Polio vaccine campaign begins in Gaza a day before fighting is expected to pause

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

September 1, 2024 

i


A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

JERUSALEM--A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus has begun, the Health Ministry said Saturday, as Palestinians in the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's military offensives.

Meanwhile, Israel's military late Saturday in a terse announcement said it had “located a number of bodies during combat” in Gaza. The army was trying to identify the bodies, including whether they were hostages, but said the process would take several hours. “We ask to refrain from spreading rumors,” it said. There were no further details.

A small number of children in Gaza received vaccine doses a day before the large-scale rollout and limited pauses in the fighting agreed to by Israel and the U.N. World Health Organization. Associated Press journalists saw about 10 children receiving doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

“There must be a cease-fire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, Gaza's deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps. Polio is spread through fecal matter.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in a statement said “Israel will allow a humanitarian corridor only” and “areas will be established that will be safe for administering the vaccines for a few hours.”

Israel said the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day. It will allow health workers to administer vaccines with the aim of reaching some 640,000 Palestinian children.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting. Most people who contract the disease do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure.

“I was terrified and waiting for the vaccination to arrive and for everyone to receive it,” said Amal Shaheen, whose daughter received a dose Saturday.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have warned of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The territory's humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

The ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.

Meanwhile, parts of the West Bank remained on edge as Israel's military continued its large-scale military campaign, the deadliest since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Two car bombs exploded in Gush Etzion, a bloc of Israeli settlements. Israel's military killed both attackers after the explosions in a compound in Karmei Tzur and at a gas station, Israel's military said. The military later said a soldier died Saturday during “operational activities” in Jenin, without details, and another was severely injured.

Hamas did not claim the attackers as its fighters but called it a “heroic operation." The militant group said earlier this month after a bombing in Tel Aviv it would continue such attacks.

Israel continued its large-scale raid — including destruction of infrastructure, airstrikes and gunbattles — into urban refugee camps in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank. Israel's incursion started Tuesday, causing alarm among the international community that the war might widen beyond Gaza.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders in a statement said it was alarmed by the scale and intensity of Israel's incursion and asserted that Israeli forces have “obstructed access to health facilities and blocked — and even targeted — ambulances.”

Israel's military on Saturday said 23 militants had been killed since the incursion, including 14 in the Jenin area.

Some people fled Jenin. Holding a baby, Oroba al-Shalabi said Israeli gunfire had pelted her windows.

“We began screaming that we had small children, but they (the Israeli soldiers) didn’t respond at first. The more we screamed, the more they shot at the house, shattering the TV and the windows around us,” she said.

The family cowered in their kitchen until soldiers entered, she said, separating women and children from the men and searching everyone’s phones before letting her flee.

Israel has described the West Bank operation as a strategy to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, which have increased during the war in Gaza including near settlements that the international community largely considers illegal. The Palestinian Health Ministry noted a surge in Palestinian deaths by Israeli forces, with at least 663 in the West Bank since the war began.

In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit a multi-story building housing displaced people in and around Nuseirat, a built-up refugee camp, in Khan Younis and in Gaza City, officials at area hospitals said. The Health Ministry announced a “repeated attack” on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. There were no immediate details, and the Israeli military didn’t comment.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a cease-fire that would see the remaining hostages released. But the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Netanyahu has vowed “total victory” over Hamas and the militant group has demanded a lasting cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.

Israelis gathered again Saturday night to rally against the government and urge a deal to bring remaining hostages home.

“Why are they still in Gaza?” the crowd chanted.

Several Palestinians killed, injured in Israeli airstrike near Baptist Hospital in Gaza

'An Israeli airstrike targeted the vicinity of the Baptist Hospital, resulting in casualties and causing damage to the building,' medical source tells Anadolu

Nour Abuaisha |01.09.2024 -

Israel carried out airstrike despite UN warning of potential consequences if military offensive on Gaza continues during polio vaccination campaign

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday evening that targeted the area surrounding the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City but also caused damage to the health facility.

Israeli fighter jets carried out bombing hours after the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the launch of a polio vaccination campaign in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

“An Israeli airstrike targeted the vicinity of the Baptist Hospital, resulting in casualties and causing damage to the building,” a medical source told Anadolu.

The attack caused fear and panic among residents and hospital staff, eyewitnesses also told Anadolu. The injured were later evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement that “martyrs and wounded fell as a result of an Israeli airstrike on land adjacent to the laboratory section of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.”

Israel carried out the airstrike despite the UN warning of potential consequences if a military offensive on Gaza continues during the polio vaccination campaign.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

In Malawi, a budding musician defies old age, discrimination

September 01, 2024 3:00 AM
By Lameck Masina
VOA

Jetu, wearing clothing designed by House of Xandria, poses during a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event in Blantyre, Malawi, on July 5, 2024.

Blantyre, Malawi —

A 72-year-old woman has shot to music stardom in Malawi, challenging societal norms in a country where elderly people are often abused, tortured or even killed over false accusations of witchcraft.

Christina Malaya, now popularly known by her stage name, Jetu, is breaking the internet with her amapiano-style tracks.

Jetu started her music career last year, at the age of 71 — soon after the death of her husband, in central Malawi, where she was staying.

Relatives suggested she go to Blantyre to stay with grandchildren. Those grandchildren were “doing music,” she said, and asked her to join them as a way to overcome her loneliness and boredom.

Under the management of her grandson, musician Blessings Kazembe, popularly known as Emmu Dee, Jetu has released three powerful singles: “Wakalamba Wafuna,” “Chakwaza” and “Simunatchene.”



Her fans and admirers have crowned her the Malawian queen of amapiano — a subgenre of South African house music — which dominates the music scene in Malawi.

Jetu is excited that music has allowed her to go places she never dreamed of visiting, including Johannesburg and Cape Town when she performed in South Africa in June.

Her talent has earned her recognition as an ambassador for elderly people in Malawi, helping to reduce attacks and killings. Older people in Malawi are faced with attacks and killings on suspicion of practicing witchcraft even though Malawi law does not recognize witchcraft.

Andrew Kavala, executive director of the Malawi Network of Older Persons' Organizations, told VOA that in 2023, his organization recorded 25 killings and 87 cases of violence, including setting fire to homes and assault. That was up from 2022’s 17 deaths.

So far in 2024, he said, 17 elderly people have been killed and 89 have been abused.

Kavala said his organization chose Jetu as an ambassador for elderly Malawians because of her strong appeal to youth, who studies show make 86% of the witchcraft accusations.

“We are trying to explore means through which Jetu can use her platform to convey the message to the youth, ‘Stop bullying, stop abusing elderly persons,’” he said.

Malawi’s youthful and renowned fashion designer Xandria Kawanga, owner of the House of Xandria fashion brand, has started to dress Jetu for events.

“Most people at her age have already given up or they feel they cannot do anything, entertainment or arts, because they are old now,” Kawanga said “So, I thought one of the best ways [to help] is to complement her art and to give her that push.”

Jetu and her grandson/manager, Emmu Dee, are working to promote their new song, which has a video that was was produced this month.

57 Civilian Deaths, Including 13 Children and Six Women, as well as Six Deaths due to Torture, Documented in Syria in August 2024

01-Sep-2024


Syrian Regime Forces Commit Two Massacres in Eastern Rural Deir Ez-Zour Governorate, Killing Multiple Children and Women




Press release: (Download the full report below)

The Hague – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed in its latest report, released today, that 57 civilians were killed in Syria in August 2024, including 13 children and six women, as well as six individuals who died due to torture.

The 23-page report provides a summary of the civilian deaths that occurred in August 2024, shedding light particularly on victims who died due to torture, as well as documenting the massacres perpetrated by the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria which the SNHR team was able to document during this period. The report also outlines the most notable incidents that took place during the month, in addition to summarizing the action taken by SNHR in regard to the issue of extrajudicial killings in Syria, as well as providing details of the attacks carried out against vital facilities during this month.

This report draws upon the constant daily monitoring of news and developments by SNHR’s team, and on information supplied by our extensive network of dozens of varied sources, as well as on the analysis of a large quantity of pictures and videos.

The report emphasizes the Syrian regime’s continuing absolute failure to register the deaths of any of the hundreds of thousands of citizens it has killed since March 2011 in the civil registry’s official death records. It explains that the regime exerts absolute control over the issuance of death certificates, which are not made available to any of its victims’ families, including those of the missing and forcibly disappeared, whether these victims were killed by the Syrian regime or by other affiliated parties. The regime only allows death certificates to be issued for those who meet the narrow criteria set by itself and its security services. The report further reveals that the vast majority of victims’ families are unable to obtain death certificates from the Syrian regime, for fear of linking their name with that of a person who was detained by the regime and killed under torture, meaning that he or she was a dissident who opposed the regime, or that their loved one might be registered as a ‘terrorist’ if they are wanted by the security services; additionally, many victims’ families have been forcibly displaced outside the areas controlled by the regime.

The report further reveals that on August 10, 2022, the regime government’s Minister of Justice issued Circular No. 22 specifying the procedures for the conduct of proceedings related to registering deaths within Sharia courts. The circular included new conditions stipulating that five items of evidence must be submitted to and approved by the relevant judges in proceedings related to registration of deaths. It also requires that all relevant courts involved in death registration cases comply with the circular’s content. The circular also imposed security clearance conditions on judicial authorities to register death cases, increasing the security services’ intrusion into these legal procedures.

The report documents the killing of 57 civilians, including 13 children and six women (adult female), in August 2024 at the hands of the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria. Of the 57 civilians killed during this month, 21 civilians, including six children and five women, were killed by Syrian regime forces, while Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) killed one civilian. The report adds that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed four civilians, including two children and one woman. Finally, 31 civilians, including five children, were killed by other parties.

As the report further reveals, Deir Ez-Zour governorate saw the highest number of civilian deaths in August, accounting for about 39 percent of the total. Of all the victims killed in Deir Ez-Zour this month, 13 were killed by regime forces. Deir Ez-Zour was followed by Daraa, which accounted for about 35 percent with 17 civilian deaths.

On the subject of deaths due to torture, the report reveals that six people were documented as dying due to torture in Syria in August 2024 at the hands of regime forces.

Moreover, the report notes that SNHR documented two massacres that were committed by regime forces in the month of August. This brings the total number of massacres documented since the start of 2024 to 11.

The report further reveals that SNHR documented at least seven attacks on vital civilian facilities in July 2024 by the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria, including five attacks by regime forces, while the remaining two were carried out by all armed opposition factions/SNA.

The report additionally notes that the evidence collected by SNHR indicates that some of the attacks documented in the report were deliberately directed against civilians and civilian objects. These attacks, along with instances of indiscriminate bombardment, also resulted in the destruction of more vital facilities and other buildings. Moreover, the report notes, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the war crime of attacking civilians has been committed in many cases.

As the report also notes, the use of remote bombardment to target densely populated areas reflects a criminal mindset on the regime’s part, showing that it is intent on deliberately inflicting the greatest possible number of deaths, in clear contravention of international human rights law and flagrant violation of the Geneva IV Convention, Articles 27, 31, and 32.

The report further notes that no warnings have been given by Syrian regime forces, Russian forces, or US-led International Coalition forces before carrying out any of their attacks, as required by international humanitarian law. This has been the case since the beginning of the popular uprising in Syria, which shows an utter disregard for the lives of civilians in Syria.

Moreover, it is clear from the volume of violations, their repeated nature, and the excessive level of force used, as well as the indiscriminate manner of the bombardment and the coordinated nature of the regime’s attacks, that they must be the result of orders from the higher echelons of power in accordance with a state policy.

All armed opposition factions/SNA forces, meanwhile, have violated Security Council resolution 2139 through attacks that constitute violations of customary international humanitarian law, resulting in collateral civilian deaths and injuries.

The report calls on the UN Security Council to take additional steps following its adoption of Resolution 2254 and stresses the importance of referring the Syrian dossier to the International Criminal Court, adding that all those involved in perpetrating crimes against humanity and war crimes should be held accountable.

The report also urges all relevant United Nations agencies to make far greater efforts to provide food, medical, and humanitarian assistance in areas where fighting has ceased, and in internally displaced persons’ camps, and to follow up on payment with those states that have pledged voluntary contributions.

The report additionally calls for the implementation of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine (R2P) after all political channels have proved fruitless throughout all the agreements reached, as well as the Cessation of Hostilities statements, and Astana agreements that followed, stressing the need to resort to Chapter VII, and to implement the norm of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly.

The report further recommends that the international community should work to launch projects to create maps revealing the locations of landmines and cluster munitions in all Syrian governorates. This, it notes, would facilitate the process of clearing these lethal munitions, as well as educating the population about their locations.

The report additionally calls on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) to launch investigations into the cases included in this report and previous reports and confirms the SNHR’s willingness to cooperate and to provide further evidence and data in any such investigations, as well as calling on the commission to focus on the issue of landmines and cluster munitions in its next report.

The report also stresses that the Syrian regime must stop the indiscriminate shelling and targeting of residential areas, hospitals, schools, and markets, as well as ending its acts of torture that have caused the deaths of thousands of Syrian citizens in detention centers and complying with UN Security Council resolutions and customary humanitarian law.

Lastly, the report reiterates SNHR’s appeal to all the parties to the conflict to provide detailed maps of the locations where they have planted landmines, especially those present in civilian locations or areas near residential communities, in addition to making several other recommendations.


Download the full report

WWIII

China comes under fire in latest South China Sea clash with Philippines

A screenshot taken from video footage shows a China Coast Guard ship colliding with the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday. | Philippine Coast Guard / via AFP-JIJI

By Kathleen Benoza
STAFF WRITER

JAPAN TIMES
Sep 1, 2024

Beijing has come under fire from Tokyo and Washington after a China Coast Guard vessel repeatedly struck a Japanese-made Philippine Coast Guard ship over the weekend in a flash point area of the disputed South China Sea.

The clash Saturday — the fifth such incident in August between China and the Philippines — occurred at the Sabina Shoal, located around 110 nautical miles (204 kilometers) from the Philippine coast, well within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. The shoal is claimed by both Beijing and Manila despite Hainan Island — the nearest Chinese landmass — being around 1,200 km away.

The Philippines has kept the 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua patrol vessel in the area since April 15. The construction of the ship, a Japan-made 97-meter vessel, was partially funded by an official development assistance loan by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Philippine ship was “directly and intentionally” struck three times by a China Coast Guard vessel, resulting in what appeared to be significant damage, images posted by Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela to his X account showed.

Tarriela stated that the Magbanua was initially surrounded in close proximity by multiple Chinese vessels, including maritime militia, and that the China Coast Guard ship had appeared to target the Magbanua in an “unprovoked” ramming while the Philippine vessel was on the move around the shoal.

The China Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday that the Magbanua had been “illegally lingering” at the Sabina Shoal — known by Beijing as Xianbin Reef and as Escoda Shoal by Manila — and added that the Philippine vessel had “weighed anchor and continued maneuvering provocatively within the lagoon of the reef.”

The statement claimed that the Chinese vessel had “lawfully issued verbal warnings and conducted monitoring and control measures” and that the Philippine vessel intentionally collided with the China Coast Guard ship.

“The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippine side,” China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said. “We again sternly warn the Philippines to face reality and abandon illusions; the only correct course of action is for them to withdraw immediately.”

Philippine spokesman Tarriela stated that Manila has no intention of removing its vessel from the area "despite the harassment, the bullying activities and escalatory action of the Chinese coast guard."

Kazuya Endo, the Japanese ambassador to the Philippines, said in a post on his official X social media account that Tokyo — a “stakeholder” in the South China Sea — had expressed “serious concern” over the “repeated incidents” and that it “opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”



A screenshot taken from video footage shows a collision between one of its vessels and a China Coast Guard ship on Saturday, near the Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. | Philippine Coast Guard / via AFP-JIJI

Beijing was quick to criticize Endo — who has been outspoken in his support for Manila in the South China Sea — with a spokesperson from China’s Embassy in the Philippines calling his criticisms “unprincipled” and riddled with “habitual bias.”

Chinese state-run media has lambasted Japan and the U.S. as “the real instigators behind the rising South China Sea tensions,” alleging that the two countries are attempting to “further escalate” the dispute “so that they can drag all regional countries into a united front against China.”

Beijing asserts control over nearly the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The strategic waterway, through which $3 trillion in trade flows annually, is also thought to be abundant in oil, natural gas, and fish.

China has deployed what the Philippines says is an "excessive force" of 40 naval and coast guard vessels to the area of Sabina Shoal. This buildup aims, in part, to block the Philippines from resupplying the Magbanua. The move has heightened suspicions on both sides that the other may attempt to seize control of and build on the atoll.

China’s move to block access has not only halted Manila’s sea resupply missions but also resulted in severe damage to several vessels from collisions and water cannon attacks.

In a statement Saturday expressing its support for the Philippines, the U.S. condemned the “dangerous and escalatory actions” by Beijing “against lawful Philippine maritime operations” near Sabina Shoal, adding that China’s growing assertiveness in enforcing its claims of territorial sovereignty “threaten the freedoms of navigation and overflight of all nations.”

‘Why the loyalty check?’: Chinese-Filipinos fear prejudice fuelled by Alice Guo case, South China Sea dispute

There are 1.2 million Tsinoys or Filipinos of Chinese ancestry in the Philippines.

 ST PHOTO: MARA CEPEDA

Mara Cepeda
Philippines Correspondent
Sep 02, 2024,

MANILA – The curious case of a former Philippine town mayor who fled the country after being accused of being a Chinese spy and crime boss is stoking fears of discrimination among Chinese-Filipinos.

Locally called Chinoys or Tsinoys, Filipino nationals who are of Chinese ancestry fear that the case of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo is fanning the flames of Sinophobia amid Manila’s dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising her alleged links to the country’s online casino industry, or Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) – mostly Chinese-backed and now banned.

Filipinos were even more outraged when Guo, who is believed to be a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, escaped from the Philippines in August despite facing multiple probes for her alleged links to crime syndicates.

Historian Meah Ang See, a Chinese-Filipino, told The Straits Times that some Tsinoys have already been experiencing what she described as microaggression from fellow Filipinos. The latter have teased them about whether they know Guo personally or have anything to do with Pogos.

Ms Ang See was formerly director of the Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran organisation, which advocates for Tsinoys’ integration into Philippine society. She is also a former president of Bahay Tsinoy, a museum on the ethnic Chinese people’s contributions to Philippine history.

“We’re not Pogos. We are living our lives as Filipinos. We definitely are Filipino citizens. We are legal. We are not involved in crime,” she added.

Some netizens mocked Guo’s accent and looks in posts about her evasive answers when she faced Filipino senators for the first time in May.

“She sounds like she works at the Shenzhen sorting centre,” one Facebook user wrote, in reference to a distribution compound in China where Filipinos’ orders from Chinese e-commerce shops are usually packed before shipment.

For Chinese-Filipino author and podcaster Cedric Cheng, comments like this indicate that some Filipinos are still unable to distinguish between Tsinoys and Chinese nationals living or working in the Philippines.

In an episode of the Now Steaming: Conversations On Tsinoy Life podcast on Aug 5, he said Guo’s case has sparked a “new wave of Sinophobia” online and could lead to “hostile interactions” against Tsinoys offline.

Ms Ang See said there are some 1.2 million Tsinoys, which is about 1 per cent of the Philippines’ total population. This tally does not include the Chinese nationals working in the Philippines, whose number is not readily available.

The Tsinoy community has contributed much to the nation’s history since the first wave of Chinese immigrants moved to Manila from Fujian province in the 1500s.

Chinese influence has since seeped through Philippine cuisine, culture and traditions. The oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594, is located in the heart of the capital Manila, drawing millions of visitors each year for its Chinese-Filipino food and Chinese New Year festivities.

Despite these rich ties, anti-Chinese sentiments have been growing among Filipinos in recent years as Beijing ramped up its aggressive actions against Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea.

These sentiments, coupled with anger over the Guo case, have spilt over to confront some Tsinoys. Some have been asked which side they would support should war erupt between the Philippines and China over the disputed waterway.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising former Bamban town mayor Alice Guo’s alleged links to the country’s online casino industry. She has fled the country. 

PHOTO: SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES


In the same Now Steaming podcast episode, Tsinoy broadcaster Kimberly Mas shared that her cousins were recently at a shopping mall when a male Filipino came up to them and said the “West Philippine Sea is ours” before running away.

The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s official term for the eastern parts of the South China Sea that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China is also claiming them.

“My cousins didn’t respond. They just let it go,” said Ms Mas. “But if I were them, I would have told the guy: ‘Yeah, it is ours.’”

It is a scenario all too familiar for Tsinoys given recent tensions between the Philippines and China, said Ms Ang See.

“We’re Filipino. Why are you even asking us about loyalty? That should be automatic,” she added. “So now Tsinoys are rethinking our position in Philippine society. Are we really accepted?”

But for Dr Sidney Bata, Chinese studies programme director at Ateneo de Manila University, comments like this highlight Filipinos’ growing distrust of China, given its actions towards the Philippines in the sea dispute.

A March 2024 survey by local pollster OCTA Research showed that 91 per cent of 1,200 Filipino respondents said they distrust China, up from 58 per cent in 2022.

“I don’t think it’s racism. I think the conversations now are only having undertones of it because people are becoming distrustful (of China) first. People are angry by these things happening (in the South China Sea),” said Dr Bata.

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Philippine ex-mayor linked to Chinese crime rings fled to Singapore in July: Filipino authorities

In recent months, China has been obstructing Philippine ships sending supplies to a World War II-era warship grounded at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. A skirmish between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy in these waters in June caused one Filipino soldier to lose a thumb.

Dr Bata added that this distrust may also be rooted in the Philippines’ colonial past, having been conquered by Spain, the United States and Japan. The Filipinos’ anger is now directed at China because it has been deemed the Philippines’ modern-day aggressor.

As emotions continue to run high amid the manhunt for Guo, the crackdown on Pogos and geopolitical tensions with Beijing, Tsinoys can only hope that their countrymen would focus more on the facts when discussing these issues.

Ms Ang See said Tsinoys’ Chinese ethnic heritage should be kept out of the conversation.

“When you say that anything Chinese is now illegal, what about us Chinese-Filipinos? What about the Chinese nationals who are following our laws? It’s like you’re lumping everyone together,” she added.

“That’s what we want to separate.”

Shanghai Museum welcomes feline visitors to Egyptian cat exhibition on Meow Night

A cat visitor prepares to have its photo taken in front of a statue depicting the cat goddess Bastet at Shanghai Museum's Meow Night. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

Sep 01, 2024

SHANGHAI - Shanghai Museum has pulled in crowds this summer for an exhibition of ancient Egyptian relics including cat statues and other feline imagery, and which on Saturday nights allows up to 200 visitors to bring along their own four-legged friends.

Inspired by ancient Egyptians’ worship of Bastet, the goddess of protection – often depicted as a cat – the museum has given cats the chance to interact with part of the exhibition called The Secrets Of Saqqara.

“Egyptian archaeological teams discovered a cat temple in Saqqara and unearthed many cat mummies and cat statues. So when we were planning the event, we had cats as a theme, and then came the idea for Meow Night,” said Shanghai Museum deputy director Li Feng.

The Top Of The Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Civilisation Exhibition began on July 19 and runs until Aug 17, 2025, with Meow Night planned for at least 10 Saturdays. It has held six so far with tickets, including 200 bring-a-cat tickets, selling out each time.

Visitors bring their cats in carriers or pet strollers and can take them out only at designated areas, such as for a photo opportunity next to a statue of Bastet.

The cats are checked on entry to ensure up-to-date vaccinations and for signs of illness or stress. There are veterinarians on-site and rest areas for cats in case the stimulation from their night at the museum gets a bit much.

"It's very special that you can bring a cat with you," said visitor Qiu Jiakai who was attending Meow Night with one-year-old puss An Mao.

“I listened to the narrator’s introduction saying ... many of today’s pet cats are related to the cats domesticated in ancient Egypt. So I thought I would have to bring my cat here to see its ancestors and the cat goddess,” she said. 

REUTERS

AU CONTRAIRE

Uygur women hit hardest by US sanctions on Xinjiang

China.org.cn 

Xinhua,

August 31, 2024

In a Cantonese cuisine restaurant in a newly-developed area in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China, Uygur cashier Parida Abdukeyum was busy handling diners' payments and answering phone calls during dinner time, speaking in Mandarin to Han customers and in Uygur to her Uygur co-workers.

The 23-year-old girl comes from Akto, one of the last counties in Xinjiang that were lifted out of absolute poverty in late 2020. She studied in a vocational college in Urumqi and found the job after graduation.

"I like living and working here in Urumqi," said Parida. "In my hometown, life would be marrying someone in the early twenties and then taking care of children at home."

"That is the life of some of my childhood friends. They are married. They stay at home without a job, taking care of their children," she said. "They kind of envy me because I am in a big city, free to live a life that I like."

Parida is one of the tens of thousands of young Uygur women in Xinjiang who have been pursuing a life of their own wish as socioeconomic progress has brought changes to the Uygur community where people believed women should stay at home instead of pursuing their own career.


Female employees operate at a workshop of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

"I WANT TO RETURN TO WORK"

To encourage young Uygurs to find a job and create opportunities for them to seek a better life, Xinjiang local governments have been engaged in helping them to be employed in companies either in their hometown or in cities inside and outside Xinjiang.

However, the program was labeled as "forced labor" by the United States, which has in the past two years imposed sanctions on dozens of Chinese companies on the allegations.

Instead of "protecting human rights," the unilateral sanctions have severely undermined the rights of Uygurs, particularly young Uygur women.

Aminam Tulladin, a 26-year-old girl in Shache, the most populous county in Xinjiang, is among those who lost their income due to the U.S. sanctions.

In 2017, with the help of her vocational high school, Aminam went to work as an intern in a textile company in the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao.

"The first time I got a salary, I was extremely happy as it was earned by my own hand," said Aminam. "During the internship, sometimes I sent part of my salary back to my family, but most of it was spent for myself on items that girls like, such as clothes and cosmetics."

What made Aminam even happier was that the company she worked with later set up a plant in her hometown. In March 2018, Aminam became a formal employee of the company, working in its Shache plant.

A skilled worker, Eminem became a section chief in 2019. "At that time, I can keep some of my salary for myself and give the rest to my family, especially for supporting my younger brother's schooling."

Just as Aminam and the other several hundred Uygur women were embracing their new life, the company was sanctioned by the U.S. administration for hiring these Uygur women.

Its plant which once created nearly 1,000 jobs for locals in Shache now hires less than 100 workers.

"We didn't want our employees to bear the cost. We tried our best, but it was much too tough. We used to have a number of European and American customers, but they had since stopped dealing with us for fear of the U.S. sanctions," said the manager of the Shache plant.

Aminam lost her job and soon after that she got married and had a child. The whole family is supported by her husband, who works as a chef.

"When I was working, I didn't have to ask for money. For the money I earn by myself, I could spend it as I like. Now of course my husband gives me money, but I don't feel good," said Aminam. "I want to earn money by myself. I don't want to ask for it. I want to return to work."

Tuersun Aibai, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xinjiang University, who previously worked in a village in southern Xinjiang, noted that going for work can help Uygur women have relatively stable wage income, enhance their family status and empower them to live a life of their own wish.

"For a family, the complementarity of economic income between husband and wife is conducive to their enjoyment of equal family status," the Uygur scholar said. "Meanwhile, working is beneficial for Uygur women to understand modern production technology, lifestyle and concepts, and could promote their awareness of their right to make choice, and enhance their ability to pursue a better life."

The textile company Aminam once worked with is not the only one plagued with the U.S. sanctions.

Zheng Liang, director of the Institute for Communication and Borderland Governance at Jinan University, who grew up in Urumqi, has studied some cases.

Zheng told Xinhua that a company, whose name he asked not to be disclosed, in the southern province of Guangdong, one of China's economic powerhouses, had to dismiss several hundred Uygur workers due to economic losses inflicted by the U.S. sanctions.

"Those Uygur workers, most of them women, were so upset when they were told the company could no longer hire them. They had been paid a good salary, much higher than what they could get in their hometowns. They wanted to stay," Zheng said.

ECONOMIC COERCION

Unilateral sanctions must not be used as a foreign policy tool and means of economic coercion, said an independent UN expert, referring to the U.S. sanctions.

"During my visit I received numerous reports on the unilateral sanctions' adverse impact and the consequent socioeconomic implications affecting peoples' lives," the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, said in May following her 12-day official visit to China.

She said the decline in business activities and the significant loss of global markets caused by the unilateral sanctions led to job losses, with consequent disruptions in social protection schemes, by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable, particularly in labour-intensive sectors, including women.

"Xinjiang is particularly affected, with key economic sectors and cross-border and international supply chains being disrupted for fear of primary or secondary sanctions for alleged commercial or production ties with this region," said Douhan, who visited cities in Xinjiang as well as Beijing and Shenzhen, a metropolis in Guangdong.

"I wish to reiterate the illegality of extraterritorial application of unilateral sanctions," said the expert. "The unilateral sanctions against China do not conform with a broad number of international legal norms and are introduced to apply pressure on the state."

The Special Rapporteur will present her country visit report to the UN Human Rights Council in September.


Female employees enjoy TV series during break time at their dormitory room of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

Tuersun Aibai said the sanctions were part of the U.S. strategy of "using Xinjiang to contain China" and have seriously infringed upon the rights of enterprises and Uygur workers, "having created forced unemployment."

"It should be noted that women often find themselves in a disadvantaged position in the job market. The sanctions imposed by the U.S. have caused more challenges for Uygur women, resulting in a decrease in economic income, family status and education level, which is a blatant violation of human rights," said Tuersun.

Zheng Liang noted the U.S. sanctions had nothing to do with the alleged human rights concerns. The purpose, he said, is to crush Xinjiang's economy, cause mass unemployment and undermine social stability. Zheng urged sanctioned Chinese companies to take legal actions to defend rights of themselves as well as their Uygur employees.

"WE WON'T LAY OFF ANY ETHNIC EMPLOYEES"

Hoshine Silicon Industry, a leading Chinese company in silica-based products, which was sanctioned by the United States in mid-2021, has been fighting through legal means.

In February, Hoshine filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Court of International Trade, requesting the revocation of the Withhold Release Order that has detained its shipments.

Hoshine's independent subsidiary in Xinjiang has four production bases, with more than 11,000 ethnic minority employees, nearly 60 percent of its local staff.

At Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry's base in a Urumqi suburb, several ethnic minority employees told Xinhua that they got their jobs through online applications or campus job fairs, slamming the "forced labor" allegations as totally ridiculous.

"My major in the university was polymer material and engineering. I applied for this job on the internet last year because my major matches the position and the company offered good pay," said test engineer Gulpari Abdursul, a 28-year-old Uygur woman. "Nobody was forced to work here. We are very angry about those rumors."

Adilijiang Alimu, a Uygur graduate from an engineering college in eastern China, who is now in charge of the green plants at the base, said he first learned about the company due to its giant production base in his hometown, Turpan. "I knew it was a big company. So when I saw its recruitment announcement on the internet, I was interested and I applied."

"Finding a job in Xinjiang, or more broadly in China, is a two-way selection process. We are in a law-based society, how could anyone be forced to work?" said Adilijiang.

Yeernaer Adierjian, a 22-year-old salesman of the Kazak ethnic group from Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, said he got the job through a campus career fair. He became emotional when talking about the "forced labor" accusations.

"As a native of Xinjiang and an employee of a company sanctioned by the United States, I do have a say," Yeernaer said. "We know too well their purpose. Even if they won't be able to split Xinjiang from China, they will do whatever they can to make Xinjiang unstable and unable to develop as part of their efforts to contain our country. I challenge those who invented the false allegations and those who spread them to come to Xinjiang and to my company to have a look."

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 29, 2024 shows a view of Xinjiang Middle Hoshine Silicon Industry's base in the suburb of Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

Asked if the company would consider laying off its Uygur employees in exchange for the revocation of U.S. sanctions, Dai Tian, general manager of the Urumqi base at Xinjiang Middle Hoshine, said: "No. Absolutely not. We won't lay off any ethic employees. They have been making contributions to the development of our company, how could we abandon them?"

"We even invested more in Xinjiang after the sanctions," Dai said, adding that Hoshine has been adjusting its production structure and tackling technical challenges in response to the sanctions.

"We see safeguarding the great unity of our nation as our social responsibility. 'Forced labor' was merely an excuse to suppress the development of Chinese high-tech companies and to disrupt China's social stability and unity. So we should be even more united, and focus on developing and strengthening ourselves," Dai said.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.

Scrapping two-child benefit limit ‘would still leave 100,000 young Britons in poverty’

Chaminda Jayanetti

THE GUARDIAN
Sat 31 August 2024 

The two-child limit and benefit cap are driving up child poverty, says Alison Garnham, CEO of Child Poverty Action Group.

Richard Johnson/Alamy

Tens of thousands of children affected by the two-child benefit limit may not be lifted out of poverty unless the overall benefit cap is reformed, official figures show.

Introduced by the Conservatives, the two-child limit stops households with a third or subsequent child born from 6 April 2017 receiving additional universal credit or child tax credits for these members of the family.

Labour is under pressure to scrap the policy – a key cause of child poverty in larger families. Last month it suspended the whip from seven MPs who voted for an amendment to the king’s speech backing its abolition.


But the figures, supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the impact of scrapping the two-child limit would be dented unless the benefit cap – introduced by the coalition government in 2013 to limit the amount a household can receive – is also reformed.

As of April 2024 – the most recent figures available – 27,000 households claiming universal credit were hit by both the two-child limit and the benefit cap, including 100,000 children.

The true figure of those affected by both policies is likely to be higher, as the DWP data excludes households that receive old-style child tax credits and all households in Northern Ireland.

The benefit cap places an upper limit on the total benefits that working-age households can receive. The amount varies by location and household but particularly hits those living in areas with high rents.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The two-child limit and benefit cap are hugely harmful for children because they break the link between a family’s assessed need and their entitlement to support. Both policies force families to live on less than they need. Both are driving up child poverty. In keeping with the government’s pledge to tackle child poverty, they must be scrapped in the upcoming budget.”

The DWP figures show that households affected by both the two-child limit and the benefit cap lose £273 a month on average due to the benefit cap – equivalent to about £3,276 a year. There are 4,120 households that lose out on more than £500 a month – £6,000 a year.

Prof Kitty Stewart of the London School of Economics said: “We’ve been really concerned about families affected by both these policies for two reasons – first, they are losing out on very substantial amounts of money, which is causing real hardship. And second, although they are among those who are in most urgent need, they won’t see any change at all if the two-child limit is scrapped.”

She said the current benefit cap would also catch some families for the first time if the two-child limit was scrapped, denying them the full benefit from doing so.

“By definition, benefit-capped families are not working, or working few hours – but as we already have quite tough work conditionality requirements, this tends to reflect considerable barriers to work, including young children or children with health difficulties or special educational needs. Over two-thirds of capped families are single parents, half with a child under five.

“While some people have res­ponded to the policy by moving into work, our research found that it has actually pushed others further from the labour market. Our research found that there is no way for families to escape the cap by moving – they are already in the cheapest accommodation, often overcrowded and poor quality.”

Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s chief analyst, Peter Matejic, said: “A generation of children is growing up hungry and cold, with their parents forced into unthinkable decisions about whether to heat their homes, or put food on the table or warm clothes on their children’s backs. This is a disgrace in a country as wealthy as the UK.

“A coherent child poverty strategy, based on research and evidence, is required to tackle the crisis facing those at the sharpest end of the UK’s social security system.

“As well as scrapping the two-child limit, we need universal credit to be reformed and the benefit cap reformed or, better still, removed so that the minimum level of support never falls below the amount required to afford essentials. Making these changes can lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.”

Related: The Observer view on child poverty: Labour must tackle this scourge as soon as possible | Observer editorial

Removing the two-child limit would cost the government an estimated £2.5bn this year, rising to £3.6bn a year further down the line.

The government has launched a ministerial child poverty taskforce, which is due to publish a new child poverty strategy next spring. Among the stated objectives of the taskforce is “supporting households to increase their income, including considering social security reforms that support people into work and alleviate poverty”.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said: “Child poverty is a scar on our society. It harms children’s life chances and our country as a whole. That is why tackling child poverty is a top priority for this government. We will take action with a comprehensive strategy to drive down poverty and drive up opportunity, building a better future for us all.”

A look into the Covid pandemic impact on the poorest children in Oxford

Charlotte Coles
Sat 31 August 2024

A look into the Covid pandemic impact on the poorest children in Oxford

 (Image: PA)

As pupils return to schools for the new academic year, the Covid pandemic impact on children in Oxford has been looked into.

A report from several charities said children are being failed in "dual crises of poverty and mental health", adding poverty is a "critical risk factor" that has surged in recent years.

Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show a record number of children across the UK lived in households earning less than 60 per cent of the median income in 2022-23.

Some 2.5 million children now live in relative low-income households before housing costs, up from 2.3 million in 2018-19.

This includes 3,626 children in Oxford, equivalent to 14.4 per cent of under-18s in the area – up slightly from 14.3 per cent in 2018-19.

The report, from the Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, called on Labour to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

Several Labour MPs have criticised the cap, calling for it to be scrapped, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has resisted pressure to do so.

Rosie Duffield described the limit as a "heinous piece of legislation", while John McDonnell called the policy an "attack on the poorest" and said his party should plan to abolish it within weeks.

Sir Keir said there is no "silver bullet" and there was a "complicated set of factors" including pay, benefits, work, housing, education and health at play.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show a record number of homeless children across England were living in temporary accommodation as of the end of March.

The number of children housed in temporary accommodation such as hotels and bed and breakfasts has risen by 17 per cent since 2020, including 205 in Oxford.

The areas with the highest rates of children living in temporary accommodation are mostly in London, with some areas seeing more one in 20 children living in short-term housing.

Labour described the homelessness crisis as a "national scandal".

The figures also show 30 households with children in Oxford were assessed as needing a prevention duty in the three months to March, with a further 28 assessed as needing a relief duty.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We have laid out clear plans in the short and long-term about how we will deliver our target of 1.5 million homes.

"We will prevent homelessness before it occurs by banning Section 21 evictions, and deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

"We will also give councils more stability through multi-year funding settlements."

SMOKERS’ CORNER: 

THE OUTrAGE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Nadeem F. Paracha

Published September 1, 2024 

DAWN/EOS

Illustration by Abro

The ‘angry young man’ (AYM) was a character-type first introduced by some British writers in the 1950s. In fact, it was the British media that began to use this term for novelists whose protagonists were disaffected young men, who questioned the ethos of social conformity that had emerged in Western societies after the turmoil of World War II.

The protagonists were morally ambiguous, individualistic and sardonic towards notions of middle class morality and social norms. They mostly chose to brood and sulk, but carried in them a volatility and anger that, when unleashed, often led to disruptive outcomes.

The AYM character soon began to appear in films as well. He operated in the grey area between the archetypal hero and the archetypal villain. As a protagonist, he was neither all good nor entirely bad. Yet, he often managed to attract the sympathy of the audiences. The audiences, though, going along with the post-war conformist consensus, secretly admired a character who was challenging the prevailing ethos, but without being a ‘bad person’ as such.

As the appearance of AYM characters in British and American films increased, they arrived with a bang in Bollywood. In the 1970s, the actor Amitabh Bachchan became the quintessential Bollywood AYM. In films such as Deewar, Zanjeer, Sholay, Trishul and Kala Phatar, he repeatedly played an AYM — a resentful working class man who severely lambasted and mocked social hypocrisies. He moved back and forth from brooding to erupting in fits of rage.

The mid-to-late 20th century archetype of the ‘angry young man’ that dominated popular media has now been replaced by a culture where everyone is in constant outrage

The AYM character manifested the anger simmering underneath the surface of society — a rage that was always threatening to boil over. But the AYM was not an activist or a revolutionary. He was amoral (or had his own moral code). He was cynical, sardonic and, if need be, violent. He was suspicious of all ideologies.

By the mid-1980s, though, the AYM trope had run its course. One can posit two reasons for this. Firstly, not only did the character start to generate shallow imitators, but it also began to imitate itself, becoming its own caricature. Secondly, as a new consensus of conformity developed in most societies after the tumultuous 1970s, and the AYM began to lose his appeal.

In fact, in the 1980s, the character started to remind people of the political and social upheavals of the previous decade, which they now wanted to forget. Consequently, the AYM mutated and became a full-on ‘action hero’, but without any meaningful social or political context or subtext. He simply became disposable entertainment.

The action hero only adopted AYM’s overt masculinity. Eventually, the classic AYM vanished from screens. For over 15 years now, many regions have been witnessing political, social and economic upheavals. So why have there been so few AYMs in films and novels during this period?

In 2019, Stanford University’s Professor Richard T Ford wrote that outrage, once the stance of the cinematic AYM, has now become a universally shared orientation. Once an atypical response to extreme circumstances, outrage is now a default reflex.

Decades ago, the AYM on screen or in literature, was a character with whom people would develop a cathartic relationship. They saw the AYM express what they themselves were reluctant to, due to the fear of being ostracised. By the early 1980s, however, instead of manifesting social and political pathos, the AYM became an assembly line product and then the archetypal action hero.

According to Ford, today, due to social media and the “outrage media”, almost every man and woman has become an “angry person.” Outrage is now a tool of the conservative as well as of the radical and the underdog. The world has no use any more of a fictional character who would aid paying audiences to vent their anger. The people themselves have become this character. But the outraged today are largely the outcome of the so-called ‘outrage media’ dishing out what The New York Times cartoonist Tim Kreider called “outrage porn.”

The outrage media and its consumers are all part of what has come to be known as the “outrage industrial complex” (OIC). It is mostly made up of electronic and social media outlets whose business model is to sensationalise and compound the perceptions of fissures in society. The purpose of the language that they use and the images they circulate is to trigger anger and outrage in people towards particular groups or individuals.

This is not to suggest that all outrage is the consequence of exaggerated slights. Some outrage is organic, quite unlike the one sparked by the outrage media. AYM films had become big box office draws. The character became an industry, fed on and by the fashion, film and publishing industries. Today, the OIC feeds on and is fed by the outrage media producing ‘outrage porn’ through social media ‘influencers’, vloggers, particular kinds of podcasts and loud TV talk shows.

All feed off each other. According to the American academic Arthur Brooks, opposing sides outraging against each other are likely to cooperate, because both benefit from the OIC. One cannot benefit without the other. Bait is dangled by an individual or a group that is almost immediately taken by an opposing group and a ‘debate’ ensues. The fact is that this is not really a debate, but an exchange of accusations, judgements and distasteful labels.

As this goes on, more and more people get involved. Eventually, the most active ones go away with ‘likes’, reposts, views and even money, while others feel good about themselves for doing something ‘meaningful’ and for a ‘good cause.’

For example, do notice the number of times vloggers on YouTube use phrases such as “shocking revelations”, or “big breaking” in thumbnails, or pose provocative questions such as, ‘Is so and so a thief/corrupt/agent/traitor/etc?’, ‘Is so and so gay/atheist/fundamentalist?’, ‘Why was so and so fired/killed/raped/etc?’

Again, a ‘debate’ ensues in the comments section, with some agreeing with the vlogger, some disagreeing, and most only interested in getting ‘likes’ on their own ‘profound’ comments.

The vloggers want this. More views, likes, ‘subscribes’ and comments mean more money. Sometimes vloggers even take positions which they may not be fully committed to, but know that these positions attract more views.

According to Ford, current forms of outrage keep us intoxicated by a false sense of urgency and efficacy. He then adds that we are all locked in an arms race of outrage, in which stalemate is the only possible outcome. And stalemate favours the status quo. Therefore, outrage is no more a form of effective protest, as such. According to Ford, it has become an aesthetically debased form of entertainment.

Quite like what the AYM became.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 1st, 2024

 GREENWASHING 

Kyle Bass Says Blackballing Oil Was Always a Lost Cause for ESG



Natasha White
Sun, Sep 1, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- One of the most contentious investing strategies on Wall Street might be a lot less beleaguered right now if its defenders had shown a bit more moderation from the get-go, according to Kyle Bass.

The hedge fund veteran and founder of Hayman Capital Management says the backlash that’s been building against environmental, social and governance investing in recent years is largely due to climate activists’ demands that fossil fuels be abandoned here and now. As a proposition, that was never tenable or even responsible, he says.

“There were all of these idiots that were just saying, if anyone is doing hydrocarbons, we’re going to blackball them from doing business or from receiving capital,” Bass said in an interview. “And so Texas lashed back and said, if you’re going to blackball someone that’s producing hydrocarbons, we’re not going to do business with you either.”

It’s a line of argument that gets to the heart of an increasingly entrenched standoff between much of Wall Street and the climate movement. A recent case in point is the months-long campaign outside the Manhattan headquarters of Citigroup Inc., which has seen tense encounters between bankers and protesters.

Protest organizers have galvanized enthusiasm using slogans like “Hot People Hate Wall Street” and “Eat the Rich.” So far, dialogue has been limited and neither side has made any concessions of note.

Bass, who has spoken up in favor of agendas on various sides of the US political debate spanning tariffs on China to abortion rights, is the latest in a list of increasingly vocal financial professionals to characterize such climate activism as naive. Others to have made similar points include KKR & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis, as well as the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Jamie Dimon and David Solomon.

“Energy transitions take 40 or 50 years,” Bass said. There are people who “think we can just turn hydrocarbons off and turn on alternative power. But they have no idea how the grid works and no idea how business works.”

The focus now should be on energy efficiency and electrification, with a full transition to nuclear in the long run, he said. Until then, it’s more realistic to accept that fossil fuels and renewable energy sources are “going to coexist for decades and decades to come,” Bass said.


Many Wall Street firms who initially signed up to net zero alliances have since found themselves on the receiving end of bans in Republican states that target firms seen as hostile toward fossil fuels. Those same firms are now becoming more vocal in their support of oil and gas clients.

“Skirting hydrocarbons is like bringing politics into investing,” Bass said. “If you’re willing to give up returns for that, then so be it. But I think that’s naive and it’s a breach of fiduciary duty.”

Texas, where Bass is based, passed two laws in 2021 that restrict government contracts with companies that take what state officials regard as punitive stances toward the fossil-fuel and firearms industries. The legislation, which is now being challenged in the courts, has prompted state officials to place restrictions on financial firms including Citigroup, Barclays Plc and BlackRock Inc.

The Sunrise Project, a nonprofit focused on the financial sector’s contribution to global warming, says such legislation represents a “bad-faith” attempt to “punish financial-service providers for managing investment risk.” The group points to evidence that laws like those in Texas ultimately end up costing taxpayers money.

At the same time, climate scientists warn that the planet is reaching dangerous tipping points as rising emissions trigger increasingly deadly floods, wildfires and droughts. Continued bankrolling of the fossil fuels that directly add to those emissions is contributing to a climate catastrophe and must be urgently reined back, they say.

Meanwhile in Europe, which is home to the world’s biggest ESG investing rulebook, regulators are adjusting their stance. There’s now an extensive review underway of existing regulations with a view to allowing a less absolutist stance on fossil fuels. In essence, investors who can show they’re helping a company with a big carbon footprint transition toward a greener future will likely be able to call that an ESG strategy.

ESG investors have already started adjusting their strategies to reflect expectations that regulations will be more accommodating toward the fossil-fuel sector. A recent study by analysts at Goldman Sachs found that ESG funds are now more exposed to the oil and gas industry than they were just a year ago.

Changes in the ESG regulatory backdrop in Europe “could drive flows towards companies traditionally excluded,” according to a team of Goldman analysts that included Evan Tylenda and Grace Chen.


Meanwhile, Bass is himself adapting to a greener future by specifically targeting investment projects that protect the natural environment. Since 2021, he’s been buying up land through his private equity firm, Conservation Equity Management, with a view to shielding forests from over-exploitation and monetizing environmentally fragile habitats.

Bass, who shot to fame after successfully betting against US subprime home loans during the financial crisis of 2008, says there are clear opportunities to make money from nature conservation. In fact, he says he’s seeing enough external investor demand to allow him to expand his strategy.

“We’re focusing on mitigating or offsetting physical impacts on the environment,” Bass said. “And we’re going to make a pretty penny in doing so.”

Part of Bass’s venture involves generating so-called mitigation banking credits, which are tradable units that can be bought by companies required by law to compensate for their environmental impact.

Whether it’s renewable energy developers or oil producers, companies still need to offset the damage they do to nature, Bass said.

Ultimately, Texan support for fossil-fuel producers has “only made it better” for investment strategies like his that are linked to selling offsets, Bass said.

--With assistance from Lisa Pham.