arms dealers, pro-war politicians and lobbyist. This is the real cost of politics on full display.

` Of course, there are economics positives that comes out from politics too. After all, politicians plays the role of lawmakers of a country and policies crafted will have direct consequences on the economics of a nation (refer to China’s GDP Growth chart below).

` Deng Xiaoping, the de facto paramount leader of China inherited a country when it was suffering from poverty and ill effects of policies such as the “Great Leap Forward” and “Cultural Revolution” implemented during Mao-era. He instituted a series of reforms including the most crucial “Opening Up of China” (Gai Ge Kai Fang) which pivoted China from a planned economy to a socialist market economy (also known as socialist capitalism).

` I remembered asking my economics professor in LSE years ago, “who is your favourite economist of all time?” Without hesitation, he said “Deng Xiaoping. This man may be small in size but he is enormous in stature. He is great because he had the vision to institute economic reforms steering from old ways for the world’s most populous nation. By doing so, he saved countless of lives.”

` Relating to the current political predicament in our country, I realised how Deng Xiaoping was not your ordinary politician. Unknown to many, he did not actually hold official leadership position in Government or the Chinese Communist Party when he was instituting reforms. Yet, his policies from 1978 onwards laid the foundation for what would make China the second largest economy and superpower of the world today. He is a statesman without honorifics, position and title.

` China’s GDP Growth Chart in above

` Economics and politics always go hand in hand. Both cannot be looked at in isolation. While there are many negative economic indicators for our country at present such as Fitch Solution’s latest 2021 GDP growth forecast downgrade to zero or other rankings which point towards our country’s rapid decline in comparison to regional peers, one should not despair and be overly pessimistic.

` Our country was a beacon of democracy in South East Asia when there was a peaceful transfer of power in 2018 from a regime that ruled for 61 years since Merdeka. Of course, today’s political quandary exposes the flaws within the system but fail safes can be implemented if the leaders are willing to put the people’s interests before their own.

` Japan did not get to where they are today overnight. It was a civilization that went through the bloody Sengoku period. It also showed us that before an era of peace and prosperity comes along, there will be times of turbulence.

` Rest assure, history has shown as society progresses through education and learning from the mistakes of the past, it will mature. That is my hope for the country.

` Ng Zhu Hann, is the author of Once Upon A Time In Bursa. He is a lawyer & former Chief Strategist of a Fortune 500 Corporation. The views expressed here are his own.

Hann Ng - Managing Partner - Hann Partnership | LinkedIn

NG ZHU HANN

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Friday, August 20, 2021

US virus probe a ‘deflection’, ‘applying presumption of guilt’

US lab-leak probe seeks predestined result - Chinadaily.com.cn

US COVID-19 origins probe: Chronicle of a political witch-hunt foretold

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As the Joe Biden-set deadline of the 90-day investigation into the coronavirus origins draws near, sources told the Global Times that US intelligence agencies are gearing up their efforts to compile a report, yet are struggling to find concrete proof to support the "lab leak" theory, and even its own research institutions and allies believe the virus was almost certainly not created artificially.
Is the US attempt of throwing mud at China trying to shift global attention away from its own suspicious bio-labs? FM spokesperson asks.

The US attempts to pinpoint China as the origin of coronavirus by hook or by crook have fueled suspicion on whether the US is trying to divert attention away from its own biolabs, such as Fort Detrick.

Foreign Ministry says Washington ‘applying presumption of guilt’

BEIJING: Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the United States cares nothing about facts or truth, but only about how to exhaust and smear China by launching an investigation over the so-called “lab leak theory” that presumes China is guilty.

` Zhao made the remark on Wednesday after media reports cited informed sources as saying that the US intelligence agency still intends to release a report that makes up misleading conclusions over Covid-19 origins, despite the lack of concrete proof, and that high-level US officials believe the real purpose is to hype up the origin investigation with the aim of exhausting China’s diplomatic resources and increasing US leverage regarding China.

` “If the media reports are true, the US report will be a statement of confession that shows that Washington is deliberately applying presumption of guilt,” Zhao told reporters in Beijing.

` According to the Global Times, Washington is ramping up pressure to coerce international scientists and to rope in allies and World Health Organisation members to smear China over virus origins to beat the 90-day deadline for intelligence officials set by US President Joe Biden.

` The newspaper said it was told by a source that the US will collude with the European Union, Australia and Japan to issue a statement on the second phase of investigation.

` The spokesman said that by going all out to smear China, the US is trying to deflect the international community’s attention from Fort Detrick in the US and other bio labs it owns abroad.

` “What is the US trying to hide?” Zhao said, while also urging the US to clear suspicion over these bio labs’ relation to outbreaks of such diseases such as plague, anthrax and Middle East respiratory syndrome. — China Daily/ANN , adding that the US should invite the WHO to carry out a COVID-19 origins investigation in the US, particularly at Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina. -- China Daily/ANN

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Thursday, August 19, 2021

Malaysia’s surging COVID-19 cases hits chip supply, firms urged to shift production to China

Disruptions in Malaysia affect Chinese companies

Malaysia breaks Covid-19 record with 22948 new… - Malay Mail

Workers are busy at a chip factory in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province in July 2021. Photo: cnsphoto

As surging COVID-19 cases in Malaysia disrupted the production of semiconductors and other key components, Chinese experts are suggesting that companies should move certain production lines to the Chinese mainland to ensure the smooth running of their facilities while meeting the huge demand.

` A manager of a Chinese autonomous driving firm told the Global Times on Wednesday that the new outbreak in Malaysia has already caused major disruptions to the company's chip supplies.

` "The lead time for chip supplies has been extended to as long as 20 weeks, and we have to pay a skyrocketing price for urgently needed chips," the manager said, "there is no way out. We have to wait for an explosive surge in the supply of semiconductors, and we have no idea how long it will take."

` Due to continuous supply shortages of master control chips, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive was forced to partially stop production of some Audi models starting from August 12, including the A4L, A6L and Q5L vehicles, according to a notice from the company circulating online on Wednesday.

` It said that production is projected to resume in the first quarter of 2022.

` The severity of the global chip shortage has led to a decline in the supply of new cars, driving consumers to shift to used cars. Data from the China Automobile Dealers Association showed that transactions involving used cars hit 8.43 million in China in the first half of 2021, up 52.9 percent year-on-year, approximately 27 percentage points faster than sales of new cars.

` With the fast spread of the Delta variant, Malaysia continues to grapple with a worsening COVID-19 outbreak. The country had a staggering 19,631 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, local news portal the Star reported, citing its health ministry.

` With new infections still on the rise, the Malaysian government has ordered many businesses and factories to shut down, affecting production in a wide range of sectors, especially the packing and testing of chips and passive component manufacturing.

` Dozens of semiconductor companies have facilities in Malaysia, including international giants such as Intel, Infineon Technologies and STMicroelectronics.

` Malaysia accounts for 13 percent of the global sealing and testing market, and it is the world's seventh-largest semiconductor exporter, according to media reports.

` Xu Daquan, executive vice president of Bosch (China) Investment, posted on WeChat on Tuesday saying that a chip supplier's factory in Muar, Malaysia had been ordered to extend its closure till August 21, which directly affects its chip supplies such as vehicle control unit, domestic business news portal yicai.com reported.

` Xu confirmed to the media outlet that the chip company is STMicroelectronics, adding that supply will be basically cut off for the rest of August.

` CEO of XPeng Motors He Xiaopeng reposted Xu's comment, expressing anxiety over the chip shortage.

` The company declined to give details when reached by the Global Times on Wednesday.

` In addition, the production of passive components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors in Malaysia has also been disrupted.

` Amid the Malaysian government's extended lockdown orders, production at the world's two largest electrolytic capacitor makers - Japan-based Nippon Chemi-con Corp and Nichicon Corp - was halted in July again. The suspension of these production lines in March 2020 caused severe price fluctuations.

` The extension of Malaysia's restriction order has posed severe challenges for the global multi-layer ceramic capacitor market, with products such as smartphones, servers and 5G base station components expected to be affected, according to a report from TrendForce in July.

` The supply chain uncertainties in Southeast Asia, along with China's huge demand for semiconductors and other key components, may drive the packing and testing of semiconductors and passive component manufacturing to the Chinese mainland, industry analysts said.

` Ma Jihua, a veteran telecommunications industry analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday that chip shortages may be exacerbated due to the raging pandemic overseas and chip hoarding.

` Possibly, the problem won't be solved until the first half of 2022, Ma said, suggesting that enterprises shift their chip sealing and testing production lines to the Chinese mainland.

` Source link`

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Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Taliban's rapid victory embarrasses US, smashes image, arrogance

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Afghans' distrust of US reflects the fact that the entire world ...

A US soldier (center) points his gun at an Afghan passenger at Kabul airport on Monday as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the country. Photo: AFP

The Afghan Taliban have successfully returned to Kabul and are ready to set up a new government while the hasty US retreat, which had caused deaths to locals, makes the end of the 20-year-long war look increasingly embarrassing to the US..

` The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Afghanistan on Monday..

` Before the Security Council meeting, key US allies including the UK and France who fought the war with the US in the past two decades had expressed their disappointment and concerns, but China and Russia remain calm and cautious in observing the situation..

` Chinese analysts said to what extent the Taliban could win worldwide recognition depends on how it could implement its commitments, and the failure in Afghanistan could deeply damage the US image as a hegemon.. But the pullout from Afghanistan would make the US bolster its presence in other regions..

` Washington is still able to export chaos to other countries and regions with the excuse of "values, international orders or human rights" and people worldwide should learn from the current situation in Afghanistan, experts noted..

` China to be cautious.

` "China has noticed that the Afghan Taliban said yesterday the war was over, and they vowed to establish through negotiations an open and inclusive Islamic government, and to take responsible actions to ensure the safety of Afghan people and foreign diplomatic personnel," Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a Monday news conference. .

` Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday that "China needs to stay calm to observe the current situation, because the Taliban have gained an unexpected victory. This does not mean the Taliban have had overwhelming military power to ensure control, but the [Afghan] government's force has lost morale and given up.".

` The Taliban need to take political responsibility, but considering there are different forces within the Taliban, how to prevent the struggle for power and keep an internal balance, as well as satisfy local tribal forces would be the new challenges for the Taliban, and the risk of chaos still exists, Jin said..

` Pan Guang, a senior expert on counter-terrorism and Afghan studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that the possibility of a humanitarian crisis is there and if the Taliban failed to restore peace and order, the UN Security Council would have to consider sending UN peacekeeping troops into the region, not just to prevent the country becoming a breeding ground for terrorism, but also to conduct anti-drug missions and other humanitarian work. .

` "But this needs all five permanent members of the Security Council to be united," Pan noted..

` Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies in Lanzhou University, said the Afghan Taliban's success in Afghanistan is difficult to duplicate elsewhere, but some terrorist and extremist militia forces in the region, such as the Taliban Movement in Pakistan, as well as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and even ISIS in the Middle East, might believe that they would have the similar chance too..

` "China and Russia, as well as other partners in the region and under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, are paying attention to the situation to prevent the potential spillover and to strengthen border controls," he noted..

` Reactions from major powers.

` Russia was in contact with Taliban officials through its embassy in Kabul, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan said on Monday, a day after the Afghan government collapsed and the capital fell to the Taliban, Reuters reported..

` Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also pointed out that there has been no reaction from Washington to human rights violations in Kabul and the appeals of Afghan citizens for evacuation help at Kabul airport, TASS reported on Monday..

` The West shows a totally different image compared to those of China and Russia. "World leaders blame Biden, and express disappointment with Afghanistan." This is the headline of a report from Fox News on Monday, as it has listed the negative comments on the US failure from the leaders of some Western major countries, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. .

` Johnson told Sky News that it was "fair to say the US decision to pull out has accelerated things, but this has in many ways been a chronicle of an event foretold." He urged Western leaders to work together to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a "breeding ground for terrorism." French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to speak on Monday about the situation, while France also sent military aircraft to evacuate its nationals from the country..

` The different attitudes between the West and non-Western major powers prove that those who closely followed the US in the Afghan war have felt the pain and shared the US feeling of failure. But China and Russia, which didn't follow the military actions, could be more flexible to deal with the dramatic change, Zhu said..

` The Xinhua News Agency published on Monday a commentary entitled, "The 'fall of Kabul' rings the funeral bell of US hegemony." .

` The article said the US can simply leave but it has left Afghan people with endless pain. In the past 20 years, more than 30,000 civilians had been killed directly or indirectly by US forces, and more than 60,000 had been injured, with 11 million refugees. This proves that the US is the biggest exporter of chaos in the world, and its hegemony has caused too many tragedies. .

` Chinese experts said the end of the war in Afghanistan has deeply damaged the image of the US as a hegemon, and in the future, if the US decides to launch military actions elsewhere with the excuse of "democracy, values, human rights or rules-based order," very few countries would keep following it, or they would just send very few troops to reluctantly fulfill the relevant alliance treaty..

` "But when the US withdrew from Vietnam in 1970s, it pulled itself out of a mess, which gave it more resources to do more in other regions. So the US global influence remains powerful," Xiao He, an expert from the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday..

` Experts warned that Washington is still able to export chaos by force,, and the world still needs to stay alert, and learn from the current situation in Afghanistan..

` Source link`

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Moral vacuum at the heart of modernity, now embodied in US laws!

` ` MAN and nature are running out of time. That’s the core message of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change ...

THE GLOCALISATION OF HUMANITY

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Moral vacuum at the heart of modernity, now embodied in US laws!

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MAN and nature are running out of time. That’s the core message of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released this week.

` UN secretary-general António Guterres called the report a “code red for humanity”. “The evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.”

` What can we, individually and collectively, do about it?

` Many animals and human beings cannot survive at high temperatures. Seattle, a temperate climate city, hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit in June, only four degrees below the maximum 108 degrees where humans can’t survive.

` Like the pandemic, the twin effects of climate warming and biodiversity loss are hurting the bottom half of society who are most vulnerable to natural and/or man-made disasters.

` Indeed, indigenous and native people who live closest to nature, comprising 5%-6% of world population scattered in remote areas, are likely to face loss of culture, lives and habitat because all their water, food and livelihoods will be devastated by climate change.

` In essence, we are in an existential situation whereby nature is being destroyed by human excess consumption, which creates pollution and carbon emission, but all this is made possible by monetary creation by bankers and businesses who seem to care more about their profits than the human condition.

` Thus, decisions over climate change, human activities, financialisation and globalisation are essentially moral questions over the power to lead us out of the wilderness of nuclear destruction through war or planetary burning.

` In his monumental “History of Western Philosophy” (1946), British philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that those in power understand that they have twin powers over nature and political power to rule other human beings.

` Traditionally, the limits to such power have been God and truth. But today, religions are also in turmoil on what is their role in finding pathways out of the current mess. Furthermore, FakeNews obscures what is truth.

` The current mess is not unlike the Lost People wandering in the desert waiting for Moses to find the 21st century version of the 10 Commandments. Unfortunately, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirations and not commandments.

` As economists say, climate change is a market failure, but there is no modern day Moses nor operating manuals to translate SDGs to environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects and programmes for businesses, governments and social institutions.

` In this twin injustices against man and nature, people sense that there is both a moral vacuum in globalised modernity, as well as lack of a shared, practical pathway out of planetary destruction. If secular science or politics cannot help us, is religion the solution?

` Ironically, religion has played a far larger role in the current quandary than meets the eye.

` Two papal bulls empowered the Portuguese and Spanish conquests of new land in the second half of the 15th century. Papal bulls are public decrees, letters patent or charters issued by a Catholic pope.

` The Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1455 gave Portuguese King Alfonso the right to “invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ whatsoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery... to convert them to his profit... [such assets becoming] justly and lawfully acquired.”

` The Papal Bull Inter Caetera, issued after Christopher Columbus returned from America in 1493, not only reinforced the Spanish right to property and slavery seized or colonised from non-Christian kingdoms or pagan natives, but also established the Doctrine of Discovery.

` This doctrine formed the basis of national and later international laws that gave licence to explorers to claim vacant land (terra nullius) on discovery. Vacant land meant land not populated by Christians, and thus the Christian discoverers and occupiers could have legal title to them, regardless of the rights of the indigenous people.

` In short, historically it was the Church that gave the moral blessing for colonisation, slavery and genocide during the Age of Globalisation. The tragedy is that the Doctrine of Discovery is now embodied in US laws.

` In the historic case of Johnson vs McIntosh (1823), Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled: “According to every theory of property, the Indians had no individual rights to land; nor had they any collectively, or in their national capacity; for the lands occupied by each tribe were not used by them in such a manner as to prevent their being appropriated by a people of cultivators. All the proprietary rights of civilised nations on this continent are founded on this principle. The right delivered from discovery and conquest, can rest on no other basis; and all existing titles depend on the fundamental title of the crown by discovery.”

` If humanity still treats nature as a free asset to be mastered, and other human beings to be dominated and disenfranchised because of the Doctrine of Discovery, how can we move forward morally to create human inclusivity and planetary justice?

` Under secular science, the elites that control the media, military, economy, political or social institutions have forgotten that they are not masters of man and nature, but stewards to protect human well being and nature for future generations.

` In this polarised age, we forget that the shamans of the indigenous people carry ancient wisdoms about how to live with nature and each other through traditional values, medicine and shared rituals. The shamans are not seers but healers and carriers of tribal memories and values.

` When modern scientists and technocrats have no solutions to present problems except more speed, scale and scope in the rush to modernity, isn’t it time to listen to traditional wisdoms from those who have living but dying memories of how to live with nature and each other?

` Without moral bearings, no wonder we have no maps out of the current mess.

Andrew Sheng | South China Morning Post By Tan Sri Andrew Sheng (born 1946) is Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese banker, academic and commentator. He started his career as an accountant and is now a distinguished fellow of Fung Global Institute, a global think tank based in Hong Kong.^[1] He served as chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) before his replacement by Martin Wheatley in

Andrew Sheng comments on global affairs from an Asian perspective. The views expressed here are his own.

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Awatif Spardi, five, in front of her home which was damaged by floods at Kampung Sat in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. She will grow up in a warming world where heavier rainfall and floods will be more common thanks to runaway global warming. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

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