Is There a Tipping Point for China and Human Rights Violations???

[Larry]

Remembering hearing an interview with the author of "Political Jokes of Leningrad".  Jokes that Russians would tell, when they trusted everybody in the room.  One of them was:  

 

How does a smart Russian Jew talk to a dumb Russian Jew?  

 

Long distance from New York.  

 

[China]

55 Chinese sailors allegedly died after falling into their own undersea trap

 

China has, of course, denied the incident ever occurred, but some 55 Chinese sailors aboard a submarine designated 093-417 are presumed dead after an accident in the Yellow Sea, off of China’s Shandong Province. British intelligence reports the submariners died after a “catastrophic” failure of the vessel’s oxygen systems on August 21, 2023.

 

“Our understanding is death caused by hypoxia due to a system fault on the submarine. The submarine hit a chain and anchor obstacle used by the Chinese PLA Navy to trap US and allied submarines,” the report read. “This resulted in systems failures that took six hours to repair and surface the vessel. The onboard oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure.”

 

Since the report is based on intelligence, the United Kingdom has declined to comment on the veracity of the reports, while Beijing maintains the incident is a rumor. If the submarine really did run into its own chain and anchor trap, and its batteries were low, then it's likely the air purifiers and air treatment systems would eventually fail.

 

While U.S. and UK submarines have devices that can turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, allowing them to remain submerged for long periods of time, not every country has access to the same technology. The “chain and anchor” is a device intended to trap and destroy enemy vessels under the sea. The idea is simple: a heavy chain of metal balls and other objects (that can be up to several miles long) is attached to two anchors deployed on the seafloor.

 

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[China]

China is building its military on a 'scale not seen since WWII' and is on track to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027: US admiral

 

China's rapid military build-up is more expansive than anything seen since World War II, which means it's on track with its 2027 goal to be ready for a Taiwan invasion, said US Navy Adm. John Aquilino.

 

"All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping's directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027," Aquilino wrote in a testimony to the US Armed Services House Committee.

 

"Furthermore, the PLA's actions indicate their ability to meet Xi's preferred timeline to unify Taiwan with mainland China by force if directed," added the admiral, the outgoing head of the US Indo-Pacific Command.

 

Notably, Aquilino told lawmakers in a hearing on Wednesday that he also believes China still hopes to assimilate Taiwan without war, though Beijing is fast approaching the capacity for an assault.

 

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[China]

A diplomat’s visits to Oklahoma highlight contacts between Chinese officials and community leaders accused of crimes

 

The photos look like a routine encounter between a senior Chinese diplomat and immigrants in the American heartland: dutiful smiles, casual clothes, a teapot on a table, Chinese and U.S. flags on the wall.

 

But behind the images, there is a potentially concerning story. During two trips to Oklahoma, Consul General Zhu Di of the Chinese embassy visited a cultural association that has been a  target of investigations into Chinese mafias that dominate the state’s billion-dollar marijuana industry. And the community leaders posing with him in the photos? A number of them have pleaded guilty or been prosecuted or investigated for drug-related crimes, according to court documents, public records, photos and social media posts.

 

“He’s meeting with known criminals,” said Donnie Anderson, the director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, in an interview.

 

There is no indication of wrongdoing by the consul general, who is one of China’s top diplomats in the United States. Still, the encounters in Oklahoma reflect a pattern of contacts around the world between China’s authoritarian government and diaspora leaders linked to criminal activity — a subject of increasing concern among Western national security officials, human rights groups and Chinese dissidents.

 

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[China]

China Has 8.3M People Who Can't Repay Their Debts: Here Are The Shocking Ways They Are Punished

 

Since the pandemic, the second-largest economy in the world, China, has been facing a prolonged market slump and a real estate crisis which have thwarted its attempts at a robust economic rebound. However, while China navigates dynamic geopolitical landscapes, many of its citizens in debt face various limitations in their day-to-day activities.

 

According to The New York Times Journal, blacklisted from social services are 8.3 million people who struggle to repay their debts. These debtors have been ordered by courts to pay back the money, and the blacklist contains their personal information.

 

Debtors who are on the blacklist cannot book vacations or expensive hotels, buy properties, access higher insurance coverage, use toll roads or payment apps, or even board bullet trains or planes.

 

They are also barred from holding high-ranking positions in state-owned institutions. The South China Post reported in February that over 17 million people were prevented from buying plane tickets, and over 5.5 million were barred from purchasing bullet train tickets last year.

 

Exclusive Ringtone for Debtors
Furthermore, Chinese telecom companies are now assigning ringtones to blacklisted debtors. Anyone who calls a debtor will be warned by a recorded voice note about the person's financial crisis.

 

Debtor Details Available Publicly
China's supreme court maintains a public online database of blacklisted defaulters. Under each name, you can find their partially redacted government ID details, age, home cities, and debt records. This delinquency blacklist is different from the "social credit" system.

 

Unlike in the US, carrying debt in China is not appreciated everywhere, and those who fail to repay it are sometimes called "laolai" or "deadbeat debtors." You may be unable to file bankruptcy to write off debts in China.

 

The government can take several measures, like taking control of your income as restitution, leaving you with only living expenses.

 

Social Credit System Roll Out
Meanwhile, the social credit system is a mandatory program built on the idea that "keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful."

 

It tracks people's movements and behavior to take appropriate actions and ranks them with social credits. People have been punished for loitering in the streets, spreading fake news, driving impaired, and even buying too many video games.

 

The system has already been tested on millions of people, and authorities are working to launch it across the country.

 

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