Rural Daily

Chinese steel plant: Zimbabwe's economic boon or environmental nightmare?

31Oct

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Chinese steel plant: Zimbabwe's economic boon or environmental nightmare?

FILE - A general view of Tsingshan's Dinson Iron and Steel Company production plant in Manhize village in Mvuma, Zimbabwe, June 20, 2024 harare, zimbabwe — Zimbabwe is aiming to be home to Africa’s largest steel plant, but disputes over the project continue even as it ramps up production. Over the past few months, villagers have been accusing the Chinese steel plant’s subsidiary Dinson Iron and Steel Company, or DISCO, of taking over their land without compensation, damaging the environment and not helping them relocate. There are also concerns that the project, along with the impact of the climate crisis, is impacting food security for villagers who live in areas near the plant. Chokutaura Chananda, 81, head of Mushenjere, a villa...

China stimulus should go hand in hand with reforms, ex central bank adviser says

31Oct

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China

China stimulus should go hand in hand with reforms, ex central bank adviser says

FILE - Shipping containers and gantry cranes are seen at a port in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on Aug. 7, 2024. BEIJING — China\'s stimulus efforts could come with a cost and they must be carried out alongside reforms to ensure sustainable economic growth, Liu Shijin, a former central bank adviser, said in remarks published Wednesday. "Stimulus could come with a cost and we should combine stimulus with reforms," Chinese media outlet Yicai quoted Liu as saying at a forum on Tuesday. Liu said funds should be used for enhancing areas that are critical for long-term economic development. Reuters Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Tor...

30Oct

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China

North Korea's troop deployment to Ukraine could test Beijing-Pyongyang ties

FILE - In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wave from an open top limousine as they travel along a street in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 20, 2019. WASHINGTON — As Ukraine braces to face North Korean troops who are believed to be in the Russian border region of Kursk, analysts say China should be concerned about stronger pressure and responses from NATO, which sees Beijing as an enabler of Pyongyang and a supporter of Russia\'s war against Ukraine. South Korea\'s National Intelligence Agency said on Tuesday it has obtained information that North Korean troops are moving to the front lines of the war in Russia near Ukraine. NATO Se...

30Oct

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China, Top News

As China sentences prominent dissidents, others protest behind bars

FILE - Chinese lawyer Yu Wensheng is seen working at his office in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2107. On Oct. 29, 2024, a court in Suzhou, China, sentenced the human rights lawyer and his wife, Xu Yan, to prison on charges including "inciting subversion of state power." taipei, taiwan — A court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou on Tuesday sentenced Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, Xu Yan, to prison. Yu and Xu were detained by police in April 2023 while on the way to meet with high-level European officials visiting China. They were later charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and “inciting subversion of state power,” two crimes that Chinese authorities often use against dissidents. Yu was sentenced to three years in prison, while Xu, who had a...

30Oct

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China

US reiterates 'one China' policy amid reports of Xi's request on Taiwan

A person poses with Taiwan's national flag for a photo during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 10, 2024. Washington — Resisting pressure from Beijing to publicly reject independence for Taiwan, the Biden administration underscores there is no change in its “one China” policy which takes no stand on the issue. “We do not support Taiwan independence. We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion,” a senior administration official told VOA Tuesday, underscoring long-standing U.S. policy on the thorny issue. “We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.” The confirmation followed reports that during their last in-person m...

30Oct

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China

Authorities in Shanghai crack down on Halloween celebrations

Police officers keep watch near barricades set up along Julu Road where people in Halloween costumes gathered the year before, in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 26, 2024. In Shanghai, police, not trick-or-treaters and partygoers, are taking to the streets this week as the city approaches Halloween. The strengthened police force accompanies official notices prohibiting citizens from “role-playing” on Halloween, signaling the government’s paranoia over the social instability the holiday’s festivities could bring. Videos online show police cars lining the streets of Shanghai, with some officers approaching crowds and instructing them to disperse from fenced-off areas. A leaked notice from the Huangpu subdistrict office identified any form of Hal...

30Oct

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China

Chinese hackers breach parts of US telecom system, target Trump, Harris campaigns

FILE - A member of a group of hackers uses his computer at the group's office in Dongguan, China, Aug. 4, 2020. Hackers linked to the Chinese government have broken into parts of the U.S. telecommunications system, officials said Oct. 25, 2024. washington — Hackers linked to the Chinese government have broken into parts of the U.S. telecommunications system in a breach that might be connected to an attempt to access data from the presidential campaigns of Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency late Friday said they were investigating "unauthorized access" to commercial telecommunications infrastructure, attributing the attack ...

30Oct

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China

Analysis: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran described as new ‘Axis of Evil’ by some

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, walks as North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with the Russian delegation during their meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, early Wednesday, June 19, 2024. WASHINGTON — U.S. officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the emerging partnership among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – a bloc being talked about by some in Washington as a new “axis of evil.” Those worries got a major boost on Wednesday with confirmation by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a trip to Rome that North Korean troops are now present in Russia, presumably preparing to participate in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Just days earlier, Russia wa...

30Oct

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China

China backs Russia-proposed BRICS payment system

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi clink glasses during a festive reception to mark the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024. WASHINGTON — Gathered Wednesday at a summit in the Russian city of Kazan, the members of BRICS adopted a joint declaration calling for the creation of an independent payment system based on their national currencies, a move in response to what they regard as illegal sanctions that are damaging the global economy. BRICS member countries, which account for about 35% of the global economy, issued the Kazan Declaration, which calls for the "elimination" of "unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanction...

30Oct

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China

China space plan highlights commitment to space exploration, analysts say

FILE - In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, researchers prepare to weigh Chang'e 6 lunar samples at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, in Beijing on June 26, 2024. Chinese officials recently released a 25-year space exploration plan that details five major scientific themes and 17 priority areas for scientific breakthroughs with one goal: to make China a world leader in space by 2050 and a key competitor with the U.S. in space, for decades to come. Last week, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China National Space Administration, and the China Manned Space Agency jointly released a space exploration plan for 2024 through 2050. It includes searching for ext...