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Latin American and Caribbean countries should force China to follow the rule of law to preserve the integrity of its institutions. Chinese involvement in Latin America is largely a result of China’s 21st century rise as a global economic and political power. China’s total trade with the region grew from $17 billion in 2002 to nearly $306 billion by 2018,…
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spends billions of dollars a year on its foreign propaganda and censorship efforts, including presenting state-owned outlets as independent journalism, according to a new report. Beijing’s Global Megaphone, a new report from Freedom House published January 14, details how Beijing uses propaganda, censorship, and content delivery systems to control global public opinion abroad. Freedom House,…
The Chinese government insists its detention and re-education of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities are part of legitimate counterterrorism operations. Chinese authorities have interned more than 1 million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other Muslims in camps where prisoners are forced to renounce their religious and ethnic identities and swear allegiance to the Communist Party. Prisoners are often tortured and…
The Chinese government continues to be the worst abuser of internet freedom, according to the 2019 Freedom on the Net report, released in November. Its oppressive censorship is increasingly affecting people outside of China. For the fourth year in a row, Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world, named Beijing…
As the world begins building 5G networks, U.S. officials are raising the alarm that the new technology will help authoritarian regimes further repress and control their own citizens. With 5G networks’ faster connections and greater bandwidth, “tens of billions of new devices will be connected to the internet in the next few years,” U.S. cyber diplomat Robert Strayer says. For…
Chile and Argentina will patrol the Antarctic continent while China seeks to strengthen its presence in the area. The Argentine Navy’s Southern Naval Area Command and the Chilean Navy’s Third Naval Zone will conduct the 22nd Combined Naval Antarctic Patrol, November 15-March 31, 2020. The patrol aims to guarantee naval security, counter marine pollution, and ensure the preservation of the…
In late September, the Bolivian government, through its state-owned company Yacimientos de Litio, partnered with the Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group Baocheng to set up new lithium carbonate processing plants, now in the salt flats of Pastos Grandes and Coipasa, in Potosí and Oruro departments, with a $2.4 billion investment. According to the agreement, Bolivia will hold 51 percent of…
In early 2019, Chinese authorities have broken up Christian funerals and weddings in Henan province, says Bitter Winter, an online magazine that documents human rights abuses in China. Worshipers are threatened with jail and investigation. Some are arrested. The U.S. Department of State has designated China as a “Country of Particular Concern” since 1999 for severe violations of religious freedom. According…
