US: No Specific Threats to Winter Olympics

STATE DEPARTMENT — 

The United States says it is not aware of any specific threats to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, despite nuclear tensions with neighboring North Korea.

Senior State Department officials in charge of security for the U.S. Olympic team told reporters Wednesday they have been working closely with South Korea for two years to prepare for the 2018 Winter Games that begin with an opening ceremony Feb. 9 in the town of PyeongChang.

Assistant secretary for diplomatic security Michael Evanoff says his team is well aware of the nuclear tensions with North Korea and has prepared for all contingencies.

“I mean, we’re only less than a hundred miles (160 kilometers) from North Korea, so we’ve planned for all contingencies.”

Steve Goldstein, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, had high praise for the South Korean government.

“Authorities of the Republic of Korea are responsible for the overall security of the games, and we’re confident in their ability to host a safe and successful event this year,” Goldstein said.

Diplomatic security chief Evanoff agreed, saying the U.S. working relationship with South Korea has been “exceptional.”

Senior State Department officials said about 100 diplomatic security agents will be deployed to Seoul and to PyeongChang for the Winter Games and the Paralympics, roughly the same number that have been sent to previous Olympic games.

The U.S. Olympic delegation will number about 275, and some 60,000 Americans are expected to attend the games, including Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence.

North Korea is also sending athletes to the games. The North Korean government is planning a major parade or rally the day before the opening ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its military. Goldstein said he hopes North Korea will embrace the Olympic spirit.

“While we would prefer that this parade not occur on Feb. 8, it is our hope, and I know the hope of South Korea, that the North Koreans who agreed to send people to the games to participate will join with all the nations of the world in celebrating the athletes.

Goldstein said fundamentally, the Olympic Games are about the athletes.

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'Bikini Flight' Scandal Mars Triumph of Vietnam Soccer Team

Ten years after the Vietnam Football Federation cut a deal with the British powerhouse Arsenal FC and opened the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Academy, Vietnam's team emerged from training and underdog status to take second place with a heartbreaking overtime loss at the Under-23 Asian Cup.

Two days after that Jan. 27 game in a snowy Changzhou, China, Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority (CAC) fined VietJet 44 million VND, or about $2,000, because the Vietnamese soccer team's special flight home included a show by bikini-clad women.

The women appeared on social media, as did the young players. Vietnam, traditionally a modest society, was not amused. Most people saw the players, who wore the country's red and yellow colors as they competed, as national representatives on an international playing field.

Before the match, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the team: "More than 90 million Vietnamese people are behind you, cheering and following your every step." The words were matched in patriotic fervor after the game by football commentator Dang Gia Man who told AFP, "We are proud of the team. … They did a good job in uniting our countrymen."

That unity was apparent Saturday night, as crowds waving the Vietnamese flag flooded into the streets throughout the nation to celebrate the hard-fought 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan. The game remained deadlocked 1-1 until the 119th minute and instantly gave Vietnam, not usually an international sports force, football credibility.

And by taking the long view, Vietnam's national obsession with football, coupled with the Arsenal training deal, had turned a somewhat obscure event into a mini-World Cup as the Under-23 Asian Cup became a big deal.

The games

Vietnam, in a four-team group, placed second in the tournament's initial phase, above higher-ranked Australia. Then, Vietnam defeated Iraq in the quarterfinals and Qatar in the semifinals — a Jan. 23 game so anticipated that many Vietnamese companies sent workers home to watch it, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

"When we won the semifinal, my blood was boiling. I couldn't believe that it really happened," Nguyen Tung Duong, a small-business owner in Hanoi told Reuters. "In that moment, I felt undying love for our motherland."

By Saturday, hundreds of Vietnamese had traveled to China to support the team in the final game against Uzbekistan, thanks to special fast-track visa processing. Many movie theaters decided to show the final match free for fans at home.

"Playing and defeating regional states enhances Vietnam's self-perception of itself," Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam at the Australian Defense Force Academy and former national secretary of the Australian Soccer Referee's Federation, told Reuters.

"Winning at soccer is self-validating. Vietnam has broken out of its Cold War isolation as a member of the socialist camp and joined the Asian Confederation of soccer playing nations," Thayer said.

The scandal

And with that came scandal.

In issuing the bikini show fines, the CAC noted that although the bikini show had not caused a safety hazard on the VietJet flight, it had "potentially threatened safety."

"I found that reason completely unconvincing," Vo Van Tao, a high-profile Vietnamese reporter, told VOA Vietnamese. "Safety had nothing to do with the show and bikini models."

VietJet is so well known for its ad campaign featuring bikini models and "bikini flights" that many Vietnamese boycott the budget airline nicknamed "Vietsex."

After the loss that was a victory, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) canceled the team's 44 tickets on the state-owned Vietnam Airlines and booked a special VietJet flight as part of what state-owned media described as a last-minute "reward plan."

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of VietJet and the first Vietnamese female billionaire, apologized, saying the onboard performance was spontaneous and not included in the reward plan.

Unmoved, the CAC fined a VietJet executive and a flight attendant 4 million VND ($176) for "neglecting to inform the captain" of the incident.

Vo Van Tao suggested CAC's decision to issue fines stemmed from pressure from the government, which lost revenue from the canceled seats, and social media. This forced authorities to do something about the in-flight antics that Tao described as "normal in other countries, but not normal in Vietnam."

In the context of Vietnamese laws and practices, Tao added, "this case should be under the Ministry of Culture because [the bikini flight] is inappropriate by Vietnamese culture and not related to any aviation standards."

Khanh An contributed to this report which originated on VOA Vietnamese.

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Hong Kong Citizens Move to Taiwan in Waves After Political Upsets

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — 

As new problems surface this month between Beijing and Hong Kong, a world financial center under Chinese rule for the past two decades, the nearby democratic island of Taiwan is expecting another wave of fearful immigrants.

The number of immigrants from Hong Kong to Taiwan often spikes when the Chinese territory faces a major political shift taking it closer to Beijing, government figures in Taipei show. As of December 2016, Taiwan had given residency to 71,263 former inhabitants of Hong Kong and Macau.

On New Year's Day, thousands of Hong Kong activists held anti-Beijing protests, meeting with a police barricade. Later in January, Hong Kong barred a pro-democracy candidate from running in local elections and a Hong Kong bookseller with Swedish citizenship was arrested in China.

“The number of Hong Kong immigrants to Taiwan will continue to rise,” said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence. “The number has been on the increase for the past few years. Given that a lot of people have become disillusioned in Hong Kong, that trend will continue.”

Hong Kong people, particularly younger activists, dispute Beijing’s role in local legislative elections. Some resent the influx of mainland Chinese people allowed to live, work and travel in the territory of 7.3 million.

Taiwan alternative

China took control over Hong Kong, a British colony of 150 years, in 1997. Some in the territory fear an erosion of freedom of expression over time. Taiwan has been self-ruled since the 1940s and democratized in the 1980s.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan as well and insists on eventual unification. But several generations of Taiwanese leaders, including today’s President Tsai Ing-wen, have held China off and surveys show most Taiwanese prefer autonomy.

“When there’s uncertainty in Hong Kong, some will leave,” said Chu Kang-ming, a retired Hong Kong-born professor who lives in Taiwan. “The freedom of speech is stronger here.”

Residency requires an investment in Taiwan of 6 million Taiwan dollars (US $205,000), attracting investors or self-employed business people. Some get rights to stay after marrying locals. Younger Hong Kong people come as university students.

“Some will come over to study and check it out to see that’s it’s freer here and more democratic,” Hong Kong native Anita Li, secretary of the 100-member Hong Kong Club of Taipei.

Waves of immigration

When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher failed to renegotiate her country’s lease for Hong Kong in 1983, a swell of people left the Asian territory and emigrated to nearby Taiwan.

Taiwan accepted another wave of Hong Kong immigrants shortly after June 4, 1989, when Chinese troops opened fire on anti-government protesters in Beijing. People in Hong Kong feared a spillover into their financial markets. And in the four years after 1997, Taiwan approved long-term resettlement for 5,130 people.

After 1997, some in Hong Kong worried that the Chinese government would cramp freedom of expression, Li said. “I had a friend who told me to come over and look,” said Li, who moved to Taiwan in 1990.

In a normal single year, fewer than 1,000 Hong Kong and Macau citizens get permission to immigrate.

In September and October 2015, after the Umbrella Movement of mass demonstrations against Beijing’s hand in the territory’s local government, Taiwan’s immigration agency approved 3,930 residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau.

Democratically protected and left alone

John Chu, Hong Kong-born managing director of a magazine published in Taipei, was sent to Taiwan 29 years ago for work. As the 1989 and 1997 milestones passed, he decided to stay.

“Lots of reasons to feel very uncertain about Hong Kong, so I decided to stay here and added to that my work, I was thinking I like it here,” said Chu, 61. “Those are the main reasons.”

Some immigrants in Taiwan help inspire democracy activists who are still fighting for their cause in Hong Kong, said Liu Yih-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan. In January last year, a 20-year-old democracy activist and three legislators from Hong Kong received official protection in Taiwan during a visit protested by local pro-Beijing groups.

“They have some commonality of course, since they have the same object -- that is, anti-China,” said Wu Chung-li, a political science research fellow at Academia Sinica, a university in Taipei. “They try to get some support for the anti-China sentiment.”

Most of the immigrants see Taiwan as a chance to “lead an ordinary person’s life,” Liu said.

Unlike Canada, home to 204,000 Hong Kong immigrants, Taiwan draws those who prefer to live in an ethnic Chinese, Chinese-language environment that’s 90 minutes by air from their homeland. A flat in Taipei costs less than half the price of one in Hong Kong, and immigrants qualify for Taiwan’s nationalized healthcare.

“Taiwan society does have a lot of attraction,” said Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic studies professor in Taiwan. “Number two, Taiwan does offer very good medical care, and of course number three, it’s [politically] free.”

Hong Kong people say they fit in with Taiwanese society except when they meet younger locals who favor Taiwan’s legal independence from China and wonder if Hong Kong people side with Beijing, Chu said.

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Trump Calls China a Rival, But Softens Tone on Trade

BEIJING, CHINA — 

In his first State of the Union address, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to China as a rival and declared an end to what he called an era of economic surrender.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused China of trade abuses and more trade actions against Beijing are expected soon, but the president did not mention the world’s second largest economy directly when he pledged to protect intellectual property and fight for fair and reciprocal trade.

Some analysts said that could be for a number reasons that include expectations his administration may soon announce even more trade measures. The other possibility is that there are different views on China within the U.S. government and there is no clear path forward.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics in Singapore said the Trump administration appears to be taking a more cautious approach.

“The risk, I guess, is that if you push too hard against China then they might retaliate in a manner that it causes more damage to the U.S. than the damage that China gets,” he said, adding, “It is clear that there are different views on China within the government."

Trump recently announced stiff tariffs on solar panels and washing machines and has said his administration is considering a big fine as part of a probe into China’s alleged intellectual property theft.

Evans-Pritchard said there will probably be decisions soon on whether to impose a tax on steel and aluminum, as well as action on intellectual property rights infringements in China, but the administration does not appear to be pushing back as much as it can.

Will China change?

“China is an exporting country, which may have more to lose in a trade war, but the difference in China’s case is that the Chinese government has a lot more power to make life difficult for foreign firms, and in the U.S. the power to do so is much more limited by the restrictions on the powers of the government in the U.S.,” he said.

Christopher Balding, an associate professor of finance and economics at Peking University HSBC Business School said one reason China received less attention in the speech is perhaps a sign that President Trump is starting to learn how to be a little more self-disciplined and not always, in Balding's words, “shoot off at the mouth.”

"That could change tomorrow," but the president has already criticized China frequently “and it doesn’t need to be pounded into the ground,” Balding said.

Analysts say it may also be due to a growing consensus that China does not care.

For years, many have hoped that China would integrate into the global world order and become a more market-based, liberal economy. But now the broader consensus among foreign policy experts and others is that such progress will not happen.

“China has made it very clear that they are going to be an authoritarian projecting state and anyone who disagrees with them will be blocked to task,” Balding said.

Paths ahead

China’s Foreign Ministry flatly rejected Trump’s assessment of Beijing as a rival, and urged Washington to put aside what it called a “Cold War mentality” and “zero-sum game” approach to relations.

“Cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States, and a win-win approach is the only way to build a better future,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a briefing shortly after the speech.

Trump’s speech was softer on Beijing than a recent strategy report from the U.S. Department of Defense, which said Russia and China are bigger threats to the United States than terrorism.

“Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy and our values,” the U.S. president said his Tuesday night address.

“In confronting these dangers we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of defense,” Trump said.

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Afghan Spy Chief, Interior Minister Make Surprise Pakistan Visit

ISLAMABAD — 

Top Afghan security officials have made a surprise visit to Pakistan, to discuss mutual cooperation with civilian and military leaders following a series of deadly Taliban and other militant attacks in Afghanistan.

The visit Wednesday took place hours after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan urged Afghan leaders to engage in bilateral discussions with Pakistani counterparts.

Increased militant violence in Afghanistan has fueled Kabul’s tensions with Islamabad amid accusations insurgents used sanctuaries in Pakistan to plot recent suicide bombings, with the help of the country’s spy agency, ISI.

Pakistani authorities condemned the terrorist attacks and rejected the Afghan charges as unfounded and emphasized the need for “a credible investigation” into the attacks.

Carrying message from Ghani

The Afghan government had requested sending its high-level team “with a message from Afghan President (Ashraf Ghani)” and for discussions about cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said. It said the visitors were scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and military officials.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the Afghan delegation included Masoom Stanekzai, the head of the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), and Interior Minister Wais Barmak.

During Sullivan's visit Tuesday to Afghanistan he held extensive talks with President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah.

Sullivan later talked to reporters at the U.S. Embassy, where his attention was drawn to Afghan allegations Pakistani security institutions were behind the spike in Taliban-led attacks after suspension of U.S. military aid to Islamabad.

“We will continue our dialogue with Pakistan. We also encourage the government of Afghanistan to continue its bilateral discussions with Pakistan. Pakistan needs to be part of the solution,” Sullivan noted.

Massive suicide bombing

On Saturday, a Taliban bomber detonated an ambulance packed with explosives in central Kabul, killing more than 100 people and wounding nearly 250 others in one of the deadliest attacks in the war-torn country.

The bombing came a week after a group of heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers stormed the capital city’s Intercontinental Hotel. The assailants battled Afghan forces for about 14 hours and killed 22 people, including four Americans.

The deputy secretary said the Trump administration, under its South Asia policy, has made things clear about U.S. expectations from Pakistan.

“It’s a regional policy. It’s focused on improving the situation in Afghanistan. But it’s part of a broader regional approach that includes a relationship with Pakistan, India and other countries in the region,” Sullivan noted.

Afghan security officials visited Islamabad a day after the Pakistani government revealed it recently extradited 27 insurgents to Afghanistan, including members of the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network. The Foreign Ministry said the move is part of efforts Pakistan is making to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Trump announced his South Asia strategy last August that called for Pakistan to end alleged support to terrorists staging deadly attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Islamabad rejected the charges as an attempt to scapegoat Pakistan for American “failure” to secure the war-torn country.

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Strong Earthquake in Afghanistan Kills Girl in Pakistan

A young Pakistani girl was killed Wednesday by a strong earthquake that struck several thousand kilometers away in northeast Afghanistan.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 6.1 magnitude quake was located about 35 kilometers south of Jarm in the Hindu Kush region near the border with Tajikistan, at a depth of 191 kilometers.

The fatality occurred in Pakistan's Baluchistan's province. The child was killed when the roof of her mud-walled house collapsed. At least nine other people were injured.

No reports of casualties or serious damage have come from Afghanistan. The quake was also felt in Islamabad, Peshawar and the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Large parts of the region are prone to frequent earthquakes due to the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Thousands of people were killed in a 7.6 magnitude quake that hit northern Pakistan in 2005.

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British Prime Minister Arrives in China to Forge Post-Brexit Trade Ties

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in China Wednesday on a visit aimed at boosting economic ties with the Asian giant ahead of her country's exit from the European Union next year.

May began her three-day trip in the central industrial city of Wuhan, before heading to Beijing for talks with Premier Li Keqiang. She is accompanied by a large delegation of 50 British business leaders eager to expand their business in the world's second largest economy.

The prime minister will meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, before wrapping up her visit Friday in the financial hub of Shanghai.

The British leader says she is eager to use her trip to lay the groundwork for a so-called "golden era" between London and Beijing, a term which first surfaced in 2015 ahead of a state visit to Britain by President Xi. The Chinese leader is hoping Britain will endorse his flagship Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar project aimed at reviving the ancient Silk Road trade routes between Asia and Europe.

But Prime Minister May has been cautious in the past about embracing Chinese investment. She angered Beijing in 2016 when she temporarily delayed approval of Chinese-funded nuclear power plant in southwest England.

She has also expressed caution over the Belt and Road Initiative, saying that while the project holds promise, it is important the project meets "international standards."

In addition to trade, May is expected to discuss the escalating political tensions in Britain's former colony, Hong Kong, which it ruled for more than 150 years before giving it back to China in 1997.

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, wrote May this week warning that the semi-autonomous territory is facing "increasing threats to the basic freedoms, human rights and autonomy" that China agreed to observe under the handover agreement.

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US Says It is Not Changing Its Afghan Strategy

A top State Department official says there is no change in U.S. policy towards Afghanistan after President Donald Trump Monday ruled out for now negotiations with the Taliban. The U.S. official said the president was simply responding to a dramatic escalation in Taliban and other terrorist attacks on civilians. The Afghan government and the Taliban have also reacted to Trump's comments, as VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.

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Trump Condemns “Depraved” North Korea In State of the Union

SEOUL — 

Calling North Korea a “depraved” and “cruel dictatorship,” President Donald Trump, in his first State of the Union address, again promised to exert “maximum pressure” to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear missiles that can threaten the U.S. mainland.

“Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position,” said President Trump.

However he was more restrained than at times in the past when he called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “little rocket man.” He also did not mention the possible use of force, despite recent reports that the Trump administration is considering launching a limited military strike in response to a future provocation.

“I don’t know whether this is good news in terms of the Trump administration opting for more diplomatic engagement towards Pyongyang, or the Trump administration is getting more serious about taking different measures, including some kind of military options,” said Bong Young-shik, a political analyst with Yonsei University's Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul.

In the last year, tensions between North Korea and the United States have escalated over Pyongyang’s efforts to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States. The Trump administration has led international efforts to impose harsh economic sanctions on North Korea, but has also emphasized that military force remains a viable option to deal with the growing threat to the U.S. mainland.

South Korea's leadership has been advocating increased engagement to reduce tensions, and recently negotiated at least a temporary pause in North Korean missile and nuclear tests by persuading Pyongyang to participate in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The United States also agreed to postpone joint military exercises with South Korea until after the Olympic Games to accommodate the North’s peaceful participation.

Depraved character

In his speech, Trump seemed to argue that there can be no compromise with the brutal and repressive Kim government.

“We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and our allies,” said President Trump.

The president recounted the tragic experience of Otto Warmbier, who died last year soon after being released from North Korea while in a comatose state. The American student was visiting North Korea in 2016, and was arrested for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. He was sentenced to 15 years hard labor but soon fell into a coma from which he never awoke. Warmbier remained in prison for almost a year without adequate medical care as his condition continued to deteriorate.

His parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, who were invited by the president to attend the State of the Union, broke into tears when Trump pointed them out in the gallery as “powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world.”

Trump also singled out another invited guest, North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho, as “one more witness to the ominous nature of this regime.” In 1996, Ji lost a hand and a foot when he fell from a moving train while stealing coal to barter for food, during a famine in which millions of North Koreans starved to death. He endured painful amputations and later torture before escaping North Korea on crutches.

Ji is now a human rights activist with the group Now Action And Unity for Human Rights, and is involved in radio broadcasts into North Korea, where the state tries to restrict access to the outside world.

“Today he lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears the most, the truth,” said Trump.

Victor Cha withdrawn

Also raising concerns that the United States may be preparing preventive military action to deal with the North Korean threat are reports that Victor Cha’s name was withdrawn as nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea. Cha is a Georgetown University professor and former National Security Council adviser on North Korean affairs during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Writing in the Washington Post on Tuesday, Cha said he shared his opposition to the preventive use of force against North Korea with White House officials while he was under consideration for a position.

Cha said he empathizes with the hope that “a military strike would shock Pyongyang into appreciating U.S. strength” but that “hope must give in to logic.”

Given North Korea’s missile and artillery capability, Cha argues, President Trump would put at risk the lives of millions in South Korea and Japan, “on the assumption that a crazy and undeterrable dictator will be rationally cowed by a demonstration of U.S. kinetic power.”

Lee Yoon-jee in Seoul contributed to this report.

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Hong Kong Democracy Activists Decry Another Disqualification

HONG KONG — 

Hong Kong's democracy supporters are riled after the government blocked a 21-year-old founding member of a young political party from an upcoming election, in what activists see as the latest effort to muzzle opposition in the Chinese territory.

In a letter to Agnes Chow, a prominent figure in several political causes, a city elections officer took issue with the platform of her party, Demosisto, to "promote self-determination" and democracy. As a party member, the letter says, she clearly does not intend to uphold the city's constitution.

Pro-democracy lawmakers and legal scholars said Chow's disqualification smacked of political screening, not a fair, legal or unbiased administrative decision.

About 2,000 people gathered on a chilly Sunday afternoon at the city's government center to decry the decision. "If we don't fight for our rights, they will seize every right from us, until we become bare, having nothing at all," former lawmaker Margaret Ng, a lawyer, told the spectators, who roared along. "We will fight in the courts, we will fight in Hong Kong, we will fight around the world!"

During the rally, Chow mentioned that her fellow party members have been physically beaten, stripped of their elective offices and imprisoned. "When the regime does this, the target is not just me, or democrats, but all Hong Kongers," she said. "This disqualification is to say to all Hong Kongers … we can only choose whom the regime accepts."

A leader of Chow's party said Monday that the party was seeking legal advice.

Government's defense

The government issued a statement late Monday defending the decision of the elections officer.

"The Returning Officers solely make independent decisions on whether a candidate complies with and meets the requirements as stipulated in the Ordinance, and whether legal advice shall be sought," the city's Electoral Affairs Commission said in a prepared statement. "The EAC will, as in the past, ensure that the Legislative Council by-election is conducted in an open, honest and fair manner."

Carrie Lam, the city's new chief executive, said this weekend that "democratic self-determination, Hong Kong independence or regional autonomy do not comply with the requirement of the Basic Law and deviate from the policy of one country, two systems."

Pro-democracy activists said they were unnerved that another member of their movement, former lawmaker Edward Yiu, was grilled about his political beliefs. Yiu and three other members were disqualified by a judge last year after they altered their official oaths at their induction.

The court's ruling leaned heavily on a 2016 decree from Beijing's National People's Congress Standing Committee, which decided that oaths could not deviate from the official text.

A letter from a Hong Kong elections officer asked Yiu whether he was sincere, whether he accepted Beijing's interpretation, and what he meant when he commented about "more autonomy for Hong Kongers."

Several people who attended the rally Sunday said they were angry that Yiu was asked whether, by attending a conference last year in Taipei, he agreed with the views of the New Power Party of Taiwan, whose members favor independence from China. Advocating secession or separatism are serious crimes in China. Yiu replied to the elections official that he does not judge the platforms of other organizations when attending a conference and he has been allowed to run.

'Political censorship'

Eric Cheung, a law lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, said the government's screening methods smacked of "political censorship" and were being applied arbitrarily.

The Hong Kong government's justification comes straight from Beijing and the 2016 order. The city's constitution, called the Basic Law, demands that elected officials swear to uphold the document's provisions. Now candidates, as a precondition for running, are being judged by those standards as well, Cheung said. The person deciding on each candidate's suitability is a bureaucrat whose office provides no recourse for the decision, he said.

In two years the government has shifted from criticizing young people who advocated independence to declaring that such talk is illegal and to insisting that promoting self-determination violates the constitution.

"You can see the chilling affect of government action," Cheung said. "In the end you don't know how far the government will draw the line."

Umbrella Revolution

Hong Kong's 20-year-old constitution promises "universal suffrage" in accordance with "democratic procedures." Yet China has delayed approving a system allowing for the direct election of the territory's chief executive.

Those delays have agitated a new generation that found its voice during the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The 79-day sit-in for greater voting power failed to win over Beijing and unleashed more radical parties and actions, which drew harsh political and legal repercussions.

Chow's party, Demosisto, was founded in 2016 on the belief that Hong Kong people should choose their government in 2047, when the current governing agreement with Beijing ends.

In 2016, two young men who advocated independence, Andy Chan Ho-tin and Edward Leung, were blocked from running for the city's legislature. Even though Leung swore on a form, suddenly introduced then, to uphold the city's constitution, the city's election official said she "did not believe" him. Chan did not sign and was barred. He appealed to the courts and has awaited a ruling since May.

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White House 'Embarrassed' By NBC's Pre-Olympic Coverage from North Korea

An American news outlet that made a rare visit to North Korea to cover the country's Olympic team is being criticized by the Trump administration for coverage that, in the words of one official, depicted "the most totalitarian country on the planet … as a cheerful winter holiday resort."

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt broadcast last week from the Masikryong Ski Resort, where South Korean and North Korean alpine ski teams are slated to train.

In some segments of the program, Holt was framed against a backdrop of children sledding, skiers in brightly colored gear, and jumbo screens displaying singers in military uniforms. Holt said that he and his crew had undergone an extensive customs search when entering North Korea, noting that the resort was "certainly" an aspect of North Korea that its leaders "would like us to see."

Criticism of the broadcast erupted online, accusing NBC of misrepresenting a stage-managed piece of North Korean propaganda for American viewers. Holt defended the coverage, saying, "You go to a place like North Korea with your eyes wide open."

A spokesperson for President Donald Trump's National Security Council (NSC) told VOA's Korean Service on Thursday that council members were ashamed of the network's coverage.

"We are embarrassed for NBC. A first-year journalism student would know to highlight the severe constraints on their ability to report on North Korea as it truly is," the official said. "It is no small feat of the most totalitarian country on the planet to be depicted as a cheerful winter holiday resort, but somehow NBC has managed to do it."

The controversy over Holt's coverage comes amid a slight easing of tension between Pyongyang and Seoul, a change which could undercut the Trump administration's campaign of international sanctions and "maximum pressure" on North Korea to halt its nuclear and missile programs.

In response to last week's White House comment, an NBC spokesperson told VOA that Holt clearly stated that the North Korean "government escorts determined where they could go, watching and listening to every move." In one report, Holt said, "What you're seeing here certainly flies in the face of a country that's undergoing crippling sanctions, and that may be part of the reason we were invited to see this."

Holt told Adweek on Monday that the Olympic Games will be conducted with a major news story in the background.

"The world is holding its breath on the issue of: Is this the breakthrough? Is this the moment when they can start having a useful dialogue?" he said. "On a geopolitical level, this may complicate how the White House views the North Korean nuclear threat if this sets a pattern for a stronger relationship between the North and South."

North, South agreement

Earlier this month, the two Koreas held the first high-level talks in two years following Kim's offer to discuss his country's participation in the Olympics.

The discussions produced an inter-Korean agreement, officially announced on Jan. 20, under which the two sides agreed to march together under a single flag at the opening ceremony of the games and field a combined women's ice hockey team. The North also agreed to send 22 athletes and a large delegation, including a cheerleading squad and performers. The athletes will compete in ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing, the International Olympic Committee said.

North Korea on Monday canceled a joint cultural event, citing South Korean media coverage of its participation in the games.

The NBC broadcast from Masikryong came several weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics, scheduled to be held in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang from February 9-25. The games are a prized franchise for NBCUniversal, the Comcast subsidiary that is parent company of NBC, which also broadcast The Apprentice, the show that launched Trump's reality TV career.

Since 1995, NBCUniversal has paid the International Olympic Committee (IOC) $15.63 billion for the rights to broadcast the Olympics through 2032. The money helps support the Olympic movement, according to the IOC.

VOA's Christy Lee contributed to this report.

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Report: Hanoi Had 38 Days of Clean Air in 2017

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — 

Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, enjoyed little more than one month of clean air last year as pollution levels rose to match those of China's smog-prone capital, Beijing, preliminary findings of a new report showed.

Annual average air pollution in Hanoi in 2017 was also four times higher than the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines, according to a report by the Green Innovation and Development Center (GreenID).

And the situation is likely to get worse, according to the Hanoi-based nonprofit organization.

"A bit more than one month were days with good air quality," said Lars Blume, technical adviser at GreenID, which analyzed air monitoring data compiled at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

"It is out of people's control — they have to go out and work — and in many cases it is hard to really feel whether air is good or bad," Blume told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Air pollution in Hanoi is caused by a number of factors, including a rise in construction work, an increase in car and motorcycle use, and agricultural burning by farmers, Blume said.

But research in the report suggests that heavy industries, like steel works, cement factories and coal power plants in areas near the capital, are also significant contributors.

Hanoi's air pollution is now worse than that of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the report showed, and things are unlikely to improve as Vietnam pushes ahead with plans to build more coal-fired power plants.

Exposure to high levels of air pollution, especially over the long term, can affect human respiratory and inflammatory systems, and can also lead to heart disease and cancer.

Acknowledging the problem, in mid-2016 the Vietnamese government launched a national action plan that sought to control and monitor emissions and improve air quality. Hanoi is planning to install 70 air monitoring stations.

The GreenID report criticized the lack of regulations on air quality, a lack of public awareness of the problem and a lack of effective measures to minimize the effects, such as home purifiers.

The Vietnamese government must install more air pollution monitoring stations across the country and make the data available to the public, Blume said.

Improved urban planning and investments in renewable energy and public transport systems are also needed, said the report, which is due to be published at the end of February.

Previous GreenID surveys showed a growing concern among the Vietnamese over the issue of air quality and a rise in respiratory problems among children, said Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, a researcher at the organization.

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Pakistan Launches Application to Combat Cyberextremism

In an effort to combat extremism online, Pakistan's government has launched an application that will allow its citizens to report websites that publish extremist content and hate speech.

Called Surfsafe, it was developed by Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and works in both Android and iOS devices.

NACTA is a government body responsible for designing the country's counterterrorism strategies.

"Strict enforcement of cybercrime laws is absolutely necessary to overcome this massive challenge of online extremism. Surfsafe is a step in that direction," Ehsan Ghani, NACTA's director, told VOA.

"People, unfortunately, at times get attracted to extremist ideologies without even realizing it. Through this program [application], we will create awareness and block online materials involved in provoking extremism in any capacity," Ghani added.

Numerous militant, sectarian and radical groups continue to operate online in Pakistan despite the country's strict cybercrime laws.

Officials are optimistic that Surfsafe will help them rein in websites that promote extremist ideologies. The application is part of the implementation of the National Action Plan, a 20-point strategy adopted by Pakistan in 2015 to crack down on terrorism and extremism in the country.

The NAP reiterates that militant groups, under any circumstances, must not be allowed to use the internet as a propaganda tool.

Daunting task

Social media experts in Pakistan say restricting the presence of terrorists on the internet is a daunting task because militant networks have become more tech savvy in recent years.

"We do not think such initiatives of cosmetic nature will do any good," Shahzad Ahmad, director of Bytes for All, a Pakistani digital rights advocacy group, told VOA.

"Extremist groups have hired cyberarmies in large numbers which are being used to manipulate democratic discourse, stifle political expression and undermine fundamental rights in cyberspace," he added.

Selective usage

Nighat Dad, the executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation, a Pakistani nongovernmental organization that helps people cope with online abuse, told VOA that online extremism is a global issue. "It becomes more complex in Pakistan because the government has no political will to deal with it," Dad said.

"The government needs to have their priorities right. They crack down on activists vocal about the government, military and the state despite those who're using internet for their dark purposes," she added.

According to Bytes for All, despite government's initiatives and cybercrime laws, militants continue to easily reach millions of internet users in the country through their high-tech networks.

A detailed investigative report published in the English daily Dawn last year noted 41 of the 64 banned terror organizations, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Sipah-i-Sahaba and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, operate on social media openly. Hundreds of their personal and group pages are accessible to millions of users on Facebook and Twitter.

The report further noted that these pages are regularly updated with photos and videos in the Urdu language and urge people to get in touch for information or recruitment purposes. A majority of these pages are reportedly managed by radical religious groups who openly show sympathy and support for different terror networks.

Social media companies

Pakistan's government last year announced it would ask major social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to block pages promoting "hatred," "violence" and "blasphemy."

"In order to enforce Surfsafe fully, the government will continue to contact social media networks to take down pages and accounts involved in inciting hatred and terror," Ghani told VOA. "This is a matter of our national security."

Major social media companies have shown the will to urgently tackle extremist contents online. Twitter last year announced it had suspended 376,890 accounts globally that were promoting violence and terrorism.

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, about 51 million of the country's 190 million people have internet access. Officials express concern that militant groups continue to reach and lure youth.

Last year in April, Pakistani authorities arrested a woman named Naureen Laghari who wanted to target a Christian gathering on Easter Eve in Lahore. The young woman had been recruited by the Islamic State group through social media networks. She had reportedly gone to Syria to get military training.

Tackling them physically

Some critics charge that unless the government stops the terrorist groups' activities on the ground, silencing them on the internet would not be that effective.

"Our leaders should denounce extremism, but what we see is that many are hand in hand with extremists either in the name of religion or for their own political agendas," Shahzad Ahmad of Bytes for All said. "This needs to be stopped if the country is serious [about stopping] cyberextremism."

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Pakistan Says 27 Taliban, Haqqani Militants Handed Over to Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD — 

Pakistan disclosed Tuesday it recently extradited 27 suspected Taliban and Haqqani militants to Afghanistan as part of an effort to stop insurgents from using Pakistani soil for cross-border terrorist activities, information Islamabad kept confidential until now.

The disclosure comes amid growing accusations the Afghan Taliban and its allied Haqqani network of militants used Pakistani soil for plotting recent bombings in Kabul that killed and wounded hundreds of people. It also comes before U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech in which he is expected to mention terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said the group of suspected militants was handed over to Afghan custody in November.

"Pakistan continues to push any suspected TTA (the Afghan Taliban) and HN (Haqqani network) elements to prevent them from using our soil for any terrorist activity in Afghanistan," Faisal added.

Afghan authorities were not available to respond to the Pakistani disclosure, and Islamabad did not discuss the identities of the individuals it extradited or whether any senior commanders were among them.

On Saturday, a Taliban bomber detonated an ambulance packed with explosives in central Kabul, killing more than 100 people and wounding nearly 250 others in one of the deadliest attacks in the war-torn country.

The bombing came a week after a group of heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers stormed the capital city's Intercontinental Hotel. The assailants battled Afghan forces for about 14 hours and killed 22 people, including four Americans.

The United States has designated the Haqqani network a terrorist organization, and U.S. officials allege the Pakistani spy agency maintains covert ties with the Haqqanis to use the militants to counter the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies the accusations.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials say U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster telephoned his Afghan counterpart, Haneef Atmar, Tuesday evening to condemn the terrorist attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

Without naming Pakistan, Atmar said in comments he posted on his official Twitter account that "terrorists' safe havens outside Afghanistan, where the terrorists get training and sanctuaries pose a serious threat to the whole region and world, should be destroyed and eliminated."

Pakistani spokesman Faisal again defended his country's record in the fight against terrorism, saying it has sacrificed 75,000 civilians and 6,000 soldiers while the national economy has suffered losses of around $123 billion.

Faisal separately spoke on state-run radio and reiterated Islamabad's call seeking a negotiated settlement to the war. He maintained that military means have failed to achieve peace and called for the resumption of a four-nation dialogue process to promote Afghan peace.

The Pakistani spokesman said the Quadrilateral Consultative Group involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States "is the most appropriate forum to help take the Afghan peace process forward."

The QCG was established in 2016 and held several meetings but failed to persuade the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.Differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan over how to deal with insurgents opposing peace talks also prevented the QCG from making headway.

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US General Says N. Korea Not Demonstrated All Components of ICBM

WASHINGTON — 

North Korea's nuclear program has made strides in recent months but the country has not yet demonstrated all the components of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), including a survivable re-entry vehicle, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.

Air Force General Paul Selva's remarks confirmed an assessment by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in December that North Korea's ICBM did not pose an imminent threat to the United States.

"What he has not demonstrated yet are the fusing and targeting technologies and survivable re-entry vehicle," Selva said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"It is possible he has them, so we have to place the bet that he might have them, but he hasn't demonstrated them," Selva, the second highest-ranking U.S. military official, added.

In November, North Korea said it had successfully tested a new type of ICBM that could reach all of the U.S. mainland and South Korea. U.S.-based experts said data from the test appeared to support that.

Selva said that if conflict were to break out, it was unlikely the United States would be able to get an early indication of North Korean launches.

"It is very unlikely that in a tactical situation, we would get any of the indications and warning that would precede a launch other than if we got lucky and saw the movement of the launch mechanism to the launch platform," Selva said.

He added that by using mobile-erected launchers, the warning time for the United States had decreased from up to an hour to about a dozen minutes.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea, but debate on military options has lost some momentum in recent weeks after North and South Korea resumed talks ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in the South.

Selva said the Pentagon's upcoming nuclear posture review, expected to be released on Friday, would lay out the future of nuclear modernization and may include new missiles on submarines.

A leaked draft policy document posted online this month, said the United States would pursue development of a new nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile.

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UN Palestinian Aid Agency Gets Cash Injection After Trump Cuts

GENEVA — 

Almost a dozen countries have agreed to advance their annual contributions to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees to help it plug a major shortfall after a partial cutoff of U.S. funding, its chief said Tuesday.

The move by the Trump administration appears linked to a United Nations vote rejecting Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The United States said this month it would withhold $65 million of $125 million it had planned to send to UNRWA, which runs schools and clinics for 5.3 million Palestinians across the Middle East, including in Gaza and the West Bank.

"It is very clear that the decision by the United States was not related to our performance," Kraehenbuehl told a news briefing, citing his "very good meetings" with senior U.S. officials in Washington in November.

"This has to be part of the debate that took place around Jerusalem, the vote on Jerusalem at the [U.N.] General Assembly.

"And I simply note here again that humanitarian funding should be preserved from being tied up with political considerations," he added.

Eleven countries have agreed to advance their donations to finance UNRWA programs in coming months, Kraehenbuehl said after meeting donor representatives, adding: "There a sense of coming together."

Seven countries — Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Russia — had already transferred early funds while four — Belgium, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Ireland — had pledged to do so soon, he said.

Kraehenbuehl launched an appeal for some $800 million to provide aid to Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian territories this year.

He said UNRWA received $360 million from the United States last year but Washington had cleared only $60 million for 2018 — a drop of $300 million that he called "a very severe and dramatic change."

UNRWA is supported almost entirely by voluntary contributions from states, and the United States is the largest contributor. U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned the value of such funding, and the U.S. State Department said UNRWA needed to make unspecified reforms.

Trump's endorsement in December of Israel's claim to Jerusalem as its capital drew universal condemnation from Arab leaders and criticism around the world. It broke with decades of U.S. policy that the city's status must be decided in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

More than 120 countries defied Trump on Dec. 22 and voted in favor of a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

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Taliban Reacts Sharply to Trump's 'No Peace Talks' Remarks

ISLAMABAD — 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of peace talks with the Taliban has provoked a strong reaction from the Islamist insurgency, while lead Afghan clerics advocate against continuation of military action to end the war in Afghanistan.

“We have always maintained, the true authority of war and peace is not with the Kabul regime but with the American invaders, and the recent statement by Trump made this matter brighter than the sun,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday.

Trump ruled out talks with the insurgent group and vowed to “finish” them in the wake of a wave of terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital, Kabul, that killed hundreds of people.

“They’re killing people left and right. Innocent people being killed left and right,” Trump told a U.N. Security Council delegation at the White House on Monday.

“So we don’t want to talk with the Taliban. There may be a time, but it’s going to be a long time,” noted the U.S. president, suggesting a stronger military campaign against the Taliban was imminent.

Trump and his “war-mongering supporters” should expect an equal reaction and not “roses” from the Taliban, asserted the insurgent spokesman in a written statement released to media.

“War will only make the reactionary jihadist waves more violent and increase the human and financial losses of American troops by many folds,” Mujahid said.

Crossing a 'red line'

A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday stopped short of supporting Trump’s idea of rejecting talks with insurgents. Shah Hussain Murtazawi told VOA the Afghan government will now use all available means to stop the Taliban from conducting terrorist attacks.

“The Taliban have crossed a red line and lost the opportunity for peace...We have to look for peace on the battlefield. They have to be marginalized,” Murtazawi pledged. He said a suicide car bombing last Saturday was the “red line.” The blast killed more than 100 people and wounded 250 others.

On Tuesday, an Afghan council of 100 prominent clerics met in Kabul to denounce the militant violence as un-Islamic.

The council’s spokesman, Mohammad Qasem Halimi, while talking to reporters, declined to directly comment on Trump’s refusal to engage in talks with the Taliban, but maintained that Islamic Afghanistan “faithfully” believes in resolving issues through peace negotiations.

“I want to stress that those [the Taliban] who are not coming to peace talks are against the [Islamic] religion. I am hopeful that discussing peace on the table talks can solve the problems. But we have not yet come to the conclusion that war is the way forward to find peace, particularly in Afghanistan,” Halimi said.

Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan explained to reporters in Kabul Tuesday night that there was no change in Washington policy and the stepped up U.S. military pressure on the Taliban is meant to push insurgents into peace talks.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the Afghan conflict in recent years. Observers see the stepped up Taliban attacks as a reaction to recent battlefield setbacks and killings of key Taliban commanders in U.S.-led international airstrikes.

The insurgency has refused to engage in peace talks until all foreign forces leave Afghanistan.

Pakistan complicit?

The United States believes the Haqqani network, a faction within the Taliban, plotted Saturday’s attack. Afghan officials have also long accused Pakistan of supporting and sheltering the Taliban and Haqqanis.

The Pakistani government denies the charges and has condemned the recent series of “heinous attacks” in the neighboring country.

Pakistani authorities also cite stepped up border scrutiny measures in addition to sustained counterterrorism operations on their side.

Earlier in January, about 1,800 Pakistani clerics issued a fatwa, or religious decree, declaring suicide bombings and anti-state acts as un-Islamic. Afghan officials and clerics, however, dismissed the move as insufficient for it being limited to Pakistan only. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal rejected the criticism as misplaced and declared the religious directive as a "landmark" development for countering religious extremism and terrorism.

“It [the fatwa] goes on to prohibit the use of Pakistani territory for the propagation of any kind of terrorism...Afghanistan may on its part seek a similar fatwa from its ulema [body of religious scholars]. The application of fatwas is universal and not restricted to geographical limits,” Faisal maintained.

Islamabad also alleges that anti-state militants are using bases in Afghan border areas to launch attacks against Pakistan, charges Kabul denies.

An improvement in strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan is seen as key to effective regional counterterrorism efforts.

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Afghanistan Calls on Trump to Not Deport Afghans

KABUL — 

Afghanistan is asking the U.S. government to stop deporting Afghan nationals, saying it has no repatriation agreement with the United States.

"We did not sign any such agreements with the United States of America," Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni, spokesperson for the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the VOA Afghanistan Service. If there were such an agreement, Mostaghni said, it would have been made by the nation's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, which he said handles all immigration issues.

"So, since they are not aware of such an agreement, I can officially confirm that we — MoFA — did not ink any deal with the U.S in this regard," Mostaghni said.

Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations adviser Hafiz Ahmad Miakhel also insisted that his government has not approved a repatriation agreement and said the ministry is asking for a halt to all deportations. "Ongoing war has been forcing people to leave Afghanistan," he said in an interview. "We are a country still at war, and our people need to be helped rather than deporting."

The European Union entered into a repatriation agreement with Afghanistan in October 2016 to pave the way for the return of failed Afghan asylum seekers. In addition, Germany, Sweden and Finland have country-to-country agreements.

When VOA asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if the United States has such an agreement, spokesman Brendan Raedy provided a written response:

"International law obligates each country to accept the return of its nationals ordered removed from the United States. The United States itself routinely cooperates with foreign governments in documenting and accepting its citizens when asked, as do the majority of countries in the world."

Afghan deportations

Deportations from the U.S. were down overall in 2017, but an analysis of the data by National Public Radio shows that if the Latin American countries — which make up some 90 percent of repatriations — are not counted, deportations to the rest of the world were up by 24 percent.

"Deportations to Brazil and China jumped," NPR reported. "Removals of Somalis nearly doubled. Deportations to Ghana and West Africa are up more than two times."

Afghanistan is no exception. ICE statistics show the number of Afghans deported rose sharply last year from 14 in fiscal year 2016 to 48 in FY 2017.

"Dozens of Afghan immigrants or asylum seekers have been deported to Kabul since [U.S. President Donald] Trump took the power," Miakhel said. "In April 2017, we received a group of 21 deportees of different ages."

Miakhel said there was not much clarity about the reasons for the deportations. "We were told that some of the Afghan deportees were not qualified to seek asylum in the U.S.; some of them may have posed a threat to the U.S. national security or may have committed crimes."

The United States has an estimated 14,000 troops in Afghanistan assisting, training and equipping the Afghan National Security Forces to defeat Taliban, Islamic State and other insurgent groups.

According to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, more immigrants and refugees hail from Afghanistan than any other country except Syria. Some 2.7 million Afghan immigrants and refugees are under UNCHR protection worldwide, most of them fleeing violence and insecurity.

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As Trade Tensions Rise With US, China Prepares to Retaliate

BEIJING — 

As trade tensions grow between the United States and China, there is concern among foreign companies in China that a possible trade war between the two countries could leave them caught in the crossfire.

President Donald Trump has been ratcheting up trade pressure on China, and a senior administration official has said the U.S. leader would be “emphasizing the fair and reciprocal nature of trade” in his State of the Union speech Tuesday.

Already, Trump has issued what some believe could be the opening salvo in a more intense showdown over trade, recently slapping stiff import tariffs on solar panel imports and washing machines. More trade actions could be announced soon.

“If that does go forward, I have been told by certain officials [in China] that yes, definitely, there will be retaliation,” said William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, or AmCham China. “And what we’ve been telling our interlocutors is that if there is some kind of tariff and if the Chinese do want to retaliate, they do so maturely and with precision so as to not actually adversely affect their own economy.”

Zarit spoke on Tuesday at the launch of AmCham China’s annual survey on the business climate in the world’s second-largest economy. The survey for 2017 was conducted at the time of Trump’s visit late last year and cited growing optimism among members about the outlook for growth and investment in China.

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents said that positive relations between the U.S. and China are extremely important or very important, compared with 64 percent in 2015.

Three out of every four companies surveyed, however, said they still feel unwelcome in China. One key driver of that perception - regulatory barriers for foreign companies and unfair treatment relative to local ones, the survey found.

While no one wants a trade war, the survey found that more than 60 percent are advocating for the U.S. government to take actions to help correct trade imbalances.

Zarit said some have grown weary of years of negotiations on trade and investment issues between the governments and think Washington should use pressure.

“Strictly just dialogue has not really brought much in terms of progress. So, perhaps some pressure will help get us more progress to a more balanced economic and commercial relationship,” he said.

Seeking ‘level playing field’

According to the survey, 27 percent of its business members “advocate more strongly for a level playing field” for U.S. businesses in China. Another 19 percent want the U.S. government to “apply investment reciprocity as an approach to improve market access in China.”

A third group comprising 14 percent of AmCham members wants Washington to pursue a new multilateral trade agreement that would include the U.S. replacing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.

One of Trump’s first actions in office was to pull the United States out of the TPP, but last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he hinted at a possible path back toward the TPP or something similar to the trade agreement.

Lester Ross, head of AmCham China’s policy committee, said American companies should be ready to deal with harsh measures and other forms of retaliation from Beijing.

“I don’t think any company wants to absorb or make a sacrifice for trade relations, but I think some companies will inevitably suffer some repercussions if there are trade frictions between the two countries,” he said. “They [U.S. companies] have to consider that possibility.”

Ross said retaliation from the Chinese government could include measures targeting the airline and agriculture sectors, and possibly affecting industries and communities where support for Trump was strong during the elections.

"It would be likely that they [Chinese] will target sectors that have political resonance in the United States, and particular products or commodities,” he said.

Rising friction over trade is not the only way companies doing business in China could be caught in the middle.

As part of Trump's efforts to exert more pressure on North Korea, he previously has complained that China is not doing enough and used the threat of possible trade actions as a carrot and stick to try to get Beijing to do more.

Some analysts said the Trump administration might go slowly on trade remedies against China if Beijing does more to help Washington in resolving the North Korea problem.

But that, in turn, could distract Washington from its plans to deal with what the U.S. sees as Beijing’s unfair trade practices.

Zarit said AmCham members also want the North Korea issue to be resolved as peacefully as possible.

“We also hope that our needs for addressing the structural imbalances in the relationship are not sacrificed in the process,” he said.

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As Trade Tensions Rise With US, China Prepares to Retaliate

Executives at a top American business lobby group say China is preparing for a possible trade war with the United States, and concern is growing that foreign companies could get caught in the crossfire. U.S. President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address Tuesday is expected to touch on what the Trump administration sees as China’s unfair practices and perhaps provide some clues as to what trade actions to expect. VOA’s Bill Ide has more from Beijing.

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Criticism Growing Over Delays to Next Thai Poll

BANGKOK — 

Thailand's military-led government is facing growing criticism for again delaying the next general election that is supposed to return the country to civilian rule, at least nominally.

The military junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), has been in power since May 2014, and has set out a "political roadmap" for elections that were first set to take place in 2016.

The prime minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, then set the date in November before the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly pushed the date back to February 2019.

Criticism mounted, with foreign diplomats joining a chorus of protests that included Thai NGOs and opposition groups.

"The number of times now they have delayed this election; basically it went from one year to two years to three years to four years. It's just too much and people have lost patience," said Chris Baker, a commentator and author on Thai politics.

Baker said a weak domestic economy is also undermining support for the government and adding to the climate of discontent.

Also eroding the government's support is a scandal involving the deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsawon, who has touched off a firestorm of public criticism for wearing luxurious watches estimated to be valued at more than $1.2 million.

General Prayut, in recent media comments, has avoided making any commitment binding the junta to step down after the election.

Government officials blame the delays on legislative obstacles.

The Thai military took power in May 2014 following months of anti-government protests against the elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The protests were initially triggered by the Yingluck government's attempt to pass an amnesty bill to clear her older brother and former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled Thailand in 2008 while facing corruption charges.

Thaksin, a populist who pushed policies favoring Thailand's rural poor and middle classes, triggered deep political polarization in the kingdom. The policies helped Thaksin and his supporters win several elections, while his "Red Shirt" movement also challenged Bangkok's elite establishment.

Analysts say that while there is increasing criticism of the military government and of corruption, many in the middle class also fear a return of a pro-Thaksin government and renewed upheaval.

But Kraisak Choonhavan, a former senator and member of Thailand's Democrat Party, said there is discontent even among former supporters of the military known as "Yellow Shirts."

"A lot of the Yellow [shirts] are unhappy also because they have been penalized quite heavily for their political activities against Thaksin," Kraisak told VOA.

Rights groups say the military, facing a loss of popularity, has also stepped up suppression of criticism and anti-government protests. All gatherings of more than five people are currently banned.

A crackdown on online commentaries has led to the charging of a respected Thai historian, Charnvut Kasetsiri, and a dean from Thammasat University, Anusorn Unno. Thai police are also investigating organizers of recent demonstrations, including a group that called for early elections.

But Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University, said any delay in the election is unlikely to have a major impact on many Thais who have adjusted to life under military rule.

"I don't think [a delay] would have a strong impact because of the power and the kinds of legal mechanisms that the NCPO [junta] have. They use [these] to suppress people," Titipol said.

He said the military has also sought to win support by applying populist economic policies in rural areas, supporting farmers with price subsidies and give-aways, undermining grass root support for the pro-Thakisn Red Shirt movement.

The next step in the political process is due to come in March when new political parties will have the opportunity to register members — a full month before existing major parties such as the Democrats and pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai parties will be required to register members — a move analysts say is meant to favor a bid by General Prayut to remain in power.

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10 Westerners Facing Pornography Charges in Cambodia

Ten foreigners have been arrested in Cambodia on charges of pornography after they were caught dancing suggestively during a private party.

The group – five Britons, two Canadians, and one person each from the Netherlands, Norway and New Zealand – were arrested last Thursday during a police raid of a villa in the northeastern village of Siem Reap, home to the famous ruins of the ancient Angkor Wat temple. Prosecutors say the 10 have been charged with producing pornographic pictures and other materials, and face at least one year in jail if convicted.

Sorung Sophea, an attorney representing the 10 jailed Westerners, says the group was clad in swimsuits and drinking alcoholic beverages by a swimming pool, but insists none of the photos show them undressed or engaging in sex. Sophea said the group should be deported instead of facing criminal charges.

Seventy-seven other people arrested during the raid were released with a warning.

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Defectors Torn by North Korean Olympic Charm Offensive

SEOUL — 

North Korean defectors, who fled their impoverished and repressive homeland, are voicing concern that the North’s Olympic delegation featuring its “army of beauties” will score deceptive propaganda points, but they also hold out hope that inter-Korean cooperation can create an opportunity for peaceful progress.

A 230 member all female cheerleading squad, often called the "army of beauties," will be among the large North Korean Olympic delegation planning to visit South Korea for the PyeongChang Olympics in February.

"It will garner the spotlight, and as each of its actions can become an opportunity to promote North Korea, I consider this as a political move," said Kim Chul-woong, who was a pianist with Pyongyang University of Music and Dance, before defecting in 2002.

Charm offensive

The cheering squad is made up of attractive and relatively tall women (over 160cm,) who were selected from elite universities and have no relatives living abroad.

Perhaps the most famous former cheering squad member is Ri Sol Ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At the age of 16 she participated in the 2005 Asian Athletic Championships in South Korea.

The women cheerleaders also undergo extensive ideological education to ensure loyalty to the state and to the leadership of the Kim family.

"Leaving North Korea and visiting overseas is like going to fight in the heart of the enemy," said North Korean defector Han Seo-hee.

Han can also testify that the state’s ideological training is not always effective, as she was actually a North Korean cheerleader for the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea, before she defected.

Misleading image

Defectors who suffered under the repressive Kim government are among the skeptics that see the North’s pause in provocative missile and nuclear tests, and its Olympic charm offensive, as part of an effort to improve its international standing, and undermine support for strong United Nations sanctions that put strict curbs on trade, including a ban on coal exports and limits on the import of oil.

The cheering squads, critics say, can be an effective propaganda tool to show a misleadingly harmonious image of the country, where the vast majority of people live in poverty, and where the leadership stands accused of crimes against humanity, based on a 2014 United Nations report that documented a network of political prison camps, and systematic human rights abuses including murder, enslavement, torture, and rape.

"I think there are many negative aspects to the cheering squad. It has the purpose of promoting that they are living normally by showing beautiful cheering squads," said Kim Chul-woong.

Bonding experience

At the same time many North Korean defectors see the Olympic related inter-Korean cooperation as a positive development that can counter adversarial political stereotypes with real people to people bonding experiences.

"I am expecting that we will be able to feel the warmth of peace in that area, regardless of politics," said Kim Ga-young who defected from North Korea in 2012.

North Korean visitors will also likely get a first hand view of the freedom and prosperity that exists in the democratic South, in contrast to how Pyongyang’s strictly controlled state media often portrays its neighbor as oppressive and poor.

Cultural cancellation

North Korea’s sudden cancellation on Monday of a joint cultural performance that was to take place on the North’s Kumgang Mountain should not impact other Olympics related cooperation, a South Korean government official said on Tuesday.

North Korea blamed the cancellation on South Korean media for encouraging "insulting" public sentiment. An official with the Unification Ministry in Seoul suggested that the North was just not prepared to host such a large-scale event, including more then 300 people on such short notice, according to South Korean media.

Many South Koreans have complained that the unified women's hockey was unfair to the South Korean players. More than a hundred petitions against the unified team have been sent to the presidential Blue House's website.

The South Korean Unification Ministry said Tuesday it expects the agreed upon training of South Korean athletes at North Korea's Masikryong ski resort on Wednesday to proceed as planned.

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Australian Man Jailed for Filming Cambodian Opposition Rally Denied Bail

An Australian filmmaker arrested last year in Cambodia on charges of endangering national security remains behind bars after that country's high court rejected his application for bail.

James Ricketson was arrested in Phnom Penh last June for mounting a camera on a drone to film a campaign rally by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party. The 68-year-old Ricketson faces 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

The Supreme Court issued a statement Tuesday saying it rejected Ricketson's application because his case is still under investigation.

Alexandra Kennet, a lawyer for Ricketson's family, told reporters the family is "very, very disappointed" by the Supreme Court's decision, which was handed down in Ricketson's absence; a court clerk said the van taking him to court for the hearing was late in arriving. Kennet said Ricketson's family is also worried about his health, as he is detained in a cramped cell with 140 other prisoners.

Ricketson's arrest coincides with an apparent crackdown on dissent by autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen to retain his 32-year grip on power, including the Supreme Court's decision to dissolve the CNRP back in December. The court sided with a lawsuit filed by Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), accusing the CNRP of being involved in a plot to topple the government.

The accusations led to the arrest of party leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason. The CNRP represented the biggest threat to Hun Sen's long rule after making unexpectedly strong gains in the 2013 general elections. Support is growing for the opposition, especially among younger Cambodians eager for change.

Hun Sen's government has also shut down a number of independent newspapers and English-language radio stations, including those broadcasting the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

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Australian Man Jailed for Filming Cambodian Opposition Rally Denied Bail

An Australian filmmaker arrested last year in Cambodia on charges of endangering national security remains behind bars after that country's high court rejected his application for bail.

James Ricketson was arrested in Phnom Penh last June for mounting a camera on a drone to film a campaign rally by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party. The 68-year-old Ricketson faces 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

The Supreme Court issued a statement Tuesday saying it rejected Ricketson's application because his case is still under investigation.

Alexandra Kennet, a lawyer for Ricketson's family, told reporters the family is "very, very disappointed" by the Supreme Court's decision, which was handed down in Ricketson's absence; a court clerk said the van taking him to court for the hearing was late in arriving. Kennet said Ricketson's family is also worried about his health, as he is detained in a cramped cell with 140 other prisoners.

Ricketson's arrest coincides with an apparent crackdown on dissent by autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen to retain his 32-year grip on power, including the Supreme Court's decision to dissolve the CNRP back in December. The court sided with a lawsuit filed by Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), accusing the CNRP of being involved in a plot to topple the government.

The accusations led to the arrest of party leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason. The CNRP represented the biggest threat to Hun Sen's long rule after making unexpectedly strong gains in the 2013 general elections. Support is growing for the opposition, especially among younger Cambodians eager for change.

Hun Sen's government has also shut down a number of independent newspapers and English-language radio stations, including those broadcasting the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

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Trump: Recent Violence Proves There is No Point in Talking to Taliban

President Donald Trump has condemned the wave of deadly attacks in Afghanistan over the last week, saying Washington. does not want to negotiate with the Taliban, who are killing many innocent women and children. His comments come as a new report indicates that increased U.S. military operations in the war-ravaged country has failed to improve the Afghan government's ability to protect its own people. VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.

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Young Colombians File Landmark Climate Lawsuit

BOGOTA — 

A group of young Colombians, one as young as seven, filed a lawsuit against the Colombian government on Monday demanding it protect their right to a healthy environment in what campaigners said was the first such action in Latin America.

The lawsuit, filed at a Bogota court, alleges the government's failure to stem rising deforestation in Colombia puts their future in jeopardy and violates their constitutional rights to a healthy environment, life, food and water.

"Deforestation is threatening the fundamental rights of those of us who are young today and will face the impacts of climate change the rest of our lives," the 25 plaintiffs, whose ages range from seven to 26, said in a joint statement.

"We are at a critical moment given the speed at which deforestation is happening in the Colombian Amazon. The government's lack of capacity and planning as well as its failure to protect the environment makes the adoption of urgent measures necessary."

It is the first climate change litigation in Latin America, according to the Bogota-based rights group, Dejusticia, which is supporting the plaintiffs' case.

The lawsuit follows a recent surge in litigation around the world demanding action or claiming damages over the impact of climate change - from rising sea levels to pollution.

"Just as cities, like New York and San Francisco, have sued oil companies for their role in fueling climate change, and a court ordered the Netherlands' government to reduce its carbon emissions, we are asking that Colombia fulfills its prior commitments to tackle climate change," said Cesar Rodriguez, head of Dejusticia.

Experts say U.S. President Donald Trump's move to pull out of the global Paris climate change accord and roll back environmental regulations means campaigners are increasingly resorting to litigation in the United States.

The Colombia lawsuit calls on the government to halt deforestation in Colombia's Amazon and keep to its promises.

Colombia, home to a swathe of rainforest roughly the size of Germany and England combined, has declared a goal of zero net deforestation by 2020 and halting the loss of all natural forest by 2030.

Despite the government's pledges, deforestation in Colombia's Amazon region rose 23 percent and across the country increased by 44 percent from 2015 to 2016.

When forests are degraded or destroyed, the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere. Deforestation accounts for 10 to 15 percent of carbon emissions worldwide.

Stemming forest loss is even more urgent following Colombia's 2016 peace deal that ended a decades-long civil war.

Experts say Colombia's rainforests are under increasing threat with once no-go conflict areas opening up for development and criminal gangs cutting down trees for illegal gold mining.

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Alibaba Looks to Modernize Olympics Starting in Pyeongchang

SAN FRANCISCO — 

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., one of the few Olympics sponsors signed up until 2028, said it wants to upgrade the technology that keeps the Games running and will study the Pyeongchang Games to help find ways to save future host countries money.

"Pyeongchang will be a very important learning opportunity for our team to see how things are working and what's missing," Alibaba's chief marketing officer Chris Tung said in an interview. Alibaba, the cloud-services and e-commerce provider for the Olympics, will take back what it has learned at the Feb. 9 to 25 Pyeongchang Winter Games and develop solutions for the next Games.

Ticketing, media and video services are among the areas that Tung said Alibaba wants to improve. It especially wants to end the inefficient practice of building from scratch local data centers and IT services for each Olympic Games.

"It will be great if a lot of the back end systems from hosting a Games can be hosted on the cloud and can be reused from Games to Games to enhance the cost efficiency," he said.

Atos SE, the French information services company that is also a top sponsor, said on its website that all critical IT systems in Pyeongchang have already been moved to the cloud using its technology.

Alibaba will send to South Korea between 200 and 300 employees from across all its management teams, Tung said, adding that he wants the "organizers to see how the operations could be made more efficient, effective and secure."

Alibaba's views are in line with the Olympics Agenda 2020 reforms that also aimed to make the Games more attractive and cut the cost of hosting them. The next Winter Olympics after Pyeongchang will be in 2022 on Alibaba's home turf in China, where the company said it wants to make the experience of going to an Olympics totally different for consumers, whether it's how they buy tickets, use mobile technology or find related events in Beijing.

At Pyeongchang, Alibaba said on its website that it will put on a showcase at the Gangneung Olympic Park demonstrating concepts Alibaba is looking to pursue for future Games, including facial recognition technology, travel guidance, content creation and better ways to buy Olympics merchandise.

"We're new to the Olympics games but we've been studying what would be solutions to the pain points that game hosting cities have been facing over the years," Tung said.

As for the cold weather expected in Pyeongchang, there will also be a daily tea ritual at the Alibaba site to keep fans warm.

Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco.

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