Bharat Rakshak

Kashi wrote:Since when did China start saying "Please.."?

Chinese officials have warned Japan and South Korea that their relations with Beijing will deteriorate if they allow the United States to base intermediate-range missiles on their soil, several sources said.

Pakistan on Saturday rejected United States' notion of Beijing being the sole benefactor of its China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and asserted that its relations with China within the purview of the project will never fray.

Addressing a press conference two days after US Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, strongly criticised China's international development projects and lending practices under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Pakistan's newly appointed Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that CPEC would not prove to be a burden for the country but help in providing a strong basis for industrial growth for the coming years.

Dawn reported Umar as saying that Pakistan "has always recognised that this (the CPEC) is not an aid" and "this government has always maintained that it wishes to move past the initial scope of the arrangement."

"The aid that Pakistan received in the past did not really contribute in real terms towards the country's progress and she was right to point out that we must stand on our own two feet," Umar said.

"We have said this on many occasions in the past [...] that both countries have benefitted [from CPEC]. Chinese firms got business as their machinery was exported and came to Pakistan. The lack of infrastructure in Pakistan, especially in the power sector, was where a lot of the country's needs were met," he added.

In her address at an event in Washington, Wells had deemed CPEC a form of financing ensuring guaranteed profits for Chinese state-owned enterprises, and pointed out that the multi-billion dollar project is certain to take a toll on Pakistan's economy at the time of the repayment of the debt and dividend in the coming years.

She had raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the project, saying that it could foster corruption and increase the project cost, thereby resulting in an even heavier debt burden for Pakistan.

The CPEC is a multi-billion dollar development project, with a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan's strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea.

Wells had deemed CPEC a form of financing ensuring guaranteed profits for Chinese state-owned enterprises
..
She had raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the project

vishvak wrote:

Wells had deemed CPEC a form of financing ensuring guaranteed profits for Chinese state-owned enterprises
..
She had raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the project

Chinese are very diligent in looting those who are getting looted willing ly. How does it matter more to Chinese than those willing to be looted in multi billion $$ cpec.

A Chinese spy has risked his life to defect to Australia and is now offering a trove of unprecedented inside intelligence on how China conducts its interference operations abroad.

Wang “William” Liqiang is the first Chinese operative to ever blow his cover. He has revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong, as well as providing details of how they fund and conduct political interference operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.


Wang Liqiang in Sydney.

Mr Wang has taken his material to Australia's counter-espionage agency, ASIO, and is seeking political asylum – potentially opening another front in Australia’s challenging bilateral relationship with China.

A sworn statement Mr Wang provided ASIO in October states: “I have personally been involved and participated in a series of espionage activities”. He faces certain detention and possible execution if he returns to China.

Mr Wang is currently at an undisclosed location in Sydney on a tourist visa and seeking urgent protection from the Australian government – a plea he says he has passed on in multiple meetings with ASIO.

In interviews with The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, he has revealed in granular detail how Beijing covertly controls listed companies to fund intelligence operations, including the surveillance and profiling of dissidents and the co-opting of media organisations.

He has given previously unheard details about the kidnapping of five booksellers from Hong Kong and their rendition to the Chinese mainland. His testimony shows how Beijing’s spies are infiltrating Hong Kong’s democracy movement, manipulating Taiwan’s elections and operating with impunity in Australia.

ASIO has repeatedly warned that the current threat of foreign interference is “unprecedented” and that the number of foreign intelligence officers currently operating in Australia is higher than it was during the Cold War. ASIO has never publicly named China as a primary source of its concerns, as the government grapples with how to balance public awareness with the risk of diplomatic and economic retaliation.

However, on Friday, former ASIO boss Duncan Lewis said the Chinese government was seeking to "take over" Australia's political system through its "insidious" foreign interference operations.

Among his key revelations, Mr Wang said he had met the head of a deep-cover spy ring operating with impunity in Australia.

Mr Wang said he was part of an intelligence operation hidden within a Hong Kong-listed company, China Innovation Investment Limited (CIIL), which infiltrated Hong Kong’s universities and media with pro-Chinese Communist Party operatives who could be activated to counter the democracy movement. He says he had personal involvement in an October 2015 operation to kidnap and abduct to the Chinese mainland a Hong Kong bookseller, Lee Bo, and played a role in a clandestine organisation that also directed bashings or cyber attacks on Hong Kong dissidents.

His handlers in China issued him a fake South Korean passport to gain entry to Taiwan and help China’s efforts to systematically infiltrate its political system, including directing a “cyber army” and Taiwanese operatives to meddle in the 2018 municipal elections. Plans are underway to influence the 2020 presidential election - plans that partly motivated him to defect to Australia.

Mr Wang said the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping “infiltrates all countries in areas such as military, business and culture, in order to achieve its goal.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate our organisation ... We were cultivated and trained by the organisation for many years before taking up important positions”. The Chinese Communist Party “wants to ensure no one threatens its authority”.

Hong Kong’s Mr Big

Mr Wang claimed his cover in Hong Kong was as a businessman working for CIIL, which he described as a front company used by various Chinese intelligence agencies and Communist Party officials. His boss, Xiang Xin, was a senior intelligence operative, he said.

Mr Wang’s main task was coordinating the relationships between his organisation and other intelligence agencies and “collecting information related to pro-independence” activists. He took instructions from Chinese military intelligence officials.

A key area of operations, he said, were Hong Kong universities. Mr Wang claimed his organisation had “infiltrated into all universities, including student associations and other student groups and bodies.” He had responsibility for recruiting mainland students using scholarships, travel grants, alumni associations and an education foundation.

“I influenced them with patriotism, guiding them to love the country, love the Party and our leaders, and fight back strongly against those independence and democracy activists in Hong Kong.”

His organisation directed cyber and physical attacks on independence movement leaders.

“We sent some students to join the student association and they pretended to support Hong Kong independence,” Mr Wang said. “They found out information about those pro-independence activists … and made public all their personal data, their parents’ and family members’.”

He said he personally helped to organise the infamous kidnapping to the mainland of Causeway Bay Bookshop owner Lee Bo. Mr Wang says one of the aims of his intelligence work and the targeting of dissidents was to spread fear: “to make all troublemakers in Hong Kong terrified.”

A spokesman for CIIL said Mr Xiang did not want to answer questions from The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes over the phone, because he had never spoken to the journalists who were calling, and when questions were emailed to Mr Xiang, the spokesman said Mr Xiang would not answer because he could not verify that the email was not sent covertly by the Australian government in order to obtain intelligence.

After the story was initially published, an email response from a man called Edison Li said, "Anyone with a little common sense will know that these problems are ridiculous and untrue, and the accuser very likely did this for economic purposes. We will refer the matter to the lawyer."

Infiltrating the media

Mr Wang claimed his organisation had infiltrated Hong Kong media outlets, financing some and planting operatives in others. A senior manager at a major Asian television network “is a current military cadre with a Division Commander rank,” said Wang.

“He was the one responsible for organising the agents to kidnap and persecute Hong Kong democracy activists,” he said.

In Taiwan, Mr Wang said his intelligence operation was in contact with media executives in order to influence Taiwan’s political system as part of a systemic election meddling campaign being waged by Beijing to topple candidates (including President Tsai Ing-Wen) considered hostile. He said his operation had backed presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu.

Mr Wang said he was responsible for coordinating a “cyber army” to shift political opinion, similar to Russia’s cyber interference operations in the US elections.

“Our work on Taiwan was the most important work of ours – the infiltration into media, temples and grassroots organisations,” said Wang.

Mr Wang said his operation successfully meddled in the “nine-in-one” elections in Taiwan in 2018, leading to victories for pro-Beijing candidates. In May, he was given a fake South Korean passport and ordered to commence an operation on the ground in Taipei to influence the 2020 presidential elections with the aim of bringing down President Tsai Ing-wen.

“I was requested to change my name and whole identity to go to Taiwan and be a spy there,” he says.

Mr Wang said he had also met a high ranking intelligence operative he believed was conducting spy operations in Australia via a front company in the energy sector.

“He told me at the time he is based in Canberra. I know his position is very important.”

Mr Wang said that his organisation had dealings with several significant Australian political donors, including a one-time staffer in a federal MP's office. Mr Wang provided bank account transactions to back his claims.

Rony wrote:Defecting Chinese spy offers information trove to Australian government

A Chinese spy has risked his life to defect to Australia and is now offering a trove of unprecedented inside intelligence on how China conducts its interference operations abroad.

Wang “William” Liqiang is the first Chinese operative to ever blow his cover. He has revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong, as well as providing details of how they fund and conduct political interference operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.

Wang Liqiang in Sydney.

Mr Wang has taken his material to Australia's counter-espionage agency, ASIO, and is seeking political asylum – potentially opening another front in Australia’s challenging bilateral relationship with China.

A sworn statement Mr Wang provided ASIO in October states: “I have personally been involved and participated in a series of espionage activities”. He faces certain detention and possible execution if he returns to China.

Mr Wang is currently at an undisclosed location in Sydney on a tourist visa and seeking urgent protection from the Australian government – a plea he says he has passed on in multiple meetings with ASIO.

In interviews with The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, he has revealed in granular detail how Beijing covertly controls listed companies to fund intelligence operations, including the surveillance and profiling of dissidents and the co-opting of media organisations.

He has given previously unheard details about the kidnapping of five booksellers from Hong Kong and their rendition to the Chinese mainland. His testimony shows how Beijing’s spies are infiltrating Hong Kong’s democracy movement, manipulating Taiwan’s elections and operating with impunity in Australia.

ASIO has repeatedly warned that the current threat of foreign interference is “unprecedented” and that the number of foreign intelligence officers currently operating in Australia is higher than it was during the Cold War. ASIO has never publicly named China as a primary source of its concerns, as the government grapples with how to balance public awareness with the risk of diplomatic and economic retaliation.

However, on Friday, former ASIO boss Duncan Lewis said the Chinese government was seeking to "take over" Australia's political system through its "insidious" foreign interference operations.

Among his key revelations, Mr Wang said he had met the head of a deep-cover spy ring operating with impunity in Australia.

Mr Wang said he was part of an intelligence operation hidden within a Hong Kong-listed company, China Innovation Investment Limited (CIIL), which infiltrated Hong Kong’s universities and media with pro-Chinese Communist Party operatives who could be activated to counter the democracy movement. He says he had personal involvement in an October 2015 operation to kidnap and abduct to the Chinese mainland a Hong Kong bookseller, Lee Bo, and played a role in a clandestine organisation that also directed bashings or cyber attacks on Hong Kong dissidents.

His handlers in China issued him a fake South Korean passport to gain entry to Taiwan and help China’s efforts to systematically infiltrate its political system, including directing a “cyber army” and Taiwanese operatives to meddle in the 2018 municipal elections. Plans are underway to influence the 2020 presidential election - plans that partly motivated him to defect to Australia.

Mr Wang said the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping “infiltrates all countries in areas such as military, business and culture, in order to achieve its goal.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate our organisation ... We were cultivated and trained by the organisation for many years before taking up important positions”. The Chinese Communist Party “wants to ensure no one threatens its authority”.

Hong Kong’s Mr Big

Mr Wang claimed his cover in Hong Kong was as a businessman working for CIIL, which he described as a front company used by various Chinese intelligence agencies and Communist Party officials. His boss, Xiang Xin, was a senior intelligence operative, he said.

Mr Wang’s main task was coordinating the relationships between his organisation and other intelligence agencies and “collecting information related to pro-independence” activists. He took instructions from Chinese military intelligence officials.

A key area of operations, he said, were Hong Kong universities. Mr Wang claimed his organisation had “infiltrated into all universities, including student associations and other student groups and bodies.” He had responsibility for recruiting mainland students using scholarships, travel grants, alumni associations and an education foundation.

“I influenced them with patriotism, guiding them to love the country, love the Party and our leaders, and fight back strongly against those independence and democracy activists in Hong Kong.”

His organisation directed cyber and physical attacks on independence movement leaders.

“We sent some students to join the student association and they pretended to support Hong Kong independence,” Mr Wang said. “They found out information about those pro-independence activists … and made public all their personal data, their parents’ and family members’.”

He said he personally helped to organise the infamous kidnapping to the mainland of Causeway Bay Bookshop owner Lee Bo. Mr Wang says one of the aims of his intelligence work and the targeting of dissidents was to spread fear: “to make all troublemakers in Hong Kong terrified.”

A spokesman for CIIL said Mr Xiang did not want to answer questions from The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes over the phone, because he had never spoken to the journalists who were calling, and when questions were emailed to Mr Xiang, the spokesman said Mr Xiang would not answer because he could not verify that the email was not sent covertly by the Australian government in order to obtain intelligence.

After the story was initially published, an email response from a man called Edison Li said, "Anyone with a little common sense will know that these problems are ridiculous and untrue, and the accuser very likely did this for economic purposes. We will refer the matter to the lawyer."

Infiltrating the media

Mr Wang claimed his organisation had infiltrated Hong Kong media outlets, financing some and planting operatives in others. A senior manager at a major Asian television network “is a current military cadre with a Division Commander rank,” said Wang.

“He was the one responsible for organising the agents to kidnap and persecute Hong Kong democracy activists,” he said.

In Taiwan, Mr Wang said his intelligence operation was in contact with media executives in order to influence Taiwan’s political system as part of a systemic election meddling campaign being waged by Beijing to topple candidates (including President Tsai Ing-Wen) considered hostile. He said his operation had backed presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu.

Mr Wang said he was responsible for coordinating a “cyber army” to shift political opinion, similar to Russia’s cyber interference operations in the US elections.

“Our work on Taiwan was the most important work of ours – the infiltration into media, temples and grassroots organisations,” said Wang.

Mr Wang said his operation successfully meddled in the “nine-in-one” elections in Taiwan in 2018, leading to victories for pro-Beijing candidates. In May, he was given a fake South Korean passport and ordered to commence an operation on the ground in Taipei to influence the 2020 presidential elections with the aim of bringing down President Tsai Ing-wen.

“I was requested to change my name and whole identity to go to Taiwan and be a spy there,” he says.

Mr Wang said he had also met a high ranking intelligence operative he believed was conducting spy operations in Australia via a front company in the energy sector.

“He told me at the time he is based in Canberra. I know his position is very important.”

Mr Wang said that his organisation had dealings with several significant Australian political donors, including a one-time staffer in a federal MP's office. Mr Wang provided bank account transactions to back his claims.

Why the China–Japan economic relationship overrides political tension

3 Dec 2019|Amy King

For more than a century, close economic ties between China and Japan have developed in the absence of cooperative political and security relations, suggesting that the first is not a necessary precondition for the second.
...

Deep patterns of economic integration between China and Japan offer three critical lessons for thinking about the factors that might help to build habits of cooperation in Asia.

First, individual businesspeople have helped to sustain close economic ties between the two countries despite major changes in governing regimes, political systems and economic ideology over the past century. In the 1930s and 1940s, Japanese business leaders travelled to China as part of Japan’s colonial empire in Manchuria. They established the industries in China that would extract Chinese soybeans and iron ore in exchange for Japanese machinery and steel. In the 1950s and 1960s, these same Japanese were among those who sought to rekindle trading ties between communist China and post-war Japan. They would also develop government and business relationships that flourished following China’s economic reforms in the 1970s and 1980s.

As Kristin Vekasi has shown, Japanese firms with a high degree of familiarity with China’s business and political environment are much less risk-averse than firms that have limited experience in China. Japanese firms that are deeply integrated into Chinese society and business communities have been willing to maintain or increase their economic presence in China, even as they have experienced costly anti-Japanese riots, boycotts and physical damage to their firms and products.

Second, flows of goods and people between China and Japan have been accompanied by flows of economic ideas. Japan has been a major influence on Chinese thinking about industrial-led development, the role of science and technology in a modernising economy, and linkages between the military and civilian segments of an industrialised economy.

As China’s largest-ever provider of official development assistance, Japan played a major role in shaping China’s contemporary approaches to foreign aid and development, including its large-scale Belt and Road Initiative. Beginning in 1979, Japan provided bilateral loans to finance the building of roads, railways, ports and other major infrastructure projects in China.

Japan’s focus on infrastructure-led development stemmed from its own experience of economic development. Japan had a view that infrastructure it provided would enable it to facilitate trade with, and extract natural resources from, recipient countries. Japanese firms also frequently won contracts to build large-scale infrastructure projects in China.

China’s firsthand experience of Japanese development assistance—and the hundreds of Chinese officials who worked closely with Japanese government agencies to administer infrastructure-led development in the 1980s and 1990s—have shaped China’s own infrastructure-based development assistance as it shifted from recipient to donor country.

Third, deep patterns of economic cooperation between China and Japan have created a separate sphere of regional economic activity that has often worked against the grain of the global order. During the first half of the Cold War, when global trading relations became divided into rival US-led and Soviet-led blocs, Japan and China continued to trade across Cold War lines.

Maintaining these trade ties wasn’t easy in the absence of diplomatic relations—a result of the wishes of Japan’s ally, the United States—and given China’s Soviet-style planned economy. But the persistence of China–Japan trade helped to chip away at US expectations that its allies would undertake wholesale economic containment of China. It also provided China with important economic alternatives to the Soviet Union and laid the foundations for supply chains that would later underpin a distinct East Asian economic order.

Japan and China continue to exhibit similar patterns of strengthened regional economic activity in the face of a fracturing global order. Since 2018, they have established mechanisms that facilitate joint investment in third-country infrastructure projects. Agencies such as the Japan External Trade Organization and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade are collaborating on joint business development in Southeast Asia. The China Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation have agreed on common principles, initiated by Japan, to guide ‘high quality’ infrastructure investment.

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Indian Navy recently drove away a suspicious Chinese vessel operating in the Indian waters near Port Blair.
The Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 1 was carrying out research activities in the Indian waters near Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was detected by maritime surveillance aircraft operating there, government sources told ANI.
Sources said the vessel could have also been used by the Chinese to spy on the Indian activities in the Island territory from where India can keep a close eye on the maritime movements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and South-East Asian region.
After the vessel was detected by the agencies and found out that it was carrying out research activities in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, an Indian Navy warship was sent there to monitor it.
Since laws do not allow foreign countries to carry out any research or exploration activities in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Indian Navy warship asked the Chinese research vessel to move out of Indian waters.
After being cautioned by the Indian Navy, the Chinese Shi Yan 1 vessel left Indian waters and moved to its other destination probably towards China, the sources said.
The Indian Navy keeps a constant vigil on the Chinese vessels which enter the Indian Ocean Region from the Malacca Straits near the Indian Navy's area of responsibility.
Recently, the Indian Navy's P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft had detected seven Chinese Navy warships operating in and around the Indian Ocean Region.
ANI has first reported about the Indian Navy's constant monitoring capabilities with exclusive pictures of the Chinese Landing Platform Dock Xian-32.
The P-8I anti-submarine warfare and long-range surveillance aircraft had clicked the pictures and are constantly tracking activities and movements of the Chinese vessels while operating here.
The Chinese Navy frequently enters Indian waters with the stated aim of going for anti-piracy patrols but the Indian side does not buy this fully as the Chinese warships are accompanied by nuclear and conventional submarines which do not make sense in anti-piracy operations.

Ashokk wrote:Navy drives away suspicious Chinese vessel from Indian waters

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Indian Navy recently drove away a suspicious Chinese vessel operating in the Indian waters near Port Blair.
The Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 1 was carrying out research activities in the Indian waters near Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was detected by maritime surveillance aircraft operating there, government sources told ANI.
Sources said the vessel could have also been used by the Chinese to spy on the Indian activities in the Island territory from where India can keep a close eye on the maritime movements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and South-East Asian region.
After the vessel was detected by the agencies and found out that it was carrying out research Spying activities in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, an Indian Navy warship was sent there to monitor it.
Since laws do not allow foreign countries to carry out any research Spying or exploration activities in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Indian Navy warship asked the Chinese research vessel to move out of Indian waters.
After being cautioned by the Indian Navy, the Chinese Shi Yan 1 vessel left Indian waters and moved to its other destination probably towards China, the sources said.
The Indian Navy keeps a constant vigil on the Chinese vessels which enter the Indian Ocean Region from the Malacca Straits near the Indian Navy's area of responsibility.
Recently, the Indian Navy's P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft had detected seven Chinese Navy warships operating in and around the Indian Ocean Region.
ANI has first reported about the Indian Navy's constant monitoring capabilities with exclusive pictures of the Chinese Landing Platform Dock Xian-32.
The P-8I anti-submarine warfare and long-range surveillance aircraft had clicked the pictures and are constantly tracking activities and movements of the Chinese vessels while operating here.
The Chinese Navy frequently enters Indian waters with the stated aim of going for anti-piracy patrols but the Indian side does not buy this fully as the Chinese warships are accompanied by nuclear and conventional submarines which do not make sense in anti-piracy operations.

Taiwan has begun production of a new land-attack cruise missile. But the island country still is badly outgunned by China’s own, much larger missile arsenal.

Taiwanese media on Aug. 4, 2019 reported that the country’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology had cleared the
Feng cruise missile for mass production.

The supersonic land-attack missile has been under development since the 1990s. It can fly as far as 1,200 miles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

That range could allow Taiwan to threaten many of the airbases, ports and other facilities from which China likely would stage any attempt to invade Taiwan.

Taipei reportedly is building an initial 20

Feng missiles as well as 10 truck-based launchers. Taiwan’s Up Media described the missiles as “the top priority of the various studios of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are generally viewed positively across the Asia-Pacific, according to the Pew Research Centre's latest report on global attitudes.

In some places, confidence in China's President Xi Jinping has also risen, most notably in the sub-Saharan African, Middle Eastern and North African countries.

This possibly reflects China's economic investment footprint; 61 per cent of those polled in Nigeria - one of China's largest investment partners on the African continent - have a favourable view of Mr Xi.

Significant double-digit increases in confidence towards the Chinese leader since last year have occurred in Argentina, Mexico, Spain and Italy, the report said.

And when going back to 2014, Mr Xi fares even better, gaining 15 points or more in the Philippines, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia, Russia and Nigeria.

Yet, across all 34 countries surveyed for the report, the view of the Chinese leader is, on balance, still negative, with respondents in six Asia-Pacific countries surveyed showing less confidence in him than in Mr Abe or Mr Modi.

"A median of 45 per cent say they lack confidence in him (President Xi) when it comes to world affairs, compared with a median of 29 per cent who say they trust him to do the right thing," the report said.

In the US, Canada and Western Europe, half or more of respondents in almost all countries say they have no confidence in President Xi. Six in 10 Canadians and half of Americans gave him negative marks.

In Western Europe, a median of 61 per cent say they lack confidence in him. This includes majorities in France, Sweden, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.



Only in Russia does Mr Xi get positive marks, with 59 per cent voicing confidence in him.

In the six Asia-Pacific countries surveyed - India, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines - most have little confidence in Mr Xi when it comes to "world affairs", the report said.

"Just 29 per cent have confidence in him to do what is right, which falls far short of the ratings for Japan's Abe or India's Modi.

"And in the Philippines, Indonesia, India and South Korea, nearly equal numbers have confidence in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as in Xi," the report said.

Most Japanese (81 per cent), South Koreans (74 per cent) and Australians (54 per cent) say they do not have confidence in Mr Xi.

South Korea stands out as one place where views of Mr Xi have decreased significantly in both the past year and the past five years.

Japanese confidence in Mr Xi has risen since 2014, but still, only 14 per cent say they trust him to do what is right in world affairs.

Filipinos stand out for their enthusiasm towards Mr Xi, with 58 per cent having confidence in the Chinese leader.

After the false starts earlier, India and China finally seem to have zeroed in on a date for the next round of boundary talks between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister and state councillor Wang Yi. Official sources said the dialogue between the special representatives will take place tentatively on December 21.

Although a last-minute rescheduling is still not ruled out, sources said it’s now certain that Wang will visit India at the invitation of Doval any time between December 20 and 23.

Wang was scheduled to travel to Delhi for the 22nd round of boundary talks in the second week of September but the visit had to be postponed apparently because of scheduling issues. India also wasn’t particularly pleased with the fact that Wang had clubbed his proposed visit to India with his visit to Pakistan. Bilateral ties were also hit by the fact that China had questioned India’s decision to reorganise what was the state of J&K, or more specifically Ladakh, and even accused the Indian government of undermining its sovereignty.

Official sources said Doval and Wang will look to take the development partnership forward in keeping with the guidance provided by PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the second informal summit in Mamallapuram in October this year. Xi and Modi had underlined the significance of the dialogue between the special representatives even when they met in Brasilia, on the margins of Brics summit last month, for maintaining peace and security in the border areas.

The dialogue is meant to intensify efforts to achieve a “`fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution’’ to the India-China boundary question at an early date. The dialogue is also crucial for maintaining peace in border areas and preventing any military flare-up which could jeopardise the overall development of bilateral ties.

At the last meeting of the special representatives, which took place in Chengdu in 2018, Doval and Wang had directed the bilateral Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination for Border Affairs to work for more confidence-building measures which could promote communication between Indian and Chinese border personnel.

Judge Favors Strict Monitoring of Accused Apple Secrets Thieves
Bloomberg December 9, 2019, 11:41 PM UTC


(Bloomberg) -- A U.S. judge voiced concern that it would be risky to end electronic location monitoring for two engineers awaiting criminal trials on charges they stole trade secrets from Apple Inc.’s autonomous-driving project for new jobs in China.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila seemed skeptical at a hearing Monday of a recommendation by the office that supervises defendants on bail to discontinue monitoring for the two men in light of their compliance with other conditions of their release.

“I do have continued concerns about their release from location monitoring,” the judge told lawyers. He didn’t issue an immediate ruling.

Prosecutors previously said a search of the Maryland home of one of the ex-Apple engineers turned up a classified file from the Patriot missile program that belonged to his ex-employer, Raytheon Co.

“The government fears that if the conditions of location monitoring are removed these defendants will flee and once they are gone, they are gone,” prosecutor Marissa Harris told the judge Monday.

Read More: U.S. Says Accused Apple Secrets Thief Had Patriot Missile File

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Blumberg in San Francisco at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at [email protected]

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

chola wrote:^^^ Because they steal from the best and can make them into reality.

Stealing IP means nothing unless they can make the product. If you gave the Sioux or Bantu plans to the Winchester repeating rifle, they would have still lost to the white man because they had nothing to make the thing.

Cheen has a wide and deep industrial base that can actually build everything they steal along with what they had domestically. They people they steal from might not have that capacity at least not in the volume that can lower price and create demand.

chola wrote:^^^ Because they steal from the best and can make them into reality.

Stealing IP means nothing unless they can make the product. If you gave the Sioux or Bantu plans to the Winchester repeating rifle, they would have still lost to the white man because they had nothing to make the thing.

Cheen has a wide and deep industrial base that can actually build everything they steal along with what they had domestically. The people they steal from might not have that capacity at least not in the volume that can lower prices and create demand.

mappunni wrote:

chola wrote:^^^ Because they steal from the best and can make them into reality.

Stealing IP means nothing unless they can make the product. If you gave the Sioux or Bantu plans to the Winchester repeating rifle, they would have still lost to the white man because they had nothing to make the thing.

Cheen has a wide and deep industrial base that can actually build everything they steal along with what they had domestically. The people they steal from might not have that capacity at least not in the volume that can lower prices and create demand.

Heard from kids at A&M and friends at UT MD in Houston, almost impossible for Chinese students to get into any meaningful P.hD/Research program. This might be true at other schools too across the country. Similarly, jobs requiring interaction with the federal government with the big consulting firms make sure no Chinese connection is present, heard from someone who works for them.