Wednesday, May 27, 2020

SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN'S CHINESE PAYMASTERS ARRESTS HUNDREDS IN HONG KONG - FEINSTEIN WANTS TO KNOW WHAT'S IN IT FOR HER! - JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY WITH DiFi

Hong Kong Police Arrest 300 in Anti-China Protests


Riot police officers wearing face masks stand guard as residents protest against plans for an empty local housing estate to become a temporary quarantine camp for patients and frontline medical staff of a SARS-like virus outbreak which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the Fanling district in Hong …
PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images
5:57

Thousands of fully armed riot police took the streets of Hong Kong on Wednesday to crack down on multiple peaceful protests organized against legislation that pro-democracy activists say would criminalize dissent against the Chinese Communist Party, arresting around 300 people, including many minors.
Reports differed on the number of those arrested between describing it as “nearly 300” or “at least 300” people. Police authorities confirmed that the range of ages among the arrested spanned from 16 to 60, according to the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), among those arrested in the first round of lunchtime protests by 11:30 a.m. local time. Protesters took the streets in fuller force around 5 p.m. local time, resulting in harrowing scenes in which riot police attacked with pepper pellets and filled buses with detained protesters, many wearing their school uniforms.
As Hong Kong approaches the anniversary of its pro-democracy movement, it faces the dual threats of a proposed law in its Legislative Council (LegCo) prescribing up to three years in prison for “disrespect” of communist China’s national anthem, the “March of the Volunteers,” and a Beijing “national security” law meant to gut the power of local authorities to protect free speech. LegCo began debate on the national anthem law on Wednesday; China’s “National People’s Congress,” its communist rubber-stamp legislature, began work on the “national security” bill this week.
The city’s pro-democracy movement managed to attract millions to its protests throughout 2019. Protesters remained at home for several months in adherence to social distancing measures taken to contain the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, but swiftly returned in force this month after Hong Kong authorities loosened restrictions on gatherings. Gatherings of more than eight people in public remain illegal, however, until June 5. June 4 is the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, which Hong Kong residents have marked with a thousands-strong candlelight vigil since 1990. Pro-democracy advocates have organized a “socially distant” version of the event this year.
Reports of protests on Wednesday surfaced throughout the city. The Asian outlet Coconuts identified the districts of Causeway Bay, Central, and Mong Kok as flash points for protests, where activists marched and chanted slogans like “Hong Kongers, build our nation.” Some also used the slogan adopted by the protesters last year – “five demands, not one less” – despite the fact that they were protesting new developments outside of the scope of those demands.
Hong Kong protesters listed as their “five demands” last year the withdrawal of a bill that would have allowed China to extradite anyone present in Hong Kong if accused of communist “crimes,” universal suffrage for all public offices, freedom for political prisoners, an investigation into police brutality, and an end to calling protesters “rioters.” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam only ceded the withdrawal of the extradition bill, now replaced by the national anthem bill and Beijing’s “national security” law.
Some of the most violent police activity on Wednesday reportedly occurred in Central, where Coconuts reports that police used pepper balls to incapacitate protesters. RTHK, the local broadcaster, also reported that police threats resulted in protesters running through the streets as police “set up cordons to hold members of the press back.”
Local journalists published shocking images from Causeway Bay, as well, where police appeared to corral young protesters and make them sit on the floor while waiting for a bus to take them to police stations for formal arrest. Stand News published video of what clearly appeared to be a forced police gathering of more than eight people, violating Chinese coronavirus restrictions, huddling together, none appearing to be resisting or engaging in violence.


Police claimed in a statement to have arrested “some 180 persons for participating in unauthorized assembly” in Causeway Bay and Central.
Protesters in Mong Kok staged a march along the area’s Nathan Road, also chanting pro-democracy and pro-independence slogans. Coconuts reported the violent detention of at least one man, seen pressed into the ground in a pool of his own blood.

At press time, journalists on the scene are sharing videos from Nathan Road indicating that, despite the mass arrests of dozens participating in the march, more protesters are continuing to convene there.

One area where police apparently did not encounter protesters was the outside facade of LegCo, where police “erected water barriers, sealed pavement bricks and secured metal fences – often used by protesters to form roadblocks – around the Central Government Offices,” the HKFP reported. Police prepared for violence there in observance of the recent history of the protest movement, which resulted in the ransacking of the LegCo headquarters last year.
In July, protesters stormed the building, destroying the legislative floor and nearly all technical equipment necessary to pass laws, preventing debate on the extradition bill. While they did vandalize many of the walls of the building and break some of its glass exterior, the protesters were also careful not to injure anyone or vandalize any of the historical documents kept there. Protesters were also seen going into the building’s cafeteria and taking drinks, but leaving cash in the refrigerators holding refreshments. Officials estimated the damage to surpass $1 million in value.
Nothing of the sort happened on Wednesday, however, and LegCo proceedings went on as usual, only slightly hindered by pro-democracy lawmakers using procedural tools to delay pushing the national anthem bill forward.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.





Thousands of Chinese Troops Flood Border with India as Tensions Rise

People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers participate in a ceremony at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall on the second annual national day of remembrance to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the massacre in Nanjing on December 13, 2017. Sirens blared and thousands of doves were released as Chinese President Xi Jinping …
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/Getty Images
5:45

Up to 5,000 Chinese troops are now massed along the disputed Ladakh border with India, and according to Indian officials, not all of them are staying on China’s side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Tensions along the border have grown steadily over the past three weeks, following the latest in a bizarre series of fistfights and rock-throwing incidents between Indian and Chinese soldiers.
Indian media outlets have a habit of describing the opposing troops as “eyeball-to-eyeball” in key locations along the LAC, a phrase that captures both their proximity to each other and the amount of angry glaring each side is directing at the other. The Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday:
Indian and Chinese soldiers are eyeball-to-eyeball at four locations along the LAC and several rounds of talks between local military commanders , including a meeting on Monday, have failed to end the standoff that began with a violent confrontation between rival patrols three weeks ago near Pangong Tso.
There have been troop reinforcements by China, around 5,000 of whose troops may now be present in the region, two officials said on condition of anonymity. The Chinese forces are not concentrated anywhere near the flashpoints, but scattered on their side, the officials said.
Sending the military reinforcements, including troops, vehicles and heavy equipment, did not require much effort as China diverted the resources from an ongoing military exercise in the region, said one of the officials cited above.
India is tracking all aspects of the Chinese deployments and parity in troop numbers is being ensured, said the second official cited above.
China’s state-run media has described the latest tensions as the worst since the 2017 Doklam standoff that lasted 73 days.
The Doklam standoff also featured Indian and Chinese soldiers throwing rocks at each other and getting into wild brawls along the border. The Doklam affair, which began when Chinese engineers tried to build a road through the Himalayas that ran through territory claimed by Bhutan, ended with China “losing” by backing down on its planned road construction, but also “winning” by building other infrastructure projects in the region, unopposed by either India or Bhutan.
The Ladakh crisis also involves a road, this time built by India. The road was clearly built on Indian territory, but the Chinese apparently became nervous that it could help the Indians expand their influence through the region. 
The Chinese military responded with its own infrastructure surge, including some camps that appear to be situated on India’s side of the LAC, based on satellite photographs. India claims Chinese troops have crossed the border several times using ground vehicles, helicopters, and motorboats.
The Indian Express quoted observers who found it either disturbing or reassuring that the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not mention Ladakh at all during its weekend press conference. The disturbing implication is that China intends to continue unilaterally redrawing the LAC without discussion; the reassuring possibility is that China wants to settle the matter through quiet diplomacy:
“China’s actions are hard to decipher, especially in the absence of any authoritative statements from Beijing,” said Taylor Fravel, Professor of International Relations at MIT and author of two major books on China’s territorial disputes and its military strategy.
“The simplest explanation perhaps is that China is responding to India’s efforts to bolster border-area infrastructure in Ladakh after the completion of the DSDBO road. After India’s move into Doklam in 2017, China is perhaps especially sensitive to Indian activity along the disputed border. Around Galwan, in particular, China may be seeking to pre-empt an Indian effort to improve its links to the LAC”, he added.
But Ashok Kantha, who was India’s ambassador to China from 2014 to 2016, argues that the Chinese “seem to be in fact physically changing the ground position and preventing our troops from undertaking regular patrolling.”
“There are some major changes from the earlier pattern of what we have witnessed with regard to the Chinese behavior on the border: one, they have reportedly come in large numbers into a new area (Galwan river valley) which had not been contentious in terms of the alignment of the LAC; two, they are staying put, dug down and in tents and not just as a short-term patrol; three, these incursions are happening in multiple locations; and four, they have become more assertive and aggressive in their behavior,” he said.
NDTV reported India is moving more of its own troops into the Ladakh region and is confident it can maintain a superior balance of forces with the Chinese.
“It is serious. It is not a normal kind of transgression,” a former Indian Army commander said, while an Indian security analyst agreed the situation is “not a routine standoff.”
Outlook India said Chinese troops have penetrated up to four kilometers into Indian territory, calling it “China’s first attempt to make alterations on this part of the Line of Actual Control” since its 1962 border war with India. Beijing’s goal appears to be changing the facts on the ground until the border has been effectively redrawn to its tastes, making an unthinkable shooting war India’s only option for resisting the incursion.
“Not a single bullet has been fired as per the agreement between India and China. Border altercations are usually limited to fist and elbow fights. But this time, there are reports of sticks and iron rods being used,” Outlook India reported.





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