Senior Hamas official says Israel ended ceasefire agreement, hostage fate unknown – The Jerusalem Post
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03 World
The CCP has successfully managed to build an African port empire, being active stakeholders of 78 ports across 32 countries, mostly in the East. This represents a Chinese presence in nearly one quarter of all commercial African ports. It also has ports in the Texas Senate Affairs Committee, where 30 CCP Activists appealed to American legal standards to justify striking down a law that would prevent the CCP from owning land in Texas.
Mapping China’s Strategic Port Development in Africa – Africa Center for Strategic Studies
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Chinese state-owned firms are active stakeholders in an estimated 78 ports across 32 African countries as builders, financiers, or operators. Chinese port developments are concentrated in West Africa, with 35 compared to 17 in East Africa, 15 in Southern Africa, and 11 in North Africa.
With a total of 231 commercial ports in Africa, Chinese firms are present in over a quarter of Africa’s maritime trade hubs. This is a significantly greater presence than anywhere else in the world. By comparison, Latin America and the Caribbean host 10 Chinese-built or operated ports, while Asian countries host 24.
Chinese firms are present in over a quarter of Africa’s maritime trade hubs—a greater presence than anywhere else in the world.
In some sites, Chinese firms dominate the entire port development enterprise from finance to construction, operations, and share ownership. Large conglomerates like China Communications Construction Corporation (CCCC) will win work as prime contractors and hand out sub-contracts to subsidiaries like the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC). This is the case in one of West Africa’s busiest ports, Nigeria’s Lekki Deep Sea Port. CHEC did the construction and engineering, secured loan financing from the China Development Bank (CDB), and took a 54-percent financial stake in the port which it operates on a 16-year lease.
China gains as much as $13 in trade revenues for every $1 invested in ports. A firm holding an operating lease or concession agreement reaps not only the financial benefits of all trade passing through that port but can also control access. The operator determines the allocation of piers, accepts or denies port calls, and can offer preferential rates and services for its nation’s vessels and cargo. Control over port operations by an external actor, accordingly, raises obvious sovereignty and security concerns. This is why some countries forbid foreign port operators on national security grounds.
Chinese firms hold operating concessions in 10 African ports. Despite the risks over loss of control, the trend on the continent is toward privatizing port operations for improved efficiency. Delays and poor management of African ports are estimated to raise handling costs by 50 percent over global rates.
Why China conducted naval drills in waters between Australia and New Zealand – South China Morning Post
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China recently conducted live-fire military drills in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that these drills, which led to the diversion of 49 commercial flights, were carried out without sufficient prior notification.China’s Type 055 destroyer, one of the most advanced warships in its navy, was reportedly part of the exercise. What was China hoping to achieve with the drills?Since Xi Jinping became China’s president in 2013 and his announcement of plans for a Maritime Silk Road, the country has been strengthening its naval power. The US’ island chain strategy – introduced by former US secretary of state John Foster Dulles during the Cold War – is an obstacle to this. These islands serve as platforms for hostile forces against China.
CCP Activists Hurl ‘Racist’ Smears For Securing American Land– thefederalist.com
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I sat in the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on March 6 watching a parade of witnesses — roughly 30 people, all but four were likely naturalized citizens or green card holders from China — rail against SB 17, a bill authored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Republican from Brenham, to stop hostile foreign entities from snapping up Texas land.
What I saw wasn’t just a policy debate; it was a masterclass in how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) turns American freedoms into weapons against us.
SB 17, dubbed “Stopping Foreign Adversaries’ Land Grabs,” is straightforward: It bars governments, their agents, and entities from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from owning Texas dirt. Kolkhorst’s aim is clear: Keep hostile regimes away from our military bases, farmland, and infrastructure, like Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, or the ranches feeding our state.
The bill carves out U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, meaning most of those testifying won’t be touched by it if it becomes law. Yet, to hear them tell it, you’d think Texas was resurrecting Jim Crow and the Chinese Exclusion Act to strip Asians of their rights.
At one point, a senior political organizer from the awkwardly named National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) Action Fund Texas launched into a script that could’ve been texted from Beijing.
“SB 17 threatens to unfairly strip individuals of their property rights based solely on their national origin,” they said, warning of “invasive investigations” and “seizure without due process.” They invoked Jim Crow, claiming the bill’s vagueness down to weeds three feet high as a “public nuisance,” would target immigrants, even citizens, from “designated countries.” The kicker: “Discriminatory practices have no place in our legal system.”
Then there was the witness, one of the first up, who claimed SB 17 “specifically targets the Asian community,” predicting a surge in hate crimes where“more Asian grandmas and grandpas” are attacked, their “blood on your hands.” Never mind that the bill doesn’t touch citizens or green card holders, a status most of the folks testifying likely hold. Across 30-plus testimonies, the refrain was identical: discrimination, lost land rights, racist overreach. It was a chorus so tight you’d swear they rehearsed it.
Here’s the rub: I’ve seen this playbook before. Back in 2009, as a California assemblyman, I watched Chinese consulate reps swarm our state capitol to kill a Tibet Awareness Day resolution. They leaned on Democrats, including some now big names like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Congressman Ted Lieu, to tank it, proving the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) doesn’t just meddle overseas; it twists U.S. politics at every level.
Seeing the same machine humming in Austin last week, I decided to shift my own testimony that day, pointing out that those who testified before me amplified a narrative straight from the Chinese Embassy as chronicled by The Washington Post in 2023: land restrictions on hostile nations “fuel Asian hatred” and “racial discrimination.” For good measure, I noted that the same Chinese Embassy threatened the U.S. with war only the day before.
The UFWD thrives on mobilizing diaspora voices and sympathetic groups like NAKASEC to cry racism, drowning out Kolkhorst’s real aim: blocking Beijing’s strategic land grabs. Texas isn’t targeting “Asian grandmas”; it’s targeting a regime that’s bought up 350,000 acres of U.S. farmland since 2010, often near military sites. Chinese entities like Fufeng Group snapping up land by Grand Forks Air Force Base or Sun Guangxin’s sprawl near Laughlin aren’t just real estate deals — they’re espionage hubs and food security plays. The FBI’s got counterintelligence cases piling up; China’s not here to play nice.
Yet the testimony I heard ignored all that. The NAKASEC organizer fretted about the Texas AG’s “expanded powers,” but SB 17’s enforcement is tied to clear security risks, not nationality witch hunts. One witness dragged up a 2020 Midland knife attack to stoke fear, but the bill’s exemptions shred their victimhood act. The same witness claimed that Texas was fourth-highest in Asian hate crimes, but Texas is the second most populous state; the progressive utopias of Washington, New York, and California ranked ahead of Texas in that same report.
This wasn’t about facts. It was theater, scripted to exploit America’s racial fault lines and dodge the CCP’s endgame.
Why does it work? Because too many Americans, lawmakers included, swallow the discrimination bait instead of seeing the UFWD’s fingerprints.
Texas isn’t alone. States like South Dakota and Georgia are fighting the same fight, passing laws to lock out hostile ownership. But the CCP’s influence machine keeps grinding, banking on our openness to choke sensible policy with guilt trips.
UN urged to probe Myanmar envoy Julie Bishop over alleged China firms ties | United Nations News– www.aljazeera.com
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The United Nations is facing calls to investigate its special envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, over alleged ties between her consulting firm and Chinese mining and construction companies with interests in the Southeast Asian country.
Justice for Myanmar, a prominent advocacy group, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing a report by Australia’s The Saturday Paper that detailed Bishop’s alleged connections to Chinese state-owned firms. By Tuesday, a number of other activist groups had also joined the call for an investigation.
The links to Chinese and other companies operating in Myanmar create “unacceptable conflicts of interest that must be fully investigated”, Justice for Myanmar wrote to Guterres.
The group urged the UN chief to investigate Bishop’s “business activities, consider the appropriateness of her continued U.N. engagement, and disclose the findings”.
Bishop, a former Australian foreign minister and current chancellor of Australian National University, has not publicly addressed the allegations. She was named UN envoy to Myanmar in April.
In a statement sent to The Australian newspaper, Bishop’s company said it was “a private-advisory firm engaged to provide strategic analysis and guidance”.
It added that it “does not take fiduciary or executive roles, nor does it provide legal, corporate or financial advice” and that “any potential or actual conflicts are declared and vetted.”
Woke AI and ‘Green Computing’ Are Gifts to China– www.dailysignal.com
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At the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, Vice President JD Vance declared that artificial intelligence must remain “free from ideological bias and … not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship.”
But China’s rise as a global AI power poses serious challenges to Vance’s bold vision. Chinese companies under the watchful eye of the Chinese Communist Party are quietly wiring digital authoritarianism into the Western tech stack.
Despite this threat, some Western governments and tech giants are pursuing ideological agendas in the form of “AI safety” that risk ceding moral and technological high ground to China in the AI race.
To reverse China’s digital creep and bolster Western technological supremacy, Europe and Big Tech should heed Vance’s admonition. Reject AI safetyism’s anti-Western social agendas and heavy-handed regulation in favor of “AI opportunity” propelled by American innovation and values.
As Trump shakes the international order, China casts itself as a model of stability – NBC News
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As President Donald Trump gave a fiery and divisive speech to a joint session of Congress last week, a much more staid political event was underway on the other side of the world.
The annual gathering of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, is tightly choreographed, with all decisions made in advance by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Security is even tighter than usual around central Beijing and armies of volunteers wearing red armbands are stationed on street corners and at subway stations.
Though there are few surprises and no debate, the weeklong National People’s Congress does offer clues to China’s priorities at home and how it plans to approach the world.
Even as it faces a slowing economy, China appears to be making a strategic decision to present itself as a global stalwart amid a world in turmoil as Trump upends international trade and long-standing alliances, eroding U.S. prestige and creating an opportunity for China to fill the void.
China’s deflationary pressures deepen in February – Reuters
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China’s consumer price index in February missed expectations and fell at the sharpest pace in 13 months, while producer price deflation persisted, as seasonal demand faded and households remained cautious about spending amid job and income worries.Beijing last week vowed greater efforts to boost consumption in the face of an escalating trade war with the U.S., but analysts expect deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy to drag on.
Tesla’s $8K Self-Driving Faces Threat as China’s Top EV Brand Gives It Away for Free – MSN
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Tesla’s steep pricing for its Full Self-Driving feature is now under pressure, as a leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer offers a similar capability at no extra cost.
BYD, the Chinese electric car giant, has introduced an advanced driver-assistance system across nearly all its models, causing its stock prices to surge. Drivers in China can now experience BYD’s innovative ‘God’s Eye’ driving system—even in the brand’s most affordable vehicles, which start at just £7,457.46 (69,800 yuan).
Ethiopia’s Middle Class Ditching Gasoline Vehicles for Electrics With Chinese EVs Dominating Race – The China-Global South Project
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Solomon Shenkutie, a ride-hailing driver in Ethiopia’s bustling capital, Addis Ababa, made a life-changing decision six months ago: he swapped his gasoline-powered car for a Chinese-made electric vehicle.
“I spent most of my earnings on fuel, and prices are only expected to rise,” said Shenkutie, who now drives a Changan Benben E-Star, a compact five-seater produced through a Sino-Ethiopian joint venture. His switch came after months of research and drew on his expertise as an electrician.
Shenkutie’s decision reflects a broader shift in Ethiopia, where the government has taken bold steps to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In February 2024, Ethiopia banned the import of ICE vehicles, aiming to reduce its reliance on oil and preserve dwindling foreign currency reserves. The move followed a sharp cut in fuel subsidies, which sent prices soaring from $0.21 to $0.89 per liter in less than a year.
By 2026, fuel costs are projected to triple.
“Most of my family and friends thought I was making a bad decision,” Shenkutie admitted. “But my car has exceeded expectations in terms of power, comfort, and battery life.” He purchased the vehicle with a bank loan, paying monthly installments, but now saves significantly on fuel and maintenance. “I can still comfortably provide for my family,” he said.
China is asserting its “right” to assert Taiwan is already a part of the nation of China in what some believe is a precursor to a legal campaign to justify pre-emptively the invasion of Taiwan. Taiwan’s current President, William Lai, fired back, saying “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan.”
Directly after this exchange, China warned Britian that is actions in the South China Sea were potentially “provoking tensions” after UK foreign minister David Lammy called China’s own South China sea actions “dangerous and destabilizing.”
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory despite the objection of the government in Taipei.– Philippine Star
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China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory despite the objection of the government in Taipei. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.Last week, on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of parliament, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that Taiwan would never be a “country”, and to support “Taiwan independence” was to interfere in China’s internal affairs.China is “willing to do our utmost to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, when asked about Wang’s remarks on Taiwan.“At the same time, China will take all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and resolutely oppose Taiwan independence and external interference,” Mao said…“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and the first insurmountable red line in Sino-US relations,” she warned. | via Reuters
Taiwan’s president flexes independence in National Day speech – MSN
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Taiwanese President William Lai on Thursday took a shot at mainland China’s claims of sovereignty over self-governing Taiwan, saying, “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan.” The remarks, delivered in a closely watched speech marking the 113th anniversary of the revolution that founded the Republic of China (Taiwan’s formal name), won’t sit well with Beijing.
The People’s Republic of China maintains the so-called “One China” policy and sees democratic Taiwan as a rebellious province that will eventually be reunified with the mainland. The only question, from Beijing’s perspective, is whether that happens militarily or politically, and rhetoric like Lai’s seems to make the window for a peaceful resolution even smaller.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly ordered his military to be prepared to retake Taiwan by 2027, although that doesn’t mean he will actually attack that year. Some members of Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang Party, including former President Ma Ying-jeou, worry that Lai is endangering Taiwan by antagonizing China.
In response to Lai’s speech, Taiwanese officials expect China to conduct military drills around the island — a demonstration large enough to show Beijing’s displeasure with Lai’s statements. However, China’s economic malaise is occupying much of the leadership’s focus, and the odds of seeing more provocative military measures are low.
Exposing China’s Legal Preparations for a Taiwan Invasion– warontherocks.com
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China is systematically building a legal framework for a potential invasion of Taiwan. How can Taiwan’s friends, partners, and allies push back?
We come together as a unique writing team: military lawyers from the U.S. and Taiwanese armed forces. We seek here to explore China’s ongoing legal preparations for the use of force against Taiwan and uncover likely legal maneuvers Beijing will employ in the lead-up to an invasion. On that basis, we outline key steps for Taiwan’s international supporters to strengthen deterrence, including dismantling China’s legal pretext for aggression and implementing coordinated counter-lawfare strategies to challenge Beijing’s lawfare campaign.
Why Does a Legal Framework for War Matter?
Legal frameworks shape the way conflicts are justified, perceived, and responded to — both domestically and internationally. By crafting a legal basis for war, China is not only preparing its domestic landscape for a Taiwan invasion but also seeking to influence global narratives, erode Taiwan’s international support, and reduce the likelihood of foreign intervention.
Beijing understands that modern warfare extends to the legal domain, where the struggle for perceived legitimacy is paramount. By embedding this mindset into its military strategy, China aims to frame an invasion as a lawful internal matter, fostering diplomatic ambiguity that could deter international opposition and delay collective security responses. This is particularly critical in an era where legitimacy plays a central role in shaping geopolitical alignments and the willingness of nations to take decisive action. Through legal instruments like the Anti-Secession Law, Beijing is setting conditions for the use of force by normalizing its legal claims, asserting jurisdictional control, and criminalizing resistance. This incremental approach to lawfare seeks to shift the strategic environment in China’s favor before conflict, making an eventual invasion seem like a reasonable and legally justified course of action.
Beijing warns UK against ‘provoking tensions’ over South China Sea– www.channelnewsasia.com
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BEIJING: China warned Britain on Tuesday (Mar 11) against “provoking tensions” in the South China Sea after its foreign minister David Lammy called Beijing’s actions in the disputed waters “dangerous and destabilising”.
In a video partly filmed alongside a vessel belonging to the Philippine Coast Guard, Lammy on Monday condemned “dangerous and destabilising activities” by Beijing in the South China Sea.
China claims the strategically important waterway in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
Asked about Lammy’s comments, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said “the UK should respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and refrain from provoking tensions or sowing discord over regional disputes”.
“The South China Sea is currently one of the safest and freest maritime routes in the world,” Mao said.
Beijing has deployed navy and coast guard vessels in a bid to bar Manila from crucial reefs and islands in the South China Sea, leading to a string of confrontations in recent months.
In a Saturday meeting with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo, Britain and the Philippines signed a joint framework to boost defence and maritime cooperation.
The Philippines has similar agreements with the United States, Australia and Japan.
After the arrest of Romania’s leading opposition leader, Calin Georgescu, protests, riots, and civil disturbances have been occurring ever since. The party who saw their candidate arrested and imprisoned is now scrambling to replace him before the re-run election this May. The election produced a win for Georgescu which was invalidated by an EU court on the grounds it was too influenced by Russian propagandists.
Romania’s far-right candidate Calin Georgescu to challenge presidential election ban – Reuters
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Romanian far-right presidential contender Calin Georgescu said on Monday he would challenge a decision to bar him from taking part in an election rerun in May, but analysts said his chances of standing were slim amid fears of Russian meddling.
The dispute over Georgescu’s candidacy is firing up tensions both at home and abroad.
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A small group of his supporters smashed pavements and set rubbish bins ablaze in Bucharest on Sunday, while Elon Musk, a key adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, asked in a post on X on Monday: “How can a judge end democracy in Romania?”
Chaos in Romania’s capital after far-right Calin Georgescu barred from presidential redo – The Washington Post
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Chaos broke out in Romania’s capital Sunday evening as incensed supporters of the far-right populist Calin Georgescu protested the electoral body’s decision to reject his candidacy in a presidential election redo. He won the first round of last year’s race before a top court annulled the election.
Brussels ‘must take position’ on Romanian presidential election controversy one way or another, warns Slovak PM Fico– rmx.news
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The European Commission is under increasing pressure to address the unfolding political crisis in Romania after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called for clarity on the rejection of Calin Georgescu’s presidential candidacy.
Fico’s remarks, shared on social media, warn that the Commission’s silence would further undermine trust in the European Union.
Fico emphasized that the European Commission “must take a position” on the situation one way or another, asserting that either Georgescu, a nationalist and NATO-skeptic, is right, or the Romanian authorities’ decision to bar him from running is justified.
“The European Commission (EC) must take a position on the presidential elections in Romania — and take responsibility for it. If Mr. Georgescu is being wronged simply because he has a different opinion, he must be given European protection. If the EC is convinced that the Romanian authorities are doing the right thing, it must stand up for them. The only thing the EC cannot do is to remain silent,” Fico declared.
The controversy erupted after Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) rejected Georgescu’s candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections on Sunday evening. The decision, taken with 10 votes in favor out of the 14-member committee, sparked protests in Bucharest, where demonstrators clashed with police, waving national flags and chanting slogans calling for “revolution.” Riot police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and multiple arrests were made.