Ssnake Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 Bestest China is much better than Worst China! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobu Posted November 17, 2019 Share Posted November 17, 2019 The hearing on the Bundestag petition will be on 9 December. Seems the committee initially wanted the petition not to be published since it could "strain international relationships", but initiator Michael Kreuzberg went to the Green's parliamentary group, and it was released to sign. Ran into a former colleague who's a board member of the German-Taiwanese Society on Sunday who agreed it's mostly a PR success, and indeed it could have been prepared more professionally; the language is a little awkward, and going all-out for dropping One-China policy is of course delusional. He also said most signatures were from abroad due to lobbying in the Taiwanese community, though that is a valid way of support; he just thought that it could have been done with overall better effect if the initiator had enlisted some subject expert help.Interesting in all respects Calling the all-out effort "delusional" is harsh, however, as the Taiwanese/Republic of Chinese goal is to provoke a response from Beijing that will damage relations between it and Berlin. Dropping the One China policy is simply the rhetorical means chosen by them in this episode to bring Germany onside toward this end. I would actually call it inspired in various ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted November 17, 2019 Share Posted November 17, 2019 I think what he meant is that going that far makes it easy for the government to reject the demands in the hearing by simply pointing to Realpolitik. MPs won't press too hard on that; there is currently not anywhere near a majority to drop One-China policy in sight. If the petition had been coordinated with current Taiwanese efforts to improve their status in international organizations like the WHO, ICAO etc. - or under the Tsai administration, avoid being kicked out of those where they already have at least observer status - questions would have been much more insistent on what Germany is doing for this. Of course the current petition doesn't prevent them from doing that, and the basic issue of One-China policy probably needs to be part of the debate anyway. The question merely is what approach would be best to shape it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobu Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 Understandable from both Germany's perspective and that of the Taiwanese. From Japan's perspective, however, the One-China policy is not a rational subject for debate, for the simple reason that doing so could lead to compensation claims against the current generation for actions committed by the previous in China and Manchukuo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Date 23.11.2019 Chinese spy defects, spills top state secrets to Australia A self-confessed Chinese spy handed over secrets to Australia's counter-espionage agency after deciding to defect in May. He provided information on China's plans to disrupt democracy in Hong Kong and Taiwan. A self-confessed Chinese spy defected to Australia and handed over a wealth of information about China's secret operations to Australia's counter-espionage agency. Wang "William" Liqiang handed over information to intelligence officials at Australia's counter-espionage agency ASIO after deciding to defect in May, according to an investigation published by Nine media newspapers on Saturday. He claims to have provided information on Beijing's attempts to undermine the Hong Kong democracy movement, as well as on China's interference in the Taiwanese political systems. He also revealed the identities of senior Chinese intelligence officials working in Hong Kong. Facing death Liqiang requested asylum in Australia, reported Nine's Sydney Morning Herald. Currently he is in Sydney on a tourist visa, together with his wife and young son. He fears facing detention and possible execution if he returns to China. "I have personally been involved and participated in a series of espionage activities," Mr Wang said in a statement to ASIO in October, Nine reported. "Once I go back I will be dead," said Liqiang during the interview with Nine. What espionage activities did Liqiang carry out? Initially, Liqiang was sent to Hong Kong undercover for a Hong Kong investment firm, China Innovation Investment Limited —the business was a front for the Chinese government to spy on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. While in Hong Kong, Liqiang said he infiltrated universities and directed cyber-attacks and harassment towards pro-democracy participants. He also co-opted media through "buying ads to propagate trends." He later traveled to Taiwan on a South Korean passport and interfered with Taiwan's 2018 municipal elections. He detailed plans to disrupt the island nation's presidential vote, which will be held in 2020. Liqiang also said he was also part of a team that kidnapped booksellers who were selling books which displeased the China's Communist Party. Australia responds The highly detailed accusations of China infiltrating and disrupting democratic systems in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are "very disturbing" said Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg responding to the claims on Saturday. The revelations follow former ASIO boss Duncan Lewis warning on Friday that the Chinese government was seeking a "takeover" of Australia's political system. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed such concern, saying that national intelligence agencies were on top of any threats. https://www.dw.com/en/chinese-spy-defects-spills-top-state-secrets-to-australia/a-51379381 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 How about that, defection can go the other way too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) More Chinese spies in Oz. Australia investigates alleged Chinese plot to install spy MP 25 November 2019 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says allegations of a plot to plant a Chinese spy in Canberra's parliament are "deeply disturbing". The allegations - first aired by local network Nine - assert that a suspected Chinese espionage ring approached a Chinese-Australian man to run as an MP. The 32-year-old man has since died in unexplained circumstances. China has denied the allegations, which Australia's domestic spy agency has confirmed it is investigating. In a rare public statement, the agency said it was taking the allegations seriously. Mr Morrison said he found the reports troubling, but warned against "leaping to conclusions". What are the allegations? On Sunday, Nine's 60 Minutes programme reported that suspected Chinese agents approached a luxury car dealer, Nick Zhao, ahead of Australia's general election - which took place in May. They allegedly offered him A$1m (£520,000; $680,000) to fund his run for a Melbourne seat as a candidate for the ruling Liberal Party, of which Mr Zhao was already a member. He was found dead in a hotel room in Melbourne in March. Police have not been able to establish how or why he died, and his death has prompted a coroner's inquiry. [...]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50541082 Edited November 25, 2019 by BansheeOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim the Tank Nut Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 the Chinese are a lovely people, aren't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Date 06.12.2019 Author Wesley Rahn German petition on Taiwan forces government to justify 'one China' policy After a petition submitted by an ordinary German citizen made its way to the Bundestag, the German government will have to explain why it doesn't have diplomatic relations with democratic Taiwan. With transparent institutions, free elections and a free market economy, Taiwan positions itself as an island of democracy off the coast of an authoritarian People's Republic of China (PRC). Germany is one of Taiwan's most important European partners, with a robust trade relationship and strong bonds between companies and institutions. But Berlin does not have any formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. However, after a petition started by a German pensioner received more than 50,000 signatures in only a few weeks, the German government will now have to explain why it doesn't recognize Taiwan in a hearing set for Monday, December 9. Michael Kreuzberg is a retired German marine biologist from the eastern city of Rostock. After he visited Taiwan in 2018, he was "inspired by the people there fighting for their democracy." Kreuzberg said he lived under a dictatorship in the former communist East Germany, and feels empathy for Taiwan. "I know what these dictatorships are like. I have been angry for a long time that Taiwan is not recognized by the West, and meanwhile all Western countries curry favor with a regime like that in the People's Republic of China, which cannot be considered a democracy," Kreuzberg told DW. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 2019, Kreuzberg decided to make a statement for "small, courageous Taiwan." He filed a petition with the German Parliament, the Bundestag, calling for Germany to establish formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. According to German law, everyone has the right to submit a petition with requests or complaints to the parliamentary petition committee, which then decides whether to publish the petition for the public to consider supporting. If a petition is published, and then receives over 50,000 signatures, it is discussed publicly during one of several annual meetings of the petition committee. In Kreuzberg's case, the committee rejected his request and said it would not publish the petition on its website. According to a copy of the rejection letter seen by DW, the German Foreign Ministry advised the committee not to publish Kreuzberg's petition because it risked contradicting Germany's "one China policy" and doing "damage to international relations or intercultural dialogue" with China. Not to be deterred, Kreuzberg appealed the decision, arguing that there were already China-critical essays on the government website. He turned to the center-left Green party for help. A few weeks later, Kreuzberg received notice that the petition committee would publish the Taiwan petition. "I told a few friends about it who signed it, and I thought if I can get a few hundred signatures, then it would be a success," said Kreuzberg. "I never counted on actually reaching the minimum level of votes for a hearing," he said. But within two weeks, the petition received over 30,000 signatures. Two weeks later, it cracked the 50,000 mark — enough to require the petition committee to publicly debate Kreuzberg's request for diplomatic recognition of Taiwan during its next session on December 9. Getting the German government to publicly discuss diplomatic recognition of Taiwan was an unexpected victory for Kreuzberg, and it caught the attention of the head of Taipei's Representative Office in Berlin, Jhy-Wey Shieh. Shieh said it was remarkable that a German citizen, "out of his own desire for justice" decided to stand up for Taiwan, which is an "established democracy that is being threatened." "It wasn't our initiative. It was started by a former citizen of East Germany who simply did not want to accept that Taiwan is not recognized as a democracy, while a Chinese dictatorship enjoys diplomatic recognition only because it is a major economic power," Shieh told DW. Although it is difficult to determine where all of the signatures came from, Shieh said that news of the petition spread quickly on social media, and among Taiwanese living in Germany and Taiwan. English and Chinese versions of the petition also quickly found their way online. According to the petition committee, anyone, regardless of nationality, can support or submit a petition to the Bundestag from anywhere in the world. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/german-petition-on-taiwan-forces-government-to-justify-one-china-policy/a-51558486 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 EU/Germany deserves credit if they actually end up being the first major entity to officially recognize Taiwan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Maybe better here than in the general elections thread. January 11, 2020 / 1:09 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Taiwan president takes early lead in election closely watched by China Yimou Lee, James Pomfret TAIPEI/KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took an early lead on Saturday in vote counting for a presidential election that will be closely watched by Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own, in the shadow of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. One hour after polls closed at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) Tsai led her main opponent Han Kuo-yu from the opposition Kuomintang party by more than 500,000 votes, according to an initial vote tally by three Taiwanese television stations. Final results are expected by early Saturday evening. Tsai is due to hold a news conference at 8 p.m. (1200 GMT). China and the Hong Kong unrest have become major elements in the election as Beijing has ramped up efforts to get Taiwan to accept its rule, both through military intimidation and an offer of the “one country, two systems” model. “I saw what’s happening in Hong Kong and it’s horrible,” said first-time voter Stacey Lin, 20. “I just want to make sure I have the freedom to vote in the future.” Speaking in Taipei, the capital, Lin said she had voted for President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party. “She is the best among all the candidates to protect our democracy,” Lin added. Both Tsai and Han, whose party favors close ties with China, have rejected the “one country, two systems” model, which provides for a high degree of autonomy, much as Beijing uses in Hong Kong. Tsai, voting in Taipei, spoke briefly to reporters after casting her ballot, saying she hoped everyone exercised their right to vote and the process would be smooth. Tsai says only Taiwan’s people have the right to decide its future, and has denounced China for seeking to sway the election with misinformation and gestures such as sailing its newest aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait just before the vote. China denies interfering. Han says he will reset ties with China to boost Taiwan’s economy, but will not compromise on defending its democracy. He did not speak to reporters after voting in the southern city of Kaohsiung, where he is mayor. People queued in long but orderly lines at many polling stations to cast their votes, with good weather likely to boost turnout. [...] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-election/taiwan-president-takes-early-lead-in-election-closely-watched-by-china-idUSKBN1ZA009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 Tsai wins the presidential election with a solid 57%. PRC responds with threat on independence and stresses the one-China policy. TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) record-shattering landslide win with over 8 million votes, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) issued a terse statement in which it reiterated its standard rhetoric about offering the tattered "one country, two systems framework," adhering to the fictional "1992 Consensus," and expressing its opposition against "Taiwan independence," despite the fact that Taiwan has never been a part of Communist China.After Tsai was declared with the victor in Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday (Jan. 11) with a record number of 8,170,186 votes, or 57.36 percent, TAO's spokesman in China Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) issued a press release at 11 p.m. that evening in which he stated:"Our political policy toward Taiwan is clear and consistent. We adhere to the basic principles of 'peaceful unification and one country, two systems' and 'one China.' We will resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolutely oppose any plot or act of "Taiwan independence," and resolutely promote the interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots."Ma then struck a more conciliatory note in saying that the peaceful development of cross-strait relations is the right way to promote common development and benefit compatriots on both sides of the strait, and requires the joint efforts and promotion of compatriots on both sides. Ma then painted a utopian vision of a "united" Communist China based on the fictitious 1992 Consensus:"We are willing to work with Taiwan compatriots to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance the process of peaceful reunification of the motherland, and jointly create a bright future for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on the basis of the common political foundation of adhering to the 1992 consensus and opposing Taiwan independence."Former Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Su Chi (蘇起) has admitted on multiple occasions that he introduced the concept of the "1992 consensus" in 2000, before the KMT administration handed over power to the Chen Shui-bian administration. The idea was to suggest that the governments of Taiwan and China could both entertain their own idea of what "One China" actually means.Throughout the intervening years the term has become fossilized in the ideology underpinning the KMT's party platform as a symbolic expression of the KMT's historical ties to China, and been wielded as a political cudgel to attack the DPP. Subsequently, Beijing took a cue from the KMT's criticisms of the Chen administration and the DPP, and seized on the "consensus agreement of 1992," transforming it further into a mantra for China's own cross-strait policy, refashioning the slogan into a "prerequisite" that must be "honored" before meaningful cross-strait dialogue can be achieved.When Tsai took office in 2016, she refused to recognize the "1992 Consensus," and only acknowledged that the 1992 Taiwan-China talks were a "historical fact." In response, China has been seeking to punish Taiwan by excluding it from international organizations, stealing away diplomatic allies, and intimidating government bodies and corporations, such as airlines, to de-list Taiwan as a country.Tsai's resounding drubbing of China's preferred KMT candidate, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), was strong evidence that Beijing's strategy of punishing Taiwan for Tsai's stance on the "1992 Consensus" was a miserable failure. In addition, the harsh crackdown on pro-democracy protesters by Beijing's puppet government in Hong Kong last year erased what little support had existed among Taiwanese for the implementation of the "one country, two systems" framework in their country.https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3855535 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 DPP also maintained its majority in the legislative election part. Good result. TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has secured 48 of the 73 legislative seats that are directly elected through local districts, with five constituencies yet to announce their winning candidates.Concurrently held with the presidential election, the legislative elections determine the 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan. These include 73 directly elected in local single-member districts, six elected by indigenous Taiwanese, and 34 elected by party-list proportional representation.As of 8:51 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 11), the pan-green camp had more winning candidates in all six of the country's special municipalities, including Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Tainan, than its main rival Kuomintang (KMT). The DPP candidates had sweeping victories in all of Kaohsiung's constituencies, where KMT's presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) serves as the city's mayor.While election results so far guarantee at least 46 legislative seats in local districts for the DPP, the KMT has also won 25 seats across Taiwan. Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) obtained one legislative ticket, while independents have secured three.Despite losing to KMT candidates in both of Taiwan's offshore counties, the DPP continues to lead in the counting of the legislative-at-large election ballots. The party is expected to retain its majority in the Legislative Yuan with 60 seats or more, clearly surpassing half of the available slots, reported Liberty Times.https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3855186 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobu Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 "Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China." Fascinating and illustrative of their mindset in various ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Mainland Chinese unsurprisingly unamused. January 12, 2020 / 2:42 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago China says will not change position on Taiwan after landslide election Ben Blanchard, Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) - China will not change its position that Taiwan belongs to it, Beijing said on Sunday, after President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election and said she would not submit to China’s threats, as state media warned she was courting disaster. The election campaign was dominated by China’s efforts to get the democratic island to accept Beijing’s rule under a “one country, two systems” model, as well as by anti-government protests in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong. “No matter what changes there are to the internal situation in Taiwan, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. [...] ‘POLICY TOOLBOX’ China’s official Xinhua news agency said Tsai won by deploying dirty tricks, hyping the China threat and colluding with Western forces. “Whether it is to curb Taiwan independence secessionist activities or to benefit Taiwan compatriots, the mainland has a full ‘policy toolbox’,” it said. “Tsai and the DPP must be aware that they should not act wilfully because of a fluke.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated Tsai and lauded her for seeking stability with China “in the face of unrelenting pressure”. Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also sent congratulations, referring to Taiwan as a “precious friend”. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Saturday it would continue promoting the “one country, two systems” model for Taiwan, which Beijing uses to run Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy. Many in the former British colony fear promises made under the system are not being kept. On China’s internet, there was unusual criticism for the Taiwan Affairs Office’s failure to win over the island, especially as Tsai’s win followed a landslide for pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong’s local elections in November. “What have you been doing?” wrote one user on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. “All the money you have spent and all you have done is give succor to hypocrites and traitors.” The criticism follows a denunciation of the Taiwan office on Friday by the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog for not following the party line enthusiastically and being too bureaucratic. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-election/china-says-will-not-change-position-on-taiwan-after-landslide-election-idUSKBN1ZB018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) China accused of buying influence after Czech billionaire funds PR push Prague security services say the regime poses major threat as loan firm launches propaganda campaign to burnish Beijing's image Robert Tait Sun 5 Jan 2020 03.02 EST The Czech Republic's richest man is at the centre of a suspected foreign influence campaign by the Chinese government after one of his businesses financed an attempt to boost China's image in the central European country. In a development that has taken even seasoned sinologists aback, Home Credit - a domestic loans company owned by Petr Kellner that has lent an estimated £10bn to Chinese consumers - paid a PR firm to place articles in the local media giving a more positive picture of a country widely associated with political repression and human rights abuses. Home Credit also funded a newly formed thinktank - headed by a translator for the Czech Republics pro-Chinese president, Milo Zeman - to counteract the more sceptical line taken by a longer-established China-watching body, Sinopsis, linked with Prague's Charles University, one of Europe's oldest seats of learning. Experts say the moves, revealed in an investigation by the Czech news site Aktualne, bear the hallmarks of a foreign influence campaign by China that highlights its aggressive attempts to gain access to former communist central and eastern European countries through its ambitious "belt and road" initiative, under which it offers to fund infrastructure projects in those states. According to analysts, the Czech Republic has been more open to Chinese influence than most other European countries, a situation that has coincided with the burgeoning commercial relationship between China and Kellner's sprawling PPF group, which boasts an estimated £40bn in assets, including Home Credit. PPF began accumulating its vast wealth in the mass privatisation of state assets that followed the fall of communism in the former Czechoslovakia in 1989. Critics accuse Home Credit of currying favour with the Chinese regime in an effort to protect its interests after a series of political disputes between China and the Czechs that cooled previously warm bilateral relations. Home Credit has acknowledged paying the PR firm, C&B Reputation Management, and backing Sinoskop, the thinktank, to try to bring "greater Balance" to debate about China. [...] The revelations coincide with a recent warning by the Czech intelligence service, BIS, that Chinese influence campaigns pose a greater threat to national security than alleged meddling by the Russian government of Vladimir Putin. "The BIS considers primarily the increase in the activities of Chinese intelligence officers as the fundamental security problem", the report says. "These activities can be clearly assessed as searching for and contacting potential cooperators and agents among Czech citizens." Czech ties with Beijing grew closer after 2014 when the regime granted Home Credit a nationwide licence to offer domestic loans, the first foreign company to be given the right. Experts say this would only have happened on the understanding that Home Credit would work to ensure favourable coverage of China in the Czech media and political discourse. It heralded several trips to China by Zeman, who is close to Kellner, and culminated in a state visit in 2016 by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Prague. The rapprochement - which also saw the purchase of a Czech brewery, television station and Slavia Prague football club by a Chinese energy company, CEFC - reversed the policy adopted by the late Václav Havel, the Czech Republic's first post-communist president who had championed human rights, and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet. But relations began to sour last year when the Czech government of prime minister Andrej Babi, acting on advice from the country's cybersecurity agency, banned Huawei phones from ministerial buildings, prompting Chinese protests and a rebuke from Zeman, who accused the security services of "dirty tricks". They took a further turn for the worse when Prague's liberal mayor, Zdeněk Hřib, refused to abide by the One China policy - recognising China's territorial claim to Taiwan - accepted by his predecessor as part of a twinning arrangement between the Czech capital and Beijing. In retaliation, China scrapped the agreement and cancelled a planned tour of the country by the Prague Philharmonia. [...] Now critics see a new threat, from PPF's recent £1.62bn purchase from AT&T of Central European Media Enterprises (CME), a company which includes the Czech Republic's most-watched commercial TV station, Nova, as well as channels in neighbouring countries. PPF has dismissed warnings about potential political interference in the station's output but some are sceptical. "PPF negotiated this deal saying that they would never meddle in politics", said Petr Kutilek, a Czech political analyst and human rights activist. "But from the Home Credit affair, you actually see them meddling in politics." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/05/china-buying-influence-czech-republic-loan-company Hainan Airlines to halt Prague flights from March: Czech authorities (Reuters) - China's Hainan Airlines will halt regular direct flights between Beijing and Prague starting in March, the Prague Airport and the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. No reason was given but relations between the Czech Republic and China have deteriorated sharply in the past months following a series of diplomatic spats. Flights to China by other carriers are not affected, the airport said. "We don't have any official information why this step was taken," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Stichova said. "We don't know whether this is a temporary or definitive decision and whether this step is commercially or politically motivated." [...] Relations between the Czech Republic and China took a turn for the worse last year after city authorities in Prague showed support for Tibet and demanded changes to an intercity partnership agreement with Beijing over a reference to China's 'one-China' policy on Taiwan. The agreement was eventually canceled, and Prague last week instead signed a cooperation deal with Taiwan's Taipei, further infuriating Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province. An initial blow came in December 2018 with a warning by the Czech cyber-security watchdog over risks about using network technology provided by Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE. An initial blow came in December 2018 with a warning by the Czech cyber-security watchdog over risks about using network technology provided by Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE. Building closer links with China had been among the priorities for Czech President Milos Zeman who visited China five times in the past seven years. But Zeman said earlier this month he would skip a planned summit between China and central and eastern European countries in April, after planned Chinese investments failed to materialize. [...]https://www.reuters.com/article/us-czech-china-flights/hainan-airlines-to-halt-prague-flights-from-march-czech-authorities-idUSKBN1ZL2K5 Edited January 25, 2020 by BansheeOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 The Three Gorges Dam looks ready to collapse, this could be bad, really bad. But it is about what I expect under communism. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/chinas-huge-three-gorges-dam-now-displaced-fears-dam-may-burst-due-pressure-recent-flooding-400-million-risk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 Would be a nightmare situation for them. They can't afford to have that break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 I seem to remember there being a lot of engineering concerns with that project. However there isn't much information in that article. I've found other sources that indicate that the country has declared it at flood level and released water. It isn't clear that any of this is outside the design parameters of the dam however. The articles I find simply quote 'internet speculation' that the damn could collapse, which basically amounts to nothing. Presumably they can relieve pressure on the dam indefinitely by simply flooding down stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 It's on the Gateway Pundit, so for Murph, it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJ Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 There are satelite images showing what looks like the dam deforming. But maybe the images themselves are distorted because of heat waves in the air. https://scienceinfo.net/is-the-three-gorges-dam-in-china-deformed.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 If the deformation was truly great enough to be seen in a satellite photo I would have thought there would be some kind of breach already. We'll see, it's not like a breach in that dam could possibly go unnoticed were it to occur. The loss of life and damage would be staggering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 If the deformation was truly great enough to be seen in a satellite photo I would have thought there would be some kind of breach already. We'll see, it's not like a breach in that dam could possibly go unnoticed were it to occur. The loss of life and damage would be staggering. It's probably just errors in picture stitching. You can see the same effects in photos of some bridges on Google Maps. Anyway, the current Google Maps photo of the dam looks perfectly straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 It's on the Gateway Pundit, so for Murph, it's true.They have been accurate over 90+ % of the time, so take it or leave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 It's on the Gateway Pundit, so for Murph, it's true.They have been accurate over 90+ % of the time, so take it or leave it. Alternative Facts are a hell of a drug. ​ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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