Hong Kong — 9DASHLINE

At China’s Universal Periodic Review, European states must defend human rights in Hong Kong

Written by Megan Khoo and Anouk Wear

The UPR is an opportunity to enhance what EU member states have been practising at the domestic and EU level over the past five years, and one which complements and solidifies their positions.

Faultlines, Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 23, 20249dashline, At China’s Universal Periodic Review, European states must defend human rights in Hong Kong, Megan Khoo, Anouk Wear, China, Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Palais des Nations, Geneva, United Nations, international human rights law, human rights, EU, Hong Kong, Beijing, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Albania, United Arab Emirates, Malawi, transparency, historical narrative, accountability, UN archives, enforcement, NGO, activists, human rights activists, multilateral, international law, Hong Kong Protests, Hong Kong’s human rights situation, European Parliament, export controls, elections, National Security Law, Jimmy Lai, pro-democracy, pro-democracy protests, media, press freedom, religious freedom, European Parliament Informal Hong Kong Watch Group, diaspora, Germany, France, extradition treaties, extradition, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, condemnation, human rights violations, Hong Kong Informal Friendship Group, Bundestag, political prisoners, Olivier Cadic, André Gattolin, André Vallini, Constance Le Grip, Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), Taiwan, Vilnius, Paris, Lithuania, Tiananmen Square massacre, Tiananmen Square, extraterritoriality, Chow Hang-tung, independence of the judiciary, freedom of assembly, Hong Kongers

Germany’s Indo-Pacific aspirations and realities

Written by Dr Rafal Ulatowski

Germany is too weak militarily to change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. Its military presence satisfies the expectations of the regional middle powers and of the United States while having only a minor adverse impact on Germany’s relations with China.

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Taiwan’s ruling party: Reprioritising livelihood concerns?

Written by Roy Ngerng

Any party which is serious about protecting Taiwan’s democracy and sovereignty would need to prioritise workers’ rights.

Editor's Picks9DLJuly 19, 20239DashLine, Roy Ngerng, Taiwan’s ruling party: reprioritising livelihood concerns?, Taiwan, elections, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), President Tsai Ing-wen, voters, presidential election, Livelihood, United Daily News, survey, housing prices, wages, minimum wage, housing price-to-income ratio, Hong Kong, Taipei, Luxembourg, Sydney, vacation days, youth, affordability, US-China trade war, Taiwanese businesses, food prices, New Power Party (NPP), Vice Premier Shih Jun-ji, wage share, relative poverty, China’s threats, Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), moderates, left-wing, right-wing, wealth inequality, centrist-right, Taiwan’s imbalanced economy, reform, social welfare, ‘progressive’ party, recession, strategic voting, local election, ruling party, Youth Employment Investment Program, Taiwan’s democracy, Basic Wage Deliberation Committee

New Zealand-China relations under Prime Minister Hipkins: Changes on the horizon?

Written by Kina Kunz

If the current trend continues, we may be witnessing New Zealand in the process of edging away from its hedging position and instead committing to the US bloc in this ‘new Cold War’.

Pacific9DLMay 3, 20239dashline, Kina Kunz, New Zealand-China relations under Prime Minister Hipkins: Changes on the horizon?, Chris Hipkins, New Zealand, foreign policy, domestic issues, Jacinda Ardern, NZ Labour Party, China, New Zealand-China, security policy, Australia, China Policy, Ardern administration, Hipkins administration, diplomatic dispute, Wellington, Morrison government, Nicholas Khoo, Annie-Marie Brady, Nanaia Mahuta, Aotearoa Foreign Minister, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, South China Sea, Taiwan Straits, Russia-Ukraine war, economic diversification, AUKUS, anti-nuclear stance, non-nuclear pillar, formal alliance, Asia-Pacific, Helen Clark, Pacific and Southeast Asian states, US-China rivalry, Māori, Treaty of Waitangi, Robert Patman, Indo-Pacific region, multilateral security arrangement, NATO, Asia Pacific Four, AP4, Andrew Little, defence portfolio, defence policy review, TikTok, security alignment, NZ

Decoupling from China is not so easy for Japan and Korea

Written by Dr Chang-min Lee

Although both allies of the US, Japan and Korea are forced to compete with each other economically, which is exacerbated by persisting political problems between Tokyo and Seoul.

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In Brief with Enoch Wu, founder of Forward Alliance

9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Enoch Wu, the founder of Forward Alliance. His organisation works to empower Taiwanese citizens to protect themselves and their communities in the face of disasters by providing civilian emergency-response training.

The world needs Sino-American climate cooperation

Written by Taylah Bland

If the world’s two rivalling superpowers can cooperate on climate change, the rest of the world has no excuse but to join in the effort.

Australia comes out of China’s ‘deep freeze’

Written by Melissa Conley Tyler

Australia’s export industries will hope to see progress in the coming months. Because the trade restrictions were not formalised, they are easy and quick to reverse — if there is the political will to do so.

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China, transnational organised crime, and Southeast Asia’s SEZs — is this Quid pro quo?

Written by Marco Neveu and Charlie Thame

Xi’s anti-corruption projects in the mainland seem to have sparked a degree of outward mobility by the triads from the authoritarian domestic core towards the more liminal and experimental periphery of Chinese influence.

Faultlines9DLNovember 11, 20229DashLine, China, transnational organised crime, and Southeast Asia’s SEZs: Quid pro quo?, Marco Neveu, Charlie Thame, crime, Southeast Asia, Radio Free Asia, Laos, Malaysian workers, Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), enclave, Laotian, Chinese, Hong Kong, Kings Roman Group, torture, slavery, Sexual Slavery, online scam, Special Economic Zone, ASEAN, organised crime, transnational organised criminal (TOC), UNODC, global supply chains, trafficking, human trafficking, corruption, Thai, Thailand, neo-colonialist, exploitation, Sexual exploitation, economic development, FDI, Xi Jinping, authoritarian, Cold War, Truman administration, United Nations, UN, Bretton Woods institutions, Asian Development Bank, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Sihanoukville SEZ, Sihanoukville, Cambodia, scam, China’s Ministry of Commerce, Overseas Trade and Cooperation, Myanmar, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), state-owned enterprises, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), triad, triads, Han nationalist, secret societies, Qing dynasty, Kuomintang (KMT), Bamboo Union, Chang An-lo, Taiwan, anti-corruption campaign, gangs, spies, Intelligence, patriotism, Americas, Beijing, Chang An-lo (“White Wolf”), Wan Kuok-koi (“Broken Tooth”), Zhao Wei, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, diplomacy, police, crime syndicate, Hun Sen, APEC 2022 forum, APEC

The Milk Tea Alliance — an uphill battle against the authoritarian paradigm

Written by Roger Lee Huang

While the Milk Tea Alliance initially captured the imagination of global audiences, it has thus far been unable to consistently mobilise a critical mass to dislodge their respective authoritarian establishments.

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Chagos Islands and the struggle for Global Britain

Written by Catherine Craven

For Britain, maintaining control over Indian Ocean Territory remains fundamental to its foreign, trade and migration policy interests — but also to its allies.

EU-Taiwan ties: Towards resilient global value chains

Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy

Addressing strategic dependencies and increasing resilience in the face of an assertive China by expanding cooperation with Taiwan has become a more sustainable path in the perception of many in Brussels.

Hong Kong’s colony status and right to self-determination: why this is problematic for Beijing

Written by Ho-fung Hung

The more Beijing does to impose a rewriting of history to deny that Hong Kong was ever a colony, the more the international community will become aware of the fact that Hong Kong has never exercised its right to self-determination, as warranted by its past colony status during decolonisation.

Italy pushes back against China’s technology transfer

Written by Francesca Ghiretti and Rebecca Arcesati

Mario Draghi’s new unit to screen FDI in strategic sectors should be concerned with more than inbound investments. Particularly, the new division should consider turning its attention towards research and innovation (R&I) exchanges.

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In Conversation: Amish Mulmi on ‘All Roads Lead North’

9DASHLINE recently sat down with Amish Raj Mulmi to discuss his new book All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas.

Approach with caution: blockchain experimentation in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn and Francesco Giumelli

The Indo-Pacific region has become a key site for informal attempts to create “crypto-utopias” and formal pilots of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Pacific9DLApril 26, 20229DashLine, Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, Francesco Giumelli, blockchain, Bitcoin, NFTs, databases, digital transactions, sanctions, permissionless, permissioned, Financial Times, Tonga, Vanuatu, Central Bank Digital Currencies, CBDCs, South Africa, Japan, India, Vietnam, Chainalysis, Global Crypto Adoption Index, Global South, crypto-colonialism, Ukraine, Russia, China, Sputnik, America, USA, US, Eurasian Economic Union, FinTech Association, e-ruble, Putin, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, SWIFT, Cross-Border International Payments System, CIPS, Digital Currency/Electric Payment, DCEP, digital yuan, People's Bank of China, PBoC, financial sovereignty, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Universal Digital Payments Network, UDPN, Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge, m-CBDC, Thailand, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Global North, OFAC, US Office of Foreign Assets Control, Suex, New York State's Department of Financial Services, Coinbase, Accenture, Digital Dollar Project, European Central Bank, ECB, Bahamas, Caribbean, Philippines, Approach with caution: blockchain experimentation in the Indo-Pacific, CBDC, Crypto, Indo-Pacific, CIA, Masterchain, FinTech, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, ross-Border International Payments System, People’s Bank of China, Digital yuan, European Union, EU

Shouldn’t we just close all Confucius Institutes?

Written by Matthias Niedenführ

The West must ask itself serious questions about its desired relationship with China but a blanket closure of Confucius Institutes seems a politically expedient knee jerk reaction.

2022: Hong Kong — more than just territory

As China tightens its grip over political and civic institutions, Hong Kong seems to have been left to fend for itself by the international community. 9DASHLINE invites a select group of experts to identify some wider concerns and avenues of support for the city-state fighting to maintain its democracy.