0x815

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3247781

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Instead of spearheading China’s liberalisation, Western universities that benefit from Chinese money are increasingly vulnerable to pressure from its government.

[...]

Through a combination of pressure tactics – including a global censorship regime, the weaponisation of informal Chinese networks, questionable party-state funding, and dependencies on “official China” – students and researchers are silenced, and higher education institutions are influenced.

Within many universities outside China, academic freedom has been compromised by Chinese funding. Dependent on the large funds that have been allocated to them, they are more inclined to do research in line with the CCP’s programme. More recently, the much publicised Hong Kong National Security Law allows anyone to be charged who challenges China’s national unity, regardless of nationality or territory. The Hong Kong National Security Law purports to have extraterritorial effect and therefore it is not limited to Chinese citizens or even those physically in Hong Kong. This inevitably contributes to a climate of self-censorship among academics.

[...]

Unfortunately, rising authoritarianism, if not actual totalitarianism, in China has turned the tables on Western universities. Instead of spearheading the liberalisation of China, they have become vulnerable to Chinese pressure in the opposite direction. Their partnerships with Chinese universities have turned into potential liabilities as professors come under fire for not properly declaring Chinese funding, research grants are linked to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and universities’ technology breakthroughs are being used to improve China’s system of mass surveillance.

[...]

The Irish Centre for Human Rights and the University of Galway showed courage in accepting this gift of memory to [Chinese human rights activist] Liu. Statements of support by the university’s president and the director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights are significant. It is our hope that this example will encourage other universities to resist the pressure from Chinese money that might compromise their academic freedom.

[...]

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Instead of spearheading China’s liberalisation, Western universities that benefit from Chinese money are increasingly vulnerable to pressure from its government.

[...]

Through a combination of pressure tactics – including a global censorship regime, the weaponisation of informal Chinese networks, questionable party-state funding, and dependencies on “official China” – students and researchers are silenced, and higher education institutions are influenced.

Within many universities outside China, academic freedom has been compromised by Chinese funding. Dependent on the large funds that have been allocated to them, they are more inclined to do research in line with the CCP’s programme. More recently, the much publicised Hong Kong National Security Law allows anyone to be charged who challenges China’s national unity, regardless of nationality or territory. The Hong Kong National Security Law purports to have extraterritorial effect and therefore it is not limited to Chinese citizens or even those physically in Hong Kong. This inevitably contributes to a climate of self-censorship among academics.

[...]

Unfortunately, rising authoritarianism, if not actual totalitarianism, in China has turned the tables on Western universities. Instead of spearheading the liberalisation of China, they have become vulnerable to Chinese pressure in the opposite direction. Their partnerships with Chinese universities have turned into potential liabilities as professors come under fire for not properly declaring Chinese funding, research grants are linked to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and universities’ technology breakthroughs are being used to improve China’s system of mass surveillance.

[...]

The Irish Centre for Human Rights and the University of Galway showed courage in accepting this gift of memory to [Chinese human rights activist] Liu. Statements of support by the university’s president and the director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights are significant. It is our hope that this example will encourage other universities to resist the pressure from Chinese money that might compromise their academic freedom.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3244714

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen to 21 months in prison, while former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam was released after his sentence was reduced because of ill health.

Last month, the two were the first journalists to be convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Chung and Lam were found guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications.

[...]

[The court] He ruled that 11 articles that were published under Chung and Lam's leadership carried seditious intent.

[...]

Chung and Lam were held behind bars for nearly a year after their arrests, before being released on bail in late 2022. Their trial began in October that year and lasted some 50 days.

Stand News, which has now closed down, was one of the last news outlets in Hong Kong to voice criticism of authorities amid a crackdown from Beijing after the 2019 protests.

The latest World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders ranked Hong Kong as the 135th out of 180 territories, down from 80th place in 2021 and 18th place in 2002.

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Romania has once again scrambled fighter jets last night after Russian forces attacked several targets in Ukraine.

A drone reportedly briefly entered Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border.

The attack last night targeted the town of Izmail in the southern Odesa region, where three people were killed and at least 11, including a child, were injured, according to Governor Oleh Kiper quoted by Kiev Independent.

The Ukrainian Air Forces confirm that a Russian drone "strayed" into Romanian territory. In total, 32 drones were launched last night, of which 24 were intercepted, according to the Ukrainians.

"For monitoring the situation, two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces took off from the 86th Air Base in Borcea starting at 1:52 am and, later, starting at 3:22 am, two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Forces from the Extended Air Policing Service at the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu."

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3235819

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Openly defending one’s decision not to have children will be prosecuted in Russia. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, is preparing a bill under which authorities will impose fines of up to €50,000 ($55,580) for supporting “the refusal to have children.” The measure affects all areas of life — from casual conversation to films and books — and is a serious threat to the Russian feminist movement.

The crackdown on what the Kremlin calls the “childfree” movement will result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals (around $4,300), 800,000 rubles for civil servants ($8,600), and up to five million rubles ($55,580) for companies or other legal entities. Foreigners will also be deported.

There are thousands of reasons why a person may decide not to have children, but the Cabinet of ministers has asked the State Duma to make only three exceptions to the law: religious reasons, medical reasons or in the case of rape. It also alleges that there is a mass-organized childfree movement, even though the websites on this subject are little more than a curiosity; Russian newspapers cite the existence of groups on VKontakte, the Russian Facebook, which barely have 5,000 members.

[...]

Archived link

Openly defending one’s decision not to have children will be prosecuted in Russia. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, is preparing a bill under which authorities will impose fines of up to €50,000 ($55,580) for supporting “the refusal to have children.” The measure affects all areas of life — from casual conversation to films and books — and is a serious threat to the Russian feminist movement.

The crackdown on what the Kremlin calls the “childfree” movement will result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals (around $4,300), 800,000 rubles for civil servants ($8,600), and up to five million rubles ($55,580) for companies or other legal entities. Foreigners will also be deported.

There are thousands of reasons why a person may decide not to have children, but the Cabinet of ministers has asked the State Duma to make only three exceptions to the law: religious reasons, medical reasons or in the case of rape. It also alleges that there is a mass-organized childfree movement, even though the websites on this subject are little more than a curiosity; Russian newspapers cite the existence of groups on VKontakte, the Russian Facebook, which barely have 5,000 members.

[...]

Auf Tiktok wütet ein Netzwerk, das nach den Plattform-Richtlinien eigentlich verboten ist: CORRECTIV fand dutzende Kanäle, die sich fälschlich als Partei- oder Politiker-Profile der AfD ausgeben. Im Namen der Partei erreichen sie Hunderttausende. Die AfD schweigt und Tiktok sieht jahrelang tatenlos zu.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3233057

China's latest nuclear submarine sank during its construction earlier this year, senior US defense officials said on Thursday.

Satellite images from June showed cranes at the Wuchang shipyard where the Zhou-class attack submarine would have been docked.

These images indicate that the vessel likely sank between May and June, US officials told news agencies including the Associated Press and Reuters.

China has not confirmed the current status of the submarine.

Reports of a submarine sinking during construction could be a potential setback for China as it continues to expand its naval capacity.

"We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide," a Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said.

A US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters it was "not surprising" that China's navy would hide the sinking of the submarine.

"In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA's internal accountability and oversight of China's defense industry — which has long been plagued by corruption," they added, using the acronym for the People's Liberation Army.

Travellers described being subjected to lawlessness, looting and brutality in a conflict that the UN says has forced more than 10.5 million people to flee their homes.

But it is sexual violence that has become a defining characteristic of the protracted conflict, which started as a power struggle between the army and the RSF but has since drawn in local armed groups and fighters from neighbouring countries.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has said rape is being used as “a weapon of war”.

A recent UN fact-finding mission documented several cases of rape and rape threats from members of the army, but found that large-scale sexual violence was committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias, and amounted to violations of international law.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3229591

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The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) presents unique challenges for air infrastructure superiority, with its high altitude and rugged terrain. While the expansion of airports and deployment of fighter jets and sophisticated radar systems have been traditional measures of this superiority, a less recognised but equally critical aspect is China's increasing rotary-wing capabilities at extreme altitudes.

[...]

China's critical military infrastructure at higher altitudes is rapidly expanding in the challenging environment of the TAR. A vital part of this expansion is the proliferation of high-altitude heliports and helipads, which are quickly becoming crucial nodes in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) ground and air operations strategy.

These helipads, strategically placed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, disputed areas with Bhutan, and critical infrastructure like surface-to-missile (SAM) sites and military barracks, serve as logistics hubs. Their role in facilitating rapid troop and equipment movement underscores their strategic significance.

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A Chinese teacher-researcher has been prevented from taking up a post at the prestigious French engineering school, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM) in Paris, where he had been due to give lectures and pursue his research work in a restricted access laboratory. The researcher, who already had a contract in Israel, applied for a long-stay "talent" visa of the kind normally granted to researchers at the French consulate general in Jerusalem.

His application was initially refused on 5 June. He appealed against the decision to the specialised visa appeals body in Nantes in western France, which has yet to give its decision, but also took his case to the Nantes administrative court, asking it to suspend the consulate's decision and order the French authorities to grant him the visa he had applied for.

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Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister's political director (who is not related to PM Viktor Orbán) gave an interview to the pro-government Mandiner, in which he discussed current public issues, [political opponent] Péter Magyar, the Draghi report, the US presidential election and US Ambassador David Pressman, which was caught by 444. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 comes up at the 14th minute of the conversation, when the journalist argues that at the time, the Americans did not seem to have viewed Hungary as a country worth helping.

"I think that the fact that there was no substantial American help for Hungary in '56 takes '56 out of the mouth of the United States. And from that point on, I don't think they can use it as an argument for anything," Mátyás Kohán said, to which Balázs Orbán replied:

“Based precisely on '56, we probably would not have done what President Zelensky did 2.5 years ago, because it is irresponsible, because one can see that he took his country into a war of defense. So many people have died, so much territory was lost, and I'll say again, it is their right, it is their sovereign decision, they could choose to do it, but if they had asked us, we would not have recommended it, because of what happened in '56. Because we have learned that one has to be cautious here, and one has to treat the very precious Hungarian lives with great care. They cannot simply be thrown before others.”

The Prime Minister's Political Director then said that he believes provocation is counter-productive, and added that 80-90 percent of the Hungarian people agree with the Hungarian government's policy on the Russian-Ukrainian war. When the journalist asked what would have happened if the United States had helped Hungary in 1956, Balázs Orbán replied that he believes it would have led to World War III.

"Maybe we would have won, maybe we wouldn't have won, maybe the neighbouring countries would have sided with us, maybe they would have been against us," he said.