Asia

As March ended, the BBC’s Beijing correspondent, John Sudworth , left China following escalating harassment by the Communist Party there. Sudworth, a nine-year veteran of the BBC’s China desk, since 2018 has investigated the Communist Party’s genocide in Xinjiang, publishing multiple long-form pieces on the concentration and forced labor camps that China has built to persecute Muslim Uyghurs. The Chinese foreign ministry expressed shock at Sudworth’s departure, claiming that he had not informed the authorities of his intention to leave or explained his reasoning. Of course, the harassment continued up until Sudworth and his family boarded their flight for democratic, capitalist Taiwan — Chinese plainclothes police officers followed them through the departure hall , observing them up until they boarded their aircraft. Sudworth is not the first journalist to provoke the Chinese Communist Party’s ire. In March 2020 — not coincidentally, precisely as the COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more...] about The unappreciated power of Radio Free Asia: Telling the truth to China’s people

A senior government official in Japan apologized Tuesday, dramatically bowing to the public before a television camera, for the creation of a “mascot” meant to endear the public to tritium, a radioactive waste product. Japan has been dealing with an abundance of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, for over a decade following the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Japanese officials used over 1 million tons of water to cool the melting reactor cores of the plant, a process that, due to hydrogen’s presence in water, created significant amounts of tritium. Japan approved a plan last week to release the water from the plant into the Pacific Ocean, insisting Tokyo would “treat” the water first and no tritium would be released in at least two years due to the time-consuming nature of processing the material. The cleaning treatment would notably not remove tritium from the water supply. Nearly every neighboring … [Read more...] about Japan Apologizes for ‘Cuddly’ Nuclear Waste Mascot

By Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Fatima Faizi and Najim Rahim , The New York Times KABUL, Afghanistan — Farzana Ahmadi watched as a neighbor in her village in northern Afghanistan was flogged by Taliban fighters last month. The crime: Her face was uncovered. “Every woman should cover their eyes,” Ahmadi recalled one Taliban member saying. People silently watched as the beating dragged on. Fear — even more potent than in years past — is gripping Afghans now that U.S. and NATO forces will depart the country in the coming months. They will leave behind a publicly triumphant Taliban, who many expect will seize more territory and reinstitute many of the same oppressive rules they enforced under their regime in the 1990s. The New York Times spoke to many Afghan women — members of civil society, politicians, journalists and others — about what comes next in their country, and they all said the same thing: Whatever happens will not bode well for them. Whether the Taliban take back … [Read more...] about Afghan women fear the worst, whether war or peace lies ahead

close Video Ratcliffe: China aims to 'test Biden's leadership,' level of 'pushback' Former Director of National Intelligence joins 'Life, Liberty & Levin' to discuss the Biden administration's foreign policy approach Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for more equitable management of global affairs and, in an implicit rejection of U.S. dominance, said governments shouldn’t impose rules on others. Xi’s speech at an economic forum comes amid rising tension with China’s neighbors and Washington over its strategic ambitions and demands for a bigger role in making trade and other rules. Without mentioning the United States, Xi criticized "unilateralism of individual countries" and warned against decoupling, a reference to fears U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security will split industries and markets into separate, less productive spheres with incompatible standards. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a … [Read more...] about China’s Xi warns against ‘unilateralism’ as tensions with US, neighbors rise

OAKLAND (KPIX) — It’s something the Port of Oakland has never seen before. A record number of cargo ships are anchored in San Francisco Bay, waiting to unload their containers. Every one of those ships carries multiple containers full of goods, items that may take a little while longer to arrive in stores and at your front door. “We set a historic record. We have never seen anything like this before, it’s unprecedented.” says Port of Oakland spokesperson Marilyn Sandifur. READ MORE: BREAKING: Verdict Reached In Derek Chauvin Trial Sandifur says this is the busiest time in the 94 year history of the port. “Whenever you see container ships anchoring out in the bay, know that is unusual,” she said. She adds the containers floating in the bay are loaded with items such as gym equipment, furniture and electronics, as consumers are loosening their wallets with the end of the pandemic in sight. The back up of cargo ships extends up and down the West Coast. READ MORE: COVID … [Read more...] about Record Number Of Cargo Ships Waiting To Unload At Port Of Oakland May Delay Goods For Months