Tag: Chinese

Austin, Biden accused of delaying action on the Chinese spy balloon

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Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) ripped Biden and Austin, accusing them of delaying action.
“So on the fifth day, it is apparent that you took the right steps,” Wicker told VanHerck. “But it’s also clear that you received no direction from the president of the United States or the secretary of Defense until the fifth day of this crisis, by which point the balloon had traversed Alaska and Canada and then reentered the United States.”
But Defense Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh disputed the assertion, noting that Austin had been communicating with Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley and VanHerck to develop options earlier than the discussion on Feb. 1. The Feb. 1 call was scheduled by the secretary’s team because Austin wanted to review those options, Singh said.
The comments on Thursday shed new light on the Biden administration’s handling of the incursion, from the balloon’s detection near a remote island chain off Alaska until it was shot down by an Air Force F-22 on Feb. 4. They reveal that the military was prepared to shoot down the balloon as soon as it was detected on radar as it flew over a remote island chain off Alaska, but did not have the legal authority to do so until days later.
A senior Defense Department official noted that VanHerck did not initially recommend shooting down the balloon, and that it was the general’s preference to observe it instead. Austin pushed the commander to consider “kinetic options,” said the person, who was granted anonymity in order to describe internal deliberations.
Critics have accused the administration of mishandling the incident, specifically faulting the decision to not eliminate the balloon as soon as it was spotted and instead wait until it was over water a week later. Lawmakers, especially Wicker, have also pressed the Pentagon to answer specific follow-up questions about the decision process and about previous balloon incursions over the past few years that have only recently come to light.
“So all that was needed on January 28 was to pull the proverbial trigger?” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked during the hearing.
“Yes,” VanHerck responded. “Had they had hostile intent or hostile act, I had the authority and I would have made that decision. So you’re exactly correct. [At] that point, it was not my decision to make to pull the trigger.” In the case of a direct threat to the homeland, VanHerck has the legal authority to take the shot, he explained. Without that determination, that authority resides with the Pentagon chief or the president.

“If the administration’s policymakers thought they had legal justification to shoot it down off the coast of Carolina, surely they have legal justification to shoot off the coast of Alaska,” Cotton followed up. VanHerck responded: “My assessment is the legal basis would have been the same for either place.”
VanHerck also used his appearance on Capitol Hill to fill in other details from the initial timeline. A senior Defense Department official told reporters in early February that the president asked for military options when he was notified on Jan. 31. VanHerck on Thursday said he did not present options to Austin until 7 a.m. on Feb. 1.
That same day, Feb. 1, Biden told the military to take out the balloon, which was flying over Montana after leaving Canadian airspace. The military scrambled F-22 fighter jets at the time in case the decision was made to shoot it down. But top generals ultimately advised the president to wait until the craft was over water because of the risk to people on the ground from falling debris.
VanHerck said that if he had been asked to provide options to Austin or the president earlier, while the balloon was still over Alaska, he would have been prepared to do so, he said.
VanHerck said the intelligence community first made him aware of the balloon on Friday, Jan. 27. He spoke with Milley that evening about his plan to send aircraft to intercept and assess the craft the next day.
The military’s North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the balloon on radar the next day, Jan. 28, VanHerck said. That same day, the general sent two F-35 and two F-16 fighter jets — all of them armed — to intercept the balloon, he said in response to questioning by Cotton.
Also on the 28th, VanHerck officially notified his chain of command, sending classified emails to Milley and Austin’s military assistant, he said. He did not have any direct communications with Austin at the time, and does not know when Biden was notified.
At the time, the military assessed that the balloon did not present a threat, VanHerck said, explaining that “hostile intent would be maneuvering to an offensive advantage on platform and airplane or shooting missiles or weapons would be a hostile act.”
The next day, on Jan. 29, VanHerck advised Austin and Milley “that he was looking at options to engage the balloon should that be directed or if the balloon became a threat to safety of flight,” according to Singh. After the balloon re-entered U.S. airspace on Jan. 31, the president, through national security adviser Jake Sullivan, directed the military to “refine and present options to shoot down the balloon,” she said.
The hearing comes almost two months after the Chinese surveillance balloon first emerged over the U.S. Since then, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have pressed Biden officials for more details on what led the administration to shoot down the inflatable, what it’s learned from its debris and what more it plans to do to track aerial objects floating in American airspace.
Both Republicans and Democrats have said they are still waiting for answers to their questions despite several rounds of briefings — some of them classified — with the administration.
The questions being raised on Capitol Hill are not solely focused on the surveillance balloon — they are also about the existence of hundreds of unidentified aerial phenomena, which are flying objects that have not been classified as balloons or other surveillance tools.
An office inside the Pentagon known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is conducting a review of those objects, some of which may be owned by foreign governments. Lawmakers want to know whether the U.S. has the capability to not only track those objects but to analyze them in near real-time.
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#Austin #Biden #accused #delaying #action #Chinese #spy #balloon
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 24, 2023
Border issue very complicated; but neither side want war, confrontation: Chinese envoy

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New Delhi: China and India will have to face the “difficulties” arising out of the border situation but none of the two countries want war or confrontation, Charge D’affaires at the Chinese embassy Ma Jia said on Wednesday.
Addressing a media briefing here, Ma described the situation along the border areas as “very complicated” and said it was not easy to reach an agreement which was the reason the two countries were holding discussions through the established Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander-level meetings.
She said the situation with regard to the Ukraine issue had “intensified” since the consensus at the G20 Summit at Bali and it was now “more difficult to reach the accommodation”.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of a joint statement issued following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping indicating that the two sides will oppose the use of multilateral platforms to take up “irrelevant issues”.
China is yet to name its Ambassador to India after Sun Weidong completed his tenure in October last year. Senior diplomat Ma has been in-charge of the mission in New Delhi.
Earlier, in her suo moto remarks, Ma has said the current situation on the border was stable and China and India were in maintaining communication through the established channels – Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander level meetings.
“There are difficulties, I have just said that. But, we have to face it. We are also confident that China and India do not want war. Neither of us want a war. Neither of us want confrontation along the border areas,” the top Chinese diplomat in India said, giving her assessment of the border situation.
She said the border issue has lived through the history of many years and it was not easy to reach an agreement.

“That is why we keep on talking about it. We have to face the problems and we have to talk. I think the intention on both sides is to improve relations. Our two leaders already have consensus on that and I think we can find a way out,” Ma said.
Amid indications that Russia and China will oppose raising of the Ukraine issue on multilateral platforms, the Chinese diplomat said reaching a consensus at the G20 could be difficult if “prominent security issues” were raised at a forum established to deliberate on economic and financial matters.
“As long as you are out of the track and discussing prominent security issues on economic and financial platforms, it is very difficult to reach consensus. In G20, we have this consensus principle. Even if one country does not agree, it is not a consensus,” she said.
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#Border #issue #complicated #side #war #confrontation #Chinese #envoy
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023
Modi popular among Chinese netizens, nicknamed ‘Modi the immortal’: Article

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Beijing: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reverentially called ‘Modi Laoxian’ meaning ‘Modi the immortal’ by Chinese netizens, a rare respectful reference to an international leader, notwithstanding the bitter India-China border row, according to an article published in the US-based strategic affairs magazine The Diplomat.
In the article – ‘How is India viewed in China?’, Mu Chunshan, a journalist known for analysing Chinese social media, especially Sina Weibo, (akin to Twitter in China), also said that most Chinese feel that India led by Modi can maintain a balance among major countries in the world. Sina Weibo has over 582 million active users.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an unusual nickname on the Chinese internet: Modi Laoxian. Laoxian refers to an elderly immortal with some weird abilities. The nickname implies that Chinese netizens think Modi is different even more amazing than other leaders,” he said.
They point to both his dress and physical appearance, seen as Laoxian-like, and some of his policies, which are different from India’s previous ones, Mu said.
On India’s relations with other major countries, he said, whether it is Russia, the United States, or Global South countries, India can enjoy friendly ties with all of them, which is “very admirable” to some Chinese netizens.
“So the word ‘Laoxian’ reflects the complex sentiment of Chinese people toward Modi, combining curiosity, astonishment, and perhaps a dash of cynicism,” Mu wrote.
“I have been doing international media reports for nearly 20 years and it is rare for Chinese netizens to give a nickname to a foreign leader. Modi’s nickname stands out above all others. Clearly, he has made an impression on Chinese public opinion,” he said.
Besides hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Premier Li Keqiang, since he came to power in 2014, Modi also held two rare informal summits with Xi, 69, in Wuhan and later in Mamallapuram near Chennai, which raised expectations of improvement in the relations between the two Asian giants.

The Sino-Indian relations hit the bottom following aggressive military actions by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh violating the agreements to resolve the border dispute leading to a nearly three-year-long military standoff.
The two countries have held 17 rounds of high-level military commanders’ talks to resolve the standoff.
India has been maintaining that ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
Modi is also well known in China as he interacted with the Chinese public through his account on Sina Weibo which he opened in 2015 and had over 2.44 lakh followers.
However, he quit Weibo in July 2020 after the Indian government moved to ban 59 Chinese Apps to send a “strong message at the border, on the economic front and at a personal level too,” according to BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.
In his article, Mu says Chinese views of India are very complicated but generally based on a sense of superiority and self-confidence.
Significantly, he writes that the Chinese netizens believe China’s attempts to use its “all-weather ally”, Pakistan as “unrealistic” as the gap between the two South Asian neighbours is “getting wider”, an apparent reference to the political and economic meltdown Pakistan is currently experiencing.
“The facts over the past nine years have proved that China and India have more room for cooperation. For example, China’s trade with India is worth USD115 billion a year far more than China’s trade with Pakistan, which sits at around USD 30 billion”, Mu wrote.
“Of course, China has not forgotten Pakistan. But many Chinese netizens have a realistic view of the two South Asian neighbours. The argument is very sober: The idea of using Pakistan to restrain India is becoming more unrealistic because the gap between Pakistan and India is getting wider”, he said.
He also writes about Chinese apprehension about India’s growing popularity with western countries, especially with the US and New Delhi’s handling of the Ukraine crisis without disrupting its close ties with Russia and America.
“This is just one example of a widespread perception in China: India is the favourite of the West, while China has become the target of the West. How did India manage this? Why is India’s circle of international friends so big?” was the question debated by the Chinese netizens.
Most Chinese people feel a sense of superiority and self-confidence vis-a-vis India and of course, most Chinese people don’t like to see India get too close to the United States, but they also think China and India can still cooperate, the article said.
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#Modi #popular #among #Chinese #netizens #nicknamed #Modi #immortal #Article
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
Chinese loan app case: ED charge sheet against Razorpay

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Friday said it has filed a charge sheet against payment gateway Razorpay, three fintech companies controlled by Chinese nationals and as many NBFCs and some others in a money laundering probe linked to Chinese loan apps which allegedly cheated numerous people.
The federal probe agency said in a statement that the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court based in Bengaluru has taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint (charge sheet).
A total of seven entities and five individuals have been named as accused in the charge sheet.
The accused entities include fintech companies Mad Elephant Network Technology Private Limited, Baryonyx Technology Private Limited and Cloud Atlas Future Technology Private Limited which are “controlled” by the Chinese nationals and three non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) registered with RBI named X10 Financial Services Private Limited, Track Fin-ed Private Limited and Jamnadas Morarjee Finance Private Limited.
Payment gateway Razorpay Software Private Limited has also been named in the charge sheet as an accused, the probe agency said.
Razorpay sources said the payment gateway has been a “facilitator” in investigations against suspicious Chinese companies.
The platform has blocked all those suspicious entities and funds associated with them about one-and-half years ago and has shared their details with the ED on multiple occasions, Razorpay sources said.
Being a regulated financial institution, Razorpay cooperates with law enforcement agencies and provides necessary merchant information to assist in the investigation process, they said.

The money laundering case of the ED stems from multiple FIRs of the Bengaluru Police CID which were filed based on complaints received from various customers who had availed loans and “faced harassment” from the recovery agent of these money-lending companies.
According to the ED, the probe found that fintech companies had “agreement with respective NBFCs for disbursement of loans through digital lending apps”.
“The money-lending business was being illegally run by these fintech companies actually and these NBFCs knowingly let these firms use their names for the sake of getting commission without being careful about their conduct. The same is also a violation of the fair practices code of the Reserve Bank of India,” the agency said.
The agency earlier had issued two provisional attachment orders to freeze Rs 77.25 crore worth funds kept in bank accounts and payment gateways which was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA.
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#Chinese #loan #app #case #charge #sheet #Razorpay
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
Bannon-allied Chinese billionaire arrested on fraud charges

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In 2020, Bannon was arrested on federal fraud charges while aboard Guo’s yacht. Bannon pleaded not guilty and was subsequently pardoned on those charges by former President Donald Trump.
As part of the investigation of Guo by federal prosecutors, authorities seized $634 million in alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts between September 2022 and March 2023. On Wednesday morning, they seized other assets allegedly purchased with fraud proceeds, including a Lamborghini.
According to the indictment, Guo also treated himself and his relatives to a $26.5 million 50,000-square-foot mansion outfitted with $978,000 worth of Chinese and Persian rugs, a $3.5 million Ferrari, a $140,000 piano, two $36,000 mattresses, and a $37 million luxury yacht, all purchased with stolen funds.
Federal prosecutors said the alleged scheme centered on GTV Media Group, Inc., Guo’s social media platform, and a handful of other entities, including G Club Operations, a “purported membership organization” owned by Guo and Himalaya Exchange, “a purported cryptocurrency ‘ecosystem,’” owned by Je. Between April and June 2020, Guo and Je took in more than $400 million through an illegal private stock offering related to GTV called GTV Private Placement, according to the indictment.
Guo told potential investors, in materials written by Je, that GTV would be the “first ever platform which will combine the power of citizen journalism and social news with state-of-the-art technology, big data, artificial intelligence, block-chain technology and real-time interactive communication,” according to the indictment.
More than 5,500 investors purchased about $452 million worth of GTV common stock, the indictment says, but rather than the money being used to develop the GTV business, it was instead deposited into bank accounts held in the name of GTV’s parent company, which was owned by a relative of Guo.
Guo and Je also allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $150 million in funds through a “collective of informal groups” called the Himalaya Farm Alliance, and prosecutors said the two transferred $20 million in proceeds to a relative who used $950,000 to pay for a flight crew on a private jet and $5 million to an entity owned by Guo’s spouse.
The pair also solicited funds for their online membership club, taking in about $250 million in fraudulent gains, according to prosecutors, by promoting “an exclusive, high-end membership program offering a full spectrum of services” and “a gateway to carefully curated, world-class products, services and experiences.” In reality, prosecutors said, the club had just a handful employees and offered “few to no discernable membership benefits.”

And they fraudulently took in $262 million through their cryptocurrency “ecosystem” the Himalaya Exchange, according to prosecutors, promoting the product with a music video featuring an original song called “HCoin To the Moon” showing Guo in “various luxury locations.”
The charges against Guo were made public in New York as a trial is set to get underway in federal court in Washington later this month for hip-hop star Pras Michel, who is accused of taking part in a multi-million-dollar, unregistered lobbying campaign for China aimed in part at securing Guo’s deportation from the U.S.
Michel, a member of the legendary Fugees trio, is charged with failing to notify U.S. authorities that he was acting on behalf of former Chinese Vice Minister for Public Security Sun Lijun and Jho Low, a Malaysian businessperson facing a U.S. investigation and eventually criminal charges in connection with the collapse of the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
Prosecutors allege that Michel sought to persuade the Obama administration and, later, the Trump administration to drop or settle the probe into Low and to expel Guo from the U.S., potentially in exchange for China releasing U.S. citizens or residents it was detaining. The charges against Low remain pending and Guo was never deported.
Michel, who has pleaded not guilty, also faces campaign finance and witness tampering charges in the same case charging him with acting as an unregistered foreign lobbyist.
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 15, 2023
Xi Jinping unanimously elected Chinese President for historic 3rd term

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Beijing: Xi Jinping was unanimously elected president of China for a historic third term at the ongoing session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on Friday.
He was also elected as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), reports Xinhua news agency.
Nearly 3,000 members of the (NPC) voted unanimously at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for Xi to be President in an election where there was no other candidate.
Following the election, the 69-year-old President also made a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution.
Xi’s new five-year run was made possible following a change to the constitution in 2018 that scrapped term limits.
The vote on Friday was largely ceremonial as he had already locked in a historic third term as head of the Chinese Communist Party at a major party congress last October, sealing his place as China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.
Changes to the country’s leadership take place every five years and usually closely mirror the reshuffle announced at the party congress.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 10, 2023
President Xi calls for quickly elevating Chinese armed forces to world-class standards

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Beijing: Amid escalating tensions with the US, President Xi Jinping has called for more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards as he stressed opening new ground for enhancing integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities of the Chinese military to win wars.
Xi, who heads the military besides the ruling Communist Party and the Presidency, made the comments on Wednesday during a meeting of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) delegates attending the annual parliament session here, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
He said that consolidating and enhancing integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities has profound significance in building a modern socialist country, as well as in achieving the goals for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2027 and more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards.
“It is necessary to strengthen the orientation of defence science, technology and industries to serve the armed forces and win wars,” he said.
Highlighting the goal of maximising China’s national strategic capabilities, Xi told the PLA delegates that efforts should be made in integrating the strategic layouts, resources and strengths in all areas, in a bid to systematically upgrade the country’s overall strength to cope with strategic risks, safeguard strategic interests and realise strategic objectives.
Xi called for efforts to advance collaborative innovation in science and technology, with a focus on independent and original innovation, thus building high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology at a faster pace.
Strategic capabilities in emerging fields must be bolstered in pursuit of new advantages in national development and international competitions, and the resilience of industrial and supply chains must be enhanced, Xi said.
He ordered the coordination of the construction of major infrastructure, accelerating the building of national reserves, and making the reserves more capable of safeguarding national security.

Consolidating and enhancing integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities must draw momentum from reform and innovation, Xi stressed, urging more progress on the issue.
He also called for efforts to foster a sound atmosphere of caring for, devoting to, building and safeguarding national defence among members of the public to pool strengths for consolidating and enhancing integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities and for building a strong country with a strong military.
A day earlier, President Xi said that western countries led by the US have carried out all-around containment and suppression, which brought unprecedented and severe challenges to China’s development.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also sharply criticised the US, saying Washington’s attempts to contain China’s progress will not succeed.
Referring to the recent incident in which a US fighter plane shot down an unmanned Chinese balloon flying over American airspace, he accused the US of violating international law, overreacting and abusing force in shooting it down.
The US perception and views toward China are seriously distorted. Containing and suppressing China won’t make the US great, and it will not stop the rejuvenation of China, Qin said.
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#President #calls #quickly #elevating #Chinese #armed #forces #worldclass #standards
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 9, 2023
Marco Rubio and Roger Wicker say they still don’t have answers from the Pentagon on the sequence of events that alerted Joe Biden to last month’s Chinese spy balloon.

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Marco Rubio and Roger Wicker were not satisfied with earlier briefings.

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#Marco #Rubio #Roger #Wicker #dont #answers #Pentagon #sequence #events #alerted #Joe #Biden #months #Chinese #spy #balloon
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 8, 2023
Apple iPhone SE 4 may feature OLED panel from Chinese supplier

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San Francisco: Tech giant Apple will use OLED panels from Chinese display supplier BOE in its upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE smartphone models, the media reported.
Due to production problems, BOE missed the initial number of OLED panels intended for this year’s iPhone 15 series, with Samsung and LG claiming the majority of orders, reports MacRumors.
Now it is likely trying to make up for it by concentrating on making OLED panels for the budget-friendly iPhone SE 4.
Around 20 million OLED screens are anticipated to be used in the iPhone SE 4 next year.
Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the tech giant has restarted development of the iPhone SE 4 smartphone, which will feature a 6.1-inch OLED display and an in-house 5G baseband chip.
Kuo had also mentioned that the mass production of the iPhone SE 4 will go “smoothly” in the first half of next year.
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#Apple #iPhone #feature #OLED #panel #Chinese #supplier
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 7, 2023
PM Modi in denial mode on Chinese incursions: Rahul Gandhi

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London: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a “denial mode” over Chinese incursions into Indian territory.
“We do not accept anybody entering our territory and bullying us. The Chinese have entered our territory and killed our soldiers but the PM is in denial. That’s the problem,” he said in an interaction with the Indian Journalists Association in London.
Claiming that 2,000 sq km of Indian territory is being controlled by China’s PLA, Gandhi said that the PM himself has stated that not a single inch of Indian land has been taken and “this has destroyed our position to negotiate with Beijing”.
The Congress leader also accused the BJP of twisting his statements to claim that he was defaming the country. “The BJP likes to twist my statements. I will never defame my country. The people of India felt disrespected when our PM went abroad and said that no work has been done in the country in the last 70 years of Independence,” he said.
He also claimed that the opposition is functioning in hostile environment in India as it was no longer fighting a political party, but were “now fighting the institutional structure of India. We have to compete against the BJP-RSS which has captured all our independent institutions”.
“There is suppression of voices across the country. The BJP wants India to to be silenced because it wants to hand over country’s wealth to 4-5 people,” he alleged.
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#Modi #denial #mode #Chinese #incursions #Rahul #Gandhi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 5, 2023