Categories
Current Events International Relations North Korea

Same Plot, Different Story on the Korean Peninsula

South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Tae-young stated last week that his country would have no choice but to launch a preemptive strike on North Korea if they thought the threat of a nuclear attack was imminent.

The statement has been met with cross words from the North yesterday, claiming that such words constitute a declaration of war.

“Our revolutionary armed forces will regard the scenario for ‘preemptive strike,’ which the South Korean puppet authorities adopted as a ‘state policy,’ as an open declaration of war,” said a spokesman for the armed forces general staff, according to North Korea’s state KCNA news agency.

Categories
Culture & History Current Events International Relations Russia

Russia, U.S. Agree “95 Percent” on Nuclear Disarmament Treaty

Russia and the United States are “95 percent” agreed on the terms of a disarmament treaty that would see the two largest nuclear powers each reduce their stockpile of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675. The treaty would also reduce the number of vehicles capable of carrying these warheads to between 500 and 1,100.

“Everything in negotiations is going fine, 95 percent of the new deal’s issues have been agreed upon,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, according to Russian news agencies on Sunday.

Categories
China Current Events International Relations Science & Technology

U.S. Government Steps Up as Google Backs Down

The fallout of the China Google drama picked up a notch yesterday, just as things seemed to be cooling off, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom ruffling some feathers in Beijing.

“Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere,” Clinton said yesterday in Washington. “American companies need to make a principled stand. This needs to be part of our national brand. I’m confident that consumers worldwide will reward companies that follow those principles.”

“Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from accessing portions of the world’s networks,” she said in words that clearly ring true in China. “They have expunged words, names, and phrases from search engine results. They have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in nonviolent political speech.”

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Cuba Current Events International Relations

U.S. and Cuba Coordinate Relief Efforts

Cooperation between the United States and Cuba in distributing food, supplies, and medical personal may lead to future cooperation between the two countries in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake which has destroyed Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince and claimed over 100,000 lives.

International relief efforts in Haiti have already led to the two countries coming to a quick diplomatic agreement allowing U.S. planes to fly over Cuban airspace to supply aide and evacuate the injured.

“We have coordinated with the Cuban government for authorization to fly medical evacuation flights from the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to Miami, through Cuban airspace, cutting 90 minutes off one-way flight time,” the White House announced on Friday.

Cuba currently has 220 doctors in Haiti working in the disaster relief effort in addition to their medical personnel who have been there since 1998. They have also flown over ten tons of medical supplies to their neighboring island nation as well as food, plasma, and other support.

Likewise, the U.S. has been pouring in medical and evacuation personnel since the first reports came out of Haiti, and the Obama administration expects relief aid to far exceed the USD 100 million promised last week.

Categories
China Current Events International Relations Science & Technology

Inappropriate to Play up Google China’s Withdrawal Threat

This article has just been removed from Xinhua‘s website. Read it here on CTL:

Google China’s exiting statement has sparked worldwide attention to ties between China and the United States this week.

Discussions included China’s web environment, the China-U.S. trade relationship, and others. But it’s inappropriate to play up the issue, or turn it into a political one.

Categories
Current Events International Relations North Korea

2010 May See Progress in North Korean Peace Talks

On Monday, DPRK officials issued a statement which claims that the country is ready to discuss signing a peace treaty to replace the Armistice Agreement currently in place and rejoin the six-party talks.

The DPRK has said that diplomacy regarding the country’s nuclear program would be contingent on a peace treaty first being signed and UN sanctions lifted.

Familiar with the political games coming from Pyongyang, the United States has said they would like to see North Korea first rejoin the six-party talks and take steps towards denuclearization before they come to an agreement.

Xinhua reports on the topic.

Categories
China Current Events International Relations Legal & Regulatory Science & Technology

China Google Relationship on the Rocks

Recent cyber attacks threatening user security, corporate data, and critical software source codes, as well as expanding censorship restrictions demanded from the Chinese government, have led Google execs to question whether remaining in China is in the company’s best interest and, furthermore, whether a decision to stay would adhere to the company’s official motto, “Don’t be evil.”

Although blocked in China, here is the link to Google’s official statement issued yesterday for our readers abroad.

Here is also the CNBC interview with David Drummond, chief legal officer at Google, who discusses the Internet giant’s reaction.

Google has disclosed that its computer systems experienced sophisticated cyber attacks last month that it suspects originated in China and that targeted Gmail user accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

Taking into consideration the technology, brains, and power behind the Google machine, as well as the severity of the implications, it is pretty safe to say that this isn’t a baseless claim.

Google’s decision to stand up to the Chinese government has earned them praise around the world from human rights advocates, but has undoubtedly irked the powers that be in the Chinese government and has received mixed reactions within China.

China’s largely government influenced media outlets have been trying to downplay the news online and during television broadcasts.
Xinhua: China seeks clarity on Google’s intentions

China Daily: Google pullout threat ‘a pressure tactic’

Shanghai Daily: Mixed bag of reaction to Google quit threat

Since its entrance into the Chinese market in 2006, Google has come under criticism from human rights activists for agreeing to censor a portion of their search results, resulting in some calling Google.cn the ‘neutered Google’ or ‘communist Google’.

Google, however, has defended its decision to enter the Chinese market with a modified version, claiming that it is still a more open option for Chinese Internet users than domestic search engines like Baidu, which controls approximately 61 percent of the market (to Google’s approx. 31 percent) and maintains a close relationship with the government.

While this is largely true, entering sensitive words like ‘freedom,’ ‘freedom of speech,’ ‘freedom of religion,’ and ‘dalai lama’ into Google search within China will not only lead you to a blocked page, but will shut down the Google search function on your computer for 90 seconds, even today.
Regardless of whether or not Google indeed leaves China, the fallout from this will be very interesting to watch.

Here are some more interesting articles on the subject:
Google Gets on the Right Side of History

Google is not alone in calling China’s bluff

Clash on the Great Firewall

What do Chinese people think about all this? China Geeks has compiled and translated excerpts from all over the web. To find out what Chinese people have to say on the topic, click here!

Categories
China Cuba Current Events International Relations

Cuba and China Get Friendly

The Cuban Government awarded China’s Ambassador to Cuba Zhao Rongxian with the Friendship Medal on Thursday for his contributions to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

China is Cuba’s second largest commercial partner, one of its chief importers, and a longstanding source of credit to the island nation, according to information provided by the Cuban Government.