News that caught our eye / The week ending August 2, 2024
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NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
Curated by James Getka.
China earns first gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics in mixed team air rifle shooting / July 27, 2024
Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the first gold medal for China in the 2024 Olympics in France. They participated in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event held Saturday morning in the city of Chateauroux. The pair are just 17 and 19 years old. China also won the event in 2020 in Japan (CBS News).
Pan Zhanle breaks own world record to win gold medal in men’s 100-meter freestyle / July 31, 2024
Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle broke his recent world record while winning a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday. Pan won by just over a second to beat Kyle Chalmers of Australia and David Popovici of Romania. The win comes amid controversy over suspected violations of doping among the Chinese swim teams (AP News).
Why the world's anti-doping agency feels stuck between US and China / July 31, 2024
Accusations of doping have been swirling around the Chinese swim teams for the last few years, but the situation has become more political this year around the Paris games. US lawmakers have submitted a bill to cut off funding for the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA), but the agency defends its findings that food contamination is to blame (BBC).
Researchers stunned by find in 1200 year old tomb in China / July 28, 2024
An elaborate tomb was discovered in 2018 in the northern province of Shanxi, but the tomb likely belonged to a humble noodle maker, not a king or prince. Murals detail the life of the deceased, whose wife was also interred in the tomb, and include a painting of a blonde-haired man leading horses and a camel. The tomb’s owner died in 736 AD (news.com.au).
Philippine forces sail to hotly disputed shoal without incident since deal with China / July 27, 2024
Philippine government personnel safely delivered supplies to its outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal last Saturday without any interference from the Chinese Coast Guard for the first time since the two countries reached an agreement over the contested area in the South China Sea. The Chinese Coast Guard was informed of the delivery and supervised the process (Fox News).
'Quad' foreign ministers decry dangerous South China Sea actions / July 29, 2024do
Foreign ministers from the so-called “Quad”—Australia, India, Japan, and the US—met in Tokyo last weekend, citing China as the “greatest strategic challenge” in the region. They planned to promote dialogue to ease tensions, but also committed to improve “domain awareness” for countries in the region so they could be more aware of what’s going on in their respective areas (NBC News).3
US boosts alliance with the Philippines with $500 million funding and pact / July 30, 2024
The US has dedicated $500 million to the Philippines to improve its navy and some of its military bases in preparation for US troops who will assist the country if defensive maneuvers are needed. The countries are also working on an intelligence-sharing pact to provide more sophisticated weapons and surveillance items (AP News).
Mapped: How the United States uses islands to contain China / July 30, 2024
In order to hem in China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia, the US has negotiated alliances with countries and islands to create three “chains” of defense, with the farthest chain extending from Alaska to Hawaii and south to New Zealand. But China has also responded by increasing its navy and creating its own alliances with other nations (Sky News).
Mudslide kills 15 people near tourist site in China as Gaemi drenches region / July 28, 2024
Tropical storm Gaemi left death and destruction in its path from the Philippines, through Taiwan, and into China’s interior. A cargo ship sunk with its captain off the coast of Taiwan and a mudslide killed 15 people staying at a house rental in the city of Yuelin in Hunan province. The area had received about 12 inches of rain in 24 hours (AP News).
Lawmakers from 6 countries say Beijing pressured them not to attend IPAC / July 28, 2024
Lawmakers planning to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, in Taiwan this week received threatening phone calls and emails from Chinese officials, inquiring about their travel plans to the conference and often warning them to not travel to the conference and/or threatening to report their plans to their superiors (AP News).
Chinese leaders pledge to tilt stimulus towards consumers / July 30, 2024
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party announced this week that it would seek to direct an economic stimulus towards consumers rather than infrastructure projects, placing greater buying power into the hands of Chinese citizens. The move comes after China’s economy missed its second-quarter growth target (Reuters).
China sanctions US Rep. McGovern for ‘interference’ in its domestic affairs / July 31, 2024
China has sanctioned Rep. Jim McGovern in response to his calls for human rights for ethnic minorities in China. The sanction stems from McGovern’s introduction of a bill calling for support for Tibet that was signed into law by President Biden in June. The sanction is largely symbolic since McGovern has no assets in China (AP News).
India-China Military Tensions Persist Even as Their Trade Surges / July 31, 2024
While India has put in place economic restrictions against China over the last few years because of its ongoing border dispute with China, India imported $100 billion from China last year while It exported only $16 billion to China. Its efforts to “decouple” from China did not work. India is trying to hold the line against China to resolve the border crisis, but its economic ties to China leave little wiggle room (VOA).