Chinese President Calls for Peaceful Reunification with Self-Ruled Taiwan

People's Daily: China will Never Yield on Core National Interests

SHANGHAI — 

China will not yield on issues it deems to be its core national interests, a commentary in the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper said on Wednesday, a day after China's president called for cooperation with the United States.

"In matters related to core national interests, China has not given in, is not giving in, and will never give in," the People's Daily commentary said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump sent congratulatory messages to each other on Tuesday, marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

China and the United States face a key deadline in March for talks to end their damaging trade war. Trump has said talks towards a deal are progressing well.

However, "regardless of the development of Sino-U.S. relations, China's strategic choice to deepen reform and opening is unswerving, and we are committed to doing our own thing," the commentary said.

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Australia Closes Controversial Detention Center

MELBOURNE — 

Australia announced the closure of Melbourne's controversial Maribyrnong detention center Wednesday, one of several facilities used to lock up immigrants who arrived without papers.

The government said the decision to close the much-criticized facility was "another milestone in the ramping-down of Australia's onshore immigration detention network."

Maribyrnong opened in the middle of the last century, but has recently been the site of hunger strikes and other protests over harsh treatment.

In 2017, the Australian Human Rights Commission — a government body — reported guards at the facility used "more restrictive measures than necessary," including the excessive use of restraints during escort.

The few remaining inmates have now been transferred to other facilities.

Immigration Minister David Coleman said successful policies had reduced the number of people held at Australia's immigration detention centers from a peak of 10,000 in 2013 to just over a thousand today.

Around 19 facilities have been shuttered since September 2013 — as the government looks to elections that will take place by the end of May and intense debate over immigration policies.

The ruling Liberal-led coalition has faced fierce public opposition to its harsh immigration policies, including the use of unpopular offshore detention camps.

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Kim: N. Korea Could Look at 'New Paths' for Defense if Sanctions Persist

Chinese Economy at Crossroads as Trade Reform Pressure Mounts

From Terror to Triumph: a Young Rohingya Woman's Journey to the Impossible

Chinese Economy at Crossroads as Trade Reform Pressure Mounts

Over the past year, the United States and China have clashed increasingly over trade, their visions for the world and national security. And in 2019, the question of whether the world's two biggest economies can work out a trade deal is something that is set to have an impact not only their relationship but the broader Chinese economy as well. VOA's Bill Ide has this report.

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