Switzerland

• 5G health fears? Thousands of protesters take to the streets in Swiss capital to protest high-speed wireless roll-out (SCMP)

Foreign Policy

• PLA blasts US over hype of 'Chinese threat' (China Daily)
• British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab calls on China to live up to Hong Kong obligations, but stops short of granting right of abode to BN(O) passport holders (SCMP)
• China promises all-out efforts to protect African countries' interests (Global Times)
• China strongly opposes U.S. congressional committees' passing of Hong Kong-related act (Xinhua)
• China, U.S. maintain close contact to push for progress in consultations (Xinhua)
• China, EU on track for BIT by 2020 (Global Times)
• Video shows Canada border officers abusing Meng Wanzhou's rights by questioning her about Iran, lawyers tell court, as Huawei extradition saga continues (SCMP)
• Chinese official attends 70th anniversary commemoration of Geneva Conventions (Xinhua)
• European businesses urge EU to take 'defensive' measures against China's state-owned enterprises (SCMP)

Domestic Policy

• Big data expert takes over as China's new cybersecurity chief (SCMP)
• Did China just accidentally show off its new supersonic cruise missile? (SCMP)
• China publishes white paper on China and world in new era (Xinhua)
• China issues position paper on China and the UN (Xinhua)
• China vows to keep prices stable, promote electricity market reform (Xinhua)
• China achieves leapfrog economic and social development over past 70 years (People's Daily)
• Top political advisory body to hold standing committee meeting in November (Xinhua)
• China says National Day military parade 'won't disappoint' in scale or advanced weapons (SCMP)
• China issues white paper on human rights progress over 70 years (Xinhua)

Beijing 

Shanghai 

Guangdong 

Tibet 

Xinjiang

• US calls for UN to demand unfettered access to China's Xinjiang region (SCMP)

Hongkong

• China envoy rules out more concessions to Hong Kong protesters ahead of Carrie Lam's public 'dialogue' (HKFP)
• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam endures barrage of anger at town hall meeting (HKFP)
• Hong Kong police make arrests at Sha Tin MTR station after brief skirmish (HKFP)

Macau

Taiwan

• US Senate committee passes bill to support Taiwan's diplomatic allies (SCMP)
• Beijing confirms it has detained Taiwanese business leader missing for 14 months (SCMP)

Economy

• Job market sees gains as fears of slowdown rise (China Daily)
• Third batch of frozen pork set for release to stabilize market supplies, prices (Global Times)

DPRK

• S. Koreans believe DPRK leader's trip to S. Korea to be positive: poll (Xinhua)
• South Korean leader Moon Jae-in proposes replacing DMZ with 'international peace zone' bordering North Korea (SCMP)
• Trump and Moon discuss another North Korea summit but 'what's going to come out of it'? (SCMP)

Mongolia

• Foreign Minister addresses UN Security Council ministerial debate (Montsame)
• Mongolia's growth to ease to more sustainable levels in 2019 and 2020 — ADB (Montsame)
• Cabinet news in brief (Montsame)

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5G health fears? Thousands of protesters take to the streets in Swiss capital to protest high-speed wireless roll-out (SCMP)
2019-09-22
Thousands of people protested in the Swiss capital Bern Saturday over the roll-out of a 5G wireless technology across the country, which they fear could damage people's health. The protesters, many carrying placards, gathered in front of the Swiss parliament building, in a bid to stop the construction of more 5G-compatible antennae. "The fact that so many people turned out today is a strong sign against the uncontrolled introduction of 5G," said Tamlin Schibler Ulmann, co-president of Frequencia, the group that organised the rally. The tiny principality of Monaco became the first country in Europe to inaugurate a 5G mobile phone network in July based on technology from Chinese firm Huawei, which is seen by the US as a major security risk. But critics in Switzerland argue that the electromagnetic radiation the new system emits poses unprecedented health and environmental risks compared to previous generations of mobile technology. Online petitions have helped persuade several Swiss cantons – in Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg and Neuchatel – to postpone the construction of antennae as a precaution. The Swiss Federation of Doctors (FMH) has also argued for a cautious approach to the new technology. Opponents of the new technology are trying to gather the 100,000 signatures they need to force a referendum on imposing a moratorium on the technology until its risks can be properly assessed. In February, Switzerland attributed 5G frequencies to three major operators, Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt, and the operators have been pushing the cutting-edge technology in television advertisements and on billboards. By early July, 334 antennae stations for 5G were operational across the country, authorities have told AFP. There are several studies on the health impacts of the new technology underway, including one by the World Health Organisation, which has told AFP it had begun "conducting a risk assessment of health outcomes from radiofrequency fields exposure". A group of experts was also appointed by the Swiss government last year to probe the risks involved with introducing 5G, and their findings should be published by the end of the year. ^ top ^

PLA blasts US over hype of 'Chinese threat' (China Daily)
2019-09-27
The People's Liberation Army resolutely opposes the United States' recent actions and rhetoric that distort China's strategic intent, undermine its sovereignty and hype the so-called Chinese threat, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, said on Thursday. On Tuesday, the US Congressional Research Service submitted a report to the US Congress on China's naval modernization efforts, claiming the PLA Navy is posing a major challenge to the US' ability to control the Western Pacific. It is the first time the US Navy has faced a challenge of this magnitude since the end of the Cold War, the report said. Ren said the report ignored basic facts, twisted legitimate intentions for modernizing the PLA Navy and hyped the so-called Chinese threat to create further confrontations. "It is not the first time the US side has done something like this," he added. "This goes to show the arrogance and prejudice, as well as the zero-sum and Cold War mentalities of some US officials," he said. "Such actions are ridiculous, erroneous and dangerous, and the Chinese side resolutely opposes them." Ren stressed that China has promised to adamantly follow the path of peaceful development and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. "We hope the US side can abandon their Cold War mentality, adapt to changing times and work with China, and take concrete actions to facilitate the healthy and stable development of China-US military-to-military relations and bilateral ties, thus jointly maintaining peace and prosperity in the region and the world," he said. This week, satellite images showed that US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan entered the South China Sea. In mid-September, during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer sailed into territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands and was warned to leave by the Chinese military. Ren said the Chinese side adamantly opposes the US carrier fleet flexing its muscles in the region. "We demand the US side respect the security concerns of various nations from the region and add positive energy to South China Sea's peace and stability." "The US side loves to take petty actions just before China's major holidays, but history has proved that no petty actions can affect the overall development of the Chinese military and the nation," he said. "The Chinese military will methodically fulfill its duties and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as peace and stability of the region and the world." Last month, the US declassified a 1982 memo by US President Ronald Reagan stating Taiwan's defensive capability relative to that of the Chinese mainland would be maintained in both quantitative and qualitative terms. The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said on Thursday that the memo's contents were in severe violation of the one-China principle. "It is totally wrong and invalid," he said. Peaceful development of cross-Straits relations is the key to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, he said. ^ top ^

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab calls on China to live up to Hong Kong obligations, but stops short of granting right of abode to BN(O) passport holders (SCMP)
2019-09-27
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday called on China to "live up to its obligations" to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, reasserting Britain's commitment to the continuing legality of the handover treaty. In response to a grilling from members of all parties in the House of Commons, Raab also warned Beijing against military intervention in Hong Kong and expressed concern over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The Chinese embassy in London hit back the same day expressing "grave concern" over his "irresponsible remarks". The 1984 joint declaration "remains as valid today as it was when it was signed almost 35 years ago", Raab said. "It is a legally binding international treaty. And we expect China to live up to its obligations under that treaty." The foreign secretary called on parliament to join him in condemning the recent violence in Hong Kong "from a minority of those engaged in those protests". "It is essential that protests are conducted peacefully and within the law and that the response of the authorities is proportionate." However, he also said "it is becoming increasingly clear that there are criminal gangs involved, and it is not clear entirely what their links may or may not be with the various administrations". "Frankly, wherever those incursions or erosions or impingements come, we will call them out," he said. Raab said "the joint declaration, as a bilateral treaty, reflects not just the right to peaceful protest but the basic international human rights obligations, which would apply to China in any event". "We express grave concern and firm opposition to the British government official once again making irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong," the Chinese embassy said in a statement. "We have made our solemn position on Hong Kong clear to the UK on many occasions." Citing the success of the "one country, two systems" principle by which China governs Hong Kong, the embassy said "the colonial era is long gone and Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". "The UK has no sovereignty, no right to govern or supervise over Hong Kong. Hong Kong affairs are purely internal affairs of China. We would never allow any external force to use any excuse to interfere in Hong Kong affairs," the statement continued. The embassy asked Britain to "immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and other internal affairs of China, and do more to help maintain the prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and enhance mutual trust between China and the UK, instead of doing the opposite". Senior Chinese officials, including Chinese Ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming, had accused Raab's predecessor Jeremy Hunt of having a colonial attitude in regards to Hong Kong, warning Britain to stay out of Chinese affairs and promising "consequences" if it did not. Last month, China criticised a call Raab made to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam as a "mistake", describing it as a move "to put pressure on her" and calling on Britain to "stop intervening in China's affairs". During the House of Commons debate on Thursday, Raab stopped short of granting right of abode to holders of BN(O) passports, which around 3.4 million Hongkongers were eligible to apply for before the 1997 handover. "There is no right of permanent residence under the BN(O) passport, but it is part of the overarching model of one country [two systems], which, at least at this point, we are arguing needs to be respected. But it needs to be respected by all sides, including China," Raab said. He added that his government would "make sure that, in terms of their rights and entitlements they are entitled to expect within that status, they have our full support". Conservative MP Bob Seeley said the British government should look at BN(O) status alternatives in light of the growing tensions, including "a fast track to residency" for 250 former servicemen in Hong Kong. Raab said China, "for the large part, is trying to respect – or seeking to respect, or at least talking about respecting – the degree to which it is reflected in the joint declaration", and that it would not at this moment be right "to unpick one element of that package". "We in this house and across the international community must be clear with our Chinese friends and partners about the Rubicon that would be crossed if we saw a major intervention in Hong Kong. No one wants to see any repeat of the tragic circumstances in Tiananmen Square all those years ago." Raab was speaking a day after parliament was recalled following a ruling by the country's highest court against Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had ordered a five-week suspension. "Amidst all the Brexit divisions we have, it is important that we have some cross-party consensus where it is practicable on this issue, because that allows us to send the clearest signal to our international partners, and indeed to Hong Kong and China on its importance, so I welcome that," he said. Raab was due to meet his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in New York this week but had to cancel after the British Supreme Court ordered parliament to be reconvened. In response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna regarding the involvement of British police in Hong Kong, Raab said the officers were there "to provide police training" and this was "precisely to make sure that policing is done in a proportionate way, and with some restraint where that is called for". Raab also said the government was concerned about "credible" reports of one million people interned in camps in Xinjiang. "Let me again make the point that China is now a leading member of the international community. It is a [permanent] member of the Security Council, and it is very important for those basic international obligations to be respected," he said. ^ top ^

China promises all-out efforts to protect African countries' interests (Global Times)
2019-09-27
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China will make all-out efforts to "do whatever the African brothers expect from us and whatever is in their interests." The world today faces major changes unseen in a century, and the most important change is that a large number of developing countries, including China and those in Africa, have been on the fast track of development, Wang said. China has stood firmly with its African brothers all along, Wang said during a meeting with the foreign ministers of Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa -- members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, and Niger and Tunisia, incoming members of the UN Security Council, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly high-level events week. Wang said reflecting Africa's appeals, addressing its concerns and safeguarding its interests are the central focus of China's work on the council as African countries are the most important and most trusted partners of China since the first day that China joined the council. In the face of the new situation, China is ready to work with African countries at the Security Council to strengthen solidarity and coordination, and safeguard common interests, Wang said, adding that together the countries will make new and greater contributions to world peace and development. Wang said important consensus was reached at the meeting as all parties are supportive of safeguarding multilateralism, strengthening the authority and role of the United Nations, upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and opposing unilateralism and bullying. "We have all agreed to enhance mutual support and cooperation between China and Africa in UN and Security Council affairs, and safeguard the common interests of China, Africa and other developing countries," said Wang. It is supported by all that African countries should solve African issues in the African way and the UN should provide financial support for independent peace operations in Africa, according to Wang. He added that the concept of "cooperation for development and development for peace" is also supported by all, which will help African countries achieve independent and sustainable development. Wang stressed that all parties at the meeting are firmly committed to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and opposing any country creating obstacles for developing countries or depriving them of the right to development. ^ top ^

China strongly opposes U.S. congressional committees' passing of Hong Kong-related act (Xinhua)
2019-09-26
China on Thursday deplored and strongly opposed the passing of the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 by U.S. congressional committees, urging the United States to stop interference in Hong Kong affairs. The Act confuses right and wrong in total disregard of the facts, brazenly bolsters up violent radicals in Hong Kong and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement released Thursday morning. Since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland in 1997, policies including "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy have been earnestly carried out, and Hong Kong residents' rights and freedom have been fully guaranteed, Geng said. But in the past three months, the situation in Hong Kong, initially from the fallout over revisions to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, has gone completely awry as radical forces and violent activists wantonly disturbed public order, destroyed public facilities and assaulted and injured police officers with the support and indulgence of external forces and the anti-China disruptors in Hong Kong. "All these acts went far beyond normal peaceful demonstrations and assemblies, trampled on social morality, violated the baseline of the rule of law and challenged the bottom line of the 'one country, two systems' principle," said Geng in the statement. He said it has become a broad consensus for all walks of life in Hong Kong to stop the violence and restore order. The central government of China firmly supports the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong police and the HKSAR judiciary in carrying out their duties in accordance with the law, said the spokesperson. Geng said the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs persisted in reviewing and approving the Hong Kong-related act in disregard of the appeals of all sectors of Hong Kong society and basic norms of international relations, wantonly backing radical forces and violent activists in Hong Kong. "Such a move constitutes gross interference in China's internal affairs and fully exposes some U.S. Congress members' vicious intention to send Hong Kong into chaos and contain China's development," he said. Geng said it is in line with the interests of all parties including the United States that Hong Kong maintains prosperity and stability as there are more than 80,000 U.S. citizens living in Hong Kong together with over 1,300 U.S. companies and considerable U.S. investment. "The approval of the act by U.S. congressional committees can only embolden radicals and violent activists to further destabilize Hong Kong, which will jeopardize the interests of both China and the United States," Geng said. He warned that no one should underestimate China's determination to safeguard its national sovereignty, safety and development interests, implement the "one country, two systems" policy and safeguard Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. "Any U.S. move that undermines China's interests will be met with our vigorous response," Geng said. China strongly urges some U.S. Congress members to correctly understand the situation, immediately stop pushing the review of the Hong Kong-related act and stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and interfering in China's internal affairs to avoid further damage to China-U.S. relations, said the spokesperson. ^ top ^

China, U.S. maintain close contact to push for progress in consultations (Xinhua)
2019-09-26
China and the United States are maintaining close contact to pursue positive progress in the 13th round of high-level economic and trade consultations scheduled for October in Washington, an official said Thursday. Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson Gao Feng said at a press conference that China's standpoint on the consultations remains unswerving and expressed hope that both sides will meet each other halfway to seek mutual benefit and win-win results through consultations on the basis of equality and mutual respect. China and the United States held vice ministerial-level trade talks in Washington between September 19 and 20 and conducted constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of mutual concern. The two sides also carefully discussed the specific arrangement for the 13th round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations. Gao said that Chinese firms have recently inquired with U.S. suppliers and purchased U.S. agricultural products. These firms have purchased a considerable amount of soybeans and pork, and the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will exclude the purchases from the additional tariffs. "China has great market demand for high-quality U.S. farm products and has high complementarity with the United States in the field of agriculture," Gao said, expecting the two sides to make joint efforts and take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation. Gao said China welcomes the U.S. decision to release lists on exempting additional tariffs on Chinese products, adding that the move benefits both U.S. firms and consumers as well as Chinese firms and will create good conditions for the consultations. ^ top ^

China, EU on track for BIT by 2020 (Global Times)
2019-09-26
China and the EU are on track to reach a comprehensive bilateral investment treaty (BIT) by 2020, as the two sides are making "positive" progress and accelerating their negotiations, fueled by rising urgency created by the US' trade protectionism against both Beijing and Brussels. Given the ratcheted-up efforts from China and the EU, the two sides are likely to wrap up negotiations on technical issues by the end of this year and sign the BIT by 2020, as previously planned by top officials, analysts said on Thursday. "Under the efforts of both sides, the negotiations have maintained positive momentum and yielded positive progress," Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press briefing in Beijing. The two sides concluded a round of negotiations on Tuesday in Beijing, where they focused on the text of the agreement and discussed the exchange and revision of a demand list, according to Gao. This was the 23rd round of negotiations between China and the EU, since talks were launched in 2013. At a bilateral forum in April, leaders of the two sides determined that they will push to reach "decisive" progress by the year's end and reach a "high-level" treaty by 2020. Gao said that to reach the goal, the two sides "have invested more in the negotiations and increased the frequency of the negotiations," noting that Chinese and EU officials have conducted four rounds of face-to-face talks and they have also been meeting on other occasions and platforms. The intensified efforts underscore the urgency to reach a BIT due to rising external pressure from the US, which has launched trade wars on both China and the EU and rising pressure from their slowing economies, analysts noted. "There is a huge possibility for the two sides to reach a BIT within the stated timetable, because against the backdrop of the trade war, both sides need bilateral cooperation to ease pressure," Ye Bin, a research fellow specializing in EU laws at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday. Though China has become the main focus of US trade protectionism, the EU has not been able to avoid aggression from Washington, despite their close diplomatic and security alliance. Often criticizing the EU as "worse than China" in trade, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $7 billion worth of goods from the EU, which in turn is considering tariffs on $4 billion worth of US goods, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. China and the US have also been locked in a costly trade war for more than a year with no clear end in sight, though the two sides are planning for more negotiations to address the issues. Officials are preparing for a round of high-level of talks in Washington in October, but no date has been set. Given the US aggression, reaching the BIT has become more necessary and urgent for China and the EU, according to Sun Yongfu, former director general of the European Department of the MOFCOM. "The US has helped China and the EU push forward negotiations of the BIT," Sun told the Global Times, noting the investment treaty will ensure market access and protection for EU investment in China and could spur a new wave of Chinese investments into the EU. "That is in both sides' interest." The China-EU BIT has also come at a time when China continues to push forward market reform and opening-up and when negotiations between China and the US for a similar BIT have been undercut by the latter's aggressive moves, creating a favorable environment for the China-EU BIT, analysts said. ^ top ^

Video shows Canada border officers abusing Meng Wanzhou's rights by questioning her about Iran, lawyers tell court, as Huawei extradition saga continues (SCMP)
2019-09-25
Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on Tuesday played a silent video in court of her being questioned by Canadian border officers at Vancouver's airport on December 1, claiming they show her being asked about the Chinese tech giant's business dealings in Iran. The video was used to bolster the defence claim that Meng was subjected to "extraordinarily serious misconduct" by Canadian border agents who acted as covert investigators for the FBI, without telling Meng that she was the subject of a US arrest warrant. "It's chilling when you think about it," said Scott Fenton, one of Meng's lawyers. "These [Canada Border Services Agency] officers know full well the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] officers are around the corner. They know all about the arrest warrant. The only person who does not know is Ms Meng." Tuesday is the second day of a scheduled eight-day hearing in British Columbia's Supreme Court to discuss evidence disclosure in Meng's case, ahead of the formal extradition hearing, which is expected to begin in January and last until October or November 2020. Another of Meng's lawyers, Richard Peck, said CBSA agents had interrogated the Huawei executive about her homes around the world and business affairs without revealing she was the subject of the US arrest warrant. One asked her if the company did business in Iran, he said. "I reminded the subject that she was the CFO of a multibillion-dollar company," Peck quoted the agent as saying. "Those questions relate directly to the allegations that found the warrant and [these] extradition proceedings," Peck said. He added rhetorically: "What [do] these questions have to do with a routine immigration investigation?" Peck said Tuesday that Meng's treatment by CBSA officers was "anything but routine". Fenton said Meng had suffered "serious violations" of her Canadian charter rights. He argued that it was within Justice Heather Holmes' powers to stay proceedings on the basis of such abuses. Fenton referred to the seizure of Meng's electronic devices by CBSA officers before her arrest as an abuse of process. Crown lawyers now claimed US authorities were no longer interested in the contents of the devices, he said, but "that does not lessen the severity of the abuse". He said the CBSA search of Meng was conducted under the "plausible facade" of an immigration examination, but it had an "unlawful aim". "In reality … they were exercising their powers for an improper purpose," Fenton said, namely, gathering evidence for the FBI's criminal investigation of Meng. He later pointed out that his client had successfully visited Canada more than 50 times in the past decade. Fenton said there were "strategic omissions" from the CBSA record to obscure the officers' motives for the search and seizure of Meng's electronic devices. "We are not on the proverbial 'fishing expedition' in any way," he said. "We are not relying on conjecture or guesswork or wishful thinking." Meng had been subjected to a "pattern of extraordinarily serious misconduct", said Fenton, and "there was no legitimate purpose to the CBSA's actions". He added: "These are not technical violations. They are purposeful violations of the court order [that Meng's arrest be executed immediately]." Meng entered court on Tuesday in a short black cocktail dress, encrusted in sequins on the sleeves and collar, and wearing black velvet stilettos, also twinkling with sequins. It was a second eye-catching outfit for Meng this week, and a departure from her earlier courtroom attire. She had previously favoured hooded sweatshirts and other casual clothing in court. She was arrested at the Vancouver airport during a stopover from Hong Kong on her way to Mexico. The US wants her to face trial for allegedly defrauding HSBC bank, in a case related to Huawei's supposed business in Iran, which was allegedly in breach of American sanctions. Monday was devoted largely to Meng's team building the case that evidence disclosure by the Canadian attorney general's lawyers – acting on behalf of the US – has been inadequate. Peck said on Monday that Canadian border officers had improperly delayed Meng's arrest at the airport in order to conduct a "covert criminal investigation" into her at the request of the US FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Meng was a victim of an abuse of process, he told Holmes. Her case has been a flashpoint in US-China relations, occurring in the midst of the trade war. The arrest also sent China-Canada relations plunging to their lowest depths in years. China has detained two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, accusing them of espionage, but Canada says the detentions are retribution for the Meng case. Meng is free on C$10 million (US$7.5 million) bail, living in a C$13 million mansion that is one of two homes she owns in Vancouver. A former permanent resident of Canada, she has been a frequent visitor to the city in recent years, including six visits in 2018 before her arrest on her seventh. Meng, 47, is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday morning. ^ top ^

Chinese official attends 70th anniversary commemoration of Geneva Conventions (Xinhua)
2019-09-25
"Today's world is still facing various humanitarian crises, we need to pass on the ideas of humanity, fraternity and dedication to send love and hope to the innocent people in deep trouble," Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. Attending the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Conventions at the UN Headquarters in New York, Wang said that 196 countries have acceded to the Geneva Conventions, conveying the belief that peace and tranquility are always the goal of mankind. Even in the face of the most brutal circumstances, efforts must be made to adhere to the humane bottom line of respect for life, he said. As one of the first countries to accede to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, China has always taken an active part in international humanitarian responsibility and has helped more than 100 countries tide over humanitarian crises, Wang said. "We maintain that humanitarian action should adhere to the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence and avoid the politicization of humanitarian issues and militarization of humanitarian assistance," he added. The United Nations should play a better role in mobilizing and coordinating international humanitarian assistance, said Wang, adding that effective conflict prevention and the peaceful settlement of disputes are the fundamental ways to solve international humanitarian problems. ^ top ^

European businesses urge EU to take 'defensive' measures against China's state-owned enterprises (SCMP)
2019-09-24
European businesses have called on the EU to step up "defensive" measures against Chinese state-owned enterprises, saying Beijing's failure to reform the sector had seen it grow more bloated and inefficient. In a report released on Tuesday, the European Union Chamber of Commerce said there was a pressing need for China to reform the sector and to implement a system of "competitive neutrality" where state, private and foreign firms were treated equally. It also warned of the "resurgent state-owned economy", with more funding, government contracts, and subsidies flowing towards SOEs than ever before, squeezing out Europeans, and flouting global economic governance standards. "Rather than cutting SOEs down to a manageable size, determining the industries that would be most appropriate for them to be operated in and privatising the rest, the goal has been to make them 'stronger, better and bigger'," Joerg Wuttke, the chamber's president, wrote in the report. The chamber has for years used its annual report to lobby for competitive neutrality and SOE reform, making more than 800 recommendations, but this year called for a number of "fail-safes" – asking Brussels to introduce new policies and make better use of existing laws to give Beijing more incentive to speed up changes to the sector. "In the event that China does not follow through with SOE reform and competitive neutrality, in the coming years, such measures will be necessary to protect the EU market," the report read. The chamber suggested Brussels could take Beijing to task over unfair public procurement practices. It said Chinese state-owned firms, "beefed up with cheap loans and subsidies", had equal access to bidding for government procurement projects in the EU, while European firms had "all but given up on China's government procurement market". Under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, Brussels can enter into consultations with a foreign country it regards as treating European businesses unfairly, and even restrict access to companies, goods and services from that country. The chamber also called on the EU to close loopholes that allow foreign shipping companies to consolidate China-bound shipments moving between European ports, in protest against Beijing preventing EU-flagged ships from doing the same with EU-bound shipments moving between Chinese cities. And it warned of "distortions" and unfair practices caused by state support for projects in China's controversial global infrastructure strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative, where "Chinese firms win the lion's share of bids and keep out foreign competition" in Europe and elsewhere. The report also repeated calls to confront China over its support for state-owned industries by introducing measures to back European businesses including tax incentives to boost research and development, and increasing infrastructure development in Europe. It described those measures as defensive "fail-safes" rather than offensive policies, that were meant to "guard against potential market distortions caused by China's SOEs" should Beijing fail to reform the sector. According to the report, the role of SOEs in the economy had been expanding, at the expense of greater efficiency in the economy. Debts racked up by state-owned firms had increased by nearly fourfold from 2007 to 2017, while profits grew by 60 per cent, it said. China's SOEs have also been handed a greater share of financial resources in recent years, from a decade ago. Around half of all bank credit went to private companies from 2010 to 2013, while only about a third went to state companies, according to data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. But a turnaround since then saw SOEs receiving 83 per cent of bank credit by 2016, while the private sector accounted for just 11 per cent. ^ top ^

Big data expert takes over as China's new cybersecurity chief (SCMP)
2019-09-27
China's Ministry of Public Security has appointed a big data expert to lead its cybersecurity force, and one of his priorities will be overseeing the coming roll-out of a new regulatory regime. Wang Yingwei was identified as the new director of the Cybersecurity Bureau in an interview with the ministry's official newspaper, China Police Daily, published on Sunday. He was previously the Communist Party secretary of the bureau. In the new job, Wang reports to Lin Rui, a vice-minister of public security and the bureau's former chief, who also has a strong background in information technology and cybersecurity, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to be named. Wang studied computing and has a PhD in applied mathematics from Peking University. According to another source, Wang studied at Peking under Shi Qingyun, a professor who specialises in pattern recognition and image databases. Algorithms developed by Shi have become key to automatic fingerprint identification system research in China – technology that is widely used by its police, banks and other businesses. "Wang was among one of Shi's most promising students," said the second source, who requested anonymity. After focusing on the fingerprint identification system and image data compression at university, Wang joined the ministry's research institute in Beijing. He was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Bureau in 2000, spending a decade there developing and promoting new forensic technology, especially for fingerprinting and other identification methods. He was sent to Guizhou province – one of China's poorest regions – in 2010, where he worked for the Public Security Bureau. Two years on, he was made deputy police chief. Beijing announced that the southern province would be turned into the country's big data hub in 2014, and Wang was put in charge of cybersecurity as the development drive got under way. He elaborated on how police in the province were using big data technology for surveillance in 2016, in an interview with China's Police Technology magazine. "In 2015, 761,938 key personnel were being monitored through our big data platform," Wang told the magazine. "The system generates an average of 400,000 early warning messages every month." While official records do not show when Wang left Guizhou, he was transferred back to Beijing last year and began to appear in public as the bureau's party secretary in January. He attended a conference in May in Beijing, where he discussed the launch of an upgraded cybersecurity protection scheme, according to a Southern Metropolis News report. The scheme, which is to be introduced on December 1, ranks the networks and systems that make up China's critical information infrastructure based on national security. Level five is deemed the most sensitive, and anything at level three or higher will have to meet a number of regulatory requirements. Guo Qiquan, chief engineer at the Cybersecurity Bureau, told state news agency Xinhua that the main goal of the scheme was "full coverage". "It will cover every district, every ministry, every business and other institution, basically covering the whole society," he was quoted as saying. "It will also cover all targets that need [cybersecurity] protection, including all networks, information systems, cloud platforms, the internet of things, control systems, big data and mobile internet." The Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies raised concerns over the scheme's wide remit and potential impact on foreign companies operating in China, in comments on an earlier draft last year. In a report, the centre said industries such as manufacturing and retail would now be included in the cyberspace protection scheme "because it covers the vague category called 'network operators', which can include anyone who uses an ICT [information and communications technology] system". "[The scheme] also appears to have a focus on cloud computing, mobile internet and big data," it said. ^ top ^

Did China just accidentally show off its new supersonic cruise missile? (SCMP)
2019-09-27
China's military on Wednesday published a video containing a clip of what appeared to be the launch of a new type of supersonic cruise missile, only to withdraw the film and replace it with a version with that scene trimmed out. The original footage, which ran for just over a minute, was released on social media by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force as part of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which falls on Tuesday. The film contained a two-second clip in which an unidentified missile with an unusual design is seen being fired from a launcher truck. However, in the later version, the scene is replaced with footage of two separate missile launches in a desert setting. The editing did not go unnoticed by China's military observers, several of whom suggested that the weapon in the original film might have been a never-before-seen supersonic cruise missile. In the clip the missile appears to have slim dorsal fins, foldable tail fins and additional propellant, all of which, according to one expert who asked not to be identified, suggests it is designed to fly long distances and faster than the speed of sound. "The new missile would probably have a range of more than 1,000km [680 miles]," the person said. The PLA already has a land-attack subsonic cruise missile – the Changjian-10 – that has an operational range of more than 1,500km (932 miles), which is equivalent to that of a medium-range ballistic missile. Ballistic and cruise missiles differ in a number of ways but the latter tend to fly at lower altitudes and at slower speeds, making them more vulnerable to defence systems. However, the Rocket Force has made significant progress in the development of glider vehicles for its ballistic missiles, like the Dongfeng-17 (DF-17), which is now capable of gliding in outer atmosphere at upwards of five times the speed of sound, making it more able to evade missile defence systems. "Now that the DF-17's glider technology is becoming more mature it could be used elsewhere. Other missiles, like this cruise missile [in the video clip], could also adopt similar vehicles to carry the warhead," the source said. The missile in the original footage also appeared to be fitted with several unidentified items of kit, which a second observer, who also asked not to be identified, said might be jamming and anti-jamming devices. "These would enhance the missile's ability to avoid electronic interference or guided interception by enemy missile defence systems, and therefore increase its chances of penetration," he said. China's missiles are likely to be a big feature of the military parade that will take place on Tuesday in Beijing, with several of them going on display to the public for the very first time. Among the stars of the show will be the DF-17 and the DF-41, an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads and has the range to strike any point on the US mainland. It remains to be seen if the mystery supersonic cruise missile will be among them. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also chairs the Central Military Commission, will officiate the day's events, which will also feature 15,000 troops from 59 units, more than 160 aircraft and 580 active weapon systems. In 1949, then Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong was guest of honour at a military parade to declare the founding of the People's Republic of China. While there were more troops on hand that day – about 19,000 in total – there was significantly less military hardware, with just 17 aircraft taking part in the fly-past. Nine of them even did two laps to make the air force look bigger than it actually was. ^ top ^

China publishes white paper on China and world in new era (Xinhua)
2019-09-27
China's State Council Information Office on Friday issued a white paper, titled "China and the World in the New Era." Besides a preface and a conclusion, the white paper consists of four sections: "China Has Found a Development Path Suited to Its Actual Conditions," "China's Development Is an Opportunity for the World," "A Prosperous and Beautiful World Is the Common Aspiration of All Peoples," and "China Contributes to a Better World." "China has entered a new era of development. China now has an impact on the world that is ever more comprehensive, profound and long-lasting, and the world is paying ever greater attention to China," it said. The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Over the past 70 years, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the PRC has witnessed profound changes and achieved a miracle of development unprecedented in human history, the white paper noted. "In just a few decades, China has completed a course that took developed countries several hundred years," it said. China has now become the world's second largest economy, taken care of the material needs of its nearly 1.4 billion people, and achieved moderate all-round prosperity. "This has brought tremendous change to China. It also represents remarkable progress for human society, and above all, a significant contribution on China's part to world peace and development," it said. The white paper noted that China remains the world's largest developing country, with a large population and foundations that need to be further strengthened. "Some of the fundamentals in China remain unchanged, and therefore China is still facing a raft of severe challenges. The Chinese people still have work to do," the paper read. ^ top ^

China issues position paper on China and the UN (Xinhua)
2019-09-27
China's cooperation with the United Nations (UN) is growing stronger and deeper and is entering a new era, according to a position paper posted at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The document, titled "China and the United Nations," was released for the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. China has in recent years taken a more proactive part in international affairs and made greater contributions to world peace and development, according to the document. "China has lived up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a major economy of the world," said the document. Some of the principles that China holds dear include the path of peaceful development, an opening-up strategy of mutual benefit, the greater good and shared interests of people around the world and a new vision of security that promotes common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security for all. China also adheres to global development that is open, innovation-driven, inclusive and beneficial to all nations, harmony in diversity and cross-cultural interactions, and an ecoculture based on respect for nature and green development. "In short, China will stay a promoter of world peace, contributor to global development and upholder of the international order," said the position paper. China, which firmly supports and pursues multilateralism, stands for the international system built around the UN, the international order underpinned by international law, and the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization, and is firmly against unilateralism, protectionism and acts of bullying, it said. As a founding member of the UN and the first country to sign on the Charter, China always supports the UN in playing an active role, and upholds its authority and stature, according to the document. The vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, in keeping with the trend of history and the call of the times, reflects the common values of humanity and represents the greatest shared aspiration of people around the world for a better life. As a creative foreign policy initiative and a significant intellectual contribution to the world, this vision has become a centerpiece of China's major-country diplomacy with its distinctive features, said the document. It also plays an active role in safeguarding regional and international peace and security, participating in UN peacekeeping operations, advancing the international arms control and non-proliferation process, and spearheading international development cooperation. China plays an essential role in addressing climate change, promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and promoting social and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. "China always attaches great importance to human rights and integrates the universal principles of human rights with its specific conditions," the position paper said, noting that China has put forward the proposition that the rights to survival and development are the primary, basic human rights. As a supporter of a stronger UN, China stands firm in defending its sovereignty, security and development interests and the one-China principle at the United Nations. No interference in China's internal affairs will ever be allowed. No one should expect China to tolerate actions that undermine its interests. China will continue to play an active and constructive role in UN affairs and China's firm adherence to multilateralism and longstanding aspiration for world peace and development will not change, said the document. ^ top ^

China vows to keep prices stable, promote electricity market reform (Xinhua)
2019-09-26
The State Council, China's cabinet, on Thursday called for strengthening the supervision of market prices and keeping prices stable to ensure that people's basic living needs are met. The country should pay more attention to applying market-oriented methods to keep overall price levels for the year within a reasonable range, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. The meeting stressed that efforts should be made to secure an adequate supply of basic necessities and keep their prices stable. We should recover pig production capacity by removing unreasonable bans on pig farming, ensure fodder supply in the main production area and increase the supply of mutton and beef in the market, Li said. The meeting demanded that the government should track and analyze the trend of commodity prices in the international market, strengthen market supervision and price monitoring and ensure that the basic living needs of people in poverty could be met. The meeting decided to promote market reform of electricity transactions and reduce the cost for enterprises on power consumption. From Jan. 1, 2020, China will abolish the mechanism of coal-electricity price linkage, and the power price will be decided on by the power generation companies, power sales companies and power consumers through negotiations or bidding, according to the meeting. The meeting also approved the eighth group of 762 major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level. ^ top ^

China achieves leapfrog economic and social development over past 70 years (People's Daily)
2019-09-26
China has achieved leapfrog economic and social development over the past 70 years, said Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at the first press conference held by the Press Center for the Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China. China has witnessed historic achievements and changes in various causes, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in 2012, remarked Ning, who is also the head of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS). The press conference on promoting the stable, healthy and sustainable development of the Chinese economy was held. China's Minister of Finance Liu Kun, and governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang, also attended the conference, briefed the audience and took questions from the press. China has significantly liberated and developed its social productivity. The country's national GDP has grown from 67.91 billion yuan in 1952 to 90.03 trillion yuan in 2018, representing a 174-fold increase in real terms. And per capita GDP has improved from 119 yuan to 64,600 yuan, which is a 7,000 percent increase in real terms. Besides, China's per capita disposable income in 2018 was 59.2 times of that in 1949. Ning stressed that China's comprehensive national strength, social productivity and people's living standards have greatly improved. China has grown into the second largest economy, the largest trader of goods, the holder of the largest foreign exchange reserves, the second largest trader of service, the second largest user of foreign capital as well as the second largest outbound investor. Over the past 70 years, China has realized coordinated economic, social and ecological progress, as well as synchronous development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization. Besides, the country's fixed-asset investment also maintained rapid growth during the past 7 decades. By the end of 2018, China's operating mileages of railway and high speed rail reached 132,000 kilometers and 30,000 kilometers, ranking the second and the first in the world, respectively. China's contribution to global economy is prominent. Currently, China's economic growth accounts for 30 percent of global growth, the highest in the world. "During the past 70 years, China's financial strength has been growing together with its public finance system," said Liu. According to him, China's fiscal revenue had increased by nearly 3,000 times from 6.2 billion yuan in 1950 to about 18.34 trillion yuan in 2018, with an average annual growth of 12.5 percent. The "pie" of China's financial system has been getting increasingly bigger, said Liu, noting that the country's financial system is also seeing improving fairness and justice. The benefits of the country's reform and development are being delivered to more and more people, he said. According to Yi, at present, China has more than 4,500 banking sector financial institutions, over 130 securities companies, and 230 insurance companies. The total assets in China's financial industry has reached 300 trillion yuan, the world's largest, to which the banking sector contributed 268 trillion yuan, said Yi. Besides, China's foreign exchange reserve has reached $3.1 trillion, ranking first in the world for many years in a row. In the face of sluggish global economic recovery and mounting external uncertainties, China will intensify its efforts at such aspects as expanding effective investment and boosting the consumption quality and capacity, so as to underpin the formation of a strong domestic market, Ning stressed. "The scale of tax and fee cuts this year is unprecedented in the history of China's fiscal policy," said Liu, responding to the concern over the implementation of China's policies on tax and fee cuts. From January to July this year, China's massive tax and fee cuts saved enterprises and individuals nearly 1.35 trillion yuan, disclosed Liu, adding that during the period, taxes were reduced by a total of 1.17 trillion yuan. The manufacturing industry is the largest beneficiary, while in terms of sectors, the private economy got the lion's share China's tax and fee reduction has effectively stimulated the dynamism of market entities, and reinforced market confidence and the momentum of economic growth. An NBS survey on 311 enterprises in 9 Chinese provinces indicated that over 70 percent of the funds released by the tax cut went to research and development, technical renovation, and expanding reproduction and reinvestment, which has significantly motivated enterprises to increase research and development input.  ^ top ^

Top political advisory body to hold standing committee meeting in November (Xinhua)
2019-09-25
The standing committee of 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, will convene its ninth meeting in early November in Beijing. The decision was made Wednesday at the 27th chairman and vice-chairpersons' meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, which was presided over by Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. At the Wednesday meeting, attendees highlighted the importance of the just-concluded Central Conference on the CPPCC Work marking the 70th founding anniversary of the CPPCC and called for concrete efforts in implementing the spirit of the conference. Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said studying and implementing the spirit of the conference is the primary political task of political consultative institutions and political advisors at various levels in the immediate future and for some time to come. The missions and requirements outlined at the conference should be translated into actions, said Wang. Wednesday's meeting also reviewed and approved the draft agenda and schedule of the November meeting. ^ top ^

China says National Day military parade 'won't disappoint' in scale or advanced weapons (SCMP)
2019-09-24
China will stage its largest ever National Day military parade in Beijing next week, putting some of its most advanced and powerful weaponry on show to mark the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule. President Xi Jinping, who also chairs the Central Military Commission, will inspect 15,000 troops from 59 units, more than 160 aircraft and 580 active weapon systems during the parade on October 1, Major General Cai Zhijun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. Although it will not feature the largest number of soldiers to have taken part in a National Day parade, officials at the briefing said the event "would not disappoint" in terms of either scale or advanced weapons on display. Major General Tan Min said all of the advanced weapon systems in the parade would be Chinese-made, but he declined to say whether the cutting-edge DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile would be included. Seventy years ago, there was also a grand military parade in Beijing when then-chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China. More than 19,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers took part, but the military hardware on show was limited – there were 17 aircraft in the flyover and nine of them appeared twice to make the air force look bigger. According to Cai, of the 59 units taking part, 47 are squads on the ground and about a dozen are airborne squadrons, each led by two senior commanders with the rank of general. "This year will see the biggest number of generals taking part in the National Day parade in history," Cai said. He added that a unit of female soldiers in the parade would be led by two women generals – also an unprecedented arrangement for the PLA. A military insider, meanwhile, said the PLA Rocket Force's strategic nuclear missile systems – including the DF-41, DF-31AG, DF-26 and DF-17 – would appear at the end of the parade. "Of the missile systems, the DF-41 ICBM will be the final one in the last weapons unit, because it is the most powerful weapons system in the parade," said the insider, who requested anonymity. The insider said General Yi Xiaoguang, who heads the Central Theatre Command, had been named commander-in-chief of the parade because the event had largely been organised by the Beijing-based military command. "The parade – which aims to showcase President Xi's achievements in military modernisation and reforms in terms of both hardware and software – will carry a lot of political meaning," the insider said. The parade is also expected to include the air force's first stealth fighter, the J-20, its main active warplanes such as the J-16 fighter bombers, the J-10 and J-11B fighter jets and Xian H-6 strategic bombers, and armed helicopters like the Z-20, according to photos from three recent rehearsals. During the briefing, Cai also said the parade aimed to promote the PLA's Red Army legends and Xi's military achievements since he took the helm in late 2012. "The parade also aims to emphasise the political importance of listening to the party's command … as well as maintaining … unyielding loyalty to core leader President Xi," Cai said. Wu Qian, a spokesman for the defence ministry, said 188 military attaches from 97 foreign countries had been invited to the event, but no foreign military leaders would attend. ^ top ^

China issues white paper on human rights progress over 70 years (Xinhua)
2019-09-22
China on Sunday published a white paper on its progress in the field of human rights over the past 70 years. The white paper, titled "Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China," was released by the State Council Information Office. "Living a happy life is the primary human right," the document said, adding that China regards the rights to subsistence and development as the primary and basic human rights and has been improving the rights of its people in a coordinated manner since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, especially after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012. Seventy years ago, under the leadership of the CPC, the people of China were emancipated and became masters of their country. Over the past seven decades, the Chinese nation has stood up and grown prosperous and is becoming strong; all basic rights of the people are better respected and protected; and China has made regular contribution to the international cause of human rights, the white paper said. China has opened a new path of human rights protection based on its national conditions, and increased the diversity of human civilizations, it said. In the future, the Chinese people will certainly enjoy to the full more extensive rights and realize well-rounded development at higher levels, it said. The white paper noted that, in the new era, China will continue to uphold cultural diversity, communicate with and learn from other civilizations and work with the international community for common development and prosperity, for progress in human rights worldwide, and for building a community with a shared future for humanity. ^ top ^

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US calls for UN to demand unfettered access to China's Xinjiang region (SCMP)
2019-09-25
The United States urged the United Nations on Tuesday to seek unfettered access to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to inspect the Chinese government-run mass internment camps there. During a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, John Sullivan, a US deputy secretary of state, also criticised the UN for sending its terrorism chief to the region earlier this year to meet with local officials to discuss counterterrorism strategies. "Instead of bolstering the UN's authority by resisting Beijing's cynical offer, we witnessed the erosion of UN leadership in a blow to the reputation and credibility of a body we should instead look to as a clear voice of conscience," Sullivan said of Vladimir Voronkov's three-day visit in June. "The UN must seek the immediate, unhindered and unmonitored access for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights," he added. Sullivan was speaking at a panel discussion on human rights in Xinjiang, hosted by the US along with Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain – an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. The event, which featured testimony from Uygur individuals who had either experienced the mass internment camps in Xinjiang or whose relatives were believed to have been detained, was attended by representatives from 31 countries as well as the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Sullivan said that China was hosting "Potemkin" tours to prove that its measures in the region were humane: "But if there were nothing to hide, diplomats, reporters, independent investigators would be allowed to travel freely throughout Xinjiang." The UN itself has determined that upwards of one million Uygurs and other largely Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region are believed to be detained in mass internment camps that Beijing describes as "vocational training centres". "Doctors, professors and children don't need job training," Sullivan said. "This is a systematic campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to stop its own citizens from exercising their inalienable right to religious freedom." Sullivan accused China of violating a number of "key aspects" of the UN treaties, including the UN Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. "We do not view these agreements as a menu of options," he said. "They are inseparable pieces of a whole." Representatives from Britain, Germany and the European parliament on Tuesday also spoke out forcefully against the Chinese government. Tariq Ahmed, Britain's Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations, called its measures in Xinjiang "nothing less than a systematic program against the free practice of the noble faith of Islam and [ …] Uygur culture in general". Paola Pampaloni, director for Asia and the Pacific at the European Union's diplomatic service, said that the EU continued to raise the issue with Chinese diplomats behind the scenes and was now in negotiations over the conditions of a possible visit to Xinjiang. Uygur activists present at the event urged Pampaloni to accept the invitation but only with the condition of unfettered access. "Also go with the names of the disappeared Uygurs and ask to meet with them," said Rashit Abbas, who said his sister, a retired doctor, had "completely disappeared" after being taken by authorities in September 2018. No China representative attended the event on Tuesday, but Beijing voiced its displeasure in advance of it, accusing the US of using religion and human rights "as a cover to slander and smear China's Xinjiang policies and interfere in China's internal affairs again and again." "By holding the so-called panel discussion during the UNGA, it is going further down the wrong path," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a Tuesday news conference in Beijing. Experts in international relations and China's ethnic policies said ahead of Tuesday's discussion that the event was part of a strategy by the US to bolster multilateral resistance among the international community to Beijing's practices in Xinjiang, and predicted that the issue would continue to deepen tensions between the world's two largest economies. The event came just hours after US President Donald Trump used his address to the General Assembly to denounce globalism and to seek to justify his administration's unilateral action against China on matters of trade. The issue of Xinjiang was not mentioned in more than four minutes Trump spent outlining his grievances with Beijing, nor did he raise the subject in a US-organised event on religious freedom held at the UN on Monday. ^ top ^

China envoy rules out more concessions to Hong Kong protesters ahead of Carrie Lam's public 'dialogue' (HKFP)
2019-09-26
A top Chinese envoy ruled out making any further concessions to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on Wednesday, just a day before the city's embattled leader meets the public in a bid to defuse the months of chaos. Hong Kong has been rocked for more than three months by huge and sometimes violent protests pushing for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability. The movement represents the biggest challenge to Beijing's rule since the international finance hub was handed back by Britain in 1997. Carrie Lam, the city's unelected pro-Beijing leader, is set to meet with 150 people chosen by lottery on Thursday night for the first of what is being billed as a series of "dialogue sessions". Her administration has portrayed the gatherings as an opportunity for Hong Kongers to "vent their anger" and find a way forward after more than 100 days of protests. But it is unclear what, if anything, Lam can offer. On Wednesday, a top-level diplomat from Beijing said it was up to Hong Kong's local government to decide how to deal with the protests. But he also dismissed the demands made by the movement. "Response does not mean concession," Song Ru'an, a deputy commissioner at the foreign ministry's office in the city, said at a rare, three-hour briefing with foreign reporters. "It will be blatant political blackmail and coercion if anyone believes only acceptance of each and every demand of the opposition counts as response," he added. Song's remarks illustrate the limited wiggle room given to Lam, who privately spoke of her hands being tied by Beijing in a leaked audio recording obtained by Reuters earlier this month Key demands being made by the movement include an independent judge-led inquiry into the police, an amnesty for those arrested and full universal suffrage. So far the main concession has been to scrap a proposal to allow extraditions to the mainland, a widely-loathed bill that sparked the initial protests before they then snow-balled into a much wider movement. Historically Beijing has said it is willing to allow Hong Kongers some form of universal suffrage, but people will only be allowed to vote for a small number of pre-vetted candidates. That stance sparked the huge "Umbrella Movement" protests in 2014. But it also lies at the heart of the current political unrest which has seen millions hit the streets and increasingly violent clashes between police and a minority of hardcore protesters. Song said Beijing remained committed to its blueprint for a limited form of universal suffrage but said now was not the time to reintroduce it. "Forcibly advancing dual universal suffrage at such a moment will only invite more trouble," he said. More than 1,400 people have been arrested this summer, including nearly 80 people charged with rioting, which carries up to ten years jail. As Song was speaking, some of those slapped with rioting charges were appearing in court. Asked whether any of the grievances voiced by Hong Kongers were legitimate, Song said Hong Kong had some "problems" but declined to say what they were. And he called on peaceful protesters to distance themselves from their violent colleagues before any further steps could be taken to redress local concerns. Asked if he or his colleagues had been able to test the temperature on the streets, Song replied: "No we have not talked with protesters and we have no friends who join or sympathise with the protesters." Hong Kong is bracing itself for a fresh round of protests in the coming days with Saturday marking five years since the Umbrella Movement kicked off and Tuesday being the 70th anniversary of communist China's founding. ^ top ^

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam endures barrage of anger at town hall meeting (HKFP)
2019-09-26
Hong Kong's embattled leader endured a barrage of criticism at a town hall meeting Thursday night that laid bare anger coursing through the city after months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests. Chief Executive Carrie Lam faced more than two hours of grilling at a public "dialogue session", the first time her pro-Beijing administration has sat down with its critics in 16 consecutive weeks of unrest. Millions have hit the streets while hardcore activists have clashed repeatedly with police in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997. During the evening Lam dismissed accusations that the meeting was a public-relations exercise, saying she was there to listen as she admitted trust in her government had "fallen off a cliff". "The biggest responsibility lies with myself, I won't shirk the responsibility," she said. More than 20,000 people applied to attend Thursday's meeting with authorities picking 150 people in a lottery. Questions were chosen at random and compared to the angry demonstrations on Hong Kong's streets this summer, the atmosphere remained cordial inside the sports stadium where the gathering took place. But thousands massed outside the venue to chant slogans. Lam received little sympathy from audience members who rounded on her with speech after speech highlighting a litany of complaints towards her administration. Most called on her to launch an independent commission of inquiry into allegations of police brutality and how the protests have been handled. "The police have become a political tool of the government and right now there is no way to check police abuses of power," one woman said, hiding her face with a surgical mask. "Everyone has lost confidence in police," another female audience member said. Another said police had been left to deal with an issue that can only be solved politically. Others called for universal suffrage. Currently the chief executive is chosen by a pro-Beijing committee and only half the city's lawmakers are directly elected. "You say you want to listen to the people, but the people have been voicing their demands for three months," one male attendee said. Of the 30 people chosen to speak throughout the evening, 24 openly criticised the government, two made neutral comments while four expressed sympathy for Lam's administration. But it is unclear what, if anything, Lam can offer. Both she and Beijing have ruled out any further concessions to protesters, whose five demands include an independent inquiry into police conduct, an amnesty for more than 1,500 people arrested and fully free elections. On Wednesday, a top Chinese envoy in the city described those demands as "political blackmail", raising concerns that Lam has been given little wiggle room to de-escalate simmering public anger towards her administration and the police. Throughout her appearance on Thursday Lam resisted making concrete commitments beyond continuing to listen to people and holding more town halls. Police maintained a low presence near the venue but local media said 3,000 officers were on standby in case of clashes. Riot police carrying large plastic shields were filmed carting supplies into the stadium ahead of the event, including boxes of tear gas. Lam currently boasts the lowest approval ratings of any post-handover leader. Public appearances by her and other senior administration officials in the last few months have frequently resulted in protests. Last weekend, a cabinet member was besieged in his official car until riot police rescued him. Hong Kong has seen years of rallies and unrest sparked by Beijing's tightening grip on the semi-autonomous financial hub. This summer's unrest was ignited by a now-scrapped proposal to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland. But it has since snowballed into a wider movement pushing for democracy and police accountability after Beijing and Lam took a hard line. After the prosecution of previous democracy activists in recent years, this movement has been deliberately leaderless and largely organised online. But that has made it difficult for Lam's administration to know who to reach out to for talks. The city is bracing itself for a fresh round of protests in coming days with Saturday marking five years since the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement kicked off and Tuesday being the 70th anniversary of communist China's founding. ^ top ^

Hong Kong police make arrests at Sha Tin MTR station after brief skirmish (HKFP)
2019-09-26
Hong Kong police made at least two arrests on Wednesday night after briefly entering Sha Tin MTR station where angry crowds had gathered over a fare dodger who was allegedly manhandled by staff. Dozens congregated at the station's concourse accusing staff of injuring a young man by pushing him against a wall after he jumped a barrier. Some pounded on the door of the control room calling on staff, who they had suspected of being inside, to come out. The station was vandalised with ketchup squeezed into ticket slots, images of controversial pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho pasted on to the walls, equipment pulled from the staff office, and its walls graffitied. Riot police equipped with bright lights and crowd control weapons entered the station at around 9:30pm, sending crowds into the connecting shopping mall. At least two masked people wearing all-black were arrested in the skirmish by multiple officers swinging their batons. A streak of blood was found on the floor where the male arrestee was subdued. One female bystander was also taken away in a stretcher by paramedics. At around 9:50pm, the MTR announced that East Rail Line trains would not call at Sha Tin Station due to police action. A throng of angry bystanders heckled officers and told them to leave as they retreated from the station. MTR staff closed the shutters to the station at around 10pm. But many continued to trash its exterior with one protester throwing red paint at its sign and writing "The Party"—a reference to a nickname given to the MTR Corporation which protesters believe to be pro-government. Others targeted businesses considered to be pro-Beijing, including Maxim's cakes, which was graffitied with "stop buying." Annie Wu Suk-ching, the daughter of the founder of Maxim's Caterers, has come under fire after denouncing the pro-democracy movement at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The station connects to New Town Plaza—a flashpoint throughout Hong Kong's 16 consecutive weeks of protests, sparked by a now-soon-to-be-withdrawn extradition bill which would have enabled fugitive transfers to China. The shopping mall's management fell afoul of protesters in June after ugly clashes broke out in the shopping mall as riot police made multiple arrests. Wednesday's unrest came three days after protesters besieged the plaza, vandalising display screens and making mass reservations at Maxim's restaurant, hindering staff from doing business. They also targeted the neighbouring MTR station, spray painting its ticketing machines. ^ top ^

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US Senate committee passes bill to support Taiwan's diplomatic allies (SCMP)
2019-09-26
A US Senate committee has passed a bill to support Taipei's diplomatic allies, moving it closer to becoming law at a time when Beijing has stepped up efforts to squeeze Taiwan's international space. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement (TAIPEI) Act, which will pave the way for the bill, sponsored by Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, to reach the Senate floor for a vote. "The United States should use every tool to support Taiwan's standing on the international stage," Gardner said in a statement, adding that the US government should also immediately begin to negotiate a free-trade agreement with Taiwan. "This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to ramp up our support for Taiwan, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan," the Republican senator said. The bill, reintroduced to Congress in May, would authorise the US secretary of state to adjust America's diplomatic presence in, and expand, end or reduce foreign assistance to, countries considering downgrading ties – official or unofficial – with Taiwan. It also states that US policy should be to advocate for Taiwan's membership or observer status in international organisations, and that the US president should conduct "regular transfers of defence articles" to Taiwan, as well as encourage high-level travel by US officials to Taiwan. While the bill remains far from being enacted into law, its passing by the Senate committee comes after Taiwan last week lost two long-standing allies in the Pacific region to Beijing – the Solomon Islands and Kiribati – leaving the democratic, self-ruled island with only 15 formal diplomatic partners. Taiwan is months away from a critical election in January, when President Tsai Ing-wen will seek re-election. The draft legislation still needs to pass a vote in the Senate and in the House of Representatives before it can reach US President Donald Trump's desk to be approved and enacted into law. Tsai on Thursday said Beijing had for a long time exerted pressure on Taipei to break the island diplomatically, and that Taiwan's foreign ministry had been instructed to strengthen its remaining ties, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has said it would take back the island by force if necessary, ramping up its pressure in recent years to limit Taiwan's movement in the international arena. Under Tsai, cross-strait ties have rapidly deteriorated, and seven countries have switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. While the US is not a formal diplomatic ally of Taiwan, the two maintain a mutual defence treaty, and the US government has supported the island, including through military arms sales. The US also passed the Taiwan Travel Act in February last year, which allows reciprocal visits by high-level officials from the US and Taiwan. Taipei has slammed Beijing for engaging in "dollar diplomacy" with its allies, and those remaining are mostly smaller nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met Kiribati's President Taneti Mamau at the UN General Assembly in New York, telling him the country made the correct "political decision" to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing for its long-term interests. On Saturday, while meeting Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Wang said the Pacific country's move was an "open and above board decision that comes naturally", while adding that "Taiwan was, is, and will be an inalienable part of China". ^ top ^

Beijing confirms it has detained Taiwanese business leader missing for 14 months (SCMP)
2019-09-25
A business leader from Taiwan has been detained by mainland Chinese authorities and is being investigated over "activities endangering national security", the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed on Wednesday. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the office, said Tsai Jin-shu had been under investigation on the mainland since July 2018, without giving further details. Ma said Tsai's family had been notified and his legitimate rights were being protected. Earlier this month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan said that Tsai, chairman of the Federation of Southern Taiwan Cross-Strait Associations, had not been seen since July 21, 2018, when he travelled to Xiamen, in the mainland province of Fujian, to attend a food fair. The SEF is a semi-official organisation that liaises with the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits on cross-strait issues. On September 13, it said it had sought help through various channels on the mainland to locate 60-year-old Tsai, but there was "no result so far". The organisation said it had handled 149 cases of Taiwanese who had gone missing on the mainland since May 20, 2016, but had been unable to obtain information in 67 cases. Taiwanese media reported that Tsai had published several commentaries criticising Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party. News of Tsai Jin-shu's detention came days after confirmation that another Taiwanese, Lee meng-chu, was being investigated for engaging in activities that endangered state security. Lee, a volunteer activity organiser from southern Taiwan, was reported to have shared photographs of mainland Chinese troops massing equipment just outside Hong Kong, which has seen months of anti-government protests triggered by a now-abandoned extradition bill. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council called on the mainland to properly handle Lee's case, while President Tsai said Taiwanese should be cautious when entering the mainland. In March 2017, Taiwanese rights activist Lee Ming-che disappeared while on a visit to the mainland city of Guangzhou, in Guangdong, only to reappear six months later in a court in Changsha, Hunan province. The 44-year-old, who was known to have had discussions about democracy with mainland Chinese on social media, was sentenced to five years in prison. Lee's wife and mother visited him in a Hunan prison on Tuesday. His wife said she hoped to arrange for Lee to go back to Taiwan for his father's funeral, but Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma said such an arrangement was against the regulations. ^ top ^

Job market sees gains as fears of slowdown rise (China Daily)
2019-09-27
The Chinese job market has shown resilience, adding 9.84 million jobs in the first eight months of this year, an official said on Thursday, even as fears grew globally for an economic slowdown. That growth accounts for 89 percent of China's target job gains for 2019, according to Zhang Jinan, minister of human resources and social security. "Unemployment was also kept in check, hovering at 5.2 percent in August, lower than the preset 5.5 percent," he said, adding that the job market appeared balanced in the second quarter, with the offer-applicant ratio being 1.22. China has seen accelerated expansion in the service sector over the last few years, creating huge demands for workers, which the minister said contributed to the sustained job gains. Government stimulus also played a role, he said, referring to Beijing's efforts to bolster employment by cutting taxes for private businesses and offering subsidies to employers who refrain from reducing staff during hard times. Zhang said the central government will continue to reduce business burdens and step up incentives for startups as the government works to bolster employment. The government will also strengthen training for skilled workers, help match employers with jobseekers, aid the unemployed and ensure impoverished people find work, he said. Figures provided by Zhang's office showed that reductions in social security fees that companies have to pay will add up to 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) by the end of this year, an effort that will greatly alleviate business burdens. The ministry has arranged more than 40,000 job fairs for college graduates and migrant workers, mostly from rural areas. Beneficiaries of these fairs have exceeded 50 million, official data showed. "New factors are springing up now and will in the future, which pose challenges to the job figures, but we're confident," he said. Zhang was speaking at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, discussing China's achievements in multiple sectors since 1949 to mark its upcoming 70th anniversary. China has seen an expansion of the working population over the last few decades, reaching 780 million last year, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. There was also a hike in employment in the service sector. The ministry said the sector offered 56 percent of the jobs available last year, compared with only 9.1 percent in 1952. ^ top ^

Third batch of frozen pork set for release to stabilize market supplies, prices (Global Times)
2019-09-26
China late on Thursday announced plans to release the third 10,000-ton batch of state pork reserves into the market, to further stabilize supplies and tame prices, which have soared due to outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF). The China Merchandise Reserve Management Center, a state-owned company that manages the reserves, said on Thursday that it would auction the meat on Sunday. It has already auctioned two 10,000-ton batches of frozen pork so far this month, with the second one scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Governments have been intensively rolling out measures to ease the tight supply of pork, such as releasing state reserves and subsidizing pig farms. Seven ministries and commissions have mentioned issues related to hog production or pork prices so far in September, domestic news site china.com.cn reported. According to the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday, China has released three batches of reserve meat in September - 20,000 tons of pork, 2,400 tons of beef and 1,900 tons of mutton. "The recent rounds of reserve meat releases could effectively tame the increasing pork price in the upcoming National Day holiday peak season," Wang Zuli, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences who closely follows the ASF situation in China, told the Global Times on Thursday. Supplies will be strained for some time, Wang said, adding that the ASF epidemic has stabilized and the hog production has been improved. A seminar on stabilizing pig production among large-scale pig breeding enterprises was held in Beijing on Wednesday, according to a statement of the Ministry of Agriculture. The event was attended by 50 representative enterprises, six of which gave presentations on resuming and stabilizing pig production. Local authorities and companies have also actively launched measures to increase pork supply. On September 14, East China's Zhejiang Province released a batch of pork from its reserves priced 30 percent below market levels, according to media reports. Wens Foodstuff Group, an agribusiness group based in South China's Guangdong Province, plans to invest in a pig farm that could produce 600,000 hogs annually in Xinyi, Guangdong, with an expected annual value of 1.05 billion yuan ($147.3 million), reported by thepaper.cn on Wednesday. Besides striving to resume pig production, China has started to expand imports. Pork imports through North China's Tianjin Port totaled 314,000 tons from January to August, up 30.8 percent year-on-year, chinanews.com reported on Thursday, citing data from Tianjin Customs. Over half of the pork imported through Tianjin was from the EU recently, with average prices rising about 40 percent year-to-date, said the report. China on September 13 announced plans to exempt US pork and soybeans from additional tariffs. China bought 10,900 tons of US pork in the week ended September 5, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. ^ top ^

S. Koreans believe DPRK leader's trip to S. Korea to be positive: poll (Xinhua)
2019-09-27
Seven out of 10 South Koreans believed that if Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), visits South Korea, it will be positive for denuclearization talks and inter-Korean relations, a poll showed Thursday. According to a survey by the presidential National Unification Advisory Council, 70 percent said that if Kim attends the special summit between South Korea and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it will have a positive impact on the denuclearization and the inter-Korean relations. South Korea's intelligence agency recently raised a possibility for Kim to attend the special summit scheduled to be held in November in southern port city of Busan if denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington go well. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) expected that the DPRK-US working-level denuclearization talks to resume within two to three weeks. Of those surveyed, 23.3 percent saw Kim's trip to South Korea negatively. The results were based on a poll of 1,000 voters conducted from Sept. 17 to Sept. 18. It had plus and minus 3.1 percentage points in margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level. ^ top ^

South Korean leader Moon Jae-in proposes replacing DMZ with 'international peace zone' bordering North Korea (SCMP)
2019-09-25
South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed on Tuesday that the United Nations create an "international peace zone" to replace the peninsula's divide, saying the idea would both reassure the North and inspire the world. The left-leaning leader, whose diplomacy paved the way for the historic summits between US President Donald Trump and North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un, laid out his rosy vision for the last cold war frontier in an address to the UN General Assembly. He asked the international community to commit to designating the international peace area to replace the 250km (155-mile) demilitarised zone that has split the two Koreas for more than 60 years. Moon said the zone would offer an added incentive for Kim to give up North Korea's nuclear weapons, the focus of more than a year of on-again, off-again talks between Pyongyang and Washington. "The establishment of an international peace zone will provide an institutional and realistic guarantee for North Korea's security," Moon said. "At the same time South Korea will be able to gain permanent peace," he said. Moon voiced hope that the zone, which is 4km (2.5 miles) wide, would become the home of UN agencies dedicated to conflict resolution and the environment and eventually be declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the UN cultural body. "It can become an international peace zone in name as well as substance," Moon said. Despite the intense military build-ups on each side of the demilitarised zone, "paradoxically it has become a pristine ecological treasure trove", he said. "When the DMZ that cuts the midriff of the Korean peninsula is turned into a peace zone, the peninsula will evolve into a bridge nation that connects the continent and the ocean and facilitates peace and prosperity," he said. Moon said he had spoken to Kim about the restoration of Korea-wide railways that have been severed since the 1950-53 war. Despite Moon's optimism, North Korea has not taken concrete steps to end its nuclear programme and has continued to fire short-range projectiles, drawing particular concern in Japan. Trump has nonetheless insisted that he likes Kim and trusts him, saying that the North Korean leader wrote him "beautiful" letters, including for his birthday. ^ top ^

Trump and Moon discuss another North Korea summit but 'what's going to come out of it'? (SCMP)
2019-09-24
US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart held a summit in New York on Monday to discuss plans to restart US-North Korea talks, as the allies hold discussions in Seoul on sharing the cost of American soldiers stationed in South Korea. Though negotiations with North Korea have stalled since a failed second summit between Trump and its leader Kim Jong-un in February, the North has said it is willing to restart working-level talks in late September. However, no date or location have been set. Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed ways to achieve practical results in the US- North Korea working-level talks, South Korea's presidential office said, while Trump expressed his confidence that Kim will fulfil commitments made during the two summits, a White House statement said. "There's been no nuclear testing at all," Trump told reporters as he met Moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "And the relationships have been very good. … We want to see if we can do something. If we can, that'll be great. And if we can't, that's fine, we'll see what happens." Moon said he hopes working-level negotiations between the US and North Korea will be held soon to prepare for a third summit, but Trump said he would want to know what would result from a third summit with Kim before agreeing to hold it. "Right now, people would like to see that happen. I want to know what's going to be coming out of it. We can know a lot before the summit takes place," Trump said. During their meeting, Trump and Moon reaffirmed their previous pledge not to use force against North Korea, and if North Korea denuclearises, to provide a bright future for the country, a senior official at South Korea's presidential Blue House said. However, there was no mention of a "new method" of approach on North Korea's denuclearisation during their meeting, while they talked about how sanctions must be maintained, the senior official said. North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong-gil, last week welcomed Trump's suggestion for a "new method" in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programmes, saying he wanted to be "optimistic" the US would present the "right calculation method". Last week, Trump distanced himself from a suggestion by his former national security adviser, John Bolton, for a Libyan model of denuclearisation for North Korea, saying it "set us back very badly". Bolton was fired this month, with Trump naming Robert O'Brien as new national security adviser. Before his sit-down with Moon, Trump said the two would discuss North Korea's repeated launches of short-range missiles in recent weeks. "We didn't have an agreement on short-range missiles. And a lot of people and a lot of countries test short-range missiles," Trump added. "There's nothing spectacular about that." Meanwhile, talks on renewing a military cost-sharing deal with the US will begin on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea's foreign ministry has said. Trump and Moon talked about how a quick conclusion of a new military burden sharing agreement before the end of 2019 will be a way to further strengthen their alliance, the White House said in a statement. South Korea has shouldered part of the cost of stationing what is now about 28,500 US troops in the country since a 1991 pact. In March, it signed a deal with the US to pay 1.04 trillion won (US$870.94 million) this year – an increase of 8.2 per cent on the year. The agreement expires at the end of this year. Trump has repeatedly urged the South to contribute more to the cost. "Talks have begun to further increase payments to the United States", he wrote last month on Twitter, adding, "South Korea is a very wealthy nation". Moon detailed South Korea's contribution to the stationing of US troops in Korea, including increasing purchases of US weapons, future purchase plans, as well as a steady increase in South Korea's share of costs, the senior Blue House official said. ^ top ^

Foreign Minister addresses UN Security Council ministerial debate (Montsame)
2019-09-26
Within the framework of the General Debate of the seventy-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, Security Council ministerial-level debate: Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security was held on September 25. At the debate chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as well as heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Collective Security Treaty Organization and Commonwealth of Independent States delivered remarks, presenting cooperation activities between them for maintaining peace and security in the region. Foreign ministers of UN Security Council's 15 permanent and nonpermanent members, Mongolia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Afghanistan took part in the debate to express their positions on ways of building effective cooperation between the UN and regional organizations in combat against terrorism. In his speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia D.Tsogtbaatar highlighted the importance of collaboration between the United Nations and regional organizations to tackle global challenges, in particular, terrorism, extremism and transnational organized crimes. After informing that Mongolia has joined the UN Conventions against international terrorism and transnational organized crimes and established agreements with Russia and Kazakhstan on fighting terrorism and with China to fight against crimes, Foreign Minister D.Tsogtbaatar reaffirmed the significance of building countries' capacity to combat against terrorism, drawing attention on the growing link between terrorism and transnational crime and organized crimes, including trafficking of drugs, weapons and humans, and involving young people in preventing and countering terrorism and extremism. ^ top ^

Mongolia's growth to ease to more sustainable levels in 2019 and 2020 — ADB (Montsame)
2019-09-25
Mongolia's economic growth is expected to moderate but remain solid in 2019 and 2020 as the country moves to a more sustainable growth path. Today, September 25, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Deputy Country Director for Mongolia and Senior Country Economist Declan Magee presented Mongolia's economic outlook. In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019 Update, the ADB projects Mongolia's economic growth at 6.7% in 2019 and 6.1% in 2020, from the 7.2% growth rate recorded in 2018. ADO is ADB's flagship annual economic publication. Growth in the first half of 2019 was boosted by strong domestic demand and expanding mining and construction sectors. The remainder of the year will see growth easing due to lower demand in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and import growth fueled by domestic demand, according to the report. "Economic growth was faster than expected in the first half of 2019," said ADB's Country Director for Mongolia Ms. Yolanda Fernandez Lommen. "Mongolia's growth prospects continue to be positive going into 2019 and 2020, although slowing growth in the PRC will have an impact on Mongolia's export sector. Should the government build on the strong macroeconomic performance since 2017, this will help sustain investor confidence and improve macroeconomic stability. Mongolia remains vulnerable to external shocks, particularly in the commodity sector, so sensible macroeconomic policies that allow the country to build up buffers will help reduce Mongolia's vulnerability to boom-bust cycles going forward. Structural reforms, particularly in the banking sector, remain important, and using this high growth period to address these issues would make sense." Apart from domestic demand, foreign direct investment continues to play an important role and this is set to continue. Services will continue to be important to growth, while agriculture is expected to continue its recovery. Average inflation rose by 8.1% year on year in June and will average 8.5% in 2019 due to rising domestic demand and higher food prices. These effects will be less pronounced in 2020, allowing inflation to ease to 7.5%. The current account deficit narrowed to 10.2% in the first half of 2019 and import demand will mean that it will widen further in 2020. The budget recorded a surplus of 4.7% of gross domestic product in the first half of 2019 and credit expansion eased with the growth of newly issued loans remaining moderate at 5.0% in the first 6 months. Nonperforming loans climbed to 10.6% of total outstanding loans. Mongolia remains vulnerable to external shocks, particularly in mineral price fluctuations or the impact of lower growth in the PRC. Domestically, potential disruption to the finalization of bank recapitalization program, as agreed under the International Monetary Fund program, poses risks. ^ top ^

Cabinet news in brief (Montsame)
2019-09-25
At its regular meeting on September 25, the Cabinet made the following decisions: The Cabinet discussed and supported draft law on Non-Profit Legal Entity and other related draft laws and resolved to submit them to the Parliament. The Cabinet backed up the draft of Intergovernmental Agreement between Mongolia and the Republic of Paraguay on exemption of diplomatic, official and ordinary passport holders from visa requirements. Minister of Foreign Affairs was authorized to sign the agreement. Minister of Energy was given rights to establish and sign an agreement between the Governments of Mongolia and the Russian Federation on cooperation in energy sector. The Cabinet approved 'Cooperative Development Social Program III'. Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry was assigned to cover required funding of the program from state and local budgets and foreign and international organizations' aids and loans and implement the program within the approved annual budget. ^ top ^

Jennia Jin
Embassy of Switzerland