Category Archives: China

China using spy balloon drama to drum up nationalistic fervour

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The communist party’s propaganda machine pulled out all the stops to ensure the public opinion was in accordance with party narrative

Amid the diplomatic spat over the high-altitude balloon that flew across North America before being shot down by the US air force, China is taking the opportunity to drum up nationalistic fervour among its citizens – and the tactic appears to be working well.

The balloon incident has burst the facade of a three-month, uneasy peace between China and the US since the summit between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in November.

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Chinese balloon was ‘clearly’ for spying, says US

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State department source says balloon was carrying equipment capable of intercepting communications

The Chinese balloon that flew over North America for more than a week before being shot down over the Atlantic was carrying equipment capable of intercepting and geolocating communications, the US government has claimed.

A senior state department official said on Thursday that equipment was identified by a U-2 spy plane sent up to scrutinise the balloon.

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Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says

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Posts amplify content about sexual assault and misconduct allegations in Parliament House to undermine trust in political system, researchers say

A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank.

The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general Christian Porter, which he strongly denies.

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Elderly Chinese people protest in Wuhan against medical benefits cuts

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Rally is latest showing of public discontent since demonstrations against Covid curbs

Thousands of older people have staged a rally in the rain in central China to protest against significant cuts to their medical benefits, in the latest outburst of public discontent since nationwide protests against Covid curbs gripped the country late last year.

Video clips on social media show a large crowd of elderly protesters in raincoats and holding umbrellas gathering outside the Wuhan city government by the Yangtze River on Wednesday, while police officers form a line to stop them from approaching the gates. The location of the rally has been verified.

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Chinese-made security cameras to be removed from Australian government buildings

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More than 900 products made by Hikvision and Dahua discovered at 250 federal premises

The federal government has committed to removing Chinese-made security cameras at government buildings across Australia, admitting there is a potential security problem that needs to be addressed.

An audit of surveillance equipment, conducted by the shadow cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, has confirmed that more than 900 products built by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are installed at government locations.

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Cross-party MPs shocked by Foreign Office talks with Xinjiang governor

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Exclusive: Erkin Tuniyaz ‘played central role’ in persecution of Uyghurs, says inter-parliamentary alliance on China

The Foreign Office has shocked cross-party opponents of the Chinese treatment of Uyghur groups by revealing that it has asked the Xinjiang governor for talks.

MPs belonging to the inter-parliamentary alliance on China (Ipac) called it “incomprehensible” that “anybody within government would think it appropriate to meet with someone who has played a central role in the persecution of Uyghurs – crimes our own parliament has declared to be genocide”.

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‘Hot air’: Marjorie Taylor Greene in State of the Union balloon stunt

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Republican extremist appears to reference Chinese surveillance dirigible by parading halls of Congress with white balloon

Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared to tee up a State of the Union stunt on Tuesday, patrolling the halls of Congress with a large white balloon in reference to Republican criticism of Joe Biden over his handling of a flight over US territory by a Chinese surveillance dirigible.

“Just an innocent white balloon everybody,” the Georgia extremist said, hours before Biden’s address to Congress, attempting to keep aloft the balloon saga which ended when it was shot down off the Carolinas on Saturday.

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War of words over downed Chinese spy balloon continues as US recovers debris

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Beijing lodges formal complaint with US embassy as Washington throws criticism back at China

The diplomatic row has escalated over the Chinese high-altitude balloon that flew across the US before being shot down, as the first wreckage was salvaged off the Atlantic coast.

Beijing on Monday accused the US of “overreaction” and the “indiscriminate use of military force” in shooting down a Chinese balloon, warning of damage to bilateral relations.

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Australian and Chinese trade ministers meet for first time in three years

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Don Farrell will fly to Beijing in the ‘near future’ amid a thawing of diplomatic relations with Australia’s largest trading partner

The Australian trade minister, Don Farrell, will fly to Beijing “in the near future” after attending the first meeting between an Australian trade minister and a Chinese commerce minister in three years.

Farrell, who was in Canberra for the resumption of parliament, met virtually with his counterpart, Wang Wentao, for about 90 minutes on Monday.

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Hong Kong: landmark national security trial of 47 democracy advocates begins

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Protests as former politicians, activists, campaigners and community workers appear in court accused of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’

Hong Kong’s largest national security trial began on Monday, involving 47 of the city’s most high-profile democracy advocates, in a hearing that has been labelled a trial of the territory’s pro-democracy movement itself.

The group of former politicians, activists, campaigners, and community workers are accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion” over the holding of unofficial pre-election primaries in July 2020.

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US military searches territorial waters for Chinese spy balloon wreckage

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Recovery of the wreckage could give the United States insight into China’s spying capabilities, officials say

The US military said it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down, in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations.

The US navy is working to recover the balloon and its payload and the coast guard is providing security for the operation, general Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American aerospace defence command and US northern command said on Sunday.

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White House rejects Republican fire over wait to down Chinese spy balloon

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Pete Buttigieg says president ‘considered safety of American people’ but Marco Rubio criticizes eight-day wait

The US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, rejected Republican criticism of Joe Biden over the eight-day wait to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon which flew over military sites.

“The president gave instructions to have it shot down in a way that was safe,” Buttigieg told CNN’s State of the Union, of the operation off the Carolina coast on Saturday.

Associated Press contributed to this report

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Australia’s diplomatic influence in Asia on the rise as ALP advances interests abroad

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Lowy Institute ranks Australia sixth overall in the Asia Power Index, behind US, China, Japan, India and Russia

Australia has enjoyed a big increase in its diplomatic influence in Asia over the past year, according to the latest ratings of power across the region.

The Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, published on Monday, also shows Australia’s standing has emerged unscathed from pandemic-era disruptions, unlike the region’s big players the US and China and many other countries.

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Now the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ is down, the question is: what was it for?

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Was Beijing trying to sabotage talks with the US, monitor the speed of its military response, or just test Joe Biden’s mettle?

Now the Chinese balloon has been brought down in a puff of smoke and debris by a US air-launched missile, after perplexing Washington with its three-day odyssey over the continental United States, the question is: what was it all for?

Once the balloon was spotted, Beijing claimed it was a weather observation airship that had been blown off course, drawing a snort of derision from the Pentagon, which said the balloon was able to manoeuvre and had made some deliberate turns, bringing it at one point over Montana, home of some of the US arsenal of silo-based nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

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US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over east coast

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Chinese foreign ministry accuses US of ‘overreacting’ and ‘violating international practice’ after balloon was downed

A US warplane has shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after it had crossed the entire US and caused a diplomatic rift between the two countries.

The balloon, which China said is for meteorological purposes but the US insists has been spying, could be seen on television collapsing and falling from the sky.

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China calls for calm amid growing row with US over suspected spy balloons

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Beijing says it will ‘not accept any groundless conjecture’ after balloons spotted over US and Latin America

China has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons.

It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a large balloon was spotted in US airspace.

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Scientist who edited babies’ genes says he acted ‘too quickly’

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Exclusive: He Jiankui stops short of apologising for procedure that shocked the world of science in 2018

The scientist at the heart of the scandal involving the world’s first gene-edited babies has said he moved “too quickly” by pressing ahead with the procedure.

He Jiankui sent shock waves across the world of science when he announced in 2018 that he had edited the genes of twin girls, Lulu and Nana, before birth. He was subsequently sacked by his university in Shenzhen, received a three-year prison sentence, and was broadly condemned for having gone ahead with the risky, ethically contentious and medically unjustified procedure with inadequate consent from the families involved.

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Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip

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Secretary of state calls the incident in US airspace a ‘clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’

A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon, in comments that came as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, postponed a visit to China after the intrusion of a separate high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, a day after the first craft was spotted over US skies. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

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US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana

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Antony Blinken delays trip, as China claims balloon was for ‘meteorological’ purposes and was blown off course

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country.

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Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US

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Officials say balloon has been watched for a few days but decided not to shoot it down for safety reasons

The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.

Defence officials said the balloon had been watched since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. It has been monitored by several methods including crewed aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing Montana, where the US has silo-based nuclear missiles.

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