Opinion
Detroit Free Press

Sun, October 1, 2023 

A UAW strike math lesson for Detroit 3 executives

The UAW strike is heating up, and people are taking sides. Some feel like the union is asking for too much. After all, the Detroit Three are countering the union’s “unreasonable” request of a 36% pay hike with a more than ample 20% increase. Aside from executives, who gets a 20% raise, right?

The average auto worker, when adjusting for inflation, has seen their wages fall 19% since 2008. The offer of a 20% pay increase doesn’t seem so generous, when that is taken into account. Had the workers not taken pay cuts and just got modest cost of living increases, they would be making more than the 36% that they are asking for currently. If they were treated fairly for the last 20 years, they would not have been forced to strike. However, we cannot go back in time, which is why the UAW is making such bold demands now, to atone for years of low pay.

The UAW is using its power to fight for all unions, and in turn all middle-class workers. Wages for the average American worker have been stagnant for decades, despite strong economies and record profits for companies. If teachers, UPS workers, teamsters, or auto workers get a modest increase in compensation they are told they should be happy. Don’t worry about the lifetime of zero raises, just be happy that you got one now. What workers want and deserve is restitution.

We all realize that it’s unlikely for the auto workers to make up for a generation of being underpaid in one contract, but we should all be in support of their quest to make up as much as they can. In the end, it will benefit us all, as a rising tide lifts all boats.

David Cash

Detroit

I lead the Michigan AFL-CIO. Trump has never shown up for union workers.

Health care worker to UAW: Unionize us next!

I note some degree of amazement and envy the current UAW strike. My question is: Will you expand your services to health care professionals? While insurance costs skyrocket, our "raises" have been almost non-existent.

I am a private practice therapist working with troubled families and especially troubled teens. My reimbursement rates, from huge insurance companies to the VA, have averaged about a total of 10% increase over the last 10 years. Then, when calculating the wage difference between their top executive wages and ours, my head nearly exploded.

We do not need wimpy 32 hours weeks, but rather a wage that represents the difficulty and importance of our work. So, when you're done whoopin' up on The Big Three, would you lend us a hand on the Sinister Six? We'll even agree to name ourselves the United Therapists International, putting a positive spin on those three letters. Thanks in advance for your help; we need it.

John Summer

Brownwood, Tex.

How is UAW strike impacting you? Submit at letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

Officials urge Moldova to seize opportunity for EU membership

Moldovan President Maia Sandu attends a news conference during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Chisinau, Moldova, 

May 31, 2023.

REUTERS
October 01, 2023

A 1,500-strong contingent of Russian peacemakers remains in the region, but for 30 years there has been virtually no violence, and business and other links thrive across the border

CHISINAU: Moldova launched a nationwide discussion on securing European Union membership, with senior officials and academics urging their compatriots to seize every opportunity to join the bloc or run the risk of being left behind or sinking into chaos.

Ex-Soviet Moldova, led by pro-European President Maia Sandu and one of the continent’s poorest countries, won formal recognition from the EU in June as a candidate for the arduous process of joining the 27-nation bloc.

Buffeted by Moscow’s 19-month-old invasion of adjacent Ukraine, which has been regularly denounced by Sandu, Moldova is further beset by the presence on its eastern border of the pro-Russian separatist enclave of Transdniestria.

Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu launched the discussion on EU membership on Friday, saying that public participation “has a critical meaning in building a more prosperous future within the framework of the community of Europe.”

Academics quickly lent their support.

“If Moldova loses this European vector, it will turn into a chaotic country,” Vlad Culminschi, director of the Institute of Strategic Initiatives, told the news site point.md on Saturday.
Culminschi, a former deputy prime minister, said there was no time to lose as Sandu’s allies control parliament for now.

“Striving for European integration is not the work of one person. It transcends personal ambitions,” he said.

The Moscow-sympathetic opposition, thrown out of power by Sandu’s landslide 2020 election victory, is skeptical about EU membership.

Moldovans, their country wedged between Ukraine and EU member Romania, have proved enthusiastic. Tens of thousands attended an open-air rally in May to applaud Sandu’s drive, which will involve long negotiations on bringing legislation in line with EU standards and overhauling the justice system.

Sandu and other officials have suggested that Moldova should forge ahead with its EU membership bid and ignore separatist Transdniestria, much like Cyprus was allowed to join despite the Turkish occupation of its northern regions since the 1970s.

Transdniestria broke away from Moldova as the Soviet Union was collapsing, and its separatist forces fought a brief war with the newly independent country’s army in 1992.

A 1,500-strong contingent of Russian peacemakers remains in the region, but for 30 years there has been virtually no violence, and business and other links thrive across the border.

“This would not mean abandoning Transdniestria. It could occur in several steps,” Sandu said in televised comments this week. “We cannot remain in this situation for another 30 years, with no consolidated democracy and no high standard of living.”

BELT AND ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Indonesia launches China-backed 'Whoosh' high-speed railway

Reuters
Sun, October 1, 2023 

 Indonesia's President Joko Widodo speaks about the planned new capital Nusantara, at Ecosperity Week in Singapore


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday inaugurated a $7.3 billion high-speed railway connecting the country's capital with the city of Bandung, a China-backed project that has been marred with problems.

The 142-kilometre (88.23-mile) railway, one of the president's flagship infrastructure projects and part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, has faced problems ranging from land procurement issues, pandemic-related delays and ballooning costs.

Monday's launch for the bullet train named "Whoosh" is far behind an original target of operations in 2019.

"The name is inspired by the sound of a rushing high speed train," Jokowi, as the president is popularly called, said during the launch.

The maximum operating speed of the train could reach 350 kilometres per hour (217 mph), Jokowi said, calling this "the modernisation of our mass transportation that is environmentally friendly".

Luhut Pandjaitan, a senior minister overseeing the project, said at the launch that free trial rides on the bullet train, which have been under way since the second week of September, will be extended and ticket prices will be implemented in mid-October.

A consortium of Indonesian and Chinese companies built the railway.

(Reporting by Yuddy Cahya Budiman; Writing by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Gerry Doyle)

Indonesian president launches Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway, funded by China
ACHMAD IBRAHIM and NINIEK KARMINI
Sun, October 1, 2023


 

Indonesia High Speed Railway

High-speed train is seen during the opening ceremony for launching Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway at Padalarang station in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway that will start its commercial operations on Monday, a key project under China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will cut travel time between two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes. 

(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurated Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Monday as it was set to begin commercial operations, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will drastically reduce the travel time between two key cities.

The project has been beset with delays and increasing costs, and some observers doubt its commercial benefits. But Widodo has championed the 142-kilometer (88-mile) railway, which was issued its official operating license from the Transportation Ministry on Sunday.

The $7.3 billion project, largely funded by China, was constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, known as PT KCIC, a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd.

The railway connects Jakarta with Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province, and will cut travel time between the cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.

Its use of electrical energy is expected to reduce carbon emissions.

Widodo in his opening remarks officially named Indonesia's first high-speed railway — the fastest in Southeast Asia, with speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph) — as “Whoosh,” from “Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal,” which means “timesaving, optimal operation, reliable system” in Indonesian language.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train marks the modernization of our mass transportation, which is efficient and environmentally friendly,” Widodo said.

“Our courage to try new things gives us confidence and the opportunity to learn and will be very useful for the future, making our human resources more advanced and our nation more independent,” he added.

Widodo, along with other high-ranking officials, rode Whoosh from its first station, Halim in eastern Jakarta, to Bandung’s Padalarang station, one of the line’s four stations, located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the central area of Bandung.

He took a 25-minute test ride on the train on Sept. 13 and told reporters that he felt comfortable sitting or walking inside the bullet train even at its top speeds.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang took a test ride early last month while visiting Jakarta for three days of talks with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations and other countries.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime and investment, said China Railway has agreed to transfer its technology to Indonesia so that in the future the country’s high-speed trains can be made domestically.

For two weeks leading up to the inauguration, PT KCIC has been running a free-of-charge public trial.

Indonesia broke ground on the project in 2016. The line was originally expected to begin operations in 2019, but was delayed by disputes over land acquisition, environmental issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was planned to cost 66.7 trillion rupiah ($4.3 billion), but the amount ballooned to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.3 billion).

The trains have been modified for Indonesia’s tropical climate and are equipped with a safety system that can respond to earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions. The 209-meter (685-foot) train has a capacity of 601 passengers.

Ticket prices had not been finalized as of Monday, but PT KCIC estimated one-way prices per passenger would range from 250,000 rupiah ($16) for second class to 350,000 rupiah ($22.60) for VIP seats.

Passengers going to downtown Bandung need to take a feeder train from the Padalarang station that will add a further 20 minutes, with an estimated cost about 50,000 rupiah ($3.20).

The rail deal was signed in October 2015 after Indonesia selected China over Japan in fierce bidding. It was financed with a loan from the China Development Bank for 75% of the cost. The remaining 25% came from the consortium’s own funds.

The project is part of a planned 750-kilometer (466-mile) high-speed train line that would cut across four provinces on Indonesia’s main island of Java and end in the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya.

As a global economic giant, China is one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, a region home to more than 675 million people. Amid crackdowns by the United States and its allies, China is expanding trade with ASEAN countries and infrastructure projects are playing key roles.

A semi-high-speed railway — with speeds up to 160 kph (99 mph) — linking China with Laos was inaugurated in December 2021. The $6 billion infrastructure was financed mostly by China under the Belt and Road policy. The 1,035-kilometer (643-mile) route runs through Laos' mountain ranges to connect the southeastern Chinese city of Kunming with Vientiane, the capital of Laos. There are plans for a high-speed train down through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore.

___

Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
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With China’s help, Indonesia launches Southeast Asia’s first bullet train
Heather Chen, CNN
Sun, October 1, 2023 

Indonesia has launched Southeast Asia’s first-ever bullet train, a high-speed rail line that will connect two of its largest cities.

The $7.3 billion project, part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative and largely funded by Chinese state-owned firms, opened to the public on Monday following a series of delays and setbacks.

Originally scheduled for launch on October 1, a grand inauguration ceremony was held at the Halim railway station in the capital Jakarta on Monday, attended by President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana as well as several cabinet ministers.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is the first high-speed train in Indonesia, and the first in Southeast Asia, with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour,” Widodo said to applause from the crowd, before sounding a red alarm to signal the beginning of official service.

“This is not without good teamwork from all parties, including the central government, local government, state-owned enterprises, private sectors and public as well as the Chinese government and its related companies – all working together to finish this project,” added Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating maritime and investment minister.

Videos taken on board and shared on social media showed off spacious air-conditioned cabin interiors and clear window views of the Indonesian countryside as the train sped off.

The new bullet train will travel between the Halim railway station in East Jakarta and West Bandung’s Padalarang railway station in West Java, Indonesia’s second-largest city and a major arts and culture hub.

The 86-mile (138-kilometer) high-speed rail line, officially named WHOOSH – which stands for “time saving, optimal operation, reliable system” in Indonesian – runs on electricity with no direct carbon emissions and travels at a speed of roughly 217 miles per hour – cutting travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from three hours to under less than an hour, officials say.

Overseen by the joint state venture PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (PT KCIC), the railway is well connected to local public transport systems. The trains, modified for Indonesia’s tropical climate, are equipped with a safety system that can respond to earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions, officials added.

There are talks to extend the high-speed line to Surabaya – a major port and capital of East Java Province, PT KCIC director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi told Chinese state media outlets at a ceremony earlier in September.

Stops at other major cities like Semarang and Yogyakarta, the gateway to Borobudur – the largest Buddhist temple in the world – are also being planned, Dwiyana said.

According to information released by PT KCIC, the railway features eight cars – all equipped with Wi-Fi and USB charging points – and seats 601 passengers.

There will be three classes of seats – first, second and VIP.

Passengers sit at the Halim station in Jakarta. - Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

Indonesia, the world’s fourth-largest country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has been actively and openly courting investment from China, its largest trade and investment partner.

A high-profile meeting in July between Indonesian and Chinese leaders Joko Widodo and Xi Jinping unveiled a series of projects, including plans to build a multi-billion dollar Chinese glass factory on the island of Rempang in Indonesia’s Riau Islands Archipelago as part of a new ‘Eco-City,’ sparking weeks of fierce protests from indigenous islanders opposed to their villages being torn down.

Indonesia's outgoing President Joko Widodo rides the high-speed railway during a test ride in Jakarta. - Akbar Nugroho Gumay/AP

Widodo and Chinese Premier Li Qiang were photographed taking test rides on the new high-speed railway throughout September.

The train deal was first signed in 2015 as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and construction began later that year.

It was initially expected to be completed in 2019 but has faced multiple operational delays as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as land procurement and ballooning costs.

PT KCIC’s director Dwiyana hailed the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway as an “outstanding example of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and China.” It will not only improve Indonesian infrastructure but “promote the development of Indonesia’s railroad and manufacturing industries,” he said.

15 / 15

CHINA
Shanghai faces first mortgage boycott as stalled housing project angers homebuyers

South China Morning Post
Sun, October 1, 2023
People who had agreed to buy homes at a residential complex under construction in downtown Shanghai have expressed dismay at the pace of the development, which resumed a month ago, raising the prospect of a boycott on mortgage payments that threatens to worsen sentiment in China's embattled property sector.

Since August 31, only a handful of workers have been conducting building work at The One-Rivera Shanghai, a project led by Shanghai Dongying Real Estate and located on Puyi Road in Pudong, according to two buyers who signed home purchase contracts and declined to be identified.

One buyer said the cash-strapped developer did not appear close to completing the project, and the recent resumption of development work looked "half-hearted" - likely a temporary measure to soothe outside concerns.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

No heavy equipment or workers were seen at the construction site when this reporter visited on Sunday during China's week-long National Day holiday.

Dongying could not be reached for comment.

Outside the construction site of The One-Rivera Shanghai. Photo: SCMP/Daniel Ren alt=Outside the construction site of The One-Rivera Shanghai. Photo: SCMP/Daniel Ren>

Construction had stalled at The One-Rivera Shanghai, which consists of about 300 flats in two buildings, after a liquidity crunch hit Dongying in early 2022. Homeowners in the first building were supposed to get their keys by March 12, 2022, while the second lot was set to delivered on December 10, 2022, according to the buying contracts.

Dongying missed both delivery deadlines.

By early August this year, dozens of homebuyers warned the developer and the local government that they would stop repaying mortgage loans from September if construction failed to resume by the end of that month.

Located within Shanghai's Inner Ring Road, an elevated expressway loop, The One-Rivera offered flats at about 110,000 yuan (US$15,080) per square metre, with prices ranging from 15 million yuan to more than 30 million yuan.

Homebuyers interviewed by the Post in late September declined to say if or when they would stop repaying mortgage loans.

"A mortgage boycott is likely because delivery of the expensive homes has been delayed for more than 500 days, which has already infuriated buyers," said Yin Ran, an angel and property investor in Shanghai. "Given that the developer is stuck in a liquidity crisis, it is difficult to see a happy ending to the drama any time soon."

A mortgage boycott at The One-Rivera Shanghai would be the first of its kind in the Chinese financial and commercial hub, as the nation has become embroiled in a property crisis that has seen dozens of developers mired in capital crunches.

The troubled Shanghai project has invoked memories of a nationwide boycott about a year ago, which spread to more than a hundred cities as builders fell behind schedule due to tight funding and strict Covid-19 curbs.

Developers from China Evergrande Group to Kaisa Group Holdings were swept up in a wave of bond and loan defaults triggered by austerity measures that Beijing put in place in 2020 to reduce developers' leverage ratios.

Over the past two years, about 50 mainland developers have defaulted on some US$100 billion worth of offshore bonds, according to a JPMorgan report in December, with 39 seeking restructuring plans with creditors for US$117 billion in stressed debt.

On Thursday, China Evergrande Group said its chairman and founder Hui Ka-yan had been placed under "mandatory measures" due to "suspicion of illegal crimes", hours after the distressed property developer suspended trading of its shares and those of its two major subsidiaries.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

How China-West tensions will shape global markets

U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Tensions between the West and China are rising, from tit-for-tat trade tariffs to tech rivalry and spying allegations.

The ramifications for global markets are significant, with Washington and Beijing's determination to loosen dependence on each other fraying long-established supply chains.

That could help keep inflation and interest rates elevated. Still, there are gains for emerging nations and tech giants on the right side of the power battle.

Here's how Western-China tensions are shaping markets.

1. HELLO INFLATION

US President Joe Biden is determined to bring manufacturing in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and semiconductors back home.

TSMC (.2330), the world's largest chipmaker, is moving some production to Germany to satisfy multinationals' need to diversify supply chains from China.

Goldman Sachs research found that bringing production home may have inflationary repercussions, particularly if Western manufacturing does not ramp up quickly enough to offset declining imports.

"We built a globalised world for a reason, it was efficient and cheap," said Wouter Sturkenboom, chief investment strategist for EMEA and APAC at Northern Trust.

"If we unwind some of that, it will add cost."

Prolonged US inflation also means rates staying higher for longer, boosting the dollar.

A stronger dollar can export inflation to resource-importing nations in Europe by forcing them to pay more for commodities priced in dollars.

Many central banks target 2 percent inflation; market gauges of traders' long-term US and European inflation expectations are running higher.

2. FRIENDSHORING

Washington is pushing "friendshoring" - the idea of replacing China's role in supply chains with friendly nations.

Research led by Harvard Business School's Laura Alfaro identifies Vietnam and Mexico as the major beneficiaries of the US supply chain shift so far.

Mongolia is seeking US investment in mining rare earths, materials used in high-tech products such as smartphones. The Philippines is courting US infrastructure investment.

Anna Rosenberg, head of geopolitics at the Amundi Investment Institute, said Sino-US tensions, provide a "new lens" through which to analyse emerging markets' growth prospects.

3. INDIA RUSH

India is viewed as the most able to compete with China in low-cost, large-scale manufacturing. Its large, young population and a burgeoning middle class also creates opportunities for multinationals seeing less business in China.

Indian stocks have rallied 8 percent this year (.BSESN) and the prospect of investor flows into the bond market just got a boost from JPMorgan's plan to include India in a key government bond index next year.

"India is a very large opportunity," said Christopher Rossbach, chief investment officer at asset manager J. Stern. "The global companies we are invested in are working on it."

India's central bank forecasts that the economy will expand 6.5 percent this fiscal year, while China is expected to grow around 5 percent this year.

Barclays reckons that if India raises its annual economic growth closer to 8 percent over the next five years, it would be in a position to become the biggest contributor to global growth.

4. CHIPS TO COUTURE

A China-West clash creates winners and losers on both sides.

The EU is investigating whether to impose punitive tariffs against Chinese electric vehicle imports it says benefit from excessive state subsidies.

US subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing have boosted Intel's shares (INTC.O). But the performance of big US tech stocks and global share indices are vulnerable to signs of Chinese retaliation.

Apple (AAPL.O) stock slid by more than 6 percent over two days in early September on reports that Beijing would ban government workers from using iPhones.

With China the world's dominant buyer of luxury goods, Western fashion houses are also ensnared in politics. China's top anti-corruption watchdog has vowed to eliminate what it calls the hedonism of Western elites. Chinese banks have told staff not to wear European luxury items at work.

"Higher levels of government scrutiny have started to weigh on the spending of more affluent (Chinese) consumers," Barclays analysts Carole Madjo and Wendy Liu said in a note.

Luxury sector shares surged as China loosened COVID-19 restrictions in early 2023. Since then, with China's economy in the doldrums and tensions with the West ratcheting up, they have slumped. European luxury stocks slid 16 percent in Q3 (.STXLUXL).

5. SELL CHINA?

A faltering economy and property market turmoil mean the bearish China investment case extends beyond politics.

But the prospect of continued tariffs and the hassle of navigating US restrictions on investing in Chinese technology does not help.

With China underperforming global stocks, investors are split on how to approach this market.

A JPMorgan survey of credit investors found that 40 percent were bearish on China, but almost the same proportion wanted to increase allocations.

"I'm actually warming to China because everyone hates (this market) so much," said RW Baird vice chair of equities Patrick Spencer. "Market expectations are really severe and the reality is slightly better."

WW3.0

Two elves and a scroll: Chinese military releases animated film about Taiwan



The Chinese military released an animated short film on National Day that shows parts of a scroll painting torn in two more than 300 years ago being reassembled, demonstrating the mainland’s determination to integrate self-ruled Taiwan into the community.

The pieces of “The Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,” one of China’s best-known ancient paintings, are kept separately in museums in China and Taiwan, the democratically ruled island that Beijing claims as one of its provinces and reserves the right to take over by force.

On National Day Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, known for warlike videos of exercises around Taiwan, released an animated short film called “Dreams Come True on Fuchun River” that appeals to the shared cultural roots of the people on both sides Taiwan Strait.

The film showed two elves representing the two parts of the painting by Yuan Dynasty master Huang Gongwang, which was torn apart by one of its owners in the 17th century.

At the end of the film, the two characters came together and magically made the painting whole again. 

The shorter piece of the scroll, known as “The Remaining Mountain,” is about 51 cm long and is located at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou City. Taiwan’s National Palace Museum has kept the 640cm-long “Master Wuyong Scroll” since the 1950s.
A quick reunion

The two pieces were reunited in 2011 when China loaned its fragment to the Taiwanese museum for two months, at a time of warmer relations as Taiwan pursued a policy of economic rapprochement with China.

But in recent years, as relations have cooled, China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan, including exercises last month that Beijing said were aimed at combating separatist forces.

At the same time, China is drawing up ambitious plans to “integrate” the economies of its Fujian province and Taiwan on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and offering Taiwanese companies the opportunity to participate in a joint development plan, something Taiwan’s government has rejected.

While China is keen to woo Taiwan with the promise of economic gains, the threat of a violent takeover of Taiwan remains.

During the two elves’ journey in the film, the Eastern Theater Command included footage of aircraft carrier formations and J-20 fighter jets to remind viewers of its battlefield prowess.

 

  

 

China says US is an ‘empire of lies’ as it hits back at report into information manipulation

US State Department report said Beijing was spending billions of dollars each year to manipulate the global media

Foreign ministry in Beijing hits back, saying the American agencies that complied the report are a ‘source of false information’

Reuters
30 Sep, 2023

The United States is the true “empire of lies”, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday, lashing out at a report that accused Beijing of ploughing billions of dollars annually into information manipulation efforts.

China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the US State Department said in the report on Thursday.

Despite the unprecedented resources devoted to the campaign, Beijing had hit “major setbacks” when targeting democratic countries, due to local media and civil society resistance, according to the report, which was produced under a congressional mandate to detail state information manipulation.

The report has disregarded facts, and is itself false information, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

The agencies of the US State Department that produced the report “were the source of false information and the command post of ‘cognitive warfare’,” Beijing said.

“Facts have repeatedly proven that the United States is the true ‘empire of lies’,” it added.

China’s bid to hold sway over US policy poses ‘threat of our lifetime’

29 Sep 2023

The US report comes amid controversy over China’s attempts in recent years to increase the global footprint of its government-controlled media.

Beijing is seeking to combat the negative images of China it feels are propagated by global media.

In pics | More than 60,000 people demand climate action in Swiss capital in 'rare protest'

Source:Agencies
Written By: Nishtha Badgamia | Updated: Oct 01, 2023, 


Tens of thousands protesters gather in Bern

More than 60,000 protesters gathered in the Swiss capital Bern on Saturday (Sep 30) demanding tougher policies to combat climate change ahead of the nation election, said the organisers, according to news agency Reuters.


Rare large protest in Switzerland

Notably, such large protests are rare in Switzerland and indicate growing public frustration with the pace of policy making to combat climate change and global warming considering the ample evidence of its impact.



'Losing hope'

"Many have been losing hope because the government is approving new roads and delaying the climate law. But today we were powerful," said Georg Klingler from environmental campaigners Greenpeace who took part in the march, as quoted by Reuters.

The protest also comes days after a study by the Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences found that glaciers in Switzerland, this year, suffered their second worst melt rate after record depletion in 2022, lessening their comprehensive volume by 10 per cent in the last two years.



'We need change': Green Party


Switzerland's Green Party, which has boosted its presence in the parliament after the last elections, does not have a seat in the ruling cabinet said that more than 60,000 people took part in the march on Saturday.

"Parliament, with its bourgeois majority, is preventing rapid, consistent and effective climate protection," said the Green Party, as quoted by Reuters.

"We need a change at the next elections," said the party, referring to the upcoming legislative poll which will take place on October 22.

;

Swiss policies on climate 'insufficient': Climate Action Tracker

Recently, research consortium Climate Action Tracker found Switzerland's policies are deemed "insufficient". If approved by voters, Bern could move ahead with a draft climate law in June that has sought to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 as it seeks to comply with its global commitments.

In the law takes effect, the government will give financial incentives for firms and consumers to switch to renewables, but the law will not take effect until 2025.

Image shows demonstrators lighting flares next to the House of Swiss Parliament during a national protest for climate justice in Bern, on September 30, 2023.




Volume of Swiss glaciers shrinks by 10%


The glaciers in Switzerland, this year, suffered their second worst melt rate after record depletion in 2022, lessening their comprehensive volume by 10% in the last two years, a report said on Thursday (Sept 28).

In 2022, Switzerland's glaciers shed six per cent of their overall volume and this year, they lost another four per cent, "representing the second largest decline since measurements began", the Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences found in a new study.

The study further warned that the situation could only worsen in the coming years.
(Photograph:AFP)

BUTCHER OF KURDISTAN

Turkey Says 'Neutralised' Many 

Militants in North Iraq Air Strikes

By Reuters

|

Oct. 2, 20

23, 

 

Turkey Says 'Neutralised' Many Militants in North Iraq Air Strikes

More

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament as he attends the reopening of the Turkish parliament after the summer recess in Ankara, Turkey, October 1, 2023. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish air strikes in north Iraq late on Sunday "neutralised" many Kurdish militants and destroyed their depots and shelters, Turkey's defence ministry said, hours after a Kurdish group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Ankara.

Two attackers detonated a bomb near government buildings in Turkey's capital on Sunday morning. Both attackers were killed and two police officers were wounded.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

"A total of 20 targets were destroyed, consisting of caves, bunkers, shelters and depots used by the separatist terrorist organisation," the ministry said, adding that many militants were "neutralised", a term used to mean killed.

The operations were conducted in the Metina, Hakurk, Qandil and Gara regions of northern Iraq at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) and that every measure was taken to avoid harm to civilians and the environment, the ministry said.

Earlier on Sunday, CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a vehicle pulling up to the Interior Ministry's main gate and one of its occupants quickly walking toward the building before being engulfed in an explosion. The other stayed on the street.

The bomb killed one attacker and authorities killed the other, the interior minister said. The blast rattled a district that is home to ministerial buildings and the nearby parliament in what was the first attack in the capital in years, coinciding with the opening of the new parliamentary session.

The ANF News website, which is close to the PKK, cited the group as saying in a statement that a team from its Immortals Battalion unit had carried out the attack.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. It launched an insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The bomb on Ataturk Boulevard was the first in Ankara since 2016, when a spate of deadly attacks gripped the country.

Video afterwards showed a Renault cargo vehicle parked at the scene with windows shattered and doors open, amid debris and surrounded by soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and armoured vehicles.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters the attackers had hijacked the vehicle and killed its driver in Kayseri, a city 260 km (161 miles) southeast of Ankara, before carrying out the attack.

During a series of bloody incidents in 2015 and 2016, Kurdish militants, Islamic State and other groups either claimed or were blamed for a series of attacks in Turkish cities.

(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters

\

PHILIPPINES
Marcos, Duterte suffer 'significant erosions' in approval scores: Pulse Asia

ABS-CBN News  

Oct 02 2023 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte lead the launch of Brigada Eskwela at the V. Mapa High School in Manila on August 14, 2023. 

Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The approval ratings of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte fell in the third quarter of 2023, according to a Pulse Asia survey released on Monday.

Approval for Marcos Jr.'s work declined in the Philippines as a whole to 65 percent in September from 80 percent in June.

His approval rating was also down in all areas and classes (-14 to -15 percentage points and -12 to -29 percentage points, respectively), Pulse Asia noted.


Duterte's ratings dropped to 73 percent from 84 percent overall, as well as in Metro Manila (-12 percentage points), the rest of Luzon (-13 percentage points), Class ABC (-18 percentage points), and Class D (-11 percentage points).

"Although the President and the Vice-President continue to enjoy majority approval scores at the national level and across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, both experience significant erosions in their respective approval ratings during the period June 2023 to September 2023," the pollster said.

Both Marcos and Duterte enjoyed majority trust ratings at 71 percent and 75 percent, respectively.

Screenshot from Pulse Asia media release

'DISAPPOINTED, BUT HOPEFUL' SUPPORTERS

Around the time that the Sept. 10 to 14 survey was conducted, Congress was deliberating on the 2024 national budget that included P4.8 billion in proposed confidential funds and intelligence funds for some government agencies, including Marcos and Duterte's offices, Pulse Asia noted. Tulfo says Marcos approved Sara Duterte's confidential fund request
OVP spent 2022 confidential funds in 11 days, says lawmaker; COA seeks more explanation

It said other key developments during this time included Chinese incursions into the West Philippine Sea and an increase in the prices of rice and vegetables.
DA exec says rice prices 'stabilizing' after price caps
Buy PCG ships, fund state schools with reallocated confidential funds: Bayan Muna

Based on current data and trends during the previous Duterte administration, a decrease in Marcos Jr.'s "is unavoidable if the problems persist," said De La Salle University political science professor Anthony Lawrence Borja.

"It becomes a matter of how low it will go, and if distrust and disapproval towards his subordinates can cushion the impact. Filipinos have a curious capacity to separate subordinates from the leaders they support in terms of placing blame for perceived failures," he told ABS-CBN News.

Explaining Marcos and Duterte's ratings decline in different geographic areas, Borja also noted that national problems like inflation could "wash away regionalistic-tribal loyalties."

"Regionalism or ethno-linguistic tribal loyalty is but one factor. As far as recent studies go, I think it plays a heavier role during elections. However, in propping up a regime, national problems and issues can’t easily be placed within regionalistic containers," Borja said.

Meanwhile, the gap between approval and trust ratings could "point to disappointed but hopeful supporters," he said.

To shore up support, government messaging and projections "must convince the public that it can still perform despite the persistence of economic problems," he added.

OTHER LEADERS

The same Pulse Asia survey found that half of adult Filipinos had a positive assessment of the work done by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Half of respondents were unable to say if they approved or disapproved of the performance of Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez obtained "essentially the same approval and indecision ratings (41 percent versus 44 percent)," Pulse Asia said.

The poll had 1,200 respondents and a ± 2.8 percent error margin.

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