China was fooled again. They thought Biden would be the same pushover he was as vice president. Oops. Human Rights groups are amassing. Now the Beijing 2022 Olympics are a candidate for boycott. As if that’s not enough, the USS… Read More ›
Hong Kong
Cadence Column: Asia, February 8, 2021
Biden doesn’t only continue the stance on China from the previous administration, he seems to be clamping down. The US sails through the Taiwan Strait, again. China strong arms Guyana out of an office for Taiwan; the US defends Taiwan…. Read More ›
January 20, 1841 – Hong Kong ceded to the British in perpetuity
During the First Opium War, China cedes the island of Hong Kong to the British with the signing of the Chuenpi Convention, an agreement seeking an end to the first Anglo-Chinese conflict. In 1839, Britain invaded China to crush opposition… Read More ›
Hong Kong urged to curb numbers in public spaces due to COVID-19
Medical experts have urged the Hong Kong government to cap the number of people in shopping malls, country parks and wet markets to curb virus transmissions in public areas. The government should step up enforcement of social distancing rules at… Read More ›
Hong Kong suspends flights from United Kingdom
Hong Kong is suspending all flights carrying travelers from the United Kingdom after a mutated coronavirus was identified in London. From Tuesday, people who have stayed in the UK for more than two hours will not be allowed to board… Read More ›
December 19, 1984 – Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China
In the Hall of the People in Beijing, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang sign an agreement committing Britain to return Hong Kong to China in 1997 in return for terms guaranteeing a 50-year extension of… Read More ›
Hong Kong’s leader sees further fall in public support and confidence
Public support for Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and her top officials has fallen further in recent weeks, with pollsters citing the freezing of the bank accounts of a former opposition lawmaker and his family as a key factor…. Read More ›
U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown
The United States imposed travel bans and other sanctions on 14 high-level Chinese officials over the continuing crackdown on the opposition in Hong Kong, as the police in the Chinese territory arrested more pro-democracy figures on Tuesday. The U.S. State… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 23, 2020
“Prematurely shredded”—that’s how the “Five Eyes” alliance described the treaty allowing Hong Kong to be ruled by China. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, and the United States have decided that China broke the deal, referring to the 1984 Sino-British Joint… Read More ›
Britain, EU join U.S.in condemning China’s crackdown on Hong Kong lawmakers
Britain and the European Union on Thursday condemned China’s move to disqualify fourpro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong — an action that has led to the mass resignation of the opposition in the city’s legislature. The move follows the approval on… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 14, 2020
It was only a matter of time. The stories are breaking about Taiwan’s inhospitality toward foreigners. Taiwan has the lowest birthrate in the world. They need people; they need talent; they need support. By denying dual-citizenship to foreigners who would… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 31, 2020
There was always a stark difference between America’s southern wall and the Berlin Wall. America’s wall was built to keep people out—whether they were desperate to come in or hungry to invade. The Berlin Wall was meant to keep people… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 17, 2020
All of us enjoy the results of the paths we choose, paths which no one can choose for us. Americans believe this so strongly, it often leads to unhealthy apathy toward others in distress. When America finally decides to help… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 3, 2020
If ever there were a time when two nations didn’t want to get along, it is now. If ever there were a time when a growing group of nations decided that a single other nation never wanted to get along,… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 27, 2020
Bail on Hong Kong, jump to Taiwan. That’s the move from everyone. Britain doesn’t bail on Hong Kong, but creates a path for Hong Kongers to bail on Hong Kong. Britain isn’t just walking away. By allowing British Overseas Passport… Read More ›
U.S. wants to build coalition to counter China’s ‘disgraceful’ menace
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. U.S. President Donald Trump identifies… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, July 20, 2020
Hong Kong is seriously considering shutting itself down. Many may argue that Hong Kong is certainly shutting down, but a basic understanding of humanity says that people are resilient. China claims that doing whatever China wants inside Hong Kong is… Read More ›
2025: End Game China – The Balkinization
”Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.” – Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit to Nepal in Oct 2019. The above statement clearly indicates the nervousness of… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 13, 2020
China and the US have shown their intentions to the world. The new “National Security Law”, passed and interpreted solely by the Chinese Communist Party, applies to the entire world. China made it illegal for Americans to support calls for… Read More ›
Trump is a bigot and a hypocrite, but he’s right to condemn China
Donald Trump taints everything he touches. If he supports a cause, he damages it. If he takes a stance, the instinct of most self-respecting liberals is to rush to the opposing side. So when Trump rails against China, a favourite… Read More ›
Australians at risk of arbitrary arrest in China, Australian government travel advice warns
The Federal Government has issued new travel advice warning Australians they could face “arbitrary detention” if they go to mainland China. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also said Chinese Government authorities have detained foreigners because they were allegedly… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 6, 2020
It’s official. China has broken the treaty that allows Hong Kong to be Chinese. The last time Britain accused China of breaking treaty, the Royal Navy opened fire on the Taiwan city of Tainan in 1858. The time before that… Read More ›
Hong Kong man accused of terrorism in first use of China’s new security law
A man carrying a “Liberate Hong Kong” sign as he drove a motorcycle into police at a protest against the territory’s Chinese rulers became on Friday the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under a new security law… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 29, 2020
At what point is it okay to bully the bad guy? At what point does bullying the bad guy make the bully the bigger bad guy? This is a line China is fast approaching and the US is fast leaving…. Read More ›
World War III – China vs the rest of the world
“Hide your strength and bide your time.” China in 2008 “No force can shake the status of our great motherland, No force can stop the advance of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.” China in 2019 The above statements… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 22, 2020
China seems desperate for war. America has typically been the infamous provocateur. That’s how China paints things. That’s how Japan and Germany saw things. But, China has taken up a new role. Buzzing jets into Taiwanese airspace is just one… Read More ›
Hong Kong leader says opponents of security law are ‘enemy of the people’
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday urged opponents of Beijing’s plan to impose national security legislation in the financial hub to stop “smearing” the effort, saying those who did were “the enemy of the people.” Beijing last month announced… Read More ›
Understanding and navigating Hong Kong’s security law
US Secretary of State Pompeo says new security law will be a ‘death knell’ for Hong Kong’s autonomy.” “China warns UK of economic damage unless it backs down.” “National security law for Hong Kong to boost ‘one country, two systems’… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 8, 2020
If China thinks that the poll numbers looking low or that the unrest in America means the Xi doctrine has a widening path on the road ahead, they should think again. But, being Confucian Communist, that’s hard. Trump actually may… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 1, 2020
China says every effort will be made for peaceful reunification with Taiwan as long as there remains hope; force is the last resort. But, Taiwan wants peaceful freedom from tyranny; force is the last resort. There is no hope for… Read More ›
China approves restrictive national security laws for Hong Kong
China on Thursday approved a controversial national security law that would allow Beijing to wield expanded power over Hong Kong. The vote by the National People’s Congress was close to unanimous: 2,878 delegates voted in favor of the proposal while… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 25, 2020
Taiwan has a new Vice President: Former Premier William Lai, known for his pro-independence posture. China won’t be happy, but China is rarely happy these days. The Chinese made two loud omissions in their rhetoric this week. When talking about… Read More ›
China’s proposed national security law could end Hong Kong as we know it
Hong Kong is known for being a “city of protest,” with people taking to the streets by the hundreds of thousands to hold their government to account. Long before the Umbrella Movement or last year’s sustained political unrest, this reputation… Read More ›
World governments are condemning the arrest of Hong Kong protesters
Foreign governments criticized the arrest of 15 Hong Kong democracy activists in a police sweep on charges of organizing and participating in anti-government protests last year. The arrests on Saturday were the biggest crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement since… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 6, 2020
The pneumoniavirus is having a detrimental effect on China. While Xi Jinping kicks China’s economy into full swing, the rest of the world is on full alert. Manufacturing moves home—whether to or from China. Countries seek alternate supply sourcing. Taiwan… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 17, 2020
The 2019-nCoV Wuhan virus isn’t doing any good for Xi Jinping’s public trust. Dissidents inside China are silenced and their social media accounts scrubbed. Joshua Wong issues a call to arms from Hong Kong. Taiwan closes its border and plans… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 10, 2020
The words of US President Trump set an unsettling policy for Communist China: “We’re also getting our allies, finally, to help pay their fair share.” This is far-reaching. By having multiple nations with multiple militaries operating with appropriate budgets, China… Read More ›
Hong Kong medical workers strike to urge closure of China border to block coronavirus
Hundreds of medical workers went on strike in Hong Kong on Monday to demand the government shuts the border with mainland China to prevent the spread of a coronavirus and ease pressure on a stretched health sector. The Hospital Authority… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 3, 2020
The world is fed up with China’s Communist Party, including people in China. The Wuhan virus is a blame-blaming scandal of a magnitude greater than Chairman Mao. It could crack the foundation of Xi Jinping’s rule and party confidence along… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 27, 2020
Trying to be polite or indirect while not taking no for an answer does not give anyone a right to make trouble. When someone gives a decisive, “No,” decent people accept that answer, then move on somehow. But, China doesn’t… Read More ›
China bars Human Rights Watch director from entering Hong Kong
Hong Kong authorities barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering the Chinese territory on Sunday, the advocacy group said. Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, had planned to launch the organization’s annual world report in Hong Kong… Read More ›
How Taiwan’s elections remind the world – and Hong Kong – that Chinese culture and democracy can co-exist
When the islanders on the windswept Taiwanese archipelago of Matsu go to the polls this Saturday, Lii Wen, the enthusiastic young candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, knows he has little chance of winning a seat. But he still… Read More ›
Carrie Lam vows to work with Chinese envoy, bring Hong Kong back on the ‘right path’
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she would work closely with Beijing’s top official in the Asian financial hub to get it back on “the right path” after more than six months of pro-democracy protests. The appointment… Read More ›
Police accuse Hong Kong protesters of inciting minors to commit crimes
Hong Kong police on Monday accused activists in the long-running pro-democracy movement of inciting minors to commit crimes. The claim Monday comes two days before a planned New Year’s Day march that is expected to attract tens of thousands of… Read More ›
Hong Kong protesters tell mainland Chinese traders to leave
Police fought with protesters who marched through a Hong Kong shopping mall Saturday demanding mainland Chinese traders leave the territory in a fresh weekend of anti-government tension. The protest in Sheung Shui, near Hong Kong’s boundary with the mainland, was… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 30, 2019
We are headed toward a massive inquisition of police. It could be known as the “Hong Kong Trials”, where each police officer who served since June is combed over and evaluated for every step taken at every single protest, then… Read More ›
The 235 days that rattled China and shook the world
They were 235 days that shook the world, rattled China’s regime and refuted the most pernicious wishful thinking since the appeasement of dictators collapsed eight decades ago. Nothing more momentous happened in 2019 than Hong Kong’s heroic insurrection. It began… Read More ›
Hong Kong protesters rally in support of Uighurs
Hong Kong riot police pepper sprayed protesters to disperse crowds in the heart of the city’s financial district on Sunday after a largely peaceful rally in support of China‘s ethnic Uighurs turned chaotic. Dozens of police marched across a public… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 23, 2019
China’s in over its head. They got somewhat of a trade deal, though they never had much to bargain with because their economy is much more dependent on imports than the US economy. So, their trade deal can’t have gone… Read More ›
How murder, kidnappings and miscalculation set off Hong Kong’s revolt
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says the plan that ignited the revolt in her city was born of a straightforward quest for justice. While on a trip to Taiwan, a Hong Kong man strangled his Hong Kong girlfriend, then returned… Read More ›
