ЦІКАВЕ

…

State Department  — While Washington and Beijing are divided over a range of thorny issues, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his second visit to China this week focusing first on the importance of direct engagement. It is something, he says, that is essential for addressing key issues affecting people from both countries and the world. 

People-to-people ties 

In a relaxed setting Wednesday, amid efforts to strengthen people-to-people ties, Blinken attended a playoff game between the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanghai Sharks and Zhejiang Golden Bulls. 

Earlier, a crowd of people gathered to watch as the motorcade of the U.S. delegation left its hotel for a local eatery, the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant. There were more onlookers who gathered when Blinken sat at a table in the restaurant’s gallery, which overlooks a courtyard. 

Blinken said on social media that his “intensive face-to-face diplomacy” with officials from the People’s Republic of China is part of an “ongoing, direct engagement” that is “vital for making progress on issues that matter most to the American people and the world.” 

In Beijing, Chinese officials said Blinken’s visit is part of the ongoing efforts of both nations to maintain dialogue, manage differences, promote cooperation, and enhance coordination in international affairs.

Potential sanctions on Chinese banks

The United States has warned China against its support for Russia in its war on Ukraine, as Chinese firms directly supply crucial components to Russia’s defense industry. This month, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven jointly called on China to cease transferring dual-use materials and weapons components aiding Russia’s military production.

A senior State Department official told VOA that the United States is “prepared to take steps” when necessary against Chinese firms that “severely undermine security in both Ukraine and Europe.” But he declined to give any details about those potential further U.S. sanctions.  

What is clear is that the United States is considering sanctioning Chinese banks that facilitate the transfer of those materials.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said Washington stands ready to impose sanctions on Chinese banks and companies and Beijing’s leadership if they assist Russia’s military in its invasion of Ukraine. 

Officials in China have dismissed Washington’s concerns. 

“We firmly oppose the U.S.’s hypocritical moves of fanning the flames while deflecting the blame on China. China’s right to normal trade and economic cooperation with Russia and all other countries should not be violated. We will firmly safeguard our lawful rights and interests,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a briefing this week. 

Counternarcotics 

China-based companies remain the largest source of precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit fentanyl that affects the United States. 

Immediately after U.S. President Joe Biden’s face-to-face talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Woodsides, California, in November, the Beijing government started to take action to curtail the flow of fentanyl precursors and equipment. 

For the first time in nearly three years, China submitted information related to 145 incidents to the International Narcotics Control Board’s global IONICS database, which supports global law enforcement coordination efforts to disrupt illicit synthetic drug supply chains, according to the State Department. 

While the initial Chinese actions were a positive step, Washington underscored the need for continued and sustained progress.

China can strengthen coordination with the U.S. and other international partners with law enforcement information sharing, regular contributions to international databases tracking synthetic drug threats, and monitoring emerging trends, said the U.S. State Department. 

Level 3: Reconsider travel to China 

Despite the increase of commercial flights between the United States and China, the U.S. government has advised Americans to reconsider travel to China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions. 

The State Department also advised Americans to exercise increased caution when traveling to Hong Kong and Macao due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.

A senior State Department official downplayed the possibility of immediately easing warnings by lowering the travel advisory from level 3 to level 2 for China.

“We’ll, of course, re-evaluate and, as appropriate, adjust. But really, this is a pretty rigorous process,” said the official during a recent briefing.

The senior official said Washington has raised concerns with Chinese counterparts regarding specific cases of detentions and exit bans, as well as the opaque and arbitrary application of certain national security laws.

To “ensure the safety and security of American citizens” traveling abroad is among the most important responsibilities of the U.S. government, said the official.

In Beijing, Chinese officials criticized the U.S. State Department’s travel warning, calling it “unwarranted” and the “stumbling block” in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. They urged the U.S. to revise the advisory level “as soon as possible.”
…

In a dramatic surge, U.S. border patrol authorities detained more than 24,000 Chinese citizens crossing the southern border in fiscal year 2023, a 12-fold increase from the previous year. Many come seeking asylum, and among those that do, a small group of China’s ethnic Hui Muslims stands out. Aron Ranen brings us the story from the Big Apple.
…

When a person dies, it often falls to their children, loved ones, lawyers or even friends to sort through the things they’ve left behind. Sometimes, those things are unfinished projects or hobbies, that’s where the group Loose Ends comes in. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
…

The Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel submitted this report on April 18, 2024.
…

…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to send legislation to President Joe Biden that would require Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular short video app’s U.S. assets within about nine months or face a

Ban.

The measure, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, has been driven by concerns that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them with the app and Biden has said he will sign it into law.

“For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously shortsighted,” said Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. “A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America.”

TikTok, which says it has not shared and would not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, has argued the law amounts to a ban that would violate the U.S. free speech rights of its users.

The company did not immediately comment but over the weekend, it told its employees that it would quickly go to court to try to block the legislation.

“We’ll continue to fight, as this legislation is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans on TikTok… This is the beginning, not the end of this long process,” TikTok told employees on Saturday in an email seen by Reuters.

The Senate voted 79 to 18 in favor of the bill. 
…

…

…

DETROIT — The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest. 

When combined with other settlements, roughly $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries. 

Nassar worked at Michigan State University and also served as a team doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He’s now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts. 

Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of those in his care for decades, and that the “allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset.” 

“While these settlements won’t undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing,” Mizer said of the agreement to settle 139 claims. 

The Justice Department has acknowledged that it failed to step in. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against him but apparently took no action, an internal investigation found. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray was contrite — and very blunt — when he spoke to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. 

“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” Wray said. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed.” 

 

After a search, investigators said in 2016 that they had found images of child sex abuse and followed up with federal charges against Nassar. Separately, the Michigan attorney general’s office handled the assault charges that ultimately shocked the sports world and led to an extraordinary dayslong sentencing hearing with gripping testimony about his crimes. 

“I’m deeply grateful. Accountability with the Justice Department has been a long time in coming,” said Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who is not part of the latest settlement but was the first person to publicly step forward and detail abuse at the hands of Nassar. 

“The unfortunate reality is that what we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see,” Denhollander told The Associated Press. “Most survivors never see accountability. Most survivors never see justice. Most survivors never get restitution.” 

Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement. 
…

…