TNT PRESS

Taiwan's president arrives in Hawaii as part of South Pacific visit

3Dec

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Asia-pacific

Taiwan's president arrives in Hawaii as part of South Pacific visit

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, right, receives a flower lei from members of the Taiwanese American community at the Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 30, 2024. HONOLULU, HAWAII — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te arrived Saturday in Hawaii to begin a two-day transit in the U.S. as part of a trip to the South Pacific, his first since assuming office. The stopover in Hawaii and one planned for the territory of Guam have drawn fierce criticism from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and objects to official exchanges between the self-ruled democracy and the U.S., the island\'s biggest backer and military provider. There were no high-ranking U.S. or Hawaii state officials to greet Lai at the Honolulu hotel where ...

Paraguay vows to uphold Taiwan ties amid growing Chinese influence in Latin America

1Dec

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Asia-pacific

Paraguay vows to uphold Taiwan ties amid growing Chinese influence in Latin America

FILE - In this photo released by Santiago Pena's Press Service, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, left, and Taiwanese then-Vice President Lai Ching-te shake hands during Lai's visit to Paraguay, in Asuncion on Aug. 14, 2023. TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Dario Ramirez Lezcano said Friday the country remains committed to diplomatic ties with Taiwan despite farm sector calls for it to switch to having formal relations with China. At the same time, Ramirez Lezcano said his government is open to establishing trade and other relations with Beijing as long as it would not have to break off its ties with Taiwan. Paraguay is one of only 12 countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan — and the only one...

New missile plan by US-Japan eyes Chinese invasion of Taiwan

28Nov

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Asia-pacific

New missile plan by US-Japan eyes Chinese invasion of Taiwan

FILE - Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. left, greets US soldiers beside a HIMARS rocket launcher on display during the Asian Defense and Security Exhibition on Sept. 25, 2024, in Manila, Philippines. WASHINGTON — A U.S. plan to deploy sophisticated missiles on a Japanese island chain close to Taiwan is prompting angry responses from both China and its close ally Russia. The United States is drawing up a joint military plan with Japan to deploy High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other weapons to Japan’s Nansei islands, according to a Sunday report by Kyodo News, which cited unnamed sources. The plan is expected to be completed by December. The island chain stretches from Japan’s main islands to within 20...

27Nov

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Asia-pacific

Myanmar insurgent group agrees to talks after Chinese pressure

By RFA Burmese2024.11.26Read more on this topic in Burmese.An ethnic minority insurgent force in Myanmar has said it is ready to talk to the junta, while acknowledging China’s efforts to end hostilities, in what an analyst said was the latest sign that Chinese pressure on Myanmar’s rivals to end their war was paying off.China has extensive economic interests in its southern neighbour including energy pipelines and mining projects and is keen to see an end to the violent turmoil that has engulfed Myanmar since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021.China backs the military but also maintains contacts with rebel forces, particularly those based on its border. It has been calling on all sides to talk while pressuring the insurgents by closing the border and cutting off ess...

Myanmar’s Wa rebels reject Thai demand to withdraw from bases along shared border

27Nov

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Asia-pacific

Myanmar’s Wa rebels reject Thai demand to withdraw from bases along shared border

By RFA Burmese2024.11.26Read more on this topic in Burmese.Ethnic rebels in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state on Tuesday dismissed calls by the Royal Thai Army to withdraw from nine military camps along a disputed portion of the border with Thailand, suggesting Bangkok take the issue up with the ruling junta.The United Wa State Army, which controls an autonomous region of Shan state, has designated the townships of Tachileik, Mongsat, Mongton, Hway Aw and Pong Par Kyin -- near Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province -- as part of its “171 Military Region.”Leaders of the Wa army, or UWSA, met with officers from the Thai Royal Army in Chiang Mai, Thailand from Nov. 18-19 to discuss tensions along the border, after which Thai authorities demanded that the rebels withdraw from the nine military outposts b...

Myanmar’s worsening power woes leave factory workers in dangerous heat

27Nov

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Asia-pacific

Myanmar’s worsening power woes leave factory workers in dangerous heat

By Kiana Duncan for RFA2024.11.27When temperatures soar in Myanmar, industry unions brace for a familiar wave of complaints from workers, many echoing the same problem: harsh conditions in factories because of the heat.“It began with the electricity,” said a member of the Myanmar Industry Craft Service trade union, or MICS, a prominent workers’ union. “When the season is very hot, the factory uses a generator. But they only use it for the machines used by workers, not for the air ventilation system. So workers are unable to work in appropriate conditions.” MICS is not alone. A third of firms surveyed by the World Bank in April reported power shortage issues as the biggest challenge for their company, an increase from 12% in September 2023. Large parts of the country of 60 million people ar...

27Nov

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Asia-pacific

Vietnam’s new internet rules bad for free speech, business: users

By RFA Vietnamese2024.11.25Read more on this topic in VietnameseAs Vietnam gears up to tighten controls on an already heavily regulated internet with a new rule next month, users have been raising concerns that the government will be able to further restrict freedom of expression online and more closely track online businesses.Offshore service providers such as social media companies and providers of app store services have to authenticate Vietnamese users by requiring their phone or ID card numbers under Decree 147, which will come into effect on Dec. 25.“Account authentication helps authorities identify the real identity behind the account, providing good support for the investigation and handling of violations” Nguyen Tien Ma of the Communication Ministry’s Department of Cyber Securit...

26Nov

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Asia-pacific

Khmer Krom group calls on Vietnam to release activists

By RFA Vietnamese2024.11.24Read more on this topic in VietnameseAn international group representing Vietnam’s Khmer Krom community is calling on the country’s leaders to release five Buddhist monks and four activists before their trial on Tuesday and Wednesday.Abbot Thach Chanh Da Ra and buddhist Kim Khiem have been charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the criminal code. Monks Duong Khai, Thach Qui Lay, Kim Sa Ruong and Thach Chop along with activists Thach Nha, Kim Khu and Thach Ve Sanal are accused of “illegally arresting and detaining people” under Article 157. All of the men were arrested in March.About 1.3 million Khmer Krom – ethnic Cambodians and one of Vietnam’s 53 ethnic minorities – live in the southern provinces of Vietnam. The community often accuses ...

Purported letter from Vietnam’s ‘barefoot monk’ renounces vow of poverty

26Nov

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Asia-pacific

Purported letter from Vietnam’s ‘barefoot monk’ renounces vow of poverty

By RFA Vietnamese2024.11.25A man whose ascetic pursuit of Buddhist studies earned him countless followers both on and off of social media as he traveled by foot across Vietnam has ended his vow of poverty, according to a letter purportedly written in his own hand.But supporters have questioned whether the letter was really written by Thich Minh Tue, whose real name is Le Anh Tu, and who observes the ascetic practices of Buddhism without actually being a monk in an order recognized by the Vietnamese government as a state-sanctioned religious group.Known as the “barefoot monk,” Tue has walked across Vietnam at least four times, the last time creating a storm of publicity that prompted the government to ask him to go into retreat in early June, when he disappeared from the public eye.The Gove...

What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?

24Nov

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Asia-pacific

What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?

By David Hutt2024.11.23It now appears to be a question of “when, not if” Chinese security personnel will arrive in Myanmar, with Beijing looking to secure its strategic interests in the war-torn country and those of its ally, the military junta that has lost large chunks of the country since the 2021 coup. The Irrawaddy online news outlet reported that the junta formed a 13-member working committee on October 22 to prepare the groundwork to establish a “joint security company” with China. According to the report, the committee, chaired by Major-General Toe Yi, the junta’s deputy home affairs minister, is currently tasked with “scrutinizing the importing and regulating of weapons and special equipment” until Beijing signs a drafted MOU on forming a “security company.” After that, according ...