Illinois Man Arrested in Abduction of Chinese Scholar

A central Illinois man was charged Friday with kidnapping in the disappearance of a visiting Chinese scholar who authorities believe to be dead after last being seen three weeks ago, and a federal criminal complaint alleges the suspect’s phone was used to visit an online forum in April called “Abduction 101.”

Yingying Zhang, the daughter of a working-class factory driver from China, disappeared June 9, just weeks after arriving at the University of Illinois where she was pursuing studies in agriculture sciences.

Federal authorities say Brendt Christensen, who turned 28 Friday, of Champaign, Illinois, is charged in a criminal complaint with abducting Zhang shortly after she stepped off a bus near the university campus. Video shows her getting into the front seat of a black Saturn Astra.

According to the 10-page affidavit filed in federal court by FBI Special Agent Anthony Manganaro, Christensen was under surveillance Thursday when agents overheard him explaining he kidnapped Zhang. Authorities say based on that and other facts uncovered during the investigation, agents believe Zhang is no longer alive.

Asked Friday night if authorities had any leads on where Zhang’s body might be located, the spokesman for the FBI Springfield office, Bradley Ware, declined comment.

University statement

Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones said in a statement the campus community is saddened by the news Zhang is believed dead.

“This is a senseless and devastating loss of a promising young woman and a member of our community,” Jones said. “There is nothing we can do to ease the sadness or grief for her family and friends, but we can and we will come together to support them in any way we can in these difficult days ahead.”

The federal charging document says one of the threads on the forum that Christensen’s smartphone visited online in April — months before Zhang went missing — was entitled, “Perfect abduction fantasy.” Another was about “planning a kidnapping.”

According to Manganaro’s affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Champaign, investigators determined there were 18 vehicles similar to the one Zhang got in that were registered in Champaign County.

The vehicle belonging to Christensen was first observed June 12 in an apartment complex parking lot, and investigators questioned him. The affidavit stated that investigators noted Christensen couldn’t recall what he was doing on the day Zhang disappeared. They searched the vehicle but didn’t remove anything.

Investigators later determined the car in the video had a sunroof and cracked hubcap, like the vehicle belonging to Christensen, according to the affidavit. When investigators interviewed Christensen again, he admitted to driving around the University of Illinois campus and giving a ride to an Asian woman who said she was late for an appointment.

Christensen said the woman panicked after he apparently made a wrong turn and he let her out in a residential area.

Christensen was placed under continuous surveillance June 16, and on June 29 he was captured on an audio recording explaining how he took Zhang to his apartment and held her against her will. The affidavit says the woman remains missing.

Thousands of Chinese students

Some 5,600 Chinese enrolled at the University of Illinois, more than at any U.S. college, according to government data. There are more than 300,000 Chinese students in the U.S. in all. Some parents in China wondered if Zhang’s disappearance meant it wasn’t safe to send their children to the United States.

Those who knew Zhang described her as bright and outgoing. Zhang’s boyfriend has said she was also cautious and wouldn’t normally get into a car with a stranger unless duped or forced.

Zhang graduated last year with a master’s degree in environmental engineering from one of China’s elite schools, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. She had been doing research on crop photosynthesis, which included using drones to study fields, the university’s communications office has said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Illinois Man Arrested in Abduction of Chinese Scholar : http://ift.tt/2utW8Ll

Hong Kong in Photos: 1997 to 2017

HONG KONG — 

On Saturday, Hong Kong marked 20 years since the end of British colonial rule, when the Asian financial hub was handed back to mainland China.

The territory has seen tumultuous times since July 1, 1997, with economic turmoil, outbreaks of disease and more recently, pro-democracy protests casting shadows over the island, its stunning harbor and the New Territories up to the border with the mainland.

Hong Kong’s reputation as a free-market haven was challenged during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, while the 2008 global financial crisis tested the health of its banks.

The city of 7.3 million people suffered badly during an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS as it is known, in 2003, when 299 people died from the flulike virus. It was also among the places hardest hit by bird flu.

A rush of money from mainland China vaulted Hong Kong into the ranks of the world’s most expensive property markets. It also fuelled public anger over high living costs and a widening wealth gap.

“My priority will be to heal the divide and to ease the frustration — and to unite our society to move forward,” Chief Executive-elect Carrie Lam said in March after her selection by a 1,200-person election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended anniversary events on the island, including Lam’s swearing into office Saturday as the city’s first female leader.

Lam, 60, is the territory’s fourth leader since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

As part of the handover, a mini-constitution known as the Basic Law promised that Hong Kong would retain a high degree of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula, with full democracy an “ultimate aim.”

But two decades later, there’s no sign of that aim.

China declined to make any concessions to student protesters demanding universal suffrage in “Occupy” street demonstrations in 2014. Frustration among democracy activists has simmered since.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Hong Kong in Photos: 1997 to 2017 : http://ift.tt/2sreq3c

Hong Kong in Photos: 1997 to 2017

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

The territory has seen tumultuous times since July 1, 1997, with economic turmoil, outbreaks of disease and more recently, pro-democracy protests Read More Hong Kong in Photos: 1997 to 2017 : http://ift.tt/2sbctUq

Hong Kong Marks 20th Anniversary of Chinese Rule

WASHINGTON — 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sworn in Hong Kong’s new leader, Carrie Lam, on the 20th anniversary of the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.

The flags of China and Hong Kong were raised at the outdoor ceremony Saturday, which took place at the same harbor-front venue where the last British governor handed the city over to Chinese rule in 1997.

Hong Kong’s new Beijing-approved chief executive, Lam swore Saturday to serve China and Hong Kong. She was chosen by less than 1 percent of Hong Kong’s voters, in a process decried by democracy activists as being fundamentally unfair.

Hundreds of police were deployed for the anniversary, a traditional day of protest in Hong Kong. Minor scuffles broke out between pro-democracy activists and pro-Beijing groups at a protest that took place about a kilometer from the swearing-in ceremony.

Security has been high for Xi’s three-day visit to the city. Xi has said he will meet with people from all walks of life during his trip, but the heightened security is likely to keep many of the protests and calls for political reform out of view.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging freedoms for the city that are not granted to citizens in mainland China.

On Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said the document signed by Britain and China that initiated the handover “is no longer relevant.”

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Hong Kong Marks 20th Anniversary of Chinese Rule  : http://ift.tt/2t0ShYq

India Launches New Economic Era With Sales Tax Reform

NEW DELHI — 

India early on Saturday introduced its biggest tax reform in the 70 years since independence from British colonial rule.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) replaces more than a dozen federal and state levies and unifying a $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into one of the world's biggest common markets.

The measure is expected to make it easier to do business by simplifying the tax structure and ensuring greater compliance, boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic credentials before a planned re-election bid in 2019.

At a midnight ceremony in parliament's central hall Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee together launched the new tax by pressing a button.

"With GST, the dream of 'One India, Great India' will come true," Modi said.

For the first midnight ceremony in the central hall in two decades, Modi was joined by his cabinet colleagues, India's central bank chief, a former prime minister and major company executives including Ratan Tata.

The launch, however, was boycotted by several opposition parties including the Congress Party, which first proposed the tax reform before it fell from power three years ago.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - the architect of India's economic reforms - also gave it a miss.

Complex Structure

It has taken 14 years for the new sales tax to come into being. But horse trading to get recalcitrant Indian states on board has left Asia's third-largest economy with a complex tax structure.

In contrast to simpler sales taxes in other countries, India's GST has four rates and numerous exemptions.

The official schedule of rates runs to 213 pages and has undergone repeated changes, some taking place as late as on Friday evening.

Many businesses are nervous about how the changes will unfold, with smaller ones saying they will get hit by higher tax rates.

Adding to the complexity, businesses with pan-India operations face filing over 1,000 digital returns a year.

While higher tax rates for services and non-food items are expected to fuel price pressures, compliance is feared to be a major challenge in a country where many entrepreneurs are not computer literate and rely on handwritten ledgers.

"We have jumped into a river but don't know its depth," said A. Subba Rao, an executive director at power firm CLP India.

'One Tax, One Market, One Nation'

Poor implementation would deal a blow to an economy that is still recovering from Modi's decision late last year to outlaw 86 percent of the currency in circulation.

In a bid to mitigate the impact on the farm sector, the GST rates for tractors and fertilizer were slashed on Friday to 18 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

HSBC estimates the reform, despite its flaws, could add 0.4 percentage points to economic growth.

An end of tax arbitrage under the GST is estimated to save companies $14 billion in reduced logistics costs and efficiency gains.

As the GST is a value added tax, firms will have an incentive to comply in order to avail credit for taxes already paid. This should widen the tax net, shoring up public finances.

"The old India was economically fragmented," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. "The new India will create one tax, one market for one nation."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More India Launches New Economic Era With Sales Tax Reform : http://ift.tt/2tzHCW2

7 Killed by Roadside Bomb in Eastern Afghanistan

Mines believed to have been planted by Islamic State killed seven civilians Friday in the eastern region of Afghanistan.

The Nangarhar governor's office told VOA that five civilians, including women and children, were injured in the explosion when a pickup truck in the Achin district was hit by a roadside bomb — apparently placed by IS militants.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Officials at the local Ghani Khil hospital told VOA the wounded civilians are in stable condition.

IS militants are active in the Achin district, where U.S. forces in April dropped the "mother of all bombs," the largest non-nuclear weapon, in an effort to root them out and destroy some of their tunnels.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More 7 Killed by Roadside Bomb in Eastern Afghanistan : http://ift.tt/2t9haPL

Jailed Nobel Laureate's Case Casts Shadow Over Hong Kong Anniversary

HONG KONG — 

News this past week that jailed Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer is casting a shadow over the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China from British rule.

Ahead of the anniversary on July 1 and swearing-in of Hong Kong's new Beijing-approved chief executive, Carrie Lam, activists perched on a statue outside the convention center where the anniversary ceremony will take place.

The protesters engaged in an hourslong standoff with police, calling for direct elections in Hong Kong and Liu's unconditional release. Activists refused to leave until they were escorted or carried away from the statue, a gift from China after the handover in 1997.

In 2011, a Chinese court sentenced Liu to 11 years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power" for advocating democracy and political reform in China online.

"In my opinion, he was illegally arrested because what he has been saying for all of these years can never be illegal in an ordinary society," said Lau Chung-shiu, a participant in Thursday night's vigil. "Now he is terminally ill and this has caused a shock wave in Hong Kong. It just makes us worry about freedom of speech."

Lau says now is the time for people in Hong Kong to speak out, to ensure that there is no further erosion of the "one-country, two systems" model that was set up before the city's return to China.

Opportunity to look forward

For Beijing, the 20th anniversary was supposed to be a celebration and an opportunity to look forward to a brighter future for this global financial hub. However, there are those who see a similarity between Liu's plight and concerns about eroding freedoms and China's tightening grip over the port city's affairs.

On Thursday evening, near Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal, dozens of supporters gathered to speak out about Liu, calling for his release and praying for his health and strength.

The "one country, two systems" model was established before the handover to ensure that Hong Kong's norms, such as rule of law and freedom of expression and religion, continued for 50 years after its return to Chinese rule.

Now, just two decades since that event, there is growing concern that China is going back on its promises.

"Why does the Chinese government not believe the Hong Kong people should have this type of democracy [direct elections]?" asked C.K. Wong, another protest participant. "It was promised in the Basic Law. We are not asking for anything extra."

Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, guarantees universal suffrage, and activists have called for direct elections for the territory's chief executive. China ruled out that idea in 2012, maintaining that candidates be chosen by a committee made up largely of pro-Beijing members.

Many see direct elections as crucial for Hong Kong's development and argue that the stalled political reforms are dividing society and fueling concerns about a range of issues from the economy to education.

Divided community

"I don't like how the Chinese government is suppressing the voices of opposing views. I don't think that is how a country should work," said Athena Tam, a university student in Hong Kong.

Calvin Lai, a Hong Kong resident who is studying overseas, said that Hong Kong still has many advantages and opportunities, but it needs to focus on more than just real estate and finance.

"I think Hong Kong has been overly dependent on consumer power from China and we haven't got much different industry," Lai said. "We have had several decades of booming growth, but we've failed to manage to have innovative industries."

Others want to see an end to the divide created by the debate.

"I think there are too many arguments and we need leadership to align the different stakeholders in Hong Kong to make society move forward," said Leo Cheung, an engineer.

Concerns are unlikely to dampen the mood that authorities have mapped out for the event.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong this week ahead of the anniversary. Xi has said he will meet with people from all walks of life during his three-day visit, but heightened security is likely to keep further protests and calls for political reform — as well as the unconditional release of Liu — out of view.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Jailed Nobel Laureate's Case Casts Shadow Over Hong Kong Anniversary : http://ift.tt/2u78IAI

Trump Working on 'Equitable' Trade Deal, Welcomes South Korea's Moon

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is hosting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, says he hopes to renegotiate an "equitable" trade deal with Seoul.

Sitting alongside Moon at a White House meeting Friday, Trump echoed his frequent complaint that the current agreement with the U.S. ally has been "rough."

"We are renegotiating a trade deal right now with South Korea, and hopefully it will be an equitable deal. It will be a fair deal for both parties. It's been a rough deal for the U.S., but I think that it will be much different and will be good for both parties."

Trump has complained that the U.S. and South Korea have a "one-sided" and "horrible" trade agreement. Since the deal went into effect in 2012, the U.S. trade deficit with Seoul has doubled.

Trade is just one of the potential areas for disagreement that could come up between Trump and Moon.

The two leaders also differ on how to handle North Korea, with Trump preferring maximum diplomatic pressure and Moon preferring engagement with Pyongyang.

Trump said the two leaders "accomplished a lot" on North Korea. "We're also in the process of discussing our frankly many options," Trump said. "We have many options with respect to North Korea.

For his part, Moon said he had "very honest discussions" with Trump about North Korean nuclear issue and "other issues of mutual interest."

Moon is seeking to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to pause his nuclear and missile programs in exchange for restarting talks, which would eventually lead to a complete disarmament.

It isn't clear whether the Trump administration is open to such an approach, or whether Kim would even agree to it. The government in Pyongyang says it considers its weapons programs essential to its survival.

Trump and Moon were also expected to discuss Seoul's deployment of the THAAD U.S. anti-ballistic missile system. After taking office, Moon paused the deployment, pending an environmental review, angering Washington.

That will be part of a wider discussion on U.S.-South Korea defense cooperation. The U.S. has over 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Moon has criticized some aspects of that cooperation, and wants to shift operational command of the South Korean military to Seoul.

Trump has also complained about the defense relationship. During the campaign, he regularly said that South Korea and other U.S. allies aren't paying enough for defense protection from the U.S.

However, both sides have indicated those disagreements will not surface publicly this week. Trump on Friday called the relationship "very, very strong." Moon said the visit has provided a chance to "reaffirm that the U.S. and Korea are walking on the same path towards a great alliance."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Working on 'Equitable' Trade Deal, Welcomes South Korea's Moon : http://ift.tt/2txVqA9

Obama Makes Nostalgic Trip to His Indonesia Childhood Home

BOGOR, INDONESIA — 

Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his family arrived Friday in his childhood home of Jakarta on the last leg of a 10-day vacation in Indonesia, where they visited ancient temples and went whitewater rafting.

Local television news channels broadcast live coverage of the family's arrival in the capital.

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo later met Obama at the Bogor Palace in West Java. The grand Dutch colonial building about 55 kilometers (35 miles) south of Jakarta is famous for its botanical gardens and a herd of spotted deer that roam the grounds.

The two jumped into a golf cart with Jokowi at the wheel and headed off to a cafe nestled inside the lush gardens. Many Indonesians have drawn comparisons between Jokowi and Obama, who were both highly popular during their election campaigns.

After Obama became president, many here viewed him as a native son and saw him as a symbol of hope and religious tolerance because of his years living in the world's most populous Muslim country.

A statue of the boy still remembered as "Barry" by childhood friends was erected outside the elementary school he once attended in the capital's upscale, leafy neighborhood of Menteng.

"This is the last opportunity for us to meet with Barry, our childhood friend who has made us so proud," said Widianto Cahyono, who sat next to Obama in the fourth grade and is hopeful the former president will visit his old neighborhood. "We have long waited for a reunion with him."

Obama also retains a soft spot for Indonesia, where he lived from age 6 to 10. He moved to Jakarta in 1967 after his mother split up with his father and remarried an Indonesian man. They had his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who is traveling with the family.

After her second marriage failed, Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, stayed on in Indonesia and Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents.

During a 2010 presidential visit, he delighted onlookers by proclaiming in Bahasa Indonesia that bakso, a savory meatball soup, and nasi goreng, flavorful fried rice, are delicious. They are two of the country's signature dishes.

Prior to arriving in Jakarta, Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia visited the resort island of Bali where they stayed in the tranquil mountain enclave of Ubud, touring sweeping terraced rice paddies and rafting the Ayung river. They then traveled to the island of Java to the historic city of Yogyakarta, where Obama's mother did anthropology research. They visited Borobudur, a ninth century Buddhist temple complex, as well as the ancient Prambanan Hindu temple compound.

Obama is scheduled to speak at an Indonesian Diaspora Congress in Jakarta on Saturday.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Obama Makes Nostalgic Trip to His Indonesia Childhood Home : http://ift.tt/2sp9njH

Myanmar to Bar UN Human Rights Investigators from Entering

YANGON, MYANMAR — 

Myanmar's government says it will instruct its embassies around the world to bar members of a U.N.-approved fact-finding mission from entering the country to investigate alleged human rights violations by security forces against the Muslim Rohingya minority and other groups.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Tin said Thursday in parliament that the government will not cooperate with the mission, reiterating the position taken by the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, that its work would be counterproductive.

The U.N. Human Rights Council approved the mission in March in response to international pressure after Myanmar's army was accused of human right abuses in the course of counterinsurgency operations in Rohingya areas of the country's western state of Rakhine. Predominantly Buddhist Myanmar denies the Rohingya population many civil rights.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Myanmar to Bar UN Human Rights Investigators from Entering : http://ift.tt/2txRvUg

Nobel Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo's Case Casts Shadow Over Hong Kong Anniversary

News earlier this week that jailed Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer is casting a shadow over the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China from British rule. Some see a striking similarity between Liu's plight and concerns about China's tightening grip over the port city's affairs. VOA's Bill Ide has this report from Hong Kong.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Nobel Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo's Case Casts Shadow Over Hong Kong Anniversary : http://ift.tt/2u6DkCD

China Applies Brakes on Live Streaming

Chinese censors have taken the unprecedented step of shutting down three major live streaming services, including one owned by Sina Weibo, the Twitter-like social media giant with 300 million users in both text and video format.

The action came ahead of a major Communist Party meeting that will have some significant changes in top leadership positions later this year. But media experts said the reason for this decision may be much bigger than the immediate political need and include the party's concerns about videos proving to be a stronger social media voice than text.

More bandwidth has given people more access to video, said Nick Admussen, Cornell University's assistant professor of Chinese literature. "I understand why they [Chinese officials] feel that this is something that they need to manage because more people are using it, and videos can travel more quickly,” he said.

Two other companies affected by the latest round of restrictions include Phoenix Television’s ifeng.com and AcFun, who were ordered to undergo rectification and help create a cleaner cyberspace.

Explaining the reason behind the shutdown, the government said the video platforms were operating without licenses and showing content that violated the standards laid down by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

"It is not uncommon in China for companies to violate rules that they don’t think will be enforced and be able to get away with it for a long time," said Scott Kennedy, Director, Project on Chinese Business & Political Economy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

"{A] Lot of it is about actual inappropriate sexual content, not inappropriate political content. What basically they are looking at is content and looking for people who are behaving like television stations even though they are not," said Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China, a Beijing based consultancy.

Media control

All television, radio and newspaper media is state controlled in China. But a section of live streaming platforms, which are run independently, had began to rob state TV of a big chunk of audience both because they reported real time events without waiting for clearances from high officials and they showed salacious and sexually provocative content. Authorities have a reason to fear they might emerge as independent TV far beyond government control even if they did not show much political news, analysts said.

Users of Chinese live streaming facilities constitute a virtual world of 325 million people. A significant number of people make videos, mostly with their phone cameras recording real life events or organizing special shoots before uploading them to some 200 portals.

The government decision still leaves a large section of live streaming services operational. They include major players like Huya, Panda.tv, Yinke, YY Live, Douyu and Huajiao. But Beijing's move will force these platforms, which often test the patience of censors with sexually and otherwise provocative content, to tone down their programming and cut out political discussion, analysts said.

This will likely mean a smaller audience seeking and running after TRPs resulting in the business death spiral for several platforms, analyst said. One such portal, Guangquan, which was once valued at $70 million, collapsed recently because of intense competition and high operating costs.

What went wrong

Industry watchers are debating how social media companies, which are known to be closely connected to the Communist party, went wrong and ended up being on the other side of the red line.

"I do think they are connected pretty deeply with the State, and that doesn't mean you can't have a squabble inside the family or different sides. It probably means that the authority will win out in one way or the other," Admussen said.

He said clearly, the government felt these companies were not doing enough to comply with government standards. "Media should have the surname of the party. They are just one family," Admussen said.

But the government may also lose quite a lot if it curtails the freedom of live streaming companies and social media outlets like WeChat and Weibo beyond a certain extent. Social media has become the eyes and ears of the authorities, telling them what is going on in this giant sized country, analyst said.

"Authorities also rely on WeChat and Weibo to take the pulse of public opinion on hot-button issues, and they can’t do that if they totally kill off the platforms’ liveliness and drive away users," said Christopher Cairns, a scholar at Cornell University.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More China Applies Brakes on Live Streaming : http://ift.tt/2tx64Hv

Thailand, China to Sign $5 Billion Rail Infrastructure Agreement

BANGKOK — 

In a major boost to Thailand's transportation infrastructure, the military government is set to sign a more than $5 billion agreement with China for a high-speed rail network.

The first stage of the rail, the 252 kilometers from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, is a key step in a line that, once complete, will stretch more than 1,260 kilometers to Kunming, in China's Yunnan province. The next stages will reach the Thai border with Laos.

Analysts see the rail line as an extension of China's One Belt, One Road initiative, expanding regional trade and investment. The project also highlights China's growing regional influence.

The agreement, expected to be signed in July, follows almost two years of delays in negotiations, with final details of the contract still to be made public.

The deal has also raised widespread criticism of the government's use of powerful clauses in an interim charter.

Economic boost for Thailand

Economists say investment in Thailand's rail infrastructure needs to be a priority.

Pavida Pananond, an associate professor of business studies at Thammasat University, said general improvements to Thailand's transportation network are welcome.

Several other countries, including Japan and South Korea, have put forward transportation plans and proposals for rail systems in recent years.

"It's good for Thailand and it's good for Thai business. I would say a clear 'yes' because Thailand is in dire need of better infrastructure, especially with regard to transport," Pavida said.

Thailand, she said, faces high transportation logistics costs due to a reliance on roads.

Talks surrounding the Sino-Thai rail agreement have been bogged down for over two years due to disputes over land access to China, debate over interest charges on loans from Chinese banks, and the eligibility of Chinese engineers and architects to work on the project.

Professor of economics Somphob Manarangsan said the rail project offers the region significant economic potential and a boost in Chinese foreign direct investment.

He said Thailand is also looking to China to invest in the government-backed Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) that is targeting regional foreign investment.

"Thailand wants them [China] to move their regional supply chain outside of China to the mainland of ASEAN [Association of South East Asian Nations] area, which has Thailand at the hub, connecting to CLMV [Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam]," he told VOA.

The rail network includes a 410-kilometer section through Laos, in which China is contributing 70 percent of the total $5.8 billion cost. Laos sees the rail line as vital to enable it to export goods to the Thai seaport of Laem Chabang, near Bangkok.

Special powers raise concern

But the project has come under increasing criticism in Thailand after the military government, in power since May 2014, insisted on using powers under Section 44 of the interim charter that give the government absolute authority in policy application.

The government claims the use of the special power was to ensure Chinese investment, expertise, technology and equipment.

Former army chief and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told local media the use of the charter powers was to clear legal hurdles in the Thai-Sino rail project, "not a special favor to China but to Thailand's benefit."

But the use of the laws was challenged by organizations of Thai professional engineers and architects who said Chinese engineers were not registered to work in Thailand.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, in a commentary, said Thailand should press for open bidding on the project to ensure the country ended up with the "best bid with the best value."

"Instead, opting for the Chinese plan is poised to violate a slew of Thai laws and undermine the government's own good governance agenda," Thitinan said.

Besides exemptions to Chinese engineers and architects working on the project, the charter articles also exempt state procurement laws and environmental regulations covering forest reserves, which will be set aside for the line's construction.

Thammasat University's Pavida said other concerns include levels of transparency on the agreement.

"People don't know the details. People haven't seen much information on the potential benefit, and partly, this is because the feasibility study has been done by the Chinese," she said.

"So, if you look at that and the Chinese try to sell their technology and then we let them do the feasibility study, so they would say, 'yes, it is feasible.' So that's one of the reasons why people do not have trust in the rush into this," she said.

Analysts said the government's push to sign an agreement comes as Thai's Prayut is due to visit China in September to attend meetings of the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — forum in Xiamen.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Thailand, China to Sign $5 Billion Rail Infrastructure Agreement : http://ift.tt/2s9iwJk

Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion

WASHINGTON — 

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, is in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump. The meeting could reveal disagreements over issues including trade, defense ties, and how to handle North Korea.

During the campaign, Trump regularly accused Seoul of ripping off the U.S. on trade and threatened to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea.

"We pay for South Korea, 28,000 soldiers on the line, and we pay," Trump declared.

At one point, Trump suggested he'd have North Korean leader Kim Jong Un assassinated, a threat he's since walked back.

More recently, Trump has said he would be willing to meet Kim face-to-face, under the right circumstances.

Still, his approach to the North stands in stark contrast to that of Moon, a liberal human rights lawyer who advocates engagement with Pyongyang. But the two leaders' strategies aren't as contradictory as they may seem, according to Gary Samore, an Obama White House official, who spoke to VOA via Skype.

"Trump has said many different things about North Korea, but I think the overall strategy is pressure to create conditions for engagement," Samore said. "And that's something that President Moon has actually endorsed."

Disagreements could also arise over the deployment of the THAAD U.S. anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea. Moon paused the deployment, pending an environmental review, a move that angered Washington.

But those disagreements won't necessarily surface publicly this week cautions Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation, who also spoke to VOA via Skype.

"Since their election, both presidents seem to have taken a great deal of care to send reassurances, either directly or through senior envoys, so I think both presidents are going to be trying to put their best face forward on this summit," Klingner said.

A senior White House official this week said the THAAD deployment will be discussed as what he called a "routine point of housekeeping", but stressed, overall, he expects the talks to be "frank" but "friendly."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion : http://ift.tt/2t8g4Up

Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, is in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump. The meeting could reveal disagreements over issues including trade, defense ties, and how to handle North Korea, as VOA's Bill Gallo reports. Read More Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion : http://ift.tt/2t8DZTG

China: US Arms Sale to Taiwan is 'Wrong Move'

China has expressed its displeasure with the U.S. sale of $1.4 billion in arms to Taiwan.

Beijing wants Washington to revoke the sale, labeling the transaction a "wrong move."

The Chinese embassy in Washington said, "The wrong move of the U.S. side runs counter to the consensus reached by the two presidents in Mar-a-Lago and the positive development momentum of the China-U.S. relationship."

The Trump administration informed Congress about the sale Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

China considers self-governing Taiwan as its territory.

"Taiwan is an indispensable part of China's territory and we firmly oppose this arms sale to Taiwan,'' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing.

The sale comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.

Nauert said the sale would not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs U.S. contacts with the island.

"It shows, we believe, our support for Taiwan's ability to maintain a sufficient self-defense policy,'' Nauert said. "There's no change, I should point out, to our 'one-China policy.'''

The last U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, worth $1.8 billion, was announced in December 2015. China objected strongly, but it did not notably set back U.S.-China relations and military ties.

Since then, however, Taiwan has further antagonized Beijing by electing a leader from an independence-leaning party, Tsai Ing-wen.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More China: US Arms Sale to Taiwan is 'Wrong Move' : http://ift.tt/2txxAVc

India to Rollout Momentous Tax Reform, But Many Fear Rocky Transition

NEW DELHI — 

India is set to rollout a momentous tax reform at midnight Friday that will transform the country of 1.3 billion people into a single market.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will replace an entanglement of more than a dozen confusing levies with a single tax and bring down barriers between states.

But the transition is bringing upheaval. The new tax has sparked strikes, protests and concerns it could disrupt many businesses unprepared for a leap into the digital economy.

In markets across the country, confusion and chaos prevail among millions of small shopkeepers and traders, who have for decades maintained records in dusty ledgers and issued paper receipts to customers. Some are hurriedly investing in computers as new rules require all but the smallest businesses to submit online taxes every month.

Calculator to computer

Suresh Kumar, who runs a family owned store in a bustling neighborhood market in New Delhi, has never operated a computer and does not have an Internet connection in his shop. His customers mostly pay in cash and a calculator on his counter is the only modern gadget he has used since he opened this shop 47 years ago.

“How will I pay the salary of an accountant? I can barely cover the costs of these three men who help me,” Kumar said, pointing out that stores like his run on wafer-thin profit margins to stay in business.

The archaic accounting systems that were the method of operation of thousands of shops and traders also kept them out of the formal economy.

But as GST draws them into the tax net, government revenues are expected to get a huge boost in a country where tax compliance has been very low.

​Growing pains

The government agrees there will be growing pains due to the scale of the task ahead but points to long-term advantages. Over time, the new tax is expected to add about 2 percent to gross domestic output and vastly improve business efficiencies in the world’s fastest growing economy.

Economists say the GST will be a benefit for manufacturers, because it will free up domestic trade by cutting through a gigantic bureaucracy that involved a myriad of tax inspectors and checkpoints at state borders.

At the moment, trucks transporting goods lose an estimated 60 percent of transit time as they wait at state borders. Paying bribes was a fact of life accepted by businesses.

The tax will also make India’s $2 trillion economy more attractive to investors as it makes the economy more transparent.

More time needed

But in recent weeks many businesses have called for a postponement of the July 1 rollout, saying they did not get enough time to prepare.

K.E. Raghunathan, president of the All India Manufacturers Organization, said businesses need more time to adjust.

“The way it is being implemented, it is bound to create lots of chaotic conditions,” he said.

Underlining concerns of millions of small and medium manufacturers, he said, “they neither have the wherewithal to understand the sudden implementation and if they approach chartered accountants or consultants, it costs lots of money.”

A big concern is that the GST being rolled out by India is far more complex than that introduced by other countries where a single rate prevails. There will be four layers of taxation with rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

Manufacturers and traders complain the different levels are creating confusion.

More than 50,000 textile traders went on strike this week. Thousands of other traders shut businesses Friday.

Many big and small retailers worried about the switchover have been offering massive discount sales across the country to get rid of their inventories.

Government pushes ahead

But the government has brushed aside concerns about businesses not being prepared for the switchover.

“If he is still not ready, then I am afraid he does not want to be ready,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently as he rejected calls for a delay of the rollout.

Businesses say the tax rollout is the second disruption they have faced, coming months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s radical move to scrap 86 percent of the country’s currency, which slowed the economy.

As customers pour into his shop to buy stationery and other items, New Delhi shopkeeper Vimal Jain wonders whether he will handle customers or enter transactions in a computer starting Saturday.

“Now this is another headache,” he said. “We had barely begun to recover from demonetization and now this sword hangs over our head.”

The tax will be ushered in at a grand midnight ceremony in parliament, but even that has become contentious. Calling it a “publicity stunt,” the main opposition Congress Party and several other parties have said they will boycott the special session.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More India to Rollout Momentous Tax Reform, But Many Fear Rocky Transition : http://ift.tt/2uqyC1P

Former TEPCO Bosses on Trial for Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

A Japanese court has begun a trial of three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. All three have pleaded not guilty in connection with the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying they could not have predicted the enormous tsunami that flooded the plant.

“I apologize for the tremendous trouble to the residents in the area and around the country because of the serious accident that caused the release of radioactive materials,” said Tsunehisa Katsumata, former chairmen of TEPCO. He added, however, “I believe I don’t have a criminal responsibility in the case.”

If convicted, Katsumata and former vice presidents Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro face up to five years in prison and a fine up to $9,000.

The charges against the executives are linked to the deaths of 40 hospital patients who were evacuated from the Fukushima area and later died.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami killed 20,000 people in northeastern Japan. Not only did the disaster trigger the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima power plant, it also reignited debate about the risks of nuclear energy.

Communities around the plant, and even those hundreds of kilometers away, were evacuated. Some areas remain uninhabitable.

Ruiko Muto, the leader of a group that urged officials to take the executives to trial, told the French news agency that since the nuclear accident, “nobody has been held responsible, nor has it been made clear why it happened.”

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Former TEPCO Bosses on Trial for Fukushima Nuclear Disaster : http://ift.tt/2stkfbw

Deaths in Pakistan Push Tanker Fire Toll to 190

MULTAN, PAKISTAN — 

A Pakistani government official says the death toll from a massive fuel truck fire earlier this week has climbed to 190, after 17 more people died in hospital from severe burns.

Rao Taslim Ahmad, a deputy commissioner in the city of Bahawalpur in central Pakistan, says some of the victims who were rushed to hospitals following the blaze were still in critical condition Friday.

The disaster struck early Sunday outside Bahawalpur when the driver of the oil tanker, which was en route from the southern port city of Karachi to Lahore, lost control and crashed on a highway.

The fuel ignited when villagers rushed to the scene to collect the spilled oil, ignoring warnings from police.

Pakistan held a collective funeral for 130 of the victims Tuesday.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Deaths in Pakistan Push Tanker Fire Toll to 190 : http://ift.tt/2snLt8f

Chinese Military Might on Display in Hong Kong for Xi

HONG KONG — 

President Xi Jinping inspected troops based in Hong Kong Friday as he asserts Chinese authority over the former British colony China took control of 20 years ago.

Xi rode in an open-top jeep past rows of soldiers lined up on an airstrip on his visit to the People’s Liberation Army garrison. He called out “Salute all the comrades” and “Salute to your dedication” as he rode by 3,100 soldiers arranged in 20 formations.

Armored personnel carriers, combat vehicles, helicopters and other pieces of military hardware were arrayed behind the troops.

It was a rare display of the Chinese military’s might in Hong Kong, where it normally maintains a low-key presence.

Xi, who’s also chairman of the Central Military Commission, wore a buttoned-up black jacket in the steamy heat during his 10-minute review of the troops at the Shek Kong base in Hong Kong’s suburban New Territories. It’s part of a visit to mark the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, when Britain gave up control of the Asian financial hub to China on July 1, 1997.

Lam inaugural Saturday

Hong Kong was granted the freedom to run most of its affairs after it came under China’s control under the “one country, two systems” principle. However, Beijing is in charge of the city’s defense and foreign affairs and the troops based in the city are deployed from the mainland.

The Chinese military has its headquarters in a former British base downtown and has other installations around the city but troops are typically confined to base.

Xi’s three-day visit to mark the anniversary includes presiding at the inauguration of the city’s new leader, Carrie Lam, Saturday.

Protesters released

Security has been tight for his visit as authorities brace for protests.

Some 26 people, including young activist leader Joshua Wong, have been released on bail after being arrested for protesting Wednesday. The department said Friday the activists have not been charged but are required to report back to police in September.

The activists, some of whom were detained more than 30 hours, had climbed onto a giant flower sculpture that was a gift from Beijing and is near the hotel complex where Xi is staying.

Pro-democracy supporters fear Beijing is tightening its grip on Hong Kong and undermining guarantees of wide autonomy under “one country, two systems.” U.S. officials said they were concerned that China’s communist leaders weren’t sticking to their promises.

“Looking ahead to the remaining 30 years of ‘one country, two systems,’ we cannot allow Hong Kong to go the way of Beijing’s failed authoritarianism,” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Chinese Military Might on Display in Hong Kong for Xi : http://ift.tt/2snEmwy

Historians Still Uncovering Details of 150-Year-Old Chinese Strike

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA — 

One hundred fifty years ago, an event occurred that became a part of American history still studied by academics today: Countless Chinese railroad workers for the Central Pacific Railroad stopped going to work.

“It’s significant because this was the first major strike that any Chinese group ever did. There were earlier strikes, but this was a major one, which involved 2,000 Chinese who struck for one week,” said Chinese-American historian SueFawn Chung, who is professor emerita of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Railroad work

Chung recently discovered an old newspaper article that gave a description of an explosion two days before the start of the strike, which may have sparked it.

“The Chinese were working on the railroad and it was very dangerous,” Chung said. “There were explosions. There were accidents. There were deaths all around. This particular one was so horrific that the Chinese had to pick up the body parts of horses and white supervisors and other fellow Chinese people.”

The Chinese workers wanted more pay, shorter working hours and better working conditions. While historians have long thought the workers did not receive what they wanted and returned to work, after not receiving food from their bosses for a week, Chung made a new connection in another newspaper article.

“But a month later, they got their, at least their wage increase that they wanted from $35 to $40 a month. It was sort of the Chinese system of ‘save face.’ ‘OK, we’ll let you save face by saying we didn’t accomplish anything, but you’ll give us the $5 increase a month, and we will have won,’ but of course no one publicized the fact that they got the $5 a month increase.”

Watch: Historians Uncovering Details of 150-Year-Old Chinese Strike

Family histories

As historians look for new details about the Chinese railroad workers, descendants also have been doing their own digging into the past.

One of the descendants of a railroad worker is San Diego physician Russell Low, who believes his great-grandfather, Lai Wah Huang, and Huang’s brother, Jick Wah, took part in the strike. Like most of the Chinese railroad workers, Low’s ancestors came to the U.S. from China’s Guangdong province and helped build the railroad that would link the western part of the United States to the East.

“My family took part in the building, not only of the West, but really the building of America. That railroad that he helped to build really united our country, and it was probably one of the most important achievements for America in the 19th century and we took part in that,” Low said.

Low said Jick Wah Huang lost an eye in a blasting accident. After building the railroad, he went to Montana and opened a dry goods store. Low’s great-grandfather, Lai Wah Huang, became successful in the cigar industry in San Francisco. He met and married Tom Ying at a time when Chinese women were rare in the United States.

“She was brought here as a child slave. She came to this country when she was 9 years of age, and she was forced to work in servitude as a slave for a very rich family,” said Low, who described how his great-grandmother was treated badly before escaping her servitude. She and her husband had five children.

“So you went from a railroad worker and a slave girl to the first Chinese graduating from UC Berkley,” said Low of one of his granduncles.

​Numerous descendants

The descendants of Huang number 100. They include war heroes, such as Low’s father, who received a Silver Star for his actions in the World War II.

“If you think about what binds these railroad worker descendants together, and we’ve all met each other, I think it’s this courage of the ancestors,” Low said. “These young men who built that railroad had the right stuff, a determination where they never quit … you had to adapt. They knew how to learn so they could bend like a supple willow tree and never break.”

Low said these characteristics have been passed down through the generations as the legacy of the railroad workers who left their homes for the unknown in hopes of a better life.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Historians Still Uncovering Details of 150-Year-Old Chinese Strike : http://ift.tt/2tssetN

Ambitious Cambodian Dance Troupe Honors Artistic Traditions in New Ways

WASHINGTON — 

Prumsodun Ok, a Cambodian-American born to refugee parents, knew he wanted to be an “apsara” dancer from the age of 4, when he was entranced by a performance captured on one of his family’s home movies.

No matter that the dance dated back to the seventh century, or that traditionally apsaras were beautiful, heaven-born females, destined to entertain gods and kings at the Angkor temples in the ancient Khmer Empire, modern-day Cambodia. Ok focused on the stylized grace of the dancing and thought little about the fact that the dancers were women, because he was a kid and he had a dream.

But he put that on hold for 12 years.

Growing up in Long Beach, California, home to 20,000 Khmer immigrants, Ok was bullied because he was “different.” He recalls being branded as gay and “kteu” — Thai or Cambodian slang for someone who is born male but acts or looks female — when he was 5. That name calling led him to self-identify as gay in his teens.

“I don’t know when I knew,” Ok said about realizing that he was gay, “but I can say that I only became comfortable in my latter years of high school. This is me, this is who I am, and no one can change that or take that away from me.”

That was about the time when, after years of watching his younger sister practice traditional Khmer dances, that he found the courage to approach her dance master.

A rising star among dance students

“I really love dance. Can you please teach me?” Ok pleaded, and Sophiline Cheam Shapiro agreed. Teenager Ok quickly became a rising star at her Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach, which is affiliated with an arts ensemble in Cambodia.

The school, founded by Shapiro, teaches traditional arts to Cambodian-Americans. Shapiro was one of the first graduates from Phnom Penh’s School of Fine Arts after the fall of the Pol Pot regime and is revered as one of Cambodia’s leading contemporary dance choreographers.

In 2015, Ok, now 30, moved to Cambodia and established Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA, the country’s first gay dance company. Male dancers ages 18 to 24 fill roles traditionally performed by women. The troupe stages Khmer classical dances as well as new works that Ok creates.

“What I’m doing is drawing from our traditions and using these traditions in ways that people could never imagine to create a more inclusive and compassionate and just Cambodia,” he said.

Coming from “a long tradition of people who are in the service of society ... of humanity,” Ok said he has learned “that service is not just about being comfortable: those who are comfortable are not always necessarily right.”

Cambodian society’s tolerance

Srun Srorn, 36, the founder of CamASEAN and a human rights activist, told VOA Khmer that while the majority of LGBTQ Cambodians are marginalized and discriminated against, society is more tolerant of their role in the arts.

Ok’s group “is more professional, so I think it will bring the positive [response] from the community,” Srorn said. “So far, this part of the art — performing — is not getting any negative reaction from the public.

Ok says his role as a teacher of dance goes beyond the classroom.

“Getting them to learn how to see, getting them to have the courage to ask questions, getting them to have the bravery to explore things on their own,” he said. “Those are the most essential things that a teacher of any art form, or discipline or medium, needs to inspire in their students.”

Choung Veasna, 19, of Phnom Penh, says Ok gave him confidence: “I’ve learned from my teacher that no matter what people say about you, it doesn’t matter.”

Tes Sokhon, 24, from Pailin province, the oldest dancer in the group, says his teacher is inspiring.

“He’s more than my idol,” Sokhon said. “He’s the first teacher to train me in classical dance. He provides us with income and makes our lives better.”

​‘Combination of beauty and tradition’

The troupe’s passion for classical Khmer dance has not gone unnoticed.

Craig Dodge, director of sales and marketing at Phare, the Cambodian Circus performance troupe in Siem Reap, said: “When I watched the video on their homepage and heard the young men talk about what performing has meant to them, their identity and their self-esteem, it made me cry.”

Courtesy Prumsodun Ok and NATYARSA

Dodge worked with Ok to make the troupe’s Siem Reap debut in Cambodia’s artistic center a reality, by tapping into the city’s strong sense of community, which he describes as “the perfect place for nurturing and presenting traditional and new Cambodian creative expression.”

Resident Darryl Collins, an art historian, is providing the venue without charge because “the combination of beautiful and traditional 100-year-old Khmer houses with an elegant contemporary form of classical dance seemed an exciting collaboration.”

Other Siem Reap businesses are pitching in with free accommodations, transportation, security and are helping stage the performances July 14 and 15.

Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA is scheduled to perform three dances: PRUM x POP, ranging from Khmer classical dance to pop music; Beloved, which explores a 13th century Khmer king’s love for his land; and Robam Santhyea Vehea, a tale of love and marriage of two men.

Ok hopes an open-minded audience will see the performance as a measure of how LGBTQ people can create art in their communities.

“I want the company to be a model for compassion, for bravery, for beauty,” he said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Ambitious Cambodian Dance Troupe Honors Artistic Traditions in New Ways : http://ift.tt/2tvD17a

Pell Charges Bring Abuse Scandal to Pope’s Inner Circle

VATICAN CITY/SYDNEY — 

A top adviser to Pope Francis was charged with multiple historical sex crimes in his native Australia on Thursday, bringing a worldwide abuse scandal to the heart of the Vatican.

Appointed Vatican economy minister by Francis, Cardinal George Pell is the highest-ranking Church official to face such accusations. He asserted his innocence and said the pontiff had given him leave of absence to return to Australia to defend himself.

“I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I repeat that I am innocent of these charges. They are false,” the 76-year-old told a news conference at the Vatican. “The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”

Pell’s high-profile departure, even if temporary, puts pressure on a pontiff who has made compassion for the vulnerable his watchword, and has declared zero tolerance for a child abuse scandal that has beset the Church for decades, but has struggled to overcome resistance in the Church hierarchy and clergy.

Pell was hand-picked by Francis to sit on a panel of nine cardinal-advisers to give a greater voice to the Church’s global flock, and to reform the Vatican’s opaque finances.

But Pell, a former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, had come under pressure from an Australian government commission on institutional child abuse, and had himself been under investigation for at least a year.

On Thursday, police in the Australian state of Victoria, where Pell was a country priest in the 1970s, said he faced “multiple charges in respect of historical sexual offenses” from multiple complainants.

They did not detail the charges or specify the ages of the alleged victims or the period when the crimes were alleged to have occurred.

He was originally ordered to appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on July 18, but that date has been pushed back to July 26. Australian police declined to say why the court date was changed.

Pell, who declined to take questions, decried a “relentless character assassination” by the media and said he wanted to “clear my name and then return to my work in Rome.”

Victims angered

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Pell would not appear in public Church services for the time being.

Pell told the Australian inquiry last year that the Church had made “catastrophic” choices by refusing to believe abused children, shuffling abusive priests from parish to parish, and relying too heavily on the counsel of priests to solve the problem.

But he angered victims by saying he was too ill to fly home, testifying instead from Rome.

He indicated Thursday that he would now go to Australia.

“I have spoken to my lawyers about when I need to return home and to my doctors about how best to do this,” Pell said.

Francis said last year Pell should not undergo trial by media.

“It’s in the hands of the justice system and one cannot judge before the justice system. ... After the justice system speaks, I will speak,” the pontiff said.

The indictment of such a close adviser raised questions about Francis’ choice of personnel and his ability finally to root out the sexual abuse that had been tolerated or ignored in the Church for decades, and act against those who covered it up.

Marie Collins, the top nonclerical member of the commission on abuse that Francis established in 2014, and its last remaining victim of priestly abuse, quit in frustration in March, citing a “shameful” lack of cooperation within the Vatican.

She said the Vatican administration had even ignored a specific request from the pope that all correspondence from abuse victims should receive a response.

“The long, aching scandal that stained the previous two popes — Vatican passivity to clergy abuse cases — is the swamp Pope Francis faces,” said Jason Berry, author of “Lead Us Not Into Temptation,” a book about sexual abuse in the Church.

“Unless the pope engineers systemic change, the crisis will get worse,” Berry told Reuters.

Francis was impressed by Pell when they met in 2013. In meetings among cardinals before the conclave that elected Francis pope that year, the former Australian Rules football player stood out not only for his height and broad shoulders but also for his command of financial matters.

After becoming pope, Francis, hoping to put an end to Vatican financial scandals, moved Pell to Rome to head a new ministry, the Secretariat for the Economy.

After initially giving Pell sweeping powers, the pontiff later clipped his wings when other departments accused him of an overbearing manner and of being condescending to the Italian-dominated Curia, the Church’s central administration.

Thousands of victims

Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002, when it was discovered that U.S. bishops in the Boston area had simply moved abusers to new posts instead of defrocking them.

Thousands of cases have come to light around the world as investigations have encouraged long-silent victims to go public, shattering the Church’s reputation in places such as Ireland, and more than $2 billion has been paid in compensation.

Under previous popes, the Vatican, a sovereign state in the middle of Rome, sheltered officials wanted by other countries.

In the early 1980s, the Vatican refused an Italian request to hand over Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, an American who was then head of the Vatican bank and was wanted for questioning about the fraudulent bankruptcy of a private Italian bank.

Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston moved to Rome after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in his diocese, and has been living in the Italian capital for more than 15 years.

Victims’ groups were outraged when Law, now 85 and retired, was given a plum job as chief priest at a Rome basilica by the late Pope John Paul II.

However, Francis was tough in the case of Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop who was accused of paying for sex with minors while serving as papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic.

Wesolowski was recalled in 2013, defrocked and arrested in the Vatican in 2014, but died shortly before his trial was to start in 2015.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Pell Charges Bring Abuse Scandal to Pope’s Inner Circle : http://ift.tt/2tqfLad

Think Tank: China Builds New Military Facilities on South China Sea Islands

China has built new military facilities on islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank reported Thursday, a move that could raise tensions with Washington, which has accused Beijing of militarizing the vital waterway.

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said new satellite images show missile shelters and radar and communications facilities being built on the Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islands.

The United States has criticized China's buildup of military facilities on the artificial islands and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement through the South China Sea, an important trade route.

Last month, a U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in a so-called freedom of navigation operation, the first such challenge to Beijing's claim to most of the waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

China has denied U.S. charges that it is militarizing the sea, which also is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Trump has sought China's help in reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, and tension between Washington and Beijing over military installations in the South China Sea could complicate those efforts.

China has built four new missile shelters on Fiery Cross Reef to go with the eight already on the artificial island, AMTI said. Mischief and Subi each have eight shelters, the think tank said in a previous report.

In February, Reuters reported that China had nearly finished building structures to house long-range surface-to-air missiles on the three islands.

On Mischief Reef, a very large antennae array is being installed that presumably boosts Beijing's ability to monitor the surroundings, the think tank said, adding that the installation should be of concern to the Philippines due to its proximity to an area claimed by Manila.

A large dome recently was installed on Fiery Cross and another is under construction, indicating a sizeable communications or radar system, AMTI said. Two more domes are being built at Mischief Reef, it said.

A smaller dome has been installed near the missile shelters on Mischief, "indicating that it could be connected to radars for any missile systems that might be housed there," AMTI said.

"Beijing can now deploy military assets, including combat aircraft and mobile missile launchers, to the Spratly Islands at any time," it said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Think Tank: China Builds New Military Facilities on South China Sea Islands : http://ift.tt/2trW6qc

US Blacklists Chinese Bank It Says Has Been Funding N. Korean Weapons Development

WASHINGTON — 

The United States blacklisted a small Chinese bank on Thursday, accusing it of laundering money to boost North Korea's nuclear weapons development.

The U.S. Treasury Department called the Bank of Dandong a “primary money-laundering concern” and proposed removing it from the U.S. financial system after a 60-day review period.

In addition, the U.S. slapped sanctions on a Chinese shipping company, the Dalian Global Unity Shipping Company Ltd., and two Chinese nationals, Sun Wei and Li Hong Ri, it said had facilitated illegal activities in North Korea.

Treasury chief Steve Mnuchin said at a White House briefing that the action was chiefly aimed at the bank, not at the Chinese government. President Donald Trump has sought to push Chinese President Xi Jinping to rein in Pyongyang's military ambitions, although Trump last week said in a Twitter comment that while he appreciated Beijing's efforts, “it has not worked out.”

Mnuchin said in a statement, “The United States is sending an emphatic message across the globe that we will not hesitate to take action against persons, companies and financial institutions who enable (the North Korean) regime.”

Mnuchin, while not spelling out the details, told reporters that the U.S. had “specific intelligence” about the activities of the bank. The financial conduit is located in Dandong — a northeastern Chinese city on the North Korean border — that is a gateway for trade with the isolated communist country, much of whose financial support comes from China.

“We will follow the money and cut off the money,” Mnuchin said. “We will cut off the money to North Korea until they behave properly.”

The United States, and much of the world, has condemned North Korea's repeated violations of United Nations edicts to halt its test missile launches and nuclear weapons tests. But renewed sanctions have failed to stop Pyongyang's weapons development.

Mnuchin's announcement came hours before Trump was set to meet new South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House to discuss security on the Korean Peninsula and the threat that North Korea poses.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More US Blacklists Chinese Bank It Says Has Been Funding N. Korean Weapons Development : http://ift.tt/2tq7Dqn

US Approves First Arms Sale to Taiwan Under Trump

The State Department has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth a total of $1.4 billion, the first such deal with the self-governing island since President Donald Trump took office, officials said Thursday.

The sale will anger China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. It comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.

The sale to Taiwan comprises seven items, including technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles, according to a U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss the details before they were formally announced.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration had notified Congress of its intent to approve seven proposed deals now valued at around $1.42 billion. Nauert said the approvals did not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs U.S. contacts with the island.

"It shows, we believe, our support for Taiwan's ability to maintain a sufficient self-defense policy," Nauert said. "There's no change, I should point out, to our 'one-China policy."'

Lawmakers, which are generally strongly supportive of such sales, have 30 days to object. The U.S. is legally obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan for its self-defense.

The U.S. official said the sales represented upgrades, converting existing systems from analog to digital.

The last U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, worth $1.8 billion, were announced in December 2015. They included two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and was the first sale for four years.

China objected strongly, but it did not notably set back U.S.-China relations and military ties, which has happened after past arms sales to Taiwan.

However, relations across the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated since then, as Taiwan last year elected a leader from an independence-leaning party, Tsai Ing-wen. China has increased diplomatic pressure, cut off its contacts with the island's government and discouraged travel there by Chinese tourists.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More US Approves First Arms Sale to Taiwan Under Trump : http://ift.tt/2tpAoDw

Modi Condemns Rise in Attacks Against Cow Traders, Beef Eaters

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned attacks on cow traders and beef eaters that have largely targeted Muslims in his country.

Modi broke his silence on the matter by saying that killing people on the pretext of protecting cows is illegal.

Cows are considered sacred by many members of India's Hindu majority and the eating of beef is illegal in a number of states.

Modi's comments from Ahmedabad in his home state of Gujarat, came a day after thousands of protesters in various cities in India held "Not in My Name" demonstrations, denouncing rising intolerance and calling on the Prime Minister to condemn increased attacks against Muslims and low-caste Hindus for trading or eating beef.

Wednesday's citizens campaign to stop lynchings and mob violence was sparked by the killing of a Muslim teenager last week by about 20 men as he was returning home on a train with his brothers after shopping in New Delhi for the Eid festival.

Junaid Khan, 16, was stabbed after an altercation over the sharing of seats. But one of the men arrested said he attacked Khan and his brothers after he was told that they were beef eaters.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Modi Condemns Rise in Attacks Against Cow Traders, Beef Eaters : http://ift.tt/2ttUgFT

NATO Agrees to Send More Troop Trainers to Afghanistan

BRUSSELS — 

Two years after winding down its military operation in Afghanistan, NATO has agreed to send more troops to help train and work alongside Afghan security forces.

The move comes in response to a request from NATO commanders who say they need as many as 3,000 additional troops from the allies. That number does not include an expected contribution of roughly 4,000 American forces. They would be divided between the NATO training and advising the mission in Afghanistan, and America's counterterrorism operations against the Taliban, al-Qaida and Islamic State militants.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday that 15 countries "have already pledged additional contributions." He expected more commitments to come.

Britain has said that it would contribute just under 100 troops in a noncombat role.

"We're in it for the long haul. It's a democracy. It's asked for our help and it's important that Europe responds," British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters. "Transnational terror groups operate in Afghanistan, are a threat to us in Western Europe."

European nations and Canada have been waiting to hear what U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will offer or seek from them. U.S. leaders have so far refused to publicly discuss troop numbers before completing a broader, updated war strategy.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in Afghanistan this week, meeting with commanders to gather details on what specific military capabilities they need to end what American officials say is a stalemate against the resurgent Taliban.

The expected deployment of more Americans is intended to bolster Afghan forces so they can eventually assume greater control of security.

Stoltenberg said the NATO increase does not mean the alliance will once again engage in combat operations against the Taliban and extremist groups. NATO wants "to help the Afghans fight" and take "full responsibility" for safeguarding the country.

He did acknowledge "there are many problems, and many challenges and many difficulties, and still uncertainty and violence in Afghanistan."

Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's defense ministry, welcomed NATO's decision and said Afghan troops were in need of ``expert'' training, heavy artillery and a quality air force.

"We are on the front line in the fight against terrorism," Radmanish said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

But Afghan lawmaker Mohammad Zekria Sawda was skeptical. He said the offer of an additional 3,000 NATO troops was a ``show,'' and that NATO and the U.S. were unable to bring peace to Afghanistan when they had more than 120,000 soldiers deployed against Taliban insurgents.

"Every day we are feeling more worry," he said, "If they were really determined to bring peace they could do it," Sawda said.

As the war drags on, Afghans have become increasingly disillusioned and even former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has questioned the international commitment to bringing peace.

Many Afghans, including Karzai, are convinced that the United States and NATO have the military ability to defeat the Taliban. But with the war raging 16 years after the Taliban were ousted, they accuse the West of seemingly wanting chaos over peace.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More NATO Agrees to Send More Troop Trainers to Afghanistan : http://ift.tt/2t4YOzF

Australia Now Home to More Migrants From Asia Than Europe

SYDNEY — 

Australia's new national census shows for the first time that more migrants are now arriving from Asia than Europe as the country's demographics change rapidly. Among the findings: almost half of all Australians were either born overseas or have a foreign-born parent.

Australia is becoming less white and has never been as culturally diverse. More residents are living in capital cities than ever. The national census is held every five years and gives an in-depth look at how the country is changing.

“The census shows Australia is more culturally diverse than ever before with almost half of Australians either born overseas, or with at least one parent born overseas," said David Kalisch of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which conducted the survey released Tuesday. "Australia is growing, particularly in our capital cities, where more than two-thirds of Australians live.”

For the first time more migrants are arriving in Australia from Asia -- mostly India and China -- rather than Europe. The 2016 census has revealed that 40 percent of the overseas-born population were born in Asia, compared to about a quarter in 2001.

Fundamental changes

Rebecca Huntley, a social researcher, says Australia is undergoing fundamental changes.

“We've always been a migrant nation. What's interesting to see is the changing make-up of that migrant community, and so what we know is that we're becoming very broadly less Anglo and more Asian," Huntley said.

Since 2011, 1.3 million new migrants have moved to Australia, including 163,000 from India, and more than 190,000 from China. Mandarin continues to be the second-most commonly spoken language in Australia after English, according to Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University.

“Mandarin and Arabic are really featuring this time around, which, I think, would be no surprise to many people around the country, and that reflects our change in the guard, if you like, to India and China, and away from the more traditional sources of overseas migration that we have had in the past," Allen said.

The Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 prompted the Australian government to grant permanent visas to 42,000 Chinese students. It would become part of the biggest wave of Chinese migration to Australia since the gold rush of the 1800s.

Jason Zhu’s parents were among thousands of new Chinese settlers who moved to Sydney.

“The quality of life is a lot better, a lot more peaceful, but a lot more easy-going than probably China, where it's very competitive," Zhu said. " My family came around, I think, the 1990s, just before I was born, they came here. My dad came here first in the 1980s and then my mum came over a couple of years later.”

Desired destination

Ramesh Sharma came to Australia from India in 1995 and runs a restaurant in Sydney. He would not live anywhere else.

“I have not met anyone who doesn't want to come here and doesn't want to live here," Sharma said. "Things are getting tighter and tighter. Everybody wishes to come here and live. This is a beautiful place, and we are fortunate that we are here.”

The census was carried out last August, but computer glitches forced the official website offline for almost two days. Despite the problems, statisticians insist that the census data is reliable and accurate.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Australia Now Home to More Migrants From Asia Than Europe : http://ift.tt/2s5g3j6

Vietnam Blogger Gets 10-Yr Sentence for ‘Conducting Propaganda’

Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom, the Vietnamese blogger who received the International Women of Courage Award from first lady Melania Trump in March, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Hanoi government for the activities that earned her the honor, her laywer says.

The government found Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, aka Mother Mushroom, guilty under Article 88 of the 1999 penal code — "conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." She faced a maximum prison sentence of 12 years under the vaguely worded law that has drawn international condemnation for the range it allows the government in suppressing dissent.

Quynh, 37, had been detained on the current charges since Oct. 10, 2016 after posting about people dying in police custody.

In March, she was one of 13 women to receive an International Women of Courage Award from the United States, which the first lady presented.

“Together, with the international community, the United States must send a clear message that we are watching. It is therefore our duty to continue to shine the light on each miraculous victory achieved by women — all capable of trying, truly leading the change to fight for those that cannot fight for themselves,” said Trump.

Quynh, a founder of Vietnam's influential Human Rights Bloggers Network, was the only honoree unable to attend the Washington, D.C., ceremony. She spent the day in a Khanh Hoa Province prison.

The United States recognized Quynh for “her bravery for raising civil society issues, inspiring peaceful change, calling for greater government transparency and access to fundamental human rights, and for being voice of freedom of expression,” said Grace Choi, a spokeswoman for the State Department’s East Asia-Pacific Office, at the time of the award.

Despite major reforms in Vietnam's economy and a growing acceptance of social change, the ruling Communist Party retains tight media control and exhibits zero tolerance for criticism.

Quynh, who began blogging as Mother Mushroom in 2006, has been a persistent critic.

Among her recent campaigns, she blogged about the government's handling of a chemical spill at the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation. The April 2016 Ha Tinh fish kill is widely seen as having raised environmental awareness and activism among Vietnamese.

In March 2009, Quynh spent nine days in police detention for receiving funds from Viet Tan, a California-based activist group, to print T-shirts carrying slogans against a major bauxite project in the Central Highlands, police said.

Hanoi declared Viet Tan "a terrorist organization" and warned that any Vietnamese found to be involved with the group would be regarded as co-conspirators and punished.

This report originated with VOA Vietnamese.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Vietnam Blogger Gets 10-Yr Sentence for ‘Conducting Propaganda’ : http://ift.tt/2t4TIDo

Myanmar Mobile Project Helps Lift Young Workers Out of Poverty

YANGON — 

It’s six o’clock in the evening, Saw Ku Do reviews his English lessons shortly after finishing an 11-hour shift serving food and sweeping the floor at the tea shop where he works.

“Dog, cat, pig,” he said while looking at his notebook. Saw Ku Do, age 15, only has a second grade education. He dropped out of school to go to work to help support his family. He says his parents are day laborers and struggle to take care of their six children. “It’s not that I didn’t want to stay in school but I felt sorry for my parents,” Saw Ku Do said. “When we are broke we have to borrow money and have to repay with interest so it’s very difficult.”

Saw Ku Do said he gets one day off every other week and makes the equivalent of about 60 U.S. dollars per month. He sends most of it home to his parents who live in a village about eight hours away from Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital.

His story is a common one across Myanmar, also known as Burma, where more than a quarter of the population is impoverished. One out of five children ages 10 to 17 goes to work instead of school to help support their families. Many of them move away from small villages to work in tea shops in Myanmar’s cities. At night they often sleep on top of tables in their tea shops or on a piece of cardboard that’s spread out on the floor.

Child labor laws

Myanmar has laws prohibiting children under the age of 14 from working and until 16, they’re not allowed to work more than four-hours per day. However, enforcement is lax.

But while these kids often left the classroom years ago, there’s a program that’s bringing class to some of them.

It’s the Myanmar Mobile Education Project also known as myME. The program teaches subjects including math and English plus vocational training in fields such as hospitality and tailoring. Three nights a week, Saw Ku Do’s tea shop is converted into a makeshift classroom. “I hope to improve my education so I can have a better job,” he said.

The goal of myME is to help these tea shop workers get an education and skills so they’re not stuck in these low paying jobs for the rest of their lives. MyME trained Naw Aye Aye Naing, 20, to be a tailor. She now works at a boutique clothing store earning double what some tea shop workers make.

“MyME improved my life a lot,” she said.

The program’s executive director is Tim Aye-Hardy, a Myanmar native who moved to the United States in 1989. “When I came back to this country in 2012 and ‘13 I started to notice a bunch of young people who are on the streets at these tea shops, restaurants instead of in school that’s what really triggered me,” Aye-Hardy said. “I started asking questions: Why are they not in school? Why are so many kids out there?”

Myanmar’s economy and education system were crippled during nearly 50 years of military rule. The country has been undergoing political and economic changes during the past several years.

Climbing out of poverty

MyME’s annual $200,000 budget comes from private donations. The program teaches about 500 workers at 35 tea shops across Myanmar. But that’s just a small fraction of the more than one-million child workers in this country. “If we don’t help them they’ll never be able to climb out of this trap and then they might be so poor that their kids will also have to quit school to work just like they did,” Aye-Hardy said.

In Saw Ku Do’s English class, his teacher asks him what his favorite animal is. “It is a cat,” he replies.

Saw Ku Do dreams of owning his own business when he’s older. Saw Ku Do says he and his coworkers feel lucky to be part of myME. “If there’s no myME we will be stuck this way,” he said. “If we know more through myME we can get a new job.”

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Myanmar Mobile Project Helps Lift Young Workers Out of Poverty : http://ift.tt/2umQScp

Myanmar Program Brings Classroom to Young Workers

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Across the impoverished country you’ll find children going to work instead of school so they can help support their families Read More Myanmar Program Brings Classroom to Young Workers : http://ift.tt/2sUwuBq

Security Tight as China's Xi Visits Hong Kong

Chinese President Xi Jinping began a three-day visit to Hong Kong on Thursday to mark 20 years since the city returned to Chinese rule after being a British colony.

The trip will culminate with Xi overseeing the inauguration ceremony for Carrie Lam, who is due to be sworn in Saturday as Hong Kong's first female leader.

Security was heavy throughout the city and police arrested a group of pro-democracy protesters ahead of Xi's arrival.

More demonstrations are expected, including an annual march Saturday that in the past has drawn huge crowds.

China has ruled Hong Kong under a principle known as "one country, two systems" that is meant to give the city certain civil liberties and autonomy, but incidents such as the recent arrest of five booksellers have raised fears about the erosion of that arrangement.

Xi said Thursday China wants to look to the future and "ensure the stable development of 'one country, two systems.'"

Hong Kong watcher Felix Patrikeeff, the master of Kathleen Lunley College in Adelaide, Australia, told VOA that activists who instead want a vote on sovereignty will not achieve that goal.

"The Chinese government is making sure that it takes greater and greater control of the place. It’s doing so in a very quiet way," Patrikeef said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Security Tight as China's Xi Visits Hong Kong : http://ift.tt/2t42VMe

On Trump-Moon Agenda: What to Do About Kim Jong Un

WHITE HOUSE  — 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday evening hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in for cocktails and dinner, a prelude to talks the next day on the “very urgent threat posed by North Korea,” according to a senior White House official.

It’ll be the first time the two leaders meet.

Moon, a liberal, took office early last month, succeeding the impeached Park Geun-hye, known for her tough stance toward North Korea.

“It’s going to be a meeting with a lot of uncertainty about whether the two presidents can agree on a common policy toward North Korea in terms of the specific tactics,” said Gary Samore, research executive director at Harvard’s Belfer Center.

For the Trump-Moon meeting, “building a rapport” will be as important as anything else, considering how closely they will be working together, the senior U.S. official told reporters at a background briefing.

“My biggest concern is that President Moon will want to dive into tough policy challenges, rather than focusing on building a rapport with President Trump,” said Mansfield Foundation President Frank Januzzi.

Moon and North Korea

“I believe Moon is coming to Washington with a very specific proposal — if (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un agrees to pause nuclear and missile testing, that should open the door to a diplomatic engagement, which would try to create a negotiation for eventual nuclear disarmament,” Samore, a non-proliferation and arms control official in the Clinton and Obama administrations, told VOA. “But I don’t know that Trump is going to be in a position to accept that proposal.”

Taro O, adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum CSIS, concurred.

“I don’t think Moon’s messages and various protests in South Korea help to set a positive tone for the summit,” O said.

But O expressed hope the long-standing alliance “would have a soothing effect.”

U.S. officials are downplaying any potential disagreement.

“We’re comfortable with where the two governments are right now,” the senior U.S. official said.

Increasing pressure

The Trump administration desires to substantially increase pressure on Pyongyang “to change its calculus in order to have substantive talks with us when they reduce the threat,” the official said.

Moon and Trump, he added, both want North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development programs completely dismantled.

“Moon might want to adopt an approach that asks Trump for dealmaking advice, even as he expresses the clear will of the South Korean people that dialogue be a key part of any diplomatic strategy to reduce the threats posed by North Korea,” Januzzi, a former East Asia policy director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA.

The U.S. president had hoped that Chinese President Xi Jinping would quickly bring into line North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But Trump acknowledged recently that Beijing’s influence has failed to dissuade Pyongyang from its provocative course.

“We very much want to see China do more,” the U.S. official said.

“We are adding pressure and have really only begun to do so,” the official added, rejecting criticism that pressure has not worked.

​THAAD

Moon also has put the brakes on his predecessor’s move to quickly deploy the U.S. Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea.

China strongly objected to the presence of THAAD on its neighbor’s territory.

“It is not unreasonable for the U.S. to be perplexed when South Korea appears to disregard a real missile threat from North Korea, succumb to China’s bullying, and portrays THAAD as a U.S. infringement of South Korean sovereignty,” O, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who worked at the Pentagon and intelligence agencies on Korean security issues, told VOA.

Administration officials discount the differences.

THAAD will be “a routine point of housekeeping" in the Trump-Moon talks but it is not being treated as a major issue, the senior White House official said.

Seoul diverging on security matters “could marginalize South Korea as a key player in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, especially when Pyongyang is getting closer to developing a nuclear-tipped ICBM that can strike the U.S.,” O said.

Trade issues

There also are trade disagreements between Seoul and Washington, but “it’ll be a friendly, frank discussion,” the senior U.S. official predicted.

Trump has repeatedly termed the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) “horrible.” In April he threatened to terminate the decade-old pact because “we’re getting destroyed in Korea.”

The senior White House official diplomatically acknowledged “there are aspects of the trade relationship that are not in balance.”

Particular irritants: The lack of sales of American-made cars in Seoul and Chinese steel coming into the United States via South Korea.

Moon should have in mind Trump’s job creation agenda and inform him “about the great contributions that Korean companies are making to the U.S. economy, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans, both directly and indirectly,” Januzzi suggested.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More On Trump-Moon Agenda: What to Do About Kim Jong Un : http://ift.tt/2tsoOb3